[i]"...Ignore the mortals plight, spill their blood...

...Warden blood is little better than Darkspawn...

...Blood is blood, empower yourself through us..."[/i]

[color=0076a3]"Be still for one Maker forsaken day, curse you all."[/color] Ansgar Staudinger muttered to himself, walking the lonesome road to the Tevinter Border Fort and having no company besides the demonic voices in his head. They had grown restless as of late, knowing full well bloodshed was coming and were yet kept in check by his will. The foreboding figure walked at a brisk pace, with clear purpose as the fort grew larger as he closed the distance between himself and the staging area for the push into Tevinter. And the Darkspawn area, he could tell the demons were eager to spill the blood of such corrupt creatures. That typically overrode their desire to kill everything that wasn't them, or in this case Staudinger himself included, which made fighting alongside allies blessedly easier to accomplish, more so than the constant struggle of wills to keep his body from turning the great, abyss black greatsword on his back onto those around him as well as those blatantly opposing him. The blade sat heavy on his back, the weapon sheathed yet still was clearly a unique piece of work, not related to any normal forge pieces made for large numbers of soldiers. His armor also stood out, older in design, rebuilt out of old Ferelden Knight's armor that had seen better days, but was just as good as the armor anyone today would wear. Without the embellishments and useless add ons beyond his small shoulder cloak wrapped around his shoulders. It was the remains of his old regiment's standard, reclaimed from Ostagar after the blight was broken, and worn in memory of them, as the last of their ranks.

Entering the fort, as Staudinger was expected as he had responded to the summons before his arrival, he noticed the sheer diversity in troops. Wardens, obviously going to be present, dwarves didn't surprise him either. They had an entire legion dedicated to the slaughter of Darkspawn, to an extreme those who have not met the legionnares could unlikely fathom. Regular men from the Anderfells, too, but he did not put them down at all. Regular soldiers held the line if heroes were needed to win wars, and rarely got the recognition they deserved. He knew that from personal experience, having been one of those faceless mass of soldiers that would fight day in and day out, for little recognition and not much better in pay and reward. But there was little to be done for it, after all, he was but one man, nearly broken so many times he teetered on that precipice constantly now, and that would not change anytime soon. So as he walked, ignored and even feared by some of the men he passed, for the abomination he had become, he did not make their days any worse than they already were. Instead, he heard the call away for a Darkspawn scouting party, and broke into a run that was deceptively fast for his armor, towards the walls.

The flight of Griffons surprised him, he certainly had never seen one in the flesh and had dismissed them as a fairy tale these days. Then again, with the past years events seeing plenty of so called legends becoming real, all too real for his tastes at times, the fact the Wardens had gone and tamed Griffons was not nearly as off putting or surprising as he could have let it be. The Darkspawn were shredded with no casualties on the part of the defenders, thankfully, and once the Wardens landed he spotted a Dalish elf amongst them. That was the Warden he was supposed to be reporting to, and the armored knight approached the Warden, electing glances and unease in anything near him, from his presence alone. Stopping several paces away, he spoke surprisingly quietly, and yet was clearly heard despite that. The distance was reinforced by the Griffon's wing around the elf. It wasn't too surprising, really, a Dalish in tune with the natural beings such as these. [color=0076a3]"Warden Daeron, I presume? Ansgar Staudinger, of Ferelden. I answer the call to arms."[/color]

[i]"...Griffon's blood, old blood, strong blood..."[/i]