“People fear the next age if it comes too soon.”
Kieran (born in 9:31 Dragon) is the son of Morrigan, possibly born with the soul of the slain Old God, Urthemiel.
Kieran only exists if Morrigan had been in a romantic relationship with the Warden in Dragon Age: Origins or performed her ritual at the end of that game.
Involvement
Dragon Age: Origins
Upon the death of the Archdemon atop Fort Drakon, its uncorrupted soul passed into Kieran.
Dragon Age: Inquisition
The Inquisitor encounters Kieran after Morrigan joins the Inquisition as its liaison. He will make a brief appearance in Skyhold, before being told to go back to his studies by his mother.
The conversation with him largely depends on whether he carries the soul of Urthemiel or is an ordinary child:
- If the Inquisitor is a human rogue or warrior, Kieran will either muse on how the Inquisitor is expected to be scary because people "fear the next age if it comes too soon", or find the Inquisitor nice for someone who kills a lot.
- If the Inquisitor is a human mage, Kieran will either confess that lyrium gives him "terrible nightmares" and state that lacking the gift of magic is like being blind, or say that his mother wouldn't want him to become a templar and that magic isn't so scary.
- If the Inquisitor is an elf, Kieran will either say that he doesn't know why the Inquisitor's people "want to look like that" and that their blood is "very old", or confess that he finds elves pretty and laugh at the Inquisitor's large ears.
- If the Inquisitor is a dwarf, Kieran will either say that the Inquisitor "can't be taller, not without the titans" or share his own desire to be taller.
- If the Inquisitor is a Qunari, Kieran will either declare that their blood "doesn't belong" to the Inquisitor's people and express his sorrow at what happened to the people or discuss the Inquisitor's height and scary horns.
- If asked about his mother, Kieran will either call her "the inheritor, she who awaits the next age" or simply the Witch of the Wilds.
If Kieran has an Old God soul, regardless of who drinks from the Well of Sorrows, Flemeth will locate Kieran and call to him through Morrigan's Eluvian. Within, Flemeth reveals she is possessed as the tales about her have always said, however not by a demon, but by the elven goddess Mythal. Flemeth gives Morrigan the choice of having Kieran back and continuing to be hunted by Flemeth, or leaving Kieran behind and being free of Flemeth forever. Morrigan chooses her son, insisting that Flemeth will never have him. Before she departs, she looks at Kieran and holds his hands; a glow emanates from him and goes into her, indicating the passing of Urthemiel's soul from Kieren to Flemeth. Flemeth then reassures him that there will be no more dreams. He is unhurt, but comments afterwards that he feels lonely. Morrigan remarks after Kieran is out of earshot that Kieran had a destiny but that destiny is now in Flemeth's hands.
If Alistair/Loghain Mac Tir stayed with the Grey Wardens, he will be seen in the Skyhold gardens talking to Morrigan about Kieran (and wondering if he knows how he was conceived if he has the soul of an Old God and one of them is the father). If the Warden is Kieran's father, Alistair asks about the Warden's relationship with Kieran and if Morrigan and he have been in contact.
If Kieran doesn't have the soul of an Old God (the Warden romanced Morrigan) and the Warden dies killing Urthemiel, Alistair will mention the Warden and how he thinks he would have approved of Kieran. Morrigan laments that she could have had both Kieran and the Warden.
Trivia
- Before the name or gender of Morrigan's child was known, Kieran was popularly referred to by fans as "the OGB" - the Old God Baby. The games' developers also occasionally used this nickname when referring to him in discussions.
- This name is also used in Dragon Age Keep tapestry.
- Kieran's voice actor, Odin Black, is the son of Morrigan's voice actress, Claudia Black.[1]
- Kieran is potentially the first half-dwarf ever encountered (if the Warden was a dwarf).
- Kieran could have a claim to the Ferelden throne if his father isn't the Warden, though the strength of such a claim would be ambiguous as he is an illegitimate child who isn't publicly acknowledged as being Alistair's son or Queen Anora's half-brother.