24 Kingsway 9:31 Dragon
Blades clashed, beasts screeched with each injury inflicted and silenced thereafter. To say that it was an unpleasant experience in the Amgarrak Thaig would be somewhat of an understatement. The Warden-Commander of Ferelden dutifully agreed to assist Jerrik Dace in locating the whereabouts of his brother, Brogan, who was part of an expedition into the Deep Roads that mysteriously disappeared.
'Maker spit on this forsaken ruin!' he cursed. 'Why any dwarf would seek out Amgarrak's secrets for the sake of solely bringing power, wealth or prestige to their noble house is beyond me.'
Aedan had prior experience in venturing the ancient dwarven thaigs during the Fifth Blight, but he hated being down here at a time like this for he longed to quickly return home to Denerim. His wife, Leliana, was heavily pregnant and was set to give birth at any moment. So he tried to finish this quickly and come back alive. For her sake, and for the baby.
He withdrew his blade Vigilance from the corpse of a recently slain undead and cleaned it off, preferring not to endure the horrible stench that had accompanied the group since they had arrived in the long forgotten thaig. There could be no doubt that something about Amgarrak made Aedan feel suspicious as of late. Around nearly every corner there would be a hostile encounter with rogue sentinel golems, demons, undead, and phantasmal shadows; no matter how many of them there were, more would simply take their place. Aedan and Jerrik already found Brogan, trapped in a level of the Fade within Amgarrak Thaig. From observing his current state, Brogan was made mentally unstable by extensive exposure to pure lyrium, but remained steady enough to strike at whatever the group encounters.
That somewhat worried Aedan a bit. Not just Brogan's state of mind but also his well-being. Just what did he witness down here that caused him to freak out at the slightest noise? What sort of creatures lies in wait in the shadows?
"No! Not there, not in there!" Brogan pleaded fearfully.
Jerrik turned to his younger brother. "I thought you trusted Darion. He said go to the forge. That's where everything is, including my research."
'YOUR research?' Aedan thought bitterly. 'Just how far are you willing to go to obtain these ancient secrets that are meant to be long forgotten, Jerrik?'
"No, Jerrik," Brogan said. "Can't you hear it? Chitter, skitter… in there, waiting."
"What's waiting for us down there?" Aedan inquired.
"It'll wear your face, Jerrik," Brogan continued. "Take if off in rips and strips…"
What Brogan described made Aedan's stomach churn. From what the frightened dwarf said and what was described in scholar Darion's journal, it was revealed that the creature Brogan saw was a Harvester, monstrous golems made from corpses that sustain themselves on the dead whether the bodies are long-deceased or freshly killed. Despite it all, after discovering the truth behind the Harvester's origins, the trio continued to press inward towards the forge to destroy the creature and bury this branch of golem research forever as it was deemed too dangerous. The skittering noises grew more frequent, and this made Aedan, Jerrik and Brogan to remain on high alert. In the shadows, they only saw what appears to be a tail that quickly scurried off out of sight. Nobody could really tell where the Harvester was or what it was waiting for.
"Over there!" Brogan yelled.
Aedan and Jerrik swiftly turned to Brogan's direction and saw the Harvester's head enter its large golem-like body made of flesh. The stench of the collected corpses made Aedan's head spin and threatened to vomit at the sight of such a vile creature.
"By the Maker!" Aedan exclaimed. "What is that thing?"
"No time, Warden! Just kill it!" Jerrik shouted.
"You don't need to tell me that twice, Jerrik!" Aedan replied.
The battle was long and proved extremely difficult as the Harvester would summon a number of skeletal minions and employing the use of its Vile Disembowelment techniques, brutally striking the party and tossing them backwards with such force when they were in its range. Aedan, Jerrik and Brogan struggled to maintain their footing and tried to deliver quick strikes before the Harvester swung around and tossed them again. Even with armor on, Aedan felt his ribs crack and muscles bruises form as blood came trickling down from his head. His shield felt like heavy and put quite a strain on his left arm, forcing him to discard the shield before limping back into the fight.
The Harvester gave a gurgling shriek as it pressed its advantage by grabbing Jerrik in one hand before slamming him into the ground. Brogan, despite being fearful, lashed out at the monster to save his brother. This got the monster's attention as it released Jerrik from its grip. He was wounded, but still alive. Aedan helped Jerrik back on his feet and both charged the Harvester from behind, slashing at its back legs and causing it to fall. The battle is pitched and the Harvesters shifts Aedan, Jerrik and Brogan through different levels of the Fade in order to become more powerful and unleashes more waves of animated corpses to attack them.
Wounded and physically exhausted, Aedan used his remaining strength to leap onto the Harvester and grab its appendages, pulling back as hard as he could as the creature fought back. With luck, Aedan yanked the Harvester's head off and stomped it to death. After a fierce battle the Harvester is finally slain. However the structural damage caused during the battle causes Amgarrak to begin to collapse.
"No!" Jerrik panicked. "It can't come down, not now!"
"This is not the time, Jerrik!" Aedan shouted. "In case if you hadn't noticed, this entire structure is collapsing all around us! We have to go! Now!"
"Time to go, Jerrik!" Brogan agreed. "The forge is destroyed, like Darion wanted."
Jerrik shook his head. "The creature is dead!" he insisted. "There could be other notes, more information too—"
His speech was abruptly halted as Aedan grabbed Jerrik by the collar and lifted the dwarf off the ground, eyes matching his in a blind fury.
"Wake up and take a good look around you!" Aedan shouted. "There are reasons why some things are best left forgotten, rather than making an attempt to recover what was deemed lost centuries ago! Caridin, your own Paragon, knew this research was wrong and refused to forcibly carry out such horrific experiments. Yet here you stand along with other misguided smith caste dwarves who will stop at nothing to repeat such an error; an error that ultimately led to the loss of Amgarrak and has the possibility to overrun what remains of your people! What value you believe remains is not worth all the lives that were lost! Darion, Brogan, the expedition… Are you telling me their lives don't matter to you at all?! You greedy, selfish bastard! You might be willing to take such a risk, but I'm not! So unless you want to try and find what you're looking for, then by all means stay with the rest of your fallen brethren in this crumbling ruin!"
Having spent his energy, Aedan tossed Jerrik to the ground. Brogan, having watched and heard, approached his brother and placed his hand on his shoulder.
"It's alright, Jerrik," he said. "Not worth more death."
After reflecting on both Aedan's and Brogan's words, realizing the chaos that Amgarrak's research into Caridin's work has wrought, Jerrik reluctantly obliges and together they escape the thaig as Amgarrak finally collapses in on itself.
##########
"That's it…" Jerrik lamented, "it's over. Everything's lost."
"No, brother," Brogan said. "We're still alive. Let's go home."
Aedan nodded at the brothers and exchanged apologetic words with Jerrik, one the dwarf accepted. Jerrik apologized to Aedan as well for letting his own desires cloud his judgment. The Warden-Commander acknowledged to Jerrik that it takes a lot to admit one's own mistake and tells him to be more mindful next time.
With that, Aedan jumps on his horse and makes his departure from Orzammar to his estate in Denerim.
'Leliana,' he thought, 'it won't be long now. Just hold on a little bit longer for me, love… I'm coming home.'
##########
The Chancellor of Ferelden's Denerim Estate
Leliana laid in bed gripping at the sheets as more elven maids tended to her need. Her face began to sweat and she groaned in discomfort with the increased pain shooting in her thighs. Already word had spread throughout the estate that Leliana's cervix dilated approximately two centimeters and everybody was rushing back and forth to get ready for the birth, occasionally bumping into each other, dropping wet towels and bowls of hot water. It was very busy and servants were in such a hurry.
Wynne remained at Leliana's bedside, whipping her sweat-covered brow and holding her hand in hers. The senior enchanter had already agreed to be the midwife and provide care however she could, for none trusted anyone else for the delivery other than Wynne who herself had experience in childbirth. She took the time to answers some of Leliana's questions, such as "Does it hurt this much?", "Is this normal?" or "Will my baby be healthy?" Wynne took notice of Leliana's concern and reminded her that these feelings are what mothers always ask when they're about to meet their first child.
"Oooohhhh…" Leliana groaned uncomfortably as she placed her remaining hand on her stomach. "Eeeughh, Maker… My little one, please remind me to throttle your father when he gets here."
Wynne chuckled. "Oh, I'm sure you don't mean what you say, Leliana. The compassion a woman can intuitively experience in childbirth can make her a source of healing and understanding for other women. What you're going through, it's exactly the same feeling as I had when I had my son. When your labor pains begin, it will serve as a reminder that the most precious gift a mother can give to her child is the love and joy as it is fundamentally a spiritual achievement that deepens the bond between them."
"I'd like to believe that," Leliana exhaustively replied, "but I never imagined it would make me feel like… Oooohh…" she groaned as she felt her child moving. Leliana was tired and in pain, and while she wanted nothing more than to sleep, her pregnancy wouldn't allow it. So by the time of her due date arrived, Leliana had no choice but be ready for anything.
"My baby… What will we call him? Or her? We never had time to pick out a name."
"We can never be so sure until we are certain of the child's gender. Whether you will have a son or a daughter, you and Aedan will be both provide them not only a name but also ensure that the child is given all they need to grow. After all, there is such a special sweetness in cherishing every minute with them. You are a kind, nurturing young woman, my dear. An example of what a mother should be."
Leliana smiled at Wynne's words as one of the maids wiped her brow while another tended to the sheets. She soon shut her eyes tight as another pain shot up, squeezing Wynne's hand as she released another moan.
"Be strong, child. You can do this. I know you can."
Leliana did not respond before feeling a certain wetness. Her eyes shot open, her body trembled as she lifted up the sheets to see what laid before her.
"W-W-W-Wynne…" she panicked. "I… I…"
Before she could get the words out, Leliana began screaming loudly in pain as she arched her back upwards, letting everyone in attendance know what came next.
"Her water just broke!" Wynne shouted. "It's time! She's going into labor!"
A/N: Cervical dilation (or cervical dilatation) is the opening of the cervix, the entrance to the uterus, during childbirth, miscarriage, induced abortion or gynecological surgery. Cervical dilation may occur naturally, or may be induced by surgical or medical means.
In the later stages of pregnancy, the cervix may already have opened up to 1–3 cm (or more in rarer circumstances), but during labor, repeated uterine contractions lead to further widening of the cervix to about 6 centimeters. From that point, pressure from the presenting part (head in vertex births or bottom in breech births), along with uterine contractions, will dilate the cervix to 10 centimeters, which is "complete." Cervical dilation is accompanied by effacement, the thinning of the cervix.
General guidelines for cervical dilation:
-Latent phase: 0-3 centimeters
-Active Labor: 4-7 centimeters
-Transition: 8-10 centimeters
-Complete: 10 centimeters. Delivery of the infant takes place shortly after this stage is reached (although the mother does not always push right away.)