Hope and Honor

by Kira Tamarion

AU. Alistair is saved from life at a monastery when Teagan convinces Maric to allow him to take over Alistair's fosterage. At the same time, young Emmalynn is condemned by her father as a mage and taken from Ostwick to the Kinloch Circle. When Emma and Alistair come together they bring Hope and Honor to aid the two Grey wardens who must end the 5th Blight. [Alistair, Amell]

28. On Different Paths

Chapter 28 = = On Different Paths

As had been his custom since his return from Ostagar, Loghain took the midday meal with his daughter then retired to his study in the afternoon to attend to correspondence and reports. Loghain still lived in the Mac Tir apartments, refusing to use the royal apartments simply telling the chamberlain. "I'm not the King."

As he sat down at his desk his eyes went to the scroll cases laid out neatly on the desk. As soon as he recognized the Howe seal, he nearly broke off the lid in his haste to get to the scroll inside.

Unrolling the it, his eyes narrowed in anger at the brevity of the letter.

15th Bloomingtide, 9:30 Dragon
Loghain Mac Tir, Regent of Ferelden
Denerim

Sire,

Splitting my time between my Teyrnir and Arling has left me with little time to write. I will be drafting the report for you within the next two weeks.

R. Howe,
Teyrn of Highever,
Arl of Denerim

Practically snarling, Loghain wrote a terse response.

17th Bloomingtide 9:30 Dragon
ARL Rendon Howe
Amaranthine

Rendon,

I as I said in my previous letter, you will cease claiming to be Teyrn of Highever as there has been no evidence presented to support your claim. We are not barbarians who take land by conquest.

You will present yourself to me and the Queen at the palace by the 23rd of Bloomingtide. At such time I expect you to present your evidence of Bryce Cousland's treason.

LMT

Loghain put the note inside the capsule so it could be sent via raven to Amaranthine. The next missive was also short. It was from the Sergeant of the Denerim Guard.

16th Bloomingtide, 9:30
Dear Regent,

Arl Vaughn Kendells is ignoring the unrest in Denerim and the city is now devolving into chaos.

Please, I need men to help restore order.

Yours in service,
Sgt Kylon.

He drummed his fingers on the desk as he read Kylon's plea. Writing a note to Cauthrien to send a detachment of the army to report to Kylon, he thought, What the void is Kendells doing? Perhaps I should make Rendon Arl of Denerim; that will allow me to keep an eye on him until the Landsmeet. Maybe then I can find out what truly happened at Highever.

~oOOo~

Aedan, Surana and their companions had only been in Orzammar for a day, but it had been a memorable one.

First, the city itself was a wonder: flowing lava and buildings carved from and into the stone. It was amazing to behold. The stone carvings with their sharp cuts and angular lines had a grandeur that rivaled anything they'd seen in Ferelden, and for Alistair rivaled anything in the Free Marches as well.

Just as memorable as Orzammar's architecture – but in a completely negative way – was the vitriol of dwarven politics. In the wake of King Endrin's death, two dwarves contended for the throne: Prince Bhelen Aeducan, who was the third child of the late King, and Lord Pyral Harrowmont, the Late King's second and high general. Prince Bhelen claimed he should be King because he was Endrin's son. Lord Harrowmont's claimed he should be King because Endrin, on his deathbed, named him the heir.

The candidates' supporters were killing each other in the streets.

Neither Bhelen nor Harowmont had enough votes in the Assembly to win the throne, and until there was a king, the Dwarves could not uphold the treaty.

The group did have one bit of luck: There was a Grey Warden outpost in Orzammar. It had a main room, a cooking area, sleeping rooms, bathing rooms, space to spar, and storage. It was designed to house about eight wardens, with two bunks per sleeping room. Fortunately, with Morrigan and Sten remaining topside, they had room to house the remaining seven of the group.

Aedan was making room assignments. "Zevran and Surana can share a room, Leliana and Wynne share a room, Jowan and I can share a room and Alistair can have a room to himself."

"Aedan, you are the Warden-Commander, the room is yours. I'll share with Jowan."

Aedan knew better than to argue with Alistair, "Thank you, Alistair. As for supplies, the outpost also has all we need for Jowan to join the wardens, so I would like to hold Jowan's joining before dinner," Aedan announced.

"Do we have food for dinner?" Surana asked.

"Well, the pantry is full of non-perishable goods, but we should acquire things like bread and cheese and such. Um… Leliana, could you accompany me?" Aedan asked.

"Of course!" Her smile made the tips of Aedan's ears redden.

After Leliana and Aedan left. Alistair and Surana looked at the group. "When did that happen?

Zevran grinned. "The first night after we left Redcliffe. Our Warden Commander is very good at making our bard sing."

Everyone chuckled, then Alistair looked at Surana. "How come you didn't hear anything?"

Before Surana could respond, Zevran answered. "Mi Amor passes many nights spent, happy, and asleep."

Wynne smiled. After watching Emmalynn and Alistair's courage in the face of the Arl's deeds, perhaps relationships like these gave a certain strength to the couple. "Then it looks like I will have a room to myself."

~oOOo~

Jowan's command of magic had improved by leaps and bounds under Surana's tutoring. Even Wynne praised his progress. Jowan knew he would never be as strong a mage as Surana, but he was increasingly more confident and actively looked forward to having a purpose serving as a Grey Warden.

Surana, Jowan, and Aedan were alone in the sparring room. Surana, who mixed the 'joining juice', as he called it, held the chalice while Aedan repeated the vow:

"Join us, brother. Join us in the shadows where we stand vigilant. Join us as we carry the duty that cannot be forsworn. And should you perish, know that your sacrifice will not be forgotten. And that one day we shall join you."

Jowan drank the rather foul concoction and fell to his knees. A white film covered his eyes as he fell limply unto Surana's arms. "He made it." Surana's voice was raspy, as the sense of relief unexpectedly brought tears to his eyes.

Aedan helped Surana put Jowan to bed. "I'll tell the others…and figure out how to make the necklace."

"Thanks, Aedan."

Aedan entered the main room, announcing, "Jowan is now a Grey Warden."

Everyone cheered.

~oOOo~

Emmalynn found herself sitting on the bank of the Drakon river, in the same place where Alistair had first kissed her hand. However, this time she was in the Fade, and Hope was sitting beside her, not Alistair.

"I know you're hurting, Emmalynn, but you did the right thing."

"Given that I should have never been careless with my affections in the first place… at least Arl Eamon's duplicitous nature is out in the open and Ali knows how far that man will go to manipulate him. Still, why is the Arl so intent on putting Ali on the throne? Why is he so invested in it? It's not like Alistair will do Eamon's bidding. What does he gain with Ali on the throne? Is he just a traditionalist?"

Hope looked thoughtful. "Alistair would need to marry if he took the throne. "Ferelden needs alliances, so his marriage would need to create an alliance for Ferelden in addition to producing an heir. Besides, a King needs to marry someone near his station, that would exclude an Arl's daughter, and there is no Cousland daughter. Given that, who in Ferelden would be of sufficient status?"

Emmalynn sighed. "It would seem that Eamon wants Alistair to marry an Orlesian."

Eamon has ties to Orlais." Hope added

Emmalynn shook her head. "It doesn't matter. The intricacies of Fereldan politics are not my concern except as they impact the Circle. King Cailan and Queen Anora were always kind to us. If Ali–Alistair, takes the throne he too will be good to the Circle. In fact, despite the Blight, the outlook for the Circle is excellent. With Greagoir's trust in me, perhaps we can be less of a prison." Emmalynn's tone was rueful. "Now I sound like Anders."

"No, you sound like Emmalynn extending hope to the mages under your care."

"Well, they are or will be, my responsibility. Their lives need to mean something to them, to be well-lived. That cannot happen if the circle is a prison."

"Just know one thing."

Emmalynn looked at Hope.

"You were not reckless with your affections."

~oOOo~

Their second day in Orzammar, Wynne and Leliana spent time in the Shaperate researching a way to break the assembly's continued deadlock.

The three Wardens, along with Alistair and Zevran, cleared the Carta from a place called Dust Town. In doing so, they saw the results of the Dwarven Caste system – the those living in Dust Town, the casteless, were seen as less than the dust and filth in which they lived.

When the group gathered back at the outpost in the afternoon, they shared what they'd learned.

Wynne explained, "Harowmont is a traditionalist and would maintain the Caste system even though it is the direct cause of the declining population in Orzammar."

"We also learned that Prince Bhelen wants to open up Orzammar for trade, and to loosen the Caste system," Leliana said. "Perhaps he would be a better King, yes?"

Aedan sighed. "Well, we also picked up a few things about the Prince. From what we heard, he is progressive, but he is also a tyrant. According to Harowmont supporters, Prince Bhelen is a thug, and many believe he killed his oldest brother Trian and framed his sister for the crime."

"So, he would be a progressive tyrant," Jowan smirked.

They decided that Aedan and Surana would go to the next day's meeting of the assembly and see what could be negotiated. They came back just before the midday meal looking like thunderclouds.

"What happened?" Jowan asked.

"If we want the Dwarven army, then we have to find a paragon and have them decide who takes the throne."

"Where do we find a paragon?" Wynne asked.

"Somewhere the Deep Roads," Surana answered. "Apparently, she took her entire house into the Deep Roads two years ago and hasn't been heard from since."

After a long discussion, they decided that Jowan would remain in Orzammar but not go to the Deep Roads; that way, if anything happened to Aedan and Surana, Jowan was in a place where he could easily get across the border and seek out the Jader wardens. Not knowing how long they would be in the Deep Roads, Aedan and Alistair went topside to speak with Morrigan and Sten.

Aedan explained, "We have no idea how long it will take to find this paragon, so there is no sense having you wait here. Rainesfere is far more comfortable and the Arl is not there."

"I have written a message to our Seneschal, so he can make your stay comfortable," Alistair said, giving the scroll to Sten. "Morrigan, if my father is there, would you give him this note?"

Morrigan nodded.

"Thank you."

Sten grumbled, "This is another delay."

Alistair nodded. "Aye, it is, but we need the Dwarven army and their siege weapons."

Sten nodded reluctantly.

~oOOo~

The quiet afternoon in Denerim's palace shattered when the guards heard Loghain shout, "Eamon almost died!? That potion wasn't designed to be lethal!"

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AN: Thank you for reading!