Once there was a child. A bright-eyed child, just like you. The child had a task, a chore: "Bring back firewood so that your family stays warm."

What do you suppose the child did then?

Well, he went to the edge of the wood and gathered some firewood. Soon he had enough to keep his family warm. Let us say that the story ends here. The child returns home. His family greets him, and they have cake with apples. At night the wind howls, but the house is warm. The child's mother tells stories, his father sings songs, and all is well.

Do you think that's where the story ends? Is that what you would do?

Though the child had enough firewood to keep his family warm, he did not leave for home. Instead, he put one toe over the egde of the wood and said: "I am not too young."

"Of course not," said a voice in the dark, and this made the child smile, for he was in vain and cared more for flattery than duty.

The child put both feet past the edge of the wood and said: "I am not too foolish."

"Of course not," said the voice in the dark. "You are a very special child. The best of all."

So the child walked deeper into the forest, leaving the firewood behind, deeper into the dark.

And so I say to you now: Do not go past the edge of the wood. You are too young and too foolish to face the dangers within. You once had an older brother who would've agreed.

- an unnamed Fereldan mother to her son

Culinary post alert!!
Pickled Eggs,

You haven't truly been to Ferelden until you've had a mug of warm, watery ale and a pickled egg at a Fereldan tavern. We love our pickled eggs and will prescribe them for just about every ailment we can think of, from fevers to ague to sneezing. Once a drunken codger in the Gnawed Noble in Denerim even swore to me that old pickling brine from that very tavern, mixed with dog hair and elfroot ash, helped him regrow a finger lost in the fifth blight.
If the authentic experience of choking down a chewy, salty-sour egg in a dimly lit tavern with dirt floors and besotted carousers sounds far too stimulating, I offer you an alternative: a formula for pickled eggs, so you may consume them at your leisure in your parlor, away from the stench of wet dog and unwashed beards.

Ingredients:
- Two tablespoons of sugar
- One teaspoon of salt
- Two cups of vinegar
- Three-quarters of a cup of water
- Twelve to sixteen eggs, boiled and peeled

What to do:
Stir the sugar, salt, vinegar and water together in a pot. Simmer for several minutes. Place the eggs in a heavy earthen jar and pour the vinegar mix over top. Seal the jar, then let it stand in a cool, dark place for at least two days before eating.

Today we remember and honour the actions of Lord Cousland, known as the Warden-Commander of Ferelden, Champion of Redcliffe, Arl of Amaranthine or simply the Hero of Ferelden.
On this day 16 years ago (5 Verimensis 9:31) he and all those who stood by his side heroically at the battle of Fort Drakon put an end to the 5th Blight by killing Urthemiel atop the fortress.

A brief history of the Blight(s)

The Chantry teaches that it was the arrogance of men that brought the darkspawn to be. The mage rulers of the Tevinter Imperium sought to usurp the Golden City created by the Maker but were cast out, twisted with corruption, and returned as monsters—the first of the darkspawn. In their depravity, they sought the Old Gods, and, finding Dumat slumbering deep within the earth, began the First Blight (-395 Ancient)

Tevinter magisters deny their involvement in creating the blight. They claim that the darkspawn have always existed, and that the magisters have no connection to them.

Corypheus rejects the accusation that they "brought darkness into the world", asserting that they "discovered the darkness", "claimed it as their own, let it permeate their being".

However Hawke, the champion of Kirkwall discovered in his expeditions that tainted lyrium can be found in the Primeval Thaig that was built before the First Blight.

(tainted lyrium = red lyrium)

Additionally a Nevarran cult known as "The Empty Ones" believed the blight to have originated from a place called the Void, the place of nothingness, and that it is by the Maker's will for all of his creation to return to it.

Whereas ancient elven sources mention a "plague" that ate Andruil's lands after she entered the Void.

Beasts of Ferelden

Drakes are intelligent, almost sly, yet savage beasts. Once they have fully matured, male dragons seek out the lairs of adult females. When they find one, they move into her lair and spend the rest of their lives there, hunting for her and defending her drakelings. Drakes never develop wings, unlike female dragons; at most, their forelegs grow vestigial spurs where wing membranes might have been. They have no need for powerful wings because once they bond with a female, they rarely travel far from her lair.

I'll be making more posts in the coming days, been busy helping people in Amaranthine

"And Dane he stood his ground, The fanged beast approached. He saw the rage within its eyes, The wolf that once was there. The sword he raised, Merciful death be praised, To the maker went his prayer."

- Dane and the Werewolf, 4:50 Black

Fereldan history is full of instances where these creatures have plagued the countryside: wolves possessed by rage demons and transformed into humanoid abominations with incredible speed and strength, able to spread a curse to those they bit that would drive them mad with a mindless fury. When in this enraged state, a human host can likewise become possessed and be transformed into a feral, wolf-like beast. 

Mabari's possess a natural ability making them able to detect a werewolf even when it is in a human guise. This is what first led Fereldans to adopt them as indispensable companions in every farmhold. This friendship between humans and dogs is one of the oldest in Ferelden.

Werewolves can also form from humans being possessed by hunger demons. This different breed can also spread their curse to other people through their bite, though killing the original bearer is said to end the curse, thereby curing their victims

I think adding the codex entry numeral code would be a useful addition for my channel 🤔

"The fate of Redcliffe is the fate of all Ferelden." - King Calenhad Theirin

Redcliffe is located in the western hills of Ferelden. The village below the castle (and others under Redcliffe's authority) grew until the arling was as powerful a settlement as any teyrnir. Redcliffe Castle is the first and last line of defense for the only land route into Ferelden and the country has never fallen to any assault that did not first take Redcliffe.

Redcliffe is one of the largest and most prosperous towns in Ferelden, due to its crucial position between Orzammar and Orlais. As such it is a center of foreign trade. These favorable circumstances caused the domain to be named an arling in spite of its small size. The citizens of Redcliffe are primarily fishermen or merchants engaged in shipping dwarven goods from Orlais.

By the time 9:32 Dragon hit, the Bannorn increasingly looked to the Arl of Redcliffe for guidance and leadership. It was speculated that if this continued, Redcliffe would become a rival of Denerim.

147 (+5WK)

"The might of Redcliffe" - painting by Weylon made a couple weeks before his assassination