Bhelen Aeducan

"We need absolute unity to fight against the fulcrum of true evil."

Prince Bhelen Aeducan is the third son of King Endrin Aeducan making Trian and the Dwarf Noble his elder siblings.

Background
Third of King Endrin Aeducan's children, Bhelen of House Aeducan has always been considered the last and least important of his family. Not the heir, nor the favourite, and not as accomplished as either sibling, Bhelen's most notable trait is his ability to stay out of trouble. Bhelen also has a concubine, Rica Brosca, the sister of the Dwarf Commoner.

Dragon Age: Origins
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Dwarf Noble Origin
The Dwarf Noble Warden is the second, and most popular, of the Aeducan children. They encounter Bhelen alongside Trian, their older brother as the duo are perusing the market stalls in the Diamond Quarter. Trian, lording over Bhelen, forces him to come along with him, during which, Bhelen mentions, Trian has been hurling abuse at casteless dwarves. Here it is suggested that the Noble has a good relationship with their younger brother, while they both are on bad terms with Trian.

Shortly after the Warden is pronounced Commander, Bhelen privately reveals that Trian plans to remove the Dwarf Noble from the picture, assuring himself the throne. The Dwarf Noble may express a desire to kill Trian or to wait for him to make the first move.

If their intention is to kill him, after leaving the Aeducan Thaig, Trian and a group of royal guards will be waiting at the crossroads and a fight will break out. If the more cautious approach is taken, Trian and his guards will be lying slain on arrival. Shortly after the Dwarf Noble examines his corpse, the King, Bhelen and Lord Harrowmont will arrive demanding answers. Regardless of what actually happened, the scout and Frandlin Ivo give the exact same damning testimony.



When the Noble is thrown in prison, a sentence is decided for him/her and Gorim, the Noble's second. Gorim is to be stripped of his honour as a warrior, have his name struck from his family's records and be exiled to the surface; Harrowmont pushes for a similar sentence for the Noble but Bhelen has the support of a good half of the Assembly; the Noble is sentenced not only to the same dishonour as Gorim, but also to be sent into the Deep Roads to die at the hands of the darkspawn, and it becomes painfully obvious that Bhelen played the game of dwarven politics better than any would have given him credit for.

If the Warden is of the Dwarf Commoner Origin, they will return to find that his or her half-sister, Rica Brosca, has become Bhelen's consort and has borne him a son. Both she and their mother now live in the Royal Palace with Bhelen.

A Paragon of Her Kind
After the death of King Endrin Aeducan, Bhelen sought a quick and easy election to the throne. However, Lord Harrowmont, having promised King Endrin on his deathbed that Bhelen would not succeed him, put himself up as an alternative candidate. Their dispute has left the Assembly in deadlock, with no one running the city and the Legion of the Dead being stuck in the Dead Trenches without orders to press ahead. Since neither can gain the upper hand, the Assembly has closed Orzammar off from the surface, to the chagrin of the dwarves and merchants living there.

According to Shaper Czibor, Prince Bhelen is interested to know more about the reign of Paragon Bemot, who ruled Orzammar during the Fourth Blight and disbanded the Assembly as well as setting some other precedents. Bhelen also believes in employing casteless in the army.

The Warden, regardless of origin, can choose to support his claim. A Dwarf Commoner is sent to Bhelen's right-hand, Vartag Gavorn, by Rica. Gavorn, however, is suspicious of a Dwarf Noble, thinking they are planning to extract revenge on Bhelen; the Noble has to convince him they are here on behalf of the Wardens through persuasion. Speaking to Wojech Ivo also reveals that his younger brother, Frandlin, became the left-hand of Bhelen.

Bhelen's first task is providing proof to the heads of Houses Dace and Helmi that Harrowmont bribed them for their votes with the same piece of land. Should they do this, Gavorn will take them to Bhelen for an audience. The prince then asks the Warden to go to Lowtown and deal with the Carta, who have taken advantage of the turmoil to extend their holdings in the city. When the Warden returns, Bhelen congratulates the Warden, before asking that s/he end the deadlock in the Assembly by finding the only known living Paragon - Branka, who disappeared into the Deep Roads with her entire house (excluding her abandoned husband Oghren) two years ago in search of the Anvil of the Void - just as Harrowmont does.

Should a Dwarf Noble join with him, Bhelen expresses surprise that his sibling has chosen to work with him. Here they can ask him why he turned on them, as well as if he killed their father. Although he leaves it ambiguous as to whether he killed their father, Bhelen reveals that King Endrin inherited the throne after his elder brother died in an Honour Proving against a convicted murderer, and claims that he put poison on the murderer's blade to ensure his brother's loss. The Noble can also claim they are now simply working to put an Aeducan on the throne, to which Bhelen comments that he underestimated his older sibling's pragmatism.

If the Warden is a Dwarf Commoner, once Bhelen's first task has been completed, Bhelen will warmly embrace them as family.

If Bhelen is crowned king, he calls for Lord Harrowmont's execution to ensure unity in preparation for the Blight. If Harrowmont is crowned instead, Bhelen calls on a group of loyal deshyrs and attacks Harrowmont and the Warden, dying in the ensuing brawl.

Should a male Noble ask his brother to accept his son into House Aeducan, Bhelen agrees to accept Mardy and her son once the Warden finishes helping him become king; he also teases his older brother about using a noble hunter.

If, having worked for Bhelen consistently and completed his tasks, the Warden crowns Bhelen king, he gives him/her his elder brother's old hammer as a reward; otherwise, he provides an impersonal Aeducan Mace. If a Dwarf Noble crowns him, Bhelen also re-inducts them into House Aeducan as thanks.

Two casteless can be heard discussing Bhelen if he is crowned king. One praises his marriage to Rica, since she was a commoner and he a noble, and mentions he has been recruiting "anyone who can hold a sword" to fight the darkspawn - a policy he can get behind.

If a Dwarf Noble survives the Blight and crowned Bhelen, he restores all their rights as well as those of Gorim and gives them leave to return to Orzammar. If s/he dies, Bhelen sends Gavorn to the funeral as the royal representative. He asks that the Warden's body be returned to Orzammar so they can bury the body next to their father, all honours restored.

Epilogue
If Bhelen becomes king, he rules as a reformist and works to strengthen Orzammar's connection with the surface world. He embraces military aid from Ferelden (if the Warden asked for this as a boon), reduces restrictions on trade with the surface and offers casteless greater rights and privileges in exchange for military service against the darkspawn. This policy allows Orzammar to reclaim lost territory and push the darkspawn line back past the Trenches, but angers the warrior and noble castes. After several attempts on his life, Bhelen dissolves the Assembly and rules alone. Opinion is divided as to whether he should be remembered as a tyrant or a progressive ruler determined to drag Orzammar into the modern world.

Should the Anvil of the Void be preserved as well, Bhelen works with Branka to produce more golems. While this allows the dwarves to reclaim relics from old thaigs, eventually Branka refuses to make golems for the king alone and Bhelen bans its use.

If Harrowmont becomes king, despite Bhelen's death, a rebellion borrowing his name rises against Harrowmont. Depending on whether or not the Warden preserved the Anvil, Harrowmont either fails to defeat the rebellion and dies of protracted illness or puts it down with the aid of the golems.}}

Quotes

 * "I am impressed, Warden. Not many outsiders so quickly grasp Orzammar's rather... convoluted politics."
 * (After the Warden deals with Jarvia) "Well, you've simply outdone yourself. They're talking all over the city about how someone finally went through Dust Town and slaughtered the carta like genlocks."

Dialogue

 * Bhelen: "Then why these delaying tactics? I call for a vote right now. My father has one living child to assume the Aeducan throne. Who would deny him that?"
 * Harrowmont: "Your father made me swear on his deathbed you would not succeed him."