I finally succumbed and have written more Dragon Age shorts, these for Aedan Cousland, a man of his times and nation, and not simply an American in funny clothes.

Just who was King Cousland? Was he a good man? A monster who should have been locked away? A great ruler, or hidden conspirator? Draw from it what you will.

Codex 1: Amaranthine Conspiracy

A copy of a handwritten letter from the Warden-Commander of Ferelden to his Amaranthine vassals following the assumption of Grey Warden control of the Arling.

Bann Esmerelle,

Greeting and salutations from the Vigil. I send this letter
to you as an offer of peace from myself: though pleasantries have never been
amiss, I fear that our first meeting was not a satisfactory one. Though in
these weeks no duty of yours has been anything less than appropriate, my order
and your house remain strangers, unfamiliar and unconnected despite our common
cause. As the Arl of Amarathine, and as the Warden-Commander, I fear what such
distance may lead to.

I understand the difficulties this situation places on you.
Though no crime lays connected with your name, you were once close associates
with Arl Howe, a man who was an open and vicious enemy of myself and my order. This,
unfairly, puts a certain distrust in the air between us, and between you and
those who had been vocal opponents of the late Arl. And I know that even the
Grey Wardens, which have so long tried to remain sincerely neutral, keep many
secrets that arouse suspicion. I am not
so unfamiliar with these lands to know the divisions that linger between the
Banns who had or had not sided with Loghain, with the Wardens, or with the
previous Arl.

This suspicion of all our sincerities, this ignorance of each
other, must not be allowed to fester. Ignorance breeds suspicion, and suspicion
breeds conspiracies against one's friends. I would be amiss in my duties if I
did not seek to redress this error for the sake of future generations.

You have a son, as I remember. Young, but not so young as to
not begin his training as a lord, and to succeed you one day. A fine boy,
similar in age to the progeny of some of your fellow Banns, though I doubt they
see much of each other these days. But of the age where many noble families
send them away to gain wisdom in this world.

My Lady, I have an invitation you cannot refuse. Send your
son to me, to Vigil Keep. There, with the rest of his peers from across the
Arling, I will see to his education, the tempering of his mind and discipline.
We of the Wardens will treat him as equal with Lord Eddelbrek's daughter. We
will educate him of our common history. We will train him to be not only an
admirable warrior, but an admirable man as well. When his stewardship is
complete, which may take many years you understand, he will return to you as
one tempered and respected by the Grey Wardens. And, of course, we have every
incentive to look after him well: our fate is his fate, and we would no more
let harm come to him than have any come to ourselves.

This course, while perhaps imposing on your own plans for
his education, provides many benefits for us all. Your son will be provided a
superior education and training, and given a unique chance to be familiar with
the nature and necessity of the Grey Wardens in peace as well as war. He will
be well versed, even experienced, in the practical aspects of governing when he
returns and perhaps your next youngest comes to steward. His sword arm will be strong
and true, and as accustomed to fulfilling his duty as any who comes to us. And,
most importantly of all, he will spend many years in the presence of his peers,
befriending and learning to trust and rely on those who would be the next Banns
of this Arling, and in so doing be rid of all misplaced distrust and
superstition that the civil war has brought us. All this, and without him ever
leaving beyond the reach of your letters or occasional visits.

This is, I firmly believe, an ideal way to build trust amongst
us all in Amaranthine. I have every, and
let me stress every, respect for your intelligence and foresight as to the
nature and necessity of this manner, Bann Esmerelle, for who benefits from
distrust amongst ourselves? None but the Crows.

A retinue of Vigil soldiers will arrive within a week, my
Lady, to escort the boy to his new place of learning. May you give him your
best, and I remind you of the invitation to write or visit him regularly.

With all due respect and honor,

Aedan Cousland

King-Consort

Commander of the Grey

Arl of Amaranthine

Hero of Ferelden