Dragon Age: What Happened To The Hero Of Ferelden?

The "Dragon Age" franchise places a lot of power in the hands of players, offering a series of high impact decisions that ripple through the entries. The origin you select in each game influences how other characters view and interact with you, while your choices at key plot points leave companions, organizations, and even countries in differing states. Thanks to the Keep, a free online application that personalizes the "Dragon Age" experience, you can carry these crucial selections with you into successive titles. This impact makes the dangerous world of Thedas, and your place in it, feel more real. No two experiences are quite the same.

Given the emphasis on immersion and personalization, it's easy to get attached to the "Dragon Age" protagonists. While each game offers a new main character, different events, people, or places may bring your former identity to mind and leave you feeling a bit nostalgic. "Inquisition" helped ease this ache by allowing the Champion of Kirkwall from "Dragon Age 2" to join your party for a crucial questline. In contrast, the "Origins" protagonist has yet to materialize again, leaving many fans to wonder what happened to the Hero of Ferelden and if they'll ever make another appearance.

Depending on your decisions in "Origins" and the accompanying DLC, the fate of the Hero of Ferelden differs widely. Near the end of the first game, you discover that you must sacrifice a Grey Warden to permanently kill the Archdemon. The Warden can fulfill this role, dying in the process. Alternatively, they can shift the burden to one of their companions or avoid the loss entirely by performing a dark ritual with Morrigan. If the Hero lives through the final battle, they become the new leader of the Grey Wardens in Ferelden at the start of "Awakening." Male Wardens who romanced Morrigan or completed the ritual can choose to abandon their post and follow Morrigan though an Eluvian in "Witch Hunt." Otherwise, this status as Warden-Commander carries forward until the Hero abruptly disappears.

Aside from brief references made by Varric and Alistair (assuming he survived the conclusion of "Origins"), the Hero of Ferelden doesn't get much attention in "Dragon Age 2." Depending on who they romanced in the first game, Morrigan, Leliana, or Alistair may reveal in "Inquisition" that the Hero set out in search of a method for preventing the Calling, a descent into madness and ritualistic death all Grey Wardens face as they fall victim to the darkspawn taint. The Inquisitor may also receive a letter from the Hero of Ferelden, along with a codex entry detailing that the Warden travelled west in pursuit of their quest. This decision appears to have saved the Hero of Ferelden from Corypheus' influence, while leaving their status going into "Dragon Age 4" up in the air.