Mythal's Favour: A Dragon Age Origins Fan Fiction

Chapter 30 - The Final Assault

Ayu sat upon Lothren. The horse swayed and danced under her in his anticipation of the coming battle. Ayu heard Alistair talking to the troops from behind her, but only snippets of what he said reached her ears. She was too focused on the city that lay in smoke below her. Her unfocused eyes sharpened as a huge dragon silhouette covered the skyline. The beast's roar reached her ears like an unnerving caress. The warden shuddered involuntarily, causing Lothren to take a step sideways.

"Easy boy. Easy," she cooed while running her hand along his neck. "It won't be long now."

Zevran appeared at her side, placing his hand on her calf. She turned her face toward him, blinking slowly.

"They are assembling the army. We're marching soon."

Ayu simply nodded and turned Lothren around, following Zevran back to her companions.

Alistair stepped down from the stairs of a nearby tower from where he'd been talking to the troops. He caught Ayu's eye as she rode up, Lothren snorting under her. He nodded to her, drawing his sword from its scabbard. The elf dropped her chin in a stiff nod, turning Lothren around quickly to face the city.

"Today we avenge the death of my brother, King Cailan. For Ferelden!" he cried. "For the Grey Wardens!"

A resounding cry of battle rang up from the mass of men and they charged forward, weapons drawn, ready to fight. Ayu spurred her horse on, running with the blanket of troops toward Denerim.

As they neared the outer wall of the city, they saw a vast troop of darkspawn that guarded the perimeter. The creatures sighted the screaming men and charged forward at the Warden's army. The two walls of fighters crashed into one another with a deafening cry. The sound of metal shearing of metal and armour resounded in the flat landscape around the main gate of Denerim. The fighting was brutal and bloody. Fallen cries of both men and beast rang in Ayu's ears as she leapt off Lothren, not bothering to stop him as he turned from the main horde. Once the elf alighted to the ground, she began firing off arrows as fast as she could, the wind singing through the fletching as the shafts cut through the air. Her companions remained close, swinging weapons and felling the foul beasts around her.

The army surged forward through the gates, meeting more of the enemy as they advanced. It was an all-out brawl. Soldiers screamed and shouted as they fought the enemy, the clash of steel now the only sound Ayu could hear. Zevran remained close to his beloved, slaying any creature that dared to come near her. He dodged a blow, feigning to his right, as Ayu's arrow whistled past him and skewered the enemy. She drew a haggard breath, observing the fight. Zevran noticed a darkspawn attempting to smash Ayu from behind with its mace. He grabbed her by the back of the neck forcing her down beside his hip and thrust his sword into the beast. Ayu popped back up behind him, firing an arrow at close range into a charging Hurlock. The enemies fell around them with a dull thud.

The soldiers moved forward, spreading out into the streets surrounding the gate, felling any darkspawn in their way and clearing the area. Once the nearby streets were secured by the army, Riordan motioned Ayu over to him. The Wardens and their friends approached him, sheathing their weapons.

"You've managed to fight to the gates," Riordan said as the group approached him. "We're doing better than I hoped. That will change quickly."

"Bloody nug runners," Oghren spat. "We're outnumbered three to one!"

Wynne cast the dwarf a withering look before turning her attention to Riordan. "What are we to do now? I assume you have a plan?"

"The army will not last long, so we need to move quickly to reach the archdemon." Riordan glanced over his shoulder as a pair of soldiers ran past them. "I suggest taking Alistair with you into the city. The rest can stay here to keep more darkspawn from entering the city on our tails."