Back again with me after so long.

An OC/Dorian fic! Although the romance won't appear right away. The OC will eventually meet our dashing Tevinter soon enough.

He gotta go through his "first" life before he enters Dragon Age.

It may not be lore friendly, gonna be out of character and all that biz. But hey, this is all for fun. I hope you will enjoy it, lovelies.

Disclaimer: oh la la, this is a fan fiction, made by a fan and obviously not the creator of this magnificent game, Dragon Age and all of its contents. Oh my, Oh my.

Courageous and heroic warrior of justice.

Slayer of the might and vanquisher of the impossible.

The world knew of my name, a single look at my mask would tell them a tale of either savior of the weak or a bloodthirsty savage.

Even through the great Elvhen lands, curious elf would whisper my tale. Mothers would say my name to frighten their misbehaving children.

Ah, but in your time, you might see this as nothing. You might not even believe that once the Elves had all the powers and the greatest of them would rule as Gods, the not so pleasant kind, I'm afraid.

To them, we puny mortals were lucky enough to even breathe the same air as them, just because they allowed it to. Very pleasant.

Those who called themselves Gods would rule in their empire up above the skies.

It was a realm full of wild magic and sky palaces like you would not believe.

The skies belonged to them and so did everything below, a claim any tyrant Gods would say.

Alas, none could prove them otherwise. Despite their arrogance, their power were unquestionable. Thus we continued to linger under their shadows.

Unbelievable, I know. I have seen the changes in your time, stranger. I've learned enough by observing your fellow dreamers. Perhaps, It is for the better that my world remain forgotten..

You may treat this story however you wish, stranger. I do not expect you to believe any words coming from this old spirit.

The only proof I have is my memories and you are lucky that I still keep them close. I doubt any of your books can make any sense out of them.

But you asked for a story, didn't you? Now, you got one. Listen well to this tale from a lost world.

Long time ago where the greatest of the Elvhen declared themselves as Gods and all of the realms weren't broken or separated from one another. Yes, there were numerous realms, all connected by magic.

You see, unlike your time, magic was everywhere and it was at its purest form.

But, there was one realm where it held the source of all magic. Raw and wild magic would flow from there and to the rest of the realms, connecting and providing them with magic and life.

It was no coincidence that the realm was also the elves' homeland. They made it pretty clear to the whole world of it. Even stated their people were created from the realm's very magic and was destined to master its power.

Unbelievable, but yet again, they had proven the ruthlessness of their power many times, giving no hope for the rest of us to even dream of standing in their level.

And thus, seeing so little struggle, they took it upon themselves to make their kind the icon of magic and mystic, something to be worshiped and feared. And how they loved it, playing and deciding the fate of their lesser. We were toys that functioned only to entertain and when we outlived our uses, they would discard us like one.

Your book may speak of a compassionate elven gods, stranger, but trust me, they only care for their own. Not us, not the savages.

Harsh, but it's how they saw my people. I am no historian or what you call a scholar of my people, that is plain to see, but I can recall some of our elder's stories about our origin.

It was a tale he would tell every children in the clan, making sure that all of us remember where we came from and to honor our ancestor's sacrifices.

He told us of a great tribe that existed not long after the creation of the worlds, the first human to walk on the land, our homeland. He would drew out a great green lush meadow where the first tribe claimed the land. From there, great warriors and hunters were born, soon they became great leaders who had defended and protected the homeland. Leading us to a golden age.

Some of them decided to make their own clans and set out to different places of the world. Under great leadership, my people had grew and prospered, until somewhere along the line, fate decided to introduce us with the Elves and their godly powers.

The Elder didn't know how it happen, but the elves took away most of our home and wiped away the best of us. He told us of a war and we lost. We lost everything.

Those who survived had scattered all over the realms and our life had been nothing but a survival to the fittest.

To put it shortly, we lived to be treated like animals. Nothing compassionate about that, I assure you.

Our ancestors failed and so did many of us. Hopeless, we gave up on trying and instead we survived.

However, the Elvhenan made sure that we wouldn't get any bright ideas, so they took every little chance to treat us like wild beasts. Called us many names like savages, primitives or dumb apes. We were a prize to be hunted or tamed, a trophy or a pet. Take your pick.

It is cruel, what they were forcing us to become.

For generations we have lived like how they wanted us, animals. We kept our clan in small numbers, out of sight and never remained in one place for long. We made home in the shadows of the wilderness, because it was safer that way.

It is a shame of how easy we succumbed to their influences. Many of our leaders would choose to abandon our cultures because they feared the wrath of the Elvhen Gods.

You can see why this part of humanity doesn't exist in your world. Not in any books or records. Not that I can blame them. This part of the past was better off forgotten, especially after the Elvhen had lost their throne.

It's seemed like a dream to see how comfortable the humans are now.

What's that?

Ah, you are curious on how I get my titles. Impatient one, aren't you? Very well, I was just setting up the stage for you, to lessen the confusion.

Firstly, it wasn't easy to make the Gods above to gaze down at us mortals. Yet, to be honest, it was unintentional to be where I am now.

Before, I was just a son of a hunter and a farmer in my clan, no brothers or sisters, sadly.

Nothing grand or magnificent in my small family. Father did the big part in keeping us well fed and mother tended to the clan's food and livestock with the rest of the women of the clan.

Life was steady, right before we lost father. It was sudden, he went out hunting with his group one day, but didn't come back. The clan sent out people to search, only to find their cold headless bodies in the middle of the forest.

Hunter turned prey, a common thing to happen in my time. Still, the news hit us hard.

Mother cried for weeks, she regretted that she couldn't get him to switch profession.

Father was prideful and being a hunter meant honor and respect. It was useless to change that stubborn old fool's mind, but he did keep us up on our feet and away from the trouble we're about to face.

The clan didn't tolerate those who couldn't carry their own weights, they would mark one as a liability and they banished liabilities. It didn't matter who you were or what you have done for the clan before. It was a cold tradition that kept the clan alive, they said, ignoring of how wrong it was.

I never agree to it, I hated it. It made us no different from those who destroyed us. But nothing I said matter, for I was just another angry kid who just lost their parent.

When mother wept, it put my family on edge. Mother stopped working and her depression was very severe that she refused to eat or move. It pained me to see her like that, but she loves him very much, stranger. Sadly, love meant nothing to the clan.

Therefore, I took her place and did her job, trying to keep us from falling. I had been helping her with it before, therefore it was familiar.

Things were going fine, until a new problem appeared and it was the people, they talked.

It was shameful for an able and healthy boy of the clan to work the farm, instead of training to be the clan's future warrior or hunter. And that silly reason had upset many. They threw thorns at mother, accused her for being a poor parent.

But thankfully, their words didn't affect mother. I think she had no room for their harsh opinions at the time, one bright thing from her crippling sadness, I suppose.

We ignored them and continued my defiance. Although, it hurts to see those who we thought as friends, even family, to turn their back on us over such reason.

Still, I didn't let it change me for the worst, no. It only made me realize of my clan's condition.

I remembered the elder's stories of how we all stood together as a strong family, back in the glory days. Comparing them both, I almost thought the elder was lying.

Unexpectedly, that depressing realization had inspired me. I wanted to bring that back to my clan, the old glory days, and most of all, I wanted to prove them all that we're not animals.

But of course, easier said than done, yet it didn't discourage me from making small kindness along the way. I received many skepticism and insults in return, but they didn't weaken my will.

Why bother you say? Yes, I knew we could always walk away and give a chance to the other nearby clans. But, no matter how dysfunctional my clan was, it was still home.

I couldn't give up on it, I had to try.

They didn't choose to be like this. I believed that we could be more than what they forced us to be. There was potential in all of those flaws and chaos, it was there, just waiting for someone to reach it.

No more, they would believe in a world where fear constantly shrouded you and made it impossible to hope for the tiniest dependency from others. Wouldn't you have done the same for your home, stranger?

Those small actions were the start, I didn't do anything big, not until I was old enough to be a recruit for the clan's hunters.

Hm, the tongue of my people might be too complex, I don't want to cause you any unnecessary headache, so I will make up some names to make it easier for you. Don't worry, I'm sure you don't need any of these after.

We will call my clan, Orlom. And it was ruled by the great chief Rodri, it's not his real name, don't question it.

Now, chief Rodri was.. is a good man and not as cruel as the clan's traditions made him looked. Unfortunately, he lacked the courage to make the right decisions for the clan. It's not because he wouldn't want to, but it was because his advisers wouldn't let him.

It's obvious to everyone that they were the ones who held the strings over the chief, like he was nothing more than their jolly puppet.

It was the advisers who made the decisions that affected the future of our clan, while they let the chief had the little trivial matters.

It didn't help that their judgments were often cold and critical. As long as it was profitable for the clan, it didn't matter if the people were suffering. But despite all that, their hearts were in the right place at first, they only wanted for the clan to survive, to live long.

The advisers, four of them, a lot I know. All of them were experienced and wise men, each with their own dream for the clan. They hailed from four different and old families from the clan that hated each other guts with a passion. Cheery, isn't it?

Their families had always been a long line of advisers, their rivalry was ancient and never been put to rest. You can just imagine how civilized their meetings would go, yelling at each other to get results, it was a huge unpredictable storm.

The only time they managed to set their differences aside and work together was when someone threatened the clan. Hm, it wasn't hard for them to come to an agreement when the clan's survival also meant theirs, kind of explained much about them, didn't it?

Anyway, being a hunter, put me closer to the inner circle, the first place I needed to fix. It was their actions and decisions that reflected heavily on the people, if they could change then so could the people.

It is starting to sound like a story that came out of children's stories, isn't it?

A boy who is trying to save his home from evil.

Funny the more I think about it.

But, moving on,

I suspected that father's name had smoothen the process on becoming the clan's hunter. He was a great hunter and a good brother. It's enlightening to know that honor among brothers wasn't truly lost in those dark times.

But what I thought would be an advantage, proved to be the opposite when they discovered that I was unlike my father. Their high expectations for me was shattered because of my compassionate opinions. They stated rather strongly that it was a sign of weakness and how it could put the clan at risk.

But, I stood by my opinions, which angered them even further. Not very popular as you can see. Yet, don't worry, I saw their insults and temper tantrums as a thought of being able to change their mind in the near future, only strengthen my determination.

I won't lie, there were times where I was at my lowest, tired of it all. At those times, I always tried to remember who and why I was fighting this for, it never fail to raise me back up.

Within time, I proved to them that my weakness became my strongest point. Their opinions soon changed and it didn't take long before all of them came around and got comfortable with my vision.

Nevertheless, I am proud to fight alongside them. They are the best brothers any warrior could have asked for. Bless their souls.

It took some years before the chief selected a few of us to be the newest members of his elite warriors, and I was one of them.

Other than protecting the clan like any warriors, we were also to represent the might of our clan to our rivals in the arena.

It was a monthly event where various clans would gather and choose their best warriors to represent their clan in a friendly spar, a tradition to keep all of the clans united, or so they said.

The advisers mostly wanted to show off the clan's power and were very passionate with the bragging rights.

Regardless, being elite warriors meant that I gained one step closer to my goal. It granted me the places I previously couldn't reach, like the Chief.

I started by being his loyal warrior and a friend. He had many good ideas for the Clan and its people, but the advisers cast them aside without a second to waste.

Deep in his heart, he knew that he was there only to keep up the appearances, if it weren't for his blood, he would be banished like any other.

People didn't take him seriously for that, and so he was grateful for my honest support and valued our friendship greatly. And so do I.

It didn't take long before he demanded to make me as his personal bodyguard. A big decision that shocked the advisers. Normally they would refuse such a wasteful idea, but they considered it after remembering all of the victories I had brought to the clan.

They agreed that it would make the clan appeared more intimidating when the chief had a bodyguard with a very menacing reputation. And so, they let Rodri entertained himself with a new bodyguard.

This was a crucial moment, stranger, because without my current rank, I wouldn't be able to save the clan from its own careless downfall. The one opportunity that had changed my Clan for the better.

Let me explain.

My clan wasn't a force to be reckoned with. The other clans knew that, even any elven hunters wouldn't attack us without forming a plan first.

But one day, we found ourselves in a very vulnerable state, where a band of raiders managed to slip through our notice and had taken control over the Clan. It was hard to believe that they would come up with a very well executed infiltration all on their own. A few helping hands was the only logical explanation, our rivals no doubt. And It wouldn't be much of a surprise, considering how the advisers were.

Speaking of those four, the advisers had given up on everything and could only whimper under their masks. Seeing that, the chief turned to find safety in praying for our swift deaths.

As they collapsed into despair, the rest soon followed.

The people were forced to deal with the bandits on their own while the clan's protectors were out to protect their own life or families. It was like I was reliving my childhood, alone to fight a battle that was forced on to me.

And that needed to end. I took the matter into my own hands and knocked some bravery into them all. I reminded them, that it was ridiculous that a mere bandit attack would be a problem for this chaotic clan. I took the command, rallied all of the warriors and launched the all out attack to wipe the bandits from our home. The people wouldn't be fighting on their own that day. This time, they could depend on us.

We were victors. Together finally as we should be a long time ago.

Not only I claimed most of the people's hearts, but surprisingly made the adviser frozen hearts to melt. They confessed that they needed to learn more and asked for my guidance in the future.

It was the mark of a golden age for Orlom,

and the first day of my new duty as Orlom's Champion.

After many generations, my clan finally set aside their self-centered traditions. We looked like a true family and it suited Orlom perfectly. I promised to keep it that way as their new Champion and soon the chief's second.

We were changing into a solid and strong family, slowly returning the glory from the old days. It was so great that I was ready to retire too.

Hah no, I was not one to rest, stranger.

The advisers offered me a place in their circle, but I refused them. Because I knew that I would do more good out there, with the people. They were disappointed, the same could be said for the chief who gave me the same offer. But he took it better than them and asked me what I really wanted.

He contemplated on my words and was quick to make them realized as best as he could. He gave me another offer and this time he knew that I couldn't refuse.

He let me created a group of my own and given me the task to maintain the peace between the other clans. He believed that I would be the best choice to protect the peace, especially with our rivals.

I loved that man.

With all of my new responsibilities, I realized that I would be leaving mother more often. Don't worry she had been in a happier mood and was supportive of my journey right from the start.

I will never forget that smile she gave me when I became a warrior of the clan. Or how she would show me off to the others, her champion, she said.

I thought I had lost that side of her after father's death.

Hm, you know stranger, I told her that I wouldn't repeat the same mistake my father made. I promised her that I wouldn't hurt her like he did. And she didn't believe me.

I hope she is grinning so wide right now, knowing that I kept that promise.

No, nothing extreme, it was old age that took her away from me.

I used to think that both of them would watch over me from the beyond and I would try to do my best to keep them proud. It was silly, but it helped me deal with their death. I was only human after all.

Ah, excuse me. Where was I..

I didn't have to think long for the members of my group. They were my fellow brothers, those who had been by my side in so many battles. Some that I knew way back when we were recruits and a few others I met when I participated in the clan's battle arena.

I was very glad when they accepted my offer.

Thus, new adventures awaited us. It really opened my eyes of how little Orlom's problems compared to the rest of the world. My knowledge of the outside was limited, since my sources of information about the matter were our elder, the traveling hunters, and lastly the arena. Obviously, it didn't prepare us for the nightmares that awaited.

The Elves. Missions after missions, they never stray away from how far their cruelty could go.

My first encounter with one was at a simple delivery task to a small clan. It turned into something quite different when we arrived. We discovered that some insane elves had invaded them and they wanted to "harvest" the humans for their ritual. I shuddered to think what would become of them if we hadn't interfered.

But don't think of us too heroically, stranger. We didn't give those elves a fair fight, instead we attacked them under the darkness of night and had to resort to the dirtiest of tricks. We were there to save those people, not wasting our life for being heroic.

Not to mention that there were two of them, both were powerful mages.

We had seen the gruesome remains of what used to be the clan's defenders, I couldn't imagine the sorrow that their loved ones had to endure when they knew of their fate.

So I took great pleasure as I plunged my blade into their hearts and saw those eyes looking at my mask with pure shock.

My first elvhen hunt and one of the greatest hunt I ever had.

I did say that my first intention was to save those people, so I didn't expect the attention that suddenly came from slaying an elf. The news spread wildly and beyond any of our control. It didn't take long before people started to see me as the first elven slayer.

Then, it turned into the slayer of the mighty gods and it kept on changing. The more it passed to another ear, the more exaggerated it sounded.

Soon, everyone would know me just by a look at my mask.

Yes, this very one, stranger.

Once this was just a symbol for being Orlom's Champion.

Young and naive I was to be dazzled by their admiration and praises that I didn't realize how I had disturbed the way of the realm.

The Elvhen tried to act like nothing happened, of course. It would be bad for them to show their concerns for a group of mangy beasts to the public eyes. Typical. But, we still felt some changes and we definitely noticed the increasing visits from their kind.

But thankfully, they were just the young and foolishly brave glory seekers. Trying to impress or to prove the existence of the beast from their stories.

I didn't know about this, not for a very long time, but there was an interesting version of the story that the Elves had created. It was about a beast that hunted down the foolish one and devoured their flesh to satisfy its hunger for Elvhen Blood.

The story caused plenty of troubles for the humans for some months. It was the only troubles I got from their kind, until we discovered a city of Slaves.

was starting to believe that everything had calmed down with the stories, that I finally became a myth to them, which was preferable.

As much as I hate their magic, I hate their tradition in slavery even more. I can't even begin to fathom how one could bring themselves to do such a thing to another. And you should know that they even enslaved their own kind too, disgusting.

My brothers and I agreed to end that place, even if we had to sacrifice everything. We made the slaves to rebel their Masters and helped us reached the city's lord.

In return, we promised them their greatest desire. Those people didn't need any sympathies or kindness, all they needed was vengeance and their master's blood, a lot of them.

The Lord claimed to be a faithful follower of a powerful god, sent to the mortal world to teach us of our proper place. He did put up a good fight, but I was better..

The city crumbled down as his head rolled down the steps of his throne.

However it didn't end there, we then learned about his brother and his "Slaughter House".

Ah, it was worse than a city of slaves. To think that I had figured out the Elves and their craziness, but once again, their magic proved me wrong, so wrong.

He would receive a fair amount of people, slaves, from his brother and then he would treated them as livestock there in his "House". He used their life force to satisfy his thirst for power.

The rituals he would do to achieve that were... unforgivable.

He and everything in that place needed to burn. And that was exactly what we did.

We took his eyes, hands and tongue, then watched him as he burned. His suffering wouldn't give us anything, but it was the least we could do for those who died in that place. We hoped they could hear his pain.

What's that? Ah yes, things turned grim rather fast.

You can guess the consequences of our actions for killing those two Elves. They were not your common crazies, it was true that they came from a very respectable lineage. The great Elvhen was displeased, after hearing their death and the destruction of their precious assets. Yet, they acted like nothing happened, just to save their unblemished reputation, even went all the way to wipe those dead elves from their spotless records, so much for a faithful follower.

But, unlike before, they started to acknowledge me as more than a story to frighten their children. The Elves, who travelled near our land, had more securities with them and chose to stay away from us. There were even spies that watched over the human hunters.

Nothing harmful, it was to prevent anymore human attacks, or so they say. It was a drastic change, I admit. But it wasn't so bad, we showed them that we could and we would fight back for our life. We refused to be their entertainment, their livestock, their trophies.

It was a better life and we would survive this one too.

Yes, stranger? A Partner?

What sort of partner do you mean?

Oh.

Finally, you revealed your true purpose.

Oh, so now you chose to be shy about it.

No need, stranger. I knew you would bring that up.

My love life, I had little interest in that matter, truth be told. My duties kept me busy, kept my mind busy. There were plenty of opportunities, believe me. There were people who wished to share their life with me. I would want that to, to settle down and to start a family, but I didn't feel the need for it. Not until I met a certain someone.

I hate that my hormones started to kick in at the one person who would set the Gods on a fiery rampage. That being said, we start this at another very beautiful day...

To be continued...

Huh, that was totally not long.

Thanks for reading, lovelies.

I hope you like it and decide to follow this story with me xD

Have a lovely day, you beautiful something!