The eighth main quest of the Dragon Age: Origins video-game. The story follows the player and company after arriving in Denerim for the Landsmeet, a meeting amongst Ferelden's nobles to decide on the future of the kingdom.
Once all these allies have been gathered, the Warden returns to Redcliffe to find that concurrently to their quest, Ferelden has collapsed into civil war. Loghain, convinced the Blight is a hoax to allow a new Orlesian invasion of Feredlden, has refused to resign the regency despite the accusations of his involvement in Cailan's death and the Fereldan nobility's refusal to bow down to his authority has caused a civil war. Even worse, the darkspawn have taken advantage of the chaos to advance further into Ferelden unopposed. At this time, Eamon and Alistair reveal a secret; Alistair is a bastard son of King Maric, King Cailan's half-brother. He was raised by Eamon away from court to stop Cailan's enemies using him as a pawn, but with Cailan dead, Alistair possesses a better claim to the throne of Ferelden as a blood son of King Maric than Queen Anora, Loghain's daughter and Cailan's widow. Eamon proposes a Landsmeet, a political gathering of all Ferelden's nobility in the capital city, Denerim, where they can put forward their case to dethrone Loghain and place Alistair on the throne.
Upon arrival in Denerim and after a brief attempt by Loghain to intimidate them into submission, the Warden is discreetly contacted by Erlina, a handmaiden of Queen Anora herself. The Queen has come to suspect her father's role in her husband's death, and fearing Loghain's pigheaded stubbornness will leave Ferelden defenceless against the darkspawn horde, is willing to offer an alliance to stop her father. At present however, Loghain's chief lieutenant, Arl Rendon Howe, is keeping her as a virtual hostage at his estate in Denerim, and Anora believes Howe, with her father's consent, plans to assassinate her and pin the killing on Eamon and the Warden to destroy their credibility at the Landsmeet. Given the seriousness of that threat, and the fact Anora could be an invaluable source of information on Loghain, the Warden and their companions mount a rescue mission. In the course of rescuing Anora, killing Howe along the way, the Warden can free a number of prisoners whose testimony would prove damning to Loghain at the Landsmeet. Among them is an Orlesian Grey Warden called Riordan, who was sent to investigate what was going on after Ostagar and why Loghain was blaming the Grey Wardens for the disaster.
Back at Eamon's estate, the Warden must make a choice who they will back; Anora is willing to support the Warden and Eamon against her father, but makes it clear her support is conditional on them backing her claim to the throne. The two claimants for the throne have both good and bad points; Alistair has little experience with politics and ruling, but he is a good man willing to learn, and with the right guidance and direction could become a good king in time. Anora, on the other hand, is an experienced politician and diplomat, having been Ferelden's de facto ruler for years, but like her father, she is proud, stubborn and arrogantly overconfident in her abilities, and the fact she was never able to give Cailan a child cast serious doubts about her ability to continue the royal line. Anora does however provide the Warden with information regarding potentially damning acts and practices Loghain has condoned amongst his forces that would help shatter his credibility at the Landsmeet. Once they have completed their investigations, the Landsmeet begins in earnest; Loghain continues to blame the Grey Wardens for the defeat at Ostagar and being facilitators of a new Orlesian conquest of Ferelden, while the Warden argues the severity of the threat posed by the Blight and lists the atrocities Loghain has committed (including torture, assassination, murder, endorsing slavery) in a bid to retain a throne he has no right to. Whether by political means or direct force, the Landsmeet turns against Loghain and strips him of his power and authority, leaving his fate in the hands of the victorious Warden.
The Warden must now make a choice; Anora wants her father spared, both out of paternal loyalty and because of his years of previously loyal service to the nation, while Alistair wants the man whose treachery cost his half-brother, his mentor Duncan and his friends in the Grey Wardens their lives executed. Riordan offers a compromise between both sides in putting Loghain through the Joining; if he dies in the ritual, justice is served for his crimes, and if he lives, the Grey Wardens gain a skilled military commander to their ranks. The Warden must decide Loghain's fate and the matter of who takes the throne of Ferelden in Cailan's place (either Alistair or Anora rules alone, the pair join together in a political marriage, or a Human Noble Warden can arrange matters to rule besides them- a male Warden can rule besides Anora as Prince Consort, while a female Warden can wed Alistair and become his Queen, though this is dependent on certain conditions- if Loghain is executed, Anora will refuse to wed her father's killer, and if he is spared, Alistair leaves the party in disgust).
