Headcanoning War Vet/night Elf Adaia With The Line "[Adaia] Wanted [Tabris] More Than Anything. It’s

Andraste and Shartan

Part of the Alienage Soundscape series created for @cityelfweek

“Hahren, Take better care to instruct the Alienage's children to avoid blasphemy and gross irreverence. Shartan is not a canonical figure of the Chant, and he certainly was not our Prophet's Lover. I will let the matter rest for now, but I will not be able to ignore future occurrences. That such an insinuation was made at all in the birthplace of Andraste would be enough cause for a public outrage.”

—A letter from Mother Boann of Denerim to hahren Valendrian of the Denerim Alienage

WARNING! The following song is explicit and irreverent.

(Lyrics and song without sound effects under the cut)

The Maker loves Andraste, does Andraste love him back? And Maferath is fine I guess, except that he does lack A certain girth and attitude, so when she got to pick, Andraste chose the elvhen man with long and lovely… ears!

We all know that Andraste loved Shartan! We all know that they made love in her tent! We all know that Andraste loved Shartan! We all know that Andraste fucked an elf!

And when Andraste went to sleep into her tent at night, A shadow would approach the flap and enter it and hide. And when the ‘ooh's and ‘aah's began, Andraste's hound heard some. He rolled his eyes, he heaved a sigh and left them to their come.

We all know that Andraste loved Shartan! We all know that they made love in her tent! We all know that Andraste loved Shartan! We all know that Andraste fucked an elf!

When our Lady was in chains and dragged upon her pyre, When Maferath had sealed his fate and stoked the Maker's ire, Shartan and hundred elves ran fast to save our Lady bright, And when they died Andraste cried: “I knew it, I chose right!”

We all know that Andraste loved Shartan! We all know that they made love in her tent! We all know that Andraste loved Shartan! We all know that Andraste fucked an elf!

Merril doodle

City Elf Appreciation Week

~ 5th of August - 11th of August ~

Here are some optional prompts for next week! Please feel free to do whatever you like with them. Remember to tag @cityelfweek or use the tag #cityelfweek24!

Day 1 - Vhenadahl - A pillar of many alienage communities. Firewood in others.

Day 2 - Folklore - Show the folklore that city elves have created over time. Superstitions, stories, heroes, villains... anything!

Day 3 - Community - Close-knit family, or claustrophobic little box?

Day 4 - Customs and Tradition - Andrastian? Dalish? Somewhere in between, or something all new?

Day 5 - Alienage - The only home many city elves ever know.

Day 6 - OC - A day to celebrate original city elf characters!

Day 7 - Free Day - All things city elf!

[original post][divider credit]

Redcliffe Conversations

Lysas

The Hinterlands Masterpost Related Quest: In Hushed Whispers

The PC approaches the elf outside of the Gull and Lantern

Lysas: You’re from the Inquisition. I didn’t think you’d still be here. Were you really looking to ally with us?

Dialogue options:

General: Yes. Mages should be free. [1] - Sera disapproves - Cassandra slightly disapproves - Vivienne slightly disapproves

General: You sound doubtful. [2]

General: No. Mages should be contained. [3] + Sera slightly approves + Cassandra slightly approves + Vivienne approves

1 - General: Yes. Mages should be free. PC: I want this war to end without sending you back to the circle. Lysas: There has to be a way, right? We’re not what they think: all blood mages and abominations. We just want to be normal. Have families. Use our magic to… help grow crops or something. We never wanted war. [4]

2 - General: You sound doubtful. PC: Is that so hard to believe? Lysas: Everyone blames us. The templars left the Chantry, too. That’s worse, isn’t it? They took an oath. Yes everyone calls it the “mage rebellion.” We’re the ones they hate. [4]

3 - General: No. Mages should be contained. PC: This rebellion is doomed. I offered your leaders a way to end it peacefully. Lysas: There was no other way! Do you think any of us wanted this? On the run, everyone hating us… What choice did we have? Stay and be slaves? [4]

4 - Scene continues:

Vivienne: There are better ways than war to affect change.

Solas: Sometimes to achieve the world one desires, one must take regrettable measures.

Lysas: I… I hope you can do something. Tying ourselves to Tevinter…? That can’t be the right way to end this.

5 - Dialogue options:

Investigate: Tell me about yourself. [6]

Investigate: You don’t like Tevinter? [7]

Investigate: When did the magister come? [8]

General: Be careful. [9]

6 - Investigate: Tell me about yourself. PC: You seem young to be part of this. Lysas: I’m Lysas. I came into my magic when I was nine years old. Templars came into the alienage and took me to the Circle. They didn’t even let me say goodbye. It’s not right. I studied hard, I passed my Harrowing, I sing the chant. But I’ll be locked up the rest of my life. [Back to 5]

7 - Investigate: You don’t like Tevinter? PC: You don’t approve of the Grand Enchanter’s decision? Lysas: I was there when we voted to leave the Circle. She really seemed to care what we wanted. She was ready to rebel, but she wasn’t going to unless it was the will of all mages. It’s hard to believe she’d go behind our backs and sell us to the magisters. [Back to 5]

8 - Investigate: When did the magister come? PC: How long has the magister been here? Lysas: A day or two after… after the Conclave, he arrived. Come to save us from the wrath of the templars, he said. But this doesn’t feel like safety. [Back to 5]

9 - General: Be careful. PC: Take care of yourself. There’s something strange going on. Lysas: I never thought the Grand Enchanter would swear to a magister.

City Elf Appreciation Week- Day 4- Customs and Traditions

Day 4 -  Customs and Tradition for @cityelfweek

- Andrastian? Dalish? Somewhere in between, or something all new?

I... had a silly idea for a codex for Fenris for this one......

Record what I say. There are no gods. Forgotten, elder, elvhen, andrastian. Spirits, demons, wraiths, yes. But gods, never. Gods are capricious. Too mortal. Too willfully selfish and evil to be anything other than the creation of those hungry from power, or those suffering from their hunger. Men make gods. I rip their hearts out. Steal the life out of them that was stolen from others. I believe in my own abilities. My own will. Stop laughing, Hawke. It is not funny. Don’t you dare show that to Varric. *Then end has a hastily drawn figure holding a stylized heart and a grumpy face* Crumpled note found on a Venatori spy, interrogated by the Inquisition.

Please don't hurt her in the next games

The Owls of Falon’Din

Pairing: Solas x Lavellan, OC & OC  Fandom: Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age: Inquisition Rating: G Chapters: 5  Status: Complete

Read on AO3

If the Friend of the Dead lies imprisoned, who then will lead us to our slumber?

Keep reading

The city elf back story Future warden commander Selvan Tabris

Day #16: Bonus

Shartan 9

The rebel slaves flee

For twenty days and twenty nights the People ran,

With the footsteps of the legion ever at their backs.

No rest could they find, since their flight from Vol Dorma.

The People cried out in despair:

"Alas, that we ever left Vol Dorma!

Better we had died there than to be hunted like sport on the plains."

Among the People, some began to whisper of returning

To the city and throwing themselves

At the feet of their former masters,

And Shartan heard them.

Shartan rallies the elves

As the People paused to break bread at the foot

Of the hill the Tevinters called "the Lonely One,"

Shartan stood on the hilltop and spoke, saying:

"Some among you wish to flee back to your masters,

To throw yourselves at their feet and ask forgiveness.

You have left that path. It is already gone.

Your feet can never again tread the dust of Vol Dorma.

"He who asks for the mercy of the masters

Will stand accountable for murder and theft

And be made example for the slaves of other cities,

That they might not have the courage to rise up.

"They will taunt you and humiliate you

While they hang you in the marketplace.

They will pelt you with offal while they call you

Broken, a coward, and a failure.

"A dog might slink back to the hand it has bitten

And be forgiven, but a slave never.

If you would live, and live without fear, you must fight."

And the People heard the truth in Shartan's voice,

And some cursed themselves and their fate and despaired.

And others began to fashion spears and bows

From the branches of trees, and girded themselves

With bark and scraps torn from their sandals

And dug pits in the earth with their hands.

The elves ambush the legion

Darkness fell upon the Lonely One,

A night without moon or stars,

As the legion followed, like bloodhounds,

The trail of the rebels.

And when the hunters reached the foot

Of the solitary hill, they found nothing,

The trail of their quarry vanished, as if the People

Had taken wing.

The officers began to curse their men

And blame one another for losing the trail,

And the soldiers fell to bickering among themselves.

In silence all around them, the People crept out

From holes clawed in the earth, and with harvesting blades

And arrows chipped from stones,

Fell upon the unwary legion and slaughtered them to a man.

The elves celebrate their victory

And the People raised the blades of the fallen soldiers to the heavens

And rejoiced. And Shartan said to them:

"No longer are we hunted! We shall never again

Be prey, waiting to be struck down!

Let us take up the blades of our enemies

And carve a place for ourselves in this world!"

The People heard him, and girded themselves

In the armor of the dead

And sharpened their blades and arrows

And prepared for war.

The army of Andraste arrives

As the People danced over the corpses

Of slain soldiers, a thunder filled the air

And the ground trembled, and a hush fell over them,

As they knew a terrible omen had come.

From afar, they heard the sound

Of ten thousand voices raised in song,

And the marching of a great host.

Shartan goes forth to meet the army

Seeing an army beyond counting gathered in the distance,

Shartan said to the People

"Let us not fall into the jaws of the wolf together.

I will go alone and see what army comes,

Singing, to the land of Tevinter."

Across the empty plains Shartan crept

To where the great host camped, the light from countless fires

Guiding him through the darkness.

Then a great hand clamped down upon Shartan's neck,

And he was lifted into the air. And he looked into the eyes

Of a towering creature, taller than any legion soldier, featured like a man

But covered in fur like a beast and bearing a mighty shield.

Havard the Aegis greets Shartan

The creature spoke in a stern voice, saying:

"Why are you to come upon us alone,

Wearing the armor of our most hated foe,

When I can see you are no man of the legion?"

And Shartan answered him: "If you hate the legion,

Then I am your friend."

And the giant laughed, and set him back upon his feet,

Declaring: "Then the Aegis of Alamarri bids you welcome!

Follow me to the side of the Prophet."

Shartan meets Andraste

The Aegis led him to the center of the great host,

And Shartan saw that they counted men and women of all descriptions among them.

Many bore the scars of escaped slaves, and some had come west

From the coastlands, and they stood as equals beside the wild giant men of the South.

There, in the heart of them, sang a Lady radiant

And clad in armor of bright steel.

She paused her song to look upon Shartan,

And said to him: "All souls who take up the sword

Against Tevinter are welcome here.

Rest, and tell us of your battles."

And Shartan told her: "I cannot rest

While the People wait in darkness and fear."

So Andraste sent him with three of her attendants

To invite the People to come to her side.

And the People came, all astonished

To stand among Andraste's followers,

And she gave them food and drink and bade them sit

While Shartan gave her the tale of their uprising

And flight from Val Dorma.

When the tale was finished, Andraste said to Shartan:

"Truly, the Maker has called you, just as He called me,

To be a Light for your People.

The host you see before you march,

Bearing His will north, where we shall deliver it

To Minrathous city of magisters, and we shall tear down

The unassailable gates, and set all slaves free."

And Shartan looked upon the Prophet Andraste

And said: "The People will set ourselves free.

Your host from the South may march

Alongside us.

The giants of the South rose to their feet as one

And bowed. And Andraste said:

"It is done. We march as one."

—Shartan 9:1-9:28, Dissonant Verse

Shartan 10

The armies clash on Valarian Fields

At Shartan's word, the sky

Grew black with arrows.

At Our Lady's, ten thousand swords

Rang from their sheaths.

A great hymn rose over Valarian Fields gladly, proclaiming:

Those who had been slaves were now free.

The legion fell before them

Like wheat before the scythe,

But the armies of Tevinter were numberless,

A sea of death which crashed upon

The Prophet and her army like waves.

Shartan rescues Andraste

The host of the Lady

Began to falter. The legion

Turned spear and sword, fire

And ice upon them, and the warriors

Of the Prophet were scattered,

Divided from their commanders

By magic, penned like cattle for slaughter.

Shartan saw that walls of ice

Surrounded Andraste and her warriors,

And he rallied the People.

And with arrows aflame,

The walls of magic melted

And the Prophet and her warriors were free.

Andraste names Shartan her champion

And the Prophet stood beside Shartan

And shouted to her host:

"Behold! Our champion!"

And gave to him the blade of her own mother

From her own scabbard, Glandivalis, saying:

"Take this, my champion,

And free our people forever."

And the Prophet and the People

Struck down the mages of the legion

And claimed the field together.

And before them, empty,

Outstretched lay the land

Which led to the gates of Minrathous.

—Shartan 10:1-10:7, Dissonant Verse

Willem Trialmont, the honourable topsider.  A sort-of-cleaner version of the sketch I photographed a few days ago, with some very half-assed colours because I was bored.  Yes. 

The following text is my elaborate and lengthy headcanon for a character whose name is only mentioned once in a codex entry, constructed solely for the purpose of fic:

Willem is from the alienage in Val Royeaux.  (Reasoning behind this is that “Trialmont” sounds very Orlesian.)  Like Tabris from the city elf origin, he was secretly taught by a close family member how to wield the family longsword – the swordsmanship, the weapon, and the blade’s inscription traditions covertly passed on from generation to generation.  Weapons are discouraged in the Denerim alienage, so I assume they’re also frowned upon in Orlais.  The longsword is his most treasured possession, and the inscribed text defines his behaviour: “There must always be another to take up arms against the darkness. That is the core of true family beyond kin and the unifying link that will bring day to night and allow the fallen to rest.”

At some point in his youth, Willem no longer had a reason to remain in the alienage.  He probably sought out the Dalish as some city elves do.  He eventually finds a clan and they begrudgingly take him in.  There he hones his proficiency at fighting as well as learning the history of his people.  He spends many years with the Dalish until they accept him as their own.  (I kerfuffled with canon a bit and gave him vallaslin even though the Dalish don’t do the ritual on humans or city elves. However, the codex entry on vallaslin is unclear as to whether city elves who join the Dalish have the privilege of being tattooed or not, so I’m assuming the former for plot reasons.)

One day, Willem learns from the Keeper about the darkspawn and the Blights, as well as the Exalted March of the Dales.  He is appalled that the Dalish did not help defend Montsimmard and is unsatisfied with the reasons the elves provide.  He knows that the Dalish did not help the humans because they did not wish to interact with them in order to regain their lost heritage, but his Trialmont sensibilities found this behaviour selfish and unacceptable.  The conflicting opinions over this matter led to Willem leaving the clan.

Taking the words inscribed on his longsword to heart, Willem decides to go into the Deep Roads to find the darkspawn.  A Blight hasn’t occurred for around two Ages, and like in DA:O the common populace probably don’t really believe darkspawn are real.  Willem is determined to find out whether they still exist, so he travels to the Frostback Mountains to find an entrance underground.  He succeeds and enters the Deep Roads where he eventually runs into a group of Legionnaires trying to reclaim Bownammar.  And that’s when the codex entry happens.

(I did not make Willem a Grey Warden because part of the codex entry says, “Topsiders usually assume the end of a Blight erases the darkspawn from the world. Why does this one care that his victory just drives them back on our doorstep?”  It sounds like he’s a regular topsider, since Grey Wardens have reason to seek out darkspawn in the Deep Roads (e.g. for their Calling) and they aren’t unknown to the dwarves.)

By the Dread Wolf, that’s a lot of text.  Apparently tumblr doesn’t let me put things under cut for photo posts…