Dragon Age - Characters thread (OOC discussion)

ELLAS – Our Hope
Race:  Elf – Former Dalish. Approximate age early 20s. (Born 9:25 Dragon)

Class: Mage - Shapeshifter

Appearance:

He is taller than the majority of modern elves, androgynous with long platinum blond hair, that hangs well past his shoulders, and blue eyes which can be terrifying in their intensity when he fixes you with his gaze. Without a doubt you would call him beautiful more than simply handsome and he moves with a feline grace. His voice though is masculine, deep and melodic. (A soft Dalish/Irish accent).  In fact you can often hear him humming a tune softly to pass the time.  He favours simple robes in green and grey as befits his heritage but embroidered with intricate patterns that were taught him by his mother depicting stylised animals and plants.  He wears moccasins in summer and boots in winter.  His staff is a simple oaken branch topped with eagle feathers.  When entertaining he wears his pied piper costume (see below). 

Personality:
He has a generally optimistic, light-hearted approach to life (he admits he slips into whimsy at moments of high drama) but can be terrifying when angry, particularly when he thinks people he cares about have been threatened. He gives the impression of self-confidence that some might describe as cocky.

History:

The first thing that would strike you about Ellas is that he has no vallaslin, which is almost unheard of for a Dalish of his age. His knowledge of Dalish lore is very comprehensive, which would suggest that at one time he was a Keeper’s apprentice. If questioned about his origins he will admit that he and the Keeper of his clan had “differences of opinion”, which is a euphemistic way of describing their relationship. On the vallaslin issue, he wanted the vallaslin of Fen’Harel. When informed that he had no vallaslin, Ellas asked the very sensible question “why not?” The Keeper had no answer whereas Ellas put forward what he considered his 3 sound reasons for why Fen’Harel was the only god worth having. In the end, the Keeper said that perhaps Ellas needed more time to consider the matter as he clearly wasn’t ready. As Ellas puts it “So in the eyes of the Dalish I am still a child.”

Someone once said “Give me the child until seven years of age and I will give you the man”. Up until the age of 10, Ellas was living with his father, Darian (a former Circle mage), and his mother, Imowen, in the forest away from the clan. Ellas’ father taught him to question everything rather than simply accept what people tell you.   “Never believe all you see, much less all you hear. This is a good maxim whether within or outside the Fade. My Da’ taught me that. He said to never stop asking questions, that way one day you may eventually find out the truth.”

This is why Ellas found it hard to simply accept the traditions and customs of the Dalish as presented to him by the Keeper, particularly when what was being stated seemed to not stand up to logical scrutiny. It is clear from his accounts that his father was by far the greatest influence on his formative years, although his mother played her part as well. During those first ten years their little family was not part of the clan as Darian accepted the Keeper's argument that the Templars would never stop tracking him down since he had killed his original pursuers and so allowing him to enter the clan would bring them all into danger. His mother was asked to choose between the clan and her love. She chose the latter and not long after Ellas was born.

As may be imagined, this means that he has a discerning approach to Dalish tradition. He doesn’t have respect for any of the gods apart from Fen’Harel. Shartan is also his hero. He wants to honour his memory reminding people that it was he who set the elves free in the past and Andraste saw him as her equal. They were united against a common foe and he feels the elves should unite with good people of all races to combat the evils of the world. “One day all elves will be equal citizens of Thedas. That is my dream."  His list of friends illustrate his attitude to other races. They comprise Bann Oswyn Sighard of Dragon’s Peak, Jasce an Ash Warrior with Scruffy his mabari, Burren the “untraditional” gay dwarf and Gerry the transgender elf.

He is a very talented mage, far advanced from what you would normally find in a mage of his age, coming into his magic at the tender age of five. He generally favours Primal spells, as appropriate to his background, but is also strong in the Spirit school.   He does not do much in the way of healing magic, although his mother was a very talented healer and he still has her recipe book of more conventional medicines based on herbal remedies.

When he shapeshifts he becomes an enormous snow leopard, which he calls the King of the Mountain. He was taught the rudiments of shapeshifting through an encounter with the “Shady Lady” but feels that it is because the lesson was cut short by the arrival of the clan’s hunters that he lacks the knowledge to, as he puts it, turn clothes to fur and back again. Hence he simply disrobes before changing. This has resulted in another of his favourite sayings. “When the naked man smiles prepare to die.”   He usually only transforms when out in in the wilds where you would expect to find a snow leopard. In fact he prefers to deal with situations if he can without using magic at all but simply using his wits.

He left the clan at Wintersend 9:45 shortly after the death of his mother as he had nothing else to keep him there, although he still cares deeply about the Dalish and is protective towards them. Since leaving his clan he has alternated between living alone in the forest and a peripatetic lifestyle moving from village to village providing entertainment in taverns and inns. This has allowed him to maintain a modest but steady income in the summer when there is far more traffic around the roads of Ferelden and thus the publicans are more likely to pay him to be there as he draws in custom and helps their patrons work up a thirst. He has developed an identity as a minstrel, the Pied Piper, which people will readily remember if they have witnessed his performance. Dressed in an outfit of black and white halves, he alternately sings, plays a pipe or engages in a lively, exuberant dance, with much intricate footwork. His enthusiasm is infectious and he frequently manages to persuade the audience to join in, mostly on the songs but even on occasion dancing along as well.

Name: Burren
Age: 25 (Born: 9:20 Exiled: 9:37)
Gender: Male
Race: Noble Caste Dwarf (Exile - Stripped of family name and banished from Orzammar)
Class: Non Combatant - Secretary to Bann Sighard 

Appearance

He takes great care of his appearance with neatly trimmed hair and beard, carefully groomed and braided. He prefers fine clothes, in particular silk shirts, fur wraps and leather trousers. He is of medium build and does not have highly developed muscles. His voice is deep and masculine but he is softly spoken even when angry.

Personality

He is a gentle soul. In his own words he is "a lover not a fighter". He is extremely put out when his normal schedule is interrupted but other than that he is generally easy to get along with. However, Scruffy drives Burren crazy for obvious reasons. The puppy’s antics are the closest Burren has come to actually going berserk.

History

Burren was introduced to Bann Sighard by Jasce who in turn had been contacted by Burren's mother on his banishment, asking if Jasce would look after him. Burren was definitely not what Jasce was expecting to find when he met up with him at the Gnawed Noble Tavern in Denerim. He offered him the role of secretary in the household of Bann Sighard on Oswyn's behalf. Jasce and Burren are now good friends.

Burren is not a “traditional” dwarf and actually gets great satisfaction from poking fun at some of the more absurd dwarven traditional beliefs. He has never swung an axe in anger, though he did drop one on his foot once, and he dislikes dwarven ale. Burren bathes every day! In fact he insists upon it and is extremely put out when his normal bath time is interrupted. Burren prefers the finer things in life, good food, roaring log fires and soft feather beds. He does like alcoholic beverages but of the spirit based variety. He is very fond of brandy which means that being so close to the producers of the best brandy in Thedas, Brandyholme in the Brecilian Forest, suits him very well, particularly as Bann Sighard enjoys a discount on all purchases, which Burren naturally extends to himself. This is about as far as he has got with the traditional dwarven pastime of corruption in some form.

Burren used to work in the Shaperate and was exiled to the surface as the result of some form of “indiscretion” behind the storage shelves. This was actually a matter of greater shame than the fact that he was exiled and his family have told him that under no circumstances should he reveal the precise nature of his crime to outsiders. Jasce, however is in the know, but will not be drawn on the subject. He will explain to anyone who enquires, that Burren’s chief shame was not getting exiled for the more traditional reasons of shafting one’s relatives, framing one’s relatives or fixing the provings. The fact that Burren was caught doing a different form of shafting is just not traditional and despite what people think King Bhelen is only a progressive when it comes to his own agenda. Burren did not fit with that, so Burren had to go.

Jasce will readily admit that it is entirely down to Burren that he has become more open minded than the majority of Ash Warriors. Traditionally, Ash Warriors determine the level of respect they will give you by your race. Dwarves are shown the highest respect owing to the fact that their founder Luthias Dwarfson (the name gives you the clue as to parentage) learned to harness the battle rage of the dwarves and of course traditionally dwarves are great warriors of broad physique and strong for their size. At the other end of the scale, elves are granted little respect because they a slender, weak in relation to dwarves (or so the misconception goes) and have not been known to go berserk. Burren turns this stereotype on its head. Whilst he has a medium build, he does not have big muscles and only gets mildly angry, unless his bath time is interrupted.

Burren confesses that he was actually rather relieved to have been banished as he was never happy in Orzammar. His only friend there was Dagna, who whilst older than him, was more sympathetic than most considering she was also trying to escape the role she was traditionally expected to follow. Burren was heartbroken when Dagna left for the surface but also glad for her that she was finally able to follow her heart's desire. He says that whilst the Hero of Ferelden might be known for defeating the Blight, they will always be a Hero to him for arranging for Dagna to study at Kinloch Hold. They kept in touch by letter and he followed her progress as she achieved success in her chosen field. He raised a glass of brandy to her when she obtained the post of Arcanist to the Inquisition.

Ellas and Burren have a close platonic friendship.