#andraste cousland

[bumblewarden]

#dragon age #dao #dai #da2 #origins #inquisition #the grey warden #hero of ferelden #champion of kirkwall #inquisitor #herald of andraste #aeducan #amell #brosca #cousland #mahariel #surana #tabris #hawke #adaar #cadash #lavellan #trevelyan #polls

[burn-with-the-house]

WHY THE HELL WOULD WYNNE SAY THAT ABOUT ALISTAIR PLEASE LEAVE HIM ALONE. GOOD GOD THE DOG ALLEGORY IS GETTING LESS FUNNY

#give him a break #jesus #andraste even #cas plays #dragon age #dragon age origins #naoise cousland #alistair theirin #dragon age wynne

[vigilskeep]

It does not matter in the grand scheme of lineages and succession drama but. It is important to me that people know about the Soldier and the Seawolf song. You probably know already. But just in case. Top tier Cousland lore.

it means everything to me

#when i say isabela makes hawke teach her good fereldan sea shanties to make everyone sing in the hanged man this is what i mean #anyway i cant believe she only let him get to great andraste what an ass #bryce cousland #eleanor cousland

[sizhuibattleguqin]

@thewardenqueen​ gets a starter (still accepting)

The Inquisitor.

This is what they were calling him and he wasn't sure he liked that or not. Being shoved into a mold  by the people was not something he enjoyed it was why he rebelled against being the Keeper . Helping the people however was a draw to him. He took a soft breath as he approached the Warden Queen. He knew how to conduct himself among nobility. He wished he could have brought some of the others but they would have made a tense subject even worse.

Hands together around the blade hilt Lan Sizhui bowed to her. "I bring greeting to you, and wish we could have meet within better circumstance. I am Lan Sizhui most recently f Skyhold--the people call me the Inquisitor " he  righting himself immediately. "I am sure you have seen Rift in the sky that keeps weeping creatures." he said softly getting to the point " So I wish to combine forces to help protect the people from them until we can deal with the troubles"  violet eyes regarded her hopefully. "I came to you first because your reputation proceeds you."

#Verse: The glory of Andraste // The Inquisitor #thewardenqueen #Avery Cousland #(( I figured we could work up to her going to kick the asses of grey wardens not following the code )) #((lol )) #Starter

[immawraffle]

Headcanons for the Origins Crew

Morrigan likes to fly ahead as a crow while the rest of the party walks; this is partly to scout, but mostly so she doesn’t have to deal with their nonsense

The first time Morrigan sets up camp away from the rest of the party, someone asks what she’ll do if a darkspawn sneaks up on her in the night and they’re all too far away to provide assistance. She replies, “if that happened, you’d all already be dead.”

Leliana sings campfire songs and tells great bedtime stories.

Leliana once made everyone flower crowns. Griffin (the mabari) wore it with pride but eventually ended up eating it, Sten secretly really liked his, Morrigan completely refused to wear one, and Shale mostly found it ironic.

The real reason they walk everywhere is because none of them know how to ride horses (except maybe Cousland).

Alistair was banned from cooking after one of his attempts literally gave everyone food poisoning. They are still unsure if this was on purpose or not.

Zevran is actually a really good cook. He constantly bemoans his inability to properly capture the essence of Antivan cuisine with their poor Ferelden rations.

Morrigan is also a good cook, but doesn’t want to play the housewife as designated cook. She doesn’t mind being on rotation though.

Wynne can cook, but only by following a cookbook.

Leliana is an average cook. Orlais may be known for incredibly fancy delicacies—of which she quite enjoys—but she isn’t usually the one to cook them, and never while on the road.

Wynne not only likes romance novels, she likes smutty romance novels, and reads them with a completely straight face.

One time, Alistair made the mistake of asking what she’s reading and she reads a paragraph outloud, causing his whole face to turn red. Zevran cackles and teases him about it for weeks. He never lives it down.

Wynne also enjoys opera.

Sten doesn’t know what opera is, but if he did, he’d enjoy it (this is mostly just for fun).

Zevran and the Warden had their first heart to heart in the Brecilian Forest (mainly bc that’s how it happened for me when I accidentally clicked on him while fighting werewolves and it triggered a conversation).

Alistair knows how to whittle.

One time, Shale finds a scarecrow on an abandoned farmstead and tries to take it with them to ward off the birds. It takes several hours of arguing to get her to leave it behind. (She keeps the straw hat).

Zevran either can’t pick locks bc a) that was Rinna’s job, not his, or b) Antiva uses different locking mechanism (borrowed this from overthinkingfeathers).

If you named the mabari “Barkspawn”, at least once someone has to have yelled his name at camp and caused everyone to think they were being attacked by actual darkspawn.

At least once, while the warden and their love interest are getting steamy in camp, Wynne leaned in and told them to “leave room for Andraste.”

Leliana is actually a big prankster, but she almost never gets caught.

Wynne is secretly a troll, but you never expect it bc she looks like a kindly little old granny.

At least once, two of the companions have had a fight and passive-aggressively used the warden as a go between à la “Warden, tell so-and-so that I said…” while standing right next to each other.

May add more to this as I think of it.

#dragon age #dragon age origins #dragon age headcanons #alistair theirin #zevran arainai #leliana #morrigan #sten of the beresaad #wynne #dragon age shale #‘you forgot oghren—’ no I didn’t 🙂 #I *did* forget Loghain - but I rarely have him in my party so I don’t have many for him #will add more to this as I think of it #🧇

[resol-nare]

So I saw that kiss picrew floating around my dash and suddenly remembered a moment I had when playing Dragon Age Origins. I was playing my Cousland, romancing Alistair, and we were in Haven directly after having uh, met, those cultists in the chantry. After the fight I was trying to move around and loot things when I accidentally clicked on Alistair.

And boy if that man didn't just straight up confess his love and pull my Cousland into a kiss in front of the entire party, the Maker, Andraste, and the 15 dragon cultists that we just slaughtered. All while the both of them were bruised, battered, and covered in cultist blood. Poetic. Anyways, I absorbed that moment into my personal canon and now I've made it into a picrew so it's immortalized forever

#dragon age #dragon age: origins #alistair theirin #oc: isla cousland

[harcove]

This is gonna make sense to all my dragon age ppl- but I'm writing a one-shot fic for astarion x my tav that's inspired by the part in Dragon Age Origins where you're going through trials at the temple of sacred ashes to get to andrastes urn, and there's that one trial where your character sees the person from their origin that either died or they lost (ie; cousland and their father I believe, or mahariel and tamlen) where it's just- tav seeing someone they lost in their past and it still haunts them and the aftermath of them being shaken over seeing them(?) again and how Astarion is the one who tries to comfort them and listen to them talk about this person they lost- anyways its very specific and dumb but I love the angst of it

#mine #dragon age #astarion #astarion ancunin #astarion x tav #baldurs gate 3 #baldurs gate

[psalacanthea]

WiP Wednesday

Because I am a crinimal who has yet to finish this chapter, I shall post a bit extra today. But I AM working on it this week! When I can :)

Here is a little snippet of Phoebe Cousland realizing the things she is starting to resent Duncan for...well, she's already done herself. Being a Warden is complicated. And awkward. Especially when your practicality is at war with your overdeveloped (and somewhat myopic) empathy.

From the Dragon Age: Awakening fic found here!

...

Everyone had a bottle close to hand, which Phoebe felt conflicted about.

Survival needed a sober companion.  But…sometimes instead survival needed a companion able to keep moving on, no matter what it took.  The Blight had taught her that.  It was…regrettably why she put up with Oghren’s drinking more than she should.

She had seen all the horrors that haunted him first hand.

But Phoebe needed to find a line where helping didn’t become hurting in the end.

“Where is Justice?” Phoebe asked, approaching the circle of mismatched seats worriedly.  Hopefully they weren’t shunning him.  He deserved companionship after what he’d been through.

Everyone around the fire glanced up at her, faces glowing in the light.

The sudden surge of guilt that washed through her made it hard to smile, but she did her best.  

“He’s patrolling and gathering up skulls to bury.  He wanted to.” Sigrun said, leaning back from the pot bubbling over the stove.  Her plated boots clanked together as they left the ground, the dwarven woman briefly balancing on her hands.  The bark under her hands crackled lightly, her log seat shifting.  “Woah!”

Velanna lifted a hand, clenching her fist.  Vines swarmed up from the packed earth, catching the log and rolling it back to anchor to the earth.  Sigrun blinked, swaying as she barely steadied herself, bark fragmenting under her fingers.  Anders reached out for her shoulder, keeping her upright.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

“Wow!  Yeah,” Sigrun said, giving a little shake of her head.    Her boots thudded back on the ground.  “Thanks!  I’m used to things being a bit heavier.  Wood’s much lighter than stone.  Everything up here feels so…”  She gestured vaguely.

“Unsteady?” Phoebe asked, feeling an odd sense of understanding.

Sigrun smiled up at her, tattooed lines shifting.  “Yeah.  It’s kind of nice.”

“It’s something I…” Phoebe glanced around, aware that everyone was looking at her again.  When she spoke, they all looked right at her.  She flushed, feeling unaccountably awkward with that idea– the implied leadership.  Maker, she’d condemned them to death.

And that was putting it mildly.

“It’s…nothing at all.” She shook her head.

Narrowed in on her own life, suffering, and duty, Phoebe had ignored what life was for others.  Danger and struggle were ordinary parts of life for others, and she’d been so, so spoiled.  Naivete had killed so many.  She’d been a fool for Thomas, and it’d destroyed her.  Father had trusted Rendon Howe, and it had destroyed everyone in Highever, not only her family.

She would say ‘except Fergus’, but Phoebe still wasn’t sure if she had her brother back, or only a shell.

Maybe he had been destroyed.

She’d been so fixated all this time on her family, on the Howes, without even thinking about all the other lives that were just as ruined.  Some of them she had ruined herself.  Of course she had seen the necessity of Wardens, and what happened when they weren’t at strength…

“Are you all right?”  Anders asked, cutting into Phoebe’s morose staring into the fire.

With a blink she immediately started moving towards the nearest seat she found, at the end of a log.  “I…nothing.”  What had she been doing?  Blessed Andraste, was Phoebe going mad?  “Nothing at all.”

“I think you answered a different question than I asked,” Anders said, puzzled.

She wanted to blurt it out, to shout ‘I’m sorry for killing you!’ from the top of her lungs…but if they rebelled, would she be left alone?  Phoebe had seen the Blight.  There was absolutely no way she would ever let it happen again.  Is this what necessity was?

“Were we playing a game?”

Her voice was high, brittle, and foreign.

Something brushed her hand, breaking into her strange, stilted bubble, shattering it.  A bottle bumped her knuckles, and her head jerked up, eyes wide.  Phoebe inhaled.  

Glancing from the bottle, up the arm, and then finally to Nathaniel’s face, she felt unaccountably awkward.  Still, Phoebe took it from him, lifting it to her lips for a sip.  It wasn’t very good, but that was what she deserved right now.

“We are trying to relax, I am told,” Velanna spoke up, almost pitying her if not for how matter-of-fact her voice was.  “I still don’t understand the rules enough.  I’m not certain how to tell who wins.”

“It isn’t a game you play to win,” Anders said.  Then he paused, clasped his chin, and mused, “or is it.”

“It is a game you play to humiliate people for fun,” Nathaniel said succinctly, extending his hand to Phoebe without looking at her.

She pretended she didn’t see it, and took another sip from his bottle.  It wasn’t terrible.  Mostly whisky, Phoebe thought.  Living in Starkhaven had a way of doing that to people, from what she’d heard. Unfortunate that it was hard to get good whisky around here.

“What game is it?” Phoebe asked, still further back in the conversation.  “How can you have a card game that no one wins?”

#da:a #dragon age awakening #wip wednesday #howe x cousland

[bumblewarden]

Happy Playing With Numbers Anniversary

Unsurprisingly, most of the Archive of Our Own data is about the same as last year's, but i was honor-bound to gather it anyway. I also looked up some basic metrics for Inquisitors that may aid me for deciding what to collect next year as well as data from the Favorite Player Background poll i ran when i first gained access to Tumblr polls. I will not be posting the pie graphs for most of the Origins as they are almost identical to last year's, but i did add a few new ones from this year's data collection at the end.

Some thoughts on the disparity between AO3 popularity and Tumblr popularity:

While there is considerable overlap, AO3 and Tumblr do not serve the exact same portion of the fandom, and even though it broke containment, the poll still represents only a part of the Tumblr-side fandom. This blog which made the poll (hi) festers about in a very elfy part of the fandom and bills itself as "The Warden Tabris Agenda". It shouldn't be too suprising that elves, especially the City Elf Origin, are more highly represented here.

The poll offers a single vote per Tumblr user, but on AO3, authors have the ability to post as much as they want about their favorite as well as their second-favorite, third-favorite, etc. And we've all seen those fics who have a character tagged who never appears.

The Tumblr poll ran for a week, but the data from the Archive is accumulative over the lifespan of the fandom. The earliest currently available fic on AO3 tagged with any individual Warden is an f!Cousland one-shot dated to November 17, 2009, two weeks after the game's initial launch.

The Orlesian Warden-Commander is the only one who receives the same percentages of fics/votes between the two popularity calculation methods.

And some other miscellaneous thoughts:

There were 15855 Warden fics tagged by Origin vs 28237 Inquisitor fics tagged by Origin. This is going to give the Inquisitor significantly more weight in the combined PC race distribution.

The data from the Inquisitors finally gives us not just an elf in first place but an elf with a majority of the fics. 46% of Lavellan fics are tagged with Lavellan/Solas, which is likely a factor. The Solavellans came in with the steel chair.

With the Inquisition data, dwarves continue their tradition of least popular (my apologies to the dwarf likers), but by the power of being the only one standing, Cadash in finally giving us a dwarf in quadruple digits.

Andras is the only Origin whose total number of fics has gone down between years. This is possibly due to many of the non-DA fics tagged with this character being removed or retagged as it was only their Unspecified/Other category which shrank. I didn't collect this data last year while it still would have been available, but it seemed a considerable percentage of non-gender tagged fic for Andras was an oc from outside Dragon Age.

Of all Origins' percentages of total fics, only Cousland went down between 2022 and 2023

There may be some correlation between the previous bullet and the elf sweep from the Tumblr poll as well as Lavellan surpassing Trevelyan in AO3 fics by volume. Relative popularity of humans is something to keep an eye on.

Now for the charts!! (Unless otherwise stated, assume the below information is reflective of the AO3 survey.)

#dragon age #dragon age origins #dragon age awakening #dragon age inquisition #the warden #hero of ferelden #the inquisitor #herald of andraste #aeducan #amell #brosca #cousland #mahariel #surana #tabris #andras #caron #kader #lavellan #trevelyan #cadash #adaar #sorry if i'm a day or two late - real life came up #but i have numbers now :D #i hope the next game comes out soon so i can have more data to play with #i have more polls planned for once it does #not that i'll delay next year's analysis for it #playing with numbers

[alannah-corvaine]

Recreated my Dragon Age OCs in FFXIV:

★ Champion of Kirkwall - Kara Hawke (mage) ★ Herald of Andraste / Inquisitor - Avalyn Trevelyan (mage) ★ Warden Commander - Elliara Cousland (rogue)

#puts them out of game order bc i enjoy chaos #and yes as usual i roll with an all human gang #hawke's the princess of starkhaven and ellie's the queen of ferelden #but those titles are awkwardly long so here they are in the tags instead #anyway they came out pretty accurate so im happy #if you ask me anything about them ill probably ramble on for an hour #misc

[burn-with-the-house]

liveblogging my origins playthrough because why not. shoutout to naoise saying "see there? that's a trap" before promptly walking into it and triggering it. best rogue ever

#THE WAY I LAUGHED #BEFORE HE WAS BLASTED BACK #it was really funny ngl #alistair looking on #“andraste this really is another noble's son” #hghghg if i take things like this as canon it makes this worldstate fucking hilarious from the get-go #tbf i should because mahanon's is more narratively written but i really am PLAYING through naoise #dragon age origins #dragon age #cas plays #text post #naoise cousland

[vigilskeep]

one of my absolute favourite tiny details is cousland’s nan insisting the warden start the telling of a childhood story, and instead of, i don’t know, “once upon a time”, cousland’s cultural go-to is before our fathers’ fathers came down from the moutains. cousland has chantry tutors but at their nanny’s knee it was alamarri folk tales, not andraste and the wyvern. i think that’s so interesting and it’s one of the jumping-off points for my take that highever let andrastianism colour its culture and traditions more so than change them, in contrast to a centre of pilgrimage and of royalty like denerim, which is more closely interlinked with, and perceived by, andrastians outside ferelden’s borders. cousland to me is always saying some slightly off brand stuff they don’t realise is weird (read: heresy) while alistair and wynne raise eyebrows at each other

#cousland: let’s pay respects to the spirit inside connor before we try anything #alistair: the demon?? #cousland: it’s still one of the maker’s first children isn’t it? #alistair: well i mean yes but— #cousland: you lay a space for the spirits on feast days you don’t ask what kind of spirit takes it #alistair: what are you TALKING about #warden cousland

[fangirlforthewin]

Dragon Age Fanfic Recommendation

Not too long ago, I had asked for some fic recommendations from you all (which I am ALWAYS accepting), and I thought I'd put in one place all the fanfics I've been recommended in case anyone else is interested and wanted to see them all in one place.

Cullen x Inquisitor

In Waking Dreams by AParisianShakespearean (AO3) or on Tumblr - Completed 100/100 Chapters. Summary: The love story between Inquisitor Lydia Trevelyan and her Commander. As the Inquisition begins and unravels, so do their own personal struggles, issues, torrid pasts, and feelings for one another. Sprinklings of other characters here and there. Slightly diverges from canon. Rated E for later chapters.

The Lion and the Halla by Samdancer (AO3) / Derpyfangirl (Tumblr) - Ongoing Summary: Cullen Rutherford has never had much luck with mages. Mages tended to view him with distrust or outright hatred for being a former Templar. And then he meets Helia- the Dalish mage who is the Herald of Andraste. As their relationship evolves, Cullen finds that not only does he have to command the Inquisition's army, but has to contend with jealous Elven apostates, lyrium withdrawal, murder games, and so much more! WHy did he let Cassandra talk him into this?

The Silver Lining by Decim (AO3) - Completed 64/64 Chapters Summary: Canon friendly re-imagining of templar-sided DA:I. POV Cullen and Elsa Trevelyan — a noble girl with a secret who is more familiar with the Game than with combat. Gradual build with a lot of character development, fleshing out of game events, and between-the-scenes detail.

Lay it on Me by Reindrops (AO3) / iamanavenger (Tumblr) - Ongoing Summary: Everyone thinks being the Inquisitor is all glory and honor. No one talks about how it's just surviving, trying to save who you can, and not letting yourself get caught up in the grief of those you couldn't. A darker story of all the hardships our Inquisitor deals with as a Circle Mage, who was not conditioned to be fighting for her life and making life and death decisions.

Alistair x Warden

In Good times and in Bad by PookatheCat (AO3) - Completed 101/101 Chapters Summary: Alistair's POV of the events during the Fifth Blight and his love for the Cousland Warden. The story follows the game with lots of extras.

Come Together by Charlatron (AO3) - Completed 1/1 Chapters Summary: So, I always hated that the only way a female Cousland could get her happy ever after with King Alistair was to let him sleep with another woman. This is my smutty way of making said affair just a little easier to swallow.

Shit Flavored Candy by ACatNamedCrowley (AO3) - Completed 1/1 Chapters Summary: Alistair and Morrigan uncomfortable, barely consensual, archdemon old god baby-making catastrophe.

#dragon age origins #dragon age #dragon age inquisition #Dragon Age fanfics #Dragon Age fic recs #AO3 #dragon age fanfiction #dragon age fanfiction recs #fanfiction reccomendations #alistair theirin #alistair x warden #alistair x cousland #alistair x amell #cullen x trevelyan #cullen x inquisitor #cullen rutherford #dragon age fanfic #fanfic recommendation

[puppypopcornpizza]

Pariahs

Warnings ➳ violence, death, child death, f!Cousland ripping Nathanial a new one because that pariah comment rubbed me the wrong way

Pairing ➳ none

Word Count ➳ 661

She watched the glowing embers of the fireplace die down, the sounds of pages turning to her right stopping every so often. Eva felt the scorn radiating from the man.

"Would you have had me execute you?"

Nathaniel gave no answer but she heard a huff and a particularly aggressive turn of a page. She faced him.

"Do you know what happened?" 

"No," his tone was like venom. Good.

"Do you want to know?" She watched him roll his eyes before speaking, "or would you prefer to sulk like a little boy whose mother told him no?"

"Tell me then, if you believe that would change anything."

He seemed almost smug with his response, the resemblance to his father had her repressing the boiling rage she felt under her skin.

"I walk into the hall to find both our fathers and a Grey Warden," he set the book down and she almost laughed bitterly at how he tried not to look interested. She'd only told this story once.

"Duncan, the Warden, said he was recruiting." She sighed heavily, "I thought I wanted to join. Your father seemed particularly unimpressed by his presence, I suppose now we know why."

"Howe apologises for the delay of his men, something about the weather. I'm tasked with telling my older brother that he leave with the majority of our armies - do you see the plan here, Nathaniel?" 

"You can't expect me to believe-" 

"Andraste's Blood, why would I lie to you about this?" She spoke almost breathlessly. "If I was the murderer that you have me painted as in your head, why would I have made you a Warden?" 

"As punishment," he looked like a child not getting his way.

"See, I thought that too when he suggested I match with your brother."

"You dare-" 

"What's interesting is that I didn't even know he had a second son. Your father was funny like that, I didn't even know you existed." 

She was sure he was physically biting his tongue, it was almost entertaining but then he spoke. 

"With all due respect, Warden-Commander," he spat the title at her like it would burn. "It was a war, and while you may not see reason-" 

"You expect me to understand the intentions of a man who would murder a child in cold blood." She kicked the chair back as she stood, palms flat on the table as she towered over him.

"To understand the plights of a man who would have seen my throat cut-" Eva made a half-hearted pull at her collar, "-while I slept, and left to die in my own bedroom." 

Her voice lowered as she leaned down, eye to eye with the blood of a man she loathed even in death. "You dare expect me to sympathise with a war monger who stormed the castle of a man who he, just hours before, called friend?"

"I didn't-" He was squirming. Good. 

"And then," she straightened. Arms crossed over her chest as she slowly rounded the table, "ripped away from my dying father and valiant mother, the man who I called mentor for a mere week gets cut down by darkspawn!" She gave a bitter laugh. "And Alistair and I are expected to end a blight."

She stopped dead in front of him, eyes boring into his. He almost looked sympathetic. Almost. 

"Tell me of your hardships, Nathaniel," an almost dangerous whisper. Daring him to speak, "because I don't think being a pariah compares to that."

There was palpable tension in the air, even the crackling fire seemed to silence at the exchange.

"I'm sorry," his voice barely above a whisper. She would not accept it. 

"You're not."

"Do you know what he said? Before he died-"

"Before you killed-" Oh, he'd found his voice. 

"-before I slit his throat, yes." Nathaniel looked scandalised, she wanted him to try. 

"'Your mother begged me for mercy'-"

"It was war-!"

"IT WAS BLOODY MURDER, HOWE."

#evangeline cousland #nathaniel howe #female cousland #warden cousland #dragon age #dragon age origins #dragon age awakening #dragon age origins fanfiction #dragon age fanfiction #fanfiction #my writing

[inquisitorismone]

Warden Valanthe Cousland

trauma-bonded with alistair after the death of her family (this would not have happened if she found fergus right away rip)

faithful to the chantry, true believer in andraste and the maker, guided by her heart. a woman of mercy except when it comes to rendon howe

kinda-sorta romanced leliana. mostly stayed on her own and just felt strongly for everyone. chose to Live

postgame fic here

her playlist: rendon howe's head on a spike

Garrett Hawke

disaster of a man

warrior, red/purple, hinges his identity on protecting bethany so almost lost it when she got taken to the circle, romanced anders

featured in the handers baby manifesto

his playlist: my father's ghost

Inquisitor Ismone Adaar

the love of my life. i would die for her

gentle giant vashoth qunari, doesn't believe in the maker but believes in helping people and choosing to do the right thing

daughter of a former tamassran

quarter elf on her dad's side

loved every one of her companions dearly. romanced josephine

featured in fics here

her playlist: how i longed to be the hero

#for pinned

[laurelsofhighever]

Fandom: Dragon Age: Origins   Characters/pairings: Alistair x Cousland   Chapter: 4/?   Chapter Rating: G Chapter Warnings: None Fic Summary: The story of the Fifth Blight, in a world where Alistair was raised to royalty instead of joining the Grey Wardens.

Read on AO3

--

Spring evenings in Denerim held a certain kind of peace, the streets not yet malodourous with the bake of long summer days, but warmed enough that the last nip of winter in the lilac air lingered as an empty threat, turning the breaths of the city’s denizens into dragonlike puffs of fog. As a young child, Alistair had amused himself with the image, imagining a set of huge wings bursting from his back, and fire burning in his belly hot enough to stave off the cold that always encroached into his narrow pallet above the stables. He didn’t have to worry about that now, sleeping in a four-poster bed in the palace, among more pillows than he could ever hope to use, but he remembered enough that he always brought blankets with him when he snuck into the alienage.

He tried to shake away the melancholy that lurked after him through the narrow gables and cracked wooden tiles. The elves kept their homes as well as they could – certainly better than when he had first stepped foot beyond the main gate almost a decade gone, before the few reforms he had managed to push past Cailan – but it was still a shabby place compared with the rest of the city. Though he would never admit it, the sight churned his stomach with a guilt born of knowing how close he had come to something similar, a life scraped out of a hovel instead of languishing in a palace. He tried not to dwell on it. Whenever he did, his mind would inevitably stray to how he had become a prince in the first place, and from there down a path of what-ifs that left a sour taste in his mouth.

“I’m getting married.”

He blinked and glanced sideways at his companion. Arthea Tabris leaned nonchalant against the chimney stack of her family home, her large green eyes bright in the gloom as she picked at the grit under her nails.

“To who?” he asked, sharper than intended. “Since when?”

She tossed him the same bored look as when he had first met her, at seven, when he had so desperately wanted to have someone like him that he had agreed to steal kitchen scraps for her and her cousins. In all the years since, sneaking away from the Cousland estate or descending from the palace, she had never shown any sign of partiality to anyone he could recall.

She slipped loose the tie in her hair, and as it fell it splashed like a spray of blood. “His name’s Nelaros,” she huffed. “You haven’t met him so you can stop looking so panicked. He’s from the alienage in Highever.”

His heart jolted at the mention of Highever, but he tried hard to school his expression into something more supportive. “Do you love him?”

She rolled her eyes. “No.”

“Like him?”

“Andraste’s knickers, Alistair, I haven’t even met him – won’t for ages yet. I only just found out but I thought you should know, since you’ll be poncing off to Starkhaven.” With another huff, she scratched a bobble of lint from her tunic and flicked it into the alley below. “It’s an arranged match, like your posh toffs do. Gotta keep the bloodlines strong, you know? There are already few enough of us elves left as it is.”

Not wanting to stoke the irritation in his friend’s voice, Alistair breathed out, leaning back against the warmth of the chimney. He glanced at her, at her frown and the sour pull of her mouth, and realised what he was seeing wasn’t rebellion, but resignation. He recognised the look from his mirror, ever since Bryce had told him he would be going to live with his brother. Passed off again.

“What will you do?” he asked.

A shrug. “Go through with it, I guess. I’d run off and find the Dalish, except nobody else has half a head on their shoulders around here, and I’m used to the smell.”

There was a pause, and he realised she was waiting for a reaction.

“Well then…” he ventured. “Congratulations?”

“That’s really all you have to say, isn’t it?”

He frowned, lost by the sudden bite in her tone. “I’m not sure what it is you want me to say.”

“Ugh.” She threw her hands up. “You’re so dense sometimes.”

There was no argument to that. Without meaning to, his mind conjured the icy sunlight of a winter day, the flash of grey eyes retreating down a gravel path.

“And you’re still giddy over that prissy shem bitch.”

“Don’t call her that,” he snapped, breaking out of the thought.

“Why not? You moon after her and she doesn’t care – she rejected you, for fuck’s sake –”

“That’s not what happened.” But the retort rang hollow. Thinking about Rosslyn hurt, thinking about how he had hurt her and driven her away hurt.

Beside him, Thea sighed and folded her arms around her knees, and for the first time her usual mask of indifference slipped into real vulnerability. “I’m right here, and you don’t even see me.”

“I…” He rubbed a hand through his hair. “Oh. Oh. Thea, I –”

“Don’t,” she muttered. “I already know we couldn’t be together, so just… don’t.”

He opened his mouth to try anyway, before deciding against it. With nothing else to say, silence fell between them, and the little light remaining in the sky seeped away. Between one blink and the next, the stars glittered against the black, in constellations he had learned to trace years ago and which would soon be the only familiar thing left as flotsam in the strange tide of his life.

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