After meeting Morrigan's mother, Flemeth, and discovering that she had taken the documents to protect them after their protection spell had faded, the recruits were given the documents and Morrigan was instructed to lead them back out of the wilds safely.

Dirty, sticky and wreaking of good knows what, Amelia stomped back to the warden tent. She just wanted to sleep at this point and made sure to make that known as they made their way through the woods – much to the annoyance of her fellow recruits.

Duncan waited somewhat patiently by a campfire in the centre of the ruin. "Ah." He sighed with relief as the group approached. "You're back."

"Yeah, yeah." Amelia groaned, "And we got you your blood and paper thingy's. Can I go now or…?"

Duncan scowled. "No. There is the small matter of the joining to attend to."

"What does the joining involve, exactly?" Jory asked, gratefully stopping Amelia from causing an argument.

Duncan paused. "We should not discuss it here. When you are all ready, Alistair will escort you to somewhere a little more secluded. We will speak then."

"Then let's go." Daveth joined."

"Yes." Added Jory, "Let's get this over with."

Alistair nodded and headed off with Daveth and Jory following quickly behind. Amelia however stayed in place, watching the three leave.

"Amelia? DO you need something more of me?" Duncan asked.

"Yeah." She replied sharply, not even turning to look at him. "The guys were talking about their battle plans for tomorrow night. Like, tomorrow. I thought you said I'd have more time to train? To get to know this place?" Finally looking him in the eye, she gritted her teeth. "How the hell am I supposed to help if I don't know what the fuck is going on? And yeah, I can swing this sword left and right, but what if I…" She trailed off. It was too much. She didn't even know what exactly had set her off in the first place anymore, but she was furious. "When can I go home?"

Duncan sighed. "Amelia, I understand how… frustrating this must be." Taking a few steps closer until he was able to comfortingly place a hand on her shoulder, he softened his previously irritated expression. "You are doing an amazing thing, and I will aid you to the best of my abilities. But you must be with us when we battle the arch demon. If that does happen tomorrow night, and it could, then you could possibly be home in a day."

"What about the whole… family line thing?"

"Ellisa did have a brother, who is still serving. If we can stop this blight tomorrow, I will personally find him. A man his age is sure to re-marry and have children. That should do the trick. Otherwise, I will ensure that some in our mage connections finds you a solution." Duncan understood her frustrations and genuinely appreciated what she was doing for them. However, this needed to be done. "Is that all for now?" he asked.

There was a pause, then Amelia nodded, somewhat content with this answer for now.

"Good." He smiled. "Then I suggest that you join the others. I shall speak with the Circle Mages, and make the necessary preparations."

As she made her way back to the group, Amelia pondered her situation. She was trapped in a medieval hell. Her only way out was to kill a massive demon and possibly have a few children. If she wasn't so damn curious, she wouldn't be here now.

Mind you, Amelia's biggest flaw was probably that she thought a little too highly of herself. Self-pity and blaming was not a common past time for her. And thusly she came to the conclusion that this was the fault of that Howe guy. "If he hadn't gotten greedy," she thought aloud as she walked, regardless of the strange looks she got from passers-by, "broke the rules of… future… reading, and killed a bunch of people, they would have never even looked for me. Yeah. This is that asshole's fault. Not mine." She smiled as she stopped. Looking around, she spotted that the ration stall was busy and not entirely guarded. She was doing these people a favour, obviously they wouldn't mind if she took a little something. Swiping an apple and quickly following the steps of the other recruits, she continued her thoughts. "Howe is a grade A asshole. And God forbid I should ever meet the unlucky bastard."

With renewed vigour, she finally re-joined her comrades, only to find Ser Jory complaining. Again. "The more I hear about this joining, the less I like it." he whined.

Amelia rolled her eyes. "Are you whining again?"

Ser Jory rose from his slump against the stone table at the edge of the ruin. "Me?! You did nothing but complain the entire walk back!"

"Yeah." She said as she shined her apple on the corner of her sleeve. "But I still sound awesome when I do it." Taking a bite from her apple, she stood next Daveth, and delivered a quick smile and nod to the corner of the half destroyed room to acknowledge Alistair's presence.

"What if we die?" Jory barked.

"Maybe you'll die." Daveth spoke, clearly restraining himself. "Maybe we'll all die. But we sure as hell won't survive if we just run away."

"All I know is I have a wife in child waiting for me back in Highever." Ser Jory replied quietly. "I have to come home."

Amelia stopped her increscent and deliberately annoying chewing at this point. That was a point. These people had families. People to come home to. Sure she had Marshal and the Gallaghers but, though they'd miss her, they wouldn't even know if she had died, they wouldn't need to grieve. Besides, Duncan makes her feel like her life is assured. Theirs are not.

She swallowed the chunk of apple in her mouth and looked to Jury. "I'm sure you will." She said, with the first sense of genuine comfort she had shown these men for the whole day. Jury smiled and slowly nodded.

"Thank you."

"At last," Duncan's voice echoed through the air. Alistair stepped forward again, and everyone immediately seemed to stand at attention, "we come to the joining." He stepped to the table, fiddling with bottles and vials as he spoke. "The wardens were founded during the first blight when humanity stood on the verge of inhalation. So it was that the first wardens drank of darkspawn blood and mastered their taint."

"We're going to drink the blood of those… creatures?" Jory shuddered.

"I didn't sign up for that." Amelia grumbled.

Turning to face her, Duncan scowled. "Just as the first wardens did before us, as we did before you." He stepped forward, standing toe to toe with her. "This is the source of our power, and our victory."

Alistair peered over his shoulder, trying to offer Amelia a somewhat reassuring, yet somewhat nervous smile. "Those who survive the joining become immune to the taint." Duncan stepped back to the table as Alistair addressed the whole group. "We can use it to sense them, and to slay the Archdemon."

"Hold up!" Amelia cried, "Those who survive?!"

Duncan sighed. "Not all who drink the blood will survive, and those who do are changed. This is why the joining is a secret. It is the price we pay."

Turning again, before she could protest once more, Duncan continued. "We speak only a few words prior to the joining, but these words have been said since the first. Alistair, if you would?"

Alistair nodded and began to chant. Amelia had stopped listening however. Her mind was racing. She was never told that she could die here and now, before she even got a chance to win her freedom. She couldn't care less if it was meant to be a secret! This was something she should have been warned about. This wasn't right. This wasn't fair.

She glanced around, trying to think of an excuse. If she could leave now, she could tell Duncan later that she was out, tell him to send her home.

"Daveth. Step forward." Amelia was brought back as Duncan handed a large silver chalice to Daveth. With both hands, Daveth grasped the cup, staring at its contains. He took a breath, then held the cup to his lips, taking a glug of the liquid. He handed it back to Duncan, who immediately took a step back.

If that had been all, Amelia would probably grab the cup and try to finish what was inside, just to prove to herself that she wasn't scared anymore. However, the wince in Daveth's face sent her mind into overdrive. He first held his forehead lightly, but quickly began grunting. Eventually, he buckled over. He wretched, thick, black gunk oozing from his mouth. His grunts grew louder and louder still until they were full on screams. He threw his head back, his eyes had rolled back into his skull, and all colour had drained from his face. Amelia gasped as she watched his cheeks thin and his blue veins darken and rise to the surface of his now waxen skin.

"Maker's breath…" Jory uttered, covering his mouth and pinning himself to the wall.

Daveth panted as he clutched his throat. "I am sorry, Daveth." Duncan whispered. Daveth desperately tried to look at his new mentor once more before slowly falling to the floor. The last of the liquid drained from his mouth, as he stopped moving, finally done.

The group stood speechless. Amelia's lips fluttered hopelessly as she tried to find something to say, but no words would come.

With little to no hesitation, Duncan turned. "Step forth, Ser Jory."

Jory's eyes widened. He shook his head, urging Duncan to step back. When he wouldn't, Jory drew his sword, shakily pointing it to him. "But… I h-have a wife! A-a child!" He stuttered, his grip faltering. "Had I known-!"

Duncan showed no mercy, offering the chalice to Jory. "There is no turning back."

Jory stared down at Duncan's offering. "N-no!" He called, franticly shaking his head. "You ask too much! Th-there is no glory in this!"

Duncan closed his eyes for just a moment before placing the cup on the table and drawing his own sword. Amelia took a step forward, hoping to convince them to stop, but Alistair held out his hand and gently shook his head.

Jory ran for Duncan, swinging his sword viciously. Duncan quickly parried the attack, causing Jory to stumble. He then quickly ran in and plunged his sword into Jory's chest. Jory let out a cry as Amelia shrieked. "Jesus Christ!"

Duncan held Jory's body close as his eyes struggled to stay open. "I am sorry." He whispered regretfully. When Jory's eyes closed, Duncan gently removed his sword placing it back in its sheath. He then picked the chalice back up and turned to Amelia.

"But the joining is not yet complete." He spoke sternly.

Amelia removed the hand from her shocked mouth and screamed, "You've got to be fucking kidding me! After all that you still-"

"Amelia." Duncan interrupted, holding out the cup, "You have been called upon to submit yourself to the taint, for the greater good. Step forward."

Amelia was cornered. If she drank this, she could be Daveth. If she ran, she could be Jory. If she got away, she'd be lost in a foreign world forever. She looked to Alistair, who gripped her shoulder soothingly. "You'll be okay." He whispered.

With a gulp, Amelia took the cup and glanced in. The blood, if it could be called that anymore, was thick and black. It felt warm and occasionally bubbled. The smell was unspeakable. Like every evil and awful scent you could think of had died in this very cup. She gagged, and looked to her cohorts, eyes pleading. When she received nothing but blank stares in return, she slammed her eyes shut and quickly took a swig, trying her hardest not to think of anything relating to the substance.

Duncan took the cup back from her and stepped back, just as he had before. She slowly opened her eyes. Was she dead? Looking around, she supposed not. But, before she could celebrate surviving, it began.

A bolt of white pain shot through her skull. She grasped at her temples as the panic set in. This was Daveth. She was going to die. And no one would even know.

The pain intensified. She fell to her knees, screaming in agony. It was then that her vision faded. It was nothing but white. She was fading. But then, she could suddenly see something. There was fire. Monsters. So many monsters. No, it was darkspawn. Hundreds of thousands of them, in a cave of some sorts, waiting and chanting. Then darkness descended from the endless darkened caves above to the rocks just overhead. She couldn't make out its form fully, but it was dreadful. It was as black and empty as the depths of of a black hole. It had torn wings spanning the length of the cave. It roared, a noise that made her hope she was truly close to death. Anything to escape this. Its eyes were white. Nothing more, just white, and yet she felt them look to her. They looked into her very soul, and she felt it mock her.

Everything disappeared as the pain subsided. There was a brief spell of darkness before Ferelden came back into view for but a few seconds. She could just make out Alistair and Duncan smile above her.

"From this moment forth," Duncan beamed, "you are a Grey Warden."

And then there was darkness once more.