#loghain mac tir's life

[simnovoris]

Meet this odd little family that consists of Loghain Mac Tir and his wife Elissa Cousland, as well as their daughter Eleanor.

What the hell is this pairing, you might ask? Well, don't overthink it, it's a great pairing based on a healthy dose of attraction. Elissa and Loghain met at work, since they're both in the military and it took very little time for them to become friends and then also very quickly lovers. When Elissa discovered she was pregnant, she proposed to Loghain who said yes.

They had a sweet and private ceremony followed by a brief stay in Sulani.

And then their little daughter Eleanor was born and the rest is mostly diapers and cuddles.

[wheretheresawyll]

still boggles my mind that in the year 2024 most players still ignore anora's character just to reduce her to a lying backstabber, when she only goes against you if:

you reveal her identity to ser cautherine and howe's soldiers, defeating the entire purpose of her disguise and also ignoring what she told you literally one minute before about how they can't know she's escaping with you - thereby betraying her first

you ignore her completely in denerim after she asks you to come talk to her, and only show up to the landsmeet

you bring up loghain's fate, and when she tells you that she would rather him be spared if possible, you tell her to her face that her father has to die

[themaybug]

or, the many times Loghain Mac Tir escaped death, and the question of why

[vigilskeep]

very fun to have tristan in mind as i go through anora’s dialogue file actually, because it’s necessary to the narrative i have in mind that he bears a grudge against the mac tirs as a whole but wow he really would hate her in specific. which almost makes me more committed to putting her on the throne alone this run because i love the weight it gives that choice

[ziskandra]

nostalgia and loghain for the drabble prompts? if you want😊

10. Nostalgia

Loghain knows he shouldn’t be alive.

He should’ve died a hero’s death many years ago in service to his country, another reminder of the sacrifices made to liberate Ferelden from the yoke of Orlesian oppression.

If not the Rebellion, then the Blight: penance for all the mistakes he’d lived long enough to make.

If not during the Blight, then certainly the Fade, a place so holy any mortal who tread within it soon found themselves anything but.

Loghain knows he shouldn’t be alive, but when he cradles his newborn granddaughter in his arms, he can’t quite bring himself to complain.

[one word drabble prompts]

[nightingaletrash]

Solana: Alistair dumped me and left so now I'm gonna become a Blood Mage

Loghain: why???

Solana: he was 90% of my impulse control

[clavicuss-vile]

anora has her kid and loghain's just "that's literally just cailan" and then that kid has a kid and he's "oh maker thats literally just me. oh maker. what the fuck."

[sha-lyuzar]

Loghain Mac Tir is my comfort character. It is not often a pleasant thing to admit, and my reasons are complex, and personal, but fundamentally what makes me so attached to him is how human he is. That kind of depth and complexity is what made me fall in love with Dragon Age in the first place. He’s not just a “noble hero” or an “evil villain,” but a fully realized person who embodies good and evil, and everything inbetween, who is shaped by his past and his deeply personal convictions, his flaws, his fears, his fierce love for Ferelden, and, most importantly his tragic mistakes, that lost him everything, and that is what makes him feel so real to me.

He doesn’t have an easy narrative arc. He’s not driven by simple greed, cruelty, or even by misguided idealism. He’s a survivor with wounds that never fully healed, and those wounds shape the way he sees the world and interprets threats. Every heinous decision and tragic mistake is a direct consequence of his loyalty to Ferelden and Maric, and his willingness to bear the burden of horrific choice. He has been bleeding for his cause since he was a child, and it has turned him into the same kind of cruel and cold tyrant He fought against in the first place, and watching him struggle to hold true to his values, and eventually abandon them, as his path grows darker and more isolating, is this profoundly tragic thing that to me is infinitely more compelling than a classic Hero's Journey.

What Loghain did in the Alienage is deeply disturbing and inexcusable. Using Tevinter slavers to control and exploit the elves is one of the darkest points in his character arc. It’s a choice that reveals just how far he’s willing to go to maintain control and secure his idea of Ferelden’s “independence,” even at the cost of his own morality, so He lets in a foreign power to abduct and subjugate the citizens he claims to be protecting. It unveils the extremes of his desperation and paranoia, because in his mind, he’s protecting Ferelden, but in reality, he’s perpetrating the very kind of oppression he once fought against. It is dark, it is horrific, it is unforgiveable, and that is the whole point.

He has to confront the devastation he’s caused, and he can’t simply brush it aside as a “necessary evil.”. If he joins the Grey Wardens, his path involves acknowledging these grave mistakes, taking responsibility, and finding a way to live with the guilt. There is no reconciliation for his actions, his fear and trauma may explain but never excuse what he did. There is no easy way out. Loghain is stained with the blood he shed forever. He has to live with having failed, with the compounded weight of his actions and regrets, and, if he joins the Wardens, he isn't even granted the mercy of a quick and clean death, and instead is exiled from the country he poured everything he had into.

And doesn't this resonate? Does this not perfectly reflect the difficult reality of being human? How people can be fiercely protective, deeply flawed, and driven by complicated motivations, and that these qualities make them more worthy of understanding, not less? Loghain’s arc speaks to me on such a deep and personal level, especially as someone who has been battling the demons of trauma. His story is a vivid reminder that trauma doesn’t always make us better people, but exacerbates our struggles and can lead us down dark paths. i see parts of my own struggles in Loghain, i understand his pain, his fear, the choices his past self would loathe him for, and the gnawing self-hate, regret and grief.

Trauma twists our intentions like that. Instead of guiding us toward empathy and understanding, it clouds our judgment, and pushes us to make decisions we later regret, and become versions of ourselves we hate. My reality of trauma has not been this character building experience, the way it is often depicted in media, but something harrowing and life-altering, that still poisons me, even years later. But seeing a character lose all tether to himself and get lost in his demons is a tale worth telling, and an experience that still grips me, even 15 years after playing DA:O for the first time. Seeing Loghain live through rock bottom in DA:O, and then, ten years later in DA:I find purpose and whatever semblance of peace is possible in his circumstance, is something that gives me comfort. It is deeply personal, and i keep this unforgiveable and irredeemable, this grief-stricken and regret-filled man, this complicated and multifaceted character deep in my heart.

There are spoilers for datv under the cut. Major spoilers about the end of the game. If you have not played through yet, please don't be tempted to look. i thought i would be fine with spoilers, but i am not. You have been warned.

All of this is rendered moot by the ending of datv. By a throwaway line. i have been spoilered by this online, and have not reached this point in the game myself, yet, but it leaves me feeling a lot of ways, and it hits me hard. It feels like everything i found relatable in his struggle, everything that made him so human, is suddenly taken away. If his actions weren’t truly his own, and he was being puppeteered by old gods magic, then what does that mean for the weight of his choices? It feels like a betrayal of everything that made up his character, a character who has grappled with his trauma and made terrible choices, yes, but ones that were driven by his own will and conviction, always.

The complexity of his journey, the depth of his remorse, and the struggle for a new purpose, all become overshadowed by this new twist. It threatens to erase the beautiful, painful, and human truth of what it means to confront one’s demons and seek understanding in the aftermath of suffering, what it means to reassess and take accountability for your actions and do the hard, dirty, and thankless work of bettering the irredeemable, bit by bit, piece by piece, so that one day you may draw a breath and feel just a bit of that weight eased.

But no, he was just a victim all along. He has no agency, his self-actualisation is lost on him, he was never responsible for himself. It feels like one of Dragon Age's most complex characters has been flattened down into cardboard.

[nsewell]

gilded shadow (anora and kieran, 875 words, rated G)

She finds Kieran in the dust flecked light of a stained glass window, head tilted upwards as he takes in the scene it depicts in flowing lines and an array of colors. The Battle of the River Dane, or an overtly romanticized version at least. Her father would often point out its indulgences and inaccuracies whenever they passed it together. Loghain stands tall at its center, rearing his sword at a retreating Orlesian force on the banks of a shore, young, defiant and battle weary. King Maric, ever at his side, sports a shield with the Theirin heraldry, and silhouetted behind them both is the symbolic wreath of an approaching dawn. They’ve left out all the mud, her father used to mutter. 

She wonders what it is about it that draws him now. Kieran had shown no interest in his paternal history before. She can't read the placid expression on the youth’s face, and even that moniker doesn’t seem to fit him, despite their thirty some odd years of separation (she could be his mother, for Maker's sake). There is an agelessness to his twenty year old countenance.

Since his arrival at court, Anora has searched Kieran’s features for traces of her father, but the longer she looks, the more she comes away with only contrasts. His eyes are the most startling of these, an intense golden hue, almost unnatural in coloring. His skin is olive toned, warmer than Anora’s or her father’s light pallor. He carries Loghain’s height, but not his build, slender and wiry in all the places her father held the bulk of a life-long warrior. Even the way he adorns himself in a quiet elegance, with the spindling mages staff at his side speaks to this antithesis.

“Your Majesty,” he says without turning to her, but still inclines his head with deference and maybe it’s there that she finds a remnant of Mac Tir, in the squaring of his shoulders, the tempered way that he holds himself. Or maybe she’s imagining it. “‘Tis a very flattering depiction. Flashy for Ferelden,” he continues with an undercurrent of irony. 

She steps beside him until their profiles align and he is tall, but so is she, their heads reaching within close proximity.

“King Maric had it commissioned from Antivan artisans for father’s appointment to Teryn,” she says. “I’m told he didn’t attend the unveiling. He was never one for pomp and ceremony. He always said his deeds weren't something to be gilded or admired, that they would endure longer than any monument.” She questions if that rings as true to her now as it did as a girl. If the heroism of the “Traitor Teryn” will live longer in the hearts and minds of the people, or stay confined to this solitary pane.

There had been a few disgruntled Bans in the wake of the Blight who had petitioned for its removal, likely as a scapegoat to cover their own misdeeds and advantages taken during the chaos. The matter had dropped from a lack of traction, but Anora will do whatever she can to preserve both the legacy and the architecture that commemorates her father, so long as she draws breath.  

But the past, however worthy of remembrance, is still the past. She turns her back to the window and sets her eyes on the heavy oak doors in front of her. Beyond them lies the throne room and all that will shape the future of her country, with one declaration of Kieran as her heir apparent; the product of a circumstantial union between her exiled Warden father and an apostate witch that Anora had been in the dark about for decades. Who had been raised in the Orlesian court of all things.

She has complicated feelings on the entire matter and there's a strange mix of pride and distance when she watches Kieran with his educated answers and quiet intensity. He in turn respects her, is deferential to her judgement, but still she feels the caution he regards her with. Sometimes she can sense his eyes on her, dissecting her, for what she cannot guess. Sometimes she thinks he might resent her so, for thrusting this destiny on him even if she made it clear that it's nothing he cannot walk away from. He is a very odd boy.

She profers her arm, her sleeve heavy with red velvet and fur-lined at the wrist.

“Are you ready?”

His eyes are finally drawn from the visage of their shared father. He hesitates with that analytical edge he seems to regard everything with, and then his hand, slim and steady, clasps around her arm. In the other, he grips his staff.

“I am - sister. With lofty ambitions not to trip on your gown.” 

She matches his humor with a dour expression, maintaining her straight-backed posture as she guides them both forward. “You bring an optimistic outlook to the monarchy. How very un-Fereldan.” 

If Anora hadn’t punctuated this remark by pushing open the doors, she might have heard him laugh - low and derisive, might have glanced back at the glassy specter of her father as though it had come to life. 

But she doesn't hear it, and together they stride through the doors into the maw of Ferelden's court, side by side. 

[dragonologist-phd]

Introducing: Sirena Cousland

In Summary:

Queen of Ferelden; Sister to Teyrn of Highever

Human Noble

Warrior (Champion)

Main Weapon: Sword & Shield

Confident; Outgoing; Bold; Ruthless

Relevant Fic: To The Bride

more rambling:

Backstory:

Asecond child and first daughter of the Cousland family, she had a charmed childhood in Highever

She had access to the best of education, but was a very physical child and preferred to spend her time training with sword and shield. Her father indulged this behavior, much to the frustration of her mother who wanted Sirena to focus on her studies

Sirena was very aware that she was the spare while her older brother Fergus was the heir; she didn't begrudge him this, and was in fact happy to let him shoulder the greater responsibility

As a young teenager she was sent to spend a year studying in the capital alongside Anora Mac Tir, whom she developed a hopeless crush on

When Howe attacked her family home, she barely escaped with her life. She made her way to Denerim and began forming a rebellion against Howe and Loghain's rule

During the Blight:

Sirena escaped the bloodshed at Highever and made her way to Denerim, intent on getting justice for her family

When she realized how much Howe had risen to power, she joined forces with the Wardens, the red jennies, and other dissenters

She came into her own as a leader and rallied many nobles to her side, becoming a powerful voice at the Landsmeet

Connections:

Bryce Cousland: Sirena was very close to her father, who loved to dote on her and encouraged her interest in fighting. At the same time, he could be overprotective of her, a habit which caused more conflict as Sirena got older

Eleanor Cousland: Sirena's relationship with her mother was more strained, as Eleanor liked to push her daughter to take things seriously and be more responsible. Sirena felt burdened by her mother's expectations, and as she got older she often wondered what Eleanor would think of the person she became

Fergus Cousland: Sirena's brother was her best friend through most of her childhood. She still loves her brother dearly, though the two drifted apart somewhat after their parents' deaths

Anora Mac Tir: Anora was Sirena's childhood friend and first love, though she knew that a relationship between them was impossible. Even so, she never could bring herself to fully move on

Ellimere Tabris: Once in Denerim, Sirena joined forces with a red jenny by the name of Tabris who was also opposing Howe's rise to power. As different as the two were, they came unlikely friends, both driven by their desire for revenge

Romance:

Anora and Sirena spent quite a bit of time together growing up. Anora seemed to be everything Sirena wasn't: poised, responsible, fully prepared for the task of ruling. Sirena was drawn to her, and the two became close confidantes

It became clear that Anora returned her feelings, but would never be willing to jeopardize her place on the throne

The two joined forces during the Blight, when Sirena helped the Wardens rescue Anora from Howe's estate

After much negotiating, it was agreed that Sirena and Anora would marry, thus unifying a proven leader with a powerful Fereldan lineage

Epilogue:

Sirena and Anora ruled side by side, with Anora taking the lead on diplomatic matters while Sirena handled the armies

Their reign is not without troubles; while the Cousland name was strong enough to convince the Landsmeet, they still faced opposition from some of the nobles, particularly concerning the line of succession

Fergus survived Ostagar and returned to Highever as Teyrn. Sirena could rarely bring herself to visit, as her family home was now too tangled with traumatic memories

Misc:

Sirena was a devout Andrastian until the death of her family, after which she went through a crisis of faith

Eleanor was in the process of arranging a marriage between Sirena and Nevarran royalty when the Blight hit Ferelden

Her mabari, Beast, survived the attack with her and remained at her side throughout the Blight

Her sight was damaged during the attack; she and Beast developed a system of fighting where he would help guide her and protect her blind side

She stayed at The Pearl while in Denerim during the Blight and got to know Isabela. Isabela offered her a spot on her crew which Sirena did consider, but she couldn't bring herself to leave Ferelden

[mahariels]

da:tv ending spoilers under the cut, it's also mildly critical, so avoid if you don't want to see any criticism

honestly the biggest crime of the secret ending is the implication that loghain "there is nothing I wouldn't do for my homeland" mac tir made his choice in ostagar because he was influenced by outside forces. it's such a punch in the gut imo, esp after the nuanced way they managed to write him in inquisition. he made this choice of his own volition fully knowing what it meant, because he thought it was what was best for his country and that is more important than the life of the son of the two people he loved the most. and I hate that they took this choice away from him lmao.

[mugenfinder]

Game Informer #212 (December 2010) For this issue, Game Informer published 3 different covers and picked 30 characters they believed defined 10 years of video games.

Full List of characters:

Cover Story: The 30 Characters Who Defined A Decade (GI’s picks for the top 30 characters from the past ten years) 1. GLaDOS (Portal) 2. John Marston (Red Dead Redemption) 3. Nathan Drake (Unchared series) 4. Master Chief (Halo series) 5. Niko Bellic (Grand Theft Auto IV) 6. Alyx Vance (Half-Life 2) 7. Kratos (God of War series) 8. Andrew Ryan (BioShock) 9. Loghain Mac Tir (Dragon Age: Origins) 10. Ezio Auditore da Firenze (Assassin’s Creed series) 11. Ethan Mars (Heavy Rain) 12. Commander Shepard (Mass Effect series) 13. Jimmy Hopkins (Bully) 14. Captain John Price (Call of Duty series) 15. HK-47 (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic series) 16. Elena Fisher (Uncharted series) 17. The Illusive Man (Mass Effect 2) 18. Tommy Vercetti (Grand Theft Auto: Vice City) 19. The Boss (Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater) 20. Tim (Braid) 21. Auron (Final Fantasy X) 22. Razputin “Raz” Aquato (Psychonauts) 23. Kaim Argonar (Lost Odyssey) 24. Jade (Beyond Good & Evil) 25. KOS-MOS (Xenosaga series) 26. Professor Layton (Professor Layton series) 27. Phoenix Wright (Ace Attorney series) 28. Wander (Shadow of the Colossus) 29. Ronnie MacFarlane (Red Dead Redemption) 30. King of All Cosmos (Katamari series)

[daisymeade]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Spread the self-love ❤️

Thank you, beloved!!! Hilariously, I only actually have five fics to choose from so that's no need to even pick. 😂 They'll be from most to least favorite.

1. The Hard Choice (Loghain Mac Tir & Gregory Dedrick, Teen+, 2.3k words)

I'm extremely proud of this fic. It's written for what I call my "tapestryverse" which is just game canon without any changes. I had the idea for this a few years after thinking about the similarities between Loghain and Dedrick, the Mayor of Crestwood, and wanting to do some character introspection. I love the mayor a lot, but I also always knew he was going to die in the Joining, from the very first time my Inquisitor gave him to the Wardens. The fic title comes from the name of a Loghain-themed cocktail. It's my favorite drink irl. 😌

2. The Nature of Daylight (Surana/Loghain Mac Tir, M, 3.8k words)

This is the first time I ever wrote smut in my life. When Miles and I came up with fusionverse they snatched Heulwen's canon romance, Zevran, away from me and I was like, who am I going to kiss now? 😂 Loghwen started as a one-off thing! Look at me now! *hundred of Loghwen pictures fall out of my pockets* I've learned my lesson about crackships. Though, it's my most read and kudos'd fic!

3. Solace (Zevran Arainai/Surana, M, 1k words)

Solace was a last minute fic that I wrote for ZevWarden week. I'll admit, I decided to do this because I felt weird at the time that I didn't have as much content for Zevwen that I did Loghwen and the elf-kissing deserved it! I got the entire thing written in a few hours which is a record for me. I need that writing energy more often to be honest. I also came to the conclusion that I'm incapable of writing smut without putting some feelings/introspection/etc into it. Ace win?

4. Blood and Feather (Jowan/Morrigan, Teen+, 4.2k words)

I AM THE CAPTAIN OF THE TRS (Thedosian Royal Ship) JOWIGAN. BOW BEFORE OUR MIGHT. I'm so invested in this ship. Jowan is such a linchpin for so much of my canonverse because Heulwen would have never agreed to Morrigan's ritual, but Jowan would. I'll be honest, I need to do some rewrite's on this, but Miles is absolutely head over heels for it. Their enthusiasm makes me feel all warm and fuzzy right here: 💚 I'm sorry, Lily, Morrigan's bi-ace swag and blood magic instruction captured that man mind, body, and soul.

5. A Bridge Ablaze (Alistair & Surana, Gen, 1.2k words)

Yes, I got this title from the Waidwen quest in POE2. No, I'm not sorry about it. 😂 So, I always play games and imagine how my characters would react because too often I don't get the choices my brain thinks makes sense! WHERE IS YOUR RAGE??? And I was always like 👀 that Alistair raises his voice at you post-Landsmeet if he becomes king and Loghain lives. I did grab heavily from in-game dialogue but feel like it was balanced nicely with my additions and Heulwen's inner monologue. I have a lot of thoughts about their working relationship after this, especially considering Heulwen becomes good friends with Anora. curse of keeping lore in my brain

I have plenty of ideas for other fics but my brain hates me. RIP!

[anneapocalypse]

The Loghain Mac Tir we meet in Origins is a man deeply invested in Ferelden's freedom and independence, but the Loghain we meet in The Stolen Throne is a young man who wants nothing to do with any war or revolution, who's simply trying to survive under the occupation along with what family he has left. Maric Theirin blunders his way into Loghain's life and he's knocked into the path of history unwillingly. Everything that happens to him after that is because of Maric. His father dies because of Maric. His friends are killed because of Maric. He leaves his old life behind because of Maric. He can't be with the woman he loves because of Maric. And he stays at Maric's side, year after year, because what other life does he have? He lost everything because of Maric and everything he has now is also because of Maric.

The Loghain we meet in Origins is a man with 30 years of sunk cost in the Theirin family. What will he lose for the sake of Maric's son? At what point will he look at another blundering young golden-haired fool deciding the fate of a nation without the experience or wisdom to back it up, and wonder what his life would have been like if he had just let the first fool die? At what point does Loghain acknowledge, deep down, what he has lost for the Theirins, and decide that it's time to cut his losses?

[shewolfofvilnius]

I've written an origin story for my Rook. Because I FINALLY decided who she'd be.

Warden.

Main Characters: Safyra Thorne (Rook), Loghain Mac Tir. Setting: Primarily 9:40 Dragon and 9:45 Dragon.

She was a child of no more than ten in the Denerim alienage when Warden Tabris and her friends were taken by the nobles, and heard stories once she grew older how Tabris slaughtered them for what they'd tried to do. She'd been taught by the other women of the alienage to protect herself.

The Grey Warden, Elissa Tabris, was her hero.

When the Mage-Templar war broke out years later, nowhere was safe. A group of noble fucks decided to try what they always did, while King Alistair and Queen Anora were out of town, and tried to purge the Alienage. The children were gathered in what was believed the most defensible (and most escapable) building in the alienage, but the nobles did NOT stop.

Then they ran up against Safyra Thorne, nearly twenty and mad as hell. Skilled with blade and bow in equal measure. It was eight on one. Then seven. Six. Five. Finally, the numbers game looked to catch up with her. Suddenly, an order to stop fighting. That voice. She'd heard that voice before.

Loghain Mac Tir. The father of the queen. The man who had been chief architect of the alienage' suffering a decade earlier, and since a repentant Grey Warden. Two of the five fled the field immediate, while a third died upon a charge. The remaining two surrendered at the Warden's call.

Of course, Safyra was still on the defensive. This was him. Grey Warden or no, this was the bastard who a decade ago had enabled so much horror. Then the noble who fled the field...returned with reinforcements.

A standoff ensued. Finally, Loghain asked Safyra "To where do you plan to take the children." Tersely, she acknowledged a meeting place several days walk away. "My daughter will see their holdings seized upon return. I had...a matter...to discuss with her while there was still time. I will escort you to the rendezvous so you can reunite these children with their families, under both my protection as a warrior, and my protection as the Queen's father. After the atrocities I committed, it is the bare minimum I can do. I have but one favor to ask."

"Which is?"

"Our paths shall cross one more time. On that day, I shall ask us to join us."

"Why not now?"

"The Wardens are...imperiled. I cannot explain further. When that matter is resolved, I have confidence, we SHALL meet again."

Loghain had kept his word. Mercenaries held by the purse strings of Denerim's nobles dared not cross the Queen's father, and Safyra and Loghain had led the children to safety. No fewer than three of the adults had put up fists against Loghain, and he allowed them to release their fury. He had gotten used to the scene.

"To my dying breath, I spend every moment of life atoning for that which I wrought. I have done all that I can for the present and must depart. I need not know your next plans. When the day comes, however, young Safyra, I ask you remember your promise."

After weeks of hiding, taking on a more nomadic presence that would almost have gotten the elves of Denerim's alienage confused for Dalish save only the lack of vallaslin, one day they were greeted by a trio of strange Dalish. "You shall find that peace has retaken your home. To those who wish to return, the Warden kept his word, our agents have confirmed it. For those who wish to follow a new cause, however, there is another option than the crumbling walls of the alienage waiting for the shemlen's next purge."

It was hahren Shianni who spoke up. "You are of the Dalish, then?"

The elf was hesitant, a lack of openness that caught Safyra's notice. "In a manner of speaking. All is not as you have been told. Much as the monster Loghain was the savior of your children, we come to you...as agents of Fen'Harel. We gather as the Dread Wolf seeks to restore that which our people have lost. Perhaps you tire of your existence being at the tenuous whim of the shems? "

The gasps were loud, the protests stern. "AGENTS OF FEN'HAREL?!"

Hidden in the woods, a dialogue broke on that stretched seemingly for a week of sunsets.

In the end, several of the adults elected to go with them, but the majority of the refugees elected to return home to Denerim. Their plight was known by the Queen herself, and by one of the Heroes of the Fifth Blight, her husband Alistair, and by the Wardens. Their once-promised autonomy had never fully come to pass, but they would not abandon their home, and certainly not for some strangers who talked of the trickster god.

Safyra returned to the alienage, but in the wake of the attempted purge, had been granted a Writ of Authority by no less than the King and Queen themselves. The young elf had been placed in charge of the safety of all inside.

Five years passed. Rumors of the Tevinter magister's attempt to doom the world had been met with shock. A new Divine had been declared, allegedly hand-picked by the elven Herald of Andraste and, most shockingly, it was the known consort and lover of Warden Tabris. The Warden's own father had confirmed as much, having seen the pair together on at least one occasion, though he wished to see her more as his health failed.

It was a good time for the elves of Thedas. And good times for the elves of Thedas usually meant trouble was coming. First it began with propagandists, and loudmouths handing out handbills and fliers to anyone who would take one. Talking of the "elven takeover"

Sentiments became tense. The king and queen were accused of being puppets of the elves who had saved Thedas twice over (particularly the Hero of Ferelden), humans tried to stoke fears of intermarrying with elves - a fear many elves themselves were happy to stoke due to the resulting progeny of such relationships almost always turning out human.

Some noble, seeking to use the chaos to regain power lost years earlier, hired a band of mercenaries to once again rabblerouse in the elves' home turf. The city guard descended on the alienage, but many still harboured old prejudices and tried to force the residents to retreat into homes for "safety" that the mercs would then try to burn.

Once again it was Safyra Thorne standing vigil, once again it was her reigning down hell upon the mercenaries. The king and queen's royal guard arrived, but seeing the city guard often aiding the mercenaries had sewn confusion.

One city guardsman had blade held high over a small child, ready to strike after the child had thrown a rock at the guard when he helped a mercenary - when he met his end at Safyra's dagger. A royal guard, however, had only seen her strike the guard and not seen the provocation, and moved to have her arrested and held for questioning. In the end, the mercenaries were run off - and several city guard were unaccounted for - but the royal guard had also taken in six elves for questioning.

Rather than the guard captain arriving for Safyra's questioning, however, it was Loghain, now looking significantly worse-for-wear than the last time she'd seen him.

"I wish we were meeting again under better circumstances. They say you killed a city guard in cold blood."

"He was aiding the mercenaries, Warden Loghain he was about to murder a child."

"For however much it is worth, I believe you. The King and Queen believe you. They've ordered a royal pardon for all six of you, and both the royal and city guards are to be held to account. Sadly, change is slow."

"How are you even here?"

"Unlike the Hero of Ferelden, I make it a point to still visit my family whenever life affords an opportunity. I suspect not many more opportunities remain for either of us, but whatever the demands of a Warden, I refuse to have my daughter believe her father abandoned her."

"I have to admit, I thought she'd come back to see him..."

"The Warden whom you so clearly idolize has become consumed by a quest whose nature I cannot elaborate upon. Not even the Divine herself seems capable of reaching her consistently. Even when the Wardens need her mettle now more than ever."

"And let me guess - you want me to join you in exchange for the guards being held accountable and the people being pardoned."

"Certainly not. But much like the Warden's father, I am an old man whose time draws near. I suspect this will be the last time our paths cross. If you wish to remain with your people, I will certainly not fault you. But if you wish to join the Grey Wardens, now is your opportunity. It is one that will not come again."

"Given what your daughter and son-in-law's Writ seemed to be worth, and given who you are, why should I trust a word you've said. Why should I go with you?" "In the forest. The three elves. The 'Agents of Fen'Harel'. They knew my movements because I allowed them to know. Knew it would provide greater safety to your people. I have seen your people's 'Dread Wolf' with my own eyes, I have walked the very Fade itself next to him, alongside the Inquisitor and her love."

"I ask why I should believe you and yet you make more outrageous claims?"

"The Inquisition is disbanded. Because she, because the Inquisitor, could no longer trust her own people. Your first, best opportunity to both help defend your people - both from the Darkspawn menace and from the larger threats at play - is to join with the Grey Wardens. Learn our ways. Go where they send you. Something is coming. Something massive, and something I suspect I shall not live to see. Something I suspect neither the Hero of Ferelden herself nor my son in law may live to see either. When that day comes, I wish someone I can trust to be in a position to move against the threat unleashed.

"Hire someone on a retainer then. My people here need me."

Safyra started to rise but four royal guards drew closer. "I said that your joining the wardens would not be in exchange for the pardons and accountability for the others, but I never said anything about you. You killed a city guard in plain view of his superiors and subordinates AND the royal guard, and no one has been able to find a witness that the guard planned to strike a child. You are to be charged with murder, lest you come with me.

"You no good rotten snake in the grass. I knew, I KNEW you were a lying, two-timing, backstabbing piece of..."

"I offer you the alternative against old prejudices which demand their pound of flesh. Stay if you wish, and you face the hangman's noose. Alternately, in one gesture, I can invoke the Wardens' Right of Conscription, and you become my charge until you have formally joined."

"Why not just tell me I don't really have a choice to begin with."

"You ALWAYS have a choice. You just don't have a good choice. Not even my daughter can fight your people's every battle. You did the right thing, but unfortunately it has cost you. This is often the way of the world. The true choice is what you choose to do about it. Join the Grey Wardens, and live to fight another day, live to help make the world a bit better for elves and for everyone else - or be the sacrificial lamb today to build movement tomorrow towards something better. Fight or die, THAT is your choice. If you fight, you shall die still, but if you die, you shall never get to fight." Loghain's eyes grew steely across from the young woman's vivid blues, taking her measure.

"Then invoke your right. But know I'll curse your name - and that of every noble whose path I cross - from now until the day I die."

"I would expect nothing less, Warden-Candidate Thorne. When we depart, we shall return to your home. Pack your blades and bow and say your goodbyes, and then we depart."

[tahopo]

if i cannot completele the hat trick of “protagonist sacrifices their life for a decrepit loghain mac tir actively begging to die” what is the POINT

so you get me!!!!!!!!!