One of my favorite quests in Origins was “Zerlinda’s Woe,” largely because of what Zerlinda says if convince her father to take her AND her baby back into the family: “If this were a story, my son would grow to manhood and pledge himself as a knight in your service. When he grows up, I will send him to you. I promise!”

I get misty-eyed just looking at that.

She’s so grateful; it’s a HUGE deal for her father to take both of them back because of the dwarven caste system. And it’s poignant, because I think she actually means it, and by the time the boy is old enough to go topside on his own, the Warden won’t have that many years left before her/his Calling.

So I started doing an AU based on the idea that Zerlinda does indeed send her son to the Warden when he’s grown. I haven’t named him yet, and I haven’t fleshed out what Thedas is like in timeline where the Warden stayed on as Warden-Commander of Amaranthine, but here’s the part I’ve written already.

“Warden-Commander? There’s a…young dwarf here to see you.”

Kyra Cousland looked up from the map spread out on her desk. “Well, what does he want, captain?”

“He says you saved his life when he was an infant–that you convinced his grandparents to take him and his mother back in, even though he was born casteless.” The captain smiled slightly. “I don’t think he’s ever been on the surface before, Ser. He seems about half a step from passing out and can’t seem to manage to take his eyes off the ground for very long.”

Kyra’s brow furrowed in thought. A casteless baby…yes. She remembered that. It was during her trip to rally the dwarves to the Wardens’ cause. Twenty years ago. Long enough for that baby to become a young man. His mother–what was her name?–had said something about knights and stories and sending the child to her one day. Kyra hadn’t put much stock in it at the time–it was just the ramblings of a thankful mother, she’d thought. But now it seemed that the woman had meant it as a promise, if this was that child grown to manhood.

“Show him in, captain. And have some brandy brought in. It might help his nerves.”

“Yes, Ser.”

Kyra walked to the fireplace and gazed into the flames. What would she do with this lad? His mother had made and kept a promise; Kyra couldn’t very well reject the woman’s gratitude.