B
Bears
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Original poster
l THE BEGINNING OF WHAT'S TO COME l
Two figures quietly roamed through a remote, overgrown grove, the quickness in how they maneuvered the strangling roots and vines implying familiarity. One of the figures moved with a slight limp and stood with a hunch underneath tattered robes. The second figure in contrast was a raven haired beauty who's amber eyes cut through the grotto's dawn-light with the likeness of a cat. The hunched figure droned on and on as the younger woman quietly grew impatient behind her.""Those who gather in Denerim are facing a task that is nearly impossible." The hunched figured continued. Sensing her counterpart's lack of seriousness she stopped and spun around, her amber gaze just as bright and intense as the younger woman's. The figure's tone shifted into utmost graveness and in response, so did the expression of the other woman. "They look to traverse an entire continent that is tearing at the seams all the while a Blight begins tear away at their lands from the ground up. They seek answers, explanations. Salvation. It's still unclear if finding all that is even possible."
"None of them are ready, Isadora. Not the prince, not the warden -- not even with all the magic you hold in your disposal can you handle what's to come alone. Not a single of you are up to the task." The hunched figure continued, her gaze fixating into an intense glare from under the hood. Her tone grew more and more grave as she continued onward, relentless. "But you must see to them becoming what they must. You must see to all of them becoming nothing less than what's needed to save Thedas. You must see to them becoming heroes."
A moment of silence followed as the situation set in. Isadora watched the figure with a cautious gaze as she thought. Eventually she acknowledged it with a nod and spoke, her voice laced with a hint of cheekiness that was expected of her. "A bit of a tall order mother, but one I will attempt nonetheless."
"So go then, girl." The figure sighed tiredly in response before turning her back on the younger woman. The younger woman nodded and turned away before a bright light consumed her form. The light faded and there was only a crow left where the beautiful woman once stood. It cawed once before shooting upward into the sky with both speed and grace. The hunched figured watched silently as it disappeared from sight.
The last blight was thirty years ago. The destruction of the Kirkwall chantry nearly twenty. The end of the first mage/templar just nine. The age of the Dragon has brought on drastic change to the Thedas already but the figure knew, with a peculiar feeling of guilt in her chest, that these events were just the beginning.
Fergus stood silently at the center of the royal palace's courtyard with his hands held formally behind his back, he was clad in a golden armor akin to the one worn by his uncle during the Battle at Ostagar. It was early morning and the sun was still hidden behind the horizon. Today was the day of his "expedition" and despite his serious expression and confident posture, the prince had his uncertainties.
The Anderfels was for the most part, unexplored. It was an arid, harsh land with plenty of beasts willing to sink their fangs into a steel chest plate. The few cities they had in the area were known to be unfriendly to anyone who wasn't a native and their warriors were some of the finest, if not vicious in nature.
But he had no choice. The Blight grew closer and closer each day and this journey was Ferelden's only hope of surviving the onslaught. You'd think that due to the severity of the situation it'd warrant a series of caravans with rations and supplies, platoons of knights to protect it, and the official royal flag flying behind it all. Fergus certainly thought it was necessary but the Queen of Ferelden, his elder sister, did not.
She couldn't risk leaving Ferelden weakened against the horde already occupying the majority of the Kocari Wilds in hopes that an Order that had long disappeared would be found. So instead of a proper expedition, the prince had to be content with a small group of adventurers willing to travel through the hell and back.
He sent out hundreds of letters to various noble families and their lands. Each one hid none of the dangers that would come with the journey but heavily emphasized the immense amounts of gold and glory one would receive granted they survive. Many came. In fact, so many willing adventurers arrived that both he and Valora knew they wouldn't have been able to effectively turn the entirety of them into a cohesive unit.
So Valora, as clever as the Ferelden spymaster was, devised a series of tests that the adventurers had to subject themselves to over the past week. The twenty men and women who passed both the mental and physical aspects requirements were then investigated silently by her agents. Using the frightening amounts of information she had gathered, Valora found only five individuals who she felt would be up to the task and capable of developing synergy. Once she saw how few were suited, the spymaster then invited a Chevalier she knew well to join through a missive she had sent to his Empress. Fergus wasn't particularly happy about that last part but he would not drive any more conflict between him and Valora than his previous choices already had.
These six individuals were the ones who Fergus now waited to arrive at the gates.
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