Dragon Age: Alistair Chapter One

    "You know, one good thing about the blight is how it brings people together." Nice one genius. Now you'll be lucky to get her name. But to my surprise she laughs.

    "I know exactly what you mean." Sweet Andraste, did this woman just laugh at my joke and counter with one of her own?

    "I don't suppose you happen to be another mage?" Please say no. Mages don't like me much. It must have something to do with being trained as a Templar. If I were a mage I probably wouldn't like me much either. Before she answers the question I know the answer. I may be an idiot but I'm not stupid. I'm a Grey Warden, a warrior, trained as a Templar. Put me on a battlefield with a sword in hand and I'll show you how damned good I am at all three.

    Observation is one of those skills required to make sure you live to see your second battlefield. She's dressed in a mid-weight armor, her hands resting lightly near a pair of daggers that she looks more than capable of handling. She holds her head up with a certain kind of bearing, as if she's used to being watched by people and knows better than to show any weakness. Like a high ranking noble. It seems I don't need an introduction. I'm standing in front of Teyrn Cousland's daughter, the newest Gray Warden recruit.

    "I know who you are. Duncan's new recruit from Highever. I should have recognized you right away, I apologize."

    "How could you recognize me?" she asks, creasing her brows together. No need to let her know how closely you were staring, says my inner voice. He's rather smart, and quite talkative. Please, don't judge. I can't be the first person in Thedas to argue with his inner voice and name him Al, can I? Okay, ignore that last part. 

    "Duncan sent word. He spoke quite highly of you. I'm Alistair, though I guess you already knew that. As the junior member of the order I'll be accompanying you as you prepare for the joining."

    "Pleased to meet you," she says, extending a hand. I'm not sure whether to shake it or kiss it. This is a war camp however, so I go for the shake, which she returns heartily. Score one for me guessing right! "I'm Angel Cousland." Angel. It seems appropriate. Don't say that!

    "Right, that was the name." Sigh. Like that was much better. "It just occurred to me that there have never been many women in the Grey Wardens. I wonder why that is?"

    "You want more women in the Wardens?" she asks, raising her eyebrows.

    "Would that be so terrible? Not that I'm some drooling lecher or something. Please stop looking at me like that." She's trying not to smile, I can see it in the way she's biting her lip.

    "Maybe we're just too smart for you."

    "True. But if you're here what does that make you?" She loses the battle and starts to laugh.

    "Good one." See Al? And you were worried. "So, what was that argument with the mage about?"

    "The mages and the Chantry at each others throats again. I was simply a pawn. I was once a Templar." A look of surprise crosses her face.

    "You were a mage hunter?"

    "Not that that's all Templar's do, but yes. I was raised by the Chantry until about six months ago when Duncan recruited me. I wouldn't even have delivered the message, but Duncan says we all have to get along. Apparently, they didn't get the same speech."

    "Duncan promised me a hot meal and some time to explore camp. Are you going to tag along though all that?"

    "Don't worry; I'll try not to embarrass you." I reply. Or myself.

    "I look forward to traveling with you."

    "You do? Huh. That's a switch."

    "What do you mean?" Damn it Al! Where were you on that one?

    "Just that not everyone appreciates my unique brand of humor. Let me know if you have any questions. Otherwise, lead on." So I follow her around camp, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible. Besides, walking behind her gives me ample time to study those curves. She barters with the quartermaster, getting him to offer her his hidden goods, gives a prisoner his last meal, and picks the locks on any chest she can find. She tells Daveth not to get too "distracted" watching her back(advice I could surely use), and even cons Loghain's guard into calling him out to talk to her! If she survives the joining we're going to gain one hell of a Warden. Although, I do try to hide behind her during the meeting with Loghain. I'm pretty sure he knows who I am, the secret I keep, but if he does he doesn't show it. He doesn't acknowledge me once, and that's fine with me.

    "Alistair," she says as we're walking away from the mess tent, "tell me about yourself."

    "Well, let's see, as I said I was a Templar in training up until six months ago with the Chantry. Not that I ever wanted to be a Templar. It was a choice made for me a long time ago. Duncan saw I was unhappy and figured my training could double for fighting darkspawn. He had to invoke the Right of Conscription, the Grand Cleric never would have let me go otherwise. I'll always be grateful to him for that."

    "You speak fondly of Duncan." I pause before responding. How do I explain it?

    "I spent over a decade in the Chantry, hating the life someone else had decided on for me. Duncan was the first person to care what I wanted."

    "You didn't want to join the Chantry?" This is always a tricky question to answer without someone yelling heretic.

    "It just... wasn't for me. I believe in the Maker well enough, but I never wanted to devote my life to the Chantry." She flashes me a grin.

    "I believe in the Maker too, but I'd sooner go live with my Mabari in the kennels than a Chantry." I have a flashback of sleeping with the Mabari at Arl Eamon's estate in Denerim. 

    "I suppose there are worse places to sleep."

    "Hmm?"

    "Nothing. So, that's my story. What about you? How did Duncan round you up?" Her easy smile disappears so quickly I wonder if it was ever really there at all. The look it's replaced with is as hard as stone.

    "He saved me too, but in a more literal sense. He snuck me through a secret passageway in the kitchen's larder to escape Arl Rendon Howe's men." She spits the name like it's actual venom. "He was our vassal, but he made sure our men had marched here to Ostagar and then marched his on our castle. They killed everyone there, my entire family, including my seven year old nephew. Myself and my brother Fergus are all that's left of the Cousland line. He's out there somewhere scouting the wilds. Next time I see him I'll have to tell him that his wife and son were murdered by one of my father's closest friends." I'm stunned into silence. When she looks at me again all emotion has left her face.

    "It's getting late, we need to get back to Duncan," she says, speeding her walk ahead of me. I let her go and follow her back to Duncan's tent. When we arrive the first thing she does is check on her Mabari, scratching him behind the ear and whispering sweet nothings. Oh how I wish I was a Mabari.

    "Alistair," says Duncan, calling me over. Well, that was a fun afternoon. Time to get on with being a Grey Warden, namely babysitting the new recruits.

    "Yes, Duncan?"

    "Before I send you out to the Wilds, tell me. What do you think of our recruits?"

    "Daveth seems like a most disreputable fellow that I'd love to have a pint with. If he's as quick with a blade as he is with his tongue I think he's in fine shape. Ser Jory, on the other hand, is in for a rude awakening. Has no one explained to him that joining the Wardens is a lifetime gig? That he can't just work weekends and live happily ever after in Redcliffe the rest of the time? And the girl, what was her name? Something or other Cousland?" Duncan gives me a look that says I'm not fooling anyone.

    "Angel. Angel Cousland."

    "Right, that's it. She, I think, has the most potential."

    "Hmm. Interesting. Now that you're all here, we can begin," He says to the recruits. As he spells out the task at hand I watch their faces. Daveth seems twitchy, Jory seems scared, and Angel seems determined to kill something. Looks like babysitting might not be so bad after all.