When I played Dragon Age: Origins, I fucking hated Loghain. Just hated the bastard. I hated him for turning his back on King Cailan. I hated that he was pushing for his daughter Anora to unilaterally take the throne. I hated that he ignored the Blight. When it was time to pass judgment on him, I killed him so hard. I never looked back on it with an ounce of regret. The only time I felt a twinge of regret was when I learned you could leave him behind in the Fade in Dragon Age: Inquisition. I mean, I could have had the chance to kill him again. Why wouldn’t I want to do that"
And then I got into the Dragon Age books written by former BioWare lead writer David Gaider. After reading The Stolen Throne and The Calling, I couldn’t hate Loghain anymore. In fact, I now understand Loghain so incredibly well. He’s such a tragic character, I almost feel bad for hating him in the first place. Almost. Troubled Friendship With King Maric
Loghain first met Maric almost a day after his mother, the Rebel Queen, was betrayed and murdered by Ferelden nobles. He fled the scene and wound up in Loghain’s camp. Loghain’s father rescued Maric, knew who he was, and kept his identity quiet. He knew that the Orlesians would be hunting for Maric, and the less people knew about Maric’s presence, the better. Unfortunately, he could not predict how quickly the Orlesians would track Maric to that particular camp. Loghain’s father forced Loghain to flee ...