Chapter 11: The Meeting of Six

Once we had finished bringing King Maric and Tyrn Loghain up to speed, Faren, Trianna, and I spent the rest of the day preparing to meet the other origins. Faren ordered our armor to be polished to a mirror shine and had the servants prepare my best garnet and gold gambeson. This gambeson had gold studs with House Orodum's sigil stamped into them. Faren also made sure that I wore the jewelry he and Trianna had given to me. I also decided to wear the old cape that Trian had given me as an aramis cloak over my left shoulder.

Faren would wear his armor as he always did, while Trianna decided to wear a set of black and green armor made from beautiful bronto floral designs stitched into it were elegant, made from silver thread.

The three of us discussed what we would go over with the others once we'd met them. Faren and I had only met Serena those few years ago when she visited with Maric and Loghain. Serena and I had kept in touch through letters, but we mostly shared important news, generally how we were doing. She didn't share anything about the other origins apart from the fact that she had found them, their names, and they were safe. This was intentional, though. We didn't want to give away too much in case the correspondence was intercepted somehow.

I had asked if we needed to bring food for the dinner, but was given reassurances that King Maric was having the meeting catered by his own chefs.

At the appointed hour we were escorted to the tent that had been set up for us. There were royal guards, guards from House Cousland, House Amell, and now I was adding House Orodum guards to the mix.

One of the royal guards pulled back the opening to the tent and announced us, "Paragon Merida Orodum, Princess of Orzammar, and her escorts Lord Faren Orodum, and Lady Trianna of Clan Sabrae."

As we passed through the entrance, the guard closed it behind us. Inside was a large, round table set with ornate chairs, and several dozen aroma of the food had my mouth watering as I caught the scent of food I hadn't eaten since before I was resurrected. Around the table sat Serena, a human male, and a male elf.

The human let out a long whistle, "That's an impressive series of titles."

"Allen," Serena scolded the young man, "act accordingly." Serena stood from her chair and bowed, "Paragon Orodum, it's been far too long. I'm glad to see you doing so well."

I dipped into a curtsy, "Lady Cousland, you've grown since the last time we met."

That got a laugh from Serena, "I could say the same for you. You've certainly sprouted since we last met."

We laughed together before I looked at the two people I didn't know, "Proper introductions are in order. I am Princess Merida Orodum of Orzammar."

Faren stepped forward, bowing his head, "I'm Faren Orodum, Lady Orodum's personal guard."

"Trianna of Clan Sabrae, First of Clan Sabrae" Trianna offered.

"As you all know, I am Serena Cousland, Arl of Amaranthine" Serena joined in.

The human stood and offered a sweeping bow, "I am Allen Amell, head of House Amell."

The elf stood and bowed his head, "Aelfric, Bann of the Denerim Alienage."

"Now that we've all introduced ourselves, I have a question," Allen said as he pointed at Faren. "We all have unique names, Faren. But your name is a default name. Why is that?"

Faren chuckled, "I thought you would have figured it out by now. I chose the default game before I was brought here. I always preferred to jump right in. No real need to choose a unique name."

"See? I told you so," Serena chuckled.

Allen snapped his fingers and sighed, "Well, I suppose my theory on how high the origins were in the social order has been debunked."

"Excuse me, but…" I looked around at the tables of food that were sitting nearby, "do I smell cornbread?"

Everyone looked at me in confusion for a few moments before they each erupted into laughter.

"I suppose we should eat and talk or the Paragon will waste away to nothing," Aelfric said.

"Not that there's much of her to waste away as it is," Allen quipped.

I huffed and lifted my chin haughtily, as I made my way to the food, "I may be short but I outrank everyone in this room. So I get first dibs."

That got a laugh from everyone. Even Faren started to loosen up a bit around others from the same world as us. We all fixed our plates and sat down around the table. Faren and Trianna sat to either side of me while Serena, Allen, and Aelfric sat opposite of us.

I was so excited! Apparently Aelfric had made a name for himself as a cook in Denerim, making food from our world which helped to draw the attention from the nobles. He had taught the recipes to others for a hefty price, and used that gold to improve the Alienage and over time, turn the Alienage into an area where people would go for specialty cuisine.

I said a silent prayer to the stone as I looked at my plates. Cornbread, cranberry sauce, cajun seasoned pork chops, mashed potatoes, buttermilk fried chicken, pork belly burnt ends, biscuits, pumpkin pie, and fruit cobbler!

"Someone was Southern," Aelfric said as he watched me dig into my meal.

I had tears welling in my eyes. I hadn't had these foods in almost two decades. It was a taste of home that brought back a thousand memories. I actually started to cry.

"My Lady," Faren gasped as he reached over to place a hand on my back. "Are you alright?"

I nodded and sniffled, continuing to eat and broke all etiquette as I spoke through a mouthful of food, "Yes. I'm sorry. It's just… These were some of my favorite foods from before. I haven't tasted them since then. I'm just… remembering so much that I haven't had the will to think about in so long."

Trianna's hand joined Faren's and rubbed my back.

Aelfric smiled, "I'm glad I could make something you loved. I tried to have the chefs make as many types of dishes that I remembered in the hopes that something would be from a general region we might have come from."

We ate in silence for several minutes as everyone enjoyed a little taste of home.

When everyone other than Faren and myself seemed content with how much they'd had (dwarves can really pack away the food), Serena began to outline what all we needed to discuss.

"So, now that we've… mostly all had our fill…" Serena chuckled, "I think we need to outline what we need to discuss, then go over everything in detail. First, I think we should each go over what we've done to build up our resources, and avoid some of the worst things that could happen."

"I figure you can start, then, Serena," Allen said as he leaned back in his chair. "It seems to be your show at the moment."

Serena looked over at me and chuckled as I smiled up at her with a mouth full of food, "I suppose I could go first. As you all know, I'm the human noble origin. House Cousland didn't have many issues to handle other than Arl Howe. Lady Merida gave me the idea I needed to deal with him."

Everyone looked at me for an explanation but I was currently stuffing my face with fried chicken and waved a drumstick at Serena for her to continue.

Serena laughed and explained, "She had a dwarf from the Surface Caste approach Arl Howe with false plans about the ground beneath Castle Cousland. The plans detailed false gas pockets that would kill the inhabitants of the castle if the gasses somehow leaked to the surface. Howe was stupid enough to sign a contract detailing the plan for the dwarves to dig tunnels up to the castle to funnel the gasses through them, and he was even more foolish to pay with heirlooms of his House."

"Mm hm mm hm," I agreed with a mouthful of pumpkin pie.

"The dwarf then brought the contract with Howe's signature and the heirlooms as proof to King Maric," Serena finished explaining. "Once the king saw this, he confronted Howe and stripped him of the Arling, which he turned over to me as a dowry for my marriage to Alistair."

I wiped my mouth and smiled, "I'm looking forward to attending the wedding. When will that be?"

"After the Blight is handled," Serena said. "But with the Arling now in my possession, we've fortified Vigil's Keep and worked to help bolster Amaranthine's port presence with help from the dwarven Surface Caste's surge in commerce."

"Wait," Aelfric interrupted, "if you have control of the Arling, why aren't an Arl?"

"She isn't married yet," Trianna guessed. "She gets the title when she marries Alistair."

"Correct," Serena confirmed with a nod. "At the moment, I'm a caretaker until the title is officially passed on after the marriage. Now, who's next?"

"I guess I'll go next," Allen volunteered. "It took me some time but I managed to rise up in the Circle to the point where I could pass my Harrowing early. When Serena and King Maric came to the Circle and took me with them, I focused my efforts on reorganizing my House."

"Isn't that seated in Kirkwall? In the Free Marches?" Faren asked.

Allen nodded in confirmation, "Yes. King Maric escorted me there. My Great aunt and uncles were still alive, though they were dealing with a bout of cholera. We managed to save them just in time and I proved to Uncle Aristide that I could lead the House to future greatness. He forgave his daughter, but I was named Head of the House after I proved to my uncle that Gamlen was simply spending the family's funds on gambling."

"Wait," I pounded a fist to my chest to help quickly swallow some of the cajun pork, "does that mean we have access to Hawke, Carver, and Bethany?"

Allen smirked, "Garret Hawke, yes. We also have Malcolm Hawke as well. You see, I had started to focus on elemental spells, but once I thought about what the main issues of the Amell family was, I specialized in healing magic."

I leaned forward, eyes wide, "But that means we can deal with Corypheus before he becomes an issue, right? Since Malcolm was the one who sealed him away…"

Allen nodded, "I've spoken to him about it already. Corypheus is similar to an arch demon, in that he can transfer his essence to anything tainted by the Blight within a certain distance. Unfortunately… we don't know what that distance is."

"A problem for later, then," Trianna mused.

"It would seem so," Allen admitted. "It's almost a non-issue since he can't be released without someone from my bloodline performing the ritual to let him loose."

"Let's put that on the back burner, then," Serena said. "Aelfric, why don't you go next?"

Aelrfric chuckled and motioned to me, "Well, as you can see, I focused primarily on food to get to where I am. I admit, I started as a thief and developed my skills there for a few years till a guard in Denerim sneered at me that knife-ears like me should at least be able to contribute something worthwhile to society."

"For some reason, that really struck home and I had to think about what it was that I could do that no one else could," Aelfric continued. "So I remembered that I could cook, and that the food here is lacking in overall flavor. I was a chef before, so I figured I could be again. I opened a small stall in the market district. The human wrecked it a few times, but eventually, enough people tried my food that no one would attack the stall anymore. Eventually, I was able to open a small restaurant, kind of the first in Denerim."

"I can see why! I'm going to eat as much of this as I can before we leave!" I said, still very much enraptured by the taste of the food.

Aelfric laughed, "And that's the very reason I got to where I am today. My food became so popular that nobles began taking up every seat for every meal. My reputation reached Serena and King Maric. When they came to see me, Serena discussed who we were. The king hired me to teach his cooks how to make the foods. I bargained for more, though. I insisted that he invest in the Alienage, so we could turn it into a space for culinary cuisine. The elves really dove into becoming chefs. It was relatively easy, and after a few months of lessons, they were beginning to create their own culinary goods."

I looked at Faren with wide, excited eyes, "We're going to Denerim after all this is over with!"

That elicited a chuckle from everyone.

Aelfric continued, "With the culinary renaissance I brought to the city, I was named the Elder of the Alienage, and King Maric named me a Bann, and granted the Alienage to me so that I could continue to help it prosper. Though, I have to say, the dwarven Surface Caste really helped with procuring the spices and goods needed to make some of the confections we created. So I'm rather grateful for your efforts, Lady Merida."

"Just send one of your chefs to Orzammar to cook for me from now on and we'll call it even," I squeaked as I gazed at the slice of pumpkin pie I was about to eat.

Serena laughed, "Who's next? Faren?"

Faren shrugged, "There's not much to tell. I had convinced my mother to start a small stall to earn money. It accomplished my primary goal, which was to grab the attention of the dwarf noble origin. Since then, Lady Merida has worked diligently to elevate my family and care for us. So I've done whatever I could to support her. She has the power and influence to get things done for our people."

"Wait…" Allen said, leaning forward, "so you've basically done nothing but guard Lady Merida? You didn't change things or make plans?"

"Why should I?" Faren asked. "Lady Merida's plans were the same plans I would have had, but she already had the power to influence things. I would have had to work this long just to be able to talk to a noble to start the process. Dedicating myself to protecting the person who could get things done faster just made sense. If nothing else, my plan was to keep her alive so that she could do just that."

I smiled at Faren, "And I thank you so much for that, Faren. I couldn't have asked for a more dedicated partner."

"Trianna?" Serena asked. "I know I took you away from what you were doing when we met and sent you to Orzammar. Have you been able to do much while there?"

Trianna looked at me and I gave a reaffirming nod, "Tell them."

"Very well," Trianna began. "I was, and still am, the First of Clan Sabrae. I have kept in close contact with my clan through messages over the years. Before I left, I had nearly figured out the secret to activating the Eluvian Network."

"And you stopped her from doing something so useful?" Allen asked Serena incredulously.

"It was necessary to keep us all safe," Serena defended herself.

"What's done is done," Trianna interrupted the squabble before it could really take off. "I admit, I was angry at first. But there were benefits to going to Orzammar. Lady Merida and I were able to work on our magic, research the darkspawn, and worked with my clan to direct them on which steps to take to prepare for the Blight."

"Such as?" Allen prodded.

"To hunt down the Alerion clan and bring them together," Trianna explained. "We also directed them to call the Boranehn, Ralaferin, and Ghilain clans to an Arlathvhen. Lady Merida and I were able to attend the meeting since it was held near Orzammar. We were able to convince the elves of the truth about some of our traditions, and convinced them to join together into a singular elven clan. They'll be ready to join us soon."

"That's actually really impressive," Serena said as she thought about it. "I can't imagine all of that went over smoothly. There had to be some blowback."

Trianna nodded, "There was. It took months to convince them and I still need King Maric's help to finalize some of the promises I made."

"As a fellow elf, I have ask," Aelfric cut in. "What promises would need King Maric's help?"

"You're talking about the Dalish elf epilogue, aren't you?" Serena gasped.

"Wait, what?" Aelfric nearly jumped out of his seat. "You mean you're actually going to ask him for-"

"I won't be asking for anything," Trianna quickly corrected Aelfric. "It is the price for the aid of the Dalish. And I have Lady Merida's assurance that she will stand by me in my request. I've seen how she's worked to improve the lives and treatment of her people, and I will be doing the same for the elves. We won't be second class citizens anymore."

Everyone went silent for several moments before Serena cleared her throat, "Well, Merida? Care to let everyone know what you've been up to?"

I choked down a mouthful of fruit cobbler and dabbed my mouth with a napkin, "Delicious! Oh, and yes! I'd be happy to."

I sat up straight and smiled, "So far I've managed to establish the Surface Caste which has helped to create more upward momentum among the dwarves, and brought more wealth to Orzammar in generations. It also seems to have helped a few of you in the process. We also managed to retake Aeducan Thaig, Ortan Thaig, and Cadash Thaig; reestablishing them as functioning cities as the first steps toward recreating the Dwarven Empire."

"You already took back the Thaigs!?" Serena asked in shock. "I thought you were going to wait till King Maric could bring his men to reinforce your people! And how did you even find Ortan Thaig? You needed directions when we last met."

"I got them from Tyrn Loghain," I explained. "He sent me the directions after we exchanged a few letters. I was going to wait for the humans, but the resources that the Surface Caste brought in was beyond what even my most favorable estimations could have believed. So, I figured we should start right away. We took Aeducan Thaig the year after we met. Then we took the Ortan and Cadash Thaigs as well."

Serena, Allen, and Aelfric stared at me in stunned silence.

"Faren and Trianna have been by my side this entire time," I continued, "helping me every step of the way. We've fought against thousands of darkspawn and managed to kill about a dozen broodmothers."

"So you've already been fighting the darkspawn all this time?" Allen asked.

"What did you expect?" Faren asked. "We're dwarves and the darkspawn are a constant threat."

"Still, it's one thing to go up against a few roaming bands," Aelfric said, "it's something entirely different to go through the Deep Roads and retake the lost thaigs."

Allen laughed, "What are you trying to do, become Queen of the dwarves?"

"No," I shook my head. "I'm just trying to do what I can for my people."

"Well, I suppose that covers what we've all been up to," Serena said. "So what's next on the agenda?"

"Shouldn't we discuss our plans for the Blight?" Trianna suggested.

"You all arrived before we did and have been working pretty diligently for a few months now," Aelfric said. "Why don't you tell us what you have planned so far?"

"Very well," I called from the food tables. I had begun filling up a third plate. "We brought enough supplies to basically rebuild the fort, but we're focused on repairing it and reinforcing it for now. By the time we're done with it, it'll be good as new."

"We've also brought supplies to build barracks and other proper facilities for long term use," Trianna added. "Once the fort itself is ready, we'll be building permanent housing and other structures."

"And as far as tactics go," Faren joined in on the explanation, "We've brought a thousand of House Orodum's warriors, as well as warriors from other noble Houses. We have nearly three hundred bronto for our cavalry units, all with their own armor and are already used to charging through darkspawn ranks."

"What about the Dalish elves?" Aelric asked Trianna. "Didn't you mention they were planning to help?"

"They'll be here for the battle, don't you worry," Trianna reassured him.

"What about the rest of you?" I asked after I sat back down, balancing a few plates on my arms and setting them in front of me. "I saw a lot of soldiers arrive with you, and noticed the materials as well. King Maric said you were planning on doing repairs to the fort and then scouting the wilds?"

Serena nodded, "I figured that since we had a few years to make things work, we could repair the fort then get the lay of the land so we could prepare traps to cut down the darkspawn's numbers before they made it to the fort."

"If it weren't for Loghain pulling out of the fight, Cailan could have won the Battle of Ostagar in the game. They had the numbers and the strategy," Allen reminded everyone. "So we figured if we could prepare for the battle ahead of time, the fight would become even easier."

"Oh…" Faren, Trianna, and I said in unison.

The disappointment in our voices must have been obvious because Serena's face flushed red, "What do you mean, 'Oh'? Why change what works?"

"Because we still need a piece of the puzzle that Loghain didn't approve of in the game," I said. "We still need the Grey Wardens, and we do all remember how Loghain acted when Cailan depended on the Wardens, right?"

"He won't argue against King Maric,"Serena insisted. "The Wardens have already been welcomed back into Ferelden by the King."

"They were welcomed back by King Maric in the game as well," I countered. "And Loghain didn't agree with the invitation then, either. Some caution is warranted."

"I'd say that's fair," Aelfric chimed in. "The man is still a curmudgeon and while he may be loyal to the King, we don't know how strained that loyalty might be when we have to depend on the Wardens to finish off the Archdemon."

Serena and Allen shared a look that said they didn't like it but they'd accept it.

"Anyway," I quickly added, "Having more options on top of what we know works is only a good thing."

"Let's move on to our future plans after Ostagar," Serena suggested.

"Well, now that I've heard what Trianna has in store, my plans might be changing," Aelfric laughed.

"What!?" Serena gasped. "But we had planned on you working to expand the Alienage and working on human/elf relations in Denerim."

"That's true," Aelfric apologized, "but if Trianna is essentially setting up a new elven territory, I can bring my people here to help establish the place as a new culinary center. That could help with relations by bringing visitors to us where we could share more of our culture."

That news seemed to irritate Serena but she shrugged it off.

"As far as I'm concerned," Serena offered, " I plan on turning Highever into the largest port city in Ferelden and making the market in Redcliffe seem puny by comparison. The Arling will thrive with all of the extra trade."

"As far as I'm concerned, I want the Circles abolished in favor of magical colleges," Allen said. "I intend on changing the Circle in Kirkwall first using my family's influence. The Chantry has no right to oversee the private lives of others."

"I tend to agree," I nodded. "The Chantry have taken their duty to guard the people against Maleficarum too far. It's become an institution of prison slaves who are only let out if their families are rich enough to bribe the Chantry or the kingdoms they're in have need of their mage's power."

"That's right…" Allen said thoughtfully. "You're a mage, aren't you? I remember hearing the mages in the Tower speaking excitedly about a dwarven princess who could cast spells. How did that work?"

"The same way I'm a mage," Trianna lied for me. "Starting the game with mods."

"So it was our character class choices that determined what we are," Aelfric hummed.

"I think that freeing the Circles is something we can all agree on," Faren said. "The question is, how to go about it. The Chantry won't release their hold on the mages without a fight, and the Templar's addiction to lyrium is another reason they won't want to let the mages go."

"Well, we can do something about the lyrium supply," I smirked. "Dwarves are the only ones who can mine it safely."

"Cutting off the supply would only upset the Chantry and the Circle at the same time," Allen shook his head. "It's not a good solution."

"We don't need to cut off the supply," I said through a mouthful of pie. "We can increase the price, making it so that the Chantry is forced to use the supply in a more effective manner. Kingdoms will insist on their Circles using the lyrium to enchant weapons and armor, and creating other magical items. The Chantry will say they need the lyrium for their Templars. They'll solve that problem themselves. In the meantime, we'll offer Allen's college the lyrium at a premium rate as a way for the dwarves to endorse more… life assuring methods of mage training."

"That could actually work," Allen mused. "It doesn't deny the supply, but it would increase the demand. That could be an excellent first step, Merida."

"I'd ask what Faren's plans are," Faelric said, "but I'm pretty sure he would just say 'whatever Lady Merida has planned'."

"That's not true," Faren growled. "While I am going to help Lady Orodum every step of the way, but while I do that I also plan on rising to become the High Commander of Orzammar. I will reorganize Orzammar's forces into specialized branches which will give even the casteless the chances to rise up into the Warrior Class."

"That will take a lot of effort and pulling a lot of strings," Serena finally spoke again.

"I'll need to prove myself in battle," Faren agreed, "But I won't need to pull a single string. Lady Orodum has already assured me that she would use her influence to make the reorganization happen."

"It's one more way for us to improve the lives of our people," I smiled at Faren with cheeks packed with pork bites.

"And what about you?" Serena asked me. "Are you still determined to achieve the same goals you told me about when we spoke in Orzammar?"

I nodded firmly, "I am. After this Blight there will still be two more old gods left; Razikale, the Dragon of Mystery, and Lusacan, the Dragon of Night. There might be a third that the Chantry wiped from the records… but I can't remember if that was ever confirmed or not. I'm still determined to hunt them down while they're sleeping, and kill them before they can be used to start their own Blights."

"You certainly don't lack ambition," Aelfric hummed. "How do you propose to find their prisons? It's not like that information is readily available."

"True," I admitted. "But I know who does know where the prisons are. So once this business in Ostagar is done, I'll work with my people for some time to secure the Deep Roads around the Thaigs, then make my way to get that information."

The meeting went on for another few hours, discussing plans for Ostagar, scouting the wilds, and other things of a more casual nature. Serena revealed that she had managed to gather a few of other the other party members from the game; namely Wynn, Morrigan, and Leiliana. With Alistair as her betrothed, and Ohgren and Shale in Orzamar and Cadash Thaig, we had nearly everyone we could get our hands on. By the time we were finished, Faren and I had nearly emptied the table of the food and I took a pumpkin pie back to my quarters for myself.

Over the next two weeks, we all met a few more times and I explained the changes we would be making to the fort to help make the original strategy more sound.

Trianna and I also met with King Maric to make the offer of giving the HInterlands and Ostager to the Dalish after the Blight. I informed the king that Orzammar would support this proposition, as it would give the elves a place to call their own within the realm and would help to ease relations between elves and humans, and might serve as a cultural buffer between Fereldens and the Chasind tribes of the Kocari Wilds. In the end, Maric said he would agree to the proposition so long as I could guarantee that dwarves would serve as intermediaries in the case of any problems between the humans and elves.

Those first two weeks with everyone there were busy with everyone trying to fit in to the overall business of restoring the fort, scouting the area, and training the troops. It was refreshing to have so many extra people there, and getting to meet Morrigan, Wynn, and Leiliana was a treat as well.