#thanks to Ana for her help and her endless support with me shitting with Xal's backstory for 2 years :')

[ephemereon]

Xal, a backstory - an update

Alright, I’m bored so here goes an update on Xal’s backstory because it needed to be fleshed out... If you have questions, feel free to send them :)))

Character traits :               

Altruist, patient, social, trusting, kind, steely resolve // Naïve, emotional, envious, predictable, idealistic, impressionable

Fears :

Claustrophobia, losing someone dear

What he can’t stand/understand :

Lack of honor, selfishness (he grows to understand that though), not helping people

What he likes to do :

Cooking, reading swashbuckling adventure stories, gardening (even though he doesn’t have green fingers)

About his magic :

Always loved thunderstorms: that’s why he has an affinity with storm magic

Lost a horse younger during a particularly harsh winter: that’s why he's reluctant towards ice magic

Becomes knight-enchanter because he saw how badass Vivienne was, and also because he’s read lots of stories about them and it reminds him of his childhood books - also he can heal

He has a great mana pool  

Other :

No sense of direction

Ambidextrous

Sleepwalker during stress periods

Sleeptalker

Fidgets with his fingers when nervous

Good contact with horses

Life before the Circle :

Lived with his family at the Trevelyan domain, in Ostwick ; sometimes they’d go to Wycome for holidays and such

Had private tutors for his education

Good horserider

Loved taking care of his siblings

Life during the Circle :

The Circle reframed his views on the chantry

Discovers his exceptional mana capacity, his storm affinity

Meets Miral who mentors him; they develop a romantic relationship

At 17 he passes his Harrowing

Miral dies when Xal’s 22; he earns a scar from the event

After his mourning, he becomes a junior enchanter

When was is declared he flees the Circle

Life after the Circle :

During his flight, he’s caught in a wolf trap; he’s healed by elves (?)

Has after-effects because he left before he was fully healed

Escape lasts a year or so

Probably got lost around Ostwick

Goes back home before being sent to the Conclave

Long-term handicaps :

Wolf trap: ankle tendon remains fragile despite the healing; wears a brace; during humid weathers, he sometimes has to walk with a cane; recurrent sessions of reeducation with the Inquisition’s healer

Magic induced scars on his arms, Lichtenberg figures; on the long term (so after a dozen years), has reduced sense of touch at the tip of his fingers; doesn’t like being touched on his arms when the act is uninvited

Lost an arm lol