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[historianelise-blog]

Dragon Age: Origins - Duncan

“Duncan was a very dedicated and courageous Grey Warden, who accomplished much throughout his lifetime. Among his accomplishments is his work to shine light upon and fight against the Fifth Blight, and his recruitment and mentor-ship of The Warden and Alistair, among other heroic acts. Of course, everyone’s heard of him, and his heroic deeds, but very few know of his troubled past and how he became a member of wardens.”

“Born in Highever to a Rivaini woman, Tayana, and a Fereldan carpenter, named Arryn, Duncan ended up bouncing back and fourth between Orlais and the Free Marches throughout his childhood. Although it was quite a difficult life, he had no way of knowing that it was no where close to as difficult as what the Maker had in store for him, when both of his parents passed away, leaving him on the streets of Val Royeaux, forced to become a thief in order to survive on his own.”

“Although still very young, Duncan had gotten better at thieving, so he began to steal from more risky areas, such as inns and stores, rather than the pockets of passerby's on the street. On one such occasion he attempted to steal a beautiful ring from a room at the inn, when someone tried to stop him. Duncan was quick, and limber, so he quickly pulled a knife on the man, hoping it would intimidate him into giving in, and let go of the ring. A scuffle ensued, but Duncan had no plans of giving it up anytime soon, the ring would surely sell for a nice price, possibly even enough to feed him for a week. Amidst the struggle and the thoughts racing threw his young, frightened mind, Duncan unintentionally severely injured the man. To the shock and confusion of Duncan, as the man laid dying on the floor, he looked to him and thanked him.”

“The chevaliers who placed Duncan under arrest informed him that the man who he had killed was a Grey Warden, which meant that he was headed for the chopping block. Fortunately for young Duncan, it seems fate had different plans.”

“The night before Duncan's execution a Grey Warden by the name of Genevieve offered him a place in the Wardens, in which he refused. He thought that the Grey Wardens must be terrible a terrible place if the man he has just killed used his dying breath to thank him. Commander Genevieve wouldn’t take no for an answer however, and used the Right of Conscription to force Duncan into joining the order.”

“Duncan later discovered through his fellow wardens that the man he had killed that night was called Guy, and he planned to use the ring he lost his life over to propose to the woman he loved, Genevieve. So many thoughts and questions raced through Duncan's mind. He couldn’t understand why she chose to save his life, even after what he had done. Instead of asking such sensitive questions, he pledged his loyalty to her, probably more so because of the guilt than anything.”

“During a later mission with Genevieve, she confronted Duncan and proclaimed her hatred for him, revealing that the only reason she had forced him into joining was because she wanted him to get a taste of what the Wardens have to deal with, in order to protect scum like him.”

“Duncan went on to do great things; he became an honest, kind, strong man, who made at true impact on the world. I didn’t tell you this story to make you look down upon the fallen hero; I rather wanted to show you that anyone can become a hero, no matter your past or your wealth. Duncan is a man we should all take inspiration from, for he committed some terrible deeds, but he worked everyday of his life to right his wrongs, and become a better person than he once was.”