#denerim alienage

[shewolfofvilnius]

so a couple weeks ago I decided that my Rook in Veilguard was going to be a little girl who grew up in the Denerim Alienage and remembered Tabris from when she was a little kid and looked up to her. And I decided to replay the female City Elf origin since it'd been six years Y'ALL THERE ARE A LITTLE BOY AND GIRL PLAYING IN AN ALLEY. AND YOU CAN INTERRUPT THEIR GAME AND TELL THEM A STORY OF A HEROIC ELF AND IF THE KIDS BUY IT THEY GET SO EXCITED AT A STORY OF A HEROIC ELF.

Y'ALL this little girl is absolutely, positively, my Rook.

YOU CAN ALSO TELL HER (and the boy with her) THAT A ROGUE HERO TOOK FROM THE RICH (ie nobles and leaders) TO HELP THE POOR, AND THAT WHEN THE TIME CAME, SHE TURNED HERSELF IN IN ORDER TO HELP PEOPLE AGAIN.

That is QUITE LITERALLY Warden Rook's backstory minus darkspawn. Rook helped people, nobles and Warden brass got really REALLY mad about it, Rook stood in account but also stood proud and defiant.

I swear to the Maker I didn't KNOW about the kids when I planned this out but WOW WOW WOW.

[dragonageconfessions]

CONFESSION:

I know it's insignificant and unlikely, but I've been wanting to go to Tevinter since my family was sold into slavery in DAO and, like.... I just want to know if Valora is okay? If Bioware could put her name above an NPC's head or something, I'd be happy. My poor Tabris never got to rescue her, and I need closure.

[louminiferous]

So I was reading up on what happened to the Denerim Alienage after the epilogue and my eyes were not pleased with what they read.

[heniareth]

Alienage Lullaby

Part of the Alienage Soundscapes series created for @cityelfweek

“They changed that old nursery rhyme ma used to sing! Heard it yesterday. Why'd they add stars and wolves?” “Are you daft? Do you know nothing of what that nursery rhyme actually is?” “Well… no. Was it supposed to be anything else?” “Not here. Wait until we get home and I'll tell you.”

—Conversation between two elves in the fish market of Denerim (This song could not have been created without @bumblewarden , whose warden Novhen Tabris is a joy and an inspiration and the best Dark Wolf the Denerim Alienage could ever ask for)

(Lyrics and song without sound effects under the cut)

My darling, my darling, come lie down to sleep. You see through the window the darkness in creep. In here it is dry and in here it is warm. No darkness can touch you, no fire, no storm.

If dogs come, my darling, go run and go hide. Come to me, run past them, strike a path well wide. I will keep you safe and I will keep you warm. The dogs will not touch you, will not bring you harm.

My darling, should you find yourself lost in night, Don't cry and look up at the stars shining bright: The stars, they will lead you back home here to me The stars, they will guide you once you can run free.

If you find yourself beneath trees deep at night Go run on, my darling, to fireshine bright. Round fire there's music, and dancing, and song. Go run there, my child, that you may sing along.

If you find yourself amid ashes and scars My darling, don't fear, take the brightest of stars. The star in the gold field of daylight's bright dawn, That star is the place where free people belong.

If you find yourself in a darkness and fear, Then listen in case there's a wolf you might hear. The grey wolf is stronger, the dogs are his prey. And if you then call him, he might come your way.

[abyssal-ilk]

okay but a denerim city elf inquisitor romancing sera has so much potential. do you see it. do you see the vision. bioware why did you lock me into being a dalish elf, let me return to being a city elf pls

[redlyriumidol]

Sera and character development

So Sera is a character who (imo) gets somewhat the short end of the stick in terms of character development. She's a very polarising character and many people can't stand her- personally I love her now but I wasn't keen on her at all when the game came out. She's brash, rude, has very strong opinions and freely expresses them to the Inquisitor and to others. Sera is also very young, the youngest out of the companions, and I think her immaturity is obvious. She's got internalised racism up to her eyeballs and this makes it particularly unpleasant to romance her as a female elf, which I think was a disappointment to many.

I don't think this initial characterisation is a problem, the problem is that unlike some of the other characters we never really see her tackle her issues over the course of the game. It's easy to blame her for her opinions about elves, but realistically, this hatred includes herself, and therefore it must actually be very painful for her. it's also somewhat antithetical to her goals as a character as someone who stands for the little people- anyone can see that in Thedas, these are disproportionately elves, so caring about elves would actually be logical in her position. Sera's alienation from her identity as an elf is severe, and while I actually do think her feelings are worthy of sympathy (again, this is internalised racism, not a human character who is bigoted towards elves) they're not healthy, they actively obstruct her self-realisation. it's herself that Sera blames for the situation with the baker, it's herself that she hates, her own identity. she's from the alienage but hates people from the alienage. that's really sad, honestly.

In the breakup dialogue with her she says (about herself) "You'd get it if you were smarter. If you understood what it meant to be elven." That's pretty telling of her insecurities and self-hatred, in my opinion.

I think it was a massive wasted opportunity in terms of writing and character development not to give her a questline that interrogates this issue and helps her move past it. The temple of mythal is very personally, viscerally upsetting to her. Despite her repeated denial of it, she does feel connected in some ways to her heritage and I think it's obvious that it's painful for her. So why is it never explored??

In Trespasser, two years on, we do see a Sera who is beginning to grow up. She's very likable in Trespasser imo, her diary gives her a lot of depth. She cares about absolutely everyone. If the Inquisitor is an elf, this is added: "Is s/he all right with the elfy stuff?" and she even shows empathy for the dalish at one point: "Not as bad for dwarves as was for Dalish. Maybe." That's coming from someone who once reacted with disdain towards an elf inquisitor. She's still sceptical, but is slowly becoming less extreme. I'd just have liked for us to see it more explicitly in the actual game.

[lelianaslefthand]

like what is wrong with them

morristen confirmed

[msommers]

did you mean: blorbo with eternal anger issues

[templates: 1, 2]

[shungieshrieks]

Finally got around to making an outfit sheet of my Hero of Ferelden, Warden Linus Tabris! Plus the party that carried him through the game (including love interest Leliana <3)

Bonus: Linus looking good over the years

[rodimissliveblogs]

Literally gasped and covered my mouth with my hand as I read this codex. That's Cata's family.... her Denerim alienage family... that's her people! They're still out there! Some of them are still alive!

[bbbigforehead]

i REALLY hope city elf is an option again, i like the dalish but considering in dai we only had dalish as an option and i'm assuming based on their vallaslin both bellara and davrin are dalish, so it'd just be nice to have the option as city elf to contrast that

[shewolfofvilnius]

Jonesing so badly for Veilguard's character creator from @bioware that I made my Rook in Inquisition's creation suite, messy hair and all.

---

Backstory if you didn't see my other post.

In the city elf origin, Tabris can tell these two little kids (a boy and a girl) a story about an elven hero - it's the first story EITHER child has ever heard about a heroic elf. (Minutes later the city elf origin kicks into gear).

I HC that this was life-changing for the little girl, and she decides to follow in the footsteps of the most successful person to ever come from the Denerim Alienage. (And yes, like her idol, her destiny crosses paths with the Grey Wardens)

At this point in time, she's trying to protect her family and friends who didn't abandon Denerim's alienage - or 'elven district' in the wake of population shifts and cultural swings in the last decade - in the wake of the losses from the blight and the war as well as those who entered it having sought it for safety.

She's a couple years out from running afoul of some nobles herself, leading her directly into the path of the Wardens - but eventually, into the path of Varric Tethras.

[rangerdoubt]

ok i wrote this surana to romance morrigan but he has time for a stupid little crush on duncan right

[thedragonagelesbian]

the orlesian grey wardens rolling up into denerim only to find that both the fereldan grey wardens survived killing the archdemon somehow and now one of them is king and the other is his 'court enchanter' which as far as anyone can tell just means sitting in his lap all day giggling: ...you know what maybe we'll bring in someone else to lead the rebuilding effort

[heniareth]

Alienage slice of life

For day 3 of City Elf Appreciation Week (organized by @cityelfweek thank you so much for organizing this btw I am loving all of the entries) I am posting an old piece of writing I never posted on Tumblr. It's the day before her wedding, and Astala Tabris is enjoying an evening off with her friends and coworkers. Everything is going well for her: she's having fun, she has people she can rely on, she's got everything figured out job-wise... or does she? A slice-of-life story centered around the necessity and frustrations of holding a job, and the friends at your side as you walk through life. Enjoy!

“There he is!” Tehriel called and jumped up.

Astala threw her cards aside and followed suit. It had been a bad hand, nothing worth holding on to. The five of them sprinted over to Ilmanis, who had just stepped through the gates to the Denerim alienage. Blond mane flaring out behind him like a knight from a story book, Doher led the charge and stopped a mere heartbeat before colliding with their long-awaited friend.

“How did it go?”

“Did you get the job?” Astala threw herself over Doher to get a look at Ilmanis, who was short enough to disappear entirely behind any reasonably sized elf. “If you didn’t, they’re fools, because you’re the most competent person they could’ve hoped to hire.”

“Tell us, what does it feel like to walk around in a shem palace?” Tehriel asked. “Was it full of dogs?”

“The dogs stay in the kennels,” Astala said. “I want to know if the chamberlain treated you right. Or was he too good to interview you? Is it still that guy with the weird haircut who hired my father?”

Ilmanis mumbled something unintelligible and Doher aggressively shushed them.

“You’re asking the man too many questions at once.”

“That’s right,” Elnasran nodded. “Come, we saved you some food."

Read on AO3

[abyssal-ilk]

warden tabris falling in love with king alistair? tired, done, old news. warden tabris falling in love with queen anora? THATS new. surely that can't go wrong.