Dragons and Thrones: Final War – Doom Upon All The World
Chapter 8 of my crossover story, enjoy.
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Now onto the story.
Disclaimer: Game of Thrones belongs to George R.R. Martin, Dragon Age belongs to Bioware.
Alistair
Alistair let out a slow breath as he tried to think of some way to prepare himself for the battle to come.
'I've never felt so tense before a battle. Not even when we were about to face the Archdemon during the Blight.' He mused worriedly.
He shook his head and tried to focus. He knew that this battle was probably the most crucial one he'd face. He was marching the army of Ferelden to liaise with the Orlesian army in the Arbor Wilds.
He took a deep breath. 'This is it, time to take the battle to Corypheus, or at least, his forces.'
For they had received intelligence that had been carefully checked and checked again and confirmed it; Corypheus' army in Thedas would emerge from the Arbor Wilds. Alistair could only hope that the other two armies would be repelled, that their allies would be ready for whatever they faced. He could tell his men were edgy, he could understand that, but here they were, faced with a far greater threat. The need to work together was far stronger now than it would ever be.
'I just hope that, when the time comes, it proves to be enough. We cannot afford to be two armies with similar goals here, we must fight as one.' He thought to himself; trying to force himself not to fear.
But then he saw them, the Orlesian camp, their army and knew, there was no time left, if he wasn't ready now, he'd never be ready.
Entering the main tent he found Celene and Briala already present and pouring over a map of the area. They looked up as he entered and both nodded.
"Ah good, King Alistair, it is good to see you." Celene said, greeting him. "Well, we are nearing the brink I see."
He nodded. "Yes, Your Radiance...We; this is it, we cannot to fall here, or there will be no future, for any of us."
Briala then added. "Our allies understand that of course; we are all prepared for the worst; and trying to ensure we stay alive. As a matter of morale, we're hoping that our magical communication devices will allow us to stay in touch with the other two battlefields."
She gestured to the object itself in the back of the tent.
Celene agreed. "It is our best hope; so long as we know none of the other sides have fallen...we will maintain our morale and hopefully fight harder."
"I hope you're right; I know that; no matter what, I will not stop fighting...until it is over." Alistair replied seriously.
They observed him carefully for a moment and then, agreeing with his resolve; they began to work on planning their strategy. For the most part it was clear the attacking forces were planning to try and overwhelm them with sheer numbers; but if they could use the terrain and the various types of units available to them to their advantage, then perhaps they might be able to turn those superior numbers into a disadvantage for the enemy instead.
It was while they were continuing to plan that Alistair heard it. An almost indistinct rustling. Glancing up he noted from her expression that Briala had heard it too. Then he quickly moved, drawing his sword. Briala meanwhile drew her daggers, while moving Celene out of the way. Just in time for at that moment an arrow flew into the tent, missing them by inches. He quickly hurried out of the tent, now seeing the attackers as they tried to flee.
"Ambush!"
That caught the attention of the army; he could see them rallying to attack. The attackers were a small strike force of Venatori.
'A pre-emptive attack...but, something doesn't add up...'
While trying to calm his worried thoughts he swiftly deflected the attack of a Venatori soldier who charged him. Many of those that remained were either suicidally charging the amassed army, or firing arrows at them, yet not making much of a gap.
"Give up." Alistair snarled. "We have you surrounded, there is no escape."
The man sneered. "Doesn't matter, we've already accomplished our goal. Glory to the Elder One!"
With that he suddenly took his own life; as did those others that had not already charged to their deaths against the army.
"What was that about?" He wondered aloud.
He couldn't understand it; how could they have accomplished their goal. They were all still alive, they had been discovered and routed before they could report back.
He got his answer when he heard Briala calling on him and he hurried back into the tent. There, on the floor, smashed by the arrow which had been laced with magic itself, was their magical communication device, cutting them off from all attempts to contact the other war fronts. They were left now with no way of knowing if the other war fronts would be successful or not.
"No..." He whispered.
He had a nasty feeling that those other war fronts had also experienced attacks just like this, and had suffered a similar loss. Before the battle even began, Corypheus was trying to gain an advantage, by attacking their morale. The attacking part, had certainly succeeded.
End of chapter, deliberately didn't put a battle in here, despite the fact there could have been because, well, want to save the battles for the main ones, which will be soon, anyway, hope you enjoyed it still, read and review please.