Cullen Rutherford

**Cullen Stanton Rutherford** is the Skyhold Academy history teacher, and the love interest of protagonist Evangeline Trevelyan in the original *Skyhold Academy* installment.

### Background

Cullen Rutherford began his life in the little village of Honnleath in Ferelden, where he spent a very happy childhood with his three siblings and his parents. Dedicated to the idea of helping people, he grew up to become a soldier. Eventually, he became the second-in-command for a woman named Meredith Stannard, whose habitual drug use (a stand-in for the red lyrium idol of *Dragon Age II*) led her into paranoia and madness, putting the soldiers under her command at greater and greater risk. Cullen eventually blew the whistle on her, but felt he acted too late and as such blames himself for everything that happened to himself and his fellows during their time under Meredith's command.

Much to his profound guilt, he was given Meredith's position and, due to the stress and his own traumatic experiences, he eventually collapsed and was subsequently diagnosed with a heart condition. He was honorably discharged and left to figure out what to do next. Luckily, around this time he was approached by his old friend Cassandra Pentaghast, who recommended he come and teach at the fledgling Skyhold Academy. Deciding this would be a worthy fresh start, he pursued his teaching certification in Kirkwall, where he became friendly with the Hawke family and Varric Tethras. With his degree completed, he was accepted as the school's history professor. He battled his demons quietly at the school, using caffeine to avoid sleeping and therefore dealing with nightmares. During the first few years of the school's existence, he became particularly attached to one student, Cole Hughes.

### In The Stories

When the series begins, Marian Hawke has taken a sabbatical, and her position is filled temporarily by Evangeline Trevelyan. Cullen falls hard and fast for the attractive, kind-hearted newcomer, but is afraid to pursue the relationship due to his past trauma and his heart condition. Eventually things come to a head, however, when he collapses in the middle of a lesson. With his secrets blown wide open, he gives up caffeine, starts properly medicating his condition, and confesses his feelings to Evvy. He endures a fresh horrific trauma when she's kidnapped right out of the school late in the story, but she's returned safely and they share a sweet reunion. By the end of the first story, they have gotten married and legally adopted Cole as their son.

From this point forward, Cullen and Evvy lose their narrative prominence somewhat, as the stories' points of view rotate more evenly among the main players. Roughly six months after their wedding, Evvy discovers that she's pregnant, and not long after their first wedding anniversary she gives birth to their daughter Skye.

### In-Universe Trivia

* His middle name is canonically Stanton, as revealed in *Dragon Age: Inquisition*; here, it is also his father's name.
* Cullen suffers from the heart condition hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, as revealed after he collapses during the course of the first story. As such, he needs to be careful about things like caffeine, alcohol, and overexertion, and is put on medication.
* Even before he formally became Cole's father, the quiet student and the equally quiet professor were something of a unit. Cole appreciated being able to use Cullen's office as a place to hide away, and Cullen has always been grateful for the quiet thoughtfulness of the young boy. It's heavily implied that Cullen actually knew about Cole hiding at the school during the winter and summer breaks, and let it happen because he knew it would be best for the student.
* Cullen is known to be something of a connoisseur of terrible, tacky, and often historically-themed neckties. His colleagues routinely tease him about it and it has become something of a running joke. The most universally reviled tie is one with flying nugs on it.
* He is one of the five members of what Varric calls the 'aging boy band' of Skyhold, who perform at various school functions; they debuted the group at his wedding reception.
* His colleagues have turned him into a verb. "Cullening" is said to be the act of fawning extensively over one's pregnant wife, to the point of possibly being smothering.
* He and Cassandra are extremely close; he gives her away at her wedding and they are godparents to each other's children.
* He is one of the only people allowed to address Marian Hawke by her first name.
* Cullen has a fondness for blueberries - a trait his daughter eventually shares as well. He meanwhile hates avocados, and has a friendly argument about them with Hawke during one of Varric's gaming sessions.

### Meta Trivia

* Cullen's unpleasant experiences during his time in the military are an adaptation of the character's time in the Templars in throughout the *Dragon Age* series. Additionally, the inclusion of his heart condition and overreliance on coffee to keep himself awake were used as a stand-in for Cullen's in-game struggles with lyrium. Since the fanfic setting is both modern and non-magical, plots related to both lyrium and red lyrium needed to be adapted, as was shown in the description of Cullen's backstory found in the first story.
* Most characters in the fic series are passed back and forth between the two authors as needed for various scenes. Cullen, however, is one of the rare exceptions, as he is exclusively written by AuroraBorealia.
* The use of Henry Cavill as Cullen's face claim was also suggested by AuroraBorealia. His eye and hair color are incorrect for the character, but his facial features and build are appropriate.
* In addition to the SAY series proper, Cullen is also referenced heavily in fan fictions written by other characters, especially the student authors Rory and Jim. When using him as a character, however, rather than use their actual teacher, they prefer to face claim him as the actor Toby Regbo (Francis Valois from *Reign*).
* The writers headcanon Cullen as demisexual and demiromantic. Both are identities on the asexual/aromantic spectrums and are characterized by only feeling these types of attraction after an emotional bond is formed. Although Cullen has an almost immediate attraction to his future wife, it's only when he really gets to know her that he falls for her. It is also heavily implied that, apart from an ill-fated youthful crush, Evvy is the only person about whom he's ever felt this way, much as Cullen says to the Inquisitor in his romance path.