Disclaimer: Bioware owns all, except what I most humbly imagine. While, at times, I will take verbatim from the game, I attempt to use the events of the Dragon Age games, expansions and universe as a loose structure around which to construct my re-imagined tale. If you are looking for a strict canon piece, I have no desire to offend, and so I warn you upfront that I will divert from the traditional tale.

When reading these stories, I hope you can easily imagine it being told by the very best of storytellers in Varric Tethras (from DA:2). In my version of events, Varric meets "The Hero" (Elissa Cousland) in Kirkwall during the time period of DA:2. I mention this only so that readers can understand his connection along the way, and so I don't have to mention and rehash it again and again as I make my way through the tale.

A/N: This is the first book of a much larger piece. The full piece is entitled Varric Tethras' One True Epic. Book One takes place during the years prior to The Blight and the events of Dragon Age: Origins.

I have given this Book an M rating for future chapters. While the full epic will touch on many pairings throughout its course, the work as a whole is mainly the story of Elissa Cousland and Nathaniel Howe.

When I originally posted this piece, it marked the first time I published anything in the fanfic genre, though I had written many in the past and shared them in smaller circles. For this reason I have begun the massive project of overhauling the earlier books and using what I have learned to improve and expand them. Don't worry, the current project is being maintained and will be updated as well! There is still much to be told.

Antivan Translation: Doamna Mortii - Lady Death.

Thanks to my readers, reviewers and followers. I love to hear from you all! Special thanks to my wonderful beta artemiskat who is undertaking this project with me as well as continuing to work on the newer material.

Edit posted 7/23/2012.

Happy Reading!

-Frayed One

Prologue

Most people assume dwarves are born to work with stone and steel; to live beneath the earth away from sky and wind and rain, and with few exceptions, I suppose I'd have to admit they're right.

I take great pride in being one of those exceptions. You see I was born to do two things; to pierce things with arrows – something I do quite well thanks to my beautiful siren Bianca – and to tell tales, a talent in which I am unrivaled.

Of course, any good spinner of tales requires quality subject matter, and in that respect I have been blessed a hundred times over. I thought when I met Morgan Hawke that he was to be at the center of the greatest story I would ever tell. It was a safe assumption with all he would accomplish in the years that I knew him. I would eventually discover that as incredible as Hawke was in his own right, he was simply the bridge that led me to her.

Who is she you ask? Truthfully she has gone by many names in her lifetime: The Hero of Ferelden, The Commander of the Grey, The Grey Lady, and Doamna Mortii among them. Each name has a story of its own, and we will touch upon all of them at one point or another.

In order to do that, I have to maintain my focus and go all the way back to where everything began. I have to tell the story of Lady Elissa Cousland, a rowdy firebrand who spent her days and nights dreaming of the adventures she wanted to have, of the places she wanted to see, of the dragons she wanted to slay; not knowing how much of her destiny actually lay clasped within the decrepit claws of those monsters and madmen.

It has been years since Thedas lost its greatest champion and there are few who yet live that know her true name, and even fewer who would dare to speak it; as though the simple utterance would draw down her legendary wrath from beyond. I am willing to risk allowing it to pass my lips if only to ensure that her story is told as it should be. Someone who sacrificed so much for so many and asked for nothing in return deserves no less than the best this old bard can offer.

When Bryce Cousland and Rendon Howe were brought together in battle against a common foe, a bond was forged between them.

This bond, forged in battle, would strengthen and grow with the relationships their children built as the years passed. It established a connection, which would unite these two families - for better or worse - until the end of time.

The Couslands were proud parents to a son, Fergus, and a daughter, Elissa – and The Howes to two sons, Nathaniel and Thomas, and a daughter, Delilah. The children were born so close in years that they made easy companions, and both Bryce and Rendon were happy to encourage their interaction. It would not become clear for many years how drastically different their reasons were for doing so.

Beginning when the eldest of the children were ten, the Couslands and Howes would alternate visits between their homes – with summers spent in Highever and the fall months in Amaranthine. This gave the children great lengths of time within which to build their own bonds. Thus, it was in her 8th and his 10th year, that Elissa Cousland and Nathaniel Howe first laid eyes on one another.

Nathaniel was a quiet boy and though he often appeared to be wearing a permanent scowl, it was more likely that he was simply too deep in thought to notice what his face was doing, or what anyone else around him might think of it.

Elissa was the exact opposite, loud and boisterous, always smiling or laughing, and hardly ever thinking about anything longer than the span of time between when it popped into her head and when it spouted from her mouth.

It surprised no one that Elissa was instantly drawn to Nathaniel. She saw him as a puzzle brought specifically for her to unravel and jumped at the challenge to draw him out of his self-imposed shell in any way she could manage.

Nathaniel was completely perplexed by the chattering young girl now glued to his side. She was an endless fountain of questions, and never gave him time to answer one before she had proceeded to another. She also tended to be quite liberal with her physical contact and displays of affection, giving joking prods and pokes as easily as bear hugs and the lingering grasp of a hand. This was something with which the Howe children had little previous experience and thus Nathaniel was unsure as to how he was expected to respond.

Rendon Howe made it very clear to his children how important it was to forge and maintain a friendship with The Cousland family, and it was obvious to Nathaniel that as much of that now hinged on he and his siblings' ability to impress the children as it did on his parents' friendship with the Teyrn and Teyrna. Between their newly scheduled vacations and the normal functions required of noble families with their status, it was clear the Cousland children weren't going away anytime soon. For these reasons Nathaniel ultimately decided Elissa's odd behavior was something she was bound to grow out of, and steeled himself to become tolerant of it during the months they would inevitably spend together each year.

When Nathaniel was fourteen and Elissa was twelve, Elissa began to realize that not only was Nathaniel the most interesting person she had ever met, but he was also very easy to look at. Four years had passed from the day they met and she still had not managed to make much progress in breaking his stoic facade, which only encouraged her to try harder. It was at this point - though mostly unintentional, as Elissa was far too young to actually understand what flirting was - her attentions toward him shifted from curiosity to interest.

Nathaniel didn't know what had changed, or why. He only knew Elissa's behavior was even more strange as the days passed and the change made him feel something he couldn't quite label. Something that made his pulse skip and his skin sweat and a nervous ball of energy build heavy in his stomach. So he did what any young man would do when backed into a corner by a demanding young woman. He pushed her away. As a result, he saw little of her over the next two years, instead spending most of his time with Fergus getting into the kinds of trouble that young men do.

All of this probably seems unimportant, but I assure you it is necessary to remember the beginning in order to understand the connection between these two families - specifically the bond that would develop between Nathaniel and Elissa. But I have lingered enough. It is time to begin the tale within the tale and to recount for you the beginning that would eventually give birth to The Hero.