by Milton Garby
As was tradition, the Landsmeet would be held in the throne room before the witness of the freeholders and the mediation of the Grand Cleric. As they made their through the halls Aedan couldn't help but notice the lack of guards posted in them. That couldn't be by chance, not when a Landsmeet was in session. Aedan pushed the final chamber doors that led to the throne room and was displeased, but not surprised, to see Ser Cauthrien, Summer Sword in hand, and all the members of Maric's Shield waiting for them. She was obviously here and ready for a fight, but that look of bitter look of doubt and despair filled her eyes.
"Aedan Cousland. I am not surprised it has come to this." She scowled resentfully at Alistair and all that he was. "And Alistair, if you were even remotely worthy of being called a son of Maric's, you would already be in the Landsmeet, wouldn't you? You have torn this nation apart to oppose the very man who ensure you were born into freedom, but do not think you will get past me to desecrate the Landsmeet itself. The nobles will finally confirm my lord as regent, and we can finally put this to rest. Once you are gone."
Aedan had come too far to let this misbegotten knight and her self-righteous sense of honor stand between him and his goal. He would not be deterred. "Even after all the evil things he's done that disgraces Ferelden, you still stand for him?"
Ever since her last talk with Loghain, Cauthrien couldn't shake that feeling of doubt that had gripped her, but she couldn't abandon her lord now. She had to stand against the Warden. "I am aware that he's…changed. It has been difficult for him to comprehend how his own countrymen could turn against him. I am not surprised he is bitter, but he is still a great man, one of the best Ferelden has ever seen! He has sacrificed everything for this country!"
"Was sacrificing King Cailan and the army at Ostagar done in the defence of Ferelden? Or did your master simply abandon his post because it was what? Convenient for him?"
"Cailan was a fool!" Cauthrien cursed spitefully. "He grew up a spoiled brat in ancestor's palace. He didn't know what it was like to starve or be hunted. Maybe the Grey Wardens killed him or maybe my lord let Cailan die of his own foolishness. Either way it may have saved Ferelden."
"So when he sold Ferelden citizens into the Tevinter Imperium he was saving them? Don't make me laugh!" Aedan yelled.
"What was he supposed to do!?" Cauthrien defended desperately. "You and Eamon were harassing him at every turn, forcing him to empty the treasurey to fight you! He never wanted a civil war! After Cailan died everyone was supposed to rally together to fight the darkspawn without crying to Orlais for aid! He never anticipated Maric's bastard would challenge him for the throne and force this war."
"And so that pitiful excuse gives him the right to sell people like they're just things? That gives him the right to round people up like cattle by the likes of Howe and torture them? That's the kind of man you serve!?"
"You think war is simple don't you? You only fight monsters!" Cauthrien yelled back. "No one sheds a tear over the death of an ogre. Torture is an ugly business, but sometimes it's the only way to learn what your enemy is planning. And it's hard to tell who your enemy is when it's your own countrymen you fight."
"Your lord and Howe are monsters. Howe didn't imprison and torture enemy spies!" Aedan hissed coming forward forcing Cauthrien to assume her guard. "He was tying up loose ends! Anyone who knew of Loghain's crimes or simply didn't support him was thrown into a dungeon and were flayed, broken and skewered to cover up your lords crimes!" Aedan could see Cauthrien's resolve faltering. "If I'm so evil why has everyone turned against Loghain? Why is it I had to fight against the crimes Loghain commited against our people? If Loghain is such a great man why did he stoop to committing evil acts against his own countrymen!? And you aided him! Every widow, every orphan, every life he ruined you helped destroy!"
Cauthrien's sword trembled like a leaf in her grip. Every word from Aedan cut her like a sword down to her very soul. "What would you have me do!?" She cried. "Loghain is a great man! He's done terrible things, I know it! But I owe him everything! I cannot betray him, you can't ask me to!"
"Loghain is not the kingdom! Serve your country for once, and get out of my way!"
Aedan's truthful order broke what resolve Cauthrien had left. For the first time in her life she knew she could not follow Loghain Mac Tir. "I….I wished I had died at Ostagar than live to see this moment." Cauthrien head lowered in defeat and wept silently as the Summer Sword fell from her grasp. "Please, show mercy. Without Loghain there would be no Ferelden to defend."
"I will show him the same mercy he showed me and all the other loyal souls that died at Ostagar." Aedan answered grimly. Cauthrien knelt to the ground and wept bitter tears as her men all threw down their arms. Alistair never thought he'd see the day, but Aedan it seems had accomplished the impossible. He didn't break Cauthrien's body like he thought Aedan would, but instead did something far worse. Aedan broke her spirit.
The passed through the final doors to the throne room unopposed. Aedan's very presence caused the freeholders on the ground floor to jump out of his way. Many of the lords and freeholders were armed and armored, as was custom in the turbulent and many times violent proceedings of Fereldan politics. Those who weren't armored wore traditional finery that echoed their status. Eamon was standing in the balcony above the floor with the rest of the arls and banns overlooking the proceedings. Aedan's timing couldn't have been more perfect; he had just walked in the middle of Eamon's speech. "My lords and ladies of the Landsmeet, Teryn Loghain would have us give up our freedoms, our traditions out of fear! He placed us on this path, yet he expects us to follow him? Must we give up everything great about our nation to save it?"
Many of the lords applauded Eamon's words genuinely. But Loghain was unmoved. "A fine performance, Eamon." The teryn complimented sardonically as he gave a discourteous applaud of his own. "But no one here is taken in by it. You would attempt to put a puppet on the throne and everyone here knows it. The question is…who will pull the strings?" Loghain's eyes turned accusingly to Aedan he approached the floor. "Aha! And here we have the puppeteer!" Aedan was ready to face his nemesis in the eyes of the Landsmeet. "Tell us, Warden. How will the Orlesians take our nation from us? Will they deign to send troops or simply issue their commands from this would-be prince?" Aedan realized how mad Loghain is now. He still thinks they're at war with Orlais. "What did they offer you? How much Fereldan blood does Orlesian gold buy now."
"You really are a senile old bastard, aren't you Loghain?" Aedan asked spitefully. "Maybe it's escaped your notice, but we're being besieged by the darkspawn! Not chevaliers!"
"The South has fallen, Loghain!" Arl Wulff called. "Will you let the darkspawn ravage the whole country for fear of Orlais?"
"The Blight is indeed real, Wulff." Loghain finally acknowledged. "But do we need Grey Wardens to fight it? They claim that they alone can stop the Blight, yet they failed spectacularly fighting the darkspawn at Ostagar, and they aske to bring with them four legions of chevaliers!" Loghain's yelled accusingly. "And once we open our borders to the chevaliers can we really expect them to simply return from whence they came?"
"You asked me how much Fereldan blood Orlesian gold buys, Loghain." Aedan stated hatefully as tossed a small purse to all the lords in the balcony and dumped a larger purse right in the middle of the floor spilling golden coins to the ground. All the lords gazed at the foreign coinage, but it didn't bear the visage of the empress, it was stamped with the heraldry of the Imperium. "But why don't you tell the lords of the Landsmeet how much elven flesh Tevinter gold buys, slaver?" Aedan demanded as he revealed the promissory documents sealed with Loghain's signature.
"What!?" Bann Sighard demanded aghast. "There is no slavery in Ferelden! Explain yourself, Loghain!"
"This is war." Loghain answered callously. "Did you really think things would be settled simply and with honor? War is cruel, every soul who fought with Maric knows this. And in war there is no such thing as innocents, only the living and the dead
, and the degrees of guilt both bear." Loghain's answer elicited looks of disgust from many of the lords and freeholders. "We cannot save the Alienage if the Blight comes here. We cannot save this city without resources, and it is far better for the elves to be in the Imperium than here where they cannot be saved. And now because it has been stopped the army we have is only a third the size it needs to be to combat the Blight."
"The army wouldn't be so small if you hadn't fled Ostagar, like a coward." Aedan pointed out. "And so the elves have to pay the price because you fucked up?"
"Despite my sympathy for the elves, I have done my duty, Warden!" Loghain's eyes matched the hatred in Aedan's.
Loghain's excuses made Aedan feel nauseous, and homicidal. "Was having Howe kidnap and torture Fereldan citizens who knew of your crimes also a part of your duty, Loghain?"
"Lord Cousland speaks truly!" Bann Sighard yelled hurtfully. "Howe stole my only son under cover of night! The things done to him….Some of them are beyond any healer's skill!"
"Howe was responsible for himself." Loghain waved off. "Whatever crimes Howe commited he will answer for in the afterlife, as must we all."
"Fuck the Afterlife!" Aedan spat. "Everyone must first face the judgment of those they wronged first!"
"And you would know that perfectly well, wouldn't you, Cousland. You're the one who murdered him." Loghain accused truthfully. "No matter what Howe may have done, he should have been brought before the seneschal! There is no justice in butchering a man in his home!"
"You mean like what Howe did to me?" Aedan's voice was laced with venom and hatred. "Or, how about, like when you sent an apostate to murder Arl Eamon in his home?"
"I assure you, Warden, if I was going to kill anyone I would use my own soldiers. I would never stoop to so low as to trust the discretion of an apostate."
"Is that so, Loghain?" Bann Alfstanna questioned incredulously. "My brother tells a very different tale. He says you had him imprisoned after you snatched up a bloodmage from the Chantry's justice. I doubt that is a coincidence."
"Do not think the Chantry will overlook this, Teryn Loghain!" The Grand Cleric warned dangerously. For once Aedan was glad to have the Chantry's presence in their politics. "Interference with a Templar's sacred duty is an offense against the Maker!"
"Everything I have done, I have done for the good of Ferelden!" Loghain declared powerfully. "If my actions were too much, or my sacrifice was too great, I will answer for them to the Maker! No one else!"
"Fuck the Maker! Everyone, even kings must answer to the Landsmeet first!" Aedan voice was full of resolve and bitter hatred. You have forgotten what it means to be a Fereldan!"
"Enough of this!" Loghain shouted threateningly. "Right now I want to know what you've done with my daughter."
"We're not here for your daughter. We're here for you!"
"You took my daughter, our queen by force!" Loghain accused. "Killing her guards and spiriting her away in the process. What have you done with her? What arts have you employed to keep her? Does she even still live?"
"I believe I can speak for myself." Anora called in all her authority and grace. "Lords and ladies of Ferelden, here me. This man has slandered and attacked my father, The Hero of River Dane, all in an attempt to place a usurper upon Maric's throne. This man and Alistair are too dangerous to be trusted."
"Oh, and she betrays us!" Alistair jibed sarcastically. "How did we not see this coming?"
"I am going to claw out that hag's eyes and wear them as earrings." Morrigan promised.
"Can we slay these people now, kadan?" Sten asked casually.
"I'm with the pygmy ogre on this one." Oghren agreed. "All this talking reminds too much of the Assembly of the Houses."
Leliana couldn't believe what Anora was doing. "Even after we risked our lives to save her she still betrays us? She's no better than her father!"
"Next time we're betrayed by an ungrateful monarch maybe you'll let me slit their throat and toss them in the river before they betray us a second time." Zevran suggested.
"Let me just crush the Lying Queen's pretty head in my hand like a tomato." Shale proposed.
That smug look of victory spread on to Loghain's face. "Who here can deny that Anora is unfit to rule, and who can say that this Alistair is? We know nothing of him, save that he may have royal blood. But for the past five years she has proven an able ruler worthy of the Theirin name. She can lead our people through this crisis, and I can lead her armies."
"Even after our negotiations last night night, you still stab me in the back?" Aedan's tone was murderous.
"I gave the chance to side with me, but you refused to listen." Anora defended. "I will not let you ruin the throne Cailan and I have held. You are the true threat to this nation, I am merely doing what I know to be right."
The room grew silent as all could feel Aedan's presence of authority. "My father once told me that being a leader is not about being right, it's about doing right. You and your father have failed miserably." Aedan turned to all present in the Landsmeet and spoke with a voice that carried like a song and was felt with the force of thunder. "Lords and ladies of the Landsmeet! I will not deny that Anora ruled this country well when we were at peace. But when we needed a ruler, she chose to be her father's daughter and gave him the authority to act against you! And then he breaks one of our most sacred laws and sells our citizens into slavery to fill his coffers! What kind of nation are we if not even our leaders obey our laws?"
"We cannot live that way!" Bann Sighard yelled and was accompanied by agreements from the rest of the Landsmeet.
"You hear that, Anora? They can't live that way!" Aedan demanded from the queen. "No real nation based on freedom can! Every crime Loghain has committed he did as the regent, he did it with the queen's authority. His crimes are her crimes! How can we trust either of them?" Alistair could see Aedan's words ringing true with the nobles. "And throughout this whole war Alistair has fought at my side for this country, not its borders or its economy but for her people. What son of Maric could do any less? The right to choose the path our country takes is in your hands, not the thrones. And that is exactly the right that Loghain has tried to strip from you. But I say exert your right to choose right now. Who do you find worthy of leading you? What say you?"
The whole room grew silent as the lords debated amongst themselves. The tension was so thick you could almost choke on it. Arl Bryland finally broke the silence "South Reach stands with the Grey Wardens."
"The Warden helped me personally in a…family matter." One of the Banns called.
"The Waking Sea stands with the Wardens." Bann Alfstanna voiced.
"Dragon's Peak supports the rightful king, Alistair!" Bann Sighard agreed.
"We of White River fought with Teryn Bryce Cousland!" Called Bann Reginalda. "We stand now with his son."
"The Southern Bannorn supports the Warden!" Another of the banns declared. "It's about time someone came to help us!"
"The Western Hills throw their lot in with the Wardens!" Arl Wullf finally declared. "Maker help us!"
"I stand by Loghain! We've no hope for victory otherwise!" Bann Ceorlic cried.
"The Freeholders of the Bannorn side with the Warden!" A representative of the Fereldan Freeholders announced. "The Blight is coming, we need the Grey Wardens!"
Aedan turned to Loghain whose scowl could shatter glass at this point. "Ferelden has spoken, Loghain! Stand down!"
But Loghain refused to admit defeat or his failure. "Traitors! Which of you stood against the Orlesian Emperor when his troops flattened your fields and raped your wives!?" Loghain angrily turned to Arl Eamon with a hurt look of betrayal on his face. "You fought with us once, Eamon! You cared about this land once, before you got too old and fat, and content to see what you risk. None of you deserve a say in what happens here. None of you have sacrificed for this country the way I have! How dare you judge me!?"
"You didn't sacrifice a damned thing, Loghain!" Aedan countered angrily. "
You only sacrificed others! You've lost the right to represent our people!"
"I will not let you destroy my country, Warden!" Loghain declared for all to hear in a threatening manner. Because the regent refused to give up his power made all of the lords, anxious, angry, and well aware to the insanity of Teryn Loghain.
"I'm giving you my final warning, Loghain…." Aedan snarled. "Step down or I'll put you down!"
With that Loghain raised his fist in the air and at least two contingencies of his soldiers poured into the room and stood behind their liege with their swords drawn and their crossbows loaded. This caught all the lords of Ferelden of guard, many of them gasping and yelling out in surprise, fright and anger. "I will not let the stupidity and cowardice of lesser men destroy my nation!"
"What is the meaning of this!?" Bann Alfstanna questioned rhetorically.
"The Teryn is staging a coup!" Arl Wulff growled.
"This is a breach of the Landsmeet!" Arl Bryland angrily declared.
"You've gone too far, Loghain!" Bann Sighard yelled.
"You who would see Ferelden enslaved to foreign powers once again have no right to lead this country!" Loghain yelled like a madman. "I will lead this nation myself!"
"You want a fight, Loghain!? You've got one!" Alistair cried.
"FOR FERELDEN!" Both leaders bellowed as the fight commenced. Loghain's men surged into the throne room with the intent to subdue the nobles present, but they all brought soldiers of their own. Alfstanna's archers shot down every Gwaren soldier before they could get close to her, as Bryland's bodyguards battered the soldiers back. Arl Wulff jumped down from the balcony with his Avvarian hammer and slugging and breaking every soldier he swung at. Anora and many of the freeholders scurried into the back of the room to avoid being caught in the fight.
Aedan and Alistair cut down every soldier blocking their way to Loghain as their companions held of the rest of his men. Alistair finally made it to his brother's betrayer, the one who tried to make Duncan's life in vain. Loghain and Alistair's swords and shields clashed against one another fueled by their hatred for one another. Maric's sword scraped against the Orlesian steel of the Armor of The River Dane, as Loghain's iron sword clanged against the face of Duncan's shield. Both warriors slashed, hammered struck each other with all the might and intensity they could must, filled with the hate and anger for what the other had done or represented.