From Stone To Sky

by Rol IV

"From Stone to Sky" tells the poignant story of Duran Aeducan, a dwarven noble from Orzammar who has lost everything to betrayal. For the first time, he steps out of the dark depths into the radiant surface world—a place he has only heard of in tales. A collection of short tales of the dwarfen warden that you don't see, in this kind of detail, in the game! Also some new stuff!

1. Prologue

- Canticle of Threnodies, Chapter 8 Verse 13 -
"And so is the Golden City blackened
With each step you take in my Hall.
Marvel at perfection, for it is fleeting.
You have brought Sin to Heaven
And doom upon all the world."

"The Chantry teaches us that it is the hubris of men which brought the darkspawn into our world. The mages had sought to usurp Heaven. But instead, they destroyed it.
They were cast out, twisted and cursed by their own corruption. They returned as monsters, the first of the darkspawn. They became a blight upon the lands, unstoppable and relentless.

The dwarven kingdoms were the first to fall. And from the Deep Roads, the darkspawn drove at us again and again, until finally we neared annihilation... until the Grey Wardens came.
Men and women from every race, warriors and mages, barbarians and kings, the Grey Wardens sacrificed everything to stem the tide of darkness, and prevailed.

It has been four centuries since that victory, and we have kept our vigil. We have watched and waited for the darkspawn to return. But those who once called us heroes have forgotten. We are few now, and our warnings have been ignored for too long. It may even be too late, for I have seen with my own eyes what lies upon the horizon. Maker help us all."

Duncan's voice was heavy with the weight of centuries, his gaze distant as he spoke. The crackling campfire cast flickering shadows across his worn face, his armor dull from years of service. The assembled warriors listened in silence, their expressions grim.

He continued, his tone unwavering. "The darkspawn never truly left, but their numbers dwindled, and the surface world became complacent. Yet deep beneath the earth, they gathered, biding their time. The Grey Wardens knew what the signs meant—the stirrings in the Deep Roads, the corruption seeping into the land, the nightmares of those attuned to the Blight. The Fifth Blight is upon us."

Duncan's eyes met each of them in turn. "We will fight, as we have always fought. We will stand against the tide, no matter the cost. The battle ahead will test us all, but if we do not rise to meet it, all of Thedas will burn."