Oren Cousland

Oren Cousland

STAND YOUR GROUND, THE DAWN WILL COME

Oren was born into what was a life of privilege. His uncle the Teyrn of Highever, his mother the land's 'second in command', and his family in what could be described as a state of peace. The only oddity was his father, Aval, whom was not a noble in the bannorn or anything like that. Aval had been Dalish, one of the people, and he and his twin, Vhena, looked much like him. It was a little scandalous amongst the human nobles that resided in the teyrnir. They may not have known precisely, but there were rumors abound that the youngest of Bryce Cousland had children with a Dalish, of all people, and as the twins grew, there were some particularly nasty comments that the children couldn't even be considered human. He distinctly remembers that when he was five, an older noble looked at him and his sister and scoffed, saying their ears must've been cut at birth.

To say the small murmurs in his uncles court never bothered him would be a lie, but Oren was always proud of his lineage, his differences. He and Vhena often played games where they were an elven knight and a human hero, fighting against a dragon... who would usually be played by their elder brother. Oren always found it odd that Bryce and Elanor looked different than him and Vhena. They were small differences, sure, but clear as day when the four were put together. He'd never thought much of it, but he did notice the differences.

As he grew, Oren became very enamored with the library and everything in it. He read day after day, eagerly reciting facts he learned to Elyssa or Aval every night when the family came together for dinner. In fact, he often stayed up late, sneaking out of his room to read and usually being found in the morning by the castle's scholars. Even when he wasn't reading, he was learning, always finding the lessons his tutors taught him to be interesting, though not always engaging. Oren was usually seen as a bright student, despite his inability to sit still for long periods of time unless something truly engaged him, but around the time he turned eight he began to start finding delight in mischief. Oren began putting buckets of water above doors, putting sticky sap on bottles and doorknobs, and especially loved replacing arrows with sticks of jerky.

He'd get into quite a bit of trouble for the last one whenever he was caught. His mother and uncle scolded him, telling him that the guards needed the weapons in order to protect them. Oren thought they were being silly, at the time. Why wouldn't he? He'd never seen actual danger in his life, and knew little of the danger that haunted his family name... not until they were attacked. The first time, the assassins had gone after Elyssa, Elanor, and Bryce. It'd been scary, but nobody had died. Everything seemed fine, after a few days, and Oren chalked it up to a one-time incident... but then it happened again. And again.

One time, he'd been sitting alone in the courtyard, waiting for Bryce to finish his lessons so they could play. One moment he was with a guard, and the next, there was an arrow protruding from the woman's throat, and someone was coming after him with a dagger. Bryce and his own guard had saved him, but the event definitely contributed to some sleepless nights. Similar things happened to all of them- the whole family seemed to be plagued by these assassins... until it came to a head. Oren and Vhena had been with their father, at the time, listening to the story of Fen'Harel, the dread wolf. Their father stopped mid-sentence, pushing Vhena out of the way beside Oren, who was out of the line of sight. The arrow meant for Vhena hit Aval instead, and both children were never quite the same.

Not long after that, uncle Fergus snuck them out of Highever, sending them off to the mountains to be with the Inquisition in Skyhold. They'd be safe there, apparently, and Oren can't help but feel resentful that his mother didn't move them there earlier, before Aval died.


- He's a bit of a bitter smol, but can you really blame him?

- He doesn't know he's a mage yet. Nobody does.

- Oren's current dream is to be a warrior hero, and maybe become king one day. He knows it's wishful thinking, but he likes to imagine being powerful and being able to protect his family.

- He's been begging for his own Mabari puppy since he was six years old.

[b]NATHAN O'TOOLE[/b] as [i]oren cousland[/i]