It is said that the Blight that rose in Ferelden, the fifth Blight that the world has ever known, was what led to the chaos. If we had behaved like true and honorable Grey Wardens, the world would not have been threatened. They say that we were two wicked, evil elves, who made a pact with a dangerous maleficar, and nearly brought our world to the brink of extinction.
I first heard this false story a long time ago, after everything had taken place and we were still amazed to be alive. Some foolish shemlen requested the story of the False Wardens and soon the whole tavern was enamored with the tale, having no idea that the very elves of this myth sat right beside them. They said that we were guided by demons, that we sought to bring status and power to the elves one more, to create a second Arlathan. They even claimed that we intentionally waged war on the Chantry through our own heretical beliefs.
As we came to learn later, this twisted retelling is widely believed among the shemlen world. They accept it as the truth of what happened, and never bother to ask themselves what real elves would have done in such a situation. But then, they aren't accustomed to thinking of elves as real people. They'd much rather believe that we are evil creatures to be feared.
It's not our fault that the Seekers were fooled. Our only hope, the one thing we were concerned with, was to keep my precious Anyu safe. That is the simple truth of it, and those who cannot believe it have already made up their minds to hate us because they fear what could have happened.
Kali, bless her, absolutely adores listening to the story. At every tavern or inn we visit, she never fails to ask the bards to tell it to her, and finds a sort of delightful pride in hearing about everything they say. I must admit that I can see why she enjoys it, even if it is a only a myth. The shemlen give us all sorts of credit for things we never could have done. They seem to think that I have a legion of demons at my command, or that Kali can somehow disappear into thin air. It really is quite flattering.
If only we did have such power! Everything would have been so much easier if I could destroy an entire city with the wave of my hand, or if Kali could poison a man just by looking at him. Do they honestly think that if we could do such things, our lives would have been threatened alongside theirs? Or do they, in their twisted, fearful hearts, prefer to just wrap us up in a neat little box and use us as a warning as to why our people should be hated?
I believe it is the latter. But, I suppose that in the end, it doesn't really matter. The shemlen can say what they want about us; they can make up whatever lie they need to explain what they don't understand. It doesn't change anything. Their precious Maker is gone. They can claim that he is still there, waiting for the Chant of Light to spread to the four corners of the world, but it is all lies.
We know the truth.
–Excerpt from Ashara's journal, found in an abandoned house just outside of Antiva