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[westiex9]

The Ash warriors, Humans that have adopted the dwarven war style now face their greatest battle as the Kings campaign  in the south nears its end. Lorik Tegrane a young ferelden only recently initiated into the ash warriors now meets the darkspawn with his axes and his faithful war dog shadowrend, but as the battle of ostagar draws close can he survive the horrors to come?

chapter 1: The painted hunters

It was pitch black and the Kocari wilds were filled with the sound of hissing insects and the occassional howl of a wolf. Another sound began to fill the darkness, it was the faint tread of the ash warriors and their mabari.

They moved Quickly through the overgrown wilds, Tattooed men and painted dogs that would have been more at home in old mens tales then the real world. Lorik and his Wardog Shadowrend followed the other ash warriors closely they were here to hunt darkspawn and tonight promised a generous amount of prey.

The Bands leader raised his hand signaling everyone to halt and be quiet, the dogs could smell the darkspawn and only their careful training kept them from barking. The ash warriors moved into the long grass of a nearby hill and crouched with their dogs, Sanga the bands scout stared into the marshes below them with the careful eye of a direwolf, if anything was down their she would know.

"a scouting party, ten hurlocks and an alpha" she whispered as the marsh filled with the sound of darkspawn and their marching. The ash warriors waited in the long grass, like wolves they readied themselves to pounce, The war leader gave the signal and they rose from the grass war cry's and dog howls drowning out the darkspawn's eery growl. 

The two groups rush towards eachother and met with a crash of blades, the dogs tore through the hurlocks and delivered savage bite wounds. The alpha leading the hurlocks killed loriks freind garda with a gruesome blow from its crude hammer with tore garda's jaw clean off, lorik seeing his freind slain raised his axes and charged.

Lorik's swung his axes at the alpha with berzerker rage, the first glanced off the hurlocks crude armour but the second smashed through the beasts helmet and crushed his left eye, the hurlock roared in pain and grasped lorik by his neck intent on snapping it.

The alpha let out a chilling laugh, its vile breath sickening lorik as the beast began to squeeze tightly on his neck but the laugh was suddenly cut short. Shadowrend  loriks warhound had bitten into the alphas leg and now proceeded to maul the alpha with vicious wrending claws and teeth, the alpha lost its grip and lorik fell to the ground with a crash. rising lorik searched for his axe desperatley, finding it he let out a roar as he brought it down on the beasts neck, severing it clean off.

The skirmish soon ended as the last hurlock fell to the ground dead, lorik looked down at his mabari and saw it was already ailing from the alphas blood, he had seen this countless times in the months since the campaign had begun and he knew it would only lead to one of two things, painful death or survival and eventual madness. 
lorik stared down resigned to this fact but no less sad beacuse of it, sanga seeing his pained expression said nothing but patted him on the shoulder, her way of saying she knew and sympathised.

The party gathered up garda's remains and began the march back to ostagar, their hunt ended at least for now.  

 

Modifié par westiex9, 04 mars 2010 - 08:53 .

[Ken555]

Thats pretty good nice story!

[westiex9]

Ken555 wrote...

Thats pretty good nice story!

Thanks! hope to include some cameo's from origins in the next chapter

[Ken555]

I hope some more come out, your a pretty good writer!

[westiex9]

Chapter 2: The tattered fortress

Lorik and the other ash warriors were sat by the morning fire exchanging idle conversation and passing around the mornings meagre breakfast. "will your dog live lorik?"  breln asking passing him the skin of water, lorik sighed and stared at the kennel on the far side of the camp " he was given some medicine and should be up in another day, some of the dogs from the other war parties were less lucky" lorik replied as breln nodded solemnly.

The war band had arrived in ostagar three months ago and been fighting a cat and mouse battle with the darkspawn in the wilds ever since, many of the party no longer drew breath silenced either by a darkspawn blade or the taint. Given the choice death in battle was universally preferred and it was an unspoken pact that any who caught the taint would be given a merciful death on the field. The War band had left the north Fifty men strong and with and equal numbe of dogs, now they were less then twenty.

Garda has died two nights ago in the Evening hunt and krell and morris the week before that, the darkspawn died in droves but their numbers seemed endless whilst the ash warriors could ill afford a single loss. Sanga had been one of the few who never seemed to falter or weaken, she was a strange woman who seemed to be protected by unseen powers.

Sanga was an avvar woman hailing from a hold far in the frostback mountains, she had joined the ash warriors many years ago for reasons known only to the bands war leader. She was also one of the only warriors to have been to orzammar to fight in the deep roads, a feat which gave her respect amongst all ash warriors. Sanga was tall and her shaved head, bright green eyes and facial tattooes made her a striking figure, she didnt speak much but when she chose to everyone listened.

Sanga had met lorik the day she pulled him from a bar fight in lorik's home town of waking sea, lorik had long possesed the rage of a berzerker and the other ash warriors had seen this trait in him from the begining. Lorik had been taken under their wing and learnt to harness his rage in battle and leash it when not, all the while sanga had watched from afar with eyes like those of a dire wolf.

Lorik had taken the lessons to heart and had survived the battles that had followed, but the darkspawn had claimed countless lives and many more experienced then lorik had met their deaths. Lorik had long since realised and accepted that he may never see waking sea again, his quiet reflection was suddenly shattered by a loud horn and the sound of hooves.

A large column of horsmen passed through the army camp, at their head lorik recognised the king and the head of the grey wardens, their bannermen riding closely behind them. " You'd think the king wants to be  a grey warden instead the way he treats them" breln grumbles staring at the meager loaf that was his breakfast " i don't blame him either, they get better beds and more food"  William said with a rat faced grin. Lorik watched as the column dissapeared off into the distance and sighed, the young king did love spectacle.

Wardens had been at ostagar only a short time and the rough and battered two dozen of them that had arrived had not matched up with the tales of armoured knights and heros of old. Lorik had been disappointed at first, they seemed pitiful, but as rumours of wardens clearing entire sections of spawn from the wilds began to fill the camp lorik began to repect them more. The current story was that their commander had recruited a cousland of all things, lorik did not believe this but at least it took his mind of darkspawn and blight.

Sanga suddenly spoke " Teryn loghain says their will be a battle soon, here at ostagar, apparently the horde is moving and the chasind have fled in droves" Sanga spoke calmly as if she were discussing the weather and not a blight that could end all life in the land. " sounds like the darkspawn are eager for death" breln said with a chuckle " i say we don't keep them waiting" said breln as he sipped from his water skin.  Sanga looked up at breln " pray we can stop them at all breln, they are growing larger in number every week and the dogs can smell a blight" she said ominously " this isnt a blightits just a large raid!"  breln said with a distainful voice " i pray you are right because if not we are all doomed" hearing  sanga say this Lorik shuddered, something was indeed coming to ostagar and lorik knew deep down that they might not be able to stop it.

[Ken555]

Yes yes yes! I'm loving this.

[Ken555]

Ohhhhh the threat looms above!

[westiex9]

Chapter 3: The screeching forest

The War leader's tent was plainly adorned and contained only the bare essentials, his weapons, a bedroll and a slumbering hound. The war leader was a grizzled old soldier, he had fought against  the orlesians in the war and the darkspawn in his years in orzammar. He was tall and sported greying hair and a great scar that ran down the right side of his face making his steely grey eyes look all the more intimidating.

" Sanga i want you to take breln, coll and lorik with you and accompany some of the teryn's soldiers on a scouting mission" the war leader said in his usual gruff tone "why would the teryns soldiers need our help?" sanga asked curious " a large party of the teryns soldiers went missing in the an area that was supposed to be safe and the teryn wants to know why, so he wants trackers to accompany his men"  the war leader said, sanga nodded and left the tent.

The party left soon afterwards with a platoon of the teryns men following closely, they descended into the deep marshes that sorrounded ostagar like a hostile sea. soon the forest canopy shrouded the sun and eveloped the trackers in darkness.  Lorik heard a low murmuring sound coming from the distant trees, he gripped his axe handle and continued on Shadowrend following its master closely. 

they continued on for a time travelling deeper into the darkened swamp canopy, eventually they came upon a clearing fill with tiny shafts of light that had penetrated through the trees. one of the teryns soldiers let out a scream as breln stepped on something wet and sticky "makers breath!" breln yelled as he stared down at the mutilated corpse he had mistaken for ground. Lorik and the other soon realised what they had stumbled upon "the missing patrol" sanga said staring at the bodies strewn across the ground.

Lorik stared down at the corpse of one of the soldiers and noticed it did not have much in the way of mutilation, instead several knife wounds in the neck and chest were visible. Before lorik could tell sanga the forest suddenly fell into eery silence again, then the murmuring sound lorik had heard earlier filled the air again only this time louder, echoing and growing closer. one of the teryns men lost his nerve and fled into the forest, no screams followed but he was not seen again.

The murmering grew louder and louder and then several dark shapes were seen, followed by a loud and blood curdling shriek " Sharlocks!!" one man yelled in terror as the slaughter began. Suddenly men were being dragged off and butchered by blurring figures that fled before they could be sighted, lorik saw one shape rushing towards him  and suddenly saw what it truly was. It was tall and bent legged and its catlike eyes and pointed teeth were more terrifying then any hurlock. Lorik raised his axe and brought it down low on the creature, the shrieks head split open like fruit and lorik leapt back to avoid its toxis ichor, shadowrend let out a wolf like howl and pounced on a second horror mauling it and tearing it apart with its vicious fangs.

slowly the beasts were pushed back, but as the last sharlock retreated into the canopy lorik looked around to see only himself ,breln,sanga and their dogs still standing. All the teryns men were either dead or had been drageed off, breln turned his back to the forest and let out a triumphant roar " haha!! we beat slaughtered those beasts!!" his cheers were drowned out as a large rumbling filled the forest.

A large shadow stood over breln and his companions and lorik had to resist the urge to wet his breeches, a vast arm the size of a tree trunk shot out and grasped brelns leg. "run!! run!!" breln screamed as the beast grasped his leg and dangled him in the air, Sanga grabbed lorik and they fled. Brelns screams echoed in the distance as they ran and lorik ceased to think like a man and let the instinct the run and soil himself take over.

upon their return to ostagar the forest area was deemed lost to the darkspawn and no further patrols were to be sent there. Lorik sat up that night and did not dare to nod off or sleep, he scanned the shadows of the camp constantly and did not feel safe even with the sentries that sorrounded the fortress. Brelns screams haunted lorik that night and all he could think of was an old rhyme his grandmother would sing when he refused to sleep.

"come little one, go off to bed
don't stay up late, go rest your head
keep your window shut and your mouth as well
or the shrieks will come and make you dead"


Lorik began praying quickly and without ceasing and just for a moment he could swear he could hear the slightest murmur in the night air.

[King Killoth]

Wow Love the story its nice to see other angles of the world of Ferelden. i like the charetors alot. will you do the ash warriors in lothering?

Modifié par King Killoth, 04 mars 2010 - 02:53 .

[westiex9]

King Killoth wrote...

Wow Love the story its nice to see other angles of the world of Ferelden. i like the charetors alot. will you do the ash warriors in lothering?

hadnt thought about that but ill probably have a few survivors so its a possibility.

[westiex9]

Chapter 4: "Sadly insignificant in the greater scheme of things"

The night air was filled with the choking stench of flames that crept from the darkness of the wilds, Lorick watched as the mass of darkspawn march from the burning forest. They had come, all of the hunts and all of the cat and mouse games of the wilds ended here and all life too if they could not be stopped.

All the survivors of the warband stood read and rallied around their leader, Sanga had painted her face with the kaddis of the lady of the skies, funeral colors. Lorick stared out at the forest again and knew as only one who had braved the wilds and lived could know that more than likely they would all be dead very soon. Lorick did not intend to let the darkspawn take his life cheap, he would fight to the death as Luthias dwarfson had long before them all.

On the high tower above the king gave the signal for the hounds, the kings hounds were released and raced toward the darkspawn lines with uncaged ferocity. For a moment the darkspawn were mauled and pushed back by the mabari, but the darkspawn had numbers on their side and soon slew and overwhelmed the remaining hounds. Lorick felt his blood boil seeing good hounds slaughtered; lorick gripped his axe and waited for the kings signal. "For ferelden!" the king cried, Lorick and the rest of the ash warriors let out a war cry as one and charged, this night they would hunt and find either victory or a good death.

The two armies crashed into each other with bone shattering force, Lorick grinned darkly and knew that at last he would have a fair fight against the darkspawn, now they would at last know fear. He brought his axes down upon a genlock with brutal strengh and cleaved the beast's limbs clean off. Moving deeper into the melee lorick was drenched in the arterial blood of a templar; the Hurlock responsible now stepped over its victim to face lorick.
 
Lorick brought his axes down on the Hurlock with a flurry of savage blows that cut through the beast’s crude armour and hacked the Hurlock to bloody ribbons. Lorick pryed his axes loose from the corpse as its poisoned ichor began to flow; he looked around to see the field of ostagar in chaos as another wave of darkspawn descended on the beleaguered defenders.

Lorick scanned the battlefield for signs of his comrades, Sanga and William were finishing off wounded hurlocks, another group of his comrades surrounded the war leader who had been wounded several times “this place isn’t a battle it’s a massacre!” William said in a horrified voice “ Then let’s make sure we sell our lives dearly” sanga said grimly, her face was covered in the kaddis of the avvar death goddess and her grim expression filled lorick with more dread then the approaching darkspawn ever could.

As the second wave of darkspawn charged into the fractured defenders line many of the soldiers lost their nerve and began dropping weapons and tearing off armour as they ran. “Cowards!” lorick yelled “stand and fight!”  loricks voice was drowned out by the sounds of battle and the defenders soon found themselves cornered by their own fortress “where in the makers name is the teryn!” the war leader growled angrily as he rallied the surviving ash warriors to his position “the signal fire in the tower has been lit he is coming he must be!” one of the ash warriors said nervously.

The kings forces fought on desperately hoping loghain would arrive, lorick cut down a Hurlock and roared a battle cry as he charged into a group of hurlocks, he became walking death, his axes creating a black mist as he cleave and butchered the darkspawn with berserk rage.

Shadowrend fought at its master’s side mauling and tearing at the opponents that lorick knocked down, in the distance sanga and the other ash warriors fought on felling countless beasts with their axes, but the darkspawn assault never faltered and the horde pushed on without stopping.

William was the first to die, torn to pieces by Hurlock blades and others soon followed as the darkspawn pressed their advantage, the ash warriors fought on desperately as they and the rest of the kings army dwindled in number.

The war leader soon fought alone as his followers were scattered by the chaotic melee, even with his many wounds he fought on and felled countless darkspawn, but he was tiring and the darkspawn were endless.
Lorick watched from afar powerless to reach his leader as the darkspawn descended. A Hurlock drove a spear through the war leader’s chest; the war leader grasped the spear and tore it free with a mighty growl, then drove his attacker’s weapon into its head. The other hurlocks came and were butchered, but they landed many blows and  as the last Hurlock fell the war leader  roared triumphantly, the other darkspawn would not approach and instead finished him off with arrows.


A sudden cry was heard across the line “the king is dead! All is lost!” a terrified soldier shouted as he fled the battle.The teryn was not coming lorick thought as he rushed to find his surviving comrades, Shadowrend floowed close behind its master and they soon came upon a circle of ash warriors and dogs making a stand against the horde.


The ash warriors had dwindled to a mere ten survivors “where is Sanga!” lorick yelled as he rushed to his comrade’s side “she tried to reach the war leader!” an ash warrior yelled back over the melee. Lorick rushed to find sanga fighting his way through the darkspawn; his fellows flanked him closely and seemed amazed that they now followed the initiate. 

Sanga lay wounded near the body of the war leader her side bleeding from a spear wound “ too late” she moaned through bloodied lips “ the king is dead we need to go!” lorick said quickly grabbing sanga, she was too weak to protest and the other ash warriors followed lorick as they fled from the bloody fields of ostagar.
 

Modifié par westiex9, 05 mars 2010 - 03:13 .

[westiex9]

Part 2

The surviving ash warriors numbered only seven, one had died during the escape from ostagar and to had been given merciful deaths because they had caught the taint. Lorick and his battered party had been fortunate enough to stumble upon chasind huts deep in the marshes, the chasind had always been adept at hiding and the darkspawn had not found them.

the women of the huts had taken Sanga inside to be cared for by their healer, outside the ash warriors sat exhausted and demoralized. " we should have died at ostagar! it is tradition!"  one of the men said angrily " Our tradition states never to cease fighting until the last enemy has died, the enemy still lives and we are more use alive then dead" lorick said, the others watched amazed at how lorick had changed. One of the women from the hut came out and waved lorick over, he nodded and followed the chasind woman into the healers hut.

The hut was a dry and smoke filled wooden building filled with beds and tables covered in herbs and concotions, two wounded people were in the healers care one was an armoured man with a winged shield who muttered in his feverish sleep "Orin, oriana...must...get home" the other was sanga who was pale and sickly looking as she sat on the bed shaking. Lorick knew she had the taint and that she would ask him to give her mercy, he didnt want to admit it but he knew she would die.

" the taint....can feel it in my blood, you must end my life now" she said with a determined voice lorick nodded sorrowfully. He drew a dagger from his pack and steadied his hand for the strike " lorick" she said suddenly "yes sanga?" lorick replied tears filling his eyes " avenge us, don't waste your life on a useless death in the wilds, gather a new warband and strike when the time is right" she said her voice pained " but the king is dead! the teryn left us all to die! im just an initiate" lorick said in despair "unimportant lorick, an oppurtunity will come and you must take it, all men must fulfill there role and yours is to help send these beasts underground again, now...do it...quickly"  sanga said wearily, lorick steadied himself " sleep well my freind, may the lady of the skies embrace you" he said sadly and brought the blade down quickly.

Just ad he had been taught the blow ended sanga's life mercifully and without pain, lorick collapsed on the ground too exhausted to even weep. He knew he would need to lead his surviving men out of the wilds, but where could he go? lorick stared up at his dead freind and with a weak and sorrow filled voice he spoke" i shall avenge you sanga and all our comrades! the teryn will answer for his crime and the darkspawn too!" rising from the floor lorik stood over his freinds body and prayed in her traditional tongue, then he called in his men, they would go to lothering and from their decide what course to take.Lorik  sighed as his survivors entered, how the mighty had fallen.

Modifié par westiex9, 05 mars 2010 - 03:44 .