Valen

"'I send this letter ahead of me. Begin the rituals, and then join me at my home. There we shall make our ascension'"Valen is the current quarry of the Party, though very little is known about him.

He has so far eluded the group, displaying astounding speed to outpace them.

Background
Not much is known, bar that he had a great interest in acquiring a book from an ancient, long-hidden, complex he somehow knew about.

He intends some form of 'ascension' for him and his allies, asking them to meet him at his old home after they finished their own rituals.

The Shaleglen Catalyst
After asking around in different villages, it seems that he hails from a southern village of Ferelden, and had spent the last few weeks traversing through Lothering on the way to Shaleglen multiple times.

He was often seen in the company of a shaggy-haired and intimidating woman, and a cruel-faced bald man, though these left his company at Lothering.

He showed up in Shaleglen in the weeks prior to the Party arriving there. Ingratiating himself with the locals, he consistently suggested that they mine in a particular direction, insisting it would be worth it and they would earn great riches. Eventually giving in to his promises, desperate to be extracting something other than shalestone anymore, the miners agreed.

His promises were proven true, at first. The miners started uncovering gems, crystals and even a raw lyrium vein - which is rare above the surface.

What he had failed to tell them was what exactly they were digging in to - an ancient, magically defended complex that belonged to a forgotten group of priests. Draconic imagery, lava rivers and traps covered the entire place, and the very moment the miners broke through the border wall, ancient wards triggered that sent waves of undead at the unassuming innocent locals.

He was presumably the first into the complex, and made a hasty escape once the defences kicked in, apparently acquiring the 'tome' within. Whether it was he who froze the animated stone statue in place is unknown. Upon the group reaching this location, struggling briefly through the traps themselves, they awakened the Shade of Terivalis, a long-dead leader of the residents here, who had met a grisly fate long ago.

The Shade spoke of being disturbed before, its annoyance, and how it demanded that they return what they stole, suggesting Valen may have encountered this same shade.

He stumbled out of the mines ahead of anybody else, clutching something to his chest, coughing and crying of sabotage in the mines. He bumped into Reese, who almost caught up with him before Valen lost him in the crowd.

He presumably went back to his home in the village, and began hastily gathering his belongings, only to be disturbed when a scout sent by Damon came knocking. The poor man had little chance, it would seem, as the Party later found him impaled on spears of pure ice jutting out from the wall, and the entire interior of the house overturned in a panic.

Sighting In Lothering
After fleeing across the Imperial Highway, he arrived in Lothering a couple of days before the Party, showcasing impossible speed. His steed died quickly upon arrival, and he set about recruiting some of the locals - including the blacksmith's son Jeren - though for what purpose exactly remains unknown.

Annoyingly, he had already departed by the time the group arrived, but they were able to glean that he had been through multiple times over the weeks, and for the first time heard he travelled with companions.