Only One Shall Stand

by deathRae94

"I have always wanted adventure," Aileen told them, "but not like this. It was not supposed to happen this way. My parents were not supposed to die at the hands of a Howe." She spat the name like a curse. "And now, I'm going to kill the bastard no matter what it takes. Even if it consumes me." Strong head-canon, slight AU. Part I of my Aileenistair series. Currently rated T.

1. An Introduction

Only One Shall Stand

An Introduction

Hello to all my readers! Thanks for taking interest in Only One Shall Stand, Part I of my Aileenistair series. If you just want to get to the story, jump straight to the Prologue, but this Introduction exists for a few points of interest.

Disclaimer: For starters, I would like to say that, albeit sadly, I have no legal rights to any of the characters or stories or creatures from BioWare's amazing game, Dragon Age: Origins, nor do I claim any such rights. (Also, BioWare might as well own me, given the amount of time I've devoted to playing games and writing fan fiction.) However, Aileen Cousland is mine, as is her history and personality. Hands off. ;)

Inspiration: Alistair, of course. X'D As for the name, I really wanted this fan fiction to be more about Aileen and her hatred for Arl Howe, which, ultimately, almost consumes her. I had a few different titles in mind, including "Only One Shall Stand," which became the tentative title. Then, as I was replaying the game, my character shouted, "Only one shall stand!" during battle, and the name became canon. It was DESTINY. Haha.

Synopsis: Only One Shall Stand focuses on Aileen Cousland, the daughter of Teyrn Bryce Cousland, and her journey as she becomes a Grey Warden and must unite Ferelden against the Fifth Blight. It also takes her through her burning hatred for Arl Howe, as well as her blossoming relationship with, and ultimately love for, Alistair.

Discrepancies: After reading David Gaider's novels, Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne and Dragon Age: The Calling – which I believe are canon and override anything which takes place in the video game Dragon Age: Origins – I've realized that there are some inconsistencies between the novels and the game. I will do my best to find a nice compromise between the two. Not everything will be revealed in Only One Shall Stand, but in its sequels, instead. Gaider's novels will play a heavy role in the composition of this fan fiction; and if you haven't read his work already... *SPOILER WARNING!* :P

Things to Note:

1) As Only One Shall Stand is fan fiction, there will obviously be fictitious elements about it. I will try my best to balance the realistic elements with the fantastic.
(For example: In the game, it is possible for female characters to be stronger than men based on their class, and then their specialisation within that class. Aileen Cousland is a warrior who wields a two-handed weapon; as such, her "Strength" is highest of the types of warriors. Therefore, Aileen is as strong as [or stronger than] most men. To keep things from being too... strange, men are automatically stronger than women who are of the same class as them.)

2) DLCs make an appearance.

3) Only One Shall Stand is (primarily) written in the third person limited point of view, and will jump around to get inside different characters' heads. From whose view the writing is told will be stated; time and/or location jumps are indicated by: ")-(".

4) Thoughts and flashbacks are portrayed through italics, as are emphasized words. If a word within italics is emphasized, it is bolded.

5) I use Thedas's calendar to keep track of time in the story. The Fereldan "low" names are used instead of the names in the Tevinter tongue.

6) If words are spoken in Orlesian, I will use French. If words are spoken in Antivan, I will use Spanish. For Tevene… we'll see.

7) This is my racial height scale, just for reference:
6'7" to 6'10" / 2.01m to 2.08m (average 6'8" / 2.03m) - Qunari (Kossith) males & females
5'6" to 6'3" / 1.68m to 1.91m (average 5'11" / 1.80m) - Human males
5'2" to 5'9" / 1.57m to 1.75m (average 5'6" / 1.68m) - Human females
5'4" to 5'6" / 1.63m to 1.68m (average 5'5" / 1.65m) - Elven males
5'0" to 5'5" / 1.52m to 1.65m (average 5'3" / 1.60m) - Elven females
4'2" to 4'6" / 1.27m to 1.37m (average 4'4" / 1.32m) - Dwarven males & females
There is some crossover between the races and genders, but I think it gives more realistic variety (i.e. some Human women can be taller than Human men, et cetera.).

8) There will be vulgar language, alcohol, and sexual themes. You've been warned. ;)

9) I like the number 9. Neverwinter Nights influenced me, what can I say? X'D

So this isn't as brief as I had hoped it would be. But that's all right.

A huge, "Thank you!" goes to Rockbell99, my real-life best friend who knows absolutely nothing about Dragon Age but reads this anyway. Many thanks also go to alyssacousland, CouslandSpitFire, Graymalkyn, KitKat Cousland, Morninglight, and sn0w0wl for their encouragement and support as I have written this.

Please, enjoy reading Only One Shall Stand, Part I of my Aileenistair series!