I keep thinking about what is the captivating about Cousland Warden in DAA. Mainly, I think, because at the very beginning of everything, all she wanted was to avenge her parents and find her brother. And from there began a long wandering—she gave her body over to demon-tainted blood, gave the rest of her life over to the duty of protecting others—and beneath all of it, the premise was nothing more than a child who had lost her home and had nothing left.
In DAA, anyone who sees her must bow their head and call her the Hero of Ferelden, the Grey Warden-Commander. She defied the Circle to shelter Anders, forgave Nathaniel, promised Velanna she would find her sister—as if under her rule, even the stray cats of Amaranthine would have eaves to return to when it rained. But when that great fire in 9:30 burned everything clean away, when her family name was spat upon among the nobility, did anyone help her? The only person who knew how wounded she was, how she fled Highever with despair and fury in her arms, is no longer in this world. Now, all they remember is the Arlessa of Amaranthine. But do they remember where her home was? Do they know what Highever looked like before it was burned down? Do they know what the oak tree you once climbed in the courtyard looked like? Do they know that, after finishing your pages after pages of political reports, you would sometimes look toward that small west-facing window in Vigil’s Keep, the one facing the mountain? Do they know that beyond that mountain, it was your home?
