Welcome guys! For some of you that subscribed to a story that I deleted, this is it! My reimagined telling of the Canon DA:O Universe!
I deleted the first rendition of this because I thought I could do better. I don't think I was particularly fair to Loghain, and some have argued I wasn't fair to Eamon in my other story, to which I can respect the argument. I also made Howe a moustache twirling villain. Not a lot of creativity there, but BioWare only gave us so much!
I intend to follow through, with this story and Reckoning. Both are long haul stories, and I have about 2 months left before my break ends, so I plan to double time it! There's going to be some slight alterations in the Canon, but I hope to still follow the spirit of the story, if you know what I mean.
Here's a little character setup: Elissa Cousland is a Noble Human Female, of course. She's a warrior specializing in two handed weapons. I know, I like big swords... So what? Maybe I'll joke about it sometime in my comedy arc. I don't like leaving anyone out, so you MIGHT see the other Origins as well.
And as always, I own nothing! Bioware owns it. The creative properties. Blah blah blah. I'll shut up now.
Denerim, Year 9:30 of the Dragon
Market Square, Wade's Emporium
The door swung open. A figure in a royal cloak entered, shut the door behind her, and unveiled herself. Underneath the wet cloak was a set of leather armor, caked in mud. Long, dirty blonde/brown hair finally settled behind her, the bangs resting on her face. A single scar was noticeable on her cheek. Her hazel eyes betrayed the lack of trust, the scorn, the deep amount of anger. Nevertheless, she was among friends. She needed to relax, and so she tried.
"Ah, you've returned! How...wonderful."
Herren's sarcastic response grated a little on Elissa's nerves, but she allowed it to pass. Losing a week's worth of business, after all, wasn't exactly endearing. A proper tip was in order, after assessing the crafters work.
"Has she returned!?" Wade's eyes lit up like a child at a birthday party "Glorious! Listen, what was your name again? I believe we must have met at some time or another?"
"Elissa." was the curt, blunt response.
"Well, my dear friend. I owe you so much! Your armor order and designs have illuminated my understanding of armor forging!"
"I'm glad." Her smile was forced, but she was genuinely happy.
"Although I must say, the conditions you demanded did hinder my work a little." Wade whined a little.
"I appreciate your patience with that." Elissa glanced over at the dwarves Bodahn and Sandal.
Sandal waved over enthusiastically to her "Pretty lady LOVE enchantments!"
Mikhael Dryden was much more stoic, only nodding respectfully to his benefactor.
She smiled at their greeting "You must admit, however, Master Wade, that these fine gentleman are also paragons of their trade. Working together has no doubt created a panoply that even the warriors of legend would envy. I know that you are used to working alone, but Ferelden needs unity, now, more than ever."
"Perhaps it does..." Wade mused "Well, enough whining from me! No doubt you are eager to see the fruits of our labor, and the return of your investment!" He pointed to a corner in the room, with sets of armor and weapons all set up "Everything you requested for your friends is right over there, but we wanted to show you personally what we've created for yourself to use!"
There were three displays, covered each by a tarp. As this was his store, Wade had the honor of showing his creation first. He threw away the cover, and the room grew a little brighter from the metallic reflection.
"White Steel-Silverite alloy platemail, as you requested! Since you seem to favor the color blue, I decided to improvise a little, but it still retains much of that bright white-silver!"
"Blue is the color of my homeland." Elissa tried to hold back the grief in her voice.
"I see..." Wade continued on, trying to lift her spirits "The platemail design you requested was brilliant, but I made a few more modifications based on your size and weight. You'll be more flexible and faster compared to others in massive armor, and have even better protection due to the alloy! And of course, the rune slots you recommended are here, here and here!"
"Our turn, my boy!" Bodahn grinned.
"Not so fast!" Wade chastized him "What do you think?"
She slipped on a gauntlet. It was a perfect fit. "You're a credit to your craft, Wade. This is exceptional. Without equal."
"Wonderful!" He cheered.
Bodahn revealed his adopted sons creations. It was now Sandals turn "Enchantment!"
She held the runes in her hands. Cold Iron and Silverite for unnatural creatures, along with elementals that could enhance a weapon with fire, ice, lightning, and so on. Some were less direct, in that they Paralyzed upon weapon impact, or even just created a loud noise, like the explosion of a Fireball.
Those were the weapon ones. The armor ones could increase resistance to magic, the users natural healing and constitution, or even improve their strength, speed and reflexes, among other things.
Even better, as she requested, the weapon runes didn't have to be placed in swords and axes to be effective. If they were thrown with enough force, they could explode. They could even be put onto a bow, with the runes magic passing onto the arrow until it struck a target.
"Sandal, come here."
She gave him a kiss on his forehead, and winked. Sandal immediately blushed "E-e-enchantment?"
"Thank you very much. Both you and your Father worked very hard on these, I can tell."
Mikhael revealed his creation last "It is done."
He slowly offered the object to her, both hands raised so that it would be level. She received it delicately, even though the object in question could likely destroy anything on Thedas, save for Wade's armor.
"I call it Starfang."
The scabbard was still on the greatsword. She slowly pulled it away, revealing the beautiful teal star metal within. Handing the scabbard to Mikhael, she then centered the blade in front of her. Perfect weight. Room for three runes. Hilt was wide enough for deflection without compromising its balance.
"I call you, a miracle worker." Elissa joked.
"As I to you. You've returned our home to us. For that, I owe you my thanks."
"One day," she took the scabbard back from him, sheathing the deadly sword back into its resting place "I shall also restore the honor of your family name, as I intend to do for my own."
"May this blade forge the path you walk to achieve the justice you desire."
It didn't take long for her to suit up. She picked a few runes for herself, and kept the rest in a magically containing box, so as to prevent any 'accidents'. The dark humor of dropping the lot of runes on Rendon Howe's face, only to have them all explode at once crossed her mind.
The rest of the weapons and armor were quietly distributed from the shop to the safehouse that Elissa had in the city. Her allies were there, and they would need everything they could take from here.
"I almost forgot something!" She lifted up her index finger to gesture for a moment of pause. In a few moments, she exited and re-entered, dragging three heaving bags with her.
"Thankfully I equipped those strength enhancing runes!" They were left at each of her crafters feet.
"One thousand gold to each of you for your labors, along with a three hundred bonus tip for the exceptional work you've all done."
Herren had been duly watching the spectacles unfolding, but the jingling of gold catched his attention.
Elissa smirked right at him "I think this should more than cover for any business you've lost this week."
"I...I.."
Bodahn shook her hand vigorously "Oh THANK you Miss Cousland! Thank you so much! I promise to tell everyone the TRUTH about what happened! You're not traitors, you're good people!"
"So THAT'S who you are!" Wade smacked his head "Well, I must say it's been a pleasure to perform my art for you, my Lady! I'm sorry I did not recognize you, you've come in here before have you not?"
Mikhael frowned "I told you I would create this sword for you for no price. It was a matter of honor."
"And so is this." Elissa insisted, her eyes soulful and compassionate "I want you and your family to have this money. Renovate Soldier's Peak. Do whatever you want with it. Give it all to Levi, if you wish. You and I both know that there are things that sovereigns can't do."
"And what might that be?" Herren incredulously asked.
Elissa opened the door, and took a step forward, standing in the entrance. She closed her eyes "Money, power, titles and lands, noble blood, even these mighty trinkets I carry that all of you have made for me, these things are all well and good. But they can't erase your mistakes. They can't undo Ostagar. And they can't bring back the dead."
"So...what then? What do you hope to seek?"
She turned her eyes back to all of them. Instead of the natural hazel brown, they now burned with a bright, otherwordly blue.
Bodahn had seen this sort of thing before, but only in stories. Mages, once possessed by a demon or spirit, showed their unholy mark in a number of ways. Sometimes they transformed into the mutated abomination. Other times, it was simply that ungodly glare, the spiritual essence of the Fade creature that took over and exerted itself outwards.
"Andraste preserve me..." Herren whispered.
Elissa finally answered back
"Justice."
The door closed, and Elissa felt the rain on her face. They were one now, but she was no mage. How, she still could not guess. It was irrelevant. She was a Spirit Warrior, a Grey Warden, and a Cousland. The instruments she needed to purge the darkspawn forever were in her hands. All that was needed was her resolve, and she had it.
"Mother, Father, I sold my soul for revenge." She spoke to the sky "You would be ashamed of me. To be honest, I am ashamed of myself for that weakness. I want to avenge you all, but the darkspawn must be stopped, or Ferelden is doomed. I have to look beyond my own pain and save Ferelden first."
The sky responded with a flash of lightning.
"After that, Judgement shall come. It will be righteous, and without mercy for the wicked."
The thunder erupted.
There's a lot of things I have to explain, I realize. Yes, I jumped ahead, but not too far! This is after Ostagar. That means she's already recruited Alistair, Morrigan, Leliana, and Sten (and she has her dog, of course). They've already reclaimed Soldiers Peak, and are in Denerim for a few errands before they use the treaties. You'll see flashbacks for what you missed, I promise!
I'm probably one of the few authors here that use the Spirit Warrior as a plot device. When people play DAO, role a Human Noble Warrior, make them King/Queen, and turn them into a Reaver/Spirit Warrior, don't you recognize a certain theological problem here? One, the Chantry would raise seven hells about an abomination sitting on the throne. Spirit Warriors, as I understand them, are abominations by definition. Two, how is that even possible? We know demons seek out mages because they are more powerful than non mages, and are more susceptible. Demons CAN infest non magic spirits, even Templars, as seen in DA2, but how is unclear. I'll explore this later on.
Third, why in Andraste's holy name does the Human Noble Origin start off with absolutely nothing but some leathers and the family sword/shield? Yes, they had to leave their home being attacked, but the Arl of Redcliffe has an estate in Denerim. It makes perfect sense that the Couslands, being the second most powerful family in Ferelden, would also have their mansion full of gold and goodies. That's why Elissa came to Denerim early: to stop a certain treacherous asshole from raiding it too. The game might start you off with nothing, but this is fanfiction, so I say SCREW GAME BALANCE. She's a noble, she gets money too. It's only logical.