#vivial

Andraste and the Old God Theory

I have seen a few threads on Reddit, like here and here, about this.

The geography factor alone makes it questionable since upon Dumat’s death he would have searched for the nearest available tainted vessel and Andraste was born in Denerim. 

According to Riordan, upon an Archdemon’s death, it’s soul will go on to possess the nearest darkspawn. This is why a Warden must be the one to strike the final blow - drawing the Archdemon’s essence into themselves and thus killing them both. Morrigan also tells the Warden that for the Dark Ritual, the baby must be conceived with a Grey Warden, or at the least, someone “recently tainted” by darkspawn blood. You can find more on the ritual here.

We have nothing in canon to support Andraste’s father, Elderath, being a Warden, or having the taint. And even if he did have it, and Elderath’s mysterious mistress, the “unnamed advisory on matters of alchemy” was a mage, would their daughter Halliserre not then have been the more likely vessel than Andraste, borne of his wife Brona? 

It is interesting that the way Andraste’s trances and visions are described seems reminiscent of Kieran’s dreams. And Halliserre’s death, and its impact on Andraste, are notable. But all of it is still so speculative and circumstantial that I’m not entirely comfortable saying anything conclusive one way or the other. 

A fascinating theory to ponder, though!

Andraste’s Descendants 

According to The Children of Andraste Codex entry, 

We all know Andraste and the Betrayer raised five children. The eldest three were sons: Isorath, Evrion, and Verald. The rule of what was once southern Tevinter was split among them. Isorath was given the west, what is today Orlais. Evrion was given the east, what is today the Free Marches. Verald was given the central Planasene, what is today Nevarra. What became of these men and their legacies is the stuff of legend, and the majority of claimants to Andraste's bloodline link back to one of them. None of the three sons, however, were born of Andraste. They were born of the Betrayer's concubine, Gilivhan. People choose to overlook the fact that Andraste came from the Alamarri tribesmen and that they were barbarians, not the Fereldans we know today. They were savage warriors who took concubines in addition to their wives, and because Andraste was thought to be too weak to bear children, the Betrayer took Gilivhan to provide him heirs. Which she did. After her death, the sons were raised as Andraste's own.

Later in life, Andraste proved predictions wrong and had two daughters by the Betrayer: Ebris and Vivial. They were kept out of the public eye and not permitted to marry, though both had consorts. Ebris had but one child, Alli Vemar, who perished on a voyage to Denerim—less than a month after her mother fell to plague, and without children of her own. The younger daughter, Vivial, was more controversial: a strong-headed woman who defied her family by falling in love with a mage of Tevinter, Regulan. Vivial and Regulan went into self-imposed exile as the Exalted March began, and into hiding following Andraste's betrayal and murder.

What became of Vivial and her descendants is largely unknown for one primary reason: she had only daughters. Each of those daughters only had daughters. They married into other families and took other names, and in the chaos of the Second Blight, all traces of survivors were lost. Andraste's true bloodline, if it exists, lies solely in the descendants of Vivial, and the suspicion of my order is that it produces only daughters. Thus the claims of your young man, monsieurs, are highly suspect.

—From a letter by Sister Galenna of the Augustan Order, Dragon 9:12

And from the Dragon Age Wiki article on Andraste,

It is unknown if any of her descendants still live, as all of her scions were born female, and thus they took their husbands' names in marriage. There have been many claimants in the centuries since, saying that they were related to Andraste, but the Chantry has disavowed each of them. To date there are no known legitimate heirs to Andraste's blood.

So while there is a slight possibility that Andraste’s daughter, Vivial, could provide us with a present-day descendant in a future game, I find it a bit unlikely. If only because, well, what purpose would it serve? Andraste was a prophet, but she was also a mortal woman. 

Unless we go by the “Andraste was Mythal” theory, wherein the mortal body of Andraste was possessed by Mythal much the way Flemeth was. Flemeth had many daughters while possessed, and used them to essentially body-hop and prolong her life. Perhaps she could have used Andraste’s female descendants in the same way (and it is worth noting that Vivial’s children and grandchildren were all female!).

We know from Dragon Age 2, and the quest with the amulet, that Mythal was able to split herself into multiple pieces (similar to a Horcrux) so that even if her physical body was destroyed, her spirit would remain intact and she could recover. This could prove useful if we theorize that she did the same thing before Fen’harel/Solas “kills” Flemeth in Trespasser. 

So perhaps he absorbed only a fragment of her spirit/power, but did not destroy her entirely. She could still potentially resurrect in another body or form, but just be weakened. Then she may need to take back her power from Fen’harel in the fourth game.