It was a long trip from Denerim across the Hinterlands to Ostagar. When they camped, Aurora slept a safe distance away from Duncan, and never with her back to him. Thankfully, he never commented or complained, and allowed Aurora to continue with her habits. She was jumpy, traveling with a human man after what had happened at the arl's castle—how could she not be? She'd had plenty of time to face reality by now, and she was plagued with nightmares of the guard's hands on her, except sometimes Soris didn't come in time.

When she was awake, she gave no sign that she had these nightmares, and if she showed signs in her sleep, Duncan made no comment. She did not try to hide her concern over being in a war camp full of human men, however—any elven woman would be worried about such a thing. Of course, after Vaughn, she didn't have much reservations of knifing anyone who tried to force themselves on her, but that didn't mean she wasn't still afraid of the possibility.

Despite her fears and nightmares, Duncan and Aurora did talk some on their trip. He gave her a brief explanation of the situation at Ostagar, how the King of Ferelden, King Cailan, had gathered his armies and the Grey Wardens at Ostagar in a stand against the darkspawn, monstrous creatures that came out in massive hordes during events that were known as Blights. There had only been four Blights in all of history, and despite the doubt of many that this particular wave of darkspawn was a true Blight, Duncan was sure it was. The final stand against the darkspawn was fast approaching, and King Cailan was determined to plunge forward with the attack despite the fact he was still missing many of his reinforcements—he was confident that they could take the darkspawn with how they were now.

Now, as they walked through the ruins of Ostagar towards the heart of the camp, Aurora wondered if she had been conscripted to a suicide mission. The way Duncan had spoken, he didn't sound convinced that they were ready to try and take on the darkspawn horde, and that made Aurora worry.

As Aurora and Duncan drew closer to the heart of the camp, Aurora could feel the stares of the humans all around her. It was like an unescapable pressure on the back of her neck, and she subconsciously took a step closer to Duncan, her fear of being among all these human men returning to the front of her mind once more.

Once they passed under an archway, the area was starting to be less crowded, and Aurora relaxed slightly, though tensed again when she heard a voice calling for Duncan's attention.

She couldn't help it—she had every right to be on edge right now.

"Ho there, Duncan!"

Duncan stopped, clasping the arm of the blonde man in gold armor that had approached them flanked by two guards. "King Cailan: I didn't expect a—"

"A royal welcome? I was beginning to worry you'd miss all the fun!"

Aurora blinked in surprised. King Cailan? The King of Ferelden? Was she supposed to bow or something? Did she just stay quiet so she'd be ignored like nobles usually did with good little elves who minded their own business—outside of Denerim, anyway? She didn't know what to do, and she shifted uncomfortably as the conversation continued.

"Not if I could help it, Your Majesty," Duncan told Cailan graciously.

Cailan grinned. "Then I'll have the mighty Duncan at my side in battle after all! Glorious! The other Wardens told me you'd found a promising recruit. I take it this is she?"

Aurora stiffened slightly as she became the focus of the King, nervous as he came to stand in front of her. All she could think of was Vaughn, despite the King's friendly and—dare she say it—blissfully ignorant appearance.

"Allow me to introduce you, Your Majesty," Duncan started to say, but Cailan cut him off.

"There's no need to be so formal Duncan—we'll be shedding blood together after all. Ho there, friend! Might I know your name?"

Aurora cleared her throat, giving a slight respectful bow. "I am Aurora, your Majesty."

"Pleased to meet you. The Grey Wardens are desperate to bolster their numbers, and I for one am glad to help them," he said, giving her a warm smile that only made her all the more uncomfortable. "I see you're an elf, friend. From where do you hail?"

Aurora blinked, giving him an odd look. "From one of your Alienages, naturally."

"Tell me, how is it there? My guards all but forbid me going there," Cailan asked almost eagerly. That made Aurora's head spin from surprise. Was he truly that...clueless?

"You have no idea how bad it is, do you?" Aurora asked in shock, suddenly pitying him. She wondered if, were he to become aware of the true state of things, he would try to change it. Perhaps that was why his guards kept him from the Alienages. Maker forbid the elves receive some rights.

Then again, with her experience with humans, that probably wasn't the case. It was best not to get her hopes up.

It seemed Cailan caught the doubtful look in her eyes, because when he spoke next it was rather passionately. "You think I care nothing about these things, but I do. Well, I suppose trust will only come with proof. Things will change once the darkspawn are defeated, including in the alienage. Your people have suffered enough." Cailan sighed, oblivious to the fact he'd just gained some of her respect with his short speech. "But for now, we have a war to attend to. Allow me to be the first to welcome you to Ostagar. The Wardens will benefit greatly with you in their ranks."

Aurora bowed again, a little more noticeably this time. "You're too kind, Your Majesty."

"I'm sorry to cut this short but I should return to my tent. Loghain waits eagerly to bore me with his strategies," Cailan said with a shake of his head. Aurora's eyebrows rose slightly at the proclamation. Weren't strategies, well...important, in war?

"Your uncle sends his greetings, and reminds you that Redcliffe forces could be here in less than a week," Duncan told Cailan.

Cailan laughed. "Eamon just wants in on the glory. We've won three battles against these monsters and tomorrow should be no different."

"You sound very confident of that," Aurora commented neutrally, observing the king closely.

"Overconfident, some would say; right, Duncan?" Cailan asked in amusement, looking to the other man.

"Your Majesty, I'm not certain the Blight can be ended quite as quickly as you might wish," Duncan said carefully.

Cailan shook his head. "I'm not even sure this is a true Blight. There are plenty of darkspawn on the field, but alas, we see no sign of an archdemon."

"Disappointed, your Majesty?" Duncan asked.

"I'd hoped for a war like in the tales. You know, a king riding with the fabled Grey Wardens against a tainted god. But I suppose this will have to do," Cailan said with a sigh. "Now, I must go before Loghain sends out a search party. Farewell, Grey Wardens."

Both Duncan and Aurora bowed respectfully at his departure, watching him go before Duncan stepped forward to speak with Aurora once more.

"What the king said is true—they've won several battles against the darkspawn here."

Aurora glanced in the direction Cailan had left dubiously. "He didn't seem to take the darkspawn very seriously..."

"True..." Duncan said with a sigh, gesturing for her to follow him even deeper into the ruins. "Despite the victories so far, the darkspawn horde grows larger with each passing day. They soon will outnumber us. I know there is an archdemon behind this, but I cannot ask the king to act solely on my feeling."

Aurora frowned. "Why not? He seems to regard the Grey Wardens highly."

"Yet not enough to wait for reinforcements from Grey Wardens in Orlais. He believes the legend of the Grey Wardens to be enough, however, our numbers in Ferelden are too few. We must do what we can, and look to Teyrn Loghain to make up the difference. To that end, we should proceed with the Joining ritual without delay."

Aurora nodded. Right, the Joining, the official ceremony that determined whether or not she really would become a Grey Warden. Duncan had mentioned it briefly on the trip to Ostagar. "What do you need me to do?"

Feel free to explore the camp here as you wish all I ask is that you do not leave it for the time being. There's another Grey Warden here by the name of Alistair. When you are ready, seek him out and tell him it's time to summon the other recruits. Until then, I have business I must attend to. You may find me at the Grey Warden tent on the other side of this bridge should you need to."

With that, Duncan left, and Aurora sighed, her nerves returning now that she truly was alone in this camp of human men. Still...her hunger couldn't be ignored, and it would probably be best to figure out where everything was while she had the time to do so. Finding this Alistair could wait a little while.

Deciding the quartermaster would be a good place to start, Aurora pulled her pack off to go through its contents before she did anything else, switching out her gloves for something better and putting her helmet in her pack—she didn't need it right now, and she had a better one anyway.

Perhaps she'd find not only something to eat, but also some better armor she could trade for or buy. With the money from her wedding gifts and what she'd looted off of Vaughn and the guards at the castle, she had a decent amount, and she was certain the extra weapons and armor she'd pilfered would fetch a fair price as well. Not to mention the weapons and armor she sold would be more supplies for the army as a whole.

After making her way across the bridge to the main part of the camp—where not only Duncan was camped but also King Cailan, Teyrn Loghain, some Ash Warriors, and a decent amount of mages—and sought out the quartermaster. She spotted an elven courier with whom she felt far more comfortable asking for directions, and managed to find her way to the quartermaster, who was set up in a small corner not far from Loghain's tent.

"You there! Elf! Where's my armor? And why are you dressed so preposterously?" the quartermaster nearly growled as she approached. Aurora was taken aback for a few moments before his words clicked.

"Are you mistaking me for a servant?" she asked, folding her arms over her chest.

"What?" he asked, surprised before realization seemed to dawn on him as well. "Oh, you're the one who arrived with the Grey Warden! I...please, forgive my rudeness. There are so many elves running about and I've been waiting for...I mean, it's simply been so hectic, I never thought...P—please pardon my terrible manners! I...I am just the quartermaster, a simple man, no one special..."

Aurora gave him a cool look. "Perhaps you should treat your servants more kindly."

"Y-yes, of course, you're very right. Did you...come for some supplies, perhaps?" he asked awkwardly.

Aurora nodded. "Yes, I did. And to trade."

"Let me know what you'd like."

Aurora held more money after selling what she'd pilfered than she ever had in her life—the total came to one entire gold piece, three silvers, and twelve bits—she'd never felt so rich in her life. Of course, she didn't have that much after she browsed his wares and discovered some leather armor that was better than what she currently had, a dagger made of grey iron, and some fresh fruit, bread, and even a little cheese. Once she was done, she only had a little over fifty silver, but it was still more than she'd ever seen in the Alienage.

She found a quiet corner not far from a bunch of pens made of wooden fences that appeared to be the kennels—at least it was the kennels for some of the hounds—and ate her small meal in peace, watching the busy workings of the camp around her. When she was finished, she found a safe place from prying eyes to change into her new armor, went back to the quartermaster to sell her old regular leather armor, and began to explore a little more. Having seen the kennel master looking rather troubled, Aurora decided to head back towards the kennels and see what was going on. As she approached, the man shook his head, gazing into one of the pens.

"Hmm...this isn't good. I'd hate to waste such a promising member of the breed..." He spotted Aurora approaching, and appeared to perk up. "Are you the new Warden? I could use some help."

Once more, Aurora was taken aback. She wasn't used to being treated so...well, not like elven scum, that was for sure. Was this something she'd start to find everywhere, or was she just having a little luck and finding all the pleasant people in camp before she ran into the ones that would treat her like the filth of the earth she was used to being thought as?

"What's the problem?" she asked, coming to stand even with him but a few safe paces away.

"This is a mabari—smart breed, and strong. His owner died in the last battle, and the poor hound swallowed some darkspawn blood. I have medicine that might help, but I need him muzzled first."

Aurora looked to the animal inside, a large hound that would no doubt look even larger next to her, lying down rather pitifully on the ground. "I'll give it a shot," she said dubiously.

"Go in the pen and let him smell you. We'll know right away if he'll respond. Let's hope this works. I'd really hate to have to put him down."

Aurora nodded, taking the muzzle from the man and walking into the pen cautiously. The mabari rose to his feet and growled almost instinctively, though as Aurora came a little closer, he relaxed, looking at her...almost respectfully. His eyes looked up at her intelligently, though she could also see pain in his eyes.

"There, there," she murmured lightly as she got down on one knee before the hound. "It'll be all right," she soothed. She reached out a gentle hand, and the hound slowly got back down to his lying position, allowing her to gently pet the top of his head.

"That's a good boy," she said softly, petting him a little longer before she pulled out the muzzle. "Now...I'm going to put this on you, just until you get your medicine...then things will start to get better. You'll see," she told him quietly.

He growled weakly, but didn't challenge her, letting her put on the muzzle and only whimpering slightly afterwards.

"Don't worry, you'll be just fine," she promised him, petting his head again and scratching behind his ear before she got up and left the pen. The kennel master was smiling at her.

"Well done. Now I can treat the dog properly, poor fellow. Come to think of it, are you heading into the wilds any time soon?"

"I might be...why?" Aurora asked curiously.

"There's a particular herb I could use to improve the dog's chances. It's a flower that grows in the swamps out here. If you happen across it, I could use it. It's very distinctive: all white with a blood-red center."

Well I'm going to need a bit more than that, Aurora thought dubiously. "Where in the Wilds would I find this flower?"

"It usually grows in dead wood that collects at the edge of ground pools. There should be plenty this time of year."

Aurora nodded. "I'll see if I can find one if I head out to the Wilds," she promised.

"Good. In the mean time I'll begin treating our poor friend."

Aurora explored the camp a little more, having a pleasant conversation with a mage by the name of Wynne and getting a meal for a neglected, starving prisoner. She wandered only long enough after that to get a good idea of where everything was, then decided it was probably a good time to hunt down the Alistair fellow Duncan had told her to seek out. If only she had a clue as to who she was looking for exactly—she didn't know what he looked like or anything. Maybe Duncan had assumed this Alistair fellow wasn't someone she could miss. Chances were she'd passed him several times while wandering about the camp.

Eventually she did run into a soldier who knew what she was talking about when she mentioned she was looking for a Grey Warden by the name of Alistair, and he was able to point her in the right direction towards a part of the ruins that must have once been a great hall, stating Alistair had been asked to deliver a message to the mages. She thanked the soldier for his help, promptly making her way back to the ruins she had passed but hadn't gone in—at least she hadn't passed Alistair several times over like she'd suspected she would have with her luck.

Whatever she'd been expecting to find, it wasn't the scene she was met with.

"What is it now? Haven't the Grey Wardens asked more than enough of the Circle?" A mage was asking a soldier rather grouchily in the eastern corner of the ruined hall. As Aurora drew closer, she was able to make out the soldier's features. He was dressed in modest splintmail armor, and his messy semi-short hair was a ginger color that almost appeared brown. He had light stubble on his chin that looked like it was barely being kept at bay from forming a true beard, and once she drew close enough, she could tell that his eyes were a brownish hazel.

"I simply came to deliver a message from the Revered Mother, Ser Mage, she desires your presence," the soldier—most definitely Alistair, now that she was hearing their conversation—replied.

"What her Reverence desires is of no concern to me. I am busy helping the Grey Wardens by the king's orders, I might add!" the mage snapped back. To Alistair's credit, he didn't even flinch at the man's rudeness, though Aurora's eyebrows had raised at the mage's retort.

"Should I have asked her to write a note?" Alistair asked, a small quirk to his lips. Aurora had to fight a smile.

"Tell her I will not be harassed in this manner!"

"Yes..." Alistair said smoothly, as if agreeing with the mage. "I was harassing you by delivering a message."

"Your glibness does you no credit," the mage retorted sourly.

"Here I thought we were getting along so well! I was going to name one of my children after you—the grumpy one."

Aurora had to bite down hard on her lips to keep from laughing, fighting to keep a straight face. "Enough—I will speak to the woman if I must," the mage relented, turning around and nearly running into Aurora. "Get out of my way, fool," he growled, a remark that wiped the smile off of her face as she shot him a nasty look. Alistair noted her presence then, turning to face her. He came close enough that Aurora took a step back, though she did her best to be discreet about it. If he noticed, he didn't say anything about it, settling for another glib remark.

"You know, one good thing about the Blight is how it brings people together," he said with a smirk.

"You are a very strange human," Aurora commented, eyebrows raised as she studied him.

At least he didn't seem to be offended by her comment. He only seemed further amused. "You're not the first to tell me that." The smile faded as he studied her too. "Wait, we haven't met, have we? I don't suppose you happen to be another mage?"

Aurora tried to fight back another smile. "Would that make your day worse?"

Alistair snorted. "Hardly—I just like to know my chances of being turned into a toad at any given moment." It was at that moment that recognition finally sparked in his eyes. "Wait, I do know who you are, you're Duncan's new recruit, the elf, from Denerim. I should have recognized you right away, I apologize."

"How could you have recognized me?" Aurora asked dubiously.

"Duncan sent word—he spoke quite highly of you," Alistair commented. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Alistair, the new Grey Warden, though I guess you knew that. As the junior member of the order, I'll be accompanying you when you prepare for the Joining."

Aurora inclined her head. "Pleased to meet you. My name is Aurora," she told him graciously.

"Right, that was the name," Alistair mused. "You know, it just occurred to me that there have never been many women in the Grey Wardens. I wonder why that is..."

Aurora cocked an eyebrow at him, wondering if there was a double meaning behind that statement or if she was just reading too much into things. "You want more women in the Wardens, do you?"

"Would that be so terrible?" he asked with a smirk, then seemed to backtrack hastily once he realized how this particular line of conversation might be taken. "Not that I'm some...drooling lecher, or anything—please stop looking at me like that."

Aurora hid her amusement—she had no idea what to make of this human—he was an odd one indeed. Amusing, obviously, he'd already nearly made her laugh a few times, but...she wasn't going to give him more than that. Not yet, anyway. She didn't know him well enough, and he was a human man. She'd come to find that human men weren't to be trusted early on in life, a fact reinforced by recent events.

Her musings didn't last long as Alistair continued. "So I'm curious—have you ever actually encountered darkspawn before?"

"Have you?" she asked pointedly. Alistair grew somber.

"When I fought my first one, I wasn't prepared for how monstrous it was. I can't say I'm looking forward to encountering another. Anyhow, whenever you're ready, let's head back to Duncan. I imagine he's eager to get things started."

Aurora nodded. "Let's go."

"If you have any questions, let me know. Otherwise, lead on," Alistair said, gesturing for her to take the lead.

Aurora knew that they still needed to gather the other recruits, so with Alistair's help since he was the one who knew who they were, Aurora set out to find the other two. Unfortunately, the first one she met was a man she'd seen trying to talk a female soldier into sleeping with him, so they were already off to a bad start.

"Well, you're not what I thought you'd be," the man said, sizing her up in a way that made her step back uncomfortably, though she still spoke in an aggressive defensive tone.

"What did you think I'd be?"

"Not an elf, yet here you are," the man said, and Aurora had to bite back a smart comment along the lines of what, an elf can't be a fighter? "The name's Daveth. It's about bloody time you came along. I was beginning to think they cooked this ritual up just for our benefit."

"Isn't that a little paranoid?" she asked him, eyebrows raised. She could think of several organizations off of the top of her head that required some sort of proving or initiation ceremony—she wasn't that surprised that the Wardens had one.

Daveth laughed bitterly. "That depends on what kind of life you've led. Me, I'm perfectly willing to believe that this Joining is some kind of punishment. I happened to be sneaking around camp last night, see, and I heard a couple of Grey Wardens talking. So I listen in for a bit. I'm thinking they plan to send us into the Wilds," he said ominously, like it was some dreadful news. Aurora knew that there were darkspawn and wolves and all sorts of nasties in the Wilds, but she needed to go out there to get that flower for the mabari anyway, so she wasn't that frightened by the prospect, not even of facing darkspawn. Even after what Alistair had said, they were Grey Wardens—fighting darkspawn was kind of what they did, so if there was as good a time as any to start...

Aurora shook her head. "So what? That wouldn't frighten me," she said honestly—she really did mean it. After Denerim castle, she wondered if things would faze her ever again. Maybe in some extremes, but she didn't think darkspawn would. Maybe she was wrong, maybe she would be terrified of the darkspawn when she finally saw them. She wouldn't know until she had her first run-in with one.

"Cannibals, beasts, witches, and now darkspawn—what isn't there to be scared of?" Daveth complained. "It's all too secretive for me, it makes my nose twitch! I guess we'll have to wait and see. Like we have a choice."

Aurora didn't miss his bitter tone, and decided to reply smugly and see if he could figure out if she was serious or sarcastic. "I'm looking forward to it."

Daveth snorted. "You sound just like the bloody knight. Well, more power to you. Anyway, I expect it's time to get back to Duncan. That's where I'll be if you need me for anything."

Aurora watched him go with a shake of her head, deciding not to comment as she moved on. She could feel Alistair's gaze on her from behind, but she ignored it, focusing instead on finding the other recruit. He didn't say anything outside of directions, and Aurora didn't try to encourage conversation. She wasn't too keen on engaging the human, especially since she still wasn't quite sure what to make of him. At least at the moment he'd remain in her good graces with his sense of humor so long as he kept his hands to himself.

The other recruit wasn't far from where Daveth had been, and Aurora picked him out from the crowd quickly with Alistair's help.

"Greetings—you must be the third recruit we've heard about," the man said as she approached. Why was it they could all pick her out instantly but she had a hard time finding even one of them on her own? Was it the whole elven woman armed to the teeth thing?

"Yes, I am Aurora," she said casually, staying her normal safe distance away.

"Ser Jory is my name—I hail from Redcliffe, where I served as knight under the command of Arl Eamon." Jory inclined his head, taking note of her smaller stature and pointed ears. "I wasn't aware elves could join the Grey Wardens. Those camped in the valley are all human."

Aurora shifted uncomfortably at the reminder, folding her arms over her chest. As usual, her defensiveness made her lash out, if only slightly. "Do you have a problem with that?"

She wouldn't be surprised if he did.

"No. Clearly the Grey Wardens pick their recruits on their merits," Jory said calmly. "I hope we're both lucky enough to eventually join the Wardens—is it not thrilling to be given that chance?"

Deciding to stick with the same answer she'd given Daveth, considering Alistair was right there and she wanted to be consistent, Aurora gave Jory a small nod. "Yes, I'm looking forward to it."

"I fought hard to get here. Impressing Duncan was not easy. Tell me, has anyone told you what this Joining ritual entails?" Jory asked her casually, though she could see the light of nervousness in his eyes. Aurora shrugged.

"Daveth said we might be going into the Wilds."

"I never heard of such a ritual. I had no idea there were more tests after getting recruited. I suppose since you're finally here I'd best get back to Duncan. I shall see you there."

Aurora watched him go, shaking her head. Why was she the only one not bothered by the thought of the Joining? Was this a human men thing?

Now that she had found both of the other recruits, Aurora knew she needed to head back to Duncan—the sooner she was finished with this Joining ritual the sooner Alistair wouldn't be accompanying her. It wasn't that she had anything against him—other than being a human man—but she would have felt more comfortable without any man around her right now.

"You found Alistair, did you? Good. I'll assume you're ready to begin preparations." Duncan looked to Alistair. "Assuming, of course, that you're quite finished riling up mages, Alistair."

Alistair smirked. "What can I say? The Revered Mother ambushed me. The way she wields guilt, they should stick here in the army."

Aurora bit back a laugh, though a soft snort managed to escape her.

"She forced you to sass the mage, did she? We cannot afford to antagonize anyone, Alistair; we don't need to give anyone more ammunition against us," Duncan chided him. Alistair was clearly pacified.

"You're right, Duncan, I apologize."

"Now then, since you're all here we can begin," Duncan said, returning to business. "You four will be heading into the Korcari Wilds to perform two tasks. The first is to obtain three vials of darkspawn blood, one for each recruit."

Aurora took a moment to wonder why in the Maker's name they needed blood for each of them, but considering how secretive they were being about the entire Joining ritual she didn't even bother to ask. "And what's the second task?"

"There was once a Grey Warden archive in the Wilds, abandoned long ago when we could no longer afford to maintain such remote outposts. It has recently come to our attention that some scrolls have been left behind, magically sealed to protect them. Alistair, I want you to retrieve these scrolls if you can."

What was it with people telling her what to look for but not where to look? "How will we find this archive?" she asked patiently.

"It will be an overgrown ruin by now, but the sealed chest should remain intact. Alistair will guide you to the area you need to search."

She shrugged—that was good enough for her. Though she wasn't comfortable with the thought of going into the Wilds with the three human men...she didn't have much choice in the matter. They were all Grey Warden initiates, she apparently needed Alistair as a guide, and the things out in the Wilds were probably best faced in a group. "Find the archive and three vials of blood. Understood."

"The scrolls contain treaties promising support. Treaties that could prove valuable in the days to come. Watch over your charges, Alistair. Return quickly and safely."

"We will," Alistair said with a short nod.

"Then may the Maker watch over your path. I will see you when you return."

As that was clearly a dismissal, Aurora turned and started for the gate to the Wilds that she had passed earlier. The guard was already aware, apparently, that they were to be leaving, and so they left without any issues.

Which meant that Aurora was now officially alone in the Wilds with these three human men.

She'd never been so paranoid in her life.