Dragon Age, its characters, locations and all related IP are owned by BioWare.
I want to give some forewarning that this story will bounce around for a while to flesh out the themes and motives of the characters before we hit the heart of it. Also, while I can certainly appreciate the witticisms and one-liners or our elven assassin he was never one of my favourite characters. Between writing this and replaying the game (and taking him everywhere) I am hoping to change that.
Thanks for reading and of course any comments or criticisms are welcome.
Chapter One
14 Kingsway, 9:31 Dragon
Redcliffe Castle – morning of departure for Denerim and the final battle of the Fifth Blight
The Grey Warden Aedan Cousland knocked on the door again to no avail. He knew that the person he wished to speak to was inside and for spite was ignoring him. He had been at this for some time now and his temper was beginning to flare.
"I would rather not break the door down but I will unless someone opens this damned door!" The Warden looked at one of the guards flanking the door and whispered for his ears alone. "Could you please see if Arl Eamon has a key to this door? I really would prefer not to destroy his home."
Heavy footsteps pounded the stone as the guard set about his charge. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the door open a crack and he thrust his foot forwards, stopping the door from closing. He grabbed the edge of the door and pushed it open further.
"Erlina help me close this door! Guards, you are here to protect me! Attack him!" Anora screamed.
Aedan leaned in and pushed the door open the rest of the way.
"Queen Anora. Mademoiselle Erlina. It is a pleasure to see you both again," Aedan said while giving a small bow. He had thought to use Anora's former title to make her at ease and comfortable so that she would listen to what he had to say. He could see from her expression that it did anything but.
"I am Queen no longer thanks to you," Anora screamed at him. She turned on him and slapped the Warden, who stood there immobile. She slapped him again and finally moved closer and pounded her fists against his armoured chest. Tears flowed from her eyes either from her rage or the pain from the small cuts to her hands from Aedan's armour.
"Please stop your Majesty," the Warden said calmly as he gently grasped her wrists. "Erlina, could you please get a kerchief so I can wrap the Queen's hands?"
"Remove your hands from me!" Anora commanded waspishly. "You have already stripped me of my dignity, you cannot have my virtue." She delighted at seeing the look of pain and disgust on the Warden's face.
"You wound me with your words your Majesty. I am not such a man who would force himself upon a woman," Aedan said, struggling to keep his voice calm. "As I said before I only wish to speak to you and would prefer to do so without the door interfering."
The Warden watched as Anora's handmaiden cleaned and dressed her wounds. He knew this conversation would be difficult but should the Grey Wardens fall in Denerim she must hear what he had to say or else Ferelden was doomed.
"Thank you Erlina, would you please grant us some privacy?" asked Aedan.
"If you wish to speak to me then Erlina will remain," Anora said defiantly.
The Warden shrugged his shoulders and decided to continue. What he had to say would be harder for her to hear than for him to speak.
"As you know the army leaves for Denerim this morning where we expect to confront the archdemon itself. Maker willing this will be the final battle and we will stop the Blight but we do leave for battle and anything is possible. It is about possibilities that I wish to speak to you about." Aedan paused and waited for Anora to acknowledge his words before continuing.
"Firstly, I must have your word that should all of the Grey Wardens fall and the archdemon still lives that with all haste you will send word to the Orlesian Wardens and allow them entry to Ferelden," said Aedan, his tone deathly serious.
"My father did not wish to see the Orlesians and their support troops enter Ferelden. What assurances do we have that they will leave?" Anora responded.
"My father also fought for Ferelden's freedom alongside King Maric. I too was raised with tales of the horrors of the Orlesian occupation. My family has shed blood to protect this land for hundreds of years and I too would gladly give my live to keep Ferelden free," Cousland said passionately.
The Warden took a deep breath to calm himself and then knelt down in front of Anora. He gently took her hands in his and looked up into her eyes hoping she would hear the truth of his words and see it in his eyes.
"Your father was wrong - Grey Wardens are sworn to stop a Blight wherever it is regardless of nationality. I give you my word as a Cousland that should of all Ferelden's Wardens fall the Orlesian Wardens are our country's only hope – only a Grey Warden can kill the archdemon. I swear to you that every Warden across all of Thedas knows that the archdemon has taken the field of battle and that you will be Queen of nothing if you refuse their aid.
"If we are lost and you do not ask the Warden's for assistance then no country will come to your aid. They will write Ferelden off as already lost to the darkspawn and see to their own protection. I do not say this as a threat but as fact. At Ostagar your father, Loghain, set Ferelden on a path to its destruction and the battle for Denerim will tell if he succeeded. I pray to Andraste and the Maker that should we fail in the upcoming battle you do not follow your father's path," the Warden said.
"And if I should refuse to give you my word?" Anora asked.
"Then I am truly sorry your Majesty but I will kill you here and now as a traitor to Ferelden. You will be allying yourself with the archdemon and the darkspawn horde against everything that is good in this world. I will then seek out another not blinded by anger and hate and with the sense to hear the truth of my words," the Warden said flatly. Aedan saw the shock on her face as the colour left it. "Do you wish to know why I chose Alistair over you?
Anora nodded for him to continue, unable to speak.
"While my brother Fergus is the heir to Highever I too was also raised to rule. I was taught to lead my people, to administer our lands and finances, to ensure that justice is served and to settle disputes, to build strategy and lead troops into battle. My father would often say that there was a science to ruling and that it was more than making grand plans and issuing commands. The most important element to the science of rule is in your relationship with your people.
"I have attended Landsmeets and other functions with my parents and have seen you interact with both the nobility and commoners. Over the past year I have travelled Ferelden not as a lord of a proud and ancient house, but simply as a Grey Warden and a man. I have met nobles and commoners, dwarves and elves. I have watched firsthand as your father fought against his fellow Fereldans while ignoring the true threat. His actions at Ostagar and afterwards have resulted in the deaths of uncounted soldiers and innocent men, women and children from all races while the darkspawn have gone unchecked.
"No one can deny that as Queen you have been the true power on the throne but you are a weak Queen. I do not mean that you should be a tyrant or should pick up a sword and lead men into battle but your lack of action over the past year is damning. Whether by your actions or ignorance you allowed your father, who you must have known had all but killed your husband and king, to sit on your throne as regent. Loghain named himself regent and pushed you aside as if you were but some child, untrained and unable to sit upon the throne that had already been yours for five years. Your father was already General of Ferelden's armies - could he not have led without being regent?" the Warden asked. He continued without giving Anora a chance to respond.
"Innocent Ferelden's were sold into Tevinter slavery or left defenceless to die at the hands of the darkspawn and evil men. All while traitors like Howe were allowed to collect titles as if they fell from the sky while Ferelden's noble families disappeared in all too convenient ways and innocents suffered. Did you investigate the sacking of Highever? Or the poisoning of Arl Eamon? How about the death of the Arl of Denerim? What became of his rapist son Vaughn? How long did the riots last in Denerim's Alienage? Did you investigate their cause?"
Anora could not bring herself to answer the Warden. His mother, Teryna Eleanor Cousland, had been a dear friend to her and her husband Bryce was an honest and honourable man and yet she had done nothing to investigate their deaths. The same was true for others as well. She had despised Howe and yet idly watched as he grew in power and influence. When she asked her father if he had killed her husband she had accepted his words even though every instinct she possessed screamed they were false.
"The people love you Anora as their Queen because you give them hope. Your father was born a commoner but became one of this nation's greatest heroes. He became a member of the nobility, one of its highest ranking even. His daughter became the Queen of Ferelden – all in one generation. Your story inspires them but you however do not.
"Ferelden needs a ruler who can inspire its people. Not only to defeat the darkspawn that greatly outnumber us, but also in the days after the battle when we must mourn the fallen and build a better Ferelden. You are a beautiful and intelligent woman Anora, and certainly an able administrator of the realm, but you are also cold and calculating. I do believe that in your own way you love the people of this land but you seem to think of them as faceless masses and forget that they are real people, each with their own hopes and dreams.
"Alistair can inspire the people and is truly Maric's son. He acts in the best interests of others and for Ferelden and the people see and are drawn to that. He is kind and compassionate and honestly does not want to be king, but he will do so to the best of his abilities and he will rise to the occasion. I did press for Alistair to take you as his wife not only because I felt it would be the best way to unite Ferelden and make a lasting peace, but also because the two of you would strengthen each other. Where Alistair is weak you are strong and where you are weak he is strong. I pressed your case but I would not force him to choose you as his wife after I forced him onto the throne.
"After the Blight ends and Alistair still lives then you must know that no one will support your claim to the throne. I would urge you to accept that you are now a dowager Queen without any claims. If you are honest in your desire to rebuild Ferelden and have her best interests at heart I do believe that Alistair will restore Gwaren to your family. I have no doubt that it will be difficult for you but I would not like to see you locked away until the end of your days. Ferelden will need your intelligence and skill."
Aedan paused to let his words sink in. He could see from her face that Anora was angry with him. His words were not intended to hurt her but to provide reasoning for his actions and hopefully cause her to reflect upon them. For the most part she had been a good Queen but for today and the days that follow she was not the right ruler for Ferelden.
"I had never killed another man before Howe attacked my family and I have killed many more since then and except for Rendon Howe I have regretted them all," Aedan said quietly. "I took no pleasure in killing your father though for his crimes he deserved it. I also regret my decisions that have led you to this place. Please know that I did not make them lightly or with malice but in the best interests of my country and in service to the oaths I swore and my duty to end the Blight.
"You said earlier that I stripped you of your rule and your dignity and I would challenge that. I would argue that your own father had already stripped you of your rule and that only you can strip yourself of your dignity."
Horns sounded to muster the army for departure.
"I have a final thought for you, your majesty and then I will impose upon you no longer," Aedan said. "Do you love Ferelden and all her people?"
"Of course I do," Anora hissed at him.
"If I had supported your bid for the throne and Alistair had refused to renounce his claims what would you have done?" asked the Warden.
"I would have had him executed," Anora answered sharply.
"And yet when you refused to renounce your claims Alistair did not execute you," Aedan said calmly, getting to the heart of what he had come here to say. "Certainly he imprisoned you, but he also commanded that if he fell in battle that you become Queen once again. Alistair serves his people and puts their needs and Ferelden's needs first and that is why he is King."
Aedan watched as Anora recoiled from his last words as if he had struck her. He waited in silence for her decision.
"I swear to you that if all of Ferelden's Grey Wardens are lost I will send word to the Orlesian Wardens and allow them entry," Anora said at little more than a whisper.
"Thank you your Majesty," the Warden replied.
Aedan stood and forced himself to walk slowly to the door. He could hear Anora begin to cry behind him and as he paused in the hall outside her room he heard the crash of breaking glass.