It started with the birds.

In the sleepy village of Lothering, animals were everywhere; particularly birds. Sparrows and wrens diving for snails and worms; the occasional hawk from the nearby Kokari wilds scaring away pigeons; robins singing merrily in the trees while crows circled the farmer's fields for any sort of carrion they could get their beaks on. As it happened, the crows were the first to go. They must have sensed or smelt it before anything else - the stench of destruction, of death. The carrion birds flew south, towards Ostagar. As the hours ticked by, the other birds also fled, but in any direction other than their black-feathered kin. News began to trickle in to the town, most of them ridiculous rumours and stories that only children could dream up in a nightmare... but the message was very clear. The Blight had begun; Ostagar and their King had fell. The Grey Wardens had abandoned them all. That was what the people were told by soldiers of Teryn Loghain, and most believed them - who would doubt the war-hero Loghain MacTir, after all that he had sacrificed and given to King Maric and his son, Cailan?

Rumours flew about Lothering, and most believed the story... except perhaps one.

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Ferirev had no idea why she felt bad about the whole situation. Of course, there was that dread set deep within her about the coming of a Blight, with Darkspawn forces marching north towards a rather unprotected village. But something about the story of the soldier's didn't add up. How could such a small amount of Grey Wardens be responsible for the death of the King? The numbers of Cailan and the Teryn's armies far outmatched the Wardens - unless they slaughtered the King himself, she couldn't work out how the blame was shifted entirely to that one group. There was also some discomfort in the fact; say what you would about the patchy history the Chantry offered to the masses, but it was clear that one needed Grey Wardens to end a Blight and kill an Archdemon. If this Blight was being left unchecked, Lothering would be the first to fall.

As the birds fled, Ferirev began sowing seeds of discomfort among those in Lothering; they had to pack. They had to flee... or the Blight would take them all.

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Despite her worries and her preparation, Feri still remained aghast at the attack. Not two days after Grey Wardens had passed through, the Darkspawn descended on the refugees and villagers still remaining. Feri watched on as helpless men, women and children were slain in their haste to run away from the beasts. She could not help herself in feeling frightened, but fear would have to wait until she was safe. Even then, she could not simply abandon those who needed help. After slaying several Darkspawn and saving a handful of people, the north of the village became overrun - she could not follow her neighbours to the safe north. The Hinterlands to the west were undoubtedly crawling with beasts - not just Darkspawn either - and the west seemed to hold even more of the monsters. Although more and more of the beasts were spilling in from the south, Feri was able to find a somewhat safe path, towards the Kokari wilds. From there, she made a plan to circle round and head north-west, towards the Frostback mountains. For the young rogue, this seemed like an easy enough plan; slip away and hide in the last place the Darkspawn would think to look.

However, after several days of sleepless nights and tireless wanderings, Feri's luck ran out. In the midst of a clearing in the wilds, she stumbled upon several Genlocks and Hurlocks. In her sleep-deprived state, her presence became known to them immediately. They didn't seem pleased at the intrusion.

"Oh, for the love of..." Shaking her head at her own foolishness, Feri swiftly launched one of her knives into the throat of an approaching Genlock, her swords ready in hands before it hit the floor. There would be no out-running the tall ones, not with her short legs. That left her with just the one option.

"Come on then, you tainted bastards! Give it your best!" A somewhat wild smile accompanied Feri's words - if she was going to go down, she may as well do it smiling.