125 réponses à ce sujet

[SarEnyaDor]

Not to throw fire on it, but I could have sworn that I read a codex entry (among the hundreds of entries) that all human/what-ever pairings resulted in human offspring - that's why dwarves with their caste system also frown upon interracial pairings because it will never result in more dwarves and they want more dwarves.

[SLPr0]

SarEnyaDor wrote...

Not to throw fire on it, but I could have sworn that I read a codex entry (among the hundreds of entries) that all human/what-ever pairings resulted in human offspring - that's why dwarves with their caste system also frown upon interracial pairings because it will never result in more dwarves and they want more dwarves.

Hrrm I'll have to pick through my codex and see if I can find this, it is nearly full actually.

I wonder if theres an XML export dump that could dump all codex entries in a characters record to a more readable/searchable format. That would be a nice tool to have to help manage all this in game lore.

[Ariella]

SLPr0 wrote...



Why was Duncan visiting the places Alistair was so frequently?

And most importantly, how would Duncan know. Alistair tells the PC specifically that the PC is the only one Alistair has ever told. Duncan already knew that he was Maric's son.

As for the whole "books don't detail Maric's whole life" angle, the glimpses we do get of Maric don't really jive with a man who would be a womanizer. In the Calling, it's pretty well implied that Maric's been living as "King Maric the Savior" for such a long time that he really hasn't taken any real personal time for himself or had a personal life of any kind, even with his own son. Until Fiona, it seems he invested himself totally in being king.

Personally, I think it was a brilliant move to hide Alistair with Eamon. Who'd look for the son of Maric and another woman in the home of his wife's brother? I don't, however, agree with Fiona's reasoning for giving the boy up, but being adopted myself I have issues .

[Cpl_Facehugger]

SLPr0 wrote...


Of course theres not a lot of talk of strange dreams in Alistair's past, he does speak of his dreams as a Warden, but nothing of his dreams prior to becoming a Warden.

I'm not sure there would be many dreams even if he *was* tainted at birth. With no archdemon to send out telepathic signals, the only signals he'd get would be from otherwise mostly-mindless darkspawn. The darkspawn signal would be at an ebb. 

Interestingly, if the "tainted at birth" theory is accurate, Alistair might have a decade or less to live. :innocent:

[SLPr0]

Cpl_Facehugger wrote...

SLPr0 wrote...


Of course theres not a lot of talk of strange dreams in Alistair's past, he does speak of his dreams as a Warden, but nothing of his dreams prior to becoming a Warden.

I'm not sure there would be many dreams even if he *was* tainted at birth. With no archdemon to send out telepathic signals, the only signals he'd get would be from otherwise mostly-mindless darkspawn. The darkspawn signal would be at an ebb. 

Interestingly, if the "tainted at birth" theory is accurate, Alistair might have a decade or less to live. :innocent:

Or he may be immune to the decay of the taint as his mother turned out to be. Which is why she was recalled to Weisshaupt Fortress (Why are the Grey Wardens home based in a thinly veiled Illuminati reference anyways...come to think of it?)

[Cpl_Facehugger]

SLPr0 wrote...
Or he may be immune to the decay of the taint as his mother turned out to be. Which is why she was recalled to Weisshaupt Fortress (Why are the Grey Wardens home based in a thinly veiled Illuminati reference anyways...come to think of it?)

Immune to the taint you say? Blast and damnation. Looks like I'll have to get Anora to execute him if I want my fill of Alistair dying then.  

[jeckaldied]

SLPr0 wrote...

jeckaldied wrote...

I am positive Alistair is not Fiona's child. Besides for Eamon and his sister, we have Loghain who says he was hidden to keep Rowan from knowing, Loghain has NO REASON AT ALL to respect Fiona's wish that Alistair not know his parentage.

Maric likes to remove his pants a lot, I think it's very much in character that he and a serving girl could have slept together, but I don't believe he forced himself on her.

Tielis wrote...



What the hell? Are you people
conveniently forgetting that Rowan was long dead when Maric hooked up
with Fiona, and that Alistair was born and "hidden away" before Rowan
died?



Alistair would be about 15 or 16 if he was Fiona's son.

I'd like to see where this was elaborated on, it was not elaborated on in The Calling nor in the Stolen Throne.

And as stated there is no documented evidence within either book of Maric having any dalliances outside Katriel, Rowan and Fiona.

So I find this to be hard to reconcile in the face of what is presented. And I'd love to know where Loghain says anything about a child born to Maric and a serving girl while Rowan was alive. I'd love to see a situation where Loghain would accept that and not stove in Maric's head with a rock actually.

When Loghain is a party member if you spare him, he says, "Maric would have publicly annouced the child immediatly if it wasn't for Rowan, she would be reduced to concubine status"  (I don't have the exact quote infront of me, but that's pretty much it)

[SLPr0]

When Loghain is a party member if you spare him, he says, "Maric would have publicly annouced the child immediatly if it wasn't for Rowan, she would be reduced to concubine status"  (I don't have the exact quote infront of me, but that's pretty much it)

That would indicate that the bastard Loghain is mentioning would be the first child of Maric, and Cailan the second, because for Rowan to be reduced to Concubine status, she would have to be the mother of his second child or, the child born that you're referring to would have had to have been with a woman of stronger claim to Theirin blood.

I'll need to see if I can dig up this quote myself, but Rowan was promised to Maric in childhood, for her to be reduced to the status of a concubine...indicates a very odd situation indeed, that the bastard was born before Cailan himself, and theres absolutely no supportive lore for this other than this unconfirmed statement.

There is no mention of it in the end of Stolen Throne, there is no mention of it in the beginning of The Calling.

So we have an unconfirmed statement from Loghain and thats it. And what would Loghain's true knowledge of the bastards status be? The hiding of the child of Fiona and Maric was done in dark of night, in total secret, while Loghain was in Gwaren and not due back in Denerim for a month....so what would he really know, if he knew anything?

That simply bifurcates the story adding a third heir that everyone has forgotten about completely...or never knew about at all. And thats not the case, Duncan knew, Duncan shadowed Alistair's steps his entire life.

It has to be Alistair.

[jeckaldied]

SLPr0 wrote...

When Loghain is a party member if you spare him, he says, "Maric would have publicly annouced the child immediatly if it wasn't for Rowan, she would be reduced to concubine status"  (I don't have the exact quote infront of me, but that's pretty much it)

That would indicate that the bastard Loghain is mentioning would be the first child of Maric, and Cailan the second, because for Rowan to be reduced to Concubine status, she would have to be the mother of his second child or, the child born that you're referring to would have had to have been with a woman of stronger claim to Theirin blood.

I'll need to see if I can dig up this quote myself, but Rowan was promised to Maric in childhood, for her to be reduced to the status of a concubine...indicates a very odd situation indeed, that the bastard was born before Cailan himself, and theres absolutely no supportive lore for this other than this unconfirmed statement.

There is no mention of it in the end of Stolen Throne, there is no mention of it in the beginning of The Calling.

So we have an unconfirmed statement from Loghain and thats it. And what would Loghain's true knowledge of the bastards status be? The hiding of the child of Fiona and Maric was done in dark of night, in total secret, while Loghain was in Gwaren and not due back in Denerim for a month....so what would he really know, if he knew anything?

That simply bifurcates the story adding a third heir that everyone has forgotten about completely...or never knew about at all. And thats not the case, Duncan knew, Duncan shadowed Alistair's steps his entire life.

It has to be Alistair.

Loghain advises Maric not to publicly annouce Alistair, atleast according to the Wiki page on Alistair making reference to the Loghain quote, which implies Loghain new about the child as soon as it happened.

It's just too ridicoulos of a conspiracy to keep Alistairs mother a secret if it is indeed Fiona, why not keep the fact he's a bastard at all a secret? It would be much easier "Your parents died of sickness when you were young, they were Eamon's servents, and he took pity on you" is so much more of an easier plot than "Your a royal bastard, but your mum..uhh...she's a servent yeah" *goes and pays off people to keep up the roose that his mother is a servent*

Intill confirmed, I'll stick with my thinking that their is a third Maric offspring out there, it's just too convuluted of a conspiracy for the sake of keeping a royal bastard's mother from being known.

[Maria Caliban]

Tielis wrote...

What the hell? Are you people conveniently forgetting that Rowan was long dead when Maric hooked up with Fiona, and that Alistair was born and "hidden away" before Rowan died?

Alistair would be about 15 or 16 if he was Fiona's son.

Seriously.

The only way you can argue Fiona is Alistiar's mother is if you think the authors made numerous mistakes in the Codex, game, and book.

Maric and Fiona got together after Rowan was dead. Loghian said Alistiar was conceived while Rowan lived.

There's no reason for Goldanna to think Alistiar is the king's child unless someone told her this, and she was chased out of the castle as soon as he was born. Where did she get this information? Probably her mother. I don't see Duncan telling a young girl this when the whole point is hiding Alistiar's parentage.

[SLPr0]

Maria Caliban wrote...

Tielis wrote...

What the hell? Are you people conveniently forgetting that Rowan was long dead when Maric hooked up with Fiona, and that Alistair was born and "hidden away" before Rowan died?

Alistair would be about 15 or 16 if he was Fiona's son.

Seriously.

The only way you can argue Fiona is Alistiar's mother is if you think the authors made numerous mistakes in the Codex, game, and book.

Maric and Fiona got together after Rowan was dead. Loghian said Alistiar was conceived while Rowan lived.

There's no reason for Goldanna to think Alistiar is the king's child unless someone told her this, and she was chased out of the castle as soon as he was born. Where did she get this information? Probably her mother. I don't see Duncan telling a young girl this when the whole point is hiding Alistiar's parentage.

Goldanna herself says her mother died giving birth to Alistair. She may have lived the lie as well.

Loghain knowing of Alistair's birth and tolerating it? And again stating that Rowan would be reduced to the status of "concubine" by the birth of a child with a serving maid? That doesn't have any consistency with lineage. That would make Alistair either Marics first child, or the child of a mother with stronger Theirin blood than Rowan. And I can't think of anyone that would have that as Rowan is Eamon and Teagan's sister....the only potential trump card there is potentially a Cousland or Gwaren noble link, it can't be a Gwaren link, there are no female relatives of Loghain documented.

Alistair is too young to be Maric's first child. Hes too old to be a third child.

Modifié par SLPr0, 24 novembre 2009 - 04:24 .

[Mesecina]

Ariella wrote...

Personally, I think it was a brilliant move to hide Alistair with Eamon. Who'd look for the son of Maric and another woman in the home of his wife's brother?

With Eamon being presented the way he is I have a hard time picturing him covering up for Maric if Rowan was alive...
If you cheated on your spouse I imagine his/her brother wouldn't be the first one you'd want to know about it aye? And since they were "hiding him from Rowan" that would have to mean Eamon knowingly and willingly stabbed his sister in the back.

As for Loghain's statements and codex - who seriously believes whatever the guy has to say by now anyway and codex is as we all know written from subjective point of view and cannot by any means be taken as universal or higher truth or else you'd find yourself quickly in a checkmate position with all the entries on Andraste, the origin of Darkspawn etc.

I'm not saying I'd give my left arm for "Alistair is Fiona's son" theory but it surely is possible imo.

Modifié par Mesecina, 24 novembre 2009 - 11:00 .

[The Angry One]

Do you think Loghain wouldn't know that his best friend dropped his pants for any pretty face?

For all we know that's part of the resentment he holds and he took it out on Cailan, as Maric is dead.

[syllogi]

Seriously.

The only way you can argue Fiona is Alistiar's mother is if you think the authors made numerous mistakes in the Codex, game, and book.

Maric and Fiona got together after Rowan was dead. Loghian said Alistiar was conceived while Rowan lived.

There's no reason for Goldanna to think Alistiar is the king's child unless someone told her this, and she was chased out of the castle as soon as he was born. Where did she get this information? Probably her mother. I don't see Duncan telling a young girl this when the whole point is hiding Alistiar's parentage.

Goldanna herself says her mother died giving birth to Alistair. She may have lived the lie as well.

Loghain knowing of Alistair's birth and tolerating it? And again stating that Rowan would be reduced to the status of "concubine" by the birth of a child with a serving maid? That doesn't have any consistency with lineage. That would make Alistair either Marics first child, or the child of a mother with stronger Theirin blood than Rowan. And I can't think of anyone that would have that as Rowan is Eamon and Teagan's sister....the only potential trump card there is potentially a Cousland or Gwaren noble link, it can't be a Gwaren link, there are no female relatives of Loghain documented.

Alistair is too young to be Maric's first child. Hes too old to be a third child.

As mentioned in this thread, the Calling took place 20 years before the events of this game.  Alistair fits this profile.

In the Stolen Throne, it is mentioned that Loghain and Maric RARELY talked at all after Maric became king...until Rowan died, and they reconciled.  Loghain was also not present in the Calling when Fiona brought Maric his son.  Maric was a trusting guy, but even he did not fully trust Loghain, with good reason.  It is very reasonable to assume that he was hiding Fiona's child from Loghain.

If Alistair was being hidden from Rowan, why would he have been "hidden" at Arl Eamon's home (Rowan's brother), and even introduced to Cailan as a child, as mentioned in banter between Alistair and Wynne?  

I'm sure Duncan liked Maric, but why would he have been a father figure to one of his random bastards?  It's established at the end of the Caliing, however, that he's practically a nanny to Fiona's child.  He also would have respected Fiona's decision to not let the child know about his mother, but would have wanted him to know about the Grey Wardens.

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, Goldanna's view of events has been colored by having her mother die and being cast out of her home due to Maric's child.  Anyone who has read the books would have a very hard time believing Maric went around raping servants.

It's entirely possible that the game and codex were written before the Calling, and Alistair's parentage has been retconned.  Even so, this isn't a Blizzard-type "forget the last 10 years of lore, this is what's true now" retcon.  Whether people like it (or Alistair) or not, the evidence points to Fiona being his mother.

Modifié par TeenZombie, 24 novembre 2009 - 12:26 .

[aebriol]

I would also like to say that in the game, I feel we are given things as opinion and hearsay, while in the books, it was given as fact. It has to do with the medium.



And in addition: just as someone dare people to say books > movies about star wars, I dare anyone to say movie > books when it comes to lord of the rings.

[specter7237]

RazorrX wrote...

The books are written by David and thus are part of the lore.

Allistar IS the son of Maric and Fiona. Maric Had Allistar sent to Arl Eamon to be raised as per Fiona's request. Duncan looked in on Allistar his whole life, bringing word back to Maric and Fiona as he could. Given that Duncan is the way he is, I would not put it past him to have killed the actual maid and child in order to have Allistar have a background.

Allistar is told that Maric was a womanizer. That he had dalliances with the maid, etc. That story is slowly seeded around redcliff. Goldana could be a set up, paid to say the things she did if Allistar ever came to see her.

Arl Eamon has a hottie wife who decideds the bastard has to go. Arl Eamon has kept Allistar's true father hidden (in accordance with Fiona and Maric's wishes) even from her (Probably only his brother Teagan knew). Allistar is sent to the Chantry in order to placate said Shrew.

Duncan did not interfere until the Chantry was about to proceed and make Allistar addicted to Lirium in order to control him (final templar training). At this point, knowing that Allistar does not even like the Chantry, knowing that the darkspawn are beginnig to increase, and feeling the Blight may be coming (Perhaps with a bit of his own calling coming on) he conscripts Allistar away from the Chantry, saving him from that addiction.

Now Duncan could have hoped that Allistar had gained Fiona's Immunity to the Taint (She is the ONLY one who seems to have gotten it, and was that way when she gave birth, thus Allistar may very well be immune). Allistar takes the joining and becomes a Grey Warden, but is never really put in any danger. Duncan takes great care to keep him out of the main battles, etc.

So, yeah. He has lived his life under a false story of parantage.

Wow that is some really great insight.  This is exactly the reason I love reading fiction and fantasy.  I'm all about the intrigue and I'm eating this up.  I read another theory that Alistair was the brood of Maric/Flemeth as they spent time alone together as well but we are never told more than this.  Haven't read the calling though so I can;t vouch for much more.  But it would certainly lead to some interesting possiblilities if Alistair and Morrigan turned out to be siblings; though I know Morrigan's parentage is also in question.

Modifié par specter7237, 24 novembre 2009 - 03:10 .

[The Angry One]

aebriol wrote...

I would also like to say that in the game, I feel we are given things as opinion and hearsay, while in the books, it was given as fact. It has to do with the medium.

And in addition: just as someone dare people to say books > movies about star wars, I dare anyone to say movie > books when it comes to lord of the rings.

Like hell we do. You're calling direct dialog hearsay now? I'm not even talking about the codex.

Your LotR comparison doesn't have any baring on this. The books override the movies because they're the higher media in their case, just as the Star Wars movies are higher media in it's case, and the Dragon Age game is higher media in this case.

[AgnosticTheocrat]

There's no reason why Alistair could not be Fiona's son, and there is compelling evidence to suggest that he is. As far as I can tell, The Angry One has merely been throwing as many arguments against the wall as possible to see if they stick. The one argument that has any merit is the half-elf argument, excepting the fact that it's clearly stated that elf-human pairings always end up with a human child (Dwarf-human pairings end in half-dwarfs I believe). This is not a particularly egregious piece of lore, especially considering the copious number of hints that Elves are far more magical beings than humans.



It is absurd to expect real life genetic laws to exist undisturbed in a magical setting like Thedas. Who's to say how such things affect the world, besides the writer himself? So long as the setting is consistent in following the rules it sets forth, no foul has been committed. In the case of Alistair, Bioware has indeed followed their rules.

[jeckaldied]

I still do not think Alistair is Fiona's son. While comming up with their elaborate conspiracy to hide the fact his mother isn't human, they could have saved themselves some pain by hiding his father as well. I see no reason why they would tell Alistair he's a royal bastard, and thus risk any number of feelings developing inside of him over his legitamacy for the throne, and possible developing resentment towards Cailan and anyone else involved with the throne (these feelings didn't actually develop, but they certainly could have.) "Hmm, we need to come up with an elaborate ruse to hide from Alistair his mom was some elf."

"Wait, why were at it, why don't we just hide his whole parentage, we could easily say Eamon took pity on an orphan"

"Nah, lets just make it more of a pain by coming up with a whole story about how Maric slept with serving girls, oh and get Loghain in here, I need to make sure he's cool with this, and is willing to say that on Loghain's suggestion Maric hid Alistair from Rowan"



It's just too ridiculous of a theory, it's much easier to believe their is a third bastard.

[Walina]

Some of your questions have been answered here > http://social.biowar...47/index/174084

So, like Mr Gaider stated in previous topic : "everything that Alistair told you, was told by soemeone else who told him."

Modifié par Walina, 24 novembre 2009 - 04:40 .

[Fudzie]

aebriol wrote...
I dare anyone to say movie > books when it comes to lord of the rings.

I'll take the dare!

[SLPr0]

Walina wrote...

Some of your questions have been answered here > http://social.biowar...47/index/174084

So, like Mr Gaider stated in previous topic : "everything that Alistair told you, was told by soemeone else who told him."

Exactly, all of David Gaider's statements on this question, where hes touched it at all have been incredibly ambiguous, which is pointing directly to the possibility of their truth.

When questioned on the death of Maric he believed there was a Codex entry, found out there was not one, and stated that Maric was lost at sea...sometimes people just die.

Thats a definite answer.

His answers in regards to Alistair left the entire thing open to debate.

And I'm sorry I don't care what Loghain said (I've never heard him say it and its definitely not covered in the book), Alistair is exactly the right age to be Fiona's son. And there is absolutely no indication anywhere that there is a third son of Maric. Not from anyone in the game that knew him.

In fact it is my believe that Cailan in Origins was well aware of Alistair's status, at least as a half brother, its an impression I'm getting now that this question is in my mind and I'm hyper-analyzing everything the characters say. No one, not Loghain, not Eamon, not Teagan....all related deeply to Maric, makes mention of a third son of Maric anywhere. And Duncan, if the third son theory is true, has literally dropped Fiona's child somewhere so remote and out of the way that it will never matter to the Ferelden story...which is a patently silly thing to do with a child of royal blood.

[Cpl_Facehugger]

jeckaldied wrote...

I still do not think Alistair is Fiona's son. While comming up with their elaborate conspiracy to hide the fact his mother isn't human, they could have saved themselves some pain by hiding his father as well. I see no reason why they would tell Alistair he's a royal bastard, and thus risk any number of feelings developing inside of him over his legitamacy for the throne, and possible developing resentment towards Cailan and anyone else involved with the throne (these feelings didn't actually develop, but they certainly could have.) "Hmm, we need to come up with an elaborate ruse to hide from Alistair his mom was some elf."
"Wait, why were at it, why don't we just hide his whole parentage, we could easily say Eamon took pity on an orphan"
"Nah, lets just make it more of a pain by coming up with a whole story about how Maric slept with serving girls, oh and get Loghain in here, I need to make sure he's cool with this, and is willing to say that on Loghain's suggestion Maric hid Alistair from Rowan"

It's just too ridiculous of a theory, it's much easier to believe their is a third bastard.

Keeping Alistair around as a royal bastard makes sense though. Lots of sense. Monarchies always tried for "an heir and a spare". The idea is that if Cailan died, there'd be someone with royal blood on hand to take up the throne, even if he *was* a bastard. Telling him early would help him get used to the idea that if Cailan dies without an heir, he'd get put on the throne.

Besides, the best lies are the ones that are partially true. The only real flub here besides the potential date incongruity that may or may not be an actual incongruity, is why they let Alistair become a warden. But I got the impression that Duncan basically invoked the right of conscription or just short of it to get him away from the Chantry. 

Loghain's word can't exactly be trusted; the man spends the whole game lying to everyone he interacts with. 

[Cazlee]

Here is what Loghain says in-game concerning Alistair's background (for what it's worth). It is implied that Alistair is older than Cailan and so Rowan is alive when he was born. 

PC:  Why would Eamon support Alistair's bid for the throne then?
Loghain:    Because Eamon, for all his merits, is a conservative man that believes in tradition and inheritance, and would never see the daughter of a freeholder, however gifted, in power.
PC: But Alistair's mother was a commoner.
Loghain: And if there had been any other heir, Eamon would have never suggested the boy.

...

PC: Why didn't [Maric] acknolwedge Alistair?
Loghain: He nearly did.  Maric was never one to avoid his duty, and given his preference he would have acknowledged his son no matter the circumstance, but he had more than his honor to think of. It would have ruined Rowan, after all. She'd be reduced to a concubine in the eyes of our neighbors and put Cailans status as heir at question. So Maric made the hard choice.  Eamon offered to raise th boy and that was that.

1- PC: So it was all politics?
Loghain: Kings dont get the luxory of escaping politics.

3- PC: So that's it? Honor and politics and no concern for Alistair?
Loghain: What do you think would have become of Alistair if Maric had claimed him? He would have been the bastard prince and a continual reminder to Rowan of Maric's infidelity. At least with Eamon, Alistair had a childhood. 

Modifié par Cazlee, 24 novembre 2009 - 08:44 .

[jeckaldied]

Cpl_Facehugger wrote...

jeckaldied wrote...

I still do not think Alistair is Fiona's son. While comming up with their elaborate conspiracy to hide the fact his mother isn't human, they could have saved themselves some pain by hiding his father as well. I see no reason why they would tell Alistair he's a royal bastard, and thus risk any number of feelings developing inside of him over his legitamacy for the throne, and possible developing resentment towards Cailan and anyone else involved with the throne (these feelings didn't actually develop, but they certainly could have.) "Hmm, we need to come up with an elaborate ruse to hide from Alistair his mom was some elf."
"Wait, why were at it, why don't we just hide his whole parentage, we could easily say Eamon took pity on an orphan"
"Nah, lets just make it more of a pain by coming up with a whole story about how Maric slept with serving girls, oh and get Loghain in here, I need to make sure he's cool with this, and is willing to say that on Loghain's suggestion Maric hid Alistair from Rowan"

It's just too ridiculous of a theory, it's much easier to believe their is a third bastard.

Keeping Alistair around as a royal bastard makes sense though. Lots of sense. Monarchies always tried for "an heir and a spare". The idea is that if Cailan died, there'd be someone with royal blood on hand to take up the throne, even if he *was* a bastard. Telling him early would help him get used to the idea that if Cailan dies without an heir, he'd get put on the throne.

Besides, the best lies are the ones that are partially true. The only real flub here besides the potential date incongruity that may or may not be an actual incongruity, is why they let Alistair become a warden. But I got the impression that Duncan basically invoked the right of conscription or just short of it to get him away from the Chantry. 

Loghain's word can't exactly be trusted; the man spends the whole game lying to everyone he interacts with. 

Tell me a lie Loghain says that he doesn't himself believe. Loghain is delusion`ally paranoid, but as far as I could tell, he believes everything he is saying. There is no reason for him to lie to you about that anyway, since at the point he says that, you and him are on decent terms, infact, after you beat him in the landsmeet, and he relizes that he has just been being crazy, he's pretty decent to you.

As far as Alistairs age, I always thought Alistair was around 24-25, even if the calling is 20 years before the game, Rowan died withen five years of the book if Cailan remembers her death, so Alistair deffinitly could have been born before the Calling and it would make perfect sense.

And as far as the heir and a spare thing, Alistair himself said that it has been made clear to him ever sense he was a child that he has no place on the throne, they never planed or wanted him to be a spare, Eamon comes up with the Alistair plan as a "Well...we literally have no other options"