Adaia Tabris (City elf's mom) headcanons?

Personally I've going with Rivaini born, with at least one of Adaia's parents being Rivaini. Rivain seems to have a more welcoming attitude toward elves (which could help explain how Adaia had the opportunity to become a skilled as she is supposed to be), and have a better relationship with magic/mages and more paying lip-service to the Chantry than actually being devout Andrastians (which would lend itself my Tabris' rather conflicted opinions on the two - Adaia's more liberal beliefs playing against Cyrion's more strict Andrastian upbringing).


Not quite sure how/why she came to Ferelden though and ended up fighting in its rebellion. Maybe if one of her parents was Ferelden she immigrated there and said parent found work in one of the rebellion's camps. Adaia basically said "screw that" to working in the camp and was one of the ones recruited into the Night Elves where she could make use of her skills. (Although having one of her parents Dalish would more easily explain Fang being a family heirloom. But then again maybe Adaia had a Dalish grandparent or great-grandparent...)


Poor Tabris, growing up on stories of Adaia's time during the Rebellion. Thinking of Loghain as one of the few noble and good shems, and then bam! Ostagar happens. (Love the Gollum analogy though )

The Rivaini people are noted sailors and Isabela's pirate crew often had Elven crewmates, so I don't think it would be unheard for find Rivaini sailors (or any race) in any major port cities around Thedas?

Maybe like Isabela being stranded in Kirkwall in DA2, perhaps Adaia got stuck in Denerim for whatever reason and went to the Alienage for a temporary place to stay, where she first met Cyrion?

Duncan may have gone to the Alienage to look for recruits and been impressed enough to consider recruiting her, but seeing that she'd settled down, forged friendships and relationships in the Alienage, he decided not to make the offer.

Adaia being a Rivaini sailor (or pirate) would explain how she got so adept at fighting.

Sifr - I actually kinda really like that idea, Adaia having been a pirate before coming to Ferelden. Would also explain how she learned her other skills (Tabris, especially rogue Tabris, most likely learned how to pick pockets/locks and such from their mother).


The more I sat down and did the math, the more I realized that Adaia having been a Night Elf probably wouldn't work as well time-line wise. She would have probably have had to been around 14 or 15 during their major battles (about 8:99 Blessed) to make it work, which would have put her at around 25-27ish when she had the Warden - about 5 years older than Cyrion (if you go by the toolset which puts Cyrion at 40 in Origins, but then again the toolset has Alistair at 32 when I think he's only supposed to be something like 20-23....). Not an unheard of age for a young member of local militia, but still stretching it. Although if you tweak Cyrion, and therefore Adaia's ages a little to make them older, say both about 50 at time of Origins (since the toolset obvious has at least some ages wrong), it would make her about 19 during the major battles and 30-32 when the Warden is born. A little old for a city elf to be getting married - but then Duncan doesn't say she was pregnant/Warden just born when he attempted to recruit her, just that she was recently married, so they could have been younger when married and had sometime between then and when the Warden was born (basing all this potentially fuzzy math on my warden who was 18 when conscripted).

So that second scenario could give Adaia a few years as a young sailor/pirate deckhand before getting stranded in Ferelden. Not unbelievable given that some cabinboys joined the crew young (maybe Rivain sailors aren't superstitious against women on board or she could have disguised herself as a boy), and I think the Chinese pirates took their families with them... Of course if I ditch the idea of her having been a Night Elf (not ready to do so though), her just being a sailor/pirate would mean I wouldn't have to take into account the timeline of the Rebellion at all. Something to think about...

Don't mind me, I think I've started rambling to myself at this point, lol