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bamf-jaskier · 3 years

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AU Where Dara is the Heir to the Elven Throne

I have been thinking about this NONSTOP and yeah so this is like my new fav headcanon rn. We know Dara’s family was involved in Filavandrel’s uprising and that Filavandrel himself wasn’t indicated/shown to have a family so imagine that Dara is either Filavandrel’s son or just heir and THAT is the reason he hid but still felt very guilty over hiding while the elves were slaughtered by Calanthe.

In episode 4 he says, “Her soldiers…They laughed when they did it, killing, raping. They laughed the hardest when they were swinging babies from their legs, smashing their heads in. I was the only one left. Because I hid. I should’ve saved them. or fought and died.” (I kinda talk about this more here)

and if you think about this in the context of Dara being a prince it makes sense. Because then he realizes he has to hid in order to continue the royal line of the elves but also he feels a sense of guilt because he is feels as though he has this sense of duty to his people. It also explains why he knew so much when the doppler was impersonating Mousesack about what happens in sieges and how prisoners are tortured, etc. Dara would have been involved in at least some way in the planning and fighting of the uprising even if he was extremely young.

So Dara leaves Ciri behind because he had this realization that just like Ciri is pushing for her destiny and her plans, he has to do the same. He felt this sense of kinship with her, both royalty whose kingdoms were stolen from them. It adds this layer that Dara’s home was stolen by Ciri’s family and how there is this struggle there and how much blame can Ciri hold for her ignorance and the sins of her family? Clearly Dara cares for her in some aspects but there is going to be this tension that I think in the end would be difficult to overcome.

Dara leaves Ciri behind and while she finds Geralt, Dara finds the few elves that are left. Filavandrel is still alive and is forming an elven army. They want to take advantage of Cintra’s weakness in order to take back their land. This sort of plays into the idea of the Scoia’tael but instead of being a group of elves who were manipulated by Nilfgaard and honestly were expected to lose from the beginning, this would be a real fighting force with clear goals and intentions.

At first, Dara has trouble adjusting once again to the responsibility of being heir. While he was on the run, he adjusted to hiding under the radar but he knows the eyes of his people are on him again and he feels a sense of survivor’s guilt for watching his people die during Calanthe’s massacre and struggles with having this leadership position alongside Filavandrel while feeling like he wasn’t good enough. Of course, as he plans this elven campaign, and they fight against the few remaining Cintran forces and take back a lot of their land and set up their own kingdom once again, he gains confidence.

He is crowned king once the new elven kingdom is set up because Filavandrel is just so tired and wants to rest and Dara is the new blood the elves sort of need to keep them strong and secure. He’s definitely the sort of ruler who will dress in normal clothing and go out among the people in disguise. I love the royalty-in-disguise trope and I’m willing to bet that Dara will often do this. He loves traveling and meeting new people and new experiences without the grandeur of the royal title.

Imagine he reconnects with Ciri while in disguise when she is planning to take down Nilfgaard, maybe it’s been a year or so since they last saw each other and by now, Ciri has grown a lot. She’s more secure, she has been training and being raised by Geralt and Dara has grown a lot too so there's now this sense of maturity between them. And although Dara doesn’t reveal he’s royalty he does offer to help Ciri once again. He is not a fan of Nilfgaard, recognizing that they are just another form of benevolent imperialism.

So perhaps Dara helps Ciri plan attacks against Nilfgaard and surprises her with his talent strategy. Maybe he plays a role as a spy or an infiltrator within the Nilfgaard Army. (also imagine him trying to keep his role as a fighter alongside Ciri a secret from his advisors and telling them he’s on the road or something when he’s actually fighting Nilfgaard, the comedy)

And then, down the road, Nilfgaard is defeated and a lot of people in Cintra want to take their land back and re-establish their kingdom again. However, there is now this new Elven Kingdom that has formed near Brokilon and much of the land they have is in what was once Cintra.

So Ciri goes to the newly set up Elven Court to negotiate and sort of feel out how relations between Cintra and the Elves would work and then who is on the throne but Dara who did NOT expect Ciri to arrive.

And they’ve been good friends for a number of years now so Ciri is just SHOCKED that Dara is actually the KING of the Elves and he’s just like “Listen, I didn’t want to tell you I thought it would make things awkward”

I love this idea a lot and I know I don’t really have time to ever write it but I am obsessed.

#the witcher #dara #ciri #I lot these two a lot and have many ideas but #I have no time to write #ARGH #the witcher netflix #the witcher aus #myposts #elves #why the FUCK are there not more Dara head canons?#deadass I haven't seen a SINGLE fic about him or anything #there's a couple where like...he's adopted alongside Ciri sort of #but nothing really about him specifically #anyways here you all go

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