"A year ago, Elissa, Oriana, and little Oren rode in a carriage for a long walk. They were attacked by bandits in the woods, God damn them. The daughter did not wait for rescue in the carriage, ordered the wolfhound to guard the door and grab the throat of anyone who pokes in there, and she went out to protect the carriage from the outside. She killed three people! And she was sixteen at the time. That day, I thanked the Creator for the fact that my family returned unharmed, and also gave a whole purse of gold to Elissa's fencing mentor.

"Impressive," Duncan mused.

Thairn's smile faded immediately. He got up from his chair and looked at the Guard seriously.

"However, we weren't talking about my daughter." He said, as if suspecting that Duncan was about to take his cub away.

"Yes, we said that King Kaylan called the Orlesians to our lands, whom we drove out with such difficulty thirty years ago", Earl How returned to the original topic.

"My Lord, King Kaylan has summoned the Grey Guards from Orlais, and the Guards have no nationality. Their main goal is to fight the Plague," Duncan said.

"And what about the legion of chevaliers that will come after them?" How persisted.

"If there is a pestilence, we will need any help." Bryce Cousland intervened. "Orley is not the same as before. There is now an empress on his throne, who, as I have heard, does not want a war with Ferelden."

"She can say whatever she wants, but Orlesians are Orlesians. If it is possible to defeat the darkspawn on our own, there is no need to invite enemies to our lands."

"I'm afraid our strength alone won't be enough." Duncan remarked tactfully.

"That's how? Then what do the Grey Guards do? That's their job, isn't it?" Rendon Howe continued.

"There are too few of us in Ferelden."

"Because you were exiled two hundred years ago, and for good reason."

"How, that's enough! I will not allow you to speak ill of the Grey Guards in my house!" Earl broke off, put down a goblet of wine and rubbed his eyes.

"I beg your pardon, my lord. I'm probably tired. If you'll excuse me, we'll continue this conversation tomorrow, when my people arrive. Now I would like to talk about more pleasant things."

"You're right. We haven't seen each other for a long time, and we only talk about the war. You see, years will pass, and we won't even notice."

"That's right, my friend, that's right."

Commentary on Chapter 1. Before the Storm

*Thedas chronology dates from the year of the ascension to the throne of the first High Priestess of the Church of the Creator and is divided into centuries. The priestess names the new age according to the signs revealed in the last year. It is now the 30th year of the ninth century.

**Stubble (common name) is the 10th month out of twelve according to the church calendar of Thedas.

Collage for the chapter about Elissa:

https://pp.userapi.com/c850024/v850024865/b854c/OvoRpGxdYvs.jpg

Chapter 2.1 The deaths of Oren and Oreana.

It was a clear night. Elissa was sleeping peacefully in her room when she was awakened by a sharp sound. She lifted her head from the pillow, listened, and rolled over, closing her eyes again. The sound was repeated and got louder. The dog responded by barking restlessly. The girl heard a clang, a thud, and voices.

How's soldiers must have arrived.

Suddenly, a noise was heard very close, just outside her door. Elissa shuddered. Chase growled angrily.

`No one should be here,' she thought quickly as the door to her bedroom swung open and a panting servant appeared in the passage.

"My Lady! The castle has been attacked! Beg..." The servant exhaled sharply and collapsed to the floor, with an arrow sticking out of his back.

Elissa screamed and rolled off the bed. Two armed soldiers ran into her room... not her soldiers. One of them drew his sword and wanted to attack her, but mabari bit into his leg and wouldn't let go. The second one aimed his bow at her. Elissa barely had time to jump away, run across the bed and take the shield off the wall before another arrow came loose from the bowstring. The swordsman tried unsuccessfully to get rid of Mabari. He swung the weapon, but the dog let go of his leg and bit into his wrist with his fangs.

"Shoot that dog!" The swordsman shouted, trying to shake mabari off his arm.

The archer aimed at the dog, but was hit by a thrown shield and was distracted for a second. Elissa tore the blade from the swordsman's weakened hand and plunged it into his flesh to the hilt.

"Chase!" She commanded the dog and pointed at the archer, who put an arrow back on the string.

Mabari took off and attacked the enemy. He did not have time to dodge and fell to the floor with his throat bitten through. Elissa took a deep breath and put her hand on her chest, calming her racing heart.

What happened?

A thud around the corner and rude voices made her tense up again.

Mom!

Elissa gripped her sword tightly, grabbed her shield, and ran to the other room where the noise was coming from. The footsteps of bare feet on the carpet were almost imperceptible in the dark, and the enemies heard her from behind too late. One of the soldiers who was banging on Teyrna's door didn't even have time to turn around when the blade entered his back. Mabari hung on the arm of the second, and Elissa cut off the enemy's head. Blood covered the floor and the hem of her chemise.

"Mom!" Elissa pounded on the door, which immediately swung open, and Teyrna Eleanor appeared in the doorway.

"My soul, are you hurt?" she grabbed her daughter by the arms and examined her.

"No, it's not my blood," Elissa shook her head. "And you? Are you... dressed?"

Eleanor stood clad in medium armor.

"I'm fine," she smiled. "When I heard the noise, I bolted the door and managed to get dressed. Thanks to you, they couldn't break in on me", She looked at the dead enemies, and the smile immediately faded. "Look at their shields! They're How soldiers!"

Elissa followed her mother's gaze. She hadn't noticed it in the semi-darkness, but now, under the torch, she could clearly make out the image of a bear on a wooden shield, the symbol of the house of How.

"Our soldiers left the fortress, and How's men freely entered here... Mom!"

"The scoundrel! I'll slit his lying throat myself! Have you seen your father? He never went to bed."

"No", Elissa shook her head, her panic growing. "And Oren? Oriana?"

"The Creator's Breath! And suddenly... let's go to them, quickly!"

Fergus's room was opposite Elissa's bedroom, but there was no sound outside the door. The girl burst inside and froze on the threshold, her breath caught in her throat. Moonlight flooded the room through a small round window near the ceiling. The boy and his mother were lying on the floor in their nightgowns. The white fabric turned dark red.

No, it can't be... Elissa rushed to the child and began shaking him by the shoulders. Oren!

"You'll take care of them, won't you, sis?"

"Of course, rely on me!"

"Will you protect us, Aunt?"

"Of course, Oren."

Oren!

"What if the castle is attacked? Are we going to see dragons?"

"Oren!" called Elissa, confused.

"Dragons are dangerous, they eat people."

"Wow! I want to see it!"

Oriana? Elissa rushed to her daughter-in-law and put her ear to her chest. It wasn't beating... Oriana!

"Fergus! You're the one who ruined the baby!"

"What? I didn't say anything!"

Oren!

"Will you teach me how to fight with a sword, Dad? Take it, scary rabbit! All the monsters are afraid of my sword of truthfulness!"

"Truthfulness?"

Oriana!

"We teach him honesty."

They're dead.

The thought made my vision blurry. Sobs choked my throat. My eyes refused to believe it. His hands, wet and slippery with blood, refused to let go.

"My little Oren... the scoundrels! Kill an innocent child! Poor Fergus..."

Eleanor hugged the lifeless boy to her chest. My heart, unaccustomed to losses, was bursting, beating in spite of me, not giving up, but bleeding and in pain. Teyrna kissed her grandson one last time and lowered his dead body to the floor, and then put her hand on the shoulder of her still-alive daughter.

"Come on, honey," she said sadly. "No need to look at it anymore."

I promised him....

"I promised him, Mom," Elissa whispered, clutching the bloody body of her brother's beloved.

"Come on," Eleanor repeated. "We have to find your father. He needs us."

"Yes," Elissa nodded, and with difficulty brushed away the grief and tears that threatened to drain away.

Business first. Then the emotions.

Elissa ran into her room, took off her shirt, and opened the closet. She wrapped a strip of cloth around her chest, pulled on a shirt, pants, and boots. Except she left her armor and sword in the armory yesterday when her father called her. Elissa cursed under her breath.

There was a mail tunic without sleeves in the closet. She quickly put it on her shirt, tied her hair with a leather cord, picked up a shield and an enemy sword and went out into the corridor. Her mother was waiting for her, an arrow to the string, ready to use her weapon if anyone dared to come near them. Nodding to each other, they hurried downstairs. Elissa glanced at the duffel bag on her mother's shoulder.

A fire was raging in the castle, smoke and the smell of burning crept through the corridors. The only thing that kept me from suffocating was the open sky overhead. The sounds of battle could be heard from all over the castle. Elissa could barely make out what was ahead. They saw servants running away, but they didn't know where Teyrn was. Hou's soldiers were also looking for him and all the surviving Couslands.

"Mom, what should I do?"

"We'll find your father and get out of here through the back door."

"What about our house? Are we just going to leave him?"

"Don't be a fool! Can't wait to die?" Eleanor took Elissa's face in her hands. "Listen to me, honey. If we don't find Bryce, it's your duty to survive and get out of here. Without you and Fergus, the entire Cousland family will end here."

Elissa shook her head. Her shoulders were shaking. She didn't even want to think about such an outcome.

"Let's go find Dad." She answered in a trembling voice and ran forward without unnecessary arguments.

Each swing of the sword ignited the flames raging inside Elissa. She killed without thinking, as if she was used to the sight of death. There was no fear. Anger, desperation drove her forward. The laurel wreath on the shield was covered with the blood of enemies, and thoughts of relatives burned in his memory.

While fighting, Elissa heard her mother moaning behind her and was distracted.

"Mom!" She shouted and immediately felt a sharp pain. The arrow stuck in the back of his left shoulder. Elissa gritted her teeth.

"Chase, protect Mom!" she shouted.

The huge mabari rushed to obey the command. Elissa, gritting her teeth, held the block as a shield against the knight who was bearing down on her with all his weight. He pressed her against the wall and was so close that Elissa could feel his breath through his visor. He was a living man with the coat of arms of a family that had recently been friendly to her family, and he was still trying to kill her.

The arrow from behind pierced the wound, penetrating deeper, the shaft cracked from the pressure. Out of the corner of her eye, Elissa noticed how the archer was already aiming at her temple, but she was trapped and couldn't move.

Damn it! Get moving!

But before the enemy could fire, another blue-feathered arrow pierced his throat.

"I'll do the same with How when I meet him." Teyrna challenged.

Mabari grabbed the knight's leg and pulled him away from Elissa, giving her the space to strike. Another enemy was defeated. He's the one who's dead, and they're the ones who survived.

The girl exhaled, tried to pull the arrow out of her shoulder and almost howled, she could only break off the shaft and endure the pain.

Then.

Elissa looked back at her mother. She was breathing heavily, resting her palms on her knees, and looked tired but unharmed. They nodded to each other and ran on, leaving red footprints on the stone floor. Eleanor had hoped to find Thairn in the main hall, and they had paved the way there with blood.

Chapter 2.2 escape from Highever.

Elissa opened the door. The fireplace and torches were burning brightly in the hall, and the corpses of the Couslands and How soldiers were scattered all over the room. The portraits on the walls are splattered with blood. The air was so saturated with smoke that it was difficult to breathe. A handful of warriors were shouldering the main gate, which was being heavily pounded on.

"Roland!" the girl shouted, seeing a friend among the living defenders.

"Your Grace! My Lady!" Gilmore left the gate and ran up to them, his red hair matted with sweat, and a drop of red rolled down his cheek. "What a blessing that you are alive! Thairn was trying to find you."

"Where's the father?"

"He was seriously injured, but refused to leave. He said he'd be waiting for you at the back door in the storeroom, but he ordered me to hold the gate."

"Can they be retained? We killed many How soldiers inside."

"The castle cannot be saved, my lady. You need to leave."

"Then come with us!"

Gilmore froze for a moment, and then smiled and shook his head.

"If I go with you and the gate falls, you won't have time to get out. Run away."

"God bless you, Sir Gilmore." Teyrna said with sadness and respect.

"Roland!" Elissa grabbed his arm in a panic and shook her head, and Gilmore suddenly hugged her.

Elissa froze in surprise in his arms and only heard a whisper in her ear:

"I'm happy to protect you until the last moment. Thank you for your kindness."

Roland abruptly pulled away and ran back to the gate. Elissa took a step towards him, but was caught by her elbow by her mother.

"Did you hear what Gilmore said? I have to run. Don't you dare follow him!"

The gates continued to shake with heavy blows, as if they were being hit by a battering ram. The boards began to give way and crack. Elissa looked back at the defenders one last time-they were determined to stand to the death. For them. They stay to die for the Couslands and they know it, and she leaves, using their lives as a shield.... Suppressing her emotions with difficulty, Elissa ran out the side door into the hallway.

1234

Предыдущая глава

↓ Содержание ↓