"Cousin, wake up."
Darrian groaned as he slowly sat up on his bed, trying to rub the grogginess out of his eyes. He blinked a few times and shook his head before looking toward his cousin, Shianni. "Mmm… what? I was sleeping," he complained.
"Did you forget what today was?" she asked, crossing her arms.
"Huh?"
"It's your birthday."
His eyes widened and he quickly stood up. "Sod, I completely forgot. Where are Mother and Father?"
"They said they would be waiting for you near the gate to the market. You should hurry."
He nodded and followed Shianni out of the door, heading toward the gate his parents were waiting at. The alienage was somewhat busy as usual, many of the elves wishing him a happy birthday as he walked past. He was nineteen now, and today he was supposed to receive a special gift from his mother. He wasn't sure what it was, but that didn't keep him from wondering. She was practical, so it must be something useful. Nothing frivolous, he knew. Then again, even if she wasn't the practical woman she was, he probably wouldn't receive anything fancy anyway. His family never had much coin, but that didn't stop his father from attempting to get him something nice on his birthday. Sometimes he did get something nice. Almost too nice. They said that they saved up for it, but he had a feeling that they weren't exactly telling the truth. He never questioned them on it, though. He knew better than to ask questions like that.
He approached the gate and saw his parents standing there, waiting for him.
"So you are finally up, Darrian?" his father said, smiling and crossing his arms.
"Did you think I would sleep through my birthday, Father?" He smiled back.
"Honestly? Yes, I think you would." He chuckled to himself.
"Are we going to the market?"
"Yes, we are."
His mother smiled and motioned for everyone to follow her. "Come with me," she said.
When they had gotten to the market, his parents had led him to a merchant and handed him a pouch of five sovereigns. They told him to buy whatever he wanted, so he bought himself a book on strategy and another on the Witches of the Wilds. The merchant raised an eyebrow when he saw the strategy book, but when he noticed the pouch of sovereigns that had been handed to him, he quickly forgot about it.
Darrian's mother said that she had another gift waiting for him at home, but she had to do something and wouldn't return home until evening. She told his father not to give it to him until she came back, since it was her gift.
They had been waiting all day for her to return. The sun had already set and the moon had replaced it, but she still hadn't come home. He was starting to get worried.
"Where is she?" he asked, hoping for an answer.
"I do not know," his father responded. "It is late."
"Do you think she is alright?"
He smiled. "Do not worry. Your mother can handle herself."
"I know, Father. She has been teaching me to fight since I could walk."
He chuckled to himself. "And she has taught you well. As I said: do not worry. I am sure she is fine."
"I hope so, Father."
"Maybe you should read your books. It will occupy your mind until your mother returns."
"… alright. I'll read."
He turned around and looked at his two books. He contemplated reading the one on the Witches of the Wilds, but he really wanted to read the one on strategy. So he picked it up and sat down in his bed. He began reading, skipping the first chapter because it was about what strategy was and how it was important. The next chapter was on the basics of combat: planning ahead, maneuvering troops, coordinating movements, etc. The next was going over historical battles of importance. Most of them were battles against the darkspawn, though one caught his eye. The Battle of River Dane, where Loghain had defeated Orlais despite being out-numbered by chevaliers. Loghain had drawn the Orlesian forces toward him and made them follow his men toward River Dane, where he had half of them hide in a nearby forest while the rest stayed in a nearby valley with a steep hill on each side, waiting for the chevaliers to charge. The chevaliers passed by the forest that hid Loghain's men and attacked. When all the chevaliers had entered the valley, the rest of Loghain's men charged at the chevaliers from behind, catching them off-guard and trapping them. Despite their lack of numbers, Loghain's men had pushed the chevaliers on both sides until they couldn't move, allowing for Loghain to win the battle.
That was the battle that made Loghain a hero. He won through superior tactics rather than brute force and numbers. Darrian hoped that he could become a great general some day, but he knew it wasn't possible. He was an elf. They didn't allow elves to become soldiers, let alone officers.
He continued reading, starting to become more and more interested in the tactics the Grey Wardens employed to battle the darkspawn and end each of the four Blights. He found it odd that there was no mention of the Grey Wardens who killed each archdemon after each final battle. He assumed it was because they had nothing to do after the Blight, so there was nothing worth mentioning.
As he read, he started feeling more and more tired, struggling to keep his eyes open and focus on reading. He knew he had read the same sentence five times, but he was too tired to care. Eventually, he feel asleep with his book in his hand.
He found himself being shaken awake. He opened his eyes to see Shianni over him, her hands gripping his shoulders.
"Again?" he moaned. "Why can't I just sleep in?"
"Darrian, it's your mother," she said in a near panic.
His eyes widened and he quickly sat up, his book falling to the floor. "What happened?! Is she alright?"
"I don't know. Your father said that she never came home last night." He noticed the panic in her eyes and her voice.
"Where is he?"
"He is out looking for her with Valendrian and a few others."
"Alright. Find Soris and meet me near the gate to the market."
"Why?"
"We are going to look for her too."
"But, your father told me not to let you look for her. He's worried that something will happen to you."
"I don't care. I'm going to find her with, or without your help." He stood up and started walking out the door before Shianni stopped him.
"Fine, I go find Soris and meet you at the gate."
He smiled. "Thanks."