#thanks Karolina for proofreading you save my life

[bluekaddis]

How do Rein and Alistair rule their kingdom? Are they strict on laws? Are they lenient rulers? Are they sympathetic to the poor? Do they hate Mages?

Forgive me if this was asked before but I’ve been thinking about this with my own Warden and now I’m curious about others now. Also as always flawless work!

Hi! Thank you for such an interesting ask! I’m sorry that it's taken me so long to answer it. I just have too many thoughts and headcanons on how Ferelden could've changed between events of DA:O and DA:I and I lost track of the time writing them all down. 😶

I would say that Rein and Alistair are strict when it comes to enforcing their reforms for Ferelden. They do not have an easy task - Ferelden had barely started to recover from the years of occupation when the Blight began. When Rein and Alistair took over the crown, the country was under the threat of famine. Many villages were destroyed, their crops tainted. Denerim and a few other major cities were seriously damaged and Ferelden became an easy target for another invasion as half of its army was dead.

It was no time to play nice with the nobles, it was time to act. Ironically, the dire situation that the country was in, was obvious even to those opposing the new king and queen, and the protests were not as widely spread as one could imagine. Still, a few not-so-successful assassins and conspirators lost their lives during the first ten years of Rein and Alistair’s reign.

Here are some more important changes they've introduced:

- a royal decree was announced throughout Ferelden that any volunteer who decides to restore an abandoned farm and after a year manages to achieve a set amount of yield from it will be granted the rights to that farm. Any citizen of Ferelden, regardless of their race and social status, could apply for this task. As, in accordance with the Fereldan law, any freehold chooses the bann to whom it pays allegiance (and a head of every freehold can be elected bann by others) it was a great opportunity for the underrepresented people of Ferelden to gain some independence and political power. After Alistair named Shianni the first Bann of Denerim's Alienage, some city elves started to believe that they may have a chance to follow her example. Many succeeded and in a matter of a few years the influx of elves moving to the Fereldan countryside has lead to the situation in which many Ferelden villages have a larger population of elves than humans. A few small bannors with elven leaders were formed too (though they are not very politically powerful just yet, as human noble houses more often than not were not interested in alliances or trade agreements with elves). Immigration to Ferelden has grown, not only among elves but also surface dwarves and human peasants,

- elves were granted the right to carry weapons. They were also officially allowed to join the military and the city guard. The jurisdiction system was reformed to ensure equal rights of people of all races. It does not work perfectly and elves are still often treated unfairly, especially in places far away from the royal hand of justice. A few years after the Blight, the first elf in Ferelden was accepted to study law at University of Denerim and soon a few others followed,

- the sea trade with Free Marches and the land trade with Orzammar developed, while the land trade with Orlais worsened. The mountain trade routes have only been fully restored by the Inquisition when Skyhold became an important fortress on the border,

- what could be spared from the tight budget was spent on education. The court hired specialists from other countries (including Tevinter) and sent them to travel across Ferelden and share their knowledge to speed up the restoration of the country. Children are now encouraged to attend local schools for at least a few years. Now it is not much, but Rein and Alistair still hope that during their reign there will be new schools and even universities built across Ferelden and that soon Ferelden will no longer fall behind other countries,

- after the Blight, the necessity of having mages work outside the Circle was so clear that not even the Chantry could avert their eyes from the truth. The mage reformation is going slowly (to the monarchs’ frustration), but a few small compromises have been reached. The Chantry now allows small mage units to be transferred from the Circle to the cities. At first this rule applied only to Denerim, with Wynne as the royal enchanter, but with time every major city in Ferelden has began to host mages. The city mage unit consists of a Senior Enchanter and up to five assistant adult mages. Their duties include aiding the hospitals and assisting with restoring the land from the effects of the Blight,

- upon the Chantry’s request, each mage unit in the city is accompanied by a Templar unit of a similar size. The tension is still present as the templars can report any “suspicious” mages and request their transfer back to the Circle,

- after long negotiations with the Chantry, mage children up to age 13 were finally allowed to study in the city under the supervision of a local Senior Enchanter so that they have a better chance to stay connected with their families and learn the basics of magic in a more friendly environment. Unfortunately, the compromise was not perfect - afterwards, teenage mages must still spend at least 5 years in the Circle and go through the Harrowing. The same conditions apply to any mage who wants to work outside the Circle. The Harrowing is still required of every mage, except for those volunteering to be made Tranquil. As the Chantry is still guarding its independence from the country’s jurisdiction, the situation of Circle mages is not much better than it was under Irving and Gregoir’s rule,

- Circle mages working in cities slowly gain access to foreign spell books. While they're technically forbidden, the dangers of being caught with the wrong book - despite the Templars' supervision - are low,

- the Chantry still does not allow the Tranquil to work away from the Circle's control. They do not want to share the profits from the Tranquil's work,

- the fate of the apostates has not improved much, though not for lack of trying. Technically, under the new agreement, they could be hired outside the Circle but only after serving 5 years in Kinloch to “prove that they are worthy of trust”. Almost no one accepts those terms. Apostates still chiefly live in hiding, join the Mages' Collective or try to work as mercenaries,

- Grey Wardens are quite popular in Ferelden. The travelling units of Wardens are a welcome sight as stray darkspawn still appear above the surface. Queen Rein herself is often seen in the field with her most trusted companions,

- the first serious attempts at trade with the Dalish clans travelling through the Brecillian Forest have been made - in the first year after the battle of Denerim Alistair invited Sabrae clan to organize a trade meeting. It was agreed to take place in the outskirts of Brecillian Forest and last three days. King Alistair attended it personally to show his support for the Dalish (and to help prevent humans from assaulting or robbing the Dalish). During the event there were a few incidents where the royal guard had to intervene, but fortunately no one got hurt. Human merchants, at first, were interested more in getting close to the king and gaining his favor than anything else but they soon realized that the quality of Dalish products is simply astounding. The Brecillian Solace Market (as it was named) soon became an annual event,

- unfortunately, there is not much money left to spend on the military and the country's defenses. It is something that bothers Rein very much as even she has to admit that if Orlais wanted to attack again, Ferelden would be too weak to defend itself. It may sound cruel, but she gladly accepted the news of the conflict between Empress Celene and Gaspard...

...and then Dragon Age: Inquisition happens.