WoT vol 2 says in 9:31 an inquest was made upon Alistair’s parentage (around the time of his Coronation or shortly after, I’m assuming). There was no need to do this for Maric; Loghain recognized him as Maric’s son, and he looks considerably like Maric aside from the hair. The only person left to search for was his mother, but it ran inconclusive (likely because stories did not match and no woman claimed him).
It’s possible Fiona’s child is still alive and there’s a 3rd blond heir somewhere.
Maybe I’m jumping too far into this idea, but it’s also possible Fiona’s baby died, and sliding Alistair into the “identity” of the new baby (with a “serving girl from Redcliffe as the” mother”) was possibly a (politically?) safer route than keeping Alistair around the castle (or Denerim). If his true mother was noble, this would have caused serious problems - something that would have publicly shamed Rowan if Alistair’s presence was known to her, especially since she had been “wasting” away (before she died). Not uncommon for affairs to happen in times of grief/stress in seek of comfort, but a random serving girl as a mother is nothing to fret over and it would be assumed the bastard baby of a servant would always be a servant. Only a noble mother would have caused problems that required needing to hide Alistair. If Alistair’s “mother” had really been just a serving girl in Redcliffe, he would have been born there and never seen as other than a servant to the world. Regardless, he was still told his mother died when he was young; this could mean anyone.
Alistair needing to be hidden from Rowan means Alistair is NOT really born in 9:10, but at least 9:7
or earlier; is it too much to speculate him being Cailan’s fraternal twin but hidden for some odd reason? Not unheard of in medieval eras,
because Rowan died in 9:8
(if the boys were twins this would match with his mother dying when he was young);
no need to hide Alistair from Rowan if she’s dead. Sliding Alistair into the “position” of Fiona’s baby would have been a great scheme; Maric seemed to feel guilty about his affairs regarding Rowan, so likely not done in spite, but a scheme nonetheless. Raise the child to believe he was born after Queen Rowan died under the pretense of his mother (died during childbirth) was a servant removes the political implications of a noble affair;
married or not, a child of a noble woman is still a noble, and if the father is King, a male child falls in line for the throne (eligible more so than other potential nobles) -
Maric having an affair that produced a secondary heir while Rowan was deathly ill (probably bedridden) would certainly be disrespectful to his dying Queen.
Alistair being the son of a noble woman actually gives Loghain more reason to turn on Cailan after Maric dies - can’t take it out on Alistair, but he can get revenge for Maric cheating on the Rowan (the woman Loghain loved) and play it off as Cailan cheating on Anora/corresponding with Celene disrespected his daughter and needed permanent correction.
Back to if Fiona’s baby is alive: In DAI, Fiona asks about Alistair as if he were hers. He looks like Maric (almost identical), so she probably assumed he was her son based on looks alone; reading about the 5th Blight might confirm this for her if it mentions Alistair was born in 9:10 (like the wikia says). However, the GW expedition Maric took with Fiona, Duncan and the others in The Calling took place over the course of 9:10. There was not enough time for them to undergo all those months
including the Architect’s lair plus the battles in the Deep Roads plus the mage ambush plus return to Denerim
AND still be time for Fiona to complete a pregnancy and give birth. There was no mention of her looking pregnant to Maric by the time she and Duncan left for Weisshaupt together
they were in Denerim with Maric for a time after Maric announced the GW’s back into the country; Alistair says there is a GW Ferelden headquarters in the palace itself
so Fiona couldn’t have been more than 4 months pregnant (not obviously showing) - adding to Maric’s utter surprise Fiona returned with a baby. Her baby could not have been born until 9:11. Fiona could not know Alistair wasn’t hers though n DAI; Alistair was brought up to believe certain information, and she never spoke to him throughout DAI so she could not have compared stories. She only saw a man who greatly resembled Maric.
Alistair’s Mother’s Necklace - it was always strange, too, how Fiona - a mage - had a Chantry amulet. She was not a religious person
religion being very different from spirituality, a general belief in the Maker; much like how Alistair is.
But if his mother was a noble - required at least by face in Ferelden to be devout to the Chantry, or even servant to a noble devout to the Chantry - this would give reason for Alistair’s Mother’s Necklace to be a Chantry symbol, someone to whom the Chantry brought peace. (And someone Eamon respected? Why else would Eamon try have it repaired?)
Keep in mind - all the ideas I’ve written down are simply my own theories. But the Gaider’s response fueled them for sure, coupled with the inconsistencies between the book/comics/games. Too many open ends that now seem intentional.
Adding that the Wikia is compiled by fans only - NOT the writers of the Dragon Age games - in fact, the wikia is the only place that actually states Fiona is Alistair’s mother.
Between Maric’s comment in Until We Sleep, the Codex entries, the misalignment from The Calling, Gaider response, I’m inclined to believe Fiona is not Alistair’s mom. Either her baby died (Tainted?), or a 3rd heir - a blond son, born in 9:11 Dragon Age is still roaming Thedas and will make an appearance in DA4, maybe even take part in the dragons returning; something Flemeth & Yavana tried to make happen with Maric and Alistair.
