DA Fic: "Beginning of the End"

Title: Beginning of the End
Fandom: Dragon Age: Origins
Rating: Very mild T
Wordcount: 962
Characters: Zevran/Alim Surana
Spoilers: Through the return to Redcliffe after the Landsmeet. Secret Companion outcome.
Notes: This story has been nagging at me since I took Alim Surana to Redcliffe last week, so I figured I'd better set it down. A less polished version went up on Tumblr earlier today; I recommend reading this one instead. The emotional fallout of the Dark Ritual seems to be one of those things I can't stop poking at; like my "All That Remains" fics, this may be one of those bits of canon I revisit with each new situation.

( Zevran hadn't realized just how much he'd been anticipating the opening of the door to his bedchamber in Redcliffe Castle until he heard it: the distant sound of the latch, a few quiet footsteps, and then the door was closed and locked, the deadbolt falling home with a soft click. )

30 Days of DA: Favorite Origin

Day Seventeen: Favorite Origins story

So far, I have played complete games for three of the six (or seven, if you consider Amell and Surana to be distinct from one another) origins: Human Noble, Dwarf Noble, and (Elf) Mage. I've also played each origin as far as the arrival at Ostegar (most of them on one day, when I was home sick from work). I'd like to do a complete game for each origin eventually, but at this point, I have a clear favorite, and that's the Dwarf Noble.

Part of the reason I played all the origins through was to decide which one I wanted to select for my second complete game, and the Dwarf Noble was, for me, the obvious choice. I found the story it told to be the most compelling of the six: a tale of family and honor and betrayal, with implications and effects that ripple through the entire Orzammar quest line. I suspect that playing as either dwarf character gives that part of the game more resonance, but I found this to be especially true for my Aeducan.

It's true that my Aeducan is my favorite Warden, hands down, so this may color my reaction somewhat, but I also believe that part of the reason she's my favorite is because I find her backstory so compelling.

The question of which backstory to play next is a very open one in my mind right now. At the moment, I'm stalling by taking Alim Surana through Awakening (and then probably by playing FFXIII-2, which is out at the end of the month!), but eventually I will have to pick. Is it time to play my hell-on-wheels Warden who stomps all over Ferelden without much heed to the carnage s/he is leaving behind? (I suspect either the City Elf or Dalish origin would be the best match for that, although it might also be interesting to try with a Dwarf Commoner or m!Cousland.) Do I play Dalish because it's the most interesting to carry forward into DA2? (Which helps make up for its lack of connection to the Origins storyline -- this is the backstory I find least compelling to play in DA:O, for that reason.) Or do I play my Dwarf Commoner, to see the other side of the story in Orzammar? Decisions, decisions.

Complete list of questions