Dragon Age II

Prologue: Part One

Varric 

I'm being dragged in by two humans. I'm kind of blind folded but them being much taller than I gave that away. They pull off the blindfold and throw me in a chair in the middle of a familiar room. I snicker, "I've had gentler invitations." I look up to see an approaching figure; a woman with short black hair and a look that could kill. "I am Cassandra Pentaghast. Seeker of the Chantry." Her voice is cruel and demanding. I laugh bitterly, "And just what are you seeking?" Her next words mildly surprise me. "The Champion." I look at my glove clad hands, pretending to be interested. "Which one?" Her face begins to turn red and she rushes towards me in anger. "You know exactly why I'm here!" She forces a large book onto my lap and I grunt. "Time to start talking, dwarf. They tell me you're good at it." She forces a dagger into the book, almost puncturing me where it hurts. I nervously laugh, "What do you want to know?" She turns around, "Everything. Start at the beginning." I look down at the page the book is opened to and run my finger down the familiar symbol on the page. She's right; I do like to talk.

"They are surrounded by darkspawn; something that seems to be happening a lot lately. Hawke looks to her right, sees Bethany, and gives her a nod. She blasts the monsters with a wisp of fire, burning them. Hawke laughs at them as they fall to the ground. Hawke turns around to face two more, easily striking them with her two daggers. They fall lifeless to the ground, blood sputtering from their guts. She sees one lying on the ground a few feet away, struggling to stand. Hawke walks over and kicks it in the gut. It looks up at her with evil filled eyes, and shrieks. She bring one of her daggers down on its skull and she hear a crack, followed by blood spewing out of the wound. It falls to the ground. Bethany walks over to her, lacking a lot of energy. She kneels by the dead darkspawn and sighs. "Scouts. We'll have to fight them sooner or later." Hawke quickly turns around, looking at the path she assumes they will be coming from. "Then we make our stand here. Prepare yourself." Darkspawn start to appear from the path, their faces filled with anger and hate. One of them smiles at Hawke, thinking he will be the death of her. She runs up to it, and flips her daggers around in her hands. She uses one dagger to stab its gut, the other to decapitate its head. Blood sputters onto her face, reeking of venom. She wipes it off, moving onto the others. Bethany casts an ice spell, freezing the one Hawke is approaching. She kicks her foot up and knocks it down as the monster shatters into a million pieces on the blood soaked dirt below them. Hawke looks to her left to see about ten of them coming near, weapons readied. Bethany casts a spell that knocks them to the ground, giving Hawke easy access to their vulnerable lives. She kills each of them swiftly. When she doesn't see nor hear anymore darkspawn, she sheaths her blood soaked daggers. Her sister, face smothered in blood, walks up to her. "We can't keep this up forever." Hawke look at her with an understanding, "We will get through this, together." They hear the grunts and growls coming from the pathway, and they start approaching again. Bethany sighs, "Here they come." I unsheathe my daggers, preparing for another fight. Bethany looks over to Hawke, "Shall I deal with them?" She thinks for a moment. "Allow me." She smiles. Hawke runs up to them, slicing each treacherous abomination into pieces. Once they are taken care of, they hear a loud growl, and the ground starts to move slightly. She looks over to the source of the commotion to see an ogre. Maker, She thinks to herself. It must have been at least fifteen feet tall, saliva dripping from its sharped toothed mouth. He runs up and punches the ground, leaving dust everywhere. He approaches Hawke and her sister. She tells Bethany to run behind the beast, making sure to keep out of the way. She begins to cast spells but before the ogre can turn around, Hawke starts slicing at its legs. It groans in pain, and tries to regain itself. Hawke quickly pushes her daggers into its flesh, and starts to climb up the beast. She reaches its chest and, trying to sustain her balance, takes one of the daggers out of its body, grabbing it with both hands, and drive it deep into its chest, hitting its heart. Bethany runs out of the way as the beast and Hawke fall down, Hawke on top. She twists the blade around, laughing as its heart stops beating and its eyes close for good. She climbs off the beast, pulling her daggers with her. Bethany is looking behind Hawke, exasperated. "There's no end to them." Many darkspawn-too many to kill on their own-approach the clearing. They are about to fight when a loud growl comes from above them. They look up, and perched on the cliff, is a huge red dragon. The dragon opens its wings, and shrieks loudly at them and the darkspawn. Bethany and Hawke back away, frightened by the creature. It leaves its position on the cliff and swoops down, breathing its fire and burning the darkspawn surrounding the siblings."

The seeker looks at me with disbelief. "Bullshit. That is not what really happened." I laugh again, "Does that not match the story you've heard, seeker?" She glares at me. "I'm not interested in stories. I came to hear the truth." Well, doesn't she just think she knows everything. "And what makes you think I know the truth?" She walks up to me. "Don't lie to me! You knew her even before she became the Champion!" I sighed. "Even if I did, I don't know where she is now." She turns, her back facing me. "Do you have any idea what's at stake here?" I wonder how far I can push her before she snaps. "Let me guess. Your precious Chantry has fallen to pieces, and put the entire world on the brink of war. And you need the one person who can help you put it back together." She turns around, anger apparent in her expression. "The Champion was at the heart of it when it all began. If you can't point me to her, tell me everything you know." Is she that desperate? "You aren't worried I'll just make it up as I go?" She replies with obvious confidence, "Not at all." I grin. "You'll need to hear the whole story."