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The Mage and the Templars	By : Nyghtlei17 Category: +A through F > Dragon Age (all) > Dragon Age (all) Views: 8458 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Age or any of its characters. I do not make any money off of this fanfiction.

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
- 8
They came to a small hut surrounded by swamplands. Kitsune struggled to walk as the mud suctioned her boots inches below the swamp.. She pulled her foot out and walked as light as possible when she noticed no one else was struggling as much as she was.
   “Mother”, Morrigan greeted a woman who was standing outside of the hut. “I have brought you four Grey Wardens.”
   “I can see that, girl”, the old woman said in a voice that Kitsune was sure chilled them all. “I assume they have come for their treaties?”
   No one spoke. “Yes”, Morrigan said finally. “I told them that you had them.”
   The old woman nodded, “I have been keeping them safe. There are very important parchments after all.”
   “You’ve been keeping them safe?”, Alistair questioned.
   “Yes, Warden. I have been protecting them from the Darkspawn and anyone else who comes through these wilds with ill intentions.”
   “Thank you, ma’am”, Kitsune spoke up trying to extinguish the tension.
   The old woman went inside the hut and returned a few moments later. “Here”, she handed the parchments to Kitsune. “I trust that with these the Grey Wardens will be able to end this Blight.”
   “You believe this is a true Blight?”, Alistair asked.
   “I am not so foolish to think that this many Darkspawn would return to the surface without the Archdemon behind them.” There was something off about this woman, Kitsune thought.
   Morrigan showed them the way out of the Wilds and back to Ostagar. Night had fallen and the King’s army and the Grey Wardens were gathered around fires and eating their suppers. Kitsune’s stomach was growling from days of neglect.
“I am starving”, she looked up at Alistair.
“Me too”, she heard Ser Jory say.
“Let’s see Duncan first, then we can eat”, said the Warden.
Duncan was happy to see them all alive, covered in blood and with a few bruises and scratches, but alive. The three recruits handed over their vials of blood. “Now we can perform the Joining”, Duncan said to them.
“How many of these test do we have to go through before we’re made Grey Wardens?”, Daveth asked impatiently.
“This is the final step”, Duncan assured him.
They followed him and Alistair to a secluded area that overlooked the Wilds. They watched him as he filled a silver chalice with the vials of Darkspawn blood, lyrium, and a few other things Kitsune did not recognize.
“Daveth you shall be the first”, he handed the chalice to him. “Drink from it.”
Daveth sighed and reluctantly drank the blood mixture from the chalice. Duncan said some words as he drank but Kitsune forgot them when Daveth started clawing at his throat. He fell to the cold, hard ground. His body seized, his eyes rolled in the back of his head, and then nothing.
“I am sorry Daveth”, Duncan said quietly. He and Alistair bowed their heads. “Ser Jory”, Duncan said as he handed him the chalice.
“I-I can’t”, he backed up to the edge of the cliff. “If I had known… I have a wife and a child on the way!”
“I am sorry Ser Jory but this is the only way”, Duncan’s voice was cold. “You must drink.”
“No!”, he screamed. “Get away from me!”
Duncan handed the chalice to Alistair as Jory drew his sword. “Don’t do this”, Duncan said as he readied his sword.
“I don’t want this. This is not how I thought it would be!” Jory swung his sword at Duncan. He countered the attack easily and sliced his throat. Jory’s blood splattered on Kitsune’s face and robes before his body tumbled off the cliff and into the Wilds below.
Duncan cleaned the blood from his blade. It was her turn. “Kitsune”, he motioned for her to take the cup from Alistair.
She inhaled deeply. The Mabari swallowed the blood and was on the verge of death. What would happen if she survived this? She took the cup from Alistair and without hesitating she swallowed a large gulp of the bloody mixture. It burned her tongue, her throat, her chest. The earth below her feet and the sky above her was spinning, she fell but caught herself with her hands. She coughed and gasped for air. Then the darkness came. The screams. The dragon. It was a twisted and ugly being. It called to her.
“In peace, vigilance. In war, victory. In death, sacrifice.” Duncan’s words echoed in her mind.
“Kitsune”, she heard his voice, “wake up.”
“Cul-”, she opened her eyes to see Alistair staring down at her. “Alistair?”
“I’m glad you’re okay. I was really going to miss that silver hair if you had failed the Joining.” His smile was gentle. “Come on”, he sat her up. “There you go. Did you have the visions?”
“I... am not sure what I saw”, she admitted.
He didn’t question her further. He helped her to the area where the other soldiers were eating their supper. She didn’t see Duncan anywhere but decided not to ask about him. How could he just kill Ser Jory like that.? And Daveth, he had failed the joining. “Here, eat.” Alistair gave her a wooden plate loaded with potatoes, chicken and some herbs and vegetables.
“I cannot eat all of the this”, she said balancing the plate on her knees.
Alistair sat next to her on the log, “Just eat.”
She started with the chicken leg. Once all that remained was the bone, she shovelled the potatoes into her mouth. Soon she had finished all of the food. “I guess I was more hungry than I thought.”
He smiled at her, “It’s the Taint.”
“The what?”, she was staring at her empty plate.
“It makes you really hungry for awhile. Here.” He took her plate and filled it with more potatoes and chicken from the fire. “Eat until you’re full.”
After her third plate she could finally feel the bottomless pit in her stomach begin to fill. “How did you become a Grey Warden?”, she asked as she chewed her potatoes slowly, savoring the flavor.
“Same way as you”, he said. “Drank some blood, choked on it and passed out.”
She laughed, “I meant, how did you come to be one? Did Duncan recruit you too?”
He sighed and stared into the fire. “It was six months ago now. I was only few days from taking my vows, I was ready to be a slave to the Chantry.”
“You were going to be a Templar?”, she felt a sudden pain in her heart. Another Templar.
"Not that I really wanted to be. I didn't really have much of a choice", he didn't take his gaze off of the flames. "I was raised in the Chantry."
"Was it lonely?", she thought of her life in the Circle. She was never alone but she was very lonely until Cullen, of course.
"Quite. I had friends and the people were nice for the most part, save for the sisters."
"The sisters were not nice to you?", she swallowed the last bit of potatoes.
He snorted, "They were to an extent but they were cruel to me. 'Now Alistair you cannot slide down the bannister' or 'You will never become a Templar if you don't stop acting like a fool'", he mocked the sisters in a high pitched voice. "That was me. Alistair the fool."
"You are a fool", she shrugged. "But a sweet fool. You mean well."
He smiled, "Sweet fool?"
"You care deeply for your fellow Wardens, I can tell." Maybe it was the rough week she'd had or maybe it was her full stomach but she felt very tired. "You protected us well today. If not for you, brave warrior, that alpha would have turned me into lunch", she touched his shoulder as she spoke. "And thank you for the food." She replaced her hand with her head.
She could feel his muscles tense under her cheek, "Y-You're welcome."
She felt safe for the first time since Duncan had carried her through the tower, "This is my home now", she said aloud to herself.
Alistair chuckled, "I'm glad you're comfortable."
"Not here, here", she yawned. "Here with the Grey Wardens... with you. This is my home." She could hardly keep her eyes open.
"Welcome home", she heard him say as she drifted into the familiar place of the Fade.
The growling of her stomach woke her in the morning. She felt like she hadn't eaten anything in a week. Which wasn’t true, though it had been about two days since her Joining and she still ate like a starving Mabari. She crawled out of the tent and was greeted by the sounds of barking, conversing, and metal striking metal. Kitsune walked around for a bit. She was unfamiliar with this part of Ostagar and got lost easily. She didn't recognize anyone since the only Wardens she really knew were Duncan and Alistair.
She followed the sound of the metal striking metal. She found a fenced off area that had multiple people inside of a circle, they were training. Two men fought with two swords each. Their weapons seemed to dance around each others bodies, nearly cutting each other. This was fascinating to her, she had never seen two skilled rogues fight this way. It was almost beautiful. Their training ended when the smaller of the two knocked both of the swords from his opponent.
"Do you want to train?", Alistair's voice came from behind her.
She snorted when she laughed, "Oh yes, I can see myself doing that easily."
"Come on", he climbed over the wood and held out a hand.
She didn't take it. "I do not want to fight you."
"Are you afraid?"
She smiled a one sided smile, "Of you, a failed Templar? No." She took his hand and climbed the fence. The other fighters were finished with their training and only Alistair and Kitsune stood on opposite sides of the training circle.
"You're not going to win", he said as he unsheathed his sword.
She gripped her staff with her hands. "Why is that?"
"You're a mage."
She rolled her eyes and ignored him. "Come on, Templar."
He left his shield on his back. He ran towards her with only his sword in his right hand. She waited until he was halfway towards her before she gathered Cone of Cold in her staff. When he was two feet in front of her he raised his sword above his head and she released the spell. He froze instantly. She stepped behind him and used a small fire spell to melt the ice. He fell forward into the dirt. His sword fell out of his hand. "What is wrong, Alistair?", she chided. "Has the mage bested the Templar?"
She had a shock spell ready and aimed at his sword. When he went to pick it up she would send the lightning bolt to the metal sword. He stood up and faced her, "I really hate frost spells", he said, shivering.
She smiled to herself. He backed away toward his sword never taking his eyes off of her staff. He crouched down to pick up the sword and she released the spell. He must have seen it coming because in a fluid motion he turned around and let the spell hit the wooden shield on his back. Alistair picked up the sword, unharmed, barring his shield in his left hand.
She shot Arcane Bolts at him as he attempted to close the gap between them. He wasn't letting up, he was dodging and blocking each spell effortlessly. He stood three feet from her when she started to prepare an Earthquake spell. She had to get him away from her somehow. Slowly he inched closer, "What will you do now?" He smiled as he twirled the sword in his hand. "I'm too close to do a fire spell and you're not dumb enough to use another frost spell."
"You are right, Alistair", she pointed her staff to the ground. Massive shockwaves rolled through the earth around them. The ground shook violently in the fenced off area. Both of them had trouble keeping their balance. If she could hit him with one more bolt she would win this duel.
Somehow maintaining his balance, Alistair smirked at her from three feet away. She was puzzled when his hands began to glow blue but quickly she released her mistake. With an almost deafening explosion, the earth stopped trebbling and the bolt she was about to cast dissipated. He had used his Templar power to cleanse the area of magic. How did she not release he would have such an ability? Alistair pointed the tip of his sword to her throat. "It would appear that I’ve won this duel", he was grinning ear to ear.
She pushed his sword away with her staff, "Good for you."
He sheathed his weapon and settled the shield on his back. "You're not mad that I won are you?"
She was but she didn't want him to feel bad. He had won this duel but she was sure there would be others. "I will win the next one", she said.
"Confident in that, are you? Well, as long as I cleanse the area you can't win", he said matter-of-factly.
"Then I will have to be fast." Her stomach growled loud enough for them to both hear.
"Let's get some breakfast."
She followed him to an area that had many tables and benches. She sat down, exhausted from their fight. It was exhilarating. She knew they were both holding back but she had never dueled anyone before. The Templars in the Circle were only permitted to oversee the mage's training not participate in it. She wasn't at the Tower anymore and she was much more than a mage. She was a Grey Warden.
Alistair set her food in front of her. She wasted no time and began eating. "How did you become a Grey Warden?", he asked. "It's not very usual that we get mages that are so compliant with joining."
She swallowed the food in her mouth. What was she going to tell him? The truth? "Duncan came to the Circle and needed more mages. I volunteered." It was kind of the truth.
Alistair chewed thoughtfully, "You must've had a reason for leaving. No one actually wants to become a Grey Warden."
She sighed and pushed the food in her bowl around. "I was hurt very badly. Duncan saved me and took the blame for what happened. I owe him everything and I had nothing left there anyway so I figured I would come to Ostagar."
Alistair nodded, "What happened to you?"
She looked at the scar on the backs of her hands. "I loved a Templar."
She didn't have to look at him to know he was stiff with shock, "A m-mage and a Templar?"
She laughed, "Well at least I think I loved him. It was very complicated."
"I'll say. Not to mention forbidden. So what happened to him?"
"He left. I do not know where he went."
"Why did he leave?", Alistair went back to eating his breakfast.
"He killed Knight-Commander Greagoir."
Alistair spit porridge across the table. "What?!"
She didn't look at him, "Duncan claimed that it was he who did it so he would have to deal with the Chantry and not Cu-", she had yet to say his name allowed. "Cullen."
Alistair composed himself and wiped away the porridge. "Why did he kill the Knight-Commander? I mean I know he wasn't the best guy in the world but he killed the Knight-Commander."
She didn't want to say. It was too painful. "H-he", her eyes began to well. "He tortured us."
Neither of them spoke. Neither of them ate. They both sat there for a while until Alistair said, "Let's go visit that Mabari."
She agreed and they left the Warden's camp walking side by side in silence.
“Kennel Master”, Kitsune greeted the man.
“Ah, Wardens”, he greeted. “Great timing. I was about to feed the hound you helped muzzle the other day. Would you like to do it?” He waved two dead rabbits by the ears at them. They each took one.
“Do I have to feed that beast?”, Alistair whined.
“Are you afraid, Warden?”, Kitsune asked as they walked into the kennels.
He cleared his throat, “I-I’m not afraid so much as-”, he was interrupted by the eager barking of the Mabari.     Kitsune tossed the dead rabbit to the dog. She watched as he ripped it in half and swallowed the head with only a few quick chews. She pushed Alistair in front of her, “Do not be shy. He is a harmless dog.”
The Mabari looked up at the man and snarled. Alistair flinched, “Bad dog”, he said. “Y-you sit down and eat your breakfast.” The dog was compliant and Kitsune laughed at Alistair’s unwavering bravery. They watched as he bit off the head of the second rabbit. “That wasn’t so bad. Maybe he is just a dumb mutt.” The hound was on his feet and growling at him. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. You’re not dumb.”
Kitsune laughed until her sides hurt. Alistair laughed with her. It felt good to laugh this way. “Thank you, Alistair.”
“For what?”, he rubbed a gloved hand through his red hair bashfully.
She noticed for the first time that he had freckles across his nose. “For bringing me here. I am glad to see the Mabari is getting better.”
“Me too”, he put a hand on her shoulder. “I think he really likes you.”
The Marbari circled Kitsune before sitting at her feet. “I like him”, she said as she patted his brown head.
“I think he’s imprinted on you”, the Kennel Master said from the other side of the fence. “He’s yours now then. Come by tomorrow and he should be ready for some action.
Kitsune smiled at Alistair, “Are you okay with having a war dog with us?”
He looked at the dog who was wagging his nub of a tail. “I don’t think I have much of a say in this. What are you going to name him?”
She turned her head to the side, “Does he not have one?”
“No one’s sure what his master called him”, the Kennel Master said. “You can name him.”
“Ammy”, she shrugged.
“Ammy?”, Alistair crinkled his nose. “I’m pretty sure this is a boy dog.”
“It is short for Amaterasu. It sounds powerful”, she said nonchalantly. She saw the look the Kennel Master shot at Alistair. She crossed her arms, “He is my dog.”
They left the kennel. They had decided they would return tomorrow to see if the Mabari was fully recovered. “Let’s go see Duncan”, Alistair said. “I’m sure there is some work that needs doing.”
Duncan was near the King’s tent when they found him. “Alistair! And how is our newest Warden?”
“I am good Duncan. Thank you”, she bowed her head.
“What would you have us do, ser?”, Alistair asked as he stood dutifully at attention. Kitsune admired his form.
“You still have those treaties, correct?”, Duncan asked. Alistair pulled them from the pouch at his waist. “Good.” Duncan thumbed through them.
“What are they for?”, Kitsune asked. She knew they were treaties but she was unsure for what.
Duncan explained that the Grey Wardens before them had signed treaties with the factions of Ferelden. The Circle of Magi. The Dwarves of Orzammar. The Dalish Elves. In the time of the Blight the Grey Wardens had the right to recruit the help of each of the factions. Duncan gave the parchments back to Alistair. “Hold on to these. We will be needing them if we cannot drive back these Darkspawn tonight.”
“Tonight?”, Alistair was surprised enough for both of them.
Duncan nodded slowly. “King Cailan wants to attack them tonight. Which is for the best of course, they are running amok in the Wilds.”
She had to agree with him there. They were crawling all throughout the Wilds when she had been there with Alistair and the others. “What shall we do?”, Alistair asked.
“I will give you your orders later this evening once I figure out everything else. For now I suggest the two of you prepare yourselves. You are a team now.”
They both bowed and walked away from their Commander. “Too bad Ammy won’t be able to fight with us tonight. It may get a bit crazy”, Alistair said. A part of her was glad Ammy was still recovering.
- 6
- 7
- 8
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The Mage and the Templars