The Bad Start of Every Adventure Story
A ramshackle inn in the middle of nowhere, that was where he ended up. A dispatch from the Ferelden King in his haversack, awaiting its overdue delivery, weighed heavily on his conscience. If that missive did not reach the envoy from Nevarra, it would mean an abysmal decline in relations betwixt the two nations, and that was the last thing Ferelden needed right now. Looking at the mismatched woodwork comprising the walls of the dilapidated refuge with gaps here and there, some large enough to fit your fist through, he wondered if sheltering within would be any better than the drenching downpour outside. Sighing in resignation, he lowered his gaze and walked through the poorly hung, rope-hinge door of The Drowning Fish, where his troubles were about to go from bad to worse.
John Shepard, a Lieutenant Marshal in the Ferelden Military, had proven his exemplary skill and stalwart resilience as a soldier during the Scourge of Gwaren, where darkspawn had broken through a centuries-old volus tunnel near the Arling and besieged the seaside city. His company had happened to be stationed there during routine duty circulation and played a key role in thwarting the spawn incursion. The losses were grievous for the surrounding fiefs and hamlets outside of Gwaren's walls, but thanks to tactful coordination and the courageous hearts of the Knights of Gwaren and the Red Dragons (as Shepard's unit had taken to calling itself) the city's walls remained intact and the people within unharmed. Early in the fighting, the commanding officer of the Dragons had taken an unlucky bolt to the neck amidst the walls and bled out in an infirmary soon after, which landed command of the unit in Shepard's hands. He had up to that point been a Lance Corporal in the Dragons, one of about four in the squad of some fifty men; however he was considered first amongst his equals of rank, and he proved it during the fighting. Making a gutsy play to sally forth during an ogre assault to prevent the main gate from being breached earned them a solid victory and Shepard gained a reputation as a superior commander, which wound up landing him control of the Red Dragons with a promotion to Corporal.
Further demonstration of his expectation-exceeding expertise and tactfulness saw him rise through the ranks up to Lieutenant Marshal of The Hinterlands, where he served in several campaigns against the Chasind uprisings that cropped up between the years 9:21 to 9:24. After the final desperate attempt to raid Ferelden lands was quelled in the winter of 9:24, Shepard was relieved of command of the Red Dragons in lieu of the next Corporal's promotion, and handed the task of courier to the nation of Nevarra to foster an alliance between the two nations in case Orlais decided to attempt to retake Ferelden.