Adult-FanFiction.org : Games

Blood Bond	By : Hikari86 Category: +A through F > Dragon Age (all) > Dragon Age (all) Views: 4278 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: Bioware owns everything Dragon Age. I claim no ownership and make no money/profit.

Chapter List
- 50
- 51
- 52
Into the Dragon’s Den

The drake’s teeth were clamped tightly down on Arawin’s left shoulder as it ran through the cave. She could feel it’s teeth, though she knew they were not piercing her flesh nor her armor due to the enchantment, but that was quickly starting to weaken. She was certain the enchantment was not designed to withstand dragon teeth, and the sharp point of a tooth sticking in her back told her that her assumption was probably true.
She tried fighting it, tried pulling free, but it’s grip was too strong and with each jab and kick, the drake’s grip grew tighter. Arawin had lost Dar’Misaan somewhere, dropped it back when she had first been picked up from the ground. Now all she had was Fang, which she grasped tightly in her right hand, swinging it to try and stab the drake in the eye. Her legs swung as well, flinging and kicking, connecting with the drake’s face but ineffective.
The drake took her into a small area at the end of a long tunnel where there were cages, large ones that the creature could fit in. The drake stopped and Arawin continued to try and free herself, but to no avail. It’s claws then wrapped around her legs and she felt it pull her, but it’s teeth still stayed tight around her shoulder. Instantly she heard something pop, followed by an intense burning in her shoulder. Arawin screamed from the sudden pain, nearly making her drop Fang. Her feet then hit the ground as the drake released her from it’s mouth. She rolled away, onto her shoulder which sent a new wave of hot pain running through her body. She cried out again, grabbing her arm but only getting the same result. Arawin found she was unable to move or touch her arm without the fire igniting in her shoulder. She let it hang loosely by her side as she stood.
Immediately she fell back, jumping away from the drake as it snapped down at her. It had missed, but continued it’s assault, snapping it’s jaws and swinging it’s claws. Arawin scooted and rolled, trying to stay ahead of it’s jaws, the pain searing, knowing that if it got a hold of her again it would be all over. Now she was beginning to regret running ahead of everyone.
Why do I have to be so stupid sometimes? I can just see Zelda’s smug face...
There was no way she could fight it, not with her arm and not with just Fang. She needed help, and she needed it badly, but there was no one to help her now. Morrigan, Zevran, they were behind her somewhere, maybe not even knowing where she had gone. And Lisha wasn’t here to save her, not this time. She was on her own and she knew she would not survive.
The drake lashed out, roaring, and sending Arawin to the ground. Fang fell from her grip as she landed on her left shoulder, the hot pain racing through her entire body making her weak and, for the first time, scared. Tears welled in her eyes from the fire, blurring her vision, causing the drake to look fuzzy and unfocused. She saw it loom over her, it’s jaws apart, teeth dripping, and tongue licking the air. She knew it would be over soon as it lifted it’s head back, ready to strike her one last time.
A golden glitter flew past her eye, catching her off guard. Arawin saw it fly toward the drake’s head. It buzzed around it, diving and circling, forcing the drake to focus it’s attention on it. Arawin rubbed her eyes, wiping away the tears and tried to get a better view. The thing moved almost too fast for her to see, but it almost appeared as if it were a bird, a tiny golden bird. A sparrow? But Arawin wasn’t sure how that could be. What would a sparrow be doing here, all the way up in the mountains and in such a cave? And why would it be distracting a dragon of all things? Something that could easily kill and devour such a small thing as it was.
Arawin then shot her eyes open, realizing the truth. She may not have known what the sparrow was doing there, but if it was distracting the drake then she knew she had to use this chance to get away. Quickly she stood, ignoring the pain and grabbing Fang. Her legs felt like pudding, but she forced them to propel her forward, toward the only entrance and exit the cave had. She was almost there, nearly free and away. She looked back to see the drake swatting it’s claws at the little golden flicker, snapping it’s teeth down, trying to be rid of the annoying speck. She wondered if the sparrow would follow her and hoped it would be all right in the end.
Arawin turned around, ready to run to the others, but instead, stood where she was as she saw her only exit was blocked by another drake.
***
She was all he could think about. Getting to her was his goal, but the warriors in front of him were keeping him from reaching it. He sliced at them, hitting weak points in their armor, stabbing at vital areas. In quick movements, honed from many years and many hours of training, he could take poison vials from his belt and coat the contents on his daggers, then strike one of the warriors in one single movement. He also used the acid flasks along with others that exploded on impact when thrown to the ground. All seemed to work getting through the lines of warriors that came after him, but there also seemed to be no end to them. More kept coming at him and he was beginning to get frustrated as not only were his poisons depleting, but so was her life.
Zevran halted in front of a warrior carrying a jagged longsword and gore covered shield. His Crow poison was nearly gone from his blades and he only had two acid flasks left. He didn’t want to use them, not when he knew he would have to fight a drake next.
The warrior struck first, bringing his sword up and swinging it down. Zevran moved out of the way, rolling under the sword as it struck the ground. He stabbed his Crow dagger straight into the warrior's side, between the plates of his mail. The warrior spun, smashing Zevran in the head with his shield. He fell to the ground, head spinning, but was able to raise Dar’Misu to block another attack. The warrior was relentless, striking at him again and again with speed Zevran did not think a warrior could posses, especially with the poison running through his veins. He was only able to barely keep him at bay.
The warrior then lifted his sword and shield high, ready to slam down everything on him, but then he screamed, and Zevran watched as a silver blade ripped through his chest. Hot blood splashed on his face and he covered it to keep more from burning his skin. A body landed next to him and Zevran looked to see it was the warrior with Zelda standing over him, her own sword covered with his blood.
“Come on, Zevran, get up!” she cried. She spun, blocking another warrior that was about to strike. She swung both her sword and shield, hitting him in all places before stabbing through his mail and kicking him off her sword to the ground. Zevran soon stood on his feet and ran the way the drake had gone with Arawin as there was nothing standing in his way now.
***
Zelda breathed hard as she turned her head to watch Zevran run down the cave. She knew she should follow him, as he would be unable to take on a drake all by himself, not even with Arawin if she was still alive. But Zelda knew that she was. Even with the potion keeping them from feeling one another, Zelda knew that she would know if Arawin was killed, and visa versa.
She looked forward at the others, finding Alistair on the other side, fighting two of the Disciples at once, while Wynne and Morrigan battled with other mages that had appeared with the rest. Zelda was torn, she wanted to help them as Alistair looked strained and weakened, even with Wynne’s endurance and healing spells. Morrigan even looked pale as she battled the mages with all she had. But Zelda knew that she had to follow Zevran, she had to help him because fighting a drake alone would not be easy.
Something smacked the back of her head and she fell to the ground. Lights sparked in front of her eyes and she was barely able to move in time before the tip of a sword came down where she had been. Zelda stood quick to block another attack then advanced on her attacker, driving him back with her shield. She then saw who her attacker was and gasped as she realized it was the warrior she had impaled through the chest. He was still able to stand, still able to attack her with vigor even with a giant hole in his chest which bleed profusely. His eyes concealed madness and a wicked grin crossed his face as he laughed at her horror stricken expression. Zelda couldn’t believe what she was seeing, but she had no time to contemplate it as he roared and came at her again with more speed and more determination to kill.
Zelda defended herself the best she could, stepping backwards and blocking all of his blows which seemed to be increasing in strength and precision. She was unable to attack at all, unable to escape his assault as she was being driven back toward the others. In the corner of her eye she saw the other Disciples, ones thought to be dead or at least taken out of the fight, now starting to rise from the ground with intense bleeding and the same mad expression on their faces.
“What is going on?” Zelda screamed as she used Silverbrand to block an attack from a new assailant.
“Do you like?” the warrior said through his laugh. “A gift from Her! We are Her protectors, so Her blood courses through our veins!” He struck, hitting her on the arm and breaking through the leather. Zelda screamed from the sudden pain.
“Zelda, hang on!” cried Alistair, but Zelda was unsure what he meant. There was no way he could rescue her, as he had his own hands full with three and even more were coming.
Zelda looked to Wynne who’s white hair was matted and face drenched in sweat. The old mage met Zelda’s eye and despite exhaustion, lifted her staff and chanted a few words. The ground below their feet began to shake and Zelda nearly lost her balance but was able to grab on to a stalagmite before falling over. The shaking intensified and all the warriors, including the mages, were unable to keep their balance and fell to the ground. Alistair was somehow able to keep his balance and stumbled over to Zelda before losing it and falling at her feet. She helped him up, clinging to the stalagmite and allowing him to grasp around her waist as the quake continued on.
“No more of this,” Morrigan said as she peered at the Disciples on the ground. She raised her arms and a red glow surrounded her. It soon shot out from her body in small spheres of light and landed within each of the Disciples. They began screaming, heat rising from their bodies and skin popping and blistering. Some of them had their eyes explode while others had their skin melt away and hot blood, still sizzling, spilled onto the ground. Morrigan’s expression soon intensified before she finally lowered her arms and the light around her died. She stood where she was, barely able to keep her balance. By this time, the quake had died and Zelda and Alistair were able to stand and run over to the mages.
“Wynne, Morrigan, are you two all right?” Zelda asked. “You both look exhausted.”
“Exhausted is an understatement, my dear,” said Wynne as she rubbed her eyes. “That was tougher than it should've been.”
“I don’t understand, how were they able to do that?” Zelda said sounding panicked. “How were they able to still attack us with life threatening wounds?”
“I don’t know,” said Alistair. “But something tells me we haven’t seen the last of it either. And what was that you used, Morrigan? Blood magic?”
“Don’t look so surprised, Alistair,” said the witch. “And don’t give me that look either, any of you. It saved our lives, and besides, there’s more at stake here than whether or not I used blood magic, or have you forgotten about Arawin and Zevran?”
Zelda took in a sharp breath. “Arawin!” She looked down the cave at the tunnel where Zevran had entered. “Come on, we need to hurry!” She took off, tired and dreary and knowing everyone else was, but also knew that neither of them would let their friends down.
***
The bellow of a drake caused Zevran to pick up his pace. His feet beat hard on the stone as he made his way through the tunnel, determined to reach Arawin. He passed Dar’Misaan on the ground and picked up his pace even more. It wasn’t long before he turned a corner and had to leap out of the way of a flinging tail. The drake blocking his way had it’s back to him. It appeared to be attacking something, but Zevran couldn’t see what it was, or at least not until the drake lunged forward and he saw Arawin dive into a cage. She shut the door, keeping it closed with her feet as the drake bashed into it. The weight of the beast nearly forced her back, but she was some how able to keep the cage closed.
Zevran took the opportunity and ran under the drake, slicing his daggers across it’s belly. They barely cut, only leaving a scratch against the lighter gray scales. It did the job, however, distracting the drake and causing it to place it’s focus on him.
He rolled out from under, just as a claw came crashing down. The drake moved faster than he thought, snapping it’s jaws at him as he scurried out of the way. He took one of his remaining acid flasks and aimed it at the drake’s face. The flask exploded on it’s horned nose. The corrosive fluid splashed across the creatures face causing it to sneeze and shake it’s head. The acid sizzled on it’s skin, but it only proved to provide a distraction instead of causing real damage. Zevran ran past it, straight into the cage with Arawin and he closed the door, locking it shut with Dar’Misu.
“What are you doing?” Arawin shouted. She had crawled to the back of the cage, sitting with her left arm wrapped around her waist and her right supporting it. “Get out of here! Go!”
Zevran smiled, seeing that she was still herself. “Do you really think I’m going to leave you here to battle a drake by yourself? You can’t have all the fun. Besides, what’s wrong with your arm?” He went over to check on her, seeing that the drake was still trying to get the last drops of acid off it’s face.
He went to touch her arm but she pulled it back, cringing from the sudden movement. “It’s fine. Leave me alone.” He could tell she was lying and wanted to press the issue but his attention was brought back to the drake when it’s claws racked against the cage. The dagger holding the cage closed rattled severely and he knew it wouldn’t hold for very long. Quickly he checked his belt to find only two vials of Crow poison and the one acid flask, not sure what any could do for him.
The drake continued striking at the cage, biting and clawing to ripe it apart. Arawin watched horrified from the back, wishing she could do something. She hated the way she was feeling, helpless and vulnerable. Never had she been in such a position before and she cursed herself for letting it happen. This was the type of thing she knew everyone was trying to point out to her, that she dived without thinking, go straight for the toughest and biggest no matter if someone was by her side or not. Arawin raised her left arm up, careful to keep the pain from shooting through her again. If she and Zevran survived this then maybe she would try and change her ways, but it wasn’t going to be easy.
Zevran backed up to her, covering her with his body. It made her feel small and she wanted to push him away, but at the same time didn’t.
“I have an idea,” he whispered to her. “Can you move fast?”
“Do I have a choice?”
He looked down on her, concerned as he focused on her left shoulder. It was squared out and swollen, hanging at an odd angle. He wanted to touch it, to help her in anyway he could as he knew it caused her great pain, but there was nothing he could do except try and get her out of the situation.
“Are you sure?”
“Just do what ever you have planned and quit worrying about me!”
A slight smile curved his face as he saw the anger in her eyes. Arawin was still herself even if she was helpless. “Alright, but wear this,” he said covering her with his cloak. “And stay down until I tell you to run, and make sure this stays over your head.”
Arawin nodded her head and shifted herself in a better position to stand and run fast.
Zevran crouched in front of her and pulled out the acid flask along with a vial of poison. Swiftly he grabbed Dar’Misu and ripped it from the cage. The drake smashed the door open and roared as it’s head came through. The acid flask shattered on the ground under it and the drake backed away, sneezing and scratching at it’s face. It roared and Zevran tossed the poison vial in it’s mouth. The glass broke and the contents ran down it’s gullet. The drake reared up and roared as it scratched at it’s throat.
“Now! Go!”
Arawin bolted to her feet and ran right behind Zevran, flying past the drake. She then ran into him, making her fall as her left shoulder smashed into his back. She screamed from the fire and barely registered as he lifted her up and pushed her back in the cage.
“Why didn’t you tell me there were two of them?” he said to her.
“What?” Arawin’s head was spinning, she didn’t know what had just happened. “Two? Wait, where’d the sparrow go?”
“What?” Zevran said baffled. “Never mind.”
“No, this is bad,” Arawin said as she saw the second drake begin attacking the cage. At some point Zevran had locked it again with both Dar’Misu and his Crow dagger. “You shouldn’t have come after me. I’m not worth it.”
Zevran crawled over to her. “And why not, Hermosa? Why do you think you are not worthy of being rescued?”
“Because I’m not!” she nearly screamed. “Everyone who’s ever came to save me has always gotten hurt or... died. Just like we’re going to now.” She turned away from him not wanting to look in his eyes. This was why she hated feeling the way she did, she was always the rescuer not the rescuee. The pain of that day came flooding back to her as it always did whenever something reminded her of it. Nelaros had come to her rescue, had come to save a woman he barely knew, had only met that day, and yet he was willing to risk his life to save her. A life that was taken from him. She had seen him die, seen his life being cut short just because he had made a stupid promise to her. A promise she had never really taken literal.
Her left hand clenched around the ring that was beginning to burn her finger. The pain in her shoulder forgotten, as there was another that was plaguing her, another that Arawin tried to fight, to keep the memories from surfacing, but she was too weak.
Nelaros had died the same way her mother had, for the same reason.
Arawin clenched her teeth, trying to fight it but couldn’t. The memories of that day she had kept far down within the deepest, darkest parts of her mind. They were the roots of all her anger, of her hatred, and of her impulsiveness.
Her mother’s face, worn and broken, blood stained and bruised. The men standing over her, all smiling and laughing. The one in the middle, tall with lustful eyes and a sickening grin, staring directly at her. She could feel his blood again, sliding down her fingers as her blade pierced his gut. Her first kill. Her first taste of bloodlust.
“Ara, what’s wrong?”
Arawin jumped from his sudden voice. It was so calm with concern and fear. She opened her eyes, not realizing she had closed them so hard tears were pouring out. She blinked them away and looked at him, his hand on hers and his eyes filled with care.
“It’s...” Arawin had to swallow hard to keep the tears from coming back again. She could start to feel the pain in her arm again, and when she looked down at it, she saw why. Her fist was completely white, clenched tight around the ring. Zevran’s other hand gently took it and opened her fingers.
“We’re going to get out of here,” he said calmly. “We didn’t come all this way just to die. We still have a lot of things that must be dealt with before that happens. You going back to Shianni is one of them.”
Arawin perked up at the mention of Shianni. He was right, she couldn’t let anything keep her from getting back to her cousin. Not her memories, not a hurt shoulder, and definitely not a drake or two. “What’s you’re plan now?” she asked, certainty crossing her face.
Zevran smiled at her, glad to see her back to normal. “There’s the lovely Warden I met in the Brecilain Forest. I’m not sure, but I think if we-”
“Arawin! Zevran! Stay right where you are!”
They both turned to see Morrigan standing at the exit to the tunnel. She lifted her staff, focusing it at the drake clawing at their cage. A spell chanted from her lips and ice shot from the end. It crept up the drake’s back legs, causing the creature to turn his attention to the new prey. He moved and the ice shattered as he prepared himself to charge. Morrigan smiled as he charged her. Her staff raised again, lightning split the air and soon more lightning appeared from behind her. The two bolts hit the drake and it bellowed, caught in place as the electricity coursed through it’s body. It soon fell on it’s side, dead with smoke steaming from it’s charred scales. The other drake laid dead as well beside it, green liquid oozing from it’s mouth.
“Oh thank the Maker you two are all right,” said Zelda as she made her way into the cage. “Are either of you hurt?”
“Arawin is,” said Zevran. “Otherwise I think she would've been able to take care of those two drakes herself.”
“Yeah right,” Arawin muttered.
“Are you starting to doubt yourself now, Hermosa?” Zevran asked teasing.
“Just get off and let Wynne examine me.”
“As you wish.” His hand slipped from hers and Arawin nearly wanted it back. When he was near, everything felt right. The pain from both her physical and mental injuries had gone away. Now at least the physical pain was back as she felt Wynne touch her shoulder.
“Ouch!”
“Sorry,” said Wynne. “But I do need to get a good look at it. Yes, I believe it is dislocated, anterior from the angle. Can you bend your elbow, move your hand and fingers at least?”
“Yes, but it hurts.”
“That’s good. Hopefully then there isn’t too much damage.” Wynne waved her hand over Arawin’s entire arm and soon the pain slowly went away. “Alright, that should do it. Alistair, Zevran, I’m going to need you two to hold her.”
“Wait, what are you going to do?” Arawin asked sounding scared.
“I’m going to pop the joint back in the socket. Don’t worry, I’ve done this plenty of times. Shoulder dislocations are very common, especially amongst new apprentices who are told they can fly if they use a certain spell and jump down from a bookcase or the stairs.”
“But...”
“Don’t worry, Hermosa, we’ll be gentle.” Zevran said leading her out of the cage.
“That’s not what I’m worried about. Wynne, I can still feel it.”
“Yes, well...” Wynne said. “I would usually kill the pain completely and maybe even place the apprentice in a trance, but my energy is too low right now. I could only dull your pain to about half of what it was.”
Arawin stared at her blankly, not really sure why she was so scared of what was about to happen. She had been in pain before and for some reason she felt she would have rather been stabbed in the gut repeatedly than have her shoulder reducted.
“No.”
“Come on, Arawin,” said Zelda. “It’ll be over with quick, then we can get moving.”
“You have your shoulder dislocated then placed back in with no pain killers and see how you feel about it.”
“Well, hang on, am I going to feel when it happens?” Zelda asked, now looking scared herself.
“Can you feel it now?” said Morrigan.
“No.”
“Then you won’t. Apparently that means I got the right strength with the potion.”
“Great,” Arawin muttered. “If you were going to feel it then I was going to let it happen.”
Zelda smiled at her. “I know you would love to cause me pain, Arawin, but I guess you’re just out of luck. Besides, you wouldn’t be in this predicament if you hadn’t run ahead of everyone like you always do.”
Arawin huffed and turned away from her, but she knew Zelda was right.
“Alright, let’s go ahead and get this over with,” said Wynne. “The faster the better.”
“Wait, I’m not ready,” Arawin said backing away.
“You’re ready,” said Alistair as he grabbed her around the waist and lifted her off the ground.
“Hey!”
“I got her, Wynne!”
“That’s all fine and good, Alistair, but she needs to stop kicking. Best to keep her still and try and lay her flat on the ground.”
“I’ve got that covered,” said Zevran as he took Araiwn and forced her on her back. He sat on her hips and smiled down at her.
“I hate you,” Arawin glared at him.
“Are you so sure? I think you like being in this type of position. But don’t worry, I’ll make it up to you later, or you can make it up to me for coming to your rescue.”
“That’s if you survive once I’m able to get up.”
“Just relax, Hermosa.” He bent down and kissed her. She fought him at first, but then gave in.
“I don’t think they’re going to need me,” said Alistair.
“No, but I might,” said Wynne. “Here, stand next to me and help me pull her arm. I am an old woman after all.”
“Now you say so.”
“Just do as I say.” With Arawin distracted, Wynne took Zevran’s cloak and looped it around Arawin’s armpit and handed the end to Alistair. “Okay, when I saw, start pulling up.”
Alistair nodded.
“Okay... now.” Wynne pulled down on Arawin’s arm as Alistair pulled up on the cloak. A pop sounded as well as a cry from Arawin that was mostly absorbed into Zevran’s mouth. “There, it’s back in,” said Wynne.
“Thank the Maker,” said Arawn breathing heavily. “Now get off me.” She shoved Zevran off her, but grabbed her left shoulder when she sat up. It felt better, but still hurt and was now very sore.
“I’ll take care of that,” said Morrigan. “I have a little mana left.”
“Why didn’t you help with the pain, then?”
“It was either kill your pain or fix your shoulder. Would you rather have not felt it, or not be able to use your arm? I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of those Disciples or the dragons.”
“I guess you’re right.”
“Good, now hold still.”
Zevran walked away toward the two dead drakes, mildly pleased that he was able to keep Arawin distracted to have her shoulder fixed. He went over to the charred drake and kicked it, pretending he was examining the body but instead he examined the golden ring in his palm.
Arawin’s ring.
He had taken it from her after seeing her so distraught. She had said everyone who tried to rescue her had either gotten hurt or died. Even more things about her that were a mystery to him, but her clenching the ring told him there was something more that happened than just her cousin getting raped. He had his suspicions, but it wasn’t until he examined the ring did he understand more, but also received more questions.
It was nothing more than a simple gold ring, fairly light, but still pure. It was dull, having lost it’s luster from all the things Arawin had put it through as well as her constant spinning. He flipped it around and saw there was writing on the inside, a date with an inscription: 9:30 Dragon, May our love grow and never die. It was something that brought up questions, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know the answers.
“You know, if she catches you with that, she’s going to kill you.”
“Oh, I know, but I do plan on giving it back. I was just curious.” Zevran looked up to see Zelda standing next to him. She kicked the drake as well and looked down at the ring in Zevran’s hand. “How much do you know about it?”
“Not much,” she answered. “I know very little of what happened to her the day we met. All I can tell you is that when I was in Denerim, she caught my attention because she was being dragged out of the alienage by guards, fighting them, and wearing a wedding dress that was all bloody and torn.”
Zevran didn’t say anything, only wrapped his fingers around the ring and put his hand to the side, not really sure what to think or say.

Paraphrasing from Dragon Age: Origins
- 50
- 51
- 52
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Blood Bond