Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Age, Star Wars, or the third crossover seen at the end of the chapter
Dragon Wars: The Force of others
Episode 43: Hail to the king part 2
"I hate myself!"
Daylen felt cold despite the fact that his skin was sunburnt, his arms felt numb despite the fact that they were burned. His felt slow even though it was pounding. He was sitting in front of a board of chess struggling to make a move, but also sitting in a library with a kind old man standing behind him with his eyes closed. He was both a tired and battered young man, and a frightened child in oversized robes.
"I used to sit with my grandfather and listen to him talk about his adventures, listen to how he would help a person, a stranger just once in the day. I used to think how great that was, helping just one person a day and how great that might make the world. He used to talk about his fights, about slaying evil monsters and I used to think how great that was, defeating evil. Then he would look up at the moon and talk about he couldn't live up to his dream, his dream of being a hero.
"I'll take it up, I said to him, I'll be a hero, I vowed to him. When I came to the circle I held onto it, I thought, maybe if I helped one student a day, then I'd be making their lives just a little bit better. The empire looked down on us, they looked down on everyone, I thought maybe I could stop them, I could free people, save them and I'd finally be a hero and live up to the expectations of my mother and grandfather. So I did my best, I studied, I trained, I achieved as much as I could and it still wasn't enough."
The young man looked at the pawns and dragged his nails over his thighs. Tears fell onto his wrists as he shook his head.
"It was all based on the belief that the world was filled with bad people, with selfish people, the truth is I thought that if I didn't appear to be that, that I was different…that I was special somehow, I thought maybe if I did good then somehow it would make me better than them. I'm not a good person, I'm just another form of selfish, I never have an opinion that isn't my own because I don't want to upset anyone, I agree with people and befriend them and I try to help them because I think maybe those good things will balance the bad out. But it never works, it never works, the truth is I fail…whatever world there is…" his voice drifted and the world shifted around him.
He and Irving saw a Chantry blowing up, a great tear in the sky and the champions and Inquisitors that rose to stop those catastrophes.
"The truth is nothing I did mattered, no choice I made mattered and in this life I got them all killed, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he hunched over and cried.
Suddenly Irving opened his eyes and looked over at the crying child.
"Daylen, why is it that you want to be a hero?" he asked.
The child looked over his shoulder at Irving, and he wasn't crying anymore. Irving himself wasn't old anymore as it was a moment in the past. It was a moment that Irving taught him a lesson.
"I want to be a hero because I made a promise to my grandfather, to do good, to bring good into the world, the world is filled with bad things, why be bad when you can be good?"
"Indeed," Irving chuckled slightly as he turned to the boy.
He knelt and placed a hand on Daylen's shoulder.
"And what do you think it will all lead to, what will you have gained in the end, you don't believe in the Maker or in any kind of karma, so what do you think will be the end Daylen?" Irving asked.
"I…" the boy hesitated, putting a hand to his chin and frowning in frustration.
"Sometimes even the greatest of heroes only end up touching a few lives, sometimes they never save the world, sometimes they never even stop evil because you see all people do evil, even if sometimes they can only convince themselves that they've done it for the right reasons," Irving explained.
"So, what would the point be?" Daylen asked.
"Because what kind of life we live, what 'side' we choose matters, even if there will never be more light than darkness, even if there can be no more joy than there is pain. What we say and do in this life matters, people can use whatever religious belief to justify the reason, but ultimately it comes down to the fact that it is what we value in this world. I don't help you my boy because I believe I'll win some kind of game, I help you because I believe in you and I believe that you help others because it is right to," Irving explained.
"I get frustrated sometimes, that they preach good and yet we're in here," the boy was older and Irving was too, and still he had his hand on Daylen's shoulder to teach him.
"What do you believe my boy, that the world is as simplistic as right and wrong?" Irving asked.
"I think that the world is that simple, but people, in order for people to live in the world it can't be, because there's so much opposition, so many struggles, but there needs to be balance right?" Daylen asked.
"And what is balance?" his teacher asked.
"Balance is…" Daylen paused, older, maybe a year before Irving was dragged away to be made tranquil. "Balance has to come from ourselves, I can help people, I can save people, I can stop men who seek to hurt others and maybe even help them find other ways to help themselves. Balance has to come from respect, precise but smart actions and understanding. But should we only fight when we're assured of victory, should we only help when there's something to be gained from it?"
"You've always been so critical of yourself, believing that the world needed a white knight, when sometimes the greatest hero can be someone who just tries to understand another, someone who has the empathy to understand others. That I believe has always been your greatest magic my child," Irving explained.
He was standing over Daylen as he became, in the void, the man that he had grown into, shaped by his experiences, reborn through sacrifice.
"That and that stubborn will of yours to never give up," Irving said.
Irving held up his hand, rubble was floating above him and Alistair. Outside the castle, mages, both rebel and imperial had their hands raised and conjured shields that stopped the bombardment. Yet still much of Val Royeaux was in ruins. Bethany Hawke too held her hands up pouring her mana and inner strength into a gravitational wave that deflected any of the bolts that would have hit the area she and her allies were in. She didn't act alone, but out of the other apostate mages around her, she was the one still standing. The young woman looked to the inn that Fenris and her sister had been using as cover.
Her heart fell and she screamed, it was in ruins, crushed by the explosive force of the bombardment. She threw her staff to the ground and ran to the inn. When she got there, she saw that Fenris was kneeling on the ground, his face covered in soot and nursing his right arm.
"Healing would be most welcome," he said. "Probably would have been worse if you didn't push me Hawke…Hawke," he whispered.
He looked over his shoulder, what was left of his shredded arm and bits of wood and brick covering Marian's body, her face pressed against the floor.
"Hawke," he whispered again in shock.
"NO, NO YOU CAN'T BE DEAD WAKE UP!" Bethany screamed.
Fenris was going into shock, not just because of his wound. He pulled Marian out of the rubble with a single heave, and gasped with Bethany. Varric coughed as he walked out of the smoke and went silent when he saw that a pipe had gone through Hawke's chest. Bethany was in too much agony to do anything.
"BETHANY!" Fenris yelled, gripping her arm tightly. "I won't allow it, do you hear me? I won't allow it, use your magic for something good mage!" he said.
Bethany wiped her eyes and looked over her sister's wounds, the pipe in her chest, both legs broken. She illuminated her sister with a green light, whilst Varric dropped his crossbow and sat Marian up.
"I am sorry," Fenris said before he began to pull the pipe out of Marian's chest.
The pain woke her up, causing her to scream in agony. Often she painted a stripe across her nose, but a permanent mark had now been left there. She gripped Bethany's hand as her sister used her healing magic. A shadow suddenly appeared over them, another hand gripped the pipe and aided Fenris in pulling it out of Marian. Bethany stopped as a brighter green light shined above her, the magic filling Marian's wounds, regenerating the skin. She was still deathly pale and would need warming, but she was just barely alive. There was sweat across the new mages face, not just from using his magic but from running too.
"I had heard that this was where the cousins of Daylen Amell were fighting, I had come to offer my help," the mage said.
"Who are you?" Bethany asked.
He pulled back his hood, revealing recently cut blonde hair.
"Once long ago I was defiant, your cousin helped change that defiance into the will to never give up, into rebellion, I ran away never again, in the circle they all knew me as 'the Ander'. Call me Anders, now show me to the injured so that I might heal them," the mage explained.
"Anders," Marian whispered, weakly opening her eyes.
She briefly looked at the young man.
"They said you were the best healer, please, help Fenris," she said before falling unconscious.
"There will be loss," Irving said.
It was as if his voice was echoing through the city, and stretching across entire galaxies. Oghren and Sten struggled in the Deep roads fighting copies of themselves. Leliana thrashed around on the floor, her own mind in turmoil. Loghain walked through the dust and then ran to Cauthrien. His loyal lieutenant had been blown towards a wall, half of her face burnt. She weakly touched the side of his face, trying to put her pride of serving him into words. Her hand dropped to the floor however before it could be done.
"We will struggle together!"
Meredith grudgingly helped Orsino up, as the First-Enchanter nearly fell from exhaustion. Imperial soldiers began removing their helmets and dumping their weapons in surrender. Some even began to help wounded rebels. Irving had pushed away the rubble in the castle; he weakly walked through the opening that Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon had made with their telekinesis. He looked down at an area of rubble where Vivienne had been, her lifeless hand sticking out the only evidence she had been there.
"There is no try…whoever said that grossly oversimplified it, life is all about trying. But the balance is that we must believe in ourselves, in each other and in the path we have chosen," Irving stated.
He fell briefly to his knees, Cullen and Alistair moved to support him. But he raised his hand as darkness began to sweep over him. This darkness was accompanied by a light; he became shadow and light, balance, oneness with the force. Casting his eyes to the sky, he looked beyond the planet for his student.
"This is for you Daylen," he said.
He raised his hand and looked to his enemy, the Sith star ship. Irving focused on the limited atmosphere around the ship; fire could not function, even if it was conjured by magic. But the ship itself was a massive electrical conductor, through every bit of mana he had, through the force and his very own life he summoned the greatest spell of his life. People called their raging torrents perfect storms, but only Irving could have the honour of attaining such a spell. His body shook and he yelled, the electricity surging around him.
Then it surged in space, a magnificent flash of ball lightning that scorched the side of the Sith vessel and shut down its lighting and sensors.
"What was that?" the captain of the vessel asked.
"It appeared to be some kind of electromagnetic pulse sir, benign, utterly benign, we'll get power back in a couple of minutes," one of the bridge crew said.
The captain looked out of the window and widened his eyes at the objects flying towards it. He realised too late that the storm hadn't been conjured to destroy the ship, but to weaken it and distract the crew. Gaarkhan howled with his fellow wookies, the stolen Tie Fighters began to bombard the ship, mercilessly destroying the turbo lasers and spreading explosions across its unshielded hull.
"SHIELDS GET OUR SHIELDS BACK!" the captain yelled.
An explosion suddenly threw him across the bridge. Gaarkhan and two other fighters lined up with the ship's thrusters, taking them out and then shooting the bridge. The explosions consuming the Sith ship could be seen from Val Royeaux, people cheered, imperial troopers cast aside their weapons and Orlesian citizens took off any imperial markings on their homes or clothes. An uneasy smiled crossed Alistair's face, but faded when Irving fell to his knees. The darkness and light faded from his body, revealing his deathly pale skin.
"Irving," he called to the man, sliding to his side and supporting his back.
"The greatest joy can be when the student educates the teacher, never give up, that's the lesson you taught me Daylen," Irving said.
"You've made contact with him?" Alistair asked.
"You don't have to believe in the maker or even the force, just believe in yourself," Irving closed his eyes and smiled.
The man disappeared, his empty clothes falling into Alistair's hands.
"Both of you believe in yourselves," his voice lingered in Alistair's mind and a tear ran down his cheek.
It was the same tear that ran down Daylen's cheek. In the void he stopped fighting and let the dead carry him up. They carried him to a white void and Daylen looked at the path ahead, then he saw her, garbed in her blue robes, her hair a fiery red and her face as alive and as beautiful as it was in days past. Neria Surana walked up to Daylen and smiled at him.
"Don't tell me you've stopped fighting now Daylen, after all that," she said.
"I'm, I'm sorry," he trembled.
"Oh Daylen, you have nothing to be sorry for," she said.
"I got you all killed, I let you down," he said.
"No Daylen, you gave us pride, for some in the first time in their lives, you gave us something to believe in that was greater than a chant, a circle or a king. You Daylen, you became a force that bound us all together and reminded us of the mutual desire every sentient should share…"
"The desire for what, freedom, people throw it away every day or waste it. In good prevailing over evil, everyone will choose an evil if it means they get to live just one more day, or if they get to make just a few more credits, what's the point?"
"A point, oh my love, you really thought there was a point to it?" Surana asked.
He blinked in confusion, his tears nearly stopping. She put her forehead against his and let a tear drop.
"Remember Daylen, it isn't yet your time, remember who you are and who it inspired others to be," she said.
Then she pushed him and he fell back, back into the void and into a chess game between himself and an ancient spirit.
Val Royeaux
Alistair looked at the robes left behind by Irving, remembering what some of the templars from the Calenhad circle say about Surana. He wondered if this was what people said about achieving oneness with the force. Alistair suddenly summoned his light saber, igniting it as more rubble was lifted away. Asher stood in front of him, his staff broken and his light saber damaged. The Sith lord looked down at his apprentice, whom had been crushed by the rubble.
"Well that didn't end like she thought it would did it, to be honest it didn't end the way I thought it would either," Asher said.
Alistair held his saber with both hands, sliding his feet into a combat stance. Asher's hilt sparked and he dropped t to the floor.
"Well done Alistair, you win," he said.
He was about to go to his knees, when suddenly, part of the wall beside them was blown open. Fire flooded the room, forcing Asher to conjure a shield to guard himself. Alistair pushed out with the force, just barely managing to draw the flames away from him. Suddenly Vivienne appeared behind him, her arm cauterised and holding her mana blade. She dragged it across Alistair's back, making him cry out.
"YOU MALCONTENTS!" she yelled.
She threw her hand forward, throwing Alistair into Asher. Both rolled across the floor, only to be lifted up and slammed into a pile of rubble.
"YOU BASTARDS!" she screamed, flipping them onto their chests.
"GUTTER TRASH!" she slid them across the floor towards them, kicking Alistair and tearing Asher's cheek with her sword.
"HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE ANY OF YOU THINK YOU CAN BE MORE! HOW DARE YOU THINK YOU CAN BE ANYTHING MORE THAN STEPPING STONES TO THOSE WHOM TRULY AIM HIGH!" Vivienne's eyes had turned yellow, her skin wrinkled and she conjured lightning in her hands.
"You forgot something very important Vivienne, this bastard here is a templar," Asher smirked.
Alistair unleashed a bright white light from his body, it was a smite that drained Vivienne's mana, causing her to drop her mana blade. Celene and Briala crawled out of the rubble, both shooting their pistols and hitting Vivienne in the chest, scorching her dress. Not satisfied with the fatal wounds, Asher pushed Vivienne with the force, sending her flying out of the fortress, crashing into the streets below. The Sith divine's body shattered and the people of Orlais looked on without pity. Alistair got up off of the floor, igniting his saber again as Asher knelt.
"In light of the damage to my forces and our losses, I see no other option than to surrender to the rebel alliance," he said, lowering his head as Alistair brought the plasma blade to his neck.
"Me capturing you could be part of your plan, or maybe I could strike you down now," Alistair said, raising the blade slightly. "Then again, knowing you Sith that's part of your plan too," he relented.
"Oh not at all, I don't do the whole 'strike me down and your journey to the dark side will be complete' trope," Asher explained.
Alistair nodded to Cullen, whose men placed cuffs on the Sith lord. He walked out to the 'balcony' that had formed from the crumbled areas of the castle and looked down at the city. People looked up and saw him, saw him standing where the body of the divine had come from, standing with a Sith lord in chains. Then they saw him raise the white light saber, and the city of Orlais despite its grief shook with the sounds of cheers.
Whilst in the white mass those cheers seemed to reach Daylen as he touched the chess piece that was his king, and dragged his other hand over his face. He dried away the tears and took a deep breath.
"I remember, my king is the people I will protect, the people I will save and carry with me one way or another," he said.
He moved his chess pieces and his masked opponent looked at the board.
"By the force," he whispered.
Even depressed, even with his spirit shattered, Daylen had still been playing the game and crafting a strategy. But chess was very different from life, and Daylen could not climb out of the void by himself. It was the souls of the people he had lost who carried him out of the dark depths.
"Have certainty in yourself at least," Cousland said.
"That's it keep going," said Merrill.
"Prove that you deserved to be the hero," added Mahariel.
"Embrace your new life punk and blow shit up," Dworkin said.
"I never regretted a thing, keep fighting Daylen for what you believe," Kinnon said.
"I once thought I was destined for greatness, now I see it is you, not because of the will of the force, or the magic in your veins, because you have the will," Niall explained.
"Prove Irving's faith correct, and prove my doubts wrong, you play with darkness, never let it corrupt you," Greagoir said.
"I was jealous of you, I admit that, but you were my best friend, the man I wanted to be like. Still be that person Daylen," Jory said.
"We believe in you Daylen, we all had faith in you, have faith in yourself, remember the people you have lost, the people you have saved and the people you must save, stand Daylen, stand as you did before," Irving explained.
He climbed through the darkness, taking one last hand to help him up. The Chagrian Sith lord smirked at him as they climbed past one another.
"You nearly lost yourself, you only got back up because you had people to lift you up, perhaps if there was a Sith lord with that kind of quality, they might have mastered essence transfer as you did…don't use it again Daylen, or do, you'll lose yourself next time and prove me right, that you'd make a good Sith lord," Daylen heard Kaius laugh behind him as he climbed.
He reached the surface and was consumed by light. Daylen suddenly found himself back in the white mass, looking at Leliana's back. She was standing in shock, looking at a glowing construct. It was almost divine in its appearance, appearing as a blue skinned woman in white robes with head tails. She was pointing at Leliana as she spoke.
"You are a person of faith, despite evidence of the contrary; you believe in the maker, you believe that he loves all, that you are chosen by him as some kind of herald. That your path is destined because it is his will, there is faith…and there is too much faith," she suddenly put her thumb down.
Leliana cast her eyes to the floor in the wake of the being's judgement.
"That is why you are unworthy of the vault's contents," it said.
Suddenly, Daylen grabbed her shoulder.
"Your assessment is incorrect, Leliana is not guided by blind faith," he said.
She looked over her shoulder at him in shock, never suspecting that this was not just a test for her.
"Whilst true much of Leliana's character is defined by her belief in the maker, she is not at all driven by it; she is herself a moral person because she has faced the kind of sadism that must be fought against. Her faith is tempered and balanced by the realist ideal that certain things must be done for the greater good, she lies, spies, kills and is not at all influenced by the ignorant views of her faith on other races. You say Leliana isn't worthy to access your secrets, she's probably one of the only priests who are, I think that's why her divine tasked her with this mission," Daylen explained.
The construct's hand wavered for a moment, her form changing to the Justinia that Leliana knew. Only she didn't put her thumb up, but pointed it to the side, indicating an incomplete verdict. The scenery suddenly changed and they were in a castle, Daylen was dressed in a green tunic of some kind. He noticed the strange marking on his hand and looked towards three other figures. One was Leliana in black and brown clothing, leather armour and a hood with an eye shaped crest on her chest. The other two were people he hadn't met, one a woman with short dark hair wearing red and black combat gear. The third was a dark skinned woman whose head was shaved, wearing lavish and finely designed clothing that contrasted the two others.
"Before you are three candidates to be divine, in a world without the occupation of the Sith, how would you have changed your world, did your world need to change?" the construct's voice echoed in Daylen's mind.
"Divine Vivienne is the first mage to be declared divine, she is controversial from the start and three revolts follow in quick succession, her response is swift and immediate yet chaos still reigns for months. Without approval many lives are lost and there remains bitterness. She reinstates the circle of magi and creates a templar order firmly leashed to her hand, mages possess more freedom but true power still remains in her hand. Without approval the chantry she creates is numbered, but with approval the chantry will remain united though the concept of a mage divine is still difficult for many to accept."
"Divine Cassandra is more traditional and militaristic; she reforms the circle and the templar order, as well as the seekers of truth, rededicating them to the protection of the innocent. However without approval her reforms are seen as going too far, a new sect arises demanding a return to the old ways, with the threat of war. But with approval strength and unity within the chantry will be restored, a golden age if it can last."
"Then there is Divine Leliana, she creates the most radical reform of all, the abolition of the circle of magi, the opening of the priesthood to other races and the dedication of the chantry to the principle of charity. Several sects arise, declaring her rule as a threat to the faith. If she implements her steel as you believe she should, her response is swift and deadly, unity is maintained but blood runs through the halls of the grand cathedral. But without her steel she does not fight them and the chantry threatens to break down."
"Who do you choose? Those who will change your world, those who will keep it the same, those who will do it for an ideal, for order, or for their own power, who do you choose to approve of?" the construct asked.
"I don't know, why would my choice matter so much, there's so many others to consider, what's so special about me?" Daylen asked, looking at the odd mark on his hand with a raised eyebrow.
He was trying to rub the mark off as the construct spoke to him, flying close to his face to get his attention. He was put off at first by Vivienne's scalding tone.
"Free all mages, how precious, it would create a problem I would have to clean up later," she said.
He relaxed a little when Cassandra appeared in front of him.
"Your voice carries weight, your actions even more so, you cannot be blind to the fact that you inspire others that by fate or design people like you have been put into circumstances that require you to make a choice that either damns others or saves them."
Then his features softened as Leliana appeared with her hood off.
"Bard, sister, spy, you would encourage me to see all of these things and none of them wouldn't you?" she asked.
"I would want things to change, the circle, the templars, the chantry…"
"Even though you hate it!" Cassandra snapped.
"Yes even though I hate it, no, what I despise is the concept of someone putting their faith into something that prevents them from taking action, is something that preaches one thing but contradicts it with another, love for all, but not those people, no to slavery but servitude isn't slavery right? Yet there must still be balance and what else but the chantry, a chantry that will not at all be threatened by others beliefs, beliefs that themselves shouldn't drive them to interfere with a life that doesn't affect another. I believe that Leliana has it within her to lead the chantry the right way, the way it should be led, I believe she'll change the world for the better and for the right reasons," Daylen explained.
"In the end all I can do, is believe in her," he added.
She appeared as she truly was to him, smiling and a bit tearful over his words. Then the castle changed and they were back in the white mass. The construct appeared not as the unknown alien it had before, but as the divine Leliana could have been.
"Your approval has risen, but the test is not yet complete," she said.
"True tests never end," Daylen said.
"Yes, every day is judgement day," the construct said.
"And some days are just days of specific judgements," Leliana quipped.
"Indeed, so keep doing your best Daylen Amell and you Leliana, because I prefer the sweet version of you," the divine construct smiled before disappearing.
Daylen widened his eyes as Leliana threw her arms around him.
"I knew you were alive," she said.
"Alive, I'd lost hope for a while, but I think I'm going to keep fighting, I'm where I need to be," Daylen said, patting the small of Leliana's back.
"Come back to us as soon as you can Daylen, we'll get stronger together until we finally defeat the empire," Leliana said.
Daylen nodded his head and in an instant he was back in the desert of Korvis. He looked up at the sky, seeing the space battle taking place above the planet.
"Thank you Irving, all of you," he said.
He looked to the crashed remains of the First order ship, he knew he would find something useful there. His nerves and bones should have ached, but he was fine, but his body wasn't moving the way he expected it to. Though he didn't ache, he still felt heavier as if his muscles were saying 'stop, please stop'. Something was wrong with his nerves, the body probably wasn't complete, but his mind was repaired and that was all he needed. He walked to the wreckage of the ship and began putting a few things together, a sled from the hull, tug lines from the wiring he pulled out. There were some canisters of water, and burnt and broken rations. He found cloth for a poncho, took boots and some armour for his arm took a few med packs he placed onto the sled.
"Are you all there?" Daylen asked, looking over his shoulder as he searched.
There was no answer, everything seemed silent. He continued, finding a DLT-19D sniper rifle and an FWMB-10 heavy rifle he put on his sled. He took a SE-44C pistol from a dead officer, uneasily aiming the weapon, deciding it would be a good back up if his magic failed him. On his way out of the wreckage, he happened upon a trooper's body, the trooper had black shoulder pads and a black mark on his helmet. Daylen raised his eyebrows slightly when he saw the laser blades ignite on it, the thing was certainly an intimidating weapon, but only intimidating. It was damaged anyway so Daylen dropped it, diverting a little bit to search more. He caught his foot on one thing that led to another.
'That's more like it,' he thought, picking up an electrostaff, it didn't have lyrium but the circuitry would make for an even bigger shock with his lightning magic.
He strapped the staff to his back and carried his sled out of the ship. His eyes were drawn to the people on the hill, those whom had escaped his wrath. He would ignore them, he had somewhere more important to be, they could do as they pleased now, and he had other chains to break. It would be a long walk back to civilisation, and the battle of Korvis was just beginning.
He looked up at the stars, for once praying that those still on his home planet had made progress of their own.
Leliana opened her eyes, feeling as if she had awoken from a long slumber. Everything seemed fast for Valta, and whilst everything had been fast for the warriors, they felt as if whole lifetimes had passed before their eyes. As each of their mimics faded they became familiar with the potential they had lost with the new world. Leliana however, she felt as if she had been trapped for days trying to please an ancient system. A test she had passed, the platforms came together and formed a bridge towards the great lyrium Titan. It came apart like a puzzle box, its crystals spreading either side to reveal complex mechanisms, gears, circuitry that was quickly covered by metallic alloy. The lyrium and the rock it was imbedded in was a doorway, a doorway that led to a similar corridor as the one in the first vault they had unlocked. Together the group walked deeper inside it, the lights humming to life above them.
"So this is truly an ancient vault?" Valta asked.
"I've been to my fair share of Thaigs with the Legion, and with the imperial survey corps after that, but this, this puts to shame all the evidence of the past we found before. Dwarves built their empire without even being aware of what was being built into the very walls of the deep roads," Renn explained.
"This would have not have happened under the Qun," Sten said.
"Well of course you would say that, Aristen," Oghren huffed.
"If we are measuring achievements dwarf it would seem mine far outweighed yours!"
"No chance, Arishok has nothing on being a father," Oghren lowered his head slightly, if only to hide the slight shine in his eyes.
"There's still time Oghren," Leliana said, smiling over her shoulder.
She activated the holographic gauntlet, shifting her knees to a guard as something flickered in front of her. It was like a pawn chess piece, pulsing for a moment and speaking with a woman's voice.
"Recognised, access granted, analysing vocal patterns," lights shined over Leliana's throat and mouth, the pawn flickering, speaking in numerous languages, some so alien that Leliana doubted they came from Sith space. "Languages recognised, Ryloth-Ryl, Csilla-Cheunh, Champala-Chagri, Bothawui-Bothese, Earth-English, Earth-French, Earth-Spanish," the voice listed to the group's confusion.
"I recognise some of those languages, but only Csilla as a planet, apparently there are some kind of blue skinned humans on that planet, Ryl is another name for Twi'lekes isn't it?" Valta asked.
"It is, the languages I recognise, except for those last three, I don't think I've ever heard of those languages, or that…was it a planet, Earth," Leliana tested the name on her lips.
"HA! Somebody called their planet dirt," Oghren belched.
"Perhaps they decided on the simplest of names, representing the ground they walk on," Sten suggested.
"That actually seems like a very Qunari answer," Valta said.
"It was a joke!"
"Anyone tell you that you need to work on your delivery?" Oghren asked.
Whilst her companions ranted behind her, Leliana continued to interact with the hologram. It created new buttons on her gauntlet, leading to more interfaces. All of it was basic, or Fereldanese, what caught her eye the most was the blueprints downloaded into the gauntlet. They read 'Moreau Avionics Scout Frigate Albion'. She was about to further analyse the designs when another hologram flickered to life in front of her. Sten and Oghren slightly raised their weapons, but remembered the previous vault's hologram. It was flickering, so they only just able to make out the form standing in front of them. Even Sten was shocked when he recognised what it was.
"Human, but that's impossible," Valta said.
"Is this thing on?" the human hologram asked.
He seemed to be quite old, judging from the shade of his hair, standing with the support of a cane and some kind of metallic bracers on his legs. He wore a military uniform of some kind, but it included an odd hat with a flap extending past the face. The old man looked over his shoulder, shaking his head for a moment.
"I said we didn't have to do this, just one recording for each one…okay, okay," he seemed to converse with someone out of reach before looking forward. "Greetings explorers, you've found the…" the man's words turned to static for a few seconds, becoming just barely comprehensible "If found…they've returned…this will at least give you a fighting chance, it's a scout…capable of some colonisation tasks, has a fabricator and armoury…"
"Well that is more my language," Oghren said as the hologram's dialogue became static again.
"Based on some technology borrowed from the failed Andro…the white crystals that your planet produces made the ideal power source in conjunction with our…you've passed the test, we're entrusting this to you, please," his face took on a serious tone as he seemed to look at Leliana. "Stop them, whatever it takes," he said.
"We will, I promise," Leliana said.
'Curious, would he truly be referring to the Sith?' Sten wondered.
Before he could give voice to his thoughts however the ground shook. The platform they were on slid forward and the wall in front of them slid apart revealing that it was a blast door. They were elevated to an upper level in a cavern where molten lava flowed like a water fall. Suddenly, the flow of lava stopped and was redirected, being used to trigger other mechanisms and power other machines. Sections of metallic wall became platforms that supported what came out of a massive blast door. The party looked up in awe as a ship appeared in front of them. It was not near the size of the Sith vessels, perhaps best described as a fourth of the size. The ship had a slightly curved shape with two wing like protrusions at its side, these and the main body had rocket boosters sticking out of the end, whilst the wings also had underneath them discs that glowed white as they suddenly thrummed to life. Sten as the war specialist could make out the cannon on the belly of the ship, but also the blasters on the nose and on the wings. Just underneath the thrusters there was a spherical shape that may have been a gunnery port, underneath that was the door for a loading hatch. The ship had a grey colour scheme with a red stripe working its way down the centre.
"The Albion," Leliana named the ship from its blue prints.
"We thought we'd find information, or an armoury at the most, but this, this is incredible," Valta said.
"This is our hope, what we need to finally start turning the tide in space," Leliana smiled.
Next Episode 44: Hail to the king part 3
I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, next time Daylen enters the battle for Korvis