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Ruck will answer questions of the pretty lady.

She was so bright, so pretty, her hair of colour of the flames and eyes as green as the most precious gems; taller than any woman he had ever met, and so, so kind. Just like his mother. But mother wasn’t so pretty; her work as a smith making her age quickly, worried lines marking her face. This lady had softer hands than his mother; hardened only by usage of the weapon she carried, a bow, if he wasn’t mistaken – only topsiders were tall enough to use it properly, and it wouldn’t be all that useful in the Deep Roads anyway. She was also very young, compared to the Grey Wardens he had ever seen before, before their last venture to the depths that hid countless Darkspawn.

She had questions, so many of them, and his answers had been so few. But she didn’t complain, didn’t scream and shout, oh no, not like the man he killed in Orzammar; the reason why he was so eager to leave on the expedition into the Deep Roads, to protect himself and to protect his mother. She didn’t use her heigh against him, instead of towering above him, she sat down, to his level, when they spoke, her voice calm and gentle.

Once the Blight is ended, and I will be alive, I will come back for you, Ruck.

Ruck will not forget the pretty lady, even if she makes promises she can’t keep.

Ruck did as he promised. He haven’t forgotten the pretty lady.

The pretty lady, Elissa, as was her name, kissed his cheek before they parted company, and he felt himself blushing.

How strange it was – he almost forgot the feeling, to receive an affectionate gesture. He was broken, twisted, darkened. The lady was also darkened, but not twisted, not broken; still proud, and full of life.

He stayed at the old thaig, hiding among the ruins before the crawlers and dark ones. Then he sensed that strange darkness coming closer, and heard that voice; the voice he thought he would never hear again.

Ruck!

She came back; once again kneeling down, so she wouldn’t be towering above him, reaching her hands towards him.

I came back.

And not only that – she wanted him to come with her, to the surface, since the darkness of the Deep Roads would offer him only death and despair, while she could offer him her friendship, a place to call home, a new purpose in his life now.

She held his hand when they left the darkness behind, making sure he wouldn’t fall into the sky, giving him time to breathe the fresh air, to slowly open his eyes to the sun, showing him the stars during the night and spinning the tales related to them, pointing out the constellations to him.

Ruck, step forward.

From this moment on, you are a Grey Warden.

The pretty lady, Elissa Guerrin, offered him clarity that was once lost to him, once he started eating the flesh of the dark ones that lived in the Deep Roads. She warned him of the consequences, how it could kill him, and how she would never force him to drink from the Joining chalice, but Ruck wanted to be like her, wanted to be with her.

Taking the chalice from her hands, he looked into the dark liquid inside, and with a deep breath, he drank.

It was terrible, but no worse than his first taste of the meat of the blighted creatures that lived in the Deep Roads. For a moment, his insides were full of fire, and he choked on the drink, before the world darkened before him and he lost consciousness.

When he came to, she and the human man, Jowan, who helped to prepare the Joining,were kneeling above him, watching him with worried eyes.

Ruck will protect the pretty lady.

He became her guardian, her fiercest protector. When she was about to leave to join the other Grey Wardens in Amaranthine, her husband, Teagan, asked him to watch out for her.

He never needed to ask. Ruck would rather die than to allow any harm come to her.

They left Rainesferre soon after, journeying to the north. The nightmares, often full of darkness, tended to keep them awake, even during the Thaw, but together, they spun tales to keep it away, Elissa reciting the old ballads, Jowan remembering the tales of far away lands, Ruck speaking the legends of his people.

He had seen the way the mage looked after his lady.

Together, they will keep her safe, even if she never realized, why they protect her so fiercely.