The Unicorn and the Blight

Chapter One: The Pull of Fate

I am a unicorn, one of the few to be trained outside of the Circle of Magi, whether that has ben a blessing or a curse I haven't decided yet. I was born in Denerim, or at least that's where I assume I was born because it's where my earliest memories are from. Living on the streets I learned to keep my head, and my horn, down. I had heard all of the stories of the Circle of Magi and their tower, and very few of them were good, so I hid from the sight of the chantry. Though at times I was tempted to turn myself in just so I could have a dry place to sleep and warm food waiting in the morning.

Then, I met Starshine. When I first saw her, with her deep hood shadowing her face but her horn plainly visible I was afraid. She was an Apostate, and they were all supposed to be the puppets of Demons and sought to cause pain and suffering wherever they went. How I ronic looking back, that I myself was an Apostate and yet I still believed every ghost story about them. Although, maybe it was because I was an Apostate that I feared the stories so much, that I could become the things in the sailors' tales.

"Calm down, I do not plan to hurt you." She said.

Yeah right, that's what they all say right before they stick a knife in your gut.

We Stared at each other for several long moments after that. Is tood ready to Gallop away if she took another step closer to me in that dark back alley. The silence was finally broken when my stomach growled, and she laughed. To this day I still perfectly remember that laugh, the way it rang like chimes in the wind.

"I see that you're hungry." She managed to stay when her laughter stopped. "Come with me my little colt, and we'll see if we can fix that."

Normally, not even the promise of a warm meal would have been enough to coax me into following a stranger, but I did anyway.

Over time I grew to know the silver coated mare with the glowing star cutie mark. I learned that she was once part of the Orlesian Circle. Which would definitely explain her acent. She used her Circle training to teach me about my powers I had always thought were a curse, the cause of my need to always hide, but eventuallyshe made me come to think of them as a gift.

Eventually, under her tutelage I obtained my cutie mark, and much to my surprise and chargrin it was a blue sword crackling with lightning. It was the last thing I had expected, I had always wanted a mark like Starshine's so that I could be more like the mare who had taught me so much. Eventually however, I acepted it. Admitedly there were worse things one could have for a cutie mark than a lightning sword.

I continued my days traveling with my mentor, the names and the places always changed but Starshine was the constant in my life, my "North Star".

I had never cried so much as when she left.

She told me that she had family issues to deal with back in orlais and she had to return to deal with them. I begged to let me come with her, that it was dangerous because she was still an Apostate, but I knew she could handle herself. I was just afraid of losing her. Despite all my pleas she told me that she needed to do this by herself.

And with that, she was gone.

I was alone again. I had thought I had learned to cope with the feeling after my long years of living on the streets, but when she left it was more painfull than I had ever remembered.

It was barely a month after she had left when I found myself plodding along that long dirt road in the Hinterlands. I had just passed Redcliffe the day before and I was watching the clear night sky, and I ignored it when I first heard it, taking it for the far off cry of a nocturnal creature. Then I heard it again.

I suddenly realised that somepony was crying out for help, even if I couldn't make out the words the fear in the voice was evident. With a moment of hesitation I broke off into a gallop towards the noise. Every sensible part of me screamed that I could be charging into my grave, but I ignored it.

What good was all of my magic and training if I couldn't even work up the courage to work up the courage to investigate a cry for help. Luckily, I didn't have long to dwell on it as I soon found myself staring into the mouth of a cave. I felt the darkness stare into me as I pleaded to Celestia that the cries for help weren't coming from inside.

"Luna save me!" came a mare's voice laced with terror from within the cave.

I casted a light spell from my horn to illuminate the cave as I slowly entered. As I walked deeper into the cave I felt an unnatural sense of dread, and the light from my horn seemed to get dimmer the further I went.

I fought the urge to bolt out of the cave with every step I took, the steady pace of my hooves echoing loudly throughout the cave.

I kept walking, but the absence of cries for help filled me with dread as to what might have happened, and what might be laying in wait further in the cave. Up ahead I began to see a soft blue glow coming from up ahead.

Lyrium.

The magical mineral used by mages and enchanters for it's magical qualities. In it's raw form it was a very dangerous material. It's affects so potent that it can kill a mage outright if they aren't carefull, and the walls of this cave were lined with it.

I carefully avoided any contact with the glowing blue stone and made my way into a large central chamber, and I recoiled with horror. I saw Diamond Dog stonework, similar to what I had seen on my trips that took me past Orsimar. I instantly realised that I had wandered my way into the Deep Roads. The lair of the Darkspawn, the things of every Colt and filly's nightmares.

The corrupted beings which come to the surface during a blight to wreak havoc and slaughter all who stand int heir way. Only returning to the deep roads after the Arch-Demon had been killed. So far there had been four previous Blights and while they had all been stopped, they had all caused the world to be pushed to the brink of disastor before they were stooped.

I was paralysed as I realised I faced the very real prospect of being torn limb from limb by Darkspawn. I forced myself to move a leg forward, trying to remember the courage that Starshine had tried to teach me, but I felt like that small Colt by the side of the road cowering at the shadow of every passerby.

I saw that there were three paths that had once been carved into the stone, The paths leading forward and right had long since been sealed by rubble from centuries of neglect. Seeing as the left was the only path left for me to take I began following it further into the Deep Roads.

My eyes darted around, trying to look for anything that might want to tear me to pieces. As I did this I noticed signs that this path might have seen some recent travelers. There were subtle signs of somepony passing through here. Looking more closely I could see that it definitely not just one pony who had come through here recently, from the way the area looked there had been quite a few.

I continued down the road for what seemed like an eternity of looking over my shoulder and jumping at shadows I came upon a path diverging off to the right. It wasn't built by Diamond dogs, it was a natural cave that appeared had been opened up when this section of wall had collapsed. The collapse wasn't out of the ordinary, I had seen several similar areas as I had walked down the road. What made this one special was that there was somepony's blood splattered along the wall.

The sight of it filled me with dread, my mind instantly assuming that this was all that remained of the poor mare who had cried out for help, and that I should turn back. Despite that voice in my head I gathered what courage I had and pressed onward into the unknown.

It felt as though the walls of the cave itself would tear me to shreads as my mind began to create whispers in my ears. Every time I heard it I would turn around and try to find the source but every time I saw nothing there, and that only served to feed my dread.

I was on the verge of babbling incoherently when I found myself stumbling into an enormous cavern. I felt my eyes widen as I saw a veritable army of darkspawn were camped in the crevice below. So many together could only mean a blight, but that was impossible. The Blights were supposed to have been ended when the last Arch-Demon was killed.

I heard a laugh come from behind me, the complete opposite of Starshine's soothing laugh. This was the sound of a jagged blade dragging across metal. I turned around to find myself face to face with a Genlock, one of the more numerous of the Darkspawn, and it held a wicked bladed dagger in it's grinning mouth.

I had barely enough time to use my arcane shield to protect myself before it began hacking wildly at me with it's dagger. I dodged to the side, my shield aiding me against the Genlocks attacks and I focused my mind and casted lightning from my horn. Sending the Genlock flying back into the stone wall.

I had foolishly hoped that the spell would be enough to kill the creature but as I saw it begin to get back to it's stubby spike hooved legs I knew that ina  few moments it would be at my throat again in a few moments.

I fired a basic electrically charged bolt of magic at it while it tried to regain it's senses, feeling glad that I had bought that Lightning horn ring while I had been in RedCliffe. After several more shots from my horn the creature grew still on the cold stone floor.

Where the hell did that thing come from?! I thought to myself in a panic.

While I had managed to escape from this enounter unscathed I doubted I would be able to do so a second time. I very nearly ran out of the Deep Roads then and there but I pressed onward. I couldn't simply run while somepony is at the mercy of these creatures.

I pressed onward, scating along the edge of the crevice, the fall from this height would be more likely to kill me than any Darkspawn. So I carefully moved forward, the sinister voices having been dispeled by the adrenaline from the fight with the Genlock.

I eventually made my way away from the crevice and found myself in what looked to have once been a Darkspawn camp of some kind, with horrific remenants of the Darkspawn themselves as well as their victims. Although thankfully there was no sign of any Darkspawn being here currently as I forced myself to avoid looking for fear of losing my last meal the smell from it alone was pressing my stomach against my throat.

I looked past the camp to find another tunnel that led away from the area, and was marked with a trail of fresh blood. Looking similar to the splatter of blood that had led me to the crevice, if a little more recent. The thought of the frightened mare trapped down in the Deep Roads forced me to press onward.

I noted while I followed the path that while the blood I had found earlier was a splatter on the wall, this was a constant trail like what an injured Pony would leave. I followed it at a steady trot so as to not tire myself out in case I encountered more Darkspawn on my search.

"NO! Stay away from me!" I was just passing a broken Diamond Dog signpost when I heard the same frightened voice cry out.

The sound of the voice spurred me into a full gallop hoping to Luna that I would be able to get there in time to save the mare from whatever it was that was after her.

My hopes were dashed across the wall just as the Mare's lifeblood had been.

I charged into the room as I saw two Genlocks and a Hurlock, the Genlock's stronger and taller cousin, Standing over the lifeless body of a teal colored mare with a deep blue mane, I couldn't see her cutie mark through the blood.

I immeadietly felt like a foolish Colt, thinking I could be the hero dashing to the rescue. I now found myself the new target of these blood thirsty creatures and was glad that I had kept my Arcane Shield up, as they began to charge at me.

The biggest threat that I could see was the Hurlock standing at about my height carrying a blood splattered battleaxe in it's mouth as it charged at me, the two Genlocks appeared to have saddle mounted crossbows as they hung back and began to take aim at me.

I prayed to Celestia that my shield would be enough to deal with the Genlock's bolts as I aimed my horn at the Hurlock and fired my lightning spell at it. It struck it square in the chest but it didn't falter in it's charge as it got even closer to me.

I felt one bolt fly past me and strike against the wall behind me as the second was luckily deflected by my barrier, I doubted I would be so lucky a second time. Although the bolts may be the least of my worries as the Hurlock was now within striking distance with it's axe and I desperately tried to use my horn ring to defend myself with a bolt on electrical energy as the axe cleaved toward at me.

The desperate move faltered the Hurlock enough that I was able to avoid a fatal wound by doging to the side, but the axe still cut deeply into my left side and I cried out in pain as I began to feel blood seep from the wound.

I felt that was the end, laying on the ground, begining to feel my blood seep onto the cold stone floor. I shakily got to my hooves as my vision began to sway and I felt a burning sensation spreading from teh wound. Taint I knew, would kill me just as easily as the Hurlock's axe so I decided if I was going to die I wasn't going to let this damn thing be able to enjoy it.

As the Hurlock looked at me with it's skeletal face, it's mouth clecnhed around the axe that would end my life I abandoned every lesson that Starshine had ever taught me and I blindly charged at the Hurlock with my horn.

The The Hurlock faltered with surprise at my charge, having clearly thought me as good as dea already from it's first strike. I rammed my head into it's chest, driving my horn through the creature's scavenged armor. I felt it's blood begin to seep out around my horn as I punctured it's heart.

I pulled my horn out as the Hurlock began to sink to the ground, I vaguely remember sounds coming from the room where the mare died but I couldn't make them out and my vision was begining to fade. The last thing I remember was the sight of somepony in gleaming armor as my vision slowly faded to black.