Dragon Age: Shadow War (Finny and NecroKnight)

[NecroKnight]

In Highever, the forces of Teryn Cousland slowly gather in the castle ground. Around two thousand strong men and women were ready to start their march to Ostragar. In light of the barely won victory of Orlaisa a few centuries ago, the country faced another threat in the form of the dreaded Blight.


Rumours had started to spread several months ago, of darkspawn emerging from beyond the Deep Roads and attack several villages along southern Ferelden. And just barely two weeks ago, was confirmed the arrival of an Archdemon leading the small but growing horde. So far, the attacks have become more rapid and bloody.


King Cailan and Teyrn Loghain have gathered what forces they could muster at Ostragar - rumours and gossip speculate that, should Ostragar fall the darkspawn could rapidly consume the southern half of Ferelden and then the rest of the country. Currently, the forces of Ferelden have suffered two major defeats at the hands of the Archdemon and its darkspawn - even with them commanded by the great Loghain Mac Tir, Ferelden has only managed to hold the line and retreat in order, less they be totally consumed by the Blight.


This has resulted in aid from pouring from countries, across Ferelden. Yet even this aid, is said to arrive bare too late, to save Ferelden. Rumour has it, that even reinforcements from Orlais is being allowed into the country - despite the history of the two countries.


Inside Castle Cousland, Arl Howe, soon comes face-to-face, with one of his oldest and most envied friends - Teyrn Bryce Cousland.


"Bryce. How are you, old friend," greeted Arl Howe to his friend Bryce and his wife Eleanor. "Eleanor."

 

[nninuteman]

Notching an arrow quietly, Amras watched the shemlen racing towards them with disdain. It was no secret among the bordering human villages that the woods were the territory of the Dalish, and the presence of not one but three? They might as well have declared outright war with the Mahariel clan, as pitiful as such a war would prove to be.


Tamlen, ever the impatient one, was the first to step out of the shadows and directly into the path of the fleeing men, arrowhead trained at the chest of the closest, Amras mimicking this movement with a weary sigh but moments later. The poor sods nearly barreled into the arrows of their own accord.


Information was gotten easily enough, what with the men shaking in their boots at the mere sight of two Dalish hunters. The intruders attempted desperate blather about cowering from the blight in a cave with strange ruins, which only served to cement their first impression as being no better than scavengers. The two elves believed most of it utter balderdash, until an artifact with runes on them was produced. The evidence, however it may have jolted the elves and their sensibilities, did nothing to spare the shemlen from their fate.


“Their story had some truth to it, you know.” Tamlen spoke jovially while retrieving an arrow from the throat of one of the felled men, earning little more than a grimace from his companion.


“I know the place they speak of. Shall we investigate?” A smirk alighted on the elf’s face as he raised his brows, trying to coax a smile from the grim Amras.


He nearly succeeded.


“... Should we loot their bodies first?”

 

[NecroKnight]

(Did I forget to mention, that this time around Howe isn't the backstabbing traitor; yet the Cousland's are still killed-off. Whom want them dead, if not Howe? More shadowy-brain-bleaching imminent)


Bryce Cousland managed to barely remain conscious, and what was happening. His entire home had been attacked, his family and kin had been murdered - he feared, that his daughter and wife had joined them. Maker' willing or just good luck, they were alive and had managed to reach him - barely clinging to life. But what proved shocking, was the thought that the men killing his household - they seemed to be Howe' men. His friend, that he had trusted for ages. All evidence, seemed to point to that - that was until Rendon Howe and the Grey Warden Duncan, had arrived.


Howe himself looked shocked at the accusations, even producing evidence - the heraldy utilized by the men were wrong; and they spoke in the accent of Antiva. The Warden himself confirming the truth, that even Howe had been attacked and tried to be killed. As thus, Bryce had asked the impossible from Rendon - to get her daughter out of here; as his wife refused to leave him behind - and he would be dead soon enough.


"...damn it Bryce....don't do this to me..." cursed Howe, having the dreaded task of caring for the young Mia - whom was almost a wreck, upon learning she would likely be the only Cousland to leave Highever.


"...you need to go Howe...I trust you...find Fergus..." groaned Bryce, almost at the Maker' doorstep. "Be strong, pup."


"...we must go to Ostragar. The King will need to know of this attack, before whoever hired these assassins can be allowed to cause more damage," spoke Duncan. It was a dangerous thing to go there, with the rumours of the Darkspawn army headed towards there - yet the other option, would likely be Howe blamed for the attack, and civil war to be looming on the horizon.


Rendon himself was the one to pull Mia away from her parents, they needed to go, and he would make whoever attempted to smear his name, his honor and kill his friend in cowardice, be locked in the deepest dungeons of Amaranthine.


xxx


No sooner, did the humans body grow slowly colder. That a large roar echoed throughout the forest and sky - a grotesque creature flying through the air, looking like an ancient being, a dragon from the old Elven Tales. Emmiting horrror and fear throughout its wake - long ago, this sort of creature would be welcomed with fear and a sense of staying clear of it. But this beast alone, commanded for any living being to get as far as possible. Maybe even to another nation - as this creature wasn't searching for prey; its roar only gave a call.


It was rallying any darkspawn that heard its call - and for any living being, sentient and animal, it meant only one thing. A Blight.


(Just setting the feeling of how 'fucked' everything is - and nothing spells 'shit' than a Archdemon flying freely over everywhere. And because I like trolling the elves)

 

[nninuteman]

((It's a bird! It's a plane! Nope - It's a fucking Archdemon.))


An echo of something ancient, something powerful, rang in the ears of the two Dalish and turned their blood to ice. The already discordant noise was amplified by bouncing off the walls around them, turning into pure cacophony. Even as far underground as they were, dust and dirt was shaken loose from the ceiling at the roar and fell around them like snow. Tamlen turned on his heel to stare wide-eyed up at the passage they had just come through, hands instinctively hovering ready above the knife at his thigh, though he knew whatever had just emitted that sound would laugh at such a weapon if it could.


Amras watched his friend's movements closely, poised and ready to grab and pull him back if need be. He carefully raised his hand and rested it on Tamlen's shoulder, a heavy, grounding weight. There'd be no use in running to meet death by investigating the sound just then, though they may very well be advancing to a similar death in the caves, but as there had been no cry of warning from any terrifying beast further in, Amras decided they would take their chances. The taller of the two elves tensed for but a moment at the weight on his shoulder, though he relaxed quickly and thankfully leaned into the hand.


"No use going back." Amras stated calmly, his voice airy and dry from overall disuse. He gave his companion's arm a reassuring squeeze and tugged him in the direction of the door that led further into the ruins. Neither of them saw signs of a trap and tentatively pushed through, the giant spider waiting for them on the other side meeting the brunt of their already frayed nerves and subsequent heightened reflexes. After their overeager daggers were re-sheathed, the two elves looked each other over, neither deterred by the gore that now coated some of their armor. Rather than looking the anxious wreck he had been moments before, Amras noted that Tamlen seemed cheery, perhaps even downright ecstatic now that he had something to do other than worry.


The older elf simpered, regained his confidence, and plunged ahead into the ruins with a reverberating invitation of "Follow me!"


Amras obeyed, and soon came to mourn his decision.

 

[NecroKnight]

Duncan had been travelling towards the Brecillian Forests for days now - having suddenly heard the call. Namely that of the Archdemon - Howe had been rather adamant on heading towards Ostragar, and not chase 'voices of a Warden'. More so by the fact, that during the entire time, the younger Cousland had been half-catatonic.


He hated it more, when he was proven wrong - as they approached the Forest edge, they heard to monsterous' roar, that would shake a mortal to its core. They saw the Archdemon fly over them - that prompted even Mia Cousland, to wake-up from her empty state; scaring several of Howe' Knights even, whom were hardened warriors.


Duncan had already set a full-gallop towads the Forest' edge, which was rumoured to hold a Dalish Clan there. Normally Howe, would've run at the opposite direction - he understand the glory of battle, but not suicide. Albeit, said Warden had edged them on with the threat of Conscription - and more so on the fact, if they could kill the Archdemon now, then the Blight would end fast.


...as such, the signs of an Elven encampement came into vision.


(I forget how the dalish recruitment goes; so you have to fill in these gap. The usual come-with-me-if-you-want-to-live-Duncan-blight-cure-mess)

 

[nninuteman]

((Basically Duncan goes and investigates the Eluvian after dropping Amras' sorry ass off at the camp.))


Amras awoke with a start, a vague sense of loss gripping his heart and tugging his near prostrate form into immediate action. His vision was slow to clear in the wake of his consciousness, and his similarly bleary senses tried to determine his surroundings. A demanding hammering of metal against metal shattered the air every few seconds, while people chatted and fires crackled insistently. The sounds were welcome, familiar to any of the clan members, but worrisome all the same. Try as he might, recollection of how he and Tamlen had managed to return to the camp would not come. Warm fur had been draped over his body and slid as he cautiously sat up, only to be clutched and wrapped tighter around his shivering form. That and the sweat that drenched his skin indicated a fever that had not quite broken. The elf was no stranger to illness by any means, but movement had shot pain into nearly every nerve he had, excruciating and debilitating. Had he been pulled back from death, that he should feel so weak?


Regardless of the agony that wracked his form, an investigation needed to be conducted. Amras grit his teeth and stood, hanging the furs from his shoulders and refusing to stumble as he left the cool darkness of the tent to stand swaying in the sudden light of day. An expectant hush swept through the camp and permeated the air as he stood and examined the clearing, evidence that nervous glances towards the healer's tent had likely been frequent. Such maternal worry from these elves, it was a wonder he hadn't awoken to feverish cooing. A brief, chapped smile would have been offered to the watching (and worrying) clan, if not for the distressed shooing of the Keeper.


"I am as happy to see you awake as the rest of the clan, da'len," She began, guiding an obstinate Amras back into the room he emerged from, "but you have yet to fully recover. You must rest." Her gently commanding tone, when paired with the caring hands on his shoulders, convinced the younger elf that something was gravely wrong.


"Tamlen." He said, watching Keeper Marethari's expression as he did so. Her brows furrowed, and she failed to meet his stony gaze. The ice that had been firmly grasping his stomach since he had gotten up flared once again, prompting him further. "Where is he?" Her hands slid from his shoulders and rested, clasped, near her abdomen.


Amras' body momentarily froze at the gesture. Tamlen wasn't there. Tamlen wasn't with him. Tamlen wasn't safe. It was only then that the image of a few days prior returned to him. His friend was impulsive, curious to a fault. The mirror, the human, the apologies.


The elf threw the furs from his body, all but inviting the chill to his bones as he scrambled around the tent for the armor that had been hastily removed from his body. He dizzily strapped it on over his sweat dampened clothes, ignoring the motherly demands that he cease from Marethari. Nausea threatened his gut and a splitting headache made every turn of his head an ordeal, but he knew that without healing magic it would have been infinitely worse. Tamlen didn't have magic, so the Keeper was going to have to accept the fact that he had Amras.

 

[NecroKnight]

(I forget how that plays out, so I'll play on ahead - after the Dalish recruitment; Amras can remember what happened afterwards. Sorry I mostly played only the human paths; not elven)


The ride afterwards to Ostragar was a quiet one - as much one can be, with a young noble and tainted elf. Even Howe had managed to hold his tongue, against the elf - somehow, most of them had developed a superstition, that with a tainted elf; they might get it too. It was somewhat funny, if not for the seriousness, that one could turn into a ghoul, if they took too long. And from there it was a mercy to put one to death.


The archdemon itself, had flew once over their head - albeit at very far distance, it heading at the direction of Ostragar. Everything enforcing the situation, of how bad it was - for an archdemon to fly freely and taunt them around Ferelden.

 

[nninuteman]

If the ride was slow and agonizing, coated in a tangible silence, Amras hardly noticed. A shifting rise and fall of the borrowed halla between his thighs was the only sure indication that the party was making any progress towards Ostagar at all, as his eyes were open but unseeing, disregarding the fearful looks the humans in his company were throwing him. They could think him a monster in the making, and accident looming on an ever encroaching horizon, and he would invite them to strike him down at the next hacking cough. Exactly how many conscripts did it take to make the Grey Wardens all the more formidable? A single elf wouldn't be missed in the heat of battle, nor would Amras mind the peace. Golden rays of sun burst through the cloud cover, gliding over the darkened olive of his skin in mockery, attempting to coax a blink, a flinch, a shift out of the paralyzed man in vain.


Merrill had kept a firm hand on his elbow, only letting it fall when she needed both hands to maneuver her staff.


"Amras, this is - This is not good, you can barely stand! Why couldn't you have simply rested, even for just a day more?" Matronly concern replaced her usul tone of intrigued wonder. Amras almost hurt to have worried her so, but the racing of his heart prevented him from trying to comfort her. Fenarel sheathed his bloodied sword and turned back to look at his lagging companions, noting the way the other man's face was pale with exertion. He jogged to where Merrill was struggling to hold back the fuming rogue, urging him to pause, catch his breath.


"Da'len." Fenarel tested, laying a hand on his shoulder. "She's right. We must rest." The glare this earned him gave him a chill that reached his core and made the hair on the back of his neck tingle with electricity.


"We push on. If I fall, you push on without me." The first words he had spoken since the beginning of their excursion were commanding, leaving no room for negotiation, imagined or otherwise.





Amras sucked in a breath through his teeth, bouncing painfully with the jostling gait of the halla, his head swimming with pain and painful memories alike. Had it truly only been a few days since the fate of the realm seemed to tip on its axis? The elf raised his gaze to the slowly dispersing clouds, which blew and faded into a sky just as grey as they were. He blinked once, twice, lowering his head in silence and sinking into a melancholy that not even the Archdemon's roar itself cold not interrupt.

 

[NecroKnight]

Mia, during their travel felt sad, for the dalish - that Duncan had picked-up during their journey. She was normally very tolerant, even to the simple elf servants, that her own castle had employed. She failed to understand, why most humans treated the city elf so lowly - they were like humans, simply living and working. No different than their human counterparts, and yet they were treated lower than dirt and often smashed into poor sections in the cities.


No doubt, the Dalish were so often hostile, towards them - if they treated their conquered brethren so lowly, what hope for their own kind. As such for Mia, it was a double-pain to see, one Dalish - whose life was to likely be a hunter his entire life, was now infected with the Taint, that would doom any mortal race to death. Save, the only salvation being with the Grey Wardens - and the human armies, that once had conquered their homeland.


Luckily, the nostalgia didn't last long, as their group arrived in Ostragar. What suprised her, even there - was the flags of Orlais; so the rumours had been true, that the King Cailan had invited Orleasian aid into Ferelden.


(I am mostly controlling Cailan, Loghain, Howe and Duncan, with my own Cousland. Could you handle the other protagonists? Like Arl Eamon, Alistair, Zevran, Fergus and so worth?)

 

[nninuteman]

The journey to the ancient fortress, as far as the elf could tell, had gone smoothly. Given, he had been a winning combination of catatonic and distraught for the majority of their ride and therefore not able to recall exact details, but no one had managed to get themselves killed, which seemed good enough for everyone involved. Luckily, Amras had yet to succumb to the taint that weakened his bones and pronounced his veins with an inky blackness. He was many things, brash, impulsive, stoic, but he had yet to be accused of being a fool. The unsettled glances of the humans in his party, namely Duncan, were enough evidence that he had not been expected to survive, but the unwanted hands on his shoulders, the reaffirming (if one-sided) conversations? He was being babied for the duration of what everyone expected to be his final days. The humiliation of the treatment cemented his jaw into a scowl.


The horses and halla had been abandoned near the entrance of the stronghold, much to Amras’ dismay, forcing him to lean heavily on the Grey Warden at his side. Every step was agony and ice, sweat dripping from his brow as he struggled to conceal his labored breathing. He hardly even allowed himself a gasp when the expanse of Ostagar came into view. Woven heraldry swung proudly from the crumbling walls, new and shimmering in the light of day. The stones of centuries past held fast, Tevinter in origin, but bearing the mark of Ferelden and Orlais with dignity. The Sabrae clan, while not known for its dealings with humans, was acquainted with the symbols of their kingdoms. They were familiar enough, in fact, for Amras to be incredibly confused. Orlesians, on principle, were not welcomed in Ferelden. Their armies? Much less so.


“This… This spells trouble.” The elf breathed matter-of-factly, hardly loud enough for even Duncan to hear him. Whether he did or not was left in uncertainty, as the man took more notice of the human in golden armor striding towards them across the bridge that spanned an abyss.


((I can probably handle the other protagonists, but I've personally never made a human playthrough, so you may need to handle Fergus or anyone else involved with the Couslands. Other than that, you can count on me!))

 

[NecroKnight]

"Your telling me; my father got hanged for siding with them," added Howe, not paying much attention to the fact, he was replying to an elf - rather on what he saw around him. And when it came to loyalties, he would take the elf over an Orleasian - his father' fate proving that...and that an elf would have a good reason, when he stabbed him in the back.


Mia was also suprised to see King Cailan here too, albeit he was rather cheerful...so to speak - telling tales of glory and combat, that was in the face of a thousand darkspawn and its leader, the Archdemon. Sprouting hope and the legends that would come with the victory of this battle. Either he was sicker than Amras, trying to keep-up morale, or just plain stupid or suicidal.


Albeit, when it came to the subject of her being here - she soon spoke of the tragedy that had befallen her family and Highever; the King himself looking suprised at that. A Teyrn and his family killed, and one of his subjects an Arl, trying to be blamed for it...and hired Antivan Crows to do it as well; that spelled just spelled bad.


"You have my word, that this insult will not stand. Once, we are free of the Blight, my armies will hunt down those whomever had done this..." spoke Cailan, promising that to Mia and Howe. Then he took his leave with his bodyguards, towards back the large encampement set up in the ruins.


"Hunter...I must gather a few things, before we can do the initiation ceremony; go find Alistair...he will help you get ready..." spoke Duncan, giving Amras a short description of Alistar - before he turned to face Mia and Howe. "...I hate to offer this, young Cousland...but I came to your home, in search of recruits. And I dare say, you could make a fine Warden."


"...absolutely not! The girl has seen her entire family murdered, and you want to deny her peace...by recruiting her into an organization, that would likely be killed in the coming battle. You have very funny sense of humor...warden..." replied Howe, insulted at the prospect of Mia being recruited in the Order - and for other personal reasons.


"...the choice is yours to make. If you wish, I'll will come to ask you...before we begin it..." said Duncan, leaving Mia and Howe. Along the road, another noble was pacing towards them - being the Arl of Redcliffe himself here.


(Could you do an argument between Arl Eamon and Howe - relating to the subject of Mia joining the Wardens?)

 

[NecroKnight]

(Hello?)


@nninuteman