Date: Thu, 14 May 2015 23:48:27 +0000 (UTC) From: Rainy Day Subject: Becomings of Wardens Part 5 If you are new to this story, this is a Dragon Age fan-fiction, featuring original characters set in the world of Thedas. There will be characters from the games and literature mentioned in this story though, but they are not the main focus of my story. Please enjoy! Disclaimer: This Fan Fiction is based on the Dragon Age video game series trademarkedby BioWare. I do not claim ownership of the characters or the world of Dragon Age. I've tried not to mess with the "official" story, so names and dates should be correct for the time period this story takes place. This story contains sexual relations between minors and adults, and if this offends you in any way, please do not read any further. Any comments are welcome at rainingsparrows@yahoo.com Please consider donating to Nifty!!!!!! We'd all be without this site if people don't donate! Previously: "What about you Simon? You're... covered in blood!" Duncan said in horror as he looked over at Simon. Daniel looked over as well, and felt a pit in his stomach when he saw the wound in Simon's side. "I'm... bleeding." Simon said, looking shocked as he placed his hand on the wound and saw the blood covering his hands. Daniel noticed a shift in Simon's balance and ran towards him as Simon started to fall. Daniel barely managed to catch his friend before he hit the ground, holding him securely in his arms. "Katarina!" Daniel shouted as many more came rushing to them to help, "Katarina, help!" First now Daniel noticed how pale Simon was. He must have been bleeding for a while. "Simon! Simon, wake up!" Part V Simon felt his blood pumping. The excitement from what they had just done and what they had seen, rushed through his young body. He still held his longsword and dagger in his hands. As he looked down at them, he saw the blood dripping from them. He looked behind him, where the bodies of the three archers lay on the ground, two of his doing. The realization from what they had just done hit him, like if he'd hit a wall. He had actually killed someone! Fine, they had actually tried to kill him and Daniel, but still... As a pickpocket, he had never actually killed a person. The Shriek attack felt like it happened years ago, and what he did back then didn't feel as real as this! "Simon, are you alright?" Daniel said and put a hand on his shoulder. The touch from Daniel sent Simon back to reality. "Yeah. I'm just... overwhelmed." Simon finally said. The two boys walked over to the camp again, where the Wardens had gathered to see who was injured and if anyone had been killed in the attack. Simon didn't really pay attention as Duncan started to look Daniel over and tend to his shoulder. Suddenly Simon started to feel dizzy. He stumbled a little as his vision started to blur. His body started to feel cold, like from the core of his body and out! He thought he knew what had happened to him, and with that in mind, he looked down. Something had slashed straight through his leather armor, leaving a long lash to his left side. The blood from the archers had hidden it quite well, as most of his armor was covered in blood, but now he noticed the fresh blood pumping out from his wound. He let his blades fall to the ground as he tried to cover the wound with his hands. "Daniel..." Simon managed to say, and he noticed that his voice was shaking. "I'm bleeding..." He felt light headed and the world started to spin. A voice called out his name, but it was so far away, almost like an echo. Then as the darkness crept in on his vision, he felt the sensation of falling... and falling. When Simon came to it, his eyelids felt unusually heavy as he opened them. From the little he could see, he was in a dimly lit chamber. He lay in a bed, covered in several thick blankets. He turned his head to get a better look at the room he was in. Next to his bed burned a wax candle, about the only light source in the room. Next to the table, in a flimsy looking chair, sat Daniel, sleeping. Simon almost didn't recognize him without his armor on! He wore a dark green cotton shirt and wool pants. Daniel had dark rings under his eyes and Simon could only guess why. He also noticed Daniel's bandaged shoulder. From the looks of it, he seemed to be fine. Thank Andraste for that! Simon tried to speak, but his throat felt like it was filled with sand, and only a hoarse sound escaped his lips. That was enough though! Daniel opened his eyes and looked confused around for a second, before he noticed that Simon was looking straight at him. He almost jumped out from his chair as he rushed over to Simon, hugging him tightly! Simon had to moan as jolts of pain shot through his body. "You're finally awake!" Daniel said, as he looked him over. Simon felt a little guilty when he saw Daniel's eyes filling with tears. "I was afraid you were never going to wake up!" he said, hugging him once again. This time, the pain didn't just come from his sides, but from the corner of his own eyes as tears formed there. Daniel had been worried about him, and that made Simon feel horrible. It wasn't like he had meant to worry him or anything like that, but it still hurt inside of him, thinking about it. "I'll run and get Katarina, hang on!" and with that, Daniel ran out from the little room. Simon tried to sit up straight, but as soon as he tried to move, he felt a new jolt of pain to his side. After a few minutes, Simon heard rushed footsteps outside, before four people entered the room. Daniel and Katarina was the only ones he could recognize, but the other two was unknown to Simon. One was an elderly man with a long, grey beard and the other was a dwarf woman with short, brown hair. "Ahh, you're awake. Good!" Katarina said as she walked over and sat on the edge of his bed. "We were afraid you weren't going to wake up, Simon." She said, smiling warmly at him. Simon tried to speak again, only resulting in unrecognizable sounds. He settled down on a smile of his own. "You lost a lot of blood in the battle and fell unconscious after. Do you remember?" she asked, studying him. Simon tried to remember, but he couldn't make out any images from the battle. The things he did remember was the blood dripping from his sword and dagger. He nodded slowly, not feeling that well at the moment. "Good." she said before getting back up again. "This is Cassius Markett, the healer who saved your life." Katarina stepped back and let the elderly man step forward. Now Simon saw just how old the man really was! He had deep wrinkles, covering his entire face. His grey hair and beard looked like they were made from cobwebs and the man had very thin limbs. If Simon didn't know any better, he would have thought that this man was a walking skeleton! "I could only hold you stable until we came here. He is the reason you are still alive, Simon." Katarina said, and the old man bowed before looking Simon over. Without warning, he lifted the covers and looked at Simon's body underneath. As Simon followed his gaze, and noticed the bandages covering his abdomen and lower ribs. They were a little bloody, but considering how much he had been bleeding from the little he could remember, this looked a lot better! The man didn't say anything as started to examine the bandages, looking for more bleeding. Seemingly happy with the bandages, he gave Simon a quick smile before giving Katarina a nod. Then the old man and the young dwarf woman left the room. "You should rest some more, Simon. Try to get something to eat and drink, if you can. I'll send Daniel to get you some soup and water, to start with." Katarina said, and before she even finished the sentence, Daniel made his way out of the room again, seemingly to get Simon something to eat. Katarina looked after him, before turning to Simon again. "He was really worried about you." She said, still looking a little concerned, "You should try to reassure him when he comes back with your food and drink." Katarina gave Simon one last smile before leaving the room as well. Simon once again, felt guilty for being injured! He never meant to hurt Daniel or any of the others. With a lot of effort and more jolts of pain, he managed to sit up straight in the bed, just in time as well. Daniel soon came into the room again, with a bowl of hot soup and a mug of water, smiling from ear to ear. "Here you go." Daniel said as he put down the bowl and water on the small table, before sitting back in his chair, visibly cheerful. Daniel told Simon about the time after Simon fell. Katarina, Duncan and Daniel had gone ahead with Simon to Montsimmard while the rest of the Wardens moved the bodies of the highwaymen and buried their dead. They had taken him to the Grey Warden fortress and quickly found the healer, Cassius. Two day before Simon woke up, Duncan, Tanyl and Saunders Ivo had left Montsimmard with the Orlesian Warden Commander and around 15 other wardens, heading for Weisshaupt Fortress. Katarina had stayed behind; wanting to make sure that Simon was all right. Duncan and the others were expected to be back within a couple of months. Simon lay in bed for two more days before he managed to start walking. His body felt beaten up, but he made progress every day. He had to use crutches to help him stand up at first, even though Daniel followed him everywhere and made sure Simon did all right. Whenever Simon felt some pain, Daniel quickly grabbed hold of his shoulders, making sure Simon didn't fall over or something. It was very sweet just how much Daniel took care of him. Simon and Daniel spent every single day together, exploring the Orlesian Warden Headquarters. It was a lot bigger and a lot freer than the underground facility in Jader. This one was a small estate, fully equipped with own walls and towers within the city. Simon had managed to make his way to the battlements to look out on the city around them. The city of Montsimmard was bigger than anything Simon has seen before. It was definitely much bigger than Denerim, only judging by the size of the buildings around them! Much like the other cities of Orlais, the buildings stood out from what Simon was used to, by using vivid colors and towering spires. Even though Simon wasn't able to start his training, Daniel's shoulder soon healed, and he could finally start his Grey Warden training. Simon often accompanied Daniel to his training sessions, which was mostly sparring sessions with the master at arms and his apprentices. "Keep your shield higher, Daniel!" The master of arms, Kahul, very big for being a dwarf, shouted at Daniel. "I'm raising it as high as I can!" Daniel shouted back, frustrated. This session had lasted over an hour, and Daniel was exhausted. The wonderful weather didn't help either. It was blazing hot outside in the courtyard where they were training. Simon sat by the edge, close to the walls, watching carefully as the sparring continued. Daniel's sparring partner today was a quick and ruthless dalish woman, Salessa, who more or less smashed Daniel into the ground again and again with her powerful greatsword. Even though they were sparring weapons, dull blades and designed to not cut anyone, the greatsword hurt a bit as she hit Daniel. Her greatsword was crafted out of heavy wood, making a loud `smack' sound as it hit him. It was strange to see such a small woman as Salessa, swing around the huge sword as easily, slashing out in broad strokes, one going under Daniel's shield and knocking him off his feet. "Remember to not block your vision for too long at a time, Daniel." Kahul sighed as Daniel got back up on his feet. "I'm exhausted... " Daniel said tryingly, not meeting Kahul's eyes. "That's no excuse!" Kahul shouted and walked closer to Daniel, shoving a thick finger into his chest, "A battle with Darkspawn can last hours, especially under a Blight, when it's thousands of them on the surface. You need to build up your stamina, Daniel! Go again." He said and without warning, Salessa moved towards Daniel again, that had his sword and shield lowered after talking to Kahul. In under ten seconds, Daniel was on the ground again, as he'd been several times during this training session. "Damn it!" Daniel cursed as he sat back up again. Kahul sighed deeply and walked out on the field. "Never lower your guard in a fight." He said, his voice stern, but his face looked slightly worried as he helped Daniel get back up on his feet. "AGAIN!" Kahul shouted as he walked off the field. The session lasted another 15 minutes before Kahul finally let Daniel off, not very impressed with him though. "I'm sore all over..." Daniel said to Simon as they slowly made their way to Daniel's chamber. "You took quite a lot of hits today, so it's not really that surprising." Simon said, trying his best to keep a straight face. It had been a little fun to watch Daniel getting knocked to the ground by a woman shorter than him, but with a sword much bigger than him! "I should have been better." Daniel said his voice a little darker than usual, as they entered Daniel's chambers. It wasn't a single chamber, like the one Simon had at the moment, but a chamber with four bunk beds. Daniel had capped a bed ready for Simon when he could change chambers as well, over his own bed. "It's not supposed to be easy!" Simon said, trying his best to comfort his friend, as Daniel sat down in his bed. "We knew that training to become a Grey Warden, to become as great as Tanyl, Duncan or Saunders Ivo or even Katarina, would be hard work." Simon said, sitting down next to Daniel and put his arm around his shoulder. This seemed to lighten Daniel's mood slightly, as he gave Simon a warm smile. "Thanks, Simon. I guess you're right. I can't give up. This is what I wanted, at least to some degree." Daniel said as he started to take off his training armor. The armor was pretty much just his usual armor, but with wooden plates covering his chest, arms and chins. This was to at least give him some protection against the blows he would receive during training. Simon felt the heat on his own face as Daniel started to remove the different parts of his armor, and soon he stood there bare chested in front of him. Simon remembered the last time he'd seen Daniel take off his armor in front of him, back in Jader. Determined to not look away this time, he held his breath as Daniel loosened the belt around his waist. Daniel didn't seem to care if Simon was looking or not, and dropped his training armor to the ground, standing in front of Daniel as naked as the day he'd been born. Simon couldn't help but to gasp from the sight. Daniel's body was pale, but flawless. Like his chest, Daniel's legs looked well defined for his young age. Simon could see the blonde hairs, barely visible on his slender legs. As Simon was sitting in the bed, and Daniel was standing up, Simon got a very good look at what made him almost shiver from excitement. In the middle of his slender legs and firm chest, was Daniel's privates, and Simon couldn't remember seeing one so beautiful! It was flaccid, maybe around 3 inches and with a nice little bush around the base. A small trail of hair lead up to his belly button, something Simon couldn't remember seeing last time. Far too soon, Daniel reached for a pair of wool trousers and stepped into them, still with Simon watching him. As soon as Daniel had finished dressing, now in the wool pants and a nice cotton shirt, he looked back on Simon, and smiled for a second, before his face turned worried. "Simon, are you alright? You don't look so good!" Daniel said and took a step closer to Simon. Now Simon actually remembered that he'd held his breath for almost the entire time that Daniel took his clothes off. He probably looked a little blue from holding his breath. Finally letting himself breathe again, he placed his hand on the bandage, before pretending to be in pain. Everything was better than letting Daniel know of the feelings that made Simon's body feel like it was boiling and his own privates was as hard as his dwarven longsword. After another four days, Simon started to feel like his old self again. His bandages finally came off, only leaving a scar. "But you have to take it slow, alright? No hard training for you yet. You should start by just walking around the place." Katarina said firmly as she removed his bandages, looking sternly at Simon. Simon and Daniel were together almost every single hour of the day now, especially now that Simon shared chambers with Daniel. The others in their chamber were all warden recruits, but they were going to join before both Simon and Daniel. For now, it was six other recruits. Two of them were the twins Darien and Aiden, both from Lydes. Since they were twins, Simon hard a hard time seeing the difference between the two, but as soon as he got to know them better, he learned that they were very different. They may have the same bright blue eyes and golden curls, but Darien was very quiet and rarely said anything, while Aiden almost never shut up. They both spoke with the strange Orlesian accent, which Simon had come to love now, surrounded by people speaking it. Most of the Wardens and recruits of Montsimmard was from Orlais. Even the elven Wardens came from here. Simon never expected there to be many Dwarves in the Wardens here though, so far away from the Frostback Mountains, but there was quite a few! The head chef, a very strict woman was a dwarf. Simon never dared say to her that her food wasn't the best in the world, as he'd seen her handle a butcher's knife. Then it was the master of arms, Kahul and one of the recruits was a dwarf. The weeks flew by quickly as Simon started his own weapon training. Like Daniel, Kahul oversaw Simon's training, but to his surprise, he got another sparring partner his first time. "Simon, this is Riordan, your sparring partner." Kahul said and a tall and lean man stepped onto the training grounds. He had dark hair, braided on the sides and Simon got the feeling that this man wasn't one to mess with! Like Simon, he had a sword and a dagger. Dual wielding seemed to be very popular with the Wardens! Riordan bowed quickly to Simon, not saying a word before readying his two blades. These were blunt sparring blades, so it was impossible to cut someone. Simon drew his own blades giving Riordan a nod. "Ready yourself..." Kahul said and both Riordan and Simon tensed up. Simon was determined not to mess up as hard as Daniel did in his first training session, not even lasting ten seconds before he was knocked to the ground. "And go!" Kahul shouted at the end of the field. Simon quickly stepped forward, but was shocked when he saw Riordan running toward him, his blades down his sides! Simon stopped and held his blades ready to deflect a blow from Riordan, but it didn't seem like Riordan had any plans of hitting him yet. Riordan slid right between Simon's open legs and around to his back, and before Simon could do anything he had Riordan's blade against his neck. "Never stand still." Riordan whispered in Simon's ear before taking his blade away and walking around to Simon's front again. Simon heard Kahul sigh from the other side of the field. This was a lot worse than what Daniel had done! Simon had barely lasted five seconds! Simon looked to his left, where Daniel sat gawking at him, not really sure if he should laugh or not. Riordan was incredibly fast, much faster than Simon had anticipated him to be. "Go again!" Kahul shouted and Riordan started moving straight away. This time, Simon made sure his legs wasn't far enough apart for Riordan to slide through them. He shouldn't even have bothered, as Riordan went straight for Simon's front. Swinging both blades at the same time, he quickly delivered three blows with both blades at the same time that hit Simon hard in the chest and sides, making him stumble backwards. Riordan didn't even give Simon time to recover before he made his next move and delivered a swiping low kick, knocking Simon's feet off balance even more, resulting in Simon falling straight on his backside. The rest of the hour-long sparring session didn't go much better. Riordan never used the same tactic twice, making him very hard to predict. Once, he even threw what looked like smoke on the ground, before vanishing into thin air and suddenly stand behind Simon, with his blade on Simon's neck. At this stage, more people had come to see the Simon and Riordan sparring, but most of the Wardens only laughed as Riordan took Simon out again and again. "Don't feel too bad. Riordan is a Senior Warden." Aiden said comforting to Simon after the sparring session. Simon and Daniel followed Darien and Aiden to the main hall to eat. Simon felt like his body had been beaten to a plump, as Riordan also had hit him multiple times with the dull blades, mostly around his back. "All recruits take on a good trained Warden during their first sparring sessions, so that you see what's expected of you." Aiden continued as they sat down to eat. "Aiden and I took on Riordan too, but together. It didn't help much!" Darien laughed, "He took us both out at the same time!" "He was so fast!" Simon said, cursing to himself. Simon had gotten in only one blow on Riordan, but only to his sides and wouldn't have been fatal to him. "You'll do better..." Daniel said, patting Simon on the back, "I'm doing much better now and you will too!" "I hope so..." Simon said, feeling warm again. It happened every single time that Daniel touched him and it only got worse. "No need to blush." Darien said comfortably, giving Simon a bright smile. Using this opportunity as a cover for the growing hardness in his trousers, Simon just nodded, trying to ignore Daniel's hand still resting on his back. And the twins were right. Even though Simon didn't spar against Riordan next time, he did a lot better. This time it was against Salessa, who had a hard time connecting her blows. Simon figured that the heavy sword would tire her out if she continued striking into thin air for much longer. After a long swipe, Simon noticed a slight hesitation, and made his move. Like Riordan did on him, he slid right between her wide stance, before quickly getting up behind her, resting his blade against her neck. Daniel made huge improvements as well, mastering the shield techniques that Kahul taught him. As the seasons changed, Simon and Daniel had gotten pretty good with their weapon classes. "As usual with our recruits, we'll let them have it against each other as part of their training." Kahul announced to the packed training ground, where Daniel and Simon stood face to face. It was a lovely day and most of the Wardens had drifted outside to watch the sparring. "Good luck." Simon said confident and Daniel smiled back, before holding his shield ready. "You too!" Daniel said, raising his shield. "You boys ready?" Kahul said, seemingly pleased. Now both Simon and Daniel had the blunt steel weapons that was more like the ones they would use in a real battle situation. Daniel now had a steel kite shield as well, with the Grey Warden emblem on the front. Simon could barely see Daniel's face, as his upper body and face was behind the cover of his shield. The only thing that Simon could see was the blue eyes staring over the shield. Simon could see the intensity in them and it brought a shiver down Simon's spine. He couldn't think of Daniel as an ally at the moment, but as the target he was going to take down. And from the looks of it, it seemed like Daniel had the same thoughts. "Aaaand... GO!" Simon leaped forward, determined to get the first strike. Simon's much lighter armor have him increased agility compared to Daniel, something Simon was going to use to his advantage. As long as Daniel never hit him with his sword, Simon should be fine. Simon closed the distance, and just as Daniel lunged forward with his sword, Simon slid down on his knees, sliding under Daniel's slash and behind his right side. Simon was sure that the fight was over when he got back up on his feet and whirled around with his sword. To his surprise, Daniel's shield blocked him and Simon's sword literally bounced off the shield. Simon watched in horror as Daniel bashed his shield at him, especially since his footing wasn't great to start with. Simon felt the cold steel from the shield hit him in the face and knock him to the ground. Barely able to look straight, Simon saw Daniel's looming body stand over him, holding his sword ready to strike. Acting on impulse, Simon grabbed a handful of sand and threw it against Daniel. He knew he was fighting dirty, but it gave Simon enough time to get back on his feet and take a few steps away from Daniel. As soon as he managed to see straight again, Simon noticed Daniel's red eyes. He had probably gotten some of the sand in them, which was perfect for Simon! Using the extra few seconds to steady himself and plan out his next move. While Daniel seemed to shake it off, Simon changed the grip of his dual blades. Simon had a plan! Daniel seemed to be all right again, which was part of Simon's plan after all. Simon needed Daniel to make the first move and get out of his defensive position. Therefore, Simon started to circle around Daniel, staying just outside his range, but threatening enough for Daniel to have to have his shield ready. Simon took a quick step forward, taunting Daniel. He flinched for a second, but didn't go out to attack. Maybe Simon had to make the first move after all. Reaching a decision, Simon lunged forward with his longsword, hitting on Daniel's shield side. As planned, Daniel tried to counter it, striking at Simon while deflecting Simon's blade with his shield. Using the new grip on his dagger, Simon pushed Daniel's blade up and away, while pushing forward into the opening that had occurred in the middle of Daniel's arms. Then the world was turned up-side-down for Simon. In the middle of his riposte, he noticed the change in balance in Daniel. Looking to his right, he watched in horror as the edge of Daniel's shield came rushing towards him, before finally hitting Simon straight in the face, again! Simon stood there, dazzled for a moment before Daniel once again bashed his shield at Simon, knocking him off his feet. The surrounding crowd suddenly cheered as they realized that the battle was over at this point. Simon was laying on the ground, bleeding from his broken nose and with Daniel's sword against his neck. "And the winner of this recruit showdown is Daniel!" Kahul announced to the cheering Wardens around them. Simon had barely noticed their shouts and cheers as they fought. "You alright?" Daniel grinned down at him. "Yeah, I think you just broke my nose though!" Simon said, getting back on his feet with some help from Daniel. "Ohh, my apologies! I just wanted to knock you down." Daniel said, still with the grin on his face. Simon couldn't help but to smile back. He'd just got his ass kicked by Daniel, and he somehow didn't really mind it either. He knew how much work Daniel had put into his training. "Good work, you two!" Kahul said, stepping closer to the two of them, patting each of them on the back. "Simon, you made a few mistakes, but that last move could have gone either way for you." "I agree. Well done you two." A familiar voice suddenly said behind them. Looking very pleased and smiling, stood Duncan. Behind him stood both Tanyl and Saunders Ivo, the two of them smiling as well. "Well done indeed." "Duncan!" both Daniel and Simon shouted in unison and ran over to them. Duncan looked tired, but happy to see them. "I can't believe that you're back already!" Daniel said, obviously surprised to see Duncan and the other two. "Me either. The journey went a lot smoother than we thought it would. Now... Simon," Duncan said, turning his attention to Simon, "I'm glad to see you up and running again. Are you feeling any pain still?" "No. Cassius fixed me up good." Simon said, smiling from ear to ear. "Good. I wasn't feeling very good about leaving you here hurt, but we had to push on, so we would be back before winter. It seems like we might just make it back to Ferelden again before the worst sets in." Duncan said thoughtful. "What? You're not staying?!" Daniel almost shouted when he heard this. Duncan gave him a faint smile. "No, I have to get back to Ferelden. I am the commander in Ferelden after all." He said with a chuckle, "but you two, need to stay here." He said, looking at Daniel and Simon in turn. "No, we can't! We want to go back to Ferelden with you guys, and girl." Simon added when Katarina joined their little group. "The two of you need to complete your training. Your full training, including your joining." Duncan added when Simon started to protest. "And as of now, the two of you are too young to join. I don't think the First Warden would like to have two fifteen year olds join his ranks. Maybe in a year. And when you're ready, you can join me and the others back in Ferelden, if you chose to." Duncan said firmly, his voice not giving room for any discussion on the matter. Simon and Daniel said their goodbyes to Duncan, Tanyl, Sanders Ivo and Katarina as the four of them left for Ferelden, leaving Simon and Daniel in Orlais. "I think we'll be alright here." Daniel said, patting Simon's back, which immediately made Simon's body shiver. "Yeah... It's just one year, right?" Simon said, trying to ignore the heat on his face. Daniel was right though. They were going to be alright here in Montsimmard. At least for a year.