The Moon's Imprint

I chuckled softly, and replied, "Well, I do suppose you deserve a name, and I don't fancy being called either one of those. Lydia, Lydia Nyght. And may I ask, what brought you to the wilds? Half the men I've ever met soiled their smalls when I asked them about this place."

I quickly thrust the fish on a stick and held it over the fire.
 
So much for small talk. Even from the other side of the pit I'm sure that Lydia heard me sigh.

"Well Lydia, the reason I'm here in the Wilds is simple really. I have a fool for a commanding officer who sent a team of men to Ostagar. The Blight has since past but as I'm sure you're aware, Ostagar is still in the possession of darkspawn. We were ordered to survey the area, assess if the once great fortress could be reclaimed."

I paused. I hadn't given what happened next much thought until now. There was simply no time to. I was only concerned with surviving. I stared deep into the flames of the fire pit.

"When we infiltrated the walls, we could see that there were still enough darkspawn left to form a small army. No longer enough for a blight, but enough to pose a very real threat if they were to raid any villages. Getting spotted was only a matter of time with that many hostiles in one place... and when we were, there was no choice left to us but to run. We hadn't realized it but we were so deep in enemy territory that there was no safe place to run to. We ended up by the large gates which lead to the Wilds and it was our only escape. My only escape. I was the first to reach them but when I turned to look for my comrades, there was nobody but a pack of hurlocks sprinting for me. I barred the gate closed and headed into the Wilds to escape but I've been lost out here since."
 
I sighed sadly. I, as well, had been subjected to the horrors of the darkspawn. I began to remember how close I had been to becoming one of them. The thought of becoming a broodmother was.... simply terrifying, as well as disgusting.

Everything was silent, except for the crackling of the flames. I began to think back to when the Blight had began a few years ago. Tamlen was still alive. I was still happy. But I know now, it was all an illusion. We were oblivious to the dangers to come, and Tamlen payed the price. I remembered the last time I saw him. He was going to go hunting.

"See you later!", he had called happily.

How sadly ironic it was that I never saw him again.

"Why did the commander send you to repair something that was so obviously lost?", I asked bitterly, taking the fish from the fire, and giving the stick it was on to Garren.
 
I gratefully took the fish in my hand and decided to let it cool before taking a bite while it was fresh off the fire. Besides, you can't chew through a fish and answer a question at the same time.

"She claimed it was on the orders of the new king. That he wishes Ostagar to be reclaimed. We knew better. Nevra has always had little patience with any acts of insubordination even if it's simply speaking out against her orders so we traveled here regardless of what her real motives were. Maybe she just wanted us out of her hair for a while, and short of sending us to Orzammar, Ostagar was the furthest place from Denerim..."

I stoped talking when it dawned on me that Lydia had only caught one fish and handed it me, whole. As starving as I was, I couldn't refuse her some of her own catch. "Are you sure you don't want any food?"
 
I sat against the wall, and said, "Then she should've sent you home to your wife and children. If you...have any."

I shook my head when he asked if I wanted some of the fish. "I've survived on crumbs for three years, I'll be fine", I smiled.

I suppose I understood Garren. That didn't mean I liked it.
 
I quickly swallowed the rather large chunk of fish and shook my head. ​I appreciate the gesture but all the more reason to eat. I've at least had some meat in recent memory.

"I'm an unmarried man. My only family is an older sister and her two children and I rarely get the time to visit them. Still, the other men... they had real families. It would have been much easier to simply grant us a pardon and send us home but Nevra would rather have us working. Got three good men killed." I paused to take another bite of fish, working the words over in my head. After having chewed it more thoroughly than my last bite, I swallowed it and added;

"I'd have died out here as well if I hadn't stumbled across your cave, Lydia." I told her. I decided to leave out the fact I had followed her tracks. A girl like her would probably just worry about something like that.
 
"Family....I remember having something like one. Of course, it was never a full family. My parents became werewolves a long time ago, and I assume they died. After that, all I had was Tamlen, but he..." I stopped short.

"I need some fresh air", I excused myself, getting up and walking out of the cave. "Make sure to get some sleep, I promise that if I were to kill you, I would make sure you were wide awake and running as fast as you can", I chuckled.

I walked out the cave, and sat next to the pond that I had retrieved the fish from. "Fea toro'r", I murmured.

Nothing happened.

"Fea, lle amin!", I cursed angrily. (brother you give me pain)
 
A dalish that doesn't consider the whole clan her family? Something must have driven her from them.

For such a young elf, she has endured a lot of tragedy. She had cut herself short when she mentioned her brother, but I think I know where she was going with that. More than likely, he died during the blight. A very common heartache. I stuck the sharpened stick my meal came on into the dirt and laid down by the flames. Lydia was right about getting some sleep. Now that my stomach had food in it the best thing I could do was rest my body.
 
The first time in years that I could talk to him...and he doesn't accept my presence.

((I should explain: Lydia just tried to summon her brother's spirit, and he didn't want to see her, so he didn't appear))

I threw a rock into the pond, and in return, I got splashed with muddy water. "Ugh."

Garren was bad news. He made my memories come back to me, and that was the last thing I wanted.
 
I woke up to discover that Lydia had not yet returned. There was no way of telling how long I was asleep, but the fire was already burnt out. Nothing remained but a few last cinders clinging to life on a bed of ashes.

I found that I now felt much better. I stood up and walked to the cave entrance. It was pitch black and the stars seemed to dance in the night sky. The one beautiful sight in the Wilds.

Where did you go off to, Lydia?

I found myself wondering why it even mattered. We had helped each other out and as far as I was concerned, now we were even. Even without her help, now that my strength had returned I could surely find my way north and to the north was civilization. Even so, there was no sense in traveling the Wilds at night. I could at least wait out the night and see if she comes back.
 
I sighed. "Perhaps Tamlen doesn't forgive me...", I muttered, staring at the moon.

I wonder what it's like to live in the Beyond. Maybe one day Tamlen will forgive me.

I was cold. And wet. But yet, I had no desire to go back to the cave at the moment. Garren was probably still asleep.
 
Just as I turned to go back inside the cave, I heard a rustle come from the east. I stopped and turned my head towards the source of the sound.

"Hello? Is anybody there?" No answer came. I tried again. "Lydia, is that you?"

I dismissed it as wildlife and went to head back inside. Just as I turned my back, the same rustle came from the same direction. This time, I turned and walked towards the noise.

"If that's you Lydia, I don't find this very--" I pushed aside the tall grass and two small birds took flight, startling me. Figures.​
 
Apparently, I was wrong. But that didn't make me want to go back.

"I wonder if Mother and Father are there, right next to Tamlen", I said aloud. "I wonder if they forgive me. I let them down the most. They always said I was a Dalish child, and that it wouldn't change."

......But I have changed, Momma. Will you forgive me for changing?, I thought, because I couldn't bear to make the words come out of my mouth.

I want to see my family all again. But they never come when I call.

I heard Garren making a racket behind me, and I was so startled, I almost threw my last-resort throwing dagger at him.

"By the Creators", I exclaimed (to startled to realize I was speaking of a past long gone), "What're you doing out here?"
 
So, you are still around. That's good. I wanted to say this to her but the words became lost.

"I thought I'd stretch my legs a bit, get some air." I made a quick motion with the tilt of my head to indicate the direction before adding, "When I went to go back inside, I heard movement coming from the east." I realized I sounded like I was giving a report. Old habits die hard.

"It turned out to be a few birds but you can never be too careful out here." As Lydia and I moved closer, I could see that her clothes were soaked. "What happened to you?" I asked her with one brow raised.
 
"Oh...uh...", I replied. I had not expected the question. "A fish splashed at me", I lied, not wanting to tell him how desperately I had been trying to connect with the Beyond.

"I suppose I should get you out of here soon", I said, standing up.

And get back to my usual, lone self..., I added in my head.
 
I felt a wave of relief wash over me. She planed to help me get out of the Wilds after all.

"That can wait until morning. It's the middle of the night and besides, your clothes are in no shape to travel in." I stepped aside, giving Lydia a clear path to the cave. "Before you get any funny ideas about me, I'm not having any funny ideas." I added. Lydia may not like but I was going to have to insist.

I heard scuttling in the grass at my back again. Those birds had returned. Too bad they were so small, we could have used a breakfast before leaving in the morning.
 
I stood there, silent. While Garren had dismissed the noise as two little birds, I heard the clanking of armor and swords, not far away.

"Get inside", I said sternly, reaching for the dagger in my boot.
 
The sound of armored men and drawn swords came from just out of sight. I had been wrong...

I looked at Lydia intently. Trying to give me orders already? If it weren't for my sword and shield still being inside the cave by the fire pit, I would not have heeded her. I gave her a nod and went back inside with every intention to gather my equipment and join her.
 
A low growl rose from my throat. "Templars", I muttered bitterly. I knew they'd be after me soon.

The sound of rustling grass and splashing water grew louder.

If only I had time to grab my bow and quiver.
 
A thought crossed my mind while I raced to grab my things. Was Lydia even armed? She could have a knife on her, I suppose but I'm trained in fighting bare handed and I've still got body armor. Why had she insisted I run back inside?

My weapons were sprawled out lazily beside where I had been sleeping. I must have moved them away when I went to lay down... I picked them up in a hurry and noticed Lydia's weapons propped up against the cave wall behind where she had sat. Slinging my shield over my shoulder I grabbed up her bow and quiver and made my way back to the entrance. I just hope I'm not already too late.
 
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