Fanfic / Ten Versus Blight

The Ten Wardens

Ten Versus Blight is an ongoing Fan Fic for Dragon Age: Origins written by Fulade. It can be found here and here.

Before the battle of Ostagar, Duncan recruits Wardens from all origins. This group of randomly gathered recruits will have to stop the Blight or die trying.

The story is portrayed through the points of view of nine main characters. There are some deviations from the original plot, as well as adaptations of the plots of a few well-known mods (credited by the author in the first chapter).

Fanfic-specific tropes include:

• Abled in the Adaptation: Gorim didn't get crippled on the way to Denerim in this story.
• Above the Influence: Downplayed. Faren refuses to sleep with Adela at the waterfall because Adela has openly stated that this will not lead to them becoming a couple.
• The Ace: Daylen is this to the Circle of Magi due to being previously taught by Malcolm Hawke.
• Action Girl: In addition to all the canonical ones, all female main characters (Sereda, Kallian, Neria, Elissa) also qualify.
• Adapted Out: Honnleath still exists in this story, but it only serves as the place where Neria used to live before being taken to the Circle. Wilhelm's house and the golem are located in Redcliffe instead.
• Adaptation Origin Connection: Marjolaine provided Howe and his men with the plans of Castle Cousland, making it personal not only for Leliana, but for Aedan as well.
• Adaptation Species Change: Since Amethyne's father is Aedan, she is half-human here, not elf.
• Adaptational Backstory Change:
  • Aedan spent five years in exile abroad.
  • Sereda's ill-fated Deep Roads campaign wasn't her first one. Frandlin and Ogg were her squadmates in the previous campaigns.
  • Daylen is Revka Amell's youngest child (not the first-born like in the game) who grew up with the Hawkes.
• Adaptational Badass:
  • Unlike the original game, where he was caught during the Proving, here Leske has managed not only to avoid capture, but also to sneak past all guards in Carta hideout and release Faren.
  • The demon possessing Connor is much stronger than its game counterpart, since it has managed to subdue fully-trained mage Daylen (who took Teagan's spot and went to the castle with Isolde).
• Adaptational Early Appearance:
  • Mhairi appears as a Grey Warden recruit in Ostagar. She still doesn't survive the Joining.
  • Zevran attacks and joins the group immediately after Lothering arc.
  • Finn appears during the Broken Circle arc as one of the mages trapped in the Fade.
• Adaptational Heroism: Mouse, due to being a spirit and not a demon.
• Adaptational Intelligence: In the game, Greagoir said he would accept that the Circle shouldn't be annuled only if he saw Irving alive. In the fanfic, he is expecting to see either Irving or any of the five senior enchanters. That still doesn't help Daylen a lot, as by the time he arrived at the Circle tower, Uldred is revealed to be the leader of the rebellion, Torrin's fate is unknown, Leorah and Sweeney are confirmed to be dead and Wynne as the only definitely surviving senior enchanter has to stay behind and protect herself instead of helping Daylen.
• Adaptational Nice Guy: In this story, Gorim waited for Sereda and stayed faithful to her instead of marrying another woman.
• Adaptational Sexuality:
  • In the Dalish Elf origin, Tamlen showed interest only in the female player character. Here Tamlen has a relationship with Theron.
  • Bella, who can be interested only in the male Warden in the game, doesn't mind being kissed by Kallian and even wants more from her.
• Age Lift:
  • Human Noble main character is roughly in their early-to-mid twenties in the original game. The Cousland twins are both 27.
  • Thomas Howe never appears in the original game, but since Rendon offers female Human Noble to marry him, it is assumed that Thomas is old enough to get married. In this fanfic, however, he is a teenager.
• All for Nothing: Theron and Adela have done a lot to heal Tamlen, hoping he would survive. Tamlen was healed, but the Joining ritual killed him.
• Alliterative Name: Sereda becomes Sereda Saelac after marrying Gorim. This fanfic's older Hawke child is named Harold Hawke.
• And Now for Someone Completely Different: Despite having nine main characters, some chapters are presented in the eyes of other characters, such as chapter 47 (Alistair), chapter 54 (Leliana), chapter 60 (Liam) and chapter 73 (Wynne).
• Anywhere but Their Lips: Played With. When Adela offers Faren to have sex with her, she states one rule: no kissing. Kissing is allowed only for her mentor/lover Riordan.
• Ascended Extra: Daveth is one of the main characters here. And he even survives the Joining.
• Ascended Fanboy: Liam was a fan of Grey Wardens who continued rooting for them even after it became illegal. After the Warden group saved him, Daylen allowed Liam to go with them as a Grey Warden recruit.
• Back-to-Back Badasses: Elissa, Aedan and Sereda were fighting Howe's men this way while taking Highever back.
• Badass Bookworm: Both Neria and Daylen enjoy studying more than fighting, yet they are still very capable in combat.
• Belated Injury Realization: After Ser Nancine strikes Daveth, he falls down and loses consciousness only a few seconds later.
• Berserk Button: The mistreatment of elves is this for Kallian.
• Blue Blood: The Cousland twins, Daylen, Sereda and Alistair are all nobles.
• Boyish Short Hair: Kallian has short hair, which fits her personality.
• The Bus Came Back: Ser Jory, who was last mentioned running away from the Joining ritual before the battle of Ostagar, appeared again in Redcliffe as the leader of the village's defenders.
• Cartwright Curse: Elissa assumes she has one due to the fact that everyone she dated in the past eventually died, and she urges Daveth not to have a relationship with her. However, Daveth accepts the risks of death and doesn't give up on her.
• Category Traitor: Eadric accuses Neria of being this due to studying "human magic", protecting the Circle and having dated a templar in the past.
• Celibate Hero: Liam admits to his brother that he is asexual and is only interested in protecting Thedas as a future Grey Warden.
• Chekhov's Gunman:
  • Ser Nancine, the lady knight of Denerim, was mentioned to have been pickpocketed by Daveth in his first chapter. She appears in the story later, seeking to punish Daveth for stealing her sword.
  • When Daylen and Neria discuss their Harrowings at the start of the story, Daylen mentions a pride demon whose disguise was way too obvious. Mouse shows up again during Broken Circle arc, looking like an apprentice but still wearing the senior enchanter robe.
• Combination Attack: Daylen and Neria used Storm of the Century to save Liam.
• Compensating for Something: Adela thinks Faren does this when he buys a greataxe. Faren assures her that the only thing he compensates for is his height.
• Cool Old Guy: Ox. He is a dreamer mage who defected from both Qunari and Tal-Vashoth and has friends among Grey Wardens and demons.
• Cover-Blowing Superpower: Matthias inherited not only his father's house and golem, but also his magical abilities. Unlike his father, he is an apostate who hides his abilities from templars and fellow villagers and thus refuses to defend the village. He changes his mind and joins the battle at a crucial point anyway.
• Cowardly Lion: Jory becomes this in Redcliffe. He is in charge of preparing for the next attack of the undead, and he accepts the punishment given by the real Wardens.
• Dead Guy Junior: It turned out that Jory and his wife named their baby daughter after Mhairi, the fellow knight who died during the Joining.
• Death by Adaptation:
  • Kalah Brosca, who survived the events of the original game, had died before the start of the fanfic.
  • Murdock, the mayor of Redcliffe Village, had been killed by the undead before the Wardens arrived in the village.
  • A very important one. Arl Eamon got killed by demon-possessed Connor before he could be healed.
• Decomposite Character:
  • The Mage Warden is divided into Daylen Amell and Neria Surana.
  • The second child of the Couslands is the twins, Aedan and Elissa.
  • There are two mabari hounds: Elissa's beige hound named Roger and Theron's black hound Fen.
• Demoted to Extra: Wynne in Broken Circle arc. As one of the only six people who can convince Greagoir that the Circle shouldn't be annuled (and the only one of them confirmed to be alive and not a blood mage at the start of the arc), she has to stay behind with Liam, Petra and the apprentices she saved.
• Despair Event Horizon: Rahta lost the will to live after she found her family members dead in her village.
• Doomed by Canon: Even though Mhairi gets recruited during the Blight this time, she still doesn't survive the Joining. Daveth, however, avoids his canonical death.
• Due to the Dead: When Sereda's group gets to Redcliffe, they take part in Tamlen's funeral and pay respect to Ser Jory after hearing about his Heroic Sacrifice.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Both Hawke brothers and Aveline appear in Ostagar chapters. The Hawkes meet their cousin Daylen, while Aveline is one of the scouts in Fergus' squad.
• Enemy Mine: Despite hating Cailan for stealing Anora from him, Aedan has agreed to forget about it until the darkspawn are defeated.
• Eye Scream: Dairren got killed by Howe's thugs shooting him in the eye.
• Foreshadowing: Back in Ostagar, both Elissa and Kallian mention that Alistair looks very similar to Cailan.
• Glad-to-Be-Alive Sex: Daylen and Morrigan have sex after both of them survive the fight against the undead in the Redcliffe village.
• Groin Attack: Before killing Vaughan, Kallian thrusts a knife into his groin.
• Gender Flip: A minor one. The mage that Zevran was supposed to kill on his second assignment with the Crows was a man in this story, not a woman like in the game. The result is still the same: he seduced Zevran and died because of an accident.
• Head Crushing: Sten does this to one of the Lothering farmers who wanted to capture the Wardens for bounty. Alistair and Theron are impressed.
• Heroic Sacrifice:
  • Theron heals Tamlen from darkspawn corruption by accelerating the Blight in his own body and making his life twenty years shorter.
  • Ser Jory stays at the gate with the bomb in order to take with him as many of the undead as possible.
• His Name Is...: The wounded mercenary leader told Sereda his group had been hired by her brother to kill her. He got shot by Ogg before he could say which brother it was.
• Horrible Judge of Character: Cristof may be Aedan's old friend, but Aedan still shouldn't have trusted someone who is obviously Only in It for the Money.
• Hypocrite: Eadric, an elf apprentice, hates humans. Yet he joined Uldred (a human) during the uprising in the Circle.
• I Have No Son!: Adela's father disowns and personally brands her just because her mother lied to him and turned out to be casteless.
• Improvised Weapon: Faren used an ale mug to fight off Loghain's soldiers in Lothering.
• In Spite of a Nail:
  • Even though eight recruits out of twelve became Grey Wardens (as opposed to one out of three in the game) and Theron is present as a more experienced Warden, the battle of Ostagar still ends up a disaster. The only change is that Duncan was saved from hurlock alpha's axe and managed to live a little longer.
  • Niall got caught by the sloth demon alongside five fellow mages in this story, but since he spent more time in the Fade than every other prisoner, he still died.
• Jerkass Realization: Only after confronting possessed Connor did Kallian realize that she was extremely rude to the boy.
• Let's Split Up, Gang!:
  • After Lothering, the party gets divided into four groups and goes separate ways: to Redcliffe, to Denerim, to Waking Sea Bannorn and to find the hermit that can heal Tamlen.
  • They do the same thing after saving Connor, this time going to Haven, Orzammar, Brecilian Forest and Aeonar.
• The Lost Lenore: Tamlen eventually dies during his Joining ritual and becomes this for Theron.
• Mêlée à Trois: Zevran's ambush from the game turned into a fight between Sereda's group, Zevran and his assassins and three Qunari mercenaries sent by Marjolaine.
• Mercy Kill: Knowing that living women can't be left to the darkspawn (but not knowing the exact reason why yet), the recruits and Theron decided to kill the grieving Rahta. Aedan was the one to perform the deed.
• Missing Mom: Lampshaded by the main characters themselves. Apart from the mothers of Cousland twins and Morrigan (the former due to being Spared by the Adaptation), the mothers of all other main characters are dead.
• Mistaken for Prostitute: When Aedan sees Zevran talking to Isabela in the brothel, he assumes that Zevran got carried away and is talking to one of the local "girls". He apologizes after Zevran introduces Isabela to him.
• The Mole: Paedan from the original game is Howe's mole in Fergus' scouting squad.
• Motivational Kiss: Morrigan suddenly gives one to Daylen before he goes to the Redcliffe castle.
• Mr. Exposition: Adela serves as this to the rest of the Wardens. Because of her, they learn about the consequences of killing the archdemon at a much earlier point than in the original game.
• My Fist Forgives You: When Daylen and Jowan meet again in Redcliffe castle, Daylen punches Jowan in the face before the two of them actually start talking.
• Mythology Gag:
  • Neria mentions Fenris and Leto as possible names for her future son.
  • When Sereda makes up her story about being a bodyguard of the king's middle son instead of telling the truth, she names the said middle son Duran, which is the default name for a male Dwarf Noble.
  • After being wounded by Nancine, Daveth (who was Spared by the Adaptation) saw a nightmare of him dying at the Joining as it was in the game. He saw it eight times, with every Warden taking the spot of the third recruit.
• Named In The Adaptation:
  • The dwarven scout from Dwarf Noble origin is given a name (Ogg Arras).
  • The blood mage trying to surrender during Broken Circle arc is named Sylvia.
• Nephewism: Daylen has never seen his father and lost his mother when he was a baby. He was raised by his aunt Leandra and uncle Malcolm, alongside his three cousins, until Daylen was taken to the Circle.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Kallian's attempt to kill Connor and avenge the elves he had killed resulted in Eamon's death.
• Now or Never Kiss: Having seen Mhairi's death and being the last one to take the Joining ritual, Neria decides to kiss Alistair. Fortunately for both of them, she survives.
• Odd Name Out: All eight Warden recruits based on possible player characters have default names. But the Hawke from this fanfic's universe is named Harold (not the default name Garrett).
• Off with His Head!: Sereda kills Ogg that way for betraying her.
• Opportunistic Bastard: When Cristof, the leader of the White Falcons, finds out that he is helping the Grey Wardens, he makes a plan to get profit from both Eleanor and Howe. However, he was ultimately stopped and killed by Soris.
• Poisoned Weapons: While saving Kallian, Adaia was mortally wounded by a blood mage with a poisoned blade.
• Promoted to Love Interest:
  • Neria and Cullen used to be together until her Harrowing.
  • Dairren is Elissa's boyfriend. Or was...
  • Aedan and Anora were about to get married until Loghain forced Anora to marry Cailan.
  • Theron and Tamlen had started dating each other long before the events of Theron's origin.
  • There's no information that Magi Origin Warden had any relationship with any of the other characters in the Circle. Daylen, however, has had a few flings with several female mages and apprentices, including Petra and Sylvia.
• Punctuated! For! Emphasis!:
  Ser Nancine: Where. Is. My. Sword?
• Pushed at the Monster: To Daylen's shock, he follows Morrigan's advice and pushes Berwick to the horde of the undead so Daylen and Morrigan could have enough time to shapeshift and flee.
• Redemption Equals Death: When Ser Jory sacrifices himself at the gate of the village so Kallian and Sten could live, he earns their respect.
  Sten: I don't know you well, but by your actions you proved that you are a basalit-an, an outsider worthy of respect. Die with honor, kadan.
• Related Differently in the Adaptation: Revka Amell is Leandra and Gamlen's sister. That makes Daylen the Hawke children's cousin, not second cousin.
• Related in the Adaptation:
  • Amethyne (Iona's daughter) is Aedan's illegitimate daughter from his one night stand with Iona.
  • Tamlen and Fenarel are brothers in this story.
• Romantic Runner-Up: Leliana kisses Aedan after dealing with Marjolaine, but he rejects her because he still loves Anora.
• Rookie Red Ranger: Downplayed compared to the original game. Two out of the ten surviving Wardens are slightly more experienced, but neither Alistair nor Theron becomes the new Warden-Commander because both of them think they can't lead. Sereda becomes the leader instead.
• Sadistic Choice: When Captain Lowan is surrounded, he forces the Cousland twins to choose between saving Nan, their castle's cook and nurse, and Thomas Howe, an innocent boy whose only crime is being Rendon Howe's son. Elissa sacrifices Nan to save Thomas.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here:
  • Ser Jory pulls this the same way as in the original game. Except this time, he runs away instead of fighting Duncan, and Theron decides to spare him.
  • Ser Graham is a Knight Templar (pun intended) who volunteered to join the Grey Wardens in order to kill all the mages within the order. He gives up on this plan and tries to desert (not before killing Neria and Daylen) when he finds out the nature of the Joining ritual. Elissa and Alistair stop him before he can actually kill anyone.
• Secret-Keeper:
  • All members of the Redcliffe group eventually agree to pretend that Jory is a Grey Warden.
  • Only Faren, Gorim, Elissa and Zevran know that Sereda is actually the dwarven king's daughter. Everyone else learns that in Redcliffe.
• Shameless Fanservice Girl: In this story, all shapeshifters lose their clothes after going back to their human form. Morrigan is not afraid of the attention of men (and some women) when she turns from an animal back into a naked woman.
• Sex for Solace: Subverted. When Adela offers Faren to have sex at the waterfall in order to relax, Faren refuses, stating that he wanted more than that.
  Faren: If I needed something like that, I would go to a brothel.
• Shapeshifting Excludes Clothing: Played Straight in this fanfic.
• Shock and Awe: Daylen uses lightning spells a lot.
• Skip to the End: Sereda and Gorim's wedding in Highever lasted only one hour due to Sereda insisting that the Wardens must go to Redcliffe.
• Spared by the Adaptation:
  • Malcolm Hawke, who died a few years before the start of the Blight in the games, is still alive in the fanfic.
  • Since both Aedan and Elissa are in Castle Cousland when Howe attacks, Aedan manages to save Oren and convince Eleanor to go with them instead of making a Stupid Sacrifice.
  • Daveth survives the Joining (the spot of the recruit that dies after drinking darkspawn blood is taken by Mhairi instead), and Jory escapes before being run through by Duncan's sword. Jory still meets his end in Redcliffe, but in a much more heroic way.
  • In the game, all of Sten's Qunari squadmates were killed by the darkspawn. In the fanfic, one of them, a scout named Basarad, got sent to the west by Sten, wasn't around during the darkspawn attack and thus survived.
• Spot the Imposter: In the Fade, Alistair had to choose between the the real Neria, who came to save him, and the fake one, made by Rizakan. He was touched by the real Neria's answer about his bloodline and made the right choice.
• Taking the Bullet: When enraged Ser Nancine tried to strike Elissa down, Daveth pushed his fellow Warden aside and took the hit.
• Taking the Heat: When Bethany accidentally set the barn on fire, Daylen claimed responsibility for this in order to protect her. He ended up in the Circle because of that.
• Team Member in the Adaptation:
  • Ser Gilmore reunites with Cousland twins in Lothering and joins the party.
  • Theron has managed to convince ghoul Tamlen to join the party and get healed instead of peforming a Mercy Kill as Adela and Aedan suggested.
  • Gorim reunites with Sereda in Denerim and also joins the party.
  • Soris joins Sereda's group to find Kallian.
  • Merrill and Fenarel stay in Ferelden and reunite with Theron, joining the fight against the darkspawn.
  • Greagoir forces the mage Wardens to take Cullen with them.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Ser Graham, the former templar and the Grey Warden recruit, hates mage recruits, especially Daylen, and keeps reminding them about this. Daylen and Neria don't like him as well. They still have to work together in Korcari Wilds. Their teamwork ends during the Joining ritual.
• Treachery Cover Up: Thanks to the Grey Wardens, no one in the village knew that Ser Jory was a deserter, not a real Grey Warden.
• Twofer Token Minority: In addition to being a Dalish elf, Theron is black and gay.
• Wartime Wedding: Sereda and Gorim got married in the middle of the Blight. They'd been waiting for a chance to get married far too long for this to bother them.
• Welcome Back, Traitor: Sylvia, one of Uldred's blood mages, asked Daylen for mercy. He granted it but forced her to go with him, Alistair and Sten and try to save the Circle.
• What You Are in the Dark: Even after almost getting converted by Uldred, Daylen still doesn't accept Mouse's help. Later it is revealed that Mouse is actually the Spirit of Perseverance and his demon disguise is Secret Test of Character.
• Withholding Their Name: In order to avoid any special treatment on the surface, Sereda doesn't use her real last name and calls herself Sereda Rumold, a dwarf from the warrior caste. She stops using this last name when she marries Gorim and legally changes it to Saelac.
• Would Hurt a Child: A rare heroic and female example. When Kallian finds out that demon-possessed Connor killed elven servants of the castle, she gets furious and beats him up, making no difference between adult humans and children who mistreat elves.
• Your Heart's Desire: As a desire demon, Kitty used Neria's desire against her during their fight. She pretended to be an elven (and thus non-royal) version of Alistair, whom Neria had dumped not long ago due to the fact that he won't marry her if he becomes king. Neria instantly saw through the demon's lies.