At long last, my entry for <a target="_self" href="https://the-bards-college.deviantart.com/" ><img class="avatar group" width="100" height="50" src="https://a.deviantart.net/avatars/t/h/the-bards-college.png?5" alt=":iconthe-bards-college:" title="The-Bards-College" /></a> Summer Contest. As you might expect from the somewhat heavy-handed references throughout, the theme for this challenge is Change, set in the context of summer. This was a pretty neat challenge and definitely worth the effort, and any opportunity to write more of Sagramor and Leliana is always welcome. I thought it would be interesting to focus on the post-<i>Origins</i> status quo, as the Warden finds himself facing new responsibilities, new challenges and a new band of companions during the events of <i>Awakening</i>. I certainly wasn't the only one missing the <i>Origins</i> companions as the series has gone on, so I thought having that as a key fixture of the story would give it some extra emotional resonance (along with the fallout of the Dark Ritual).<br /><br />Keen-eyed Dragon Age players&nbsp;will notice that I've compressed the timeline a bit, having Sagramor to take control of Amaranthine only a few weeks after the end of the Blight, rather than six months later. It just seemed to make more sense to me: besides helping to mitigate some of the timeline issues DA2 added, Sagramor is not the sort of guy to sit on a beach sipping fruity drinks while the world burns around him. Interestingly enough, this is also one of the few romance-only pieces I've done, as opposed to my usual action-adventure/romance hybrids like <i>The Grey Path</i> or <i>Hawke's Quiet Day</i>. In any event, I hope you all enjoy! Be sure to check out the other contest entries as well!