Chapter 2: The Princess (Sereda)
Two dwarves and a human were walking across the bridge to the Proving arena. The man was dressed in a luxurious blue armor with white stars and a griffin. He looked at all the dwarves around him as if he was evaluating them in his head. The fair-haired female dwarf was wearing an expensive heavy armor, and behind her was a large round shield with the emblem of the now reigning house of Aeducan. The dark-haired dwarven bodyguard following her was dressed in a more modest armor and armed with a sword and shield without any emblem.
- Thank you for agreeing to visit the Provings with me, Lady Aeducan, - the human said.
- Warden-Commander Duncan, this is a great honor for me, - the female dwarf replied. - Your order is doing much to protect all of Thedas from the darkspawn.
- And so are the dwarven people. The prowess of your squad against the darkspawn in the thaigs is rumored throughout all of Orzammar.
Sereda replied with a short grin. She had no other choice but to become a warrior, even though she belonged to the noble caste. Life as the only daughter of a king, with a throne-hungry older brother and a suspiciously friendly younger brother, is far from the best life option. Sereda constantly had to prove to her father that she was no worse than Trian and Bhelen. And it seems that the long years of fighting for the recognition of King Endrin were not in vain.
- We are all contributing to a common cause, - Sereda said.
When they reached the arena, they split up. The Grey Warden stopped in the middle of the hall, while Sereda and Gorim went towards the stands.
- Sereda, look!
Gorim pointed towards Duncan.
The princess saw Duncan talking to a red-haired dwarf with tousled long hair. On the face of this dwarf was a blue brand of the casteless.
- People like this dwarf are cursed by the Stone. Why is Duncan talking to him? - Gorim asked.
- Duncan is looking for allies everywhere, Gorim. Even among those cursed by the Stone, - Sereda answered.
Soon the Provings began. The Proving Master greeted the Warden-Commander and the daughter of the king to a storm of applause from the public. Four fighters entered the arena. The one who was most likely to win was Mainar, a veteran of four Deep Roads campaigns. The second favorite was Adalbo, the champion of last year's junior league tournament. The third fighter was Lenka from the Order of the Silent Sisters - female warriors who cut off their tongues in memory of Paragon Astyth. Sereda admired the act of Astyth, who cut off her tongue in defiance of the then ban on fighting for women, went to the Provings and defeated all enemies with her bare hands. A Silent Sister has no right to lose the battle and stay alive. Therefore, the Proving Master announced special conditions for Lenka - unlike the other three fighters, who fight until they lose their weapons or fall down, she fights to death and can be killed, and her killer will not be prosecuted. The last to enter the arena was Everd of House Bera, the least experienced fighter out of the four. He was the only fighter in a helmet that completely covered his entire face. Some will say that he is hiding something, others that he must be very ugly. Sereda considered him a dwarf who preferred to act rather than show off. If she's right, then the likes of Everd would be useful to Sereda in the Deep Roads.
The fight has begun. Sereda assumed that Everd, out of self-doubt, would choose a weaker opponent, but he went to Mainar. The veteran dwarf furiously attacked the newcomer, expecting to quickly take him out of the fight, but Everd easily dodged three of his attacks, hit Mainar with the hilt of his sword and knocked him down. Meanwhile, Lenka, surprisingly, did not leave Adalbo a single chance, hitting his legs with daggers and snatching the ax from his hands.
Only two warriors remained. One fights to the death, the other seeks to prove himself worthy to the entire arena. Everd and Lenka exchanged several blows. The Silent Sister was quick, but Everd didn't come easy to her. He used the same weakening strategy as with Mainar and struck, cutting off her arm at the elbow. Lenka fell to her knees and nodded to Everd to do his job quickly. The newcomer plunged his sword into the chest of the Silent Sister and stepped back in surprise - Lenka did not utter a single sound during the whole process, she died like a true Silent Sister.
- The winner is Everd from House Bera! - the Proving Master exclaimed.
The warrior began to bow in different directions, clearly enjoying the applause of the audience. Suddenly, a blond-haired dwarf in simple clothes entered the arena, hobbling and staggering.
- Hey… this one… stole my armor! - the drunken dwarf stammered.
- I recognize him, - said Mainar, who had not left the arena. - It's Everd! So it wasn't him who defeated me, but someone else?
The audience sighed in suspence. Sereda glanced at Duncan, who looked with obvious interest at the events taking place. Sereda herself was also curious about who had stolen Everd's armor and pretended to be him.
- Warrior, you have deservedly won these glorious Provings! - the Proving Master said. - Take off your helmet and introduce yourself!
- My name is Faren Brosca, - said the unknown warrior.
Sereda quickly recalled all the houses of the warrior caste, and then of all houses of other castes, there was House Bemot and House Branka, but Sereda couldn't remember House Brosca.
- As you said, my victory was well-deserved. Maybe the Stone didn't make me born into one of your families, but I'm just as good as you all are!
After these words, the warrior took off his helmet.
The audience was horrified. Sereda, Duncan and Gorim were surprised. A casteless was hiding under the armor. And it was the same red-haired dwarf who had spoken to Duncan before the Provings.
- I want to help you, to help Orzammar! - Faren said. - Allow me to join the warrior caste, let me fight the darkspawn in the Deep Roads!
The public didn't appreciate it.
- Shame! You have defiled these Provings! - the Proving Master shouted.
- But why? - Duncan intervened. - He fought on equal terms with everyone. You can accept him as your champion.
- Human, you don't know our laws, don't interfere!
At this point, Sereda could not stand it. She had long believed that some of the dwarven rules were contrary to common sense.
- Well, for the sake of the Stone, that's enough! - she called. - This dwarf is a winner, no matter what his caste is! We need people like him!
- If we accept the victory of this scum, we will insult the memory of our ancestors! I will annul these Provings and their results. But since you've stood up for him, Lady Aeducan, we'll spare his life. Guards, take him!
Sereda got angry, but did not say anything, only thinking that before the heroic deed of Paragon Astyth, everything that this conservative dwarf said about Faren, was said about all women with weapons by default. She could only watch as Mainar and two guards grabbed Faren and took him away from the arena.