sideblog for @b1uewraith & follows back from the same blog; no roleplaying will happen here, just dumping things here so i don't flood the dash. strictly 21+, by katie.
β CHARACTER BIO: ππππππ πππππππ.
name: cailan rendorn theirin
nicknames: cai (affectionately/friendly), cailan the idle (behind his back/amongst nobility)
date of birth: 5 cloudreach 9:05 dragon / aries
- dao: 25
- dai: 35
- datv: 47
place of birth: denerim castle, denerim, ferelden
nationality: fereldan
species: human
religious beliefs: andrastian
sexuality: biromantic bisexual, closeted. married to anora mac tir, queen of ferelden.
pronouns/gender: he/him, cismasc.
parents: queen rowan theirin (nee guerrin), king maric theirin. teyrn loghain mac tir, father figure & father-in-law.
siblings: alistair theirin, half-brother.
combat & abilities: sword and shield warrior.
occupations, in order of fulfillment: crown prince of ferelden, king of ferelden (9:25-9:30), grey warden (9:30-9:49), first warden of the order of the grey (9:49~).
β APPEARANCE:
eyes: grey blue.
hair: cornsilk blond; 1c, that tends to coil around his ears if ever cut short. kept long to mirror his late-father's preferred style, though he does keep the pieces framing his face braided neatly back. facial hair kept neat. very aware of his appearance at all times.
height/body type: 5'10"; athletic.
face claim: in-game model, henry ashton, (loosely) jamie campbell bower a la king arthur in camelot (2011).
my interpretation of cailan is highly canon-divergent, as he does not die at the battle of ostagar. instead, he is rescued by flemeth, and becomes a warden alongside his brother and the player character. the description of this verse can be found here.
because cailan's injuries (and subsequent blight sickness) are left to fester on purpose, his physical appearance changes somewhat. the description of these changes can be found here.
much like alistair, cailan can be a little naive & dumb /affectionate sometimes (as is the theirin way, apparently) but he is not stupid. prime example of this being the fact that he purposely assigned alistair, his brother, with the warden to light the tower of ishal at the battle of ostagar. he had the wisdom and the forethought to put contingencies in place in the event that he did not survive the coming days.
while cailan and celene were in discussions of him possibly leaving anora and securing a permanent alliance with orlais through marrying the empress (revealed in the return to ostagar dlc of dao), he did not a) intend to follow through with it and b) did not sleep with celene.
cailan is serial adulterer. he has unfortunately cheated on anora several times, and while he is remorseful in the moment, he tends to make excuses for himself. while he does eventually grow up and realize that he is a horrible husband, he is a shithead for this and it is inexcusable. repeat after me: anora deserved better. π£οΈ please note that his infidelity will be come up pretty often, so if infidelity is a trigger, it may be best that you block his tags 'isms: cailan theirin.' and 'c: cailan theirin.' .
romantic ships are complicated outside of cailan's canon marriage, considering the above point. because of this, anything beyond cailan/anora will be rare, should it happen at all, and will only happen in timelines post-dao assuming cailan abdicates and severs his marriage with anora.
replaying the scene where you meet anders to save karl, only for karl to be tranquil. etc. etc. i think about where anders is mentally with that whole scenario. he tells hawke later on that he and karl had broken up and had been broken up for some time (argument re: his escape attempts before karl is transferred to the gallows??? ouch), and yet he still makes it all the way to kirkwall to break him out. and then what? just two apostates going separate ways, leaving karl to fend for himself on his own after he's been in the circle for the majority of his life, if not entirely? what would anders do? would anders even have had the option of going back to the wardens after he deserted?
hey, warden-commander, i know your conscription was born out of begrudging kindness and like, that was cool and all, and i know i [foghorn, car crash, gunshots] after you left and fucked off to kirkwall without saying anything but like.... do you mind if i rejoin you ? also for my boyfriend too? teehee. thanks.
that in mind, i do think that anders had every intention of rekindling that friendship and even relationship with karl if they were to successfully get him out, and fucking off somewhere else again. that whole over-arching, obsessed-over and wistfully-thought-about plan in moments of desperation and hopelessness, only for karl to be made tranquil after the chantry finds out about their plot ...... to be baited by the chantry through his best friend and the first boy he'd ever fallen in love with? TO THEN HAVE TO KILL HIM? at that point everything he's worked towards is moot.
anders burning a forest and slaughtering a bunch of former-templar grey wardens. the fact that that short story ends with 'What haveΒ IΒ become?' he's terrified of himself and of justice and while we see a fragment of that in the beginnings of the romance in da2 i don't think it fully encapsulates the breadth of what anders might be feeling in that moment.
imagining him leaving for kirkwall. grappling with the spiral of i am awful i am dirty i am tainted the maker will not love me anymore i killed them i am awful i am an abomination i have ruined justice and myself i am dirty i am tai- so he provides services to other fereldan refugees thanklessly and without pay IN DARKTOWN to keep himself busy because he HAS to, refugees have to remind him to sleep because he HAS to, they remind him to eat because he HAS to; he has to keep himself busy otherwise justice won't be kept busy, he could hurt people again!!! he could hurt innocents this time and anders would never ever forgive himself for that. he is manic and paranoid and so tired in the worst way possible.
and then suddenly hawke is there. hawke is there and hawke can help. he takes hawke to karl and while the whole plot to rescue karl implodes, hawke is there and anders feels just a little bit lighter after everything is said and done , like he can take a deep breath for the first time in ...... ages. for the briefest moment anders wonders if he's found a place to call his, but how can he when it is kirkwall?
parents: mother, human, deceased. father, human, status unknown.
siblings: none.
education: blackstaff academy @ blackstaff tower in waterdeep.
combat & abilities: abjuration wizard. primarily deals in wards and protections in combat, but favors fire-based abilities. fights at a distance, typically from the back, so their allies and their opponents are in line of sight at all times (where they can help it). wields a simple quarterstaff + moleskin-bound spellbook.
occupations, in order of fulfillment: wizard apprentice, runic enchanter, defense specialist, historian, and candlekeep sage-to-be.
β APPEARANCE:
eyes: bright cyan irises against black sclera, framed with dense, dark lashes.
hair: blond, 2B; cropped close on the sides, long against the back of their neck. contrasts with their brows and other instances of facial hair.
height/body type: 5'10; flesh is orange and freckled at the tops of their shoulders and across their cheekbones. horns a grey brown, curving upward along the length of his skull on either side. nails are filed short, the same color as their horns. osteoderms forming ridges beneath pectorals and across ribcage on the torso, as well as along the outside of their calves. pointed ridges form on every other divot of their spine down to the small of their back, tapering into the base of their tail.
piercings/tattoos/notable body mods and/or jewelry: two minimalist gold industrial bars across each ear; a single, simple septum ring to match. occasionally will wear gold filigree cones at the points of each horn for embellishment, but they lose them more often than they can keep track of them, so they are rare. necklaces with long chains and pendants, charms reflecting lathendarian imagery (sunrises, roses, etc.), often worn in clusters, hanging loose against his sternum and between open shirt collars. four plain gold rings on various knuckles on each hand.
clothing preferences: long, luxurious pieces; velvets, silks, sateens, and embroidered materials in bold colors (think grape purple, emerald, royal blues with gold accents), rarely without an undershirt, but if opted for, look for billowy collars, loosefitting. formfitting trousers. boots are made of leather and well-kept but comfortable.
occupations, in order of fulfillment: junior enchanter, grey warden recruit, apostate healer; martyr to some, pariah to others.
β APPEARANCE:
eyes: amber brown, lined with dense blond lashes.
hair: strawberry blond, type 1B; straight strands, medium thickness, always worn longer but tied up out of his face.
height/body type: 5'11, 6'0 on a good day. wiry. freckled shoulders and forearms.
face claim: in-game model.
voice claim: adam howden (in-game voice actor).
β PERSONALITY:
( + ) witty, passionate, kind, deeply empathetic.
( - ) obsessive, melancholic, sarcastic, conflicted, secretive, stubborn to a fault.
mbti type: tbd.
β CHARACTER NOTES:
anders is bipolar in my characterization. i do think it can be a slippery slope, making the character that blows up the chantry at the end of da2 the one that 'shows signs of bipolar' per his writer (jennifer hepler), but it does explain the way he forms attachments and operates outside of his connection with justice. his bipolar disorder is not the catalyst that leads him to blowing up a building. for that reason, i am cool with it and plan on keeping it.
i am currently rolling with a verse following da2 where anders flees kirkwall and goes back to ferelden into a brief period of hiding, until the mage rebellion reaches kinloch. there, he begins smuggling mages out of ferelden, and can be recruited to assist in the inquisition under the possibility of a fake name. it is up to the inquisitor (and subsequently, hawke) if they feel it prudent to out him on his true identity. if he is recruited, this would further cement the chantry's distance from the inquisition.
his war table mission (rumor of a spirit healer mage smuggling mages out of ferelden; cullen's help is not an option, josephine's suggestion is to send hawke, leliana offers to send a scout to convince them to meet but it takes longer) does not appear until after the inquisition has transferred to skyhold and hawke arrives.
most people (especially mages that are new to the circle after he escapes the last time) would not know What Anders Did in da2 just by looking at him. he is a pretty generic fereldan dude, and if he were set up in a line with several other brown-eyed blond guys you wouldn't know him from joe. the only people who would recognize him right away for what he's done is the dragon age 2 cast of characters, including cullen. mages and members of the chantry would know him by name, and possibly by wanted posters.
uncomfortable things about alistair that i would like to unpack more at some point: how he is fascinated by magic as a concept (evident in his collection of runestones, etc) but stereotypes morrigan/flemeth HORRIBLY,
mages who exist outside of the circle, apostates = bad
saarebas = seen by chantry as charity cases. something to pity, because it is the qun? qunari = savages, treating their mages poorly, look how sad it is :( our mages aren't treated like that, look... waaah...
dalish = heretics, bandits, if you see dalish expect trouble, etc.
chasind = also savages, witches!!! bad!!!! scary!!!!
templar duties are explicitly described as the militant force behind the chantry and "are officially deemed a force of defenders" for not only the organization, but really for all people, at least in ferelden. fereldan templar recruits are told this early on. fereldan people genuinely believe it.
really it all boils down to something to do with chantry control. less that they (mages) are in the circle, more that they are under the thumb of chantry oversight. chantry control. chantry-sanctioned learnings, chantry-sanctioned curriculum, routines, etc. something something.
alistair is disillusioned by this (look at all of his anti-chantry commentary throughout dao, for instance) and senses this pretty early on (not that he felt he could do much about it beyond leaving, but he does state that he received more than a few "beatings" while at the monastery so i am of the firm belief that he stood up for what he thought was right on more than one occasion), but that is the interesting thing about him - he is aware that he shouldn't believe everything he is told by the chantry but he subconsciously falls prey to preordained chantry rhetoric so easily. i think that this is less a weakness on his part and more commentary on how the recruitment process of templars (and even just plain orphans living within the monastery) overwrites your own independent principles and shapes you to fit the mold needed, in their mind, to corral mages, make them useful for wartime, and ensure the system survives.
If seen in standard lighting (typically within 200β―feet (61β―meters) of the surface of the sea or near a typicalΒ torch), their eyes appeared similar to a human's. In dim lighting, their pupils expanded greatly to allow for better sight in the dark, sometimes turning the entire eye black.Β
i told harrow this last week but fenris does not know who he is without his abilities/the brands. while he did hate them at one time (and still sort of does), they've become a part of him over the past decade+ he's had them, and he's even become quite protective of them (gestures at the way he calls the markings his in reference to danarius coming after him, etc). if he were to lose them he would be losing a part of himself he could never recover and while YES he does remember parts and pieces of his life before the ritual he doesn't remember all of it. he doesn't remember his nameday (though i'd be willing to wager varania reminds him of it if they reconcile at any point). he doesn't remember things like his favorite color, the scent of his mother's hair, or anything that made him genuinely happy. imagine losing all of that, and now imagine possibly losing yet another part of yourself, all over again if the veil were to fall.
well actually no now hang on. my brain is braining
going off of this post
"they are infusing lyrium into warriors not gifted with the sense of magic." keep note of this.
keep note of the fact, too, that the veil wasn't up at this time - so a) there exists a population of elves that are not magically-inclined and b) there is an ability to imbue magical abilities on people that do not already have them, if you read between those lines. there is also a clear-cut desire to have melee-based warriors imbued with magical abilities to make them more powerful body guards by the evanuris, otherwise there would be no use for lyrium knights to begin with.
now. fenris' abilities rely on him being able to phase in and out of the fade through the veil (it's being behind the veil that makes him invisible to the eye in the first place), but also it grants him the ability to nullify incoming magical damage, etc. this would make sense for a lyrium knight protecting the evanuris to have (nullifying incoming magical attacks from enemies, etc.) but this ritual was intended to create abilities before the veil goes up. the veil, which is known for dampening magical abilities in the first place by cutting off access to the fade directly. so that couldn't be ALL the lyrium knights of ancient arlathan could do, if there was no veil at that time to begin with. there's no need to phase in and out of the fade if the beyond is already a part of their plane of existence. so what else made up their abilities?
tl;dr: were lyrium knights of ancient arlathan just warriors with manufactured mage abilities? and if the veil fell, would fenris become just that?
leaning hard into the theory that the howes and couslands were raised together. leaning harder into declan being a reactive little boy, easily embarrassed and even easier to bring to tears. clinging to eleanorβs skirts, seeking her comfort often when fergus and nathaniel bully him out of whatever they might be doing on the rare howe family visit (he swears itβs bullying but really they just want him to butt out). delilah & thomas are too young to play, but the boys are too old to want to play with him, too, and declan cousland finds himself in a constant state of vying for not only his brotherβs (and by extension. nathanielβs) attention but his parentsβ too. :β )
fast forward to bryce and rendon discussing an arrangement between delilah and declan. declan has no interest in delilah (not romantically at least - he doesnβt mind her company, buuuuutβ¦) though he does have a growing interest in the goings ons of nathaniel. he asks after him often when nathaniel is sent off to become a squire but the older he gets, the more he asks. the parents are none the wiser but upon further pressing by eleanor to prepare him for the betrothal, he panics. fergus attempts to console him, and declan ultimately spills the beans.
fast forward again. howeβs men murder his parents some months before he is due to marry delilah. his sister-in-law, and his nephew are gone, too. a man he trusted, his parents trusted, his brother trusted, now this unimaginable monster. someone who was almost an uncle to him, and now, the reason his life was turned entirely on its head and changed irrevocably.
adding on now, after arguably the most traumatic year and a half of declan couslandβs life, nathaniel shows up at the keep, declan is the warden-commander, the arl of his childhood friendβs family seat; faced with the complex he developed as a child, and now the dynamic between them that is a complete 180 from before .
nicknames/alias: the blue wraith, wolf (verse dependent).
date of birth: 13 firstfall 9:05 / scorpio.
- dao/da2: 25
- dai: 36
- datv: 47
place of birth: seheron.
nationality: seheroni, tevinter.
species: elven.
religious beliefs: andrastian, exposed mostly to the imperial chant.
sexuality: demiromantic bisexual.
pronouns/gender: cisman, he/him.
parents: unnamed, status unknown to fenris.
siblings: varania, sister.
combat & abilities: lyrium ghost,Β the name given to the activation of his lyrium brands that allows him to phase in and out of combat, often times through people or objects. glows blue before he disappears entirely, nigh untraceable at times.Β through this innate ability to channel the lyrium in his skin, he can release flares of spirit energy, knocking opponents back or stunning them; dealer's choice. he can alsoΒ mitigateΒ incoming magical damage, so long as he is expecting it. aside from this, fenris is a capable warrior, besting the majority of his opponents in hand-to-hand, and two-handed weapon combat. his chosen great sword is namedΒ lethendralis.
occupations, in order of fulfillment: body guard of magister danarius, perrepatae, mercenary, venatori hunter, shadow dragon.
β APPEARANCE:
eyes: olive green, wideset & clear.
hair: 1A; Β straight and very fine. Β born dark, that turned white and silver after the arcane ritual that gave him his lyrium brands. brows and lashes are still dark after the ritual.
height/body type: 5'3" Β | Β 160 cm. slight but defined, leanly muscled. covered in white, scarred markings from head to toe. Β Β these marks are infused with lyrium and glow bright and blue with their channeling. can be mistaken for vallaslin.
( - ) abrasive, at times β¦ distrustful β¦ stubborn β¦ choleric
mbti type: istp - the lone wolf
β CHARACTER NOTES/VERSE EXPLANATIONS:
fanon and i don't get along. i'm sorry in advance.
fenris is not an alcoholic. he goes through six bottles (through drinking and shattering against the walls of the house danarius estate in kirkwall) of a very specific wine in which he drinks/wastes to prove a point to himself and to his abuser. there are two scenes in the entire game where fenris has a bottle in his hand, last i checked. his consumption is about as normal as everyone else's in the party, i promise :' )
contrary to popular belief, fenris is in fact capable of being level-headed and reasonable. one has to remember that da2 was written from varric tethras' point of view (love him to death, this is not necessarily a bad thing) and told from such a perspective to spin a story for the seekers following the explosion of the chantry in kirkwall. things are embellished for flavor, and that does include fenris' temper.
the above being said, he does still have somewhat of a short fuse; how quickly it burns down is dependent on a few different things. the biggest factor is his mindset for the day - as fenris is a survivor of abuse and is actively recovering throughout the events of da2, he not only suffers from ptsd but chronic pain. he might come off snappy, harsh, or even cruel, but these instances are fewer and further between than the game might lead one to believe. you have to remember that we are seeing specific aspects of the champion's journey through kirkwall. there are several time skips. fenris' outbursts are concentrated in these scenarios for a reason.
if you are interested in shipping with fenris, it is important to note that no one is safe from the awkward situationship. you know exactly which one i am talking about. i have linked my post that explains it in more depth for future reference.
fenris is, up until the events of da2, somewhat avoidant of intimacy due to his past. only in kirkwall does he start to confidently branch out in his bisexuality. while he does experience sexual attraction, romantic attachment is a little harder for him to wrap his head around.
verse-wise, i have a number of scenarios that can be freely plotted within. i have developed a verse where fenris becomes a grey warden in dragon age: origins; i have a verse where fenris becomes a companion during the events of inquisition. i also have a verse where fenris becomes rook in datv. however, the main verse on this blog will follow the events of da2, as well as the comics centered around the blue wraith.
it is also canon to this blog's main verse that fenris is a founding member of the lucerni, and eventually, the shadow dragons through his (headcanon-based) post-trespasser connection with dorian pavus. while he is considered to be a decision maker, it is not known that he is a member of the shadow dragons, beyond a circle of trust. in-depth meta to come at a later date.
more to come as i feel the need to update. last updated: 7.2.26
combat & abilities: shield and sword wielding fighter, known for shouldering the brunt of combat on behalf of his ranged-fighting comrades in arms. does not feasibly have the know-how or ability to cast any templar-related abilities.
occupations, in order of fulfillment: chantry brother, templar recruit, grey warden, possible king of ferelden (up for plotting - verses for both king and warden alistair available).
β APPEARANCE:
eyes: golden brown with some green. caramel/hazel in direct sunlight. warm and expressive, kind.
hair: ash blond that lightens in prolonged exposure to direct sunlight. cropped short, tends to stick straight up at the front due to a series of cowlicks along his hairline. as alistair ages, he will let it grow in length. by the time he is in his forties (roughly around the start of datv), it is almost shoulder length, with a visible waviness shot through with streaks of grey.
height/body type: 6'1" | 185 cm. built strong and dense, though muscle definition is not present often. wide-shouldered. face, shoulders, and back covered in a smattering of moles.
his surname is only theirin if he is legitimized by the crown via becoming king. if he remains a warden following dao, alistair does not have a surname, as he is an orphan in the eyes of the chantry. his name is simply alistair.
alistair agreed to the dark ritual with morrigan. in this blog's world state, he is kieran's biological father. of course, if you are a morrigan/kieran/hof and this does not align with your canon, then we can absolutely tweak it. but generally, unless the interaction comments on it, the former can be assumed.
while alistair is a former-chantry brother originally set on becoming a templar prior to his time as a grey warden, he did not use lyrium at any point in his training despite what the comics tell you.
this is pretty widely accepted, so i don't need to expand upon this too much, but alistair is half-elven. there are only three people in the world that know his heritage for certain, and two of them are dead (i won't get into the technicalities of maric still being alive; that's another post for a different day). alistair is not one of these people.
due to his (unbeknownst to him) biology, alistair's ears are pointed, just slightly and his eyesight is immaculate; if your character points it out, he will let it roll off his back and probably make some sarcastic remark because he's been teased about both in the past; for all he knows, though, he is entirely human. unless you are the only other person on the planet alive that knows (his biological mother) or you have proof that it came from her mouth and you insist, he will not believe you.
additionally, while alistair does eventually explain to the hof that he is the bastard of the late-king, this is not something that everyone knows. unless your muse is the hero of ferelden, fiona, any one of the fereldan noble family, it is not likely that your muse will know his parentage. i would prefer if this is left up to plotting!
at the end of dragon age: origins, alistair has the option of remaining a grey warden or becoming the king of ferelden. while bioware's canon is that he becomes king and he's pretty okay at it (and this was originally my blog's canon), i think either option is viable. therefore, i am happy to write either.
i also have a verse where alistair is a mage at kinloch hold. alistair's personality and what motivates him is quite different in this verse, so it would require some pretty extensive plotting.
origamiaround
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theartofmadeline
