"No need, Duncan," Kaylan replied softly and turned to the girl himself. "You're Bryce's daughter, aren't you? I don't think we've been introduced to each other before."

"I am Elissa, Your Majesty," she replied without looking up.

"Your brother and the Highever soldiers have arrived a long time ago, but your father is still missing. We're waiting for him."

Elissa shuddered.

"You... won't wait for him. He's dead," her hands clenched into fists.

"Died?!" Kaylan was startled. "Duncan, what happened?"

The guardian briefly told him about the events in Highever and their escape. The king was genuinely outraged, and Elissa hoped that the day was not far off when Howe would pay for everything. Kaylan turned to her:

"As soon as we deal with the darkspawn, I will turn the army north and bring Hou to justice." Kaylan gave his word as king.

Elissa raised her head.

"Is there nothing you can do now? Hou is running my house and killing people loyal to us!"

Elissa hoped that the king would issue an immediate decree declaring Rendon Howe's betrayal, and all of Ferelden would turn on him as a traitor. After all, not all forces are gathered here in Ostagar, someone must protect those who remained in Highever. But the king just shook his head.

"I'll need an army to bring him to justice. I'm sorry, but that's all I can do right now. Except to advise you to take out your grief on the creatures of darkness."

Elissa frowned and stared at the ground. Pity and guilt appeared on the king's face.

"Your Majesty, I apologize," the Guard looked at Elissa reproachfully.

"Nothing, Duncan. You're probably tired, but I hope you still have the strength to participate in today's battle. We're almost ready, the darkspawn will be here at sunset."

"As you wish, Your Majesty" The Guard bowed his head.

"That's great!" The king cheered up again. "We have won two major battles, and the third is almost upon us."

"Your Majesty, battles are not won in advance," Duncan warned. "It is unlikely that the Plague can be ended as... quickly as you would like."

The King just waved it off.

"I'm not sure if this is a real Plague. Not even the archdemon is visible."

"Are you disappointed, Your Majesty?"

"I dreamed that it would be a war like in the old fairy tales: `The King, shoulder to shoulder with the legendary Grey Guards, rushed into battle with the abominable god of darkness.' Well, we'll have to make do with what we have. I'm afraid I have to go. The battle is about to begin, and Loghain will probably want to scare me half to death with his tactical calculations."

The king turned to leave, but Elissa called out to him:

"Your Majesty! My brother..."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Unfortunately, he's not at the camp right now. He went scouting in the Wilderness. He'll be back in two or three days. You will definitely see each other later."

Elissa was completely dejected, and a trace of sadness flashed across Kaylan's face again. He said goodbye to them and went deep into the fortress.

"Well, since the king wants to see me in battle, I need to prepare myself. You rest for now and..."

"I'm going to fight too," Elissa suddenly declared.

"One night of sleep didn't restore your strength, but you'll need it again. Besides, you never let your wound heal completely."

"Please! I need it!" Elissa looked hard at Duncan, a blue flame burning in her eyes that demanded an outlet.

Duncan hesitated, but nodded anyway.

"Good. Then find another Grey Guardian named Alistair. He and the other recruits are on the west side of the ruins across the bridge. He'll explain everything", Duncan took a purse from his bag and tossed it to Elissa. "Go to the quartermaster and pick up your armor."

"And..." the girl wanted to say that she had coins, although she wasn't sure if they would be enough, but Duncan waved them away.

"It's the money of the order, you can spend it, but hurry up. The battle is about to begin."

Elissa nodded and ran towards the bridge without even asking what this Alistair looked like. Mabari followed her.

There was a valley under the bridge, where the first detachments of soldiers were already beginning to form. The sun hadn't touched the horizon yet, but it was getting dark fast in these parts. The wind howled from below and rustled the banners so loudly that it could be heard through the bustle of the military camp. Ahead of the valley was a strip of dense forest and swamps. The enemy was supposed to be advancing from there. Having blocked the valley, the Ostagar fortress was an excellent defensive position. No wonder the command chose her to fight the darkspawn.

Some soldiers were already talking enthusiastically about victory, while others expressed concern that there were more and more darkspawn, no matter how many they were beaten. Some were outraged by the rumors that the Orlesians were coming here, others claimed that Loghain Mac Tir would not allow it.

"King Kaylan should listen to Thairn Loghain more often," the soldiers gossiped. "It was Loghain who thought out the entire strategy of his father, King Maric's battles against Orlais. If it weren't for Thairn, we'd still be living under the yoke of those swaggering Orlesians!"

Elissa knew that Loghain Mac Tir, the hero of the battle of the River Dane*, the best friend of the previous king, embodied the ideal of Ferelden — a commoner who took up arms to defend his homeland, saved the rightful ruler and the country and was rewarded with the title of Teyrn. Loghain had a broad nose, a strong chin, black hair streaked with gray, and predatory, bird-like, icy eyes, which now had deep wrinkles and dark bags. Few people perceived him as an ordinary person, everyone saw in him a living legend and revered him.

Elissa almost bumped into him, looking around and making her way through the crowd of running soldiers and servants.

"I'm sorry," she quickly bowed her head, barely noticing the coat of arms of Teyrnir Gwaren, the green dragon, on the armor.

"What? What's the matter?" I was distracted from talking to Officer Loghain, who wouldn't have paid any attention to Elissa if she hadn't started apologizing. "Oh, are you the recruit of the Grey Guards? The King was delighted to meet you," Teyrn noticed the Kusland crest on her sword. "I'm sorry about what happened to you. Kaylan told me about his promise. You can be sure he'll keep his word."

Elissa nodded. She had never seen the Hero of the Dane River so close and did not dare to look up. Who would have thought that the daughter of Thairn Hayever would feel so... insignificant surrounded by so many important people. Loghain looked the girl over once more. She was still in her traveling clothes and a stained chain mail with two bags on her shoulders.

"Aren't you going to battle? If you need armor, it's for the quartermaster," he said.

"Yes, you won't tell..." Elissa began and stopped, she would have asked the king for directions.

"Over there," Loghain waved to the side and continued the conversation he had interrupted with the officer.

Fifteen minutes later, Elissa was pulling on a quilted cotton shirt with a knee-length chain mail hem over her cotton shirt, then she put on a gray cuirass, shoulder pads, and gauntlets. It was unusual. The armor was inferior in quality to her Highever armor and seemed heavy, but Elissa had been taught to be unpretentious. She decided that she would get used to it. After all, all soldiers wore similar armor, and she had no right to demand special conditions for herself, no matter who she was.

"In my opinion, it's just right," the quartermaster noted with satisfaction. "Are you comfortable?"

"It'll do," Elissa nodded, flexing and unbending her gloved fingers, and tried to grab a new shield with them.

"There are loops on the side of the inner side of the cuirass for a small bag, if you need it."

Elissa doubted that she would take the bag into battle, but thanked her for the information. The armor turned out to be surprisingly cheap, largely due to the fact that most of the expenses had already been paid from the royal treasury. So Elissa handed the quartermaster her money, not Duncan's, and asked:

"I'm looking for a Grey Guardian named Alistair. You don't know?.."

There was a slap. Not far from Elissa, a dashing soldier in leather armor was rubbing his bruised cheek as he watched the woman leave. He looked like a weasel, and his small eyes seemed to be able to see everything.

"I guess that meant no," he muttered, and noticed Elissa.

"Hi, my name is Davet," he cheerfully introduced himself as he approached.

"Elissa," she replied without hesitation.

Another habit of politeness is to always introduce yourself in return.

"Are you looking for something? I know everything here," Davet said softly.

He tried to get too close, but Elissa shrank back. Chase, who had been accompanying the hostess all this time, growled a warning.

"Oh, bad luck again," Davet shrugged. "But you can still ask me anything you want. I'll help you as much as I can."

"I'm... looking for a Grey Guardian named Alistair."

"Oh, we know each other. It's nearby. Go northeast up the stairs."

"How do I recognize him?"

Davet grinned at something.

"Most likely, there will be a very angry magician nearby.... Wait, you don't..."

Elissa has already left. She went up in the indicated direction and immediately heard the abuse. Someone's cheerful voice was arguing with a hoarse bass. She came closer and saw how a man in a red magician's robe, angry at the whole world, gave the young warrior a murderous look, and then turned around and walked away quickly, bumping into Elissa with his shoulder and cursing her on the way. The girl stared after him for a while and blinked in surprise. They haven't talked to her like that yet.

"You know, even Pestilence has a good thing — it brings people so close", The blond warrior smiled at her affably.

Elissa blinked again, not sure if they were laughing at her or if they were being serious. The situation had so unnerved her that she had even forgotten about her usual politeness.

"You're weird," she said the first thought that came to mind.

"You know, you're not the first woman to tell me that," the warrior remarked. "We haven't met yet, have we? Wait, you're not a magician, are you?"

"Oh... no," replied Elissa, who was generally confused by this guy, the conversation, and everyone she met here.

"Okay, so there's less yelling at me today. However, the day wasn't over yet. Wait, did Duncan write about you? Are you from Highever? A new recruit?" Elissa nodded affirmatively, at least she understood this part of the conversation. "I'm sorry I didn't recognize you, but there are all kinds of people walking around here", The warrior squinted in the direction the mage had gone. "Let me introduce myself, I'm Alistair, the Grey Warden. As the youngest member of the order, I will help you prepare for Initiation."

"Initiation?"

"Didn't Duncan tell you? I probably didn't have time. But that will have to wait, the battle will begin soon. Will you participate?" Elissa nodded again. "Okay, I'll show you where you can drop off your stuff, and then we'll join the army. Listen..."

Elissa looked at Alistair blankly. He had a good-natured face, spiky blond bangs, a wide chin covered with stubble, and kind light brown eyes that looked thoughtfully at Elissa.

"I was wondering why there are so few women in the Grey Wardens."

"I do not know," Elissa shrugged her shoulders in confusion, it seems that she had lost the thread of the conversation again. "Would you like to have more of them?"

"Would that be so terrible? It's not that I'm such an inveterate philanderer... listen, don't look at me like that. Have you ever seen any darkspawn?"

"No."

"When I first saw them, I wasn't prepared for how creepy they looked. Better prepare yourself mentally."

"Anyway," Elissa waved off, she wanted to end this conversation as soon as possible and get down to business.

"Well, I hope after you see them, you'll think the same way." The Guard shrugged his shoulders.

Alistair led Elissa to a small tent where she left all her bags. Two other Recruit Guards were already waiting for them at the exit. One of them was a large-built knight with small brown eyes and large slightly protruding ears, he carried a huge two-handed sword. The second recruit turned out to be the sneaky Davet, already familiar to Elissa, with a bow on his back.

"I knew it was you," he stated. "Who would have thought?"

"Excuse me?" Elissa raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, Sir Knight and I made a bet on who the third recruit would be, and it looks like we both lost."

"My name is Sir Jory, and I was a knight in the service of Earl Eamon." the second introduced himself.

"I'm Elissa... just Elissa. Very pleasant."

"I didn't know that women were accepted into the Grey Guards."

"I'm a warrior just like you," Kusland frowned.

"No," Jory waved his hands, "I don't mind at all. Duncan seems impressed with your skills, and that's enough for me."

"Then let's hurry up," Alistair interjected. "The sun is almost down, and all the squads will be lined up soon. Some of the Grey Guards will fight on the right flank, but we will go into battle with the main army today. That's what Duncan wanted."

Most of the army consisted of humans, but elves and a few dwarves also contributed. Everyone had joined together to fight a common threat, and now they had to face the challenge of darkness once again.

*The Battle of the Dane River at 8:99 of the Blessed Century was the decisive battle of the Fereldenians against the Orlesian invaders. Under the command of General Loghain and Rowan Gerrin, the bride of the future King Maric, Ferelden's troops defeated the superior forces of Orlais.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?vZLxwtsBk-nc

a great overview of the ruins of Ostagar, as it was before the Pestilence. The author of the video: Makara tes

https://vk.com/akili_books

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Chapter 5. From midnight to noon

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