Dane

Dane
Race	Human
Gender	Male
Family	Hafter (son)
Appearances	Dragon Age: Origins (mentioned)

Dane is a legendary Alamarri hero and reportedly the father of Hafter. Many Fereldan nobles claim their descent from his line.

Legend

No one knows how many stories about Dane are true, but there was once an Alamarri warrior named Dane. One of his legends says that he owned a pack of wolves, from which mabari are descended, although this is unlikely, as the mabari were bred by the Tevinters. Dane is also credited with killing a dragon and orchestrating a major campaign against werewolves, which dramatically reduced the werewolf threat in Alamarri lands.

According to the story of Dane and the Werewolf, Dane had killed a rare white hart when he encountered a werewolf, who demanded tribute for the kill that had been made in his woods. Surrounded by a pack of werewolves, Dane had no choice but to strike a bargain: he would exchange lives and bodies with the werewolf. Dane lived as a werewolf for a year and a day while the werewolf lived the life Dane had left behind. The truth of this tale has never been proven however. While Dane himself almost certainly existed, Fereldan scholars doubt that he spent a year as a werewolf. Flemeth is also said to appear in many versions of Dane and the Werewolf.

The River Dane in Ferelden, which is best known to modern Fereldans as the place where the rebel forces of Prince Maric Theirin under the command of Loghain Mac Tir defeated two Orlesian legions of chevaliers, is named after the hero Dane.

Notes

• In Awakening, the statue of war in the Wending Wood tells you an Alamarri named Dane was the one who slew the Tevinter magister before, but cannot tell you if it is the same Dane from legend as he does not know Dane's legends.
• There are two swords attributed to belonging to Dane. The first is Yusaris, found in Dragon Age: Origins. The second is The Winter Blade, found in Awakening.
• In Dragon Age II, Xenon the Antiquarian mentions a conversation with a "Dane fellow" about how hard it is to find his shop. It is possible it is the same Dane.
• A tavern in Lothering called Dane's Refuge is likely named as a tribute to him.

Trivia

• The legend of Dane's encounter with a werewolf while hunting and his subsequent exchange of positions with the wolf bears many similarities with Pwyll's relationship with Arawn in the Mabinogion.