I am Lena Wolf, Lena's life as it happens Options

[Lena Wolf]

Midyear, 3E387 - Taking sides

"I cannot forgive you that you allowed Branka to live and make more golems," Wynne frowned when they got to the camp. "Their spirits will be tortured, stuck in those stone bodies."

"Are you sure?" Wolf squinted. "I know it was what you would call an immoral choice. But do tell how it is that you know about the torture of the spirits. I think there's more to your argument than just morality."

"Well... I suppose it's time I told you," Wynne nodded. "There is a spirit living inside me... It saved my life and it is through it that I am still living. It sustains me... I don't believe I could be alive without it. It does not impose its thinking on me, I am still my own person... for the most part..."

"Except when it comes to standing up for the spirits of those dwarves, the spirits that are going to be confined to stone bodies instead of their original dwarven ones," Wolf nodded. "I see. So how shall I address you then? Wynne or Spirit?"

"Ah..." Wynne shook her head. "I fear you are right. Spirit, in this instance, I think... But it is a good and benevolent spirit! Not like any of those demons!!"

"Oh, I am sure that's true," Wolf nodded. "Your mind is not clouded by excessive anger or thirst for knowledge or anything like that. But the Spirit inside you has an agenda, and when events here touch it, it takes over. Like now."

"I..." Wynne looked lost. "I think you are right... Did Morrigan tell you this? She noticed it a while ago already."

"Morrigan?" Wolf looked up. "I haven't talked to her about this yet..."

"But you two spend most nights together..."

"Well, we aren't exactly discussing spirits, if you know what I mean..."

"I know what you mean, young man," Wynne laughed, releasing the tension. "I was young once... and even after that... but never mind," she smiled at him. "The question you want to ask is of course whether the spirit inside me is going to be a problem, whether I am going to be subdued and taken over by it. I do not believe so. And as proof, I am going to completely ignore the fact that you made an immoral choice regarding the golems. I am clear-headed enough to see its strategic value, both for the Grey Wardens in the fight against this Blight, and for the dwarves themselves in protecting their kingdom from the ever present darkspawn in the Deep Roads. I only hope that Branka will be less willing to accommodate petty requests for golems and will stop before too many dwarves are sacrificed... and if anyone can stand up to a king, it is she... a stronger-willed woman is hard to imagine."

"Branka has a one track mind, but she is not evil," Oghren joined them, overhearing the last sentence. "I know it doesn't look that way seeing how she sacrificed her whole House... but I know her better than she knows herself. You'll see."

"I didn't like that decision either," Alistair was drawn to the conversation as well. "It's immoral. What Branka did turning her House into darkspawn... that's abhorrent! I can't believe you let her live!" He glared at Wolf.

"I let her live because the choice was between her and the old smith that had been turned into a golem," Wolf replied. "That smith had an agenda. He wanted to destroy his invention because it was 'evil'. He was ridden with guilt for what happened to too many dwarves, and he wanted to soothe his ego. Oh, Branka has an ego the size of the Empire as well, sure, but she wanted to raise the Dwarven Kingdom out of the decline. Between the two of them, I chose Branka because she is looking ahead while the old smith was looking back."

"Hmm... Well, it's done now..." Alistair shook his head. "I suppose if I wanted things to be done my way, I should not have let you be the leader..." He walked off, still shaking his head.

That night Wolf slept in his own tent. His choice of Branka and her golems weighed heavily upon him, even though he might have looked unwavering to the others. He had to make a choice and he made it, and now he had to stand firm as the others voiced their objections, even if many of them resonated with him, too. Stand firm, or else that choice would be undone, resulting in a loss of both choices.

...

"This was the last of the treaties," Alistair spoke at breakfast. He no longer looked torn, he too must have spent a sleepless night. "We have assembled the forces as best we could. We should return to Arl Eamon and tell him we're ready for the Landsmeet."

"Go to Arl Eamon, aye," Wolf nodded. "But are we ready? Have you decided whether you want to be King?"

"I have and I do not," Alistair drew himself up. "I might still be forced into it if... well... depending on what happens next... But my choice would be to remain a Grey Warden."

"Arl Eamon is not going to like it," Wolf shook his head. "He's been really pushing for your candidacy... Why is that, do you think?"

"Well, he is my uncle..." Alistair looked sideways. "While I do not believe that he would want the throne for himself, he does have a son..."

"And you have no children," Wolf gave him a long look. "Yet."

"And I won't have any, if I can help it," Alistair nodded. "Give it a few more years, and I won't be able to, anyway... the taint, you know. It destroys your body over time. Grey Wardens should not have children even while they still can because those children would be born tainted."

"Yes, producing more darkspawn is not something we should be striving for," Wolf smirked. "Seems wrong, somehow."

They laughed, then Alistair continued in a lighter tone.

"We'll speak with Arl Eamon, he will be pressuring me into taking the crown, I'd like to avoid it if I can, but ultimately I understand my responsibility... Ferelden needs a ruler. So if I have to, I'll give it my best... But I sure hope it could be avoided..."

...

The conversations that followed went just as Alistair had predicted. Arl Eamon was adamant that Alistair should become King, and Alistair kept rebuffing it. Finally, the day of the Landsmeet drew near and the capital was filled with nobility.

"The queen has asked you to come and speak with her," Arl Eamon addressed Wolf. "The late King's widow, yes. I expect she will ask for your support in crowning her as the new ruler of Ferelden. I hope you understand that you have to refuse. Alistair will be King."

"I hear you, Arl Eamon," Wolf nodded. "I'll go talk to the queen."

Wolf walked away, and Arl Eamon followed him with his gaze. "Hmm... He said he heard me... he didn't say he'd do as I asked..."

The queen was a very business-like woman. She had ruled the country from the shadow of her husband the late King because he could not stand all the boring details, as she put it. She had been a good ruler. People loved her as well as they loved their late King.

"It is in the best interests of Ferelden to maintain the same governance, especially with the Blight on our doorstep," she looked straight at Wolf. "Alistair is very much like his late half-brother: he hates the boring details. I would be a better ruler than he."

"So, why are you talking to me about this, exactly?" Wolf squinted. "Isn't it up to the Landsmeet? Isn't there going to be a vote to put one of you on the throne? I am an outsider in this."

"Yes, I noticed your foreign accent," the queen smiled. "Not an accent I recognise... What are you? You're not an observer, you're too close to it... Then what? An agent sent to meddle in our political affairs?" She squinted, but Wolf wasn't fooled - she didn't believe it herself.

"I am here to fight the Blight," he answered. "Not to meddle in your politics, no. I didn't want to meddle in the politics at Orzammar either, but there was no other way. I seem to have to take sides wherever I go, and Alistair being a prince does not help at all. He does not want to be King, by the way. But if there is even the slightest possibility of seeing him persecuted under your rule, you can forget about my support."

"I... thank you for your candid response," the queen said slowly. "Yes, normally the first thing I would do as a crowned Queen is behead him... to protect my throne, you see. Perhaps not so much from Alistair himself, as I believe you that he doesn't want it, but from his future children..."

"Grey Wardens don't have children, My Lady," Wolf shook his head. "The taint, you see... It would be a bad idea even if it were possible."

"Oh my goodness, yes, of course!" The queen exclaimed with a visible relief. "I had not thought of that... Well, that changes things, indeed! If I don't need to expect any royal bastards from him... then, I suppose, I could just lock him up in a tower instead," she beamed at Wolf.

"No."

"Oh, you are a hard man to please!" She pouted her lips. "Very well. I swear that Alistair will be left alone as long as he remains a Grey Warden and stays out of politics. And swears a public vote of allegiance to me, of course."

"Well... that sounds good and proper... but will you keep this promise, I wonder?" Wolf said softly. "You do realise, of course, that your father, General Loghain, will be executed."

"By whom?" The queen smirked. "If I am Queen..."

"By those whom he wronged," Wolf's voice sounded hard and cold. "You are the late King's widow, and you are a widow through your father's actions."

"I..." The queen swallowed hard. "But he is my father!"

"If you wish to be the ruler of Ferelden, you have to see justice done. He betrayed the late King and the Grey Wardens at Ostagar. He cannot be allowed to live."

The queen walked back and forth in the room, clearly in turmoil.

"I understand..." She finally spoke. "I shall not order his execution but I will not stand in your way if you do, before I am crowned..." She made an effort to control herself. "My promise to leave Alistair alone so long as he remains a Grey Warden, still stands."

"Very well," Wolf nodded. "We'll see how things go during the Landsmeet. But if Alistair's future in our Order is assured, I shall support your bid for the throne. That does require that Ferelden once again has an official Order of Grey Wardens, complete with a base and all, you understand..."

The queen remained silent for a moment, a searching look on her face.

"Who are you really, Warden?" She asked quietly. "This isn't your first negotiation... Does your Empire plan an invasion of Thedas?"

"No such thing," Wolf shook his head. "I told you the truth - I am here to fight the Blight. Stop it from spilling over... Our goals align on this, My Lady."

"And so it would seem," she nodded. "Well, it does fit with your requests, anyway. Ferelden should restore its Order of Grey Wardens that was lost... what..? some three hundred years ago?" She shot a glance at Wolf but he intercepted it. Grey Warden affairs were confidential and he was not about to divulge what they had learned at the Soldier's Peak. "Fine, don't tell me," she smiled. "I can see that you know that story, one way or the other... But the current Blight made it abundantly clear that we cannot afford not to have Grey Wardens here. I shall do as you ask."

...

The Landsmeet took place the following day. As expected, Loghain attempted to sway the nobility to crown him as the ruler of Ferelden. But too many chose to side with the late King, believing that it was Loghain's betrayal that led to disaster at Ostagar. Loghain's next move was predictable: he accused Wolf and Alistair of plotting to take over the throne, with Alistair as King and Wolf as the actual ruler behind him. "A puppet and his puppeteer", as he put it. That remark was his final mistake. Wolf declared it to be an insult, thus demanding to duel Loghain then and there. Heads turned - most people thought it was suicide. "Death by General Loghain," some whispered.

A duel was announced. They would fight until one of them yielded, or until death, as the case might be. The Landsmeet would then abide by the result of the duel.

Loghain was a serious opponent. A seasoned fighter in a massive suit of armour that he wore as easily as a chamber dress, against a lightly armoured Grey Warden with a small shield with a spike and a curious glittering sword. "The Warden stands no chance," was the verdict.

And then something unexpected happened - the Warden cut his wrist and a spray of blood hit his opponent, with a few drops landing on the skin. Loghain reeled in pain... and something else... Was that horror? No, horror came later, when the Warden lunged forward, his sword extended, the spike of his shield flying into Loghain's face and drawing blood... The old General was stunned - in all his years he never fought a Reaver before, nor a Berserker, nor a Grey Warden... nor a Dragonborn. "Use your blood! Your dragon blood!" Morrigan's words rang in Wolf's ears. "Dominate the battlefield!" His old Legate's words mixed with Morrigan's. "The Legion's Might stands behind you, Agent!" Wolf lunged and lunged again, his exquisitely sharp sword delivering blow after blow into the kinks of the General's armour, into the joints not even protected by a layer of chainmail, either out of concern for excessive weight or out of overconfidence... "Blood magic is wrong, except may be when it is used for all the right reasons..." He recalled overhearing a heated argument between Wynne and Morrigan. "You cannot accept just a little blood magic!" Morrigan retorted. "It's either all or nothing!"

"Krii Lun Aus!" The words rose in Wolf's mind, something he read on a wall in the tallest tower of an isolated castle back in Skyrim. "Kill, Leach, Suffer!" A death mark. A dragon rose before his eyes; was that the Archdemon? It was hard to tell, they all looked so alike... It breathed fire, but instead of burning, it filled Wolf's lungs with air, ready to be expelled. "Krii Lun Aus!" He shouted, and cracks appeared in the General's armour, sweat beads covering his forehead.

"Enough, I yield, Warden," Loghain sank to his knees and Wolf stopped his attacks. "I haven't witnessed such power since... well... in a very long time. I see now that Grey Wardens aren't just soldiers with a fancy name, after all."

"Grey Warden won the duel!" Someone declared. "Now, Warden, whom do you endorse as the ruler of Ferelden?"

"Ah, no, not yet," Wolf looked around. "General Loghain must see justice done first." The hall went quiet. Everyone held their breath, but no one objected either. "For his treason of the late King and Grey Wardens at Ostagar I call for an execution!"

The silence in the hall was so absolute, all could hear the queen's stifled gasp.

"Wait, there is another option," a third Grey Warden entered the hall. "I am just coming from Ostagar... we lost a lot of men," he looked at Wolf and Alistair, the last remaining Grey Wardens of Ferelden. "I propose we induct General Loghain into our Order. He could be a valuable ally."

"No way!!" Alistair's face contorted with rage. "No disrespect to you, Warden, ah, yes, I do remember you... but you weren't at Ostagar when we got overwhelmed! I stand by Wolf's call for an execution!"

The third Warden didn't insist. He nodded with sadness and stepped back, letting Wolf and Alistair take it from there.

"You do it," Wolf turned to Alistair. "For Duncan."

"Oh, I have no problem with that," Alistair pulled out his sword. "Not this time..."

He took a mighty swing and hit Loghain's neck just above the line of his armour. Justice was done.




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Oct 3 2024, 05:34 PM

[Lena Wolf]

Midyear, 3E387 - Friends

After Loghain's execution, the question of the next ruler of Ferelden was settled very quickly. Arl Eamon insisted it should be Alistair, but the queen put forward her own candidacy. The Landsmeet however reminded them both that it was up to Wolf to name the next ruler since he won the duel against Loghain. Wolf endorsed the queen, as they had agreed, and she demanded an oath of allegiance from Alistair renouncing any and all claims to the throne for himself or any of his descendents, should he have children later. Alistair was all too happy to oblige, sighing a huge sigh of relief. Arl Eamon too sighed a sigh, but that one was of disappointment. With Alistair's abdication of his claim to the throne, Arl Eamon's potential claim also became void.

"And now we must unite and stand against the Blight!" The queen rallied the nobles. No one needed rallying, really, but she did it anyway. Wolf still had a few errands to run in the capital, but was planning to leave for the rendez-vous within the next few days.

Running around the capital, they got intercepted quite a few times, mostly by bandits. "Someone really needs to clean up this town!" Wolf complained after yet another battle.

"Oh no, I got blood all over me again!" Zevran tried to wipe clean his expensive drakeskin armour. "Well... I suppose I'll just have to have it dyed in 'Blood Drop' next time..."

"Hello, Zevran," a person they hadn't noticed before, stepped forward from the shadows. "I couldn't believe it when they told me, but I see it is true - you defected."

"And so they sent you after me, you of all people!" Zevran smirked. "The Crows really have a sense of humour."

"Oh no, I volunteered as soon as this contract was issued. To bring down great Zevran..! How could I pass it up?" The man smirked and took a step forward. "But it doesn't have to be that way. I took this contract so that no one else would. Come back with me, Zevran. We'll make up some story, I don't care, everyone makes mistakes. It's not too late!"

"That would require the Grey Wardens to be dead, of course," Zevran straightened his back. "And that isn't going to happen. I won't fight you, Taliesen, you were my friend once... and more... but I see you've come to do the same to me that you did to Rinna. I therefore leave you to your fate."

Zevran sheathed his daggers and left. Taliesen attacked, revealing half a dozen of assassins hiding in the bushes. It was a tough fight, but nothing that Wolf, Alistair and Morrigan couldn't handle on their own.

"So, here lies Zevran's special friend," Alistair bent over the body of Taliesen when it was all over. "I wonder just how special... and who is Rinna?"

"Who was Rinna, I should rather think," Morrigan was looking over the bodies of the other assassins. "These are all Crows - there are marks on their armour. So Zevran's assassins guild finally went after him. They don't like loose ends, it appears."

When they were back at their lodgings that evening, Wolf found a quiet moment to talk to Zevran.

"I apologise for walking away," Zevran said seeing Wolf approaching. "But Taliesen was more than a friend... perhaps not the way you think... or at least not just that way... He was a slave like me, we grew up together. We are the only two recruits from that year who still live... Well... I am the only one left now..." Zevran paused, composing himself. "Rinna was a friend too, the three of us formed a Crows unit. We shared so much together... in romance, as well as battle. Then Taliesen spread a rumour that Rinna had been taking bribes from clients, and the Crows ordered her execution. It later transpired that she did no such thing, but she was already dead. I always wondered why Taliesen betrayed her like that, he knew what would happen... The Crows don't take any chances with rumours of such nature. An assassin's life is forfeit right from the start anyway... a bit like a Grey Warden's..." He paused and smiled, but Wolf did not interrupt. "I should have fought against him, I suppose... but I just could not bring myself to do it," he sighed. "Please forgive me."

"There's nothing to forgive, Zevran," Wolf shrugged. "I am glad it's Taliesen lying dead there rather than you."

"Oh?" Zevran smiled with mischief, regaining his usual playful and mocking countenance. "Well, I like you too, friend! I'll resume staring now. I've once stared all seven skirts off a famous courtesan... it's a skill worth maintaining."

"Yes, I was wondering about that... Are you just practicing or what?" Wolf smiled too, relieved that the serious part of their conversation was over.

"That is entirely up to you," Zevran shrugged. "I am an assassin, my life may end any moment... I do not make lasting bonds, I have no deep feelings..."

"Aha," Wolf nodded. "And I am the Queen of Antiva."

"Well... You would make for a beautiful queen," Zevran grinned.

"Oh come off it!" Wolf laughed. "Very well, we'll speak of it no more. Glad to have you back as a friend, Zevran."

"The Crows won't stop though," Zevran became serious once again. "It will take a while but they will send someone else after me sooner or later."

"And we'll beat them up again," Wolf shrugged. "They should know better than go against the Grey Wardens..."

...

A few days later our party set off for the rendez-vous with the other forces. They were to meet in Redcliffe. There was no knowing where the Archdemon would direct the darkspawn army, but everyone assumed it would be somewhere in the South, not too far from Ostagar, and Redcliffe seemed like the logical choice. Its fairly central location was also perfectly suitable as a meeting point for the troops coming from all corners of the kingdom. Perhaps it was too convenient, however.

When our party arrived in Redcliffe, they found the village overrun by darkspawn and the castle stormed. They helped defeat that horde, of course, but the signs were worrying. Not as worrying as what was waiting for them inside, it appeared.

"I've just returned from Ostagar," an older Grey Warden held some papers. "I was there to retrieve Grey Warden records from the fallen fortress... Yes, another enchanted chest, like the one that held the treaties in the Korcari Wilds... I examined the battlefield closely, too. To have a record of all Wardens who perished there," he nodded to Alistair's question. "But also to get a feeling for what the Archdemon might do next... and where. I've been a Grey Warden much longer than you," he smiled. "The taint is running rampant in my blood... and I can sense the Archdemon better. He is going to strike at the capital."

"How soon?" That question was on everyone's lips. The capital was about a week away on foot.

"Soon," the Warden looked somber. "Sooner than we can get there," he looked around the room. "They will have to stand firm until we arrive. And I believe the Archdemon will be there as well."

"Then we must set off in a fast march first thing in the morning," Arl Eamon said decisively. "Everyone is here already, the forces are assembled... but in the wrong place. We must march to the capital then."

It was decided to take the remainder of the day and the night to eat and rest, as everyone would need their strength for a long march ahead and for the grand battle at the end of it. No one doubted a Warden's word any longer.

...

"We need to prepare for what is to come," the Warden called Wolf and Alistair aside after dinner. "Do you two know how to kill the Archdemon?" He looked at them with a question.

"We cut off its head!" Alistair offered. "Oh wait, that's not what you mean, is it?"

"So you know then," the Warden nodded. "One Grey Warden must sacrifice himself to kill the Archdemon, to bring down the final blow. A strategy is agreed before the battle to make sure that it is done. There're only three of us... I shall attempt to do it, as I am the oldest and the taint is already driving me crazy. But should I fail... One of you must take over. The Archdemon must be killed, even if all three of us die in the process."

"Which means that we must survive battles with darkspawn, or else there won't be any Wardens left to tackle the Archdemon," Wolf pointed out. "No heroics until we get to the dragon," he glared at Alistair.

"Oh alright," Alistair nodded. "I'll be careful... But how do we even get to a flying dragon? What if he doesn't want to land? What if he lands where none of us can reach him?"

"He won't," the older Grey Warden smiled. "I'll call him. Yes, it's the taint... With you, he just talks in your heads, but I can already talk in his," he smirked. "Which does not mean that it will be easy. My plan is however that as soon as we get to the capital, I shall go to the top of the tower in the guard fortress and call the Archdemon to me. I shall try to kill him there... Wish me luck."

"Then we shall make our way to that tower too," Alistair nodded. "As backup."

They looked at each other, then bowed their heads in memory of those Grey Wardens that fell before the final battle even started. They now knew what they had to do.

...

"Don't be alarmed, it is only I," Wolf heard Morrigan's voice as he entered his bedroom in the Redcliffe Castle intending to get as much sleep as he could before their lengthy march.

"Morrigan," he smiled. "We should rather get some sleep tonight... we've got a long march ahead of us."

"Oh yes, I agree, rest is important," she nodded. "And ordinarily I would not wish anything else on the last night before a march... but this is the last night with a decent bed before the final battle, and there's something I want to ask of you."

"Oh?" Wolf wasn't sure why, but this didn't sound like just another night with Morrigan.

"I know that a Grey Warden must sacrifice himself in order to kill the Archdemon," she started. "But I... don't want you to die," she smiled. "Not you, and not even Alistair, dim-witted though he is..." she sighed. "I am here to offer another way."

"Go on."

"Lay with me tonight and I shall conceive a child," she looked straight at him. "A child with a Grey Warden taint. Then, when the Archdemon is slain, its soul will seek out that child above all else. It won't kill it at such an early stage... but instead it will be transformed, purified. A soul of an old god... cleared of its taint."

"You want to give birth to a new Archdemon?" Wolf squinted. That didn't seem right.

"Not at all!" Morrigan shook her head vigorously. "No, it won't be an Archdemon, I am quite certain! It will be that old god whose soul was twisted and thrust into a dragon to make an Archdemon in the first place. This will end all Blights, you see? There will be no next Archdemon."

"How do you know all this?" Wolf sat down, this was rather a lot to take in.

"Flemeth's Grimoir," Morrigan produced the book. "The real one, the one she gave you to pass on to me. It's all here."

"You think she planned for you to do it right from the start?" Wolf squinted. "Is that why she sent you with us, you think?"

"I think she thought of that, yes," Morrigan nodded. "But whether she planned it... I am not certain. I think not - too many unknowns, you see..."

"But I am Dragonborn," Wolf shook his head. "I am supposed to be able to just absorb a dragon's soul and... hmm... I am not sure what, but likely not die."

"A dragon's soul - yes," Morrigan nodded, leafing through the book to find the right passage. "But the Archdemon is no ordinary dragon." She showed it to Wolf. "There is no guarantee you won't die."

Wolf sighed, looking at her.

"What makes you think you are not with child already?"

"That... hmm..." Morrigan frowned. "That cannot be ruled out," she agreed. "In which case it's already done. But if I am not with child yet... I have a way to make certain I shall conceive tonight."

"Witches..." Wolf sighed. "What will you do with the child?"

"Raise it," Morrigan smiled. "You will leave it to me to do as I please. You will not seek me out and you will never see that child."

"Will it even be my child? Or will it just be a demon of some sort?" Wolf felt like he was playing for time with these questions. He didn't even know why he was doing it.

"It will be your child, dear," Morrigan sat next to him. "It will be as much your child as it will be mine, I have no illusions. If it really takes on the soul of an old god, it won't be a child at all. Not yours and not mine, for that matter. I am uncertain how it will turn out. But it won't be another Archdemon."

"Well, since you may be pregnant already... why stop there," Wolf smiled. "Let's make it a night to remember, if only because it's the final night with a decent bed..."

[Lena Wolf]

Sun's Height, 3E387 - The endgame

The capital of Ferelden was under seige by darkspawn. The defenders had received word from Arl Eamon that the allied forces were on the way, and that gave them some hope that the Blight might still be repelled. Many fell, but the city still didn't surrender. The Archdemon was circling above it, fires burned everywhere, yet somehow Wolf felt it could have been far worse... So, what was the Archdemon waiting for?

"The Archdemon wants to win the war, not just take the capital," the older Grey Warden was saying to Wolf and Alistair. "He is holding back his forces, none of the darkspawn Generals made an appearance yet. But they will, as soon as we join the battle, you can be sure of that... More leadership, a better organised army and stronger fighters is what we shall find. Let's just hope that our Generals are better than theirs..."

"You should proceed to the guard tower as planned though," Wolf looked at the older Warden. "Before the Archdemon calls in all the reserves. We shall engage his troops in the city, and let's hope that he'll waste some of his Generals fighting us instead of defending him..."

"And we would at the same time waste some of our forces too," the Warden objected. "He has a far larger army, but if you kill off his Generals quickly, the final battle will be easier, no doubt." He paused in thought. "It's hard to say which is the better approach."

"Go to the tower," Alistair sounded resolved. "We shall take the fight to the Generals."

"By your lead," Wolf saluted, surprised with Alistair's sudden leadership.

...

The older Warden reached the top of the guard tower and stepped out onto the platform overlooking the city. There was fighting in every street. Darkspawn were strong, but the defenders were still resisiting, now with the fresh forces filling their ranks. Arl Eamon's knights, a dwarven legion complete with golems, scores of elven archers and a surprisingly large group of mages were joining the battle on all sides. "No hounds though," he sighed. "Raising a new generation of hounds would take time..."

Then suddenly he heard it - huge wings just behind him. The Archdemon had arrived.

Wasting no time, the Warden jumped onto the dragon's back and the dragon took to the skies. The battle would be high above the city. "Get to the head," the Warden started climbing up the dragon's body, using his daggers to anchor himself between the massive scales. The dragon was twisting and turning, trying to throw him off. "Not so fast, dragon," the Warden remained determined to bring him down. He reached the neck and started moving up along it, thrusting his daggers deep into the dragon's flesh. The dragon roared, feeling the pain.

The Warden was very close to the dragon's head. Rather than cutting it off, he planned to thrust his daggers into the skull instead. He could do it in the air. Yes, the dragon would plunge to the ground then, it was suicide, but it was a suicide anyway. He was close. Another push, and he would reach the head.

The dragon turned and twisted, one of Warden's daggers cut deep into his neck. Blood was gushing out of the open wound, red mist rose in front of the dragon's eyes, he could not see where he was headed... His tail hit a tower wall, the impact resonated through the body. The Warden planted his daggers deeper still. Another push... he was nearly there! He moved his dagger, thrust it hard and into the dragon's neck, pulling himself up on it. But instead, the dagger slid through the dragon's flesh cutting a long and deep wound, then slipping on the blood streaming from it... The Warden lost his grip of the dragon and was propelled through the air, falling hard to the ground somewhere on the city streets. The dragon roared with pain, flying almostly blindly, then landed on the top of the guard tower - the only platform out of reach of the battle.

"Look - the Archdemon!" Wolf pointed him out to Alistair. "Alive," he added somber.

"He looks wounded," Alistair nodded. "The Warden must have failed. It's our turn now, Wolf."

They rushed to the guard tower and found the dragon on the top. He had many deep wounds all over his body, and mostly on the neck. But even so, the Archdemon was far from dead, and he still had some of his Generals.

The battle on the top platform was truly epic. Wolf, Alistair, Zevran and Morrigan took on the dragon alone at first. The dragon was still able to fly, although not far, yet enough to make him a difficult target. He could hover over the platform and fly from one end to the other.

"Bows!" Wolf shouted to his companions. "Get him to land, target the wings!! It doesn't matter than none of you is a master archer... just keep firing!!!"

Alistair shrugged and pulled out his crossbow, Zevran sighed and swapped his daggers for a bow, too. He wasn't a master archer by any stretch of imagination, but his dexterity allowed him to use one of the best and most powerful bows around... and that counted for a lot! It wasn't hard to hit a target as large as the dragon.

When the dragon could no longer rise into the air, he called one of his Generals with a contingent of elite darkspawn troops. As they started appearing from the doors in the far corner, Wolf realised that these were not the same darkspawn that they fought before. These warriors actually deserved to be called warriors, they had purpose, determination and intelligence, as well as superior skill and strength. "Time to call for reinforcements!" Wolf thought, summoning the dwarven legion. This proved to be the right decision - although the dwarves were only a quarter in size compared to an average darkspawn soldier, they fought twice as ferociously and they had the stamina and the knowledge allowing them to win seemingly impossible battles. "They never stop fighting darkspawn," Wolf reminded himself, watching dwarven efficiency.

But the dragon made another call - a regiment of darkspawn battlemages appeared, with a General leading it, an Emissary General, that is, a mage. Although dwarves had a natural resistance to magic, they were forced to run around the battlefield trying to reach teleporting targets as they had no ranged weapons of their own. "Well, I hope you're stronger than you look!" Wolf called the elven archers, positioning them away from the darkspawn mages as best he could.

The archers were effective against teleporting targets - they didn't need to run around the battlefield. But if darkspawn knights got to them, they quickly fell.

"This is complete chaos!" Alistair stopped for a moment, watching the battle. "What are you going to do next? Call in Arl Eamon's knights?" He looked at Wolf.

"Umm... I think the dwarves and the elves will be enough, actually," Wolf shook his head. "Look - they finally learned to support each other. We need to turn our attention to the Archdemon. Ideas?"

"What about that ballista?" Alistair pointed at something in the corner.

"What ballista..?" It was only then that Wolf finally spotted two ballistas flanking the battlefield. "Why didn't you say anything before?!" He laughed. "Well, tell Zevran he gets to play with it while I go and annoy the dragon!"

"Tell Zevran..?" Alistair stopped for a moment, looking for Zevran. Where was he? Surely, he had seen him dashing back and forth just a moment ago...

"Zevran fell to one of the Generals!" Morrigan shouted over the noise of the battle when Alistair shouted to her that he was looking for Zevran. "He's over there somewhere!" She waved into the middle of the melee. "I can raise him but you have to lead the darkspawn away, or else Zevran will fall immediately! He will be quite weak to start with!"

"He isn't the strongest of fighters in the best of times," Alistair nodded. "Watch me and raise him when the time is right! Then send him to the ballista! That dragon has got to die!!!"

Alistair engaged a darkspawn Emissary General - a necromancer mage of very considerable power, surrounded by several darkspawn elite warriors for good measure.

"You cannot stand against a templar!!!" Alistair bellowed, planting his sword into the ground causing the stone to split and sending shock waves that stunned as well as stripped his adversaries of any magic effects. With the warriors temporarily out of action, he lunged at the mage, defeating him in just a few moves. Then he led away the warriors, trying not to get hit rather than attacking, his goal being to clear the area so that Zevran could be raised and not die in the process.

"Rise and fight again, I command you!!" Morrigan cast the resurrection spell. It wasn't necromancy, for Zevran wasn't dead - he had just been knocked out. The spell was a form of healing with Morrigan giving Zevran a health boost and waking him from unconsciousness. But she rather liked to make it sound more sinister and dramatic. "Use the ballista!!" She shouted. "Against the dragon!!!"

"Eh... what..?" Zevran shook his head, trying to remember where he was and what was going on. "Dragon? Oh, right! Dragon!"

Even the ballista wasn't going to kill the dragon in one hit. But the elves and the dwarves kept engaging the darkspawn, Wolf and Alistair held the dragon in one place and Morrigan put aside her hostile magic and focused on keeping them all alive... After a time the dragon finally stopped breathing fire.

"Now!!" Alistair charged. "Jump over me and get to his head!"

And as Alistair plunged his sword into the dragon's jaw, Wolf leapt on top of the dragon's head and buried his own blade in the skull.

The dragon roared. The sound was deafening. It covered the whole city, making everything stop. Darkspawn froze and stopped their assault. The battle was over.

Wolf couldn't move. He too froze on the spot, his hands on the hilt of his sword planted into the dragon's skull. Was he going to die after all? Did Morrigan's ritual not work? He felt the dragon's power passing through him, he was about to be overwhelmed.

Morrigan straightened up and faced the dragon. She could not move either. She watched a wisp of a spirit rise out of the Archdemon's chest in search of a new home. Several darkspawn Generals lay dead nearby, any number of elite darkspawn troops stood ready to receive the spirit and let the Archdemon be reborn... but the spirit wavered. Wolf and Alistair were both right by the dragon's head... would it enter one of them instead? Did her ritual work? Was she actually with child?

After a few moments the spirit rose higher, completely clearing the dragon's body. It floated past Wolf and Alistair, and although it responded to the call of the taint in their blood, it heard an even louder call from further ahead... A call from a taint so fresh, a being so young and pure...

...

"Are you alright?" Alistair was pouring healing potions down Morrigan's throat. When the shock of the dragon's final roar subsided, Morrigan was still collapsed on the ground, unconscious. The remaining elves and dwarves slowly returned into the city to clear what darkspawn still remained, but our party was too shaken for any further fighting.

"I... yes... I think I am in one piece," Morrigan sat up with difficulty.

"It worked, didn't it?" Wolf helped her up.

"Yes... how is it that we're both alive?" Alistair squinted at her.

"I'll tell you later, Alistair," Wolf shook his head. "Let's get out of here."

[Lena Wolf]

Sun's Height, 3E387 - The morning after

Celebrations went on for several days. Everyone was there, dressed in their best clothes over carefully bandaged wounds. Everyone except Morrigan. She vanished in the dead of night once she was well enough to walk. Wolf found a note among his things:

"It worked, I can feel it. You are alive, and Alistair too - this is the proof. I shall take good care of our child. Do not search for me... allow me this freedom, please. Perhaps fate will bring us together again, but if not, I beseech you - do not force it.

Your Witch of the Wilds."

Everyone had plans for the future. Ferelden would rebuild, and the Queen would make sure that Grey Wardens were never forgotten. Monuments were being erected, streets were named after them, a university was founded for the good of any and all. "Cheese for everyone!" was the word in the street, although no one really knew where that came from. Perhaps there was simply too much cheese around.

The Grey Wardens Order of Ferelden was reinstated, and the lands formerly belonging to one of Loghain's lieutenants were given to the Wardens to use as a base. Soldier's Peak was in that region, too.

"Those were the lands that used to belong to Grey Wardens before the events three hundred years ago," the Queen smiled when Wolf pointed it out. "Indeed. The lands had changed owners several times since then, but I thought it befitting that they should return to Grey Wardens. You can reopen Soldier's Peak, of course... but if I may make a suggestion..." She looked at Wolf and Alistair, and when they nodded, she continued. "There are several other keeps and fortresses there that are in a better state of repair, larger and more imposing. I would suggest you choose one of them. After all, you need a base that reflects your glory."

...

"I don't know if I can stand any more drinking," Alistair shook his head, finding it difficult to walk straight. "And this ceremonial armour... I am not used to anything quite so heavy!"

"But it's pretty!" Wolf laughed. "I feel the same, friend," he steadied himself. "Well, Commander, perhaps we should retire for the night?"

"No, you are the Commander," Alistair laughed. "Aren't you? I think you are. I'm pretty sure it's you rather than me... Umm..."

"No, wait - you are the Crown Prince!"

"No, I'm not!" Alistair shook his head and nearly fell over. "I gave that up! Poof! Gone! Good riddance! The throne is the one chair I don't want!"

"Oh, that's right," Wolf nodded. "Anyway... see you at breakfast."

Alistair made it to his room and closed the door. Wolf nodded to himself and took a swig from his hip flask. Then he shook his head, straightened his back and walked on, almost completely sober. He wanted to talk to Zevran first.

...

"Here for a nightcap, Commander?" Zevran greeted him. "Please, come in! You don't look drunk enough."

"No, I'd like to talk first," he entered and closed the door behind him. "It is a bit... delicate."

"Then you do want a nightcap," Zevran poured him a drink. "Antivan brandy. Known to stimulate conversation."

Zevran smiled in an entirely natural and neutral manner, without innuendos of any kind. Wolf wondered how he did it. Perhaps it came with age and experience, like most things... or perhaps it was a special gift.

"What do you intend to do now, Zevran?" Wolf decided to be direct.

"Stay alive," Zevran smiled. "The Crows will still be after me, and so I wondered whether your offer of letting me stay with the Wardens, still stood? I could be of use, you know."

"Of that I have no doubt," Wolf smiled. "Yes, the offer still stands. We shall be able to induct new Wardens soon enough..."

"Ah... if you don't mind..." Zevran interrupted him gently. "I don't actually want to join... Blood is not my favourite beverage, see... I would rather help from the backbenches, if that is still allowed."

"I see," Wolf laughed. "It's allowed. Not everyone who works with Grey Wardens is a Warden themselves. I am glad it's settled."

He got up to leave, then changed his mind and sat down again.

"What I am going to say next, may sound offensive," Wolf looked very uneasy. "If so, I apologise upfront... I don't mean offence, it's so awkward... I've never been in such a situation before... I just hope I won't lose you after this..."

"Go on," Zevran smiled. "I think I know what's on your mind."

"I bet you do..." Wolf smiled and fidgeted. "I know I said we would not talk of this again... but... err..."

"I am listening."

Wolf shifted in his chair, brought the brandy to his lips but didn't drink. It smelled of nugat, sugared roasted nuts, and something else... "Like Elsweyr in Skyrim..." he thought and sat down his goblet without drinking. Then he spoke again.

"I like women, see... I've never been with a man, I never wanted to..." He paused, not looking up. "I don't think I want to now, either..." He sighed. "But..." He sighed again and shot a glance at Zevran, but Zevran remained completely neutral, sipping his brandy and waiting for Wolf to proceed with his difficult speech. "The way you look at me... I like it," Wolf finally managed to say. "May be not to the point of... you know... actually getting down to business... But if I were to describe what I think of you, I'd say you are more than a friend." He sighed a sigh of relief, but wasn't finished speaking yet, and Zevran still remained silent. "It's confusing... I never felt this sort of thing towards any woman either... I want to stay close to you even if... that involves something I've never done before... Does that make sense?" He blushed and finally took a sip of his brandy. Sweet, heavy fragrance rose up his nose and opened his mind.

"It makes perfect sense, my friend," Zevran smiled. "And I am not offended. Flattered, if anything. That you found the strength to tell me this, that you felt at ease to do it... Well, sufficiently at ease, at least," he smiled again. "I shall keep following you around and remain your friend, and yes, I shall keep staring since you like it... But I am not one to force anything onto anyone, fear not... And I daresay I can tell when something is going too far. There is no rush, and I like women too. So yes, you can strip off in my presence and be at ease doing that."

"Good," Wolf smiled, taking another sip of his brandy. "This is excellent stuff, by the way..." He sniffed it again, took another small sip and rolled it in his mouth. "It's been a long day, and this ceremonial armour is killing me. Please help me take it off - the buckles are on the back... I can't actually get out of it without someone's help..."

"Practical, as always," Zevran laughed, helping Wolf out of his guilded cage. "Oh look, your clothes are covered in blood, some of the wounds must have re-opened. Let me help you undress without removing your skin..."

It took them a while to get all the bloody clothing off and change some of the bandages. Zevran's touch was gentle but not prying, and Wolf quickly relaxed.

"There're some clothes in that chest, if you wanted something so as not to walk through the castle naked," Zevran pointed at a chest, picking up bloodied clothing from the floor and moving the armour into a corner. "They might not fit you well as they're mine, but it would probably be enough..."

A snore was his answer. Relieved from the weight of the armour and from the pain and discomfort of bleeding wounds and chafing dry bandages, Wolf collapsed on the bed and was asleep in seconds.

"Another time, then," Zevran smiled. "Sleep well, friend."

He nestled next to Wolf and blew out the candle. It had been a long day.

...

"Did you two..." Alistair stared at Wolf and Zevran when they appeared in the breakfast parlour together the next morning. "I saw you on the bed... when I... umm... never mind..."

"Someone had to get me out of that armour," Wolf shrugged. "How did you get out of yours? The buckles are on the back!"

"I called the maid..." Alistair said and blushed for some reason.

"No, we didn't," Wolf looked at him sternly. "Now, what's for breakfast?"

...

"You have to explain to me how it is that both you and I are alive," Alistair looked at Wolf quite sternly. "Commander of the Grey," he grinned. "So since there are only two Grey Wardens in Ferelden and you are the Commander, then I must be your First Lieutenant, and as such I have a right to know..."

"Captain of the Guard," Wolf interrupted him. "That makes you the Captain of the Guard. We've got no guard yet, but you get the title..."

"Don't try to avoid my question," Alistair insisted.

"Well... err..." Wolf shook his head - this was probably even more difficult than talking to Zevran the night before. "She is with child. My child. A Grey Warden's child... It appears that the Archdemon's spirit sought out that child rather than one of us."

"WHAT?!" Alistair jumped up and was pacing around the room. "Do you even understand what that means?! She is going to give birth to a new Archdemon!!!"

"No, in all likelihood she won't," Wolf tried to remain calm. "An Archdemon is no common dragon, or I would have consumed his soul... err... I guess I never told you I could do that, either... But it didn't happen."

"You... what..?" Alistair froze, staring at Wolf. "I've heard her call you that - Dragonborn... Flemeth called you that... I never paid attention to it, I was too busy avoiding becoming a King, I guess... Perhaps we should just forget I brought it up! I don't want to know! That's why you hesitated back at the Temple in Haven... You drank that dragon blood... You've been using blood magic all along... You sired a child with the Witch of the Wilds... and then spent a night with a Crows assassin... whether or not you actually... oh never mind... Let's just forget I said anything, alright? You're the Commander of the Grey, you can do as you please, and it is none of my business, none of it..."

He kept talking, shaking his head, confused and disappointed, all at once.

"Alistair," Wolf got up and touched Alistair's shoulder, making Alistair jump and freeze. "Sit down. You are right, I should have told you a lot more right from the start. Even if it shocked you. It isn't as bad as it looks."

When Alistair finally regained his composure and sat down, Wolf tried to make it as short a speech as he could.

"I am an Agent with the Imperial Legion of Tamriel," he decided to start from the beginning. "That's a rank above Captain. I do field work... usually on my own. I was sent here to learn about the Blight because our Emperor wants to be prepared, should it spill over. They chose me because I am Dragonborn..." He paused, watching Alistair, but Alistair was listening without interruptions. "I am not a dragon," Wolf smirked. "I am 'dragon kin'. Some blood connection, I am really not sure... But my Legate thought that it would allow me to survive the Joining because they knew that the Archdemon was a dragon too. Yes, I was always meant to join the Grey Wardens and go all the way fighting the Blight... Duncan knew of it. This had been all pre-arranged."

"I had no idea..." Alistair said softly. "Duncan only said we would be getting an experienced warrior from overseas..."

"I was never meant to lead the Grey Wardens," Wolf nodded. "There were never meant to be just the two of us left..."

He paused and they sat in silence for a minute or two. Then Wolf continued.

"A Dragonborn is said to be able to consume a dragon's soul when a dragon is slain," he watched Alistair who was listening with rapt attention. "I've never done this. I have never seen a dragon before... There are no dragons in Tamriel... not anymore... The first time I saw a dragon was when the Archdemon talked to me during the Joining." He shuddered, remembering the shock and horror he felt then.

"No one forgets that," Alistair nodded.

"So. I always thought that I would simply consume the Archdemon's soul when the time came... but things are more complex than that."

"The Archdemon is no mere dragon," Alistair nodded. "I read that somewhere, now I recall. It is an old god, apparently. Twisted and tainted by the darkspawn... Which would mean that it is the darkspawn who create an Archdemon to lead them... That's a frightening thought..."

"Morrigan read about it in Flemeth's Grimoir," Wolf continued. "That the soul of the original old god could be purified and cleared of its taint if it were to seek out a being not yet fully formed... Such as an unborn child. Morrigan's child will not be an Archdemon."

"So she was being 'friendly' with you all this time because she was trying to get pregnant..?" Alistair whistled.

"Well... not really..." Wolf smiled. "She only got the Grimoir after we already... a good few times... no, I think she wasn't trying to get pregnant then."

"I never understood what you saw in her," Alistair shook his head. "She's a blood mage!"

"That she is not," Wolf shook his head. "Although I would not be surprised if she'd learn it some day... I just saw a woman rather than a mage and an apostate," he pointed out.

"Alright, there's no accounting for taste, as they say," Alistair inclined his head. "So, what now? She vanished."

"She wanted her freedom," Wolf nodded. "I am not going after her. Not yet and not on purpose, anyway," he winked.

"Speaking of blood mages," Alistair looked straight at Wolf. "You went out of your way to save the blood mage who poisoned Arl Eamon. You supported Avernus back at Soldier's Peak. You drank his concoction. Then you drank dragon blood in Haven - and thank goodness you didn't destroy the Urn of Sacred Ashes! You've been cutting your wrists and spilling your blood, you've been taking life from the dead, you made your enemies cower in pain just looking at you... I've seen the signs, I'm a templar, you know. You are a blood mage. And yet you are no mage... That... is confusing."

"On that we agree," Wolf nodded. "Confusing. This is all blood magic, true, because it's got to do with blood... The Grey Warden taint is blood magic. In Tamriel we believe that every person has magic in them, to some extent. Every person has blood. So when I cut my wrists, the blood that spills over my enemies works its own magic... I cast no spells and cannot explain it beyond that."

"Hmm... The Chantry preaches that blood magic is pure evil..." Alistair looked uncertain. "Yet.. hmm..."

"Yet they use it to track down apostate mages?" Wolf smirked. "Yeah, I noticed that. Every child with a gift of magic is taken to the Tower of Magi for education. Every child surrenders a sample of his or her blood that is kept by the Chantry. And then, should that child decide to 'defect', to escape, to run away... How do templars find that child, exactly? You're a templar, you tell me." It was Wolf's turn to pin Alistair with his gaze.

"The same way as hounds follow a scent," Alistair answered slowly. "The Reverend Mother performs a ritual... using the mage's phylactery... A small sample of the blood is given to the templar... not to drink but to know... yes... That's blood magic, alright!" Alistair got red and angry.

"Performed by the Chantry for the good of the people," Wolf spit and swore. "And you wonder why I considered destroying the Urn of Sacred Ashes? The Chantry doesn't take me in."

"But you didn't destroy it," Alistair calmed down. "Why not?"

"It's like I said - it is too important to a lot of good people," Wolf shrugged. "It's a symbol of all that is good and holy, even if the institution that upholds it is nothing of the sort..."

"Alright," Alistair shook his head, putting that topic aside. "Templar skills are still useful to have," he rubbed his chin. "And I am no longer in the Chantry..." He smiled. "But Zevran?" He looked up. "An assassin? You spared him first, and then... good grief, Wolf! And I thought you liked women!!"

"I do," Wolf grinned. "Zevran is... rather special, though," he paused. "An assassin, if not by choice at first, but he is now an assassin through and through, that's for sure. Rather like you being a templar... You cannot stop either. But I have no issues with assassins... As an Agent, I've had missions of various kinds..."

"But you serve your Imperial Legion," Alistair pointed out. "Not some guild that takes on contracts for money."

"We work with assassins guilds as well," Wolf smiled. "They are impartial... that is often a huge asset. I asked Zevran to stay with us Wardens for a while. He is still being hunted by the Crows, you know, and we're still very short of men, even though the Order had been reinstated... It's still just you and me."

"Well... he does fight well..." Alistair sighed. "And he did right by us... I guess I cannot complain... Will he be taking the Joining?"

"I don't think so," Wolf shook his head. "Zevran is an elf who loves to stay alive. His natural life span runs into a millennium... But the Joining would cut it down to fifty years. The taint would kill him, as it kills every Grey Warden after a time."

"I... see," Alistair nodded slowly. "I never thought of it that way... Of course for us humans it isn't such a big deal, fifty years is such a long time... but for an elf... gosh... There are elves among Grey Wardens, of course... their sacrifice is beyond imagining..."

They talked for hours. Alistair wanted to hear about Tamriel, about magic running in every man and woman, about elves and assassins, about romance too... and Wolf obliged, not shirking away from any topic, uncomfortable or not. He was determined to restore Alistair's good will and genuine support. The two of them were still the whole contingent of the Order of Grey Wardens of Ferelden, and each of them felt that although the Archdemon was dead, darkspawn was still on the rise.

[Lena Wolf]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This concludes the story told in Dragon Age: Origins, but the story of Wolf Asgarsen is not yet complete. The darkspawn problem has not gone away, new trouble is brewing and he cannot leave as yet. Plus, he has a few personal loose ends to tie up, too.

There was one expansion to the game known as Dragon Age: Awakening, which takes place some months after the end of the Blight. After that there's a short story of looking for Morrigan... Did Wolf break his promise and went after her against her wishes? Or was it just a stroke of fate? We'll see.

I noted before that I introduced Anders as the mage who poisoned Arl Eamon, replacing the character actually doing it in the game. I feel that this fits much better with the story that is still to come, which will be altered a bit accordingly. This is fan fiction - I do not necessarily retell exactly what BioWare wrote. You'll need to play the game for yourself to see what happens to your Grey Warden. My story traces just one path, one of many, which is a great thing about BioWare games.

This story continues with an intermezzo entirely of my own making. Of course, in the original story the Warden did not come from Tamriel... Also, although we import our saves into subsequent games, our old heroes hardly make an appearance. I aim to change that. Since Wolf Asgarsen is stuck in Thedas, he is not going to just sit there twiddling his thumbs. He will go to Kirkwall next, as the events that take place in Dragon Age II indeed occur some months after the end of the Blight - it is all in fact one story. So it is only natural to see familiar faces coming back in it. Dragon Age: Inquisition is to follow after that, although I won't delve into it quite as deeply as I've done with Origins. Perhaps this says something about my attitude towards that game. And then, with any luck, Dragon Age: Veilguard will be released in November, and we'll have to see what that one is like. However, that being a new game, I won't be retelling much of it in order to avoid spoilers, but instead I shall likely build my own tale inspired by the game. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

I do apologise for the frequency and length of the last few episodes, but you don't have to read them as I write them. For me, however, it is important to post them as they are written, and these last ones were quite intense to write. Especially considering the parts that went "between the lines" that I played out in my head but did not include into the story.

And now, without further ado, as they say... hehe... The story continues.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Lena Wolf]

Sun's Height, 3E387 - Anders

The celebrations of the end of the Blight were finally fizzling out, and Wolf and Alistair were allowed to leave the capital. Not that they had been held prisoners before, but as the Heroes of the day, they were being called everywhere, people stopped them in the street, everyone wanted a chat, a note, an autograph... They simply had to stay for the duration.

"I can't wait to get back to killing darkspawn," Alistair was lamenting. "This is far worse!"

"Such is the weight of the glory, my friend," Wolf smirked. "We need to please the gentry though, we'll be relying on their support..."

Eventually, however, they could return to the business of being Grey Wardens.

"What are your orders, Commander?" Alistair addressed Wolf in a rather official fashion. "You're the head of the Ferelden Order, you better get used to it," he grinned. "What do you want to do?"

"Well, it will take some time for the lands that had been given to us, to actually change ownership," Wolf looked though some papers. "Bureaucracy, you know. So until then... Say... how do you feel about travelling? Have you ever been to the Central Head Quarters? Somewhere up North?"

"No... but why would I need to go there?" Alistair looked unsure.

"The treaties and papers that the old Warden collected from Ostagar," Wolf put a heavy chest on the table. "Grey Warden documents. They need to be delivered to the Head Quarters. Plus our account of how things went... Loghain's betrayal, the decimation of the Order of Ferelden, the unwillingness of the gentry here to allow Grey Wardens from other kingdoms to join the fight... This is important stuff. This must be relayed and preserved."

"And you want me to take it there," Alistair nodded. "Agreed." He paused. "Did you know that Duncan was the head of the Order in Ferelden? Such as it was... He was a Commander, but he never used that title because the royalty here did not allow for an official Order of Grey Wardens to exist..." He shook his head. "It is so bizarre."

"I didn't know it, no, but I surmised as much," Wolf nodded. "So go. Take this all to the Head Quarters. Make sure every detail is known and recorded... including the story of Soldier's Peak... It's history now, of course, but has history judged correctly who was right or wrong?"

"With Avernus still alive..." Alistair agreed. "I bet the First Commander would want to hear from him!" Alistair made some notes, then looked up. "But what are your plans? Not leaving us, I hope?"

"Not leaving, no," Wolf shook his head. "I'll find someone to take my report to Tamriel... Once I'll have written it," he winked. "A ship brought me here, there will be a ship going back, no doubt. The story so far needs to be told, but we both know that darkspawn are not gone and our jobs are not yet done. I'll stay at Soldier's Peak, it's nice and quiet there... But first there's a matter of Anders."

"The blood mage?" Alistair frowned. "I thought you turned him over to the Circle? It's up to the First Enchanter now what to do with him."

"Yes," Wolf nodded. "But I still want to follow up on that..."

"Oh alright, if you must," Alistair shrugged. "But what you see in him, I shall never know..."

...

A few days later Wolf, Zevran and Bob the Mabari hound travelled to the Tower of Magi to inquire about the fate of a blood mage named Anders. Wolf's heart was heavy, he feared for the worst.

"But why do you care for this blood mage so much?" Zevran gave Wolf a long look. "What's so special about that particular mage? There're plenty other mages around, blood or otherwise..."

"I know that," Wolf nodded. "I just... part of it is hard to explain, and part of it is simple: I got to know him a bit, I have a feel for his character. He may be a blood mage, but he isn't a bad sort... there is no evil in him, just misguided youth... And we need a blood mage... umm... I need a blood mage... because of my... err... affliction."

"You mean the Grey Warden taint?" Zevran looked up in surprise. "That sounds strange."

"No, I mean my dragon blood," Wolf returned his glance. "I've been cutting my wrists and my blood has powers... yet I am no mage. I have no clue what is happening half of the time... I need someone with the knowledge to guide me, yet not to lead me somewhere I don't want to be..."

"And you think that a youngster who got himself into a tremendous mess, is going to be a suitable guide???" Zevran stopped in surprise. "Are you sure you're thinking straight, my friend?"

"Oh, my thinking is tainted, no doubt," Wolf nodded. "But I've got you, don't I, to set me straight?" He smiled. "Zevran, I cannot explain it any better... but I want to save Anders, if I can."

"I see you need me more than I thought," Zevran grinned. "Alright. Lead on, Commander."

...

"Commander, it is an honour," the Knight-Commander of the templars stationed at the Tower of Magi greeted Wolf as he entered. "Is this for conscription or are you just on a social visit?" He squinted.

"Err... social, I should think," Wolf hesitated. "How are things? The tower seems quiet..."

"We've cleaned it up," the Knight-Commander made a wide gesture. "See for yourself - no traces of that ugly fleshy growth anywhere... It took us forever to get the smell out! But other than that, most mages died either during the uprising fighting all those demons, or during the battle in the capital... The First Enchanter drafted pretty much every able-bodied mage and apprentice for you!"

"Those mages will not be forgotten," Wolf bowed his head. "We, Grey Wardens, keep records of anyone who died fighting the Blight. There were even some templars among the troops, I noticed..."

"Fewer than I would have liked," the Knight-Commander blushed. "But we are under the Chantry's command, you know... We've had orders..."

"Ah. Say no more," Wolf stopped him. "Grey Wardens do not wish to meddle into the affairs of the Chantry."

The Knight-Commander nodded and smiled but didn't immediately reply, looking at Wolf with his penetrating gaze.

"Did you want to speak with the First Enchanter?" He finally asked. "He should be in his office. Go on, you know the way. We don't need to accompany the Commander of the Grey, I'm sure."

...

The tower was eerily quiet. Wolf noticed a few mages here and there, practicing spells or leafing through books in the library, and next to every mage there was a templar on duty. They just stood there, but it was enough. Even children playing in the common room, were under observation.

"Commander, welcome!" The First Enchanter rose when Wolf entered the room. "Business or pleasure?" He looked at Wolf with apprehension, noting Zevran and the dog, and greeting both.

"It's Wolf, please," Wolf smiled. "After all we've been through... just call me Wolf."

"Ah... here to ask a favour then," the First Enchanter smiled back. "About the blood mage, am I right? Well, he still lives."

"Have you decided what to do with him?" Wolf held his breath.

"Oh, it isn't up to me, I am afraid," the First Enchanter looked sad. "Arl Eamon wants him executed, but the Chantry wants to show 'mercy' and make him tranquil... You know what that means, don't you?"

"I do," Wolf nodded. "I also know that Anders would prefer an execution."

"So what do you plan to do?" The First Enchanter squinted and Wolf felt as if the old wizard could read his mind. "He is a blood mage, you know, of some considerable power... There is no telling what he is capable of..."

"But isn't he still an apprentice?" Wolf recalled Anders telling him that the First Enchanter kept delaying his graduation.

"He is, technically... Which delivers his fate to the Chantry. Had he been a qualified mage, things would have been different indeed..."

"But he went into the Fade and killed that demon that was possessing the boy!" Wolf started losing hope.

"Oh, there's no doubt in my mind that he is fully qualified," the First Enchanter nodded. "He passed that exam with flying colours... Is that why you sent him into the Fade? So that I and the senior mages could witness it?" He smiled. "I thought your trust was perhaps misplaced... but it seems I was wrong. Unfortunately, since that wasn't an official exam..."

"Bureaucracy," Wolf nodded. "I understand..."

"His phylactery is still here, at the Tower," the First Enchanter noted casually. "But I would not advise trying to destroy it because the Chantry has another. It's very easy to collect a few drops of blood lost by a blood mage, you know..."

"May I see him?"

"He is in the dungeons, suit yourself," the First Enchanter nodded. "Do you not wish to exercise your right of conscription?"

"Not now and not directly," Wolf smiled. "I have to see him first. Last time I saw him, he was so weak, he would have never survived the Joining."

"It seems to me, this is what the Chantry is hoping for," the First Enchanter lowered his voice. "With all the fanfare and denouncing of blood magic to follow. He is still weak. Too weak."

"I hear he escaped from this tower a dozen times already," Wolf said in an equally low voice. "Is that true?"

"Oh yes, everyone knows that... They also know that he'd always been caught quickly and brought back into the fold... Until he turned to blood magic, that is," the First Enchanter looked up and down the corridor. "He evaded the templars for so long through illusion and hypnosis..."

...

The Knight-Commander was reluctant in allowing Wolf to see Anders. The dungeons were under templar control, with no one going in or out.

"Well, may be," the Knight-Commander shook his head. "But you leave your hound and your... err... companion here," he took in Zevran's outfit, noticing a small crest of Antivan Crows on the armour. "There's a templar on duty down below, you won't need a bodyguard," he smiled.

"I have no doubt," Wolf smiled pleasantly. "And thank you."

As Wolf descended into the dungeon, he noticed not one but several templars posted along the way. The Knight-Commander was not taking any chances. Wolf found Anders asleep on his cot, with the cell door securely locked. It took some talking, but the templar on duty finally agreed to unlock it, waking up Anders who looked like he didn't remember where he was.

"Anders, can you see me?" Wolf touched his hand and Anders jerked. "I am Wolf, the Grey Warden."

"I recognise your voice," Anders nodded and smiled. "I cannot see very well... it's so dark in here... isn't it?"

"When was the last time you ate?" Wolf looked around but didn't see any food or drink.

"Ate? Oh... yeah, I ate something at some point..." Anders made an effort to sit up. "They are making sure I don't die before the... you know what they are planning for me?"

"I do."

"Well then..."

Wolf took Anders' wrist searching for a pulse. He felt some old scars under his fingers. The pulse was there, but it was weak and erratic. He then wrapped Anders' hand over his own scarred wrist.

"Feel that?"

"But you are not a mage..."

"Tell me about a way out."

"Ha... If I could walk..." Anders gave a short laugh. "But wait... what are you saying?"

"Is there a way to get you out of here without alerting the templars?" Wolf pressed Anders' hand to his wrist. "And can you do your ritual quietly and without a staff?"

...

Zevran and Bob were loitering in the entrance hall of the Tower of Magi waiting for Wolf to return. How long was he going to take? When would it be too long? Suddenly Bob became restless.

"What's the matter, boy, do you smell a rat?" Zevran scratched behind the dog's ears. "I do too, as a matter of fact..."

It had been too long for a simple visit, especially since the First Enchanter had said that Anders was still too weak. Wolf was up to something, and Zevran could well imagine what it would be.

"Do Mabari hounds really have a connection to their master?" Zevran wondered, watching Bob pacing about. "I think the dog needs to go outside for a bit," he addressed the templar at the door. "Do you have designated dog walking grounds around the tower?"

"Just take him outside, I don't care," the templar shrugged, breathing in sharply.

...

It didn't take long for Bob to track Wolf's scent to a sewage exit at the back of the tower. Zevran noticed that although the tower was on an island in the middle of a large lake, there were rocks in the water going all the way to the other shore. Crossing them upright would be suicide of course, but if one were to swim under water... Oh yes, that could be done. The question was whether Anders was in any condition to do so. Zevran removed the grate and saw two shadows clinging to the mossy walls of the tunnel.

"I told them the dog needed to go out," Zevran whispered. "Sound carries here... Can you swim?"

"How..?" Anders started asking, then cut himself off. "Let's go. I took just enough blood to get me to the other shore... After that you'll have to help me."

They swam across, only coming up for air briefly and as little as they could afford. Even the dog swam under water. They found some bushes covering the shoreline on the other side, they clambered out and crawled at first, then ran, with Zevran and Wolf practically carrying Anders between them... Their horses were too far away to call.

...

"So, how many times have you done this, in fact?" Wolf was trying to convince Anders to perform another blood magic ritual to boost his strength. "I volunteer! You haven't killed me yet and another cut will not kill me for sure."

"I... I haven't actually taken anyone else's blood before..." Anders looked uneasy.

"But if you don't do it now, this will all have been for naught," Wolf insisted. "Soldier's Peak is still far away and we have no horses. If we stay here, the templars will catch us and..."

"Sshh... Someone's coming!" Zevran shushed them, his superior hearing picking up some rustling noise and what seemed like the sound of hoofs. They had stopped for a short rest in a small cavern out of the way, but perhaps the spot was not secluded enough for someone who knew the area... "Lay low and shut up!" He hissed at them, as they all hid behind the rocks blocking the entrance.

Heavy breathing and panting approached the cavern - a hound or a wolf. Sounds of hoofs followed... horses? The hound was digging at the rocks by the entrance. Were these templars, here to take Anders away?

Wolf pulled out his daggers - there was no room for a sword. He pushed Anders back into the dirt and touched Zevran's shoulder - if they surprised the templars, they stood a chance. Zevran nodded and readied his blades. The sound of hoofs was approaching. Two horses. So, two templars. It would be tough but they could do it. Take out the dog first - Mabari hounds could overwhelm.

They waited for the templars to dismount. The horses stopped, they could hear their breathing, and the dog kept digging at the stones by the entrance. Yet they heard no voices, no clanking of armour, no thumps of heavy boots landing on the forest floor... No templars? Wolf had never seen templars wear anything other than heavy armour, if these were just wearing robes, that would be a first.

Zevran shrugged - he could not hear anyone either. Not even the softest step of the stealthiest rogue... So... what did it mean?

The dog finally managed to dig out one of the rocks. The dog's hot breath and low growl filled the little cave. Zevran raised his dagger - the moment the dog pushed through the opening, he would slit its throat.

Suddenly, the dog stopped digging. Coming so close to the opening, that Wolf and Zevran could see its teeth, the dog made a small, squeaky noise like a puppy calling to its mother...

"It's Bob!!" Wolf hissed as loudly as he dared, signaling Zevran to stand down. "He brought our horses!"

[Lena Wolf]

Last Seed, 3E387 - Escape

Although it was still summer, Soldier's Peak was covered in snow. Located high in the coastland mountains, it kept its cool all year around. It was an old base of the Grey Wardens Order of Ferelden, abandoned for the past three hundred years. It was in fact Wolf and his party who helped an old wizard dispell the haunting magic. That old wizard was still living there, the oldest Grey Warden of Ferelden, Avernus. Wolf refused to judge him for what happened so long ago, antagonising Wynne with his decision. But Wolf's position was clear: he was a Grey Warden, his loyalty lay with his Order and he refused to be bound by the currently prevailing morality. Once the fortress had been clensed, the Grey Wardens claimed it once again, and the descendents of the old Commander were glad to make it their home. They were no Grey Wardens, but a fortress needed people to tend to it too, and the Drydens were happy to assume that role. Their great-great-grandmother, Commander Sophia Dryden, had been judged harshly by her contemporaries, resulting in the dissolution of the Grey Wardens Order of Ferelden. The whole Drydens clan suffered for centuries as a result. With the fortress reclaimed, however, they found a new home and a new purpose, that of assisting the Grey Wardens in rebuilding their Order once the Blight was defeated once again.

It was to Soldier's Peak that Wolf and Zevran were bringing Anders from the Tower of Magi. They had just two horses between them, and anyhow Anders was too weak to ride on his own. They propped him up on the saddle behind Wolf and told him to hold on tight.

"Anders, are you awake?" Wolf called out when he felt Anders' grip slipping. "Watch out that you don't fall!"

"Huh?" A sleepy voice replied. "I... I'm awake, I think..."

"He's exhausted," Zevran moved his horse closer. "We'll have to strap him to you. Let's hope you won't have to jump off the horse until Soldier's Peak..."

Anders was too weak to object. They strapped him to Wolf's back and continued.

Twice they had to stop and it was up to Zevran and Bob to deal with the bandits along the way.

"You have excellent armour!" One bandit called out. "It will look better on me!!"

Zevran smirked and dismounted. Wolf picked up his crossbow. Bob charged the nearest bandit. It wasn't that hard to put them down; the hardest part was to calm the horse so that it wouldn't throw them off.

"Do you see this crest?" Zevran knelt over the bandit that wanted his armour. "Crows send their regards. I'll let you live, so you could tell the others. Do not cross me again."

They rode through the night without stopping, not wanting to risk getting caught. Anders went limp, but Wolf could feel his breathing behind him and knew that he wasn't dead. Finally, in the afternoon of the following day they reached the mountains surrounding Soldier's Peak and started their ascent just as the sun was setting. The air was growing colder by the minute, and Anders' breathing became shallow.

"Anders is cold," Wolf stopped his horse, not asking Anders himself as he didn't expect a reply. "The ascent is still long, we need to wrap him up better."

"He is past wrapping up," Zevran checked Anders' pulse. "He's passed out. He is cold and needs warming up, or else hypothermia will get him. Strip off."

"Whaa---?" Wolf's surprise made him slip into his native Nord accent. "Why?"

"Your body heat will keep him alive," Zevran smiled. "We'll strap him to your back, then wrap up both of you together. Let's hope it will be enough... He'll survive frostbite on his toes, if it is only that."

Several hours later two riders and a dog appeared in the courtyard of the Soldier's Peak fortress.

"Who goes there?" Someone challenged them over the barking of the dogs.

"Grey Wardens," Zevran replied loudly and clearly. "Home at last."

It took some doing to unwrap Wolf and Anders and to carry Anders inside, still unconscious. A warm bath was prepared and a cot was placed by the fire. The news that the Commander himself would be staying at the keep for the foreseeable future, spread through the fortress within minutes of their arrival, and despite the late hour, every inhabitant of Soldier's Peak came to welcome them home.

"We weren't expecting you, Commander, your rooms aren't ready!"

"I'm so sorry, we only have stew for supper! But we shall make sure there's roast tomorrow!"

"My goodness, we're out of buns! You can't have the Commander of the Grey just eat plain bread!"

"Where is the wine? Don't give him mead, that's for common folk!"

"No, actually, I'll have the mead!" Wolf tried to cut through the chaos of everyone talking at once.

Eventually children were sent to bed and adults calmed down, with most of them retiring for the night. Two women were still fussing over Anders, rubbing salves into his pale body and lamenting his starving looks.

"He looks like he's been starved for half a year at least!" One of them exclaimed. "Poor boy!"

"Perhaps not quite half a year, but several months for certain," Wolf tried to think how much time had passed since they first met Anders in Redcliffe. It seemed like a lifetime ago. "I just hope that he wakes up..."

"That he will," the older woman got to her feet, putting away the jars and bottles of remedies. "He's got some frostbite but he will live." She looked him over another time and tucked a blanket around him. "Now, what about you, Commander?" She looked sternly at Wolf. "Those wounds won't close if you keep scatching off the scabs..!"

...

It had been several days, and life at Soldier's Peak finally calmed down. Anders indeed woke up eventually, weak but alive, and happy to be out of the dungeon. Wolf made it a point to meet everyone in the keep, including young children and dogs. Bob found the kennels and chose to stay there rather than with humans. Things were looking up.

"Do you hear from Avernus at all?" Wolf asked Levi Dryden, the man who led them to Soldier's Peak to begin with.

"No, he keeps to himself," Levi shook his head. "We leave food for him by the door to his tower, but we don't go in. He takes the food... I wonder how he survived all this time, locked up in there... Surely, a man must eat, even a wizard..."

"I don't think he was locked up in there," Wolf pointed out. "Remember, when we first came here, there was a seal around the keep to hold in the demons, but Avernus' tower wasn't in it. It has a way into the caverns... He must have used that. A man must eat, as you say... I should go and say hello."

...

"So, the Grey Warden returns!" Avernus greeted Wolf when Wolf pushed the door to his tower. "Here for the summer?" He grinned.

"The Order has been reinstated," Wolf started with the most important news. "And the Blight is over, but you knew that already, of course."

"Yes, I felt it," Avernus nodded. "Remarkable how it works... So, how many Grey Wardens does Ferelden have now?"

"Three," Wolf shrugged. "Yourself included."

"Three?" Avernus squinted. "So, who killed the Archdemon?"

"I did."

"And yet here you are, alive and well, standing before me..." Avernus looked Wolf over, head to toe. "Interesting... You'll have to tell me about that, in detail... Very interesting indeed..." He paused, making mental notes. "So, what is it you wanted to ask?" Avernus grinned, seeing Wolf's surprise. "Oh, I cannot read your mind, don't worry. I just read your face. So let's hear it."

"I brought a mage with us... a young blood mage..." Wolf started cautiously. "He'd been starved for several months and is very weak..." He paused, searching for words.

"But..? I assume you tried all the usual remedies."

"He is not improving," Wolf looked worried. "In fact, despite the food and rest, he seems to be withering away, and quickly."

"And you want me to have a look?" Avernus picked up his staff. "Let's go then. There are several things I can think of..." He rubbed his chin. "A blood mage, you say? Hmm..."

...

When they entered the common room of the keep, they heard loud voices and clanking of heavy armour.

"We are here in the name of the Chantry to arrest an escaped apostate and maleficar that you are harboring! He cannot hide behind Grey Wardens!" An angry woman spoke in a commanding tone. "I demand you hand him over at once!"

"There is no one here who answers that description," the older housekeeper was standing her ground. "This is private property belonging to the Grey Wardens Order of Ferelden! You can't just barge in like that with your demands!"

Wolf took in the scene at a glance. Templars evidently tracked them down and were now demanding Anders' surrender. Three templars stood in the room, but were there more outside? Wolf noticed Zevran behind the door, blades at the ready.

"I am the Commander of the Grey," Wolf stepped forward. "You will leave these premises at once. These carpets have just been replaced, I want no blood stains on them. If there's anything you want to ask of me, do it outside!"

"You are harboring a fugitive! An apostate! A blood mage!"

"All three of them?" Wolf squinted, mocking. "Out!" He drew his sword and pointed at the door.

To his surprise, the templars obeyed. "They have reinforcements outside," he shook his head. Zevran stepped from behind the door. "Shall we?" Wolf shot a glance at Avernus - his face was set in resolve. Three against how many? Not as many as an army of darkspawn. They'd manage.

...

"You fight like a bleeding Archdemon, Commander!" The templar commander was on the ground, begging for mercy. "You can keep your apostate - he isn't worth it!"

"The bleeding Archdemon did not survive, so take heed," Wolf withdrew his sword from her throat. "The Chantry has no power over Grey Wardens."

"But he isn't... Oh never mind!" The templars were scrambling to their feet. "We'll say you invoked the Rite of Conscription!" She grinned, then gave a short laugh. "He will never survive the Joining. Good day to you, Commander."

...

"She's right, you know, your young friend is too weak," Avernus turned to Wolf after he examined Anders. "I can boost his strength of course, but that isn't the solution. We have to find the cause of his decline... besides starvation, that is. Now, did anything out of the ordinary happen in the past few days?" He asked Anders. "Did they give you anything unusual to eat or drink? Any strange magic cast upon you?"

"There was nothing unusual to eat, no... and templars don't cast magic..." Anders was trying to remember the last few days in the dungeons. "Well, I did have to boost my strength through blood so that we could escape..."

"Whose blood?" Avernus looked up sharply.

"Commander's..."

"A Grey Warden's blood?!"

"I didn't want to! But he insisted!" Anders protested.

"Oh, I don't mean it like that," Avernus softened his tone. "But a Grey Warden's blood is tainted. You have taken in some of the taint through your ritual. You are no Grey Warden yet, but if you want to live, the path lies through the Joining."

[Lena Wolf]

Evening Star, 3E387 - The Blight isn't over

Several months have passed since Wolf and Zevran brought Anders to Soldier's Peak. Avernus boosted his strength and Anders survived the Joining. The Grey Wardens Order of Ferelden now had four members.

"I understand why some recruits do not survive the Joining," Anders was musing one day. "Other than being physically too weak to absorb the taint... It's mental resistance that some might be lacking. When the Archdemon talks to you and makes you an offer to come over and join darkspawn instead..."

"The Archdemon made no such offer to me," Wolf shook his head. "And which Archdemon are you talking about? The Blight is over, there is no Archdemon... is there? No dragon has been talking to me in my sleep for a while."

"Err... that is... disturbing," Anders stared at Wolf. "I thought it was the Archdemon... a great big dragon, no? Unless... hmm..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless it was a different being that took the shape of a dragon to make me listen..." Anders rubbed his chin. "The Joining takes you into the Fade, you figured it out, I suppose?" He looked up and Wolf nodded. "Yes... Nothing is as it seems in the Fade. So it wasn't an Archdemon, so soon after the previous one was killed... But then - who was it?"

"I don't know and I don't like it," Wolf frowned. "I feel something too... The darkspawn have not dispersed as they should have done. Someone else is leading them now. The darkspawn army will make another move!"

...

"Vigil Keep is the oldest fortress in this province," a young female knight was telling Wolf and Anders as they were approaching the Keep. "The previous land owners used it as their home too. It would make for a very good and imposing base for the Grey Wardens Order. And anyhow, it needs to be secured, whether you make it your base or not."

The walls of an ancient fortress were already visible up ahead when a man out of breath was seen running away from it.

"Are you Grey Wardens?" He managed to say. "The Keep has fallen! Darkspawn are everywhere and everyone is dead!!!"

"Except for you, obviously," Wolf steadied the trembling man. "Who is 'everyone'?"

"The other Grey Wardens! The ones that had been sent ahead of your arrival! Grey Wardens of Orlais!" The man collapsed at his feet, exhausted.

"Hmm... Grey Wardens of Orlais, of all places..." Wolf shook his head. "Orlais, the kingdom that had enslaved Ferelden for over a century. Didn't the previous king perish trying to free Ferelden? Wasn't Loghain his General, the General who won that war? Didn't Alistair make it all clear to the Head Quarters?" Wolf shook his head again. "And they send us Grey Wardens of Orlais! I'm not so sure it was darkspawn that stormed the Keep and not just a bunch of angry locals!"

"Err... perhaps we should just go and see, eh? Commander?" Anders spoke softly.

"Yes, you're right," Wolf snapped out of his spell of indignation. "Prepare for battle though."

As they approached the Keep, they found the gates open and darkspawn battling the Keep soldiers in the courtyard. Darkspawn, not angry locals.

"What happened?" Wolf tried to get a feel for the situation from one of the soldiers.

"We got overwhelmed!" He breathed heavily. "All the Grey Wardens are dead! I think..."

"You think?"

"I don't know for sure, I stayed outside! The darkspawn are coming from the Keep!"

"From the building?" Wolf found it hard to believe. "But how..?" He shook his head, intercepting a glance from Anders. "Oh never mind, let's go and see!"

The Keep was indeed overrun by darkspawn and their corpses were everywhere. If the Grey Wardens were dead, they didn't go down twiddling their thumbs. Yet where were their bodies? Wolf couldn't see any Grey Wardens among the fallen. There were darkspawn and soldiers, but no Grey Wardens... how odd.

They fought their way to the battlements where more fighting was still ongoing. A darkspawn General was holding a knight at the tip of his sword... a Grey Warden knight. Wolf lunged at the General without thinking.

...

"I thank you, Warden Commander," the knight bowed his head when the fight was over. "I am no longer as strong as I used to be... which is why I was given this post - I am the seneschal of this Keep, a glorified housekeeper, really..."

"I think you acquitted yourself formidably, Seneschal," Wolf smiled, looking over heapes of darkspawn corpses covering the battlements. "Those were overwhelming odds. But tell me - how did it happen?"

"I don't rightly know, Commander," the Seneschal shook his head. "They came from the Keep itself... overwhelmed us during the night... Some of the Grey Wardens simply vanished, while others fell in battle. The Keep does have basements that go very deep... and there's been talk..."

"We'll investigate the basements later," Wolf changed the subject. "But how is it possible that the Wardens didn't sense the darkspawn approach? We always do, that's why we drink their blood during the Joining!"

"I don't rightly know," the Seneschal looked apologetic. "I am sorry."

"Alright, we'll figure it out," Wolf smiled. "Let's finish clearing the Keep."

They went through the remainder of the Keep clearing darkspawn, but didn't see any new arrivals. It really seemed as if they got what they came for and withdrew. There were only a few Grey Wardens that fell in that battle, the rest seemed to have vanished.

"I've never heard of darkspawn taking prisoners," Wolf was saying with worry. "Is this some sort of new type of intelligent darkspawn? What do they want with the Wardens?"

"I don't know and I don't like it," the Seneschal agreed. "We'll need to investigate. But in the meantime, we have new arrivals! The Head Quarters sent us new recruits."

"I wasn't sent by no Head Quarters!" A familiar voice sounded behind Wolf. "Commander, eh? Well, I'm here to join!"

"Oghren!" Wolf spun around, recognising the dwarf they met in the Deep Roads. "Clad in the armour of the Legion of the Dead, no less. And reaking of booze, as always."

"Old habits never die," he grinned. "Yes, I joined the Legion for a short time, but then decided I'd be better off with you. I spent too long on the surface, they kept teasing me about being a surface dwarf, that I betrayed the Stone and all that... ugh..."

"Then welcome," Wolf smiled. "I'm sure you'll do just fine at the Joining."

"I am here to join as well," the guide that brought them to Vigil Keep spoke up. "I am a knight with the Royal Guard... and... well... I got bored..."

"Then join the party, girl!" Oghren laughed out loud. "Like, what are you doing tonight?"

"Eewww..!"

...

The Joining ceremony was solemn, as usual. Oghren drank the entire contents of the chalice and the Seneschal had to prepare a fresh mixture. The young knight didn't fare as well though - she did not survive.

"It would have been better for her to remain bored," Oghren said with regret.

After the ceremony, the first order of the day was to investigate the basements, then the dungeons, then talk to the tradesmen, the weaponsmith, the armourer, the greengrocer, the... treasurer?

"I was sent by the Head Quarters to assist you," a very stern looking ageing woman addressed Wolf and he felt being back in junior school with his school mistress telling him off for skipping his homework again. "I shall control... err... manage your funds."

"We need more Grey Wardens! Warriors! Archers! Mages!" Wolf rolled his eyes. "And the Head Quarters sends us an accountant?!"

"Such are the orders of the First Commander," the woman answered firmly.

Their days were filled with tasks, even including fighting darkspawn. Anders was fully recovered and proved to be a talented mage. He still used blood magic but never took anyone else's blood but his own. He focused on healing magics and learned to raise people knocked out in battle, but he never made it sound like a necromancy spell.

"It doesn't actually matter what you say when you cast a spell," he shrugged when Wolf told him that Morrigan used a different incantation. "It's just something to focus your mind. I prefer to say something nice instead."

"So what do you say when you slit your wrist for a blood ritual?" Wolf squinted.

"Ouch - it hurts!"

...

"Oh look - this is a silverite mine!" Oghren pointed out ore deposits in one of the caves that they came across. "It proves that this area is connected to the Dwarven Kingdom!"

"Why? Because it's got an ore vein?" Anders squinted.

"No, because I said so!" Oghren snapped at him. "Remember what we found in the basement of the Keep? An exit into the Deep Roads!"

"Yes, that explains where the darkspawn came from," Wolf nodded. "It doesn't explain where they've gone to and what they've done with the Grey Wardens that vanished. But I suppose we should explore this mine..."

The mine was eerily quiet. There was no darkspawn, no spiders and even no rats. It looked as if the miners simply went home for supper, yet a fine layer of dust over everything indicated that no one set foot in that mine for a very long time.

"I don't like it," Wolf frowned. "I cannot sense any darkspawn, but I know they are nearby... They must be..."

They walked on, turned a corner, heard something snap... and felt the ground fall away under their feet, taking them into the depths of a dark and ominous chasm...

[Lena Wolf]

Evening Star, 3E387 - A new kind of darkspawn

Wolf, Anders and Oghren woke up in a locked cell of an underground fort. They were stripped of their armour and weapons and left just with plain clothes on their backs.

"What is the meaning of this, I wonder?" Wolf got up and looked through the bars.

"Those bastards stole my hipflask!!" Oghren exloded in swears. "We've got to get out of here!"

"On that we agree," Wolf nodded. "But this lock is too hard to pick."

"And you have no lockpicks," Anders pointed out.

"And I was never good at picking locks," Wolf had to admit.

"Oh, stand aside, you whimps..." Oghren stepped back, then took a run at the door, crushing into it like a wrecking ball. The lock screeched and clicked and the door flung open. "I don't need no lockpicks..." He snorted.

The fort had a complicated layout of old halls, cells, cave-ins and earth tunnels, and in every section there was darkspawn. Corpses, too - humans, elves, dwarves. They were either stripped naked or only wore simple clothes, and it was impossible to tell who those people were or what they did in life.

"Some of them may be our Grey Wardens," Wolf peered into their faces. "If they were captured like we were... but to what end, I wonder?"

"All these people are infected with darkspawn taint," Anders pointed out. "Look at the marks on their skin... These corpses have been here for different lengths of time, some are already quite decomposed, while others are very fresh..."

"Stop talking about them as if they are ham!" Oghren snapped. "You're making me hungry."

"They also all seem to have been tortured... or experimented upon..." Wolf examined a fresh corpse. "Look - needle marks and small cuts..."

"Like the cuts we make for blood rituals," Anders nodded. "But... darkspawn are mindless creatures, aren't they? So who is the scientist?"

They got so engrossed in their investigation that they didn't hear darkspawn approach.

"Hey! That darkspawn's got my junk!!!" Oghren bellowed, spotting one wearing his armour. "No one steals Oghren's junk and lives!!!"

As they moved further, they came across other darkspawn in possession of their things, which they liberated. What was rather more disturbing, however, was that some of the darkspawn were no darkspawn at all. They were people infected with the taint, but they were no mindless ghouls. They fought with intelligence and determination...

"...like they were Grey Wardens." Wolf dropped to his knees by the body of one such person that they finally defeated. "You didn't know who we were, did you, Brother?" He closed the dead man's eyes, realising that the man was a man no longer - whatever experiments were performed on him, turned him into darkspawn, but one with superior reasoning and skills. He was not controlled by anyone, the way an Archdemon controls his Generals. Instead, this man was controlling the darkspawn. "Someone here is building an army," Wolf got up. "And if he isn't an Archdemon, than who is he and what does he want?"

Yet, besides more darkspawn, they did not find anything else, and certainly got no answers. Then, in the final hall, they saw a strange being on the balcony. He resembled a demonic abomination but had less disgusting fleshy growth; he also resembled darkspawn, but with a less revolting look. There was intelligence in his face, and he wore an elaborate, if bizarre, vestment - an armoured robe, perhaps, or a breastplate with tails... An elf and a dwarf stood at his side, each infected with darkspawn taint, but neither was a ghoul. They nodded to each other and the man clapped his hands, calling forth two drakes that were nesting under the high vaulted ceiling. Our party was not meant to escape.

"These dragons don't look nearly as big as the one I met in the Fade!" Anders exclaimed, readying a spell.

"These aren't dragons!" Wolf shouted, loading his crossbow. "These are drakes! Lesser dragon kin! But they'll kill us all the same if we don't focus!"

"So focus!" Oghren bellowed. "Leave the biology lecture for after supper! Arghhhhh!!!!"

Two drakes presented a very significant challenge. Oghren charged them without fear and took most damage, getting knocked out several times during the fight. Anders had his hands full watching and reviving him again and again. Wolf ran out of enchanted bolts for his crossbow and switched to plain ones, but they didn't do nearly enough damage. He then started dipping them in poison, throwing acid bombs, even tried laying traps... But that took time and it was hard to predict where a drake might land, and as a result it was Oghren who got caught in the traps rather than the drakes.

"Stop running around and cut your wrists!" Oghren shouted over the screeching of angry drakes. "I saw you do it before! Horror or pain or whatever you unleash with that! Do it!!!"

"I don't know how to choose..." Wolf started to object, but one of the drakes landed nearly on top of him, pushing him to decide quickly. "Let my pain be yours!!!" He screamed, cutting his wrist. A spray of blood shot from the wound, hitting the drake square in the chest, it shrieked, as if it too received a wound. "It worked!" Wolf quickly rolled from under the drake and took up his sword. "You won't fly again!" The drake was still cowering in pain, and Wolf jumped on top of him, going for the wings.

"That's the way!!" Oghren ran over and together they finished off a nearly immobilised drake.

What came next, was completely unexpected: Wolf collapsed on the ground, unconscious.

...

"Blood magic is a dangerous thing!" Wolf heard Anders' voice in the distance. "Oh come on now, time to wake up!"

He sat up, looking around. The two drakes lay dead, Oghren was "applying medicine" from his hipflask and Anders was applying bandages on all three of them.

"What happened?"

"You shared your pain with the drake," Anders looked up. "But that didn't absolve you from that pain yourself. On the contrary, you were losing blood and taking punishment. The more punishment, the greater the effect, and that's what defeated that drake so quickly. But you didn't stop in time... You died with that drake too."

"I died?!" Wolf cried out, thinking it was a bad joke.

"Yes, I had to resurrect you," Anders nodded. "There's a small window after a person dies, during which time a Spirit Healer might repair the damage and coerse the person's spirit to return into the body..."

"Save your lectures for after supper, mage," Oghren had had enough of the learned talk. "You raised him, and he isn't a ghoul, that's good enough for me. Let's get out of here."

It was only then that they looked up to the balcony where they'd seen that strange being with two companions. They were still there, watching. Wolf got up and wanted to say something, but the being slowly shook his head and turned around to leave, signaling his companions to follow. Wolf's first impulse was to go after them, but there was no obvious way to get to the upper level, and if there were any more drakes ahead, they would not survive. With a sigh, he turned to the door - it was time to return to Vigil Keep.




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Oct 9 2024, 05:21 PM

[Lena Wolf]

Evening Star, 3E387 - Mother and Father

"Kristoff went to Black Marsh," Wolf finished reading the journal of one of the Grey Wardens that had been sent to Vigil Keep ahead of them. "At least he didn't get kidnapped by the darkspawn like the others..."

"What's in Black Marsh?" Oghren squinted. "I heard stories... the place is haunted."

"And so it is," Wolf nodded. "That's why Kristoff went there. Someone told him they saw darkspawn coming from there, so he went to investigate."

"And he hasn't returned," Anders noted with caution. "This doesn't bode well..."

...

Black Marsh was a swampy area to the East of Vigil Keep. It used to have a village and a mansion, and life there was rumoured to be good and prosperous in spite of the soggy ground. It was in fact that soggy ground that provided the wealth - peat was a valuable commodity. But several years ago something happened, some kind of a supernatural blast. It ignited the peat and both the village and the mansion went up in flames. People tried returning to the marsh, but they kept hearing voices, and rumours spoke of strange deaths and disappearances... But perhaps those were just rumours. Regardless, the place was declared lost, and even the peat could not attract anyone any longer.

"Well, it must be haunted because here's the sign saying so," Oghren smirked when they approached the entrance to the area. "It does look awfully dark and dull in there, like they have a different weather or something..."

The area was deserted. The village and the mansion were but burned out husks, all trees were charred and electrical charge hung in the air.

"Whatever happened here, tore holes in the Veil," Anders declared, sniffing the air. "Perhaps not big enough to let a horde of demons through... But that peat was ignited by magic, I am certain."

"And here comes darkspawn!!!" Oghren bellowed, noticing a group of darkspawn emerge from under the ground. It wasn't that hard to put them down, but more and more kept coming, there seemed to be an endless supply. The darkspawn seemed to push them onto a clearing. Once they reached it, darkspawn stopped coming.

"This must be Kristoff!" Wolf noticed a body of a man among all the darkspawn corpses. "He fell in battle."

"Yes, the Mother's plan worked," a darkspawn emissary stepped forward. "The Mother knows best..."

"A talking darkspawn..?" Oghren was taken aback. "That can't be!"

"The Mother wishes to talk," the emissary addressed Wolf. "Talk with Grey Wardens. Come, I take you to the Mother."

"Did she want to talk to Kristoff as well?" Wolf squinted, unsheathing his sword. "And who is she, anyway? A broodmother, perhaps?"

"The Mother wishes to hear the Song again," the emissary replied. "The Father wishes to kill the Song... The Mother wishes to kill the Father."

"The Father must be that other being we met in the silverite mine," Anders said quietly. "They are both after Grey Wardens... I don't like it."

"I don't think the Mother wishes to talk at all," Oghren took up his battleaxe. "Talking or not, he's still darkspawn. I say we kill him."

"No, I must take you to the Mother!" The emissary exclaimed and cast a spell... The world around them whirled and twisted, and a moment later they stood on dry ground in Black Marsh, and it was nothing like the Black Marsh from a moment ago.

"This is the Fade," Anders looked around. "Is the Mother in the Fade?"

"The Fade! The Mother is not in the Fade! The Mother tricked me!" The darkspawn emissary looked angry. "I shall find a way out and kill the Mother!"

"We should find a way out too," Anders pointed out. "Before our bodies back in Mundus die of starvation."

"And thirst," Oghren nodded, taking a swig from his hip flask. "It just doesn't taste right..."

As they walked around the Fade version of Black Marsh, they met many villagers that must have lived in the real village. They seemed to have recently realised where they were, and they gathered around the mansion to demand that the baroness living there, would send them home. The baroness, however, just laughed.

"She is possessed by a Demon of Pride," a spirit approached them. "I've watched it long enough... I am Justice. I do not meddle in the affairs of mortals, but this has gone beyond that. I shall help you oust the baroness," he looked at the crowd.

Cheers followed, and the gates were breached. The baroness appeared on the steps of her mansion and a battle ensued. Wolf didn't even have time to consider whether he wanted to join forces with a spirit or not... suddenly there was a demon to battle, and he had no choice.

They could not defeat the demon, not even with their combined might. Half way through the battle the demon cast a spell, the world whirled and twisted and they stood in the Black Marsh again.

"Well, at least we're out of the Fade!" Anders got up from the ground, patting his robe. "It could have been worse, I suppose..."

"Where am I?" They heard a voice behind them. "What is this place?"

Kristoff's dead body rose from the ground, animated by a spirit within.

"Justice?" Anders took a cautious step forward. "What are you doing out of the Fade and in Kristoff's body?"

"I... I do not know," the spirit sounded disturbed. "The spell that the demon cast... it affected me as well... but I have no body in this world... Kristoff, you say? Ah, the man whose body I inhabit... I have his memories... It hasn't been long since he died... He was a Grey Warden, like you... all of you..."

"Can you get back to the Fade?" Anders seemed fascinated by the spirit in Kristoff's body. "What are you going to do?"

"I... I do not know..." The spirit looked lost.

"Well, Kristoff was a Grey Warden, and you are in his body," Wolf decided to be practical. "We fight darkspawn. We defeated the Blight, but something is afoot and darkspawn are not withdrawing. If you have no better plans, join us until we figure out how to get you back to the Fade."

"Plans..? I have no plans... But your cause is just, and this world so strange and unfamiliar... I shall join you, Warden."

"Why do I feel that I am going to regret this?" Anders muttered under his breath but didn't say anything aloud.

And thus Justice became a rather odd member of the Grey Wardens. Upon reflection, he found a lot of similarities between the Fade and the mortal world, and soon he felt less lost or confused than before. Still, the body he inhabited was dead and started to decompose. It had to be returned to Kristoff's widow for burial, too. But once again the situation was forced by a darkspawn incursion.

An army of horrific new darkspawn attacked a city near Vigil Keep. At the same time a more conventional army of darkspawn flooded the countryside. It was as if the Blight had restarted all over again.

"So much for trusting Morrigan!" Alistair spoke angrily. "That witch betrayed us, Wolf! The Archdemon must have been reborn! You are still alive because the Archdemon lives as well!"

"I am not so sure it's the Archdemon leading them, actually," Wolf shook his head. "Did you learn anything interesting at the Head Quarters? The orders of the First Commander were strange indeed... sending here Grey Wardens of Orlais at first, and then following up with an accountant? An accountant???? What on earth are they thinking?"

"I... well... bureaucracy, you know..." Alistair shuffled his feet. "They didn't want to hear any reports... I had to write it all down, and they filed it away without reading..."

"Well, that explains a lot!" Wolf scowled. "At least the documents will be safe there... safer than being stored in an enchanted chest at Ostagar... Although I see now why Duncan chose a chest to start with..."

"Yeah..." Alistair sighed. "So, it's up to us again then. What shall we do, Commander?"

"We fight darkspawn, what else?" Wolf grinned. "Come on, we have a city to defend!"

They rushed to the city under siege, clearing darkspawn along the way. They made a good dent in the darkspawn army and things started to look up, when suddenly another talking darkspawn emissary arrived on the scene in between the fighting.

"I bring a message from the Father!" He shouted. "Hear me out!"

Wolf signaled the soldiers to hold their fire and the emissary continued.

"The Mother is sending an army much bigger than this to the Vigil Keep! She wants to wipe out all Grey Wardens! The Father wants to help the Wardens! He gives you directions to the Mother's lair! Hurry! Save your Keep! Kill the Mother!"

"Who is this Father and Mother?" Alistair looked dumbstruck seeing a talking darkspawn. "What is going on?"

"New kind of darkspawn," Wolf replied quickly. "More dangerous than ever before. There seem to be two factions..."

"Both are darkspawn and need to be killed!" Alistair squinted, ready to charge the emissary.

"Yes, but we do not know how to reach the Father," Wolf stopped him, then addressed the emissary. "We thank you for the message," he said calmly. "We shall take the fight to the Mother, but not before we have cleared this city. Vigil Keep has its own defenders, the city does not."

"But Grey Wardens must not die!" The emissary objected. "Grey Wardens must save the Keep!"

"Grey Wardens defend the land from darkspawn," Wolf shook his head. "We stay."

"What shall we do with the messenger?" The City Guard commander asked Wolf, ready to charge the emissary.

"Let him go," Wolf shook his head. "He needs to return to the Father with our response..."

It didn't take too long to clear the city of darkspawn, and Wolf and his party rushed to Vigil Keep. The Keep however was completely surrounded by a sea of monstrous creatures - far more monstrous than the usual darkspawn.

"The Mother's army," Wolf said to Alistair. "Darkspawn like we've never seen it before. If we engage them here, we'll die, we are too late to join the defense of the Keep. Our best bet is to go after the Mother."

"And if she is indeed the one directing this army, the battle will end soon after her death," Alistair nodded. "Let's go. The emissary's information better be correct!"

...

As they approached the location of an abandoned ruin high in the mountains, they started seeing more and more of that new type of darkspawn - the Mother's army. It seemed they were on the right track. The further and deeper into the ruin they went, the more darkspawn they saw. The battles were heavy, and they wondered what was still to come.

"The Mother is a broodmother of some sort," Alistair theorised. "She seems to be laying eggs... These darkspawn seem to develop from fat worms into flesh eating bugs into... I don't want to think what the final form will be like!"

"Something most unpleasant, no doubt," Anders agreed, trying not to inhale too much stench and not succeeding. "Why does this stuff have to smell so bad?"

"Don't think of it - just squash them!" Oghren smashed another cocoon and green sticky liquid oozed out of it. "That one will never hatch!"

They turned a corner and entered another hall, ready for battle. But this time there were no darkspawn there, instead they saw the strange being again, and they realised this was the Father.

"I wish to help you defeat the Mother," he said. "She is pure evil, she built a spectacular army which she controls. I, on the other hand, do not seek to control my brethren, I seek to free them. They regain their minds and start thinking for themselves. It is true that darkspawn is drawn to the old gods slumbering beneath the earth. We seek one out and make it rise as the next Archdemon. Then a new Blight begins, and you have to defeat it. But darkspawn never disappears, we simply regroup and the cycle starts again. I wish to break the cycle. I wish to free my brethren from their urge to seek out an old god to make into an Archdemon. If I succeed, there will never be another Blight. But for that I need your help."

Wolf couldn't quite believe what he was hearing, yet the Father was a most intriguing figure. He said nothing, and the Father continued.

"The same as Grey Wardens drink darkspawn blood to become what they are, darkspawn needs Grey Warden blood to free them from the call to raise a new Archdemon. All I ask is some of your blood, and in exchange I shall help you defeat the Mother."

"There are a lot more darkspawn than there are Grey Wardens," Anders said softly. "I don't think there will be any blood left for ourselves."

"This doesn't sound right," Alistair agreed. "Didn't you find some of the Grey Wardens in that ruin where you were imprisoned? And they were turned into darkspawn?"

"I must apologise for restraining you there," the Father spoke again. "I had to protect you from the darkspawn..."

"Do you realise that none of it makes sense?" Wolf squinted at him. "You tried to kill us with those drakes! We were not supposed to escape! You experimented on other Grey Wardens, we've seen the signs... And yes, some of the darkspawn appear to be freed... but the majority are still the same as before! I don't see how it can work."

"This is all that I can tell you, I am afraid," the Father inclined his head. "You have to trust in my best intentions."

"Yeah, and that isn't going to happen!!" Oghren cried out in anger. "Why are we even still talking to him? I am not giving my blood to darkspawn, and that is final!"

Everyone agreed with Oghren and a battle broke out. The Father wasn't easy to defeat, but defeat him they did. When he lay motionless on the ground, they could finally examine his body.

"He was a human once," Anders concluded. "Then he turned into... something. His robe appears to be Tevinter... a very old design. Say... could he be one of those first mages that corrupted the Golden City? They were Tevinter magisters, if memory serves..."

"That's what the Chantry preaches, yes," Alistair nodded. "The Golden City was the residence of the Maker, and Tevinter magisters corrupted it, turning it into the Black City, and they themselves became the first darkspawn... If this... man... was one of them... then there must be others."

"Hmm... That is a disturbing thought," Wolf nodded. "But anyhow, this one is dead, now we have to find the Mother, whatever she is."

...

"Oh, the Father is dead! You killed the Father! You killed the Architect!!!" A bleeding broodmother presided over a large hall deeper in the ruin. She could not move, but many agile tentacles reminded our party that she did not have to move. Broodmothers had other ways to do battle. "The Father was the one who stopped the Song! The most beautiful music that made me forget who I was and what I have become! Now there is just silence - and suffering! Did he say he wanted to free us? Well, he's done it to me! And look at me now!!!"

"Did you really want to wipe out all Grey Wardens?" Wolf asked her.

"Of course! He uses your blood to kill the Song!"

"Let's just kill her and be done with it," Alistair unsheathed his sword.

"Yes! You came to kill the Mother! Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha!" She laughed, and her voice echoed in the hall. "Perhaps in death I shall hear the Song again!"

She attacked. It appeared that even though she wanted to be dead, she was still going to try to take as many Grey Wardens with her as she could.

...

"That was no easy fight," Anders commented, rising from a knock-out. "This was one angry woman."

"That's a lot of nipples," Oghren stood over the body of the Mother. "Did she use them all?"

"She didn't, she laid eggs," Alistair shook his head, piercing a few remaining cocoons. "She's dead. Now what?"

"Now we return to Vigil Keep and see if the darkspawn horde has retreated or whether they need reminding to do so," Wolf wiped his sword on the Mother's skin. "Our battle is not yet over."

"Where's Zevran?" Alistair suddenly realised that he wasn't with them.

"Back at the Keep," Wolf shrugged. "He's been training new recruits when this whole commotion started..."

"Then there's no time to lose!"

[Lena Wolf]

Second Seed, 3E388 - End of the Blight

Vigil Keep stood firm against the Mother's darkspawn army. The walls were too strong to breach and the defenders had every tactical advantage. By the time Wolf's party reached the Keep, fighting was receding, in particular since the darkspawn no longer heard the Mother's call. Still, even though no fresh darkspawn was forthcoming, there was a horde to clear.

Many soldiers from the Keep's garrison fell in that battle. It was a stark reminder that even without a Blight, darkspawn always remained a threat. Of the Grey Wardens only one was killed - Kristoff. With Justice animating his body, he fought valiantly until one large Hurlock cut off his head. Kristoff's body was finally returned to his widow for burial, and she was proud that he served with Grey Wardens even after his death.

Yet what became of Justice remained unknown. A spirit without a body, he was a mere wisp in the mortal world, without any possibility of returning to the Fade. Not being a demon, the idea of possessing a living body was abhorrent to him, and the impracticality of possessing a dead one became abundantly clear. After all, within a few days after death, the body began to smell. With all the darkspawn trouble, they never had a chance to figure out how to return Justice to the Fade.

Slowly life calmed down and the Wardens settled in at Vigil Keep. They started rebuilding their ranks, and everyone had their hands full training new recruits. Zevran stayed on as well, although he never became a Grey Warden himself.

Anders and Wolf were spending long stretches of time at Soldier's Peak with Avernus, and Wolf finally learned to use the power of his blood without dying. He also started practicing his Voice - those few words in the dragon tongue that he learned back in Skyrim.

A few months have passed in relative calm, with only some small pockets of darkspawn appearing here and there, which was not unusual after a Blight. By all appearances, it was time for Wolf to return to Tamriel. Yet before going, there was one more thing he wanted to do - to find Morrigan.

It was a difficult task because he promised her to leave her alone and not to follow, but he wanted to know how she was and didn't want to leave without seeing her. She would not object if they merely met by chance... and Wolf was determined to bring that chance about.

He started by visiting the Korcari Wilds, circling around the hut where she and Flemeth used to live, not expecting to find either of them there. Like a hound, he was picking up a scent. To his surprise he found the fire burning in the grate and the dust disturbed, he retreated and waited nearby to see who was there.

An elven woman appeared. She too seemed to be looking for Morrigan, since Wolf could not imagine she would be looking for Flemeth. She muttered under her breath - Morrigan seemed to have stolen something from the Keeper of their clan: an ancient elven book.

"If only I could go to the Tower of Magi!" The woman lamented. "There must be similar books in their library, all books they stole from us! Then this elu... eli... something or other... If I could only figure out what it was, I'd find it and Morrigan with it!"

Wolf briefly considered talking to the elven woman, but shook his head - no, it was none of her business. If they didn't even know what the book was about, she would be of no help. Instead, he went to the Tower of Magi on his own.

...

"Anything I can help you with?" One of the mages in the library had been staring at him for a good half an hour. "Forgive me, but you don't look like a mage."

"It doesn't take a mage to use a library," Wolf smirked. "I can read, thank you."

"Err... that didn't come out right," the mage blushed. "But I notice you're studying books from the Restricted section. Blood magic, ancient artefacts, elven runes... Most mages would require a special permission from the First Enchanter to study any of that... yet the templars just let you have it!" He pursed his lips at such an injustice.

"Well, I do have such a permission from the First Enchanter, as a matter of fact," Wolf smiled. "And I can read, too." He turned away from the mage signaling that the matter was closed.

Fifteen minutes later the mage was back.

"Eluvians do not exist," he said pointing at one of the books on ancient elven artefacts on Wolf's desk. "So you can stop all that cross-referencing, it is all for naught."

Wolf didn't answer and continued his study.

Some time later the mage returned.

"My name is Finn," he sat at the desk next to Wolf. "I've been studying ancient artefacts for years. I know that book by heart. Eluvians don't exist, I'm telling you!"

"Oh really?" Wolf squinted. "Well, if my translation is correct - and I am no scholar - then it appears that you need another elven artefact to reveal an eluvian. Without it, you'd just walk right past it and never know it was there."

"What?!" Finn exclaimed and several heads turned. "Let me see that!"

"Well, I am not so sure if you have a special permission from the First Enchanter to read this, you know. Blood magic and stuff..." Wolf covered the scroll. "Are you even qualified? I've seen enough abominations to last me a lifetime!"

"You've... you've seen abominations?" Finn backed off. "Here in the tower? When... oh! But then you are... oh yes! It makes perfect sense!"

"It does?" Wolf squinted at him.

"I can help you find that eluvian, Commander," Finn gave him a broad smile. "I now know who you are."

"You do?" Wolf smirked. "Alright, so how do you propose to find it?"

"Let me see that scroll first," Finn smiled again. "If your translation is correct..."

Wolf passed him the scroll and Finn took a few moments to read it.

"It is of course another elven artefact that is needed for this," he dropped the scroll on the desk. "I should have seen it myself! Some dwarven ruins are built on top of elven ones which came first. The artefacts can be found there. Something that is known as a 'light'. The only snag is that we need an elf to find it."

"An elf? Which elf?" Wolf thought he knew where it was going.

"Any elf... They are hidden... only for elves to see..." Finn lowered his voice and whispered in Wolf's ear: "We need elven blood to reveal the lights."

"I see," Wolf nodded. "I know an elf that might help us. And I assume you know the spell..?"

"Oh yes," Finn's eyes glistened. "As well as where to go. I even have permission to leave the tower... for research. This is research! It applies," he concluded firmly.

...

Several days later Wolf, Finn and Zevran stood near the entrance of an abandoned dwarven settlement that was built on top of an elven ruin. Traces of elven architecture could still be seen among dwarven carvings.

"This looks a bit like Deep Roads," Zevran looked around. "Let's hope there's no darkspawn!"

Of course there was darkspawn.

"Here they come!" Wolf sensed a group of darkspawn approach. "Prepare for battle!"

"Battle?!" Finn froze. "But..."

"Finn," Wolf turned to him and took his wrist. "You are a blood mage. This is no different than performing one of your rituals. Keep me and Zevran alive and try not to get hit yourself. We'll be fine."

"How did you..?" Finn almost choked, but Wolf only shot him a glance - there was no more time for talk.

Fortunately, it didn't take long for Finn to recover. The group of darkspawn was small, even if it did outnumber them three to one. They were defeated without an incident.

"Phew... I've never been in a fight before..." Finn was still shaking slightly. "This is nothing like performing a ritual! I only make a small cut, only a few drops of blood are required for most things, there's no cutting off heads or freezing them solid or... Did you slit your wrist as well?!" He suddenly realised why Wolf's wrist was bleeding slightly. "So the rumours are true!"

"What rumours?" Wolf looked at him sideways, putting pressure on the wrist.

"Shall we return to the task at hand?" Zevran interrupted them. "If it's elven blood you want, you should be looking at my wrists, not his."

The ritual was very simple and required just a few drops of Zevran's blood, as Finn had promised. It revealed a pathway and hidden locations where Finn had to cast another spell to reveal the actual lights they were after. Lanterns, as it appeared. They collected all the lanterns they could find and set off to Brecilian Forest in search of an ancient elven ruin with a hidden eluvian.

...

"Just how much elven blood do you actually need?!" Zevran was getting annoyed when Finn asked for his blood for the fifth time. "A few drops here, a few drops there, you'll bleed me empty at this rate!"

"This should be the last time... I hope," Finn looked uncomfortable. "I am sorry! I can't help it! Ancient elves covered everything in blood enchantments! We won't find a thing without your blood!"

"Find what without the blood?" A woman's voice spoke from the next hall. "Did I not ask you not to follow?"

"Leave them to it," Zevran stopped Finn from entering the hall.

"Morrigan," Wolf approached. "I... well... there's no point in pretence, is there?" He smiled. "How are you?"

"Not bad," she smiled too. "I thought you'd find me sooner or later. It's a boy."

"When?"

"Last month."

"What now?"

"Now I must prepare..." She sighed. "Do you know what this is?" She touched the surface of a large mirror before her and it rippled like water.

"An eluvian," Wolf offered.

"Yes... a gate to another Realm... I must take our child there."

"Is he..?" Wolf didn't dare to say it.

"A demon? No," Morrigan smiled. "Right now he is just a little boy. But I can see the signs - he's got an ancient soul. I must see to it that it remains pure and free of any taint."

"Do you want me to come with you? You don't have to do it alone."

"Oh but I do... What I want is... irrelevant now." She looked at him and smiled with sadness. "Perhaps we meet again some day... but until then, it is Flemeth you need to be watching, not me... Flemeth is not what she seems, even to you, and you see more than most. Dragon blood... yes, that must be it." She gave him a long penetrating look, and he took advantage of that pause, ran up to her, catching her in his embrace.

"You won't go without a kiss this time," he said in her ear. "We'll meet again, I am sure of it."

"Not leaving us yet, then?" She looked into his eyes after a time.

"I'm not finished here, no," he smiled. "And when I do... we'll just have to install an eluvian in Tamriel."

They took some time to properly say goodbye, but it was still a goodbye, they both knew it. Future was uncertain, and whether or not they would meet again, remained in question.

"The elven book is there," Morrigan waved towards the corner of the hall. "Take it to the elves for me, will you? They could not even read it... such a shame," she shook her head. "But you've done better... I always knew you could read," she smiled and kissed him again. "I left a little something for you there, I hope it will prove of use... Goodbye, my friend..."

They kissed one last time and Morrigan stepped through the eluvian. Its surface rippled like that of a pond, then went dull and solid. Wolf stared at it for a few moments, then went to pick up the book and the gift. "Morrigan's amulet," he sensed the enchantment. "Take life from the dead..."

[Lena Wolf]

Evening Star, 3E389 - A missing mage

Two years or so had passed since the final defeat of the Blight as well as the awakened Mother and Father. Grey Wardens of Ferelden replenished their ranks and peaceful activities replaced constant battles. The Circle of Magi recovered from the rebellion of blood mages, and life really seemed to return to normal. One day the First Enchanter sent a request to the Commander of the Grey to hold a lecture on the nature of the Father, also known as the Architect. Was he really one of the original Tevinter mages who corrupted the Maker's own Golden City? Or was he merely a strange sort of darkspawn? And what was darkspawn in the first place?

Wolf didn't feel at all at ease holding a lecture like that, and he asked Anders to do it instead. Hesitant at first, Anders eventually agreed and left for the Tower of Magi as planned. There he held the lecture with great success, impressing both the mages and the apprentices with his knowledge and charisma. He refused their calls to return to the Circle of Magi, said his goodbyes and set off on his trip back to Vigil Keep. And then he vanished.

...

"Where is Anders?" Alistair spoke with a sense of urgency. "It's not like him to just disappear without a trace. The First Enchanter assures me that the lectures went well and Anders left for Vigil Keep fully intending to return here. But that was three weeks ago! So where is he, I ask?"

"That is worrying, indeed," Wolf nodded. "Have you sent scouts?"

"Yes and nothing," Alistair sighed. "They went all the way to the tower and back, searched side roads and caves... They found no Anders and no body of Anders. The man just vanished!"

"People don't vanish just like that, not even mages," Wolf pointed out. "We've got his phylactery, can you track him down?"

"Can I... what..?" Alistair was taken aback. "I'm no hound!"

"But you are a templar," Wolf didn't give up. "What do you need to find him?"

"Oh... umm... the truth is... err..." Alistair looked away. "I can't do it."

"Why not?"

"I don't take lyrium. I didn't complete my training, I told you. I can't actually hunt down mages."

"So for the better," Wolf grinned. "But what are we going to do?"

"We could ask someone from the Chantry..."

"No."

"Well... We could send scouts further afield..."

...

"Anders is in Kirkwall," Alistair handed Wolf a report a week later. "Hiding in Darktown, blending in with refugees. Doing some healing, apparently. But why, I have no idea."

"Something must have happened," Wolf carefully read the report but it didn't say anything more. "I'll go. This may require a delicate touch... so don't wait up."

...

Kirkwall greeted Wolf with disbelief and rejection.

"The city is closed, we want no more refugees!" The guard pushed him back quite unceremoniously when Wolf requested entry, having arrived by ship like many others. "Back off! The Blight's been over for a while, so go back to your country!"

"I am not actually a refugee," Wolf took a step closer. "I have business here. Where is your Captain?"

"The Captain is too busy to talk to the likes of you!" The guard answered automatically and spit. "Look, we don't want your sort here, so buzz off!"

"I wouldn't talk to him like that if I were you," a passer-by said to the guard in a low voice. "That's a Grey Warden."

"I don't care if he's blue or green, he isn't coming in!"

"Did you fall on your head, boy?" The passer-by looked down on the guard, and it was remarkable how he managed to do it since he was a dwarf. "A Grey Warden," he repeated with emphasis. "A Captain at least... or may be even a Commander... Have you ever seen such armour before?"

The guard stared at Wolf, only then noticing his rare engraved silverite armour, something they picked up on their travels, found in an ancient ruin in an old enchanted chest...

"Armour of Diligence," the dwarf continued. "I've only seen such a set once, in a vault... err... never mind that now."

"Yes, I've seen it in a vault once as well," Wolf nodded. "And then it wasn't there any longer," he glared at the dwarf.

"Well, strange things do happen to valuable sets of armour," the dwarf smiled. "Anyway, boy, you best let the Warden through," he turned to the guard. "Insulting a Grey Warden is bad for Kirkwall and can be potentially fatal to you, as well."

The guard didn't respond but stepped aside, and Wolf entered Kirkwall.

"I am thrilled to make your acquaintance, Warden," the dwarf addressed him. "Name's Varric, a surface dwarf. My brother and I trade in rare artefacts..." He cut himself off and extended his hand.

"Wolf," Wolf shook his hand. "Thanks for helping me get in just now. Is the city really so full?"

"That it is, that it is," Varric nodded. "We've taken in so many refugees since the Blight... But you can imagine, no doubt. Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Well... I don't know... I'd rather not..." Wolf started cautiously.

"You'd rather not talk about it because it's a Grey Wardens business, right?" Varric grinned. "Looking for a certain healer, are you? He's in Darktown. And no, most people have no idea he's a Grey Warden. But I am not most people."

"What are you after, Varric?" Wolf squinted. "Surely, this information does not come for free."

"Well... See it as a gesture of good will," Varric smiled. "An advance, if you like. And perhaps we can help each other further."

"Spit it out." Wolf folded his arms, he wanted to know what he was getting into.

"We're planning an expedition into the Deep Roads, my brother and I," Varric finally admitted. "Right after a Blight is the best time to do it, there won't be much darkspawn yet. We need to... replenish our stock," he grinned. "We've got fighters and bodyguards, but what we don't have is a good map. Especially if it comes with someone who knows the area."

"I came here looking for someone, not looking to go on an expedition into the Deep Roads," Wolf shook his head. "Thanks, Varric, but I'm not interested."

"Ah, well, perhaps I should tell you more," Varric touched his arm. "It's not just trinkets that we're after... Rumour has it that there's a new form of lyrium down there, a hundred times as potent as the one we know. Can you imagine? If that is true... A small chipping of that would set us up with fortune for life - you, me, my brother, and everyone else who comes along!"

"It's tempting, to be sure," Wolf replied, yawning. "But not for me."

"Well... Don't discount it yet," Varric was undaunted. "Talk to your mage. Then find me at the Hanged Man."

...

Kirkwall was depressing, to say the least. A city that made its fortune through slave trade, it bore the scars of suffering on every corner. And even though slavery had been officially abolished, unofficially it was still all too common, and foreign traders still came to Kirkwall to "restock". Why would Anders come to this city, of all places? Anders, who hated confrontation and loved comfort, nice clothes and pretty women? It just didn't make sense.

"The healer is only seeing those in need," a stern looking woman barred entrance when Wolf decided to try a house with a lantern by the door. So, he was in the right place then. "You are not in need, so clear out," she added menacingly.

"And if I don't, you will see to it that I have a need, am I right?" Wolf smirked, removing a pair of daggers concealed in her belt.

"How dare you?!" The woman tried to snatch her daggers from him, but Wolf quickly tucked them into his own belt and grabbed her wrists.

"Let's not get violent, shall we?" He smiled, releasing her. "So, do I get to see the healer now?"

"We have guards inside," the woman snapped. "Try anything - anything! - and you will regret it!" She glared but stepped aside.

Wolf smirked and entered, not returning the daggers to her.

The space inside was poorly lit, like most houses in Kirkwall. Grey stone dust covered the walls and black coal dust covered the ceiling. That level of the city used to be a mine, and the buildings were no buildings but caverns cut into the rock by miners many years ago. Wolf followed the lanterns visible here and there and came to a room filled with people. Faint glow of healing magic illuminated a slab in the middle - Anders was treating a boy on the slab.

"The healer is busy and you are not in need!" A well-armed character blocked the way. "How did you get in? Did you..?" He started raising his voice, but an alarm or a fight was not in Wolf's interest. One punch on the temple sent the man into a corner. He wasn't dead, Wolf hoped.

Anders finished his spell. He was exhausted, reminding Wolf of the time when he was starving in the dungeons. "I wonder if he gets enough to eat down here..." Wolf thought. He pushed forward, people let him through, surprised.

"The healer needs a break!" Wolf announced loudly. "Come back later!"

"What..?!" Anders spun around, but had to hold onto a pillar so as not to fall. "You! Here..?"

"I thought you might need a hand," Wolf smiled amicably. "They are exploiting you, you know."

"They are not!" Anders responded hotly. "They've got nothing! They cannot afford a healer..!"

"But you are not Reverend Mother Theresa, my friend," Wolf shook his head. "You've got to eat, for one. Take a break - that's all I'm asking."

Anders shook his head, as if shaking off a dream.

"Eh... A break... Yes, I'm hungry... It's been a while..." He collapsed, and Wolf insisted that everyone should leave and not come back until he said so. Even the guards could see that the healer really needed a break.

...

"So, tell me what happened," Wolf took a long look at Anders when they were finally sitting down at dinner away from the treatment room. "I know you're a healer, but if you wanted to come here to heal, there was no need to run away... We would have let you, you know. Why didn't you say anything?"

"I... well... err... Oh I know!" Anders suddenly brightened up. "I brought a mage with me from the Tower, they were going to make him tranquil, so I had to save him. We came here because... err... well..." He hesitated, as if he was reciting a text and forgot what came next. "The point is," he continued after a pause, "the templars got him again. He's being held in the Chantry dungeons. Help me free him, and I'll tell you more."

"Do you intend to kill the templars?" Wolf squinted. "Or may be sneak in and release the mage? Alright, but what next? Where will you take him?"

Anders could not answer that. He would hide the mage in Darktown until he could figure out what to do. Time was of the essence - the Rite of Tranquility was being prepared with all haste.

"We have to go as soon as we can - tonight even!" Anders exclaimed hotly. "We may already be too late!"

Wolf shook his head but agreed. He didn't like it in the least, but didn't see a way out. Something was very wrong with Anders... he was changed, suddenly and sharply, people didn't change like that... unless...

"Come on!" Anders was getting impatient and Wolf brushed away his thoughts until later. They had a mage to save.

The city was quiet as the night had already fallen, but the Chantry never closed its doors. They entered.

"Do you know the way to the dungeons?" Wolf looked around.

"Through there," Anders pointed at a passage in the depths. "Past the candles and the templars..."

They walked unchallenged. The passage opened onto a smallish prayer area with more candles and a sturdy door, unguarded. A mage was kneeling in prayer.

"Karl!" Anders ran up to him. "I came as soon as I could... What are you doing out of the dungeons?"

Karl got up and looked at them, his expression lacked any emotion.

"Anders, was it?" He struggled to remember the name of the mage before him. "Hello. And who is your friend?"

"Oh no..! We are too late..." Anders was in shock. He approached Karl and touched his shoulder. "They've done it already..."

With Anders' touch, Karl's face lit up, first with joy, then with despair.

"You brought a piece of Fade with you!" He whispered. "Kill me! I do not want to live a life of a tranquil!"

Wolf watched, not getting involved. He shot a glance at the templars on duty, but they were too far away to hear. Anders pulled out his dagger and stabbed Karl through the heart.

"Goodbye, my friend..." He whispered.

...

Wolf and Anders got back to Darktown without incident. They did not speak until they were inside Anders' practice.

"He was my first," Anders turned to Wolf. "I had to free him."

"Your first what?" Wolf squinted.

"Well, you know..." Anders shrugged. "We grew up together... we were friends... and more..."

"Hmm... Anders I know prefers women," Wolf shook his head. "We drank enough mead together to know exactly who likes what. What did he mean by 'you brought a piece of Fade with you'?"

Anders didn't answer. He paced the room, he looked angry and annoyed. And suddenly Wolf recalled something that Justice said about demons: that only demons possessed an unwilling host.

"Justice," Wolf called to Anders and he stopped abruptly. "What have you become? Only demons possess unwilling hosts..."

Anders collapsed, unconscious. Wolf sat him up and poured a healing potion down his throat. Eventually he came to.

"I met Justice in the Tower of Magi," he said sounding like himself again. "When Kristoff was decapitated in battle, Justice could not remain in his body. He traveled the land but never found a way back to the Fade. Then he found the Tower... and all those mages. Karl was the first living mortal that he possessed. He did hope that mages would be able to send him back to the Fade, he possessed many, for a short time, always hoping to escape when they were dreaming. That didn't work out. He could not possess a body and enter the Fade at the same time."

"And now he is possessing you," Wolf sighed. "And Anders is lost in the process."

"I cannot control it..." Anders looked pleadingly at Wolf. "He can take over any moment... But he is changed, too. Vengeance is what he is now."

"I am Justice!" An angry voice shouted inside Anders, or rather that's how it seemed. "Your world has too much suffering, too much injustice, I cannot stand idly by and watch! Justice must be done!"

"And you are willing to sacrifice Anders for it!" Wolf exclaimed sharply. "If you are not a demon as you claim, you will not take over without notice and you will permit us to search for a way to separate you. You belong in the Fade! And I will see you return there or perish, but I will not allow you to turn my friend into an abomination!"

"I... you are right, mortal..." Justice seemed to agree. "I shall try... but I've seen so much injustice in your world that it corrupted me... My anger overwhelms me. You must not delay. There must be a way, a ritual, something!"

Justice released his grip on Anders, Wolf could see the change in posture, in mannerisms, in voice. Possession was terrible and he swore to himself to find a way to end it. Anders once again got himself into a tremendous mess.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The story that follows is loosely based on Dragon Age II. That game was the biggest disappointment for me, from design, to combat, to romance, to art. But the worst of all was the way they presented Anders. As someone on Reddit put it, "...meeting him in DA2 was like reading a friend's obituary. I never traveled with him except to get his quests done because it was like hanging out with the corpse of a good friend." I feel the same way. I did take him along quite a lot when I played the game (a single time, and never again!), but I decided very early on that Anders in DA2 was a completely different character with the same name. It also did not match the ending of Awakening in which my Anders vanished for a few months after giving that lecture at the Circle of Magi, but then returned to the Grey Wardens and stayed with them till the end of his days. There was never any mention of him getting possessed by Justice or becoming an anarchist or doing any of those crazy things that Anders in DA2 does without us being able to influence it (all scripted events).

This story is therefore the story of my Anders. He got possessed by Justice just like in DA2, and he got involved in some of the events, but not in the same role and not with the same purpose. Moreover, Wolf isn't Hawke, the protagonist of DA2; we'll meet Hawke along the way. Varric is still Varric, and things still went pretty pear shaped in Kirkwall, and I hear there was some anarchistic maniac who blew up the Chantry. It just wasn't Anders. Not this one, anyway.

To put things in perspective with the events in Tamriel, below are a few dates. Full chronology is found here.

3E387 (9:30 Dragon)

Wolf Asgarsen, an Agent of the Imperial Legion, was sent to Ferelden, on the continent of Thedas, to investigate a terrifying rise of undead known as the Blight. He was to join the Order of Grey Wardens there and help them defeat the Blight. His reports, delivered back to the Imperial Legion and the Emperor of Tamriel, would spare the worst of such an uprising for Tamriel, should it spill over from Thedas. Wolf was chosen because he was Dragonborn, although he'd never seen a dragon and never consumed a dragon soul. Yet it was believed that he stood the best chance to survive the Joining ritual and see this mission through. He was 39 years old. During his travels he met a young mage Anders whom he saved from a terrible fate. Anders was 22 years old when they met. (Dragon Age: Origins)

3E388 (9:31 Dragon)

The Blight in Ferelden was defeated, and Wolf sent his first report back to Tamriel. He did not return, however, because he felt that the trouble wasn't yet over and thus his mission was not yet complete. He was appointed Warden-Commander, the head of the Ferelden chapter of the Grey Wardens Order. But some believed that he didn't want to leave because he wanted to be around when Morrigan gave birth to his child. The child had a soul of an old god and Morrigan took it to another realm where she could better take care of such an unusual child. Wolf did not follow. (Dragon Age: Awakening and Witch Hunt)

3E389 (9:32 Dragon)

Emperor Uriel Septim VII was betrayed by his own Imperial Battlemage Jagar Tharn and sealed away in another realm. Jagar Tharn disguised himself as the Emperor and took his place, but he didn't fool everyone. The Blades felt that something was wrong, and Wolf Asgarsen was ordered to remain in Thedas for the time being, especially since the situation there was also volatile. Wolf continued sending regular reports back to Tamriel. (Elder Scrolls I: Arena, Dragon Age II)

3E398 (9:41 Dragon)

A huge magical explosion caused an enormous tear in the Veil above Thedas, thus allowing demons and spirits to invade the mortal realm. Wolf happened to be there and caught something... that put him right in the centre of a new war against a darkspawn lord planning to destroy the world. Wolf turned 50 that year. (Dragon Age: Inquisition)

3E405

Mysterious events started in High Rock and Hammerfell, involving spirits, gods, necromancers and undead, and eventually culminating in the Warp in the West in 3E417. It was speculated that these might have been attempts by the old gods of Thedas to invade Tamriel, but nobody could tell for sure. Some even claimed those were all the same gods anyway... Wolf was recalled to Tamriel, arriving in 3E405 or 3E406. He was appointed the Commander of the Second Legion stationed in Falkreath. (Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall)

3E410 (9:53 Dragon)

Thedas got in trouble again, but Wolf Asgarsen was already back in Tamriel. It was now Anders, a Grey Warden mage and Wolf's friend, who found himself in the centre of a tremendous mess and it was up to him to put everything back together. Anders was 45 years old. (Dragon Age: Veilguard)

3E413

Wolf Asgarsen and Lillian Delacour had a son. As Lillian was a Dark Brotherhood assassin, and Wolf was a high placed citizen of the Empire, their relationship was clandestine and they decided to send the boy away to the Northern Realms to be raised as a witcher of the School of the Wolf. He later became known as Geralt of Rivia, or Geralt the White Wolf. He was half-Breton, half-Nord, but his father's blood won over and Geralt was a Nord.

3E417

Lillian Delacour left the Brotherhood in early 3E417 after she executed the issuer of a contract on Wolf Asgarsen. She was pregnant with her second child.

Lena Wolf was born in Cyrodiil under the Apprentice on 17 Sun's Height 3E417. She was a Breton like her mother, but her father's Nord blood ran just under the surface.

3E421

Lillian Delacour, Lena's mother, died of swamp fever. Lena was 4 years old. She was adopted by their Argonian neighbour whom she saw as her grandmother.

3E427

Dagoth Ur rose in Morrowind, and Azura picked a mortal to act as her Nerevarine. The Red Mountain erupted some time later. (Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind)

3E433

The Oblivion Crisis broke out when Lena was 16 years old. Her adoptive grandmother died of old age. Lena joined the Mages Guild and went about closing the gates. (Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion)

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Nov 7 2024, 02:12 PM

[Lena Wolf]

Morning Star, 3E390 - Into the Deep Roads

"Are you the Grey Warden?" A man in mercenary armour stood before Anders. "I was told I'd find you here."

"I am a healer," Anders replied, not taking his eyes off the patient he was treating. "Do you have an ailment? Then queue up, I can't treat everyone at once."

"I have no ailment, I need to talk."

"Later." Anders still wasn't looking up.

"Now." The man said firmly.

"Then come with me," Wolf came out of an adjacent room. "If it's a Grey Warden you want..."

"Err... I was told he's the Grey Warden," the man looked around, confused.

"The Order of Grey Wardens has more than one member," Wolf smirked. "So unless you need healing, I'm your man."

"Umm... I suppose it makes no difference..." The man shot a glance at his companions and followed Wolf. "I was told you Grey Wardens have a map of Deep Roads."

"We do."

"I want it."

"Tough."

"What..?" The man didn't seem to comprehend the reply. "I mean... hand it over."

"No."

"Err... are you mad?" The man still looked confused. "I'll kill you if you resist..."

"And then you'll never have that map," Wolf smiled pleasantly. "For one, because I don't carry it in my pocket. For two, because you'll be dead."

Swords and daggers were drawn, staffs were charged, but each was waiting for the other side to attack.

"Why do you think I'd hand it over?" Wolf lowered his sword but didn't sheath it. "Do I look like an idiot to you?"

"Varric said you'd give it to us..." The man in mercenary armour straightened up, lowering his daggers. "Err... well... he said the mage would give it to us. He never mentioned another Grey Warden."

"If I know Varric, he didn't say any such thing," Wolf smirked. "What Varric must have said, is that you could potentially get that map from Anders if you asked nicely. But seeing how you did nothing of the sort, forget it."

"You know Varric?" The man sheathed his daggers and signalled his companions to stand down.

"Indeed I do, and I told him to stuff his red lyrium where the sun doesn't shine," Wolf shrugged. "But I see he sent you to try your hand at diplomacy, and that didn't go very well," he smiled.

"Umm... Can we start over?" The man gave Wolf a broad smile. "Name's Hawke. I'm not really a mercenary... Well, I spent a year working with them, true, but that was just... err... never mind that. This is my sister, Bethany," he jerked his head towards a mage standing next to him. "We... we really need that map."

"You want to go into the Deep Roads with Varric and his brother on a fool's quest for red lyrium," Wolf squinted. "Yes, we have scouts. That substance is evil and you'll do well to stay away from it."

"Varric says it is a hundred times more potent than regular lyrium," Hawke nodded. "And that it would set us up with fortune for the rest of our lives. We need money, see... A fortune, to be precise... Our estate..."

"There's no need to go into that in front of a stranger," Bethany interrupted her brother. "We need money, and that's enough."

"You won't be able to stop them finding it, whatever you do," Anders appeared in the doorway. "They'll find a way... We are not the only ones with a map. And even if they didn't have a map... Remember Branka?"

"How did you know?" Wolf shuddered. "You weren't with us when..."

"I can read," Anders pointed out.

"I see." Wolf looked at Anders and noticed him gently touching his wrist. "Well, may be you have a point," he turned to Hawke. "But I won't give you the map. Tell Varric I'll come to see him shortly."

...

"Red lyrium could be the key," Anders was saying at dinner. "If it is indeed as potent as the rumours claim, or even half as potent as that... It could be enough to open a proper portal to the Fade so that Justice could leave."

"Can you not open such a portal by other means?" Wolf looked up. "Is it not similar to the ritual that you wanted to perform to send someone into the Fade to fight the spirit possessing Connor?"

"It is exactly that ritual," Anders nodded. "Only this time I'd send Justice. The only snag is that if I am performing the ritual, he would need to be possessing someone else for the duration."

"That's the least of our worries, I think," Wolf shook his head. "You were going to use blood magic and take the life of Connor's mother for that... but then we brought lyrium and mages from the Circle... But it wasn't the same ritual, was it?"

"No," Anders said slowly. "Their ritual was safe. It was what they use for the graduation exam for the apprentices. It can send the spirit of one mage into the Fade - and it was enough to free Connor." He paused, staring at his food. "The blood magic ritual that I had in mind, could send anyone's spirit into the Fade... it didn't have to be a mage. Do you see how it's different?"

"Justice is not a mage," Wolf noted.

"Exactly," Anders nodded. "He is a bodyless spirit, but even in the Fade he cannot cast magic. That is why he could never leave when the host that he's possessing is dreaming. It is always the host's spirit that enters the Fade, leaving Justice in the body, and in the mortal realm."

"But then... We don't actually need red lyrium, do we?" Wolf sat up. "We just need a life. Justice can possess me for the duration, you perform the ritual and send him into the Fade."

"Last time I used someone else's blood for a ritual, I got infected with darkspawn taint," Anders shook his head. "And I only took a few drops of your blood... What would happen to me if I were to take everything a person had? I bet it would not be without side effects."

"We need to find another blood mage to do it then," Wolf shrugged.

"Or we find red lyrium," Anders looked straight at him. "If it is indeed as potent as they claim, it could replace the blood, and no one would have to die and I would not get infected with anything nasty."

"But what about the reports that it is evil?" Wolf squinted. "I didn't lie to Hawke about that."

"I read the reports," Anders nodded. "Nothing conclusive. The way I see it, I either kill someone and get exposed to something unknown through the blood magic ritual, or I use red lyrium and get exposed to something unknown through that. There's a risk either way..."

"...and with red lyrium no one needs to die," Wolf nodded, finishing his sentence. "It does seem to be the lesser evil..."

...

"We'll come with you to the Deep Roads," Wolf came to see Varric at the Hanged Man. "We want some red lyrium... not much. You can have the rest."

"Why so modest?" Varric squinted. "All profits will be divided evenly..."

"No, you misunderstand," Wolf shook his head. "We don't want profits. We want red lyrium."

"Ah..." Varric rubbed his chin. "Alright. I'm not asking any questions! Two Grey Wardens for the price of one, complete with a map of Deep Roads, that's a good deal! I'll send for you when we're ready to set off."

...

"I don't like these Grey Wardens, and I don't like that they are coming with us," Hawke was talking to Varric at the Hanged Man. "You said we could get their maps... but they are not giving them away."

"I didn't know there'd be a second Grey Warden," Varric shrugged. "Since the defeat of the Blight, they've been keeping to themselves... well... they've been always keeping to themselves... I don't know who this Wolf character is, but he is highly placed, just look at his armour."

"Yeah, quite a stark difference from Anders," Hawke smirked. "That one is always wearing the same robes..."

"The same ancient Tevinter robes," Varric pointed out with emphasis. "They are not just any ol' mages robes, either. You don't buy that in a shop. I don't even know where they got that. I've never seen robes like that!"

"Huh?" Hawke squinted in disbelief. "They are robes..." he shrugged. "Shabby, at that."

"You just don't know a real thing from a fake, do you?" Varric shook his head. "Well, never mind. I could poke around and try to find out more about them... Or we could just bring them along, maps and all. It's not like we have much choice. Besides, there's still bound to be darkspawn in the Deep Roads, and Grey Wardens are the best remedy against darkspawn."

Eventually Hawke had to agree that delaying the expedition for the sake of background checks on the Grey Wardens wasn't worth it. They gathered their party, picked the most promising entrance to the Deep Roads, and set off.

...

"If there's anything you need - anything! - just tell me," Bodahn Feddic, a dwarven merchant, gave Wolf a broad smile when the newly assembled party of explorers made their first camp in a cave in the Deep Roads. "Good to have you along, Warden," he said loudly, then added in a hushed voice: "Commander," he grinned. "Oh, I never told them I've been following you around all the while during the Blight," he winked. "And as I understand it, you never told them who you were either."

"It didn't appear necessary," Wolf shrugged. "Good to see you, Bodahn. Compared to what we've been through, this should be a walk in a park."

"Do you have a particular interest in this expedition?" Bodahn squinted. "Well, that is to say, I heard that you do."

"Then you know what we're after," Wolf nodded.

"Be careful, Commander," Bodahn lowered his voice. "Sandal doesn't like red lyrium, he stays away from it. It doesn't bode well."

Wolf nodded, they exchanged a few more pleasantries, then Bodahn got busy with the other members of the expedition and Wolf never got the chance to talk to Sandal about it.

Sandal was Bodahn's son and an exceptionally gifted enchanter. He could fold lyrium better than anyone, but in other areas of life Sandal was completely dependent on his father. He was a "savant", lyrium and enchantments were the only things he noticed or talked about, when he talked at all.

...

At first the expedition moved at pace as Deep Roads were almost clear of darkspawn. Of course, there were always other dangers there, such as giant poisonous spiders, deepstalkers, drakes and other wildlife, but the guards didn't have much trouble clearing the way. The section that they were trying to reach, was a week to ten days into the depths. It was an ancient dwarven settlement, long abandoned and never properly excavated because for reasons unknown it always had a tremendous amount of darkspawn. It was rumoured to contain red lyrium as well as riches untold, all preserved in ancient untouched vaults...

"Do we even know for sure what's in that section?" One of the members of the expedition asked during supper. "Darkspawn is getting thicker the further in we go, and I have yet to see anything of value. Not a speck of red lyrium either... not even of the regular blue lyrium... Are you sure we're going in the right direction?" He glared at Varric's older brother Bartrand who organised the expedition in the first place.

"There's nothing here yet because we're not there yet!" Bartrand cut him off. "Yeah, I'm sure. No one's been down there in centuries... Not since the last Blight, or may be even the Blight before that. There's gold there for sure."

They pushed on for a few more days, but found nothing besides darkspawn.

"Grey Wardens, I'll have to ask you to go first," Bartrand addressed Wolf and Anders after another heavy fight with darkspawn. "Darkspawn is your responsibility."

"I don't remember agreeing to that," Wolf smirked. "What did you expect? You are going into the depths of Deep Roads. Of course there will be darkspawn!"

"But this is getting dangerous," Bartrand objected. "It's like in the Dead Trenches..."

The look of disbelief on Wolf's face must have spoken volumes.

"You've never been to the Deep Roads before," Wolf said derisively. "Dead Trenches! If only the Legion of the Dead could hear you now!"

"Well, there's no need to invoke that name!" Bartrand backed off. "Alright, alright! Take someone with you... anyone... just go first, please?"

The main thoroughfare that ancient dwarves had built to connect the different settlements, was only partially intact. Large cave-ins regularly blocked the way and alternative routes through tunnels and caves had to be found. Darkspawn was growing stronger, and fights were no longer won every time. Mercenary guards were working hard for their money, with several men killed by darkspawn already. Several more became infected with darkspawn taint that promised a painful and protracted death.

"This is a death trap, Bartrand," expedition members were getting nervous. "There better be incredible riches inside!"

"There will be!" Bartrand was unwavering.

Then they had their first glimpse of red lyrium. It was glowing with a dim but steady light, very similar to regular lyrium, except for the colour. Crystals were growing under the ceiling but were much too high to reach.

"See? Red lyrium!" Bartrand exclaimed in jubilation. "It's here! Formations are just beggining, this must be the start of the vein. Yes, I know we can't reach it here... Which is why we must press ahead!"

The sight of red lyrium veins lifted the general mood, with more and more volunteers coming forward to join the Grey Wardens ahead of the main group - people were eager to be the first to collect what chippings of red lyrium they could find, as the main vein was still too high and out of their reach. Wolf objected that darkspawn numbers were still growing, now combined with drakes and venomous spiders, and that only trained soldiers could survive such battles... but greed and misplaced self-assurance overruled his words. More and more people were falling in battle.

"That's why you brought so many mercenaries, isn't it, Bartrand?" Varric said quietly when they stood away from the main group. "Cheap mercenaries too, poorly armed and armoured without any fighting skills... You're just using them to clear the way."

"No one was forcing them to come along!" Bartrand cut him off. "We've had crowds upon crowds applying to join us, you know that!" He glared at Varric. "But look at it this way: they have to be alive to collect their pay. And since they ain't..." He grinned.

Varric shook his head and scoffed.

Finally they came to a large chamber that looked like a vault. It had locked doors along the walls with golems placed between them. In the middle of the room there was a pedestal with an idol on it; the idol was made of solid red lyrium.

"Wow! Look at that!" Bartrand looked around and picked up the idol. "That's what I mean! And this is just the first vault! There's more of the same further in, I'm sure! Why don't you go ahead while we start working on these locks?" He looked at Varric, Hawke, Wolf and Anders. "Give a shout when you find another hall like this!"

Wolf peered through the door on the other end of the hall. It opened onto a long corridor with another massive doorway visible at the end. The walls of the corridor were covered in red lyrium crystals - the vein was getting thicker. Unfortunately, those crystals were still too high to reach.

"There must be some chippings on the ground though," Hawke too was looking at the veins. "We should go see." He stepped through the doorway into the corridor.

"I sense darkspawn," Wolf said quietly to Anders, and Anders nodded. Hawke was already half way the corridor, still walking unchallenged. "But why are they not attacking?"

"I don't like it," Anders agreed, stepping through the doorway after Hawke.

"I suppose we should go see what's in that hall," Varric pointed down the corridor. It seems quiet." He too took a few steps in.

Finally Wolf followed as well. As soon as he stepped over the threshold, Bartrand slammed the heavy door shut behind him.

"Hey, Bartrand!!!" Varric bolted, but it was too late. The massive door could just as well been a wall of solid rock. "You bastard!!!"

He turned around. A horde of darkspawn was rushing at them.

[Lena Wolf]

Morning Star, 3E390 - Red lyrium

"That bastard Bartrand locked us out!" Varric was cursing profusely. "Go see what's up ahead!" He mocked Bartrand's voice. "He wants all that gold for himself, that son of a..!"

"Stop cursing and focus!" Wolf barked at him. "You can curse later! Now we need your crossbow!!"

They were backed into a dead end corridor with a horde of darkspawn coming at them. Wolf took the lead slicing through the weaker genlocks with his blue meteorite sword. Hawke flanked the heavier hurlocks stabbing them where it hurt most. Anders did his best to paralyse, freeze, electrocute or burn whichever darkspawn was getting near. And last but not least, Varric was showering them with bolts from his crossbow from the rear. And with all of that they were losing as there was simply no end to that horde.

"The emissary," Wolf pointed out a darkspawn mage further up. "He's calling in more troops! Cover me!!"

He dashed forward, leaving Hawke frozen for a moment - he wasn't used to taking orders. Wolf ran up to the emissary and planted his sword into the ground with all force dispelling the emissary's magic and draining his mana. He rammed the emissary with his shield, throwing him on the ground, then rained blows with his sword. The emissary was soon defeated but such a focused assault left Wolf open to flanking attacks by other darkspawn. He was surrounded and outnumbered ten to one.

"At least if I die now, I go down fighting," he thought. "Sovngarde awaits!"

He cut down the front row of darkspawn, but more were coming. He saw Hawke slicing through genlocks and hurlocks alike, but another emissary further ahead was still calling for reinforcements. "We won't survive this..." Wolf thought. "So... since I am already dead..." Throwing caution to the wind, he cut his wrists. "Su Grah Dun!" He shouted and blood erupted from his veins, knocking out the nearest darkspawn and boosting Wolf's strength and speed of movement. He tore through the horde hurrying to get to the emissary and kill him before dying himself - blood was gushing from his wrist, he didn't expect to survive, but if he could only get that emissary, then perhaps the others stood a better chance.

...

Wolf stood in a grand hall like one of those built by dwarves. "For such short people, they really like their buildings tall," Morrigan's voice sounded in his head, it was one of the first impressions they had when they entered Orzammar seeking support from the Dwarven Kingdom against the Blight. Was he back in Orzammar? No, the hall looked different, although it was undoubtedly dwarven. He walked around, he appeared to be alone. Huge statues stood along the walls, but apart from that, the hall was empty. "What now?" Wolf wondered, not seeing any doors. The hall seemed to stretch indefinitely in either direction. Wolf shook his head and started walking.

"This is what happens to those who use blood magic," he heard Wynne's voice behind him. "I told you to stay away from it, not to drink Avernus' mixture and to kill him when you had the chance... but you always knew better, boy."

He spun around. Wynne was looking at him, her eyes glowing.

"Wynne does not speak in this way," Wolf squinted. "Even though she did tell me most of those things, but not like that. You are not Wynne."

"I am the spirit that is Wynne," the being replied. "You are in my domain."

"This is the Fade, yes, I figured as much," Wolf nodded. "So, what do you want of me, spirit?"

"I can send you back to the mortal world but you must do as I ask," the glow around Wynne's form intensified as the spirit spoke. Her form now looked like a ghost. "You must kill Anders, and Justice will die with him."

"You want me to kill your fellow spirit?" Wolf raised an eyebrow. "But why? Justice is a benevolent spirit."

"He is not, has never been!" The spirit exclaimed, glowing brighter. "He wants war and destruction!"

"Are you saying he is a demon?"

"A demon..? Well, no, that's... No, that's different." The glow around the shape of Wynne subsided and she looked like a ghost again.

"Then explain to me the difference between spirits and demons," Wolf asked. "I am no mage, I never studied such things in school..."

"Mortal schools! Bah!" The spirit scoffed. "Mortals have no understanding of the Fade! There is no difference between a spirit and a demon... They are all spirits. Demons are spirits that were corrupted by mortal desires... or spirits that were summoned into the mortal realm against their will. Either way, it is mortals who turn spirits into demons!"

"Oh my," Wolf smirked. "And here I thought that demons were simply evil spirits..."

"Well yes, that's what I said," the spirit sounded puzzled. "Coming in contact with mortals is what corrupts a spirit and makes it evil."

"Justice had been in the mortal world for some time now," Wolf pointed out. "Then according to your argument he must have long turned into a demon."

"Err... is that what I said?" The spirit seemed unsure. "Well then, may be he is a demon! The more reason to slay him!"

"By killing Anders? No." Wolf shook his head.

"Then you will perish, mortal."

"I am dead already."

That conversation was going nowhere, so Wolf turned away from the spirit and resumed walking. He didn't know if there was any point in that, he just wanted to be rid of the annoying spirit.

"You must kill Faith while she's here! Justice must be done!" A booming voice spoke forcefully behind him. Wolf stopped and turned around.

"Justice, I presume?" He said calmly. "Here to talk about the spirit inhabiting Wynne?"

"She is evil! She became a demon and is tormenting the mortal world!" Justice nodded and started glowing.

"Interesting. She was just saying the same thing about you."

"Faith is what drives numerous people to kill others of their kind! It fuels wars and hatred! Faith must be killed! She must pay for all the suffering she caused!"

"And what about all those other people who see their suffering alleviated through Faith?" Wolf squinted. "No, as annoying as Wynne can be, I won't kill her."

"Anders and countless other mages are all victims of Faith," Justice spoke in an unexpectedly calm manner. "Faith is what makes people fearful of magic, Faith is what makes them imprison and persecute their own. Faith is what makes templars into fanatical mage hunters. Faith must pay for her crimes."

"Anders is changed. Is it your doing?" Wolf faced Justice.

"Anders is too soft."

"Anders is Anders," Wolf shrugged. "There's nothing soft about him when he's facing darkspawn."

"He has a pet cat," Justice looked angry. "He imprisoned that animal the same way as your Chantry imprisons mages!"

"No." Wolf shook his head. "No, it is not the same. Are you trying to turn me against him? It won't work, I know him better than you do."

"You must kill Faith and leave Anders to me," Justice repeated. "Then I shall return you into your own body in the mortal realm."

"No," Wolf said firmly. "I won't fight your war."

He turned away from Justice and resumed walking. "Who's next?" He wondered.

"Hello, my friend," Morrigan stood before him. "I am so happy to see you!" She put her arms around him and kissed him. "Come! Our child is doing fine, he's sleeping now, but he will be glad to meet his father! Come, my love - this way!"

"Morrigan!" Wolf froze. He wanted to believe the vision... Did she just say she loved him? "Morrigan always said I would not meet my son. She had her reasons. I don't believe you." He brushed past her and kept walking.

The dwarven hall was stretching into infinity. There was no end to the giant statues along the walls, they were all the same. Wolf had been walking for a while, and no further spirits came to bother him. He stopped and walked in the opposite direction, but it made no difference. The hall was empty with only distant fog visible at either end.

"How do I get to Sovngarde?" He wondered. "The passage must be here somewhere... I am a Nord, that's where Nords go when they die... Isn't it? I fell in battle, surely I qualify..." He walked and walked, he got tired and sat down, he even took a nap, but when he woke up, he was still in the same hall, among the same dwarven statues. "What kind of a purgatory is this?" He wondered. "Are there more tests? Were those spirits not tests, perhaps? Faith and Justice, the two spirits I knew in the mortal realm... But what about the third one? I thought it was a Desire Demon, but what if... But no, real Morrigan would not do that... Would she?"

He pulled out the amulet that Morrigan left for him when she stepped through an eluvian taking their child into another realm. "Take life from the dead", said the inscription. It was one of the spells from the Spirit School, Morrigan used it in battle, as did many other mages. Wolf always thought that the amulet was simply enchanted with that spell, restoring his health slightly during a fight. More powerful amulets were abundant, yet he kept Morrigan's, he clipped it onto the same chain that held his Grey Warden amulet, a mere trinket compared to wonders of enchantment that he came across later. But to him, the sentimental value outweighed it all. "The Warden's Oath," he read the inscription on the other amulet. It was a locket said to contain a little of the mixture that he drank during the Joining. He never opened that locket. It had an engraving of a griffon on the lid with another inscription: "In War, Victory. In Peace, Vigilance. In Death, Sacrifice." The Grey Wardens motto.

"Morrigan's amulet is also a locket," Wolf suddenly realised, examining it closer. He pressed the spring and the lid sprung open. Thick, sweet odour hit his nostrils, knocking him out.

...

"Good grief, Wolf! I was about to go after you!"

Wolf opened his eyes. Anders was kneeling over him holding a vial under his nose, thick, sweet odour still filling his breath.

"Eh... What is this stuff?" Wolf sat up. He pulled on the chain around his neck and saw both amulets still on it.

"Nightshade extract," Anders shrugged. "The same as in your amulet. That's what gave me the idea."

"What happened?" Wolf looked at the piles of darkspawn bodies covering the floor in the dwarven hall.

"You got the last emissary," Anders was putting away his vials. "We finished the rest of the darkspawn. Then spent half an hour looking for your corpse among theirs..." He sighed. "Well. May be not half an hour... But long enough. What were you thinking?!" He exclaimed.

"I was thinking that since I was already dead, I might as well take as many of them with me as I could," Wolf shrugged. "I'm glad I got that emissary though."

"This isn't the Legion of the Dead, you know," Anders looked at him with reproach.

"Legion of the Dead?" Hawke looked up. "That's just a fairy tale, right? It got Bartrand all worked up..."

"That isn't just a fairy tale..." Varric joined in.

"It's a dwarven legion similar to the Grey Wardens," Wolf explained. "Only with more drama. When you join, they hold a funeral for you so that your family might say goodbye. You are dead to the world. You then go into the Deep Roads to fight darkspawn and never come out. Eventually you fall in battle."

"Charming," Hawke shuddered.

"Some do come out," Varric disagreed.

"Aha," Wolf shot him a glance. "And some try to quit Grey Wardens," he smirked and Anders blushed. "We had a recruit from the Legion of the Dead. She failed to die and had nowhere to go. Of course we accepted her request to join us. But once that post-Blight incident was over with and she still failed to die, she returned to the Deep Roads and to the Legion. They take an oath and once she had the opportunity, she went back."

"We should try to get out of here," Varric changed the topic. "This corridor goes further into the depths, I know... but do we have a choice?"

"Onwards, then," Hawke got up.

Hawke and Varric took the lead this time, with Anders and Wolf following a few paces behind. Wolf was alive, but not fit enough to take the lead.

"Something happened in the Fade," Anders said quietly. "Where is Justice?"

"Probably battling Faith," Wolf shrugged. "Is he really gone?"

"We'll have to see... May be not completely," Anders sounded uncertain.

"How were you going to follow me?" Wolf noticed a red crystal sticking out of Anders' satchel. "Is that... red lyrium?"

"I found a chipping, yes," he nodded. "It's powerful... may be not ten times as the rumours say... but more powerful than normal, and... different, somehow. I put an arcane shield around this piece, I don't like it."

"Sandal doesn't like it either," Wolf remembered Bodahn's son. "But I never got a chance to ask why..."

"Well, if nightshade extract hadn't worked, I was going to use it to enter the Fade," Anders said. "And yes, I handled it briefly... before setting up that shield. Justice disappeared during that time."

"Justice demanded that I kill Faith," Wolf said in a near whisper. "Remember Wynne? That's the spirit within her."

"She too?!" Anders was surprised. "I never knew... Wynne, of all people!"

"It happened during that blood mage rebellion in the Tower," Wolf nodded. "She died; the spirit revived her. Without that spirit, she'd die again."

"Riiiight," Anders nodded. "Makes sense... Have you met that spirit in the Fade as well? Why did you say that Justice was after it?"

"He was and I have," Wolf confirmed. "Faith wanted me to kill Justice by killing you..."

"I don't understand," Anders sounded troubled. "They are supposed to be good, pure spirits, both of them. Not calling for death and destruction... What happened, I wonder?"

"Toss that aside, and never touch another piece!" Wolf grabbed the red lyrium chipping from Anders' satchel and flung it as far as he could. "That thing is evil. I bet that's what corrupted the spirits, and not a mere contact with mortals as Faith was trying to make me believe."

"She what..? But I should not be surprised, I suppose," Anders nodded. "So. First Bartrand, and now the spirits... This is powerful stuff."

"And Bartrand got that red lyrium idol and chippings too, no doubt. He's taking it all to the surface..."

"We must find a way out. In war, Victory. In Peace, Vigilance. In Death, Sacrifice. There's nothing there about getting lost in the Deep Roads. Come on!"

[Lena Wolf]

Morning Star, 3E390 - Blood sacrifice

"Who are these Grey Wardens, really?" Hawke asked Varric as they were walking ahead of their group. "Wolf uses blood magic... yet he is not a mage."

"I didn't have time to check their background," Varric shook his head. "Anders is from Ferelden, Wolf seems to know him, so he is probably also from Ferelden... Other than that, your guess is as good as mine."

"Ferelden, eh?" Hawke squinted. "Funny thing... I was at Ostagar, you know. Yeah, the big battle in which Loghain betrayed the King... I was with the King's troops, and when we realised that we had been left to be slaughtered, I bolted, and my brother with me. We ran to Lothering to pick up mother and sister... We were lucky they were still alive! And then we ran for our lives."

"Ran where?" Varric squinted. "Wasn't the whole area overrun by darkspawn?"

"That it was, that it was," Hawke nodded. "But they were all focusing on the battle at Ostagar, and we took advantage of those few hours to push East... The plan being to get to the nearest port and take a ship out."

"Well, you turned up in Kirkwall, so I assume it went well," Varric shrugged. "Why are you so interested in these Grey Wardens? They might have joined the Order after the Blight was defeated, you know."

"I think Anders might have done, but I'm not so sure about Wolf," Hawke shot a glance at them making sure they were still out of earshot. "He seems to know how things went during the Blight."

"So?"

"So..." Hawke paused looking over his shoulder. "I never told you this, but when we were running... We got surrounded by darkspawn on all sides. It was still much too far to the nearest port... It didn't look like we would make it. And then we were saved by Flemeth."

"Flemeth?!" Varric exclaimed a little too loudly. "The Witch of the Wilds? So she isn't a fairy tale?!"

"No she isn't, and keep your voice down," Hawke hushed him. "She's a dragon... She swooped down on us and cleared the darkspawn. What's more, she carried us to the port where we then got a ship... She mentioned that not all Grey Wardens would die in that battle... As if she knew what was coming..."

"But why would she do that?" Varric squinted. "Save you, I mean? That's not what she's famous for - saving people," he smirked.

"She gave me an amulet to deliver to a Dalish tribe somewhere near Kirkwall... Give it to the Keeper, she said, the Keeper would know what to do. I never delivered it."

"Hmm. That's weird," Varric shook his head. "What's in the amulet? Is it a locket?"

"Eh... I don't remember," Hawke admitted. "I thought it was just a trinket... didn't look special at all. It might have been a locket... Not sure."

"You didn't sell it, did you?"

"Nah, it's still somewhere among other junk... Why?"

"You should take it to the Dalish," Varric said firmly. "Not sure why, but you should."

"Well, may be, if we get out of here alive," Hawke shrugged. "Since I promised..." He paused. "She said something about the inevitable happening... I forget. That's not my point though. My point is that she spoke of several Grey Wardens surviving the massacre, and that was before the battle was over. I bet she went back there and saved a few. Which would mean that Wolf was one of them."

"Well..." Varric whistled. "There were just two of them left in the end... That was announced with the greatest fanfare... One of them was made Warden-Commander, too - they reinstated the Order in Ferelden. So... You think it could be Wolf? The Warden-Commander?" Varric threw a glance back.

"It was you who was going on about his armour... Is that a Commander's armour? I would not know," Hawke shrugged.

"It is very rare armour, that's for sure," Varric rubbed his chin. "Commander's armour would be bigger, heavier... more ceremonial. But he didn't come here for the ceremony, he came to fight. He might have left the other armour at home. There's no telling..."

"One of the two Grey Wardens was a Crown Prince," Hawke scratched the back of his head. "A bastard prince, from what I hear... He abdicated in favour of the late King's widow. Could it be Wolf? Or was that the other Warden?"

"Wolf is no Crown Prince, I know whom you mean," Varric smirked. "No... He is the Warden-Commander. Hmm. His reputation is... not straightforward. And I too saw him cutting his wrists... We should be careful, Hawke."

...

Grey Warden maps of the Deep Roads did not have the section they were in. They had to find a way out without maps, and in most cases they didn't have much choice as to where to go. With so many cave-ins everywhere, they were lucky to find a way forward at all. Yet Wolf made it a point to trace their movement on the map as best he could. "This would give us an idea where we are in relation to the places we do have on the map," he said when Hawke wondered why he was wasting his time marking up the map. "I fully intend to get out of here." He said it with such certainty that even Hawke started to believe it.

Without the sun rising and setting they could not tell how long they've been in the Deep Roads, but they made it a point to eat and sleep at regular intervals. They assumed that roughly corresponded to days. Fortunately there was no shortage of deepstalkers in the caves, so they did not have to eat darkspawn. They even found water - glowing mushrooms often grew near springs. What they did not find, however, was any more treasure, although red lyrium veins were everywhere, and that alone could set them up with money for life. They did not bother gathering any chippings though as they were heavy to carry around.

One evening they made camp in a cavern almost entirely covered in red lyrium. Crystals were everywhere, and although neither of them liked it very much, there didn't seem to be another place to camp. They cleared the area of darkspawn and settled down to sleep.

Wolf was the first to wake up. The place was quiet and his companions were still sleeping, but he'd been having nightmares and woke up. Anders was thrashing in his sleep - he must have been having nightmares too. Varric and Hawke didn't seem to be affected. Wolf woke up Anders but left the other two sleeping.

"Were you having a nightmare?" Wolf asked. "Darkspawn?"

"The Archdemon," Anders nodded. "He spoke to me again."

"There is no Archdemon, I killed him myself," Wolf shook his head. "But I dreamt of a dragon too. Why do you think it was the Archdemon?"

"Archdemon..?" Hawke woke up, shuddering. "What a nightmare!"

"You too?" Wolf looked up. "But you are not a Grey Warden!"

"What, you mean to say such dreams are normal?!" Hawke sat up.

"That depends what you dreamt about."

"The Archdemon!" Varric joined in. "I dreamt of the Archdemon! And here I thought he was dead!"

"He is dead, I assure you," Wolf said firmly. "But all four of us have dreamt of a dragon, and you two are no Grey Wardens. I don't like it."

"It wasn't just any dragon, it was the Archdemon!" Hawke insisted. "He spoke to me!"

"And what did he say?" Wolf squinted.

"That I should join him, of course... Join the darkspawn," Hawke shrugged.

"That's similar to the offer I got during the Joining," Anders pointed out. "The Archdemon was already dead when I joined," he added for Hawke and Varric. "But considering what happened right after that, I later assumed that it was the Architect who spoke to me..."

"The Architect is also dead though," Wolf rubbed his chin. "Perhaps there are more beings like him? That would explain our dreams... but I've never heard of anyone other than Grey Wardens having such nightmares."

"Could it be the taint? I mean, we aren't infected, are we?" Hawke looked at his companions. "That lizard meat that we've been eating... deepstalkers... they are not darkspawn, surely?"

"Deepstalkers are not darkspawn," Wolf shook his head. "We haven't been eating darkspawn... But there's always the risk of infection when there's so much blood. However..." He examined Hawke and Varric but so no sign of an infection. "You don't appear to be infected. So what's with the dreams?"

It was puzzling and they couldn't figure it out, so since everyone was already awake, they decided to keep moving. Red lyrium veins were everywhere, they seemed to be going towards the main trunk. Darkspawn was becoming more and more numerous, too.

"It seems we are approaching a broodmother," Wolf noted after yet another heavy battle. "We'll have to be clever about it - a broodmother will easily kill us if we are not careful."

"Oh wonderful," Varric swore. "I heard stories of a monster with tentacles... Where do they even come from?"

"They were all mortal women once," Wolf answered gravely. "Darkspawn do take prisoners - they capture women. Human, elf, dwarf, it doesn't matter - all can be turned into broodmothers. They feed them their own flesh, their kin's flesh and a lot of darkspawn flesh, and eventually the woman either dies or transforms into a broodmother."

"Their kin's flesh..?" Hawke shuddered. "That's assuming they travel with family..."

"Doesn't have to be such a close kin," Wolf shook his head. "Just needs to be the same race, is all. We are apparently all related..."

Their discussion was interrupted by more darkspawn barring their way. They were getting used to the battles. Then darkspawn stopped appearing, as if someone called them off. Suddenly empty tunnels and caves seemed even more menacing somehow. Yet they didn't have much choice but to proceed.

"Come to me, it's just up ahead," Wolf heard someone call and exquisitely beautiful music started playing in the background. It seemed to come from a large cavern further on. He froze.

"The music," he said quietly to Anders.

"And the call," Anders nodded. "Here? But how can it be?"

"Have we crossed the Veil somewhere?" Wolf shot him a worried glance. "Without realising it..."

"Why have you two stopped?" Varric and Hawke were up ahead, but they turned back noticing that their companions didn't follow.

"You don't hear it?" Wolf looked up.

"Hear what?"

"If this is the Fade, they are not who they seem to be," Anders pointed out. "Nothing is what it seems in the Fade..."

"This isn't the Fade because I'm a dwarf and dwarves have no magic," Varric objected.

"You don't have to have magic yourself to be pulled into the Fade, you just need to have a soul..." Anders was looking around him trying to figure out whether it was the Fade or not. He came up to the wall and touched it - it seemed quite real. But then, it would seem real if it was the Fade...

"We should keep walking," Wolf decided. "One way or the other... There's no point staying here. Besides, that music is more beautiful than anything I could imagine..." He resumed walking, completely ignoring his companions. After a few moments, Anders did the same.

"Is this some sort of Warden thing, you think?" Hawke turned to Varric as they watched the two Grey Wardens walk in silence. "I don't hear any music..."

"They say that Wardens start hearing voices when the taint in their blood becomes overpowering," Varric rubbed his chin. "But that takes some fifty years to develop. These two haven't been Wardens long enough to suffer such effects..."

"Ah, there you are," a dragon spread its wings in a large cavern up ahead. "Finally. I've been waiting for you, Wardens."

Wolf and Anders stopped, looking at the dragon. It didn't attack, instead it spoke to them with a beautiful, melodious voice and soft, gentle music was playing in the background.

"Finally you came to join us. Come - we have much to do."

The dragon took a step to the side revealing a chamber with guilded walls, tables laden with food, fire in the grate... Several knights in rare silverite armour sat around the table, smiling. Duncan was among them.

"Duncan is dead, this is the Fade and a trap!" Wolf turned to Anders. It was urgent, they had to run, escape... But the words that he heard himself say were quite different: "Duncan, good to see you! So, you escaped Ostagar as well?" His legs carried him to the table and he sat down, with Anders following.

...

Hawke and Varric followed the Wardens into a large chamber with a monstrous broodmother in the middle. They watched in horror how Wolf and Anders approached her not even trying to fight. She twisted her tentacles around them, squeezing them and crushing their bones until they burst. Blood ran from them and gathered in pools on the floor. When no more blood was coming, the broodmother tossed their lifeless husks onto a large heap of similarly squeezed out bodies. She then sucked up the blood through her tentacles like through straws.

Hawke and Varric were next. They saw tentacles rise from the ground all around them, caging them in. There was no where to run.

[Lena Wolf]

Sun's Dawn, 3E390 - The stone

"Dwarves say that the Stone speaks to them," Varric was trying to decide whether the loaf of bread before him was worth eating. "I always thought it was just figurative. But here the stone does speak..."

"I still think it can't be the stone," Hawke shook his head. "And yet, here we are. How long have we been here? There's no telling... but I think weeks."

"That's about right," Varric agreed, deciding to take a bite from the loaf. "This is bread... Old but ordinary. They aren't feeding us darkspawn flesh... I wonder why not."

"And so for the better!" Hawke exclaimed, taking a bite from the loaf as well. "I have no wish to join the Wardens..."

"That's not how you join the Wardens," Varric objected. "Their Joining ritual is quite different... if also similar in some ways... But no, you would just get infected and turn into darkspawn, no more."

"So... they want us alive," Hawke concluded. "I wonder why... And how is it that Wolf and Anders are still alive too, after what the broodmother did to them..."

"There was no broodmother, haven't you figured it out yet?" Varric smirked. "It was all an illusion. What wouldn't I give to know what the Wardens saw..."

"Why? What do you care?"

"It gives me an idea for a book..."

...

It's been three to four weeks since our party walked into that trap with the broodmother. There was no broodmother, Varric was right. The whole thing was an illusion designed to break their spirit. They woke up in a dungeon, they were separated, with Wolf and Anders sharing a cell and Varric and Hawke sharing another. The cells had no walls between them but only bars, so all prisoners could see and talk to each other in that vast hall... if they weren't knocked out. The majority of them however were prostrate on the floor or propped up against the walls, staring into nothingness. Darkspawn guards paced the corridors from time to time bringing food to those prisoners who were able to eat, and removing something from all prisoners on a regular basis.

"Here they come again," Hawke saw another patrol approaching. "Are we getting water this time, I wonder?"

The guards were mute, or perhaps they chose not to speak. They sat a jug of water in the cell and searched the floor for something. Then they shook their heads and left without a word.

"Whatever is going through their heads?" Varric watched the guards for a bit, then watched some of the other prisoners, Wolf and Anders among them. "Just sitting there, motionless... Like they are sleeping."

"They probably are," Hawke nodded. "Did you notice... The guards never find anything in our cell, but they seem happy with what they find in some of the others... I wonder what it is."

"Red lyrium," Varric said softly. "Just watch them... There are red lyrium crystals growing in some of the cells. But not in ours."

...

"So, you've finally found your way home," Duncan raised a toast when Wolf and Anders sat down at the table with the other knights. "Welcome! You are now true Grey Wardens."

"True Grey Wardens?" Wolf looked at the knights at the table, but they were all wearing closed helmets and he couldn't tell who they were. "You mean, we were not true Grey Wardens before?"

"No, that was like... what should I call it... err... probation, perhaps?" Duncan searched for words. "A test of sorts... to see the strength of your resolve. But you made it here, so you passed that test."

"Which part of it was the test?" Wolf squinted. "The part where I killed the Archdemon? Or the Architect?"

"And how come I passed the test as well?" Anders joined him in his doubts. "I didn't do any of those things..."

"Well, it isn't as simple as any single deed," Duncan frowned. "It's how you behaved throughout... everything matters, my friends."

"Alright," Wolf nodded and took a sip from his goblet. The wine was excellent. "So, what's next?"

"Next... Why, should there be something next?" Duncan frowned again. "You are here, at the Head Quarters Fortress, you have food and drink, both of excellent quality, you are in a company of other true Grey Wardens - isn't it like your Sovngarde? Why should there be anything more?"

"So then, I am dead," Wolf nodded.

"What's Sovngarde?" Anders turned to him. "This makes no sense to me, and I don't think I'm dead."

"Ungrateful child!" Duncan cried out, looking angrily at Anders. "All that I've done for you, and here you are, complaining!"

"All that you've done for me?" Anders raised an eyebrow. "Now I know I am not dead! Begone, spirit! I understand you look like Duncan because Wolf recognised you, but I never met Duncan! I joined well after his death! Duncan did nothing for me!"

He jumped up, his staff at the ready.

"Foolish child!" Duncan cried out again but remained seated. "He is your charge, tell him to behave!" He spoke to Wolf.

"My charge?" Wolf looked up in surprise. "I helped him, yes, but Anders is not my charge... and neither is he a child any longer..."

"There! You tell him, Wolf!" Anders still had his staff charged and ready to cast, but neither Duncan nor any of the knights at the table showed any hostility.

"He is your charge the same as you are mine, will always be," Duncan replied, calming down again. "You made him a Grey Warden. It was your blood that tainted his. You cannot walk away from that, Wolf."

Wolf hesitated. Duncan's words sounded true, but at the same time something was off... If this was the Grey Wardens version of Sovngarde, then he was dead. And if he was dead, he should have gone to the real Sovngarde, he was certain. Unless it was one and the same... they did say that Sovngarde appeared different to different people. Perhaps the taint in his blood meant that his Sovngarde would always be filled with Grey Wardens...

"We are not dead," Anders said in his ear. "This is the Fade. We have to get out of here."

"Get out of here and go where?" Duncan interjected. "Stubborn child!"

"Stop calling me a child!" Anders exclaimed defiantly, but the doubt was already seeded in his mind. Had he really grown up? He tried to be more responsible since he joined the Wardens, tried not to get himself into unnecessary trouble... But then of course he got possessed by Justice, and that was hardly a smart thing to do... Perhaps he was a child still, and Duncan was right...

"Well, if this is where we should be, then you won't mind if we looked around, will you?" Wolf smiled and got up. "This place is fascinating... I've never been to the Head Quarters. Say... what's down that hall?"

"That... err... just offices that way!" Duncan tried to stop him. "Come back to the table, that's where you should be..."

But Wolf was already walking into a misty corridor, with Anders following.

"I am your charge, he's right, you know," Anders said after a while. A misty corridor stretched before them, there was nothing to see, yet Wolf kept walking, and Anders kept following. "I am a charge that slows you down. I am still that immature youngster that does everything wrong and constantly gets himself into a tremendous mess... You should leave me here. The Fade might show you a way out if you walk alone."

Wolf stopped and turned to Anders.

"You are not my charge, you are my friend," he said firmly. "You got yourself in trouble, true... But so did I. It was my blood that tainted yours."

"Without it I would have been made tranquil," Anders pointed out. "I am not complaining. But I allowed Justice to possess me... I might not have made it clear... I allowed him to 'move in', as it were, for more than a fleeting possession. I never stopped to think what consequences it would have, for myself or for people around me. He is now permanently merged with me, Wolf. I dreaded to say so... but you should know. This is why the Fade does not let me leave."

"This is bad news, Anders," Wolf sighed. "But... what about the ritual that you were suggesting? To send Justice back into the Fade? How was that supposed to work?"

"Justice would leave, yes, but only partly," Anders looked away. "This already occurred. He is gone, but not completely. I shall always remain a gateway for him to return into the mortal plane at the moment of his choosing. Which is why you should leave me behind."

"You wish to die?" Wolf remembered Niall whose spirit he met in the Fade held by a Sloth Demon. Niall died quickly because the Sloth was feeding on his soul. Was there a demon here ready to feed on Anders' soul as well?

"I do not wish to die, but I see no other way out," Anders sighed. "The Fade will not let me out, and if you stay with me, you will die too."

"I do not like this," Wolf frowned and resumed walking. Anders hesitated, but then followed.

...

"Red lyrium does not grow on the floor, it grows on the prisoners' bodies," Hawke peered through the bars. "Look at that mage, for example: she is covered in it!" He pointed at a prisoner a few cells away from them. She was propped up against the wall like most others. Red lyrium crystals were visible on her arms and neck, they cut through her robe, forming a ridge.

"Good grief!" Varric looked at her in horror. "Is she still alive? She's prostrate like the others..."

"Red lyrium is feeding on her soul," someone replied from the other end of the hall. "This is what will happen to all of us."

"What?!" Varric turned to the person who spoke. "Like a demon?!"

"Indeed," the person confirmed. He got up from the floor and stood facing them - he was a mage too. "Some theorise that red lyrium is alive... I'm not so sure about that, myself. But seeing how all prisoners here are mages..."

"We are not mages though," Hawke shook his head.

"Then I don't know why darkspawn didn't kill you," the mage was looking at them with interest. "And you're not knocked out..."

"Why are you not knocked out?" Varric squinted.

"Oh, I will be, give it time," the mage smiled weakly. "They stopped bringing me food a while back already... I suppose I'm just stronger than I look... Or rather, I was when I got here..."

"So, what do they want with us?" Hawke and Varric exchanged glances. "We should get out of here. Whatever it is, it can't be good."

"Get out of here?!" The mage laughed. "I tried to get out of here, it's quite impossible, I assure you! Do you even know where we are?"

"Somewhere in the Deep Roads, I presume," Varric shrugged. "That's where we were taken."

"The Deep Roads?" The mage looked surprised. "That would make sense... There are entrances everywhere... Hmm... Yes, well, maybe then..." He turned away from them, he seemed to be consulting a book or a scroll. A few minutes later he spoke again. "I can help you get out but you must take me with you," he said firmly. "I never considered the Deep Roads. If only we had a map... We could find a way out."

"Wolf has a map," Hawke said quietly to Varric. "But he's knocked out, the same as Anders."

"It doesn't look good for them, I'll admit," Varric looked closely. "Is that..? Can you see it, there, on their wrists? Something red?"

"That's blood, I think," Hawke peered at them as well. "It does not look like crystals... yet..."

...

"I should have never touched blood magic," Anders was saying to Wolf as they were walking aimlessly through a foggy corridor in the Fade. "It's forbidden for a reason. I see it now."

"Was the First Enchanter not delaying your graduation even before you started studying it?" Wolf tried to remember what he read in the First Enchanter's papers. "Isn't it why..?"

"Yes, yes, that's why I turned to it," Anders answered impatiently. "I was having trouble with the Fade... err... I felt ill prepared and powerless whenever I found myself in the Fade when I slept. I am not sure if any of the spirits I met were demons... But I felt threatened anyway."

"I read a letter from a mage who was made tranquil on his own request," Wolf remembered one document. "He was so frightened of spirits and demons that he was ready to kill himself. Then someone said he could be rid of all of that if he was made tranquil... and he embraced the idea."

"I know whom you mean," Anders nodded. "He spoke of it, and there were others like him, too... But I didn't want to lose myself... So I thought if I were just better prepared, I'd pass the exam..."

"And blood magic held the promise of power," Wolf smirked.

"Yes. But I didn't think of the consequences..." Anders sighed. "It condemned me to the very fate I was trying to avoid."

"Well, there's no point lamenting it now," Wolf shrugged. "We should look for a way out."

They walked in silence for a while, each thinking their own thoughts, until Wolf suddenly realised that he could no longer hear Anders' footsteps behind him. He spun around, but could see nothing but fog. Anders wasn't following.

[Lena Wolf]

Sun's Dawn, 3E390 - Imprisoned

"I can't quite reach," Hawke sighed. He tried to get to Wolf through the bars between their cells but his shoulder wouldn't go through and Wolf sat too far away. "He's got a map of the Deep Roads, it's somewhere in his bag or his pocket... but I can't reach him from here."

"How did you manage to unlock the door?" Varric called out to the mage at the other end of the prison hall who was offering to help them escape. "Since you claim to have tried a few times, you must have gotten out of your cell somehow..."

"My cell isn't locked," the mage looked up in surprise, then opened and shut the door of his cell to demonstrate. "I got out of this hall, that was easy... but where to go from there? The passage just leads to more halls like this one."

"Hmm... So how were you going to help us?" Varric squinted.

"I've seen exits... Tunnels and caves beyond. I just assumed it was some unknown mine... I can lead you to one of the exits, we'll follow the tunnels until we come to a highway in the Deep Roads... Then we'll find a way out using your map!" The mage sounded excited.

"Our door isn't locked either," Hawke realised to his surprise. He stepped out and tried the door of Wolf and Anders' cell. "As easy as that," he grinned, entering. "Now, where did he have that map..?"

...

Wolf stood alone in a foggy corridor in the Fade. He tried running back in the hope to catch up with Anders who stopped following, but the corridor was empty in either direction. Fade had no dimensions, as soon as something vanished from view, it was gone.

"May be not gone completely," Wolf remembered the time when he was stuck in the pocket of Fade that belonged to a Sloth Demon. "The Sloth's pocket had islands, portals and doors, it was well organised and stable... But it was so because the Sloth created it that way. I wonder if there is a demon here as well? Or may be the space between pockets is organised somehow? How do you even..?"

"How do you find your way in the Fade?" He heard someone talking behind him. "You don't!" A mage stood there, smiling. Something about him was familiar. "We've met before, do you remember me? I... was in a closet... during the rebellion in the Tower... I could not face the demons..."

"Ah, hello!" Wolf smiled, recognising him. "It wasn't a bad strategy, you know. You survived."

"Did I?" The mage looked around. "This doesn't look like the Tower. Where are we?"

"Oh dear."

"It's your Fade, is it not?" The mage looked at the walls and pillars with interest. "Looks dwarven. I've never seen such a long corridor before... Where are we going?"

"We?" Wolf was surprised. "How long have you been in the Fade?"

"How long? That's a strange question," the mage smirked. "Time has no meaning here... But I never left the closet, if that helps. It just never seemed safe enough... I think I fell asleep in there when the noises subsided..."

"I am sorry to hear that," Wolf sighed. "It's been years and years. I'm afraid you're dead."

"Really? Well, that would explain things, yes..." The mage didn't seem upset. "I supposed they've buried my body... or burned it... either way, I am but a spirit now."

"You sound like you like it here," once again Wolf felt that something was off.

"What's there not to like?" The mage smiled. "I know no pain or fear, there's no hunger, fatigue or disease... There isn't much to do here, granted, but I'll take safety over excitement any day!"

"Umm... I see," Wolf gave him a long look. "Then... why are you here, talking to me?"

"Why not?" The mage shrugged. "I am here, and you are here, and we are talking... What else is there to do?"

...

"Hurry up, I see a patrol approaching!" Varric whispered urgently to Hawke. "The doors may not be locked, but I bet they won't like to find you in the wrong cell!"

"I can't find his map!" Hawke hissed back. "Where could it be?"

"Leave it and come back before the guards get here!" Varric dared not shout, even though he wanted to. "We'll try again later!"

Hawke left Wolf alone and slipped back into their own cell. The patrol walked past them without looking. They were not getting any food or water that day.

"They started starving you too, I see," the mage from the other end of the hall was watching the patrol. "Time to get out. We need that map!"

...

"That's enough, I am getting out," Wolf said decisively and the mage from the closet shirked away from him. "If I am not dead, then I must be dreaming. And if I am dreaming, then I can wake up. Unless there's a demon guarding this place, all I have to do is will it..." He remembered Niall telling him this. "So... Goodbye."

He turned away from the mage and closed his eyes. He pictured the world outside, tried remembering where he was last, how he got into the Fade in the first place. He was in the Deep Roads on an expedition to find red lyrium needed for a ritual to expel Justice out of Anders' body. Red lyrium turned out to be toxic, it poisoned the mind of Bartrand, the leader of the expedition, who then locked the other partners out, leaving them to die in the Deep Roads. They'd been trying to find a way out for days... wandering among the red lyrium deposits, hearing voices... then there was a dragon... and Wolf and Anders stood in the Fade.

"There was no dragon, it was an illusion," Wolf told himself. "The others must have seen or heard something too. I wonder which visions here were just visions... And where is Anders? If it was indeed Anders and not another illusion..."

He turned around to see if the mage from the closet was still there, but he too had already vanished.

"I am leaving!" Wolf said loudly and firmly.

...

Hawke was once again going through the pockets of Wolf's coat in search of the map of the Deep Roads and not finding it.

"May be Anders has got it instead," Varric hissed, not daring to speak loudly. "Try him."

"Anders is wearing a robe though," Hawke left Wolf alone and moved over to Anders. "It's got no pockets! Blast!"

"He's got pockets, I'm sure of it," Varric didn't give up. "Check his belt, his satchel..."

"Explain yourself!" Suddenly a man's full weight was on top of Hawke, he was knocked down to the floor and pinned in place. Wolf was breathing down his neck.

"Err... But you were knocked out!" Varric exclaimed, attracting attention of several prisoners in the hall. "We need your map to get out of here!" He quickly recovered from the surprise. "He's been searching for the map!"

Wolf let go of Hawke and Hawke rushed back to his own cell. Not paying him any further attention, Wolf knelt over Anders. "Alive," he muttered to himself, having checked his pulse. "But how to bring him back?"

"Look, there's someone here who knows a way out," Varric spoke again and pointed out the mage in the other end of the hall. "He'll lead us to an exit, then we'll wander through tunnels and caverns until we hit a dwarven highway, and from there we'll need your map to find a way out!"

"Aha," Wolf looked at him in disbelief. "That's what we've been trying to do since Bartrand locked us out. That got us here."

"But do you have a better plan?" Varric didn't give up.

"Yes," Wolf looked around at all the prisoners in the hall. "First we figure out where we are. What is this place? Are we still in the Deep Roads? Who are our captors? Why are we here? And anyway, I'm not going anywhere until Anders is back."

"Back from where?" Hawke stared at Anders who was still unconscious.

"From the Fade..." Wolf said slowly. "I am going after him."

"Going how? You are no mage! This is madness!" Varric threw his arms in the air. "Look, he's a nice fellow and all, but we need to save our hides! We've got to go!"

"But if you'd rather stay, give us your map!" Hawke chimed in.

"Hush! Someone's coming!" Wolf sat down on the floor and gestured Varric and Hawke to do the same. Another patrol crossed the hall without stopping.

"Darkspawn?" Wolf turned in surprise. "We've been captured by darkspawn?"

"Now you see why we have to get out!" Varric nodded. "Before we turn into food for red lyrium." He pointed out some of the other prisoners to Wolf - the ones that had red lyrium crystals growing on their bodies.

"I see," Wolf looked grim. "Well, that explains all the voices..."

"What voices?" Hawke squinted. "I hear noise but no distinct voices..."

Wolf didn't answer. He got up and left his cell. None of the cells were locked, and he walked from one prisoner to the next examining them, shaking his head, making notes. He exchanged a few words with those prisoners that were awake, nodded and moved on. Finally he got to the mage that offered his help to escape. He entered his cell and stood really close speaking in a hushed voice.

"I know what you are, emissary," he said in a whisper. "You don't fool me, I can sense the corruption. The Architect is dead, but I suppose he wasn't the only creature of his kind... or else he freed enough darkspawn for them to set out on their own... The question is, what you intend to do with those two?"

"Grey Wardens were always going to be a bother," the mage scowled. "But your blood is worth it... more and more of us are waking up. You should be asleep, my friend... You should rest..."

He cast a spell and Wolf suddenly felt extremely tired. He shook his head, trying to stay awake, yet he could not. He slumped to the floor and the mage sat him up against the wall. A patrol was approaching. They moved Wolf to his cell and took some more blood from him and Anders. They left without even a glance at Varric and Hawke.

"This is bad," Varric said quietly. "They don't grow red lyrium in the Wardens because they want their blood... Wolf called that mage an emissary... He's darkspawn, Hawke..."

"You heard that?" Hawke was surprised but believed his friend. "So, the mage was always going to betray us... What do we do now?"

"It's always the same, is it not?" Varric smirked. "Grey Wardens are the best remedy against darkspawn. When they are not being bled on a daily basis, that is..." He propped himself against the wall and closed his eyes. "We're done, Hawke."

[Lena Wolf]

Sun's Dawn, 3E390 - Conclusion

Anders stood alone in a foggy corridor. He fell behind and allowed Wolf to disappear into the mist. Once gone, he was gone. This was the Fade, it had no time or distance.

"He'll realise how to leave and he will leave," Anders told himself. "I am a failure. This mess cannot be fixed... and I cannot allow Justice to re-enter the mortal realm." He sat down on the floor and closed his eyes. Sooner or later he'd be dead. "If there's a demon here, come and eat my soul," he said aloud. "I don't need it any more."

...

"No, I am not giving up," Wolf was back in the misty corridor in the Fade. "Anders must be here somewhere. Wynne must be here somewhere, that spirit of hers must let her in... a Spirit of Faith... Alistair... and other Grey Wardens... are we not all linked through the taint? Isn't that the point? Avernus must hear me... If only I knew how to reach them..!"

A sense of urgency filled his soul and he ran, even though the misty corridor always remained the same.

"All you have to do is will it," Niall's words echoed in his mind. What if it worked for everything and not just for leaving the Fade? He did not want to leave yet, it would only return him to the darkspawn prison. He knew where they were, he figured it out. The maps of the Deep Roads were in his pocket, one that required Wardens' taint to find... Hawke would never find it. Now he needed to call for help. Avernus. He wanted to speak with Avernus. Avernus would know what to do.

Wolf slowed down. Avernus. He kept repeating the old wizard's name over and over.

"Yes, yes, I can hear you, stop shouting already!" Avernus' voice called from further ahead. "You learned to navigate the Fade... somewhat. Not bad for a non-mage!" Avernus approached, smiling. "What's the emergency?"

Wolf explained as best he could. Showed the maps which were somehow still in his pocket ("You memorised them, of course"). They needed outside help, they needed a rescue. Avernus listened intently and promised to act.

"I shall go to Vigil Keep at once and we'll get you out," he said decisively. "You need to return to your body and wait without slipping into the Fade again. I think you can manage that..."

"But what about Anders?" Wolf sounded worried. "I cannot find him... I tried. Is Justice preventing me?"

"No, Anders is preventing you," Avernus shook his head. "It sounds like he decided to sacrifice himself... You cannot find him if he does not wish it."

"Then I know what I must do."

Avernus left and Wolf resumed walking.

"Justice!" He called loudly. "I know you are here! Show yourself!"

He called several times, and eventually Justice appeared.

"What do you want of me, mortal?" He asked with disdain. "I am back in my domain."

"You killed my friend!" Wolf exclaimed with anger. "I demand justice! Defend yourself!"

He drew his sword and Justice responded, they duelled until both were exhausted and nearly dead... but Wolf persevered. It was never going to be easy to defeat Justice, but he would not be able to live with himself if he gave up. "Sovngarde awaits!" He told himself. "I wonder how many Nords can boast about dying in a duel with the Spirit of Justice? That'll make for some great stories, no doubt..."

"I yield, that's enough," suddenly Justice stopped the fight. "You bested me, mortal..." He sighed. "But what did you mean about me killing your friend? I... I am confused. He let me in willingly."

"He did not realise that you would not be able to leave," Wolf said with a sigh. "And even now that you are back in the Fade, he serves as a gateway for you to return to the mortal realm any time you want to. Anders' being is no longer his own. And so he entered the Fade and will not return. The only way for him to close that gate is to die with it."

"I... understand," Justice nodded slowly. "It is not just that his life should end on my behalf... I... did not think of him as a person... Follow me."

Justice walked purposefully down the corridor and soon they came upon Anders sitting on the floor. As soon as Justice was near him, a cord connecting them became apparent. Justice drew his sword and cut it. Anders collapsed.

"It is up to you now, mortal," Justice turned to Wolf. "I did not feed on his soul, I am no demon. But I was sustaining his body for my benefit and his. I now cut that connection. His true condition is... weak. He will likely die anyway. But he will die free of any possession."

Justice walked away. Wolf knelt over Anders, checking his pulse - he wasn't dead yet. He shook him by the shoulders trying to wake him up, but it had no effect. Something more decisive was needed.

...

Once again Wolf was back in the mortal realm. He looked around - he was sitting in his cell, his wrist was lightly bleeding. Anders was slumped against the wall beside him, his wrist bleeding as well. He looked pale, his heartbeat was erratic.

"He will expire before long," Wolf thought. "What he needs is for someone to augment his strength until our rescue arrives... If only I was a mage..."

Another patrol was approaching. Wolf closed his eyes pretending to be asleep. He allowed them to take blood from his wrist. They took some from Anders as well, then one of them shook his head realising that Anders was dying. To Wolf's surprise, he poured a potion down his thoat and Anders' breathing improved.

"They are keeping us alive," Wolf realised. "Alive and producing blood..."

He peeked through his almost closed eyelids to check on Varric and Hawke - they were pale too, but didn't seem unconscious. There was no food or water in their cell. Rescue could not come soon enough.

...

The ruined temple in Drakefall Wastes had a vast underground network of halls and corridors. It seemed to have been built to house troops or prisoners or both, it was hard to tell. It was the same complex that the Mother had chosen for her lair years ago. Grey Wardens knew where they were going. It was hard getting there and hard finding the right hall where our party was held, but find them they did. Varric could hardly believe his eyes when a Grey Warden stood over him, a griffon crest on his armour shining from within.

"You are the best vision I've had all day," Varric smirked. "And boy, have I had visions..." Red lyrium crystals were now surrounding him and Hawke, but none were visible on their bodies yet. The rescue came in the nick of time.

Anders was still unconscious, however. They had to carry him but no one was suggesting leaving him behind.

"It's too bad we cannot help the other prisoners," Varric sighed looking at all the people prostrate in their cells. "They are already too far gone..."

"I wonder where and how they were captured," Hawke nodded. "If we can figure it out, we can put a stop to it..."

"And die in the process?" Varric shook his head. "This is big, Hawke. Too big for the likes of you and me. This requires..."

"What?"

"Something big," Varric shrugged. "I don't know. This is worse than a Blight..."

Vigil Keep wasn't too far away, and they reached it without incident. After a few days recuperation, Varric and Hawke took a ship back to Kirkwall. Anders remained unconscious and Wolf insisted that Avernus should send him back to the Fade to get Anders to return, and once they were both back in the mortal realm, he insisted again that Avernus should use his blood to keep Anders alive until his heart would beat on its own.

"That's a lot of blood," Anders commented when he was finally out of the crisis. "Look at you - you're pale as a sheet... Why are you doing it? This was a mess of my own making, and I was resigned to let it end..."

"You remind me of someone," Wolf smiled. "Someone I knew years ago... Someone who got himself into a similar mess and was ready to die to resolve it, but then got saved by a stranger... more than once. I saved you because I could do so. I don't believe you will be getting into any further mess... I could be wrong though, who knows..."

"That someone was you, wasn't it?" Anders squinted. "Back in... what was that land you are from? Skyrim..? Something to do with sky and snow, I remember..."

"The same as Anderfells, Anders," Wolf smiled. "Anders isn't a name, it's where you are from... sky and snow, as you say."

"I resented being taken to the Circle," Anders nodded. "I refused to tell them my name... So they called me Anders, and it stuck. It's my name now."

"I should have known, you Northeners stick together," Zevran walked in. "I am not letting you out of my sight again, my friend," he turned to Wolf. "I am not a Grey Warden, I would not hear your call... Yes, Avernus explained about that."

"Antiva is even further North than Anderfells," Wolf smirked. "Which makes you a Northener too."

"Antiva is a land of hot deserts, sunshine and palm trees, none of your cold and snow," Zevran shook his head vigorously. "A marvel of geography, what do I know... Antiva has been sending Crows after me again, such a bother... I'll have to go there and deal with them once and for all."

"And you are not going without me!" Wolf protested. "I still remember how to fight with daggers..."

[Lena Wolf]

Hearthfire, 3E398 - Ten years on

Grey Wardens didn't have much to do in times between the Blights. It was common for their order to retreat into the shadows and take care of their own business. They would watch the world around them but their focus would always be on darkspawn rather than politics. It was for that reason that even though Grey Wardens knew about the power of red lyrium, they did not make it their priority to investigate it any further. They watched from the shadows the swelling conflict between mages and templars - mages being locked away for life in Circle Towers with templars watching their every move, templars who were themselves controlled by the Chantry through their imposed addiction to lyrium... So much coersion and control was going to explode into everyone's faces sooner or later.

Kirkwall became the centre of that explosion. The templars there exercised particularly harsh control over the mages, to the point that even the order of Seekers got involved. The Seekers of Truth was an order of warriors overlooking the Chantry and the templars alike... they were believed to be perfectly neutral and infalliable in their judgement. They launched an investigation into alleged oppression of mages in Kirkwall, found excessive use of force by the templars, but also found many instances of the use of blood magic by the mages, and didn't investigate what came first... assuming that the original fault must be with the mages. The Seekers did not find any cause for concern even when reports of red lyrium started coming in. So when some anarchist in Kirkwall planted a bomb in the Chantry out of protest against templar oppression, the Seekers looked on as the templars denounced the Chantry, threw out their vows to protect the innocent and came down on the mages with unprecedented force, not even trying to find any wrongdoing apart from possessing the gift of magic. Many non-mages perished as well, accused of being mage sympathisers... None of that raised any concerns with the Seekers. All they saw were mages out of control.

The events in Kirkwall started a chain reaction. Mages everywhere began protesting against being locked up in the Circles, and templars began overthrowing Chantry control and persecuting mages and general public alike. A civil war of epic proportions broke out, to rival even the Blight in cruelty and ferocity. Fighting was everywhere, the world of Thedas was being swallowed by it.

It was then that the Chantry finally decided to act. Divine Justinia called a conclave - peace talks in an attempt to stop the war between mages and templars. Fighting seized temporarily, and that in itself was giving people hope. The conclave was to be held in the holiest of all places - the temple holding the Urn of Sacred Ashes. It was the last hope for peace, and everyone was finally taking it seriously, even the Grey Wardens.

"We should not be interfering in politics," Avernus was shaking his head. "It backfired three hundred years ago and it will backfire again!"

"But the Seekers are not taking red lyrium seriously," Alistair disagreed. "They are blinded by the actions of the mages - which are horrific, I agree! - and they are not seeing that the templars are out of control and turning into monsters! We are the only force that can stop them!"

"Are you suggesting we side with blood mages?!" Oghren nearly jumped up. "You, of all people! You, a templar?!"

"Almost a templar but not quite," Alistair shot him a glance. "And no, I am not suggesting we side with blood mages! Even if some of us use it..." He glared at Anders.

"What?!" Anders glared back. "You use a sword but you are selective whose head you cut off! Blood magic is just a tool, no more..."

"We are not going to side with anyone!" Wolf raised his voice over everyone else's. "We'll attend the conclave to see for ourselves what transpires. Red lyrium is lyrium corrupted with darkspawn taint, which makes it our business. If the others refuse to see the danger, we cannot. Alistair, Anders and I will go to Haven and observe the events, no more."

...

Haven was covered in snow, just as it was the first time Wolf and his party found it up in the mountains. The village had grown since, wealth was visible in every house. With so many pilgrims wanting to see the temple that once held the Urn of Sacred Ashes, the village became a tourist attraction like no other.

Of course, none was able to see the Urn of Sacred Ashes itself. Although the temple still stood like before, many cave-ins cut off large portions of it and even in spite of extensive excavations the Urn could not be found. There was no dragon nesting above the temple either, and some wondered whether the dragon had been in fact their Prophet in a different form, and when the dragon left, so did the ashes. After all, this was meant to be the Prophet's final resting place, not a busy tourist attraction...

Regardless of the Urn, however, the Temple of Sacred Ashes, as it was now known, became the holiest relic of Thedas all in its own right.

"I think I might be sick," Zevran was scanning the crowd around them, seeing mostly Chantry robes wherever he looked. "I've never seen so much clergy together in one place!"

"Nervous that your sins might catch up with you?" Alistair smirked. He never forgave Zevran his occupation. "You know that murder is wrong, don't you?"

"And so you say," Zevran looked at him sideways. "But I offer a prayer for each life I take, I ask forgiveness for my sins and always get a blessing... The Maker does not seem to mind, so why should you?"

"You ask forgiveness..?" Alistair was taken aback.

"There is a chapel at Vigil Keep," Zevran nodded. "I've never seen you there for some reason..."

Wolf grinned and shook his head. This was yet another side of Zevran he did not expect to find. Wolf never went to the chapel either, he went to the mortuary for his own devotions, that being the closest thing to a chapel of Arkay.

"Clergy has little to do with devotion though," he nodded. "I find it sickening as well. But we are here to observe, so we need to mingle..."

"Why did you join us, Zevran?" Anders asked as they resumed their wandering. "You didn't have to, it's about the most boring event I ever had to attend..."

"It is too convenient for an assassin to reach any target," Zevran replied, not taking his eyes off the crowd. "It is a threat none of you would be able to see. I am here to observe as well."

"We should see if we can get to the temple itself," Wolf decided. "That's where the actual talks are held, not here in the village. Come on."

They walked up the mountain pass and crossed the bridge to the temple. They were now seeing mages robes and templar armour as well as the clergy. They stood in separate groups and did not mix.

"The halls behind these doors are used for the talks and you are not invited," templars closed their ranks before Wolf and his party. "You may loiter in the lobby together with the rest of them, but you are not getting in."

Wolf didn't insist. He exchanged glances with Zevran and Alistair - all three of them had gone through the tests on the way to the Urn of Sacred Ashes. There was more than one entrance to those halls. They circled back, cleared some snow, moved some boulders to reveal a caved-in door, and soon they stood in a deserted corridor with voices echoing further ahead.

"Up there," Wolf nodded. "Through the traps and a puzzle bridge, if memory serves..."

...

"What was that?!" A giant explosion further ahead sent shockwaves both through earth and air. Wolf bolted, his companions hot on his heels. "What is going on here?!" he threw open the door.

"Run! Run while you can..!" A woman on a crucifix was burning with a magical fire. Flames were all around them, the place did not look like any hall of the Temple of Sacred Ashes that Wolf could recall.

"Intruder!!!" A booming voice came from above. "Kill him!!!"





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Notes
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This episode has a short summary of the remainder of Dragon Age II and blends into the starting sequence of Dragon Age: Inquisition.

I skipped most of Dragon Age II. However, the story is important because the games form a sequence, including the DLC. The Dragon Age series is more about the events in the world than it is about characters, which is rather contradictory to the setup of the games, in my opinion. BioWare's strength lies with character development, and yet they insist on dropping your lead character and the majority of important figures for every game and starting from scratch with a new cast. I prefer to shift focus to characters and use politics as a backdrop, however. I therefore reuse my lead character from Origins and give some of the other characters more meaningful roles. This means that large chunks will be skipped, new stories will be added and some "historical accounts" altered, in particular where they contradict common sense.

Note also that I changed a few titles because I chose to omit the details about political systems and religion in Thedas. So where the titles were very specific, I made them more generic with the same meaning. If you played the game, you'll know what I mean.


~~~ The following will only make sense if you know the lore ~~~

My story is based exclusively on the Dragon Age games. I never read any of the spin-off novels or comic books, so I don't know what happened "behind the scenes" (although I read a few things in various Wikis). So as far as I am concerned, Alistair was a full human, his mother was a maid at Redcliffe Castle and Goldana was his true half-sister; Fiona was not a Grey Warden and never has been. Note that her being a Grey Warden actually contradicts the thesis that all Grey Wardens had their minds turned during Inquisition by... you know who. Besides, if Fiona joined Grey Wardens at around the same time as Duncan as the book claims, then by the time of Inquisition she should have been long gone to the Black City already. Avernus was the only known exception.

In a word, I see the games as forming a fairly consistent story line while the books (or rather the bits about them that I come across here and there) form an add-on with some alternative realities. Much like my own story, in fact. And therefore they don't fit into my narrative.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Nov 7 2024, 02:15 PM

[Lena Wolf]

Hearthfire, 3E398 - Old acquaintances

"Tell me why I should not kill you now," a tall slender woman with a Nevarran accent spoke sharply. "Explain this!" She turned Wolf's palm upwards and an acid green mark shone from it.

"Eh... I told you - I don't know what this is," Wolf replied with a tired voice. "We've been over it a dozen times already, and my answer is not going to change." He was sitting in the middle of a round "interrogation room", he was cuffed and bound. He didn't remember how he got there, he thought he was in the Fade... but the place he was in didn't resemble the Fade and the woman seemed too real to be a mere spirit.

"Still no luck?" Another woman walked in.

"He is denying everything!" The Nevarran woman scowled.

"Well, if you give him to me, we have ways..." The other woman rolled her eyes, paying more attention to the Nevarran than to the prisoner.

"No," the Nevarran shook her head. "Solas thinks he may be useful even so. We are going to test it."

"Oh alright, if you must..." the other woman left, not sparing Wolf another glance.

"Come with me," the Nevarran cut the ties around Wolf's ankles and removed his cuffs. "Don't try anything, I am watching you!" She glared. She was clearly not a woman to cross. "This way."

They were still in Haven. The air was crisp as ever, but something was wrong. A giant acid green vortex rose from one of the mountain peaks - that with the Temple of Sacred Ashes. Smaller vortices were visible in several other locations. The woman was directing Wolf to one of these smaller vortices.

"This is your doing!" The Nevarran said angrily to Wolf. "The conclave is destroyed! Everyone is dead! The temple is in ruins! What kind of magic did you use there? What kind of explosives? The guards remember you sneaking around the place! Where are your co-conspirators? Answer me!!!" She pushed him against a wall of rock, her face contorted with rage.

"You haven't killed me yet, so you still need me for something," Wolf smiled pleasantly.

"Ugh!" The woman let go of him and pushed him further up the hill.

Demons rose from the ground blocking their way.

"Get behind me!!" The Nevarran ordered Wolf and charged the nearest demon.

"Well, hello, darlings, long time no see," Wolf muttered, looking around. Fallen soldiers were all over the place, he grabbed a sword and a dagger and faced a demon of his own.

"Drop your weapons!!!" The Nevarran dispatched her demon and turned on Wolf. "Now!!!!"

"Fine, have it your way," Wolf shrugged and tossed his weapons to the ground. "Where to next?"

"Hmm... No... you need that," the Nevarran sighed. "There are more demons ahead, and I need you alive. Pick that up. You go first. Hands where I can see them!!" She added menacingly.

They didn't have far to go, one of the acid green vortices was up ahead. Demons were all around it, and so they joined the fighting. Then, suddenly, an elven mage grabbed Wolf by the wrist pointing the mark on his hand at the vortex. The vortex responded, twisted and spun, then collapsed on itself and vanished.

"As I suspected," the elf said with satisfaction letting go of Wolf's hand. "This will close the rifts."

"So he's the one responsible!" The Nevarran woman exclaimed, her sword at Wolf's throat.

"No, he is not," the elf replied flatly. "He simply got caught up in the explosion, survived... somehow... and got that souvenir from it. It reacts to the rifts, that is all. He is the solution, not the problem."

"And here I was, thinking we'd be ass deep in demons forever," a dwarf stepped forward. "Varric's the name. Rogue, storyteller and an occasional tug-along, at your service," he grinned and winked.

"Absolutely not!!" The Nevarran woman looked very angry. "Our forces..."

"Your forces are thin on the ground, decimated by the mage-templar fighting and unable to hold even the smallest of villages. This calls for a different team altogether. You need me, Seeker." Varric folded his arms.

Seeker? Wolf looked at the Nevarran woman with interest, only now noticing the crest on her shield and armour: the sun overlaid with an ever-seeing eye and a sword. The Order of Seekers of Truth, the ones that stood above the templars and the Chantry.

"Ugh! But you may be right," she scoffed. "I am Cassandra Pentaghast, a Seeker of the Chantry," she introduced herself to Wolf. "What is your name, prisoner?"

"Prisoner?" Wolf smirked. "Oh yes. Would you like to cut off my hand, Seeker? That's the only part of me that you actually care about, it seems."

"That won't do," the elven mage interfered. "You have to stay alive, with the hand attached."

"Unfortunately," Cassandra grimaced, baring her teeth. "So, what is your name?"

"Wolf," Wolf mirrored her grimace. "At your service."

"Well, I am Solas," the elf said, clearly amused by the confrontation.

"An apostate!" Cassandra bared her teeth at Solas as well.

"An apostate who knows more about the Fade than any Circle mage ever hoped to," Solas said soothingly. "You need me, Cassandra."

"Let's go," Cassandra looked at each of them, shaking her head. "The mark worked. Wolf stays with us."

She started marching back to the camp and the others followed. "She doesn't like it but she understands the necessity," Wolf was thinking watching her determined walk. "And Varric didn't mention we've met... I won't be able to keep it a secret as to who I am, of course... It's a small world... I wonder who else we'll meet and why Varric is here..."

"Ah, there you are!" A cleric turned around hearing them approach. He had been argueing with someone. "I order you to put this prisoner in chains straight away and prepare him for execution!" He barked at Cassandra.

"You order me?!" She smirked. "You are a glorified clerk! You cannot order me to do anything, Lord Chancellor, and you know it!"

"And you are a thug, nothing more!" The cleric retorted. "In so-called service to the Chantry, Seeker!" He spat that title like it was a swear.

"So no one here is in charge," Wolf watched that exchange with amusement.

"You killed everyone in charge!!!" The cleric spat.

"We shall go and close the breach," Cassandra changed the topic, pointing at the big vortex over the mountain top. "His mark worked on the small one."

"He should be in chains, executed! Not going anywhere! You won't be able to close that breach anyway!!" The cleric exploded with objections, but Cassandra simply turned away.

"Come on. We'll go through the mountains, it is the most direct route," Cassandra was ready to set off.

"No, take the troops and go from the front," a woman objected. "You need him alive, and this will be safer." Her voice seemed familiar, but Wolf was already following Cassandra. Nobody seemed to agree with anybody else on anything here. So rather than trying to figure it out, he focused on staying alive.

...

The big vortex, or the breach as they called it, was located exactly above the Temple of Sacred Ashes, or rather the ruin that it had become. The Veil was thin there, as was evident from all the echoes of past events that they saw and heard. Red lyrium crystals were everywhere, covering remnants of walls and columns. The vision of a woman on a flaming crucifix was the strongest of all.

"What is going on here?!" Wolf heard his own voice.

"We have an intruder! Kill him!!" A booming voice replied.

"Run! Run while you can..!"

"That was Divine Justinia!" Cassandra exclaimed. "And you ran in when it was already too late... You didn't do it then!"

"But who was the man with the booming voice?" Varric wondered.

"The one who caused the explosion, I would presume," Solas shrugged. "The one we need to find..."

The breach was pouring demons into the mortal realm - it was a beach in the Veil similar to those that Wolf encountered before, but much larger and more active. There seemed to be an army of first-rate demons on the other side, queueing to invade, hungry for mortal souls. Whoever opened the breach, was clearly in command of them.

The Chantry's soldiers arrived, and together with Cassandra, Solas and Varric they managed to keep the demons occupied well enough so that Wolf could use the mark on his hand to close the breach. It took a long time and many interruptions, he got knocked out a few times but Solas always brought him back, and eventually the breach was closed and demons defeated, with the vortex retreating into the clouds, but still leaving a large "hole in the sky" for all to see. Wolf did not remember how the battle ended. He woke up several days later in a cabin in Haven. It was time to see what kind of trouble he was in.

...

"My Lord! You are awake!" A servant entered the cabin just as Wolf woke up. She was carrying a parcel which she dropped in surprise. "I beg your forgiveness and your blessing, My Lord Saviour!" She dropped to her knees bowing deeply.

"Err... what..?" Wolf sat up. "Why are you afraid?"

"I said the wrong thing, My Lord! Lady Cassandra said to tell her at once... At once! She said: at once!"

"Tell her what?" Wolf wasn't sure who was more confused - he or the servant.

"To tell her when you wake. To tell you to go see her in the Chantry! At once, she said! At once!"

And with that the girl ran off. "If she was afraid of Lady Cassandra..." Wolf thought, "well, that I can understand. But what's this with Lord Saviour?"

He left the cabin and made his way to the Chantry. Wherever he went, he heard the same whispers calling him Lord Saviour. He looked up at the sky and saw the "hole" still there, but there was no vortex and no demons were pouring out of it. The word must have gotten out that he closed the breach. He smirked and entered the Chantry.

"Ah, there you are!" Cassandra greeted him. "Come, I shall introduce you to the Inquisition."

"Err... I don't want to meet the Inquisition!" Wolf backed off. "I am already being blamed for something I didn't do, and no amount of torture will get any more information out of me because there's nothing to tell! I didn't do it! I don't know what this green thing on my hand is, I am no Lord Saviour and I want it all gone!"

"Ah, but you misunderstand," Cassandra softened her tone and smiled. "After you closed the breach with your mark, you passed out. We brought you here and you were thrashing for three days... A lot changed during that time. The Inquisition is a new Order meant to get to the truth and restore order in the land, and you are to lead us. You will be the Inquisitor. Lord Saviour is what the people took to calling you. Or should I say Lord Warden-Commander?" She smirked at his surprise. "Come, Commander. Let me introduce you to those few who do not yet know who you are..."

They entered a room at the back of the Chantry. A large map of Thedas was laid out on the table and three people stood looking at it - three people two of whom Wolf already knew.

"It was about time you woke up," a woman in a headscarf looked at him with apprehension. "We need you alive, you know, Warden."

"Leliana?" Wolf thought he recognised the young Chantry Sister in this rather mysterious looking veiled lady. "It's been a while!"

"That it has, that it has," she nodded, pushing back her headscarf. "The Maker calls us again to his side."

"I'm not sure it's the Maker," Wolf gave her a long look expecting yet another religious lecture.

"Oh but it is, even if you don't see it yet," she smiled.

"Leliana is our Spy Master," Cassandra put in.

"Yes, I thought as much," Wolf nodded.

"And this is..."

"...Knight-Commander Cullen," Wolf finished Cassandra's sentence. "Do you remember the Circle Tower, Commander? Of course you weren't a Knight-Commander then..."

"News travels fast," Cullen smiled. "Good to see you Wardens are paying attention. Yes, I remember... every detail," he gave Wolf a meaningful look. "But I am just a Commander now, I quit the templars Order as of last night. I lead the Inquisition forces. That is, a bunch of untrained youngsters outside... err... but we'll get them trained up, not to worry."

"And finally, the one person you don't know: Lady Josephine Montilyet, our diplomatic liaison and ambassador," Cassandra presented a lady at the table.

"Happy to make your acquaintance, Lord Warden-Commander," Lady Montilyet inclined her head. "I've heard so much about you."

"I hope that's just a turn of phrase, My Lady," Wolf bowed. "I thank you for the introductions. I would prefer to be referred to as Lord Inquisitor or Lord Saviour if you must, rather than Lord Warden-Commander. This is not the Order of the Grey, and thus that title is inappropriate."

"As you wish, Lord Trevelyan," Lady Montilyet made a note on her pad. "Shall we perhaps just call you that? Lord Wolf Asgarsen Trevelyan of Ostwick in the Free Marches? That's what your papers say."

"Indeed," Wolf smiled. "That was my title but I gave it up when I joined Grey Wardens, as duty dictates. Lord Inquisitor will do."

With introductions out of the way, Wolf hoped to be excused, but Cassandra insisted on discussing strategy and what to do next. They could not agree on anything other than the fact that they could not agree and had nothing to go on. Finally Cassandra had had enough.

"Alright, so what do you think, Lord Warden-Commander?" She glared at Wolf. "You could have told me who you were right from the start! That would have saved us some time!"

"You never asked who I was, you kept calling me 'prisoner', remember, Lady Cassandra?" Wolf smiled at her. "I think we should go where the action is, that is, where we see the heaviest fighting. The mage-templar war is the key. It is clear why mages rebelled, but not why templars turned on the Chantry. I do not like red lyrium and I don't understand how it fits in. That's what Grey Wardens would do. But you are the Inquisition, bound to your faith and the Chantry. You tell me which way to proceed."

"By your lead, Lord Inquisitor," Cassandra inclined her head.




~~~~~~~~~~~~

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Nov 7 2024, 02:16 PM