Kierra Tabris

In alternate worldstates: Kierra Tabris was an elf from the Denerim alienage. After being kidnapped at her wedding, she initially escaped capture only to be cut down by Bann Vaughn's soldiers while trying to protect her cousin Soris.

In her own worldstate: Kierra Tabris was an elf from the Denerim alienage who would go on to become the Hero of Ferelden, Warden-Commander of Amaranthine, and Chancellor of Ferelden, as well as King Alistair's mistress.

## Appearance and Personality

Kierra is rather short and skinny, with a somewhat thin, long face. She has dark brown hair, which she keeps in a braided hairstyle very similar to what her mother used to wear. She tends to prefer light armor that's easier for her to move around in.

As a child, Kierra was rather idealistic, dreaming of a life of adventure outside the alienage and desiring to be free of the alienage and travel the world. She would often look over the walls, wondering what was out there. Her mother's death pretty much sucked the idealism right out of her, leaving her as a lot more bitter, cynical, and hateful towards humans. She's fiercely protective towards other elves and despises humans who take advantage of them or treat them badly, and she's not afraid to speak her mind. After the Blight, Kierra's stance on humans has softened to an extent, but she's still slow to trust them, particularly the nobility. And while her cynical, sarcastic nature never really went away, she still wants to help others and do the right thing, as she feels like that is the only way she'll ever learn respect.

## Talents and Skills

Kierra is an equally skilled combatant with both both a pair of daggers and a bow. She's good at finding weak spots and exploiting them, and she's quick on her feet, allowing her to dodge a lot of attacks. As a ranger, she can summon animals to come to her aid. And while she's not particularly book smart, she is quite street smart, and she's good at manipulating people through various means. She can also make various poisons.

## Biography

### Early life

Kierra was born to Cyrion and Adaia Tabris in the Denerim alienage. By the standards of the alienage, they were somewhat well-off, despite still being very poor by normal standards and constantly dealing with racism and mistreatment by humans. When Kierra was six, her parents took in her cousins Soris and Shianni after their parents died. The three became very close, and Kierra grew rather protective of them.

When Kierra was ten, an elven woman that Adaia was friends with was raped and murdered by a Denerim guard. Adaia decided to teach her daughter to fight, wishing to protect her from the same fate. They had to practice in secret, with makeshift weapons that had to be buried during the day, but even despite Kierra's lackluster training conditions, she still became quite skilled. She enjoyed the training, and it made her feel strong. Her abilities became something of an open secret among the other elves, but more importantly, the humans didn't know.

Kierra's generally happy life was changed forever when she was fourteen, after her mother was murdered by humans. The event shook Kierra to her core, leaving her angry and bitter. Despite her father's protests, Kierra continued the training her mother had started, claiming that she would never lose a loved one like that again.

A few days before Kierra's twenty-first birthday, Cyrion told her that he had found her a husband. Kierra protested, unhappy that she was to be married off without a say, but her father rather firmly said that the matter wasn't open for discussion, especially since the arrangements had already been made.

## In-game events

Kierra's wedding day finally came, as did Soris's, who was to be married at the same time. She still didn't like the idea, but at this point, she didn't see a realistic way out of it and begrudgingly accepted her impending marriage. To her pleasant surprise, Kierra's groom-to-be, Nelaros, was a kind and rather handsome young man, and while Kierra was a long way from loving him, she believed that she could grow to if given enough time.

Unfortunately, the wedding turned to a disaster after Bann Vaughn marched into the alienage and kidnapped every female member of the wedding party, Kierra and Shianni among them. When Kierra was cornered by two guards, she prepared to fight them, knowing that she'd probably be killed but preferring that to what the alternative was. It was at that moment that Soris showed up and gave her a sword, and Kierra took no time at all in killing the guards before they could even process what had just happened.

Kierra proceeded to cut a bloody murder hole through Vaughn's guards, but she was too late to save Shianni, who had already been raped by Vaughn. Furious, Kierra took no time in killing him and his lackeys for their actions for both revenge and to save the other women.

Her actions had consequences, however, and no sooner had she and the others escaped that the guards marched into the alienage. Kierra took sole responsibility for the murders, knowing that she almost certainly faced execution - or worse - but saving Soris from the same fate. Before she could be arrested, however, the Warden-Commander Duncan, who had been visiting the alienage, conscripted her into the Grey Wardens, saving her from this fate.

After the disastrous battle at Ostagar, Kierra traveled with Alistair and Morrigan to gather an army that could stop the Blight. Thinking that she would need all the help she could get, she allowed anyone who wanted to join them join them. By the time the party arrived in Orzammar, this included Leliana, Sten, Wynne, Oghren, and even Zevran, whom she had recruited despite their initial meeting. Kierra figured that she could just kill him if he tried anything else. She also found herself falling in love with Alistair, who had been one of the first humans she'd met to show her kindness and respect.

Outside of her companions, Kierra recruited the mages at the Circle and brokered peace between the werewolves and Dalish before recruiting the elves. In Orzammar, she destroyed the Anvil of the Void, finding it too dangerous to be preserved, and supported Bhelen for the throne. She saved the village of Redcliffe and freed Connor from possession with the Circle's help, and didn't poison the Urn of Sacred Ashes. In fact, she never even heard Kolgrim's offer, as she angered him and he attacked her. She finally managed to save Arl Eamon, who called the Landsmeet in a ploy to depose Loghain and put Alistair, who had been revealed as King Maric's son, forward as king.

Before the Landsmeet, Kierra found that her old home in the alienage had been purged and closed off on the orders of Arl Howe, who had become the new bann. Furious, she killed him while rescuing Queen Anora. On her way out of the castle, Anora betrayed the group to Ser Cauthrien, and Kierra and Alistair were captured and imprisoned in Fort Drakon. They were rescued by Zevran and Oghren.

After their rescue, Eamon started planning to depose Anora, as Alistair had finally come around to the idea of being king. Kierra lied to Anora, promising her support, despite the fact that she had no intention of putting her on the throne. Kierra's hatred towards Loghain and his family only grew stronger after she returned to the Alienage, where she found out that Loghain had been selling her people into slavery in order to fund the civil war. She killed the Tevinter slavers responsible and rescued her father before he could be sold, and fully prepared to face Loghain during the Landsmeet.

At the Landsmeet, Kierra managed to gather enough support to turn the nobles against Loghain. She allowed Alistair to duel him, resulting in Loghain's death afterwards. Following the duel, Alistair stepped up and took the throne, and while Kierra knew that she could not marry him, they chose to continue their romantic relationship anyways.

Before the battle, Kierra and Alistair consented to Morrigan's ritual out of a desire to stay together, rather than one of them facing certain death. At the Battle of Denerim, Kierra led her closest companions against the Archdemon. She slayed the beast herself and lived to tell the tale. After the battle was over, Alistair was formally crowned as king and Kierra was named the Hero of Ferelden. She also became the Chancellor of Ferelden, hoping to improve the lot of the elves in the country.

## Post-game

After a short time in Denerim enjoying the celebrations and victory parades, Kierra left the city to help rebuild the Grey Wardens. She recruited several new Wardens in Amaranthine, where she also helped clean up the remains of the Blight. Seeing Amaranthine as beyond saving, she chose to destroy it to save Vigil's Keep, a controversial decision that earned her a lot of scrutiny. She killed the Architect, seeing him as too dangerous to live.

After the mess with the Architect was over, Kierra returned to Denerim and stayed there for a year, helping Alistair rebuild the city. She spent seven years after that ruling Amaranthine, doing various missions for the Wardens, and spending time with her lover.

Still, the Calling weighed on her mind, as she knew that she was running out of time. When she found a lead on a cure, she chose to follow it, leaving her life behind.

Kierra found a cure to the Calling and returned home to be with her lover again. The two later had a daughter, Shani Rose Tabris, together. Most people consider Kierra to be the queen of Ferelden in all but name, and she has been stated to be the reason that King Alistair has never married.

Kierra's worldstate is called "The Power Behind the Throne".