Battle of Ostagar

The Battle of Ostagar was a major engagement during the Fifth Blight between the kingdom of Ferelden and the Darkspawn Horde, and arguably the catalyst for the Fereldan Civil War.

Background
When the darkspawn appeared en masse in the northern Korcari Wilds, King Cailan formed his army and marched south to Ostagar along with his friend and advisor Teyrn Loghain, hoping to end the advance of the darkspawn before they could penetrate Ferelden's heartland. Ostagar was chosen for its excellent strategic position; the old fortress had been built by the Tevinter Imperium in ages past to shield against a Chasind invasion, and while old, the fortifications would serve the king's army well. Such was the haste of Cailan's march that many of his vassals were still gathering their troops by the time he arrived, including the Couslands, Howes and his uncle Arl Eamon. That being said, Cailan's force was still sizable, and included numerous mages from the Circle of Magi and the entirety of Ferelden's Grey Wardens. The latter had sensed the presence of an Archdemon leading the horde, and had gathered all their strength in hopes of bringing the creature down and ending the Blight in its infancy, even sending word to their comrades in Orlais to rally their forces. Before following the army, Duncan set off in search of Grey Warden recruits, and found three candidates: Ser Jory, Daveth and the Warden.

Pre-Battle Skirmishes
By the time Duncan arrived at Ostagar with the Warden in tow, the army of Ferelden had already won three major battles and there had been several small skirmishes in the Wilds with the Fereldans losing several patrols including Fergus Cousland's troops. Disturbingly, the Horde only seemed to be getting bigger. Even so, Cailan remained confident of victory, and without the visible presence of an Archdemon unifying the horde, many had begun to believe that what they were facing was just a large darkspawn raid, rather than a true Blight, though the Grey Wardens knew better.

War Council
Along with his advisors, King Cailan devised a plan to destroy the darkspawn horde in one single glorious battle. The plan consisted of using Cailan, the King's soldiers and the Grey Wardens as bait to lure the Horde into battle. Then, following a signal from troops stationed on the Tower of Ishal, Teyrn Loghain and his troops would come out of hiding behind the Horde and attack, trapping the darkspawn between the two forces and destroying them.

Battle Of Ostagar
Cailan and his troops waited by their defenses as the Horde came out of the Korcari Wilds and mounted the attack. When the darkspawn Horde began their assault, Cailan ordered his archers and the ballistas on the bridge above them to fire, killing the darkspawn in droves. Mabari hounds were then released killing more darkspawn. The King then charged with his troops at the horde. A vicious melee between the defenders of Ostagar and the darkspawn forces then ensued.

Inside Ostagar, the two Grey Wardens assigned to lighting the beacon atop the Tower of Ishal, Alistair and the Warden, made their way to their objective and discovered that the Tower of Ishal had been captured by darkspawn. Linking up with a group of soldiers, the Grey Wardens made their way into the tower. The group fought their way to the top of the tower and lit the beacon just in time. However, upon seeing the signal Loghain instructed Ser Cauthrien to order his troops to quit the field, abandoning Cailan, his army and the Wardens to their death. Due to Loghain's retreat and the overwhelming mass of the darkspawn horde, the king's army fell. Cailan himself fell to an ogre which was then promptly killed by Duncan, who stayed next to Cailan's body until he too was slain. The darkspawn then retook the Tower of Ishal, killing the troops inside and wounding the Grey Wardens, who escaped death only due to the intervention of the witch, Flemeth.

Aftermath
As a result of Cailan's death, the country descended into chaos. The loss of the king and so many of his army left Fereldan increasingly undefended, and the darkspawn were able to push northwards into the nation's heartland, unopposed by any force of significant size. Fereldan soldiers were still active in attempting to protect the roads of Ferelden from darkspawn, but could do little against the main horde. As a result, many thousands would die and much of the country would be ravaged by the Blight until an army could be assembled to confront it. Cailan's death and the advance of the horde also caused a civil breakdown in Fereldan, as banditry and brigandage became commonplace with gangs of highwaymen taking advantage of the chaos to prey upon refugees, trade caravans and undefended townships.

Meanwhile, Teyrn Loghain returned to Denerim and denounced the Grey Wardens as traitors after pronouncing himself regent, setting into motion the Fereldan Civil War. The border with Orlais was sealed, preventing the arrival of the Grey Wardens of that nation to aid against the Blight, and Loghain appointed the treachrous Arl Rendon Howe as his second-in-command, leading to numerus atrocities as he sought to stablize his control over Fereldan. Immediately, Loghain faced opposition from Bann Teagan and the independant freeholders of the Bannorn, and the recovery of Arl Eamon from his strange illness resulted in two distinct political factions emerging to fight for control over the throne.

The most lingering loss of Ostagar was that of Fereldan's Grey Wardens, all of whom had been slain along with the king, thus depriving the nation of its most valuable allies when they needed them most. Only two survived; Alistair and the Warden, both of whom were rescued with the aid of Flemeth and her daughter, Morrigan, and recovered in the Korcari Wilds. Their survival ultimately spelt the downfall of both Loghain and the Blight, as the two were able to rally an army to Fereldan's cause and defeat the former hero in the Landsmeet.

Perhaps the most interesting consequence of the battle would not be felt until some ten years later. Following Fereldan's defeat at Ostagar, the nearby village of Lothering was swiftly overrun by the darkspawn. Amongst the refugees fleeing the community was a young human by the name of Hawke, who would become a central figure in the years that followed, rising to prominance in the Free Marches and eventually becoming the Champion of Kirkwall.