Line #132 FanFic/MarchOfTheInevitable


1	''March of the Inevitable'' is a CrossOver {{Fanfic}} of ''Franchise/DragonAge'' and ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'' written by [[https://www.fanfiction.net/u/2143142/SpartAl412 SpartAl412]]. The story begins with the High Elf Chracian warrior Khorieus inadvertently flung through the Realms of Chaos by a Lord of Change following a hunt on a Chaos cultist and lands in Denerim. Initially, he along with city elf Kallian Tabris attempt to find a way back to his world while running afoul of the Templars but only to encounter others from his world who also find themselves in the same predicament. It is gradually reveal that [[PowersThatBe higher forces]] are at work in guiding these heroes to face [[AStormIsComing something]] that the world of Thedas isn't prepare for.
2
3	* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10086742/1/March-of-the-Inevitable-Blood-of-the-Phoenix Blood of the Phoenix]]''
4	* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11037726/1/March-of-the-Inevitable-An-Oath-of-Stone An Oath of Stone]]''
5	* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10887932/1/March-of-the-Inevitable-A-War-in-Winter A War in Winter]]''
6	* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11578092/1/March-of-the-Inevitable-Ninety-Nine-Blades Ninety Nine Blades]]''
7	----
8	!!Tropes:
9
10	* {{Anticlimax}}: The siege of Isammar endes with [[spoiler:the Vanguard having [[BoomHeadshot his head blown off]] by Vanyra, and causing the Vanguard's leaderless officers to fighting each other for leadership and leaving the entire Darkspawn army fall into disarray, thus making the Legion of the Dead to easily rout them before TheCavalry from Orzammar arrived]]. The Legion and including Sereda even deemed the whole thing a "disappointment."
11	* AssholeVictim:
12	** The Blood Mage Marius wants to summon some demons to help him stop some pursuing Templars, but can only open a portal to and stare in utter horror at the [[EldritchLocation Realm of Chaos]] before getting skewered by a Templar's blade. It seems that his death spared him from a FateWorseThanDeath, but his soul is presumably punished with eternal damnation.
13	** Vaughan Kendells gets his comeuppance as in ''Origins'', but this time he gets brutally rounded up by Khorieus "until blood matted his gauntlet" and finally "gutted like a pig" by Shianni. Even the Templars, who are investigating his death, have zero sympathy for the bastard.
14	* AtopAMountainOfCorpses: This happens figuratively when [[spoiler:Kallian journeys into Khorieus' mind and finds the bodies of all the enemies that he has slain throughout his life]].
15	%%* BackToBackBadasses: When Lothaire and Albrecht finally meet with each other during a Darkspawn attack in ''A War in Winter''.%%And?
16	%%* ActionGirl: Kallian, Illenya, Solona, Vanyra, Melusine, Ehlenien, and Karsten.%%ZCE
17	* BadassBoast:
18	** '''Khorieus:''' "I am Khorieus Alatanrieth! And you will bettered by death you waste!"
19	** '''Rahkan-hotep:''' "I am Rahkan-hotep, barbarians! [[JusticeWillPrevail Let justice in Phakth's name be done!]]"
20	** '''Melusine:''' "I have fought and slain many demons, ''Herr'' Templar. I have conflagrated barbarian champions of the Ruinous Powers, savage warlords of the greenskins, undead horrors that stalk the night, piratical elves from across the ocean and the dwarves of the dark east. Take this message to your fellows, do not follow us for if you do, then I will be less than merciful."
21	** Haakon takes the cake.
22	--->"[[IsThatTheBestYouCanDo Is that the best you got!?]] I've met ''Grombolgi''[[note]]translation: [[{{Hobbits}} halfings]][[/note]] tougher than you lot!"
23	** Haakon again, to a mercenary.
24	--->'''Random mercenary:''' You better give yourself up dwarf! You're just going to make it worse for yourself!\
25	'''Haakon:''' Give up!? Ha! Now you're funny manling! [[YouWillBeSpared I will kill you last]].
26	* BarBrawl:
27	** Kallian [[YouAllMeetInAnInn meets]] with [[spoiler:Sereda]] at a bar and proceed to work together in beating up some very rude patrons who were accosting her.
28	** Melusine killed some pursuing Templars at a inn called the Dancing Cow.
29	** Haakon is first introduce this way as he deals with some sellswords that are looking for him and Aedan.
30	* BattleInTheRain: Subverted during the fight between Haakon and Karsten. It actually rain ''after'' both combatants had finished their fight.
31	* BeastlyBloodsports: While being pursued by militiamen, Kallian runs into a cockfighting ring which has nugs instead of roosters.
32	%%* CallForward:
33	%%** Khorieus disposes of Bernard Marquand's corpse in the Denerim Chantry's well.%%How is this a call forward?
34	%%** Merrill is learning about Blood Magic [[spoiler:and uses this knowledge to help Solona and Kallian remove the poison from Khorieus]].%%How is this a call forward?
35	* TheChosenMany: The ''Warhammer'' heroes are known as the "Ninety-Nine" and are part of the cosmic game between the Crone and the Raven. The Thedasians that traveled with the Ninety-Nine are specifically chosen by the ''Warhammer'' gods and are called the 'God-Marked.' For example [[spoiler: Kallian]] and [[spoiler:Solona]] are have [[spoiler:[[WarGod Khaine]]]] and [[spoiler:[[GodOfKnowledge Hoeth]]]] as their patrons, respectively.
36	* ContinuityNod: The author's stories generally contain many of these to Black Library novels and army books and RPG games.
37	** The Crone/[[spoiler:Morai-Heg]] mentions the involvement of the Kreeqar-gan, which is a name used in the ''Time of Legends'' series for one of the ''Warhammer'' setting's greatest evils, [[spoiler:Nagash]].
38	** Haakon lampshades that his and Aedan's journey is turning out to be like something out of ''[[Literature/GotrekAndFelix My Travels with Gotrek]]''.
39	* CosmicChessGame: The sudden appearance of ''Warhammer'' characters in Thedas is all deliberately part of a conflict between the 'Crone' ([[spoiler:Morai-Heg]]) and the 'Raven' ([[spoiler:Tzeentch]]). It is clearly implied that the Raven has destroyed an unspeakable number of realities, and Thedas is the only recent reality facing imminent destruction. This is why the Crone is determined not to lose and is why she has chosen the 'Ninety-Nine' and their companions, the God-Marked, to prevent the Raven from claiming the 'Dragonsoul' ([[spoiler:the Archdemon's soul]]). Both use a game board to plot the "pieces" of their destinies.
40	* CultureClash:
41	** Khorieus is really put off by the [[ScrewYouElves alienage]] in Denerim.
42	** Kallian is quite surprised of the concept of humans being bound into servitude towards elves in the ''Warhammer'' world.
43	** Illenya was surprised and disgusted to learn that [[InterspeciesRomance interspecies breeding between elves and humans]] exists in Thedas.[[note]]Human/elf interbreeding does exist in the ''Warhammer'' world, but is rare. In ''Gilead's Blood'' by Dan Abnett, there is a half elf character who was thought by some and even the elves to be human.[[/note]]
44	** Sereda can't fathom the idea that commoner dwarves are allowed to fight, as among Thedan dwarves only the Warrior and Noble caste are allowed to bear arms and go into battle, while other castes solely fulfill their given roles, such as the blacksmiths that makes and provide the weapons. Vanyra finds this incredulous, as in the ''Warhammer'' world ''every'' dwarf regardless of their occupation and background ''should'' learn how to fight (given to [[EverythingTryingToKillYou lots of enemies and monsters roaming about]]), and finds Sereda's views (and Thedas dwarfs in general) to sound like those of ''[[HumansAreMorons umgi]]''.
45	** The ''Warhammer'' dwarfs are shocked to see beardless male dwarves, as they deeply value their beards. Vanyra also finds it appalling that [[ApeShallNeverKillApe deadly inter-fighting occurs between Thedas dwarves]] (although she reluctantly admits that there is one case where Dawi grow violent against their own kind -- the Chaos Dwarfs). Also, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking dwarven alcohol sucks]].
46	%%* CurbStompBattle: This is what you get for bringing a badass from a WorldOfBadass to go toe-to-toe with some poor schmuck in Thedas. %%ZCE. What is?
47	%%* DanceBattler: Illenya and Yransair.
48	* DecapitatedArmy: The death of the Darkspawn Vanguard thanks to Vanyra caused the Alphas to turn on each other for leadership, leaving the entire Darkspawn army that were besieging Isammar to [[EnemyCivilWar fell apart]].
49	* DevelopingDoomedCharacters: The writer shows from the POV's of villains, {{Mooks}}, and even {{Hero Antagonist}}s of their backgrounds and personalities, even if they are moments from being killed by the protagonists.
50	%%* TheDreaded: The Thedans referred Khorieus as the "Silverite Chevalier."%%Does not describe the trope.
51	* EveryoneMeetsEveryone / OneDegreeOfSeparation: Khorieus, Illenya, Yransair, and Vanyra are well acquainted with each other and are really surprise of encountering each other. [[spoiler:According to WordOfGod, this is justified because everyone on the Ninety-Nine are connected to each other in some way.]]
52	* FanService: Khorieus and Yransair has a [[ShirtlessScene shirtless]] spar at the dalish camp. This leads to Kallian [[IllBeInMyBunk going off for some "private" time]].
53	%%* FireForgedFriends: Khorieus, Illenya, and Yransair.
54	%%* FishOutOfWater
55	* FloorboardFailure: Melusine dealt with one Templar this way by burning the floor he is on, plus added by the weight of his armor.
56	* {{Foreshadowing}}: After meeting Yransair, he, Khorieus, and Illenya discussed the possibility of more people from their world dragged into Thedas, especially concerning on the likes of Orcs, Skavens, Dark Elves, Vampires, and Chaos. [[spoiler:They are right with the recent mention of the Lizard Men by the Qunari, the vampire bard Alejandro Cassimere, some apparently Chaos-converted human tribesmen that were encountered by Yasmine and Rahkan-Hotep, and an army of dwarves encountering a horde of Orcs]].
57	* GenreShift: What began as a story of someone [[TrappedInAnotherWorld stranded in another world]] [[TheHomewardJourney and trying to return to their home]] but in fact to be part of a complex SavingTheWorld(s) plot.
58	* GivingRadioToTheRomans:
59	** Vanyra intially considered of giving her knowledge of gunpowder weapons to the Thedas dwarves, but later decided not to because she doesn't trust them to use it for good use when they could possibly use them against each other over their petty infighting.
60	** Dorandor Ironheart, however, plays it straight by giving away grenades, muskets, and drakeguns to House Arekan in turning the war against the Darkspawn.
61	%%* GladiatorGames: This is how we're introduced to the vampire bard Alejandro Cassimere.%%ZCE. How?
62	* GoMadFromTheRevelation: Following after Khorieus' arrival, a Circle Mage, Marissa Theo, has the misfortune to peer into the [[EldritchLocation Realm of Chaos]] and became a hopeless babbling wreck. After having [[RoomFullOfCrazy scrawled her entire quarters with blood]] she was [[MercyKill put out of her misery]] by Darius.
63	* GoodVersusGood: The entire premise of "Blood of the Phoenix". Due to initial [[PoorCommunicationKills misunderstandings]] when Khorieus arrived in Thedas he killed several Templars in self-defense, and the Templars branded him as a criminal.
64	* GoodIsNotNice: Khorieus is a worshiper of [[WarGod Khaine]] and definite BloodKnight who has no aversion to things like [[ColdBloodedTorture torture]].
65	* {{Gorn}}: Considering that this is a ''Warhammer'' crossover, the author's stories in general tend to go into [[NightmareFuel horrific detail]] about the battles being fought and the way things get killed. So expect LudicrousGibs, BodyHorror, and NauseaFuel.
66	* GroinAttack: Haakon gives an elbow strike to a mercenary's groin (cue [[InstantSoprano high-pitched scream]]) [[MoodWhiplash before]] [[OffWithHisHead chopping his head]].
67	* HeroAntagonist: The Templars in ''Blood of the Phoenix'', most specifically Jacob Darius and Elena Magdalene.
68	* HeroOfAnotherStory: Each of the Ninety-Nine are characters from the author's other ''Warhammer'' stories. Some of them are the protagonists of their own stories while others are {{Ascended Extra}}s and {{Early Bird Cameo}}s.
69	* HiredGuns: The Red Storms and Black Hounds. The former are a rather [[HitmanWithAHeart noble example]] while the latter are a straight out [[ArmyOfThievesAndWhores bunch of cutthroats and killers]].
70	* HopeSpot: House Arekan are almost close to retaking Arekan Thaig from the Darkspawn with guns provided by Dorandor Ironheart [[spoiler:until a horde of Orcs shows up]].
71	* HumansAreSpecial: When discussing of Solona agreeing to come to the ''Warhammer'' world, Illenya ask if she is ready for the [[WarIsHell wars]] of their world to which Yransair replies: "She is a human, she will adapt and learn."
72	* TheHomewardJourney: The goal of every ''Warhammer'' character.
73	* IChooseToStay:
74	** Solona Amell ultimately intended to go with the High Elves to the ''Warhammer'' world, where magic is generally accepted (depending on the location and custom) rather than being put on the run by the Templars and Chantry.
75	** Khorieus briefly considers bringing some elves of the Sabrae clan to his world, but quickly dismisses the idea given the exact [[ForeverWar nature]] [[EverythingTryingToKillYou of]] [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt his]] [[CrapsackWorld world]].
76	* IndyPloy:
77	--> '''Khorieus''': Due to circumstances, it seems that making things up as they happen has been my grand strategy for today.
78	* InterspeciesRomance: [[spoiler:Solona]] and [[spoiler:Theron]].
79	* JackBauerInterrogationTechnique / ColdBloodedTorture: Khorieus have an [[GoryDiscretionShot offscreen]] interrogation with Bernard Marquand in which he eventually learned about the Templars that are coming after him. Unfortunately for Bernard, [[HeKnowsTooMuch he knows too much]] about Khorieus' association with Kallian and her family. The 'offscreen' part is subverted as the manner of Bernard's corpse is later described in graphic detail.
80	* JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind: [[spoiler:Kallian inadvertently ventured into Khorieus' mind after using her blood to save his life. The ramifications of this is witnessing her bondage to the elven war god Khaine.]]
81	* LanguageBarrier: Fortunately, both denizens of Thedas and the ''Warhammer'' world share the [[FantasyCounterpartCulture same language]] (Brettonia/Orlais, Albion/Ferelden, etc.). However, [[AliensSpeakingEnglish the Ferelden language]] is difficult to grasp for most of the ''Warhammer'' natives because Ferelden's counterpart, Albion, is a small, isolated island in which the Albion language is not very common.
82	* MauveShirt: In ''Blood of the Phoenix'', The people that are after Khorieus have expanded backgrounds and do have genuine reasons for hunting him down either that they have lost a loved one fell by Khorieus or they are [[OnlyInItForTheMoney in it for the bounty on his head]]. This ultimately leads to AlasPoorYorick given that some of them are sympathetic if not heroic..
83	* MeaningfulName: Each chapter of ''Blood of the Phoenix'' and ''An Oath of Stone'' is based on a rune or a word in the languages of the Elves or the Dwarfs which sums up what the chapter is about.
84	* MushroomSamba: While suffering the flu Kallian was scammed into buying a cure from a snake-oil merchant in which she went through a hallucinatory episode of having to "fight a pack of Dire Bunnies under the command of Ser Long John the Serpently Endowed."
85	* MythologyGag: Khorieus straight out call Darius a ''[[{{TabletopGame/Warhammer40000}} mon-keigh]]''.
86	* NemeanSkinning: For Khorieus and Albrecht which is a standard practice for White Lions and Knights of the White Wolves.
87	* NoEscapeButDown: Khorieus and Kallian escaped Denerim by climbing down its walls after trying to pass the gatehouse is out of the original plan.
88	* NoodleIncident: There are certain events the ''Warhammer'' characters will mention about their pasts which are only explained in the various non-crossover stories.
89	* NoSell:
90	** The lack of the Winds of Magic in Thedas is a concerning point for some of the ''Warhammer'' natives, who are for instance unable to creating runes without the Winds. However, there are some magic-users that have no problems wielding their brand of magic.
91	** While not immune to the Templars' AntiMagic abilities, the ''Warhammer'' natives are not completely hampered by them. This is demonstrated when the Templars that fought Yransair were still able to resist a number of his spells.
92	* OffWithHisHead: Happens a lot [[spoiler:and this is how Jacob Darius dies.]]
93	* OneManArmy: Generally the ''Warhammer'' characters, but special mention should go to Vanyra Skorrisdottir for single-handedly annihilating nearly an entire Darkspawn war band within the span of a single chapter.
94	* OutsideContextProblem:
95	** The Ninety-Nine.
96	** The [[spoiler:Chaos Gods]] and their pawns.
97	** The Templars sees the High Elves as such in ''Blood of the Phoenix''.
98	* PoorCommunicationKills: Khorieus got the ire of the Templars is when he first came to Thedas, he appeared in the middle of a Templar raid on a blood mage's hideout and was immediately mistaken for a demon (because he so happens to be [[BloodSplatteredWarrior cover in gore]] from traveling through the Realm of Chaos).
99	** The Templars attacked Yransair Stormwing because they saw him use magic to heal himself before he could talk to them.
100	* ThePowerOfTheSun: The Templars have the Circle mages in creating an artificial sun to attack the High Elves during the night. In response, Yransair created a ''bigger'' sun [[note]]namely a Purple Sun of Xereus[[/note]] which instantly [[TakenForGranite crystallized any living being in its blast radius]].
101	* {{Prequel}}: ''Blood of the Phoenix'' and ''An Oath of Stone'' sets prior to the Battle of Ostagar, but occurs around (more or less) the same events of the ''Origins'' characters' origin story.
102	* RedshirtArmy: Denerim's City Guards and the Templars in ''Blood of the Phoenix''.
103	* RoaringRampageOfRescue: Khorieus goes to rescue Kallian and her friends from Vaughan Kendells.
104	* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Many of the Ninety-Nine are members of their respective nation's aristocracy. This also applies for many characters of the Dragon Age setting as well.
105	* RunningGag: Apparently, the Ninety-Nine that are sent to Thedas has to go through a Lord of Change first. Said Lord of Change, the same one in fact, seems to be getting very rather annoyed with the huge number of people that keep (involuntarily) coming to his library.
106	* SaveTheDayTurnAway: Vanyra saved Isammar from the Darkspawn by killing the leading Vanguard, but she cannot allow to give away her knowledge on gunpowder weapons to the Orzammar dwarfs as this will cause more harm in their [[WeAREStrugglingTogether interspecies feud]] than on the Darkspawn, and sees to leaving to be the best solution. Olek Vorne, the engineer she befriended, didn't take too well of her decision and tried to force her to stay with the use of his golems. But Vanyra destroyed his golem control rod in self-defense, thereby losing Olek's heirloom and control over the golems. The situation was nearly stopped from escalating by ReasonableAuthorityFigure Legion Commander Brodens, who realized Vanyra's concerns and had her banished.
107	* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: The Red Storms and Black Hounds knew that they are completely and utterly screwed when Yransair unleashed his own brand of magic and called quits on the spot.
108	* ShoutOut:
109	** Alejandro calls out to his Tevinter captors [[{{Film/Gladiator}} "Are you not entertained!?"]]
110	** Haakon fights [[{{Franchise/Metroid}} a giant red-armored warrior who turns out to be a female Qunari]].
111	** Jurgen pulls in an undead enemy with a axe-chain while shouting [[Franchise/MortalKombat "Come here!"]]
112	* SparedByTheAdaptation: Tamlen lives though he is still partially tainted thanks to Illenya's healing magic.
113	* StartOfDarkness: Strongly implied for [[spoiler:Kallian]] due to having her life divinely tied to [[spoiler:Khaine]].
114	* SternChase: The premise of ''Blood of the Phoenix''.
115	%%* SwitchingPOV
116	* ThisIsMyBoomstick:
117	** Vanyra introduce the Darkspawn with pistols, grenades, [[DeadlyGas poison gas]], [[FireBreathingWeapon Drakefire]], and a [[GatlingGood Rapid Rotary]] [[MoreDakka Repeater]] [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal Rifle]]. All in one chapter of her introduction.
118	** Krodien has his gyrobomber [[spoiler:in which he used it to escape with Natia from Qunari agents, whom he has the courtesy of dropping bombs on them]].
119	* TrappedInAnotherWorld: The premise of the story is that a number of residents of the ''Warhammer'' world become stranded in Thedas.
120	%%* UnknownRival:
121	%%** Jacob Darius to Khorieus.
122	%%** The Darkspawn Vanguard to Vanyra.
123	* WhamLine: "[[spoiler:WAAAAAAGGGGHHHH!]]." Chapter 10 of "Ninety Nine Blades".
124	* WhatMeasureIsAMook: The author focuses on the perspectives of the adversaries that antagonized the Ninety-Nine, especially in "Blood of the Phoenix" as those that got killed by Khorieus were given names and have friends and families, who in turn went on a avenging warpath on finding their loved ones' killer.
125	* WhatTheHellAreYou: Anyone that is a Templar, a mercenary, or just unlucky enough to face any ''Warhammer'' badass ends up wondering what the hell are they up against.
126	** [[spoiler:Elena Magdalene's]] LastRequest to Yransair is to know what the High Elves are.
127	--->'''[[spoiler:Elena]]''': What are you?\
128	'''Yransair''': We are the ''Asur'', human. The High Elves of Ulthuan, the Children of Isha, the Heirs of Asuryan, we have come from another plane of reality and we seek our way home.
129	** Flemeth's reaction when she sees the 'Crone' and the 'Raven' for the first time. She is clearly ''not'' pleased by their intentions.
130	* WhatTheHellHero: Khorieus cuts open a (headless) dead man's guts and uses his entrails as a '''''[[NauseaFuel measuring unit]]''''' to see if he and Kallian could climb down from Denerim's walls rather than using the rope he has because it would be a waste of time to throw down the rope and pulling it back up. Kallian (and to extent the viewers) is still justly shocked about it. [[spoiler:This comes back to bite him as he gets poisoned by the mother of said aforementioned dead man.]]
131	%%* WorthyOpponent: Khorieus views Jacob Darius as one [[spoiler:after he finally kills him]].
132	* YouAreNotReady: Vanyra reluctantly decided that sharing her knowledge on gunpowder technology to the Thedasian dwarfs, while useful in their war against the Darkspawns, would only exacerbated the inter-rivalry between the feuding dwarf families by using it against each other more so than the Darkspawns.
133	* YouKilledMyFather: Interesting inverted. The Guardsman [[spoiler:Daltyn]] that Khorieus killed [[spoiler:and used his intestines as a measuring unit]] brought the wrath of his [[spoiler:elven]] mother Lirena. [[spoiler:After she poisoned Khorieus, she suddenly had [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone a change of heart]] when she recognized Kallian (as she knew her mother) and learned that Khorieus saved her from Vaughan, and allowed herself to be killed by Illenya for atonement as there is no known cure for the poison.]]

Context FanFic / MarchOfTheInevitable