Dragon Age: Sundering

[Eva]

Kennith watched as Kain observed the Broodmother. "A piece of work so foul, you would think demons themselves crafted her." he whispered softly. Amalthea looked up at him and shook her head. "This is where we seperate, men." she said. Amalthea turned to Kras, Kain, and Kennith. "We will distract the Broodmother while you three find your friend." she said, her voice low as well. "You're going to attract all of the darkspawn!" Kennith whispered back. "The four of you must make it out of here. You must tell the King that the darkspawn are breeding an army in these caverns. We will do what we can to stem what they have made." Amalthea said. "We will draw her attention. When she comes for us, run past her. Your friend will be nearby, if they truly were planning to make her a Broodmother. From what I know of the process, they will not have started yet. But we have little time." Amalthea turned to the other Legionnaires and gave them a grim smile. "Men. If we die today, we die with honor. Let us slay this bloated abomination and make this forest safe."

With that, the Legionnaires flooded out of the cavern and towards the Broodmother, weapons prepared.



Amalthea jumped, landing on the creature's shoulder. She swiped at its flesh with her daggers, causing it to howl. It spewed acid at the Legionnaires, who were protected by their heavy armor. The Children crawled from the walls and surrounded the Legionnaires, who fought them deftly. "Go! We have them distracted!" Amalthea bellowed.

Kennith ran out of the cavern as fast as he could. Kras, Kain, Jocasta, and the other non-Legionnaires followed him. One of the Children leaped out from the darkness, but Kennith quickly hit it with a spray of fire.

A large iron door laid before them, smeared with blood. Kennith pushed it open, and saw a large room full of skeletons. "Guard the door! I will find Janne!" he shouted. Leaving the others to defend, Kennith ran into the room. He saw some kind of meat hanging from the walls, and felt his stomach churn. "Kennith?" The mage whipped his head around when he heard his name. He saw a person in heavy armor, struggling to sit up. He immediately dashed over to the person, and to his relief saw that it was indeed Janne. "You're alive!" he cried. "Yes...I am? How surreal." Janne muttered. Kennith helped her stand up, and she seemed fine. "They swarmed me, those worm-like things. I thought I was dead, but then...such a warm feeling overcame me. Like I was being wrapped in a blanket after a night in the cold. I heard a voice. It was so sweet, so tender. And then I awoke here." Janne's face was somewhat pallid, but she seemed fine, to Kennith at least. "Come on, we have to go." he said. "I feel much stronger than I was before, Kennith. I feel like something is making me stronger." Janne muttered. "Everyone! We need to go!" Kennith shouted to the others, tuning her rambling out.

[GnomesAteMyCake]

Struck dumb by the sheer...unnaturalness of the Broodmother, Kain missed the initial attack, his hands limp at his sides and his mouth open a fraction, his eyes wide with fear. This thing....this thing couldn't be catagorized. No matter how long he watched it, he would never be able to think of a way to defeat it; it's attacking tentacles slithered through the rock beneath them, grabbing a Dwarf and pulling him into the ground, the clash of his armour against the rock echoing loudly in the cave. There were too random. Avoiding the toxic liquid it frequently spewed forth. Too wide sweeping. This thing was impossible, and for someone who needed logic and order like Kain, it was the worst creature he'd ever come across.

"Kain!" shouted Ameltea, hanging from the Broodmother's shoulder as the Darkspawn tried to dislodge her. "Go!"
Shaking his head, Kain sprinted across the cave towards Kras and Kennith, tripping over the uneven floor, unable to tear his eyes from the Broodmother and therefore not focusing on where he was going. He pulled his greatsword from his back and swung at a tentacle as he bolted past, cutting near to the bone but unable to sever the thick muscle.
"Andraste take you, abomination!" he growled, pulling the blade free and skidding to a halt next to Kras as Kennith laid out his battle plan.
"Go, quickly!" Kain shouted at his retreating back before turning away from the room, bringing his sword up just in time to block one of the Children as it practically flew across the room, it's mouth open as it aimed for Kain's throat. Running the thing through, Kain managed to kill two others and take another swipe at a too close tentacle when Kennith emurged, dragging Janne behind him.

"Janne! Maker be praised, you're alive!" he panted, a smile gracing his features before he helped Kras kill a perticularly large Child. Kennith shouted to them that the needed to go as Kain slide his blade back onto his back and followed the mans escape, running faster now that he wasn't gripping the sword.

As they reached the entrance of the cave, he looked back at Amelthea. She and two others were the only ones alive, and she had been reduced to one dagger. Their eyes met, and Kain knew she didn't plan on leaving the cave.
"Thank you," he said quietly. She nodded once before turning back to the Broodmother as Kain ran after his companions.

[Tusk]

Kras wanted desperatly to fight the brood mother, but it seemed the dwarves had finally shown some bravery and took the fight on themselves.
" Fanally, " He muttered as he began to walk back letting the dwarves take on the broodmother. " May you taste victory or die with the honor of falling to a true opponent. "
Kras knew honor and strength. The dwarves had finally shown him that they were not weak. For that, they had Kras' respect and he listened and ran for Janne when he was told. After cutting through several children, they finally found Janne, who seemed off. Kennith and Kain seemed so happy she was alive they missed that there was something obviously wrong with her.

Kras walked up to her and bent down, looking her strait in the eyes. His stare was blank save the hint of anger running through him. The more she spoke, the more he noticed that they might be too late.
" We must get her to the dwarf quickly. There is something wrong with her and the warden might be able to help. I do not think either of you will have the stomach to do what needs to be done if she turns. "
He did not know if Janne knew what he was talking about, but he at least hoped that Kain and Kennith had a lick of sense to them. Janne might turn into a brood mother....soon....and only Kras would have the sense to put her out of her misery before that happened. Rather than have her argue, Kras put away his sword and Picked Janne and threw her on his shoulder.
" If you try fighting me, I will drop you on your head and drag you out of here. I can not allow you to slow us down. "
Kras warned as he got up.
" We run out of here and do not look back. We have very little time to get to the surface. NOW RUN! "
Kras roared as he took off down the path. It went upward so he figured that there was an exit somewhere. If Janne gave any sign that she was turning, any at all, Kras would have no choice but to end it before she turned into a brood mother. He did not care if the warden would kill him afterward. He would stop it and at least give the fool an honorable death.

[Eva]

"By the Maker." Jocasta muttered, her eyes dazed. "Is everyone okay?" Kennith asked the other non-Wardens. "We will try to keep up, if that is what you mean." Jocasta said, answering for all of them. Kennith bit his lip when he saw Kras pick Janne up. "Right. We must find Selphina, quickly." he said. With that, Kennith lifted his staff, and a bright light shone, giving a clear path for the survivors. "Everyone, follow Kras!" he shouted.

Kennith, Kain, Jocasta, and the others followed the qunari as fast as they could. They could hear the Children closing in behind them, and Kennith was feeling drained. "Jocasta, do something about them!" he shouted. The female mage stopped and turned around. She let loose a stream of cold, freezing the Children in the front, and blocking the ones in the back. She turned back around and caught up with the others.

Eventually, the group saw the bright opening that meant only freedom. Kras and Janne made their way up, escaping. "I'll keep them at bay. You two, get the survivors up!" Jocasta said. She turned to cast spells at the Children whilst Kain and Kennith hoisted the survivors up to the surface. When the last survivor was safe, Kennith climbed up. Jocasta followed, and together the two of them lifted Kain up.

Several of the survivors pushed a boulder into the exit, blocking it. "That should keep the bastards from coming." Kennith spat. He looked over to Janne, still on Kras's shoulder, and motioned for the qunari to set her down. "Did they taint you, Janne?" he asked her. The girl's eyes were now more focused, and she didn't seem quite so...distant as she had before. "I was unconscious. I do not know what they might have done. But we must see Selphina. She will know." Janne said. She stood up, wobbly, but solid. "The ruins are not far from here, I think." she said, pointing east. "And I suppose we will go with you. This forest is too dangerous for us to travel alone, as we have all learned." Jocasta said.

[GnomesAteMyCake]

Planting his hands on his knees and taking in deep lungfuls of the fresh air as soon as Kennith and Jocasta pulled him up out of the Deep Roads, Kain coughed heartily into a nearby bush, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand inconspicuously.

"Let...Let us hope we never come across such a thing again," he panted, finally lowering his heartbeat to normal and jogging after Kras and the others as they headed towards the Ruins where Selphina was waiting. Catching Janne's eye as he ran along-side Kras, he gave the young knight a rare but comforting smile as they filtered past a sleeping Slyvan. Strange that the tree-spirit egnored them, but they easily slipped past the thing and were in the halls of the ruin.

"Kennith, do you know whereabouts in here the others are? You know more about the Joining than I," Kain asked, looking at the mage as apprehension began to grow in his belly. Like the others, he hadn't taken the Joining yet. Did he just survive only to die? Squaring his shoulders, he pushed the thought to the back of his mind and waited for Kennith's directions.

[Eva]

"Right. The Joining is...don't worry about it. I'm sure you'll do just fine." Kennith replied. "A big, strong man like yourself has nothing to fear from a little ceremony. No, nothing to worry about at all." he said sing-songily. "I will lead us, I suppose. Everyone, follow the mage! Follow the mage, people!" he shouted, running to the front of the group.

The ruins were, quite frankly, disturbing, and Kennith felt that Selphina must have had a macabre side to her, if she felt this was a suitable place to hold the ceremony. The Joining was already morbid enough; these ruins only added to the dread. The mage was comforted solely by the sounds of his companions' footsteps. "This is a place of great evil. Something here is not of the Maker." Jocasta said, her eyes narrow. "I suspect you may just be picking up traces of me, my dear." Kennith replied, his voice droll. "No, I can tell the difference between a user of evil and the sources of evil." Jocasta shot back, her eyes wandering around as the group moved.

Finally, Kennith lead them to a blank wall. He pressed his hand against it, and a slab moved, revealing a room. He turned around, facing the survivors. "Right. Kras, Kain, go on in. The rest of you would do well to wait here. Tis perfectly safe, I assure you. If you have any trouble, just knock." he said. With that, Kennith stepped into the room, and the slab moved back into place.

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Kennith shouted, holding his hands up. He saw several templar corpses, three bodies on the floor in front of Selphina, and several frightened people. "Clearly something went wrong here." he said, looking around.

Selphina sighed and set the chalice down. "We will continue in a moment, Orin." she said to the Dalish man. "Kennith. I am glad to see that your group is still alive. For whatever good it does me." she said. Selphina stepped down and walked up to Kras. "Set her down." she ordered. When the qunari did so, Selphina bent down to examine Janne. "We think they tried to turn her into a broodmother!" Kennith explained. "They may have tried. But that is a long process, far longer than a day. She may have the Taint, or she may not. It is irrelevant. As long as she undergoes the Joining before she is overcome, she will be fine." Selphina said. "Oh, good. Here I was wondering we might be in trouble." Kennith said, laughing.

"You are all in trouble, if that is how you wish to phrase it. But that is not the subject at hand." Selphina replied bluntly. "My orders were and still are absolute. I don't know how this situation came about, but you will tell me. For now, we have a more important matter at hand." Selphina picked the chalice up once more and held it out for Orin.

[Tusk]

"This is it?" Kras said as he looked at the chalice and the several dead bodies.
They were to drink of the dark spawn blood? So many had fallen to something that was like poison. Kras was disappointed. However, there was something diffrent about the dwarf. She seemed diffrent than before. Maybe it was because of the ceremony, but Kras liked it. Maybe she was not so weak. Still, Janne was still weak, and apparently they were all going to get an ear full. Great, he was going to get talked down to by a midget of a warrior.

Kras looked at everyone and then to Orin. These Wardens were absolutely insane. Orin had stepped up to try and not be the cup's next victim. Kras really did not care if the fool elf lived or died. From what he saw, the elf would no doubt get on his nerves. He wondered if anyone had managed to survive the blood of the darkspawn. Did that elf girl do it? He looked at Kain who already looked nervous. Then he looked to Kennith, who seemed rather calm.
" To think, we passed up a chance to maybe die in battle against a broodmother, only to maybe die by a cup, " He muttered angerly as he folded his arms.

He leaned up on the wall. If Ham saw his owner die by posion, then The War Hound served a weakling. Kras refused to die like that. He could not allow himself to die like that.
" Kain, I ask you only this. If I am to die, at least give me the honor of having a blade run through my heart. I would much rather die by steel. So show me that you are actually worthy of respect and If I do not have the strength to make it on my own, take out your own blade and do what you will. Ham would be angry if he saw he wasted his time with someone who was too weak to take a drink and live. "

[GnomesAteMyCake]

"Do you really have so little faith in yourself, Kras?" Kain said quietly, looking up at the tall warrior. "You have already shown yourself stronger than I. You will survive this. However...if you should begin to sucumb to the poison, I will do as you ask."

Holding the Qunari's gaze for a few seconds longer, he stepped away from him and knelt down beside Inali. He had seen Merwyn dead upon the stone floor...such a sad sight to see, a young man, no, a boy, his life snuffed out before it had even begun. He had no seen the Mage woman before, but another life lost was sad, even if that life had belonged to a mage.

Holding Inali's thin wrist in his hand, he felt for her pulse and was glad to find it. As much as the woman irks me, I am glad she has survived. Maybe she will be humbled...or maybe I will become stronger and will be able to keep her better in check after the Joining.

Refusing to think of the other possible outcome, Kain remained kneeling as he waited for Orin to take his chance, not quiet trusting his legs to support him at the moment.

[Eva]

OOC: Zippidy. Rose is being a harpy.

IC: Orin took the chalice and drank, emptying what was left. He, like Cora, did not take long. He simply fell backwards, with a hard thud. Selphina stepped down and checked him. "He lives." she said simply.

The mages came forward and collected the chalice. They stepped behind the altar, seemingly to refill the lost concoction.

Selphina looked at the remaining recruits, all seven of them. "This is not a simple wine tasting. If you do not approach the Joining with respect and caution, you will not survive. I am not trying to instill fear in any of you, but I will tell you that losing two is not the worst result for this ceremony." Selphina's eyes swept the room. "There were five recruits when I had my Joining. I was the only one to survive. Do not think that such an occurrence is uncommon." Selphina sighed and shook her head. She went back up to the altar and picked up the refilled chalice. "It is important that Janne undergo her Joining immediately. Bring her." she said.

To everyone's surprise, Janne stood up on her own. "I have awaited this moment for a long time. I shall not be so weak as to be dragged to it." she said, telling off anyone who would have tried to help her. As quickly as she could, Janne approached the altar. "From this moment forth, Ser Janne, you are a Grey Warden." Selphina said, handing the chalice over. "I wish father could see me now." Janne sighed. She tipped her head back and took her drink.

The knight let out a sputtering cough and held onto her throat. Her eyes turned white, and she collapsed. Selphina examined her, as she had the others. "That was unexpected." she said dryly. "She lives. Who wishes to be next?" she asked.

[GnomesAteMyCake]

Letting go of Inali's wrist, Kain stood, his shoulders squared firmly in the hopes of stopping his hands from shaking.

"I have been with you for many months, waiting for this moment, Selphina," he said softly before walking to the Dwarven woman. "I am not about to back down now, regardless of my fear."

Taking the silver chalice from her (with hands he happily noted were not shaking), he looked into the cup at the blood and took a deep breath. Possibley his last. "Andraste, I place myself in your hands. Guide me," he muttered almost silently, tipping his head back and drinking the contents of the cup.

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

Kain gave the chalice back to Selphina, and immediately felt the effects of the concoction. He pressed his hand against his chest and began to heave, as if he was out of breath. His eyes turned the same milky white as the others', and he quickly crumpled to the floor.

Selphina gave a knowing nod and smiled. "He lives. Who is next?"

[Tusk]

Kras moved. It was time to drink the cup. His eyes were showing how annoyed he was. Kain had slightly annoyed him, but the request was granted. Now it was time to see whether or not he lives or dies.

Kras took the cup from the Dwarf's hands. His eyes gazed a the contents. It was time to see what happened. Kras drank and gave the cup back to the Warden before his eyes turned milky white. He too found himself on the floor, but breathing none the less. He had lived through it.

[Eva]

Kennith looked at the floor, where the others laid. Only he, Aranel, and the Templars were left. "Well. Age before beauty." the mage mumbled. He stepped forward, giving Selphina his cheesiest grin. "I am very honored that you have allowed me to come this far." he said, earnest for once. "I am eager to see how this turns out." Selphina replied, equally as earnest.

Kennith took a deep breath and looked into the chalice. The liquid didn't LOOK so bad, but he knew it was something foul. "Four in the group, one down the hatch. Everyone take the soup, and then we get another batch." he sang quietly before taking his drink.

Unlike the others, who had done rather dramatic fallings, Kennith was somewhat more...restrained. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he just collapsed. Selphina looked down, and as she was about to say something, the mage started to snore. "I suppose he lives." she said. Selphina now looked to Aranel and the two templars. "I am afraid that our concoction has run out. We will induct the three of you at a later date." she said. With that, Selphina hopped down from her pedestal and looked at the bodies. "Right. We should be able to get them to Denerim."

[Eva]

Chapter Two: Order Reforged

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

Selphina walked through the courtyard of the palace, accompanied by an older man.

"Such a low death rate is admirable for your group." the man said, smiling at his dwarven companion. "Yes. The survivors are recuperating as we speak. To lose only two is a blessing, certainly. But a part of me, and this is quite foolish, had thought that maybe all of them would survive. I had assumed I was less naive." she sighed. "Well, you should be ashamed for not being an utter cynic." the man replied. Selphina smiled, slightly. "There is still much to do. We mustn't dilly dally like this." she reminded him. "You take the fun out of everything. Very well. I will go talk to my 'advisors'. You go take care of your children." the man replied. He started to walk away, and Selphina follows him. "As you command, 'your highness'." she called out.



Among the first of the recruits to awaken was Janne. She sat up, and realized that she was not wearing her armor. "Oh, blasted damnations. I feel like someone just lit me on fire and beat me to death to put it out." she mumbled. Janne noticed one other person in the room, Inali. "I suppose you survived as well? Are you awake?...Am I talking to myself?" she called out.

[Rose]

Inali dreamed of a great fire sweeping through her forest. It consumed all life within its molten heart, decimating every inch of the land. Where it burned, even the dirt crumbled to ash. The heat of the inferno rolled out in waves, washing over her exposed skin. She could feel it running through her veins like it ran through the roots of the earth. Inali choked on the heavy smoke as it billowed upward, stumbling half-blind through it. Flashes of her companions ran through the darkness. Orin’s voice called out to find her, Kras cried out for them to keep fighting.

Blinking through tears and ignoring the heat, Inali pushed forward, hoping to find Orin or someone from her clan and get out of what was quickly becoming hell. But her eyes burned more and more, near black from the smoke and ash that stung them. Something caught her leg, and before she could free herself she fell to the burning ground. The fire licked up her body, her palms and knees searing from the glittering red coals beneath her. The elf screamed, smoke filling her lungs.

A figure moved before her, tall and slim and wearing shining silver armor despite the heat. Inali looked up, rasped out for help, but the shadowy face looked down and she saw that it was the Templar who had brought her to the city. He smiled wickedly, mouth full of pointed teeth like a darkspawn. Just a step behind was Kain, his face expressionless, his eyes holding neither remorse nor joy as he watched Inali struggle.

Inali coughed, pleaded for them, but the Templars turned away without a word as the flames consumed her and the forest, her skin-

“Oh, blasted damnations. I feel like someone just lit me on fire and beat me to death to put it out."

Inali’s eyes flew open, but the pain lingered on. She stared up at the ceiling, the dream still playing behind her eyes. She didn’t want to get up, she didn’t want to move, but she surely didn’t want to return to the feverish nightmare.

"I suppose you survived as well? Are you awake?...Am I talking to myself?"

Inali sat up slowly with a groan and looked across the unfamiliar room. She rubbed her eyes a few times, trying to clean her head. Where was she? The last thing she remembered was drinking from the chalice in the ruins, and then….And then strange dreams of darkspawn and fire.

“Sur…vived?” Inali asked slowly, rubbing her side where Kennith had healed her wound during battle. She finally looked over to the other woman. “What happened? Were we attacked?”

“No…” Janne said, looking the elf over. She must have figured Inali had gone first and so didn’t know what was going on, or she assumed Inali didn’t remember anything, because she nodded slowly and started to explain. “Some of the others didn’t make it through the Joining. Merwyn, Cora…Maybe more.”

“Orin? What of him? Did he live as well?” Inali asked, suddenly urgent. If she lost her only companion before they even started, the road ahead would certainly look far bleaker than it already did. When Janne only shrugged, Inali ignored the lingering pain in her body and swung her feet over the bed, going for the door.

“I’m going to check on everyone. I will return in a moment….You should rest a bit more. You look pale.” Inali gave the girl a faint smile, trying at companionship with the shem, before nodding to her and going out the door. She went down the hallway quietly, peaking into the next room she found.

And she quickly let out a breath. His body looked the same as anyone else’s covered by the blankets on the bed, but his long black hair and pointed ears sticking out were unmistakable, even with him turned away from the door. The huge figure in the other bed on the opposite side of the room was obviously Kras. Inali closed the door without a sound and moved to the next.

It was Kennith and Kain who slept through the next door she found, though neither of them seemed to be very relaxed. Kennith mumbled in his sleep, too quiet for her to hear, and the other man was tossing fitfully, much like she must have been. Inali stepped into the room like she was hunting an animal, her feet so light not even the floorboards creaked. She stopped before Kain, staring down at him with narrow eyes. He, too, mumbled softly beneath his breath, though again she couldn’t make out the words.

Inali debated waking him. He seemed distressed, like his dream was as disturbing as hers had been. His eyes were squeezed shut, his lips pulled into a tight grimace. The elf tried to forget her dream, forget his face as he watched her burn. It was harder to hate someone when they looked like they were in pain…

Inali reached out and touched Kain’s bare shoulder lightly, moving to shake him gently awake-

And his eyes shot open. The woman who punched you in the face after a bloody battle probably wasn’t the first thing you wanted to see when you woke up. In fact, having anyone hovering over you after a frightful dream was likely more than a bit unsettling. As it was, Kain cried out in surprise at the sight of her, and Inali cried out in surprise of his surprise. She stumbled back, nearly falling into Kennith’s bed and waking him as well.

“What in the name of Andraste are you doing?!” The Templar asked through clenched teeth as he shot up in bed, obviously as sore as she and Janne were. Inali waved her hands quickly, hoping he didn’t think she planned to assassinate the man in his sleep, or any other absurd conclusion a shem might come to.

“I was just…checking on who lived…” Inali said, trying to recover. She looked a bit off guard for once. “I saw that you must have been having an unsettling dream, so I came to wake you…”

Inali looked over at Kennith and nodded to him. “And you as well, blood mage.”

[GnomesAteMyCake]

Groaning, Kain brought his knees up so that he could cross his arms on top of them before hiding his face. Breathing deeply, he struggled to dimiss the frighting images from his mind, as well as bring the churning of his stomach under control.

What had he been dreaming about? Fire was a large part, he was sure... great towering pillars of flame bletching out smoke surrounding him, and maybe the others, he couldn't remember. Sighing heavily in frustration, his ran a hand through his long dark hair, attempting to straighten the strands which were no doubt in disaray; he hated that the details of the dream were disappearing faster than he could grab them...

"There was a figure," he muttered aloud, his eyes staring ahead, the dark blue depths currently misted over in thought. "A figure in the smoke. Tall, dark....dangerous..."

Realising where he was, he bowed his head in apology to Kennith and Inali. "You were right, Inali, my dreams were rather turbulant. However, dreams are all they are, so no lasting harm done." Stretching, Kain allowed himself a yawn as he raised his arms above him, hearing a satisfying pop as the joints loosened. Frowning, he looked up at the elf from his beddings.

"Merwyn and Cora have not joined us. May they find peace at the Maker's side."