[OOC] Folkmore App

[faithlikeaseed]

★ Character Information ★

Character Name: Myrobalan Shivana
Character Age: 29 (27 in canon, 2 years CRAU)
Character Species: Thedosian elf (and mage) - Elves from modern Thedas tend to be shorter and slighter than humans, with pointed ears and slightly alien faces. Male elves generally don't sport facial hair but it's unclear whether this is biology or strong cultural preference (I err on the side of "elves don't have a lot of body hair and most can't grow beards"). They don't live any longer than other species and they're not all that different from humans in terms of diet, resistance to disease, etcetera. Their one unusual attribute is incredibly good dark-vision due to a tapetum lucidum (their eyes reflect light like a cat's do in the dark). They are also totally at home in the Crossroads, a magical realm that's (apparently) separate from the Fade and inimical to non-elves.

Mages can come from any Thedosian species (except maybe dwarves), and have an intrinsic ability to connect to the Fade (the source of all magic and realm of dreams) and use it to cast spells. They're more at risk of demonic possession because of this. They're also more in touch with their dreams; while most of them can't actually change the Fade by an exercise of mind, they are fully lucid while dreaming.

Current Health: In very good physical shape--extremely good physical shape for a magic user. He is fully blind from an old injury that took both his sight and his eyes; there's scar tissue where his eyes once were. Also suffering from hypothermia on arrival.

Outfit: A Victorianesque approximation of Hasmali mage robes (a high-necked tunic with a split skirt over close-fitting pants), in red with green and gold embroidery; calf-high leather boots with reinforced toes. A russet blindfold with a golden pattern on it that might be diamonds or stylized eyes. Everything's soaking wet.

Character Canon: Dragon Age (OC - no connection to canon characters except NPCs very briefly mentioned in a war table operation and never seen on-screen)

History: (cw: traumatic eye injury, ableism) 

Myr is a city elf and a Circle mage from the tiny city-state of Hasmal, one of the many making up Thedas' Free Marches. Born in Hasmal's alienage to a father who cared very much for him and a mother who very much didn't, he had a largely uneventful childhood... Up until his cousin Vandelin manifested magic and was carted off to Hasmal's Circle of Magi.

And then, two years later, the same thing happened to him.

As a religious and (mostly) obedient, (mostly) sweet-tempered kid with a streak of curiosity a mile wide, Myr did very well in a Circle. (It helped he had his cousin there to look after him.) Despite some early struggles at learning to control his magic, he found he had a natural bent for the Creation school... and enough energy, enthusiasm, and physical ability to make a good squire to his Circle's knight-enchanters. This latter only cemented his love for Andrastianism and loyalty to the Chantry--which put him at unfortunate odds with his Libertarian cousin, though they stayed close to each other (and even enjoyed their truly spectacular arguments) despite the philosophical gulf between them.

At least, they did until the Mage Rebellion broke out. When Hasmal's Libertarians and their allies finally chose to make a break for it, Myr and Van ended up on opposite sides of the fighting. Or would-be fighting, because Vandelin--a master of Entropy magic, and loathe to actually hurt anyone--put Hasmal's defenders, Myr among them, into a deep sleep to make good on the Libertarians' escape.

Vandelin did not expect (and didn't know) one of his apprentices would stay behind long enough to sow mayhem among the sleepers by casting horror spells on them. The spell combination inflicted a waking nightmare so terrible Myr tore out his own eyes to stop seeing it.
 

The next two years of Myr's life, as he recovered from his self-inflicted injury and learned to live with his blindness, were particularly terrible. His mentor departed with her other knight-enchanter apprentices, leaving him behind as a liability; most of his other Circlemates regarded him with varying degrees of horror, concern, and pity. And for all he knew his beloved cousin had done that to him deliberately--though he fought anyone who'd say it, all the more viciously to keep the doubt in his own heart at bay.

Slowly, eventually, life both improved--as Myr recovered from his trauma (somewhat)--and worsened, as Hasmal grew more hostile to the mages and templars camped out in their ruined Circle. Eventually, the Inquisition learned of their plight and extended an offer of rescue--and Myr, with the rest of his Circle, packed up to make the long and dangerous trek to Skyhold.

 

Canon Point: Shortly after the war table mission Negotiate With Hasmal's Templars.

 

Pertinent historical events for his Thedas (i.e. the worldstate):

[x] The Warden saved First Enchanter Irving and the mages of Kinloch Hold during Uldred's uprising; the mages in turn assisted at the battle of Denerim.

[x] Queen Anora rules Ferelden alone.

[x] A rogue Hawke sided with the mages of the Gallows in Kirkwall.

[x] The Inquisitor chose to recruit the templars.

[x] Celene proved victorious in the Orlesian civil war and elevated Briala to Marquise of the Dales.

[x] Though only the Maker could know it, Cassandra Pentaghast is on track to becoming Divine.

 

All remaining decisions can be assumed to have been those that leave the maximal number of companions (& interesting NPCs) alive and in play.

Canon Iteration: CRAU via Aefenglom

Canon Iteration Explanation: After being snatched off Thedas (or copied off Thedas) via a mirror in Aefenglom's Looking-Glass House, Myr found himself gradually growing into a Faun (despite his ardent hope he'd instead develop the local magic and become a Witch). While the loss of his magic and ongoing struggles with his blindness weighed heavily on him, he rapidly became involved with several other Mirrorbound who helped him grow well beyond who he'd been on Thedas. Most important among these were Everett Vaughn (another Faun, from a fantasy world much kinder than Thedas), Viren (a Dragon, from a world about as bad as Thedas in different ways), and L Lawliet (a Witch, from near-modern Earth), his triad of Bondmates.

By the time he makes it to Folkmore, he's learned a lot of bitter lessons about accepting his own limitations--but also grown beyond them in a number of ways. Exposure to people from many different worlds who've walked many different paths in life has also broadened his perspective on many of Thedas' historical contingencies (like the Circle of Magi) that he thought were inevitable, if flawed, solutions to its unique problems. Which is to say: He's outgrown the Circle and begun to think that maybe, maybe, he could've had a better life if he'd been allowed to grow up outside it. (Wait until his cousin Vandelin hears that one.)

He's also frozen half-to-death and can't remember whether or not he had to watch one of his Bondmates (L) die, permanently, because he wasn't able to rescue him from the self-made illusion he was trapped in. It's a bad time!!

★ Folkmore Roles & Attributes ★

Skills:

• Melee combat with a staff, dagger, or light sword.
• Gardening and herblore.
• Beekeeping.
• Cooking (simple recipes).
• A big basket of adaptations for his blindness, like a stronger memory, knot-tying and paper-folding to keep his items straight, better sound discrimination, etcetera.
• Singing.
• Chantry scholarship, including history and theology.
• Research skills appropriate to someone raised in a quasi-medieval scholarly setting.

Canon Abilities:
Myr is a mage who is 95% trained to be a knight-enchanter. His secondary specialization is in the Creation school, focused on glyphs and combat enhancements (haste, mana restoration, spell empowerment, etcetera). He is nearly unable to use healing magic (and has long been uninterested in studying it).

I am completely dumping the abilities he gained in Aefenglom as a Monster (and then a Witch) because I'd rather revert back to his canon abilities (poor guy deserves it). Besides which, he can still be a neat deer boy via Familiar attributes... And may be driven to pursue regaining his other Faun abilities (innate direction sense, speaking with animals, growing plants, scaring the bejeezus out of people by yelling) via spoons or the Schools, since he'll miss having them.

Role: Familiar

Role Qualities/Attributes: Attributes of a white fallow deer when not shapeshifted, which I'd like to have vary in extent per his mood or how feral he's feeling/needs to be for a situation. Normally he'd have a deer tail, white pelt on his neck and back with faint spotting on his skin elsewhere, palmate antlers (in season), and deer eyes (these only while he's dreaming, and has his eyes back). The maximum extent of would be the Full Faun look, with all of the above plus a (biped) lower half like a deer, a deer nose, and deer ears.

And then he can just shapeshift into a fallow deer the size of an Irish elk.

I may or may not want to alter these so he looks more like a halla from his setting--the biggest difference would just be halla horns (permanent) instead of deer antlers (seasonal). Maybe as he grows toward being a Legend, if he does??

Role Reasoning: While Myr has many attributes of a Legend--generous, kind, devoted to his community and the positive principles of his religion, selfless, protective--he has always been far more comfortable as a follower rather than a leader. He prefers to be part of something larger than himself, placing his (earned) trust in someone who shares his morals and can give him the guidance he craves. In Aefenglom, he had totally adapted to his role as a Monster--including the fact they're generally seen as the lesser partners or supporters of their Witches.

Additionally, the ability of Familiars to Dedicate to someone is a lot like Aefenglom's Bond mechanic, which I loved playing with (and he grew to rely on). His experience with Bonds in Aefenglom may make him be both more and less willing to Dedicate to a Myth or Legend.

He will also be somewhat miffed about being a Familiar, too, which will be amusing for me as a player--but he'll also eventually realize why it works for him, be miffed about THAT, and then settle down with relatively little angst.

★ Personality ★

I've gone with OPTION 2!

QUESTIONS
What was the most traumatic experience your character endured? How did this change them?

Tearing out his own eyes--both physically and emotionally deeply traumatic. Not only did he blind himself and (he thought) ruined his own lifelong dream of becoming a knight-enchanter, not only did the whole episode leave him wondering if his closest and most beloved family member secretly hated him enough to hurt him that badly, it also totally shattered his confidence in himself both as a mage and a person.

As a mage, because it was so thorough a failure of self-control he has reason to worry he might someday hurt someone with his magic--or worse, succumb to demonic possession. As a person, because it permanently changed how his Circle--all the family he had--regarded him, as he went from a well-beloved rising star to a pitiable invalid, all by his own hand in one moment of panic. (It didn't help either that his scarring made people recoil from his bare face, when he'd once been one of the more handsome and--don't tell the Chantry--romantically successful mages in the Circle.)

What is the most important and defining relationship(s) in your character's life and why?

Myr is very, very fortunate for a Circle mage: While most of them grow up totally isolated from their families, with only an occasional letter for contact (in the more permissive Circles), he had his cousin Vandelin right there with him from the moment he was brought to Hasmal Circle. Despite two years of difference in their ages, they'd already been fond of each other prior to Van being taken to the Circle, and that fondness only intensified on being reunited.

Though only a (first) cousin by blood, Van is, frankly, Myr's older brother. He was Myr's closest ally and protector in his first years in the Circle, and grew to be a bosom friend, loyal opposition, and sometimes teacher. He taught Myr a great deal about ethics and morality as well as magic, and sharpened Myr's ability to reason and make arguments through their constant bickering. He also gave Myr in turn someone to protect and look up to and learn to serve, making Myr a better and more unselfish person.

And then he left, and broke Myr's heart entirely... and gave his cousin a reason to keep living after his own self-mutilation, so Myr could find him again.

What is a time where your character failed drastically at something and how did it impact them, what did they do about it? 

While an objective outsider might not consider it a "drastic failure," a much younger Myr once found himself totally incapable of arguing a Chantry-novice-turned-mage out of her position that the Maker had cursed her (and every mage on Thedas). This would not have affected him as profoundly as it did if she'd stayed in Hasmal Circle and they'd simply kept up their bickering. But she was transferred to Tantervale Circle before long and he never got the opportunity to settle any scores or even win an argument with her 

Not long after that, he got a letter from her saying that she dreaded her eventual Harrowing and wished to be rendered Tranquil instead--if he couldn't talk her out of it, and he was the only person she knew that might be able to.

He agonized over what to write to her, composing and discarding a dozen versions of the letter before finally sending it. Even that final version, he feared, wasn't good enough.

And since he never heard back from her, he ever after assumed that it wasn't, and he'd failed her when she needed him most. It was a blow to his pride in his persuasiveness--and it shamed him, how willing he'd been to keep fighting with her instead of make a friend. It also gave him a troubled view of the Tranquil; where he'd regarded them with uncomplicated pity, he now sees them as individuals who were forced into a terrible choice.

It was a first crack in his steady belief the Circles were the best place for mages.

What is a headcanon (or two) you feel strongly about and that you prefer playing your character with? How is this supported in canon and why do you think it benefits the character's story? 

The general take in Dragon Age fandom on the Circle of Magi is that they are Very Bad for mages, and every Circle mage was traumatized by her upbringing. Actual canon bears this out in some ways but not others; while mages having terrible experiences with dysfunctional Circles makes for great quest fodder, canon also shows us mages who thrived in the Circles. 

We don't know very much about Hasmal Circle, where Myr's from, except what we get from the War Table operations, one that appears if the Inquisitor sided with the Templars, one that appears if the Inquisitor sided with the mages. In both cases, we're told that Hasmal's Templars have split from the Chantry as a consequence of the Lord Seeker's actions, but have elected to stay with and protect their (Loyalist) mage charges. Their mages have similarly chosen to stick by them. From this, I headcanon Hasmal as a liberal Circle--with its closeness to Tevinter and their radically different take on Circles being a partial influence--where mages and Templars mostly got on well and Circle leadership was less rigid about Chantry law.

This gives me two benefits in Myr's story: One, it explains why he was allowed to grow up with his first cousin when mages who are blood relatives are otherwise sent to separate Circles. Two, it makes it plausible for him to be both deeply compassionate and concerned about the plight of mages on Thedas while still seeing Chantry law and the institution of Circles as a flawed-but-reasonable solution--because he grew up in a Circle working about as rightly as it could, and benefited far more than he suffered from it.

★ Player Information ★

Player Name: Lark
Pronouns: Anything's fine but she/her's my default.
Are you over 18?: Yes
Contact(s): Plagueheart#0051, plagueheart
Who Invited You?: Milk
Current Characters: None
Permissions: Here
Writing Samples: 1, from Aefenglom with L
2, from Fade Rift, with Sorrel (cw for bad things happening to animals)