Disclaimer: I do NOT own Dragon Age or anything related to it.
"The weak die out and the strong will survive, and will live on forever"
— Anne Frank (The Diary of Anne Frank)
Chapter 13:The Weak and The Strong
Out of all the people Duncan had recruited on his way to Ostagar, Zoë Tabris was the only one who had been all alone when he conscripted her. Jade and Tamlen were both from the same clan, Valerie and Ser Gilmore were both from Highever, Natasha, Regina, and Cullen all came from the Circle, and Jory and Daveth had both been recruited at least a week or two before them. So, the former city elf found herself standing nervously in between Jory and Daveth while they waited for the joining to begin.
According to Duncan, not everyone usually survived the ritual that involved becoming a Grey Warden and whilst most of the recruits were conversing with one another about what might or might not happen, Zoë was forced to watch and listen to Jory pacing like a madman alongside an equally annoyed Daveth, who for once, seemed to have at least a little bit more sense than the pathetic excuse for a knight. If Zoë didn't know any better, she might have actually looked forward to fighting side-by-side with this man, even if he was very irksome at times. Perhaps now that playtime was finally over, this shem could prove himself to be much more wiser and noble than Zoë had originally thought upon first meeting him barely a day ago.
Shutting her eyes tightly and clenching her fists almost painfully at her sides, Zoë took in several deep breaths in mental preparation for what was to come. In just one quick second, she could easily recall the most precious memories of her childhood teenage years, and early stages of adulthood; everything that all eventually led right up to this one moment. She sent a silent prayer to whatever god Adaia was now with, thanking her mother for all of her teachings involving self-defense, fighting, daggers, and even a little bit of swordplay as well for all her love and devotion when it came to family and friends who needed one another more than anything. The memories were painful, but they also gave her the strength she needed if she wanted to prove to both herself and anyone who doubted her that she was not weak.
No; a weakling could not have been able to take down all of those guards back at the Arl of Denerim's place, a weakling could not have managed to kill Vaughan Kendells without even giving him a chance to react, a weakling would never have received the honor of becoming a Grey Warden and thus do something her mother had dreamed of doing for her entire life. Cyrion was right about one thing when Zoë had come to say goodbye to him and the rest of her family before leaving with Duncan; Adaia would have been pleased at what her daughter had accomplished. No; pleased was not the right word, nor was proud. She would have been honored to have had such a strong, brave, beautiful, and amazing daughter like Zoë. Of that, Zoë had no doubt.
"The more I hear about this joining, the less I like it." Jory said, finally pausing in his pacing and slumping his shoulders.
Daveth shot him a look of disbelief mixed with irritation."Are you blubbering again?"
Zoë snorted, rolling her eyes."When isn't he blubbering?"
"Why all these damned tests?!" Jory demanded, throwing his hands up in frustration."Have I not earned my place?!"
Daveth rolled his eyes."Maybe it's tradition or maybe they're just trying to annoy you."
"Maybe you two need to shut up." Zoë muttered under her breath, thought neither of them were paying any attention to her. Alistair stood to the side, arms crossed and head lowered as he snuck quick glances at each of the recruits as if this was the last time he would ever see them.
"I only know that my wife is in Highever with a child on the way." Jory continued, lowering his head."If they had warned me, I..." He let out a sigh and shook his head."It just doesn't seem fair..."
"Would you have come if they had warned you?" Daveth retorted. He didn't wait for any type of response from the knight."Maybe that's why they don't. The wardens do what they must, after all, right?"
"Including sacrificing us?!" Jory exclaimed.
"I'd sacrifice a whole lot more if I knew it would end the blight." Daveth's words caused Zoë's eyes to widen briefly before narrowing as she nodded in agreement. Crossing her arms, she took a small step closer toward the two men.
"You make a good point, Daveth." Daveth nodded at her then turned back to Jory, looking more confident and serious than one would have expected from someone as annoying and caddish as him.
"You saw those darkspawn, Ser knight. Wouldn't you die to protect your pretty wife and unborn child from them?"
"I..."
"Maybe you'll die, maybe we'll all die, but if no one stops the darkspawn and ends this blight, then every single one of us will die for sure."
Jory sighed, nodding reluctantly."I've just never faced a foe that I could not simply engage with my blade."
"At last we come to the joining." Duncan spoke calmly as he approached the recruits with an expression on his face that Zoë couldn't quite recognize."The Grey Wardens were founded during the first blight, when humanity stood on the verge of annihilation. So it was that the first Grey Wardens drank the blood of the darkspawn and mastered their taint."
Jory turned whiter than a sheet."We are...going to drink the blood of those...creatures?"
Duncan nodded."Just as the first Grey Wardens did before us and as we did before you. This is the source of our power as well as our victory."
Alistair cleared his throat loudly to get everyone's attention."Those who survive the joining become immune to the taint. We can sense it in the darkspawn and use it to slay the archdemon."
"We speak only a few words before the joining, but they have been said since the first one that took place so long ago." Duncan stated then nodded at Alistair."Alistair, if you would?"
Alistair nodded, lowering his head and beginning to speak in a soft, almost sad tone of voice."Join us, brothers and sisters. Join us in the shadows where we stand vigilant. Join us as we carry the duty that cannot ever be forsworn. And should you perish, know that your sacrifice will not be forgotten by us and that someday, we shall join you."
"Mind if I go first, milady?" Daveth asked Zoë with a small grin.
The elf rolled her eyes at him, but grinned dryly and nodded."Be my guest."
"Step forward, Daveth." Duncan said. The rogue immediately went right up to Duncan and practically snatched the goblet from his hands, drinking down all of it's contents almost ravenously before thrusting it back to Duncan. Both Alistair and Duncan started backing away as they seemed to be waiting for something to happen and very soon that something happened.
Daveth suddenly let out a scream of agony as he clawed at his throat and coughed violently. His eyes rolled to the back of his head while he fell to the ground and less than a second later, he stopped moving and breathing completely. Jory started backing, his expression aghast.
"Maker's breath!" The knight gasped.
"Mythal have mercy on this poor soul." Jade murmured, looking just as aghast as the other recruits.
Alistair looked away to hide the look of remorse and sadness on his face as Duncan knelt down to gently close Daveth's lifeless eyes."I am sorry, Daveth." He whispered. A sigh escaped his lips as he slowly turned to a terrified Jory.
"Step forward, Ser Jory." He commanded, but the knight just continued backing away while shaking his head vigorously.
"But I have a wife!" He cried."And child! If I had known-"
"There is no turning back." Duncan replied, continuing to approach the knight while thrusting the goblet toward him.
"N-No!" Jory stuttered, shaking his head and reaching for his blade."You ask too much!"
A brief flash of sadness crossed Duncan's face as he sighed quietly and quickly took out a dagger when the knight tried to stab him. Jory didn't stand a chance. Before anyone could even blink, Duncan had plunged his dagger into Jory's abdomen in just one swift movement and soon Jory was lying dead at the Grey Warden's feet in a pool of his own blood. The look of shock on Natasha's face was almost immediately replaced by cold anger as she clenched her fists tightly and spit right on Jory's corpse.
"Stupid coward." She scowled down at his stiff.
With a sigh, Duncan turned his attention to Regina, only for Natasha to shove the elven mage aside and snatch the goblet from Duncan for herself. The chestnut-haired-mage closed her eyes before bringing the cup to her lips and swallowing. Everyone watched and waited until Natasha gave a sharp cry of pain but instead of clawing at her throat like Daveth, her eyes merely rolled to the back of her head as she fell backwards onto the ground with a soft thud.
"She will live." Duncan declared.
Zoë took a deep breath to calm herself and then cleared her throat to bring Duncan's attention to her, giving him a small nod while reaching out for the goblet. She slowly took it from him, taking another deep breath before drinking down as much of the disgusting liquid as she could. The elf swallowed slowly, causing a terrible pain to erupt in her head and throat as she cried out in pain at the top of her lungs. She felt her eyes roll back and then she suddenly saw an eerie green sky in front of her eyes but that was not all. There was a big black dragon. No, not a dragon. The archdemon. Yes, it had to be the archdemon. She could hear voices though what the voices were saying or which language the voices were speaking in she could not tell. The archdemon slowly turned to face her, it's terrifying gaze tearing right into her soul as it let out a roar so loud that Zoë was sure her ears would bleed.
That was when a bright light then suddenly flashed right before her eyes for less than a second before everything went black.
"I can't believe they're using us as errand boys while they go off and do the real fighting." Tamlen muttered under his breath. Alistair grumbled his agreements, having decided not to hide how unhappy he was with their orders now that Duncan was not here at the moment to scold him or give him an 'You have no say in this' look. In fact, the human man was now complaining nonstop like an annoying da'len. Regina, Zoë, and Jade all shared an exasperated look of agreement while the huntress unconsciously scratched Leonard's ears. Since Valerie was going into battle with the other Grey Wardens and the king and knew that the hounds would be the first line of defense, the former noblewoman had asked Jade to take Leonard with her and the others when they went to light the beacon for Loghain's men, which the elf agreed to do without hesitation.
It made sense given the fact that Jade was literally the only person in the entire world who Leonard ever allowed to touch him except for Valerie, who claimed that there was just something about the elf that made Leonard almost as attached to her as he was to his mistress. Leonard had whimpered in protest as Valerie patted him lightly on the head and assured him that she would be fine and would come back soon but did not try to run away or resist at all when Jade gently took him by the collar and dragged him away from Valerie.
"Can I ask you something, Jade?" Regina queried.
Jade nodded curtly."What is it, lethallan?"
"How do you say 'shut up' in Elvish?
Jade pressed her lips together, thinking about it for a moment before replying."The most closest translation I can come with for that phrase would be hollen na anto."
"What about 'thank you'?"
"The phrase we use to express our gratitude would be ma serannas."
"Ma serannas for telling me then." The mage replied with a curt nod then slowly turned her attention to a still complaining Alistair who Tamlen was somehow able to ignore. She took a few steps closer to the human, tapped him lightly on the shoulder, and as soon as he turned to face her, she shouted right in his face."Hollen na anto already, will you?! Your complaining is giving me an earache!"
That being said, she turned away from the now confused, surprised, and silent human man and gave Jade another curt nod of thanks before taking her staff from behind her and lazily leaning forwards against the bridge without any regard for a completely baffled Alistair or slightly surprised and also impressed Tamlen, who allowed a wry smirk to briefly cross his lips before it vanished and he went back to ignoring everything and everyone else around him.
Jade cast a glance at Tamlen from the corner of her eye, catching the way he stiffened when he noticed her gaze on him and stifled a sigh as he looked anywhere but at her. It was still with the silent treatment between the two of them. Tamlen had basically done everything so far in order to avoid having any type of conversation with Jade. By the Dread Wolf, he'd even had dinner with the other male shemlen wardens just to keep as far away as possible from his clan mate! She nearly scoffed at the irony in that; he, Tamlen of the Sabrae Clan, whohated all humans with a passion, preferred to listen to and watch their terrible eating habits instead of talking with her when he was the one who would always chide her for not talking about things that bothered her back when they were still just len.
"Jade?" Zoë's voice snapped the huntress from her thoughts.
"Yes, lethallan?"
"What does that mean?"
"Lethallan?"
Zoë nodded."You always call me and the other female wardens lethallan but you call Tamlen lethallin, and I aways wonder what it means."
Jade smiled."The literal translation is unknown, but roughly, we believe it means 'friend' or 'kinsman'. It is what we Dalish call one another. I refer to you, Regina, Valerie, and Natasha as lethallan because you are female and I refer to Tamlen as lethallin because he is male."
"Your people's language sounds fascinating." Regina remarked with a small smile as she leaned lazily on her staff. Zoë nodded in agreement.
"There are your people just as much as they are mine, lethallan." Jade replied."It is said that we shall one day once again have land of our own where we will teach your people the lore you lost and your people will teach mine how to live with the shemlen together as a peaceful people." She sighed."For the time being, however, I fear that saying is just an era, or dream as the common tongue translates it to be." She lowered her eyes as she spoke and started playing with the keeper ring on her finger, slipping it off and examining it so closely that it looked to Regina and Zoë like she was searching for her father's face in the ring.
"Did that also belong to your father?" Regina asked.
Jade nodded, smiling sadly."He wore it during his time as keeper of my clan. Keeper Marethari gave it to me before Tamlen and I left the clan to become Grey Warens with Duncan."
"Do you know what his name was?" Zoë asked quietly.
"Magnus." The huntress replied without hesitation."Magnus Mahariel. My mother's name was Lara Tarsis. I never knew her either."
"What happened to her?"
Jade hesitated."It is a sad tale, but our people have learned to live with and embrace much of our sorrow and we strive to learn of our past, so I suppose it wouldn't hurt to repeat it. My mother was a hunter, like me, one of the finest of her clan. She met my father at an Arlathvhen, the gathering of the clans that occurs every ten years for about two days at most during which we have celebration and our keeper trade what parts of our lost lore each clan has found over the years, but that's not my point." She let out another sigh."The point is, she met my father at one of those gatherings and they fell in love, but the keeper of my mother's clan did not approve of the match, so it was a forbidden love, as the shemlen might call it. And because of these...circumstances, she and my father had to meet in secret, alone at night, under the stars, and at some point, those little trysts of theirs resulted in me being conceived." She gave a small smile though it quickly became a frown."One night, a group of bandits that included humans and city elves, as I mentioned to you a few nights ago by the fire, caught them alone in the forest and ambushed them. The clan had heard my mother screaming for help and they came as fast as the wind to their aid, killed all of the bandits, and saved my mother...but they were too late to save my father. He died that night, protecting both me and my mother while I was still in her womb." The huntress shut her eyes tightly as she fought hard not to start crying like a da'len."M-My mother was s-so d-devastated and... broken over the death of my father that o-one night not too long after she gave birth to me...she just walked into the moonlight and never returned. I was told that she killed herself so she could be with my father, but in my book, she abandoned me in her grief and left me in the care of my father's clan without even a hint of hesitation."
"I'm so sorry." Zoë whispered."I shouldn't have-"
"N-no, it's okay." She interrupted, a sad smile slowly crossing her lips."In a way, I'm upset but I'm also a little happy that at least they can finally be together in the afterlife and that they're watching over me now along with the Creators and our ancestors. And one day, when my time has come, I'll join them there, but for now, may Falon'Din, with the help of his brother, Dirthmen, guide their souls into the beyond."
"Are those the names of your gods or something?" Regina inquired.
"Yes." She said with a nod and then gestured at the tattoos on her face."Falon'Din, a friend of the dead, guides the souls of our dead to the beyond, and his twin brother is Dirthmen, the keeper of secrets. My vallaslin represents Dirthmen."
"So your tattoos each represent one of the Creators?" The elven mage looked very interested and in awe by what she was hearing and so was Zoë.
"Indeed." Jade replied."We choose the design we want and receive our vallaslin when the keeper believes we are ready. The ritual is done in silence and even the smallest cry of pain will result in our ascendance into adulthood being delayed until the keeper decides that we are truly ready to endure the pain with pride and in complete silence. If you wish, after the battle, I could teach the two of you the stories of the Creators as well as our people's history and the language we speak."
Both Regina and Zoë looked at one another in excitement before turning back to Jade and nodding eagerly."Yes!" They both cried in unison.
Jade smiled."Then I will teach you." Her smile slowly vanished as she noticed that the king's forces were already beginning to prepare to fight once again against the darkspawn for the fourth, and hopefully the final time.
No one could have predicted how far they truly were from ending the blight that night.
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Elven Translations:
Shems/Shemlen - Humans
Vallaslin - (Literally: Blood writing) The art of tattooing adopted by the Dalish to display their worship of the traditional elven pantheon. It also signifies each elf's coming into the status of adulthood among their clan.
Lethallan - (Female) Friend/Kinswoman
Lethallin - (Male) Friend/Kinsman
Mythal - (Literally: The great protector) Chief elven goddess; Wife of Elgar'nan; Goddess of love, protection, and motherhood.
Falon'Din - (Literally: Friend Of The Dead) Elven god of the dead who guides the elven people's dead souls into the Beyond. Twin brother of Dirthamen.
Dirthamen - (Literally: Keeper Of Secrets) Twin brother of Falon'Din. Master of the two ravens Fear and Deciet.
Ma serannas - My thanks/Thank you
Hollen na anto - Shut your mouth
Era - Story/Tale/Dream
Da'len - Little child; to describe someone young, innocent, or dear.
Len - Child/Children
Arlathvhen (Literally: For the love of the people) Meeting of the Dalish clans that occurs every ten years.
Next up: Chapter 15:Survival