The Fate of the Tainted

While leaning against the huge oak tree nestled within its roots I stare at the fire thinking about what could have happened at the battle in the estate when figures start moving in the flames it's almost as if my mind is showing me what I am imagining the battle to have been like. I see my mother fighting off a Hurlock Alpha decapitating it before being speared by a Genlock that just looked at her before grunting and pushing on the spear it still had hold of before it was cleaved in the head from behind. I close my eyes and the tears that started filling my eyes flush over my eyelids. A clunking sound of wood being dropped into a pile wakes me from my thoughts and I lean off the tree looking towards the sound. Favian has collected some wood for the fire, his ribs must still be paining him because he's holding his side. It's been deathly quiet in the camp, none of us have spoken a word since we left the estate.
Just before another wave of Darkspawn attacked we heard the roar of an Ogre as we went over a rise away from the estate that is now taken over by the spawn.
I care nothing for sitting around thinking so I stand up telling Favian to rest and that I'll collect some more wood, with protest from him, but I hear none of his protestations and again tell him to relax and I go anyway.

My plan to occupy my mind looking for firewood didn't work like I planned, although I was distracted, my thoughts kept running back to that night. As I walk I hear the sound of water getting louder, and closer still I hear a male voice talking. It's Duncan's voice I hadn't realised he wasn't at camp until I went through the scene in my mind.

Amnon was sitting close to the horses making arrows by sharpening sticks until they were straight but not too thin with a sharpened point on the tip with three feathers for flight. Damon was sleeping near the fire huffing every once in a while. I walked past Favian who sat down in defeat after his failed protests. But no Duncan anywhere to be seen. While I move slowly around trees to see him I notice he's stood at the edge of a lake that a river is running softly into. He's holding something that has a chain hanging down from his hand as he is looking down, either at the water or the trinket I do not know, and talking quietly, curiously I walk closer to hear what he's saying.
"....the child, she, has a good soul. A strong, iron will..... These words are hard for me at this moment..." He pauses and sighs, as if he can't find the right phrase he is looking for. I linger hoping that he won't sense my presence until I want him to. "I am proud of your daughter. Our daughter.... You raised her well.... She is independent and acts with wisdom beyond her age... Yet she is still just a child and wild, she doesn't acknowledge her limits, it makes her unpredictable... which can be dangerous... She reminds me of you when we first met... My heart pains me... If only I had known sooner..."
It seems he could tell I was there now because he stopped talking and slightly faced backwards. So I move towards him slowly.
"But wouldn't knowing have forced you to choose between family and duty?" I ask
"Yes, you are right" he replies looking down to his trinket. "Your mother was doing her duty and raising you. Fighting Darkspawn is what Grey Wardens do, it's why your mother chose there to live." He turns to face me. "If I had known... She was special to me, we had fought and shed blood side by side for so long..."
"You fell in love with each other, didn't you?"
"One night your mother had a severe injury, I stayed by her until a healer could be found, we had just been attacked by Darkspawn a few days from the nearest city. We couldn't move her much in case we made her injury worse... By Andraste, I can't remember what the injury was anymore... But we got her safe and set up camp realising we needed magical assistance someone had to go find help, in the time it took our two companions to get to the city to bring a Mage back she confessed that in the amount of time we had spent around each other she had gotten close to me, and I to her. And that brought us even closer. Since then we were inseparable, fighting side by side like sword and shield, she was the sword, I was the shield. The irony of that statement being that she was an archer." He says with a small chuckle "but we should return to camp, no doubt they'll be wondering where we are and will be needing the wood you've collected" he says reminding me of the wood I'm carrying and putting an arm around my shoulder to turn me in the direction back to camp.