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Chapter 7: Dragon Age Winter

Notes:

Happy new year!

And thank you for all the follows and favorites, and especially the reviews or PMs. Feedback is always welcome. One thing I have to discolse though is that I have some parts of new chapters already written so implementing some of the things will have to wait a bit. But this should help me to be able to post monthy - this year, especially after June, I will be super busy at work so my writing could slow down...

But onto the chapter!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Looks like the Starks were right, winter is coming and it has indeed come. Not that it really changes anything for me, only that my 'plan' of abducting myself some population will get easier – plenty of half-freezing people on the streets of all the major cities, willing to relocate just to get some food and warmth. The warden party though finished another 'quest' and started on a new one – Amell and her posse succeeded in getting the Sacred Ashes, Leliana survived it and after getting it to Arl Eamon, he woke up. Just like canon. I was already visiting his brother from time to time, now I just check on both, using Mind Mage to keep their attention firmly on Loghain. Let them think they can deal with us later once Ferelden is whole once more. Ha. As if I'd ever allow that.

After sleeping beauty woke up and decided/agreed to lead their side of the civil war, the wardens went back to the mountains and are now dealing with dwarven politics, good luck to them. Once they leave Orzammar I'll intercept them, meet them once more as they go back to Redcliffe to finally launch the campaign against Loghain.

But alas, I am not free of politics either. As winter sets in and the civil war is seemingly on-hold, I have much work to do. It is time I finally made my presence known to the local lords. Bann Sighard is first on the list.

Bann Sighard actually figured in the games, he is the father of the 'tortured noble' which was part of a quest. Said tortured noble is his son Oswyn and someone that was rotting in Howe's dungeon until me and Shianni paid a visit to it. No need to say it but I rescued him and put him back together at Ostagar. I don't want anyone not firmly with me knowing about my teleportation ability so he thinks he went by ship with the elven population of Denerim's alienage. Naturally Oswyn, once coherent enough, become something of a supporter of mine. And I wasn't Mind Maging all that much either. It's pretty much all him, being a hothead and militant in nature. He already hated Howe, and Loghain by extension, was appalled by the attempt at selling Ferelden people to slavery even though it was 'only' elves, and turning him against the Chantry was surprisingly easy. He was resentful of the faith since nobody saved him but me, a heathen, and the Chantry is tacitly supporting Howe and Loghain. He also became fast friends with another freed captive of political interest – Irminic Eremon, the brother of Bann Alfastanna and from the quest 'Lost Templar'. Irminic was suffering from serious lyrium withdrawal and Howe's tender mercies and he too painted a grim picture of the Chantry's practices, namely the dependence on lyrium for their templars to keep them on a short leash.

Both men, along with some other freed captives though of lesser import, were also mightily impressed by our victories over the darkspawn as well as our ability to stay safe from them. 'Liberating Ferelden' they called it. Ok, they called it because I suggested it to their minds but whatever, right? I also made them very accepting of Avvar religion and attitude towards magic – that was pretty easy since their own disillusionment with the Andrastian faith as presented by the Chantry.

All in all, those two will serve me well in eventually delivering Ferelden to me. But first things first, they need to return to their noble families and become active in the resistance against Loghain. Which brings me back to Bann Sighard of Dragon's Peak.

Though only a Bann, Sighard is influential, almost as much as Arl Eamon. Canon Eamon did not contact him about rallying against Loghain, waiting for shortly before the Landsmeet while shuffling forward Alistair, so I assume I will be the first to speak to him about it.

Being accustomed to short travel times it is a bit of a hassle to actually go somewhere by horse. Well, I once again mounted my hart but I granted Oswyn a horse. I also assembled a small escort, putting on a bit of a show. I would've loved to simply teleport to Dragon's Peak but I didn't want to give anything away, right now I want them to think we are completely normal. I did cheat a little to speed things up and buffed the animals to the max, more than redoubling their stamina and increased their gallop speed. The Fereldan noble did notice but simply thought it was superior steeds, he was very impressed by our breeding skills. He was also impressed by my and my peoples' efficiency in dispatching bandits that tried to ambush us one time as well as several smaller bands of darkspawn.

Beside that, the journey went without incident though Oswyn was quite heartbroken about the state of the lands we rode through. Ostagar and my lands stood out in sharp contrast, something I encouraged.

"Here we are" Oswyn exhales, his voice full of emotion, "Our castle. We'll need to circle to the east gate if you insist on not being seen."

I nod "It would be better, I don't want any spies getting wind of us, or your return. Let the Bann determine who can be trusted."

"My father won't be overly happy with all this cloak and dagger" the noble sighs but looks on determinedly, "But he will understand. Especially after I tell him all about Howe."

"Hm" I nod simply.

Following Oswyn's recommendations, I leave my soldiers in what probably is the bann's hunting grounds and only me and him proceed to the side gate. Both hooded and rather conspicuous we would probably draw some attention but I help out once again, decreasing our presence. It is only when Oswyn recognizes a knight to be trusted that he breaks the spell to reveal himself and secure the knight's help in discreetly entering the castle.

After leading us to a storage room of some kind, the overjoyed knight goes to fetch the lord and inform him of his son's return. I already did some work on Sighard beforehand but the bulk of it will be done here and now, and then by Oswyn when I leave. The son I can already call one of mine but his father will take some time to bring to my side properly.

"Oswyn!" is predictably the first thing Bann Sighard says and the lord rushes to embrace his son, only sparing a suspicious yet grateful look to me. I actually kept my Avvar paint, not only it boosts CHA, I want it crystal clear who I am.

Despite the attempt at a manly hug both nobles are near tears. It should be a heartwarming sight but I resist rolling my eyes, wanting to get on with it.

It is Oswyn who finally ends the hug and he immediately starts explaining what happened to him – from being captured by Howe, his excruciating stay in the dungeons, his rescue along the almost-enslaved elves, and then finally the wonders of Ostagar. A lot to process indeed but Sighard chooses his priority quickly.

"Howe" the Bann hisses venomously, his right hand closing over the dagger at his belt.

"And Loghain" Oswyn growls, "Even if he hadn't known, Howe is his right-hand man. He gives him title after title and free reign to do as he pleases. Hero of the River Dane he may be, he no longer has any right to call himself protector of Ferelden."

"No" Sighard nods slowly, teeth still bared, "His 'strategic retreat' at Ostagar alone robbed him of that title, his heavy-handed method to corral us when we voiced doubts at his regency even more so. Ferelden is heading for a civil war, despite the Blight ravaging our lands."

"I saw the darkspawn myself and Lady Fia here too thinks it is a true Blight" Oswyn quickly adds, "I know Loghain denies it, you believe though?"

"As if I'd trust Loghain on anything now"

"The Blight is true" I decide to make myself heard now that Oswyn has created a positive picture of me, "The Archdemon sings to them. He will come in the spring, I'm sure of it."

Sighard's eyes bore into mine, clearly trying to get my measure "Good then that Loghain did not manage to kill off every warden, should the bounty hunters be believed."

I nod "He did not. The new Warden-Commander of Ferelden is gathering allies from the old treaties. And we too have pledged our support in the coming fight against the darkspawn."

"They have amazing fighters, father" Oswyn adds, "The Avvar have cleared most of the south of the vermin and they're using magic to keep them out, I saw it myself. I also saw the mages, or augurs and shamans they call them - I'm no templar but they looked in control to me, nothing like the Chantry warns."

I see the Bann turn skeptical, the Chantry doctrine firmly ingrained, so I shrug with deliberate lightness "We keep an eye on each other. Also, regular use of magic builds control."

"Like alcohol" Oswyn laughs, "That's how one shaman said it! He actually called our Circle mages 'lightweights' and 'abstinents', and that it is no wonder some fall if they go straight to hard liquor!"

Sighard turns pensive but clearly relegates the matter to secondary concern. His true focus is Howe and Loghain, as well as the safety of his people. But that is completely alright, understandable even. Oswyn will bad-mouth the Chantry after I'm gone anyway and I will be making some more Mind Maging visits. Besides, the son is already convinced I'm Andraste reborn or similar, something his new best friend Irminic came up with during his delirious state of the lyrium-withdrawal. It stuck though, everything he saw afterwards reinforcing this idea. Which is amazing for me, naturally.

I shift the conversation back to our plans against the darkspawn, plans the wardens might have and what Loghain might intend to do. Sighard has a keen political mind but he would clearly follow Arl Leonas Bryland of South Reach in military matters. That is a bit problematic for me as I took a huge chunk of Bryland's territory in my conquest. Land I have no intention of giving back. He could rule it similarly to before but only should he pledge himself to me. That would be fantastic actually, after the late Bryce Cousland and Loghain himself, he is the best military mind of current Ferelden.

Still, Sighard in an excellent resource. Without any prompting he promises his men against the darkspawn and Loghain both, as well as to speak with other Banns he is good friends with. Arl Bryland too, though there I am given a scathing look for taking his lands. Hey, if he didn't want to lose them then he should've protected them better. Besides, after the war there will be a lot less lords so he can get some other land. When he won't be too busy commanding an army against Orlais - I really want him on my side.

Anyway, a shortish meeting but I got a tentative alliance out of it, as well as regard of a very grateful father though he, to both my annoyance and respect, did not let it influence his position as a Fereldan lord all that much.

He did perk up slightly when I told him I would be returning Irminic Eremon to his sister as well as talk to her about this little rebellion too. That he would not be the only one advocating allying himself with barbarians to remove Loghain Mac Tyr from power. He well knows he needs our army, especially since we would be fighting on two fronts, but he isn't enthused in the least about tacitly approving of our conquest. Also his honor would be a little strained should he betray us immediately after us helping him against the regent and his bastard of a right hand. Precarious position that.

Damn, do I love honorable people. Predictable and easily manipulated. Sure, Sighard is wilier than most of the honorable lords of Ferelden but Mind Mage makes up for the difference. My telepathy also picks up that Sighard is already planning to have his son cozy up to Anora when her father falls. Without the knowledge of a potential Theirin heir, the queen is the way to go. Well, should she denounce her father and her story is spun correctly. I have plans of my own there.

All in all a very fortuitous meeting. I'll be probably sending some letters, to 'keep in touch', but I can leave the rest to Oswyn.

With a warning about possible spies working for Howe, I encourage to end the meeting - it's already dark and we are only rehashing what has already been discussed. Also I have lost enough time on the road and I have to do it again with Irminic. For that reason I also decline the invitation to stay at the castle for the night, though it was mostly extended to me for politeness-sake only. It just isn't practical. I bid a friendly farewell to Oswyn, do a last-minute reinforcing of what positive feeling both nobles have about me and soon I'm rejoining my riders.

My squad has been chosen carefully, those that Margit felt would be best, so I have no qualms about teleporting all of us home though the logistics is a little iffy. Still, I'm glad to be back at Ostagar so soon and my men feel the same.

One noble down…

X

Bann Alfastanna Eremon of the Waking Sea, sister to Irminic, is a whole different kettle of fish than Bann Sighard has been. She's one fierce lady and she wanted to punch both me and her brother after her surprise and elation has passed. Irminic is apparently an overly-pious log-head and I should've come sooner. I'm actually rather delighted about her attitude. She's much more gun-ho than Sighard, ready to march to Denerim on the spot, and also far far less impressed by the Chantry. Faith has been a point of contention between the siblings for quite some time and Alfastanna was overjoyed when Irminic confessed his newfound reservations.

In a surprising turn of events Alfastanna is also less grateful than Sighard has been but much more open and approving. She has accepted a lot of refugees on her lands, all of them speaking about the horrors south. The fact me and my people have reclaimed the lands, no matter who they formally belong to, has her quite impressed. It made for a less tense and less formal meeting. Not that Alfastanna is any slouch in politics, simply more… assertive. Yes, let's call it that.

With all that I couldn't help myself and started flirting with her. Irminic was red in the face but his sister matched me word for word – definitely a better meeting than with old and boring Sighard. Her I even invited to Ostagar should she find the time. And maybe instead of letter I could visit her in person… Maintaining good communications with the leaders of Ferelden is key after all. Wink.

This time I'm genuinely regretful to leave but Irminic has to speak with his sister a little more. And she has to make contact with Sighard and start working together. After that, I will visit again, check on the progress and maybe Mind Mage things along.

Once more I teleport my little honor guard back to Ostagar but this time it is only a short stop for me. I have another noble to visit now that I have laid groundwork for the resistance against Loghain, one independent of Arl Eamon. For now, I will defer to Sighard if he wants to contact that old stiff or not.

Denerim's Royal Palace is a place I already know just as well as my own keep, having spent quite some time in it. I stop to check on the two men nominally leading the country to see if anyone has had any new bright ideas and then I break into Anora's rooms, my true target of this visit.

What to do with the widow queen is something I thought extensively on. I realized that it would be best if she remained in charge, if I took Ferelden by force and without any claim to the throne, it would be too abrupt. Fereldans would not have it. But if the queen, one imprisoned by her own father after he killed her husband, would claim me a friend and ally she counted on when the country was in need… well, that is a whole another matter. It would make the eventual transition so much smoother. And I wouldn't mind her in charge of our 'sister kingdom', one that will eventually melt into mine.

With that in mind, it is time to make some more friends.

"That's some work ethic for being effectively deposed" I say airily as the wards around the room snap shut, making it soundproof and impossible to enter or leave.

"Show yourself!" Anora demands firmly despite sheer panic making its way into her voice. And expression. To be honest it is rather pleasing, "Guards! GUARDS!"

I melt out of the shadow and uncaringly drag a nearby chair towards her desk "Perhaps you could offer your guest some tea?"

The queen does not reply or make any moves against me, rather grips the wood of her table and casts a very complex look to the doors. Doors that remain firmly shut. I let the silence be, allowing her panic to rise until the cold realization that nobody is coming settles in. During all this I sit calmly in my seat, smiling at her pleasantly, making no moves to threaten her. Well, outside of infiltrating her castle, isolating her and preventing guards to even hear her call for them.

Anora is not a fool, something I determined during my previous stays at the palace, and today she does not prove me wrong. She is scared, terrified and understandably so, but when not even a semblance of help comes, her voice is firm and at least superficially calm. I knew I liked her for a reason.

"What do you want?" is what the queen finally settles on.

"How about we start with that tea?" I put all my will behind resisting the urge to smirk and instead speak neutrally.

Eyes narrow and for a long time we are silent once more. Anora finally purses her lips in supreme reluctance and reaches for the teapot she has on a tray near one of the highest piles of paper on her desk. In the absence of another cup Anora improvises and takes one of the clean glasses she has standing near a pitcher of water. With practiced grace yet with an affronted look she places the half-full glass before me.

I take a sip, again avoiding a smirk. The tea is lukewarm at best. I heat it up with a simple fire spell, making the queen gulp, her body leaning even further into her chair in an attempt to be as far from me as possible while maintaining her composure. Relatively speaking.

"Would you like for me to heat up your tea as well?" I ask courteously.

"No" is the curt reply.

"As you wish"

Anora's fingers dig into the wood of her table "What I wish is to know who you are, how did you get here, and what do you want."

"My people call me Fia Sky-Chosen" I smile, throwing the queen a bone, "Pleased to make your acquaintance Queen Anora."

I can practically see the wheels turning in Anora's mind. I leave her to it, curious what they will spit out. I am not disappointed. The blonde's brow furrows the tiniest bit "The appellation would suggest those people are Avvar."

"So they are"

"I heard father mention there is some other than darkspawn activity in the south. Chasind, or Avvar, were a possibility"

"Your regent is correct"

Anora damn near growls at the insinuation. But she does know her situation and she hates it. Something I helped fuel during my previous visits though I probably needn't have bothered. Loghain, her beloved father, is now more her jailer. And less spoken about that creep Howe the better.

"Ferelden has abandoned the south so we cleansed our ancestral land"

The noble bristles "We haven't abandoned anything! We…"

"Is it 'we'?" I raise an eyebrow, "Does regent Loghain share his battle tactic with you? Does he even have one? And I would like to mention we have been holding the south for quite some time, seeing no hide nor hair of any soldier of the Ferelden army." Ok, a little lie there but to my defense those soldiers we killed were not Loghain's.

"I don't need to explain matters of state to you" Anora wisely chooses deflection rather than defending a position where she has no leg to stand on, or better yet, no idea about, "An intruder, an Avvar mage to boot. I demand to know how you entered my palace and what did you do to my guards."

I take another sip of my near-steaming tea and shrug "You needn't worry, they are perfectly fine. As will you, I have not come here with the intention to harm you."

The look given to me is incredulous, suspicious, angry, resigned, annoyed and amused. All at the same time. "Which brings me back to my initial question – what do you want."

This time I do smirk, raising the glass of tea in salute, that was witty."To meet, to talk. I have heard a lot about Loghain Mac Tyr, even more about Rendon Howe, but next to nothing about you."

Anora's expression sours at that even further than before. Oh yes, needling her is fun.

"Your disappearance from the public eye and your father's… forcefulness and actions, have managed to shield you from most of the hate that is leveled at the regent and his right-hand-man. People question whether you too are a victim of Loghain as they themselves are, or Cailan has been. Should Loghain fall you might just retain your power" I lay down my thoughts, "But for that to come to pass you can't hide forever."

I expected the pale blonde to either rage or scoff, maybe even try to slap me or something but instead Anora simply cocks her head to the side and asked calmly "What's it to you?"

"We help you and you help us" I speak plainly, "We have the south and we are keeping it. With our new territory here we naturally want the Blight defeated just as much as you. The biggest obstacle in Ferelden for that happening is the Lord Regent. So I offer help in both those matters and you, queen once more, will celebrate our shining new alliance born in war but kept in peace. Fact is Ferelden doesn't have the resources to do this alone. We'll come to help, but only to defend what is ours."

"And by 'ours' you mean my southern territories" Anora raises both eyebrows but once again refraining from erupting in anger.

"You don't hold them anymore, we do" I shrug, "You could attack us, sure, but we come back to your lack of resources. And after the Blight the situation won't be different, not for some time, after which we will be firmly entrenched and even trying to get us out will be beyond bloody."

"So you just want me to give away a big piece of my kingdom and betray my father" the queen says dryly, "Charming."

I smile "To sweeten the pot I have one more offer to give."

"Oh?"

"I can get you out of this castle" I say despite knowing she will refuse. She will come around, she already fears Howe, both for her virtue and her life, and Loghain is not making it easy to love him either.

Anora's posture grows tense "Why would I leave my castle?"

"Is it still even yours?" I arch and eyebrow, "I have taken a look around before coming to you, you know. I could take you to a Ferelden noble in position to actually do something and you could be leading a resistance from there, winning the loyalty and the hearts of the people."

A flash of something that my Mind Mage recognizes as ambition appears in Anora's eye and it is followed by a slew of other emotions.

But those will take some time to untangle so I put the empty glass on the table and slowly rise from my seat, wanting to present no threat "Think about it, queen Anora. I'll come back when I can. Or you can send a bird to Ostagar, if you manage."

"Ostagar?"

I nod "Ostagar. Cleansed and under our control."

"I see" Anora's mood turns melancholy for a moment – while she wasn't in love with Cailan, they were very close friends and partners for a long time. Ostagar is naturally a sore point.

A short silence follows. I use it to drop my wards and to open a window. Anora looks at me quite unimpressed but then I wave at her cheekily, the words "See you soon, neighbor" falling from my lips. The twisting of her mouth is funny. I quickly heft myself up and once I am out of sight I simply teleport away.

It might've been a little dramatic for an exit but the doors have guards so not like I had that much choice. Anyway, while I'm in Denerim I might as well troll for some people to join our budding nation or some idiots whose draining could give me Stats.

Ooooh, I see templars. I guess STR and END is on the menu today…

Aaah. As always stepping into the pirate dungeon is a balm on the soul – sunshine and heat in contrast to the progressively more dreary Ferelden. I do love snow, don't get me wrong, but a tropical paradise is a tropical paradise. Especially since I don't have the time to go here much. Too busy hopping around, looking for possible spies, Mind Maging and a little abduction here and there.

Alright, I'll admit it, a lot of abductions, mostly from Orlais and the Free Marches this time around. Turns out considering yourself above the dog country of Ferelden doesn't mean you somehow lack the scores of men, women and children freezing out on the streets. Quite the contrary, what a surprise. Please note my sarcasm. And elves, I do have a lot of city elves now. Thankfully though Shianni seems to have a handle on them, even the foreign ones. There is a bit of a language barrier at times but an apostate is apparently taking care of it. Either as a go-between or teaching them, I'm not sure – Shianni says I don't have to worry about it, so I don't.

But that is business, Dungeons are pleasure! …even the not-sex kind. It's the [Sin of Greed] and [Battle lust]. And the lack of people wanting something from me when I'm not in the mood.

Anyway, I have a plan for today. So far I only went around the 'normal'-level zones, and boy there is a lot to sail, the vastness of this ocean still surprises me. Very pleasantly so. Still, so far I encountered a lot of ships, some famous pirates too - Henry Morgan, Anny Bonney, William Kidd, even Francis Drake, though he's more a corsair - and all of them yielded more exp than the run-of-the-mill captains, but I have not encountered the dungeon boss yet. Hence today I sail to the high-level part of the dungeon.

I say sail, but I'm flying. The ship is cool and all (and Margit loves it) but since flying does not trigger the Dutchman, it's more convenient than going around in a wooden thing that relies on wind for speed.

A ship passes under me and I ignore it, this is not today's target. Besides, it's only small, that's not enough exp for me today, if it were big or even medium I might've considered it. No, today I follow the map and go south-west to the first highlighted section.

The flight is enjoyable as ever, the wind and the sun so comfortable on my skin as I whistle a half-forgotten shanty. After a while a consult my map again, I haven't received any notification about entering a high-level area but I'm pretty sure that I indeed have. The map agrees. Oh well, guess no notification is forthcoming. Or could it be that I was wrong and this is not the high level area? But what else could it be?

An enormous tentacle bursts out of the water right under me. My spidey-sense warns me well in advance and allows me to veer to the side. And then doge one the tentacle tries to swat me.

"What the fuck…"

Once again I evade, another tentacle targeting me. I zig-zag trough the air, dodging all opposition until I can finally count eight pinkish-grey tentacles attacking me. Peering down into the water I see a large squid-like head and a malevolent pair of eyes.

A kraken. Of course.

Briefly thanking my foresight for not bringing my ship here, I evade once more as the sea monster tries to catch me. I quickly take the Sword of the Creator out of Inventory and slash the nearest limb.

To my surprise I make a deep gash but that is all, the mighty relic not severing the limb completely. Not by a long shot. Resilient bastard.

The kraken lets out a deep howl, distorted by the water it is a truly frightening sound. Once more I lash out with my weapon, this time faster and I activate all my melee buffs. Damn it to hell, I have to go physical or else that fucking ghost ship will start hunting me again.

I quickly [Observe] the monster, focusing on its HP. Swinging at the pinkish mass of attacking flesh with all my might lets me calculate just how much damage I'm doing. The result is actually better than expected but before I attack it head-on I need to get rid of the tentacles.

A barrage of strikes and some quick flying injures one of the limbs deeply but before I can lop it off, the kraken withdraws it back into the water. I sigh, well at least he didn't go deeper into the water himself, I'm not ready for under-water combat yet. I only have a small rebreather but that is all.

Wait a minute… While evading another attack I sheathe the sword and take out a high-powered sniper rifle I stole from somewhere in My Hero Academia. It's bordering support gear, all high tech and all. I studied it as Engineer as a base for a line of weapons for myself, but the original was to my dismay still better.

Putting eye to scope I target the black glaring eye. Just before my spidey-sense warns me of another incoming attack, I fire.

The kraken reels back, letting out another horrible roar. His tentacles flail a little and he tries to swat me blindly. I grin and quickly reload with a useful MHA Skill, [Bullet Creation]. I knew it would come in really handy when I sucked it out.

I fire again, and again, and again, the kraken's HP dropping significantly. Oh yes, much better than a sword.

Suddenly the tentacles retract and instead the bulk of the beast propels itself out of the water. Not high enough to swallow me or anything, but the kraken is smarter, spewing a dark purple mist right at me.

Despite all my DEX and forewarning I'm not fast enough to escape the entirety of the cloud.

Poison Resisted!

Thank fuck! This stuff looks really nasty. I quickly enter Inventory and pick up one of my helmets, those I can use as a gas mask.

The kraken tries again, the already dark cloud darkening as it pumps more poison at me. This time I fly right through it and take aim again.

I grin viciously under my helmet, I struck his other eye and that is a critical strike so even more damage. I don't hesitate and shoot again, each time generating another bullet in the chamber, abusing the gun Skill to the max. It's only a moment but the kraken loses a huge chunk of his health bar.

The poison cloud dissipates and my enemy is down to a third of his HP. As any smart being the kraken starts his retreat, going deeper into the water.

I can't allow that, not when I'm almost done with him and when I can't follow him down.

Yet again Engineer gives me an idea on how to win without triggering the Dutchman. One could say it's not sportsman-like but a big bad bomb solves a lot of problems. And I have a couple that have no trouble with water and depth, why one could say they are even more lethal than usual there. As to why I even have it, well, a villain commissioned them from me since he wanted to take out Gang Orca. I kept a few because I'm a bit of a hoarder.

Droplets of salt water and very small chunks of kraken shower me from below a moment after the charge detonates with an ominous whooom. I grin and take off my helmet as the monsters health bar reaches zero.

You have felled the sub-boss Leviathan

+ 1.000.000 exp

YOU HAVE LEVELED UP!

Oh my, that's a lot of exp in one go. Then again, I got this big fella so easily only because I can fly and despite my magic focus I can pack some serious firepower the old-fashioned way. Well, if bombs and guns can be considered such. Good fight though! Thanks. GG.

Now let's see what did a legendary beast like him drops.

Gacha, always an excellent reward, especially with my Luck. And a scroll? I inspect the scroll thoroughly and can't help but hum appreciatively - it's a summoning scroll. A one-time permanent summoning of a Leviathan.

'System? Just to be sure, one-time permanent summoning means I get to drop this Leviathan somewhere and the scroll is consumed but the beast stays put?'

Yes, he will fight for you until he dies and he can't be resummoned. And if you change universes he stays behind, not like your permanent summoning such as Servants

It didn't even occur to me that Servants could be left behind. But good to have it confirmed. Still. 'When I resummon Servants in a different Universe, they still remember everything, right?'

Yes. But to be clear, should a Servant die, their catalyst is destroyed as well. So 'permanent' can be a bit of a misnomer

'Right, right. Thanks' I nod gratefully. It is as I thought but again, a confirmation is good to have. I take good care of my Servants.

Oh, and while I have System on the horn… 'Could you spin the gacha for me?'

Item acquired

Bilbo's Mithril Shirt (Lord of the Rings)

Impervious to most physical attacks

And now I'm hyperventilating. Mithril! And I have the Blacksmith Class! A new substance to study as well as very nice-looking under-armor. This is amazing!

Now I have two legendary materials, mithril and vibranium. And a legendary forging method too – I'm pretty sure System and I can recreate Valyrian-style forging from that one unnamed sword I got in my very first dungeon. This is very very very good.

Oh yes. Time to get back and take a good look into my newest reward.

I frown, lately there has been much traffic in the forge. Perhaps too much to study this in peace. And I do need a space to try summoning my dragon to run the Valyrian steel experiments… Perhaps it is time to dust off Skyhold. I know how to set up a forge of my own now and I could rob blind some Orlesian bigot smith to get all I need for a personal workshop.

Yes, that's the new plan. Me, Margit and Haku will return to Skyhold to build my new workshop. It is time.

With a grin I stash my gacha pull into Inventory and exit the dungeon. Time to go shopping!

"The darkspawn what?" I exclaim as I try my hardest not to gape, that's not very ruler-like.

"They are trying to breach the boundary" one of my scouts wheezes, clearly having run all the way back to Ostagar - it's not far but damn he has good lungs.

"Are they succeeding?" I ask with a growl, already on my feet and striding towards the window.

"No, Sky-Chosen. They seem to be getting burned by contact and none has passed them so far" the scout replies, awe coloring his tone, "But there are hundreds of them! They opened up a tunnel not far from the northern boundary."

From the north, I did not expect the darkspawn to attack us from the north! South, from the Wilds? Sure. From the Brecilian Forest? Sure. From the mountains? Damn sure. But the north? That was the one boundary I thought was reserved for human adversaries.

I vault over the windowsill and halt my fall with [Flight], accelerating at maximum speed as soon as I can without risking my new windows. As I go I see my people scrambling but as I fly further north outside of the fortress proper I'm heartened to see Rila and a good chunk of my warriors already marching north in something resembling a formation.

With my goggles on I soon spot the dark mass of bodies so I Flash Step there to save some more time. Not that it's that urgent as my wards are still holding. As I survey the situation from up high I note that the darkspawn have clearly tried to collapse one of my warding trees, clever little buggers. This has Archdemon-level intellect written all over. A great cause for alarm but as I count the enemies, I calm back down – this isn't an army, nothing like Cailan encountered. No, this is a probing expedition, aimed to see how my wards could be breached.

My heart freezes for a moment – will the final confrontation happen here instead of Denerim? Will my shiny new city be attacked once more instead of the canon destination? Hopefully the Archdemon will choose the easier target, right now my wards are holding and keeping his filth out. Holding extremely well for that matter. Both myself and the Game have done a great job with them, even if I do say so myself. Still, maybe reinforcing them even further could be given a higher priority on my list, just to be sure.

Here I thought I was being paranoid when I grew the warding trees as tough as I did. Big, sturdy, towering trees but that is only what can be seen. Aside of being mostly magic-proof as well as fire-proof, I grew a massive expanse of roots just as hardy as the rest. I anchored them so very deeply and sprawlingly, that even the darkspawn digging under it didn't break their hold. Mokuton is king here, the default wood being something close to alive and magical. The tree itself knew it was being attacked and sought to protect its purpose.

But I can pat myself on the back later, now I need to kill the vermin. My army will be here relatively shortly as this boundary is only a few miles out, Ostagar being almost the northernmost point of my territory. And Rila can really hustle.

It would be rude of me to deprive them of the chance to defend their new home, I better concentrate on containment. If the situation stays as it is, I won't even have to pull out any of my aces. Although summoning a dragon to torch them would be amusing.

But yeah, containment. On it. Best tool for the job is naturally Mokuton. I can also multitask and reinforce my boundary – it cannot fall. I promised protection and I can't be seen to fail.

The alert about the darkspawn came pretty fast but the dark mass managed to spill over a large area. It thinned out as the horde impacted my wards, making the area even larger. Thankfully my [Flight] is wicked fast at MAX level.

I start with vines, fast and easy to grow, not to mention ideal for herding and grabbing. They won't have any wards on, I just need something quick to keep the darkspawn from spilling further or escaping. Quick and deadly, the thorny vines already snapping at the closest blighters. I quickly loop around the horde, producing more and more mokuton constructs, growing and animating them draining my Mana at a rather respectable rate. Hashirama's blood limit truly isn't for beginners with no reserves. Now as I am I have no fear of my Mana running out before the darkspawn are killed even in spite of my stalling. My vines are slaughtering any that come near but the bulk of the horde is still intact, still mulishly attacking the invisible wall created by my wards despite the burns it I s giving them. But I already see my men in the distance – with no heavy armor and a lifetime of hunting my Avvar make for speedy troops. And the rest are being trained by Rila. Yeah, nobody is slacking off there.

Returning my attention to the 'invasion' I once more inspect all the mokuton constructs. With no wards on they can be easily attacked, something the darkspawn mages eagerly do by setting them on fire despite that not working very well as my Mana continues to flow through them. The corrupted mabari, wolves or whatever are actually worse. Their powerful jaws, big mass and a running start make for a fairly efficient battering ram. But none have managed to breach my wall of thorns.

Hm… now that I think about it, this kinda reminds me of the kingdom of Sleeping Beauty. That too was overrun by thorny vines though no prince can whack his way through these.

The darkspawn are no princes though, and it seems they are trying a new strategy. Or old, burrowing is how they got here in the first place. I'll have none of that.

A ball of searing light splashes at the back line, completely obliterating the diggers. I sigh in satisfaction at a job well-done.

I conjure some more light but the darkspawn are not deterred, constant in their single-mindedness on trying the wards. To be honest I'm not sure what precisely they're doing other than obeying their master. What the Archdemon hopes to gain… Can he somehow analyze my boundary as he throws pawn after pawn at it?

No matter, Rila and the fastest of my own troops have come. Soon this little show will be over.

I grin widely when I note that all the warriors, some more reluctantly than others, switched weapons. From their favored axes and swords to bows. The shamans and their apprentices have too come forward. Excellent, seems like Rila will make our people fight at range rather than idiotically charging in. This is exactly why she is in charge and not some meathead.

As darkspawn begin to get peppered by arrows, some of my own make actually, I make a mental note to call the civilians here too. To help with the clean-up. I want them all to see what is out there and what I'm protecting them from. I want them to see that no darkspawn has passed my barrier and I want them to see that thanks to my magic no warrior of mine was even injured.

Which they shouldn't but ok, I'm not counting my chickens before they hatch.

In that vein I conjure more light, this time my favorite spears which I multiply to a veritable rain which pelts the undead below. My vines are not forgotten though, not by a long shot. I slowly tighten the oval around the horde, keeping them close to the boundary they so wanted to test, which also means close enough to be sniped off.

Some of my warriors stashed their bows and cautiously approach the invisible barrier, hacking with blades the darkspawn nearest to them. Fortunately all of them have enough brains to stay safe. And cover their mouths as I taught them. Sure, there could be infected even then, but the chance is quite a deal lower.

Killing the darkspawn is taking quite a lot more time than I anticipated, being it only a few hundred, so I decide to charge up a bigger spell. This one should obliterate most of the back line, allowing me to shrink the vines so much that all remaining blighters should be in range for my archers.

The resulting carnage elicits cheers and excited calls, and coupling with the usual barbarian enthusiasm we make short work of the rest. Relatively short. Ish. Anyway, we're done.

Or almost, I still need to check the tunnel they came in and deal with that. Before that though I check in with Rila, mostly so that she can get a cleaning crew here. My warriors deserve some rest and it's better that they guard the clean-up crew anyway. After all, the corpses are beyond the boundary. I also tell her to send a scout to spread the news about the victory and tell somebody to organize a feast. In this instance it's practically mandatory.

Truth be told, I could do with some nice alcohol even though I can't really get drunk. It's festive. And I'm sure Margit will compensate that sobriety for me…

I do so love Avvar celebrations.

X

Turned out I had to make due with a private celebration as clean-up went deep into the night. As such, the revelry is scheduled for today. Which is actually much better as the civilians had the opportunity to see just what we are celebrating. Rila and my other officers whole-heartedly approved of cycling the newcomers through the cleaning crews, and all our efforts have ultimately resulted in…

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that please?" I ask politely, trying not to let my utter surprise show.

Rila arches an unimpressed eyebrow but it is another Avvar officer that answers me "It's good timing. The battle proved our might, even the lowlanders are downright proud of our victory. And it's not like we haven't discussed it before. You yourself did say you wanted unity."

Shianni, my newest addition to the council and someone that still bears a little grudge about me not telling her I'm the head honcho, shoots me a mild glare "We need a sense of community here. My people rallied to you for protection and now you've shown you can deliver. But it's not enough, we need to belong."

I smile conciliatorily "Yes, yes, this has been something we have been aiming for, I merely not expected it so soon. As far as I'm aware, no one pitched any official idea."

This time Rila does speak, her tone as dry as ever "Just decide it yourself. You've heard what ideas float around the camp, pick one if you're undecided."

Most of my officers nod at that, looking at me expectantly. Only Haku leaning on the wall in a corner winks at me, showing that he has a grey fabric bundle under his arm.

Oh… looks like this is really happening. I mean at last… but you know, still a momentous occasion for me.

"Very well" I clear my throat and let my proud grin show, "Then, after I announce it at the feast, let our alliance and this land, this new nation we have forged and will grow, be known as the Alamarri Dominion!"

No hippie applause breaks out but my officers hum and nod. I like that they don't accept it outright but appear to think about it. And I do love that they appear to like the name – I heard it in passing during one of my telepathic camp sweeps and it reminded me of the Aldmeri Dominion from Elder Scrolls. I have been thinking about that name ever since.

That is the Dominion part, the Alamarri one is fairly obvious. And it was pretty much the only thing in play – the Avvar and the Chasind being the 'founders' and the historical connotation, not to mention the clear connection to the faith that we will be usurping.

My right-hand, Rila in this context, finalizes the name with another firm nod "A solid choice. Returning to our roots as we return to our land."

Haku subtly clears his throat and steps forward, interrupting the quiet approving murmurs. As all head turn to him he smiles "Similarly to the name, the issue of a flag has been discussed as well. Taking in the history of the Alamarri and the connection to the Lady of the Skies, this has been crafted."

I like the flag immediately. The pale grey clearly references the body paints of my people and is very similar to the original Alamarri colors, at least according to Brother Genitivi, the foremost historian. The Alamarri also had a bird as a symbol though skeletal. My new Dominion has a stylized eagle in deep blue with golden highlights. Well, I say eagle but it's more like the Hylian Crest from Legend of Zelda. As I said, I love it.

"Great job, Haku" I grin widely.

"You flatter me, Fia-sama"

This time my officers, mostly the Avvar ones decide to be vocal though approving. They mostly wax poetic about the Lady of the Skies and how we're going to conquer Ferelden now that we stand united. Normally I would be right there with them, directing the conversation for my purposes but this time I have something far, far more pleasurable to think about.

[World Quest Completed!]

My land, my crown

You have become the undisputed ruler of the newly founded Alamarri Dominion

Award: [ World Jump ] , 50 000 credits, [Dungeon: Arlathan]

Perk [Surprise Boost] activated!

+1 WIS