I am Aedan of Highever!

by Powerslammer

Aedan Cousland has only ever lived to serve Ferelden. His deep patriotism is matched only by his foul temper. When the Fifth Blight occurs, he is scarred by deception and loss. Motivated by patriotism and fueled by vengeance, there is nothing he won't do until he saves his homeland from the darkspawn and wreaks horrible vengeance upon all those who betrayed him and the kingdom.

~Highever Origins: Part I~

It is the century of the Dragon Age, as declared by the Andrastian Calendar. By custom and law of the Chantry, the Grand Clerics and the Divine declare the name of each century in reference to some great event that era shall be remembered for. In the year 8:99 of the Blessed Age, during the Ten Year Gathering, Divine Faustine II and the Grand Clerics determined that the new century should be named the Sun Age, in honor of the mighty Orlesian Empire and how the sun never set upon its borders and influence. That is, until fate deigned to showed itself.

Seemingly from out of nowhere, two High Dragons were seen flying through the Frostback and Orkney Mountains, wreaking devastating destruction unto the territories. For centuries, dragons had been believed to be extinct, wiped out by the Nevarran royal family back in the Steel Age. With this unforeseen, truly unforgettable event before them, Divine Faustine II declared this new century to be the Dragon Age. The scholars of the Chantry see the dragons' sudden return as a premonition that the next age will be one of turmoil and upheaval that will challenge what everyone believed to be true. They could not have known how right they were.

In the year 9:02 Dragon, Maric Theirin, rightful king of Ferelden, drives out the occupying Orlesian forces, which had invaded his country for eighty years. This victory is made possible when Maric's best friend and top military commander, Loghain Mac Tir, defeats the Orlesian army at the battle of River Dane. This is considered one of the worst defeats in Orlesian history. That same year, Maric slays the false king Meghren in a duel, officially ending the Orlesian Occupation. Those terrible years under the tyrannical rule of Orlais' imperialism would burn in Fereldan memory for years to come, and both countries would forever hate each other for the actions of that war.

The war for Fereldan independence and freedom is over, and a new tale is about to begin. The first strife and conflict of the Dragon Age will begin in Ferelden, and it is in this land where the story of this age shall first be written. Ferelden's history is one of warfare and conflict, it's people hearty and quarrelsome, respecting only strength and honor. A land where many great heroes are sung of and revered by its people. Dane the First Teyrn, Hafter the Wolfson, Luthias the Dwarfson, Calenhad the Silver Knight, and Maric the Savior, all of them heroes to the people of Ferelden because of the great battles they won and the strifes they overcame.

Now the stage is set for a new Fereldan hero. One whose deeds shall rival that of any legend in all of Thedas. One whose story shall be written in blood and fire; who will face great terror, and become a great terror in turn. Not a knight, but a destroyer.

His story begins first in Highever.

The Teyrnir of Highever, 9:20 Dragon...

It was Sunday, and the early spring rains fell heavily upon the walls of the old castle. Despite the torrents of rainfall, Highever Castle stood as it always had: mighty and proud, offering protection to the people under the stewardship of House Cousland. For over seven hundred years the people of the Teyrnir of Highever have looked to the stalwart lords of the Cousland Family for leadership and protection in times of war and strife, but on this day, the crowds of people from the nearby village of Highever and the surrounding areas came pouring in through the gates of Castle Cousland to attend Sunday Mass in the castle's Chantry, with the Cousland Family.

Not many noble family's would open their gates to so many peasants or deign to attend mass alongside them, but Teyrn Bryce Cousland, a just and righteous man, believed that the blessings of his family should be shared with the people they administer, and gladly allowed the people of they teyrnir to attend mass with his family.

The Chantry itself was rather impressive. Over three times larger than the Chantry in the nearby village with stained glass windows depicting martyrs of the faith and scenes from the Chant of Light, and the smell of holy incense burning in the air. The only real difference that that they eyes of an outsider would be able see from all the other Chantries in the world was at the great shrine where the sermons were held. The statue of Andraste was unlike that would be seen throughout the rest of Thedas. Andraste was depicted as a warrior woman wearing armor and carrying a sword and shield while wreathed in a halo, rather than a prophetess wearing robes and a crown while holding a bowl or scroll. It was the Fereldan rendition of the Lady Redeemer.

At the front of the mass sat the noble Cousland Family, they rulers of the Highever Teyrnir. As one of only two Teyrns in Ferelden, whose power and authority was second only to they king's, Teyrn Bryce Cousland was shown the utmost deference by the people. But it wasn't his status as their ruling noble that made the people respect him so much, it was his status as a war hero that made the people venerate their teyrn.

Bryce Cousland had fought in every major battle alongside King Maric himself, and distinguished himself on the frontlines of battle in the war for their country's independence from Orlais' tyranny. Whether the battle ended in victory or defeat, Bryce Cousland never lost his resolve to win back the freedom of his people. When the war was over, with every kind of distinction and medal pinned on his chest, Bryce was happily welcomed back to Highever and took his rightful place as teyrn, like all his forefathers before him.

Sitting next to Teyrn Bryce was his wife, Teyrna Eleanor Cousland. Age and motherhood had done very little to affect her beauty, though it wasn't just her looks and ladylike charm that made her a storied figure and an inspiration to other Fereldan women. Like her husband, Eleanor was also a veteran of the Ferelden War of Independence, but she had long given up her days as a battle maiden and hung up her bow. These days, Eleanor was quite content to live out her days as a devoted mother and wife, while helping oversee the day-to-day operations of the castle.

And finally, sitting beside the Teyrna, was Bryce's older son and heir apparent, Fergus Cousland. A young, handsome man of eighteen with all the features of his father, as well as his wit and charm. Despite his youth, Fergus already had a reputation of having the makings of being a capable administer and a man of the people. He was just as much at home in a gala of nobles or in a tavern of commoners. Already, Fergus was helping his father in his administrative duties over the teyrnir, and considering that was the entire northern half of the country, that was quite impressive for a man as young as he was.

There was a slight air of excitement amongst the crowd of people in the mass, most especially coming from the Cousland family. This was a good day for the ruling noble family, because Bryce and Eleanor's younger child would be officially anointed as an Andrastian of the Chantry. Fergus' younger brother, Aedan Cousland.

Everyone in the Chantry rose as Mother Mallol entered the hall and began the service. She was rather young to be a Chantry Mother, and was quite lovely to look at. It was almost a shame that she had taken vows of chastity. Her voice, melodious and sweet, carried throughout the large Chantry and everyone inside could hear her voice.

"Let us conclude today's sermon by remembering the words of our Lady Redeemer, and how she found the Maker in the cold, dark days of Ferelden's history. And how, in her own darkest hour, she found the Maker." The Chantry Mother spoke in a soft, caring voice. "How she reached out to the Maker with a voice so sweet and full of longing, that she convinced our holy creator to give us a second chance at redemption by his side. On this day, let us hear and remember the words of Blessed Andraste from the sweet voice of our newly anointed choirboy."

A young boy in ceremonial robes tentatively made his way to sermon's podium. He was handsome looking boy with dark hair and blue eyes, and his adorability peaked with that bashful look on his blushing face. He had never been before such a large crowd before. Lady Eleanor's face beamed with joy and pride to see the young boy make his way there, and her husband and son shared her feelings.

The lad swallowed hard, trying to bury his fear of public speaking. He opened his eyes and began to sing with a voice so sweet it would have made professional minstrels jealous. His young voice carried across the vast Chantry, sinking into the ears and hearts of all those present. Even torrents and downpour of the rain outside was drowned out by the melody of this child's voice as he sang the Chant of Andraste 1:1-1:14.

Eyes sorrow-blinded, in darkness unbroken
There 'pon the mountain, a voice answered my call.

"Heart that is broken, beats still unceasing,
An ocean of sorrow does nobody drown.
You have forgotten, spear-maid of Alamarr.
Within My creation, none are alone."

Lo! My eyes open'd, shining before me
Greater than mountains, towering mighty,
Hand all outstretch'd, stars glist'ning as jewels
From rings 'pon His fingers and crown 'pon His brow.

Sword-shattering fear filled me overflowing.
Grandeur of godhood no gaze should defile.
Trembling, I called out: "Forgive me, Most High,
I should sing Your Name to the heights of heaven,
But I know it not, and must be silent."

The Wellspring of All said, "None now remember.
Long have they turned to idols and tales
Away from My Light, in darkness unbroken
The last of My children, shrouded in night."

World fell away then, misty in mem'ry,
'Cross Veil and into the valley of dreams
A vision of all worlds, waking and slumb'ring,
Spirit and mortal to me appeared.
"Look to My work," said the Voice of Creation.
"See what My children in arrogance wrought."

There I saw the Black City, towers all stain'd,
Gates once bright golden forever shut.
Heav'n filled with silence, then did I know all
And cross'd my heart with unbearable shame.

Then did I see the world spread before me,
Sky-reaching mountains arrayed as a crown,
Kingdoms like jewels, glistering gemstones
Strung 'cross the earth as a necklace of pearl.
"All this is yours," spake the World-Maker.
"Join Me in heaven and sorrow no more."

"World-making Glory," I cried out in sorrow,
"How shall your children apology make?
We have forgotten, in ignorance stumbling,
Only a Light in this darken'd time breaks.
Call to Your children, teach us Your greatness.
What has been forgotten has not yet been lost."

Long was his silence, 'fore it was broken.
"For you, song-weaver, once more I will try.
To My children venture, carrying wisdom,
If they but listen, I shall return."

Never in all her life in service to the Chantry, even in the halls of the Grand Cathedral of Val Royreaux, had Mother Mallol ever heard anyone sing that verse so beautifully. How could a boy so young have such a masterful gift? It was so uplifting, it made some members of the congregation weep. There was no doubt in Mother Mallol's mind that if Aedan wanted to, he would have such a bright future in the Chantry. Truly, the Maker Himself must have blessed this boy.

Eleanor couldn't be prouder of her younger son. It was good to see Aedan expressing himself so well, letting the people know who he is. Whereas Fergus was an active young man of the people, always talking and laughing, going down to Highever village to talk with the people, and even having nights at the tavern to drink and celebrate with them, Aedan was much different. He was such a quiet boy, always off somewhere by himself or reading book in the library. Brother Aldous had often bragged that Aedan was most definitely a better student than Fergus was, always dedicating himself to whatever book he could get his hands on. Interestingly enough, though, Aedan always seemed to be reading books about the Chantry, and they were always books written by the scholar Brother Genitivi.

Perhaps that would be Aedan's calling in life. To become a brother of the Chantry. While Eleanor believed that serving the Chantry was a noble and holy calling, it wasn't something she was eager to see Aedan go towards. She wanted to see Aedan grow up, find a good woman and give her many grandchildren. If he were to join the Chantry, that would never happen.

The sermon came to an end, and everyone in attendance rose from their seat and applauded the young boy's beautiful rendition of the Chant. Despite how well he had sung, the young Aedan was still blushing so bashfully. Mother Mallol walked Aedan over to his family, and they were all proud of his performance.

"That was brilliant, little brother. I knew you could remember all those verses, just like I said you could." Fergus said admiringly.

"You were remarkable, son. Maker knows when I was your age, I never would have had the courage to sing before so many people without soiling myself." Bryce congratulated with great delight in his son.

Eleanor swooped her second child in her arms and kissed his cheek, her face glowing with pride. "You were wonderful! I knew you could do it. I am so proud of you, my darling Aedan."

"Your son has a magnificent gift for singing the Chant, Lord and Lady Cousland." The Chantry Mother praised. "Surely, it must be a gift from the Maker Himself."

"Your praise is humbling, Mother Mallol." The Teyrna said graciously. "Aedan, what do you say to her?"

Aedan looked up at the Chantry Mother and gave her a wide smile. "Maker's blessing to you, Mother Mallol."

"And to you, Aedan."

Fergus shuffled Aedan's hair. "Hey, Aedan, how about when you're done dressing up like a choirboy, you want to go sneak a peek at what Nan's got cooking in the kitchen?"

"Yeah!" Aedan's excitement was matched only by the growling in his stomach. Overcoming his dreaded fear of public speaking then singing the Chant of Andraste really worked up his appetite. Aedan took off his choir robe and the two brothers walked out together.

"Alright, and if she's making those amazing meat pies, we've got to sneak ourselves a couple before everyone else gets them. I'll get her attention, then you sneak under the tables and nab them while she's not looking."

"You do know you don't have to sneak Nan's cooking behind her back, right boys? You both know that she'd set some aside for the two sons of the Cousland Family." Bryce pointed out to both his sons.

"Especially since it's so unbecoming to go steal something from behind someone's back right after mass." Eleanor commented with disapproval.

"Yes, but getting something just because we're your sons is so boring, Father." Fergus answered. "When you actually put some effort into getting something you want, it makes everything all the more satisfying."

"Especially when it's something you can eat!" Aedan said hungrily.

Eleanor wanted to stop both her sons and give them a much-needed finger-wagging, but she was stopped by her husband.

"Now, dear, nothing wrong with the two of them getting into a little mischief. After all, Aedan can't be a choirboy all the time." Bryce chuckled. "And it's nice to see both our sons having quality time together."

"Really, you should be proud of both of them, Lady Eleanor." Mother Mallol added. "Fergus is a wonderful older brother, and Aedan is such a darling lad. Truly, even when I visited the halls of the Grand Cathedral, I rarely heard anyone sing the Chant of Light so beautifully. Perhaps Aedan will have a future with the Chantry?"

The slightest of cringes briefly showed itself on the teyrna's face when she heard that. "Forgive me, Mother Mallol, but I truly hope not. I want Aedan here, where he belongs, to find a life with his family, and maybe give me many grandchildren. If he was to go to the Chantry, Aedan wouldn't be able to have that."

"And besides, Mallol, just because Aedan's my second son that doesn't mean he will not inherit anything, or that he even won't become my heir." Bryce added, knowing full well that often times younger sons of nobles who were not in line to inherit anything would often be given over to the Chantry, but that wasn't the common practice in Ferelden. "After all, in this country, a younger child may inherit over their older sibling, if they prove more capable. Perhaps Aedan just may surprise us in the future. I know Fergus would love to do a thousand other things that take up politics."

"Well, whatever your son chooses, my lord and lady, I have no doubt his future will be bright one." Mother Mallol assured. "There's not a doubt in my mind that the Maker blessed that boy, and I am sure that he'll do many good deeds."

Later That Week...

Brother Aldous, scholar of Highever Castle and tutor to the Cousland Family, made his way to the study and was surprised to see the young Aedan Cousland already there. He was reading a book, and judging from the look on his face, he was deeply engaged in the book's contents. Aldous laughed inwardly to himself. It was gratifying to see one of his students actively studying on their own. He remembered Fergus was a more unruly student, who was more interested in telling jokes than reading books.

"Well, isn't this a welcome sight!" the old scholar laughed. "A student who doesn't wait to be told to study. I suppose it's a good thing most noble children aren't as diligent as you, otherwise I'd be out of a job. Tell me, dear boy, what book as you so thoroughly indulged?"

"'The Pursuit of Knowledge', by Brother Genitivi." Aedan answered, never taking his eyes of the book.

"Ah, and an excellent choice it is, too. There are very few scholars as dedicated to the truth and spreading of knowledge than Ferdinand Genitivi. Which part of the volume are reading that has you so interested, Aedan?"

Aedan closed the book with a dour look on his face. "The parts I really don't like."

"Oh? And which parts are those?"

"The Exalted March of the Dales." Aedan's answer sounded like it tasted like bitter medicine in his mouth. "The Chantry taking the elves' kingdom from them, turning them into paupers and vagrants; I can't help but see it as the same thing as what Orlais did to our people. The Chantry just used the Maker as their excuse."

This was not the kind of conversation Aldous was expecting to have with the young Aedan when he woke up this morning. "I can see why that would be upsetting to you, young man, but you have to understand that there were mitigating circumstances."

"And what 'mitigating circumstances' gave Orlais the right to conquer our country and treat our people lower than dirt?" Aedan countered. "The Chantry called it 'the Blessed Age', but, so far, I haven't found anything blessed about it. Seems to me like the Chantry has done a lot of things wrong."

As a scholar devoted to the teaching of wisdom and knowledge, Brother Aldous was devoted to the truth, and he despite his own pious faith in the Chantry, even he knew there were many times when the Chantry was wrong. Aldous didn't think it was possible, but this boy's intuitive nature just might make him question the Chantry to the point of heresy if this went any further. For the sake of his own peace of mind, Brother Aldous decided to change the subject. "Well, I can see you're already well ahead in your curriculum for Chantry history. Perhaps we should move on to the history of Ferelden?"

"Actually, Brother Aldous, there is something I've been wanting to learn more about." Aedan admitted.

Aldous quirked an eyebrow. Most of the time, he had to prod his students into learning a subject with a stick. How rare it was to have a pupil who actually wanted to learn something on his own. "Oh? And just what might that be, young man?"

"I...I really want to know more about my family's history. We're one of only two teyrnirs left in Ferelden, I know that much. But how did that happen? I want to know everything there is to know about my House."

Aldous couldn't help but smile. Aedan Cousland was indeed a rare pupil. Even if he lived into the next Age, he doubted he'd ever have another student like him. "Well, Aedan, the history of the Couslands and their importance to this country is long, indeed. So, if you want to know everything there is to know about your ancestors, I hope your ready to put in extra study time."

Aedan looked at his teacher with a smile. "I've got nothing better to do right now."

Brother Aldous grabbed all the necessary history books and tomes, stacked them on the table and eagerly sat down across from Aedan. For the first time in a long time, he was actually going to enjoy teaching one his students. Just before Aldous could get started on Aedan's history lesson, who should make a surprise visit but the Teyrn himself.

"What's this, Brother Aldous? It seems a tad extreme trying to cram so much information into my son's head." Teyrn Cousland said, observing the amount of books the scholar had piled on the table.

"It would seem that your son is very eager to learn the history of your House, Lord Cousland. And since I so rarely have a student this determined to actually learn something, I thought it best to take full advantage of the situation."

Bryce looked at Aedan, sharing Aldous' impressed feelings. "Is that right, Pup? You want to know everything there is to know about our family?" Aedan nodded his head with a smile on his face. "Well, as an authority on this matter, I think it's only right that I should be included in this lesson. Would you mind that, Brother Aldous?"

"My Lord Teyrn, it would be an honor." Aldous welcomed. This was already shaping up to be an excellent lesson indeed. Aldous was actually glad he woke up this morning. The Teryn sat himself beside his son, and Aldous began the lesson." "As I said, the history of the Cousland family is very old. Much older than even the Theirin Dynasty."

"We predate the kingdom?" Aedan asked wide-eyed.

"Oh, Maker, yes. Your ancestors actually first came to prominence during the Towers Age, some seven hundred years ago."

Bryce leaned forward with a taunting smile, like he was about to tell his son a scary story rather than a history lesson. "The story of our family begins with Flemeth!"

"The Witch of the Wilds?!" Aedan's eyes went wide with shock. Old Nan would often tell him scary stories about Flemeth; how she would place curses on people and steal children, and how she'd whisk Aedan out of his bed in the middle of the night if he didn't behave.

Aldous groaned wearily. There were times where it seemed that Bryce forgot his age and acted like an immature boy rather than the Teyrn of Highever, a trait his son Fergus shared. "Now, don't get you hopes up, young man. As to whether it was the actual witch of legend, or merely a woman with the same name, is a matter of certain debate, and she's not truly so integral to your family history. Originally, Highever was an outpost of Amaranthine, and under the stewardship of the Elstan Family, who were cousins of the Howes. Lord Conobar Elstan was murdered by his wife, whose name was Flemeth, and thus the family line ended. The region was in dire need of leadership, so Conobar's captain of the guard, Sarim Cousland, took the land and title. Highever soon declared its independence from Amaranthine, which started a war that lasted thirty years between the Howes and the Couslands. When the dust settled, Highever won its independence and took half of the north-western territory that once belonged to Amaranthine. After that, the Couslands held the minor title of Bann."

Aedan's eyes turned upwards to his father with confused curiosity. "We gained our lands by going to war with the Howes? But I thought we were friends with them."

"Unfortunately my son, we Fereldans are a quarrelsome people by nature, and far too often the people we fight the hardest aren't outsiders but our neighbors. But in this country, if there's something worth having, especially if it's freedom, you have to fight for it with everything you have. And no man has the right to take what you've earned. Remember that, Aedan." This was a lesson Bryce's father once imparted on him, and he once imparted it to Fergus, now it was Aedan's turn. "I wish it weren't so, but that wouldn't be the only time we'd fight with the Howes."

"Well, if that's how we gained our land and independence, how did we become Teyrns?" Aedan asked.

"Sadly, the records are somewhat vague on that point." Brother Aldous answered. He was slightly annoyed at the prospect of not being able to completely answer a question. "The Couslands became teyrns during the Black Age, during the lycanthrope plagues, when werewolves ravaged this country."

"Werewolves?!" First Flemeth, now this? Aedan never knew his family's history was so rich.

"That's right, Pup." Bryce laughed. "Men cursed into the form of beasts by wolves possessed by spirits of rage and hunger. They swept through this country like wildfire, spreading their plague to any soul unfortunate enough to survive them. The worst of it happened in the south, along the Brecellian Forest. It's said that the entire population of Gwaren was devoured in a single night, with not a trace of the people left when sun came up."

Aedan had a nervous look in his eyes. He felt like he was back in bed and his father was trying to tell him a scary story. "S-so how did our family survive? And what do werewolves have to do with our teyrnir?"

"Well, Pup, some sources say it was Bann Mather Cousland while others say it was Bann Haelia Cousland, but whichever the case, our ancestor gathered many of the local lords under our banner and led them to drive the werewolves out of their lands. They used hounds to detect who were werewolves hiding in plain sight, and to hunt them down. Every house that was saved would place a white wreath on their doors as a sign that their homes were free of the lycanthrope plague. After that, many of the lords pledged their fealty to our family, thus earning us the title of teyrn."

"We gained our title by defeating werewolves? That's amazing!" Aedan declared.

"Yes, I dare say it is. But we didn't win our title, like some cheap prize. We earned it, vast difference." Bryce clarified to Aedan. "In Ferelden, power is never inherited like some trinket. In this land, everyone, even nobles, especially nobles many times, must earn the loyalty of their people. Our family earned it by protecting our people, and placing them before ourselves. Our ancestor could have just easily locked themselves away and hid in the safety of these castle walls, and left everyone else in the region to fend for themselves. Instead, they risked death and worse against a terrible threat, all for the sake of our people. That is how we gained our title of Teyrn, and how we've managed to keep it all these centuries."

"I think I understand, Father. Is that how we've kept our teyrnir? I once heard that we're one of only two teyrns left in Ferelden. Did we earn the right to keep that title?"

"As a matter of fact, yes." Brother Aldous answered. "And as your father mentioned, your family earned the right to keep your title the Fereldan way: by fighting for it. This may come as a surprise to you, but, like Flemeth, King Calenhad was also born in Highever."

"The Silver Knight? You're joking!" Aedan couldn't believe his ears. It seemed like Highever was some kind of breeding ground for legends of Ferelden.

"No, I'm not. The third son of a poor merchant, and originally a humble kennel cleaner, Calenhad Theirin left his native home to become a squire for a cousin under a different Arl. Calenhad never set foot in Highever again until he himself was a Teyrn and came at the head of his own army. This was when he was uniting all the lords of Ferelden under his banner. And, believe it or not, he actually came here with the support of Elias Howe, the Arl of Amaranthine at the time. Your ancestor, Elethea Cousland, gathered the local banns and met him on the battlefield. Elethea and her men fought valiantly, but still lost to the Silver Knight. When the battle was over, Calenhad asked Elethea to swear fealty. She did, and thus was allowed to remain a teyrn over her people."

Aedan wasn't sure he understood that. "King Calenhad allowed us to keep our title, even after we opposed him in battle? Why?"

"King Calenhad wanted to unite Ferelden, not conquer it. He saw the potential of our people if we became a single nation, rather than quarreling warlords, and sought to bring that potential to fruition." Bryce answered. "And Calenhad saw the loyalty Elethea inspired and commanded in her men. He saw that our family had earned the authority we commanded, and thus earned his respect. That is why Highever is now only one of two Teyrnirs left in the kingdom. Highever in the North, Gwaren in the South, and the king commanding over both."

"And what about the war with Orlais? Did we manage to keep our teyrnir from Puppet King Meghren?" Aedan asked.

Bryce sighed deeply and thought back to those days with mixed emotions. Terror and glory, honor and rage, sorrow and rejoice. There were many feelings that came to Bryce whenever he thought back to those days. Bryce still remembered the days of the war like it happened yesterday; sometimes his old battle wounds would ache just thinking about it. Every days since then, Bryce still thanked the Maker that he was one of the lucky ones who survived.

Judging from the look on the Teyrn's face, Aldous could see that he would have to answer Aedan's question. "Well, young man, your great-grandfather outright refused to bend knee to the invading Orlesians, and fought to keep them out of your family's teyrnir, both on land and at sea. Sadly, not everyone in the teyrnir was as patriotic as he was, and he was betrayed from within by one of his own bannermen, Arl Tarleton Howe. With his support, the Orlesians were able to gain a foothold in the North, and your family was forced to flee their ancestral home."

"Our family had to flee Highever?" Aedan couldn't believe. For there to be no Couslands in Castle Highever was as unthinkable to him as there being no sun in the sky."Why would the Howes betray our country?"

"Because Tarleton Howe was one of those kind of men who thought it was his right as a noble to take whatever he wanted, that his nobility was his entitlement." Bryce answered. "There are far too many nobles in the world think it's their right to gain more power and prestige, no matter who they have to step on to get it, but that isn't the way. In Ferelden, the duty of the nobility is to serve our people, not make them serve us. No matter the cost or what we might lose, Couslands always serve our country. Do you understand, Aedan?"

Yes, Father." Aedan acknowledged. "What happened next?"

"Thankfully, there were still many in the teyrnir who remained loyal to your family, and to the Kingdom of Ferelden." Brother Aldous continued. "Your grandfather openly supported the rightful Queen Moira Theirin and her rebellion against the false king that the Orlesians placed to rule over us. But before Highever could fully join in the fight, your grandfather had to focus his forces against Amaranthine."

Aedan couldn't believe it. "So we had to fight against the Howes, again?"

Bryce placed his hand on his son's shoulder. "Like I said, Pup, far too often we Fereldans end up fighting our neighbors. Before Queen Moira, the Theirin Dynasty had declined from the glory of King Calenhad, and produced several weak and terrible kings that hurdled us back into the days of feuding arls and teyrns. Orlais was quick to take advantage of our disunity and invaded us, and many lords sided with them for some kind of order to be re-established, or to gain an advantage over their neighbors."

"Quite right." Aldous added. "At the time, Amaranthine was still led by Arl Tarleton Howe, who had long thrown his lot in with Orlais. Though nearly ninety, the man was still as sharp and as bitter as cheap ale. Your grandfather had to wage several battles against him to retake Harper's Ford, an essential port town. In the end, Highever won against Amaranthine yet again, Harper's Ford was retaken, and Tarleton Howe was summarily hanged."

"But Father and Arl Howe are old friends, aren't they?"

"Very old friends, Pup." Bryce answered proudly. "Thankfully, Rendon, and his uncle Byron, saw how wrong Rendon's father was, and quickly joined the Rebellion. We were only a few years older than you when we went off to join the Rebel Queen's army, both of bright-eyed and wet-nosed recruits with thoughts of glory and honor on our minds. The reality of war was much different. The Battle of White River was a complete disaster, the worst defeat for the rebellion in the entire war with only fifty survivors. Rendon was so badly injured, Leonas Bryland and I had to carry him off the battlefield, and we barely escaped with our lives. Howe had to spend there rest of the war recovering from his wounds."

"So, he wasn't with you when you drove out the Orlesians?"

"Sadly, no. It was a shame, really. I would have liked to have had my friend at my side at the Battle of River Dane, but I think Rendon came out better for it. After all the woman who tended his wounds was his future wife, Bryland's sister, Elaine." A wide smile spread across Bryce's face as he remembered some of the best things that the war brought him. "You know, son, war sometimes has the strangest way of bringing people together. If it weren't for the war, and the Orlesians stubborn resolve to try and take our nation from us, I never would have met your mother."

"Really?"

"Oh, Maker, yes." Bryce laughed. "You see, after King Maric had taken back Denerim and killed the Puppet King Meghren in a duel, he knew that the Orlesians would still try to take Ferelden from us, but the only way they could do that now was by sea. So, myself, Leonas Bryland and a few others volunteered to go aid in the effort of naval warfare. In fact, your grandfather, Bann Fearchar Mac Eanraig, known as the Giant of the Storm Coast, had been raiding Orlesian ships his whole life to the point where they put a king's ransom on his head. But there was one raider on the sea that was far more feared than even the Storm Giant himself, and was the bane of all Orlesian galleons."

"Who? Who?!" Aedan asked earnestly, desperate to know who could strike such fear into the Orlesians.

"Eleanor Mac Eanraig, the Storm Giant's daughter." Bryce answered. He was looking off into the distance as though he were remembering a pleasant dream or fond memory.

Aedan couldn't believe his ears. "Mother?!"

"Yes, indeed. Her skill as a raider on the sea was so fearsome, the Orlesians called her the Seawolf. She sunk her first Orlesian warship when she was only fifteen, and soon became famous for sinking or capturing and any Imperial vessel that came into our waters. Whenever Orlesians saw her flagship, the Mistral, sailing towards them with the flag of battle raised, most of them would surrender rather than face the ship's fierce captain."

"Did you know who Mother was when you met her?" Aedan asked.

Aedan's innocent question made Bryce chortle in his throat. "Actually, Pup, I had no idea who she was when we first met at that seedy tavern on the Storm Coast." A broad smile spread across his face when he recalled the day he met the woman who would eventually become his wife. He leaned down and whispered into his son's ear, "To tell you the truth, I actually mistook her for a tavern waitress."

"What? Now way!"

"Yes! Our first meeting was such a catastrophic debacle, and led to such a massive bar-brawl, that the minstrels even wrote a song about it called 'The Soldier & The Seawolf'." Bryce paused a moment and thought back to that day where he met the woman who would become his future wife. "At the time, I never would have imagined the so-called Seawolf and I would ever become friends, let alone husband and wife. She was so stubborn and headstrong, with a vicious temper, and without a doubt the most fearsome woman I had ever seen."

"Yeah, and she probably had this really scary look on her face when someone made her mad, right?" Aedan accurately guessed.

"Oh, Maker, did she ever. I used to think she sank Orlesian war galleons just by glaring at them. How did you know?"

Aedan pointed over to the doorway behind his father. "Because that's the same look she's giving you right now."

Bryce cringed when he felt the unmistakable intensity of his wife's glare burning through the back of his head. If there had been an Orlesian war galleon nearby, it would have been blown to splinters.

The instant Brother Aldous saw Lady Cousland standing there with her arms crossed and that look on her face, he knew it was time to end his lesson. "Oh, dear me, would you look at the time. I do believe there are some papers I need to file. We'll end our lesson for today."

Eleanor nodded in agreement. "Yes, that sounds like a good idea, Brother Aldous. You go file those papers. And just where do you think you two are going?" Both father and son tried to slink out of the room, but Eleanor wasn't letting them off the hook that easy. "It sounds to me like you're giving such a detailed history lesson to our son, Bryce. Please, continue."

"Er...well, I...uh."

"Hmph. Maybe I should continue this lesson." Eleanor sat herself in Aldous' vacated seat and motioned Aedan to get back in his. "As you can see, Aedan, you father is quite good at making such an ass of himself, and when we first met, that's exactly what I thought he was: an ass. I thought there was no way this stuck-up lordling, who'd probably never even seen a ship, could possibly be a decorated war veteran, let alone the scion of House Cousland, and his manners left much to be desired." Aedan wasn't sure if this was still a history lesson or if his mother was just taking a moment to verbally flay his father. "But then I actually saw him in battle, and it turns out we made a pretty good team, so we decided to continue campaigning against the Orlesians together. Then came the Battle of Denerim Harbor."

Bryce placed his hand on his son's shoulder in excitement. "Oh, Pup, you had to be there to believe it! The Orlesians were so sick of their losses, they sent everything they had left in their fleet to try and retake the capital. All we had was your mother's ship, the Mistral, and only a dozen other frigates against the might of Orlais' naval power, outnumbered three to one."

"What did you and Mother do?" Aedan hung onto his father's words with deep anticipation.

"We used our country's landscape to a weapon." Eleanor smiled proudly as she remembered the single greatest victory in her time as a battle maiden. "The Orlesian war galleons were very large, and only so many of them could try to get into Denerim's harbor without crashing into each other. My father and I used our ships size and speed to our advantage by slipping between the enemy ships and hitting them with burning tar. The ships' captains tried to back out of the harbor and let the other ships come in, but they were in such a panic from their ships being on fire, they didn't really pay attention to what was around them and started crashing into each other."

"The crews of the other ships were so distracted at watchining the Seawolf burning their compatriots, they didn't see me and the sloops I was leading sail behind them." Bryce said, adding his part of the battle. "It was me, Leonas Bryland, Arl Gallagher Wulf, and Bann Teagan Guerrin, all of us with our own ships, and we sprung a surprise attack so quickly the Orlesians never knew what hit them. In just an hour, your mother and I must've sunk over a dozen ships between us. Rather than risk the total annihilation of what was left of Orlais' fleet, the commanding admiral called a retreat, and left our country's waters. And with that victory, we effectively broke Orlais' resolve to ever try and take our nation away from us."

"Wow." Aedan was looking up at both of his parents with wide-eyed wonder. Bryce and Eleanor couldn't help but smile proudly at their son.

"Wow, indeed, Aedan. It was during that battle, I truly saw how dashing your father could be, at times." Eleanor said with a smile.

"So, what happened after that?"

"Well, sadly, not long after that victory, I received word that my father had died of an illness, and as his only son, it was my duty to return his body to Highever." Bryce answered with a note of melancholy in his voice. "It was terrible blow to me. I hadn't seen my father in years, and now the only reunion I would have with him would be his funeral. And I had to be separated from Eleanor."

Aedan felt his father's sorrow in his words. There was much here in this castle that had once belonged to his grandfather, including this library they were in. Aedan wished he could've met the man.

"When I arrived in Highever, many of the local freeholders, banns and arls were shocked to see me; I was the first Cousland to set foot in our ancestral home in almost seventy years, and they quickly swore fealty to our family again. Many freeholders from Amaranthine even swore their allegiance to our family, like Lord Eddlebreck. Now, Pup, why do you think that was?"

"Because you had proven yourself during the war, and earned the loyalty of the people you led?"

"Exactly. And a Fereldan lord must always earn the loyalty of our people." Bryce emphasized. "It took about four months for me to officially assume our ancestral title as Teyrn of Highever, and during that time, I never failed to write a letter to your mother. Sometimes, I even wrote two."

"And I never failed to write back." Eleanor smiled, taking her husband's hand. "After months of only corresponding through letters, we finally met again at King Maric's coronation."

There were practically stars in Aedan's eyes. "You saw King Maric receive his crown!?"

"Indeed we did, Pup. That was the greatest day of celebration in living memory, and one of the best days of my life." Bryce looked at Eleanor with a smile that made her blush. "That was the day I got on one knee and asked the most amazing woman in court to be my wife. I even sung the lyrics from that song, 'The Soldier & The Seawolf' to show her how serious I was."

Eleanor laughed fondly. "And I only said yes to make you stop singing and making an ass of yourself in front of our newly crowned king."

Aedan groaned uncomfortably. "Ugh. I wanted to know our family's history. Not listen to you recite your love-life, Father."

Bryce and his wife laughed, and decided to spare their son any embarassment. "Well, in that case, Aedan, what lessons have you learned from the history and deeds of House Cousland?"

Aedan sat in silence for a moment, pondering everything his father and Brother Aldous had imparted to him about his ancient and storied family. "Our family serves our country and our people, never ourselves first. In Ferelden, leaders must have the respect of their people, or they have nothing. And Couslands must always carry out their duty, no matter what."

"Well said, my son." Bryce said proudly. "Now, here is a lesson my father taught me, one that I taught to Fergus, and now I think you're ready to hear it to. A true leader never seeks to be right, seeks to do right. Remember this always, Pup. One day, you might be called to lead men."

"I will, Father." Aedan promised.

One Month Later In Denerim….

Denerim, the beating heart of Ferelden. Whomever controlled the largest city in the nation would have the wealth and power to defy or support all other great lords. Home of both nobility and the common people, this sprawling city has much to offer anyone looking for anything, with its market place, magic shops, armorers and bordellos. As grand as it is archaic, lively and unpredictable, one is just as likely to find opportunity here or their own death. Denerim is home to knights, nobles, scoundrels and thieves. Walk down the right road or alleyway in Denerim, and you can find anything.

Built by the Imperium at the height of its power and enduring since its fall, Denerim was once the seat of Teryns. Calenhad the Silver Knight made it the royal seat after he defeated Teyrn Simeon and made it the national capital of the new kingdom. Constructed near the sea, with many structures built on the the various hills and crags that dot the landscape surrounded it, with homes and roads built in between them with high walls around all of it to keep invaders out and to lay claim to all of the inhabitants within.

The central, strongest and oldest architecture is Fort Drakon, a mighty and nigh impregnable fortress that sits atop the highest hill in the capital, as if watching all of Ferelden. This is the center of Ferelden's military, where the city guard and royal army is trained and housed. Not far from Fort Drakon is the Royal Palace, where generations of the Theirin Dynasty have lived and governed for almost 300 years. One's social standing in Denerim was reflected in how close one lived to Fort Drakon, the aristocracy and the wealthy living in the Palace District, with noble estates, cobbled roads, small but beautiful Chantries and privates manses to wealthy merchants. In fact, almost every noble, wealthy enough to do so, owns an estate in the capital for when the Landsmeet calls.

For those who do not live on the high hills, but on the flat ground and next to the docks, the capital is quite different. Further down from the Palace District is the Market District where trade and activity is constantly bustling. Buildings are arranged according to their functions. Inns and taverns are found near the city's gates and docks, welcoming incoming travelers. Trade markets are surrounded by shops warehouses and guild-halls and in between them all, houses that are practically stacked on top of each other. The most popular business in the city center are smiths, the gambling halls and the brothels. While the city guard is on constant watch within the Market District and even more so in the wealthier places, Denerim residents are largely expected to looks after themselves, more often than not, taking justice into their own hands, with the guard only looking into the most serious of crimes.

Further down from there and next to docks are the poorer districts. Built in a practically labyrinthine manner, it is very easy to get lost, robbed and even murdered in these back alleys. In between the poor districts and walled off from the rest of the city is the Denerim Alienage, were the city's elven populace lives, often in hardship and poverty. Yet here, even an elf gets what he works for. The elves of the Denerim Alienage are actually quite famous for their strong sense of community and family values.

To the rest of the world, however, Denerim's most important feature is as a holy site because it was the birth place of Andraste. In the course of a thousand years, tens of thousands of faithful throughout all of the Thedas made pilgrimages to the Palace District to pray at their Lady Redeemer's Birth Rock, the giant stone that Andraste herself was born under. Foreigners were often confounded to find that such a holy site was not housed in grand temple, surrounded by bells and gilded statues with choirs singing to the heavens, but in a modest Chantry, where Andraste's Birth Rock is adorned with a simple message of peace and surrounded by quiet prayers of the faithful. The statues and images of Andraste in Ferelden are also strange to foreigners. Instead of portraying the Bride of the Maker as a pure maiden supplicating with a bowl or preaching with a scroll, the Fereldan people, from whom Andraste came from, represented their Lady Redeemer as they remembered her: a warrior in armor, with a sword in one hand and a shield in the other. They remembered that Andraste didn't bring the Tevinter Imperium to its knees by singing them songs of peace, but by picking up a weapon and leading an army into battle. To most Fereldans, the gilded statues that the Orlesian Empire commissions to Andraste are garish, wasteful and even blasphemous.

Teryn Bryce Cousland walked the grand halls of the Royal Palace of Denerim, ready to perform his duty as Teyrn of Highever at the Landsmeet. Bryce always made it a point to stop and appreciate this city whenever he visited it because he still remembered the day when the rebel army liberated their people's capital city from the Orlesians, when King Maric killed the puppet king, Meghren, in single combat. It was one of the greatest days in Bryce's life, to see this ancient city returned to their people.

For centuries, all the nobles of Ferelden gathered in the capital city to attend the Landsmeet in order to determine what was best for their country and to settle new and old problems; be that establishing some new law or even choosing a new king. But when the Orlesians occupied this kingdom, they forbade the Landsmeet, and refused to allow the Fereldan people the right to determine their own fate. By Orlesian custom, their fate is decided by whatever the highest ranking nobles says.

Being a quarrelsome people by nature, and often having to share the same space as a rival neighbor, it was actually quite common in the halls of the Landsmeet for arguments to descend into outright brawls and duels. That's why many attending nobles and freeholders often came armed and in full armor. Bryce, on the other hand, had long since hung up his armor and sword now that they were no longer at war. But it wasn't the fact that he saw so many of his fellow nobles armed like they were going to a battlefield that had Bryce worried at the moment. It was the fact that Bryce had brought his entire family with him to Denerim, and this would Aedan's first time in their nation's capital.

Aedan had never set foot outside Highever until now. Lately, ever since that lesson about the history of their family, Aedan had growing restless, and was no longer content with reading books about their people's history or tomes about old battles and wars. Now the boy wanted to get out and actually see their country and his father's role as Teyrn.

While Bryce was proud to see Aedan's keen interest in knowing the true duties of a Fereldan noble, he was worried about the boy's behavior. Aedan was naturally stubborn and confrontational, as evidenced by the many hours of heated lectures he would get into with his tutor, Brother Aldous, or with Mother Mallol. Bryce was worried that Aedan would forget to mind his manners while in this city.

"Look over there, Aedan. You see that?" Fergus pointed over to the gates at the Royal Palace's entryway. "That's where King Maric put the puppet king Meghren's head on a spike."

"Oooh!" Aedan said with more delight than a ten-year old boy should.

"Fergus! You shouldn't be telling your younger brother such awful things." Eleanor scolded.

"What? Father showed me where Meghren's head was spiked when I first came to the city. He even showed me the ditch where they threw his body."

Eleanor shot her husband a chastising glare. "Bryce!"

"My love, if Aedan and Fergus are going to be spending more time here at the Landsmeet, they're going to need to know that governance and authority does have a gruesome side. And very few are more gruesome than a lord who abuses his power, and the consequences that come with it." Bryce said calmly.

"But to show them such things at such a young age..."

"Eleanor, you and I were introduced to such things around their age, and very soon afterward we were both called off to war. Who's to say our sons may not be called to such a thing? It's best that they're both prepared for if that time ever comes."

Eleanor didn't like it, but what her husband said did make sense. It felt like a life time since the war and she had done much to put it behind her, but it was still fresh in the memory of many of their people. As the wife of a teyrn, Eleanor knew that the outbreak of war was always a possibility and that her sons needed to be ready. But as a mother, she wanted to keep her children as far away from any danger as possible.

"I don't understand why you're so against the idea of my brother and I knowing anything about war, Mother. I personally want to go to battle and fight the enemies of our country." Aedan stated nonchalantly.

Eleanor placed her hand on Aedan's shoulder and turned him to face her. The grim look on her face spoke volumes to her son. "Now, you listen well, young man. You may think war is something glorious, something to wish for because of those all those books you've been reading, but let me make something very clear: it's not. Your father and I both fought in the war, saw the pain and anguish it causes, heard the screams of the dying and of the people who watched their loved ones die. Every day I pray that neither you or your brother ever have to live through what your father and I did."

"Your mother's right, Pup." Bryce stated, kneeling down to meet his son's gaze. "Do you remember my friend, Arl Rendon Howe? He was so gravely injured at the Battle of White River, he was at death's door for nearly a month and was too injured to rejoin the army, and he was one of the lucky ones. Along with Rendon Howe, Leonas Bryland and myself, only fifty men survived that battle, and many more still died trying to free our homeland. If I ever do anything right as a teyrn and a father, neither you or Fergus will ever have to set foot on a battlefield. That's why I'm attending the Landsmeet today."

Aedan looked back towards his father, trying to understand the lesson both his parents were trying to teach him. "But Father, despite all that pain and horror, you still had the conviction to keep fighting until our country was freed. How can you ask me to not have the same conviction?"

"Some day, when you're older and have children of your own, you'll understand, Pup."

Aedan wasn't sure could understand what his father was saying. After all, both his father and grandfather went off to war together for their country, and as the second son, Aedan was not in line to inherit his father's title as Teyrn; that belonged to Fergus. Why would they be so against Aedan having a career in the military?

As the Cousland family made their way to the hallway entrance to the Landsmeet, they were greeted by a young boy around Aedan's age with red hair and brown eyes. This was young Roderick Gilmore, Teyrn Cousland's squire.

"Good morning, Lord and Lady Teryn!" The young boy respectfully.

"Ah, Roderick, so good to see you, lad. Is you father here?" Teyrn Bryce asked his squire.

The young squire saluted the Teyrn as though he were already a knight in his service. "Yes. He and the other lords and freeholders are waiting for you and Teyrn Loghain so that the Landsmeet can being."

Aedan quickly sprang to his father's side the instant he heard that name. "Teyrn Loghain? He's coming here!? And King Maric, will he be here to? Will we be able to meet them?!" Aedan was almost shaking with excitement at the thought of meeting Fereldan's two living legends.

"Oh, they most certainly will be, Pup. But this is the Landsmeet, not a garden party, and both the Teyrn and the King are very busy men." Bryce told his son gently, then he saw the look of disappointment on Aedan's face. "Listen, Pup, if I can, I'll most certainly see if I can get King Maric and Teyrn Loghain to spare a moment to greet my family. Would you like that?"

"Yes, Father!"

"Alright. But I expect you to be on your best behavior while we're here. After all, this is Denerim, the heart of Ferelden, and we're guests in another lord's Arling. We Couslands must always present ourselves accordingly to our neighbors. Isn't that right, Pup?"

Aedan nodded his head eagerly.

"Ah, Bryce! Good to see you here." Another voice called out to the Teyrn. A lean man the same age as Bryce with a distinct sniped nose and greying brown hair. His brown eyes were already lining with crow's feet, but still remained as sharp as ever. He wore very rich finery of white and yellow, his family colors, and stitched to his doublet with the crest of a striding bear, the heraldry of the Howe Family of Amaranthine.

Bryce turned around and was very happy to see the face of his old friend, Arl Howe. "Rendon! Glad you're here, old friend. How are things going in Amaranthine?"

"Smoothly. I dare say Amaranthine has become quite prosperous in the last few years." the Arl smiled.

"Really? Well, perhaps we should visit sometime. Maker knows it's been too long since I've seen your wife, Elaine."

"Oh, no. Really, you shouldn't trouble yourself, my lord. Amaranthine is only doing so well because I'm kept so busy managing, I was barely able to make it here to the Landsmeet." Arl Howe insisted earnestly. "And Elaine's been rather...under the weather, I'm afraid. She's not receiving any visitors."

"Oh, the poor dear." Eleanor said with genuine sympathy. "Perhaps I should write to her and see how she's doing? It's been far too long since we've spoken."

"I'm certain my wife would appreciate that, Lady Eleanor." Arl Howe looked to the Lady Teyrn with respect, and noticed her two young sons standing behind her. "I didn't realize you'd brought your family, Bryce. Had I'd known, I might've done the same so that our families can get to know one another. Perhaps I can bring them to visit you at Highever sometime? I'm sure my daughter Delilah would appreciate it."

"Didn't you just say that you're too busy to even receive guests of your own?" Aedan asked curiously.

The Arl laughed embarrassed as though Aedan had just made an awkward joke. "Quite the sharp listener, aren't you, young man? I might be too busy to receive guests, but if I can find the time to attend the Landsmeet, surely I can find the time to visit my old friend and his family."

"Aedan! You know better than to contradict your elders." Eleanor scolded with her arms crossed. "Apologize to Rendon."

Aedan bowed his humbly to his father's friend. "I'm sorry, Arl Howe."

"It's quite alright, Your Ladyship." Arl Howe assured. "Your younger son pays a great attention to detail for such a young boy. I shall have to remember that in the future."

"We'll always be happy to have you at Highever Castle, Rendon." Bryce said welcomingly. "But for now, I think the two of us should attend the Landsmeet. After all, we can't keep the other arl's and banns waiting on the two most important lords in the North."

"Yes, indeed." Arl Howe nodded. Aedan couldn't help but notice that the arl spoke as though there was a painful thorn in his side.

"See you later, little brother. Try not to get in any trouble. At least, not without me." Fergus waved off to his younger brother.

"Can I come with you, Father?" Aedan pleaded. "It's not fair that Fergus gets to go."

Bryce smiled but shook his head to Aedan's request. "I'm afraid not, Pup. Fergus is older, and I expect more from him. The Landsmeet is not a place for children, and the lords and freeholders here expect my full attention. I can't give them that if I have to watch you as well."

"Yes, Father." Aedan conceded, his head hanging low.

"Cheer up, brother." said Fergus. "Tell you what, if I see King Maric or Teyrn Loghain, I'll get them to autograph something for you."

Aedan's eyes quickly lit up. "Really!?"

"It's a promise. Now, go try to enjoy yourself. After all, this is our national capital."

As Fergus walked to the hall of the Landsmeet, Bryce turned to Roderick Gilmore. "Roderick, I have a special task for you as my squire. While we're here in the capital, I want you to make sure Aedan stays out of trouble. After all, you two may be serving together as knights one day."

"Yes, milord!" Roderick saluted as dutifully as any knight.

~XoXoXo~

Eleanor took Aedan and Roderick to the solar of the Denerim Palace, where the other noble wives had gathered and brought their children. Eleanor knew a great deal of this women from the war with Orlais. Back then most of them were stitching their men back up or fighting alongside them against the chevaliers. Now, here they all were, bragging about their children, complaining about their men, and spreading the latest gossip amongst themselves like common fishwives. Eleanor never could have imagined anything like this back in the war.

"Eleanor! Oh, dear, I'm so glad you were able to come." Eleanor's dear friend Lady Landra greeted with a hug.

"Landra, how wonderful to see you again." Eleanor said, hugging her back. "Did you bring Dairren with you?"

"Oh, yes. He's over there playing chess with Bann Eremon's daughter, Alfstanna. I think this is the third game in a row that he's lost, and he won't stop playing until he wins." Lady Landra turned her attention to the two boys standing next to her. "And who are these two strapping young men?"

"This is Roderick Gilmore, my husband's squire."

"A pleasure, Your Ladyship." Roderick greeted with utmost respect.

"And this is my younger son, Aedan."

Eleanor's younger son gave a curt bow to the noblewoman.

"Oh, such a gentleman! And so handsome, too." Lady Landra gushed and gave into the urge to pinch the lad's cheek.

"Stop it, Landra. You'll turn the boy crimson." Eleanor laughed teasingly.

It was true. Aedan was blushing several shades of red from Lady Landra's compliment. Hearing his mother tell him that was one thing, but hearing from someone else was another matter entirely.

All of a sudden there was a wave of excited chatter that erupted from the gathering of noblewomen. They ceased their gossiping and bragging and quickly made their way to the solar entryway. In came two youths, a young man and woman. They both had magnificent blonde hair, the boys was thick and bright, while the lass' was fair and luminous like spun gold. The lass was dressed in a blue satin gown that matched her eyes beautifully, while the young boy wore a yellow doublet that complimented his hair. This was Cailan Theirin, heir to the throne of Ferelden, and Anora Mac Tir, daughter of the Hero of River Dane. Anora had all the beauty and grace that made her the envy of women and object of desire for men. Cailan was handsome with a roguish sense of charm that could make any woman blush, and made him easy to become friends with.

"Oh, Maker's blessing! The prince is so handsome."

"I'll wager he'll become as strong as his father."

"I hear that Anora has already started taking a part in governing her father's teyrnir."

"Oh, I'm sure she's a formidiable woman."

"Aw, don't they make just the most darling couple?"

The young prince obviously enjoyed the adulation he was receiving, while Anora received their compliments with quiet grace. A beaming smile swept across Anora's face when she saw Eleanor among the gathered noblewomen.

"Teyrna Cousland! Oh, I'm so glad you were able to come." Anora greeted with a polite curtsy.

"Anora, how wonderful to see you again, dear girl." Eleanor greeted with affectionate familiarity. "Please, allow me to introduce my son, Aedan."

"You know Anora Mac Tir, Mother?" Aedan asked, deeply astounded.

"You're too young to remember, Aedan, but I was once Anora's tutor. I used to come to Denerim all the time to teach her while she was in the city."

"Your lessons were always my favorite part of my visits here." Anora said endearingly. "When I heard that you were coming here with your husband, I just had to see you again before I attended the Landsmeet. The city is just not the same without you. No doubt Cailan and I will be seeing your husband and older son at the Landsmeet today."

"It's an honor to meet you, Lady Mac Tir." Aedan addressed with a bow showing the respect due the daughter of his country's greatest hero.

"The honor is all mine, Lord Cousland." Anora curtsied in turn with a graceful smile.

"You will be taking part in the Landsmeet, Anora?" Eleanor asked. "That's very impressive for a woman your age. But then, you did have a good teacher."

Before Anora could continue her conversation with the teyrna, suddenly, without warning, Cailan came up to them.

"Hello, ladies! Beautiful day, isn't it?" the Crown Prince greeted rather boisterously. "Ah, Lady Cousland! How lovely it is to see you in the capital today."

"A pleasure to see you again, Prince Cailan." Eleanor greeted with a curtsy, while Aedan's mouth hung wide open.

"And this must be Fergus' younger brother. Aedan, right? Aw, Fergus has told me a lot about you." Cailan tossled Aedan's hair with the same familiarity as his brother.

Aedan's jaw almost fell off his face "You know my brother?"

"Oh, Fergus and I used to used to get into all manners of mischief together when we were children. No doubt he doesn't talk much about it because he doesn't want your mother to scold him."

"It's true." Eleanor couldn't help but laugh at the prince's words.

"Now, I know if you're anything like Fergus, you must be bored to tears being cooped up here in the solar. How would you like to go see some of the fun haunts your brother and I used to visit at your age?"

"Really?!" Aedan practically had stars sparkingling in his eyes.

While Aedan was wide-eyed, Anora was rolling hers. She tapped Cailan on the shoulder and batted her blue eyes at him. "Um, Cailain? I'm feeling rather parched. Would you be so as to get me a refreshment? Please?" Anora made sure to end her request by batting her eyes at him.

"Whatever my lady desires!" Cailan said enthusiastically, and instantly forgot his interest in Aedan to fullfil Anora's request, much to Aedan's disappointment.

"You still have Cailan wrapped around your little finger, I see." Eleanor observed with a bemused smile.

Anora laughed, sharing Eleanor's amusement. "Never let a man think he can forget his responsibilities. Another lesson you taught me. Cailan will use any excuse to not attend the Landsmeet if he has to. I'll be sure to remind him what his duties are. Please, enjoy your stay, Eleanor."

Eleanor couldn't help but smile proudly. Anora's own mother, Teyrna Celia Mac Tir, asked that Eleanor be a tutor to Anora when she spent those long sojourns with her father in Denerim. With Celia so busy managing the city of Gwaren, and since Eleanor didn't grow up with a mother, how could she refuse? Anora was like the daughter Eleanor wished she had.

~XoXoXo~

And so the merry gathering of Ferelden's noblewomen and the children carried on. The women gossiping amongst each other bragging about their kids, while the children made boastful claims amongst each other about whose father was the more powerful lord, and which of them would rise to become the next legend of Ferelden. Aedan quickly found himself bored almost to death. He also found himself immediately disappointed with Prince Cailan. His mother was right; Anora had the prince completely wrapped around her little finger and got him to do what she wanted simply by batting her eyelashes at him. Aedan couldn't believe that the heir to the throne was such a sucker.

"Ugh! I'm so bored!" Aedan groaned loudly, far enough away from his mother that she couldn't hear him complain. "When I heard we were going to the capital, I didn't think we'd be stuck in a glorified nursery."

"From what my father says, this is what politics is mostly like. A bunch of nobles gathering, talking meaningless nonsense, and pretending like something's been accomplished." Roderick replied to his friend. "It's more exciting here than anything going on at my family's freehold."

Aedan groaned loudly again, but this time, he wasn't content to just simply complain. "Well, that's it, I'm bored, and if this is what politics is like, I want nothing to do it with it. This is my first time out of Highever, and I don't feel like wasting the day doing nothing. I'm going to follow my brother's advice, and enjoy our nation's capital. I'm going for a walk!"

"Wait, what? N-no, you can't do that, Aedan!" Roderick sputtered.

"I'm the son of the Teyrn of Highever, I can do whatever I want." Aedan said confidently.

Roderick stood in front of Aedan to block his path. "No, no, you can't! We're suppose to stay right here with everyone else."

"Oh, come on, Roderick! I thought you wanted to be a knight. And from all the books I've read, no great knight ever got that way by staying in the same place and doing the exact same thing as everyone else. Don't you want to be a great knight for my family one day? Go on great adventures like the heroes before us?"

Roderick paused for a moment. "Yes. I want that more than anything."

"Well, let's go find us some adventure! Besides, my father told you to keep me out of trouble. How are you going to do that if you're still here, and I sneak out there by myself?"

Roderick stood for a moment, his sense of adventure battling his conscience. After a very brief battle, his conscience lost. "Well, you do have a point, Aedan. I suppose we can go out for a little while, before we're missed. And I don't think the Landsmeet is going to end any time soon."

"Now, that's the spirit! One that suits a knight of Highever!" Aedan laughed

Roderick couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. Maybe this would be like his first quest as a knight. "But before we go, how are we going to get your mother to not notice us?"

Aedan thought for a second, and then it came to him. "Wait here. I've got just the thing." Aedan went over to his mother, remembering a certain conversation his father had with him when Aedan accidentally found certain books in the castle library that his mother immediately banned. "Um, Mother?"

"Yes, dear, what is it?" Eleanor asked, ending her conversation with Lady Landra.

"Um, I was playing a game of chess with Alfstanna and she asked me a question, but I don't know how to answer it."

"Oh? And what question can't my smart lad answer?"

Aedan shurgged with a confounded look on his face. "Alfstanna says she wants to know where babies come from. What do I tell her?"

Eleanor and Landra blanched as white as fresh bed sheets. After a brief moment, they realized their mouths were hanging open.

"Oh. Oh, dear. Eleanor, what...? What do you...?" Landra couldn't even get herself to finish a sentence.

"W-well, she is a young lady, after all. I...I suppose it's only natural that she'd be curious." Eleanor stopped to think, trying to find and answer she could give before she remembered her son was standing right there. "Um, Aedan? Why don't you and Roderick go over there with the other boys, and let me answer that question for her. I think she and I are going to have a rather long discussion. Maker, how am I going to explain this?"

Aedan quickly did what his mother told him and walked to the other side of the Solar. As soon as he and Roderick saw Teyrna Cousland take young Alfstanna to the side to have a private "conversation" with her, the two young boys made their way to the door without any problem at all.

~XoXoXo~

As soon as the two of them were able to sneak out of the palace, the first place they went to was the Birth Rock of Andraste. Roderick eagerly went before the holiest relic in Denerim, and showed great reverence to the stone. Aedan, on the other hand stayed in the back of the gathering of faithful pilgrims, and left the displaying of deference to his friend. Roderick knelt before the great stone and gave a quiet prayer with the rest of the faithful visitors then wrote down a humble prayer on piece of paper and laid it before the Birth Stone. Once the squire was done giving Andraste his prayers, the duo made their was down to the Palace District entryway.

"So, what did you pray for?" Aedan asked curiously.

"I prayed for deliverance from your mother's wrath when she finds out we've snuck out of the palace." Roderick answered with dread quivering in his voice.

"Well, it's a little too late for regrets like that. We're out here already, so we may as well enjoy ourselves. Maybe if we're lucky, nobody will notice we're even gone."

"Hah! Now who's making vain prayers?" Roderick laughed. "So, where to now?"

"Let's go see the Market District."

Denerim was everything Aedan had imagined and more. It wasn't until you left the Palace District did you realize how high and how different it was from the rest of the city. There was so much activity the two boys could've been easily lost in all of the commotion. Fortunately, a sergeant in the city guard named Kylon was able to give them directions where to go and the places to avoid. The first place they saw was something called "Wade's Emporium". They entered the modest building where some ginger-headed clerk was explaining to another lord why his order was late, and before they could get a good look at any of the arms and armor on sale they were shooed out by some bald man with a big moustache who sounded like a woman.

Then Aedan got the brilliant idea to try and sneak into the Gnawed Noble Tavern.

"Really Aedan?" Roderick questioned. "Our first sojourn into Denerim, and you want to sneak into a pub?"

"Why not? It seems this place is all I ever hear the arls and banns talking about, I want to see what's so great about it. Besides, we're nobles, too. We've got just as much a right to be here."

"I doubt the barkeep will service a couple of boys no matter who your father is, and if so many nobles gather here, I gurantee you that's probably how your parents are going to find out where we are when he calls the guard to escort us out." Roderick reasoned.

"...Fine, you have a point. Let's go see this place, then." Aedan pointed to a nearby shop with a big sign above that said Wonders of Thedas. "I've heard Fergus talking about this place, and all the weird and awesome stuff they've got on display. Maybe they've got something good today."

The Wonders of Thedas was a rather wide building at the end of the streets and the inside seemed even bigger. It was a quiet place, somewhat akin to a library, and it very well could've been; the front of the shop had very tall shelves filled with books. In the center of the shop behind a wide glass desk filled with strange items, was a bald man in purple robes, who might've been the proprietor.

The pair decided to get a closer look at what behind the glass when shopkeep finally said something to them.

"No unattended children, please." The man said in a very monotone manner. "Unless you are here with an adult, I must ask the two of you to leave." Looking closer at him, the lads noticed he had what looked like a burn mark on his forehead in the shape of the Chantry's sunburst.

"We're sorry." Roderick apologized. "We were just wondering why this place is called the Wonders of Thedas."

"It called that because this is a magic shop." The propietor explained, still with a blank stare and is if he didn't care about anything. "We sell various wares of magical, rare or curious designs that come from various places on the continent. Which is precisely why unaccompanied children are not allowed here. These are not toys, and some of our wares can be dangerous or very expensive."

"My father is Teryn Bryce Cousland." Aedan said quickly. "On behalf of my family, I'd like to patron you establishment, but first, I'd like to see what you're selling."

The bald man stared blankly at them for a moment, as if contemplating. "The Coulsands are a very wealthy family, and I have heard that Teryn Bryce has interests in such things outside of Fereldan." The salesman continued in the same monotone fashion, greatly annoying Aedan. "Very well. You may browse our wares, but I ask that you not touch or break anything."

"All right, that's it, why are you talking to us like that?" Aedan demanded impatiently. "You sound like nothing matters to you, even though you obviously don't care to have us here."

"I am a Tranquil." The man answered, as if Aedan and Roderick were supposed to know what that meant.

Aedan and Roderick both looked back up at the store owner with blank look on their faces. "A what?"

"To put it simply, I was once a mage." The Tranquil salesman continued. "When an apprenticeship ends, we go through a ritual called 'The Harrowing'."

"What's a Harrowing?" Aedan inquired. He didn't really know much about mages and this could be a way finding our what goes on in his country's Circle of Magi.

"It's a ritual where mages a pitted against a demon of the Fade. It is desinged to see if mages are vulnerable to possession. If the mage fails the Templars will kill them. I did not wish to undergo the ritual so a chose to be rendered Tranquil."

"And that's why you sound like that?"

"To be rendered Tranquil is process concieved by the Chantry. The Templars branded lyrium into my forehead, sundering my connection to the fade and purging me of all emotion and feelings." The former mage continued to explain. "Demons are attracted to the emotions of mages and this is what leads to them becoming abominations. This way I didn't have to be killed and still serve of a function."

Both boys looked on the Tranquil with their mouths a gape and eyes bugged wide, as if they wore just told a horror tale. Roderick looked on the man with pity, Aedan with revulsion. Aedan took a quick moment to look at all the other shopkeepers and saw they all had the same brand as the man they were talking too.

"What? Why? How could you do something so horrible?" Aedan asked, trying to find the words.

"I did not wish to fail the Harrowing, nor did I wish to be killed." The bald Tranquil answered, as if the experience was nothing.

"Now you're something worse!" Aedan exclaimed. "You don't feel happy anymore? Or angry? Or sad?"

"I feel nothing. As I explained, I was purged of all emotion and am now safe from ever harming anyone."

"But how can you consider youself alive!?" Aedan demanded. "You've completely lost what means to feel anything besides what anyone tells you to feel! How can you not see that's...?"

"I do not have to time to debate with a child." The Tranquil interrupted monotonously. "Please, look through our wares or leave. I have work to do." And as if their whole conversation was meaningless, the bald Tranquil went back to inspecting a book.

Aedan couldn't help but stare in utter confoundment. How could any want to lose their ability to feel? How could others do that to them? Is this what the Chantry did? Wield the power to strip people of their very emotions, to strip them of their soul? If they can do that to mages, what else is the Chantry capable of doing to to others?

"Come one, Aedan." Roderick urged, seeing how upset his friend was. "Let's just take a look at what they have."

Aedan conceded and tried to put the thoughts of the Chantry and mages out of his mind, though it was completely against everything he thought was right, everything he was raised to value.

This shop truly did have wonders for sale. The two boys looked at various items kept behind glass cabinents and jars that were so peculiar and rare it was strange to think the existed to begin with. Avvar Idols dedicated to their gods. Dwarven runes, a dragon's tooth, a monkey's paw, glass slippers, a Tevinter magister's staff, jars of wyvern venom, even a horned qunari's skull preserved in amber. The lads spent more time at the Wonders Thedas then they intended, Aedan was paticularly distracted by the genealogies of kings throughout Thedas.

Aedan finally decide to make his purchase, something he just couldn't let pass him by. The History and Cultures of the Ancient Tribes of Ferelden by Brother Genitivi. After all the history lessons Aedan had been getting about his own ancestors and the history of his country, he was very curious to know more about the other tribes that still existed in Ferelden's borders. Most specifically the Avvar in the mountains and the Chasind in the marshlands.

Aedan made his purchase, but before he left, he took one last look at the Tranquil proprietor. His face was devoid of anything, and his eyes seemed so glazed over, like there was no life in him. Was this all that man had to look forward to in life? Wake up, tend the store, and do the same routine every day? No dreams, aspirations or hope for anything different? To feel no joy, sadness, love or anger? What kind of life is that? And the Chantry considered this freedom? The two of them left and Aedan hoped something bad would happen to those that took those mage's emotions.

"So, what did you end up getting, Roderick?" Aedan's asked to get his mind off that Tranquil mage rather than out of curiosity.

"Oh, I got this medallion with a Mabari symbol on it. My father said wearing symbols like this helps give strength to warriors." Roderick answered, showing the old trinket to Aedan before putting it around his neck.

Suddenly, as if on some kind of que, the two boys heard some kind of whimpering echoing in the market alleyway they were standing in. Like a child crying. Some crates fell over, and out of the shadows came a small puppy. It had a brindle fur coat with the same shade as chestnuts highlighted with black stripes. Despite being very young, the puppy was much larger than any other dog breed at that age. It looked up at the two boys with its big, brown eyes, whimpering, begging for food.

"Maker, is that a purebred mabari puppy?" Roderick asked astounded.

"Mabari don't usually leave their pups unattended. Where's it's mother?" Aedan wondered, looking around. The puppy looked straight up at him, whimpering with hunger, and Aedan couldn't just ignore it. Dogs, especially mabari, were sacred to Fereldans, and Aedan would be doing a disservice to his house if he just ignored this poor creature. He reached into his pocket and pulled out some sweet meats he took with him from the palace solar and held it out to the mabari cub. The puppy cautiously went forward, and when he was sure that it was safe, he took the food from Aedan's hand and ate it quickly. Both Aedan and Roderick left what food they had for the starving puppy and continued on their way.

Not long after they started wandering the Market District again, Aedan looked back and noticed the puppy following them. When the two of them stopped walking, the puppy stopped as well. It panted and looked up at them as though it were waiting for something.

"We don't have anymore food if that's what you're looking for." Aedan said to the puppy. The young mabari quirked its head curiously at Aedan. Then he stuck his tail up in the air, wagging it wildly, like he wanted to play.

"Aedan, call me crazy, but I think this puppy is imprinted on you." Roderick said with a big grin on his face. "My father said there's no greater proof of character than to have a mabari hound imprinted to them."

"My father's said the same thing." Aedan looked back over to the dog. "Is that it? You want to partner up with me?" The mabari puppy rolled on the ground and barked happily before rushing over to Aedan's side. Aedan picked up the puppy, and it instantly assault the boy's face with many affectionate licks. "Oh, yes. We're going to be best friends. And I promise, you're going to get lots of good meals after today. I'll make sure Nan gives you all the best scraps."

Roderick pat the pup on his tummy, making him yip happily. "What do you want to call him, Aedan?"

"Not sure yet. Never thought I'd ever have a mabari before, so I need to come up with a good, strong name that suits him. Before we do anything else, let's go see if there's a merchant around here that sellls good dog treats."

Aedan, Roderick and their new canine companion went through the market place looking for a merchant that sold any dog treats and supplies. This was Ferelden, after all. There should have been no shortage of stores that sold such things. And sure, enough, they found a stall that sold dog supplies. Aedan bought the best dog treats the vendor had available, and a high quality leather dog leash.

"Alright, let's see how this fits you." Aedan knelt down to put the new collar on his new dog, and the puppy pranced around in excitement.

The young puppy's stopped prancing around happily and halted in its tracks. The puppy's ears perked up, picking up some kind of sound only he could hear, then turned his head toward a nearby alleyway and started growling.

"What's wrong, boy?" Aedan asked curiously.

The mabari cub started barking down at the alley.

"Maybe he wants us to follow him?" Roderick suggested.

The puppy barked louder, angrier, then bolted down the alley. Aedan and Roderick chased after the mabari, but it was hard to keep up with him in this narrow alley. Aedan heard something as he ran; it sounded like a high-pitched cry, but it didn't come from the mabari. The dog emerged out the other side of the alley way and stopped running, but didn't stop growling. When Aedan and Roderick caught up with the dog, the finally realized why he was so mad all of a sudden.

Just down the alley from there, there was a group of older boys, all of them in their teens, picking on a young elven girl. They were crowding her, pushing her towards a wall, and ceaselessly poking at her like she was some kind of an object. Tears were already streaming the poor girl's face, and those older boys were clearly were having fun making her cry. The leader of these jerks was a young man at least sixteen years old with brown hair and a face that reminded Aedan of a weasel. He obviously took great pleasure in tormenting that elven girl, as evidenced by the sick grin on his face.

"Why the tears, girl? We're just having fun. Don't you want to have fun with us?" The weasel-faced prick laughed.

"Please, ser, stop! Let me go." The young girl cried in vain.

"Stop? What do you mean, stop? Don't you know the rules of this city? You never tell a human to stop, knife-ear." The bully loomed over her dangerously as if her pleas for mercy only made him angry.

Aedan had never been bullied before, even by his big brother, and seeing it for the first time made him madder than he ever thought he could be. This went against everything Aedan was raised to believe in. Before he could take one step forward, he felt Roderick's hand on his shoulder.

"Don't try to talk me out of it, Roderick."

"I was going to do no such thing, Aedan. Let's go kick their butts!"

The mabari barked in agreement.

As much as he wanted to go over there and mop the floor with those bastards, all three of them were older and bigger than Aedan and Roderick. Besides that, there was something far more important than wanting to beat them up. "Listen, Roderick. No matter what, getting the girl out of here safely is our mission. I want you to sneak around the alley behind them, and wait until the right moment. No matter what happens to me, you get her out of here."

"Wait, what do you mean, Aedan?" Now Roderick was really worried, but Aedan was already moving before he could find out what he meant. With no time to argue, Roderick did what he was told and snuck around the alley.

One of the older boys laughed at the elven girl with a perverted look on his face. "Hey, Lord Vaughan, I heard these knife-ears have six toes on their feet. Maybe they've got three tits to match it."

A disgusting, lecherous grin spread across Vaughn's face. "Is that true? Do you knife-ear wenches have three tits?"

Horror errupted in the young girl's eyes. "No, please, ser!"

"Let's find out for ourselves, shall we?" Vaughan laughed, held the elven girl against the wall and started pulling her shirt. Vaughn's cronies laughed as they watched their leader try to rip the girls clothe's off her body, eager to see what they'd find beneath it.

"Hey!" Aedan finally shouted, unable to stay quiet any longer at the indignity he saw. "Let her go. Now!"

"The fuck is this?" one of the teens asked.

"Just some stupid brat." the other chuckled.

Vaughan took a moment to stop tormenting his victim to look at Aedan, and scoffed at him. "Get out of here, kid. I don't need some brat spoiling her fun."

If Aedan wasn't mad before, he definitely was now. Nobody sniffs their nose at him. "I said, let her go, NOW!"

Vaughan didn't even bother looking back this time. "I said beat it, kid. You want her so bad, you can have what's left when I'm done with it."

"The three of you must have some pretty big balls to be picking on someone smaller than you. So why don't you pick on me?! I'm smaller!" The mabari pup growled ferociously with Aedan's challenge.

Vaughan finally lost his patience and turned his attention away from the girl and towards Aedan, which is what Aedan wanted. "Do you have any idea who I am, worm?"

"Another piece of trash in a Denerim alley."

"Ha! I'm Vaughan Kendalls, son of the Urien Kendalls, the Arl of Denerim, and every piece of elven garbage in this city is my property." Vaughan bragged like he was the most important man in Ferelden. "Just who do you think you are to interrupt my fun, whelp?"

Aedan glared defiantly at the taller bully, and full of rage, he cried out, "I am Aedan of Highever!"

Vaughan laughed right at Aedan's face. "Ha! Highever!? A miserable port town that lets elves roam free like rats in the streets? And you have the gall to think you can tell me what to do? Get out of here, peasant, before I send you back to Highever in pieces." Vaughan turned around and headed back to the elven girl he was tormenting to resume his fun.

That was the last straw for Aedan. Nobody insults his beloved Highever to his face then turns their back on him and gets away with it. Aedan looked down and saw a perfectly sized rock on the ground. He picked it up and threw it great precision right at the back of Vaughan's head.

Vaughan cried out in pain and dropped to his knee, hold the spot where the rock hit him. When he saw his own blood on his hand, all he could think about now was drawing that little brat's blood now. "Get him!"

Vaughan's friends let go of the elf and went straight after Aedan. Aedan tried to fight back, but the two larger boys grabbed him by the arms. The puppy tried nipping at them, but one of them grabbed the dog by the scruff of his neck.

"Aw, look. Little brat's got a friend." The punk sneered then threw the dog as hard as he could back into the alley.

Aedan yelled and fought back as hard as he could, but it was no use. While the two of them tried to keep a firm hold of Aedan, Vaughan staggered to his feet and slowly made his way over to him, still dazed from the rock to his head.

This was the right moment, it had to be. Roderick emerged from the alley and took the elven girl by the hand. "Come on. We have to go, now!" Roderick whispered to her, trying to keep them from being noticed.

"But what about him?" The girl pleaded, pointing to Aedan.

"Aedan can take care of himself." At least, Roderick hoped he could. He took the girl by the hand and the two of them snuck back through the alleys. Everything inside Roderick was telling Roderick to go back there and help his friend, but Aedan made it very clear what he was suppose to do. Roderick would get this girl out of here safely, then come back for Aedan. Roderick prayed to Holy Andraste for Aedan's safety, and to give him the strength to stand strong.

"Stand him up and hold him still." Vaughan ordered his minions while he staggered back to his feet, still dizzy from being struck in the head. "When I'm done teaching you a lesson, we're going to make you watch as we have our fun with the little elf-bitch."

"Hey! Where's the elf?" One of Vaughan's friends asked.

Vaughan looked behind where the elf girl was, and found that alley was empty except for the them. Now, he was really mad. He grabbed Aedan by his hair and made him look him in the eye. "You proud of yourself, runt? Think your some kind of hero?"

Aedan answered by spitting in Vaughan's eye.

"You little bastard! Well, I'm going to show you what happens when heroes interfere with rightful lords." Vaughan socked Aedan square in the face, bloodying his nose. Then Vaughan put all his weight behind his fist, then planted it in Aedan's stomach, knocking the wind right out of him. Then the entitled bully grabbed Aedan by his hair and threw him to the ground. Vaughan laughed when he saw the little brat trying to crawl away. "And where do you think you're going, you worm? You had your chance to leave, now you get to stay. If you think you can interrupt my fun, well, I'll just have to have fun another way. Bring him back here!"

Except Aedan wasn't crawling to get away from Vaughan and his flunkies. He was crawling towards the empty whiskey bottle that was lying nearby on the ground. One of Vaughan's friend's followed his example and grabbed Aedan by the hair. That's when Aedan felt something awaken inside him. Something he never truly felt before. Pure wrath.

Aedan grabbed the whiskey bottle, and screaming in utter rage, he smashed the whiskey bottle into the lordling's crotch with all his might. A high pitch scream erupted from the bully's mouth when his berries got badly smashed, then fell straight to his knees. Showing no mercy, even while the guy was screaming in agony, Aedan smashed the bottle on top of his assailant' head, breaking it and rattling the punk's brain while leaving shards of broken glass in his scalp.

"Don't just stand there. Get him!" Vaughan ordered his other lackey.

The other guy ran up to Aedan, taking a wild swing at him to knock the boy's head off with a single punch. Aedan ducked beneath the wild attack, and before his enemy could do anything else, Aedan stabbed the broken bottle right into his opponent's leg, right above the knee. And he stuck it in deep enough that Aedan knew the glass reached the bone. The former tough guy fell to the ground screaming his head off, clutching his deeply wounded leg, and watched the blood spurt out of it. As if that weren't enough, Aedan chose to be especially cruel, and kicked the bottle while it was stil stuck in the guy's leg, breaking the shards deep inside the wound. The bully screamed and cried harder and louder than the girl he was tormenting earlier.

"Idiots! I'll handle this myself!" Vaughan cursed without sympathy. He went for the dagger strapped to his belt, and he fully intended to carve some respect into this upstart little brat. Vaughan hollered out in pain when felt a searing pain on his hand from out of nowhere. That mutt that the boy had brought with him had jumped up and latched on to his fingers, sinking his teeth deeply into Vaughan's hand, and forcing him to drop his dagger. "Argh! You mangy cur!" Vaughan yelled and flailed his arm around until he was able to fling the mabari puppy off his hand.

While his newfound mabari was biting the Kendall bastard's hand, Aedan picked up nearby rock off the ground. Vaughan finally managed to get the mabari off his hand and reached for his dagger. Before Vaughan could pick it off the ground, Aedan ran up to him and smashed the rock on top of his hand and broke his fingers like twigs.

"Aaah! You little bas-!" Before Vaughan could curse in pain, he met a facefull of rock that knocked him flat on his back and made him see stars. Aedan got on top of Vaughan, and started smashing him in the eyes, nose and mouth with the rock clenched his fist. Aedan refused to relent, not after what Vaughan had done, and kept planting his rock into Vaughan's face, over and over again, while the mabari cub barked on.

"The guards! Get the city guards!" Vaughan cried out desperately. His friend, who Aedan smashed in the head and groin with the whiskey bottle, managed to stagger back to his feet and made his way down the alley like an inebriated drunk, but he would be able to get the guards. Vaughan managed to grab hold of Aedan's hand before he could knock him in the face again with that rock of his, but his grip was very weak. "You see that? Any minute now, my friend is going to be bringing the guards swarming into this alley. You know what that means don't you? You'll be locked in a cell at Fort Drakon within the hour. You can stop this now, just get out of here, and maybe escape with your hide. Or the guards will catch you, and I swear, my father will have you hanged before the day is out. Do the smart thing, runt."

Aedan looked down at his enemy, all covered in own blood, one of his eyes swollen shut, nose broken, lips split and missing a couple of teeth. Despite being older and bigger, Aedan had completely wrecked this bastard. It was almost enough to make one feel sympathy for him. But not Aedan. Even when he was completly at his mercy and beaten to a pulp, Vaughan had the complete gall to still act so arrogant. All that did was make Aedan even angrier.

"I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!" The enraged Cousland screamed and knocked down Vaughan's hand, smashing it with the rock. Then he reached into his pocket, pulled out the mabari biscuits he bought earlier and shoved them down Vaughan's mouth, making him choke on them. Then he grabbed the leather collar he got for his new puppy, wrapped it around Vaughan's neck, and started to strangle him with hall his might. "Where's your daddy now, huh? Where is he?!"

Aedan could hear the adrenaline pounding in his ears, along with the dog's barking. The muscles in his arms felt like they were going to burst from the stress he was putting on them, but he didn't care. He could see Vaughan's eyes rolling into the back of his head. That's when he realized he was about to cross that threshold from which there was no return. He was actually about to kill someone. And he wanted to do it, so, so badly.

"Look! Look, there he is right now! He's killing the arl's son! I told you the little freak is crazy!" Vaughan's friend had returned, and he brought a whole patrol of guards with him. The instant they the ten-year old boy on top of the arl's son, strangling him to death, they quickly rushed over to him.

One of the guards grabbed a hold of Aedan and yanked him off of Vaughan.

"Come here, you crazy little shit!" The guard cursed. Aedan grabbed the guard's hand, and bit him on the wrist, hard. And right where the veins were. "Aagh! Son of a bitch! Get him off! Get him off!"

Two more guards ran over to the compatriot and got a hold of Aedan's arms legs, but Aedan refused to stop fighting.

"I'll kill you! I'll fucking kill all of you!" Aedan screamed in rage and struggled against the guards.

"For Andraste's sake! Clap some irons on that boy, and get the arl's son a damned healer!" The officer in charge ordered. After a moment of struggling, the guards finally managed to shackle Aedan's arms and legs, and were now able to carry him off without much of a fight.

The little mabari pup barked and growled at the guards, and was ready to go fight them to.

"No! Get out of here!" Aedan ordered the mabari. The dog hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did what his human told him to, and ran back into the alleys.

"Take the boy to Fort Drakon. Now!" The officer ordered. With that annoying dog gone, and the crazy kid restrained, the officer would be able to settle this matter quickly. Still, even he had to admit, that was pretty damned impressive. That boy was able to take down three lads much bigger than himself, and almost opened the veins of a guard with just his teeth. And judging by how badly that Kendalls boy's face was, he wasn't going to be eating solid food for a month and half. Not that he envied whatever fate Arl Urien Kendalls was going to inflict on the boy, but even the officer couldn't ignore how extraordinary that was. Still, he had a job to do.

By the time Roderick had gotten that elven lass to safety and was able to run back through the alleys to help Aedan, he was already too late. He saw the guards taking Aedan away in shackles, and no sign of the mabari pup anywhere. Curse it all, he was too late, he failed. He wanted to help Aedan, and now he was being arrested. The guards had to be taking him to Fort Drakon. There was only one thing Roderick could do. He had to get back to the Palace District, and fast. With Andraste's mercy, he could get there before anything bad happened to Aedan.

Back In The Halls of the Landsmeet...

The Landsmeet had been in session for only a few hours, and already things were much livelier than Bryce would have liked. For starters, much to Bryce's disappointment, the king would not be partaking in the Landsmeet, so Teyrn Loghain would be acting in his stead. Prince Cailan was here, but the lad was barely paying attention, and mostly deffered to Loghain's judgment. At least Anora looked like she was taking an interest in today's politics.

In the first few minutes, various lords and freeholders petitioned the crown over petty grevances and disputes with their neighbors, rivals, and so forth. Many of them were turned down in no small part because of the glares from Teyrn Loghain, who didn't appreciate anyone disrupting this king's peace. Then there was the whole argument over new taxes that almost erupted into a duel; the seneschal had to call in extra guards to discourage lords from pulling weapons on each other. Now, here was Bryce, taking the floor with his own proposal, and had the fortune of presenting his argument against Teyrn Loghain of all people.

"Bryce, you fought with me at the Battle of White River and the Battle of River Dane. The Orlesians drove you and your family out of Highever, you saw the crimes their Chevaliers committed. Now you want be an ambassador to them?" Loghain spoke as though he were listing charges against the Teyrn of Highever. "Your proposal isn't just questionable, it's insane! How can you not see that?"

"I am merely trying to look towards the future of our country, Teyrn Loghain. What I don't see is how living in the past will do anything but hamper us as a nation." Teyrn Bryce stated. "We cannot live with our heads in the past and close ourselves off from the world. If we're are to progress as a nation, we must open ourselves to the rest of the world. Orlais is one of the largest nations in Thedas, and our immediate neighbor. We must attempt to establish some kind of relation with them if we are to move forward."

"I'm afraid you're asking quite a lot from all of us, Bryce." Arl Howe said with an undercurrent of disappointment. "After all, everyone in this room had fought against the Orlesians. Now, you're asking us to simply forgive and forget what they did, all in the name of commerce? Is coin suppose to matter more to us than our honor?"

Howe's words caused a wave of low murmurs and questioning comments to course through the Landsmeet. Many of the lords now wondered if Bryce's loyalty was for their country, or personal gain.

If Bryce didn't know any better, he'd almost think that Howe was trying to discredit him in the Landsmeet, but these were smart questions to ask. His friend's lack of support was disappointing, but it just meant that Bryce was going to have to be even more convincing. "My lords and ladies of the Landsmeet, we won back our country years ago and Emperor Florian is long dead," more than half the lords present took a moment to spit on the late Orlesian Emperor's name, "and Orlais has officially recognized our sovereignty. Orlais' new ruler, this Empress Celene, is trying to turn her empire from one of expansion and conquest to one of culture and commerce. She's even reduced Orlais' military by a third! If we're to have a lasting peace between our kingdoms, we must take advantage of the peace we have now."

"And what makes you think that this so-called empress is even worth treating with?" Teyrn Loghain questioned. "We're not all so uninformed as you may think, Bryce. We've heard how this Celene Valmont manipulated and schemed her way to the throne, just as we should expect from any Orlesian noble. Is that really the kind of person you think our country should treat with?"

"Would you rather that bastard Duke Gaspard de Chalons had taken the throne, Loghain?" Bryce rebutted. There was another pause in the Landsmeet hall that many of the nobles took to spit on that chevalier brute's name as well. "At least with Empress Celene, our kingdom has a chance for real peace with Orlais."

"Bryce, you of all people should know that times of peace are just preparations for the next war." Loghain asserted firmly.

"And are we even ready for that?" Bryce countered, never backing down even to Loghain. "Our country was strugling even before the Orlesians invaded. And we're still strugling from the after-effects of the invasion. If our country is to remain free, to become prosperous, we cannot continue to live like we're at war. If I do anything right, both as a Teyrn and a father, my children will never see a battlefield, but war will be inevitable so long as we treat others as enemies. Does the Chant of Light not teach us to forgive our enemies? How can we be the land of Andraste's birth if we don't even follow her teachings?"

There was a momentary pause within the Landsmeet Hall as the lords contemplated Bryce's proposal.

"I agree with Teyrn Mac Tir. It's a foolish notion. It would be like walking straight into the lion's den then into his mouth." Bann Cerolic spoke, breaking the silence. Ceorlic was was a stout man of short stature with large jowls and seemed older than he actually was with his hair already greying and falling out. His decision came as no surprise to Bryce. Ceorlic always was something of a bootlick to Loghain.

"Now hold on, I think Teyrn Cousland's proposal does have merit, and we should take account of all considerations before you decide to shoot it down like a quail." Arl Leonas Bryland of South Reach spoke out with his muddied Orlesian accent. Leonas Bryland was a tall man with brown hair and blue eyes, he had broad shoulders and was lean yet very strong. He seemed younger than most of the lords who fought in the Orlesian Occupation, being only 15 when he joined the rebellion. He was wearing plain, albeit high-quality armor, with the Green Portcullis of South Reach stamped on the breastplate. Bryland was often considered the odd-duck of the great Fereldan lords, being half Orlesian.

"Bah! Of course you would support this, Bryland." Ceorlic scoffed at the Arl. "No doubt you would stand to profit greatly from renewed aqcuaintences with your kin in the Orlesian Empire if this were to be approved."

Arl Leonas glared angrily at the Bann of the Southern Bannorn. "You really want to step there, Ceorlic? Last I remembered, it was your father who betrayed this country to Orlais, and paid the price for it. Would you care to pay the price for slandering me to face?" Arl Leonas was already dressed in full battle attire, and when Bann Ceorlic saw him reaching for his family's greatsword, his bravado quickly disappeared.

"I appreciate the spirit of what you're saying, Bryce. I truly do. But how can we trust the Orlesians to be true to their word? With either their negotiations, or even your safety? We all know the Orlesian nobility to be two-faced and three-hearted." Bann Sighard of the Dragonspeak Bannorn question. Sighard was a man around Bryce's age with dirty blonde hair, and stout convictions. He would never make a decision without taking all considerations.

"And why should we even bother making nice with those masked bastards anyway?" Gallagher Wulf, a large, imposing man with a shaggy beard and long braided hair, and the Arl of the West Hills asked gruffly. His arling was the closest to the Orlesian border. "After we pushed the Orlesians out of our lands at the Battle of River Dane, those inbreeding horse-humpers burned every home and settlement they came across as they fled. More than half my arling still remembers that as if it were this morning, and the only relationship they want to have with Orlesians is the kind that sees chevaliers' heads on pikes."

There was an overlap of agreement from the crowd gathered lords. It seemed Bryce's hopes and plans would be crushed before they were even given a chance. Even Fergus felt that it was pointless now.

"Lords and ladies of the Landsmeet, hear me out." Said a soft but firm voice that nobody in the Landsmeet had heard speak before. They all looked over to the side of Teyrn Loghain and saw that it was Anora Mac Tir addressing them. She didn't even ask for her father's leave to address the Landsmeet. Some of the lords, including Arl Howe, looked at her with slight disapproval, like they didn't think a virtual child should be speaking to the adults in the room. "I know many of you have strong feelings about Orlais, and I would not be so callous as to suggest that you should just forget them. But there is one thing I would remind you all of, what truly united everyone here in the war against Orlais. It wasn't hatred for the Orlesians, but love for this country, and it's that patriotism I see in Teyrn Cousland right now." There was a profound stillness in the Landsmeet hall while Anora's words began to sink in. "The true sign of leadership and love of country is when a leader makes decisions that are difficult, especially the ones we don't want to do, but we do them for the sake of our country. My father taught me that. If we're to move forward as a kingdom, to have true prosperity for our people, we must show not just Orlais, but the whole world that we are not the backward barbarians they think we are. We must make bridges, and open commerce with other nations. And the only way we'll never have to worry about Orlais being our enemy again is by making them a friend. But it all must start with someone taking the first step. I think Teyrn Bryce Cousland is that man."

"Well said, Anora! Words worthy of a Teyrna." Prince Cailan complimented with a big smile. This was the first time he had spoken throughout the entire Landsmeet, and his words of praise were followed by an applause from the gathered nobles. Cailain's words of encouragement and bright smile made Anora blush, but she did her best to hide it. "What about you, Uncle Eamon? What do you say?"

The Lords of the Landsmeet turned their gaze to the right balcony, looking to see if King Maric's one-time brother-in-law and Cailan's uncle had anything to add. Arl Eamon ruled over Redcliffe, one of the most important arlings in the kingdom and he was one of the king's most trusted advisors. His once auburn hair was already greying, but his green eyes were clear and full of resolve. Eamon was never the most charismatic of men, however, whenever he spoke it was from both the heart and the head, and all knew he thought of Fereldan's well being above all else.

After sitting back and listening this whole time, Arl Eamon finally stepped forward to speak. "I agree with Lady Anora and Teyrn Cousland. This course of action can only strengthen our country and benefit our people." A few people, including Loghain, were not surprised by Eamon's support of Bryce's proposal, given the fact he has an Orlesian wife. "Empress Celene has millions of mouths to feed throughout her empire, and Orlais is still struggling from costs of their constant warring, and they're still trying to recovering from the heavy losses they suffered at our hands." Many nobles laughed lightly at the memory of striking such a blow against their age long rival. "If Empress Celene wants to keep her throne, she must find a way to keep her people fed and bring in much needed coin to cover the debts of her predecessors. Ferelden can be her lifeline. The bannorn is one of the largest piece of farmland in Thedas, equaled only by Starkhaven, and capable of producing vast amounts of produce all year round. It was why the Orlesians tried to conquer us in the first place. By making such a trade agreement with Orlais, we'll not only be able to finally make some kind of peace between us, but we'll bring great trade, wealth and prosperity to our people after many decades of strife. I, for one, agree with Lady Anora; the man to take that first step is Teyrn Bryce."

For the first time since this Landsmeet started, the whole hall went quiet while every lord and lady present contemplated the strong words said to them by Teyrn Bryce, Arl Eamon, and Lady Anora. In their minds and hearts, they were weighing the possible costs and benefits for themselves and their people in the possibility of opening themselves to Orlais. Many were still bitter and resentful for the crimes the Orlesians committed against them, while just as many wanted to put the war behind them and get on with their lives.

While the lords and ladies of Ferelden quietly debated amongst themselves, Bryce noticed one of the guards walk up to Arl Urien, the Arl of Denerim. Whatever the guard told him must've been urgent, because Urien didn't even bother to announce his leave and walked out of the hall. At that same time, a servant silently made his way through the crowd of nobles. When he reached Fergus, he whispered something in his ear, something that made Fergus' eyes wide with shock.

"Father, we have a problem. Something's happened to Aedan." Fergus told his father with worry in his voice. "I don't know what's happened, but it sounds like he snuck out of the palace and is in deep trouble."

"What?! Is he...?" All thoughts of what he was addressing to the Landsmeet disappeared when Bryce heard that. The Landsmeet wasn't going to be making up its mind any time soon, and Bryce needed to find out what happened to his younger son. "Lords and ladies of the Landsmeet, I'm afraid an urgent matter has been brought to my attention. May I request that the seneschal call for a recess?"

The seneschal stood forward and nodded his head to the teyrn. "Request granted, Lord Cousland. The Landsmeet is hereby in recess. We shall reconvene tomorrow to continue to discuss the Teyrn's proposal to opening trade agreements and opening an embassy to Orlais. Hopefully, by then, the lords and ladies of the Landsmeet can determine their answers."

The instant the seneschal banged his gavel, Bryce and Fergus rushed out of the Landsmeet hall. When they got to the entryway, they saw Roderick was there for some reason. The poor boy was covered in sweat and looked like he was still trying to catch his breath. Like he had run a great distance to just get here.

"Roderick? What's wrong? What's happened to Aedan?"

Roderick, exhausted from sprinting as fast as he could, gasped for breath. "Lord Cousland...Aedan...he's been arrested. The city guard...took him to Fort Drakon."

"What?! Sweet Maker...Fergus, come with me. We need to get there now, before something happens to Aedan."

"Or worse. Before Mother finds out." Fergus commented seriously. He dreaded to think what was going to happen when their mother got wind of this.

Soon At Fort Drakon...

The teyrn and his son quickly made their way to Denerim's military center, and where the city threw its criminals. Bryce was quite surprised to see Arl Urien there with the guards. What was more surprising than that was seeing the arl's son, Vaughan, if Bryce remembered correctly, though he actually barely recognized the boy. His nose was broken, one eye swollen shut, both lips split, and plenty of cuts and bruises obscuring his face. The arl's son looked like he had been mauled by an animal, and was obviously in a lot of pain.

"Maker's breath, Vaughan, what happened to you? Did a blacksmith try to use your face as an anvil with the heaviest hammer in the shop?" Fergus asked as though Vaughan's injuries were a joke.

"Your...your little freak of a brother happened to me...!" Vaughan hissed angrily through his broken teeth. As angry as he was, he dared not speak more because of the pain it caused him.

"Vaughan, that's enough. You are speaking in the presence of the Teyrn of Highever. Go wait in the Chantry; I will deal with this." Arl Urien ordered his son. Vaughan did as his father told him and walked to the fort's Chantry with a severe limp, cursing under his breath as he went.

"Wait, my hearing must be failing. You mean to say that my ten-year old son did that?" Bryce asked rather shocked, but also somewhat impressed. Vaughan was in fact much bigger than Aedan, yet he looked like he just got stomped on by a full grown qunari.

"That is exactly what I mean to say. Teyrn Cousland, I think you and I should talk." Arl Urien said rather sternly.

Bryce looked back at the captain in charge with a stern look of his own. "Before this goes any further...Captain! I want you to release my son from whatever cell he's in, right now."

"Y-yes, of course, Lord T-teyrn." The officer stuttered. "But please, milord, in our defense, none of us knew he was your son, otherwise we would have informed you immedietly."

"What I want to know is why in Andraste's name is my son in a cell to begin with!" Bryce hollered angrily. "Is this how the Denerim City Guard treats children? This is very shameful conduct, captain."

"Please, milord, let me explain. When we were...taking your son into custody, and I can't stress enough how sorry I am that I didn't know he's Cousland, but he was very...resistant. He bit one of my men on the wrist and nearly tore the man's veins open. I'm worried if that man can even hold a sword ever again."

At this point, Bryce wasn't even sure they had the right boy. This just couldn't possibly be his Aedan. His Aedan was always a quiet child, never one for picking fights, and certainly not one who'd bite out a city guard's wrist. "Just take me to my son, now."

As the guard-captain led the three of them to the cell where they were holding Aedan. Even as they walked, Arl Urien couldn't wait to lay his grievances into Bryce's ear.

"Lord Cousland, I am just as disappointed. Your son attacked mine and two of his friends while they were about their own business in the Market District. I expected more from a son of yours, but this is unacceptable."

Bryce stopped dead in his tracks and looked at the Arl of Denerim with a scowl that could shatter a mirror. "You mean to tell me my ten year old son managed to thrash three older boys almost twice his size, and he had no cause? Do not take me for fool, Urien. I don't want to hear another word from you until I know that my son is unharmed, and you'd better pray that he is, otherwise there's going to be some very bad blood between our houses." After feeling the intensity and power of the teyrn, Urien remembered his place, and kept his mouth firmly shut.

The guard captain brought them to the cell where they were holding Aedan. Bryce and Fergus were both shocked and appalled to him there. Not just the fact that he was locked in a cell like a common criminal, but the fact that Aedan's face was bruised with a black eye, and dried blood trailing from his nose. He looked a far sight better than Vaughan did, but still, Bryce never thought he'd see Aedan like this. The guard opened the cell door, and took several large steps away from Aedan and his teeth.

Aedan looked up at his father and when he saw the disappointment in his eyes, he felt deeply ashamed. He didn't even know what to say to him. "Hello, Father."

"Hello yourself, Aedan." Bryce said, the displeasure in his voice was as clear as a Chantry bell. "Sneaking out of the palace and convincing Roderick to go with you was bad enough, but this? I told you that we're guests in another lord's city and that you were to behave accordingly, but you couldn't have disobeyed me more thoroughly."

"But, Father..."

"No buts, Aedan. I am very disappointed in you." Bryce's words and tone were very harsh and cut Aedan deeply, making him hang his head in shame. Even Fergus felt the weight of his father's words. This was the one part about being a father Bryce didn't like, but it was important that Aedan know he had done wrong. "I want you to apologize to Arl Urien for your actions."

"What? But, Father, I..."

Bryce shot an intensely serious look down at his son. "That was not a suggestion or a request, Aedan."

Aedan hung his head sorrowfully. He felt so ashamed that he wanted to cry, but he refused to. He knew what he was doing, and would sob about it like baby. After a brief moment, he finally looked up to Arl Urien and knew what he had to say. "Arl Urien...I'm sorry. Sorry that your son is gutless bully who likes to terrorize and slap around little elven girls! I'm sorry he's a useless coward who couldn't fight his way out of a cotton sheet! And I'm really sorry that you soiled this city by fathering such a worthless prick! And if I ever hear that he treats anyone like this again, I'm going to stomp his head into the ground and squash it like a melon!"

A powerful silence gripped the cell area. Nobody hear had ever heard of anyone speaking to an arl like that, much less a ten-year old boy. Fergus' mouth was hanging open while Bryce was completely dumbfounded.

"I...you...you impudent little...you dare to...?!" Arl Urien sputtered angrily.

"Enough!" Teyrn Cousland shouted. "Fergus, take your brother and wait for me at the entrance."

Fergus did as his father told him, and lef Aedan out of the holding area. Fergus didn't say anything, but on the inside, he was laughing his head off. He had never been so impressed by Aedan than he was right now.

Bryce waited a moment until his sons were gone, then turned his attention back to Arl Urien with a very dour look on his face.

"Teyrn Cousland, just what kind of son are your raising?" Arl Urien asked lividly.

"Strangely enough, I was just about to ask you the same question, Urien." Bryce said, the outrage rising within him far outstretched the arl's. "What did Aedan mean when he said that your son likes to terrorize elven girls?"

Now it was the arl's turn to be on the spot in front of the Teyrn of Highever. "A mere...youthful indiscretion, I assure you."

"You think my son managed to bloodily beat your son and two other boys, all of them much bigger than him, and practically spat in your face over a mere indiscretion? Just how stupid do you think I am!?"

"Lord Cousland, I assure you that Vaughan is simply a spirited lad, and he's at a certain age. Perhaps your son merely didn't know what he was seeing."

"And now you dare insinuate my son is stupid?" Bryce was never one to lose his temper, but he was getting close right now. "I don't know what kind of boy you're raising here, but he sounds unworthy to be heir to the arling that is the seat of kings!"

Then both nobles heard rapid footsteps approaching the holding area. Like several men were following after someone. "Milady, please. You shouldn't be here. This isn't the place for a noblewoman."

"My husband and sons are all here, so I have every damned right to be. Now stand aside!" Yelled the all too familiar voice of Teyrna Eleanor Cousland. Bryce was surprised to see his wife walk through the door with Roderick standing behind her. He was very much hoping that she wouldn't find out about this and come here herself. Now, there was no stopping her. The look on her face like that of a mother bear whose cub had been threatened, and she was looking straight at Urien Kendalls.

Bryce saw the look on his wife's face, and knew that danger was present. Despite being a doting mother and wife, Eleanor always had something of a temper, when she lost it, blood was likely to be shed. Bryce knew that from personal expirience.

When Urien saw that look on Lady Eleanor's face, it filled the arl of Denerim with a sense of fear he never felt before. "Teyrna Cousland. We...we weren't expecting you here..."

Eleanor wasted no words on the arl. She snatched the guard-captain's sword right off his belt, and turned it on the arl. She pressed Urien up against the wall and held the blade right against his throat. Urien dared not move. One flick of her wrist, and the angry teyrna would slice his throat open. "Imagine my surprise when my husband's squire came and told me that your degenerate whelp and his friends put their filthy hands on my little boy. All because he did the courageous thing and stopped Vaughan from dishonoring an elven lass."

Urien gulped fearfully. He was well aware of this woman's fearsome reputation, and knew she could kill him without even batting an eyelash. "Lady Eleanor, p-please. I am...t-truly sorry for my son's actions. And I sincerely apologize to your whole family. I will see to it Vaughan never does such a thing again."

"See that you do, Urien." Eleanor said angrily, pressing the sword dangerously against his throat. "I never want to have this conversation with you again." The teyrna removed the sword from Urien's neck and tossed it back to the guard-captain. Urien rubbed his neck and breathed a sigh of relief, and then Eleanor punched him square in the gut so hard that it forced the air out of his lungs and dropped him to his knees. Even after all these years, Eleanor hadn't lost her touch. "I think we're done here, Bryce. Let's be on our way."

"Yes, dear." Bryce complied, and left Urien groaning on the dungeon floor.

The teyrn and his wife walked to the entrance of Fort Drakon, and as they went, every guard in the building made sure to get right out of their way, and Eleanor took the time to explain to her husband everything that Roderick had told her. How he and Aedan saved that poor girl, and how Aedan stayed behind to distract Vaughan and his friends while Roderick got the girl to safety. Then Bryce told her about just how badly Aedan had beaten Vaughan and his friends. Despite their initial anger, both parents now couldn't help but feel a sense of pride in their son's actions.

~XoXoXo~

Roderick and Aedan stood in silence at Fort Drakon's entryway. Roderick looked over to a nearby courtyard and saw a gallow with a noose hanging there. He couldn't help but feel that was where he was going to end up. And when he saw Aedan's injured face, he felt like all his hopes of being a squire and eventually a knight would be no more.

"Aedan, I'm so sorry." Roderick finally said.

"For what? All of this was my fault. I'm the one who got us into this when I convinced you we should sneak out."

"But I shouldn't have left you to fight on your own. I should've gone back to help you, or not have left at all."

Aedan shook his head. "Roderick, you accomplished what we set out to do. You got that girl to safety, didn't you? And that's what mattered most. As long as we rescued her, I can handle a few cuts and bruises."

Aedan's words actually did make Roderick feel a little better, but still, he knew they were both probably in hot watter with the teyrn. And he knew he had to brace himself for whatever punishment they were going to face.

Fergus placed a hand on both Aedan and Roderick's shoulders and knelt down to face them both. "Listen to me, both of you. If you tell anyone what I'm about to say, I will completely deny it: I think what you two did was absolutely amazing. Like knights from the old tales, you two came out of nowhere, and saved a young lass from a villain's dirty clutches. If that's not the stuff of legends, I don't know what is. Right now, you two are my heroes."

Aedan was at a loss for words. He had always looked up to Fergus as the brother that should be admired. After all, he was the heir with all the respect and confidence, always the one leading Aedan by example. He never imgained he'd ever get admiration from his big brother like this.

The teyrn and his wife finally walked out of Fort Drakon, and both Aedan and Roderick stood at attention, preparing themselves for the worst.

At seeing her youngest son's injured face, any trace of anger Eleanor had felt for the past hour disappeared and was replaced by her maternal affections. "Oh, Aedan! Your handsome face. Come here." Eleanor knelt down and took out her kerchief and wiped off the dried blood on Aedan's face. "Oh, my poor boy."

"I'm fine, Mother. Really. A lot better than that Kendalls brat, definitely."

"Aedan, come here, please." Bryce asked calmly. Aedan could see that his father wasn't as angry as he was a few minutes ago, but he was still nervous. "Your mother told me what you did, and I must say, that I...I am very proud at what you did and why you did it. But still, you never should have placed yourself and Roderick in such danger to begin with."

Aedan lowered his head to his father. "I'm sorry I snuck out, Father."

"This is about far more than just you sneaking out. Fergus used to do it now and again at your age."

"It's true." Fergus commented with a wink.

"What I'm talking about is how you could have put yourself and Roderick in such a dangerous position to begin with. Don't you understand that no one knew who you were or where you were? You both could have been killed, and none of use would have known about it. If something happened to you boys, I don't know what I would do. How could you have been so reckless?"

"We were just trying to do the right thing, Lord Teyrn." Roderick insisted.

"But there were a hundred different things you could have done without putting yourselves at risk. You could have gone for help, you could've gotten the city guard. Maker's mercy, you could have even said who you are. I know that if you said that you're a Cousland no one would have raised their hand against you. Our name does have that much weight."

Now it was Aedan's turn to look at his father with disappointment. "Is that what you and Grandfather did whenever you saw chevaliers commit their crimes? Go calling for someone else's help, or tell them your name and hope they cared?"

"Aedan, that was far different. Not even the same thing. Your grandfather and I fought in war. What happened today wasn't."

"No, it wasn't. It was worse. It was evil!" Aedan spoke out adamantly. "That's what I saw that Kendallls turd doing to that girl. I only did what I believed our family stood for. You're the one that always taught me that our family always does the honorable thing. That the true mark of a leader is never about being right, but doing right. That's why I did what I did today."

"Bryce, please." Eleanor finally spoke out. "I think Aedan's been through enough for today."

Bryce decided to concede to his wife. Fort Drakon was hardly the ideal place for having a heart-to-heart conversation with his son. Eleanor took Aedan by the hand, with Roderick following close behind him, and they all walked out of the fort. Maker willing, this would the last time Aedan ever saw the inside of Fort Drakon's dungeon's again.

When the Cousland family made their way back to their estate in the Palace District, they found an elven man waiting for them just outside the gates. The man was rather well dressed for an elf. Not a dock worker, that was for centain, so possibly a servant here in the Palace District, but not one in they Teyrn's employ.

"Can I help you, ser?" Teyrn Bryce asked politely.

"Please, forgive my intrusion, my lord, but would you by chance be Teyrn Bryce Cousland of Highever?" The elven man asked humbly.

"Indeed, that is me." Bryce confirmed.

The elf then turned his attention to the two young boys standing next to the teyrna. "Then these two...? This must Roderick Gilmore, and Aedan of Highever."

"Yes, you presume correctly. Might I ask who you are, good ser?" Eleanor asked curiously.

The elven man looked like he was about to be overcome with emotion, and couldn't take his eyes off of Aedan and Roderick. "Forgive me, my lady. My name is Eldren, I am a humble servant here in the Palace District. When I heard what these boys had done, we...we just had to come here."

"We?" Fergus questioned.

Aedan and Roderick couldn't believe their eyes when they saw who appeared from behind Perrin was a young elven lass with bright blonde hair. It was the girl Vaughan and his friends were attacking earlier, the one Aedan fought to protect. Now that Aedan saw her, without tears streaming her face, he could see her lovely green eyes, and how very pretty she was.

"This is my daughter, Iona." The young lass smiled and curtsied to present nobles, and both Aedan and Roderick couldn't help but bow in return. "When she didn't come home this morning, I was worried sick. The guards of this city rarely care when an elf goes missing, so I feared the worst. Then when she came home and told me of how your boys rescued her from those men, well, we just had to come here." Eldren looked at Aedan and Roderick with tears welling in his eyes. "Both of you have my deepest gratitude, I cannot thank you enough for what you did for my little girl."

"You don't have to thank us at all, ser." Aedan assured bashfully.

"Yes. We only did what we knew was right." Roderick added.

Perrin sniffed and did his best not to lose his composure. "It does my heart good to know that there are still people like you in the world. Lord and Lady Cousland, you are raising two such fine young men. You should be proud."

"I...I couldn't be prouder." Bryce said truthfully.

Iona stepped forward to Aedan and Roderick, and both of them bowed to the elven serving girl like they would a noble woman. And she looked at them with such heartfelt gratitude. "Thank you both, ser knights."

Seeing such a pretty girl show him such gratitude made Aedan blush several shades of crimson. "It...it was our honor to defend your honor, my lady."

Iona giggled and blushed a shade of red to match Aedan's. No one, especially not a human, had ever called her a lady before. "Um, before we go, there's something you must have." Iona picked up a box that he and her father had brought with them and presented it to Aedan.

"Please, you don't have to give me anything. I was...very happy to have helped." Aedan insisted.

"Oh, well, it's more like we're returning something that already belongs to you." Iona stated. She held the box up to Aedan and took the lid off of it. Out of the box popped the head of a very familiar mabari puppy, panting and looking at Aedan with so much happiness in his little eyes.

"It's you!" Aedan smiled excitedly. The puppy bounded out of the box and into Aedan's arms, barking and licking his face joyfully.

"Maker's breath! Is that a purebred mabari?" Fergus asked completely astounded, and a little bit envious.

"We found him waiting out here at the gates, and I thought while we were waiting for you as well, we could get him a collar and some treats." Iona said with a smile.

Bryce felt Eleanor take his hand and she looked at him with a smile telling him that Aedan had truly done the right thing. Any feelings of anger or disappointment had were now completely gone. Seeing the joy and gratitude in these elves reminded Bryce of the things he had taught his sons, and what it truly means to serven their people. Aedan went out of his way to save an innocent life, putting himself in such danger for her. Bryce couldn't feel prouder as a father than he did right now, knowing that his son held their family's values do dear to his heart. And to see a mabari, even if it was just a pup, bond so strongly to Aedan was surest sign of his son's character.

"If there's anything I can do for you, Lord Cousland, anything at all, please do not hesitate to ask. I will always be at your family's service, should you need it." Eldren promised. He looked at Roderick and Aedan one last time, his grateful smiling never leaving his face. "Maker bless you both."

"And you, ser." Roderick replied with a smile.

Aedan said nothing, but bowed his head to man with respect.

Eldred and his daughter both bowed to the Cousland family and took their leave. Before they left, however, rushed back over to Aedan and placed something in his hand. Aedan was too distracted by her smile to look at what it was. She giggled demurely, a blush across her cheeks, then ran back to her father.

After a moment that Aedan felt frozen in, he finally looked at what the elven lass had put in his hand. It was a plain kerchief, one that could easliy be bought from any venfor in this city. A simple gesture to some, but to those who strived for knighthood, this was the symbol of a lady's favor. A deeply honored and significant gesture that represented the acknowledgment of a knight's worth. For Aedan to recieve the favor of the girl he had saved, it made the blush on his face burn brighter. Then he felt his mother hug him from behind.

"What's this? Is my handsome little knight blushing?" Eleanor laughed, pulling her son and his new dog closer to her.

"Aw, Aedan! Recieving a Lady's Favour at only ten years old? Now I really am jealous!" Fergus teased, laughing heartily.

Bryce placed a hand on both Roderick and Aedan's shoulder, looking down on them with a smile. "Listen, no matter what I said earlier, I want you to know that I am very proud of both of you." The two young lads looked up at the teyrn with bright smiles on their faces, all shame and regret from them were purged by the Bryce's pride. The mabari puppy happily licked Bryce's hand. "So, what are you going to name your new friend, Aedan?"

"I think I want to call him...Dane." The puppy barked happily at Aedan's suggestion.

It's said that the mabari hounds are clever enough to speak, and wise enough not to. Bryce had no doubt to the dog's intelligence, especially since it seemed to understand Aedan's intentions. There were many reasons why the mabari breed was so highly prized in Ferelden. "Naming him after the forefather of all Ferelden? A good name, son."

"Well, I think we've all had enough excitement for one day. Let's go inside and see what Nan has prepared for dinner. Maybe she can whip up something tasty for the newest member of our family." Eleanor's suggestion recieved words of approval from her family, and happy barks from the puppy, and they all walked to the manor, eager to put all the bad parts of today behind them, and fondly hold on to the good.

Later That Night...

Eleanor was setting Aedan down to bed. After how busy the day was for all of them, going to bed early was a welcomed leisure. Byrce still had to deal with the Landsmeet, after all. Aedan was sitting in his bed with Dane laying down on the covers with him. Eleanor was sitting at his side, applying some ointments to Aedan's face to heal his injuries. For a moment, Eleanor felt like she was reliving her younger years during the war, back when she helped Bryce recover from his injuries he sustained in battle. As proud as she was that Aedan had so valiantly defended that girl's honor, Eleanor truly hoped that this wouldn't be a common occurence with Aedan. She wanted Aedan to enjoy the peace that King Maric and Loghain had won for their country, and she simply hated the thought of seeing Aedan's handsome face becoming bruised and scarred. Eleanor saw her husband waiting for her in the doorway, smiling at them both.

"Alright, love. That shall do for tonight. It's time you go to sleep." Eleanor said and kissed her son's cheek.

Aedan gently grabbed his mother's hand before she got up to leave. "Mother, can I ask you something?"

"You really should be going to sleep now, dear, but alright. Just one question."

"Earlier today, when I was fighting Vaughan Kendalls, there was a moment where I could have killed him. Even when I was beating his face into the ground, he was still so smug, so full of himself, like he could still get away with what he did. It made me so angry."

"Well, of course it did, darling. You had every right to be angry, and that boy certainly had no right to act so arrogant."

"But Mother, this was different. I never knew I could be so mad. I was strangling him, and smashing his head into the ground. I was going to kill him. I wanted to kill him. If the city guards didn't come and tear me off of him, I would have. I still want to when I think about how he made that girl cry." Aedan recalled everything he felt in that moment where he had Vaughan at his mercy, he could still feel the anger he felt then burning in his chest, and the urge to strangle Vaughan to death. Then he looked up to his mother, hoping for an answer to his question. "Mother, was I wrong?"

Eleanor wasn't sure how she was suppose to answer that question, or even how she should feel. Eleanor held her son's hand and looked at him gently with the only answer she felt she could give. "Aedan, what you did was very brave, you have nothing to be ashamed of. You saved that girl's life, and there's not a doubt in my mind that Kendalls boy deserved every cut and bruise you gave him. Your father and I fought against that same kind of villainy during the war againt Orlais. You had every right to be angry. Now, that's enough for tonight. It's past your bedtime."

"Alright. Goodnight, Mother." Aedan yawned, pulled the covers over himself and quickly fell asleep.

Eleanor quietly closed Aedan's bedroom door behind her, and saw her husband waiting in the hall, a concerned look on his face to match her own.

"Bryce...I'm worried about Aedan." Eleanor confessed. "The way he spoke of how badly he wanted to hurt Urien's son, even if the spoiled brat did deserve it, that is not the mindset of a ten-year old boy brought up peacefully."

"No, Eleanor, it's the mindset of a child destined to fight in war." Bryce spoke solemnly. His mind thought back to the darkest days of Orlesian Occupation. "I remember seeing many such lads back in the Rebellion. Young farmboys and commoners who were outraged at the crimes committed by Chevaliers, and wanted to make them pay dearly. It would seem our youngest son has inherited our people's anger towards injustice. He may indeed be fated to become a warrior."

This was not what Eleanor wanted to hear. "But there's no one to fight. Bryce, I don't want to see our boy march off to die in battle."

"The future is never certain, Eleanor, and we may have no say in the matter. There's no guarantee this peace will last. If this is the path Aedan will choose to follow, the best we can do is make sure that he's prepared for it."

"And how can we make sure that he's prepared?"

Bryce thought for a moment to find an answer. He was the Teyrn of Highever, for Andraste's sake, surely he could find a way to make sure his would be prepared for what lay ahead of him. "I have just the person in mind, dear. He can teach Aedan the neccesary skills he'll need if he continues down this path. Maybe, Maker willing, he can even turn Aedan away from this path entirely."

"Who, Bryce?"

"An old friend of mine from the war. An Ash Warrior. If anyone can teach Aedan what the life of a warrior is really about, it's him. Maker willing, maybe he can even turn Aedan away from this path."

Then Bryce and Eleanor then retired for the evening, but sleep didn't come to the teyrn as easily as he would have liked. The stress of the Landsmeet was now compounded with the worry he now had for his younger son's future. What Vaughan Kendalls did today had awoken something in Aedan, something very angry. Bryce whispered a silent prayer to the Maker that this anger would not define Aedan's life.

~Author's Note~

Greetings again friends, followers and readers. It's been a long time. A lot has happened since I completed Rajmael's story back in 2018.

Due to certain circumstances, I had to put my own writing aspirations on hiatus, but I haven't lost my love for writing or Dragon Age.

Aedan's story was the first fanfic I ever wrote, and I totally did it on a whim. When I looked back on it, I saw how crudely his story was done, I felt he deserved more.

To that end, I decided to go back and re-write his story and add in all the details and effort I didn't do the first time.

I fully intend to do this for all three of my Dragon Age heroes, so please expect Hawke and Rajmael's stories to appear in the future.

I hope you all enjoy what I'm writing here and leave me your reviews and tell me what you think.