Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Age Origins or any of its characters.
A/N: This is a simple idea that came to me some time ago. I may revisit the idea in the future and attempt to finish it, but until then, it is merely a one-shot.
Keep in mind that I will make a few contradictory statements throughout the story. That is really the difference of what Lohgain is planning to do and what the Warden believes he is going to do or vice versa.
Story: Ferelden's Warden Commander
Chapter One: The Last Grey Warden
The last Grey Warden was little more than a prisoner really. It took Kael a little while to understand that simple fact. At first, he thought he had been lucky that King Cailan had decided that Lohgain needed a Grey Warden amongst his ranks…and he was really. Otherwise, he would have been left to die along with all the others.
Sure, at first he believed the load of crap that Lohgain fed the other troops…that Ostagar was unwinnable…that the people responsible for lighting the beacon, Alistair, had taken too long to light it…that the Grey Wardens had assassinated the King, that one had made him 'popular'.
He had been ostracized by both soldiers and servants, human and elven.
Though Lohgain obviously didn't give a damn about him, and why should he, Kael had been a knife-ear dockworker barely a month ago, he was suspiciously cordial. A dark part of him wondered if Lohain didn't plan to make an example of him when the army arrived at Denerim. Give the people a scapegoat Warden in order to focus their anger on. Even amongst the Elves, the King was popular.
The fact that he was recruited shortly after killing an Arl's son would probably only add fuel to the fire…which was probably how they would choose to execute him.
In the end, Kael figured he had two options. Desert the army and run as fast as his legs could carry him. He didn't think that Lohgain would waste resources hunting him down, but he couldn't be sure. It might just add weight to whatever evidence Lohgain may or may not had planned to hold against him. Plus if he learned one thing from their march to Denerim was that he did not have the stamina to avoid soldiers for extended periods of time.
The second option would be to make himself useful. To make his title as Grey Warden meaningful to the Teyrn…and maybe get a little something in return. It would require a bit of a leap of faith.
But Kael Tabris was not afraid to leap.
-x-
"You're Highness."
Lohgain looked up at Ser Cautrien, a bit surprised. She was normally much less formal when they were alone, per his request.
"The…Warden…insists on speaking with you."
The Hero of River Dane nodded. Ser Cauthrien often spoke up against having the Warden with them. He had still not made up his mind on what to do with the Grey Warden. Part of him wanted him dealt with…quietly. Another part of him wanted to just give him a few sovereigns and tell him to go away. He mostly leaned towards putting him in the army and letting the Maker decide what would become of him. Lohgain nodded towards his subordinate, "Send him in."
Cauthrien nodded and left the tent. A moment later, the last Grey Warden, in full gear, entered. They stared at each other for quite a while before, Kael bowed his head, "Milord."
Though he didn't think the elf was here to fight, Lohgain palmed a knife just the same. He lazily moved towards the Warden. "Odd. Grey Wardens don't normally bow to Kings or Lords."
"There are a lot of Grey Warden customs that I don't agree with."
Lohgain frowned at the venom in the boy's words. He could guess fairly quickly where the conversation was going. "So I take it that you did not like the Grey Wardens."
"Couldn't say really." Kael frowned, "The former Templar I served with, Alistair, was not the bad sort." Lohgain's jaw tightened at the mention of the boy, but Kael didn't notice. "Duncan was an ass though."
Not completely to script, but Lohgain's guess was correct. The boy wanted to distance himself from the Grey Warden that Lohgain had declared to be traitors not too long ago. He probably could have just cut the boy off and sent him away, but a part of him was curious to see what the boy would have to say. Maybe, just maybe, he would know why everyone seemed to believe a Grey Warden was needed to end a Blight. The script the two were following was one he had experienced many times, in both books and his own experiences in the past. Lohgain's next line was to ask for clarification and allow the boy to rant on why he hated his commanding officer. "You hated Duncan?"
Kael narrowed his eyes, "He saved me from the hangman's noose…yet he wouldn't do a thing to save my cousin Soris, even though he could have easily recruited him too."
"Oh?"
"He said that Soris would be better off in prison than becoming a Grey Warden", Kael scoffed. "Asshole."
Lohgain resisted the urge to shake his head. "Yes, the life of a Grey Warden is of sacrifice. So much so that going to prison and being tortured to death would be a fairer alternative." Seeing the horrified look on the Warden's face immediately made Lohgain regret the jest. Even though the boy seemed genuine in his speech, the confrontation was still rather predictable and it was wasting Lohgain's valuable time. So he decided to cut to the point. "Why are you here, Warden?"
Kael took a deep breath to calm himself, before hardening his expression, "Can you save him?"
"Hmm?"
"Soris, my cousin." Before Lohgain had a chance to even register what Kael was asking of him, the elf reached into his travel pack and pulled out a scroll. "You still need to fight the Blight, right? If you give me Soris, I'll help you build an army."
Lohgain narrowed his eyes at the proclamation and took the scroll from Kael. He opened and took a few moments to read it.
Waiting impatiently, Kael began to fidget a bit. "It's a treaty, it essentially says-"
"I can read, Warden." Lohgain interrupted. Lohgain had planned to request aid from the Dwarves…but according the parchment, they were bound by an Ancient Treaty to assist the Grey Wardens in stopping the Blight. The Grey Warden the man thought, casually looking up at the boy.
"I have more." Kael offered. He was thankful that Duncan had failed to ask for them.
Lohgain reached out expectantly and Kael began producing parchment after parchment. Lohgain himself grinned. They could demand aid of the Dalish Elves, assuming they could find some. They could demand aid of the Mages, though Lohgain didn't believe that would be an issue in the first place. He could even demand from the damnable Chantry, who were above petty concerns, like Darkspawn and the like. There were others…but they were likely not going to be of help to Ferelden.
They didn't have to negotiate for aid. They could DEMAND it. As long as they had a Grey Warden…
Perhaps…just perhaps…the Grey Wardens could have a place in Ferelden. As long as Ferelden's Grey Wardens answered to Ferelden and not to the Anderfels.
Ferelden's army was decimated at Ostagar, nearly cut in half. Now they had a greater chance to combat the threat without leaving themselves open to a foreign invasion. And all it would cost him was saving one Elven prisoner.
"Congratulations boy, you are now Commander of the Grey Wardens."
Chapter 2: Duelist
Kael lunged at Lohgain, bringing his daggers up to stab him. Lohgain, wielding only a practice sword, lazily parried Kael's attack and struck him hard on the leg. The man scowled as he watched the boy fall to the ground again.
After agreeing, to save the boy's cousin, Soris, Kael had readily told Lohgain everything that he knew about the Grey Wardens. About the Joining, the strange dreams, the fact that Grey Wardens could sense Darkspawn.
The Joining…the very idea of it seemed preposterous to Lohgain. Sure, being Immune to Darkspawn taint was nice, but why inflict it on recruits unless it was necessary? One of Kael's fellow recruits had been killed by it! If they had been infected already, which Kael's story suggested that none of them were, then perhaps using it as a cure would make sense, otherwise it just deprived the Wardens of valuable manpower. Or perhaps the Joining potion was ineffective after a warrior was already tainted? That would explain why the Wardens put their recruits through that trial by fire when they first became Wardens…It was something that Lohgain vowed to look into further.
After Kael had told Lohgain everything he knew, which admittedly was not much, Lohgain had spent a little time training the boy. If he was to be Warden Commander, then Lohgain would need to make sure he was worthy of adding "Ferelden's" to the title. Sadly, the boy was not performing up to par. He was good, but he wouldn't get very far fighting like a common rogue. He'd need to see about getting the boy some proper weapons…some armor as well. He'd need to allocate some soldiers to the Wardens. The thought made Lohgain frown.
Assuming that he needed the Grey Warden present in order to use the treaty, he could easily assign a squad of soldiers to help Kael make his way across Ferelden. He would, however some need people to serve as the faces of the Grey Warden and Ferelden. He would need to choose carefully.
Lohgain looked up when he saw the boy stand. The man got into a stance. "Again Warden."
Sadly, they didn't have enough spare time for Lohgain to give him more than a few basic lessons. They were at Denerim soon enough.
Lohgain went his own way, going straight to the palace to bring news to Anora. He had a soldier escort Kael to the Warden compound, a solitary building not too far from the palace. An hour later…
"Kael?"
"Soris!" The Warden embraced his cousin roughly, eliciting a cry of pain from the boy. This had been tough for Soris. The soldiers that arrested him were not gentle. He had spent a solid month locked up in Vaughan's cells. He had been tortured…
His only respite was that they eventually had to move on to someone else.
Regardless, Lohgain had kept his part of the bargain. Kael vowed to keep his.
-x-
Lohgain called upon the Elf two days later. The Teryn-turned-Regent had intended to call upon them much earlier, but things had become troublesome for him. Anora was understandably upset over the death of her husband. Half the Bannorn, instigated by Teagon Guerrin, had all but declared rebellion against him and his staunchest supporter's, Rendon Howe, son had developed into a useless twit. The man had been forced to call upon his son and leave the ruling of the Arling to his infinitely more competent daughter. Lohgain could only guess why Delilah hadn't been Rendon's first option to begin with.
On the bright side, he had made great strides with the Chantry. Handing the Grand Cleric a piece of paper that said the Chantry had given their word to aid them, or more specifically the Grey Warden(s), was not something that she could easily turn down. Throwing in some taunts that the Mages of the Circle would likely honor their word had helped…and elicited a growl from the old woman. Lohgain just had to make sure the Mages actually DID live up to their vows. With any luck, the Mage Uldred would prove his usefulness in rallying the Mages.
So it was, that two days after arriving in Denerim that Lohgain called the Grey Warden to the Palace. The boy came, dressed in the same leathers he had during his time at Ostagar, with the same daggers strapped to his hips. He brought his cousin with him, who was also dressed in leathers, though he at least had the sense to carry a sword and a shield, AND a crossbow with him.
Kael bowed to Lohgain, "Milord." Soris, who had been a nervous wreck since entering the chamber, quickly mirrored his cousin's actions.
Lohgain motioned for both to standup straight; he was in no mood for pleasantries. "There is much work to be done Warden."
Kael nodded, "Do you need me to enforce the treaties."
The Regent gestured for Kael to come closer to the table, where he had a map of Ferelden laid out. "There are three main factions that we can call upon. The Dalish Elves, the Mages of Kinloch Hold, and the Dwarves of Orzammar." Lohgain then pointed to a random spot not too far from Denerim, "Our intelligence indicates that there is a wandering Dalish band moving through the Brecilian Forest. When we receive confirmation, I'll dispatch you and a small group to hold the Dalish to the treaty."
"What about the Mages and the Dwarves?"
"We should already have the Mages and I plan to send an Ambassador to deal with the Dwarves directly."
"When do we leave?"
Lohgain had to fight off a smile. After dealing with politics and nobles for the last two days, it felt good commanding soldiers again. Though not technically a soldier, he felt that the boy would become just as valuable. "Soon, for now I want to train you and your squad in combat."
"Squad?"
Lohgain opened his mouth to speak when he spotted someone come through the doors. He instantly scowled as the man made his way through the table. The boy had his father's vices and none of his sense. "Kael Tabris, meet Thomas Howe, he will be joining your group."
The young man gasped over dramatically and pointed at Kael, "You told me I would be under the command of the Grey Wardens?"
"I did."
Thomas narrowed his eyes, "He's a knife-ears!"
Kael scowled and Soris tried to shrink away. Lohgain smiled, enjoying it a little too much. If the boy was going to be a useless twit, then he planned to knock him down a peg or two, "Yes…now that you mention it, Commander Tabris does have pointy ears, doesn't he."
Thomas scowled, "I can't be under the command of a knife-ear. Think of the scandal! Me, an Arl's son, being forced to bend knee to this low-born ruffian."
Having enough of the verbal abuse, Kael made a rude gesture towards Thomas, "You want me to take a man like this to meet the Dalish? We'll be lucky to walk out of there alive, must less avoid being…cannibalized!" Frankly he wasn't quite sure what the Dalish Elves did with prisoners, somebody in the Alienage said they were cannibals though, so he went with it.
The Arl's son scowled at him, but Lohgain immediately cut off any further retort, "Enough! Kael, the Dalish don't cannibalize anyone and they certainly won't attack you over the actions of Howe." Whether they decided to put an arrow into Howe's head was another story entirely, but it was a risk that Rendon Howe was willing to take and half the reason that Lohgain assigned Thomas to the Wardens in the first place. He then turned towards Howe, "Thomas, you know very well that you have no choice in the matter, I suggest you get used to calling the knife-ears, Commander!"
Thomas actually sputtered at that, not quite sure what to say.
Lohgain turned back towards Kael, "I suggest you learn more about the Dalish and keep an open mind when you go to meet them. You will also be receiving a Mage under our command, but I haven't quite decided who yet." They had a few Mages in the prison for a number of reasons. Some were intercepted from the Chantry's Templars and some were captured by the city guards before the Templars were the wiser. He'd need to decide, which one to send with the Warden. He was leaning towards the one accused of Blood Magic, the one who was an Alchemical Prodigy, or the one who flirted with the guards and bore a striking, yet infuriating, resemblance to the late King Maric. He also still needed to deal with Eamon. "Now…"
-x-
The following two days were hell for the Warden and his company. They were given over to some of Lohgain's greatest warriors and drilled non-stop. The results were unfortunately unsatisfactory.
The Warden was the best fighter, though that wasn't much of a compliment. He wasn't the type to strike from behind, which was the greatest edge to using a short ranged weapon like a dagger. He did defeat his opponent, five times out of ten, which said a lot.
His cousin could take a beaten and still stand. Sadly, he wasn't much use as anything but a moving wall. He also couldn't aim properly with the crossbow.
Howe was more or less useless with anything except his bow. He could hit a stationary target without issue, but had difficulty with mobile targets.
By the end of the second day, the soldier in charge of their training told Lohgain, 'he was glad that the fate of Ferelden didn't solely rest in their hands.' That night, Lohgain informed them that they would be dispatched, to Brecilian Forest the, following day.
Thomas, who had been surprisingly less of a twit that day, invited the two elves out for a fun night before all three of them went out to do their duty; he had even offered them each a few silvers. Kael was even more surprised that he agreed to go.
-x-
The Pearl was exactly what Kael pictured that type of establishment to be…right down to the smell. He would think back to the fight that broke out the day as the greatest form of excitement. A lone woman defeated three thugs without either of them laying a scratch on her.
The worst part of the night, came a few minutes later, when Soris recognized two of the women in the employ of the Pearl. Nesiara and Valora, the two elven girls that Soris and him were to wed before Vaughan showed up and proved that there was a creature more horrid than the Darkspawn. Thomas asked if they knew the two elven lasses that they were staring at. Soris gave him a version of what happened, minus the part where Kael killed Vaughan. Thomas gave the two elves a wicked grinned and then walked over to the Pearl's proprietor and bought the services of both girls…and took them both to a private room, earning a look of horror from Soris.
Kael scowled and looked away. Valora seemed oblivious to their presence, but he had shared a looked with Nesiara. It reminded Kael of what an utter troll he had been to her prior to their interrupted wedding. It wasn't that there had been something wrong with her…it was simply that he really did not want to be married. Still didn't. Still, it sickened him to see her end up at a place like the Pearl.
"I can't believe they ended up working in a place like this", Soris complained loudly, mirroring Kael's thoughts.
"My girls make a silver for every day they work", the proprietor claimed, having heard what Soris said and clearly insulted by the statement. "You boys make that much?"
"Do you hire men?" Sanga smiled, but told Soris not at that time.
Kael probably would have smacked Soris if he hadn't been thinking the very same thing. Before becoming a Grey Warden, a week where he made five coppers was a damn good week. While he was a Grey Warden under Duncan, he had been expected to purchase his own weapons and armor. Somehow, he doubted that Lohgain would institute a different policy.
The Warden sighed and went off by himself, while Soris continued to talk with Sanga. He would need to speak with his father at some point. He was really trying to avoid doing so, but assuming that Nesiara maintained contact with Cyrion, his father would know that Kael was in town soon enough. He really wanted a few more weeks of playing the Warden Commander, before he returned home…
"Fancy your luck?"
Kael looked up to see the woman who had embarrassed the three thugs earlier. "Not quite, but I'm pretty good at Wicked Grace."
The woman grinned at that. "Well then, how about a game?"
Kael nodded and sat down in front of her. She dealt them each a hand.
"My name is Isabella."
"Kael", he replied, "Where did you learn how to fight like that?"
"Here and there."
"Wish I could learn something like that."
Isabella smiled, "Win a hand and I may be obliged to show you some of my moves." She then presented her hand, "That may be harder than you expect." Kael shrugged and placed his hand down. Isabella looked at each card in growing horror and confusion, "How-"
"-did I cheat better than you?"
Isabella frowned for a moment…just for a moment. She then gave him a predatory smile, "Congratulations, you just became a lot more interesting."
-x-
The official story, written by City Elves, who are old fashioned, and people that Kael had personally saved, yet had nothing but horrible things to say about the self-proclaimed Pirate Queen, stated that Kael simply learned the Duelist art from Isabella and did absolutely nothing improper with her while he spent the night at her ship.
For the unedited truth, please see Varric Tethras.
Chapter 3: Uncontrollable
Kael walked into the meeting room late, much to Lohgain's annoyance. Thomas and Soris were already there waiting for him, as was another young man in distinct robes.
Lohgain took one look at the boy, noting that he no longer carried daggers but two actual swords, and gestured him to fall in line. "The young man before you is named Jowan and he will be your fourth."
Jowan was infinitely friendlier than Thomas and had greeted Kael, both respectfully and shyly.
"You will be traveling with a small contingent of soldiers, but they shall make camp just outside of the Brecilian forest." Going to a Dalish Elf camp with an army of humans would not make them many friends. Lohgain then dismissed the group, but not before pulling Kael to the side and informing him to keep a close watch on Jowan the Blood Mage.
There journey was not nearly as long as the one from Ostagar to Denerim, but it was still pretty hard on the Warden and his companions, none of which were quite accustomed to long journeys. The soldiers were a great help, but they barely listened to a thing that Kael told them. Though he rarely gave an order, the few times that he did they always looked at Thomas for confirmation. The thought annoyed Kael, but perhaps that had been why Lohgain had sent the young Arl's son with them. The soldiers did not respect the elves and were downright hostile to the mage.
Things became a little easier when they reached the edge of the forest and Kael and co. went in alone. Then they reached the Dalish Camp. Kael expected it to be a friendly encounter, but flat-ears was muttered almost as many times as shemlens was. The Dalish leader, the Keeper, was more than happy to abide by the treaty…if they weren't in the middle of a war with Werewolves.
Kael agreed to see if they could do something about it. Thomas smiled cruelly and said, "Worry not old elf, the humans are here to pull your asses out of danger, so get your armies ready." Three shocked stares and one furious glare followed Thomas as he made his way to the forest.
Sadly…that wasn't the stupidest thing that Thomas did, within that hour. The four found a group of Werewolves soon after walking into the forest. Kael was prepared to lunge at the one in front, when they actually started talking to him. TALKING. For a moment, Kael believed that they might be able to solve their problems without bloodshed...until Thomas screamed, "ENOUGH TALK, FOR FERELDEN", and stuck an arrow in between the eyes of one of the Werewolves. The Leader of the pack, Swiftrunner, lunged at Thomas and bit the boy in the shoulder, wolf jaws cutting right through the armor, but luckily stopping just after breaching the boy's skin.
The wolves were pushed back, but the damage was done. The following few hours were a test of patience for the group. Thomas's whining increased tenfold and Kael was about ready to have Jowan put the twit to sleep. After fighting Swiftrunner a second time, and nearly killed him, a great white wolf swooped down on them and helped saved the Werewolves. The pack then retreated into the ruins of the forest. Jowan got everyone's attention, "That must be the one we're looking for; it had a strong magical presence."
"Then what are we waiting for, let's go!" Thomas snarled and charged forward.
Kael shook his head and gestured for Soris to follow him, but he held Jowan back. They had all fallen into something of a routine during their fighting. Soris would take the lead with his shield, Kael and Thomas, who could surprisingly still use his bow, would pick off their enemies one by one, while Jowan healed them. It was a good system, but it was starting to be less effective. Kael looked at Jowan, "If you need to, use Blood Magic…but try not to let Thomas or Soris see you." He didn't know how Thomas would react and Soris was not good at keeping secrets.
Jowan looked fearful for a moment, but nodded.
That time came when they reached further into the ruins and found a Dragon's nest. Soris was knocked out quickly and a tail whip did the same to Thomas. The dragon charged Kael, but a quick spell from Jowan left the creature writhing as its own blood boiled. Kael then used both swords to decapitate the creature. After his party had healed, they each took a moment to appreciate the treasure the dragon had been hoarding. They each filled their pockets and continued on their journey through the cave.
They eventually found a group of Werewolves that wished to parlay. Kael was able to hold Thomas back long enough to agree to the terms. There, they met the Lady of the Forest, who told them an expanded version of the story that Zathrian had told them. Thomas was ready to tear out Zathrian's throat, while Kael saw another opportunity for peaceful resolution. They just needed to find Zathrian and bring him back to the ruins.
That proved to be surprisingly easy; the man was literally in the next room. Sadly things had devolved from there. Zathrian claimed that he would never lift the curse on the Werewolves and Swiftrunner was ready to attack the Keeper.
Any further debate ended when Thomas let out an inhumane scream and leapt on top of Zathrian, swiping at the Keeper with beast-like claws.
Kael rushed forward just as Jowan knocked Thomas away with an Arcane Bolt. "Jowan, can you save him?"
Kael knelt next to him, followed a moment later by Jowan and, surprisingly, the Lady of the Forest. Jowan shook his head, "No…he's dead."
Thomas let out another inhumane scream and began to change. In mere moments, he turned into a black-furred Werewolf. The Lady shook her head in dismay. "It is over…there is no cure to the curse."
"NO!" Thomas howled. "There has to be, I can't spend my life like this!"
Kael's grip tightened around his sword as he rose to meet Thomas. "You idiot, you ruined everything!" One of their own just tore a Dalish Keeper apart. Forget gaining a Dalish Army, they'd really be lucky to leave the forest alive!
Howe just ignored him though. "The Elves! They'll have a cure to this curse! We should attack their camp and force them into giving it to us!"
Say what you will about the Howes…if there is anything that they are good at, its leading an army to massacre an unsuspecting group of people.
Chapter 4: The Warden Commander
On the bright side, Kael no longer had to worry about the Dalish Elves killing them, because Thomas murdered their leader. Unfortunately…
Kael, Soris, Jowan, and the Lady of the Forest arrived at the Dalish Camp just in time to see Thomas tearing apart the last of the Elves. The werewolves were easy enough to deal with. The moment the last Dalish Elf died, their bloodlust abated, they were left feeling their lady's disappointment. Without even talking to them, she shamed each and every single one of them.
Kael stalked towards Thomas, only barely registering that killing him would not end well for him. Kael delivered a swift kick to Thomas's midsection, which unfortunately hurt Kael a lot more than it did Thomas. It did annoy the werewolf, "You dare?"
Kael then smacked Thomas with the flat of one of his blades. Thomas lunged at Kael. Kael sidestepped the attack and cut Thomas along the leg. He couldn't kill Thomas, he knew that, but experience told him that it took a lot to kill a werewolf, so he vowed to make the arl's son bleed.
Thomas howled and swiped at Kael. Kael parried his claw and countered with a cut along Thomas's midsection. He had learned more in one night with Isabella than he had ever learned with any other instructor.
Again, the wolf howled and attacked, and again, Kael countered with two shallow cuts along his side. This time, Thomas fell and didn't get back up. He looked up and growled at Kael, "My father will hear about this!"
The Warden narrowed his eyes and pointed one of his blades at Howe, "I'm sure he will, however, until the moment we get back to Denerim you WILL stay in line or I will return you to your father, as a rug!"
Thomas didn't dare answer and wouldn't even look at Kael in the eye until they returned to the Soldier's camp.
-x-
Kael's first mission as Warden Commander was a complete and utter failure, only salvaged by the alliance that he managed with the Lady of the Forest.
They wouldn't get the Dalish, but at least they had an army of Werewolves to fill the void.
Kael and co. returned to the soldiers and he informed them all of what happened. Surprisingly, Thomas became persona non grata after that. Apparently, it was alright to hate elves…but committing genocide on them was unacceptable. They seemed to acquire a new found respect for Kael though and he didn't have any problems with them afterwards.
They returned to Ferelden quickly enough and Howe thought to rush straight to the palace, but his presence horrified Denerim's populace in a way that made Kael believe they had never seen a werewolf before. Before they proceeded further, Kael had Thomas hide in their supply wagon.
When they reached the palace, Kael was immediately informed that Regent Lohgain, Arl Howe and the rest of Lohgain's generals were waiting for them inside. Hearing his father's name, Thomas jumped out of the wagon and stalked into the palace. Unfortunately, his presence horrified the palace guards and servants in a way that made Kael believe that they had never seen a werewolf before. Still, this time Howe would not be dissuaded and Kael, Soris, and Jowan followed after him.
They reached the meeting chambers soon enough. Unfortunately, Lohgain, Arl Howe, and Lohgain's generals were horrified and they reached for their weapons in a way that made Kael believe that they had never seen a werewolf before.
Thomas howled solemnly, "Father, look at what this despicable Warden did to me!"
Kael snarled at the werewolf, but just walked around him and came straight to Lohgain, who was still, understandably, on guard. "The Dalish Elves are dead" Lohgain's gaze broke and his attention was now on the Warden Commander, "I got you Werewolves instead."
-x-
Things didn't end there. Soris and Jowan were directed back to the Warden Compound. Thomas latched on to his father and wouldn't let go, much to Howe's annoyance. While that was going on, Lohgain and Kael went into a private room to talk.
Lohgain was cradling his head. He had thought, at worst, the boy would get himself killed. "So…Thomas led a group of werewolves to massacre the elves?" Seeing Kael nod caused Lohgain to groan. An hour ago, he would have dismissed the existence of werewolves as mere stories. Now…
Lohgain stood up, not quite sure what he had to say. In the end, he had to get down to business. "I have another assignment for you." Kael stood at attention and waited for instructions. Again, it pleased Lohgain to see. If the boy had been born human, perhaps Lohgain may have found and recruited the boy into his own army, instead of letting him fall into the hands of the likes of Duncan. That wasn't a problem now. "The Dwarves are proving problematic. The treaty technically is only binding on the King, however at the moment there is no King in Orzammar."
"Was he killed or something."
"Or something", Lohgain shook his head. It really shouldn't be so difficult to get an army together. "From what I hear, there are two candidates for King. The Grey Wardens are heavily influential in Orzammar, so I want you to use that to help tip the scales…assuming a new King isn't chosen before you arrive."
"Who should I support?"
"Whoever will abide by the treaty, I care not who." Lohgain frowned as he thought of something. "I also want you to look into the Circle of Magi. My contact has not gotten back to me and I'm beginning to fear the worse."
Kael nodded, "Yes milord."
Lohgain smiled at the Warden, "If you are to be Ferelden's Warden Commander, then I have something for you."
Kael walked out of the Palace wearing a set of grey leather armor, not unlike the type used by the Grey Wardens. Only his had a winged Mabari as the sigil, instead of a Griffin.
The inscription was a message really. He wasn't just a Commander of the Grey Wardens. He was Ferelden's Warden Commander.
A/N: I really wanted to throw in a female character into the group, but I couldn't think of a way to add one. Ser Cauthrien was out, she has other duties she could and should be attending to.
I thought about adding one of the Warden Mages (female one), but I preferred Jowan. As you guessed Lohgain also has Anders, who will likely seduce and sex his way out of prison. I also mentioned a Alchemical Prodigy, who is a suspiciously similar substitute who will take Jowan's place in the Arl of Redcliffe Quest…which Kael will never attend to.
Alistair is still alive and will likely recruit Leliana and Morrigan. Technically, in this timeline, it was Kael who saved the Mabari…but he never managed to track Kael down. I imagine either one day the Mabari will find his way to Kael or remain a stray. Either way, no Barkspawn for Alistair.
Yes…Thomas is a giant douche in this story and yes, he will remain a part of team Grey Warden. Any other decisions are really unknown.
This idea initially presented itself with the Mage Origin…where Lohgain would have offered him/her his/her phylactery for his/her Loyalty. I can easily see this for a Cousland Origin…where Lohgain trades Rendon Howe's ass and Thomas still remains entirely intolerable. Dalish Origin and Dwarf Origins are a bit harder for me to picture.
Anyway, I hope you like this.