The sun was sinking towards the horizon as Elissa guided her horse through the rocky terrain which covered the hills overlooking Denerim. Once she passed through the hills then the land would drop towards the Waking Sea. She wasn't sure where she would go from there. Kirkwall, Starkhaven, Tantervale. It didn't really matter. All that mattered was that she was far from any reminders. Reminders of where she had come from, who she had been...

And who she had left behind.

Elissa no longer had the energy to push the thoughts away. She had hoped that escaping from the threat of the Archdemon would have freed her from the despair that had begun to consume her mind. But she couldn't escape the knowledge that her leaving only left others to die in her stead.

She hoped that one particular death would be avoided though. The confrontation with Morrigan had been unpleasant. Elissa had no idea how the Witch had known. She had been careful to leave the city without being noticed, wrapped in a cloak and leading the horse by the reins. She had looked like any of the other hundreds of refugees that now came and went each day. Yet once she was away from the city gates and made to mount, Morrigan had stepped out of the shadows behind her.

Elissa blinked back the tears as she relaxed the reins so the horse could pick its own way across the rocky ground.

The pity with which Morrigan had looked at her made Elissa flinch even now. The Witch hadn't said anything but she didn't have to. Elissa knew she was a coward. When Morrigan had made to step towards her... Almost a year on the road had taught Elissa to react first and ask later. She had snatched at her dagger and lashed out with the butt of the handle.

Thank the Maker.

She swallowed. The thought of how she may have injured Morrigan with the blade didn't bear thinking about. As it was Elissa had felt the socket break under the force. She had frozen as Morrigan staggered back with a yelp of pain. It must have been agony but she hadn't retaliated. Spurred on by her reaction, Elissa had used the last of her mental strength to order Morrigan back. She had betrayed Alistair by agreeing to the ritual. It was only fitting that he at least benefit in some small way from it.

The thought of Alistair caused her to glance over her shoulder. Denerim lay behind her. It was beginning to blur into one grey mass as she travelled further from it. Once she had sent Morrigan back, she had pushed the horse hard. She hadn't known what Morrigan would do when she returned to Arl Eamon's estate and she hadn't been entirely convinced that Alistair's sense of obligation would overrule his heart.

She had felt a stab of panic earlier in the day. A cloud of dust had appeared near what she knew were the city gates a few hours after dawn had broken. With a squint, she had been able to make out the cause as a group of horsemen but her alarm had passed as she realised they were headed away from her and towards the West Road. For so long she had been the driving force behind so much of what occurred in Ferelden. It was strange to know that something was happening and she had no part in it. But it was unlikely anyone was following her now and by dawn she would be beyond chasing.

Elissa felt the prickling of the taint just as the horse shied. She felt a burning pain in her shoulder and even before she looked down, she knew it was an arrow. Darkspawn archer. Lost in thought, she had ignored the warning of the taint and now there were three gunlocks advancing on her.

She clenched her teeth and grabbed at the reins, trying to ignore the pain which seared through her shoulder. She kicked at the horse with her heels and forced it into a gallop towards the darkspawn. With her good arm, she reached behind and pulled her main sword from the sheath on her back. As the horse charged past the trio, she hacked at the genlock on her right. Crude but effective, she was relieved to feel the crunch of metal against bone as she sliced through its neck. She pulled at the horse's head with the reins, crying out at the throbbing in her shoulder, and forced the animal forward again.

The archer had retreated further down the hill and was taking aim at her. Elissa leaned closer into the neck of the horse and lunged at the second genlock as they bolted past. She managed to sink her blade into its chest but the blade stuck. The force of the blade being ripped from her hand caused her to topple from the saddle and she crashed onto the ground. Winded, she lay where she had fallen. The second genlock was grunting somewhere behind her. It sounded badly wounded but not dead.

Elissa lay still and held her breath as the shadow of the third genlock fell across her face. Her off-hand dagger was still in its sheath on her back but the only advantage she had was surprise. She heard the string of the bow tighten as the archer took aim. With a sudden jerk, she rolled forward and let out a howl of pain as her shoulder dug into the ground. Fumbling behind her, she managed to grab the dagger and lunged forward in the hopes it would find its mark. The genlock jumped back and she missed it but now on her feet, she pressed forward and sank the blade into its throat as it fumbled for its bow. Wrenching the blade back out, she staggered back and turned to the wounded genlock behind her. One quick movement and its throat was slashed as well.

Panting and almost passing out from the pain, Elissa staggered away from the corpses towards a small rocky outcrop. It offered little protection but it was better than sitting out amongst three dead darkspawn. The horse had fled as soon as she had fallen. She sank down against the rocks and gave a smothered shriek as her shoulder jarred. Her vision blurred and she had to fight the urge to vomit. Spoiled by Wynne's skill and constant vigilance, she no longer had the stamina to push through such pain.

Elissa glanced down at her shoulder. She was bruised and bloodied all over but it was her shoulder that was the main problem. The arrow had snapped when she had fallen to the ground but the head was still embedded in her flesh. The tip would be poisoned but she almost passed out at the thought of pulling it out. Elissa forced herself to take a deep breath and even thought the movement sent another searing bolt of pain through her body, the tightness in her chest eased and her vision cleared. With her good arm, she reached up and made to grip the aroow tip between her fingers but it was no use. Any contact with it made her want to faint. With a groan, she slumped back against the rock and closed her eyes.

It made no sense that there were darkspawn to the North. There was nothing here. What was even more odd was that there had been an archer. Archers were usually assigned to scouting groups. But there was no reason for darkspawn to be scouting near the Coastlands.

Elissa's head began to feel heavy as she tried to reason. She tried to concentrate and let the fuzzy thoughts in her mind float to the surface but the poison was beginning to spread.

Scouts.

The blackness crept further into her head.

Why were scouts important?

It was getting more and more difficult to remember what she was supposed to be thinking.

Wh... what did scouts... mean?

The last few moments between consciousness and darkness provided an instant of clarity.

Scouts. From the Horde.

Frightened and alone, Elissa let out a whimper before everything went black.