Ellie Cousland

In alternate worldstates: Ellie Cousland was the daughter of Bryce and Eleanor Cousland. She was sent to Ostagar along with her older brother Fergus, where she was killed fighting the darkspawn.

In her own worldstate: Ellie Cousland was the Hero of Ferelden and the chancellor to Queen Anora. She is currently living in Antiva with Zevran, but still makes frequent visits to her homeland.

## Overview

### Physical Appearance

Ellie is a fair-skinned young woman with very light brown, almost blonde hair she keeps pulled back into a series of ponytails. She has bluish-grey eyes. As a melee fighter, she generally prefers to wear heavy armor.

### Personality

Ellie is a friendly, extroverted young woman with a somewhat sarcastic sense of humor, and she likes to hang around people that she can bounce jokes and sarcastic comments off of. Given enough time, she can generally become friends with anyone. Ellie is also fairly persuasive and manipulative, and she's not above lying and using trickery to get what she wants, claiming that sometimes "the smart solution is better than the honorable one". Despite this, her heart is in the right place and she's horrified by evil or extreme actions. She can be a bit impulsive and rude when it comes to people who has no patience for, which can get her in trouble. She's also a completely shameless flirt who has indulged in more than a few one-night stands.

Ellie is fiercely loyal to her friends and loved ones, and won't hesitate to do whatever she can to protect them and support them. She also has a rather strong vengeful streak, and will bring doom upon anyone who hurts herself, her friends, or her family. Naturally, she doesn't take betrayal particularly well.

### Talents and Skills

Ellie is a warrior skilled with a sword and shield. She has a fighting style that is largely focused on defense rather than offense, making her a rather difficult target.

Being a noblewoman, Ellie is also skilled at statecraft and politics. She is fairly well-read and has high cunning.

Ellie has no idea how magic works, and spent most of her time in the Fade completely lost. All she knows for sure is that blood magic and demons are no good to be messing around with.

## Biography

### History

Ellie was the youngest child of Bryce and Eleanor Cousland. She had two older brothers, Fergus and Robert, and an older sister, Lenore.

Ellie grew up more interested in swordplay and fighting than she did in the "softer arts" that her mother tried to teach her. She was often competitive with her brothers and began to grow into a very capable fighter, particularly when wielding a pair of daggers.

Being the youngest child and therefore not even the spare afforded Ellie a lot of freedom and little responsibility, and she spent her time in the castle exploring, sparring, reading, and flirting, indulging in at least a couple of casual relationships. When she was seventeen, Eleanor sent her to live with Lady Landra for a time in hopes that she and Dairren might become a thing, but she hit it off with Landra's lady-in-waiting, Iona, instead, in what would become her first serious relationship. Even after returning to Highever, Ellie and Iona kept in touch through letters.

### The Blight

Ellie was set to take care of the castle and the land while her brothers, sister, and father went to war. She was also in high spirits because Landra and Iona were visiting, meaning that the two got to spent time together. But of course, tragedy struck and her family was betrayed by Arl Howe, who they'd thought was a friend (and who had consistently tried to marry Ellie to his not-nearly-attractive-enough son Thomas). Her parents, girlfriend, sister-in-law, and nephew were cut down by Arl Howe, but Ellie herself managed to escape with the help of the Grey Warden Duncan.

## Relationships

### **Pig**

Robert's old mabari imprinted on Ellie following Robert's death. Ellie treasures the dog as a final reminder of her lost brother.

### Robert Cousland

Ellie's second older brother, Robert was very dear to her, and she was heartbroken by his death at Ostagar.

### Lenore Cousland

Ellie's older sister. She was serious and somewhat distant, but Ellie admired her a great deal for her skill and her intelligence.

### **Bryce, Eleanor, and Fergus**

Ellie always got along well with her father, whom she had a very close relationship with. He supported her interests and allowed her the freedom to do what she wanted, within reason, of course. Ellie, in return, honored her father's wishes even when she didn't like what they were. Ellie was heartbroken by his death and returns to Highever every year on the anniversary of the massacre to honor his memory.

Ellie argued with her mother about almost everything, particularly when she got older and pursued interests that Eleanor didn't think were proper for a young lady to study. Still, Ellie loved and respected her mother, admired the stories of her more adventurous youth, and spent enough time meeting suitors and attending boring parties to make her happy. Ellie still blames herself for not being able to save her, and honors her memory yearly.

Ellie and Fergus got along well during their youth and did a lot together despite the age difference between them. During the fifth blight, Ellie held out hope that he might be alive, and she was overjoyed to learn that he had survived Ostagar. She regularly communicates and visits with him.

### **Arl Howe**

Even before he butchered her family, Ellie had never liked Arl Howe and didn't understand what her father saw in him. His rude behavior and barely disguised disdain for Ellie didn't escape her notice, and she constantly found reasons not to be around when he was. After the Cousland massacre, Ellie's dislike of Howe turned into pure hatred, and she vowed to kill him for what he'd done to her family. She eventually succeeded, killing him and getting his lands and titles turned over to the Grey Wardens. Still, she's never quite gotten over her hatred, and even mentioning him is likely to make her angry, even years after his death.

### **The Companions**

Ellie never quite understood Sten, but she did respect him and appreciated the help he gave her during the Fifth Blight. Before he returned to Par Vollen, Ellie gave him a very large box of cookies to take home, in hopes that he could bring some good sweets to the Qunari.

Ellie and Wynne got along well enough, and Ellie often found herself seeking out the mage for her advice. Wynne was one of the only people that Ellie was completely honest with about just how much her family's death hurt her, and the mage's advice led Ellie to fully commit to her budding romance with Zevran after a lot of hesitation. Ellie was saddened to learn of her death.

Ellie didn't get off on the right foot with Oghren after killing his wife, and the pair never became all that close during the Blight. After Oghren became a Warden, Ellie got to know him a bit better, and he became one of her good friends. The pair could often be spotted drinking together at Vigil's Keep, nights which would leave Ellie with a massive headache and a whole lot of regret.

Ellie and Morrigan disagreed on a lot, but after Ellie got to know her and helped her retrieve Flemeth's grimoire, the two developed a friendship based on mutual respect. While Ellie was hesitant to go through with the Dark Ritual, she's glad that her friend helped to save she and Alistair's lives.

Leliana is Ellie's best friend. Despite Leliana's slightly crazy assumptions that the Maker told her to fight the Blight, Ellie appreciated her enthusiasm for their cause, and the two bonded rather easily. They remained close and communicated regularly after the Blight.

Ellie took a liking to Alistair very soon after they had met. She appreciated his sense of humor, and enjoyed joking around with him. The pair's friendship was cemented after they both survived Ostagar, and Ellie trusted him as a loyal friend and ally. Seeing how much he didn't want the throne, Ellie gave it to Anora and Alistair stayed a Grey Warden with her; the two of them are as close as siblings.

Ellie admired Loghain, he was the famed hero of River Dane, a commoner raised to lordship, and had helped to stop the brutal Orlesian invasion of Ferelden. While she hated that he had left the Wardens to die and abandoned the field at Ostagar, she couldn't bring herself to hate *him*, no matter how much Alistair raged against them. Ellie had wanted to keep him alive and was horrified when Alistair killed him in a duel, even if she couldn't begrudge him too much for taking his revenge.

### Love Interests

#### Zevran

Zevran was recruited somewhat against Ellie's better judgement, but she needed the help at the time and figured that she could just kill him if he tried anything. Of course, he quickly proved himself loyal, charming, and rather flirty. Ellie being who she is, she flirted back and the two ended up starting a casual relationship with each other, which both of them saw as just a fling (especially as Ellie was still mourning Iona and wasn't ready for another serious relationship). This lasted right up until Zevran defended Ellie from his fellow Crows and Ellie realized just how much she cared for him. After much soul-searching on both their parts, Ellie and Zevran became an official (although not entirely monogamous) romantic couple and have been very happy together.

#### Isabela

They met in the Pearl and flirted over a game of cards, which ended up leading to a night of fun between Ellie, Zevran, and Isabela. The two of them are still pretty good friends who have a good bit of fun together whenever their paths cross.

#### Iona

Ellie's first love, the two met while Ellie was staying at Lady Landra's estate. They liked to hang out in the gardens together, talking, playing chess, going on walks, and occasionally sneaking in a kiss when they were sure no one was looking. Iona admired Ellie's spirit, while Ellie was struck by Iona's kindness and loyalty. They knew that, as a human noblewoman and an elven servant, that they could never openly be with each other, but Ellie didn't really care about that. Iona's unceremonious death crushed Ellie and made it hard for her to open up.

#### Queen Anora

Ellie's first crush. They first met as teenagers, and Ellie was immediately starstruck by her. She was a little older, intelligent, and beautiful, and Ellie basically thought she was the coolest person ever. Anora thought Ellie was pretty cool herself for being a female warrior and a knight, but she knew that she would have to marry Cailan, so nothing came from their mutual admiration. When they met again as adults, Ellie still admired her a lot and fully supported her bid for the throne (which was helped by Alistair firmly not wanting the position). Ellie was horrified by Loghain's death in a duel with Alistair and wishes that she could have found a way to save him for Anora's sake, but she couldn't blame Alistair too much for taking revenge. Still, Ellie remained close with Anora as her chancellor.