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From the Ashes: Glimmers of What Once Was (ch. 28)
🕑 Added 2023-03-31 14:53:31 +0000 UTC"We should leave," Sten voiced his opinion as our companions gathered up in a small house that had been allocated for all of us. "Staying this long was a foolhardy endeavor."
"I am in agreement with Sten," Morrigan voiced, leaning in a corner with a slight grin on her face. "The darkspawn are here because every hamlet and village has evacuated to either here or Lothering. You wish to stop the darkspawn from going further? Then give them what they want to tie them down. If you must save these blithering fools, then leave behind the infirm and sickly and take those that have some capacity to be useful. Sacrifice the few to save the many.”
Alistair and Leliana look like they couldn’t have been more shocked if Morrigan had slapped them across the face. “No! Absolutely not!” Alistair shouted, a hand going to his sword at his hip while Morrigan made a magical flame appear in her palm, ready and willing to escalate to violence. “We aren’t leaving anyone to die!”
“Taking command now, are you?” Morrigan questioned, a cruel smile in her voice. “You were quite willing to leave Azoth in charge despite being the senior Warden.” At her jaded remark, I saw Alistair turn to me, his expression pleading. I could see a rift forming in the group -- Alistair and Leliana clearly wanted to stay. Morrigan and Sten wanted to leave. Shale was completely unreadable and Theron seemed like he didn’t care either way.
In Theron’s eyes, he had no skin in the game. Simply because, no matter what, the elves in Redcliffe would be making a clean exit. Neither of us wanted our peoples' blood spilled for the sake of humans.
“Morrigan, how far away did you say that they were?” I asked her, making her frown ever so slightly.
“Two days. Perhaps less or more, depending on their march,” Morrigan answered, meaning that we likely had less than two days. As forewarnings went, it wasn’t great, but it was much better than a few hours like it would have normally been. “I saw no signs of Elissa nor her company. Perhaps a similar band is marching upon Lothering?” She questioned and I saw Leliana’s face pale at that before she began muttering a prayer.
“There should be no discussion,” Sten voiced, his voice firm. “This location is undefendable against such numbers. It is regrettable. If the noble bas had not sent away her antaam, then it may not be needed, but it is. The witch's suggestion is a sensible one. We save those that we can and abandon those that we cannot.”
Alistair glared murder at Sten, “Is that what the Qunari do? Abandon women and children the moment they become inconvenient?” He snapped at the larger man, completely undaunted by how Sten towered over him.
“If this was Sherron then this would not be necessary,” Sten responded, giving a half answer at best. “My people understand duty and sacrifice. Those that cannot offer anything would be asked to sacrifice themselves so the many can survive and they would, because they would know it is their duty.” He sounded so certain of it and Morrigan laughed at Alistair’s expression.
“Did you see any siege equipment?” I asked Morrigan, interjecting myself into the brewing argument. “Theron, how are the elven archers doing?”
Sten frowned at me, but said nothing, leaving Morrigan and Theron to answer. “I did not see any kind of siege equipment. T’is likely they left it at Ostagar,” she sounded suspicious at my questions and somewhat annoyed that I wasn’t agreeing with her. I think she fully expected me to abandon the people here because, no matter what anyone else saw, she saw the truth. I didn’t particularly care about the people here.
“The f- the elves are learning well. They are no marksmen, but from the sounds of it, they won’t need to be,” Theron answered, leaning against the doorway. I sat at a table, my fingers interlocked as I stared at a model of Redcliffe. From the castle, to the village, to the surrounding area up until the Crossroad. Redcliffe Village was built upon a number of slopes down to the coastline, as well as building built over the water. There were hills along the road to the village with a quarry on the other side of some steep hills.
It was an exaggeration to say that the darkspawn only had one way to approach, there were more obvious ways than others. The idea that Elissa was dealing with a similar force in a far less fortified position wasn't a comfort, but it was a very real possibility. Morrigan was being cruel about it, but she wasn't wrong. The reason why the darkspawn were here in such numbers was because of the evacuations.
However, no matter what, we couldn't just let a band of near ten thousand darkspawn rampaging through the country.
"They won't need siege equipment. Not when they have ogres," Theron voiced, seeing me putting the pieces together.
"And emissaries," I added, wondering how that would change the battle. The palisade wouldn't stand up to an ogre. Nor a fireball. "No matter what, they'll get inside. Can't stop that," I muttered, thinking of the battles of Ostagar. I couldn't trust what I had seen given that the battles had been a trap by the Archdemon, but in the final battle, when the Archdemon revealed it's hand, I had seen some basic strategy.
Archers in the back. Ogres up front to tear holes in the front line. The front was mostly hurlocks because genlock's were shorter.
"We're going to lose the battle," I decided, coming to a swift conclusion.
"Paarhara, that was evident from the start," Sten stated. Alistair's face fell, clearly disappointed that I wasn't going to pull some victory out of my ass. Leliana placed a hand on his, giving him a sad look, but it seemed she was more of a realist. I could feel everyone looking at me -- it was never discussed out right, but they put me in charge. I had the final say and what I decided determined our course.
“But, I grew up in the Denerim alienage. We learned how to use anything there,” I voiced, catching Sten’s attention. Not in a bad way, but more wondering exactly where I was going with this. I looked at the model and I calculated and plotted. Any trace of empathy in my heart was gone as I planned exactly how we would lose the battle for Redcliffe. “And that includes using a defeat to win the war.”
Alistair didn’t exactly look hopeful at that, but his expression was resolute. Leliana was looking at me with shining eyes and even Morrigan seemed interested in what I was planning. “Leliana, I want you to speak to the Revered Mother. Call to arms against the darkspawn and it's our holy duty to combat the Blight. I don’t care what rhetoric she gives, just that it whips this lot into shape. The ones that don’t care about the Maker will care about their own lives and self-interest.”
Meaning that we had to burn the bridge behind us, so to speak.
“I will speak to her,” Leliana agreed, offering me a nod. I could tell she wasn’t exactly happy of me taking advantage of the Chantry, but I don’t think she disagreed -- killing darkspawn was the Maker’s work.
“Alistair,” I continued, looking at my fellow Warden. “You need to sell this to Teagan. He’s not going to like it. Any of it. So, say or do whatever you need to convince him. If not to help us, then to step out of the way.” I instructed, earning a very hesitant nod from Alistair.
“What am I selling him on, exactly?” He questioned, offering me a curt nod to show that he had already accepted the task. In his mind, I think the only thing that mattered was that we tried to help Redcliffe. That we didn’t abandon this place to its fate. And that fate, ultimately, was to be overrun by an army of darkspawn. An army that had taken the King and Loghain eight thousand professional and heavily armored soldiers to repel in the second battle. While we had a militia and two days of prep time.
I thought about it for a long moment before I nodded to myself.
“To start? Setting Redcliffe village on fire.”
…
I don’t think I particularly cared for Bann Teagan, but I would give him this -- he was realistic and he was willing to make sacrifices. He accepted the cost with little more than a grimace but saw the potential in my plan. He was stepping back and taking a wider view of the situation. To that in, in the name of his brother, he ordered every able body person in Redcliffe to aid in the construction efforts.
The work was frenzied as word spread about the darkspawn that was coming. People felt unsafe when they heard that there were darkspawn nearby. An entire army? Whose size grew with each retelling? By the end of the day, the entire horde would be marching on Redcliffe if you listened to rumors. People were scared. Terrified, really. However, Ferelden’s were a tough sort, and the southerners more so than most -- they were always in danger of avvar tribes or Chasined.
When it came to fight or flight, they chose to fight. For better or for worse.
The infirm, ill, or young were sent to Redcliffe Castle for their own protection. The rest of the refugees went to work -- more trees were felled until the hills were barren. The quarry, which had housed an order of stone for Denerim, was sailed over. Runners went to every village nearby and commandeered every fishing boat that they could get their hands on. All the while the palisade sported three defensive rings that were filled with traps, barricades were put up with flipped-over wagons or lashed together branches.
Every piece of metal that wasn’t already in use was melted down. Caltrops were created as were countless arrowheads or spears. None of them were particularly well made, but they would get the job done. To that end, entire buildings were torn down to salvage the lumber to make barricades and defensive stands within Redcliffe itself.
Matthias made his talents known because he spent all day and night preparing glyphs, magical mines, and sigils. There were talks about defensive barriers, but they were dismissed on account that they would take far too much time to establish. Lantern oil was found in the general store, and it was strategically placed along with traps.
The days were both too long and dreadfully too short. Morrigan continued her scouting, nearly constantly in the sky to monitor the darkspawn progress. However, as the darkspawn army neared, I found that I didn’t need to her tell me that they were close. Very close. I could feel the darkspawn like an inch underneath my skin, a tension between my shoulder blades. Alistair became increasingly jumpy and twitchy, and Theron became even more sullen.
It was late afternoon when I spotted Morrigan flying over to me as I stood on the dirt mount behind the palisade, the entrance sealed up because no one would be leaving any longer. The tents and housing was cleared out, replaced with rows of archers making their final preparations. More stood with me along the wall, Bethany and Marian among them. Behind us, on the stone wall, were more archers. Those were led by Theron.
Morrigan landed next to me, transforming into her true form. “They are near,” she informed me, and I felt it through the taint in my blood. “T’is not too late to turn away from this course of action,” Morrigan remarked, standing next to me.
“In Denerim,” I started, my voice low, “I built up a reputation for meself. I did it through a bunch of little acts. They matter more than the big sweeping gestures. Everyone knows the big stories, but the small ones? They’re the ones that get twisted and twisted with each go around the rumor mill.” I took in a slow breath, my gaze sliding to the ridgeline and what was far beyond it.
“I suppose this is where I ask how you built that reputation?” Morrigan asked, her tone sharp.
I smiled ever so slightly, “Once there was a minor gang in Denerim after the Rabbits reached the top of the hill. I don’t even remember their name. But, their boss was puffing out his chest and making things rowdy when I wanted peace. They weren’t used to the new order of the world, so to speak,” I told her, looking out at the packed dirt road that the darkspawn were coming down. “He had a son. So, I cut out his right eye and brought it with me when we first met and told him if he didn’t do as I said, I’d cut out the other. Naturally, he relented.”
Morrigan was quiet for but a moment, processing that, “And that crafted the reputation you sought?”
“No. Carving out the gang lord's eyes for making me ask for anything did that,” I told her, earning a chuckle from Morrigan. Unlike everyone I had ever met, she didn’t shy away from the grizzly side of violence. The kind that was cruel beyond just killing a man. “This is me building a new reputation for myself as a Grey Warden -- someone that takes an unwinnable situation… and wins anyway.”
To that, Morrigan laughed deeply. It was a rich sound that came deep from her gut, telling me she understood everything that went unsaid. That she saw exactly what this was. And she was utterly delighted by it. “I see. T’is a most interesting strategy, and one I will watch with utmost interest,” Morrigan decided.
And, with that, the time for words was over.
I heard the darkspawn coming before I saw them. The taint in my blood thundred in response to the thousands of darkspawn that were coming, and I could feel the vibrations of the darkspawn marching through the ground. Almost collectively, I heard the archers and warriors around me suck in a bracing breath, preparing themselves for the battle to come. I felt the fade sing around my fingers, whispers of what could be and what were echoing as I pulled from the Fade in preparation.
The darkspawn came into sight not long after, running over the crest of a hill. I saw ogres first -- three of them that stood twice the size of any other darkspawn. Their faces were twisted into snarls, their horns looking like gnarled roots. The darkspawn, both hurlocks and genlocks, were wearing armor looted from Ostagar. The quality of their weapons were also much better instead of the rusted hunks of metal that they wielded before. This, I saw, was the Archdemon’s vanguard.
At the head of the army, I saw a hurlock that was wearing what looked to be King Calian’s armor while it hefted a large battle axe on his shoulder. The hurlock came to a stop, his face hidden behind the helmet. Through the slit of the helmet, I felt our eyes meet. The darkspawn hefted his axe, lifting it into the air, and bellowing at the top of his lungs.
That was the signal for the battle to begin because the darkspawn charged forward mindlessly, as they had with at Ostagar. I said nothing as the army of darkspawn roared as they charged, sprinting forward. The ground shook underneath us, my army started to shake out of fear, their eyes wide and frightful as they beheld the darkspawn.
Not long after the charge began, the first of the traps was triggered. In an explosion of ice, a darkspawn stepped on an ice mine and exploded, impacting the darkspawn around it by sending shards of ice into them. A second later, a fire mine went up, engulfing a half dozen. The darkspawn didn’t deviate and simply trampled the fallen under their feet. More mines, both fire and ice went up, claiming more and more darkspawn.
They reached the first barricades, slamming into them rather than shoving them away. As soon as they did, I shouted out, “LOOSE!” At the top of my lungs with the help of Minor Illusion. The archers along the palisade, the archers behind us, as well as the archers on the stone wall all fired a volley of arrows, hundreds of them falling from upon the darkspawn. The arrows struck true, but it didn’t mean that the darkspawn died. They simply pressed forward, snarling and growling.
“Loose!” I shouted again, mines going off, darkspawn howling as they stepped on caltrops. I saw an ogre lose a leg to an ice mine, falling and collapsing upon the charging horde. More arrows fell upon the horde like rain. They pressed forward despite the losses and the traps, slamming through the second set of barricades. “Marksmen! Target the ogres!” I instructed, the two remaining leading the way.
Yet, almost as soon as I gave the order, I saw something envelop the ogres and I watched as the arrows bounced off of it. I heard someone shout out, I think it was Marian, “Barriers!” My gaze searched for the emissary, the one that cast the protective barriers on the ogres, making sure that they made it. And, as if the emissary was taunting me, I saw it floating just above the heads of the charging darkspawn, towards the back of the horde.
Magic sang at my fingertips as I cast Dancing Lights, sending them to the emissary to mark it out. The creature hissed, but almost as soon as the orb of light reached the darkspawn mage, I saw an arrow plant itself into its eye despite the considerable distance. I think Theron landed the shot. More arrows bounce off of the ogres, and I saw another layer of barrier be placed upon the ogres, but the other emissary was being more cautious.
The darkspawn fell upon the third set of barricades, and that was the sign for the archers to start firing arrows as soon as they notched them. The ogres still pressed forward, charging despite the hail of arrows slamming into them.
They stepped on what appeared to be solid ground, only for their feet to sink right through the illusion that I cast upon the ground. The ogres roared in pain, their feet impaled by spikes while the fire traps in the ditch erupted, setting them alight. The force of the charge sent more darkspawn right into the ditch, filling the air with the awful stench of burning darkspawn flesh. The ogres were quickly buried underneath a pile of burning bodies that ended up acting as a bridge for more to press on.
I didn’t expect for the ogres to be dealt with, but it was a fortune surprise. Less so when I saw the arrows begin bouncing off of the hurlocks and genlocks when barriers were being put on them. Worse was that arrows were starting to fall down upon us. In the back of the charge, I saw that the darkspawn archers had more or less formed up. And it was with them that I saw the emissaries. Three of them.
“Theron, give the signal,” I instructed just as the darkspawn hit the second ditch, leaving only the ditch at the base of the palisade unfilled. Despite the hundreds we must have killed already, there was a sea of pale faces with rotting needle teeth with black eyes. As Theron sent up a fire arrow, I called out, “Warriors! Step forward!”
The archers on the wall stepped to the side and behind the men wielding spears get ready to start stabbing down at darkspawn. Not long after, the first wave of darkspawn finally reached the wood palisade, falling into the ditch before starting to climb up. Arrows fell from the sky and behind me, I heard people calling out in pain as some arrows found their mark. However, more archers continuously fired.
Marian and Bethany began to utilize their magic, flooding the ditch with fire and ice. The darkspawn slammed into the wood with physical force, their screeching and bellowing filling the air. Despite the threat that battered at the door, I looked beyond the vast sea of darkspawn -- ten for every one that we had killed thus far. The darkspawn archers were firing a steady stream of arrows at us.
The emissaries were casting their magic -- one was a genlock that had odd markings carved into its skin, but the other two seemed to be elves and they floated above the ground, making them easy to mark out. They waved their hands, the spell taking shape and my stomach clenched when I saw an ogre rising up from the ditch. It was scorched to the bone, clearly dead, yet it still moved.
Necromancy.
More bodies began to stand back up as the darkspawn necromancers rose their dead, effectively undoing all of our work. The trampled bodies of corpses began to rise and my face tightened at the sight.
“It’s too late,” I muttered, drawing Keening Blade, thrusting it through the head of a hurlock that was crawling up the palisade, standing upon the bodies of its brethren. The undead ogre was lumbering forward, its chest filled with arrows that slammed into it, but the corpse didn’t care. It waded through a sea of darkspawn, its eyes blazing with hatred as it picked a genlock up and hurled it at us. The genlock sailed through the air, screaming all the while, before it slammed into the palisade with a splat and enough force that the wood splintered.
The darkspawn were fighting to get up the wall to the point that they were dragging their kind down in order to climb up. Our wall was holding as men and women stabbed down with spears, archers continuously firing while Marian and Bethany filled the trench with fire and ice. The ogre lumbered closer, hurling more darkspawn at the wall and one impacted an archer and a man, mangling the three of them.
Despite my words, the forces we had hidden well outside the beaten path revealed themselves. They galloped over the crest of the hill, spears and lances leveled, heading directly to the back ranks of the darkspawn. They wore a hodgepodge of armor -- some were Templars, others were wearing armor of knights that didn't fit them. The darkspawn only realized that they were there far too late because of the noise. As far as heroic charges went, it wasn't quite as graceful as the stories made it sound.
The wave of armored horsemen slammed into the archers, horses flipping and sending their riders flying while others pressed deeper into the mass of archers. I saw the air ripple as Templars used their abilities to disrupt the emissaries before they were ridden down. There was some cheering at the sight from the men on the wall, but despite my hopes, the undead darkspawn didn't collapse when the mages died. My lips thinned, the charge quickly losing momentum, leaving men and horses left completely isolated. I could see that they were trying to pull away, as well as some of the back ranks were giving chase.
"Brave men," I remarked to myself. They agreed to be a part of the charge, knowing that it would mean their deaths. According to Alistair, like the rest of the people of Thedas, when they fought with mages, they kept them at the back. The hope was that we could crush their archers and mages with the charge. From the looks of it, we managed the latter, but there were still plenty of archers left over. The ogre roared at us as it began to charge forward, taking larger steps as it neared.
I really hoped that the undead would drop when the mages died. Because our position just became unholdable.
"Fall back!" I gave the order, making the archers quickly grab their quivers before running through the gate of Redcliffe village. "Fall back!" I shouted again, slashing at a genlock that made its way over the palisade and beheading it. The people on the wall were meant to hold the wall for longer, but I overestimated most of their nerves. Somehow. The plan was that the archers would fall back first and the warriors would hold the wall until they escaped. Then it would be a mad scramble to get through the gates before they closed.
Instead, the moment that everyone heard the words 'fall back' they assumed it applied to them. The wall was quickly abandoned by archers and warriors alike, the rows of archers were still sprinting through the gate when the darkspawn began to pour over the walls. I gripped my weapons with white knuckles, feeling the carefully crafted plan sliding into a disaster because I underestimated how cowardly people were.
My magic sang at my fingertips as I cast Entangle, the seeds that I planted throughout the earthworks sprouted. Thick vines began to rise up from the packed dirt, wrapping themselves around the darkspawn as they climbed over. It delayed them enough that the clusterfuck behind me was able to clear up. I found myself standing beside Marian, Bethany, and Morrigan.
The two sisters cast cones of fire and ice, washing over the darkspawn while Morrigan and I summoned Stone Fists to smash into the darkspawn. Magic danced around my fingers as we slowly walked backward as I cast Entanglement again upon the grass and more seeds that I sprinkled throughout the field. This wasn’t how I imagined using them, but it was convenient enough as hurlocks and genlocks alike found themselves faceplanting, then trampled by more of their kin that crawled over the palisade.
“Hurry it up!” I shouted, planting my feet and slashing at a genlock that managed to reach us. Morrigan grabbed hold of the creature, pressing her hand to its face, before she threw it into the incoming tide of monsters and the darkspawn exploded. Very neat trick, though I found my face splashed with black blood. The militia behind us was forcing their way through the gate in a panic, and despite our efforts as well as the archers on the wall, I found that the tide couldn’t be stopped.
I needed more powerful spells, I decided, side-stepping a slash of a hurlock before I thrust Fang into its throat. A genlock darted forward from behind it, stabbing at me with a wicked-looking dagger, but a stone fist the size of its entire body slammed into it, reducing the creature to a smear on the ground. I cast Entanglement again, urging the vines to grow, but the bodies of darkspawn were proving to be an obstacle as the dead were trampled under foot.
It was as we were nearing the gate that the undead ogre finally reached the palisade. I watched in dull awe as it grabbed hold of the tree trunks that made it and effortlessly ripped it out of the wall, snapping the reinforcements and hurling it at the wall. Wood splinters showered us as the tunk itself crushed a few darkspawn but no sooner as the first stake was ripped out, the ogre was tearing out others. My heart hammered in my chest at the sight, more so when like a dam breaking, darkspawn surged through the gap in the wall like gushing water.
I felt a hand grabbing me by the back of my armor, pulling me back a full foot, and a second later I saw the darkspawn slam into a wrought iron gate. Looking behind me, I saw Alistair’s pale face. “We need to fill the gap!” He shouted at me as the darkspawn were trying to tear at the gate, shoving their hands through and screeching. I took in a deep breath, realizing that I had been very close to being trapped out there with the darkspawn, and nodded.
“We need to take down that ogre,” I shouted back at him as I looked out at the militia to see that they were all pale-faced and wide-eyed. If I could and if I had the time, I’d smack the shite out of every single one of them for abandoning their positions so easily, but I didn’t have the time. That much was proven when I heard screaming from above before a few archers hit the ground along with a darkspawn corpse. The ogre was still throwing things.
Alistair nodded before he began shouting for the gate to be filled with wagons and stone, intent to slow the darkspawn approach as much as it could be. I saw that Bethany was leaning over, sweating profusely while Marian was dumping water over her head. Morrigan seemed tense, but she met my gaze with a firm nod. I gathered myself, shoving my fear way down, and began to march up to the top of the wall to see that the archers were shouting for more arrows and with fear.
Theron met my gaze, his face bloodless, “They’re like ants!” He shouted, confusing me for but a moment before I looked over the edge of the wall to see that the darkspawn were climbing over each other, building a foundation for them to crawl up to the top of the wall. My eyes widened at the sight because it wouldn’t be long before they climbed right over the wall. The archers were firing arrow after arrow, but even as darkspawn fell, more just climbed up.
I made a snap decision, reaching into my bag, I pulled out a sack of birdseed and began slinging it over the ogre reached the gate, and began pulling at it. The iron gate began to groan, and I thought I heard the stone start to crack already. I pulled at my magic, digging deep and pulling wisps of the Fade into reality. The seeds sprouted into vines that wrapped themselves around the darkspawn, becoming a web that covered them. More than any spell I had ever used before, I felt the spell drain me, making that hollow feeling appear in my chest like I was a wineskin that had a tear in it.
All the same, I cast Create Bonfire and Control Flame, sweat dripping down my forehead as the vines and darkspawn were set alight. The creatures shrieked in agony, writhing as they fell from the walls. It didn’t stop the darkspawn from trying to keep climbing up, but the fire gave them pause. I stepped onto the ledge of the wall, the thick oily and pungent smoke that drifted up obscured me as I looked down at the ogre beneath.
I didn’t think about it. I didn’t need to. The ogre needed to be dealt with. I flipped my blades into a reverse grip before I simply stepped off of the ledge, hearing Theron shout, “Azoth!” As I fell. It wasn’t a long drop. The wall wasn’t that tall and the ogre was. Keening Blade slammed into the ogre’s skull, punching through it like the dense bone was hardly there. The ogre roared, a hand going up to me, but the fire damage to its shoulders had limited its mobility. My heart dropped when I realized that it wasn’t dead.
Using Keening Blade as leverage, I drove Fang into the creature's spine between the vertebrae. Thick black blood began to ooze out of the wound as I sawed the blade back and forth, cutting the spinal cord. I got the reaction that I was looking for when the ogre dropped to a knee, its body losing coordination. I ripped Fang free and looked up at the wall to see that it was a leap up. I used Vinewhip to lash the stone wall just as the ogre fell from underneath me, taking Keening Blade with me, though it was a near thing.
I started to crawl up before I felt something grab hold of my foot. Looking down, through the thick smoke, I saw a genlock holding my foot and it was trying to crawl up my leg. I kicked it in the face, trying to dislodge it while I felt the thorns of my whip dig into my arm. Slowly, the whip began to give way, the thorns grinding away at the stone, looking for purchase, but between me and the genlock, the weight was too much. My heart leapt to my throat as I kept kicking the genlock, shaking my leg back and forth to get it off of me.
I used Create Bonfire on the genlock, setting the bastard on fire to get it to let go of me. The creature screamed at the top of its lungs and let go before dropping to the ground, but the damage was done. The whip began to give out, and I felt myself make a short drop and my heart fell alongside me. Only for that drop to be cut short with a cry of pain from above before I started to be heaved upwards.
Theron reached down, grabbing my forearm before he and Alistair pulled me over the ledge. I landed in an undignified heap, my heart pounding in my chest and in my ears. My gaze darted around to see that I was surrounded by archers rather than darkspawn. I opened my mouth, closed it, and forced myself to swallow my fear once more. “The ogre is down,” I shouted at the two as I was hauled to my feet.
“They’re going to get through!” Alistair shouted at me, and as if to prove him right, a genlock grabbed onto the ledge of the wall before it was swiftly knocked over.
“Get the warriors on the wall. Fall back to the fallback points. We’ll buy you all time,” I told Theron, who offered a curt nod in response. Alistair stood next to me as the transition took place, the two of us slaying dozens of darkspawn between us. I cast Create Bonfire and Control Flame to knock back the worst of the piles, but the dead at the base of the wall were rapidly becoming a rampart that the darkspawn could use to sprint up.
Bethany and Marian reappeared. Sten and Shale also helped hold the wall, the former swinging its fists while Sten wielded his two-handed blade with the grace of knifework. The darkspawn were repelled again and again while arrows sailed over our heads from the archers behind us. The darkspawn archers returned fire, and I only realized that we had barriers over us when an arrow that would have gone in my throat bounced right off of me.
My arms burned with effort, my body was drained of energy and mana, and I became absolutely drenched in darkspawn blood. It soaked into the cloth of my armor and splattered all over the metal plates. Around us, a number of warriors were suffering the same fate, just without the Grey Warden immunity. They were dead men, I thought. And I suspected that they knew it because they fought with reckless abandon, determined to take as many darkspawn down with them as they could.
We bled the darkspawn at the wall, stacking bodies upon bodies upon bodies. Our blades ran black with blood, sending rivers of it flowing with steel, arrows, and magic, determined to buy enough time for those behind us to get into position so we could lose Redcliffe as we planned. The sun made its descent below the horizon, darkening the sky, and the only sources of light became the burning darkspawn and the stars above. It became impossible to tell how many we had slain, just that there had been many. Hundreds. Thousands, even.
But, when I looked beyond the smoke, I just saw more and more darkspawn. Enough that I began to worry that Morrigan had vastly undersold their numbers.
I felt a hand grab me by the shoulder and I nearly lashed out with a blade, and only stopped when I saw it was Leliana. “Undead are coming out of the castle!” She shouted at me, the words nearly lost in a sea of noise.
The words didn’t register with me until a solid ten seconds later. “What?!” I shouted right back at her, hacking at a genlock’s arm. There were undead coming out of the castle? How did that make any sense? Had the darkspawn dug underneath us and Lake Calehad and popped out in the middle of the castle?
“Undead are pouring out of Redcliffe castle!” Leliana repeated, screaming in my ear, mistaking my confusion for not hearing her. “Hundreds of them!”
It was damn near impressive how little was going according to plan, I thought. The plan was that we would fall back into the village and create pockets of resistance to hold the darkspawn in place and bleed them. Many would be lost that way, but it was an acceptable price. Those that didn’t die would fall back to Redcliffe castle and we would use boats to harass the darkspawn that would be forced to charge over the bridge.
Only that couldn’t happen because undead were coming out of the castle. We were surrounded.
“Darkspawn?!” I shouted at Leliana and she took the time to put an arrow in the eye of a hurlock that climbed onto the wall, making it fall back. To my immense confusion, Leliana shook her head.
“Theron didn’t sense any!” Leliana answered and that was confusing. I had seen the darkspawn raise the dead, but it seemed odd that the darkspawn would dig a tunnel to Redcliffe castle, kill everyone there, then only send a wave of undead at us. Darkspawn should be with them. Were they unrelated? It seemed incredibly unlikely. “They’re being blocked off at the bridge!”
I had to take a gamble. It was a dangerous one, but it was really the only choice. This plan hadn’t worked, meaning that it needed to adapt to the circumstances. If darkspawn were coming from behind us, then no matter what, we were dead. That was it. We were outplayed by the Archdemon yet again, and the most we could hope for was that we managed to escape the horde. However, if the the two forces were unreleated, then…
I took a sharp breath and made a call, “We’re going to let them through. Darkspawn and undead,” I decided, making her jaw drop. “Get everyone in position in the holdout spots. That’s where we’ll make our stand!” I shouted, urging Leliana to go. She looked at me like I was mad, but she saw another hurclock climbing over the wall and she offered a small curt nod instead.
I looked to Alistair to see that he had heard the news, his expression was grim and unhappy. We fought side by side, his shield protecting me from a number of blows while my weapons flickered out like a snake's tongue to stab the darkspawn that surged forward. “Warriors! We-” I started, but I caught a look from Mayor Murdock, his face splattered with blood.
“You go back, Wardens,” Murdock told me, his tone quiet, yet it carried through the sea of noise. “We’ll hold the line here,” he decided.
I hadn’t realized it until just now, but at some point… My hate lost its focus. After I imprisoned Maric and everyone else that had butchered my home, I… just started to hate humans, I think. Before I imprisoned them, I did what I could to separate the good humans from the apathetic humans to the cruel ones. And at some point, I’m not even sure when, I stopped doing it and simply grouped them all up.
I offered Murdock a small nod, but said nothing, finding myself… sad. I didn’t know the man particularly well but he seemed like a good one. A brave one. And I found myself ashamed for not trying to learn more about him simply because his ears were the wrong shape. I grabbed Alistair, and started pulling him away, “We’re falling back. Bethany, Marian, Sten, Shale!” I called out, using Minor Illusion to project my voice into their ears. “We’re falling back.”
The feeling was heavy as we left the warriors behind, a thin line of defense to hold the walls. The archers behind it were already gone, falling back to the end of the many slopes around Redcliffe. One around the windmill. Another at a cliff at the seaside. The last one was situated around the Chantry at the base of the village. It, I thought, was the one that had been most likely to survive the night but it seemed the most likely to die now.
I spotted Theron who was leading the elven archers for the group around the windmill. “What happened in the castle?” I asked him while someone passed me a waterskin. Only to find that it was a wineskin when I drank deeply from it.
Theron shook his head, "No one knows. The gate opened up and the undead spilled out. From the looks of things, it's mostly the refugees we sent in for safety. A bunch of others that I didn't recognize mixed into them," he answered. I had no clue what was going on there, but I heard the sounds of chaos of combat. Walking over, I saw that the undead had reached the Chantry position. As Theron said, the shambling corpses were all human, their clothing blood-soaked but it ranged from rags to fine clothing to armor.
I saw a man get his throat ripped out by a child's teeth, the man had dropped his sword to hold out his arms to the child. His child. The position was being swarmed, but I watched in dull horror as the man swiftly bled out before his body began to jerk and twitch. A moment later, he rose to join the horde of undead that attacked the Chantry. The defenses were quickly being overwhelmed and I saw most of them retreat into the Chantry, leaving the hundreds of undead to roam forward and up the slopes. The position below us down the slope was attacked, but they began to hold the undead back.
And the taint in my blood warned me that the darkspawn were coming. Looking up, I saw that they were starting to trickle down the hill directly towards us. I took another gulp from the wineskin and steadied myself. The position was fortified with barricades. Not quite a wall, but it was better than fighting darkspawn on even ground. Wagons were up turned, stakes were hammered into them, and packed dirt let us stand behind the wagons at an elevation.
Alistair stood at my side, Sten the other, while Shale planted itself next to Sten. Theron and Leliana were behind us, half the archers aiming down the slope, the others up at the road above us. It was a bad position, I reflected as the first of the darkspawn reached the barricade. A hurlock that waved a long sword at us that a man with a spear skewered. The darkspawn would end up attacking from above and that was going to end badly for us. No matter what.
More darkspawn poured down from the slope, heading right for us, and I knew the warriors at the wall were dead. Just as we were under attack, the undead continued to assault the lower position, a crowd of the undead forming. Already, it didn't look good for them, nor for us as the darkspawn renewed their assault. I hacked and slashed, my arms screaming in protest as I fought harder than I ever had before. I felt a pinch in my side, but I ignored it and the darkspawn arrow that planted itself there, choosing the skewer a genlock instead.
Shale swung its fists, crushing skulls and armor alike while Sten thrust his sword through a hurlock. Alistair blocked a blow from a fanged cudgel before hacking its head clean off. The barricade frowned under the weight of the darkspawn as more and more of them made their way over the wall. The slope filled up with darkspawn as more and more undead spilled out of the castle and into the village. Darkspawn archers made themselves known by standing on the slope above us and firing down with near impunity.
But, despite it all, my hopes soared when the undead and darkspawn found each other. Above the wagon, overlooking the battle, I saw the undead and darkspawn tear into one another, dividing the pressure on our positions. I smiled a nasty smile, feeling the tide turning. The undead tore into the darkspawn, uncaring for their wounds. So long as the body could fight, it would, so it didn't matter if they lost an arm or were run through or had their guts ripped out.
The slopes were filled with undead, darkspawn archers falling when the archers picked them off and landing heavily at where the ground evened out. The area was filled with a chaotic mess of noise -- screaming and hissing and shouts of pain and fear. I had no clue how many we faced, nor how many we slew this far. What I did know was that it was time for Redcliffe to burn.
Scaffolding had been dug into the area above the dirt slopes and seated upon them were barrels that were hammered together. Casting Create Bonfire, I set a rope on fire, making it snap and the scaffolding tipped over, spilling the contents of the barrels out. Oil and liquid tar spilled from them, pouring over the darkspawn. When they were empty, the contents running down the hills, I shifted the bonfire with controlled flames, setting slight a number of stacked tree trunks.
The ropes that held them in place burned through, making the burning logs roll down, crushing the darkspawn, and setting the tar and oil alight. The fire raged as it spilled down the hill, setting buildings on fire, illuminating the village, and sending thick black smoke up into the sky. There was some mute cheering at the sight, but for the most part, everyone focused on killing the enemies before them. Darkspawn were forced to wade through blood-soaked burning mud to get to the barricade, and they did. Burning and singed, the darkspawn surged through the flames, battling us and the undead.
The fire burned and burned, washing us in smoke and ash. It was impossible to tell who was winning in the three-way battle. I could only see a small portion of it, but it lasted for hours. More than once I was pulled off of the barricade, and forced to get what rest that I could. The only one that remained in the wall was Shale. My side was bandaged up and washed in wine, I took some time to sharpen Fang, and when it was done, I went back to the wagon to fight more.
We ran out of arrows at some point, I knew. Found that out when the archers were gathering darkspawn arrows to fire back at them. The wounded were mounting. As were the dead. The worst cand from the darkspawn above us, shooting arrows down, but people made rough cover from bodies of darkspawn. I think half of the people here fall to Blight sickness because of it.
Hours went by. Time was impossible to keep track of and only marked by the passage of the moons as they made their way across the sky. The barricade became reinforced with darkspawn corpses, their blood flowing in rivers down the slope, making the barricade longer and taller until the excess began to spill over the edge of the slope. Sweat and blood soaked me to the bone and I have no orders in that time, just fighting alongside everyone else.
I only became aware of dawn nearing when the sky started to turn a bright blue instead of black and filled with stars. The smoke from the fires lessened, letting me see that the village hand burnt itself out. And the only sign of the battle starting to turn was that the constant wall of darkspawn that battered at our border began to thin out. There were small gaps opening up, and in the early morning sun, I saw that the seemingly endless horde wasn't endless after all.
And it was then that I saw the hurlock wearing Calian's armor standing at the back of what was left of the horde. His axe was wet with red blood, and it was splattered against him, but I had no idea if it came from the still living or the dead. Despite the distance between us, as well as the other darkspawn, I felt our eyes meet. The hurlocks glowed an ethereal white for a moment and I heard the music in my ears. The white faded in the darkspawn's eyes, and a second later, the horde began to turn around.
And that's when I knew that I had the Archdemon's personal attention.
Even as the people that survived the night let out rapturous cheering at the fleeing darkspawn, I didn't have it in me to join.
Because while we had won the day… the end of the war was a long way off.
...
So, I have a small confession to make. I wrote most of From the Ashes in about three weeks about a year ago now. I just churned out about 200k words -- no editing, no bouncing around ideas with my editors, just a straight stream of consciousness that I poured out on the page. And, because of that, I wrote some things that I usually never would have gone with and some ideas that I would have thought better of if I gave it a sit down to think about it.
The times I missed an update for From the Ashes is usually when I'm editing chapters to make them comprehensible or retconning plot elements that I now don't find particularly compelling. But, editing chapters is far more difficult that writing them and I do think I'm reaching the edge of what I can do with patchwork edits.
So, instead, I've come to an executive decision -- From the Ashes has reached a stopping point and an end of an arc, so it wouldn't be too intrusive to put the story on hold for a bit. Thursday was always the temporary/experiment slot in my rotation, and I will be rolling in a new story -- The Good Life -- for Thursday for until The Good Life reaches a natural stopping point. That should give me enough time to fix the issues that I have with From the Ashes -- stuff like balancing the magic, retconning some events where I feel I strayed into grimderp rather than grimdark, etc. Because there are a lot of little things that I wouldn't have gone with if I gave myself the time to think about them and, as the Blight arc continues, they're building up to something that's unmanageable and... well... bad writing.
Sorry for those that this will disappoint, but I feel like it's better than missing updates because this way you still get something to read and From the Ashes shouldn't be on ice for too long.
