by Milton Garby
Aedan noticed a young woman hysterically looking around the village and calling out the name "Bevin". Seeing how distressed she was, Aedan decided to see if he could assist her. "Is something wrong, miss?"
"I'm sorry." She sobbed. "Am I bothering you? I…I'll try to be more quiet."
"Are you alright? Why are you crying?"
"Those….those things dragged my mother away. I don't know what's happened to her, but I hear her screaming all the time, everywhere!" She cried.
"How terrible!" Said Leliana. "You poor thing…I wish there was something we could do to help."
"Calm down, miss." Aedan urged. "Please tell me what's wrong."
"I'm sorry, ser." She sniffed. "It's-it's my brother, Bevin…he…ran off! I don't know where he is. I'm so scared that those things got him, too!"
"Why would he run off? Do you know?"
"He said something about saving Mother….He's just a little boy! He doesn't understand that she's gone."
"Grief can make us do many things that don't make sense, I'm afraid." Wynne informed.
"I hope he didn't try to go to the castle. Maker that'd be awful."
"Where did you last see your brother?"
"At our house by the square. I looked there but I couldn't find him. I searched the rest of the village too. I called and I called but he never answered. I…I wonder if he ran off into the woods. I'm so worried about him. Without me he has nobody!"
"Kaitlyn…" Aedan spoke softly. "I know it's very hard for you right now. But you need to stay strong."
"I know, ser, I do. But I'm so worried about him. He's all the family I have left."
Aedan was all too familiar with the feeling of losing family. This girl just lost her mother and most of the village to these creatures that have been attacking them. He was compelled to aid her. "Don't worry, Kaitlyn. I'll find your brother."
"You will? Thank you! Thank you so much! I last saw Bevin at our house you might try finding him there."
As Aedan, Morrigan, Leliana and Wynne went to Kaitlyn's house, Morrigan couldn't help but feel the burning sting of jealousy at the sight of Aedan showing such…tenderness to another woman. The girl was attractive in a helpless lamb sort of way, but was Aedan truly so weak willed and easily distracted that he'd drop everything for every sobbing girl who batted her eyes at him. She was tempted to try and see if it would work for herself, if only it didn't seem so pathetic. Perhaps she could turn Kaitlyn into a toad. Perhaps that would make Aedan less inclined to focus his attention on her.
"Why are we even helping this girl? One would think we have enough to deal with as it is." Morrigan finally stated, letting her feelings known.
Aedan looked at her solemnly. "Tell me, Morrigan; have you ever felt loss? Have something you cared about so deeply only to have it ripped from you?"
"No. I never have." The witch answered uncaringly.
"Well, then you're lucky. Because you'll find that there is no worse feeling than loss. I would not see that girl suffer it. Not if I can help it."
They looked around the quaint house to find it empty, not a soul to be found. As the continued their search into what appeared to be the children's room they were alarmed when the children's closet started rattling.
"Is someone in there?" Aedan called out.
"Go…go away!" Cried the obvious voice of a young, scared boy. "This isn't you home! This is my home!"
"Young man," Wynne said authoritatively. "Come out this instant."
"I…yes, ma'am." The boy obediently complied in defeat. A young boy, barely even ten stepped out of the closet, he was clearly scared of the strangers in his home. "So I came out." He said tentatively "You…you won't hurt me will you?"
Aedan knelt down next to the boy. "What's your name, son?"
"It-it's Bevin. My sister's Kaitlyn. She came looking for me earlier, but I didn't want her to find me. I don't want to go back to the Chantry."
Aedan maintained his unusually calm demeanor. "Why are you hiding from your sister?"
"It's just that…I don't want to be scared anymore. I want to be brave. Father said I could his sword when I grew up. It was Grandfather's, and Grandfather was a great dragonslayer. I thought that if I had Grandfather's sword I wouldn't be scared anymore and I…could get the bad men who took mother."
"You had the right idea, Bevin." Aedan said smiling warmly at him. "You are indeed very brave."
"Th-thank you, ser. But the sword is too heavy for me. I can't lift it. I guess I'm not a great warrior like you."
"Don't worry. Your body will catch up with your heart. You'll grow up eventually." Aedan assured.
"That doesn't help us now." Bevin lamented. "Kaitlyn says that we're all going to die tonight."
"Perhaps. Nothing is certain. Be brave, remember?"
"Yes, ser." The boy answered with new found confidence.
"Where is the sword now?
"It's in a chest in Mother's room. Father gave me the key to it before he died. Perhaps…perhaps you could use it to get the bad men? And save us all?"
"I…would be honored to wield your family's sword in the village's defense."
"Alright. Here's the key. I'm going back to the Chantry, to Kaitlyn. G-good luck." The boy handed Aedan the key and rushed out the door to the Chantry.
Wynne was thoroughly impressed with what Aedan just did. After seeing how…severe he could be, she never would have guessed that he was so good with children. She had been mentoring students her whole life, and even when she started she wasn't that good with them. But Aedan earned that boy's trust and admiration so quickly. He was definitely one in a million.
Morrigan could scarcely believe what she saw and heard just now. The same man who she saw rip other men to pieces, and was leaving bite marks on her skin was now acting as if he were this lost boy's brother or father. She'd never been found of children, screaming, foolish things full of snot and tears and trouble, but Aedan handled him so well and was not in the least bit annoyed with the boy and his foolish notions. Morrigan had to admit, this soft side of him was unusual, yet very welcome.
How sweet! Never, never in a million years, would Leliana have guessed that Aedan had such a soft spot for children. The man who tore apart a tower full of abominations, kills scores of darkspawn on a daily basis and ripped men apart limb from limb was actually a big sweetheart deep inside. His display with that little boy was just darling!
Aedan found the chest in the Bevin's parents' room. The sword was actually very impressive. It was unmistakably of elven design, but it was made of veridium instead of ironwood, yet it seemed ancient. He ran his hand down the length of the blade and flicked his finger on the flat of the blade and heard the beautiful ring it made. A design and make that had been lost centuries ago. The blade was slender and smooth, but oddly enough it was green and warm to the touch. Certainly a sword meant to be past from father to son.
Aedan returned to the preparing the village. Murdock had everything he needed help with, so Aedan went to the local tavern were some of the militia were drowning their sorrows. He knew the best place to get a feel for the men around him as well as the best place to gather Intel was always the local tavern.
All the men talked about how much they dreaded the oncoming attack, but they were all mostly distraught at the thought of the horrible war cries the dead made before the attack. It made them lose heart before the fighting even began. Aedan knew of this tactic. Strike fear into the heart of the enemy, make them too scared and forlorn to want to pick up a weapon, and then lambs to the slaughter.
But what was most appalling to Aedan was the fact that the proprietor was charging full price for this watered down swill the militia had to drink. What an asshole! After speaking with Lloyd and some "convincing" Aedan ended up with owning half of the tavern. What a fortuitous gain. Aedan left the running of the tavern as well as the distribution of free ale to the barmaid, Bella, everyone seemed to like her better than Lloyd. Hopefully this would raise the man's spirits before the fighting began.<
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Before Aedan left he noticed he was being eye-balled by a wormy looking elf who made it an effort to seem like he wasn't watching Aedan. But Aedan knew better. He asked Lloyd and Bella about who this elf was and after gathering some information on him Aedan decided to confront him. With Sten standing next to him.
"Not looking for company." The elf said.
"So I hear you're Berwick." Aedan stated.
"W-what? Where'd you hear that?" He responded nervously. "Err…well, that's my name. Why?"
"I hear you waiting for your brother."
"My what?"
Now Aedan knew he had him.
"Oh, yes. My brother." The elf sputtered. "Yes. He was supposed to meet me her, but then I got stuck here when the monsters attacked."
"Heh. Right, and I'm Archon Hessarian." Aedan mocked. "You expect me to believe that?"
"L-look, I don't want any trouble, I was told to…" He almost let it slip. "Er…look leave me alone!"
"You were told to do what?" Aedan interrogated. "And who told you, elf."
"N-no one told me to do anything!" Berwick denied. "Just because you're a Grey Warden doesn't mean you can just go around questioning people!"
Aedan's reaver abilities started to manifest on his face. "And how do you know I'm a Warden."
"I-I…overheard it, is all. Look, I'm just going to go, alright!"
"Sit down." Aedan ordered him.
"I said I'm…."
Aedan donned a frightening appearance of red eyes, fangs and a demonic voice, "Sit your ass down." He demanded. "Now tell me exactly why you're here, or I'm going to gouge out your eyes and drop maggots into your empty sockets."
"W-what!? No! You wouldn't do that!"
"You'd be surprised, elf." Sten spoke. "I once saw him feed a man his own entrails."
"A-alright, al talk! Just don't hurt me! This isn't what I bargained for. I was paid a few sovereigns to watch the village and report any changes from the castle, that's all. But they never said anything about monsters. I haven't even been able to report anything with all these damned attacks."
"Very good. But who's 'they'?"
"I don't know who he was, just some tall human. He said her served Arl Howe. He's an important man, the right hand of Teryn Loghain. Here are the instructions he left me." He handed Aedan a letter detailing what Berwick was to look for. "I just thought I'd be serving the king and make a little money on the side, I swear I had no idea about that this was going to happen."
If this elf was telling the truth and Howe was somehow involved with what has happened here, than that means that Loghain was in on it. Motherfucker! "I think I understand your purpose in all this, Berwick. So here's what's going to happen: you will fight tonight and aid in the defense of this village and then you'll leave. I don't ever want to hear your name again."
"Very fitting." Sten commented.
"A-alright. I'll do it. Thank you for not killing me."
Aedan resumed his preparations for the village and went to speak with Ser Perth and was accompanied by Sten, Morrigan, Leliana and Alistair. Ser Perth seemed like a capable man but his men's and his own heart were starting to fail. Given what they've been going through Aedan was hardly surprised. But being knights of Redcliffe required them to be above the average Fereldan citizen. Aedan informed Ser Perth of the massive amounts of oil stored in the local store. Perhaps this could give them an edge by incinerating their undead adversaries.
"Is there anything else you need?"
"My men and I are well equipped to fight these monster when the time comes. But…perhaps you could ask Mother Hannah for holy protection against these evil creatures?"
"Excuse me? You really need 'holy protection' to defend your arling?"
"We're trained to fight in was not against…evil."
"You're trained to fight for your arl and your people! Who your enemy is should not matter. You really think some absentee god is going to help you?"
"And who may do without it, Ser?"
"If you love your land and your home fight for it! Fight because you're knights of Redcliffe and because it's your duty, instead of giving into despair to the point you feel as if you need trinkets that may or may not be blessed by some absent deity. I thought the men of Redcliffe were made of sterner stuff."
"As I said, ser, we've never fought an enemy such as this."
"Did Maric need the Maker when he drove out the Orlesians? Did Dane need the Maker when he drove the darkspawn out of the Valley? No. You cannot rely on gods to fight your battles you can only rely on yourselves."
"The Warden's right!" called one of the knights. "If the Maker were really helping us he'd of never let this happen in the first place!"
"Yeah!" yelled another. "I don't remember seeing Him last night when those creatures killed my brother! I didn't see the Maker stop them from carrying him off neither!"
"The Maker isn't going to fight this battle for us." Aedan declared. "The only person you can rely on is the man standing next to you."
"Y-you're right, ser." Ser Perth realized. "I hadn't given it much thought. But you are right. Unless those silver amulets call down the Maker to smite these creature, I doubt they'll give us much protection tonight."
"You are a knight of Redcliffe, Ser Perth." Aedan assured. "Stand strong. And fight for your home."
"Yes, ser."
Aedan and his group made their way back down the bridge to inform Teagan their preparations were as ready as they'll ever be. Sten was actually impressed with how the Warden raised their moral without invoking their superstitious deity. Morrigan thought it was about time someone told these men just how useless their Maker truly was. Leliana, however, was…uncomfortable with how Aedan virtually shattered those knights' belief and faith in the Maker.
"Aedan, how could you say that to those men?" Leliana questioned. "It's times like these that men need the Maker the most. I know you have no god, but do you really need to shatter the faith of others?"
Aedan stopped their walk in the middle of the bridge and looked at the view it over looked. "Look over this bridge, Leliana. What do you see?"
What could he possibly mean? "I see…the village, the lake and the castle."
"And that is all you can see. I see something more than that." Aedan explained. "I see…my whole culture, my homeland. When I told you that I have no god, I lied."
That surprised them all. "Y-you lied?" Leliana was confused.
"Ferelden is my god. She gave rise to my people and it's to her I want to return to when I die. I will fight only in her name. And if these men wish to survive not only this night, but the Blight as well, they must be willing to fight for Ferelden as well. Not wait for the Maker to grant them a miracle. We must make our own miracles, because that is the Ferelden way."
That was very deep to Leliana. She had never seen someone love his country so much that even the Maker fell short. She had to admit, that kind of patriotism was…awe inspiring. And while she didn't agree with his atheism, she could certainly respect the fact he didn't religious dictum to tell him what was right and wrong.
As Aedan entered the chantry he was caught by surprise when the young lady, Kaitlyn ran up and hugged him. This certainly caused a wave of jealousy wash over Morrigan, who started thinking about using that lightening spell she knew. But to avoid embarrassing herself she quickly walked off in a huff.
"This is the man I told you about, Kaitlyn!" Bevin said. "He's going to save the village.
"Bevin said you're the one who found him." She cried overjoyed. "How can I ever repay you?"
Aedan thought for a moment. "About your family's sword?"
"Bevin told me about Grandfather's sword. You found it then? I…suppose it won't go to waste in your hands."
"Perhaps I could pay you for it?"
"I suppose…but I've no idea how much it's worth."
"This is a very rare and valuable blade, plus it's a family heirloom. I can't give you less than five sovereigns for it." Aedan handed her a s
mall pouch with the sovereigns.
Kaitlyn was washed over with emotion as her eyes went wide with surprise. "That's…that's incredibly kind of you! Thank you so much. How can I ever repay you?"
"Just stay safe. And look after each other. Nothing is more important than family."
"The Maker sent you. I know it."
Aedan approached Teagan and informed him of their preparations. "I must say you've done very well in helping us prepare and raising the men's moral. Well done, ser." Teagan complimented. "There are still a few hours left before night falls. If there's anything you want to do before then I..."
"No. I'm ready to make my stand."
"So be it." Teagan confirmed.
Dusk….
The sun's last rays of light fell over the horizon and night had fallen on them. Aedan, his company and the knight of Redcliffe waited at bottom of the hill over the bridge and waited for the battle to begin. The moon was full and its light shined on them, but the air was dead with an unnatural silence that was reflected on the men. They waited in trance-like anticipation, waiting for it to begin. The tension around them was taught enough to hang a man from it. And then it started. Aedan was shocked but the most ungodly sound that ripped apart the night's deathly silence. Like someone ripped open the void and unleashed all the damned souls from within it! And they were hungry!
The screaming became louder and louder, the sounds of dead voices in dried throats screaming at them from the castle, crying out in insatiable hungry and hate! Alistair could see the fear gripping the men's hearts. At this rate the battle would be over before the undead even got to them. Alistair walked over to Aedan, perhaps he could give them some kind of speech to raise their spirits. He walked over to Aedan only to find him standing like a statue, introverted and making some kind of noise in his throat and mouth. Was he…humming? Then he started singing in a strong, powerful voice that carried over the screaming.
Men of Redcliffe stop you dreaming.
Can't you see their spear point gleaming?
Ser Perth heard his words and joined his song.
See their warrior pennants streaming…to this battle field
"Sing!" Alistair urged the knights. "Come on, sing!"