#the royal bastard | alistair theirin

[longer-than-i-should-admit]

Don’t mind me I’m just getting emotional thinking about mage wardens

I’m thinking about Duncan asking for the warden’s phylactery from Gregoir and him balking at the thought bc even though the warden is being taken from the Circle there’s always ‘what if? what if? what if?’ Irving trying not to show the tremble in his hand when the Knight-Commander finally relents, passing it carefully into Duncan’s palm and watching the apprehension passing over the warden’s face all the while.

I’m thinking about Duncan not mentioning it once until they reach Ostagar, not until after the warden becomes a warden officially, not until that very night as they’re preparing for bed and he stops by and hands the phylactery to them.

“I’m not meant to—to have this!” stutters the warden, face blanching at the thought of touching the very thing that had bound them to the Circle.

“I understand,” Duncan says evenly, not unkindly, “but I will be very busy as we prepare for battle and I do not want to chance misplacing it. Just hold on to it for me temporarily, will you?”

“I…yes, ser,” the warden murmurs, only daring to touch the vial long enough to tuck it securely into their pack, wrapped in fabric to cushion it.

Duncan never asks for it back. They and Alistair wake in the Wilds, and it’s still buried in their meager belongings. The warden clings to it like a life preserver, wondering if Duncan had somehow known that he would be unable to keep it.

They do not have the heart to do away with or break it, even though the promise of being well and truly free is right within arm’s reach, despite Morrigan’s critical urging to ensure every chance of their survival outside of the Chantry’s clutches.

I’m thinking about the warden slowly growing comfortable with the wide open world around them, and trusting the people that they keep close, admitting that they don’t know everything and apologizing when they make mistakes, watching the pity in the others’ eyes slowly morph into respect and understanding and empathy and care.

I’m thinking about the warden wordlessly pressing their phylactery into Alistair’s hands, gaze unwavering as he flounders.

“I can’t—I don’t want this,” he protests, face wan.

“I want you to have it,” the warden says resolutely, because their greatest battle yet is looming at dawn and they do not want to be lost in the tide of corpses that would surely pile the countryside. “Please.”

I’m thinking about Alistair finding the warden in the aftermath, unconscious but alive thanks to their mutual sacrifice (giving his eternal thanks for Morrigan all the while as he bundles the warden up into his arms), the phylactery pulsing against the hollow of his throat in time with the warden’s pulse.

I’m thinking about Alistair a decade later, curled up where he struggles to sleep, clutching that same vial against his heart with his eyes squeezed shut to concentrate on the fact that despite the time and distance separating him from his warden, their love is still right there in the palm of his hand—alive and well.

[longer-than-i-should-admit]

Excuse me HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO FUNCTION TODAY AFTER READING THIS?😩

the unfortunate thing about solas dragonage is that he has the aura of a man who would moan very nicely if you pulled his hair. alas,

[vigilskeep]

do you have any opinions/speculations about the potential for a succession crisis in ferelden? ik depending on worldstate there may have already been a mac tir and/or cousland holding the throne without incident for the past 10+ years w the last living theirin dead/frolicking through a field of flowers, but breaking hundreds of years of precedent like that does seem like it could kick up some instability, even if it was offscreen? and obviously even if alistair is king his womb is barren, so like, what gives.

oh i mean we’re definitely extremely fucked and there are no good options!

the theirin line is done for, for a start. even if the sole remaining one does become king, he’s a bastard with bad chances of having a child at all. his two known possible queens are a fellow warden—making the chances of conceiving even worse! near impossible, in his own words—and anora mac tir, who never managed it with her non-warden husband, and regardless of whether or not she is actually infertile as is rumoured, seems to be actively avoiding even trying, based on loghain dialogue if she marries cousland and her unwillingness to marry at all if she becomes sole queen

since anora and alistair are both unlikely to have children either alone or together, and a cousland spouse only lessens the chances for both of them, and those are... all our options... yes we will see a succession crisis in ferelden. it’s not a maybe. if anora and/or alistair clearly declare a chosen heir before their deaths we might be able to avoid it being an open conflict but whoever they choose will definitely suffer for lack of legitimacy

assuming no royal children, the only obvious contenders for the throne are teagan guerrin and fergus cousland, and any heirs thereof. both are alive in any worldstate

the guerrins are closely related to the royal family—cailan’s mother was the elder sister of eamon and teagan—and widely respected. alistair actually suggests passing the throne to eamon in dao, and he usually has a pretty good read for what’s reasonable. i don’t think this is a bad idea. on the other hand, teagan spent his youth in the free marches, and is headstrong and not particularly politically gifted. there’s also the question of his own marriage and heirs; since the epilogue slides aren’t canon, there’s no need to accept the one where he inexplicably marries what very much seemed in game to be an underage girl, but he definitely can lose his heart to a warden of any origin in like two conversations, and all in all you’d want him settled with an acceptable queen before we could take this seriously. otherwise we’ll just have another crisis about that. i mean, one hopes he’s married and a father already by dai for this to be anything. his free marcher connections might be a boon here bc i’d like ferelden to marry into them more

the couslands are second only to the royal family, and it was suggested by some even back during ferelden’s rebellion against orlais that bryce cousland should take the throne instead of the theirins. his son would certainly be an acceptable contender. fergus may not have any living children, but he has at least proved he’s capable of having children, which is somehow as good as it gets around here. he is trained as a capable leader and ruler, is very fereldan, and maintains good diplomatic relations with factions like the inquisition. the downside to this is that it alters the political makeup of ferelden quite a bit, in that the couslands have kind of survived as the only remaining family of such power by not trying for the throne. their rule would be even more absolute than the theirins because there would be no teyrns left at all to contend with it. someone like anora in particular would be very aware of this and also simply of how dangerous it is to promise ferelden’s future to him before her death. suddenly everyone would look to the couslands as the future and not to her

there aren’t many other options that we know of at this time. there’s alistair’s kieran, but i don’t take that seriously, morrigan would never allow it and a bastard’s apostate bastard raised half in the orlesian royal court is several steps too far. if connor guerrin lives and leliana is divine, assuming the ending of the circle of magi means that mages can hold titles now, he could be a possibility

it isn’t completely impossible for anora or alistair to have children, of course. if sole king alistair actually got around to marrying at some point, that’s probably the best chance for it out of the landsmeet options?

[herald-divine-hell]

It's fascinating how the Theirins/Alistair should have been the expected main character of Dragon Age, or at least, Alistair and the Theirins are coded to be that. Alistair is the essential royal bastard, a secret inheritor in line of the throne, Dragon Age's Jon Snow. The Theirins are essentially the House of Isildur/the Targaryens, with dragon's blood in their veins.

And then...Alistair isn't the savior, or at least not the one in Origins. As we saw with the Darkspawn Chronicles, had Alistair led, it would had ended in failure - though I would argue that it puts a little too much on the Warden as some destined great savior. It's such a fascinating twist to such an ancient trope that you got to respect BioWare for having all this fascinating lore about the Theirins but our characters aren't connected to it, outside of possibly romancing Alistair or Alistair having Kieran with Morrigan.

[brennacedria]

Dragon Age players, especially players who marry a Cousland to Alistair:

Do you think your Warden's status strengthens or weakens Alistair's claim to the throne? I ask because of how high Cousland's status would influence much of the Landsmeet. Many of the nobles might see it as a strong family supporting the royal family... but many others, I feel, would see it as a way to seize power from that Theirin lineage.

Oh, before I forget: We are not discussing any other characters potentially weakening/"stealing" the throne for their own family here. I do not want to see comments in the notes about similar arguments with other characters even though male Couslands could easily face a similar argument as female Couslands. This is about bastard princes only.

ANYWAY, I repeat my question, because thoughts and headcanons about this are something I really am curious about:

(If you haven't played Origins, please use the "non-Cousland player" options the same way someone who primarily plays another origin would.)

All reblogs are appreciated, especially with ideas and headcanons about Alistair and the Cousland Warden. Reblogs with commentary as tags or in the body of a post are both great in this situation, I think.

[longer-than-i-should-admit]

Oh, same!

Commander of the Gray/renowned war hero/m’f’kin HERO OF FERELDEN?!!?!? Hello????

Nobility! Amells, though fallen in disgrace, are a well-known Marcher house that gets raised back into the spotlight by Hawke! (Thanks, cuz!)

Templar Alistair? Mage Amell? That ought to satisfy the Chantry/Circle requirements in my book (sssshhhhshshhhh ignore the fact that they’d never lay a finger on each other shshshh).

This is the end-game for my personal canon: Anora is placed on the throne, Alistair remains a warden, and since he’s renounced his claim/name he and Solona sneak off and get married

ALISTAIR AMELL

Then post-Trespasser (post-Taint cure discovery!!!) Anora steps down due to extenuating circumstances and sponsors Alistair’s rightful placement on the throne but he only agrees if Solona comes with him because she’s his wIFE DAMNIT

(also he hyphenates and it nearly gives everyone in the landsmeet an aneurism

“Amell-Theirin? Her name first? REALLY?”

Alistair you little shit you enjoy seeing their blood pressure pop veins on their foreheads)

the AUs in my head i make to justify amell being queen they are intricate 

[ashenlavellan]

Appreciation Post - Dragon Age: Origins... Alistair Theirin

So, this comes shortly after my appreciation post for Zevran and I felt it was necessary to create one for our precious Warden boy-scout!

[again, this may be referenced by pages that contain the details about his background because there may be stuff that I may not personally remember.]

SPOILERS - this details Alistair's familial background and may be spoilers to those who are intrigued to play and have not.

[Trigger Warning: Mentions of mistreatment of a child/child abuse]

Pre-DA: Origins

So, Alistair's background is a bit confusing and initially, it was difficult for me to wrap my head around it all. However, we'll state it bluntly as to what his family tree is like so that way it's cleared up.

To put it bluntly (as well as crudely), Alistair is a bastard. A royal one, to be frank - his father is the deceased King of Ferelden, King Maric Theirin, and his mother was actually an elven Grey Warden - known as Fiona, who had grown up in an alienage within Orlais. So, he's what you call elf-blooded and this can certainly be deemed as an insult.

However, he was subjected to isolation and terrible behavior by the Arlessa of Redcliffe, Isolde, because she believed that the reason Arl Eamon had taken him in was due to the fact that he was the product of his own affair (Alistair was the product of the affair between Maric and Fiona, and they witheld this information so it would not raise a scandal and affect Eamon's sister, Queen Rowan. This suggestion was made by Loghain Mac Tir).

From there, he was booted off to the Chantry due to Isolde's frustrations and distrust - this is where he learned the teachings of the Chantry, as well as began training as a Templar - until Duncan had visited and invoked the Right of Conscription to conscript him into the Grey Wardens. This took place before he took his final vows to become a Templar and months before the events of DA: Origins...

Thoughts:

So, he was raised amongst peers who had called him a royal bastard (because the rumors of him being Eamon’s child had spread) and was treated poorly by extended family, individuals within the Chantry, and he wasn't treated with respect until he was conscripted into the Grey Wardens - most members don't give a damn about the backgrounds of their peers, except if they're capable enough to fight alongside each other against the dark spawn.

Duncan had obviously seen this in him and was determined to bring him in - however, he also knew of Alistair's background due to the fact of being friends with King Maric and Fiona (at one point). So, he knew of his background and still treated him like any other Grey Warden recruit.

Alistair felt like he finally found a place he belonged - amongst the Grey Wardens. He wasn't judged for his background simply because no one asked and just wanted to know him for who he is.

However, things do go downhill once we reach the events of DA: Origins...

Events of DA: Origins

Due to the events of DA: Origins and the aftermath of Ostagar, Alistair is forced to come to terms that [the player] and himself are the sole Grey Wardens within Ferelden and they're mere recruits. They're not seasoned enough and equipped to deal with the task of recovering the troops to fight against a likely 5th Blight - he's well aware of this after the run-in with Morrigan and Flemeth, the Witch of the Wilds.

However, he's hopeful.

With treaties in hand and a growing amount of skilled allies; a seasoned Qunari warrior, a lay sister who turns out to be a former bard from Orlais, the "daughter" of the Witch of the Wilds, and so forth.

As their travels began to stretch across the land and accomplishing tasks that seemed impossible, he's more than hopeful that they can bring an end to the the 5th Blight and avenge their fallen comrades - including Duncan, who lost his life beside King Cailan.

With all of the shit that he's faced and dealt with, it's no surprise that his coping mechanism is witty one-liners and humor... in fact, most of us would likely do the same. However, he's more than just some form of "comedic relief," and his background and personality shows it. Especially once you romance him.

Romancing Alistair

He's a sweetheart and a hopeless romantic, for sure. Growing up and being treated as a bastard, it's no surprise that he's careful and slow-going at the start because the relationship is so new and delicate to him... he's never been in a relationship, much less in love.

We tease him and poke fun at him for being a virgin, but it's another part to treasure about him - it means that he's serious about the Warden and that he's not in the relationship to toy with their heart, much less his own.

It also clues us in and makes it easier to understand why he's so hesitant in sharing his background; because the Warden will look at him for who he is and not for his lineage. They won't see him as a royal bastard, but the Grey Warden recruit that is a goofball and means well.

This goes to show that he's also scared of ruining what he's built together with the Warden and he would be crushed if that changed, even the slightest because of his lineage.

Depending on your reaction, it could definitely make (if you love him, regardless) or break (if you feel disillusioned and break up with him) and would affect him in the long run. Your Warden is his first love and he would blame himself for ruining it - he would learn to accept it, but he would constantly blame himself... likely to the end of time.

End-game Romancing (King vs. Grey Warden)

The biggest part of his romance - ascending the throne and accepting his lineage, or forgoing it and rising through the ranks of the Grey Wardens.

Now, this becomes tricky - depending on your own origin, you could ascend the throne with him and become the Queen of Ferelden and him the King of Ferelden (Cousland Origin)... Or, you become his mistress (Surana/Mahariel/Tabris/Brosca/Aeducan) whilst he marries Anora Mac Tir.

Or, if you have him choose to remain as a Grey Warden, then the pair of you would travel alongside each other as Anora would become the sole leader of Ferelden.

[This is also affected due to earlier decisions, specifically his loyalty quest and the responses afterward... AKA, Non-Hardened Alistair vs. Hardened Alistair]

King of Ferelden -

He is more hesitant in becoming King of Ferelden if you make him Non-Hardened after his loyalty mission and may choose not to accept his lineage. So, most of the decision/outcomes are based on him being Hardened Alistair.

Hardened (Cousland Origin): if you romance him as a Cousland and wish for him to take the throne, he will confidently accept the responsibility and claim his right to the throne - he will also be further pleased if the Warden announces to become the future Queen of Ferelden, stating that there will be a wedding and that the pair will rule together. Anora will express frustration - however, the Cousland family is second to the Theirin line and a legitimate heir with Theirin blood? She has no claim over the throne.

Hardened (Non-Cousland Origin): if you are romancing Alistair as any other background, he will not let your character go so easily if you place him on the throne and subject him to marriage with Anora/alone. This, in turn, will make your character the official mistress or concubine (whichever you prefer) unless you explicitly have the Warden break up with Alistair.

Non-Hardened (Non-Cousland Origin): This will only happen if you have Alistair marry Anora, regardless of your background, and he will break things off with your character. I don't suggest this route unless you're purposely being cruel towards your Warden, and possibly killing them off. [wow, that's extreme... nice lmao]

Anyways, there's a LOT to Alistair's background and storyline throughout DA: Origins, but when you include his romance? There's SO much and I really appreciate how much thought and love went into him - he's a great starter romance for the Dragon Age series as well as a great character.

Much love and appreciation for our sweetheart Alistair! ^.^

[longer-than-i-should-admit]

Has anyone else had the sudden Queen Charlotte AU of King Alistair/Cousland arranged marriage concept or is it just me?? (His health secret would be the taint instead of mania btw)

“Do you enjoy being the Arl of Denerim? Do you want to remain the Arl of Denerim?”

*screaming*

[gwah--ren]

@eueclid. alistair & elethea. all sorts of people are calling themselves kings these days.

a scoff huffs out of her with a bemused shake of her head. continuing with the clasps & laces of his fine doublet as she goes about dressing him. both of them clad in the theirin colors; crimson & gold, her own idea of course — signaling his royal heritage as a constant reminder to any naysayers of a half - elven bastard sitting the ferelden throne. calenhad's blood pulsed in his veins as strongly as it had in cailan's — and she would always argue that his heroism made him a truer heir to the theirin legacy than cailan's feeble grasps at glory. besides, her pedigree was proud enough for both of them, and had been shield enough against the opposition they had faced thus far. her name older & just as proud, and few could complain about a cousland queen. despite his fretting, he had handled himself quite well as king thus far; though their reign was still in its infancy. whatever he lacked, she made up for — though unlike the "partnership" of anora & cailan, alistair and elethea's was far more evenly balanced. it was not her hand alone that guided all of his actions, or her secretly acting in his name, as it was rumored was true of the prior king & queen. maker knows elethea would not suffer a husband she needed to mother.

"indeed, i hear this new king of ferelden lets his wife dress him. and what sort of a king doesn't keep a footman?" satisfied with his doublet — keeping in mind not to lace it too high, lest he complain about it itching or choking him, and not of course because it made him look terribly rugged & handsome — she turns to her vanity. the chain of office is heavy as she lifts it; solid gold, studded with garnets & pearls, surely fit for a king. she knows well that he speaks from insecurity, he'd dreaded his inheritance his entire life, and had left the leadership of their group to her throughout the blight for that very reason. it mattered little; she believed in his leadership even if he didn't. if only he would bother to listen to her about his capabilities once in a while. "however ... he certainly doesn't hurt to look at, does he?" she casts him a sly smirk, and flutters her lashes as she reaches up to set the chain about his shoulders. "no wonder the queen's so possessive of him."

[longer-than-i-should-admit]

I chose to break out with Solona and I got up to the chantry and Morrigan and Leliana just—appeared? I was so confused bc I thought there would be a cutscene lol

Companions breaking into Fort Drakon to rescue Alistair and the warden be like

[themournwatcher]

Cas I am obsessed with the archdemon situation in your worldstate out here. The selfishness undoubtedly seen as some national-level people's heroism at a personal level without accounting for Mahanon or Loghain's warden status, the anger after death, the lack of room for closure for anyone involved including Loghain??? Steel chairing into the position of martyr under their noses. And yes Mahanon comes out of it alive but seething??? Chewing on it 👀

Talking about Thedas having a print news cycle earlier, too, can you imagine the spins and public takes on that whole situation? Delicious.

LAST OF THEIRIN BLOODLINE: SACRIFICED

Mahanon stared down at the water-logged scrap of parchment trapped underneath his boot. 'Sacrificed' was hardly a new claim. He'd seen several circulating about Alistair in the weeks following his death. Warden. Hero. Prince. You name it, the people were happy to affix it to the dead man like the crown he had so long denied. It made his blood boil.

Once the sun had set, the rain had followed suit. No longer a torrential downpour, it was only a misty drizzle that chilled the back of Mahanon's neck as he stalked through the city streets to the memorial for the fallen warden. It was dark and late enough now that no mourners or zealots were crowding the site with their tears and their flowers. That was good; it meant that Mahanon could say his piece alone.

He sat on the edge of the lead coffin and took a long sip of his drink. The cheap alcohol burned all the way down his throat, but it was nothing compared to the reaver's blood running through his veins. Since the death of the Archdemon, his blood had been burning him from the inside out. He couldn't have been so lucky to be like poor Andraste, able to quench that fire on the end of a blade.

"You're a bastard," Mahanon said quietly. His mumbling slowly turned into laughter. "A royal fucking bastard! You just couldn't stand it that I called you out for what you were. You selfish prick!" He threw the bottle down and smashed it. Shards skittered across the wet ground, reflecting his own face back up at him. "You just had to get back at me, didn't you? You couldn't live with the consequences of your actions, could you? Not even at the very last."

He wasn't sure how long he sat there and seethed, spitting curses on the dead man's name. Long enough that he'd given up sitting and drinking and taken to pacing around the coffin, as if he could shout at it loud enough and long enough that the man inside might rise back up to tell him off. He was there long enough that, soon, he felt a hand on his shoulder that pulled him to a stop.

"We should go," said Loghain, unsure if he should be grateful that he was spared. He knew that Mahanon's intention was to place him in the path of the Archdemon, and he had been willing to take that fate upon himself. Instead, Maric's remaining son had died for them both.

They were all a bit selfish.

UHHHH sorry lex you possessed me but ummm yeah this is the vibe. this is the vibe, right???

[ooachilliaoo]

For the WIP game… Wedding Presents! 😛❤️

Hey! I wonder why you specifically picked this one? :P

So full credit to you obviously for giving me a list of possible (and appropriate) royal wedding presents but this fic is, predictably, where Alistair and Elissa open their many many wedding presents!

It is a lot of fun to write.  

Extract below just for you dear – I don’t think I showed this bit.

“It’s… the deed to a villa just outside of Kirkwall.” He said, unrolling the sealed scroll. “Seems like quite a large estate actually.”

“Generous.” She said plucking the accompanying card out of the box “Looks like we have the Viscount to thank for it too. Varric says here we should write to him when we plan on visiting.”

“Hmmm.” Alistair said turning the scroll over to look at the back and then over again.

“You’re not pleased?” she asked as they exchanged the two papers they held. She had enjoyed visiting Kirkwall on their honeymoon tour and thought Alistair had too. In fact, surprisingly it had been one of her favourite stops and while the city wasn’t entirely healed from its former … troubles it was well on its way to being so.

But then… they hadn’t exactly been far outside of Hightown or stayed anywhere but the Viscounts keep which naturally had been one of the first places to be restored.

“Oh, it’s not that.” He said reading the card that she had recognised as Varric’s own hand “It’s just… it’s Kirkwall. If the Viscount is giving us a free estate the place has to be cursed, or decrepit, or full of corpses, or all three.”

“I’m sure that’s not the case.” She said “And if it was I’m sure Varric would have had it straightened out before giving it to us.”

“Maybe.” He conceded “Did you hear that he also gave the Inquisitor an estate?”

“I didn’t.” she confessed “But that makes sense doesn’t it? They are friends?”

“Of course.” Alistair said plucking the deed from her fingers and rolling it up in order to place it back into the box “It’s just … if I were the Viscount of Kirkwall and I had all these run-down estates that I couldn’t afford to fix but needed in working order for the economy… getting my rich friends to fix them up might solve the problem?”

She gasped effecting an expression of shock.

“Why Alistair Theirin.” She said “When did you become so cynical?”

“Sometime after I’d met my fourth smart, conniving, bastard just like Varric Tethras.” He said.

She couldn’t really argue with that so instead she just reached for the next box. The mansion might be cursed but honestly after all she’d faced as a Warden, after all they’d faced together, she didn’t think a single house in Kirkwall could possibly be beyond them.

[knifeearsairaly]

Look at this man. I want 10 of him.

[longer-than-i-should-admit]

Definitely agree on Alistair being indispensable for DAO imo. I’ve got two separate files, one as Solona and the other as Elissa, and I feel like he’s so flexible to be “carried forward” if that makes sense. You either see him as king or a warden (or a drunk but we don’t talk about that), whereas Zevran fades to the background and Leliana and Morrigan feel like they become unreachable. Definitely nothing against them, I love them, but there’s something so intrinsically special about the warden (no matter the origin) leaving everything they’ve ever known for the first time, meeting this sassy awkward underlying intelligent and intuitive guy that’s almost as new to the scene as they are, then (if they make good choices) stay with him for the rest of the game (with varying results). He’s there from the start. He’ll know the warden the best whether they’re friends or lovers (or enemies tbh). They experience Ostagar together, work through their grief together (especially looking at Mahariel for this one), make new friends of course but I can picture them always being drawn back to each other bc Alistair was there. He was always there, and even if he was too scared to take charge he always backs up the warden with no doubts (unless, again, they make bad choices). Romantically he falls for the warden hard, this person whom he met by chance, who didn’t criticize him for being upset about losing Duncan, about his past, about his quirks and insecurities. (Ilhsmistg) Alistair is so important to me and to DAO’s all around feeling.

As much as I love the latter romances, too, none of them feel quite as impactful for me. Yes there’s Anders, and I feel like Isabella is equally weighty in terms of DA2’s plot, but none of them feel quite as tied into the story. Not quite as necessary. (And I’ll admit I am a little biased bc Anders isn’t my favorite, but his friendship is about the same in endgame.)

Solas is probably the most ‘plot important’ romance in DAI, understandably so—for obvious reasons. The others (as much as I love them, pls don’t hate me) don’t feel nearly as impactful either. I love Cullen with all my heart and he’s my endgame every time bc I have no self control, but I don’t see his romance having lasting repercussions like Solas unfortunately. (As much as I want the Rutherford fold to increase thricefold with as many mabari to boot. A mini curly army to help run the Templar rehab center.😭)

just curious-- do y'all have romances in DAO/DA2/DAI where it completely elevates the experience you want from the game? And when you don't romance that character, the overall experience is actually weakened?

I want to know if others have this "If I don't romance this character this specific way, my game is ruined" thing like I do and over which characters.

I always consider branching out by making a separate timeline from my canon just to explore new choices and romances, and the only game I've been successful in doing that is DAI. But I try to romance someone new in DAO or DA2? I get maybe a few hours into the playthrough before I abandon it because I can't do it, it doesn't feel right!

There's absolutely nothing wrong with Morrigan, Leliana, or Zevran, but if I don't romance Alistair as my Warden Tabris, I feel like DAO is just not nearly as impactful for me. Even though I know I would adore those paths!

Then there's Anders in DA2. There's lot about that route that upsets me, but does my Hawke always end up with him anyway? Yep. But, I've actually completed Fenris' romance, too, and honestly? Highly recommend it. Sometimes I think I should do it again or consider making it my canon- but it doesn't feel right.

My Hawke being involved with Anders elevates DA2 to an entirely different level that I don't feel I can get from the other love interests. And it's not like Fenris, Merrill, Isabela, or Sebastian aren't good options for my Hawke, but they're not Anders. Like what's even the point of DA2 if my boyfriend doesn't blow up a Chantry in the end?? Why am I even here, y'know??

Seriously, I want to know. This is a free pass to gush about that romance and why they make your game better.

[pookydraws]

Alistair Theirin  Why is he so handsome?

[anneapocalypse]

The Stolen Throne and The Calling

Crosspost. Originally posted on dreamwidth on 06/07/20.

Though all before me is shadow, Yet shall the Maker be my guide. I shall not be left to wander the drifting roads of the Beyond. For there is no darkness in the Maker's Light And nothing that He has wrought shall be lost.

– Canticle of Trials

Content Warnings: Discussions of fictional sexual assault and suicidal behavior. Canon-typical violence, etc.

The Stolen Throne and The Calling are the first two novels in the Dragon Age series, written by David Gaider and published in 2009. Both novels were published before Dragon Age: Origins was released, as prequels to that game. The Stolen Throne is the story of Maric Theirin, heir to the throne of Ferelden in the line of Calenhad, fighting to take back Ferelden from Orlesian occupation with the help of his betrothed, Rowan Guerrin, and commoner Loghain Mac Tir.

I have just read both of them and since they're directly connected to each other I thought I would discuss them both together!

My expectations for the quality of video game tie-in novels have basically been set by Halo, which is to say they were under the ground, so I was very pleasantly surprised by how readable these books are. Gaider's prose, while not flawless, is perfectly enjoyable, and when it really needs to, during scenes of intense action or tension, it effectively disappears, as it should. I was very pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed reading these books, but perhaps I shouldn't have been. I've always appreciated the quality of the in-universe writings in Dragon Age, the codex entries and in particular the in-universe poetry.

Preface on Maric Theirin

I was reticent about The Stolen Throne, to be honest, because I knew it heavily centered around Maric Theirin, whom I was uneasy about getting invested in given some of the things you hear about him in Origins. In particular:

I assumed that Alistair being a bastard meant that Maric had cheated on his wife.

I wasn't sure whether to take Goldanna's line about Alistair's "royal father" having "forced himself" on her mother at face value.

Number 1 turns out to be explicitly incorrect because Rowan, Cailan's mother, has already died by the time Maric meets Fiona.

Number 2 is trickier. We know from The Calling (and I believe there is further confirmation in Inquisition) that Goldanna's mother is not in fact Alistair's mother. She does seem to believe, based on that one line, that Maric was the father of the nameless baby and that's what had me hung up for a time. After some further thought and discussion, and having finished The Calling, I think it's more likely he wasn't.

If Goldanna's mother died in childbirth as she says, it's likely the baby did in fact die also as she was told, and her death was used as a convenient cover story for the appearance of a motherless infant passed off to Maric's brother-in-law Eamon. While Goldanna seems to believe Maric was the father of the nameless baby, this seems more likely to be a conclusion she came to on her own based on rumors of a royal bastard and the fact that she was paid to keep quiet.

At any rate, if Maric had fathered another baby who could have been mistaken for Alistair it would have had to be close to the same time he was with Fiona, and that just seems unlikely. Maric at the time of The Calling is by turns mourning Rowan, depressed to the point where it's strongly implied he was suicidal, and then missing Fiona after their return from the Deep Roads and her departure to Weisshaupt. Is it impossible that he went after a member of his palace staff at some point, consensually or otherwise? No. Is it likely? Based on what we know of Maric, I would say no.

Both The Stolen Throne and The Calling heavily feature Maric and both make a point to present him as sympathetic and kindhearted if flawed (and he certainly has his flaws but we'll get to that) and I would prefer to think that David Gaider, then lead writer for the series and author of both books, would not have gone to such pains to make Maric likable and then turn around and tell us he's a rapist. Am I being too optimistic? Possibly. I would still rather believe that. Goldanna was only a child at the time of her mother's death and there's honestly no good reason to think her knowledge of the events surrounding Alistair's parentage is any more accurate than Alistair's.

So in the absence of canon evidence to the contrary, I do not believe Goldanna or the nameless baby share any parentage with Alistair, and I do not believe Maric raped anyone.

The Stolen Throne

The first thing I noticed when opening The Stolen Throne is that Redcliffe Village is marked in a different place on the map than it is in the game—to the west of Lake Calenhad rather than the south. I'm guessing that the reason for the change is that the location icons on the game map need to be fairly large, and the area west of the lake was getting pretty crowded with locations. Not a particularly major inconsistency, just a small reminder that not all of the lore was fully nailed down when these books were published!

We get an appearance from Flemeth in this book! She makes some predictions of future events, and gets some kind of mysterious promise out of Maric that we never actually here but which seems to have something to do with the coming Blight.

Despite my initial misgivings I did end up liking Maric. It's hard not to like Maric; the book really wants you to like Maric.

My least favorite thing about this book was the whole romance between Maric and Katriel. It's the classic "spy falls in love with the rebel leader she is supposed to betray" story but in my opinion it's just not sold well, particularly on Katriel's side. I mean it's silly how quickly Maric falls for her (and we're treated to the phrase "ample cleavage" in the description of Katriel because of course), but it's in character for Maric whose whole arc in this story is about him being naive, inexperienced, and unprepared for leadership. But Katriel also falls for Maric more or less on sight because… he's nice to her, and he has nice eyes or something. Katriel is an Orlesian bard. She is supposed experienced in espionage and seduction. So to see her lose her resolve to carry out her mission all because Maric wasn't a complete jerk was just kind of disappointing, honestly, and made me a lot less interested in the character. So, instead of a master of seduction and a charismatic leader, we get star-crossed dumbasses. Ah well. Theirins, man. Their ending was certainly tragic, and the tragedy was probably the most interesting thing about their relationship! but I still would have enjoyed it more had I been more invested in Katriel and their forbidden love.

By contrast I found Rowan much more compelling, though it was obvious pretty early on that we were heading for a sort of love quadrangle with Maric falling for Katriel while betrothed to Rowan, and Rowan and Loghain falling for each other. Meanwhile, Maric/Loghain practically ships itself, at least for me!

But my favorite thing about The Stolen Throne is the backstory on Loghain, because man, this story explains so much about the Loghain we meet in Origins.

It surprised me to learn that Loghain wasn't a rebel by choice, just a farmer-turned-hunter trying to get by under the Orlesian occupation. Nevertheless he has plenty of reason to hate the Orlesians. His mother (yup, it's always the mother) was raped and killed by Orlesian soldiers. He and his father were forced off their land, and have turned to poaching with a band of other displaced commoners to survive.

Loghain is not one to mince words or soften his intent and I have to say that I respect his boldness. When he commits to a thing, he carries it out. When he and Rowan finally got busy with each other I was honestly rooting for both of them. They both deserved a little happiness at that point.

When we find out at the end that Loghain knew Katriel had betrayed her employer for Maric and let Maric kill her anyway, I was like, damn, there he is. There's the Loghain we know. Even when he does some stone cold bastard shit I have to respect his resolve. It's not hard to see how Loghain became the villain he became, but I like him as a character. I think he's a great villain in Origins, and even more so after reading this book.

Loghain does a lot of terrible shit in Origins, some understandable and some decidedly less so—letting slavers operate in the Alienage being probably the least forgivable to me. But his initial heel turn, abandoning Cailan at Ostagar—well, let's just say that knowing Loghain has spent his entire adult life saving dumbass Theirins from themselves and cleaning up other people's messes, I start to understand why he might have thought things would go better if he just got Cailan out of the way. It's one more stone cold bastard move and I'm not saying it was right, but I can see why he did it. I can see the trajectory from A to B and that's what makes a great villain backstory for me.

I was a bit disappointed that the book doesn't actually show us the Battle of River Dane that Loghain became famous for, focusing instead on Maric killing the usurper's court mage while the battle happens off the page. While battle scenes aren't necessarily the most engaging to me, I was looking forward to seeing how Loghain earned his title.

Because there are no fairy tale endings in Dragon Age, of course at the end Katriel ends up dead and Maric marries Rowan as was decided for them when both were mere children, because they are the King and Queen Ferelden needs and they both recognize this as a duty larger than either of their desires. To me it very much mirrors some of the possible endings for Origins. Despite how Loghain speaks publicly of Maric in Origins, it turns out Maric didn't really want to rule any more than Alistair does. Maric and Rowan are a good deal more amiable a union than Alistair and Anora even after the whole Katriel thing, simply because they grew up together and have been friends for years. Still, the tone reminds me very much of the end of Origins, where almost no matter what choices you make, someone's happiness ends up sacrificed to serve the greater good. I always think of the song "Blue and Gold" by Linda Thompson when I think of the possible endings for Alistair and his romance, and I'm reminded of it again here:

Blue and gold, young and old, beautiful or plain, The fortunes of war are a broken heart on a golden chain. Pity the woman who marries for love; her heart shall never be free. And pity the woman who marries for land, for she'll unhappy be.

You can definitely tell not all the worldbuilding was fully nailed down at the time this book was written, because there are a few other minor discrepancies, but surprisingly few. Certainly not enough to be immersion-breaking. Early in the story, for example, Loghain buries a body and laments it not being a "proper burial," which I initially took to be a discrepancy since Andrastians cremate their dead, and in fact this is even established later in the same book. I'm on the fence as to whether this is even a discrepancy, as it seems the ashes of the dead are usually interred following cremation, so that might be what Loghain meant by "a proper burial" in the first place. Other minor blips are "Brecilian" being spelled wrong in a few places, a mage being called a "wizard" at one point, but nothing world-breaking.

But overall, aside from the flimsy Maric/Katriel romance, this book holds up remarkably well even now, and it was definitely an enjoyable and illuminating read.

The Calling

The Calling is set eleven years after the end of the Orlesian occupation, so something like 14 years after the events of The Stolen Throne. Prince Cailan is 11 years old, and Rowan has died two years earlier from some kind of "wasting" illness. (It is later suggested that she might have died from a slow progression of darkspawn corruption contracted in the Deep Roads during The Stolen Throne, but this is never confirmed and might not be the case.) The Grey Wardens have only recently been allowed back into Ferelden after being booted out during the Storm Age (two ages ago) after Sophia Dryden's failed coup.

Because the specific Wardens entering Ferelden are from Orlais, Loghain sees them simply as Orlesians and regards them with suspicion. Maric is approached by the Orlesian Warden-Commander accompanied by a group of Wardens, including Duncan (from Origins), Utha (whom we meet in Awakening), and Fiona (whom we meet in Inquisition), looking for aid in entering the Deep Roads as Maric, Loghain, and Rowan did in the last book. Much to Loghain's disapproval, Maric insists on accompanying them himself. The purpose of their mission is to find Warden-Commander Genevieve's brother, who entered the Deep Roads for his Calling and should have died, but whom Genevieve believes she can still sense alive. She believes he has been captured by the darkspawn and that she must prevent him from revealing the locations of the Old Gods' prisons and bringing on another Blight.

Right away, my response was, "...The Wardens know the locations of the remaining Old Gods?" Apparently they do, though this knowledge is only shared with the higher-ups and it's never actually explained how they know this beyond that they've been able to sense it, which… doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, since the Grey Warden sense is derived directly from the darkspawn and the darkspawn themselves don't know exactly where the Old Gods are. If they did, the Blights would have happened in much more rapid succession. But okay, the Wardens know where the Old Gods are. They cannot actually get to them because of the sheer distance and the masses of darkspawn lying between, but they know.

I knew Duncan was a rogue, of course, but I was pleased to learn that he was a thief before he was a Grey Warden. It explains why he's so sympathetic to fellow rogues and thieves, such as Daveth or a rogue Warden who goes around stealing from everyone in sight at Ostagar. At this age, he's a far cry from the serious man we meet in Origins. He's a little scoundrel and I love it.

Duncan in this story undergoes a similar character arc to Maric's in The Stolen Throne, minus the tragic romance. Forced into a position of responsibility he never wanted, he initially struggles to live up to it—but when the critical moment comes, he rises to the challenge and does what is necessary. I really enjoyed young Duncan, because he's so different from the man we meet in Origins, yet it is not hard to imagine how he became that man in the twenty years between.

I mentioned above that Maric is basically suicidal at this point. It becomes clear pretty quickly how willing he is to die in the Deep Roads, how heavy he finds the burden of ruling, and how he struggles to be a father even to his own son. These books, by the way, also explain a lot about Cailan Theirin. The King Cailan we meet in Origins is starry-eyed with dreams of defeating the darkspawn in glorious battle, while Loghain and Duncan both try to bring him down to earth. It can be hard to take him seriously, especially when you know that Duncan is 100% right about the Blight. But this glimpse of Cailan's childhood makes him more of a tragic figure to me—born to rule yet never truly prepared for the realities of ruling it by the father who felt that burden so heavily. In the absence of his father, Cailan was raised on stories; stories are all he has to guide him, and stories are not enough.

In this time period, the Grey Warden uniform is a gray tunic with a Griffon on it and I sort of wish they had kept that instead of the blue striped thing they come up with in Dragon Age II. I mean, come on… Grey Wardens... it's in the name!

Something else that doesn't carry forward into the games is that apparently deepstalkers were supposed to be these beasts that disguised themselves as stalagmites in caves. Or at least if they were going for that in Origins, they did not succeed.

I was lowkey shipping Nicolas and Julien early on just based on the way they interacted, so it was kind of a pleasant surprise to find that they were in fact canon! Unfortunately, they do both die, though I would remind us that David Gaider is himself a gay man before coming down on him, specifically.

We get a Fade sequence in this story that is very similar to the infamous Fade sequence in "Broken Circle" in Origins, to the point that it feels like a direct prototype for that part of the game. A demon possesses Fiona and puts the rest of the party to sleep, where they dream of something they desire, and the first to realize it's a dream must find the others and wake them up, so to speak.

This is, incidentally, yet more proof that there absolutely is a way to free someone from demonic possession. The further I get into Dragon Age canon, the more these examples pile up. Connor in Origins, Fiona in this book, arguably Feynriel in DA2. Death is not the only cure for an abomination, no matter how many times a templar says it is. This is known and has been known. If the templars push the narrative that there is no way to save a possessed mage, it's because they don't want to. We can talk about why they don't want to, and that's another conversation, but what is not in dispute is that it is possible.

It's also pretty clear here that someone can be possessed through no fault of their own. We don't see any weakness on Fiona's part that would cause her to be possessed by this demon found in the Deep Roads. She didn't make a deal with it. It was just strong enough to possess her.

It's also significant that this demon emerged from the remains of a dwarf, with evidence that dwarf was also possessed. When I was new to Origins, I wondered if the fact that a dwarf Warden could also enter the Fade was a plot hole, since dwarves don't have magic and don't enter the Fade in dreams. But because the Warden is put into an unnatural sleep by a demon, they find themselves in the Fade. From DA2, we know that where the Veil is thin enough, demons can make contact with even non-mages.

Taken all together, what this tells us is that under the right circumstances, anyone can be susceptible to demons or Fade spirits: non-mages, templars, even dwarves. Mages are certainly at a higher risk, but they are not the only ones at risk.

I really enjoyed Fiona in this book, but I'm really curious now how she ends up Grand Enchanter in Inquisition. It seems like a real about-face considering that she is a Grey Warden and not fond of the Circle. I'm hoping to find more of her story as I continue reading.

One thing that's very intriguing about Fiona's story is that she might be immune to the Calling, as a result of her corruption being artificially advanced and then receding again. This might not be certain, but the Wardens at Weisshaupt seem to think it's the case. This at least explains why she is perfectly alive and well thirty years later in Inquisition. It's also intriguing for other reasons. Canonically, the Hero of Ferelden is said to be seeking a way to prevent or delay the Calling in Grey Wardens, allowing them, to live longer. Fiona's experience certainly seems relevant to that end. Suddenly it doesn't seem like such a pipe dream. This would have pretty lasting implications for the Wardens—for one thing, it would probably make it easier for them to recruit a standing force in between Blights, if joining didn't automatically mean cutting decades off one's lifespan for those lucky enough to survive at all.

Now, Fiona/Maric is a ship I can get behind. Both characters are better developed and the ship itself is built up so much better than Maric/Katriel was, and it works for me even if all they both wanted was a brief moment of happiness amid the horrors of the Deep Roads—though it does seem their feelings run a bit deeper than that.

I was skeptical early on at the brooches given to the Wardens to keep the Darkspawn from sensing them in the Deep Roads. That some sort of herbal concoction could help a person resist contracting the taint, I can buy—an early sidequest in Origins has the Warden seeking out a flower in the Wilds to help cure an infected mabari, after all. But if there were an easily-obtained magical item that would keep the Wardens hidden from the darkspawn, surely this would be widely employed. My skepticism was rewarded, however, because it turns out the brooches do not, indeed, function as advertised, and are in fact a form of magic given by the Architect himself in order to advance progression of the Wardens' corruption.

Speaking of the Architect! That's right, it's ya boy, the same Architect we meet in Awakening, but two decades earlier. Here he's described as looking like any other darkspawn Emissary. Obviously, this was changed for Awakening, and it's easy to see why; I'm guessing it would've been a touch harder to take the guy seriously as one of those Skeletor-looking motherfuckers.

The Architect's plan at this time is quite different from what he proposes in Awakening. His ultimate goal is still to end the perennial war between darkspawn and the rest of the world (the book repeatedly uses the word "humanity" which doesn't really work because humans aren't the only people in this world; I suppose there isn't really a good word for all the sentient humanoid races in Thedas collectively). But his proposed solution at this point is to find and kill the Old Gods to free the darkspawn from their call… and to subject all of "humanity" (again, I assume this would extend to elves and dwarves and so forth as well) to the taint leaving only the immune to survive. Which is a very different thing than he proposes to the Warden in Awakening, as if successful it would result in a massive amount of death to achieve his ends.

As such, it is a very different dilemma that these Grey Wardens face. Utha, as we could already guess from her presence in Awakening, joins the Architect almost immediately. (The reason she never speaks, by the way, has nothing to do with her advanced corruption by the taint; she was previously a member of the Silent Sisters.) Earlier in the book, we see Utha express her grief over all her people have lost to the darkspawn, the once-great dwarven empire reduced to two cities. It makes sense that Utha would be the first to seize a chance to end the Blights forever, no matter how high the cost. The dwarves have already paid a higher price than most.

I was quite surprised to learn that the Wardens at Weisshaupt knew about the Architect, long before Awakening, as Duncan and Fiona traveled there personally to tell them. I have a feeling we probably haven't seen the last of the Architect, and frankly, I hope we haven't. His plan in The Calling is pretty horrifying and I think Duncan and the others are absolutely right to refuse it; by Awakening, however, it seems like he might be onto something more tenable. A Warden could not in good conscience fail to consider the prospect of preventing the last two Blights (well, possibly three, if the conjecture about an eighth Old God is to be believed) and permanently ending the darkspawn threat which, contrary to popular belief on the surface, still exists even between Blights and has cost the dwarves a great deal to hold back in the Deep Roads.

The final revelation of this story, of course, is that as luck would have it, Fiona has conceived and born Maric a son. Her wish is for him to be raised away from both of his parents, so that he will not have to face either the hardships of being elf-blooded or the burdens of being royalty. This, of course, is heavily implied to be everyone's favorite royal bastard Alistair!

It seems Fiona's wishes for her son only half come true, for Alistair never learns of his elven mother (at least so far as I know) but his paternal lineage is known at least to Arl Eamon and that's enough to get him entangled in affairs of the crown when Cailan meets his untimely death in battle. And despite his parents' wish to spare him the burden of ruling, Alistair can become King. While this isn't necessarily a bad ending for Alistair, I think it's worth noting that it's not necessarily a good one either… but that's another post. Suffice it to say that I think Fiona and Maric both tried to do what was right for their son; whether they succeeded at that is another question entirely.

It is also worth noting that Duncan agrees to look in on Alistair as he grows up, and make sure that he's doing all right. So Duncan has always known who Alistair is, long before Alistair knew him. It has at times seemed a bit sad to me that Alistair latches onto Duncan so hard after his recruitment, such that he mourns him as a father figure despite the fact that he had only known Duncan six months at the time of his death. Yet now I have to wonder if Duncan couldn't help showing a certain affection for the boy he had been watching over from afar, and if that was a factor in how Alistair felt toward him after such a short time, even if Alistair didn't himself know why.

I think The Calling is a touch stronger than The Stolen Thone. Both books offer some great development for significant characters and offer a lot of insight into the history and politics of the setting, but the thin development of Katriel and her relationship with Maric definitely drags the first book down a bit. The second left me more satisfied.

Worldbuilding Stuff

Here's some noteworthy bits of canon from both books:

Eyeglasses, or "spectacles," exist in this world.

"While it was not unheard of in Ferelden for a woman to be skilled in the art of war, it was uncommon enough to be surprising."

Thedas is a southern-hemisphere continent, and darker skin tends to indicate northern heritage.

Despite being bounded on two sides by water, Ferelden has never been a seafaring culture.

Pork is eaten in Orlais and it's cheap enough to be available to the poor.

There is a type of dweomer (dwarven rune) that can be placed in a basin to produce clean water. This seems highly useful in a setting that is, in all probability, largely without any kind of running water or public sanitation.

"Mundanes" is a word used by mages as a blanket term for non-mages.

Final Thoughts

The biggest takeaway from these books is that every male child born to the Theirin bloodline is in possession of one single brain cell, and they got it from their mother's side. I'm kidding—well, I'm not really kidding, but I say it with affection. The other big takeaway, and this is something I already kind of knew, is that Bioware has absolutely no qualms about burying fairly significant canon in its tie-in materials, which is something I have mixed feelings about. On the one hand, it can be really interesting to learn more about a complex character like Loghain and how he became the person he is, while not necessary to have that information to understand what he's doing in the main story. On the other hand I do think it's important for the games to give fans a solid and coherent story experience in the games whether they choose to read the supplemental material or not—Mass Effect 2 comes to mind as a game that I think leans a bit too heavily at times on fans having read the comics, and I believe there are some similar complaints out there about certain things in Inquisition.

That said, I enjoyed these books quite a bit, and I'm very glad I decided to read them! They're very readable and enjoyable and for me provided a lot of worthwhile insight into characters I knew, as well as introducing some interesting new ones. I'm not only excited to read more of the Dragon Age novels (I'm close to the end of Asunder already, actually), I'm sorry there aren't more of them ahead of me.