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[b]-[i]Denerim Outskirts, Fereldan[/i]-[/b]

Delwin paused for a moment as she beheld the carnage before her. She had seen Grey Wardens before, their prominence after a Blight was unavoidable wherever you went and their heraldry just marked them out further. She had fought Darkspawn before, there had been many a criminal mining operation or illicit deal in the Deep Roads that had been intruded upon by Darkspawn either alone or in a group, the response was the same: kill the tainted bastards and get back to the important business. 

But she had never seen the two factions come together with such ferocious aggression. Darkspawn surged like insects out of a disturbed nest; individuals were unrecognisable in the vast mass of the horde. The Grey Wardens on the other hand were all clear individuals, beating about themselves to slay the dark figures that were pressing to attack, conquer and devour all that lay before them. The differences could not be more pronounced, both sides lashing out to eliminate their natural enemy and to claim the field of Fereldan that they stood upon.

Delwin didn't care.

She didn't care about the hole in the ground that the Darkspawn were exiting, didn't care about the city at her back all defenceless and open, she didn't care about Fereldan or the Wardens or the neverending war that all races fought against the Darkspawn wherever they emerged.

All she cared about was the figure at the head of the Wardens, the woman fighting and issuing orders to all around her, the womam marked out by her armour and weapons as the Warden Commander. The woman whose face had been burnt into Delwin's mind ever since she had seen a drawing of the Fereldan coronation from someone who had been present. 

Celica, Warden Commander and Queen of Fereldan, wife and lover to Alistair Therin and butcher of the Carta. 

In almost a daze Delwin found herself walking towards the carnage, she didn't even realise that she had drawn her daggers but realised she must have done when a Genlock spotted her and charged. The beast was a mindless drone of the Blight, it had no other thoughts but to kill her and every other living thing. [i]I guess we're not so different.[/i] Delwin thought absently as she feinted to one side, daggers slashing at the creature's throat, the Genlock fell to the floor with its claws clutching to its throat. Dark blood sprayed onto Delwin's arm, it felt warm and familiar but was alien enough to rouse her from whatever frame of mind she had been experiencing. She shook her head, now was not the time to get carried away with anticipation, this was a battleground! 

She continued towards the Warden Commander, slow and methodical, she could afford to take her time. The Wardens would stay until the Darkspawn were dealt with, the Queen wasn't going anywhere.

A couple of Hurlocks bore down upon her with heavy axes, their features were unrecognisable as they bellowed and grunted, Delwin raised her knives and leapt past a clumsy axe stroke, slashing wildly. One of the Hurlocks caught a blow to its face and lashed out in pain, Delwin was struck in the shoulder by the creature's forearm and fell back. She regained her footing and took a small step back. The Hurlock she had struck with her blade lumbered towards her, its eye loosely hanging from its socket. The second Hurlock was growling and trying to push past its fellow to get at her. Delwin rolled forwards and, as she came up, pushed her daggers into both Hurlocks at close range. She succeeded in impaling their necks and the two creatures fell backwards with her momentum pushing them down. Delwin pulled her daggers free and grimaced as she was sprayed with yet more ichor and blood. She made sure to shut her mouth, no way was that stuff getting into her body, she'd heard enough stories of careless fighters who'd died weeks later of the worst kind of poisoning.

Delwin continued pushing and fighting her way through the battle, she was small enough that many of the Darkspawn (whether through some sense of pride or simply seeing larger targets as more appealing) simply ignored her, choosing to attack others in the melee. Her blades continued to taste their share of victims though and were as gnarled and vicious as the Darkspawns' own weapons. 

She had no problem killing Wardens as well as their foes, with each step she took towards the Warden Commander she expected to be called out as a stranger and attacked, but when Wardens did spot her they simply changed focus to the closest Darkspawn and made no move to impede her progress. Delwin supposed that they did not see her as a threat when there were so many of their natural enemy at hand, she smiled coldly, it was a mistake they wouldn't make again if they lived through this day.

Delwin felt a shudder in the ground that she recognised as magic being used. She had little experience with Mages but knew that opinions were divided all over the Surface about the proper uses and status of magic and its practitioners. She assumed from the sight of Darkspawn bodies hurtling in all directions in another area of the battlefield that magic was being used here.

Then...she saw it, a Hurlock clutching a staff and attired in dark and ripped robes; it loomed over the battlefield, clearly holding other Darkspawn in the horde in its thrall. From its staff came a glimmer of lightning that, upon impact, rendered many soldiers on the field into dust. Delwin blinked in genuine astonishment, she'd never seen Darkspawn do that before.

But, when its next attack pierced the Warden Commander's armour and sent her to the floor, Delwin truly gasped. Years of investment and planning and the target of her efforts was lying in the dirt and in danger of being killed by [i]Darkspawn.[/i] Delwin was being cheated out of her kill!

A wordless cry erupted from Delwin's most inner being. She plunged into the fray at a run, no longer caring of the consequences. She lashed out with her blades at Darkspawn and Wardens alike, anyone in her path was impaled, cut, slashed at or knocked aside. 

She would [i]not[/i] be cheated, not after years, not when the memory of everything she knew demanded that it be [i]her[/i] blade embedded in Celica's armour. She would fight her way through and woe betide any who stood in her way.