Jeanette Cousland: My Warden
So as much as I loved my first play through of Origins and the Dalish side of it all, I’ve come to the conclusion that it wasn’t really /my/ warden. I made a Katniss character for the sake of a Hunger Games AU that I’m a part of. I made choices as Katniss and not my own character that I created.
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This go around, I made Jeanette. A human noble origin. She was sassy and stood strong in her beliefs and always tried her best to make friends, and help people, especially those that she cared about most. She was very protective of those close to her because they were she had left since Howe betrayed and killed her family. She could be easy going when she wanted to be but always saw the bigger picture and recognized when there was something more important at hand than her little pleasures.
She romanced Alistair completely by chance, actually. They just started talking, she made teasing comments and their relationship just started to blossom. Jeanette was very hesitant at first because she had never really been in a relationship and she wasn’t sure that she it was practical to start one in the midst of a Blight. But Alistair slowly won her over with his kind words, stupid jokes and sweet gestures and when he kissed her, she made no objections and dove head first into accepting her affection for the man. Jeanette learned to admire his slightly goofy nature and even found pleasure in his jokes, expect when he was using humor to avoid talking about something serious. She also made no effort to keep their romance a secret from the other party members, not minding one bit to share a kiss with him when they were all gathered by the fire. Jeanette knew that Alistair didn’t want to be king, but she had to do what was best for the kingdom and after Anora gave her up to Loghain’s guards at Howe’s Estate, she didn’t trust the woman to be in the same room as her, much less trust her to run a country. So when the Landsmeet came around, Jeanette supported Alistair. She encouraged him in killing Loghain and when asked who she thought should rule, she made no qualms about saying she would rule by Alistair’s side. She knew that she could fix some of the wrong that she had seen through Ferelden as queen and she didn’t want to have to leave Alistair behind. Taking the throne with Alistair was slightly selfish of her because she wanted to be with him. She loved him enough to be selfish for once in her life.
She became very close with Morrigan. She enjoyed her sharp comments, witty nature and her bluntness. She also really admired Morrigan’s magical ability and knew that she was a good asset to the team. Like Morrigan, the last thing Jeanette expected was to find a friend in the Mage, but little by little, their comments and interactions turned into the loose bonds of friendship and when Jeanette presented her with the replica mirror like the one Flemeth had smashed, it seemed to seal the deal, even causing Morrigan to go so far as to ask a favor from Jeanette. Jeanette had never been one to turn down a friend in need. Jeanette agreed to kill Flemeth for Morrigan. Near the end, Morrigan admitted Jeanette was her first real friend and she even viewed her as a sister. This warmed Jeanette’s heart because she had never had a friend quite like Morrigan. Jeanette was heartbroken that she disappeared after the Final Battle. She still misses her friend.
Leliana was something else in Jeanette’s eyes. For the longest time, she couldn’t decide if she thought the woman was crazy or not. She spent extra time talking to get and getting to know her and found that Leliana as a jack of all trades, on top of being incredibly kind and inspiringly religious. Jeanette looked up to her and valued her advice and support above most people in her party.
Sten was hard for Jeanette to please. For a long time she wondered of she had made the right choice bringing him along, getting him out of that cage, but just led a different lifestyle and once Jeanette learned to understand that, she respected their differences and they grew a mutual respect for each other.
Zeveran. She knew when she decided not to kill him that he would be useful to the group, but she never expected to find a friend in him. They swapped snarky comments, shared stupid stories and jokes all of the time. He wasn’t the best at advice, she could always count on him to brighten a dull mood. She was grateful that he had come along.
Wynne was someone that she never expected to have such an impact on her life. She was a wise, old Mage with advice that stretched for miles. Jeanette and Wynne didn’t always see eye to eye, especially on her relationship with Alistair, but Jeanette had nothing but respect for the woman. She was a mother like figure in a time when everything seemed hopeless and that was a bright light in the darkness that surrounded them.
Oghren was a character. He was always teasing her, trying to get her going like an uncle or a cousin would. He would poke fun at her hair, or her goofy looks at Alistair and she would throw jokes right back about his breath or his height. They would always laugh it off and are only serious with each other if they needed to be. He was his own kind of special.
As far as quests go, Jeanette tried her best to do the right thing. They started their journey in Redcliffe where she agreed to help the villagers clear the town of the awful creatures that were roaming the streets. Jeanette didn’t want to see hundreds of other people lose those family like she had. She HAD to do something. She couldn’t just sit by why people died. Especially not if there was something she could do about it. After that, they entered the castle and when they encountered Jowan, she chose to leave him in his cell. Jeanette and her party fought their way to the main floor where they encountered the possessed Connor for the first time. Jeanette wanted to save him so she took her time to weigh her options. So they traveled to the Circle next. Jeanette and her party fought their way past abomination after abomination and finally managed to reach the Sloth Demon. Jeanette fought her way through the Fade to save her friends. It wasn’t really about the Circle anymore. She wanted to save her friends, people she considered family. She defeated the Sloth Demon and their party traveled forward. She did not side with Cullen because she wanted to save anybody that could be saved. Jeanette didn’t believe in killing for the sake of killing. She only killed when she felt it was needed. Jeanette, all though high born and well educated, could sometimes be bad with her words when put under pressure. Her conversation with Uldred lead to an encounter with him that made it impossible for her to save the remaining Mages in the Harrowing Room. Jeanette was heartbroken because she truly believed that they did not deserve to die. Jeanette was under the impression that she could seek the Circle’s help in curing Conner but for some reason, there was never an opening to ask and it made Jeanette’s blood run cold because she knew her other to options were gruesome.
After they finished their business at the Circle, Jeanette and her party traveled back to Redcliffe to take care of the demon within Connor. Jeanette was a fairly religious woman and as much as she hated the idea of slaying a child, she hated the idea of Blood Magic more. Fighting evil with more evil could only be bad news. She, much to her dismay, opted to fight the demon in the castle, which meant that Connor must die. His mother’s pleading almost had her change her mind, but Jeanette knew, that as horrible as the situation was, it was the only way. She and her party fought the Desire Demon and killed Connor.
Jeanette was devastated by what happened at Redcliffe and she felt like she was slowly losing her grip on who she was. She knew it was the right choice, but it was hard to deal with the fact that she had killed a young boy. She spent days on their journey to Orzamar wondering over and over again why she couldn’t seek aid from the Circle. She tried not to let it bother her too much but it weighed heavily on her conscious.
When they arrived in Orzamar, she was surprised by the troubles they were facing within their nobility. Knowing how much of a pain that troubles like that could be, Jeanette really didn’t mind helping them out in order to get their assistance in the Blight. She decided to side with Behlen because he seemed more likely to help the dwarves love forward instead of sticking to the traditional ways. Anything that could help better the lives of people was something Jeanette was on board with. She got the support of the Daces, eliminated Jarvia, which included lying to the shopkeeper in Dust Town for information. Jeanette was honest with the people she cared about but she had a master tongue and loved to use it on those she didn’t. Finally, they set out to the Deep Roads to find Branka so she could settle the whole dispute over who should be king. Jeanette had a horrible feeling about the Deep Roads and her fears turned out to be warranted when they found out what happened to most women that travel the path of the Darkspawn. She lead the expedition to kill the Broodmother and destroy the Spirit Apparatus. After which, they foind Branca. Jeanette was thoroughly convinced that Branca was crazy beyond help and far too obsessed with the Anvil of the Void and using it for power. Jeanette didn’t hesitate to side with Caridain despite Oghren’s disapproval. Jeanette and her party defeated Branca and convinced Caridain to show his support for the king since Branca couldn’t. Jeanette returned to the Diamond Quarter assembly and announced that Caridain supported Behlen for king. She didn’t stop Behlen from executing Harrowmont because she believed him to be a bad man.
After she and her party fixed the mess in Orzamar, they headed to the forest where they ran into the Dalish. It turned out that they were having trouble. Many elves were on the verge of dying due to werewolf attacks. The Keeper told Jeanette that they could be cured and Jeanette hopped on the task right away. She didn’t want to see anymore death than she had to already. She and her party forged their way into the woods where they helped the Giant Oak in exchange for his wood and helped an injured Dalish hunter get back to camp before making it to Witherfang’s lair. There she is not convinced by the “Lady of the Forest” act at all. She agreed to go fetch the Keeper for a “talk” but ultimately ended up siding with the Dalish anyway because she would rather monstrous creatures die than all of those poor innocent elves back at the Dalish camp. The Keeper and Jeanette’s party successfully obtained Witherfang’s heart and cured the elves. Jeanette was so happy about being able to help the elves. It almost made her forget about the horrendous episode with Connor in Redcliffe.
After that, they followed Brother Genetivi’s findings to Haven. Things were strange there and Jeanette knew it was off the moment they stepped foot there. She didn’t trust one foot step that she took in that village and with good reason. They quickly unveiled the cult that was brewing in the city and found Brother Genetivi who showed them the Temple of Andrastae. Jeanette was in awe of the place, despite the fact that it was nearly in ruins. She wished to the Maker that she had been able to see it in its prime. They pushed their way to the mountain top where Jeanette did not agree to defile Andraste’s ashes and stupidly rung the gong and summoned the High Dragon. That was a battle they won all thanks to Morrigan. When they made it to the Gauntlet, Jeanette didn’t know what to expect. She didn’t expect the Guardian spirit to test her weaknesses at all. It somehow knew that she was constantly consumed with guilt surrounding the death of her parents and brother. She did fully believe that she should have stayed and fought it out with them. She thought that she was going to be able to handle things even after that until they stepped forward and the spirit of her father appeared. She knew he wasn’t real and that was what possible hurt the most. She wanted to reach out, to touch him, to hug him one last time. But she couldn’t. He disappeared so quickly too. She had to fights back tears. She didn’t want her party, her friends to see her as weak, especially not when they had a task to complete. Despite her emotions almost getting the best of her, she trudged forward, nearly forcing herself through the rest of the Gauntlet. She was determined to do this. They answered all but one riddle correctly and it took sometime, but they managed to get the bridge together. It turned out that Jeanette was worthy of viewing the ashes and stepped through the fire unscathed. She viewed the ashes and took the pinch for Arl Eamon. She hated she had to do that. She was honored that she had even gotten the chance to gaze upon the remains of Andraste. She felt terrible for taking any of them. They left the Gauntlet and made their way back to Brother Genetivi to let him know they had found the Urn. He was insistent on sharing the information about the Urn with the world. But Jeanette didn’t want the ashes to be bothered ever again, so they only way to stop him was to kill him. Another thing added to her list of regrets.
With all of their quests completed, they headed back to Redcliffe to cure the Arl. Once he was woken up and informed of the goings on, he first insisted on giving Jeanette a reward, which she refused because how could she accept a gift from the father of the boy she had killed? Eamon immediately started discussing the Landsmeet and how they couldn’t let Loghain win. They needed another candidate to put up against him and they choose Alistair.
They went through all the motions to prepare for it. They got proof of the slaves in the Alienage, they rescued Anora from Loghain (only to have her betray them to his army). Then they headed to the Landsmeet where Alistair beat Loghain in the duel and killed him. Jeanette made Alistair king and claimed she would rule beside of him. After that, it was time for the Final Battle of the Blight. Since they were to rule the kingdom and neither wanted the other to die, Jeanette and Alistair agreed to Morrigan’s ritual. As much as it hurt Jeanette to think of Alistair with another woman, especially her best friend, she knew life would hurt more without him around. They went into battle together and they emerged victorious! Jeanette struck the final blow to the archdemon and with his new title, he named Jeanette the Hero of Fereleden.
Jeanette knew that dealing with all of the loss wouldn’t be easy, especially with her wedding to Alistair coming up, that would ensure she would be queen. But she took comfort in the fact that she had a home, she had friends, people that were her family that could help her through it all.”
Wowwow. This is so long. I just wanted it for ref. Here. Enjoy my ramblings about my warden. History with some headcanon thrown in. Enjoy. Lol.
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