Alistair's the best partner in adventuring there ever was. That's actually how we met, in fact! Unfortunately, fate and duty forced us apart a great deal of the time in our own world. Actually being able to be with him all the time here is a marvelous luxury.
Ah, well then! You're going to meet all kinds of other races here. I'm an elf - shorter and slighter than the average human, with pointy ears. If you come down to visit the tavern, you'll likely meet Kili, who's a dwarf - also shorter than the average human, but generally more solidly built. The Qunari are also natives of my world, and two of them (Asala Adaar and the Iron Bull) are here - they're very, very tall and strong, with gray skin and horns. There are a few other races here, too, from other worlds. Actually, Kili is from a different world than I am - he's just so much like our dwarves that I sometimes forget.