"And then it was over.
With the Archdemon dead, the darkspawn horde quickly crumbled. Most fled back into the Deep Roads. They would remain a threat in the years to come, but the Blight had been ended before it had even truly begun. Ferelden had been saved, and the entire kingdom rose up to joyously greet its new king and queen.
The Grey Wardens stood redeemed, and a new age had begun. But at what cost?"
##########
Denerim, after the Fifth Blight, 9:31 Dragon
Cheers began erupting throughout the streets of Denerim. Humans, elves, dwarves, mages and templars alike survived the darkspawn horde's onslaught and driven them out of Denerim when word quickly spread that the Archdemon was successfully slain by the Grey Wardens. While a few remained on the streets to finish off darkspawn who were unable to escape, others tended to their injured and fallen comrades while the rest began planning to rebuild what they have lost.
What remained of the coalition's forces sent an inquiry asking what became of the man who made it all possible. Their hero, Lord Aedan Sarim Cousland of Highever, second son of Teyrn Bryce Cousland and de facto leader of the remaining Grey Wardens in Ferelden, had taken a few token force with him to combat the Archdemon Urthemiel atop the highest tower of Fort Drakon when one of its wings was severely crippled by Riordan, a Senior Warden from Jader who sacrificed his life to ensure the remaining Wardens had a chance of slaying the beast and ending the Blight before it reached its peak. Those who he had left behind to defend the gates were quick to venture to the fortress to learn what became of him.
When they reached the summit, each of the Warden's companions began searching through the rubble for any remaining survivors. Oghren and Sten found Shale standing over a pile of darkspawn corpses, repeatedly smashing their skulls until they "were liquefied" as she called it. Zevran and Bann Teagan found Wynne wounded but alive. Leliana and the mabari Hohaku found Alistair regaining consciousness and helped to remove rubble and darkspawn from on top of him. While the others searched around endlessly for Morrigan, the witch was seemingly nowhere to be found. Sore and disoriented, Alistair soon managed to get back on his feet with assistance.
"Where is he?" Leliana asked, showing signs of worry. "Where's Aedan?"
Alistair said nothing, only motioning towards the corpse of the slain Archdemon. The hilt of a sword seen embedded in the corrupted Old God's skull had fractured during the explosion, the blade itself nearly shattering when the final blow was struck. Looking past Urthemiel's blackened, broken bones laid about the broken fragments of heavy plate armor, tarnished burnt leather and tattered cloth that all lead up to where he last remembered Aedan to be at. Hohaku began sniffing the ground before tilting his head up to catch a familiar scent in the air hoping that it would point to his master's whereabouts. Hohaku's ears and tail perked up and he immediately let out a barrage of loud barking. As everyone was wondering what all the fuss was about, Hohaku dashed towards a rather large pile of rubble, stone laid upon stone, wood upon wood, and dust upon dust. Instinctively, he began digging. Taking cue of the mabari's instincts, the others began to remove the fallen debris as well.
'Maker's breath, don't you dare die on us now…' Alistair thought as he moved one fallen object after another. Observing to his left, he noticed Leliana was moving at a faster pace – indicating a possible sign of anxiety, stress or whatever else it could be called. All Alistair knew about Leliana's reason was of her sincere affection she has for Aedan. The close friendship two had developed over the course of their journey eventually blossomed into a serious romance. Nobody was more surprised by that fact than Aedan himself. Following what happened at Highever when Arl Howe betrayed and slaughtered most of his family, Aedan had begun to isolate himself from other people and avoided companionship whenever he could but overtime grew quite fond of his companions and thought of them as somewhat of a family, willing to risk his life to save those close to him on several occasions. Eventually Alistair found out his reasons for not wanting to form attachments one night:
("When Highever was lost and most of my family were slaughtered, I made a vow to myself that I would live only for revenge. To exact vengeance on the man responsible for the amount of pain he's forced me to endure every minute of every day. I can't even recall how many times I couldn't sleep because of what he did. I'm not like you, Alistair, nor the others. I know we've all been through so much hardship during the Blight and for a while I thought that by becoming a Grey Warden I could let go of my past and move forward. But in the end, I suppose I just couldn't. That pain will always follow me no matter where I go, no matter what decisions I have to make. That's why I can't permit myself to be close with anyone right now, why I can't risk of losing anyone we grow close to again.")
("Aedan, you're too hard on yourself! You shouldn't have to continue to push yourself just to get the job done nor should you have to carry such a burden by yourself. I know what happened to your family. You told me yourself, remember? It sounded like it was horrible, I understand that. No amount of words would be able to describe how much I won't be able to comprehend what you went through. But you have to understand that there are people here to carry about you, who worry about you.")
("As what is normally expected when one expands their numbers during a war. When a soldier or a farmer assumes that neither will live to see another day, each seeks out the need of comfort and closeness with all around them. It is both a gift as well as a curse.")
("Why are you telling me this?")
("There will be a new beginning waiting for us when this is all over, Alistair. Not just for Ferelden or for the Wardens, but the whole world as well. Each of us have our own paths to follow and mine is one neither of you should follow. This is the weight I carry, the burden of my command. Why everything I do is for the greater good. Perhaps for us all. I hope that someday you will understand.")
But that loner, stoic attitude eventually changed one fateful night.
("You are… our leader, and my friend, and… sometimes I think that m-maybe we could be more than that.")
No matter how much Aedan wanted to resist the desire for companionship, there was something in Leliana that captivated him. The fact that he was a Fereldan noble and she an Orlesian bard did not seem to make such difference to him anymore as the two shared their first kiss that night at camp. Everyone soon began to see a new change in Aedan they hadn't seen before, as he smiled more and became more social, allowing himself a respite.
("I love you, Leliana. And I will follow you to the ends of the earth.")
Alistair gradually shook these thoughts from his mind as he continued to watch Leliana desperately clinging on to hope that Aedan might still be alive underneath, fear being apparent on her face and her lower lip trembling. What came next shocked them. As the last rubble was removed from the pile, Aedan's bloodied body was discovered, covered in deep gashes and bruises.
"No," Alistair heard Leliana quietly whimper. "No, no, no, please no…"
Leliana took one look at her lover and covered her mouth to hold back a sob. Hohaku started whining and started using his snout to slightly nudge Aedan's shoulder and paw at him in a desperate attempt to wake his master, but to no avail. Even a few licks got no reaction from him. By the times their other companions tended to their wounds and came over, they were stunned to see Aedan's condition, followed by sadness that their friend was believed to be dead; he brought them all together and stood by them through thick and thin, never abandoning them and always willing to help them. As much as Alistair wished it was not true, both he and Aedan knew what Riordan said about what their duties as Grey Wardens were and what they were supposed to do in the event should he fail to finish the job.
At that moment, when things looked bleak, Aedan's chest muscles contracted and he suddenly started coughing up blood. All eyes instantly turned to look at Aedan in astonishment. He was alive, but was in bad shape. His chest briefly expanded as everyone around him heard Aedan gurgle, as if he was trying to draw breath.
At that moment, Alistair began shouting in an authoritative, yet desperate and fearful tone. "Someone get us a healer! Hurry! DON'T JUST STAND THERE AND DO NOTHING!"
Redcliffe soldiers began scurrying as quickly as they could, knowing full well that Aedan Cousland was both in critical condition and in need of immediate medical attention. Aedan's eyes began flickering as he faintly heard noises gathering around him. As the light began to slowly fade and darkness crept up on him, the last thing he hears before losing consciousness was a panicked feminine voice that he was so familiar with.
"Hold on, mon chéri. Just hold on. {Voice breaking.} You'll be alright. You'll be alright…!"
