[This was a long story in development so I hope you enjoy it. If there's any errors in my writing then please let me know. I do not own Dragon Age so all credits goes to the creators.]
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It begins at 9:30 Dragon in the nation of Ferelden. The entire country is in chaos over many major events happening all over Ferelden. Werewolf uprising in the Brecilian Forest, Redcliffe suffering from a major undead attack from within the castle, the Circle of Magi has fallen by the use of Blood Magic, and a civil war now wages inside Orzammar.
It is here that king Cailan Theirin, amassed an army in Denerim as a means of putting down this chaos and restoring the peace of his country. He sets out with Teyrn Loghain and his forces to support the king on purging the monsters that threatens the land. He marches straight into the Brecilian Forest, where the werewolves have already taken full control over this land, after they finish exterminating the elves and forcing them into werewolves.
While things like this is happening, another evil is stirring in the ruins of Ostagar. While there is no signs of any Blight or signs of a massive force of Darkspawn horde, the Grey Wardens would arrive to occupy the fortress and call for reinforcements from the king to help handle a new threat that is not the Blight. King Cailan would approve of this and dispatches an army to join the Grey Wardens, under the banner of Fergus Cousland, who left Highever to fight alongside the king's forces. Before his forces would join the king's army in the Brecilian Forest, he is recall to Ostagar to join on the defence against a new possible threat of Darkspawn.
The new Commander of the Grey Warden, named Duncan, sets out to search for recruits to be part of something far greater than anything they have ever been through. He found two humans from Redcliffe and Denerim, one male from the Dalish and another he would find in a cage at Ostagar. Before he would meet the one in the cage, he returns to Ostagar with a Dalish Elf, named Theron Mahariel.
"We will be travelling south through the hinterlands to the ruins of Ostagar, on the edge of the Korcari Wilds. The Tevinter Imperium built Ostagar long ago to prevent wilder's from invading the northern lowlands. It's fitting we make our stand here, even if we face a different foe from within the forest. The Darkspawn have been gathering their numbers lately, and here is where we face the bulk of the horde. There are only a few Grey Wardens within Ferelden at the moment, but all of us are here. We need to know if this is a Blight or a new threat within the Darkspawn ranks. If this should be a Blight, and if we should fail here, it'll spread into the north. Ferelden will fall."
The moment they arrive at the ruins of Ostagar, Duncan finds Alistair, running across the long bridge to greet with his long awaiting friend. He wore the standard Grey Warden armour with the metal plating and the blue clothing underneath it, as well as his round shield on his back with the griffon symbol, and a longsword on his waist.
"Alistair, I didn't expect to see you." Said Duncan. He stretches out his right hand and shakes Alistair's hand the moment they got close enough.
"I've heard you just arrived. And I thought I should inform you about some disturbing information regarding the Darkspawn."
"I see… Well, allow me to introduce our new recruit." Duncan said when stepping to the side to allow Alistair and Theron to see one another.
Theron Mahariel is a Dalish Elf with dark leather armour, carrying a longbow on his back and has long black hair with green eyes. He just says to Alistair "My name is Theron."
"I'm Alistair, junior member of the order. I'll be accompanying you and the recruits when you prepare for the Joining."
"Joining?" Theron looks confuse and looks to Duncan to help fill in the answer
Duncan explains "Every recruit must go through a secret ritual we call the Joining in order to become a Grey Warden. The ritual is brief, but some preparation is required. We must begin soon."
"What do I have to do in this Joining?" Theron asks
"I cannot speak more of it except to say that you will learn all in good time. Until then, you must trust that what is done is necessary."
"Very well then."
The three begin the walk across the bridge to make it to the main camp. Alistair walks beside Duncan and delivers his report to him, while Theron stays behind to listen to their conversation.
"We've had some major skirmishes with the Darkspawn, but no sign of any dragon. They continue replenishing their numbers everytime we push them back into the wilds, but I've heard their numbers are not enough to overrun us."
"What was the disturbing information you mentioned?" Duncan asks
Alistair hesitates to answer for a few seconds, but responds by saying "There was a single scout that came back from the wilds. He mentioned he heard the Darkspawn… Speak. He was a little crazy, so we don't know if he's imagining things or not."
"I see…"
"Darkspawn don't talk, do they?"
"It's… Possible, but the rest of the Darkspawn only act with the purpose to attack and kill whatever is in front of them."
"I understand. Also, I think the leader of the army wanted to speak to you. I think he's Cousland, but I can't remember the name."
"I know who you speak. I'll speak to him, while you search for the other recruits."
As soon as they made it across the bridge, Duncan leaves the two to go search for Fergus Cousland that was by his tent, talking to other military officers of this army. Alistair looks to Theron and go together to search for the other recruits.
Fergus was done talking to the other men and orders them to dismiss. He spots Duncan and approaches him. "Commander of the Grey, you've arrived to join the fight."
"I've arrived just in time. I've heard the Darkspawn are evenly match with our forces."
Fergus sighs and replies "Sadly, yes. Everytime we engage them, they always seem to retreat and regroup. Some say they're watching our strength and learning our weaknesses."
"That is quite strange. Have there been any problems with the local wildlings?" Duncan asks
"We haven't found any issues lately, but we did catch a warrior from the Avvar tribe."
"Really?"
Fergus takes Duncan to the site where they keep prisoners inside these cylinder-shaped cages where they're held high off the ground. This man in the cage was quite muscular than Alistair, because he was a champion among his tribe of barbarians in the wildlands. He has short brown hair, light blue eyes and a short beard.
"This is the one. My men found him fighting Darkspawn, but he surrendered to us without a fight." Fergus explains to Duncan "I've heard when they found him, he was brutalising a Darkspawn with his fists."
The barbarian was just sitting there in the cage, but rises up off the floor the moment he saw these two men approaching him. He leans against the cell bars and asks "You. Have you come to be my executioner?"
"No." Said Duncan. His eyes would lower down to his left arm to see it cover in bandages and has blood on it. "You're injured."
The man looks to his arm for a moment and sighs while explaining "Those stupid bastards actually bit me, can you believe that?"
"He's been infected by the taint." Fergus says to Duncan "I know what happens when you get infected by the Darkspawn, and it isn't pretty."
"If I'm going to die, then let me out of this cage!" The man raise his voice and looking unhappy "I want to die, surrounded by corpses of Darkspawn."
"Perhaps there is a way for you to get what you want, but you shouldn't throw your life away just yet. The Grey Wardens are always looking for those who have the courage to spend their lives in battle against the Darkspawn. It's rare we find those with both the skill and the will. The best Wardens are ruthless to their enemies, compassionate to their friends, and inspiring to their troops. Are you that person?"
"Duncan, you should be careful." Fergus complaints "This man is part of a tribe, which means others like him are nearby."
"My tribe is dead." The man replies and got both to look back at him with surprise. His eyes look down in sadness over the thought of mentioning his former tribe. He looks back to them to continue "That is the truth. Deny it or not, but my purpose is to fight until my enemies are dead."
"A warrior like you doesn't deserve to be in a cage like this. If you consider my alternative, I wish to conscript you into the Grey Wardens." Said Duncan "I trust you'll protect your new family in the Grey Wardens?"
"You'll trust a barbarian?" He asks
"Men and women from every race, from warriors and mages, barbarians and kings… Anyone with the skill and the will to take up arms against the Darkspawn are always welcome among us. I trust you'll focus your hate to your enemies and not with the friends beside you."
The barbarian smiles and responds "My name is Horus. And I am a Grey Warden."
And with that, a new recruit joins the Grey Wardens. He will equip his armour and joins Duncan by the nearby bonfire to meet with the other recruits. Horus arrives with his standard Avvar armour and his large sword on his back. He also wore a helmet with two curve horns on both sides of the helmet to intimidate his enemies.
"We're all here. Alistair, this is Horus, our new recruit."
"Really? W-Welcome to the Grey Wardens."
Horus nods and just stands a little distance from the others and keeps his arms cross.
"If you would introduce Horus to the other recruits." Said Duncan
"Of course." Alistair looks to the man with the leather armour "This is Daveth from Denerim."
"Greetings." Daveth nods towards Horus
"And this is Ser Jory, a knight from Redcliffe." Said Alistair when pointing to the almost bald man with the heavy armour.
"How do you do."
"And this is Theron from the Dalish." Alistair points to the only elf in the group.
"Greetings."
"Now then, since you are all here, we can begin." Duncan said with a serious tone "You five will be heading into the Korcari Wilds to perform two tasks. The first is to obtain four vials of Darkspawn blood, one for each recruit."
"Why Darkspawn blood?" Theron asks
"For the Joining itself. I'll explain more once you've returned."
"Well, I've already got the Darkspawn taint inside me so what more can this do?"
"You too?" Horus ask when looking towards Theron and him looking back towards him and nods. He scoffs and softly hits his back with his hand "Guess we're both dying."
"Anyways, the second task isn't part of the Joining, but a simple task as Grey Wardens. There was once a Grey Warden archive in the wilds, abandoned long ago when we could no longer afford to maintain such remote outposts. It has recently come to our attention that some scrolls have been left behind, magically sealed to protect them." Duncan then turns his head to Alistair and says this to him "Alistair, I want you to retrieve these scrolls if you can."
"It'll be done." Alistair nods
"Watch over your charges, Alistair. Return quickly, and safely."
"I will."
"Then may the Maker watch over your path. I will see you when you return."
The talk was over, and everyone turns around to take their leave from Ostagar together. While some are concern about the Avvar barbarian walking among them, he says nothing and follows the recruits into the wilds. He would sighs in relief to see and feel the wilds again, as it has been a while since he has been stuck inside Ostagar for a while. But as much as he wish to go wondering around to do whatever he wants, Alistair informs him he is in charge of this group and wishes for everyone to stay together as a team. And so all five members move together through the wilds to search for Darkspawn and the old ruins.
During the journey into the wilds, the first encounter is a pack of wolves that come rushing towards them for flesh. Next they encounter small groups of Darkspawn across the land, which gives them a chance to finally go all out with these monsters until all that was left are the Grey Wardens. After wiping out a small group of them, they got to work filling their vials with Darkspawn blood. Horus chooses to make things weird by decapitating a dead Darkspawn and held the head high to spill the blood into his vial.
Next they went to search for the ruins for the treaties. Alistair takes the lead and knows exactly where to go, but they had to engage a few more Darkspawn in the area first before they finally found it. The team went up the hill to reach the broken down ruins and search for anything they could find. All they found was a stone chest that is broken into pieces, but Alistair suspects this expose chest in the open area of the ruins is where he would find the treaties.
"There's nothing here…" Theron said when examining the inside of the chest.
Suddenly they hear a voice of a woman nearby. "Well, well, what have we here?" She stands on a higher position and looking down at them. She was quite the beauty, dressed in revealing clothing to expose much of her upper body. The moment they all turn towards her, she starts descending down the steps and continues. "Are you a vulture, I wonder? A scavenger poking amidst a corpse whose bones were long since cleaned? Or merely an intruder, come into these Darkspawn-filled wilds of mine in search of easy prey?"
Here she stands on the same level as the five men in front of her. She shows a calm expression, but no fear towards the men in front of her. She just crosses her arms and glares back them with her amber eyes. She asks "What say you, hmm? Scavengers or intruders?"
"I want to know where you came from." Theron spoke first
"You are the intruder, here. I believe the first question is rightfully mine." Said the woman. She then lowers her arms and starts walking around them while saying "I have watched your progress for some time. 'Where do they go', I wondered, 'why are they here?" She makes it to the edge of the cliff to look out into the wilds, while the group stays where they are and watches the woman. She turns around to face them again and finishes her sentence "And now you disturb ashes none have touched for so long. Why is that?"
Alistair interferes and whispers to the others "Don't answer her. She looks Chasind, and that means others may be nearby –"
"Oh you fear barbarians will swoop down upon you?" The woman said while mocking Alistair
Alistair looks to her and responds "Yes, swooping is bad…"
"If there's more of her, they would've attacked us by now." Horus replies "She's all alone, and that means she's dangerous."
"She's a Witch of the Wilds, she is! She'll turn us into toads!" Said Daveth while looking afraid and trembling at the thought of it.
"Witch of the Wilds?" The woman said while placing her hands on her hips "Such idle fancies, those legends. Have you no minds of your own?" She focus her eyes towards Theron and asks "You there, elf. You have nothing to fear from any witch. Tell me your name and I shall tell you mine. Let's be civilized."
"My name is Theron."
"And you can call me Morrigan." She replies. She changes the situation by crossing her arms and asks "Shall I guess your purpose? You sought something in that chest, something that is here no longer?" Her eyes glare towards the chest for a moment and then looks away from everyone.
"'Here no longer?' You stole them, didn't you? You're… Some kind of… Sneaky… Witch-Thief!" Alistair said while trying his very best to trash-talk her.
"How very eloquent." Morrigan looks to Alistair and asks "How does one steal from dead men?"
"Quite easily, it seems. Those documents are Grey Warden property, and I suggest you return them."
Morrigan looks annoyed and responds "I will not, for 'twas not I who removed them. Invoke a name that means nothing here any longer if you wish; I am not threatened."
"Then who removed them?" Theron asks
"Twas my mother, in fact."
"Your mother?"
"Yes, my mother. Did you assume I spawned from a log?" Morrigan asks and soon turns her back towards the group to look out into the wilds again
"A thieving, weird-talking log, perhaps." Said Alistair
"Not all wilds are monsters. Flowers grow, as well as toads. If you wish, I will take you to my mother. 'Tis not far from here, and you may ask her for your papers, if you like." Morrigan turns around to face them again.
"Here's a thought. Why don't we wait here, and you go and fetch them." Said Alistair
Morrigan did not like that and responds "I do not 'fetch'. If you wish to ask about your precious treaties, then come. Otherwise, stay."
"But she'll put us all in the pot, she will. Just you watch." Said Daveth
"If the pot's warmer than this forest, it'd be a nice change." Jory finally said something
"Follow me, then, if it pleases you." Morrigan turns around and walks away from the group. They follow her from behind and go further within the forest to meet with her mother.
Further away from the old ruins, the group arrive at a small hut in the middle of the forest. There was a nearby lake in the swamp and a campfire in front of the house. Outside the front of the hut, an old woman, dressed in old robes was standing there.
"Greetings, mother. I bring before you five Grey Wardens who –" Morrigan said as she approaches her mother and stands beside her to look back at the group in front of her.
Her mother interrupts her and replies "I see them, girl. Hmmmm. Much as I expected."
"Are we supposed to believe you were expecting us?" Said Alistair
"You are required to do nothing, least of all believe. Shut one's eyes tight or open one's arms wide… Either way, one's a fool!"
"She's a witch, I tell you! We shouldn't be talking to her!" Said Daveth while still terrifying at the thought of standing face to face with a witch of old legend
"Quiet, Daveth! If she's really a witch, do you want to make her mad?" Said Ser Jory
"There's a smart lad." The old woman replies and got both of them to look back at her "Sadly irrelevant to the larger scheme of things, but it is not I who decides. Believe what you will." Her eyes would gaze towards Theron and asks "And what of you? Does your elven mind give you a different viewpoint? What do you believe?"
"It doesn't really matter to me. All I know is that you have something that belongs to us." Theron replies
"True, you came for the treaties, yes?" The woman turns away and goes inside her hut while talking "And before you begin barking, your precious seal wore off long ago. I have protected these."
Alistair was surprise when she came out with the three treaties and replies "You… Oh. You protected them?"
"And why not? Take them to your Grey Wardens and tell them this threat is greater than they realize!"
"And what do you mean by that?" Said Horus
"Either the threat is more or they realize less. Or perhaps the threat is nothing! Or perhaps they realize nothing!" She starts laughing happily, while everyone looks at her with confusion. "Oh, do not mind me. You have what you came for."
"Time for you to go, then." Said Morrigan
Her mother looks to her and replies "Do not be ridiculous, girl. These are your guests."
"Oh, very well. I will show you out of the woods. Follow me."
Morrigan takes the lead again and brings the whole group back to Ostagar.
During the walk, Alistair asks "So that was the dreaded Witch of the Wilds?"
"She is not how I pictured it." Horus replies and looks at Morrigan at the front of the group. "But this one is something else."
"Are you satisfied, Daveth?" Jory says to Daveth "They didn't kill us or toss our bodies into the pot."
"We still haven't made it back to Ostagar. The sooner we get out of here the better." Said Daveth
As soon as they saw the sight of Ostagar, Morrigan stops and starts walking away from the group. "There it is. Time for me to go." She said and starts walking back into the wilds.
The group returns safely into Ostagar and standing together in front of Duncan. Alistair shows the treaties to Duncan, but he asks him to hold onto them. All four of the Grey Warden recruits would show the vials of Darkspawn blood inside to show they have complete both tasks and ready to prepare the Joining. Duncan takes the vials off of them, then orders Alistair to take them somewhere private to wait until they are ready to begin the Joining.
During the conversations between the recruits, Duncan arrives at the scene with a white chalice in both hands. "At last we have come to the Joining." He said when walking past the group and coming towards a stone table close by to place the chalice down. He explains to them the history and truth of the Joining. "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 of Darkspawn blood and mastered their taint."
"We're doing what?" Horus looks to Duncan with confusion
"We're… Going to drink the blood of those… Those creatures?" Ser Jory asks with a disgusted expression on his face. He was about to act the same way Daveth felt when they found a witch.
"As the first Grey Wardens did before us, as we did before you. This is the source of our power and our victory." Said Duncan
"But I'm already infected by the Darkspawn." Said Horus
"It's more than that. Those who survive the Joining become immune to the taint. We can sense it in the Darkspawn and use it to slay the Archdemon." Alistair explains to them
"So this is why it's a secret. This is dangerous, isn't it?" Theron asks
"Yes." Duncan nods "Not all survive drinking the blood and those that do are forever changed. This is why the Joining is a secret. It is the price we pay. We speak only a few words prior to the Joining, but these words have been said since the first. Alistair, if you would?"
Alistair nods and lowers his head to face down to the floor before saying the words of the Joining. "Join us, brothers and sisters. Join us in the shadows where we stand, vigilant. –"
While he was talking, Jory was still looking uncomfortable about this whole thing. He looks towards the chalice on the stone table, knowing what is inside of it and what he has to do in order to become a Grey Warden. He was beginning to have second thoughts about this.
"Join us as we carry the duty that cannot be forsworn. And should you perish, know that your sacrifice will not be forgotten and that one day, we shall join you."
Duncan takes the chalice and calls Daveth to step forward. Daveth becomes the first to drink from the chalice. Duncan takes the chalice away from him and takes a few steps away to watch the process. Everything was calm at first, but then things starts to change when he stumbles back, struggling to stay standing and pressing his hands against his throat. He starts groaning in pain over the effects, as well as the struggle to breathe. He looks up at Duncan to show his eyes have gone completely white.
"Maker's breath!" Jory gasps and starts panicking.
In the end, Daveth could no longer stay standing and collapses onto the floor. Duncan replies "I am sorry, Daveth." As he knows straight away that Daveth is about to leave this world.
"Step forward, Horus." Duncan turns his attention towards Horus, while quickly forgetting about the dead body on the ground.
Horus sighs and takes a step towards Duncan. He takes the chalice and looks at the blood inside the chalice. Before he drinks, he says one last thing before drinking "If I die here…. At least I can reunite with my family." And then he drinks from the chalice.
Duncan takes a step back while holding the chalice to watch the effect. Horus' eyes went white just like Daveth, but he never groans or suffers as if he is suffocating and just collapses hard onto the floor.
"He lives." Duncan said and looks towards Ser Jory "Step forward, Jory."
Jory choose to take a few steps back and continues to be afraid. He would draw his sword and says to Duncan "But… I-I have a wife. A child! Had I known…"
"There is no turning back." Said Duncan with a serious look on his face
Jory finds himself pressing his back against the stone walls behind him and responds "No! You ask too much! There is no glory in this!"
Duncan drew his weapon and approaches Jory. Everyone watches in shock to see the two clashing their swords against each other, but it was Duncan who wins by thrusting his sword into his chest. He gasps and cries out in pain, while Duncan says to him "I am sorry." Before pulling the sword out of him and watches Jory collapses onto the floor.
Alistair and Theron look in shock to see Duncan kill a comrade. Duncan turns his attention towards Theron and continues with the Joining.
"The Joining is not yet complete. You are called upon to submit yourself to the taint for the greater good." Said Duncan as he offers the chalice to Theron.
Theron drinks from the chalice, despite seeing what just happen here. He was going to die anyway, so he chooses to die here now or suffer a slow death later.
"From this moment forth, you are a Grey Warden."