Oh no! Our little edge boy got a convenient power boost from his fuckery!

Yeah, kazar is far too much of a Mary sue. Both of the sympathetic kind and otherwise. Starting with the who "greatest mage of our generation" bullcrap, i didn't really mind it, because by then at least he had some flaws. But now turns out apparently the entire reality was warped to give him a sob story of a backstory and make just EVERYONE be like "aw, you poor thing, all your shitty actions are justified! Come let me give you a hog."

So no one's gonna address the fact that he's an arrogant prick? That he seemingly sacrificed redclife to get more power without a second thought? Alister's just gonna be all buddy buddy with him when days before he was about to kill him, and not five minutes ago this stupid child was continuously insulting him, as if he had a leg to stand on.

And all this, after everyone shames Fin for being persuasive. "Oh no, he lies occasionally to avoid violence and make everyone get along! Whatever shall we do with this monster?!" Meanwhile there's a demon child, that's an absolute menace, and people are like "you just have to sit down and listen to him! He's just so precious and edgy..."

It's worth noting that when a few chapters ago you were trying to come up with *good things* he'd done, all the examples were of him not being *as much of an asshole* he normally is. None of them remotely depicted him as a decent person, just not an *absolute* dick.

It's weird how many people in the comments are posing their opinions and preferences as legit criticism.

stories, where character deaths are common, are not somehow objectively superior to ones that avoid it and it's very arrogant to claim it's an author's job to adhere to your taste in fiction. yes, I'm talking to you ascoreandseven.

Also, Jesus people, the slightest mentioning of someone thinking another is handsome doesn't mean there's any sort of relationship brewing.

for the love of god, I never realized id love this so much. this friendship between these three is absolutely amazing and i couldn't do it justice with words!

FUCKING CALLED IT!

sorry for the swear word

way late to the party, so I wasn't gonna review as I doubted it'd get any response, but after reading your author's note this chapter I got really curious and wanted to see if Estrea's predictions matched mine. before that tho, just gotta say your writing is awesome, I'm kinda jealous. you've done a wonderful job at distinguishing each character and sticking to their traits.

anyways, I'm gonna have to disagree with Estrea on Fin and Percy. while Fin is obviously attracted to him, I don't think there are any romantic feelings there, rather a kinship and friendship. not all men who are close have to be gay. tho that's just my opinion. since Fin is definitely interested in men tho I suspect he's gonna be paired with Zevran. Also, since Percy's resolution to give up completely on romance is one borne of a traumatic experience I think it's gonna be something he moves on from, with a certain wild lady mage of ours.

There's no question Felicity and Alister are happening, their romance is a more vanilla one, therefore a lot more predictable.

On the topic of Leliana and our resident Dalish, I remember in her first chapter you mentioned that she didn't show any interest in the *boys* of the clan. that's either you setting her up as a lesbian, which would pair her with Leliana, or as Asexual. I'm leaning towards the former.

Kazar is underage so I'm sure he's not finding love with any of the people in the party at the very least, and Marnan and Garot... well, not everyone has to find their happily ever after in a relationship. they could be paired together but I doubt it'll happen.

in any case, thanks for writing such a great fic!

As a way to cope with... recent events, I re-read through this story again. Even years later it still holds up as the absolute best Dragon Age fic I've ever laid eyes on. All the kudos in the world to you.

I finished this fanfiction (and its two sequels) a couple of days ago, and I'm still reeling from the quality. This might be my favourite Dragon Age fanfic out there- it's written extremely well, I'm overjoyed at the handling of all six origins and their respective seven characters and because some of your story choices weren't even in the game, there was always an undercurrent of tension in the air since after *that* chapter, any one of the heroes could've died. Bloody great stuff. Unsure exactly where to write this, but I'm so satisfied from this epic tale, I thought I'd write a list of my ten favourite moments from this gem of a fic:

10: Torture at Fort Drakon. Not really an angst-obssessed reader myself, but I adored these couple of chapters. Balancing the more gruesome with Brosca's Flying Circus (genius chapter title by the way) was a little jarring, but Finian's torture was just horrifying to read, not only because he might be my favourite out of your characters (he's definitely one of the best written) and I was so edge about what Zevran's reaction would be. The torture chief, especially after their failed escape attempt, is chilling and the fingers...*shudder*. Gruelling stuff. Early on, I was expecting this fic to be a mishandled ball of fluff, but wow. It's riveting.

9: The Ultimate Proving. Even though it only spanned a chapter or so, I just adore your choice in the story's direction here. Having the two potential rulers of Orzammar duke it out in the Proving Grounds?! Why the hell is this not an option in the actual game? It's just so...dwarven. On the plus side, I love the encounters between Garott and Bhelen- can't beat a good power play/face off. Garott himself was one of the heroes I liked at first, then grew to hate him a bit but later on, and this chapter is very much a turning point, he became one of my faves.

8: Zevran's Vision. Referring to the second trial of the Gauntlet here, I just want to mention first how much I love your usage of companion's POVs. Not having Morrigan or Sten view anything is pretty clever, but Alistair and Zevran especially are just awesome. The encounter with Rinna here is pretty damn heart-tugging, and I got so excited at what the others envisaged (Anierin for Wynne and unless I'm mistaken, Tug for Leliana Cracking stuff). But yeah, Zevran is stellar here, very impressed with how you carry his character and his eventual (and inevitable) love-falling for Finian.

7: Finian exposes Percival. Uncertain how else to phrase it, really, but that scene where Finian just exposes Percival for calling him 'elf' and Percival's inner confusion, then shocked realisiation at not only his inbred noble superiority...Wow. In hindsight, it's almost heartbreaking, considering Finian's feelings towards him, but it just really caught me off guard and the POV writing is fantastic. Their later encounter in the wine cellar is just cherry on the cake, was always wondering if two of the OC heroes would have a 'thing' and this one-sided romance is compelling character matter.

6: The Landsmeet. Since it's one of the most crucial elements of the game, I was always intrigued how you were going to handle this one, and I was hardly disappointed. Having Finian be the silver-tongued legend he is take down Loghain in view of Ferelden's court (the whole City Elf zero to hero aspect lending it extra credibility) was brilliant, as was Percival's duel with Loghain. One of my favourite things about your fanfic is the choice to write mostly new dialogue and include only the game's when it's inevitable or just too good to omit and this one's no different, but it's fab you put a unique spin on it. (It's a little thing, but Finian having Alfstanna read out the damning evidence was a stroke of genius).

5: Finian is Cursed. Yep, Finian again. Sorry, but in the grand scheme of things, he's got so many memorable moments in this epic tale. Getting bitten by Swiftrunner and then transforming into one of the werewolves was another out-of-the-blue concept that just hit me. The liberties you take with this angle of the quest is awesome and Finian's change is just terrifying to watch, although it's nothing compared to his scathing outburst at Meila and Kazar. The three elves were a great combo choice for this quest and the three telling stories in order to distract Fin's plight and restrain him was so touching. I should mention Meila here too, she might be my least favourite of your heroes but my respect for her grew vastly by the journey's end. Her relationship with Leliana, while again probably my least favourite romance within the heroes had such a poignant ending...no words.

4: Marnan's death. It's a little biased of me because I always canonise Endrin's second child as a guy (it just makes the whole alpha male rivalry with Trian that bit sweeter and Bhelen's sigma outwitting of both glorious to watch), but Marnan was never my favourite hero of yours. She had a strong start, I'll grant you, and her reaction to Finian's infamous 'bandit suicide talk' was very endearing, but her death just struck a massive blow. Honestly, that entire chapter is masterful, reading the descriptions of Hespith, the creepy poem, the broodmother, all that horror but Garott's remark on how Marnan might have ended up the same at the end of her Origin was honestly something I'd never considered before and it twisted something inside me. The darkspawn are a gloriously horrifying concept and you bring that across beautifully in this scene especially. The subsequent fight with the broodmother and Marnan's crippling but noenetheless badass defeat- truly the fate of a worthy Aeducan. Absolutely beast. And the fact one of the seven OCs died?! The tension factor for every battle, if not every chapter afterwards just went up a notch.

3: Saving Kazar. I was always on the fence with Felicity Amell. In her first scene, she's a storm of an individual, fighting for the pursuit of knowledge, a hurricane of a woman. But I think with so many depressed and furious Warden recruits, her anger would have been too much, and at first, she seemed to get downgraded to the spluttering, obnoxious know-it-all Kazar and many others deem her to be. However, after a few of her outbursts later on, and her blooming romance with Alistair (a tad obvious from a single line that she was destined to be Alistair's soulmate during the Ostagar chapters but I digress), she evolved into another favourite of mine. Her codex entries are such a solid way of reflecting the DA universe's lore and her relationship with Kazar and her knight in shining armour are the absolute. Firstly, I'll just say that the way her and Alistair ended was just heartbreaking, as doubtful as I was of the relationship first, it grew on me to the point I just adored the shy interplay between the two and that reference to it in your sequel with the Warden-Commander's letters just tugged something in my chest. But I chose this moment on the list, because Felicity cemented herself as the compassionate mage lady I knew and loved when she ventures into the Fade and unearths Kazar's memories. Kazar is a gem of a character and this unravelling of his backstory and life (the moments of Pride, the visions, it just fits like a glove) is monumental in why I was so invested in Kazar's sequel story in the Dalish camp, I love him to bits, but Felicity is the star of the show here, her reactions and exploration of the memories is just beautiful. Want a a deep and majestic piece of character development? Time for the Fade!

2: Percival's Vengeance. This title is merely an umbrella term, really, because as outstandingly satisfying as it is for Percy to finally enact his revenge on Rendon Howe, I feel like Percy's entire character deserves praise here. Along with Finian, he's probably my favourite character in terms of how he's written, the depression, the rage, the berserk nature and his passion towards Morrigan- he's a hell of an edgy character and I just. Love. It. Considering the Morrigan romance was always my favourite in the game, it stands to reason Percy's encounters with her would endear to me, but everything- their first night of passion; the dark promise he makes to her regarding slaying the archdemon (big props on keeping the choice he makes ambiguous by the way, really ramped up the tension for that final rooftop battle). Percy's reactions to Howe and the brutal, just unspeakable fate he delivers to the murderer of his parents in that Denerim dungeon...There's come-uppance and then there's that. Having someone else view the carnage in the man's wake was a wicked decision. It's too bad that kind of damage isn't able to be inflicted in the game. But yeah, everything about Percival Cousland just ticks the boxes and his interactions are just so juicy- his loyal mabari, the clash and leadership discussion with Sten, his romance with Morrigan, the underlying tension between him and his rescued brother and the massive overlying one with one City Elf (and of course, his eventual disappereance, ingeniously told in your sequel) just makes him a 10/10 character. The perfect choice for Warden-Commander, if I do say so.

1: Kazar's possession. Holy hell. My fingers are exhausting at this point but not long to go. Kazar Surana is just a wretch. An obnoxious, arrogant, smug wretch of a mageling. And I love him. I just love him to bits. While I'm still uncertain which of your seven OC heroes I'd call my favourite, Kazar is an incredibly strong contender, and your DA II sequel on his character's path is no small reason. But in this, he's fantastic. Yes, he grates on the nerves, but I seriously doubt that was unintentional. His array of magical attacks, his scathing relationship with Alistair, the enmity he feels for Felicity, the kinship with Meila, the bro-ship with Garott, and at the crux of it all, the frienship with Jowan- Kazar's array of character interactions just makes him a dark joy to read. There's never a boring moment when he's around, that's for sure, but what I love most about Kazar's contribution to the story is exactly that- several of the moments above are my favourites just because they bend the narrative of the game, introducing concepts and story elements that were absent from the game itself, and the whole debacle of Kazar's Harrowing Demon tempting him, possessing him, and the consequences were just pure riveting. Especially after Marnan's death, where it felt anything could happen, Kazar's deal with the desire demon for blood magic, the massacre in the Dead Trenches, defeating Flemeth and the quest to save him from his abominable fate, it felt like anything could happen. It felt like a new story all on its own, and it all just built up to an epic crescendo as his character is dragged down more and more into the bloody mire of demon possession. What's best are the consequences of it all. Even after it's "fixed", Jowan's death (brilliantly done, btw, beats him getting stabbed in a cell anyway) and the pain it brings him, his apostate status (when Greagoir's sword touched his neck, and the chapter ended, I was more on edge than during the archdemon battle I swear), the sequel surrounding him and his acceptance into the Dalish clan. Perfection, really. It all added a fantastic flavourful layer to an already epic story. I will definitely revisit this fanfiction again.

Thanks for reading, truthfully I don't know if you still write, upload or even visit your profile, but reading your story was an absolute pleasure and once I've finished replaying Origins for the zillionth time, you never know...I might treat myself and experience it all again. :)

And now shes acting like a cliche teenager? Why must my favorite Warden ALWAYS be written so poorly...

Yep, Amell is falling in love. Again. Why is it my favorite character ALWAYS has to be straight? Are people just too terrified to write gay couples?

Of course Amell is gonna fall for Alistair, heh.

42 chapters in, just now starting into the real game. And they're splitting up for efficiency. Damn, I love this story!

I cannot express how happy I am that you have decided to share this story with the world.

Heh, for some reason I was expecting Kazar to be much more serious, but I am definitely not disappointed to get to know him for the sarcastic pyromancer that he is!

Ah, I was wondering when Duncan would show up. So far, I think Meila is my favorite character. Felicity I like the least, but maybe she'll grow on me. And, in any case, this is a testament to your writing skills and character creation. After all, we don't like every single person we meet in real life, either.