I don't own anything related to DAO or the characters from the game; Bioware does. The only thing I own here, is my wild imagination!

This story contains spoilers for Dragon Age and all its official DLCs.

Note: Dialogues written in italics are characters inner thoughts.

Last updated on 27th of August, 2011: changed the writing style – characters thoughts are told from a single focused third person; some grammar and spelling corrections.

Chapter 1 : Justice is Blind

"The dead cannot cry out for justice; it is a duty of the living to do so for them."

- Lois McMaster Bujold

The Denerim Palace's Lansmeet chamber was full of people. All the Ferelden's nobles were watching the duel between Loghain, the Hero of River Dane and the Warden, Elissa Cousland. The two warriors were fighting with each other in the middle of the room. They both seemed tired and wounded.

Loghain charged at Elissa with full power. Elissa hardly defended herself from his attack, as her left arm had been wounded in the last charge.

Alistair was restless, his face was full of worry. He was praying to the Maker for Elissa to win. He felt so guilty for letting her fight. He should have fought Loghain, not her! He felt so stupid for not trying to change her mind; to let him fight as her Champion.

Loghain won ground and he knocked Elissa down. The Warden looked tired and almost defeated. But she gathered all her strenght and got up. She looked at Loghain, trying to anticipate his next move.

"I can't let you win this duel Loghain! Maker knows I won't!" she whispered to Loghain.

She looked into Alistair's eyes and saw that they were full of worry and pain.

"For Duncan!" she screamed as she charged Loghain.

Loghain felt his body getting tired, even with all the experience as a warrior, he knew he couldn't hold much longer. The Warden was stronger than he had thought, she was faster and even with her left arm badly wounded, she seamed to recover. She was so determinate to win the fight! So much determination and so much passion … it reminded him of… No, it couldn't be! But he could not deny the truth, she reminded him of Maric, his lost friend.

Loghain saw the way the young Cousland girl looked at the Bastard Prince before she charged with all her power. He immediately recognized the light from Elissa's eyes. It was the look of a woman in love. She was in a relation with the Bastard Prince. Maker, but she was strong! Loghain felt that he could not continue like that for much longer... he had to...

"I underestimated you, Warden. I thought you were like Cailan… a child wanting to play war! There is a strength in you I haven't seen since Maric. I yield to you!" said Loghain as he dropped his sword and shield.

Elissa looked at the yielded general with surprise. That great man was yielding… but wasn't the duel suppose to be a fight to the death? The General looked so tired and so old… She had defeated him both physically and mentally. She immediately felt pity for him.

"I accept your surrender" said Elissa.

Alistair's face changed from joy to anger. "I didn't just hear you say that! You're going to let him LIVE after all he has done! Kill him already!" screamed Alistair.

Elissa looked at Alistair and saw the anger from his eyes. He wanted revenge, she understood his need for revenge. She had killed Howe and had her revenge, but killing Howe didn't make her a better person and didn't bring her family back. She was confused.

Then, she looked at Anora and saw the despair from her eyes. She was Loghain's daughter… she didn't want her father to die. Nobody could blame her for that.

"Wait… there is an other way!" said Riordan as he stepped forward and everybody turned their heads to hear his words. "Make Loghain a Warden!" he continued.

Elissa turned her eyes to the defeated man in from of her. Riordan wanted to make Loghain a Warden? That was a little perverse and ironic at the same time: to become one of the Wardens Loghain hated so much. She frowned. Was making Loghain a Warden really a good option?

"Riodan, why do you want to make Loghain a Warden? He's not even loyal to us! " she said after a few seconds of complete silence.

Alistair was restless, as he tried hard to recover from the shock. How could they say such things? They wanted to make Loghain a Grey Warden? Why? Was Riordan insane? And Elissa was considering it? What in the name of the Maker were they thinking of? He could not let that happen! He just couldn't!

"Loghain is a great warrior and a general, there are so few of us, only three Wardens. Let him be of use, let him be a Warden. What has loyalty have to do with this? We are bound to the Darkspawn, we cannot hide from them…" answered Riordan.

Anora's face lighted up. That was a way out… a way her father could live. She just had to take advantage of that chance. She thanked the Maker for that Riordan Warden!

"The Joining is often fatal, is it not? If he lives you gain a Warden, otherwise you have your… Revenge!" said the Queen with a light of hope in her eyes.

Loghain looked at his daughter with sadness in his eyes. Anora was trying to save him… his little girl… Maker knew she loved him. But to make him a Warden… Loghain was not sure which was better, to be executed or to become a Warden… The Bastard Prince wanted revenge, Loghain knew it. Maker, was that Maric's blade next to his shield? Duncan's shield… how ironical… This meant they either had returned to Ostagar, or they had bought the sword from someone who had found it. So his dear friend's blade had somehow returned to Maric's bastard son… Maker had a good sense of humor!

Alistair couldn't hold back his anger any longer. He could not let that happen! NO WAY!

"ABSOLUTLY NOT! Riodan, this man had tortured you and hunted us like animals, he abandoned his King at Ostagar!" yelled Alistair.

Elissa listened to Riodan, Anora and Alistair, looked at Loghain and tried to focus on making a decision. Loghain was old… maybe he would survive the Joining, but that was not the point there… The practical solution was to make him a Warden… was it not? He would fight for his country, in fact, all the things he did were for Ferelden. He would fight the darkspawn with them. Elissa had no doubt he would… but after the war what then? Back to civil war? He wanted to put his daughter on the throne, he would even kill Alistair to achieve that… they couldn't trust him after the Blight, yet he might not survive the battle. But did he really deserve to die as a hero after all he had done?

Elissa looked back at her angry fellow Warden, Alistair. She had never seen him so angry in her life! He wanted revenge. She understood him… he was afraid Loghain would get away with all he had done. He would never forgive her if Loghain would get away with his crimes.

Elissa looked at the Queen. Maker! Loghain was her father, she could not kill him in front of her! It would had been too cruel… Anora loved her father… Elissa loved her father and she would have fought for her father's life too. So Elissa understood Anora's struggle to save Loghain's life.

Everyone was looking at Elissa. She had to make the final decision… death or Joining. What would her father do? 'Justice is blind… Justice is blind…' that was a statement her father told her long time ago. Maker forgive her! She had decided...

"Justice must be done, Loghain has to die for his crimes!" said Elissa in a harsh tone.

Loghain looked at the Warden with a sad smile on his face. 'So, death after all… good.' He didn't want to become a Warden… death seamed much better. The Warden was strong, she would defeat the Blight, she just had to! 'Maric, Rowan, see you soon my friends!' thought Loghain as he smiled sadly.

Anora was scared and restless, but she tried hard to maintain her proud posture. She could not believe what was happening. She had to do something about it… the Warden was about to kill her father there, at the Landsmeet… in front of her! No … she could not let that happen!

"You can't do this, my father might have done wrong things, but he is still the Hero of River Dane!" screamed Anora , trying to change the Warden's decision.

"I'm sorry Anora, justice is blind." said the Warden coldly.

Loghain watched his daughter fighting for his life.'I'm sorry Anora, my little girl… there is nothing you can do now.' he thought to himself.

"Hash Anora, it's over", said the Hero of River Dane.

Anora was angry. He had given up! Her brave father had given up… he was a Hero… he should have fought to the end!

"Stop treating me like a child, father! This is serious! " screamed Anora , her eyes hardly holding back the tears.

"Daughters never grow up. They remain pig-tailed with skinned knees like when they were six years old." said Loghain smiling sadly at his daughter.

"Make it quick,Warden! I can face the Maker now knowing that Ferelden is in your hands." said the defeated general, looking straight into the Warden's eyes.

"Father…" said Anora and knelt to kiss her father one last time.

A tear fell from Elissa's right eye. She could not do it! She could not kill that man in front of his daughter! She just couldn't do it! But Alistair wanted revenge…

"Alistair will be the one who will do it." said Elissa in a harsh tone.

Alistair turned his head to Elissa.

"Thank you, my love." he whispered as he took the sword from Elissa's hand and nodded.

"For Duncan!" screamed Alistair, as he chopped Loghain's head off.

Anora screamed and knelt next to her father's lifeless body.

Elissa was trying hard to hold back her tears. 'Justice is blind … Good bye Loghain … goodbye Hero of River Dane , my childhood hero! Maker have mercy on your soul!' she thought to herself.

The silence in the room was broken by Arl Eamon who stepped forward and started to speak with full determination in his voice.

"So it is decided. Alistair will take his father's throne." said Eamon.

Anora got up and looked coldly at Eamon. The old arl was quckly back to business... there was no time for mourning. The Queen cursed the old and foxy noble.

Alistair turned his head from Loghain's lifeless body to Eamon, his eyes were full of confusion. Eamon wanted to make him king, but that meant he needed an heir and Grey Wardens could not have children with each other. So, becoming a king meant that he had to break up with Elissa… NO.

"Wait, nobody has decided that, have they?"answered Alistair with fear in his voice.

Anora was surprised. So, the Bastard Prince didn't want the throne after all… that was good. The show was about to start!

"He refuses the throne! Everybody heard him saying that! He abdicates in favor of ME!" screamed Anora with full determination in her voice.

Eamon raised an eyebrow. He was surprised to see that Anora recovered from the shock so quickly. He knew that she would not lose her power easily.

"I hardly think you are in a position to solve this situation. We need a neutral party. Warden, will you help us out?" continued Eamon.

Elissa tried to give herself a mental shake to recover from Loghain's execution. She had to take the final decision. It was up to her to decide who would rule Ferelden. But she was hardly a neutral party, as she was in love with the heir to the throne. Anora was indeed a good administrator, but Alistair was the rightful heir to the throne… It was a had decision.

Then, sherememberedhow the Queen had betrayed them three days ago in the Arl's Howe's Estate from Denerim. Elissa, Alistair, Morrigan and Leliana had rescued the Queen from the room she had been imprisoned in by Howe, but as they wanted to leave the estate, they were stopped by Sir Catherin's solders. She remembered how the Queen had lied Sir Catherin that the Wardens had kidnapped her, double crossing them.Anora could not be trusted. She was cold and manipulative. She was intelligent and a very good administrator, but she lacked the most essential element of a good ruler: a heart.

Elissa thought back to the conversation she and Alistair had two days ago in Eamon's office. She had asked Alistair if Anora should be Queen. Alistair had said that he did not trust Anora because she was just like her father. His opinion was that it was possible she had planned the whole abduction thing by herself.

Then, Anora had promised she would support Alistair for the throne. But she had lied. She had betrayed the Wardens for the second time, siding with Loghain at the Landsmeet. The Queen could definitely not be trusted!

"I need to speak to Anora first!" said Elissa.

"Certainly." replied Anora.

"How can I trust you after you betrayed us?" asked Elissa.

"Because I always do what's best for Ferelden. Doubt anything else about me, but not that!" answered Anora coldly.

Elissa looked at Anora with anger in her eyes. She had double crossed then twice. She could not trust her. It was a high risk to trust her after two betrays.

Anora looked back with the same anger. The Queen knew that the Cousland was second in line to the throne. She was sure that Elissa wanted to put her boyfriend on the throne so that she would become Queen instead! She was angry on Elissa and she swore that she would revenge her father's dead no matter what.

"I need to speak to Alistair." said Elissa turning to face Alistair.

Alistair looked at Elissa with fear in his eyes. "I hope you know what you are doing, love. You know I never wanted to be king, but you might be right, we cannot trust Anora, she double crossed us twice!" he whispered in Elissa's ear.

"What should I do? Make Anora Queen? What do you think?" she asked.

"I don't know, she had already betrayed us twice, who knows what she might do after you give her the crown, she might order us executed!" answered Alistair.

"Are you ready to give up your freedom to become king?" asked Elissa.

Alistair was confused. Maker, why did it have to be like this? He had to choose between Love and Duty? He had to give up His Love in order to become King. He did not tell her about the children part. He never told Elissa that Wardens could not have children with each other. But he just couldn't let Anora win, she was just like her father, she would definitely kill them sooner or later, she would not hesitate to execute him for being a thread to the throne. He had to do that, he had to become King! He had to stand up for himself. "Everybody is for themselves", those were Elissa's words after they had met his sister Goldana.

"Make me king, Anora isn't an option!" answered Alistair with full determination in his voice.

Elissa smiled at Alistair. He had finally hardened during their adventures through Ferelden. Good! He would be a good king, he had a good heart, high values and a strong spirit of duty! She would make him king! She could have also said that she would rule by his side, but that would have looked selfish and she was supposed to be a 'neutral party'.

"Alistair will be king!" said Elissa smiling.

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"

Soon after his death, Loghain met Maric and Rowan in the Fade, before his final confrontation with the Maker.

"Hello Loghain, old friend!" said Maric coldly.

"Maric… I'm so glad to meet you, my friend!" answered Loghain.

Maric looked at Loghain with sadness in his eyes. "You left my son Cailan to DIE, Loghain… you, MY FRIEND, have betrayed your KING!"

"He wanted to marry the Empress of Orlais and sell us to the Orlesians!" said Loghain in an irritated tone.

Rowan, Maric's wife, appeared from behind her husband. "Come on Loghain, you can't seriously believe that!" said Rowan.

"Rowan, it's so good to see you too!" said Loghain smiling.

"Answer my question, Loghain!" yelled Maric.

"Look, you don't know what happened, you were not there, Maric! I only did what was necessary for my COUNTRY!" answered Loghain.

"And selling elves to the Trevinter Imperium has also NECESSARY?" said Fiona, the elven mage, as she approached them from behind.

"Good to see you too, Fiona. So, this is a big happy family reunion. How nice! By the way, Fiona, your son executed me for my mistakes! Happy now?" said Loghain, frowning.

"You betrayed Cailan, aren't you a bit sorry?" said Maric.

"I didn't betray him… look Maric, Rowan, Fiona, you weren't there, you don't know what really happened..." said Loghain, trying to calm down the spirits.

"No they weren't… but we were there! And YOU, Loghain, betrayed US! You left us to DIE! " said Cailan and Duncan at the same time, as they appeared suddenly.

"MAKER HAVE MERCY ON YOUR SOUL, LOGHAIN! " said all of them as they suddenly disappeared.

"~~~~~~~~~~~~~~"