Chapter 35 -- Lord Dragonborn
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We were woken up before dawn by a servant, smart enough not to make a big deal about the fact I was surrounded by women, though they were all covered by blankets. If he had even half a brain, he'd have known they were naked. I thanked him for waking me before I woke up everyone else. There was no grumbling, everyone immediately aware of what was to come, and I stood by the door, kissing and hugging all of them before they disappeared to their own rooms. Only Leliana remained with me, her things in my room.
Dressing in silence, I could feel her eyes on me as much as I looked at her. Neither of us appeared nervous at all. I was confident we would face down the darkspawn and win. I'm surely Leliana was confident in her own abilities, but I think she was also utterly confident in my leadership and abilities too.
Once in my armour, she walked across the room to stand in front of me, looking up at me with those beautiful blues. All I did was lean down and kiss her, a soft one that would have told her everything. "We'll win," I said softly. We hugged briefly, enjoying another longer kiss, before collecting the rest of our gear and heading out to the courtyard, where a quick breakfast was being offered before we mounted up.
The army was ready and raring to go, receiving news that some units had already left, some to scout the road ahead, others to simply make good time. Messengers had arrived during the night with news that the dwarves were taking the north road and would make Denerim in time. The mages would be taking the same route and were ahead of the dwarves. The Dalish, being closest to Denerim, would link up with us on route.
"You ready for this?" I asked Cerys as we mounted up.
"If I wasn't, it's too late now."
"We're going to kick Archdemon arse!" Ohgren exclaimed. That was followed up by numerous comments about what we were going to do to the darkspawn. I didn't mind, and let it continue as we pointed out horses in the direction of Denerim. I was taking the lead, though Alistair remained by my side. Word had spread about him being the heir, and as columns of men parted, there were plenty of cheers in his direction.
No darkspawn patrolled the south road. They had even departed from Lothering. We rode hard all day, only slowing to allow the horses a breather and some water, before kicking them on again. We knew the soldiers would fall a little behind, but many would have their own horses, those on foot would be marching as fast as possible, only stopping for an occasional break before moving on. Riding from Denerim to Redcliffe could be done in a day. We knew they probably wouldn't make it until nightfall. But fighting in the day or night wouldn't matter. We knew the battle itself would not last long.
Picking up the Dalish from where they were waiting, we could see light rising up in the distance. It was then that we knew that Denerim was probably burning, and could only hope the planned evacuations had worked. We stopped a couple of miles away and dismounted. We sent a few scouts ahead, the rest of us waiting for the army to arrive. A messenger was sent to find them and returned quicker than we expected, stating the head of the army was barely an hour away. He said the soldiers would probably verge on exhaustion, so we would have to hit the darkspawn straight away.
To be honest, I was already tired of waiting. It was time to take the fight to them.
Dust was kicked up by the approaching army. Scouts returned, reporting on what the darkspawn were doing. The guards had put up a good fight, but had eventually been outnumbered. Though they reported of civilian casualties, they told us that the darkspawn appeared to be aware of our approach and were preparing. I wondered if it would end up being a siege, assured that was not how the darkspawn thought. They would meet us in battle outside the city walls.
As soon as the majority of the army was with us, I gave the order for our group to move out. There were no grandiose speeches before we hit the darkspawn. We did form lines as we approached the city walls. Warriors to the front, mages and archers to the rear, the Dalish making up most of the latter, with the Circle mages joining up with us on the field near the city. The darkspawn watched us, but for some reason, allowed us to form up.
It was a slight reminder of what I'd watched happen at Ostagar. The outcome would be different this time as the Dragonborn would be taking the field.
"Any word on the dwarves?" I asked.
"At least an hour way," a scout reported, "They're hurrying as quickly as they can."
"Very well. Riordan, you still plan on looking for the Archdemon alone?"
"Yes. Like any Archdemon, it will be at the highest point, with the best view, from where it can communicate. Just get me inside the walls and I'll do the rest. If I fail, then it will be up to Alistair and Cerys."
There was no point waiting any longer as I gave the signal for the archers. A simple raised sword, glancing to see rows of elves and humans, aiming at the darkspawn in the distance. Dropping my sword, the arrows darkened the sky as they flew towards the darkspawn lines. As soon as they started to strike, Alistair raised his sword and roared, "For Ferelden!"
Warriors surged forward. I ran straight for the biggest, ugliest darkspawn I could see. Armed with only a sword, I would have surprised them by unleashing the full power of my Thu'um. At least half a dozen darkspawn in front of me erupted in flame, and I made short work of at least three of them. The walls were still at least one hundred or so metres ahead, darkspawn flooding out of the gates to meet us. Bodies already littered the ground, those of the city guard and civilians being joined by numerous darkspawn corpses.
My sword was bloodied quickly, barely taking a scratch as I left my shield where it was, on my back, relying on sword work and I guess a bit of luck. If I found myself surrounded, the darkspawn received the full force of my Thu'um, either coating them in flames or simply sending them flying arse over head. I heard the screams of the fallen as we cut down the darkspawn. They were nothing but monsters, but they had size and strength over many of our soldiers, and we knew many would be meeting their Maker, even during the opening stages of the battle. But we gained an upper hand quicker than I expected. The darkspawn did not retreat, dying where they stood, allowing access into the city.
It was there that we immediately split up. Riordan had already disappeared. Alistair, Cerys, Morrigan and myself would be heading in to take down darkspawn and find the Archdemon, knowing it would be at Fort Drakon. Before we departed, the dwarves arrive, realising the fight at the walls went for longer than we thought.
"Who do we take?" Cerys asked.
"Everyone. Our allies can watch our backs here. We need to get to the fort and wipe out any darkspawn resistance inside." Calling forward the commanders from our allies, I gave them instructions and also told them to keep an ear out for the horn Ohgren carried. A particular blast would notify them that we might need assistance. If we cleared the city of resistance, it would make their lives easier too.
Darkspawn filled the streets of Denerim, and the Dragonborn and his allies, having fought across the length and breadth of Ferelden, were more than ready, and certainly more than capable, of dealing with them. A trio of ogres caused a bit of concern, thankful the dwarves had also brought golems, and so we called them in to help us. The ogres were bastards to take down, and more than one golem fell at their hands, but mixing up my Thu'um with magic, we finally put all three on the ground, sending the remaining golems into the city to deal with any packs of darkspawn they found.
As we moved through the city, we checked on places of evacuation. The Chantry was still barricaded, hearing voices within that all were okay. The sense of relief was palpable. Next was Eamon's estate, Ser Cauthrien opening the rear door, noticing a dozen guards behind her, ready to strike. She nearly wept upon seeing us, before telling us the situation. Plenty of survivors, numerous wounded, but prepared to bunker down until it was all over. Before I left, she pulled me towards her, placing a hot kiss on my lips. I heard the comments from my girls, though they knew what had happened between Cauthrien and I.
Alistair wanted to check the palace, so that was our next destination, cutting our way through even more darkspawn. I was relieved to see that there were few civilian bodies on the ground, hopeful that most managed to make it to safety before the darkspawn crashed through the city gates. There were more city guard bodies, but they were always surrounded by darkspawn corpses.
"Each one should be burned with honours," I stated.
"Their names will be added to a memorial to their defence of the city, Dragonborn. Of that, I can assure you," Alistair said. And I believed he would do exactly that.
Guards still lived near the palace. They were exhausted, and had the thousand-yard stare of men who had seen nightmares come to life. Many broke down upon seeing us, believing they would never be rescued. We escorted all the survivors into the palace, where there were numerous survivors, particular of the nobles who had not managed to depart in time. As the rest tended to the survivors, I went searching for Anora. Her door was locked, and I didn't have the key, so I just shouldered the door open. She stood in the middle of the room, armed with sword and shield, though lowered them immediately upon seeing me, then dropped them to the ground as she stepped forward to hug me. I was covered in darkspawn blood, but she didn't seem to care.
"You're a sight for sore eyes," she said softly.
"Are you okay, my lady?"
"Better now that you're here to save the day."
"I'm glad you're so confident."
"I had no idea you cared so much for my welfare."
"I'm probably using the wrong word, but I feel you are my responsibility, my lady."
She looked up at me and smiled before stepping back, looking down and noticing the blood. "Well, I'm glad I chose to wear my armour, at least."
"And it looks very good on you too, my lady." Not quite as good as Leliana, but she definitely looked attractive in it. And my comment made her blush.