A/N: REVIEW FOR IT FEEDS THE ENGINE OF CREATION~!

Seriously, it also keeps me alive these days...

Minor rant here, don't mind me~!

So.

Internet's been out for a bit, because a tree just HAD to fall on my power lines. I am not amused -_- No. Not at all!

On another note, one of my older stories "The Longest Road" all but bombed...

...that kinda sucks.

I've been busting my ass, struggling to make ends meet, trying to save money to get a tooth pulled-because ain't that just peachy-in addition to paying my bills. All the while throwing in daily updates and then THIS train-wreck comes along.

Anthem.

It is is DESTROYING my desire to write anything Bioware related. Its literally that bad. I made the mistake of playing it all the way through, even with the patch. It hurts me to see what the story has become, and I played Andromeda. Bioware, what have you done? EA, what have you done? We trust you. We believed in you. This is purely my own opinion, I hold no sway over others, but again my statement remains firm.

Don't buy it.

Bioware LIED to us! LIED!

They promised us a story driven multiplayer game in which your choices would "change the very face of the world itself" that there would be "consequences" for your every choice and action, that there would be deep, meaningful characters you could converse with! I know we all want to believe that; that this game has companions, a stellar story, and deep, compelling gameplay.

It. Does. Not.

Why, dear reader?

Because Bioware sold an empty promise.

I can already hear people defending its flaws:

"Neon! It will be better later! It's a live service game!"

NO! We all hold Bioware to a higher standard than that and you know it! I am so sick, sick, SICK of these "games as a service" mentality! Games are meant to be played! Enjoyed! None of this locking content-away-until-later-bullshit!

I WANTED to enjoy the game. I wanted to believe that Bioware's A-Team could do this. They can't pin this on Montreal this time. To put it bluntly...they failed. Horribly. This game is literally a looter shooter. Not a story driven game in any way. Your choices do not matter. The loot is repetitive at that, and aside from flying about a world FILLED WITH LOADING SCREENS, it simply isn't worth it. Thus, I will predominately focus on my Dragon Age, Star Wars and KOTOR stories this month, if only to remind people of what Bioware used to be.

Anyhow, onto your questions:

Q: Have you read Victory at Ostagar? This reminds me of that. In a good way! I'm glad to see you giving Cailan his just due rather than focusing on Loghain.

A: Victory at Ostagar is my FAVORITE. Right next to Keening Blade. I have nothing but respect for the author, who alas, passed away some time ago...why do we always loose the good ones? If I might suggest other stories, All Roads Lead to Denerim, as well as Corrin are bloody FANTASTIC.

Q: So what's the Warden roster here?

A: You mean the party? I'll gladly give that: Naruto, Morrigan, Ramen (Naruto's dog) Alistair, Cailan, Lelianna, Cousland (Cousland's dog) as well as the Hawke siblings at present and their mother. Of course, there's bound to be more. I may include the other Warden origins as well.

So! At present our merry little band numbers twelve.

Q: So...is their enough Archdemon blood left for a joining?

A: No. They'd have to go to Soldier's Peak to get more.

Q: So can we have a harem-

A: NO. None of that here. I've done enough of those. NarutoxMorrigan is the main pairing. There will, of course, be other pairings between characters.

Q: Why the slow pace?

A: Recall that Dragon Age is story-driven. This will be a monumental undertaking; and it will take time. Expect longer chapters in the future.

Q: Conscripted! Ha! He reminded me of Tara there.

A: Aye, I drew some parallels there. He'll have to cut back soon enough lest he make enemies.

Q: Naruto and Morrigan, eh? Scary...

A: You have no idea.

Q: Do we have to worry about a Calling here?

A: Naruto needn't fear the Calling as most Wardens do. His...tenant has seen to that. All the benefits, none of the drawbacks.

Minor timeskip of an hour or so, here.

For anyone familiar with Lothering, we all know what became of it after Ostagar. I've put it off as long as I can, but no longer. This has been coming for awhile now and though it hurts my heart to do it, we all knew the fate of this little hamlet from the moment Loghain quit the field.

Now our merry little band faces its first test.

Now we shall see how they fare.

THE DARKSPAWN ARE HERE.

"You cannot save everyone, fool of mine."

"Maybe not, but I can still help others."

...I would expect no less of you."

~?

A Blighted Dawn

"They're coming!"

A hue and cry went up all at once, shocking the camp into action.

At that less than pleasant shout, Morrigan stumbled out of the Fate with an angry sputter and tumbled to the floor of her tent in a mad tangle of arms and legs. Her mind woke well before her body truly did; she'd scarcely struck the ground before she bounded upright again and made for the tent's flap. In the time that it took her to cross the threshold and emerge into the fitful light of day, she realized three things. First, she had woken alone, her crude bedroll utterly devoid of Naruto's comforting warmth. Second, the sky had gone black; even now the weak morning light was being swallowed up by dark storm clouds.

Third, she could hear the screams.

She knew at once that they had lingered overlong near Lothering; made their camp too close to the village proper and finally been noticed for it. Fools! What were they thinking?! No, that was precisely it! They hadn't! And more fool she for believing they were safe!

Lothering was less than a day's journey from Ostagar by swift horseback, more if one stopped to rest in the interim. Darkspawn did not sleep and they were not burdened by the feeble constraints of sustenance. Moreover, this was the only human settlement for miles. Where else would the horde go? Certainly not back into the wilds; not after they'd routed the King's army!

Still, Morrigan knew these people not, thus she was able to harden her heart against their suffering. Somewhat.

A ruin of shadow and flame greeted her as she forsook the comparative comfort of her tent for the world beyond; a tide of darkness stretching out before her just off the imperial highway, accompanied by telltale scent of burnt flesh and another, fouler smell she refused to give name too. As the saying went, where there was smoke, so too was there fire.

Spirits, that was a lot of fire.

She'd never cursed her keen eyesight more than this moment. In distance, Lothering vanished beneath the blighted tide that was the horde. Even here from the comparative safety of the highway she had a prime view of its death. There was the Chantry, drowning in a blackened river of Taint, its few Templars trampled beneath the armored fists of ogres.

Moments later, Dane's Refuge met a similar fate, shrieks rising from within as those too stubborn or too fearful to leave met their end. The rusted cage that had once housed Sten was pawed at by a squad of hurlocks like some broken bauble; tossed about aimlessly, then forgotten as the spawn realized it no longer held life.

Those who could not outrun the horde were likewise run down.

Save for Morrigan herself, the Wardens and their eclectic little band did not linger, nor did they watch the hamlet burn.

On the contrary, Alistair and the others were dashing about, hastily helping to break down the camp about them. With so many hands on deck their ragtag little band was making a good show of it; even the three Hawke siblings threw themselves into the task with admirable competence. Now if only their insipid widow of a mother would cease wailing about their impending doom, Morrigan might actually feel a modicum of pride towards their efforts. Would that they had horses! She, of course, could simply change into a raven and fly away from all this, but that would mean leaving her "companions" behind to fend for themselves. That...did not factor into her plans.

Clicking her tongue, she flitted around the ex-Templar and the once-and-future-king to seek someone mildly more capable. The Qunari spared her a withering look as she sauntered past but otherwise did not challenge her any more than that. Her mind was focused on more pressing matters. Matters that involved a certain whiskered warrior who was nowhere to be seen.

Where was Naruto?

A distant shout answered her.

"Move it, Cailan! Run faster! Go, go, go!"

She nearly cried out when she saw him; no, once she realized what he was doing. He was not in camp as she'd expected, but farther down the road-with that fool king!-running just ahead of the blighted tide of death that had laid claim to Lothering. Imbecile! What was he thinking?! He wasn't of course. Naruto was the sort to extend his hand to any who offered; even if someone bit said hand. He simply wasn't the sort to leave others behind, not when it was within his power to help them. Had he really run headlong into the horde just to save a few lost souls?!

Something crackled in the air and quite suddenly, that distant speck resolved into a sinuous streak of gold far too close for her liking.

One moment Naruto had been leagues away, a large band of Darkspawn nipping at his heels; the next reality unfolded with a jarring pop and her Warden was before her. The cynic in her didn't want to believe what she'd seen, but her eyes told the tale true in spire of it.

"Whew!" a hearty laugh greeted them as her lover trotted to a halt. "Bit of a close call, there! We've got the last of them!"

"Last of whom?" the witch echoed, knowing she wouldn't like what he had to say.

Remarkably, Cailan edged up beside him. "The refugees, of course!"

Morrigan glared bloody red daggers at him, but the warrior's smile didn't falter in the face of her fury. It likely had something to do with the five children of varying ages clinging to his battered armor. Perhaps realizing the worst of the danger had passed, they filthy creatures began to climb off him. There was even a babe in his arms, of all things! Say what you would about the fool king, he had a heart of gold. Hrrmph. She was no blushing virgin to be swayed by such a sigh!

Much less Naruto.

Keen golden eyes snapped back to the Warden Commander, noting his disheveled state.

"Miss me?"

She promptly kicked him in the shin for it. "Must you save everyone?!"

"Well-

Blue eyes beamed back at her and exasperated, the witch threw up her hands.

"No, never mind! 'Tis clear you will defy me regardless! What madness possessed you to do this?!"

At his return the others rushed forward and there was a great deal of chatter, chatter that Morrigan pointedly ignored.

How in the world could one man-in full armor no less!-pull a cart with that kind of speed was beyond her. And one laden with people at that. Refugees! The fool-her fool!-had raced back into Lothering at a mad dash to rescue whomever he could from the encroaching horde. Under any other circumstance she would have cursed him for it-but there was Lothering's Revered Mother clinging to his back like a madwoman, her tan face gone ghostly white-so she reluctantly demurred. That, at least, gave Morrigan no small amount of pleasure.

The woman had been kind, in her own way, but she'd also refused to speak with them after Naruto had...liberated Sten from the confines of his cage.

To see her thusly rattled and saved by those who "consorted with mages"...well. She'd take her amusement where she could get it. Oh? And there was Ser Bryant among the refugees, taking her aside, his face dirty and bloodied and made grim by battle perhaps, but also pinched with concern. How galling this must be for him. Even now he risked a glance toward the sisters Hawke, only to receive a stern look from Cailan in turn. Oh ho? There might be some hope for that one yet.

"Many thanks, my boy!"

And what madness was this now?

Belatedly she glimpsed a pair of dwarves climbing down from the cart, one bearded, the other young. The latter regarded her with wide, guileless eyes.

"Friends of yours, I assume?"

"Morrigan," in response Naruto sketched a low bow. "May I introduce Bodahn Feddic and his son, Sandal."

"Enchantment!" the younger dwarf seconded.

Whatever response he had for that brilliant statement died as low, sibilant chuckle reached them.

"Darkspawn!"

She saw them at once, swarming up the highway from the south, a portion broke off from the rest, no doubt drawn by the Wardens themselves. Leliana's bow twanged out a trio of sharp musical notes in response and several of the creatures dropped in rapid succession, but the rest thundered on, undaunted by the deaths of their fellows. It was not the true bulk of the Horde itself, any resistance there would have been futile. But it was a sizable portion of it. A warband, or a small army.

A very large warband.

"Ladies!" Naruto favored them with all with a small smile. "Would you kindly-ow!"

Morrigan elbowed the blond but didn't gainsay him. At least her fool knew when magic was to be used.

Carver muttered something that sounded like a curse, but no one took him up on his own ill-amused grumbling

Ser Bryant looked as if he would protest, but instead held his tongue. Morrigan considered hexing him purely out of spite, then decided against it.

What followed proved to be a short, nasty fight, one that would've been far worse without the aid of magic and the sisters Hawke. Bethany called down a storm of fire upon them, her once-placid face twisted into a rictus of desperate fury and fear. Bandy-legged genlocks stumbled through the blaze, some trod upon by the their fellows, others scorched beyond recognition.

Morrigan, naturally, defaulted to her preferred element.

With nary a gesture the world turned cold and frigid. At such range arrow could do little, and blades less. This was the time for magic and, there was naught the spawn could do but stumble on, even as flesh cracked and splintered against the cold, even as their fellows froze before them and were trampled down into frozen chunks. An emissary attempted to raise its gnarled staff and fire off a counter spell of its own only to die horribly for it, immolated by a fresh flash of fire from Bethany.

Remarkably, it was Marian Hawke who carried the day.

Pale eyes blazed with sparks as threw her head back and surrendered wholly to the primeval forces of the storm. Strands of white hair lofted about that pale face like a ghostly halo, crackling as the air grew pregnant with primeval power. Sheathed in sparks like some great gilded goddess, the young apostate flung out both arms on either side of herself and exhaled sharply, uncaring as her feet left the ground. Morrigan had an instant-half a heartbeat-to realize what her fellow mage was about to unleash, then those blank, blazing eyes locked on the horde.

This was not blood magic.

Not some deal made with a demon.

It was pure, unrestrained mana in its purest form.

Wrath and rage, focused upon a single target, hot and tempered.

Morrigan would forever remember what came next, if only for the silence that came before.

The heavens darkened further still, and for a terrifying moment the horde paused, baffled by this change.

Then Marian Hawke screamed, the sky ruptured, and all the world vanished into a snarling swell of pure elemental light.

A/N: Close call there, eh?

And just like that the first blow against Loghain's lie has been struck. A band of Wardens and their allies standing their ground against that many Darkspawn? Buying innocents time to escape?

Yeah, words going to get out about that.

I'll be following a formula similar to "All Roads Lead to Denerim" in that some chapters will be episodic in nature, while others will be much, MUCH longer. Clearly I have plans for Cailain-I have yet to see a story where he survives Ostagar-and its going to be one doozy of a tale!

You shall soon see!

As ever, Morrigan is a treat to write...and surprisingly, Cailan as well. I'd like t

...Review...would you kindly? And of course, enjoy the preview! 'Tis a pair! Amusing! And a surprise!

Previews are in no particular order, just glimmers of what is to come.

Of course, other Wardens will join our merry little band.

Oh ho? Don't believe me?

Here's one now!

(Previews)

Alistair loathed taking charge. He really, truly, absolutely did.

"Wardens!" A clear, resonant voice rang out. "To me!"

Cailan.

Some hesitated. She didn't blame them. But what this foolish king lacked in wit he made up in charisma and martial prowess. Then it was time for blades. Credit where it was due, Alistair did not flinch from his duty. Though his face was twisted by fear he stepped to meet the first wave with Sten and Carver.

And battle was joined.

It was not a messenger but a dwarf; clad in mismatching armor of all things.

Golden hair flashed in the evening light as she removed her helm. She was certainly...attractive...in a dwarfy sort of way. Oh, Maker. Alistair slapped his face as those startling green eyes snapped toward him. Did I say that out loud?

"You are Grey Wardens, are you not?" she inquired.

Naruto and Alistair exchanged a glance.

"Yeeeeeeesss?"

...we may need to split up."

Cousland frowned. "Is that...a good idea?"

"Probably a horrible one, but I don't see how else we're going to get this done in a timely manner."

"Right, then!" Cailan interjected vigorously, stabbing a finger into the worn parchment. "Who goes where?"

Naruto clicked his tongue, considering the map sprawled out before them with a keen eye. Figures rattled around in his head, struggling to make themselves known. The Circle. The Dalish. The Dwarves. And of course, as Alistair so blithely suggested, Redcliffe. They had to split the party. Else their merry little band would waste the rest of the year tromping about Ferelden. Worse, they couldn't make any Wardens with their limited supplies, which would leave an future conscripts exposed to the taint...

"Alistair's keen on Redcliffe, so I'm inclined to leave that to him and Hawke." When no one challenged him, the blond dared a small smile. "Morrigan and I will take the Circle...maybe send Cailan and Elissa to the Dalish, then-

"Glorious!"

"Never use that word again."

"What?!"

'Tis your fault!"

Her lover swore. "'Tis not!"

"Pashera!" Sten snapped. "Both of you, cease!"

Leliana's musical laughter floated in the background.

"And so the hero of the hour arrives! How kind of you to walk into our trap-

The pommel of Cailan's sword descended ruthlessly, cutting the man off before he could begin ranting. When the mastermind tried to rise again the king struck him again, soundly striking his skull with a booted foot.

"Nice shot." Naruto offered a low whistle.

The Warden beamed.

"Thank you!"

"Enough! There are innocents behind that door and you're in the bloody way! NOW GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!"

A giant golden hand burst forward, bodily picking up the Knight Commander and setting him aside.

Greagoir paled, looking as though he'd just seen a ghost. "Abomination! Get back!"

"Oh, please." Naruto barely even glanced at him. "I'm no such thing."

Morrigan clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle a smile.

'T'would be remiss of you to ignore him...

Alistair groaned. "Not helping!"

R&R! =D