#And...she's now the Queen of Ferelden?

[umbracirrus]

I should draw my Rook :/

[kapfranos]

thinking about my HoF again

[loustica-lucia]

Heroes of the Dragon Age

An animation I've made for Dragon Age Day 2023, featuring my main Warden (Alyssa Cousland-Theirin), Hawke (Eleena Amell Hawke) and Inquisitor (Sulevin Lavellan)!

It's to this day one of my best artwork and I thought I should share it here too! 90+ hours between the original sketch, outfit design, the rough animation, rotoscope, inking, flat-colours, background shading and even the audio :')

Interested in the process? I detailed it below since it was my first time doing something like that:

I would like to start by saying I'm not a professional animator!Everything you've seen here is the result of experimentation and a lot of practice to learn and understand how 2D animation works.

My first idea started in May 2023. I just finished rewatching DA Absolution for the X time, and wanted to analyse why I loved the intro so much. (Even after countless rewatch, I never skipped it once.) I was inspired to study it with my main three protagonists!

Then came the first test with Alyssa Cousland-Theirin, my Hero of Ferelden! I tried to understand which part to separate for the animation. Mainly the hair and cape because it flows a lot more than the rest! If I recall, my first idea here was to make her counter flame attacks (?). Then, as the camera turns around her, I tried to add a grid to know how the camera would work around it.

I ended up making the clip longer, so she could position herself to the further left and leave space to the two other protagonists.

Now it was time to try to animate Sulevin Lavellan, my Inquisitor. I really kept that quick doodling style just to capture the vibe without putting too much time/effort into it! The background would be static to contrast with Alyssa's. I also loved the idea of a rogue sneaking!

Instead of working on Eleena Amell Hawke, my Champion of Kirkwall, I went back to Alyssa and started working with Clip Studio Paint 3D models (this entire animation has been done on the EX version of the software!) It helped for rotoscope animation and maintaining likeness! That's when I got the idea to make the background swirl around the character to let the eyes be guided by the rest of the screen!

After a couple more hours, I planned the entire animatic with 3D models and quick doodles! I finally found a cool pose for Eleena Hawke, which was honestly the hardest of the three to imagine for some reason? I tried many other poses but ended up picking an animation from the game!

This whole time, I was studying a bunch of background ideas and how studio Red Dog Culture House (who made Absolution) work! Thankfully, they have a YouTube Channel where they shared some BTS content so I could analyse it!

Then, I simplified my character and their original designs in the style of the studio! These outfits are how I imagine them after Trespasser. Alyssa as the Queen of Ferelden, looking for a cure to the Calling, Hawke following Fenris to Tevinter & Sully as a Red Jenny Inquisitor!

The idea for Sulevin's animation actually came from a piece I doodled on a live stream, when I was drawing pose studies and turning them into finished artworks haha As for Alyssa, I wanted to draw the fight that got her facial scars!

Once their designs were ready and the background ideas too, I made the rough version of the animation! Basically a sketch done on top of the 3D models to add the details, staying pretty rough just to capture the idea and movements.

Then it was time to start the lines! I decided make a folder per frame, so I could separate all he main elements and draw them one by one. It helps keeping the likeness of a character in the different frames without having big "jumps" between frames! In fact, every parts were coloured differently to recognize them, and then I used vector erasers and masks (Ah yes, the entire lineart is done in vectors of course! It's easier to adjust and save time when working on similar frames!)

At first of course, everything overlaps! But I find it easier to draw too much and erase after, just to make sure everything is coherent in each frames! The cool thing about CSP is how you can change the colour of the layers in one click! So all the coloured lines turned into black in one second, and I could reverse it just as quickly to double check!

Then I started working on Sulevin! I made a blue line to mark where her feet were, as the sketch in the background wasn't perfectly straight! (Like Sulevin's sexuality 🤭😂) The silhouettes were very quick to do, but I had fun adding more & more details as she came closer to the foreground!

I really wanted to add that little dagger trick, but I remember it required me to change the pacing of Eleena's apparition, as it was recovering her arm too quickly! I had to change the pace of multiple frames quite a lot during the project, to make sure the flow was right! For Eleena, most of her animation remained around her arms and the staff itself, as magic would be the most difficult part! That way each character has their own focus: Alyssa has a very animated background, Sulevin got the grappling hook and Eleena the ice!

Then it was time to start adding colours! Just like for the lineart, I separated every colour on it's own layer, so I could easily adjust the colours later if needed. I added one colour at the time, going through all the frames, and then another colour!

I made full palette tests with the colours I would use for their background at this point, checking if the details remained readable! Alyssa was the most challenging in terms of clothes, because I made her a very detailled armour! I had to simplify the Theirin heraldry, vectorize/redraw the Cousland, and make a brush for her cape's pattern!

Once I was done adding the flatcolours, I started the background, and oh boy it was a wild ride. For the cave, I painted multiple tests. I imagine was to use CSP panorama tools, which transform a texture into a 3D sphere, so each corners must match to look good. Sadly, it made the background very blurry, so after hours of testing, I changed ideas. Instead of the random fire balls (?) I originally imagined for Alyssa, I made three simple frames of a Rage Demon to attack her.

I ended up using the cave as a repeated pattern to make it turn 360° around the character. For Eleena, I mixed inspiration from the comics, Dreadwolf & Absolution, using warm colours matching Hawke's signature red. Just like I made the cave very grey/blue to match Grey Wardens. For Val Royeaux, it was more complex because I wanted to make it green, matching the Inquisitor's signature green. But bright green couldn't work, and the original colour during day time was blue/white/gold. So I added more leaves, played around the design a bit! After adding the rage demon, I made the shading! It was surprisingly easy and quick to do now!

I clipped a white layer on the flatcolours to not be distracted by the colours, and made thin lines to separate the light/shadows, then simply filled everything with the bucket tool! Then you set the layer to multiply and remove the white layer, and you have celshading shadows! Now the character looks out of the picture, so I added layers of blue in color burn, saturation and substract blending modes to make her look like she's in the right setting! Of course, I did the same with the other two, giving Hawke a red overlay and Sulevin green shadows!

Then I added the details, it went from white irises, to sword/staff smears to earrings and smaller finition that goes on top of these layers. To add the lights, I simply selected the shadows and reversed the selection! Using warm and cold tones to create contrast with the purple/bluish shadows! I also added more ambient light layers for Alyssa to reflect the Rage Demon fire. Now it was time to add ice magic! My first attempt had too many frames, making it look weird! Sometimes it's better to lower the frame rate to make things less bumpy!

Then I downloaded some cool ice brushes on CSP assets that made it look less like blue magical flames! But when I covered the screen in ice, I realized "Oh wait, I could make a cool transition from the ice, to blue lyrium turning red?"Red Lyrium truly links these three games and The Veilguard somehow! I spent the next hour painting over the idol and putting it in a black background, with lyrium and then the golden Dragon Age title text.

For the SFX, I used free youtube libraries sounds & "Darkspawn!" comes from the violent human female voice set (iconic for ""Can I get you a ladder? So you can get off my back!"😂🤭) After editing all that, the animation was finally done!

Here's the final math:

About 15 hours for the sketching/rough/animatic phase, 30h for the lineart, 25h for colours, 10h for backgrounds, 5h for details & 5h for music & SFX, for a total of 90 hours. Aka the same amount of time it took me to finish Baldur's Gate 3 the first time lol

If you have any question regarding the animation or the softwares etc. do not hesitate to ask, I'll do my best to answer!

[ontarom]

A moment of discrete tenderness between the spymaster and the King of Orzammar, aka the Hero of Ferelden, during a visit to Skyhold.

A couple months ago I played DAO with a noble dwarf and I really fell in love with him. He ended up being a great fit to romance Leliana, I think: very honorable and gentlemanly, but not without his sins (he has fathered two kids, which Leliana knows about and is okay with, but he's mortified by it)

But now I'm mad that Leliana gets introduced as "mistress to the King/Queen of Ferelden" in the Winter Palace, if she romanced a human Grey Warden, but not as "mistress to the King/Queen of Orzammar". Maybe it depends whether on you put Behlen or Harrowmont on the throne... Bleh, anyway, my headcanon is that Duran Aeducan came back and took the throne after Harrowmont.

Also yeah I REALLY simplified the crown of Orzammar because the real thing looks cumbersome as hell.

[sky-scribbles]

'The Chantry's authority supersedes the crown in this matter,' says the Templar.

Anders almost splutters says who, but the words never make it out. Partly because he knows the answer is says the Templars, it's always says the Templars, they've never needed any other reason. But mostly because the Warden-Commander steps in front of him before he can speak.

'That's funny,' she says, so brightly that her tone somehow manages to circle all the way around to being extremely dark, actually. 'Because I happen to be the crown. So let me ask you this: are you so desperate to execute one mage that you're willing to kill the Queen of Ferelden to do it? Are you prepared to go back to Denerim and explain yourself to the king? Oops, stabbed your wife. Not an accident, actually. She's dead now. Are you ready to do that?'

They are, Anders thinks helplessly, they absolutely are, there's no point trying to bluff them -

And then he sees the Commander's hand drifting to her shoulder for an arrow; sees the immovable plant of her body between the Templars and him. And he knows with a shock of wonder that she isn't bluffing.

'Because if you want to take my Warden,' she says, every word suddenly snapping cold, 'that is what you're going to have to do.'

The Templars try to do just that, of course. But they don't get to try for very long.

[sinizade]

Elisa Cousland

19 (Beginning) // 31 (The Calling)

Warrior - Sword and shield

Romance: Alistair

Best friends: Morrigan and Leliana

Friends: Wynne

Teammates: Zevran, Sten, Oghren

Elisa is a true noblewoman, possessing grace, strength in her voice, compassion and discipline in both politics and combat.

The time she stayed as Queen, even though it wasn't much, was enough for some things to improve in Ferelden, but others to get worse too… Life as Queen was almost like her life as Lady, but the difference was that now she has Alistair , the love of her life. Both are already starting to listen to The Calling and that makes them fearful because they still don't have an heir.

As a Hero of Ferelden and known with the unfortunate name of the Burned Queen, Elisa had to learn the art of stealth from Zevran in order to achieve her goal without being seen or recognized by others who know her fame.

Elisa left alone in search of this cure, she needed to find it, she needed to find out how, she would not allow herself to die, she would not allow Alistair to die, Elisa will not end up like other Wardens

[trashmouth-critter]

Queen of Ferelden, Evelynne Cousland

•

We all know Alistair didn’t want to be king, but this woman was not about to pass the chance of ruling a country single-handedly while her husband sits in the back and sips hot chocolate. She might be a bitch, but at least she’s a powerful one now

[kitkabam]

Tagged by the wonderful @nicolajpg to do this and limited myself to one of each protag for dragon age! 💜

Wonderful piccrew here!

Jayde Cousland 🌹~ Beloved wife of Alistair Theirin and Queen of Ferelden, she is known to be quite bold and if one were to compare her to anything it would be a Phoenix, for she rose high from the ashes of her former home and left a blazing reputation behind, even if right now her whereabouts continue to remain unknown.

Myra Hawke 🔥 ~ Champion of Kirkwall; apostate who did what she could to help other mages in need and faced the wrath of the Templars more times than she can count simply on her fingers. She found it hard to leave behind her beloved, Anders, when she made the trek to Skyhold, but Corypheus was her responsibility, and she would do what she needed to see to it that his life permanently ends. Surprised that the Inquisitor hadn't left her behind while traveling the Fade, however would honor the life lost instead of her own by helping the Wardens of Weishupt (I cannot spell) fortress. What happened afterwards is a mystery.

Embrae 'Lavellan' 🪻~ A young Dalish elf who found herself at the conclave— she did her best as Inquisitor, despite the lack of precious experience being a leader and no belief in the human deity's, and in the end saw to it that Corypheus was brought down, even while her heart still ached at the space placed between her and her lover, Solas. During the events of Trespasser she learned the truth of his identity, swearing to him that she would make him see that this world doesn't need to be destroyed, and disbanding the Inquisition. Many say that she had changed from the naive girl she was at the start of it all, shaped into someone entirely different, but one thing that remained was the burning hope for better times ahead.

Comet aka 'Rook' ⭐ ~ A young Grey Warden whose past remains only as scattered puzzle pieces, even to her. The only thing she knows is what she was told; her parents were former slavers who ran from their master, years passed until their master had found them and ordered them to be killed, but no one had made it out alive once the small home was set aflame with only a Warden and a young girl covered head to toe in soot and ash, crying as flames engulfed her tiny hands. She was taken in by the Senior Warden and raised into their ranks as one of their own. While shy, awkward, and incredibly anxious when it comes to social situations, she isn't afraid to go against orders and do what she believes is best, even if it pisses people off. Her hair is actually meant to be a bit pinker bc it's strawberry blonde, but I was limited :').

🌷;; I'm not sure who to tag?? Ummm @merciawintersageposting @that-assassin-ninja-stuff @zenruu + anyone else who might be interested, but don't feel pressured. 😌

[jacklyn-flynn]

Alistair stood close to her in the crowded room. “This is really weird,” he whispered, smiling down at her. His clean-shaven face and perfectly groomed hair were charming, but a bit out of place on him. The lopsided grin certainly wasn’t. Or the look of absolute adoration in his brown eyes. 

“It is, isn’t it?” Helena agreed. Her rosy lips were only tinted faintly for the occasion. They were a lovely color all their own and needed no embellishment. Full and enticing, sometimes to the point of distraction for him.

“Your majesty?” The tall, incredibly thin man beside them spoke up. “I said that you may-” 

“I heard,” Alistair said louder, though he didn’t take his eyes off of Helena. She was divine in her white and gold dress. A thin gold circlet lay over the crown of her hair. “I suppose we should…” he trailed off slowly. 

She pursed her lips as she smiled, trying not to laugh at him. Nodding quickly, Helena lifted her hand to his cheek. He bent his head and she met him halfway. She pressed her lips to his and after only a mere moment, he pulled away with a nervous chuckle. Letting out a soft huff of laughter, she rocked back onto her feet. Alistair glanced at the crowd that gathered, blushing at the scattered applause. 

Then, from the front row,  they heard a distinctly Antivan voice. “Pathetic! Kiss la tua regina like you mean it! Like she deserves! Shall I show you how?” Zevran even stood, feinting a few steps toward the dais with a determined look. 

Helena certainly was hoping for something more, but she knew how nervous Alistair was to kiss her in front of so many people. He’d been fretting about it for days. She would get what she wanted in private later anyway. 

However, Zevran’s ribbing seemed to spur him into action. His hand cupped the back of her neck, the other sliding down to the small of her back. He caught her off guard with the feverish kiss and almost immediately she forgot about their audience. Alistair’s hand slid over the swell of her backside and down to her thigh, suggesting that he had as well. 

He bent over her slightly, lifting her leg to hook over his hip which she did without question. One arm slid around his neck while the other kept the circlet on her head as he dipped her amid the whistles and cheers of the royal court and their family. 

Helena was quite literally breathless when he straightened and released her leg. “How was that?” he whispered against her lips. 

“Decidedly not awkward,” she whispered back. 

“You’re blushing, wife.” Alistair’s grin made her heart skip a beat. 

“So are you!” 

“May I now present to you, King Alistair Theirin and his wife, Queen Helena!” the officiant said amid the din that had only subsided slightly before swelling back into an approving cacophony at his announcement. 

Alistair looked over his shoulder. “And?” he prompted. 

“Highness, the queen should not have more titles than the king.” The officiant balked, paling slightly. 

“And!” Alistair prompted again. 

“Queen Helena, last of house Cousland, Warden-Commander of the Grey Wardens and Hero of Ferelden.” Though he was less than enthusiastic in his announcement, Alistair was satisfied nonetheless. 

Looking over at her, he took her hand and squeezed. “I love you, Hel.” 

Her smile back at him did more things to him than just make his heart skip a beat. No matter what had happened in the past, or what would happen in the future, this woman was his everything. If he only remembered one thing about today, it would be the look in her eyes when she answered; “I love you too."

[raisay]

Had a rough day yesterday anyway, and the dragon age news isn’t helping, and I’m feeling sick and can’t get back to sleep, so I’m still chewing on it. Rambling after the cut.

I guess what upsets me is that, it’s fine to do a soft reboot, but if they’re doing that, why on earth would you do it with Inquisition 2? Why bring back Morrigan if she can’t remember her own past with you? And I know that some people have mentioned that Kieran’s plot relevance is done, but… I didn’t like him just for his plot relevance. I liked him because Morrigan loved him so much, and he changed her for the better in such great ways. But this Morrigan is just going to be a husk with the face of a friend.

All the things the devs have been saying to justify the decision are just that: justifications. The same way sleezy devs justify dressing female characters in skimpy clothes. These aren’t people with motivations of their own, you’ve written them this way. If none of your choices matter 10 years or 100 miles apart, don’t set your sequel game there. But even then I’m entertaining a silly justification— the choice of Divine is going to matter, even in the north, because most of the people up there are Andrastian according to lore, but if they’re ignoring that lore, that brings up some other, bigger narrative concerns.

I wasn’t even asking for huge pay off from stuff like The Well of Sorrows, but what removing the weight of that choice does, now looking back, is make Solas’s anger over it seem pointless and silly. He was SO MAD, and for what?

There’s also just the logical question of how it’s going to appear in game. Is the narrative going to just weirdly tiptoe around all of the potential landmines? Am I going to constantly go “Huh, it feels weird that this wasn’t mentioned”? Because a game that awkwardly tiptoes around a previously important character’s quantum state is a game that, essentially, unwrites them from existence. If they don’t know my HoF’s race or gender or class, or if they’re even alive or dead, they essentially can’t mention them at all outside of “The Hero of Ferelden was a hero from Ferelden who stopped the Fifth Blight.” Like, damn, we know more about the person that ended the Fourth Blight than this, and it was even longer ago!

And then… what’s with the dev team’s apparent disdain for codex entries? Long time fans of the series LOVE codex entries! I know it’s unrealistic to expect everything to matter in game, but are you telling me I just kind of have to headcanon all the things Queen Anora did, and possibly who replaced her? I just have to headcanon whether or not my HOF cured the blight? Because if I have to write all this for myself, why am I paying BioWare $60? It’s certainly not for the gameplay, I never played these games for that, anyway. From the game’s perspective, Celene, Gaspard, and/or Briala did all this fighting with each other to sit on the throne and do… absolutely nothing of consequence. Are they going to just refer to them as “The Ruler of Orlais” (because they can’t even use Emperor or Empress). That’s going to be really stilted, if that’s what they do. In fact, that would *still* be awkward, because there can be multiple rulers. “The Ruler(s) of Orlais”.

And just more practically, in the case of the character that does seem most important to BioWare: Solas. They’ve stripped all the potential nuance from your Inquisitior’s relationship with him. You can’t be an Inquisitor who was a dear friend vowing to stop him at all costs OR you can’t be an ultra aggressive Inquisistor who is angry and always hated him, because these were rolled into one “stop Solas” option. One of the devs (sorry can’t remember who) also said that the Inquisitor feels some level of guilt for what Solas is doing. Why? Why would an Inquisitor who always hated him, and possibly punched him, feel any guilt at all? They didn’t do this, they’re a victim of his lies as much as anyone else. Solas is solely responsible for his own decisions, don’t put motivations in the Inquisitor’s head. If that level of character motivation from the Inquisitor is needed for this story, we should have played as them again instead.

So, I guess to sum up, I would have been fine with a soft reboot if they had been open about what this was from the start, and didn’t try to bait me back in with nostalgic characters that I love, that won’t remember me. It takes me out of the game and makes me see how Morrigan is PR and Varric is PR. And it’s going to be noticeable, and it’s going to be hollow.

But most of all it’s going to be sad, seeing these characters that I love not know their own past, like walking past an old friend knowing they’ve forgotten all the fun you used to have together.

[lasatfat]

Artifacts of Thedas: A plaque denoting the Hero of Ferelden’s birthplace (Eireann Surana & Zevran) ~@lordgoretash

artefacts of Thedas | @dadrunkwriting | @lordgoretash

I don't have a title for this one yet. Help me out!

When she was crowned Queen of Ferelden, one of Anora Mac Tir’s many promises was to rebuild the city of Denerim, with new techniques and sturdier materials. So much of it needed to be rebuilt anyway, and it made sense to do so in ways that would have the city last for centuries to come. The city’s elves assumed that they would be left to their own devices – the crown has showed little care for them in the past. How strange it was, then, for human construction crews to arrive in their alienage. The sewers were properly covered, and cast iron water pumps were installed in the square. Many of the old, ramshackle houses were deemed unsafe for habitation, and pulled down one by one to be replaced by apartments with sturdy foundations and fire-resistant materials.

One little hovel remains. Zevran has been here before, and so has the woman beside him. She’d been carrying the little girl then, too, but in her womb, rather than in her arms. There’s a plinth to the left of the door now, built of stacked stones and mortar, and bearing a bronze plaque.

This plaque was erected to mark the birthplace of EIREANN SURANA Hero of Ferelden Vanquisher of the Archdemon Urthemiel Born on the seventh of Harvestmere, 9:12 Dragon

“I didn’t know I was born here,” Eireann says, absently.

Zevran frowns. “Is that so?”

“I should have,” she continues. “I should have, I don’t know…worked it out.”

It does seem an obvious assumption, but obvious assumptions are often wrong. He would say so, but Eireann isn’t finished. “No, no, I should have known. I should have been able to learn it. Why does the kingdom of Ferelden know more about me than I do?”

Zevran folds his arms, and stares at the offending plaque. No doubt it was placed in good faith, with an intention to honour a truly remarkable woman, but it has also served as a reminder of a childhood lost. Or rather, a childhood stolen. He might be able to relate to that, but he’s not so sure he ever had one to steal.

Little Farah must pick up on her mother’s distress. She lets out a worried little whimper, and hugs Eireann around the neck, resting her head on her mother’s shoulder. She may be the luckiest of them, in more ways than just material.

“To think you, solecito, were born in a castle! Quite the change, no?” As he speaks, Farah lifts her head to look at him. Zevran tickles the babe’s cheek, and she chortles heartily – she might be the cheeriest baby he’s ever met, though admittedly that’s a very small pool. He lays a hand on her mother’s free shoulder, and squeezes firmly. “You must teach her everything you wished to know about yourself. She will know the stories of what you have done, but she must know where you started.”

Eireann kisses her daughter’s head, and smiles at him. “Thanks, Zevran.” She looks over to her mother’s new house, made of stone and mortar, warmer and safer than anywhere her mother may have lived before. “Mamae is making extra leek and potato soup. There will be more than enough for you.”

“I wouldn’t want to intrude,” he replies, and Eireann rolls her eyes.

“Come on. You know she loves you. I’m surprised she hasn’t tried to adopt you yet.”

They both laugh, and Farah giggles too, as if she understands completely. Perhaps she does. Zevran wouldn’t know.

“Alright, potato and leek soup it is,” he agrees, “as long as she hasn’t added any Denerim rabbit.”

Eireann looks scandalised. “Would my mother ever?”

“She did when we were last here!” he argues.

“Oh, you mean when the alienage was quarantined?” Eireann retorts. “I wonder why she had trouble getting to market for ingredients.”

Their playful argument echoes well off the new stone walls and freshly cobbled streets.

[thedreadfulwolf]

Elethea Cousland: I married the love of my life and became queen of ferelden.

Mharaven Lavellan: mine turned out to be an ancient god who took my arm and is now doing to destroy the world. I still love him and have to hope i can convince him otherwise.

Cassius Hawke: I killed the love of my life in hopes that Meredith would spare the circle and therefore my sister but she called for an annulment anyway, rendering the sacrifice moot and now I have to live with the guilt and the what ifs.

[dragonologist-phd]

Introducing: Sirena Cousland

In Summary:

Queen of Ferelden; Sister to Teyrn of Highever

Human Noble

Warrior (Champion)

Main Weapon: Sword & Shield

Confident; Outgoing; Bold; Ruthless

Relevant Fic: To The Bride

more rambling:

Backstory:

Asecond child and first daughter of the Cousland family, she had a charmed childhood in Highever

She had access to the best of education, but was a very physical child and preferred to spend her time training with sword and shield. Her father indulged this behavior, much to the frustration of her mother who wanted Sirena to focus on her studies

Sirena was very aware that she was the spare while her older brother Fergus was the heir; she didn't begrudge him this, and was in fact happy to let him shoulder the greater responsibility

As a young teenager she was sent to spend a year studying in the capital alongside Anora Mac Tir, whom she developed a hopeless crush on

When Howe attacked her family home, she barely escaped with her life. She made her way to Denerim and began forming a rebellion against Howe and Loghain's rule

During the Blight:

Sirena escaped the bloodshed at Highever and made her way to Denerim, intent on getting justice for her family

When she realized how much Howe had risen to power, she joined forces with the Wardens, the red jennies, and other dissenters

She came into her own as a leader and rallied many nobles to her side, becoming a powerful voice at the Landsmeet

Connections:

Bryce Cousland: Sirena was very close to her father, who loved to dote on her and encouraged her interest in fighting. At the same time, he could be overprotective of her, a habit which caused more conflict as Sirena got older

Eleanor Cousland: Sirena's relationship with her mother was more strained, as Eleanor liked to push her daughter to take things seriously and be more responsible. Sirena felt burdened by her mother's expectations, and as she got older she often wondered what Eleanor would think of the person she became

Fergus Cousland: Sirena's brother was her best friend through most of her childhood. She still loves her brother dearly, though the two drifted apart somewhat after their parents' deaths

Anora Mac Tir: Anora was Sirena's childhood friend and first love, though she knew that a relationship between them was impossible. Even so, she never could bring herself to fully move on

Ellimere Tabris: Once in Denerim, Sirena joined forces with a red jenny by the name of Tabris who was also opposing Howe's rise to power. As different as the two were, they came unlikely friends, both driven by their desire for revenge

Romance:

Anora and Sirena spent quite a bit of time together growing up. Anora seemed to be everything Sirena wasn't: poised, responsible, fully prepared for the task of ruling. Sirena was drawn to her, and the two became close confidantes

It became clear that Anora returned her feelings, but would never be willing to jeopardize her place on the throne

The two joined forces during the Blight, when Sirena helped the Wardens rescue Anora from Howe's estate

After much negotiating, it was agreed that Sirena and Anora would marry, thus unifying a proven leader with a powerful Fereldan lineage

Epilogue:

Sirena and Anora ruled side by side, with Anora taking the lead on diplomatic matters while Sirena handled the armies

Their reign is not without troubles; while the Cousland name was strong enough to convince the Landsmeet, they still faced opposition from some of the nobles, particularly concerning the line of succession

Fergus survived Ostagar and returned to Highever as Teyrn. Sirena could rarely bring herself to visit, as her family home was now too tangled with traumatic memories

Misc:

Sirena was a devout Andrastian until the death of her family, after which she went through a crisis of faith

Eleanor was in the process of arranging a marriage between Sirena and Nevarran royalty when the Blight hit Ferelden

Her mabari, Beast, survived the attack with her and remained at her side throughout the Blight

Her sight was damaged during the attack; she and Beast developed a system of fighting where he would help guide her and protect her blind side

She stayed at The Pearl while in Denerim during the Blight and got to know Isabela. Isabela offered her a spot on her crew which Sirena did consider, but she couldn't bring herself to leave Ferelden

[inquisimer]

happy friday!! for cousland/alistair - love isn't like it is in the books.

ty for the prompt bb! a bit more implied here than anything else, but I love some Politically Competent Alistair/Cousland :3

wc: 621

for @dadrunkwriting

-

Ember’s hand clenched around her fork at the sound of yet another thinly veiled insult hurled by the visiting Orlesians. Even after they saved the whole world—the Blight never even touched Orlais—even here, in their seat of power, nothing swayed these self-obsessed fools from their own importance.

She took an angry sip of wine, swallowed down a bitterness that hardly compared. But then Lord Bernard opened his pompous mouth again, all gestures and posturing, and she took a deep breath—

A gentle grip fell across her wrists. The scars from Alistair’s sword rubbed against her skin and Ember snapped her gaze to him. He would stop her? He would?

No, he was shaking his head, but there was a gleam in his eye that their advisors had come to fear. Gingerly, Ember unwrapped her clenched fist, one finger at a time, until her fork clattered pointedly against her empty plate. At the sound, the entire banquet table hushed, a few disdainful gazes alighting on the queen.

“Lord Bernard,” Alistair said, as if they’d called the attention on purpose—they had, they were good at this by now— “Since you seem so eager to discuss the profits of our fields, when can we expect a shipment from your lands?”

The Orlesian scoffed into his goblet, but Alistair did not even flush. He held the man’s masked face openly, brazenly, by their standards, and waited coldly for his answer.

“I’m sure I don’t take your meaning,” Bernard said. He took a deliberate, disrespectful pause to sip his drink. “Your Majesty, that is.”

The Banns in attendance grumbled, but their discontent fell aside at a gesture from Alistair. He took Ember’s hand in his without looking and laced their fingers together.

“Ah, my sincerest apologies,” he said. Most would have thought him in jest, but Ember heard the sharp edge of his cunning that waited to cut this posturing fool down to size. “I assumed your Empress would consult her underlings before signing away the profits of their estate. After all, our Throne would never make such a presumption on behalf of our vassals. Seeing how Ferelden is so uncouth compared to your homeland, you can see where my confusion stemmed from.”

Alistair idly popped a chunk of cheese into his mouth and chewed around a pleasant smile. “I won’t be making that mistake again.”

The Banns and Arls raised their glasses and murmured approval as Lord Bernard turned a very pleasant shade of red and muttered something unintelligible into his goblet. Ember squeezed Alistair’s hand and cleared her throat.

“What was that, my lord?” She called, far calmer and matching Alistair’s pointedly civil tone. “I would hate that our new alliance should falter simply because I failed to hear even a whisper of your sage advice.”

The foolish noble flushed even darker, looking the part of a beet that Nan might prize for its rotund hue. He set his goblet down and coughed into his fist.

“I beg your apologies, your Majesties,” he said, face twisting like one who’d swallowed a lemon. “I am…under informed, it seems. Rest assured, I will have words with her Grace when I return home.”

Ember heard the implied threat in his words, whether he intended her to or not. The Game here in Ferelden was a bit less cloak-and-dagger and a bit more knives out, but they played nonetheless. And they’d won this round.

Alistair raised their joined hands to his lips and brushed a kiss across her knuckles; warm affection chased the dredges of rage from her throat and she enjoyed Lord Bernard’s offended sputtering as they moved past him without so much as a dismissal.

“So, Lord Eddelbreck, with regard to your granaries…”

[qunaricatnip]

Hiiiii it's me the person who reblogged your post about the Cousland x Loghain marriage (this is my main blog but 99% of my tumblr activity is through my side blog queenmelisende sorry for the confusion lol). Lets talk about Ferelden nobility. Their marriage would be an insanely good political alliance -- the two teyrnirs of Ferelden uniting? Cailan should be quaking in his boots. You said she would eat him alive??? I am desperate for more elaboration.

hi!! this is a sideblog too so no worries! but yeah cailan absolutely should be worried but the best part is, at least in my little au, he’s like…. 12 when all this is happening so all he really knows is that uncle loghain is leaving him (and anora) and it’s gonna be a while before they can see each other again :( it’s really maric that should be worried (and is) because he had to make a lot of concessions to the couslands for bryce and eleanor to be okay letting their baby girl go clean up maric’s mess (even if she really wanted it for spite reasons).

Tl;dr siobhan cousland was planning a coup from jump because she was raised to be queen and got told no and then maric dropped the perfect opportunity in her lap with a bow and his blessing, loghain was both collateral and a prize

siobhan in this au was born before the occupation technically ended and so her parents, still in the rebellion mindset of “ferelden first” was sort of groomed to believe that she’d one day be queen of ferelden because she’s the only noble girl within marrying age of cailan right up until anora is born and maric and/or rowan lose their minds. the couslands are Important, second to only the royal family and that shows in siobhan’s upbringing- she’s very politically minded, everything is duty/responsibility/optics with her and that’s something that (imo) would and should drive loghain crazy.

Politically on paper, her and loghain are an amazing match after celia dies right up until we remember that a) the couslands have already married their son and heir to a well known/regarded antivan trading family creating ties to a foreign, unallied country without the crowns express permission right after a war and b) loghain for all his accomplishments is not a man made for politics in any capacity that man is a Follower, he’s the type of person that need to be wholly devoted to a person/cause and c) uniting the only two surviving teyrnir’s is actually a recipe for disaster because oh my god why would you even think that maric that’s giving your subjects too much power and influence even with ferelden’s weird political structure

and siobhan knows this!! she knows that the people of gwaren don’t feel safe or supported by their teyrn and abandoned by their king and she’s also been personally slighted by the crown twice now!! so she graciously concedes to step in and throw the weight of her name around to build gwaren back up to the prominence it once had before the occupation gutted the city all while subtly reminding people that it was the couslands that actually care about the people of ferelden, its cousland gold bolstering the economy, its cousland trading partners bringing ships back into port without even saying anything because she’s a mac tir now after all that would just be gauche to rely on her maiden family name. its siobhan that runs the show and every single person in gwaren knows it, loghain is just insurance in the beginning (before whoops they’re actually in love your honor)

[daitranscripts]

Leliana Conversation: Special

You Must Miss Justinia

Leliana Masterpost

Available at Skyhold

PC: The Divine’s death hit you hard. How have you been feeling?

Leliana: Oh. You are referring to my outburst in Haven. I… I am much better now. Justinia was such a dear friend and… there were so many things going wrong.

Dialogue options:

General: Tell me about it. [1]

General: Does anything ever go right? [2]

General: Best not to dwell. [3]

1 - General: Tell me about it. PC: Sometimes it’s best to talk these things out.

2 - General: Does anything ever go right? PC: Things going wrong? I’m shocked.

3 - General: Best not to dwell. PC: Let’s just move on. It’s best that way. Leliana: You’re right, Inquisitor. Scene ends.

4 - Choice dependent dialogue:

Romanced HoF [5]

Non-romanced HoF [6]

Not recruited in Origins [7]

5 - Romanced HoF Leliana: I was with the Hero of Ferelden when [they] defeated the Archdemon.

HoF died Leliana: The Maker brought us together, and then I watched [them die]. In that instant, I felt the Maker’s presence go cold. One moment a cherished child, the next… abandoned. And then, when Justinia was killed… [8]

HoF lived Leliana: When [them] by my side, anything was possible.

If HoF took the throne Leliana (female HoF): She married king Alistair, but it didn’t matter. She loved me. Leliana (male HoF): He married Queen Anora, but it didn’t matter. He loved me.

Leliana: But there is no happily ever after, not when life goes on. When the Divine requested my help, I went to her. I owed her that much. I sacrificed so much to do the Maker’s work. But now Justinia is dead. [8]

6 - Non-romanced HoF Leliana: I was there when the Hero of Ferelden defeated the Archdemon.

If HoF Died Leliana: It took great sacrifice, but it was worth it.

Leliana: We won the day, and I thought the maker smiled on me. When the Divine requested my help, I went to her. I owed her that much. I sacrificed so much to do the Maker’s work. But now Justinia is dead. [8]

7 - Not recruited in Origins I always thought I was serving the Maker. He called me. I answered. For years, I did his work. I gave so much, and He took it all. And then he took my greatest friend. Either the Chantry is right and He is not listening, or He is content to be cruel. [8]

8 - Scene continues.

Leliana: I was angry. I felt betrayed. But I shouldn’t have let my emotions get the better of me. I’m sorry.

Dialogue options:

General: You don’t need to apologize. [9]

General: Let’s not speak of it. [10]

General: You still get things done. [11]

9 - General: You don’t need to apologize. PC: Don’t apologize. You were grieving and upset. I understand. Leliana: Thank you. [12]

10 - General: Let’s not speak of it. PC: How about we never speak of this again. Leliana: If that was your intention, why did you bring it up? PC: Oh. Right. [12]

11 - General: You still get things done. PC: As long as you do your work, I don’t care how emotional you get. Leliana: A practical view of things. [12]

12 - Scene continues.

Leliana: Now, enough of this. Let us think more pleasant thoughts.