Author Notes: Hi again! This chapter took some time for me to create, edit, etc. I have tried my best to keep things short, but this is as much as I could accomplish. This is everything before the Landsmeet.


Denerim was the capital of Ferelden, seat of the king and at present, the lion's den. Solona and her group had reached Denerim after travelling for three days and four nights. The journey had been exceptionally difficult for Solona. She could not sleep at nights for more than just a couple of hours owing to the fearsome dreams she had been having and they travelled without any rest during day. Her health had also taken a turn for the worse. The fighting had intensified, now that the Blight was at their doorstep and she had to rely too much on potions. As a herbalist, she knew that too many potions could have some serious consequences. But she had to continue using them; she had to press forward if she hoped to win against the darkspawn. Wynne had offered to help her on multiple occasions, but Solona had always turned her down. She thought that accepting Wynne's help would make her look weak, unreliable and possibly unfit to lead them against the Blight. Solona only grew more paranoid with the worried glances that her companions gave her. Leliana was the one who made her feel most self-conscious.

"Are you all right, ma Cherie?" – Leliana would ask her and Solona would put an act in response.

"Oh, don't worry about me. I'm just a little tired." - Solona would reply while smiling awkwardly.

The presence of the Arl, Bann Teagan and some of their men in camp felt like a little more than an intrusion in what would otherwise have been a gathering of Solona's closest friends. But she was not the only one who was behaving differently in the presence of the nobles. For a change, Alistair actually slept in his tent and it seemed almost as if he was trying to avoid Solona. Perhaps Alistair was upset because of their conversation, or perhaps he did not want the Arl to see the once-chaste templar indulging in some not-so-chaste activities with a sorceress - there were too many possible reasons for his odd behavior, she thought.

Their arrival in Denerim was followed by a rather sudden meeting with Loghain. The Teyrn had come to Arl Eamon's estate to 'welcome' them personally. The Teyrn, thought Solona, had been very direct and perhaps careless in revealing his allies – actually, his subordinates – Ser Cauthrien, the general of Loghain's armies, and Rendon Howe who was the Arl of Amaranthine, the Arl of Denerim and the Teyrn of Highever. Solona examined the trio carefully. Teyrn Loghain seemed just as he had in Ostagar - cold, uncaring and autocratic. His general, Ser Cauthrien, was a woman blinded by loyalty so intense that she could not see the death of hundreds of soldiers, not to mention, the king himself. Rendon Howe, on the other hand, was a wily man - lean, tall and ruthless – not exactly the kind of man that one would want to confer so many titles upon. What was surprising however, was the absence of Queen Anora. Was it not she who was the ruler of Ferelden in the absence of Cailan? Was it not her, on behalf of whom Loghain claimed to have taken up regency? Then why was she so conspicuously missing?

As the meeting came to an end, one thing became apparent – Loghain was prepared to oust them from Denerim and he would not hesitate to use underhanded means to attain his goals. While the Landsmeet had granted Arl Eamon some kind of protection, the Grey Wardens had just come under direct fire from the enemy.

Arl Eamon had asked Solona to meet him once she and her friends had made themselves comfortable in the estate. She had a nice little room for herself, right next to that of Sten and Morrigan. Her mabari, Fang, was to stay in her room. Solona was tired – she hadn't slept well in four days, had met Teyrn Loghain and had shopped for reagents, weapons and armor all day long. After all the excitement she just wanted to go to her room and rest for a while. When she had reached her room she decided that she should try to sleep – dreams or not, she had to give her body the rest that it deserved. Otherwise she wouldn't live long enough to see the Archdemon, let alone fight it. The bed was warm and welcoming. She took off her robes, slipped into something more comfortable and blew out the candles before sliding under the covers.

However, Solona's joy was not to last long. Someone had come knocking on her door. She did not want to get up but the knocking was incessant. Begrudgingly she rose from her bed to answer the door and found an elven servant girl standing there - "I'm sorry to disturb you milady, but Arl Eamon asked to see you when you returned."

The servant was gone as soon as she had finished delivering the message. Solona was still groggy, but she realized that she had to go meet Eamon. Rest would have to wait. 'Oh, nugs!' she thought and got underway. Arl Eamon was waiting in his study with an elven woman. Alistair too was present. He was by a bookcase, searching for a book perhaps – highly unlikely, yet, possible all the same. As soon as Solona entered the study, the Arl told her about all the latest developments. Queen Anora had sent her most trusted handmaid, apparently to ask for their help. A most interesting turn of events, Solona thought.

Anora would have them believe that Arl Howe, along with Teyrn Loghain, had imprisoned her. She would have them believe that Teyrn Loghain was capable of killing his own daughter if it ensured the safety of the country. All of her claims might as well be a ploy to lure the Wardens to their doom, Solona thought. However, as Eamon explained, if it was indeed a trap for them, then they were already caught in the web. The Teyrn and Howe could have Anora murdered and could blame him and the Wardens as the perpetrators. Anora had to be kept out of the Teyrn's reach at all costs.

Solona, along with Zevran, Leliana and Alistair, had set out for Arl Howe's estate early the following morning. Raiding the estate was far easier than she had thought. However, the act of rescuing Anora had proven to be a tad bit more complicated, simply because Ser Cauthrien, Loghain's devoted little commander, had turned up with a dozen guards to catch the Wardens red handed in act of murdering the Arl of Denerim and attempting to kidnap the Queen. It was too convenient, Solona thought, for Ser Cauthrien to arrive at Howe's estate with a small force just in time to capture the criminals. While it was certain that Ser Cauthrien wouldn't believe anything that Solona would have to say, there was likelihood that Anora's testimony could change her mind and stop her from attacking the Wardens.

Solona and her party waited for Anora to reason with Ser Cauthrien by telling her the truth of the matter. All eyes had now fallen upon Anora and she chose to follow in on her father's footsteps - she betrayed the Wardens. Solona was enraged, but she had almost anticipated Anora's treachery. However, there was no holding Ser Cauthrien back, not anymore, and the battle had begun. Strangling Anora with a piece of her own silken dress would have to wait, Solona thought. With a few well planned attacks, potions and rapid switching between healing and attacking, Solona and her companions managed to slay Ser Cauthrien. The rest of Loghain's guards were no match for her party and got slaughtered like cattle. In the mean time, Anora and her maid Erlina had vanished.

The visit to Howe's estate had not been all bad. Both of Loghain's lackeys were dead, Anora's unreliable nature was revealed and the Wardens had managed to gather support for the Landsmeet. There could not have been a better outcome. Arl Eamon had to be informed about all the things that had happened. When Solona went looking for Eamon in his study, she was more than shocked to find Anora standing there. Eamon seemed to be unaware of the little trick that Anora had pulled back at Howe's estate. Just for the moment, though, Solona decided to understand Anora's motivations. She did not mention anything to Eamon.

Anora began with an apology which was anything but earnest. With poise so characteristic of nobility, she had revealed to Solona that there were inhuman things afoot in the elven alienage of Denerim. She had also revealed her reasons for siding with the Wardens, for the moment. Anora had therefore portrayed herself as a political mastermind, for whom everything and everyone was just a means to an end. Like father, like daughter, thought Solona. In a private meeting, Anora had also revealed that she sought Solona's support to claim the throne. She continued to explain to Solona, as if she was a common fool, why Alistair would be a terrible king and why she would be a godsend. With little or no proof to back her claims, not only did Anora seem to be manipulative, but she also seemed to be power hungry. While it was evident that Anora could prove to be an efficient ruler, there was no telling if she would be a good ruler. Besides, given her family history of self-righteousness, Solona inferred that it would be in the best interest of Ferelden to keep her as far away from the throne as possible.

Solona decided to remain diplomatic and refused to openly accept or reject Anora's proposal for an alliance. It was certain though, that Anora would cause harm if the status of the alliance remained ambiguous at the time of commencement of the Landsmeet. However, Solona was confident in her abilities. She had already gathered the support of some of the Banns and Loghain was losing his foothold over the country. If a majority of the Banns of Ferelden would have the Wardens lead them in the war, then Anora's allegiance would be of little consequence.


The following day, Solona had set out to investigate the situation in the alienage. While she knew of alienages, this was the first time that she had ever entered one. The stench of disease and leaking sewers hung thick in the air. Elves - old and young, men and women, sick and healthy, had all taken to the streets. The reasons for the elves to protest in such fashion, whatever they may be, were certainly compelling and they would likely point to Loghain.

With a little probing around, Solona and the others had discovered that the state of discord in the elven alienage was brought about due to a slaving racket, cleverly disguised as magical treatment for those affected by a recent plague. The slavers were Tevinter blood mages, shipping healthy elves over from the alienage to the Tevinter Imperium with approval and unofficial legal protection from Loghain Mac Tir. Essentially, Loghain financed his war against the Bannorn, against the Grey Wardens and against the Blight by selling his countrymen. Any proof of Loghain's ignominious dealings with Tevinters would be invaluable in gaining the trust of the Banns of Ferelden during the Landsmeet.

Soon enough, the Wardens had located the slavers' base of operations in the alienage and the monotony of fighting had taken over. Solona could defeat most of the blood mages with a single spell. She had perfected her ability to drain mana and inflict heavy damage on magic users in her vicinity. Magic would cause the end of magic whenever a mage would be pitted against Solona Amell. The Tevinter mages were dispatched just as soon as they made their appearance. The only one who proved to be a challenge was Caladrius, the leader of the slavers in Denerim. Solona wouldn't admit it, but she did find it difficult to defeat him. He was fast with his spell-casting, much faster than any other mage that Solona had encountered. It was little wonder that he was the leader of the Tevinter slavers in Denerim. He too was slain, however. Caladrius held the document that approved his activities in the alienage. It was irrefutable evidence implicating Loghain as the one who allowed the Tevinters to carry out their work in Denerim. The Grey Wardens now had all the ammunition that they needed against Loghain. The Landsmeet was all that stood between Loghain and justice.


Author Notes: Thanks for reading. I hope it wasn't too boring. The next chapter is going to cover the landsmeet and hopefully the final battle with the archdemon after which the content will become all original coming from yours truly... Please review if you find the time...

See you soon with the next chapter...