Prologue: Cousland

"You didn't have to go through all that trouble, you know"

"That guy was asking for it, my friend. You do not treat a lady that way."

The young elven woman laughed as she and her companion walked towards the Castle of Highever. She was quite pretty, with shoulder length blond hair and green eyes.

"As if there are no nobles who flirt with every pretty girl they lay their eyes on. You see that every day, Anrothan." She said with a smirk. "Besides, I had it under control."

Her companion, a tall, blond man with blue eyes, sighed in response.

"I know you did, Nesiara, but I thought it would be wise to be on the safe side. And it is not like all nobles are that bad. Just that there is at least one person who gets drunk and hits on the servants at the nobles' gatherings." He said with a hint of exasperation that was soon replaced by a smirk.

"Besides, you are getting married in a few days. I don't want to reveal to Cyrion that his future daughter in law is the perfect match for his son yet. Not when I have the opportunity to see their looks by myself." Anrothan said as Nesiara quirked an eyebrow.

"What did you exactly tell the Hahren of the Denerim Alienage about me?" She asked with amusement.

"That you are a smart and beautiful girl who is a veritable genius with crafts. I did not get into details." He simply answered, receiving a playful nudge on the shoulder from Nesiara.

"You are such a tease sometimes." Nesiara said as the two reached the castle. "The soldiers are more active than usual. Did something happen?" She added as a squad passed by them.

"The Korcari Wilds are swarming with darkspawn these past days. Father received word from the king to deploy his men just the other day." Anrothan said, all previous playfulness gone.

"Darkspawn? I thought they were long gone ages ago." Nesiara said with a surprised expression.

"It appears that we were wrong to believe so." Anrothan said as a soldier hastily approached him.

"My lord, your father requests your presence in the main hall." He said.

"I was wondering when would Father call for me." The young noble said as he turned to his companion. "I am afraid I must tend to the task at hand. You will leave for Denerim in the afternoon, correct?"

"I'll understand if you won't be able to see me off, my lord, since you'll have your hands full all day. I'm just a girl from the Alienage after all." Nesiara said half jokingly and half seriously.

"Nonsense. Both you and Tyler are dear friends to me. I shall see you off properly when it is time, and, I will manage to attend your wedding." Anrothan said as he chuckled. "But for now, it is best that I do not test Father's patience. My thanks for informing me, Ben. I will go see why does Father require my presence."

The soldier nodded in respect and went back to his post.

"I'll go check up on Nelaros then. Have fun!" Nesiara said as she too left. Anrothan made his way towards the main hall of the castle. As he approached the half opened door, he heard two familiar voices.

"I trust then that your men will be here shortly?"

"I apologize, Bryce, this is entirely my fault."

"Do not fret, my friend. The darkspawn haven't appeared in centuries. No one was prepared for them."

'It seems like Father is talking to Uncle Rendon.' Anrothan thought as he got in the room. The Teyrn turned at the sound of the door being closed and smiled.

"Ah, you came, Pup." He said as he turned to Rendon Howe. "Rendon, you remember my youngest, right?"

"It would be really hard to forget Anrothan, your Lordship. Thomas talks every day about your victory in the last tournament. Pleased to see that you are well, lad." Howe said with a slight smirk.

"And you, Uncle Rendon. Did I hear correctly? Your men are not here yet?" Anrothan said.

"Straight to the point as always. You heard right, lad." Howe said with a slight nod. "My men got caught up in bad weather. They are due to arrive by tomorrow."

"That's good to know. With the darkspawn threat increasing day by day, we will need every man and woman able to bear arms ready to fight." Bryce said.

"Delilah asked about you the other day. I think she's starting to show an interest in you." Howe added.

"I hardly remember her being interested in me the last time we met, Uncle. If I recall correctly, she called me a loudmouth brawler who is only interested in showing his barbaric love for fighting. On top of that, she is four years younger than me." Anrothan said as he chuckled.

"If I didn't know any better, old friend, I'd say you wish for my youngest to get married to your daughter." Bryce said with a knowing look.

"I might be exaggerating, I admit." Howe said in defeat.

"At any rate, Pup, I summoned you here for a reason. I'll be leaving you in charge of the castle for as long as your brother and I fight in the south." Bryce said.

"What? Why can't I join the fight?" Anrothan half-shouted, causing the guards that were inside the hall to awkwardly look away.

"I'm sure you'd prove yourself in battle, Pup, but your mother would tie me in knots if I took you with me as well. She's already worried sick about me and Fergus going." The Teyrn said, already expecting his son's reaction to the news.

"I have already done more than prove myself lately, Father. I train every day for situations such as this!" Anrothan said as he took a breath and tried to calm himself. "Let me talk to Mother. I am sure I can convince her."

"I doubt that. She made it clear that there is no room for debate." Bryce said. "This is no small task I'm giving you, Pup. A squad will stay in the castle to help you maintain order. You know what they say about the mice when the cat's away, yes?"

"I… understand." Anrothan begrudgingly said.

"Now that that's taken care of-" Bryce said as he turned to a guard. "Please show Duncan in."

"Master Duncan is here?" Anrothan said in surprise, his earlier anger momentarily gone at the opportunity to talk to the old warden.

"He arrived earlier to make sure that we are properly prepared to face the darkspawn." Bryce said as the guard that he talked to before gave the signal to let Duncan in.

"Your Lordship, you didn't mention that the Warden Commander would be here." Howe nervously said.

"He showed up unannounced. It's a habit of his it seems." Bryce said with a surprised tone as he quirked an eyebrow. "Is there a problem?"

"Of course not, but a guest of this stature demands certain protocol. I'm… at a disadvantage." Howe hastily responded. There was something in the man's tone that didn't sit well with Anrothan; however, the Teyrn didn't seem to notice anything.

"Duncan cares little about titles, Rendon, and, from my experience, few wardens do. I'm sure he won't mind." Bryce said as the gates opened and the Warden Commander entered the hall.

"It is an honor to be a guest in your hall, Teyrn Cousland." Duncan said as he approached the three nobles.

"Master Duncan! It is good to see you again." Anrothan said with a bright smile before any of the older nobles could talk.

"The feeling is mutual, Anrothan. I only wish it were under more pleasant circumstances." Duncan said, showing hints of a smile as well.

"Duncan came to Highever for recruits, Pup. I believe he has his eye on Sir Gilmore." Bryce said.

"Roland is a fine warrior. I am sure that he would make an excellent warden." Anrothan said. The young noble noticed that Duncan looked as if he wanted to say something.

"If I may be so bold, your Lordship-" the warden started with some hesitance. "Anrothan would make an excellent candidate as well."

The Teyrn moved in front of his son, as if to hide him from Duncan's view, and glared at the warden.

"We've talked about this before, Duncan. This is one of my sons you are talking about." He said.

"And have I no say in this? I believe I am in the proper age to make my own decisions, Father." Anrothan said as he moved in order to be fully seen by Duncan.

"Fergus is already heading to war and I don't wish for both of my children to follow that path. You shouldn't think only as a warrior, my son." Bryce said as he looked at Anrothan before he turned back to the warden. "Unless you intend to invoke the Right of Conscription…"

"Have no fear, old friend. I may be looking for recruits, but I don't wish to damage any relations I have in the process." Duncan said in a reassuring tone, which seemed to work as the Teyrn visibly relaxed.

"In the meantime, I want you, Pup, to find Fergus and tell him to leave with the soldiers ahead of me. The king's army is already fending off the darkspawn as we speak, so it's best to send our support as soon as we can." Bryce said to Anrothan.

"Of course, Father." The young noble said, barely hiding his vexation, as he headed for the door.

"Anrothan is eager to step out of his brother's shadow, Bryce. Soon, you won't be able to make the choices for his future." Howe said when Anrothan got out of the hall.

"I know, my friend. He has grown up. And with that, his temper as well." Bryce said as he shook his head. "At any rate, we should talk about our course of action in the south."


Once he got out, Anrothan headed to the dining room which was located close to the main hall. The young noble stood in front of a long table and looked as if he was checking the stuff that adorned the furniture. Suddenly, he flipped over the table while shouting in anger, scaring the servants who were inside the room in the process. The blond man then sat in a chair that was still standing and buried his face in his right hand.

"It is unwise to be in my company right now, Roland." Anrothan said as a young man, clad in a knight's armor, came into his view.

"I apologize, my lord, but it's an emergency. Your mabari got into the larder." Sir Gilmore said between panting. Anrothan noticed that the young knight's flaming orange hair was disheveled and he was dripping sweat, most likely from running all the way to him.

"Again?" The blond noble said, earning a nod from the knight.

"And Nan is threatening to quit." He added.

"Again." Anrothan repeated in half exasperation, half amusement. "She has been in the castle for years. I doubt she is considering leaving at this point."

"Maybe so, but your mother has asked me to tell you to get the mabari out of the larder before he bites someone's hand off. You know that he only listens to you, my lord." Sir Gilmore said.

"Félagi knows better than to injure someone in the castle." Anrothan said as he got up. "But I suppose I should go collect him, just to be on the safe side."

"There is also something else I want to ask you, my lord." Sir Gilmore said as he walked alongside the young noble.

"What is it, Roland?" Anrothan said.

"Is it true that Lord Duncan is here?" The knight asked.

"He arrived just today. Is something the matter?" Anrothan asked, one eyebrow raised from curiosity.

"Nothing. It's just that, I heard he is looking for recruits." Sir Gilmore said.

"Indeed he is." Anrothan confirmed.

"I thought it must have been rumors since he recruited Sir Jory a month ago. But then, I heard that he got impressed by my performance in the last tournament and wanted to test me as a possible recruit." The red haired knight said with a hopeful tone.

"From what I gathered, he is, in fact, considering it." The young noble said with a smile as the knight brightened.

"Maker's breath! Are you certain? Can you imagine? Me? A Grey Warden! It would be everything I ever dreamed of!" Sir Gilmore said with excitement before he cleared his throat. "Of course, I shouldn't get too ahead of myself. Pardon my outburst, my lord." He awkwardly added as Anrothan laughed.

"Do not worry, my friend. Your enthusiasm is admirable." The young noble said as the door to the kitchen suddenly opened and Nan came out.

"You! And you!" She snapped at both of them. "Get that mongrel out of the larder or I swear…"

"Calm down, Nan." Anrothan said, interrupting the old woman. "You are under a lot of stress because of all the preparations. I completely understand. Now if you allow me, I shall collect Félagi so that you can proceed with your job."

"If you understand, then go get your mutt already." Nan said with exasperation as the two men got inside the larder where the mabari ran in circles and barked at something.

"What is it, boy? Did you find something?" Anrothan said as he knelt. Félagi abruptly turned at the sound of his master's voice and happily bounced towards him with something in his mouth.

"Is that a giant rat? It's like the start of every bad adventure tale my grandpa used to tell." Sir Gilmore said as Anrothan scratched Félagi's ear.

"Well done, Félagi. Are there more?" The noble asked. The mabari nodded his head negatively in response.

"Good job, boy." Anrothan said with a grin as Félagi happily barked.

"Well? Do you have him under control, child?" Nan shouted from the other side of the door.

"You can open the door, Nan. There were giant rats in the larder, but Félagi took care of them." Anrothan shouted back. The door was abruptly opened as Nan came rushing in.

"Rats, you say? Out, all of you! I have some cleaning up to do." The old woman said as she shooed the two men and the dog out of the larder. Anrothan laughed at the antics of Nan and Sir Gilmore had an odd mixture of amusement and worry on his face. Félagi, on the other hand, stormed off to a random direction.

"My lord, your mabari ran away again." The knight said as he turned to the young noble.

"He will be fine. Worst case scenario, he will just barge in Father's council." Anrothan said while munching on a big piece of cheese. The noble patted Sir Gilmore reassuringly on the back as he got out of the kitchen.

"I'll be on my way then. I'm to prepare for the Arl's men, my lord." Sir Gilmore said as he exited the room.

"Will you have time for sparring later, Roland?" Anrothan asked before the knight left.

"I think so. Until then." Sir Gilmore said as he slightly bowed and left for his task.

"I better go search for Félagi then. There is no need to tell Fergus that he rides today for the moment. Who knows how long it will be before he sees his wife and son again?" Anrothan said to himself as he started looking for all the possible places his mabari could be. After some searching and poking around, he ended up in the treasury where he caught the guards playing poker.

"Good morning, gentlemen." He said with an impassive expression, causing the guards to jump from their seats and quickly turn towards him in alert.

"My lord! Uh, we were just…" One guard nervously started.

"Taking a break?" The young noble said with a grin, dropping the act.

"Uh, well, no one has come in the treasury before. We wonder why the Teyrn has us stationed here." The other guard said.

"There are important items inside the treasury. We must keep them safe at all times." Anrothan chuckled. "But I won't tell my father about your little game. Just promise me that you will not let anyone else sneak up on you like that."

"Of course, my lord. Thank you for your leniency." Both guards said at the same time as Anrothan waved at them and left the room.

'If Félagi is not at the hall, then he most likely went to Mother.' The young noble thought as he reached the atrium and noticed that his mabari was, in fact, lying next to the Teyrna. Who had guests.

"And my dear Bryce brought this back from Orlais a year ago. The marquis who gave it to him was drunk, I understand, and mistook him for the king." Eleanor said as she showed a painting on the wall.

"Knowing Cailan's taste, he would probably give that painting to Father anyway." Anrothan said as he approached the small group that have gathered. The Teyrna smiled once she saw him.

"Ah, here is my younger son. I take it that the situation in the kitchen is settled?" She said.

"It turned out that Félagi here was chasing a couple of rats that snuck into the larder. They were some big rats." Anrothan said while trying to show the approximate size of the rats with his hands.

"Ah, marvelous. Just the thing my guests need to hear before supper. Darling, you remember Lady Landra? Bann Loren's wife?" Eleanor said as she gestured at the other woman.

"I think we last met at your mother's spring salon." Lady Landra said.

"Where you spent half of the salon shamelessly flirting with Lord Anrothan, Mother. Right in front of your family too." Dairren, Lady Landra's son, added.

"Yeah, that was not awkward at all. Still, it is good to see you again, my lady." Anrothan said with a slight bow.

"You are too kind, dear boy." Lady Landra said as she chuckled. "You remember my son, Dairren? You two sparred in the last tournament if I remember correctly."

"And you beat me handily as I recall. Me and everyone else in the tournament that is. It's good to see you, my lord." Dairren said as he and Anrothan shook hands.

"Now you are being modest, my friend. The way I remember things, you gave me a hard time when we sparred." Anrothan grinned.

"And this is my lady-in-waiting Iona." Lady Landra continued as she gestured to her shy elven maid. "Do say something, dear."

"It is a great honor, my lord. I have heard so many things about you." Iona hurriedly said with wonder in her eyes.

"Did you now?" Anrothan said with a mischievous smile. "Like what exactly?"

The young maid slightly blushed, but she continued talking.

"About your victories in various tournaments and your skill with a sword, among other things." She said, mumbling the last part.

"Don't look now, Eleanor, but I believe the girl has a crush on your boy." Lady Landra said with a sly smile.

"Lady Landra!" Was Iona's flustered reply.

"Hush, Landra. You'll turn the poor thing scarlet." Eleanor said with a mixture or amusement and exasperation.

"I believe I can handle my own affairs, Mother." Anrothan said while winking towards his mother who shook her head in exasperation.

"All evidence to the contrary, my dear." Eleanor said.

"I think I will retire to the guest room, Eleanor. Good day, my lord." Lady Landra said as she left the atrium.

"And we'll head for the study. See you later, my lord." Dairren said while Iona vividly nodded. Once both of them were out of sight, Anrothan knelt and petted Félagi.

"Have you talked with Father about my duties?" The young noble said, though he already knew the answer.

"I know the last thing you want to do is stay behind, while your father and brother head to battle, my son. But there are other duties that we, as Couslands, have to do. It's not only fighting that's important." The Teyrna said as Anrothan got up.

"But I can make a difference!" He exclaimed.

"And you will." Eleanor immediately responded. "Just not on the battlefield of Ostagar. You'll get your chance soon enough."

"I know about that. Even so, I have a bad feeling about this." Anrothan said.

"As do I. Bryce and Fergus will be marching against Maker-knows-what. All the reassurances in the world aren't enough to comfort me. But, they have their duty, and we have ours. It would barely do any good if we took up arms as well." Eleanor said.

"At any rate, you should go say goodbye to Fergus before he leaves." She quickly added as Anrothan nodded.

"Father did ask me to tell him to leave with the men today. And I wanted to let him spend what little time he has with his family. Guess I cannot delay it further. Good day, Mother." The young noble said as he was about to go to Fergus when his mother's voice stopped him.

"I love you, dear. You know that, right?" She worriedly said.

"What brought this on, Mother?" Anrothan asked with a slight chuckle as he looked back.

"You've grown up so fast, and now Bryce is leaving you in charge of the castle." Eleanor said as she sighed. "But there's no point in dwelling on this now. I'll see you soon, my son." Anrothan nodded before he left the atrium. Passing by the guest hall, he looked at himself in the mirror that adorned the wall on the right.

'I really need to shave.' He thought as he inspected his face.

"Is there really going to be a war, Papa? Will you bring me back a sward?"

Anrothan smiled at the sound of that voice. He would recognize his beloved nephew's voice anywhere. Opening the door to the family hall, he saw his brother Fergus talking to his wife, while he held his son in his arms.

"Don't frighten the boy, Love. I speak the truth." Fergus said. Anrothan knew that his brother adored his family and that he would do anything in his power to keep them safe. And at his moment he wanted to encourage them to be more positive about the war's outcome.

"And what would that be, Brother?" He said as he entered the room.

"That I'll come back before you know it. The army is gaining victories against the darkspawn every day. To be honest, I'm starting to doubt whether that's actually a blight, or just a large raid." Fergus said.

"Could that be true?" Oriana, his wife, asked with uncertainty.

"I'll see for myself soon enough. Pray for me, Love, and I'll be back within a month or two." Fergus responded as he kissed his wife.

"Yuck! Gross!" Oren said as he looked at a random direction.

"As much fun as it is to watch you, lovebirds, I am here to tell you that Father wants you to march with the army today. Without him. He will leave in the morning with Uncle Rendon." Anrothan said, causing Fergus to sigh.

"Then the Arl's men are delayed. You'd think they are all walking backwards." The older of the two brothers said, as if he was expecting it.

"Now now, Fergus. You can't exactly blame them for having trouble marching with this bad weather." The Teyrn said as he and the Teyrna entered the room.

"Be well, my son. I will pray every day for your safe return." Eleanor said.

"You could have delivered the message yourself, Father." Anrothan said with a smirk.

"And miss having both my sons in one place before I leave? Not likely." Bryce said, matching his younger son's expression.

"The Maker sustain and preserve us all. Watch over our sons, husbands, and fathers and bring them safely back to us." Oriana said in the form of a prayer.

"And some ale and wenches while you are at it!" Fergus suddenly said, effectively changing the mood.

"Fergus!" Oriana cried in surprise.

"For the men of course." Fergus quickly added in order to save face.

"I would not mind a nice pint of ale right now, though." Anrothan chimed in.

"What's a wench? Is that what you pull on to get the water out of the well?" Oren innocently asked.

"A wench is a woman who pours ale in a tavern, Oren. Or a woman who drinks a lot of it." Bryce answered with a grin while the two brothers laughed at their father's response.

"Bryce! I swear, sometimes it's like living with a pack of small boys. Thankfully, I have a daughter too." Eleanor said as she shook her head, causing Fergus to chuckle.

"I'll miss you, dear Mother. Brother, you will take care of her, won't you?" He said as he turned to Anrothan.

"Mother will be fine, Brother. I am more worried about you though. Fighting down south, in the cold. What are you going to do without my support?" The younger Cousland said.

"I agree. Especially if you get yourself injured. I will never forgive you." Oriana said as Fergus scratched his head.

"Now that would be some incentive, don't you agree? But it'd be fun fighting side by side with you, Brother." He said as he sighed. "Maybe next time."

"I shall hold you to that, Brother." Anrothan said as the two brothers exchanged a hug. "Be safe."

A tug on Anrothan's trousers caused to look down to his nephew.

"Is something the matter, Oren?" He asked.

"Mama says you're going to be watching over us while Papa is gone. Is that true, Uncle?" Oren asked.

"You can count on me, kid. I shall keep you all safe." Anrothan grinned.

"But what if dragons attack the castle?" Oren curiously asked.

"Dragons are bad creatures Oren. They eat people." His mother said.

"Yeah! I wanna see one!" Oren said with enthusiasm.

"This is your influence, Fergus." Oriana deadpanned.

"What? I didn't say anything." The older Cousland said in defense.

"Will you teach me how to use a sward uncle?" Oren continued with enthusiasm.

"So that you can kill the dragons?" Anrothan said with amusement.

"Yeah!" Oren answered as he started swinging an imaginary sword. "Take that, dire bunny! Fear my sward of truthiness!"

"You bet, kid! Let's go!" Anrothan said with enthusiasm.

"Fergus, your family still confuses me some times." Oriana said as she sighed.

"Now now. Mind your mother, Oren." Fergus said as Oren started whining. Anrothan laughed as he picked up his nephew and placed him on his shoulder.

"Do not worry, Oren. One day, you will grow up to become a strong man like your father and your uncle." He said as Oren brightened.

"And I'll use a sward?" The kid excitedly asked.

"You will be the best!" Anrothan reassured him. The rest of the family smiled at the scene.

"As much as I'd like to let you two play, you need to sleep early, Pup. You have a lot to do tomorrow." Bryce said as Anrothan put Oren down.

"I have no other choice, don't I?" The younger Cousland said. "Very well."

"I'll come with you. There are still matters which I need to discuss with Duncan and Rendon." The Teyrn said.

'That's odd. I would expect Father to want to spend as much time as he can with Fergus before he leaves. Why would he go talk with Master Duncan and Uncle Rendon now?' Anrothan thought. After the two of them bid their farewells to the rest of the family, they got out of the room, followed by Félagi.

"Is something wrong, Father?" He finally asked.

"Did Rendon's reaction when I talked about Duncan seem suspicious to you, Pup?" Bryce said, causing Anrothan to abruptly turn towards his father.

"You noticed that as well? I thought it was just my imagination." He said with a surprised expression.

"So, I wasn't the only one to notice it. This is troublesome." Bryce said, seemingly in thought.

"Please be careful, Father. I have been having a bad feeling all day. Take some extra guards with you and tell the soldiers to be alerted for anything suspicious." Anrothan said.

"I'll think of something. Don't trouble yourself, Pup. For now, go get some rest. I would recommend keeping Félagi with you at all times though." Bryce said while Félagi barked in agreement.

"Will do, Father. Good night. Come on, boy." Anrothan said as he gestured to his mabari and got inside his room.


Author's Note: Hello people! Welcome to another story by me. It's quite improbable that you know this right now, but I got three more stories (at this time) on this site, all from different anime and games. Yeah, that's how random I am. Truth be told, one of the reasons I joined this site was to start my own Dragon Age story. That, and the whole concept of writing a story in the first place. And because I wanted to do it justice, I wanted to improve my English and my writing skills first. Well, I had some new ideas over these two years which are exactly that, stories that I wanted to write because I wanted to and not just an experiment. And the reason I'm doing this a multi-origins story (yes, another one of those) is thanks to the lovely Naryfiel Lilith and her story "The Wardens' Tale" here on this site. I definitely advise you to check it out. And now I'm rambling. Anyway, as I was saying, the first origin is Cousland, which is obvious if you have reached that part of the chapter. Next will be Tabris (that's Tyler for those who didn't get that), Mahariel and lastly Amell. Other origins might appear later, possibly. And yes, I know that there were many parts that were pretty much directly from game dialogues, but hey, a guy's gotta adapt first, no? Do tell me what your opinions are on this, what do you think of Anrothan and whether I portrayed the rest of the characters well, and generally if whatever I wrote above makes sense. (Quick note: Anrothan is of Celtic origin. It means second to the king. Félagi is ancient Norse and it means comrade)

Long Author's Note is long. Anyway, hope I see you guys on the next update which will hopefully be during this week. See you later!