Once upon a time…

Once upon a time…

Once upon a time there was a man. Privileged. Born into power. Some might have called him spoiled. He longed for more every day. He desired more than he had, even when he had it all.

And because the Maker is a vicious and cruel god when He wants to be, this man was stripped of it all. Heartless, cold treachery that turned blood to ice and a heart to stone. Family, title, land, all lost.

But at this darkest moment, he was born anew. A Grey Warden, given life and purpose.

And the glimmering hope of love.

There was a woman. Beautiful, dark, mysterious. She was broken and vulnerable just as she was strong and unstoppable. And he could not fight himself, could not deny this love. And love her he did. Every ounce of him, every bit, loved her. He would have died for her, would have sundered the world for her.

But love is fleeting, easily rusted and exposed for the vile cruel thing it often is. There was nothing he could do, nothing he could say to change things.

She left.

And behind her lay the broken remains of a man, shattered. An empty shell, full of bile and hate and bitterness. He was left behind, as she left for parts unknown, carrying with her a vile creation that he hated.

And hate he did.

Now, that same broken shell is a Warden Commander in Amaranthine, commanding the Grey Wardens and leading his men to victory time and time again. But victory does not come without price. Every time this man was left alive, left with his hatred and his emptiness. He was left alive while so many were dead or dying.

He sought his death willingly, every time he woke. There was not enough left of him to continue on, and he thought of those dark roads beneath the earth, where the Darkspawn lay. And he thought that he would one day travel there, and see if the Darkspawn could give him this death he so long sought.

But, as ever, it was not so easy…

Not when you are in love. Love is never so easy.