The Tower of Ishal. The dark stone was a heavy contrast against the backdrop of snow peaked mountains. Elyse looked upon the tall structure, memories of the battle flooding her mind; the ascent through the building, the battles with darkspawn, and the defeat of the ogre. They had come so far, had hoped they were not too late, and lit the beacon to signal Loghain's troops to advance. Darkness consumed them all after that, and when they woke, their lives were changed forever.

"Look at it now," Elyse said to Alistair when he joined her side. "The entire roof is gone. How in the Maker's name did we survive?"

"A dragon," Loghain said behind them. "Some believed it was the archdemon finally making an appearance. Unphased by flame, the beast settled on the top of the building for only a few moments, and then disappeared as quickly as it arrived."

Alistair looked at Elyse. "Is it even possible?"

Elyse laughed uneasily. "Now are you glad I accepted Flemeth's deal?" She couldn't imagine having to face Flemeth in the form of a dragon. The witch terrified her enough as an old woman.

"I will never question your judgement again," Alistair whispered as he too stared at the exposed fourth level of the tower.

"It'll do you some good to remember that Alistair," Wynne said. "Now let us continue before night falls."

.*~*~*.

"We're getting closer," Alistair said as they moved through the dark tunnels. Relentless attacks from the darkspawn had them all exhausted, but Alistair felt the end was near. "Feel it? There aren't many left."

Elyse nodded. "We must be getting near the core of the horde. Good news for us."

"Thrilling," Loghain said, his voice laced with sarcasm. He hadn't said a word as they descended under the tower, and remained quiet through every encounter with the darkspawn since.

"Not a fan of the dark Loghain?" Elyse asked. "You've been awfully quiet ever since we entered the underground."

"I prefer a sky above my head," Loghain stated. "These ruins are unstable and could come down upon us at any moment. And they remind me of the Deep Roads, a place I never wish to visit again."

Alistair looked at Elyse. Had she not informed Loghain of the Warden's end? He had assumed she would, or at the very least Riordan, once he had gone through the Joining. She caught his gaze and shook her head, quietly confirming his suspicion. Regardless of what he thought of the man, Loghain should've been told everything. But since he had just sworn to not question her judgement, Alistair remained silent.

Wynne joined in the conversation. "There is light up ahead," she informed them. "Perhaps another way out of the ruins without having to come back the way we came."

Loghain took the lead, thankful to see the sunlight reflect off the stone below their feet. He exited the tunnels first and looked out across the large open space. The taint within warned him that there was a large number of darkspawn in this area, but they were nowhere in sight.

The others followed behind, savoring the fresh air after spending nearly an hour in the cramped confines of the darkspawn tunnels. Loghain looked out across the snow covered field. "The main battle was here," he told the others. "The darkspawn came toward our army; there must have been hundreds, maybe a thousand. Cailan called for the archers, and then released the mabari packs. Combined, they barely put a dent in the oncoming horde."

"What happened next?" Elyse asked.

"Cailan ordered his men forward," Loghain told her. "Many fell, many would continue to fall. No one anticipated how enormous their army would be. They brought their own ballistae, sent flaming arrows into the crowd. As we waited for the beacon to be lit, we watched the destruction happening around us. I hadn't planned on quitting the field until that moment, when I realized that we would be as easily crushed within seconds of joining the battle."

"So it wasn't your plan to abandon King Cailan from the beginning?" Wynne asked.

"No," Loghain answered. "It's no secret that I didn't trust the Wardens," he continued. "I wanted my men lighting the beacon because I trusted they would do so at the critical stage of the battle. I continued to watch from the sidelines and the signal did not come; the delay only fueled my suspicions."

Alistair finally spoke up. "The delay was not our fault!"

Loghain nodded. "I know that now, but at the time we thought the tower free of darkspawn, and had no understanding of why there would be a delay. And then we saw the ogres enter this field. We watched as one picked up Cailan and crushed him, tossing him aside like a rag doll. It was gruesome, but it was already done. Even if my army had joined the fray, Cailan was still lost."

The four now stared out into the field, as if they were imagining the battle Loghain had described. "The last thing we saw was Duncan," Loghain said. "He took down that ogre that killed Cailan. Quite the valiant and heroic act from where I stood. Unfortunately it was his last."

"Duncan was beside Cailan the entire time?" Alistair asked.

Loghain nodded. "They fought together, just as Cailan had wanted."

"From all that you have shared with us, it sounds like you made the right decision," Wynne admitted.

"Wait, what?" Alistair asked. "You're agreeing with him now?"

Wynne looked at Alistair. "For so long we did not know what his motives were," she said to him. "But Loghain is one of the best war strategists, and if he felt retreat was the best course of action, then I believe him. It wasn't long after that many came to the same conclusion, otherwise I would not be standing here."

"It still might have made a difference," Alistair muttered, struggling to admit to himself that Wynne may be right.

The snap of a twig caught Elyse's attention, and she put an end to the current conversation. "Our welcoming party is about to join us," she told the others. "Be ready."

It was the hardest battle they had endured since returning to Ostagar. A genlock necromancer did not make it easy on them as he summoned to life the deceased darkspawn that scattered the area. Nor was it any easier when he resurrected the very ogre that had killed Cailan. But the anger in their hearts at what these creatures had done to their king helped them to continue on, and it was only a matter of time before the darkspawn corpses littered the field once more.

Not only did they find the remaining pieces of Cailan's armor, but imbedded in the ogre was Duncan's sword and dagger. Loghain retrieved the weapons and presented them to Alistair, a gesture that surprised him as well as Wynne and Elyse. "I imagine he'd want you to have them," Loghain said. "Instead of leaving them here among the darkspawn."

.*~*~*.

With all the remaining darkspawn defeated, the four headed back to the bridge to attend to Cailan. It took some effort on their part to remove the king's body from where the darkspawn had hung him. Alistair and Loghain worked together in retrieving Cailan, while Elyse and Wynne built the pyre. He was of royal blood, and deserved as much of a funeral as they could offer him.

"I did not want to see this happen to Cailan," Loghain said as he lit the pyre. "But it seemed necessary at the time, like many things do I suppose."

"No," Alistair replied. "This isn't something you can explain away. The man you killed, the son of Maric, is right here in this field of the dead."

"I am aware, Alistair, thank you," Loghain said. "But tell me, what would be enough? What form of penance matters to a dead man?" He sighed as he returned his gaze toward the pyre. "I regret many things, but dwelling on what could've been serves no one, least of all Cailan. I made my choices with the good of Ferelden in mind. I continue to say it because it is true, whether you believe me or not. It is not...easy, living with the consequences of those choices."

Alistair felt his resolve begin to subside. He remembered the words Elyse had said to him when she convinced him to return to this place. Loghain believes what he did was right, but he carries a lot of guilt for what he's done. How high is our own body count? Kill a handful then to save the country now. And she was right. Loghain's armies marched to Redcliffe as their king burned. Their numbers alone might be what was needed to win the final battle against the darkspawn.

"Ferelden has a new king now," Loghain continued when Alistair remained silent. "One they can be proud of. One that Maric would be proud of."

Alistair turned to look at him, unsure if he heard the man correctly. "I wouldn't know," he said, looking back at Cailan. "I think he'd rather have the son he raised, instead of the one he tossed aside."

Loghain moved to stand in front of Alistair, feeling the heat of the fire on his back. "If you believe nothing else that I tell you, know this: Maric had little choice in sending you away. If you insist on hating me, add that to your list of reasons. Blame me for sending you to live with Eamon, not Maric."

"Why?" Alistair asked. "Why would you do such a thing?"

"For many reasons, that again seemed like the right ones at the time," Loghain replied. "The most important was Queen Rowan's memory. I didn't believe the country was ready to embrace proof that Maric had moved on from Ferelden's Queen. Being that she was Eamon's sister, he took little convincing to raise you. From what I understand, it was his wife that made things difficult for you, and for that I am sorry. But what else can you expect from an Orlesian?"

"I suppose it doesn't matter now," Alistair admitted. "I have so many questions about him, Maric that is. All I know is what's told in stories and bard songs."

Loghain stepped aside and turned back toward the fire, where Cailan's body quickly disappeared within the massive flames. "I may be able to help with that. Should you choose to believe my answers."

"You'd sate my curiosity?" Alistair asked, apprehensive as to Loghain's motives. "Why? You don't even like me."

"I didn't care for Cailan either," Loghain admitted. "But I have seen the contempt with which my daughter looks at me. I'd hate for you to think of your father in such a manner. Maric deserves more. As do you."

.*~*~*.

Wynne watched as Loghain and Alistair returned to the campfire. "You've done a good thing here Warden," she said to Elyse, who was gathering firewood.

Elyse stopped and followed Wynne's gaze. The two men were seated beside each other; Loghain talked as Alistair looked on in wonder. She could hardly believe her own eyes. "I had hoped it would come to this, though I had so many doubts along the way."

Wynne rested a hand on Elyse's shoulder. "You have united humans, dwarves, and elves into this war. Bringing two people together would appear easy compared to that, wouldn't it?"

"Easy," Elyse laughed. "Sure, as long as they keep their weapons sheathed." She continued to watch; seeing Alistair relax his posture for the first time since arriving, and witnessing Loghain talk so freely, it almost made her sad to think about what the future held for all of them.

"What is it dear?" Wynne asked, seeing the Warden's changed expression.

"The memory of a failed battle lingers here," Elyse said. "I hope it isn't an omen of things to come."

Wynne smiled. "You've already done the impossible. I suspect that will continue to be true, until the darkspawn and archdemon are defeated."

"From your mouth to the Maker's ears," Elyse said.

Wynne nodded. "I have no doubt that the Maker will watch over us all."

~The End~

Author's Thanks: To Erana and Eve Hawke for their inspiration and assistance with this story. And to all those that have read and reviewed, thank you for your continued patience and support.