Aedan Of Highever

by Milton Garby

  "So can it give us the ashes?" Shale said. She desperately wanted avoid coming across a giant scaled bird.

  "So you're here for the ashes?" Kolgrim's anger seemed to turn into interest. "Hmm, perhaps there is a way for to make up for your desecration of our home and temple."

  "Why are you now so interested in helping us, priest?" Morrigan inquired skeptically.

  "Perhaps it is because I believe in second chances, and perhaps in Andraste's great mercy her greatest enemy could be her greatest champion." Kolgrim continued.

  Aedan planted Starfang into the ground and wiped all of the blood that was caking his face. "Tell you what, I'm a little tired from the bloodbath I had getting up here. Say what you have to say while a catch my breath."

  "The ashes you seek reside atop this mountain, watched by an immortal guardian who refuses to accept the truth of the risen Lady." Aedan's eyebrow quirked, an immortal guardian? Now that would be someone Aedan would love to encounter. "Now the ashes prevent Holy Andraste from full realizing Her new form." The Father continued. "They are the remnant of Her past incarnation and She cannot move on as long as they exist."

  "So…you want us to…throw them in the garbage?" Sten asked indifferently.

  "I speak not of destruction." The priest chided. "The Beloved needs to reclaim the Ashes, to make them Her own again, all it would take is a drop of her blood. Blood carries power. Strength. Knowledge! Through it all the power that is held in the Ashes will return to our Lady." This all sounded like blood magic, the Joining, and the becoming of a Reaver combined, and Kolgrim was beginning to sound more and more like a braying ass.

  "If this means so much to you, why haven't you done it?" the Qunari asked again.

  "The Guardian has foiled all our attempts to reach the Urn, he keeps what power remains from the true Andraste." Kolgrim answered angrily. "He knows the Disciples and we cannot touch him for he draws strength from the Ashes themselves." Kolgrim then looked intently at Aedan. "But you…could deliver our Lady what is rightfully Hers."

  "So, what would I have to do?" Aedan scoffed.

  "The task is simple; I give you a vial of the Holy Andraste's blood and you empty the vial into the ashes. Whatever magic was held in the Ashes will be undone and our great Lady will finally be freed from the shackles of her past life!"

  "I can just imagine if the Grand Cleric were here, her head would explode, I kid you not." Alistair half joked.

  "What is this talk of blood and power?" Leliana said suspiciously. "And he thinks Andraste is reborn. It is preposterous! I do not like this."

  "There is nothing but madness in his words." Wynne observed. "He is a fanatic and a dangerous one. Be warned, he means to lead you astray."

  "It sounds to me like they just want you to do what they are too weak and too incompetent to do." Morrigan chuckled.

  "This man's sanity is clearly questionable. Do not be fooled by his words." Sten warned.

  "If the mad priest has any interest in praying to a giant scaled bird it must be ignored." Shale exclaimed.

  "While I do like the sound of being rewarded, I don't know if receiving one from someone who talks to dragons is a smart idea." Zevran joined in.

  His companions all had the truth of it, but still, it was kind of funny hearing Kolgrim sound like such an ass.

  "We need the Ashes to cure Arl Eamon." Alistair reminded. They came here for that reason and that reason only.

  "Then just take what you need of the Ashes before you drop the vial." Kolgrim explained. "Do this and all will share in the glory and power of the resurrected Andraste!"

  Alistair looked like someone had just caught him naked. "Okay, now I really don't like the sound of us helping this Kolgrim."

  "So if we do what this Kolgrim guy asks does this mean we aren't hunting their pet dragon?" Oghren asked almost as if he was heartbroken. "You're going to let this opportunity slip past you? Think of the glory…"

  "You would hunt our Lady for sport!?" Kolgrim fumed.

  "Oh, you'll find another one soon enough. What if we left you a wing? You could wipe your rumps with it."

  "You-!"

  "My dear Oghren, let us try to not offend a psychopath that thinks he speaks to dragons." Zevran scolded. "It behooves us to think of all of our options."

  Kolgrim continued to stare at Oghren with murder in his eyes. "Your companion's words were enough to earn him his death. Our archers will loose their arrows if I give the word. But do as I ask and I will spare him."

  He had heard enough of this bullshit, Aedan decided he had caught his breath, so he pulled Starfang out of the ground and held it at Kolgrim's throat!

  "Heretic! Blasphemer!" Kolgrim declared. "You dare to raise a weapon against Andraste's chosen?!"

  "You kidnapped a good man, then tortured and murdered Knights performing their duty. You dare to defile the remains of my country's greatest war leader!" Aedan listed angrily. "And now you spout nonsense about Her resurrection and think I'm supposed to blindly believe your superstions? I think I'll just take my chances with arrows, claim the ashes, then I'm gonna piss all over your beloved Lady's dead body."

  "Hah! That's the spirit, Warden! Show 'em who's boss!" Oghren yelled out proudly.

  "Kill them! Kill them all!" Kolgrim ordered while the heathen's greatsword was still at his neck. "Our Lady will grant us victory!"

  The cultists' archers launched a volley of thick, javelin-like arrows at the intruders. Zevran and Oghren took cover behind Shale while the others blocked or evaded the volley. Before Aedan could decapitate the delusional priest he found himself frozen solid, his body refused to obey his will. His eyes looked down to see the two bright paralyzation glyphs overlapping each other beneath his feet. Aedan was completely frozen in place! Kolgrim hauled back his colossal, silverite battleaxe and swiftly swung the destructive head at Aedan midsection to cut the Warden in twaine! Morrigan watched in horror as the mad priest's weapon bared down on Aedan. The others were pinned down, the Warden could not move, he had no defense! This was the end!

  There was a loud resounding clang that filled the cavern. The priest's axe had made contact, but not with its target. Kolgrim's face twisted with rage as the blow of his weapon was absorbed by the face of a shield with two mabari rampart supporting a crown. The golden haired Templar had successfully defended his fellow heretic.

  Alistair stood in front of his brother-in-arms, his shield baring back the force of Kolgrim's powerful weapon. The force of the axe was staggering. If Alistair wielded a lesser shield it would have been shattered along with his whole arm! The Templar knocked Kolgrim's axe down to the ground and jammed his armored elbow into Kolgrim's face, sending the reaver backwards. As he shielded himself and Aedan from another volley of arrows Alistair cleansed the area of the magic glyphs holding Aedan and released him from the spell. "Aedan, move!" The Templar yelled. Aedan rolled out of the way of another volley and sliced one of the mages who cast that glyph in half.

  As Aedan dealt with the mages and the other dealt with the reavers and archers, Alistair went after Kolgrim. The archers dared not fire at him for fear they might hit their revered father. Kolgrim opened one of his veins and charged the younger warrior with enhanced strength and rage. The priest expertly swung his weapon repeatedly at the Templar with alarming speed, the blows of his axe felt like an ogre's fist smashing against Alistair's shield. Alistair knew he had to end this fight in one deft move in order to kill the older reaver. Any glancing blows or ill-placed attacks would only make the man stronger. But his assault was relentless; Alistair could do little more than defend.

  In the heat of the moment Alistair remembered one of the techniques Duncan taught him not long after he was recruited in to the Wardens. As the other cultists were slain around them Kolgrim threw another mighty swing of his axe and aimed it at the Warden's neck. In that split second Alistair raised his shield to meet the blow of the axe. The timing had to be perfect. The instant the edge of the axehead was a hair away from the shield's face
Alistair expertly spun out of the way of the oncoming blade and threw Kolgrim's momentum completely off-balance. His enemy spun around trying to regain his bearings as Alistair rotated like a whirlwind and swung his sword in a backhanded slash against the revered father. The dragonbone blade sliced through its victim's armor, ribs and midsection like paper, almost cutting him in half. The only reason the stroke didn't kill him was because he was a reaver, but that wasn't going to save him from a wound this gruesome. Kolgrim's axe fell from his hands as he dropped to his knees wrapping his arms around his torso, trying to keep his insides from spilling out to the ground. The priest was more in shock than in pain. "L-Lady…An…draste?" He whispered with half hope, half disbelief.

  Alistair picked up Kolgrim's axe. "Andraste…never even knew you existed." The Templar quietly declared as he beheaded his kneeling adversary. He looked at the haft of his enemy's weapon. "Blessed is Her touch, blessed is Her breath, blessed is her blood that runs through my heart and strengthens my mighty blow." A weapon made in tribute to their false Prophetess. "They shall cry out to their false gods, and find silence." The Templar recited as he tossed the blasphemous weapon to the blood-soaked ground.

  Aedan approached his brother Warden. "Thanks, Alistair. You saved my life. I owe you one."

  At being thanked by someone like Aedan, Alistair ceased to his warrior appearance and resumed his normal, bashful, awkward self. "Eh, think nothing of it, Aedan. I still owe you for all the times you saved me."

  "I mean it, Alistair. When we get back to Denerim I'm gonna rent out the whole damn Pearl for you." And Aedan meant in too.

  Alistair and Leliana both blushed furiously at the thought of Aedan renting out an entire brothel. "Oh! W-well th-that's very generous of you, Aedan."

  Aedan's generosity aside, they all decided to finally leave this blood-soaked armpit of the mountain. They walked out of the caverns and found the light of day in a small mountain glen nestled between the peaks. On the other side of the glen stood a large, stone pair of doors that undoubtedly housed the Urn of Sacred Ashes and its Gaurdian. A massive shadow and an overwhelming sense of dread came over them as the occupant of the glen flew over them. Not just a dragon, but a High Dragon! A beast so rare they were thought to be extinct and whose power was said to be rivaled only by the Old Gods. No wonder there were so many eggs and drakes residing in the caverns. In Ancient Tevinter men and dragons like this had a symbiotic relationship with each other: the dragon's followers would tend to her clutch and her needs and in return she would provide them with blood and power. This was the Prophet Reborn that these blood-drinkning savages had taken to worship? She flew on to a small cliff overlooking the glen and gave roaring yawn as she set down for a gargantuan nap.

  While the others ducked down to not be seen Oghren got on his toes to get a better look at the fearsome monstrosity. "A High Dragon!" He gasped almost giddily. "Oooh, I like the sound of that! 'Oghren Kondrat! Dragon-Slayer!'"

  "Now that is Ataashi!" Sten almost gasped in shock and amazement. "Discretion might be wiser than confrontation." The qunari warned.

  "Yes." Wynne agreed. "You'd all make a perfectly good meal for that creature. Not me, though. I'm far too old and stringy for it to notice me."

  "The Old Gods will cry out to you, From their ancient prisons they will sing. Dragons with wicked wings and wicked hearts, On blackened wings does deceit take flight, The first of My Children lost to night." Leliana recited in equal parts awe and fear.

  "Ahhh…a…High Dragon, yes?" Zevran observed. "We're….We're not actually thinking about attacking that thing, are we? Couldn't we just sneak around? Let sleeping dragons lie?"

  "Yes, please." Shale agreed. "Let us try not waking up the giant, fire-breathing bird. Please?"

  "This is these cultists' new Prophetess?" Morrigan looked with great intrigue. "No wonder they chose to worship it. Few creatures in all of nature are capable of equaling the power of such a beast. And it's more present than their old prophetess."

  Aedan noticed a giant gong at end of the walkway and its mallet resting on top of it. The wheels in Aedan's head started turning and he knew what he had to do. He grasped the mallet in his hands and his blood, pride and need to avenge the knights of Redcliffe and Weylon guided his hand. He raised the mallet back and prepared to strike. "Aedan!" Alistair called interrupting his little moment. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

  "Not a fucking clue!" He answered as he struck the giant gong with wall his might. The powerful call reverberated through the glen and woke the epic beast from it slumber. She angrily flew down and landed on the ground with such force it threatened to shake the foundations of the mountain, and roared in such terrible rage that lesser men would have cried, ran and even died in terror. But not Aedan or Alistair. Killing dragons was actually a part of their job description.

  "Attack the flanks!" Aedan ordered. The others scattered around the massive lizard, waiting for an opening to attack and giving the dragon multiple openings to worry about. This wasn't like Aedan's battle with Flemeth when she took on a dragon's form. There were no trees to hide under and no place to take cover in this vented valley. But this time Aedan had his entire company of hardened warriors, sly cutthroats and powerful mages at his side. This dragon would stand no chance.

  The dragon lashed its tail around like a colossal whip but Shale got around behind it and used all her strength to anchor the flying beast to the ground. Wynne conjured a protection spell to safeguard her comrades from harm while Morrigan and Leliana distracted the dragon by launching arrows and lightning at its face. Sten charged the dragon's side roaring like a madman, as if he didn't notice how miniscule he was compared to his target. The qunari lunged his sword into the side of the dragon like a spear and plunged it deep into the dragon's side, and to make his attack more grievous he used his weight to pull the sword down through the dragon's ribcage. As the dragon screamed in pain and rage from Sten's assault, Zevran rook this as an opportunity to throw his explosive and poisoned bombs into the dragons screaming maw while Oghren smashed at the dragon's thick legs with his hammer, crushing them like stone pillars.

  At this point the dragon was furious! She beat her mighty wings in the air and blew a powerful gale that knocked her attackers of their feet. Except for two: the Wardens. It was time to end this. "Alistair, distract her as best you can!" Aedan ordered.

  "Distract her!? And what will you be doing!?" Alistair demanded as he held his ground, shield raised.

  "Something insane!" Aedan answered as he ran towards a nearby outcropping overlooking the vale.

  Alistair held firm and screamed defiantly at the High Dragon. "Over here, you oversized gecko!" The dragon flared its nostrils, smoke billowed from her snout and let out a mighty, earth-shattering roar as column of flame erupted from her toothy maw! Alistair raised his shield and prayed to the Maker that the enchantments Sandal placed on it would protect him. Alistair's body was engulfed in a sea of flame that burned the earth around and when it passed Alistair's shield and armor were smoking like a chimney but he was unharmed. Before he could let his joy of being alive overwhelm him, the dragon swooped her head down at Alistair in an attempt to bite him in half. Alistair jumped just out of range of the dragon's teeth and sunk his father's sword deep into the dragon's snout between her nostrils. She whipped her head wildly in the air trying to shake the painful sword out of her face but to no avail. She stared down at the now unarmed human angrily and snapped her head at him in an attempt to devour him! She missed as the Warden rolled under her head, but he landed up against the side of the mountain. There was nowhere left for him to run! The dragon reared back her massive head on her serpentine neck and opened her jaw, revealing the rows of sword-like teeth. She brought her teeth down one last time to finally consume her quarry!

  As the dragon lashed down at Alistair, Aedan jumped off the outcropping just over them both with Starfang clutched firmly in his grip. He flew through the air simultaneous with the dragon's strike and landed w
ith the full force of his weight bearing down on her and the full length if his sword driving through the base of her skull! The High Dragon's body fell with a resounding boom and her head went as limp as a worm. The others gathered around cautiously as Aedan twisted his sword out of her head and pulled Alistair sword out of her snout and tossed it to him. They were all exhausted, but this was definitely a victory they would cherish.

  "We…are ridiculously awesome!" Zevran declared.

  "Hah! Wait'll the boys back at Tapsters hear about this!" Oghren cried victoriously.

  "The Arishok would be impressed." Sten admitted.

  "I never would have imagined I would ever see a High Dragon, let alone help slay one." Wynne confessed as she dusted herself off and applied healing spells to those who needed it, especially Alistair.

  "This is definitely a victory worthy of having its own song. One I will be proud to write down." Leliana promised.

  "Ugh! What is It doing?" Shale groaned disgustedly as Aedan turned his back to his companions and undid his pants.

  "What are you doing, Aedan?!" Wynne practically scolded. The sight of such boorish behaviour was to be expected from Oghren. But from Aedan? It was appalling!

  "I promised that I was going to piss on these cultists' Lady's dead body. And I always keep my promises." Aedan explained as he proceeded to urinate on the dragon's dead nostril right in front of everyone. While everyone else turned away completely put off by Aedan's lack of refinement, Oghren guffawed at their leader's lack of shame while Zevran tried to sneak a peek at Aedan's glory. As Aedan finished his act of desecration Leliana turned away abashed around a corner of a collapsed building and found something that made her eyes almost bug out of her head. "Everyone. You'd better come see this."

  Aedan redid his pants and joined the others in the ruin, wondering what the hell they were gasping at. Tucked away behind the broken walls and fallen roof was a massive pile of glittering gold and gems half the size of Shale and thrice the weight. Apparently blood wasn't the only offering the Disciples of Andrast made to the dragon. Just a handful of this horde would be enough to finance their entire army for a month! They decided they didn't have enough time to collect treasure at this moment and made their way over to entrance of the Urn's Temple.