#he loves his alienage so so so much

[herearedragons]

thinking about the headcanon that after the Arishok fight Meredith has leverage over Hawke due to them being outed as a mage.

thinking about Secret trying her hardest to win the duel without using any magic at all, and when she does fall back on it, using the subtlest spells she has, ones that you wouldn't visually recognize as magic unless you know where to look

(Meredith knows where to look. Meredith has been looking for a while. and even if she wasn't, a templar will always sense a mage reaching for the Fade)

...but maybe Secret does succeed. maybe she's careful enough and well liked enough that putting her away based on Templar Sense alone would stir too much unrest.

(but her friends don't have the same luxury)

(the healer who rushes to her side as soon as the Arishok falls, putting his hands over the gaping wound in her stomach. if Meredith searches his clinic, will she not find lyrium? will she not find a staff?)

(the Dalish elf who shoves the healer away, kneeling over Hawke, touching the side of her face with a bloodstained hand, chanting - or singing? - or praying? - something in Elven. if Meredith searches her home in the Alienage, will she not find things an elf definitely shouldn't have?)

(Secret knows.)

(Anders won't accept her invitation to move in - they're not on good enough terms - but Merrill does, happily. Secret frames it as a romantic gesture, and it is, but it's also to keep her safe. but she fears that it's not enough)

(Secret knows.)

(Secret knows that, in succeeding to protect herself, she has exposed her friends)

[obessivedork]

I have this mental image of Merrill teaching my Hawke Dalish lore and magic because she’s got a (probablly Dalish but they really don’t know for sure bc of how young Malcom was when he was taken away) Elven granddaddy and she’s DESPERATE to learn more about his culture! Anything! Everything!

[thekingofwinterblog]

How to fix Halamshiral as a Zone

Inquisition is a flawed game.

I don't think there's anyone who is going to argue otherwise.

The only question is wheter you place it higher or lower than DA2.

One of the things I think it does better than DA2, is that it managed to give every place a soul, an identity of it's own, and at least a distinct, if not always amazing storyline.

The emerald graves doesnt have a very interesting plot, but it has some spectacular side quests, and atmosphere, inculding a haunted mansion, which might be my favorite possession based quest in all of DA because it shows much better than others just how dangerous untrained mages actually are to those around them.

The storm coast tells a story of what was once an important dwarven port, and shows how it fell and was repurposed over time.

The Hinterlands shows the aftereffects of the templar mage war, as well as solas stupid plan to give cory his orb, and the mage rebellion and an actually decent time travel story.

I could go on, but the point is, I usually have at least aomething nice to say about every single region.

All except one.

Halamshiral.

Halamshiral was the single worst part of all of Dragon Age Inquisition for me, and every single time I boot up this game, it's always the last thing i do before the temple of sacred ashes, despite how bizarre the game flows as a result.

And the reason is because i hate everything about it.

I hate it's unique attempt at side quests, i hate the characters involved, i hate the Orlesians who inhabit it, and i hate how this section tries to copy what worked so amazingly well with Orzammar and Denerim during the landsmeet section, and fails every single shot it lines up.

The ONLY good thing i have to say about this, is that it's at the very least relatively short.

So here's today's question. How to fix Halamshiral?

Let's begin with the three main players.

Celene, Gasparde, and Briala.

The big problem with every single option, is that they all suck.

Celene and Gasparde are both fucking awful people without any redeeming qualities, they have no charisma, and there is no prospect of the Empire reforming itself under either of them, the way Orzammar would under Bhelen.

Meanwhile, Briala is much, much better, but the problem is that we know exactly what is going to happen here if you support her.

Maybe today elves will have it better, but tomorrow, when Gasparde is gone, or celene turns on elves again as she always does all the progress will be repealed, and reversed, along with a few purged alienages.

Its an old story that's been told before in Dragon age.

In short, there is no reason at all to care about this overall plot. None whatsoever.

There were so many reasons to care about both Orzammar and Denerim in the same situation, and every single character involved had so much more charisma than either of these would be monarchs.

So let's fix that.

Starting with Celene, take the idea of her wanting to reform the empire, and actually take it to the next level.

Celene is genuine in wanting to reform the empire, and has already taken grand, successful steps to make the entire thing much better for everyone, even elves, giving them and serfs more rights, outlawing the practice of chevaliers having a tradition of killing unarmed city elves to graduate.

But the catch is, while she is genuinely making progress, she is doing so within the confines of the great game.

Celene has nonintention of changing the great game, no plans of wanting to remove this thing that holds Orlais back more than any other, this center stone of their nobility and it's culture.

Meanwhile, Gasparde is a different kind of reformer, one that takes the ideas he had of him claiming to hate the game, and actually doing something with it.

He is far less progressive, has no love for elves, is far more warlike than Celene ever was... But unlike Celene, his ideas of reform isn't going to act within the grand game.

He's going to break it.

Unlike canon gasparde, this gasparde is hated by every single noble family in the entire empire. His only support, and it's a strong one, is the army. The parts of the army that supports Gasparde, and they are a huge part, are loyal to him personally to the hilt.

And he hates them back. He hates the game, he hates the way it cripples the empire, and he wants to change things. Like Celene he plans to break the serfs free of their chains, for the good of the nation and it's power and economy if not for any progressive reasons.

And he'a going to start with Halamshiral.

For this Gasparde isn't merely positioning men to stage a coup... He's planning to kill EVERY SINGLE NOBLE in Halamshiral. Evety man, every woman, every child there.

He's going to reform this empire by wiping out it's cancerous nobility in one fell swoop, and install himself as supreme dictator to see his reforms through, and wiping out the entire Orlesian nobility that might have opposed him, french revolution style.

And thus the Inquisitor has a dilemma.

Unlike Orzammar, where only one side was a reformer, both of these Orlesians are... But you have to choose one.

Do you choose Celene? The more progressive candidate, who wants a more peaceful Orlais going forward? But who is not willing to get ridd of the grand game to do so, thus making it a permanent risk that all her reforms will be undone...

Or will you support Gasparde, and by doing so be complicit in destroying the entire nobility of Orlais, many of whom are not guilty of the shit that Celene and Gasparde here both hate so much? Gasparde is far less likely to create a peaceful Orlais going forward... But he will have obliterated the Grand Game for good and all, a prize that might be worth this Red Wedding style bloodbath.

Meanwhile there is Briala, the elven spy who has enough influence to allow, or prevent Gasparde's plans from going through.

Here there should be another moral dilemma, quite different from the base game.

Do you convince her to aid Gasparde, in exchange for the Elves getting a duchy of their own in Halamshiral? Do you then back her up with Inquisition forces and support, forcing Him to publicly announce her as such, and trust his own, twisted version of honor to actually stick to it going forward(Something he ultimately does), or do you throw her to the Wolves the moment things get rough?

Or alternatively, do you convince her to side with Celene, and bury the hatchet? And if so, on what terms? And similarly, if she actually wants to get something out of this, you actually need to back her up... Something you may, or may not choose to do.

And voila, here you have an actual story of intrigue, massive, lasting political changes as a result of the Herald's actions, and morally grey on grey choices.

Everything that Denerim and Orzammar had in spades.

Now moving on from the plot to the actual place.

Halamshiral has no soul.

It's a french villa on a mountaintop. Whoop de freaking do.

It has no interesting murals, unique art only found there, interesting geography, or anything really to make it stand out.

Compare it to Denerim and Orzammar, and the way they fleshed out the entire city's levels of power and criminal underworlds, and you see the difference.

Denerim is a very realistic, squat, squalid medieval city, with it's buildings built on top of every single bit of available space.

Orzammar is a full on high fantasy dwarf city lit up by a lake of lava.

Halamshiral is a villa presented as a city.

How do you fix that?

There is an artist here on Tumblr who pretty much showcased what Halamshiral could have been, if they had taken the idea of the Dalish(who were the original owners) taking inspiration from native americans(amongst others), and use that to build a truly spectacular city, which has long ago been paved over, but the structure is still there.

Make it a city on the water, like the aztex capital of Tenochtitlan, a marvel of canals and stone.

Make it this Venezia like city, with canals everywhere you look, and the entire city running on water. A marvel of Dalish city building, where they took something as simple as a couple of islands in a lake, and built the most beautiful city in the world.

And rather than just limit you to the palace, instead let you actually explore this city.

Expand the entire event from one night, to a week.

Let the Herald explore the city, meet the players, interact with the nobles, become friends with a few like you could with Ferelden's bans, which in turn makes the possibility of sacrificing them for the greater good hit so much harder.

Let you choose what fancy stuff to wear to the balls and meetings, rather than have this stupid motto of forcing you to wear one, pre determined outfit like this game had for some reason.

Let you discover the places where what little Elven Architecture and art still remains can be found, and talk with the elves who still live here, the descendants after the first elves the Orlesians enslaved.

Make the plotting of Gasparde and the positioning of troops be gradual, not instantly discovered and twarted.

And at the end, if you choose to back Gasparde, you mirror that scene from Dragon Age 2, where the Templars sail across the bay, and you either step aside and witness the bloodbath you just allowed to happen, or you fight them and be recognized by the nobility(most of which are horrible, horrible people) as a hero who just saved the day.

Have the venatori plot be to kill both Gasparde and Celene, rather than their involvement mostly be about handing the player the the easy knife for the knot of which monarch to pick without having to get your hands dirty.

Also have the entire group be gathered for once. Every inner member of the Inquisition just like at Denerim.

Each of whom have their own thoughts on the events.

Who supports who? What is the right thing to do? What is better for the inquisition? Are you staining your honor beyond repair if you back Gasparde? Does the Inquisitor maybe have a breakdown after witnessing what they just allowed to happen and they walk through the gardens or rooms filled with corpses? Maybe have the scene at the end with the love interest be about a moment of them truly comforting their lover in the aftermath of it all, understanding(or not) that as boss, it's your job to have to make the tough decisions. And now you have to live with them.

Or if you wanna go the other way, this could be one of the breaking points like Origins had. If you support Gasparde, Blackwall choses to tell you to get bent, and that he will die as benefits a knight. Defending the week, and calling you out on how you are just as bad as he ever was, a child killer who's going to run away from responsibility, to pretend you are some better person than what you actually are. You're a murder. Just like he was. You are just as responsible for the blood that's flowing as he was with that carriage back in the day.

It would have been a far more impressive reveal moment for his crimes, that's for sure.

Cole probably would be the one who would be second most upset, but wheter he leaves or ultimately stays should probably be depended on your other choices and your relationship with him prior to this, probably have his personal quest be the determinating factor of what he chooses to do.

And i could go on, but point is, this would be a return to Origins choices actually mattering. There were choices that could make or break a characters bond with you. Shale would not budge regarding Caridin, Leliana and wynne would stand against you if you choose to defile the urn, Sevran would choose to betray you for his old friend if he didn't like you enough, and of course the age old choices at the end of act 3 in da2, where you have to pick between templars and Mages, as well as anders fate, and chances are regardless of what you do, at least 1 person ends up dead.

If anyone reading this has any suggestions for how to further improve this storyline, feel free to share, but regardless, i think we can all agree that this is a vast improvement of what we actually got.

[vigilskeep]

hi! ive seen you talk about your surana a bunch but i dont know if ive seen her full story. what were some of the pivotal decisions she made? i love hearing you talk about your ocs, theyre always so in depth and thought out!

oh thank you!! :) my surana is my Eldest Daughter from my very first full playthrough of a dragon age game, so i think a lot of people newer to the blog (like... from less than a year and a half ago probably lmao) have less of the context in complete form. so i will attempt to summarise!! it may be... long...

minerva surana is a manipulative, driven elven circle mage, heart-breakingly willing to sacrifice whatever she believes is necessary for her Grand Goals, who is often so busy playing 5d chess she forgets she’s a twenty-one year old with no experience of the world outside the tower

okay it did turn out fucking long the rest is under the cut its like 9 bulky paragraphs enjoy

her family were tevinter liberati, elven slaves who had devoted themselves to buying their way out and very recently succeeded. her parents were desperate to see her and her elder sibling grow up knowing only freedom, and sent their children south with another part of the family while they remained to pay off the last of their debts. the journey was long and difficult, and they had little left when they ended up in the denerim alienage. in a twist of bitter irony, magic that might have made minerva someone of value in the imperium saw her freedom once more revoked in the south. minerva remembers nothing of tevinter, and only a few fragments of what came next: of light through the vhenadahl’s branches glinting on a templar’s blade, of her sibling fighting them and being knocked to the ground, terribly still, with blood in their hair, and of her grandmother saying what she might have said many times on that long journey south: we can survive anything, as long as we never look back. ironically, minerva often took that to heart by denying all memory prior to the circle.

young apprentice minerva was a sullen child, with few friends; karl thekla took an elder brother’s interest, and jowan clung to her talent. she only really flourished when, after her terror of her natural gift for spirit magic saw her self-hatred turn dangerous in her early teens, first enchanter irving took an interest. he was a father figure to her, and he showed her how to channel her power into control, and her distress into ambition. newfound devotion to elemental magic saw her hailed as a prodigy, and surely a future first enchanter with irving’s tutelage. (only irving considered her too headstrong for the role. he never told her, fostering the drive he had cultivated, both fearful for the state she might return to if he didn’t, and curious as to what else she might become.) she grew up arrogant and beautiful and deeply loyal to the circle, learning that it was only the weak and the defiant who would fail to thrive there, and convinced she was neither. many of her peers wanted to be her, and few of them wanted to spend much time in her company. except jowan, still the little brother hiding in her shadow, and halliserre amell, a rebellious rival with a winning smile, who made up for their lack of her discipline and raw power with sheer brilliance, and whose heated arguments eventually developed into... ah, something else heated.

not long before the start of the game, amell told her they were going to accept tranquillity. it didn’t matter how clever they were; with their weak magic, they would die in the harrowing. they’d only been so defiant of the circle before because, having accepted their fate, the risks were nothing to them. furious and unable to admit it was because she was in love, the last thing minerva ever said to them when they were whole was that they were a coward not to try. when jowan told her he feared he too would be made tranquil, minerva was still recovering from the loss, not to mention flushed with even more arrogance than normal from her own successful harrowing. she had been the perfect circle mage all her life, twice as good as everyone else to make up for every rumour about where she was from. surely she had earned one defiance. surely she could save this one thing, her oldest friend. and she is a loyal person, in her way, emotion powering her fierce drive, incapable of abandoning what she has set her heart on. irving, from whom she had learned everything, was ahead of her every step of the way. he arranged for her to be taken in by the grey wardens. she had proved herself as headstrong and unsuitable as he had feared—and she was shocked and bitterly betrayed to finally see that—but he also believed this might bring her to where she would truly belong.

as a grey warden, minerva’s highest concern is perception. when the stakes of the game are revealed, she has enough hubris to see it as a chance to not just save but change the world. defeating the archdemon isn’t enough. she needs to be seen defeating the archdemon, at the forefront, as an elven mage; she has enough idealism to believe it will really matter for her and people like her, and enough shrewd cynicism to consider what she may have to sacrifice to achieve it. mostly she approaches problems with the skill for diplomacy and management that irving taught her, with that good good Master Coercion skill. she gets many of the “better” and certainly more peaceful quest outcomes, not always motivated by altruism, but determined to be remembered well when she leaves each faction behind. her one great sacrifice of this goal to be seen as the perfect mage is when she takes up blood magic, determined after she sees its power that she alone can handle it, to get the job done and keep what’s hers alive fight after fight. but that only makes her more dedicated to her actions elsewhere

the real test and most pivotal moment of her arc is at the landsmeet. she has arranged anora’s marriage to an alistair hardened for the role (once more following irving’s example, learning to teach ambition as he had taught hers. is there love in that, or just selfishness? she doesn’t know). all that matters is that the joint rule neatly fulfils her desire for compromise to please all parties. but then she struggles between two aspects of her goal: she wants to be seen, personally, as the victor; she does not want every noble in ferelden to see her kill the hero of river dane with magic. she knows how that scene will be remembered, in the end. when riordan suggests recruiting him instead, it seems the perfect solution to everything, the salvation of the day. and then she realises she’s broken alistair’s heart, just when he’s breaking hers. she is incapable of backing down in front of them all (it’s only to alistair, her alistair, but she can’t do it—not to a human, and not to someone part of her will always see as a templar—not when everything she wants was so close.) he abandons her for the throne she taught him to want. she goes on with loghain in the party, and eventually—unable to let loghain snatch the final sacrifice from her grasp, and realising she does want to win and live, after it all—convinces him to do the dark ritual.

in terms of her most important relationships with companions: minerva traditionally romances zevran, who is in many ways uniquely her match having learned the same bitter lessons with the crows that she learned from the circle, and who is so dear to her and capable of lightening her heart when no-one else can. i’ve also experimented with the idea of her romancing alistair, to really dramatise the Landsmeet Divorce and capitalise on future political shenanigans where she could one day be his mistress, but more traditionally they are simply an extremely closely trauma-bonded pair of people who are incapable, at least that year, of really understanding each other deep down. it falls into a pattern where she loves someone with all that fierce drive, enough to die for them, but she will always prioritise what she thinks they need over what they are saying and what they want, often with misjudgements and terrible consequences for them both. it was true with amell, it’s true for many others

she has something very intense and homoerotic going on with morrigan, she has a strained relationship with leliana and wynne, and she has respect and comradeship and a fair bit of fundamental disagreement with sten and loghain. the awakening squad are the people she will consider family for life, most notably nathaniel who she started out not liking at all and is now her work wife, her right hand, can finish her sentences, etc.; anders, who remembers her as karl’s annoying teacher’s pet telltale little sister and is still sometimes baffled by who she’s become; velanna, who makes minerva her most genuine self by having regular screaming matches with her as a sign of affection; and oghren who tried to quit drinking at the same time she tried to quit blood magic, leading to many conversations that deeply baffled everyone around them.

the “current” minerva surana is a sharp-tongued leader who was born for the role of warden-commander, who loves her work and that it matters, who has a truer confidence that is less blindly arrogant and more willing to admit to mistakes, who has worked her breathless way up to h*lding h*ands in public with someone she loves, who has finally learned the hard lesson that the world needs more than an heroic example who followed all the rules to truly be bettered... and who, as rebellion brews, has never been one to sit back and watch while others changed the world

[raviollies]

Also since what happened in the timeskip was left entirely ambiguous I get to write my own stuff:

> Daee's mental health was already suffering by the end of inquisition due to feeling betrayed by Blackwall, Clan Lavellan being killed, Dorians departure for Tevinter and the shaky situation of Inquisition. By the end of Tresspasser he is at his lowest due to the revelation of the Elven gods and Solas, losing a limb, losing access to magic due to the anchor destabilizing his mana flow, corrupt nature of Inquisition and Dorians possible departure. There were points where he contemplated ending it.

He was forced to spend several weeks on bed rest due to the injury, which led to deconditioning and weight loss due to mostly sleeping, leading to needing physio therapy to aid with walking.

Due to this Dorian postponed his return to Tevinter to aid in his recovery. It was a fairly unpleasant process for both; Daee feeling profoundly ashamed of needing help with basic tasks (bathing, walking, brushing his hair) and feeling like a burden on the bright Magister who could be changing things and is instead playing caretaker, and Dorian for seeing a loved one so self hating and physically ill. The recovery takes a long time, but they do make it through, but it's a bumpy ride. Eventually Daee does get to a more stable place mentally but he certainly isn't the same as he was before, and holds a deep grudge against Solas, because it's easier to place blame all on one person. Daee cannot thank Dorian enough for all that he did.

Once his body stabilized he regains the ability to cast. Because of Well of Sorrows, his mana regains much faster, and his aging is slowed considerably but neither notice it yet.

> Once Dorian departs for Tevinter, Daee travels the south to explore old Elven ruins to gleam any information on the gods and Solas and hunting any Venatori he finds along the way, gaining the moniker of "Demon of the South". Dorian is immensely proud and though he can't say who he's in a relationship with he swaggers a bit past Venatori in Minrathous.

> They visit each other frequently through an Eluvian. Dorian works hard at the magisterium to one day be able to show Daee Minrathous proper at his side. While visiting Daee sticks to his estate due to the danger being outside poses, as both the Inquisitor and a young elf. On occasion Dorian and him will take a walk at night in low traffic areas, with Daee wearing a cloak to conceal his ears, particularly to watch fireworks on Holidays. Dorian hopes he's alive long enough to see a free Tevinter and they can enjoy festivals together. No one knows of their relationship, not even Mae or the Shadow dragons, though that's to avoid of getting a target painted on them, as they are safer the less they know. Only people aware are Varric and Vivienne.

> They did have a brief vacation to Antiva as a sort of "honeymoon" though for obvious reasons they are not officially married. They hope to return for the 10 year anniversary.

> Dorian does attempt to learn Elvhen but obviously struggles. It brings Daee great joy never the less. After meeting Mae and some of the Shadow dragons, Daee attempts to learn some Tevene, though with equal fumbling. The first things Dorian teaches him are swear words (but technically the first word he learned is "Amatus")

> Dorian commissioned a fancy prosthetic for Daee with full articulation. Though it requires Daee to use magic consistently for it to properly work, it is designed with a mage in mind, and is not a dramatic drain on mana. It is properly fitted with measurements to be that of his right arm. Though he cannot cast with that arm, Daee had been teaching himself to cast with his right arm, and carry the staff in his left.

> They decided that if they're both alive after the events of Veilguard, to find a quaint place in the woods, far from others and adopt (an Elven child, ideally from an Alienage or Tevinter.) Dorian feels as though he's imparted a lot to the Shadow dragons and they can handle themselves, and can work with the Magisterium from a distance, and using Eluvians to travel.

[bunabi]

oh my god no, your point about zevran--first of all i ate it up, second i think you're right. my 1st playthrough of origins i ran as a male tabris that romanced zev and i need to do another playthrough because the vibes i always got about zevran that i could never quite put to words was that contrary to the common(?) fandom perception of zevran just being a very pretty and gentlemanly piece of meat, zev always struck me as much more nuanced and subtle LI than some of the other romance options who were more blatant in their feelings and thoughts and--yeah the big tell to me that something was off with Zev was also whenever he stopped speaking in a grandiose, expressive, or easygoing manner. You don't have to prompt him that much or be invasive after he's already decided to tell you something about himself; he'll talk for a while and he's descriptive. Even when other companions are being rather rude to him, Zev can do the verbal equivalent of a cartwheel easily and often. But he gets reticent with you after he's given you his earring and he's having a crisis about being in love with you and wanting to be your partner. And every time he caught wind of another companion liking you, he's gentlemanly but also quite straightforward and short when he says he'll get out of that companion's way if you want him to (but he doesn't want you to want that, he wants to be kept); aaaaand ... yeah, then he does what you pointed out with oghren. thinking of how Zev responds to you giving him those dalish gloves and what he says about his mom there (and in general how he behaves while you're in the forest doing the dalish questline) my best guess is that he's ... on paper he says he has no attachment to the dalish because he doesn't really think of himself as being one of them, but also he can't help but be sentimental and want some kind of attachment to something longer-lived and meaningful, like the dalish clans and their heritage/history? i can't remember what exactly Zev's thoughts were on alienages (though I imagine that would be a clue here) but my sense of Zev was always that for a dude who often seemed to believe himself a detached outsider, Zev also still identifies with his elf heritage & cares about elf issues--it's just that, you know, as a formality Zev still needs to take it from the top when prompted and explain how he's an amoral miscreant and murderer, that he's owned by the Crows and lacks individuality, you see he's technically neutral about everything because he's committed so many crimes dohow can he judge? Or something like that. I remember similar convos like what you're describing coming up between Zev and ... whatever the rock person's name was. Slate? Slade? Granite? Rock? SHALE. Yes, Shale. Because Shale always has odd questions. I'm sure Sten probably also has contributed to the mystery of Zev in some way but I can't recall off the top of my head lol.

Think you meant to send this to @zevsurana! I'm not the OP of that post! 😅

[crossdressingdeath]

Sera: I got caught stealing when I was little, yeah? You get alienage or worse for that, but the "Lady Emmald" took me in. She was sick and couldn't have children. I had no parents. It worked out. Anyway, she gets a year sicker, so I ask about her cookies. Because mums make cookies. I can pass that down, or something. Turns out, she couldn't cook. She missed that talk with her mum. The ones she "made" she bought and pretended. Aw, right? Well, no, she was a bitch. She hid buying them by keeping me away from the baker. She did that by lying that he didn't like me, didn't like elves. She let me hate so she could protect her pride. I hated him so much, and I hated... Well, she died, and I hate pride. "Pride cookies."

I wish Sera's story had actually... y'know, done something with this. Show her working through her shit and improving as a person! Hell, even have her acknowledge that this little plan only worked because so many people hate elves that "the baker hates elves" wasn't worth questioning. But instead this is the only time anything about this comes up. And I won't lie, the petty, grumpy part of me does wonder if that's because the rest of her backstory (the street kid taken in by a kindly noblewoman who caught her stealing and instead of turning her in to the guards raised her as her own and left her a fortune in her will only for it to be stolen from her by the government because she was an elf) doesn't fit the whole Robin Hood schtick the game keeps trying to pretend she has. They could've focused on that, the fact that even being a noblewoman with a good-sized fortune wasn't enough to protect Sera from anti-elf prejudice! But that would've required her writing acknowledging that elves are the epitome of "little people" in Thedas and DAI does not like elves one bit, so of course it doesn't do that.

And I won't lie, this backstory is like... okay, it's not that it's not sad, but in comparison to the wide array of horrors that everyone else has going on it feels... kind of boring? The noblewoman who took her in, raised her as her own and left her a fortune lied about a random baker hating elves (with zero mention that she ever did anything else so much as unkind to Sera). That's unfortunate. Cole's currently terrified about being controlled by Corypheus, Solas's friend has been captured and tortured because it doesn't count as a person to most people, Josie has assassins after her for trying to keep her family from destitution, the love of Vivienne's life is dying, Leliana is facing the fallout of her dear friend's death and those are just the companion quests that I currently have active. I've already dealt with the reveal that Dorian's father nearly tried magical conversion therapy on him that might have left him a vegetable and only didn't because he left first, Bull having to choose between the religion he's served his whole life and his family in the Chargers, and Cassandra learning that the leader she respected and looked up to was infecting Seekers with red lyrium and that she was made Tranquil as an initiation rite. I haven't even started Blackwall having to face up to the crimes of his past because he finds he can't run from them anymore. Basically Sera's thing could've been a big meaningful backstory... if it wasn't for how completely overshadowed it is by everyone else's shit and how Bioware does literally nothing with it.

[sotc]

I MISS HIM ALREADY SO MUCHHH. HOW DO I BREATHEEEEE WITHOUT YOUUUUU. Apparently the timelapse between the end of Origins and the beginning of Awakening is 6 months and I am so upset that the honeymoon travel between Zevana was cut short! THEY DESERVE LONGER. Traveling as Milana did in the year facing the Blight was the most of the outside world she's seen considering her entire life was within the confines of the Alienage and parts of Denerim. Now with the threat of an Archdemon gone, I imagine her and Zev went traveling abroad towards the Free Marches and Antiva City (perhaps even a bit of Orlais? hmm, not sure tho) I think Zev was delighted to show her his city but also lmao so very dangerous of them to do so - but who are they if they aren't finding the thrill in a bit of danger anyways :3c I'm sure at some point though an assassination attempt may have been too close of a call in Antiva to their liking. Duties called her back to Ferelden anyways and Zevran assumed it was time to finally stop running and actually go after the Crows, as noted in this letter. Afterall, now he has a life of his own and a love worth fighting for. 🫶 I always think back to that line when he mentioned the fortune teller in the whorehouse he grew up in told him he would live a long life (much to her surprise) and for as long as he's been an assassin and the years ahead for them both.... SIGHS LOVINGLY. CHIN HANDS. KICKS MY FEET. It's what he DESERVES!!!! Now if only we can find the cure to the Calling for Milana huh...

[echthr0s]

#VEILGUARD30 | vhenadahl

"So… Anansi… you ready? To… you know. See the Alienage?" Alistair's voice is tentative, shy about the sensitivity of the subject, but earnest. Always earnest, Alistair, even in his jesting. Anansi suppresses a chuckle, but before he can clarify what amused him -- before Alistair is wounded -- Morrigan is ready with a comeback.

"Yes, Anansi, are you ready? Being, you know…" She drops her voice to a quavering whisper. "One of those… surely you must--"

"Maker's sack, Morrigan, do you ever--" Alistair bites off the rest of his sentence, squeezing his eyes shut and appearing to struggle for composure. Morrigan smirks and settles back in her seat, having done her wicked deed for the hour.

"I will say, 'Maker's sack' is a good one. You've spent all the standard oaths on me many times over, I'm happy to see you getting creative."

Anansi has long since stopped trying to intercede between them. It is like ritual, now -- Alistair is clumsy but kind, Morrigan teases him for it, Alistair clearly wants to strangle her with her own scarf. Neither of them has ever cornered Anansi and begged to be kept away from the other. It is a dance -- not one Anansi would ever be able to follow the steps of with any grace, but both of them seemed to be doing just fine.

"Thank you for asking after my comfort, Alistair." Anansi tucks an errant strand of straw-blond hair behind Alistair's ear, tracing his stubbled jawline with gentle fingers as he brings his hand back down. Alistair's shoulders unbunch and he blushes. Anansi doesn't have to be facing Morrigan to know she's rolled her eyes, nor does he have to be clairvoyant to know she would later pointedly perform the same gesture on Anansi before grasping his chin and kissing him hard enough to bruise. Mockery is Morrigan's way, but there is flattery in it for the chosen few, if one has eyes to see. "I am anxious, to be sure. Anora has painted a grim picture. But I am well-accustomed to horror."

"Well, sure, but…"

"You think it is worse, that it happens to… 'my kin'?" Anansi tosses back his thick raven hair, revealing pointed ears, but these ears are adorned with bone charms, much like his neck and his wrists: a witch's fetishes. A Chasind witch's fetishes. "I am not elven, Ali, my love. I am of the Wilds."

"Barely," mutters Morrigan, who has never forgiven Anansi for being dragged off to the Circle.

"I know little of elven culture, city or Dalish. When I walk into that place, they will see pointed ears, yes. But they will not see kin."

Alistair nods, teeth worrying at the inside of his lip as he considers. "I am Fereldan, but… not. To me, I am Avvar. But people insist on seeing a Fereldan, when they look at me." He blinks, refocusing on Anansi. "But that's the opposite of what you're saying, isn't it. Sorry. May have misunderstood."

Anansi's smile is soft, appreciative. "I think you understand just fine."

--

When Anansi walks into that place, that place with its structures sagging with disrepair and its peoples sagging with despair, that place with its defiant garlands and tapestries made with hands desperately trying to recall arts lost, that place lousy with plague -- not just sickness, but the crawling presence of the Tevinter Imperium -- he feels a queer sickness descend upon him like a smothering shroud. His vision doubles, trebles, then snaps back. He sways on his feet, and Alistair, used to this, steadies him with a hand.

"All right?" the other Warden asks, quietly.

"No," Anansi sighs, "but it matters not." He scans the landscape, his eyes continually catching on coughing beggars and wilting gardens and wailing children. "There must be a... a leader of sorts around. Let's--"

He'd stepped forward, intent on finding someone to question, but in an instant the alienage goes grey in his vision, and he knows he is gone. He rides the wave of vertigo, swallowing the rolling nausea, softening his eyes as colours and shapes shift and recede and expand. Acute and aching sensation of being stretched like soft candy as he is pulled up and out and sideways, away from his body, into the Archdemon's dream. Were the darkspawn here, too? Was this their plague? No… he senses Urthemiel's psychic intercedence has another cause.

Steadied in the Fade-shift, he looks up. The thick, gnarled tree at the center of the Alienage stands stark against the blackened sky, thrumming with energy, electric with it. < Burn. Burn. Burn! >

Urthemiel's capacity for eloquence is variable, and it seems today he is too riled to bother with clarity.

< Took our ichor. Grew tree from it. Grew in power. Hungry hearts, hungry elvhen hearts. >

Anansi looks upon the alienage's tree with new eyes. Yes. The power, though greatly dimmed with the passage of time and the ravages of neglect, is still there. Stolen, warped, reforged. He can feel the Archdemon's psyche surging, as if it is standing up, preparing to fly. A blast of heat at Anansi's back, dragon breath, dragon rancor. The tree is engulfed in flames, and Urthemiel sinks its great teeth into it, ripping, ripping. Nothing will ever quell Urthemiel's rage, nurtured over ages, but this… this would at least bring a savage pleasure.

"-- wouldn't smell all that great, either!" Anansi swallows against another heave of his stomach as he is wrenched back into his body, the tail end of whatever retort Alistair was delivering to Morrigan clanging like dented bells in his ears. Alistair, sensing Anansi's return, flinches guiltily and looks down at the head he is cradling in his lap. "Ah, love, you're back."

Anansi's gut aches, and he misses Sten and their delicately brewed root tea terribly. Maybe he would leave all this to the senior Warden and run off to the forest where the Qunari, misliking human cities, had gone on a personal investigation. Maybe he would leave it all. Take Sten and head south, to… the Wilds, the Wilds that were now overrun with darkspawn, the fens and marshes and swamps festering with Blight, and his people…

"Anansi?" Morrigan queries from behind her scarf, wrapped around her face against the sour smells of the alienage. "What ails you?"

He then feels the tears trickling unheeded from his eyes, and the weariness that weighs him down as he struggles to sit up. Some elves had crept close to them, wary but curious. He shakes off the malaise. "I'm just tired. Unfathomably. It matters not. We have a job to do."

Later, Morrigan would wreathe him in silk-soft magics and let him weep, let his exhaustion and his grief flow out of him like the Blight that would soon flow out of Urthemiel's ravaged body at his command. Later, Alistair would bring him sweets and some up-charged but admittedly amusing trinket from Wonders of Thedas and squeeze him tight against his big, warm body until the tension shudders out of him and is replaced with desire's sweet ache. Later still, Tevinter would be purged from Denerim's alienage and a tired but hardy Hahren Valendrian would offer Anansi a boon, and Anansi will ask only to visit with the tree -- the vhenadahl -- awhile. He is not elf. He is not dragon. And yet, he is. It is being elf and being dragon that have brought him here, to this place: core threads of the multiplicitous fabric of his existence. When he approaches the vhenadahl, he knows it to be kin.

[lasatfat]

Artifacts of Thedas: A plaque denoting the Hero of Ferelden’s birthplace (Eireann Surana & Zevran) ~@lordgoretash

artefacts of Thedas | @dadrunkwriting | @lordgoretash

I don't have a title for this one yet. Help me out!

When she was crowned Queen of Ferelden, one of Anora Mac Tir’s many promises was to rebuild the city of Denerim, with new techniques and sturdier materials. So much of it needed to be rebuilt anyway, and it made sense to do so in ways that would have the city last for centuries to come. The city’s elves assumed that they would be left to their own devices – the crown has showed little care for them in the past. How strange it was, then, for human construction crews to arrive in their alienage. The sewers were properly covered, and cast iron water pumps were installed in the square. Many of the old, ramshackle houses were deemed unsafe for habitation, and pulled down one by one to be replaced by apartments with sturdy foundations and fire-resistant materials.

One little hovel remains. Zevran has been here before, and so has the woman beside him. She’d been carrying the little girl then, too, but in her womb, rather than in her arms. There’s a plinth to the left of the door now, built of stacked stones and mortar, and bearing a bronze plaque.

This plaque was erected to mark the birthplace of EIREANN SURANA Hero of Ferelden Vanquisher of the Archdemon Urthemiel Born on the seventh of Harvestmere, 9:12 Dragon

“I didn’t know I was born here,” Eireann says, absently.

Zevran frowns. “Is that so?”

“I should have,” she continues. “I should have, I don’t know…worked it out.”

It does seem an obvious assumption, but obvious assumptions are often wrong. He would say so, but Eireann isn’t finished. “No, no, I should have known. I should have been able to learn it. Why does the kingdom of Ferelden know more about me than I do?”

Zevran folds his arms, and stares at the offending plaque. No doubt it was placed in good faith, with an intention to honour a truly remarkable woman, but it has also served as a reminder of a childhood lost. Or rather, a childhood stolen. He might be able to relate to that, but he’s not so sure he ever had one to steal.

Little Farah must pick up on her mother’s distress. She lets out a worried little whimper, and hugs Eireann around the neck, resting her head on her mother’s shoulder. She may be the luckiest of them, in more ways than just material.

“To think you, solecito, were born in a castle! Quite the change, no?” As he speaks, Farah lifts her head to look at him. Zevran tickles the babe’s cheek, and she chortles heartily – she might be the cheeriest baby he’s ever met, though admittedly that’s a very small pool. He lays a hand on her mother’s free shoulder, and squeezes firmly. “You must teach her everything you wished to know about yourself. She will know the stories of what you have done, but she must know where you started.”

Eireann kisses her daughter’s head, and smiles at him. “Thanks, Zevran.” She looks over to her mother’s new house, made of stone and mortar, warmer and safer than anywhere her mother may have lived before. “Mamae is making extra leek and potato soup. There will be more than enough for you.”

“I wouldn’t want to intrude,” he replies, and Eireann rolls her eyes.

“Come on. You know she loves you. I’m surprised she hasn’t tried to adopt you yet.”

They both laugh, and Farah giggles too, as if she understands completely. Perhaps she does. Zevran wouldn’t know.

“Alright, potato and leek soup it is,” he agrees, “as long as she hasn’t added any Denerim rabbit.”

Eireann looks scandalised. “Would my mother ever?”

“She did when we were last here!” he argues.

“Oh, you mean when the alienage was quarantined?” Eireann retorts. “I wonder why she had trouble getting to market for ingredients.”

Their playful argument echoes well off the new stone walls and freshly cobbled streets.

[siennadraws]

Some Rook lore, because the handsomest man in Thedas deserves it.

Wenalen is an half-elf from Clan Lavellan, and Terys Lavellan's, the ex-Inquisitor, childhood best friend.

He was born at the exact same time as Terys, and grew alongside her. It was no wonder their Vallaslin were of the twins.

His padre, Alonso, was an escaped Crow, and his papae, Sa'Renan, was the one that found him, in the verge of death after another Crow was sent to kill him, and nursed him back to health.

When Clan Lavellan was attacked by humans and templars, his padre saved their family's lives by pointing a sword at Wenalen.

That image, and the attack, are a scar he still carries. That trauma made him disconnect from himself and latch unto Terys, becoming dependent on her. Once that connection was severed by the Inquisition, Wenalen was left to rebuild himself and find a future where she wasn't a guarantee.

When Wenalen reached Minrathous, he immediately caught wind of a shipment of slaves captured from the city. He had to do something, and was fully prepared to do it all by himself. However, he was joined in by some Shadow Dragons who already had their eyes on these slavers.

Among those captured was Lia Mercar. She couldn't walk, so Wenalen carried her home. The Mercars gave him a place to sleep in their home, as thanks for saving their daughter, and he became like a son to the family.

The Shadow Dragons recruited him immediately, not having any reason to distrust a Dalish, and admiring his courage and skill.

He had drinking problems, verging on addiction, ever since Terys joined the Inquisition. But having found a calling, delivering people from slavery and fighting against the Imperium, and not wanting to ruin his relationship with the Mercar family, he decided to become sober.

The family did notice his withdrawals and helped him, a lot. Especially the youngest daughter, Sarai, who Wenalen dotes over.

Wenalen sends Sarai souvenirs of the places he visits with the Veilguard

After Minrathous was attacked by Ghilan'nain, Wenalen arranged for the Mercar family to stay in Wycome with his fathers. At least until the Evanuris were defeated.

His territory with the Shadow Dragons was the Minrathous' Alienage and surrounding district.

While he tries to exercise as much caution as necessary, he does empty all his anger fighting slavers and Venatori. The aftermath isn't pretty, and stories about him are told.

He kept his full identity hidden from Varric, who would have heard about him from Terys. To the dwarf, he was just some Dalish half-elf, not the last Inquisitor's childhood best friend, and companion.

When he heard about Varric being in town, he started shaving his beard, hoping it'd be enough for him not to be recognized. He kept this habit while leading the Veilguard.

He plays the Dalish Guitar and has a lovely voice. After meals, or when he can't sleep, he'll play Dalish songs for a while. In the Lighthouse, Lucanis often joined to hear him during those sleepless nights.

Wenalen is learning to speak Antivan, since his padre never taught him anything beyond a couple basics. He's also trying to learn about the culture when he can.

At first he was very unnerved by allying with the Crows. But after some time of working alongside them he grew to respect the faction, and even enjoy the company of the Crows (some, or one, more than others).

Lucanis was the first to know his full story, after the dragon attacks. Wenalen told it to the team- after the meeting with Terys Lavellan, who also wasn't aware he was Rook, went a bit sideways.

He is best friends with Neve and Davrin.

Emmrich is like a mentor to him. With his Vallaslin to the elvhen psychopomp, Wenalen feels a connection to the dead, and greatly enjoys learning about the Grand Necropolis and the Mourn Watch.

Taash is like a sibling to him. He feels very protective of them, and can relate to the feeling of living in many worlds.

He gained the scar on his cheek fighting Fangscorcher.

Very friendly and comfortable with Spirits and Wisps, who enjoy his company back. Wenalen loves that when he hangs out with Neve, they also have a bunch of Wisps around.

Stopped shaving to mourn Davrin and Assan, and kept the beard after the team found them both healing with Eldrin, after Elgar'nan was defeated.

[thedragonagelesbian]

The Cyrus Extended Universe

I love one (1) elf very much. How much? So much that I can't stop putting him in scenarios, spawning an intricate web of AUs, LIs, and slight variations that, while perfectly sensible to me, is a lot for anyone else to keep track of.

This chart & the liner notes under the cut sketch Cyrus Hawke's development across DA2, as well as how I've reinterpreted the character in BG3 with links to fics & character & ship tags uwu

And, of course, there are some things that all versions of Cyrus have in common:

A lover AND a fighter

Sword & shield tank

Loyal as a pup and twice as pretty

Duty comes first, and his first duty is to protect & care for his loved ones

Struggles with his sense of self beyond that duty

Feels like he's always falling short of being good enough & constantly trying to make up for it

Difficulty connecting with his body as more than a line of defense

Sensitive about having his body modified with magic, including benign healing

Fears being made a symbol-- reduced to his armour, his weapon, his title, and made to be the instrument of someone else's will

Has had his kindness and eagerness to serve others taken advantage of

Can't sit still to save his life

Loves nature, gardening, and lavender especially

Stubborn, determined, bad at letting go

Despises injustice and abuse of power

DA2!Cyrus

Playable Elfs Mod

Start of DA2 (25)

Blue!Hawke. Defined by his cheerful, trusting, and giving nature, Cyrus' unwavering commitment to his friends, family, and community make him the brightest light in Kirkwall's Alienage.

But there's a dark side to his selflessness, which his new friends are quick to notice: his overprotectiveness, his willingness to sacrifice himself recklessly and needlessly, his singular regard for the well-being of others at the expense of his own, even the pride he seems to take in his ability to endure pain...

End of DA2 (32)

Red!Hawke. Bearing the weight of Kirkwall on his back has left Cyrus bitter, disillusioned, and tired. As the title of Champion has eaten away at him, he has had to fiercely guard his heart and sense of self, only ever softening for those he loves, to whom he is still ruthlessly devoted.

When Anders asks to pay the price for the Chantry explosion, Cyrus feels he has no choice but to oblige him.

Romancing Varric; QPPs with Merrill and Fenris; besties with Isabela; complicated mutually requited mutual martyrdom exes with Anders

Fics: Little Prince; if i was any closer i could only lose me

Pallybarb!Cyrus (~120)

Oath of Devotion/Oathbreaker Paladin & Wildheart (Bear Heart) Barbarian

Romancing Karlach & Halsin; ending in Avernus with Karlach and Wyll

Cyrus' oath was born out of pure, unadulterated, selfless commitment to those around him-- first the other orphans in the Lower City of Baldur's Gate, and then to anyone he came across as a young adventurer.

Initial unfazed by getting tadpole-d, Cyrus is devastated when he breaks his oath in the Shadowlands, viewing it as a profound personal failure and a sign of worthlessness. With Karlach's help, he comes to understand that neither he nor his value are defined by his oath, and he decides to remain an oathbreaker, despite the heavy absence in his soul.

Fic: h-llowed

Ranger!Cyrus (~250)

Gloomstalker Ranger & Champion Fighter

Romancing Wyll; ending as Grand Duke Wyll's husband

A century and a half ago, Cyrus was a selfless and naive paladin. He swore his Oath of Devotion to the exiled heiress of Iriaebor. Seeing the potential of his blind loyalty, she named him her Champion, and while he helped her reclaim her city, the two became lovers. As a ruler and a partner, however, she was despotic. Kept caged by her for decades, Cyrus eventually broke his oath to kill her.

He fled the city and made a new life for himself as a hunter in the Wood of Sharp Teeth, but he lived there in self-imposed isolation, determined never to let his guard down or let anyone into his heart again.

...Until he meets Wyll :)

Fic: The Cicatrix: The Functional Stage of Wound Healing

Durge!Cyrus (???)

Harbinger Aasimar (mod + head); Ghostslayer Blood Hunter (mod) & Ancestral Guardians Barbarian (mod)

What if you took a guy who has trouble defining himself outside of his ability to bleed and to make others bleed in order to protect his friends... and you obliterated every other reference point by which he might construct a sense of self. Would that be fucked up or what.

He is the sacrificial lamb he is the wolf in sheep's clothing he is the dog guarding the flock

Romancing Astarion & Wyll

[oakthcrn]

𝑻𝑯𝑹𝑶𝑼𝑮𝑯 𝑯𝑬𝑹 𝑩𝑳𝑨𝑫𝑬𝑺 𝑫𝑰𝑫 𝑯𝑰𝒁𝑬𝑵𝑭𝑹𝑨𝑬 𝑺𝑰𝑵𝑮. 

A Dragon Age verse loved and crafted by Jackie

Read More under the cut.

Lark remembered her earliest days within the great city state of Starkhaven. Her parents were elves that lived in the alienage. She remembered playing there until her family decided to leave Starkhaven for Tevinter. What she later learned was that her father got a job with the Shadow Dragons. They moved to Minrathous when Lark was eight years old. It was a whole new world for Lark, but she didn’t mind, she made friends with a human boy named Caelum Tsukino. They were inseparable, and his parents were also in the Shadow Dragons. They were taught together, ate together, and went everywhere together. Lark learned how to wield blades and bows while Caelum honed his magic. Life was good, and Lark enjoyed the times where she traveled with her father to Treviso to treat with the Crows. She often played with the crows her age and made friends. 

For several years this was how it was. Life was hard but good. Lark officially became a Dragon after the loss of her father, who was killed on a mission, and her mother died from illness a year later. All she had left was Caelum, whom she had fallen deeply in love with. She protected him at all costs, and he loved her in return. Lark took the nickname “ Rook ” given to her by Varric. 

After getting involved with a difficult duty of tracking Venatori, Lark and Caelum became engaged, and after the mission, they would be married. However, during a scouting mission, they were ambushed by Venatori, and taken captive. Both of them endured torture, and pain for several days. Lark tried to escape, and was severely wounded. She couldn’t protect Caelum as they took him away for a strange ritual. Lark was angry, so much so it attracted a powerful demon known as Retribution, once a spirit of Protection. . He promised her that if he allowed him to possess her, then she would get her revenge. Lark accepted the terms, and when the demon, who introduced himself as Hizenfrae, thrummed with an unnatural fiery strength. She forced herself up and despite the pain in her wounds, she interrupted the ritual, and murdered the venatori savagely. Through her blades did Hizenfrae sing. However, to Lark’s horror, Caelum had been drained of blood. 

She had to get to Varric, and get help, she pushed herself so far that her body eventually gave out and she fell down the shaft. Not even the demon could wake her. Fortunately, she was found by Varric and taken back to the hideout to recover. When she awoke, she confided only in Varric of what happened. Told him of Hizenfrae and made him swear not to tell another living soul. They held a funeral for Caelum, and Lark vowed she would destroy every single Venatori. Over the next two years, Lark continued her work as a Shadow Dragon, and her bond with Hizenfrae became stronger. He was strange for a demon, he didn’t take control and only made an appearance when Lark’s life was threatened. He remained dormant, except when it came to battle. He would channel his power through the blades that Lark wielded. Eventually, she joined Varric in hunting the Dreadwolf.

[therookandthecrow]

I've cooked up another Rook to romance Lucanis with in the future. Let me check my list, because I'm fairly certain that I've created more Rooks to romance with him than I can count on one of my hands.

Nirasha is the first female Rook I'm planning to romance him with. There is a long backstory under the cut -- it took me a while (about a week) to fall in love with her as a character, but now I adore her. 🥰

Nirasha is a Dalish elf, but she wasn't always Dalish. Her life began in the alienage of Highever. Her mother Nera never told her much about her life before she met her father, Halen. She and her younger brother Eirlen were the couple's only two children.

Life was simple through her youthful eyes, while sheltered from the realities of what was expected of two elves serving a human lord, while treated and paid well, the unfairness of what stations an elf got to hold in life was remarked, even to her.

Stoically, her parents worked to support their children. The peace of her childhood was cruelly interrupted during the Fifth blight. The Lord, Francis Aldwir had abandoned the city, and with his home - and his elven servants.

Neither Nera nor Halen were skilled fighters, and when the Darkspawn encroached the walls of the Alienage - both perished to the horde. Their two children orphans in the blink of an eye. The two of them ran for their lives while the horde ravaged the remainder of those who were unable to fight.

The two children ran until they could no longer, and when they would find a safe place to rest and to hide, they'd run again. They hitched a boat from Gwaren, stowing away in the cargo - before landing in the Free Marches.

They'd stalk through the night, not allowing themselves to be seen by bounty hunters, Templars and by others who'd take advantage of vulnerable people during a Blight. When the orphans were able to run no longer, tired and utterly forsaken - shoes worn through the soles, clothes ragged and dirty...

They thought that they'd meet an end. However, a group of Dalish scouts from nearby Nevarra had found the two children of their people, huddled together with haunted, pale faces. The three scouts discussed among themselves in a language neither Eirlen nor Nirasha were familiar with before they beckoned them to come with them.

The two had to be carried to the encampment by the two stronger scouts, as the third scout looked pityingly at the wounds that the two have 'collected' during their journey. The warmth in the scout's eyes were the warmest that they'd seen since their mother's eyes.

The clan's Keeper took one long look at the two children before he gave a look to his First, who nodded solemnly before he beckoned them forward. It turned out that these two were not the first City elves to find their way to the Clan by way of tragedy.

Their old life was by all means over, but they quickly felt at home with the Clan whose scouts were so kind as to bring them in, as opposed to leaving them to die by exposure. Nirasha and Eirlen were once again a part of a family, although they mourned their parents - they were among their people, and they were more free than they ever were as city elves.

Fast-forward some years, Nirasha was highly distrustful of humans due to how Lord Aldwir had let her parents perish by the Darkspawn instead of taking them along with him to the safety of his second home in the Free Marches. The Clan itself she became a part of held a cautious approach to humans as well, making sure to not camp near human cities.

Nirasha's bitterness continued to grow, and she poured a lot of her energy into crafting, eventually getting a Vallaslin of June. She was never one to journey out much, and she never intended to join the Veil Jumpers; that said, the backstory for how the Veil Jumper Rook occurred, and the rest was, as they say, 'history'.

If she'd met Lucanis even five years before she'd joined the Veil Guard, I doubt that she'd have given him a chance due to how her interactions with humans have been for the first twenty-plus years of her life. Nirasha has a lot of trust-issues to work through, but hers are merely with humans.

I'd like to see her slowly become softer and more open around Lucanis and to become protective of him, even against her own will and against her previously held ideals to have nothing to do with humans, especially when she has to work with them to save the world. I can see her being cold and distrustful to Neve as well, who is Tevinter AND a human.

While Davrin may be the most ideal choice for her to romance, she is actually not too fond of the Grey Wardens, because my canon Warden committed many atrocities during the Blight - and in his lack of favor in her eyes, he recruited Loghain who'd sold Ferelden elves into slavery into the Wardens, and considered him a good friend.

I can see her looking at Davrin with a raised eyebrow of concern, as she wonders if he'd do the same thing - because she associates Wardens more with abuses of power than with saving the world from the Blight. That said, I can see her warming up to Davrin and considering him a friend after she gets to know him.

Bellara is an obvious candidate for her best-friend status, apart from being faction-mates, I just can see them getting along exceptionally. Another thing is, she sees how Bellara gets along well with Lucanis, and she realizes that if another one of her people can get along with a human, so can she - albeit reluctantly.

Little does she know is that her mother wasn't always named Nera, and that she wasn't always a City Elf. Nera was born in central Antiva, near the Arlathan forest, into a Dalish clan, but was taken at a young age into the Antivan Crows.

After a decade and a half of serving the Crows reluctantly, she faked her death and forged a new identity in Ferelden where she met and married a Ferelden city elf, Halen. Nera would sing Antivan lullabies to her children, and she'd leave Crows feathers under their pillows - although neither of her children ever figured out why.

I headcanon that she learns about her mother's past in her relationship with Lucanis, and she finds an affinity with him due to shared Antivan roots and where she can look past the whole 'elves vs humans' mindset as she falls in love with him.

Her mother, while she was a trained assassin during her life in the Crows had left that all behind, when the Darkspawn had come, she was ineffective of holding them off, unfortunately she never thought she'd need those fighting skills again. How wrong she was...

Oddly enough, one of the items that Nirasha was able to grab while fleeing was one of her mother's old daggers.

[vigilskeep]

Hi Harker! Sorry if you've posted abt this before but I couldn't find: with how much of a strict teacher & staunch blood mage hater Malcolm seemed to be, how did Keir react at first to merril? What changed their opinion of blood magic? Ik your Hawke has a good relationship with her later, but I struggle to see red personalities (like my own red mage Hawke) actively reaching out to her at first past that first obligation of completing the debt to flemeth.

hi!! there’s a couple of reasons keir is able to trust merrill as much as he does so quickly

keir was very obedient to and thought very highly of his father. but there are points on which they differ, and probably the greatest one is this: keir isn’t an andrastian. keir privately views some of his father’s strictest warnings as coming from the circle and the chantry that taught them, not his father. it isn’t to say there’s no discomfort, and he would be highly distressed by the idea of letting something his father told him to care of, like his father’s staves and grimoires or, you know, bethany, become tainted by blood magic. but he doesn’t feel any particular urge to combat the existence of blood magic in general, nor does he fear it as malcolm did

(after all, he becomes a reaver himself, and that’s a fairly close neighbour to blood magic. he may not think highly of himself for resorting to it—he believes, prior to the legacy dlc, that his father would have been able to protect their family without turning to such things—but other than that he does not have malcolm’s qualms.)

another thing his father taught him, as i mentioned when talking about keir’s dynamic with my lavellan, was to show respect to someone like a dalish elf who held anything similar to a position of authority, or indeed to any skilled mage. in keir’s head, especially early on in their relationship, it simply would not be his place to question merrill’s approach to magic, as someone who considers himself uneducated in the subject. he believes she absolutely knows more than he does and that it would be shameful/disrespectful to think he could challenge that knowledge with, like... lessons from the circle that he overheard his father giving to bethany

keir may consider himself uneducated in magic, but he would dearly like to know more. spirits, the dalish, and the fade are all areas of interest to him, and he simply loves to be around mages and hear their discussion. he may not be the best at expressing all that, but my point is that he would seek out the company of any friendly mage available, it’s magnetic to him

hawke is given the responsibility to protect merrill and conduct her to kirkwall. it’s not the kind of thing that keir takes lightly. he might have considered his duty to marethari concluded when they reached the alienage, as that’s all marethari asked, but after merrill asks for his continued company and offers her continued services, he can’t really let it go. he does need all the help he can get. (also he’s a bit brusque to her on the mountain because, you know, he’s red that’s how he is with strangers, and if i have to feel bad when after all that she still tremulously invites him back because she “could use a friend”, he has to feel bad.)

obviously all that may not be applicable to your hawke but it’s where keir’s head is at. his trust in her is absolute very quickly; he bargains with the demon in the deep roads expedition on her advice

[housederiva]

I was thinking of a city elf OC that gets curious about Elven language, so he asks for Dalish to teach him that, but also don't plan on being a Dalish himself cause he has an established life in the city. But I'm not sure if such a thing as a whole would have a place in DA. But on the other hand I'm more like "use your imagination it's fictional all the way"

Dear listener, this is really cute and I love the concept of it. The cool thing about Dragon Age is that it's your story as much as it is everyone else's and if that is an OC you want then he's an oc that exists!

The overall opinions of the Dalish vary from clan to clan just like how the overall opinions of city elves vary from alienage to alienage. If you want, you could go down the route of him being from the Kirkwall alienage and have Merrill become his teacher if you're worried about the overall dynamics of a specific clan xx There are elves in the game that lived in the city and left to be with the dalish, So don't worry about that being on the realm of possibility either