#alistair theirin

I was thinking about the Hero of Ferelden’s whereabouts in Dragon Age: Inquisition, and it was mighty bold of BioWare to assume that my Queen Cousland would willingly leave Alistair home alone with the entirety of Ferelden.

Some shit about my fankids - Vol 1.

Hey guys! I have. A lot of Dragon Age fankids. And these kids always ALWAYS start off as “I wonder what their kids would look like” and then it spirals out of control. Here’re some tidbits about them cause why not!

I meant to include all of them here but then. This got long. So for now just have my Warden and Alistair’s kids!

(TW: infant death, ableism)

Children of Raena Cousland and Alistair Theirin

Princess Eleanor Leliana Cousland Theirin - The firstborn child of Raena and Alistair, born two years after the ascension to the throne. Due to the presumed unlikelihood of them being able to conceive, Eleanor’s birth was seen as a miracle. Raena named her for her own mother, and her dear friend. It was a time of great celebration in Denerim and Ferelden as a whole.

However, two months after her birth, the princess died. She was discovered in her crib by her father. The taint was blamed for the tragedy, and it is said the king and queen were never quite “The Lion and the Rose” as they were in the tales again.

Prince Ariel Fergus Cousland Theirin - Three years later, Raena gave birth to their second child, a boy she called Ariel. He was born a month early, and while the king was delayed abroad. His appearance upon birth was… troubling. He was pale, nearly grey, with deep blue and purple veins obvious beneath his paper-thin skin. Eyes cloudy, and the few streaks of red hair clinging to his head looking as if he were ever-bleeding. Every healer and every priest said he would die, that “the Maker will not allow him to suffer long.” The midwives were afraid of him, no wet nurses would feed him. “Tainted from birth” they called him. Not that the queen would have allowed anyone to take him from her arms.

They told his mother he would die long before the king’s return. Word had been sent of course, but it would take a least a week to arrive, there is no hope. She held him all that night, never sleeping. He did not die. He did not die the day after. Nor after that. And he survived to see his father return.

He survived after, despite his parents being told again and again he would die, and die soon. He did not. He simply refused. He grew instead. His skin gained some color, and the veins faded, though they remained faintly present around his eyes, beneath his jaw, and at his joints. His hair grew in thick, long and rose-red like his mother’s. His eyes cleared, and their color deepened to a rich, golden brown. Still, his health challenged him. He can’t see more than a few feet in front of his face, and he cannot stand for more than a few moments on his own. But his greatest challenge is his breathing: His lungs always threaten to fail him. If he walks too far, if the air gets too cold, if there is dust or smoke around him, he struggles to breathe. Illness plagues him constantly.

Still, Ariel is a smart, kind boy, charming anyone he speaks to in a moment. He enjoys stories, both reading old stores and the ones he writes himself. He has quite the way with the quill. Still, he is not the chosen heir of the throne. With all the prophesying of his death, his parents declared another heir…

Prince Ambrose Duncan Cousland Theirin - Another three years after the birth of Ariel, the king and queen welcomed their third child, another son. He was born on time, appearing healthy, with gold hair and light, reddish eyes. This was not the celebration one might expect. The kingdom still remembered Eleanor, her parents most of all. She appeared healthy at her birth as well. It is said that for months, the queen barely slept. She refused to set him down, to hand him to nurse for one moment. She simply spent her days aimlessly wandering the halls with him in her arms, or sitting in Ariel’s room. Holding her sons like they may be torn from her at any moment.

She only slept, truly slept, when the sun set at the end of his second months of life, and rose on his third, with him alive and as healthy as the day he was born.

While Ambrose was the younger child, it was all but guaranteed he would outlive his brother. Thus, he was named the heir, raised and trained to be king from the moment he could speak.

Ambrose grew to be a handsome boy, with a presence and voice to command a crowd. He has the smile, the confidence, of a king. Though, some may choose the word arroganceinstead. He speaks about the throne as if he is owed it, as if only he would ever be fit for it. It could be argued, that this attitude was fostered, intentionally or not, by him constantly being told he alone is the future of Ferelden. It could also be attributed to a cry for attention, to draw his parents’ eyes away from his frailbrother, and to him, the one who trulyneeds it.

Some find this “spirit” appealing. A king should want to be king, a king should care. Others are weary. Many remember Cailan, and to them Ambrose is too similar in both face and mind. It scares them, the thought of him wearing the crown through a crisis like the Blight.

Now, even tempered, gentle Ariel, perhaps hecould lead them through it…

So… what are the king and queen to do? Do they restore Ariel’s birthright as the eldest child, and declare him heir, despite his fragile health and lack of training? Or do they keep their heir as Ambrose? The one who hasstudied his whole life for this, but has come out of it arrogant? Or do they stand aside, and hope the brothers can decide for themselves in peace?

______

So yeah! There’s fankids volume 1. This is meant to be a pretty… messy situation. Alistair and Raena love their kids and are trying their best, but it’s tied up with “duty” and well, constantly being told one kid was doomed from the start combined with the trauma of losing their first baby. They aren’t perfect, and they truly believed they were doing what was best.

The boys have very complicated feelings towards each other- well- sort of, it’s a bit one-sided on Ambrose’s part. Ariel holds no ill will towards Ambrose at all, but Ambrose sees Ariel as his rival in both the throne and his parent’s attention. Ariel is constantly extending olive branches to Ambrose and he’s constantly turning them down. Ariel also doesn’t notwant to be king either, he just isn’t willing to hurt his brother to get there.

So I may have stumbled into a new OTP…

Some DAO drawings.

I liked that helmet soo much in the game!

My Warden, Cecil Cousland and Alistair Theirin from Dragon Age: Origins. :)

Victory!!!