"You are not a man known for your honor, but I believe you wish to be. You allowed me to live once, and so now I do the same for you. Perhaps if more of our people lived by honor, we would learn to trust each other long enough to live together." - Calenhad Theirin
These very words are what began Calenhad's rise to power when he met Arl Myrddin on the field of battle. At the time, Ferelden was little more than a collection of independent airlings vying for power. In a bid of kingship, Myrddin has moved against Arl Tenedor, killing him in battle. Until Myrddin fought against a squire by the name of Calenhad in one-on-one combat, who proved victorious.
Myrddin knelt before the squire, he declared he would never be king, he'd realized who should be. This established alliances to Calenhad's side, for he, would become Ferelden's king.
Hello Thedosians and welcome back to my channel. This video we are talking about the Theirin bloodline, Calenhad, as we know it, is the harbinger of this established family who sits on this throne for ages to come.
Commoner:
Calenhad was born in 5:10 Exalted as the third son of a Highever merchant on hard times. He was eventually sent to a distant cousin, a poor young knight named Ser Forannan, who made Calenhad his squire and dog-handler. As the Qunari says in the Koslum, he was born in destitution, with no real strength. But he was always ambitious and struggled to gain knowledge that might bring him power.
Ser Forannan and his squire Calenhad became caught up in one of the wars of unity at the time: Arl Myrddin was a strong but generally disliked man who was making a bid for kingship.
Forannan's own lord, a young fool of an arl named Tenedor no older than Calenhad, was besieged by Myrddin's forces at his castle, today known as West Hill. When Myrrdin called Tenedor out to parley, the young arl asked for a volunteer from among the squires, someone who could masquerade as Tenedor in the parley party. Calenhad kneeled before Tenedor and asked for the honor.
— Codex entry: The Legend of Calenhad: Chapter 1
Squire:
Calenhad, someone who could masquerade as Tenedor in the parley party. Much to Tenedor's and Ser Forannan's dismay, Calenhad immediately identified himself to Arl Myrddin. When asked by the arl why he was here, Calenhad explained that he had been asked to take the place of his lord.
The arl said that he had planned to kill Tenedor—was Calenhad willing to die in his lord's place, as well? Calenhad impressed Myrddin and his allies by saying that he was. Myrrdin offered Calenhad a place as his own squire, but Calenhad refused, stating that if Myrddin had planned on betraying the right of parley, he was no man of honor.
— Codex entry: The Legend of Calenhad: Chapter 1
However in the final assault, both Tenedor and Forannan were killed, but Calenhad found himself in one-on-one combat with Arl Myrrdin. And in front of all Myrddin's allies, Calenhad defeated the arl and commanded he call off his armies. At this point, Myrddin was indebted by Calenhad's reach to honor, and pledged for his loyalty.
Ally:
Calenhad struck down Myrddin's reach for a throne and established allies around the Ferelden lands. Even to wed Myrddin's daughter Mairyn. His reputation for honor spread, as did the knowledge of other advisors would come to play in his venture to kingship.
As Calenhad began his campaign across Thedas, claiming fealty after fealty, he was met with strange greetings, occurrences, and trials from the Banns and Teyrns of Ferelden. Many of which who did not wish to bow before the ambitious commoner.
It was during a march in the lowlands bannorn that Calenhad would meet his most famous companion and dearest friend, Lady Shayna. She was a proud and powerful warrior, who agreed to fight by Calenhad’s side from the near start.
Another ally for Calenhad was Aldenon:
Aldenon the Wise was an apostate mage from the Frostback Mountains, he claimed. He served Teyrn Tenedor the Younger as an advisor during the time Calenhad came under the Teyrn’s employ as a squire.
Aldenon would become taken by Calenhad’s “foolhardy honor” of the battle with Myrddin. When Calenhad returned to his Teyrn unharmed and without settled terms, Aldenon immediately gave his notice of resignation to Tenedor. He explained that when the conflict ended he would leave the Teyrn’s side to advise another.
So when Tenedor fell during Myrddin’s march and Calenhad was named Teyrn of Western Hill, Aldenon the Wise happily took his place next to Calenhad as a most trusted advisor.
When Calenhad recruited many allies and grew his forces to unify the nation, Aldenon suggested that Calenhad journey deep into the Brecilian Forest to seek more help. Listening to his advisor, Calenhad traveled into the forsaken woods and against all odds managed to return with Willem Halfear and his Ash Warriors. The Ash Warriors would be pivotal in Calenhad’s march, despite lacking numbers. They would turn the tide at the Battle of White Valley, giving Calenhad and Shayna the opportunity they needed to fell Teyrn Simeon.
King:
Calenhad was unstoppable, and by 5:42 Exalted, the war for Ferelden had come down to one final battle against the collected forces of Simeon, Teyrn of Denerim and the most potent nobleman in the land. Calenhad persuaded the Circle of Magi to come to his aid, as well as the Ash Warriors, and in the Battle of White Valley, he famously defeated Teyrn Simeon and united the nation.
— Codex entry: The Legend of Calenhad: Chapter 2
During the battle, Simeon had almost killed Calenhad, until Lady Shayna intervened and took the wound for him, slaying Simeon.
Calenhad was crowned king in Denerim that year, with Mairyn his Queen, but he spent much of the months that followed nursing Lady Shayna back to health.
King Calenhad's Ferelden was peaceful for a time, with the Chantry spreading quickly under the King's guidance.
The common folk celebrated Calenhad as one of their own who had achieved the impossible, and trade opened up with many outside lands for the first time in Ferelden's existence. But, as with many such golden ages, it was not to last.
Betrayer:
However, Calenhad believed deeply in the word of the Maker and so he had sent word to the Chantry as well, arriving back to Aldenon with the Warriors, Templars, and Circle Mages. Aldenon grew furious as he and Calenhad had never agreed on the Chantry’s standing. He believed the Chantry’s ideals went against every freedom Calenhad had wished for his united nation and so he left his friend’s side, resigning as his advisor and disappearing into complete obscurity.
“A civilization cannot be civil if it condones the slavery of another. And that is what this Circle is! But by accident of birth, those mages would be free to live, love, and die as they choose. The Circles will break—if it be one year, a decade, a century, or beyond. Tyrants always fall, and the downtrodden always strive for freedom!”
— Aldenon
Calenhad's legend tells that Lady Shayna harbored a love for her king that went beyond friendship, a love that she had kept secret out of her sense of duty and honor. When offered a love potion by a witch in disguise—a witch who would later turn out to be the vengeance-seeking sister of Arl Simeon as who Lady Shayna gave in to temptation.
She used the potion on Calenhad, but Queen Mairyn discovered the two of them together that night, and, broken-hearted, fled Denerim to return to her father. She told Myrddin everything, and he angrily threatened to revoke his support of Calenhad and begin anew the civil war.
Lady Shayna filled with the grief of the manipulation of her best friend's heart, against Calenhad's orders, confessed her use of forbidden magic to the court. Lady Shayna went alone to Mairyn to plead for peace and plead her case, only to be found out by Myrddin and slain.
Angered, Calenhad challenged Myrddin to an honor duel, a fight neither of them wanted but both knew was necessary, resulting in Myrddin's death. But the death of the king's greatest ally, an important arl, was too much for the young Ferelden kingdom to bear.
In the threat of a civil war questioning the alliance of his throne, Calenhad went to his wife one last time then, although none know what he said to her, after that he simply vanished. He left with Mairyn a proclamation abdicating his throne in favor of the son his queen carried in her belly, who eventually ascended to the throne.
Another story, later on, proclaims Calenhad was trying to find his old and trusted advisor mage Aldenon after he fled the Ferelden throne. He sought out Marterel the Elusive, Aldenon's apprentice mage who survived against the Circle's towers, and asked where Aldenon might be. Marterel the Elusive was only convinced to tell his masters location once Calenhad spoke of his life story to Marterel.
Aldenon calls himself a 'keeper of secrets', and some speculated him to originally be named Magister Parthalan, who was an ancestor to Malcolm Hawke.
Tales have been passed down from generation to generation in the Hawke family, speaking of a mage named Parthalan Hawke. It is said that he helped unite Fereldan under Calenhad’s leadership, eventually vanishing into rumor to escape the Chantry’s wrath. He hoped one-day mages would achieve the freedom Calenhad had once believe belonged to all men. This tale is incredibly reminiscent of Aldenon, and if there was a link between the two men, it goes to be unknown.
Bloodline:
As we know, the story of Calenhad is a long one, but a man who arises to the highest amount of power doesn't come from everywhere without a success story.
Briefly, the Therin family tree began to go in order after this:
King Calenhad the Great, married to Queen Mairyn
King Weylan I - the son of Calenhad Theirin
Queen Fionne Theirin - ascended to the throne in 6:18 Steel
King Arland
King Vanedrin
King Brandel
Queen Moira Theirin
King Maric Theirin, married to Rowan
King Cailan Theirin, married to Anora
Alistair Theirin (King, conditionally)
Heirs:
To be quite frankly honest, the Theirin bloodline is most-likely not survivable in the next Ages to come....
Ultimately, there is no monarchy in Ferelden unless the Landsmeet consent to be governed. Any potential heir of Anora or Alistair would have to convince the nobles of Ferelden that they are the best suited to rule, which, if either together, or individually in any world states. Their heirs, if any, are holding the thread to a Ferelden nation at this point.
Though, other dynasties might come into play to take the throne, and here are some examples that come to mind:
Bann Teagan:
Teagan Guerrin as we know throughout the games, after the Fifth Blight, Arl Eamon Guerrin elected to remain in Denerim and made Teagan the new Arl of Redcliffe.
Arl Teagan eventually returned and resumed his duties after the mage rebellion. Even as Arl of Redcliffe, he spends more time in the Free Marches than he does in Denerim, and in Grand Tourney years, the people of Redcliffe complain that they see him so little they might as well be governed by a portrait on the wall.
I guess throughout Inquisition, to now in Trespasser, potentially, we could have a bad alliance relationship with Teagan. He is the representative of Ferelden, and most likely has alliances and elected to be a representative by most trusted bannorns, Arls, and Teryns.
So unless your Inquisitor is hiding behind a Divine, the alliance with Ferelden would fall short if any, when Teagan becomes king. But, since this can be conditional in many world states, I suspect this is mere speculation...
Fergus Cousland:
Fergus Cousland is actually still alive:
In a War Table mission, The Inquisitor can send an envoy to share condolences on the Divine's loss with him.
If he was to be sat on Ferelden's throne, the Inquisitor might have a good alliance with this standard. But, to know if Fergus has any allies with other families in Ferelden is unknown to this date...
Conditionally Keiran:
(Cousland/Theirin blood/Loghain(?))
Stating this, I will have to withdraw this because I believe there is a lot more in store for Morrigan and Keiran. And it's likely not related to Ferelden, as discussed here, but more to the Old Gods, Solas, Mythal, and Flemeth.
Another Theirin rumor? (Could be to threaten the throne?)
Bodahn in Origins tells the story of 'another' Theirin from Maric,
'King Cailan is not really Maric's son you see? Maric's real son is hidden in the towers palace and has been since he was born. I suppose they feed him cakes all day to keep him content. Maybe he's simple, or a mage! Maric's real son, a mage! Can you imagine?'
— Bodahn
Okay, I most-likely believe this is just a rumor as usual, and might even be closely tied to Alistair, and not a separate Theirin, but still, it lingers in the back of my head sometimes...
Noting these examples, it only brings me back to this quote:
"There are men who inspire such devotion that everyone around would lay down their lives for them. There are men who come and go in this world, and no one notes it."- Loghain
As Loghain says, the thing the Theirin bloodline had was that. No other noble will be able to rally Ferelden in such a way, not Fergus, not Eamon, not any of the arls. Calenhad had it. Maric had it. And Alistair has it should he survive, either as King of Ferelden or Senior Warden of the Orlesian Grey Wardens. Can any Ferelden noble fill those shoes? Or will the people just see an opportunist tyrant using fear of Orlais to destroy everything Fereldeners value whether true or not? Maybe Teagan's not wrong and even if he is, he's popular enough to create a resistance that shares his sentiment. But what the Theirins have is the name, the mettle, and an inspired army.
Great Dragon Blood/Qunari Legend:
The Qunari seem to be related to this too: the power of the blood of Great Dragons is “their birthright” and the last magisters wanted to use that power to shape the Fade just like “the ancient Dreamers could” (Aurelian Titus in Until We Sleep). Considering how things are shaping up to be in DA4, I am fairly certain we will learn more about all of this.
Spoken in my last video about the Calenhad legend for Mythal:
Calenhad is only called the Great due to the Qunari legend the Arishok, tells Alistair the Qunari version of the myth of King Calenhad, in which he gained the power to unite Ferelden by making a bargain with a mysterious witch to drink dragon blood—
The witch led him to a cave where a Great dragon lay dying. Calenhad used his dagger on the ancient creature and drank some of its blood, gaining new strength that made him undefeatable in battle. A measure of this strength was passed on within the Theirin family from that time onward, and it proved to be quite a threat of strength in the bloodline, but also, those who took it as a source of power for their own.
But let's look into why such power of the blood even comes to play for this family:
Reaver:
The closest to Calenhad's legend of power is near the power of a Reaver specialization.
Reavers are warriors who use blood magic to give themselves power. It is believed that like blood magic, humanity learned how to harness this ability through Demons. To become a Reaver one must traditionally drink the blood of a dragon in a ritual, similar to the Joining. Alternatively, wyvern blood may be used instead of a dragon's to achieve the same effect in the Reaver ritual.
According to legend, told by Cassandra, the Reavers developed dragon-like attributes and terrible tempers, often killing their entire families. The tales may be exaggerated, but she considers it likely the stories are based on truth. Nyree, a reaver who teaches a warrior Inquisitor the specialization, is able to adopt a frightening appearance with dragon-like qualities and even suggesting there is some truth to these stories.
The term "reaver" is an archaic term for one who despoils, plunders, bereaves, or takes with violence. This may be a reference to both the taking of another life or flesh or the sacrifice of one's own, as described in-game.
As for dragon-like qualities besides a temper, those known Reavers would actually be changed physically (some say Calenhad's chest was bigger than the Frostback Mountains) even to the point of growing scales on the skin.
Near the beginning of the video where I speak of his sudden disappearance, Calenhad seems to kill his trusted advisor Myrddin, and to what end? Was drinking Dragon blood an effect to his anger? Did Calenhad realize his errors and anger, felt ashamed and left?
To summarize, I find it quite easy to believe now that he left due to these effects, and he saught to only one who might know of these abilities, his trusted advisor mage, Aldenon.
I guess I will end on relating the Theirin family to a strong bond not only between the power of a Ferelden monarchy but in their traits of honor in anything they strived for. The Theirin family's blood is tied on to so many powers, and with that, I hope lasts them into the next Ages to come.
Have any questions or comments, leave them below, and we can discuss them together. If you want to follow me on any other social media, check out my blog, all of those links are down below as well.
Again, thank you for supporting me, or if your new, like and subscribe to more BioWare content like this, and I’ll see you in the next video!
Comments