The Last Three Heirs to the Theirin Dynasty Are Ultimately the Same Man

Dragon Age Origins Blog image Alistair and Cailan: Two Sides of a Prior King

Minor Spoilers in this article. Read on only if you already know all there is to know about Prince Maric, Alistair and King Cailan.

Maric, before he became King of Ferelden, was a rebel prince and sometime reluctant leader to the forces fighting against the occupying empire of Orlais. In the Dragon Age prequel novel, The Stolen Throne, we see Prince Maric as both a naive and emotional boy with much charm and good humour, and as a somewhat bitter and practical man willing to do what needs to be done to free his people and secure his throne. In Dragon Age: Origins, we find Maric’s two sons – one of whom never knew him – both showing aspects of the distinctive character that defined Maric the prince.

King Cailan

Prince Maric, before the death of his mother, the Rebel Queen, and his subsequent growth and rise to his duty, had a somewhat wide-eyed and naive world view. While he was often more than he was perceived by others, he could be described as a bit of a royal brat, far too wrapped up in his own life, wants and station to notice more than his immediate surroundings. This is no small feat considering he was raised in a traveling war camp in occupied territory. Regardless, he was boyish in nature, excitable and curious, and flippant when it came to his duty. This was a well educated young man, enthralled by thoughts of adventure, but knowing nothing of the world beyond his doorstep. Charming, though. Very charming.

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When we meet King Cailan in Dragon Age: Origins, he is, in many ways, the same person. About to enter a major battle with the Darkspawn, Cailan is ever the impetuous young lord, wanting to experience the world’s darker and different elements because he finds them ‘neat’. Battles are glorious to Cailan – especially battles fought alongside legends like the Grey Wardens – even facing ridiculous odds, he was still excited and supremely confident. Unfortunately things didn’t work out quite how he had pictured them…

King Cailan was not a bad King, nor was Maric a bad Prince, and both did have a practical side (as Cailan showed when he angered more than a few powerful people in Ferelden when he suggested reaching out to their former conquerors, Orlais, for aid). Neither he nor the young Prince Maric could be truly called idiots, but both wore their naiveté and child’s eyes for all to see, which often made them look the fool.

Alistair

Alistair was the truly down to earth, ‘i don’t want any part of being royalty’ guy. This was something that Prince Maric nurtured, as well – until his heart was crushed. Loghain, his best friend, helped to drive Maric from a fun-loving, boyish man, into a practical leader who could close off his heart and his idealist virtues enough to mete out justice and vengeance on his enemies. This wore heavy on his heart and killed his innocence, quieting the boy in him, but he drove forward due to his intense commitment to his duty.

Alistair’s life was not an easy one. He was not acknowledged by his father as he was a potentially major royal problem and embarrassment (being that he was the product of a dalliance, and there was already an heir to the throne in Cailan). He was raised hard by Arl Eamon and given to the Chantry to become a Templar – a life he did not want, and did not truly believe in. These things engendered a more, shall we say, sardonic nature in Alistair…

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Like Maric, Alistair was blessed with a quick tongue and a sharp sense of humour – but this was not a man who could be considered as naive or foolish. Insecure and self-deprecating, yes – but more in tune to the ‘realistic’ aspects of human nature. Alistair, like Prince Maric in his latter days, before he claimed the crown, is capable of doing ‘what needs to be done’, even if the cost is high and the morality ambiguous. He has lines that he will not cross – but even those will be stepped over on occasion if the situation calls for it, though with a heavy heart and a ding in his spirit.

Alistair is who Maric became on the death of his love, Katriel, and who Maric might have been sooner had Maric’s mother, the Rebel Queen, died when he was a young boy. The Rebel Queen’s death, in its own time, created a duty for Maric that tempered his attitudes, but the breaking of his heart and Loghain’s manipulations are what drove him to end his own innocence – though he never seemed to adopt the long term cynicism that marks Alistair. Ultimately however, all three characters – Prince Maric, King Calilan, and Alistair – truly seem to be the same person, just reacting to different circumstances. Maric was wide-eyed, with a naive world view, a sharp wit and ‘unending charm’. His sense of duty and practicality, as well as his loss of innocence helped him to grow and change into a strong king, with a heavy heart. Additionally, there was one constant that held for all three men, regardless of circumstance: the inability to keep their mouths shut for extended periods of time. Except when brooding, of course.

What are your thoughts on the last three heairs of the Theirin dynasty, the blood of Calenhad the Great, first king of Ferelden?

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