Changes: Aeducan

Revision as of 02:34, 24 October 2018

“The Assembly has never named a Paragon with so little disagreement as there was for Paragon Aeducan. No naysayers, only a single abstention. His worthiness was unquestionable, his favor with the Ancestors clear.” ―Scholar Gertek

Aeducan is a dwarf who rose up to become a Paragon and king of the Dwarven Empire by saving his race from annihilation. He is also the founder of House Aeducan.

Background

Originally born to the Warrior caste, Aeducan was a man of little note. According to the Memories Aeducan never entered a single Proving and never sought to elevate his place among the Warrior caste. He spent most of his years prior to the First Blight fighting skirmishes in the Deep Roads, keeping them free from surface bandits, content to live quietly with his wife named Anika^[2] and their daughters.^[3]

When the Blight began in -395 Ancient, it caught the dwarven empire in the midst of a vicious inter-house war. Most of the Warrior caste was caught up in the feuding, for as word of attacks poured in, each great house demanded that the army be sent to defend their thaig, and no house would agree to sacrifice their own holdings for the safety of any others. The Assembly was so utterly tied up with the infighting that the darkspawn spread, unchecked, to the gates of Orzammar and capital of the empire.^[3]

In the chaos, Aeducan grudgingly took command of the armies. He enlisted the aid of the Mining caste to collapse overrun passages, called upon the Smith caste to supply them with arms, and bypassed the Assembly and the Noble caste entirely. Furthermore, according to a letter he sent to his wife he witnessed with his own eyes the great darkspawn horde moving to the surface led by the Archdemon Dumat.^[3]

With his leadership and insubordination, Aeducan saved the dwarven race from annihilation. Even after thousands of years he is still considered to be one of the most famous and celebrated Paragons of the dwarves.^[4] He is the only Paragon in history whom the Assembly unanimously voted to raise up, with no debate necessary^[5], and only a single abstention. That single deshyr who attempted to vote against him was savagely hacked to death by his colleagues. Aeducan was reportedly melancholic and his fervor regarding Orzammar's safety bordered on obsession.^[6] Aeducan is entombed in the Thaig Chamber of the Aeducan Thaig, the ancestral home of House Aeducan named after their Paragon and founder.

Involvement

His successors in House Aeducan were successful maintaining the noble house into prominence with nine kings rising up from its ranks.^[7] Scholars even thousands of years after his life would write about him with a book titled A history of Aeducan: Paragon, King, and Peacemaker is known to be authored by Scholar Gertek.

This section contains spoilers for:
A Tale of Orzammar.

The playable character in A Tale of Orzammar DLC is hired by a noble to confirm the information that the shield of Aeducan is inside the Thaig Chamber. Once the golem defending the chamber is defeated and the shield is found, the noble is revealed to be Bhelen Aeducan who is scheming to take out his elder siblings.

This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age: Origins.

The middle child of King Endrin Aeducan is tasked with retrieving the shield of Aeducan. The mission is successful but the Dwarf Noble is accused of fratricide and is exiled to the Deep Roads. If the Warden is the Dwarf Noble, they will survive the Deep Roads by finding Duncan and can later find Gorim Saelac in Denerim Market District who will inform them that King Endrin passed away but asked Gorim to give the shield of Aeducan to the Dwarf Noble along with a letter.

Notes