#lilandil

he could have shared this information with the centaurs and animals of Narnia he lived with. they are able to grow in strength and intelligence as a group, and eventually as a people. in that approach as a leader, he gains the skill and bravery to sail through unknown waters. he enjoys the flash of morning starlight across his sword so much it isn’t long before he rises early to learn the blade well.

on the Dawn Treader, he finds himself wishing he could follow its path again, knowing that it is far behind. but still, the “blue star” that he is told to route towards stirs up a feeling of comfort. much brighter than the one he fled by, but all the same otherwise.

at seeing Lilandil in their human form, he is struck by their beauty- not just by their appearance but by how being near them makes him feel. soothed.

they smile knowingly, and trace onto his hand the place in the sky of the first star he navigated and nodded.

So I was listening to Prince Caspian, and that got me thinking about how old he is.

My logic is that in the Voyage of the Dawn Treader he is three years older than he is in Prince Caspian, and I got the impression that he and Lilandil were betrothed shortly there after, though he is still referred to as a youth. Which means at the beginning of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, I would say he is between 16 and 19. Now if we’re assuming he really did sail for a year and a day, as Eustace, Edmund, and Lucy joined him near the beginning of his quest, that would put him between 17 and 20 at the end of the book and 18 and 21 when he got back to Narnia, where I’m assuming he married Lilandil.

Now if we’re assuming that, that means at the end of Prince Caspian he is between the ages of 13 and 16.

Now at the beginning of Prince Caspian it is discussed how Caspian and Dr. Cornelius met. I make an estimate that at that point Caspian is between the ages of 7 and 9. This is based in part on the fact that he still had a nurse and hadn’t truly begun his education, which leads me to believe he was quite young still. Also in medieval times page boys began their education at seven, and while I understand that Caspian is not of the same class as a page boy, choosing to start education around that age does not seem terribly far off, also Miraz makes a comment about Caspian being to old for fairytales and needing to have more interest in battles and adventures, and even for Miraz that seems like an odd thing to say to a small child, which makes me think he’s a little closer to 9 than 7.

I get the impression that there is some time that passes after that. It is discussed that his education started beginning in earnest, and once again, while I know Caspian is of a different class altogether, there was a shift in a knight’s education at fourteen when he became a squire, which would cause me to believe he is around that age, maybe a little younger even, as it makes sense that the royal family would start focusing on more intense subjects a little earlier. Then the queen gets pregnant. So I would estimate when he flees, he is between the ages of 13 and 15.  Comments are made on his age, but not excessively so, and they’re still being made in the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which causes me to think he’s still on the younger side. Then after he fleas more time passes before he blows the horn. I personally think 6 months to a year. So by the end of the book I estimate he’s between 13 and 16, and honestly I’m inclined to think 14 or 15. 

One thing to note is that when the Pevensies arrive they are treated like children and comments are made on their age, which causes me to think Caspian is no younger than Susan at that time. Which (based on my previous post about the Pevensies age) would make him 15 at the youngest.

So my headcanon age for Caspian is 15 at the end of Prince Caspian and 18 at the beginning of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

I think Caspian would be a historian/archeologist looking to interview and study the voyages of the seven lords (with a family connection)

Lilandil joins as an astronomer trying to observe stars only visible offshore with their telescope and gives everyone (especially Caspian) perspective on celestial science and being nonbinary (and always has a niche constellation myth ready )

Rhince and his daughter (in the film) are returning to the mother from a trip and ✨find family✨in the crew

Lucy and Eustace are young actors on their way to a remote shooting and Lucy (who plays a swashbuckling heroine) is trying to help him not lose this job

And Edmund is there to be with his favorite sister (and also just to get away from everyone else) and finish the book he’s writing

idk if Reep would be a human sailor or an trained animal going with Lucy/Eustace

for example, caspian finds refuge in the narnians after miraz’s attempt on his life and claims to want to “return the kingdom to narnia.” in revenge. at what point did his pain and isolation from one person’s crime become a lack of respect for the culture he was raised in? did he feel that way before and why? did Telmar truly belong to Narnia long ago, or is it something he believes because he really only recieved kindness from the Narnian people?

it’s very possible that Aslan as a religion is influenced by that experience of kindness and not a fully reliable Wise One

and maybe the parts of the later books with more problematic Implications (*ahem degrading Tashbaan*) are the result of taking that too far believing it is charitable

but in the Dawn Treader, Caspian seems to be curious about the lords of Telmar that disappeared. does he long for that shared experience? does he regret what he did to Telmar as a culture as a brash prince who was hurting? or does he see them as fellow expats to seek out and talk to?

in a modern setting, maybe they’re related to its finder

in Greek mythology, they are the mountain nymph daughters of the titan Atlas (similar to how Lilandil is the child of another celestial figure holding up the heavens- Ramandu)