Some Cauthrien Headcanon

4th November 2011

Post with 31 notes

Some Cauthrien Headcanon

Just in case you ever had the burning need to know. Almost all of this is conjecture (obviously, the woman has four scenes total in the game, maximum). And if I’m doing my job right, anybody who reads my Cauth fic should already know most of this.

(Also - I obviously love this woman far too much. Something about the particular combination of physical prowess, endless loyalty, obsession with duty, guilt, and identity crisis makes her endlessly fascinating.)

But first, what we know about her from the game:

Codex entry: Cauthrien came to Loghain’s service the hard way—she belonged to a poor family and was out doing work on the farm when she saw a man on horseback being attacked by several bandits. She rushed to his assistance, and found out belatedly that the man she “saved” was none other than the great hero Loghain. Though she was hardly more than a child, he took her in, offering her a position with his soldiers, and she climbed through the ranks through sheer determination. Becoming the commander of Maric’s Shield, Loghain’s elite soldiers, was the proudest moment of her life.
Toolset: 32 years old; during Origins, Captain of the Guard in Denerim; non-feminine in presentation by choice.
Gameplay: Views Loghain as a living embodiment of Ferelden, but can be seen doubting this link, and his judgment, as early as Ostagar. Appears at his right hand while Rendon appears at his left. Is never explicitly linked with the atrocities of the war, though she undoubtedly at least carried out orders. By the Landsmeet, can be persuaded to step aside, with the actions of the Warden both stopping and saving her lord. Accepts torture as a ‘necessity’ of war, but in the context of the conversation, can be seen to be having trouble excusing Rendon Howe’s actions.

Headcanon

Is six feet tall when fully grown - notably taller than most women, and a few inches shorter than Loghain. She is broad-shouldered with a thick waist and fairly substantial hips. She takes up space. She also has a large chest, which she has conflicting feelings about and binds pretty much constantly.
Grew up by the westernmost bend of the Hafter River (possibly considered part of South Amaranthine, but without knowing what Banns are in the area, it’s impossible to say exactly).
During the occupation and before Cauthrien was born, her mother’s sister disappeared - this was whisperingly attributed to the local chevalier.
Her mother was passingly fluent in Orlesian as well as trade tongue, as were most people in the town. Cauthrien grew up with a mix of Orlesian and non-Orlesian lullabies, though as she grew up, some became more subversive. Cauthrien never learned more than a smattering of Orlesian from her family.
She has one brother (older) and a female cousin (younger) who she was close with.
Her family’s area had been heavily taxed during the occupation in terms of food resources/crops/labor. This led to a break down of the usual crop rotation schedules and clear-cutting and burning of forest land for more land when the soil became exhausted. This upped crop production in the short term, but limited hunting and trapping, as well as foraging, methods of supplying families with food. Even once the Orlesians were kicked out, Cauthrien’s family’s land was still marginally productive. She grew up hungry a lot of the time, and was clearing some of the last wooded areas on her land when she met Loghain.
She knew the people who attacked Loghain - she had grown up with them. They weren’t ‘bandits’, they were people who were half-starved, desperate, and saw a richly appointed man riding into town alone in Orlesian armor and marked him as an appropriate target.

Cauthrien had only basic self defense training when she went to Loghain’s aid.
She was fifteen and a year shy of being betrothed.
Was not like Mhairi re: Joining the army to escape betrothal/generally feminine rolls. Had she not met Loghain, it is likely she would have been quite happy living as a farmer, with a husband and children. On occasion, she regrets what could have been, but she doesn’t linger on it. She chose her path when she joined the army.
Cauthrien spent the first several years of her time in the army out of direct contact with Loghain. He kept tabs on her progress, at first out of a sense of duty (he was solely responsible for her leaving her home, after all), and then out of interest in how well she took to it.
Is passingly religious. Does not know lines of the Chant by heart, but trusts in the Chantry to support people, and defends it. However, its ties to Orlais do make her uneasy in times of tension.
Does not trust magic. At all.
Sometimes has a tattoo or two - if she does, it’s a mabari and/or the Gwaren wyvern, despite the fact that that… is not her area of Ferelden by birth.
She wore her hair cropped close until she was knighted.
However, she does view herself as a woman - or as desexed, depending on the situation.
She can fight well unarmed, with sword and shield, and with a zweihander. She is horrible at targeted archery (but can cloud shoot just fine), knife-fighting, and using blunt weapons. She is not a fighter of brute force - she is strategic above all else, and a master at group command. On her own she’s still formidable, but not as much as when she has a team she has worked extensively with at her side.
She was given her knighthood at age 27, six months (roughly) before King Maric died. At the time Maric died, she was second in command of Maric’s Shield. Though the placement gave her great pride, she also considered it a too-obvious sign of Loghain’s favoritism.
Loghain and Cauthrien never slept together. Cauthrien’s hero worship of him and close work with him after the age of about 20 produced romantic and sexual attraction, but she kept it buried as best she could, and Loghain never indicated that he was aware of it. Didn’t mean things weren’t occasionally tense, though.
Also, there were tons of rumors. And crude drawings passed around camp.
And the Orlesians think the two of them would be so romantic.
They even call her Loghain’s Dragon.
Loghain began instructing her on and off at age 18 (ongoing) in Orlesian, for the purpose of being able to interrogate possible spies or traitors, and in case of intercepted missives.
She was illiterate at the time.
She is fluent in Orlesian by Origins, both spoken and written, though she dislikes using it.
She can read common, but her spelling is atrocious.
Nice penmanship, though.
Loghain gave her the Summer Sword after Ostagar. It was a sign of his trust in her, and also a gift she could not refuse, and one that would help reinforce her loyalty to him.
Cauthrien and Anora knew each other, but not well. Cauthrien has always deferred to Anora and never assumed they were on the same level, despite Loghain’s almost paternal actions towards Cauthrien. Anora trusts Cauthrien to serve and protect.
Cauthrien’s hatred of Orlais is less strong than Loghain’s, but it is still there, and not all of it is because of him. She is quick to distrust Orlesians, and will excuse her prejudices if confronted with them.
Hasn’t had a sexual or romantic partner since before she joined the army, but had two before that. Didn’t want her comrades to see her as a woman, or as sexual at all, for various reasons. (In some settings, this changes - she has short term or one-night arrangements with non-military personnel. But that’s a variant, not my basic headcanon. Likewise, in some settings, I do have her and Loghain have a brief sexual relationship during the Blight - but it’s very variant.)
She prefers to be on top.
Is more attracted to men than women, but is largely just unattracted or possibly unaware of her sexuality to a high degree.
Has a situation-specific sex drive. With a partner, she can be voracious - but she is also highly controlled. It is hard to get her to be affectionate in public, or to respond sexually in a compromised location. Duty above all else.
Duty above all else.
Needs a purpose to follow, or else she suffers major identity crises.
Is not great interpersonally - can be very literal, or presumptive. However, she is also very good at knitting a group together on a professional basis. She is a leader… but she’s not necessarily the best friend.
Her father and brother were killed in the civil war.
They sided against Loghain.
She was present at the battle where they died.
She made sure they had a funeral.
Her mother disappeared during the Blight; her cousin still lives in that little town. Cauthrien feels too guilty to return.
During the Blight, Cauthrien often butted heads with Rendon - though never for long, and never officially. Her place was to offer support and counsel to Loghain, but Rendon often overrode her, gained Loghain’s support to force her to accept his men into the guard, etc.
Cauthrien turned a blind eye to many of the atrocities within the city. Her ability to excuse and rationalize became incredible.
In the aftermath, does blame herself for what she did when carrying out orders, and for her failure to keep Loghain from spiraling as far as he did. The damage done to her country cannot be ignored.
Has few close friends still alive; gave most of it up and remained aloof in her dedication to Ferelden.
Could be said to be married to her country.
Duty above all else.

And there’s more, I’m pretty sure. If you have questions, feel free to ask. :D I love to ramble about her.

Obviously.

Tagged: ser cauthrien cauthrien serindrana rambling forever headcanon