The Howes of Amaranthine are one of the oldest noble families in Ferelden. Their lineage traces to the time of Calenhad, when Elias Howe was one of the first freeholders to follow Calenhad. During the occupation, Arl Tarleton Howe, Rendon Howe's father, threw his lot in with the Orlesians. After several bitter battles with rebels, the town of Harper's Ford--an outpost governed by Tarleton Howe--fell to the Couslands of Highever. Tarleton hanged. --From Annals of Northern Ferelden, by Brother Bedine, Chantry scholar