"An enemy that can be turned into an ally is far more useful to me than a corpse that's good for nothing."
Paragon Elena Aeducan was the second child and only daughter of King Endrin Aeducan and his Queen. After being framed for the death of her elder brother, Crown Prince Trian, she was recruited into the Grey Wardens, and would later go on to become the Hero of Ferelden and (sometime) Commander of the Grey.
Overview[]
Physical Appearance[]
Like most of her family, Elena has blonde hair and light blue eyes. Save for special occasions, she keeps her long hair tightly tied back in twin braids. Tall for a dwarf, she usually wears her grandmother's hunting armor, originally a gift from Emperor Judicael Valmont I of Orlais.
Personality[]
"I’ll tell you this only once, though given my reputation, you might not believe me: I hate needless bloodshed. An enemy that I can make into an ally is far more useful to me than a corpse that I can only use for decoration."
Witty and charming, Elena is a natural leader and shrewd politician. In most situations, she'd rather talk her way out of trouble, and make an enemy into a friend. However, if a situation seems hopeless (or she is particularly offended), she will not hesitate to kill, and will feel little regret for doing so. As a general rule, she's not particularly fond of sweeping acts of charity... at least on the surface.
An Orzammar dwarf to the core, Elena deeply cares about her people, and is eager to help reverse their decline and change some of what she saw as more archaic traditions. Even so, like many dwarves, when given the choice between what was best for appearances, and what was actually best for their race, she would often choose the former, though this attitude slowly begins to shift.
Calculating to a fault, Elena will often take her time in analyzing a situation and waiting for a "perfect" moment to strike, something that eventually came back to haunt her when her younger brother used this to his advantage. While generally even-tempered, her wrath and anger, particularly at those that meddle with her carefully laid out plans or insult her intelligence, can be something else to behold, a trait that she shares with both of her brothers.
Though she'd rather die than admit it, she deeply cares for her friends and remaining family. While not exactly what you might call a "good" person, Ferelden could've perhaps done much worse.
Talents and Skills[]
First and foremost, Elena would consider her words to be her best honed weapon. She is rarely without a witty comeback to any situation, and can often achieve her goals through charm. Despite being less durable than some other dwarves, she has a strong tolerance for ale, and was even able to stomach Oghren's personal brew with no ill effects.
That is not to say that she is entirely without combat skills. Breaking with most of her family, Elena is an archer, with her weapon of choice being a longbow. Quick with her bowstring, she would often make sure an enemy was felled with a well placed shot, before they could get within striking distance. Should that happen, however, she remains a pragmatist to a fault, willing to use every dirty trick in the book to bring them down.
On several occasions during the Fifth Blight, she had been noted to fight with a sword and shield, though most would note that her abilities with them were subpar, at best. The fact that the shield belonged to the Paragon Aeducan meant that it might have had more to do with a political statement than anything else.
Biography[]
History[]
Elena Aeducan was born in 9:04 Dragon to King Endrin Aedcuan of Orzammar and his wife. As a young child, she idolized her older brother Trian, who was some nine years her senior. When Elena was almost six, her mother passed away shortly after giving birth to her younger brother, Bhelen. While Endrin had always been particularly fond of young Elena, his wife's death only served to deepen that fondness, and it soon became evident that she was his favoured child.
In-game[]
Saved Redcliffe
Allowed Isolde to sacrifice herself to save Connor.
Sided with the Mages.
Brokered peace between the Dalish and Werewolves (at Zevran's insistence)
Preserved the Sacred Ashes.
Bhelen rules Orzammar.
Anvil of the Void is destroyed.
Spared Loghain.
Anora rules alone.
Alistair became a drunk.
Loghain did the Dark Ritual.
Post-game[]
Relationships[]
Family[]
Bhelen Aeducan[]
King and Paragon Aeducan enjoying a "friendly" game of chess. (Art by Aimo)
"Still taking the middle ground, big sister? I should've known you wouldn't give a firm answer."
Elena's younger (and favourite) brother. Closer in age than her and Trian, Bhelen and Elena were often by one another's sides as children, and later as young adults, to the eternal annoyance of their oldest sibling. Despite their father's somewhat cool nature towards him (likely due to the circumstances of their mother's death), Bhelen had never seemed to carry the same resentment for Elena that Trian had, and more importantly, he had never given indication that he was interested in politics, much to his sister's secret relief. And so, Bhelen had been perhaps one of the only people in Orzammar that Elena had loved and trusted completely. When he brought her news of Trian's impending betrayal, she did not doubt his words for a second, telling him that she'd wait until their older sibling made his move. Not until she saw Trian dead in the Deep Roads did she realize that not only had her younger brother been playing the same game that she had, but that he'd managed to outplay her.
Bhelen's betrayal brought up a lot of conflicting emotions for Elena, from rage, to sorrow, to a strange feeling of pride. Though her last words to Harrowmont had been to swear her revenge, she found that despite everything, she couldn't quite hate the brother that she had loved so much, even after all that he had cost her. Upon her return to Orzammar, she immediately sought out her brother's Second, not entirely sure whether she meant to support him in earnest, or double cross him as payback. Even after speaking to Bhelen again, with the two of them being honest (in a fashion) with each other for the first time in years, she remained secritive with her true intentions, even approaching Lord Harrowmont with evidence obtained from the Carta that Bhelen had ordered Trian's death, ensuring that both candidates for the throne held her in high regard. It was only after the long trek through the Deep Roads in search of Branka that she knew what must be done. Making sure all of Orzammar knew that it was the Paragon's will that she choose the King, she gave her brother the crown, never regretting her choice.
While the relationship between brother and sister was forever changed, in time they regained much of the closeness that they had once enjoyed. Elena's support proved instrumental in pushing through Bhelen's more radical reforms, while Bhelen's genuine gratitude (and willingness to ensure that the Shaperate "corrected" certain points about her exile) deeply touched his sister. While attending to business on the surface, Elena would serve as an unofficial "ambassador" of sorts, shoring up influence. And during Elena's extended stays in Orzammar over the years, many could not help but wonder if the two of them had planned it all from the start; a pair of vipers, a paragon and a king, leading House Aeducan to heights that no one could have dreamed of.
Such rumours, though useful, had little basis in fact. Still, Elena couldn't help but feel that somehow, she'd failed her younger brother by allowing him to become even more calculating and ruthless than her.
Trian Aeducan[]
"I'd watch that tongue of yours, dear sibling. Father won't live forever."
Elena's older brother and Crown Prince of Orzammar. Although she once deeply admired him, that admiration had turned to annoyance as she had aged, and then dislike. Endrin's obvious favouritism hardly helped their relationship on Trian's end, and Trian's insistence that she be married, and act as a more "traditional" noblewoman did little to endear him to her. After a number of escalating incidents, and Trian's continued insistence that once he took the throne, she would be married to one of their noble allies, Elena decided that the best solution to her "problems" with her elder brother would be to take the throne herself. Little by little, she bought favours in the Assembly with smiles and careful words, and soon, it started to become less of question of "if" Trian would have to be killed, so much as "when".
Still, when Bhelen told her of Trian's so-called intentions to move against her, she told her younger brother that she would wait until she saw what it was that the Crown Prince planned on doing. While she had prepared herself for some manner of confrontation, she hadn't expected to find him already dead on their brother's orders. And she definitely didn't expect to feel as much regret as she did upon seeing his face again in the Gauntlet.
To this day, she can't help but wonder if she would've been able to kill him if Bhelen hadn't done it first.
Endrin Aeducan[]
"I sent my only child into an uncertain exile. Know that whatever you do now, you bear all the honor and pride of House Aeducan."
Elena's father. It's complicated, but not quite as complicated as Bhelen.
Rica Brosca[]
Bhelen's wife, and Elena's sister-in-law. Though Rica was initially deeply disdainful and distrustful of the other woman (thanks in no small part to Bhelen's lies), the two eventually became close friends after a manner, with neither woman having had a sister before.
Significant Others[]
A well-earned celebration post-Blight with Zevran and Gorim. (Art by Aimo)
Gorim Saelac[]
"You will always be in my heart, but we both knew it wouldn't truly work out."
Elena's first love.
Zevran Arainai[]
"Cruel to the end. This is why I adore you so."
Elena's second love and current partner.
Companions[]
Sten[]
"If you hope to slay the archdemon with wit, you may want to arm yourself first."
Oghren[]
The only other dwarf in the party, and therefore one of her closest friends by default. A fun guy to party with and a surprisingly decent warrior.
Shale[]
A fucking golem and a surprisingly good friend. Sort of counts as another dwarf so she's cool.
Morrigan[]
Pretty cool, and Elena would've been DTF if the Dark Ritual was available to women.
Alistair[]
Her replacement little brother figure. Ironically screwed up his life more than she screwed up her actual little brother.
Leliana[]
It took a while to warm up to her until Elena found out she was down with murder. Best murderpope ever.
Wynne[]
YOU'RE NOT MY MOM I DON'T NEED A MOM SHUT UP.
Loghain[]
Her second Dad.
Trian the Second (Dog)[]
Much more agreeable than his namesake.
Sigrun[]
A good friend. Don't call yourself trash, you're a dwarf, betraying your friends is like on the lower end of trash things you could've done.
Nathaniel[]
"My boyfriend and my brother both wanted me dead, and your dad's boss was a pretty cool guy. Why wouldn't you think I'd want to recruit you."
Anders[]
Pretty funny but not likely to start a revolution that disrupts the lyrium trade.
Velanna[]
Kind of a jerk, but all the Dalish are so it's not like she can help it.
Justice[]
A real square and definitely likely to start a revolution that disrupts the lyrium trade.
Other Important Relationships[]
Anora Theirin[]
Her sister from another mister.
Pyral Harrowmont[]
Her father's best friend and a walking metaphor for his legacy. The fact that she got him killed says a lot.
