Aedan Cousland

He was silent as they trudged along the Imperial Highway. Not that the others minded; Alistair hadn't talked, and Morrigan probably appreciated the quiet. Hohaku -- he had known the dog since they were both little, named him after that tale that Nan used to tell, though he hadn't known what it meant back then -- was the only one who looked happy, trudging alongside his master. Was his faithful mabari the only part of his family left?

He couldn't go back to look for Fergus. His brother was probably dead given what had had happened at Ostagar. His mother and his father were both dead, victims of Howe's evil. Lady Landra...Oren...he couldn't wipe the image out of his head, no matter how he tried. That ambitious little boy, lying with his throat slit by a sword. When Fergus had said he'd see a sword up close soon enough, he hadn't meant that. Ser Gilmore...Nan...Mother Mallol...Alduos, the old sage who'd told him about the world beyond Highever's gates. All of them, dead. Betrayed.

And all he’d gotten in that fight was a scar across his nose, from the spiked gauntlet of one of Howe’s knights.

And then King Cailan. Duncan. The Wardens and the King's Men. Dead. Betrayed by Loghain. Aedan and Alistair would have been dead too, had it not been for Flemeth. Witch of the Wilds. Alduos had told him the tale of her, but neither of them believed her to be real. And now one of these so-called witches and a daughter of Flemeth, indeed, was among them. He did not trust her, but Flemeth had wanted her to go. Who was he to say no to the person who’d saved him?

If she’d truly saved him. This in his body, it was a disease. It would always be there; it allowed him to sense the Darkspawn, but it was also clawing at him from within, and would take his life long before his time was due. Not that he cared anymore. There were two things he needed to live for: to kill darkspawn, and to avenge his family. So far...they’d killed a few darkspawn, but there were thousands more. Chances were, the darkspawn would kill them. Yet the old woman seemed to hold faith in them...if it could be considered that.

“''So you’re set then? Ready to be Grey Wardens?''” the Witch of the Wilds had asked.

They were – as Alistair had said – as ready as they’d ever be. The army of Redcliffe, the dwarves of Orzammar, the Circle of Magi, the Dalish, and whomever else they could gather. The only way they had of getting these people to join them were the documents, which Aedan had looked over on the way. A seemingly impossible task, it was, but it was their only hope.

And it had been what had kept Aedan from breaking down, he realised. They said that when you became a Warden, you gave up everything else that you were. But...he couldn’t just let Howe get away with this. He couldn’t. But it gave him a goal. And maybe it would bring him closer to his personal goal of avenging his family and killing Howe. That would not bring them back, but...at least Howe would be dead. The murderer of children and innocents and filthy, lying backstabber would be dead. Every minute that monster was alive, Aedan was angry, and sad, and on the verge of just running out into the wilderness and screaming at the top of his lungs to the Maker that had turned His back on His creations, left them to their vices.

The Maker didn’t care about them. Why would He just stand by and let them destroy themselves? Or let the Blight destroy them? He had seen the corruption. How could any loving deity do that? Aedan took a deep breath, unclenching his fists, noticing that Morrigan was staring at him. He needed to get ahold of himself. He had a grand total of two people, plus a dog, to lead now. And maybe a whole army, if he survived this. He focused on the goal at hand, which was getting into Lothering at the moment.

Timeline

 * Get Out Alive, Gone Forever
 * At the Ruins of Ostagar

Post-Ostagar

 * August 1, Lothering: Aftermath (COMPLETE)
 * August 1, Lothering: Highlander Diplomacy (COMPLETE)
 * August 1, Lothering: Sister of Mercy
 * August 1, Lothering: The Prisoner
 * August 2, Camp: Truths and Oaths
 * August 7, Camp: Elven Greetings
 * August 8, Imperial Highway: The Antivan Crows' Regards
 * August 8, Camp: Dalish Inquiries
 * August 9, Imperial Highway: In Desperation and Duty
 * August 10, Redcliffe: Arl of Redcliffe (COMPLETE)
 * August 10, Redcliffe: Calm Before the Storm
 * August 13, Imperial Highway: Flight
 * August 21, Imperial Highway: Noble Vows
 * August 23, Lake Calenhad Docks: Broken Circle Prelude (COMPLETE)
 * August 23, Lake Calenhad: The First Boat
 * August 23, Circle Tower: Broken Circle
 * Unknown, Imperial Highway: The Stray

Music

 * Grooveshark Playlist -- Angst warning!