#And runs the risk of becoming far more embittered by it. Or worse -- dead in the witch-hunt that grip the city.

[dirthera-blog]

so my Andrastian gutter child won the poll for a new muse. I figure I might as well do a small info dump to advertise her before I get to work on the blog. So under the cut is a small bullet point rundown of my DAII OC Inessa, coming soon to a blog near you.

Inessa Briar, Kirkwall born and raised, currently living in Lowtown.

Mid-twenties to late-twenties in-game, unless certain missions are failed. More on that below.

The daughter of Hightown aristocracy, Inessa saw both of her parents die of illness when she was still a child. She has only vague memories of them, and none of the gilded privilege she was born into. Her parents debts saw the house and much of the wealth stripped out from under Inessa, leaving her to be raised by thee Chantry. For all the teasing and occasional resentment, she has always been more a child of Lowtown than of nobility.

Chantry-raised seems like a pretty sweet deal, and in any other part of Thedas probably would have been. But this is Kirkwall, where things are terrible, and apprenticeships were doled out like candy so older children could start paying their own upkeep. Earning money to take care of yourself freed up Chantry funds to be dispensed elsewhere, after all. It was through this Inessa began to cut her teeth as a team mom, hoarding some of her meager earnings as savings in case other children in the system needed it. It also started to show her that the Chantry was not infallible nor was it a particularly good example of Andraste’s faith.

She was briefly favored as a potential Templar or Sister -- a good, pious little girl, always looking out for  the other orphans, fiercely protective of them. She was just too clever, though, asked too many questions, became critical of the Chantry. Mages became a particular bugbear between she and the sisters who raised her. There were a lot of spankings and a lot of demands to go pray forgiveness for the blasphemy of thinking that Mages must be the children of the Maker, too. Eventually any hopes of her becoming a Chantry tool were forgotten, and some of the old women still think it a particular shame.

Once upon a time befriended a girl who was a mage. Once upon a time got the spanking of her life for slipping her little baubles and considering her a friend. 

Still got kicked out on her ass once she came of age, since she was of no further use to the system that raised her. Thank the Maker for that apothecary apprenticeship. She eventually got a job with her old master and got a small place in the slums, and has been going strong ever since.

Community is everything to her. Lowtown is her town, and she tries to look out for as many of its people as possible. She tries very much to secure the idea ‘you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us.’ It’s a work in progress that she tries to lure people into with her acts of kindness around the city.

A faithful Andrastian often seen haunting the Chantry that raised her and doing charitable deeds. She seeks to emulate the standards set by various religious figures, giving to those less fortunate and being a pillar of moral character. This, of course, makes her a minority both in Kirkwall and the Chantry of the city. For all the problems she has with the Chantry, moreso after the organization turns its back on refugees, it is still the place she feels closest to her Maker. She still loves to be there, even if she tends to steer clear of many of its members, unless it’s someone she grew up with.

Once the refugees from Ferelden are abandoned by basically everyone, Inessa does her part to bring them into the fold as well. Donations, scraps of food, whatever medicines she can make, every little bit helps, though she wishes she could do more. She also wishes the Chantry would do more, but she believes it a losing battle to even hope. She’s very protective of those without a home and is more than willing to share whatever she can. The least she can do is live up to the example set by the Lady herself.

Gives out ‘missions’ to help refugees and the poor. Watches Hawke’s rise to fame with great interest, especially if Hawke is more chaotic good and/or pro-mage. Her speaking out against the Chantry and history of ‘aiding’ mages gets a target painted on her back over time, however. There’s a good chance she could be ‘rooted out’ for her alleged heresies.

Despite her ties to the city, she dreams of other places, of sailing out on a ship and making her own name and adventures. It seems silly to mention, however -- it’s a rare day someone of her standing gets out of Kirkwall like that. So she’ll do what she can with what’s realistic, but still sometimes stares out over the water, and dreams of shorelines and brighter cities.