Аннотация: A midnight battle with the creatures. Visit to the infirmary. The king's conversation with Loghain and Duncan.
Chapter 5. From midnight to noon
When the sun disappeared, the forest turned completely black. He seemed to be moving, the shadows inside him moving and watching, waiting. There wasn't a single light ahead. The creatures of darkness didn't need light. Compared to the darkness of the forest, the valley where the army was lined up looked like a bright starry sky. Everyone waited until a huge shadow began to separate from the forest and approach, as if spreading across the ground like an impenetrable fog. There was a roar and a rasp, the howl of the sea wolves in the distance, and clanking footsteps.
On command, fire arrows shot up from the defenders and fell like a starfall on the front ranks of the enemy. The shadows trembled, roared, growled, and rushed forward. The defenders were ready, they moved towards them and with a loud clang collided with the first wave of enemies, heavy blows crashed against the shields. Archers and mages stood on the platforms and supported the allies, and finally the roar of the darkspawn was drowned out by the war cries of the people.
When the darkspawn got close enough to the torchlit area, Elissa flinched. She had seen a man with leprosy only once from afar, and she could not forget that sight, but these creatures seemed to have been lepers for a hundred years.
Her pale to yellowish-brown skin was swollen or wrinkled, as if scalded with boiling water, her noses looked as if they had been cut off, and her crooked teeth and fangs protruded disfiguringly in the absence of lips. They grinned, growled, and screamed so hard that their ears hurt. With a heavy hand, they brought down spiked maces and curved swords on the shields of the defenders, leaving dents. The darkspawn had no strategy, no intelligence. All that drove them forward was someone's invisible will and an inextinguishable malice embedded in their very being, sparkling in their predatory whitish eyes.
Elissa staggered back as the first small creature of darkness lunged at her. Reflexively, she raised her shield, and Mabari barked next to her. Elissa came to her senses and twisted around, taking off her opponent's head with a strong blow. Dark blood splattered on the sword and armor, and the heavy body fell forward and was no longer dangerous. Not for anyone. Elissa looked at the fallen enemy and felt an unexpected sense of satisfaction. Without further hesitation, she continued the fight. Anger and bitterness for her family receded with every swing of the sword, with every drop of blood she shed, she was freed from the burden that was so oppressive inside and made it difficult to breathe.
Soon, Elissa felt the need to pick up the pace. Ignore the racing heart and just fight for your life, not thinking about anything. She already knew how to do that.
Elissa struck down a tall darkling from behind and saved the life of one soldier. The flimsy enemy armor made of iron plates and strips of leather easily succumbed to the silverite blade. Elissa didn't turn around and continued hitting any enemy that got in her way. Faster, smoother, clearer, as she had been taught.
Pushing forward, she did not notice how she found herself in the first line, the pressure on which was increasing. The main enemy forces joined the battle, and there were more and more enemies around. The shield held back two, and sometimes even three swords. Elissa moved, turned, pushed, struck. The faithful dog had her back, but with the dramatically increased number of opponents, he no longer had time to pull everyone away from her. The girl tried to retreat to small groups of allies and fight with them, covering each other, but the groups quickly scattered and everyone was already fighting for their lives.
"My Lord, our vanguard is having a hard time!" Loghain was informed.
"Let them hold on. The Darkspawn must not break through to the center."
Loghain stood at the back and gave orders, moving the troops around the battlefield like chess pieces. He was confident in the game, but every now and then his eyes searched the crowd for the man in golden armor who was rushing forward so recklessly. King Kaylan didn't like to sit on the sidelines. If his soldiers go into battle, he will go with them, if they fight, he will fight shoulder to shoulder with them until victory, otherwise it could not be. He was their ruler, and he wanted to be a hero to them, like Loghain and his father.
Duncan considered it his duty to protect the young king and tried not to deviate from him in battle by more than three or four steps, but in the heat of battle it is sometimes difficult to keep track of a comrade. People were scattered to different ends of the field, forcing them to think first of all about their lives and the lives of those who happened to be nearby.
King Kaylan fought fiercely and sincerely. He was focused on the opponent in front of him. After defeating one, he switched to the next, feeling proud that he was defending the country along with everyone else. At some point, he lost sight of Duncan, but did not look for him, but continued to fight, hoping that the Guardian was all right. Kaylan was protecting the soldiers, protecting himself, his kingdom, but he felt tired.
He engaged in battle with another humanoid creatures of darkness, which the Gray Guards called Garlocks, and stumbled - tripped over someone's body from behind. He fell on his back, rolled to the side, but before he could get up, he took a blow from a short genlok on his sword, parried, pierced his flesh. Dark blood poured onto the golden armor, the enemy growled, flashed predatory eyes and went limp. The king threw off his body and saw with horror how the half-finished garlock raised a jagged sword.
Really...
The moment before he brought his sword down on Kaylan's head, someone suddenly slammed into the enemy with a shield and threw him aside. Garlock was defeated. The savior turned to the king and touched his shoulder.
"Your Majesty!" He called out worriedly.
Kaylan knew him. He knew it very well. Alistair is one of Duncan's younger Grey Guards.
"Caution!" The king shouted, pointing behind the Guard.
Alistair looked back and managed to put his shield and sword under the blows of two Garlocks, but a moment later they were struck from behind by a sword paired with a silverite dagger.
"Duncan..."
"Alistair, what are you doing here?" The Commander of the Guards asked sternly. "Where are your charges?"
"Ah... Davet with archers in the rear guard. Jory's squad did not join the battle."
"And Elissa?"
Alistair lowered his head.
"I don't know. I lost her."
"Find her and be with her!"
"Got it."
Alistair stormed off. By then, Loghain's tactical maneuver had already unfolded in full force, and the advantage in the battle had shifted to the human side, which gave some units time to rest.
"Your Majesty, are you hurt?" Duncan bent over the king.
"No... no, it's okay," Kaylan muttered, still discouraged by the recent situation, and slowly got to his feet.
Duncan let out a sigh of relief, but he didn't show it. It was dangerous. And where did the king's guards go?
"I guess this battle is ours too." Duncan said, looking around and listening. "Congratulations to Your Majesty on your victory."
However, Kaylan did not hear him, but only stared intently in the direction where Alistair had disappeared.
"Your Majesty?"
"Yes?"
"I suggest we take a break and watch the end of the battle from the rear. I think Thairn Loghain will be glad to see you unharmed."
To Duncan's surprise, the king did not argue, but glanced once more at the crowd of fighting men and followed the Guard. The two of them made their way to one of the side platforms in the rear, from where the archers were shooting back. Loghain was standing in the center, and when he saw Kaylan, he just sighed heavily.
The archer on the platform fired another arrow into the eye of the enemy, who got too close to the rear.
"You're not going anywhere," he grinned.
"Is that you, Davet?" he heard a voice behind him.
"Ah, Duncan. Have you decided to join? Our sir knight will probably be complaining all day tomorrow that the battle didn't reach him.... Or maybe he'll be happy", Davet reasoned, not looking back, but continuing to shoot one arrow after another. "Oh, I was wrong, they were sent into battle too."
"A squad with fresh forces will chase the remnants of the darkspawn into the forest. I guess that was part of Thairn Loghain's plan."
"Yeah, he knows how to swing troops. There are legends for a reason."
Davet finally turned around when his quiver was empty and, noticing King Ferelden next to Duncan, gasped in surprise. Kaylan, however, did not pay attention and was intently watching the final stage of the battle.
"Have you seen Alistair and Elissa?" Duncan asked.
Davet had an incredibly sharp eye. In the light of the moon and the lights, the archer peered into the crowd for a while, and then pointed ahead.
"There they are, in the vanguard. And look at this: these two have already bonded."
In the huddled ranks of soldiers in the very first line, two warriors fought back to back so harmoniously that no creature of darkness could get close to them from behind or from the flank. When one was surrounded by enemies, the other came to the rescue. When one noticed an opponent behind a friend, he rushed to cover his back without unnecessary words or movements. So they circled around an invisible axis, not moving away from each other, until the opponents began to randomly run away.
"Yes, it looks like they'll really get along." Duncan remarked with satisfaction.
"Milady is Serious and a joker? I would look at it." Davet replied with a grin.
Kaylan also smiled imperceptibly.
The battle was won. The soldiers shouted enthusiastically, raising up swords, axes and spears. Elissa looked ahead, listened to the cry of her allies, and also felt a pleasant sense of unity and the joy of victory, something she dreamed of every time she picked up a sword. She managed to smile, but the smile faded immediately. If only... if only her father and brother were with her now.
"You've all done a great job", Duncan told them after the fight. "You can rest, and tomorrow I will tell you more about the Initiation ritual."
The tent where Elissa had left her things was allocated for the three recruits to sleep in, but after thinking for a second, she announced that she would sleep outside near the campfire.
"I agree. The fire is much warmer than in these cold tents. I don't understand how people sleep in them," Alistair replied. His bed had already been laid out not far from a high multi-stage bonfire located in a circle of dilapidated arches and statues.
Duncan often carried out night watches by this fire, his tent stood nearby. Elissa took off her gloves, cuirass, shoulder pads, and quilted shirt and laid out the bed away from Alistair's bed and the tent. Duncan watched her movements carefully.
"Elissa," he said to her, and she turned around. "Your wound doesn't seem to have bothered you much in battle, but just in case, go to the infirmary tomorrow morning."
Elissa bowed her head slightly in submission and went to get the bags to the tent, where the other recruits had already disappeared.
"Is she hurt?" Alistair was quietly surprised.
"An arrow in the back."
"Duncan... what happened in Highever? You just wrote that you left in a hurry and that you were leading a recruit."
"I don't think this is the time to talk about this, Alistair, and you better not ask her anything."
The rest of the night was quiet. In the eastern part of the camp and the valley, the soldiers celebrated the victory. Even King Kaylan wasn't asleep yet, but was happily celebrating with them, much to the delight of the warriors and Loghain's considerable annoyance.
The western edge of Ostagar was quiet. Duncan's campfire was burning brightly, and he himself was walking along the tents and sleeping soldiers, as if he was not tired. Alistair opened his sleepy eyes for a moment and saw Duncan bending over Elissa, who was sleeping on her side, and pulling a wool blanket over her shoulder. That night, she slept soundly without dreams.
Elissa Cousland woke up at dawn. The entire camp was still asleep after the night's celebration, but the patrol units were on alert. There was no way Teyrn Loghain would let his guard down and let the darkspawn take them by surprise. Duncan was nowhere to be found, and Alistair was snoring peacefully next to the campfire. Elissa got up and, noticing the sign of the infirmary nearby, headed there. Mabari raised his head sleepily, but, reassured by the hostess, went back to sleep.
"It's almost healed," the female healer said when Elissa showed her the arrow wound. "I'll change the bandage, and it'll heal completely in a couple of days. However, the scar will remain."
Elissa nodded and cringed as she endured the dressing. She felt awkwardly half-naked surrounded by so many people, but no one was looking at her, so after a while she relaxed.
"You can wash up if you want," the doctor remarked. "The magicians have built an artificial pond on the north side of the ruins, and the women are there right now."
At the thought of a bath, Elissa suddenly felt covered from head to toe in mud and road dust. Her hair, which she hadn't unwound in who knows how many days, had long since escaped from the braid and stuck out in all directions. Elissa thanked the doctor and decided to take advantage of the offer.
The reservoir was a large pit surrounded by partitions. Several women were already swimming there, and more were coming. Elissa felt awkward again having to undress in front of everyone, but reminded herself that this was a military camp, and others might not have such facilities. She quickly took off her clothes, leaving a bandage on her shoulder, and went chest-deep into the water, which was warm. Elissa washed her face with pleasure, scrubbed off the dirt from the road, and washed her hair. Despite the same not-quite-clean clothes and the smell of a cesspool wafted from somewhere on the wind, a bath has never been so enjoyable. Her long, damp hair fell pleasantly over her back and shoulders.
When the girl returned to the tent, her companions had already stood up.
"...where are the rest of the Grey Guards?" Davet asked.
"In the valley on the other side of the ruins. The main part of the army is located there. This fortress won't fit all of them," Alistair answered, laughing, and slurped something from a bowl.
"I've seen the other Guards," Jory replied. "They're wearing some kind of special armor. Why aren't you and Duncan wearing those?"
Alistair was dressed just like any other officer in the Royal Army, in brown plate armor.
"Duncan doesn't care too much about formalities. Our order in Ferelden is still very young, and Duncan is doing everything to strengthen it, and the uniform is the tenth thing for him. The brothers wear it because they wanted to. Duncan had ordered the armor for me, too, and it seemed they were even ready, but we were called to Ostagar earlier."
"It's a shame," Davet said with a smile.
"It's not the uniform that unites the Grey Guards."
"But it's still nice to feel like a part of something in common. Soldiers, as I've heard, all get tattoos in the form of mabari as a sign of strength and belonging to the warriors."
Chase barked fervently, everyone was distracted and noticed Elissa. Alistair raised his eyebrows, but blinked quickly, Jory came to his senses and tactfully averted his eyes, and Davet smiled and openly stared at her face and shirt, which stuck to her wet body, emphasizing his curves. The girl cringed from that look, she wanted to hide at that very moment and hide in some far corner.
"Do you want to eat?" Alistair suddenly asked. "Let's go show you where."
He stood up and waved his hand in an inviting gesture. Jory leaned into Davet's ear and whispered loudly:
"Maybe that's why women aren't often accepted into the Grey Guards, so as not to distract from the case?"
"What are you looking at? You have a young wife, and the baby is coming soon." Davet smiled slyly.
"Yes, I am!.."
Elissa didn't hear any more, she didn't go back to the tent and just drank half a pot of thick soup on the move. I didn't want to anymore. She fed the enclosed bread to Chase, who, judging by his small appetite, had already had breakfast somewhere. When the girl was thinking where to put the rest of the food, she noticed that a pair of hungry human eyes were looking at her from the cage.
"I heard he was imprisoned for desertion and is about to be hanged," Alistair commented.
Elissa looked at the prisoner, then at the bowl in her hands, walked over to the cage and handed the food. The prisoner abruptly grabbed the plate along with the girl's palm, Elissa shuddered and pulled her hand away. The prisoner barked happily as if nothing had happened and, as a sign of appreciation for the food, handed Elissa the key, which, as he said, he stole from the magicians before the arrest. The girl sighed, accepted the useless gift and took it to the magicians. Alistair did not go, as he had "already seen enough of the magicians," and Duncan scolded him for that quarrel before the fight.
"We all have to work together," the Guard Commander told him.
Elissa noticed that some of the wizards were lying to the side on the grass, as if they were sleeping, but with very focused expressions. They were closely watched by templars in full combat gear.
"What are they doing?" Elissa asked, looking at nothing.
"Their souls are in the Shadows."
Elissa turned around and saw an elderly, slender enchantress with incredibly kind eyes, in which almost youthful energy shone. She looked at the girl carefully and spoke again.
"Greetings, young lady. Did Duncan bring you here? It's not easy to impress him, you can be proud. Let me introduce myself: my name is Wynn, and I am one of the Circle mages that the King has summoned."
"Nice to meet you, Wynn. My name is Elissa." The girl nodded politely.
Wynn's thin lips stretched into a smile, she appreciated the manners.
"You will soon become a Grey Warden, but do you know about the connection of the creatures of darkness with the Shadow?"
"Is the shadow the realm of dreams?"
"Not quite. The shadow is the place where the spirits live - the first children of the Creator, and their distorted entities are demons. She is separated from our world by a veil. Whenever your soul separates from your body, whether in a dream or after death, it goes into the Shadows. Most people don't even remember it when they wake up, but magicians can enter the Shadows consciously and sometimes look for answers there," Wynn pointed to the "sleepers."
"I've heard that magicians have entered the Shadows and desecrated the Creator's house."
"You're talking about the Tevinter magisters who, at the cost of sacrifice, tore the Veil and entered the Fade in the flesh. There they met the true Creator God, and with their sins they desecrated the Golden City, turning it into a Black One. For this, the Creator brought them down to earth, turning them into the first creatures of darkness. At least that's what the Song of Light says."
"And is it true?"
"Who knows... maybe it's just an allegory that teaches that a person is ruined by his own pride, or maybe it's true. At least this explanation is no worse than the others."
"But Andraste existed. She said that she heard the voice of the Creator and led an army against the ancient Tevinter and his false gods. This is how the current Church was born."
"Yes, but such ancient legends are often overgrown with speculation in many interpretations," Wynn said.
"At least there's something to think about," Elissa replied.
"Yes, it's wise to think about your actions from time to time."
Elissa looked at Wynn carefully, who reminded her a little of her babysitter Nan, who loved to tell Elissa moral stories. Nan and Wynn were completely different, but the girl felt something familiar and familiar in the wise tone of the enchantress.
"Can you give me some advice?" Elissa asked suddenly.
"Advice?" Wynn was surprised and laughed fervently. "No way! You young people already know everything in the world. Why do you need the advice of your elders?"
Definitely not similar.
Elissa sat on her bed and listened with half an ear as Davet told the story of his acquaintance with Duncan. It turned out that this weasel grew up in a village near the Wild Lands, and then ran away from his father to the capital, where he was engaged in theft. I cut off Duncan's purse in the crowd, but he noticed it. Davet was supposed to be hanged for his past tricks, but the Guardian intervened and declared the Right of Conscription.
"When I left, I stuck my tongue out at the guards," Davet laughed. "Now I'm done. Who would have thought that I would become a Grey Warden!"
"And I won the tournament that Earl Eamon arranged for Duncan", Jory said with pride.
"Alistair?"
"what? Before that, I was a templar. More precisely, he studied at the church for him. After taking the oath, he had to serve in the Circle of Magicians, supervise them and chase after the apostates. Fortunately, Duncan took me away before I took my vows. That was... six months ago."
"Didn't you like it?"
"My heart wasn't in it."
"But you're good at angering magicians," Davet grinned.
"I'm okay with magicians. It's just that I absolutely don't like magicians who don't like me. I really don't want to live out my life as a frog. I'm fine as it is."
"Elissa?" Jory asked, hinting at keeping up the conversation.
Everyone looked at her. The girl shook her head and turned away. Today, she had approached the soldier guarding the passage to the Korkari Wilderness several times this morning, but he had said that there were no Highever soldiers among the troops returning from the reconnaissance. And those warriors who returned were all wounded and scared. Elissa was worried about her brother and couldn't find a place for herself.
"Come on," Davet insisted. "We're going to be Grey Wardens together soon. Tell me, how did you impress Duncan?"
Elissa frowned, abruptly stood up and strode away, motioning for her mabari not to follow her.
I survived.
"That was a very tactless question, Davet", Duncan answered in a hollow voice as he approached.
The command headquarters was located behind the dilapidated walls of a building that hundreds of years ago could have been a temple or a meeting place. Loghain was standing over the table, bent over the cards... and arguing with the king again. He was informed that Kaylan had almost died last night.
"Your recklessness on the battlefield will get us into trouble! How long do you have to be on the verge of death for you to give up your naive dreams of heroism?"
"Nothing happened to me, Loghain. I was saved by the Grey Guardian Alistair."
"Which speaks to his virtues, not your discretion. I asked you to leave the battles to our soldiers, and not only are you getting into trouble, you're also inviting enemies to our lands."
"The Guards of Orlais are also at war with Pestilence, as are the Fereldenians."
Thairn slammed his palm down on the table.
"There is no Pestilence. You're too caught up in the legends to trust these Guardians in everything. Should I remind you how your father almost died because of them once?"
"And upon his return, he issued a decree to return the Order of the Grey Guards to Ferelden," Kaylan retorted.
"I was against it then, and now my opinion has not changed. The Grey Guards serve no king or country. They always pursue only their own goals, and they will sacrifice anything and anyone for them."
"That's enough, Loghain. Let's leave it at that" The king replied dispassionately and left.
Orley...
Loghain knew that Kaylan was trying his best to make peace with his recent enemy. Born in liberated Ferelden, the young king did not know what it was like for the people to live in slavery for almost seventy years, how Orlesian soldiers took mothers, wives, and daughters from their beds and raped them in front of their families, how they took the last piece of bread and killed everyone who just "looked at them the wrong way." Loghain swore that he would deal with all the creatures of darkness himself and would not allow that nightmare to happen again.
Teyrn ran a hand through his hair in exasperation and rested his palms on the table again. The servants did not dare to approach him. Everyone thought he and the king were fighting again over the queen, Loghain's daughter. However, they had been arguing about this quite often lately, as if they had never been friendly as a family.
Kaylan sighed with annoyance. When the war was over, he would have to have a serious conversation with Loghain about Orlais. Enough of this feud. Ferelden deserves peace, and Kaylan, as king, must ensure it.
Kaylan was walking towards Duncan's tent when he saw Elissa walking towards him. When she noticed the king, she stepped aside and bowed, but Kaylan also stopped and spoke to her.
Duncan could see them talking from afar. Elissa answered in monosyllables, alternately shaking her head and nodding. After that, sadness flashed across the king's face. He said goodbye to the girl and approached the Guard.
"I'm so sorry that I can't help her right now," Kaylan said sadly.
"Elissa understands everything, Your Majesty. I hope she wasn't rude to you." Duncan asked politely.
"No, on the contrary. She was very polite, and that only makes me sadder when I see her so sad. Keep an eye on her, Duncan."
"Of course, Your Majesty."
"However, that's not why I was looking for you," the king became animated. "Yesterday, Alistair the Guardian saved my life on the battlefield. I would like to thank him."
"Him," Davet looked around, but there was no one behind him, "...I was just here. Let's go find it."
Davet got up from his seat and pulled over to help with the search for Jory.
"Alistair was just doing his duty. I think he would have told you the same thing if he were here." Duncan answered the king without turning around. "But I'll give him your thanks."
"Well, good, and..." Kaylan noticed the shoulder plate armor protruding from behind the tall fire and smiled to himself. "...tell him that I'll figure out how to reward him later."
"Of course, Your Majesty. I'll pass it on."
Kaylan left.
"Duncan, what was the king talking about?" Alistair asked quietly. "About Elissa. Who is she?"
The Grey Guardian sighed.
"She is the daughter of Thairne Cousland."
"What? Is she from the Thairn family?"
Alistair was surprised. Usually, nobles of this status do not release heirs to the order, joining which means the end of a past life and an eternal struggle with death. Besides, the authority of the Grey Guards is far from what it used to be. However, Duncan's account of what happened in Highever explained everything.
"If I hadn't taken her away from the castle by the Right of Summoning, she would have stayed to protect her parents and, of course, would have died with them. She hoped to find her brother in Ostagar, but the king sent him to explore the Wild Lands. He still hasn't returned."
"Wow," Alistair said.
"I don't think she needs anyone's pity. Just don't ask her about Highever. She'll come to terms with her grief over time."
"And what about the Dedication? Can she do it?"
Duncan was afraid himself.
"We can only hope that she finds the strength", The guardian looked up at the sky, checking the time against the sun and shadows. There is no more time to wait. Alistair, gather the recruits. It's time for you to leave.
*See the book "The Calling" by David Heyder
You can follow the release of chapters here: https://vk.com/akili_books
If you liked the work, don't forget to set up the waiting list. The author is really waiting for them (hmm... "waiting for zhdunov").