[IC] Dragon Age: Warden's Folly

[Apollosarcher]

Daeron: Tevinter Border Fort

Daeron sat outside the Chantry gates offering food to a group of children that he the last patrol had picked up. He planed for them to be sent to Wheisshaupt Fortress to help care for the aging building. They would travel along with his Warden Recruits and a senior Warden. However right now he was awaiting his team, a call had gone out and answers had come from unlikely sources. Daeron would soon have a team of mages, warriors, and other assorted champions at his back. They had been told they were searching for an Archdemon but the truth was, they were searching for one of the seven. Seven high priests of the old gods had become the original Darkspawn, one was dead and the Warden commander claimed another to be dead as well.

Daeron waved Valya as she walked the walls with three of her comrades, the other Grey Wardens from her joining. The mage Elf was from the city, an alienage to be precise she always asked him about being Dalish and he always told her stories of it. They had been working together for years, on something Wardens had kept secret and in waiting. The Elf patted a young human boy on the head as he got up and walked up to the gate. This old Fort was set along a road that lead right into the heart Tevinter, Soldiers from the Anderfels, Grey Wardens, and dwarves fresh from Kal'Sharok have arrived to defend and drive back any Dark spawn. The dwarves seem eager to fight Darkspawn alongside them, perhaps it was simply the hatred they had for the beast.

From up in the watch tower he heard the call of one of the lookouts. "Darkspawn raiding party! I can't make out a number but the it looks like at least thirty. Inside the Chantry they began to sing, they thought faith would save or at least faith in their protectors.

He hadn't time to go check if his comrades had arrived, Daeron the ranking Grey Warden began to issue orders. "All Wardens to the stables. Warden recruits to the walls along with the Dwarves, lets make it quick people!" He yelled as they all scrambled up into their positions. The Darkspawn had entered the valley below when the first arrows hit them.

The Darkspawn did not fear much, nor retreat yet what came next made them pause as if to question the reality of the situation. Five Grey Wardens, Daeron out in front of them came over the wall on Griffons, the majestic creatures had been rediscovers nearly fifteen years ago thanks to Valya and her breeding program they now had well over fifty griffons. Daeron had been working with them to train and relearn the lost art of griffon combat, Daeron released arrows, Valya let of spells other dived driving lances and sword into the unprepared creatures. They had numbers but now the they had flight. From the walls he heard cheers as refugees and soldiers alike cheered for the Wardens.

Right now they were most deadly things in the sky. As the Darkspawn thinned and eventually began to retreat he landed back in the court yard the other Wardens going out after them. Petting Storm Beak's mane he smiled. "Very good girl, you showed those Darkspawn huh? I'm gonna give you a nice rub down and a sheep for dinner, sound good Beaky?" The Griffon responded by putting it's wing over him and cawing in strange bird-like roar.

[Eisenhorn]

"...Ignore the mortals plight, spill their blood...

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

...Blood is blood, empower yourself through us..."

"Be still for one Maker forsaken day, curse you all." 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. "Warden Daeron, I presume? Ansgar Staudinger, of Ferelden. I answer the call to arms."

"...Griffon's blood, old blood, strong blood..."

[Demon Grave]

"Blessed are they who stand before
The corrupt and the wicked and do not falter.
Blessed are the peacekeepers, the champions of the just.
Blessed are the righteous, the lights in the shadow.
In their blood the Maker's will is written.
My shield is the open hand of the Maker
To protect His children with his Light
My sword is His closed fist
To smite the wicked and purge the corrupt
My life is the Maker's, not my own
For if I fall today I will not die
Instead I shall return to His side
To watch over His children till my vigil be done."

Prayed Torian as knelt before his sword and shield. The sword was stuck upright in the ground with his shield leaning against it. An ornate crosspiece with the sun of the Chantry emblazoned upon it was his focus. The ground was cold and wet under his knees, and has been for the entire four hours he had been praying. Yet he did not feel it for the light of the Maker warmed his body and allowed him to ignore the small discomfort of the earth.

As he finished his prayer Torian stood, his heavy armor clanking against itself as he moved. He lifted his shield, the Templar's sigil shining brightly in the sun, and finally his sword, wiping the dirt from the blade on his cloak before sliding into its sheath at his side.

Looking around himself Torian admired the fortress where the Wardens had gathered their recruits. It was an impressive place and Torian was glad to finally be a part of the events that had shaken the world. For too long he had been cast in the shadows of history, unable to step into the light to aid the land he loved, and protect the Maker's children. Now he was at the vanguard of the world and he would not be found wanting.

Torian was torn from his inner thoughts when a cry of Darkspawn came from the watchtower. One of the Grey Wardens called out orders and the fort scrambled to follow. Being a recruit himself Torian was supposed to go the walls, but he had no bow, so instead he went to the gates. Donning his winged Templar Helm Torian then drew his blade and readied himself should anything come close to the gates. Unfortunately for him nothing did. The Wardens and their griffons made very short work of the small Darkspawn raiding party. It was a sight to behold still, watching the glorious creatures take wing and bear their riders to rid the world of the corruption before them.

Once the all clear was given Torian sheathed his blade once more and looked about. In his determination to serve this cause he had yet to report to the Warden's leader. He spotted the Dalish Elf dismounting his griffon, he quickly approached, his cloak blowing out behind him. As did another man in heavy armor that Torian saw out of the corner of his eye.

Hearing the man's introduction as he came to the Warden leader, Torian went to a knee before the elf and bowed his head. "And I as well, Milord. Torian Aldritch, Templar of the Order." He said proudly as he knelt, awaiting the Commander's word.

[Argetlam350]

"Remind me once more why we are aiding the Wardens?" the qunari asked her dwarf as they walked down the trail that would lead them to the fort where the Wardens were recruiting. Her companion gave a sigh of annoyance, tired of trying to explain why they were going to help the Wardens. One issue with the Qunari was that they never had to deal with a Blight. Most had never seen a darkspawn until this blight started. His tall counterpart wasn't an exception. She had seen few from afar when they traveled but without an Archdemon, they were unorganized, deadly none the less however. Now with another Blight seemingly upon Thedas and the rest of the world, it was important to get as many able hands to fight the threat.

"Because Zeynep, they need experienced fighters, people with certain skills, and the possibility of payment perhaps or something. Besides that last job in Kirkwall didn't exactly make us any friends better to let that cool off before returning." This is as much as the dwarf said, to tired to repeat the rest of his rant. Zeynep only gave a grunt and looked around, as if waiting for something to attack. She herself had good reason to worry however. Not only were they closing in on the border of Tevinter where qunari didn't have a rather great reputation, she was Saarebas turned Tal Voshoth, a betrayer of the Qun. She was much an outsider to her own people as well as most other races, the qunari not entirely being tolerable of the qunari.

They reached the fort by midday, and entered to the bustling and hustle of men preparing to fight. A griffon flew over them leaving Gavlan in amazement."Bless the ancestors. I only heard of Griffon's in stories," he said before returning to the task at hand ",Well guess we should find the head guy of this outfit and report in. Look on the bright side Zeynep, a qunari on their side might scare the Darkspawn."

"I doubt it after Par Vollen," Zeynep said with a frown making Gavlan curse at his mistake."Right well let us look around bound to find the guy somewhere," Gavlan replied quickly. Of course for a dwarf it was difficult to see everything through a bunch of legs, this was where Zeynep's increased height came into hand, being able to gaze over the top of most of the heads."Perhaps we should try the knife ear dismounting the griffon," she stated pointing over to where he was.

"Right good eyes lass but probably should refrain from calling him a knife ear," Gavlan reminded her as they parted a group of people in their path.

[Lionheart]

Garen had arrived at the Tevinter Border Fort an hour or so before midday. He heard the lookouts raise the alarm and watched from his perch in northeast corner of the courtyard as the Wardens unveiled their new playthings, the griffons. Was it impressive? Sure, but was it enough to stop the neverending hordes of Darkspawn? That remained to be seen.

After the attack ended, a few warriors gathered in the center of the courtyard in front of one of the wardens, an elf by the look of him. By the way some had been treating him it was a fair bet he was the man that Garen was supposed to see. He had no issues taking orders from an elf, heck one of the Dragon Heads had been one. Still it surprised him how eager some seemed to take his direction. Still, it was time to make his presence known. So he approached, his footsteps quiet to even the most attuned ears.

He came up behind a Qunari and a dwarf, content to stand there and listen to whatever speech was going to be held. He knew for a fact the elven warden could see him, and that was enough. His fingers ran along the runes carved into the hilt of the sword on his left hip, Tân, as he waited.

[Apollosarcher]

Daeron turned to face the few that had gathered around him. He first looked to Ansgar carefully, nodding to the man. "I'm a Warden Constable, specifically Ferelden's."

He told them still petting the Griffin as both of them looked between the those arranged before them. "I see you've all come to answer the call. I'll make this quick, as were leaving in just a few hours." He patted the Griffin under her wing and she slowly walked off picking at rats and such. "The Qunari and the Tevinters have been decimated. The Archdemon was sighted near the capital which the Darkspawn destroyed." He looked at the Qunari mage and then the dwarf. "The army will be three to four days behind us and a team of Grey Wardens on Griffin back will fly in to face the Archdemon. A secondary objective we have been given is locate capture a Qunari ship, the canons on board them would allow us to bring down the Archdemon."

He sat a moment and shifted. "Our other concern is that another one of the seven original Darkspawn could be behind this. You all remember Corpyheus and his near destruction of the world, the Wardens are worried more like him could exist. Now they know the Wardens can always destroy their Blights, they may target us next. The attacks we've seen match nothing we have ever encountered before and we know nothing of what happened on Par Vollen save only that this Blight started their." He told them everything he knew so far. He needed these people to trust him if they were to survive this journey.

[Oak7ree]

Fourth week on the road, and Ser Gyles Hawthorne's mood was as bad as it might get. I am getting too old for long trips, it seems. But there are darkspawn to be killed, and loot to be gathered, so I can't just whimper out of this opportunity, he thought. He was holding a palaver with one of his men, a scout named Harding, who hailed from Ferelden. Gyles' company had stopped marching and most of the men were eating supper, a soup with deer meat, mushrooms and roots in it.

"The Tevinter's border fort is not so far away, commander. A couple of hours ride from here" scout Harding said to Gyles. "There the Wardens should be."

"Let us hope so. I'd like to have some shelter and warm fireplace after few weeks of tenting in the wilds" Gyles said mildly. "Get some supper and get back to the formation, Harding, and send out Michael. It's his turn." It had been weeks since he and his company of about fifty men had seen a village, and it had had a poor brothel. Along the way to the north towards the Tevinter territory he had recruited about fifty men, all from different nations and villages. Most were Fereldan and some were from Orlais. A couple of the recruits were even from the Free Marches or Rivain, but luckily all of them were capable soldiers and knew which end of a sword to hold.

At first, they had resented and distrusted each other, but the during the past few months they had been together the men had grown bonds between them that only soldiers knew, and Gyles for happy for that. Gyles had noticed that if a man fought not for himself but for his unit and his comrades, even a small company could hold its ground against a great enemy army. Of course, the company also needed training and drilling beyond measure, and supplies also helped. But Gyles had all of his trust placed on his men.

After the meal, they packed their goods and started to march forwards, and in few hours the company reached the border fort. A young man, apparently in his early twenties, appeared at the top of the gatehouse. "Halt!" he shouted to Ser Gyles, who was riding as the first man of the company "Who are you, and on what business?"

"The name's Gyles Hawthorne of Ferelden, and remember to add a ser when you address me if we converse later. I heard that the Wardens would need some assistance, and that they would pay handsomely those who helped them. I sent my answer to your commander few months ago, but my company and I were slightly delayed by a small battle in Orlais."

"I see. Wait for a moment, I'll go to confirm from my captain" the young man said, and in a matter of seconds he was gone.

About fifteen minutes later the gates opened, and the company entered the fort. Gyles glanced around, and noticed a circle around a young elven Grey Warden. He jumped from his destrier's back and walked to the group. "Who's in command here, Warden?"

[Apollosarcher]

Daeron looked to the new arrival. "That would be me, it's Warden Constable actually." He whistled and his Griffin returned to his side. "Horse's are being arranged for travel as we speak and we will be on the road in an hour. The other Wardens and my most of the recruits will be heading back to join the armies. Should an of you wish to join the order on this trip I have the materiel's needed for that." He continued as he saddled his Griffin. "We will run across survivors fleeing Tevinter, we cannot stop to aid them, the Archdemon and the horde is primary concern and if delay with survivor their will only be more deaths." He stated in a very calm and collect manner pulling on his helmet.

The Warden then carefully looked over all those before him. "Should we get into a fight with one of the Seven original Darkspawn my orders are very clear... You are to kill me and any other Grey Wardens in our company." He told them that knowing he was ready to die to end such a beast that craved only death and carnage. "It's become clear that that those individuals can influence and claim the minds of Grey Wardens." He looked over them all. "If anyone wants to back out now is the time, once we enter Tevinter there is no going back." He warned as fresh strong horse's were brought out, Anderfels horse's, larger than most and able to carry even a Qunari they were strong battle mounts thank to harsh conditions they endured.