One thousand nine hundred and ninety seven...

Aedan leaned against the cold stone wall, staring blankly at the far corner of the damp cell where a small puddle of water had formed, caused by the relentless dripping of water coming from the ceiling. At first, the constant sound of the drops falling into the remains of its predecessors had driven Aedan to the very edges of sanity. Now however it had become something of a comfort to him, it offered a small semblance of consistency, something his life had recently been lacking.

Aside from that, it gave his mind something to focus on instead the distant, tortured screams that echoed throughout the fortress. There was no reprieve from the tormented screams that rang out at all hours of the day and night. At first the screams had chilled Aedan right down to his soul, but his perspective had soon changed once he had heard the unmistakable sound of a death rattle, finally granting the death that the victim had been begging for.

One thousand nine hundred and ninety eight...

Aedan had nothing to indicate how long he had been held captive. He did not know if it was night or day, he did not know the hour, he did not even know how long it had been since his last "interrogation". The only way he held any sort of time was counting the number of drops that fell into the small pool. Time was the first thing that left you when you entered Fort Drakon, it remained on the outside and faded away with the rest of the world that the unfortunate souls were forced to leave behind.

Physical strength was the next thing to leave. The constant beatings paired with the deprivation of food and sleep was enough to bring even the strongest of men to their knees. It was not long until they were unable to walk, leaving them to be dragged to their next beating, or if they had served their purpose, to their deaths. When their end finally came their bodies did not receive a proper burning or burial, they were merely thrown into a shallow grave. If there was no more room they were simply left out for the crows to feed on.

Hope was the last thing to leave, and when it did the inmates found themselves looking forward to the day when they would no longer be forced to live in the constant pain and misery that had become their lives. It was not long before the inmates began to beg their captors to kill them, welcoming the embrace of death that would take them from this life.

Thankfully, the constant dripping of the water had thus far allowed Aedan to maintain all three of the things that would ensure his survival.

One thousand nine hundred and ninety nine...

His eyes roamed to the etching carved into the wall, staring at the words that served as the only sign that someone else had existed in this cell before him. He tried not to imagine what kind of a fate the poor soul had gone on to meet.

If there be a Maker...

Aedan allowed his thoughts to wander, as they so often did since he had been in this situation. His memories were the only part of him that remained safe from his captors. As long as he held onto to his thoughts, he had a place to escape to, and a reason to keep fighting. His mind filled with the images of red hair, a beautifully accented voice, and a smile that Aedan would do anything to protect.

Leliana was a firm believer in the Maker, believing Him to be the reason for setting her on the path that Aedan was following. Her belief was a stark contrast to Aedan who had let his faith die with his family. Yet despite their opposing views, the two had managed to fall in love even amidst of all the chaos.

He closed his eyes, his mind instantly sweeping him away from the prison. He was instantly back at lake Calenhad, reliving one of favorite moments.

The nights had become something of a reprieve for Aedan. It was when the world seemed to finally slow down and the rag-tag group of heroes could finally take a breath and reflect on the events on the day from a different perspective. It was when they could regroup and talk of things other than war and death, a time for them all to take a moment to simply exist, rather in solitude or chatting with their comrades. It was the time when they could step away from the burdens of the world and simply be another resident of Ferelden, rather than someone trying to save it.

The group had successfully managed to save what was left of the Circle of Magi from being completely obliterated. Morrigan had verbalized her displeasure from the moment Aedan had agreed to help the mages. She was even less thrilled when it was announced that the party would grow by one. It had taken three minutes for Morrigan and Wynne to distrust each other, and seven minutes before the rest of the party had placed themselves between the two women before they had the opportunity to destroy Ferelden before they could save it.

They had decided to make camp on the shore of Lake Calenhad for the night. The hour was late and none of them had the desire to stay the night inside the tower that had only hours ago been overrun with abominations and blood mages set on destroying everything in their path. It was equally less appealing to set out in the dead of night with tempers running high as they were, so the only logical conclusion was to set up camp at the edge of the lake for the night.

Morrigan had ventured off to find her own camp while the rest of them began setting up their tents and bedrolls in a circular fashion. Aedan had volunteered to take the first watch, something that had become something of a tradition as he found sleep to be something of a foreign concept the past months. Leliana had volunteered to accompany him, a fairly recent development but one which Aedan appreciated. The two had become close during their time together, and for reasons that remained a mystery to Aedan, she had managed to penetrate the carefully constructed walls that he had built around his heart. She had reawakened a part of him that he thought was long gone, and despite his efforts to keep her at arms length she had somehow managed to capture his heart.

The love that had developed between them had come as a surprise, but a welcome one. Her gentle and caring demeanor was a stark contrast to the darkness and pain that had become his life. She showed compassion to those who did not always deserve it. She would not think twice about giving her last sovereign to a hungry child who had lost a parent to the Blight. She would not hesitate to put herself in danger to protect those she cared about, and she could spar just as well verbally as she could with a dagger. If Aedan had to dream up the perfect woman for him, that woman would not hold a candle to Leliana.

His head was laying in Leliana's lap as she ran her fingers through his hair. They were staring up at the stars on a cloudless night as Leliana's sweet voice sang softly causing a sense of calm to wash over Aedan. He felt safe with her, secure, and the problems of the world melted away when they were able to have moments like this.

Leliana's voice faded and she let out a small sigh. Aedan glanced up, meeting the deep blue eyes he had come to adore. She gave him a smile and her eyes wandered up to the endless stars covering the sky.

"How can you have moments like this, see things like this, and still not believe?"

It was not an accusation, and Aedan found himself searching for the words to properly explain why he no longer believed in or trusted the Maker.

"My last night at Highever, I was in my quarters with a, um, a friend."

Leliana's features darkened slightly but she did not push the issue.

"Mathias started barking and we heard shouting coming from the corridors. It all happened so fast I didn't have a chance to stop it. Iona opened the door and...I couldn't save her. I prayed to the Maker to let her live, to let her return to her daughter. I prayed that he would not allow an innocent child to become an orphan. She died in my arms before I could finish praying." He sat up and stretched his legs out, staring out at the blackness of the lake. "My mother and I ran to my brother's quarters, and I prayed that I would not find his wife and son dead. Oren took his last breath no doubt praying to the Maker not to let him die. After that I kept praying that my father was not hurt, that my family would make it out. That I could kill Arl Howe for what he had done. When Duncan dragged me out of the castle, when I looked at my parents for the last time, I realized that the problem wasn't that I was not praying hard enough. It was that nobody was listening."

Silence fell between the two as Leliana processed what she had just heard. Aedan did not share his past very often, and when he did she felt her heart break for him. He was not a weak man, but even the strongest of men would break under what he had been forced to endure. Yet he continued to fight for a world that had condemned him, to defend those who would just as soon see him be put to death. When Leliana had seen all of these things, it had been impossible not to fall in love with him.

He looked at her with a tenderness that he held only for her. "I didn't think that I could ever be happy again. I did not want to be close to anyone ever again, I didn't think it was worth the pain that comes along with it. I don't know if there's a Maker, but when I look at you, I believe that maybe there could be."

Two thousand...

Aedan's eyes snapped opened as the sound of heavy footsteps and the clinking of keys broke the illusion. His heart began pounding and his stomach began to churn. Despite the fear that he felt, he nevertheless managed to grin widely as the guards unlocked his cell.

"Gentlemen! It has been far too long! I would offer you a drink but I'm afraid that my mother's manners did not pass to me."

The guard who's name Aedan had learned was Gideon snarled, showing off a mouthful of rotting teeth. "A Warden with a smart mouth. Let's see how long your humor lasts when you see what the boss has in store for you."

A fresh wave of fear washed over Aedan, but his smile remained intact. "Oh good, I do hope he has been more creative. Our previous encounters have started to become dull."

"We will see how long your good humor lasts."

The guards grabbed Aedan under the arms and he could not contain the grunt of pain as the sudden movement sent a fresh wave of burning pain down his back.

Hours later when he was thrown back into his cell, all traces of a smile had vanished. He hit the wall and grunted as he crumpled onto the floor in a heap. His head was swimming and he was on the verge of losing consciousness. It took every ounce of remaining strength he had to turn over onto his back.

He was unable to look around as the slits in his new metal prison only made it possible to look straight ahead. Above him he could just see the carving on the wall. He rose a shaking hand and ran it over the letters leaving a large blood smear across the words.

He turned his head toward the corner of the cell where the familiar puddle was, and focused on the one thing that kept him from giving into the despair that was threatening to overtake him.

One...