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ampleappleamble · 8 days

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1, 9, 22 for the Pillars of Eternity asks. For both Axa & Vaargys. :)

hi i didn't forget or delete or ignore this i swear i just take forever to write anything!!!!!!!

this is kinda long so i'll put it under a cut:

1. what is your watcher's class? how does it relate to their backstory?

Axa: a chanter in PoE, and a Herald (skald chanter/Kind Wayfarer paladin) in Deadfire. she grew up in the second largest city in Ixamitl, a university town with schools primarily focusing on lore, philosophy, and politics. she'd always had a decent singing voice and was fascinated with languages (learned Aedyran from her Readceran mother very early in life), leading her to pursue a career in researching anthropology with a focus on cultures and linguistics. she earned a free ride to a lore college (where she was trained in chanting) when she was 11 by using her very shaky grasp of Vailian to settle a misunderstanding between a prominent local city official and visiting dignitaries from the Vailian Republics. plus, her father pulled a few strings for her as he was a cartographer who regularly updated the chronically disputed territories of various nomadic tribes and clans in the vast rural plains, a position that made him invaluable to urban politicians looking to trade or strike land deals with the nomads, and kept him wealthy in friends in high places in Axa's hometown. after PoE, Axa decided that now that she was in a position of power she had a responsibility to give back to the people of Dyrwood and beyond. so she resolved to join the Kind Wayfarers, and she traveled to the Vailian Republics to train at a prestigious chapter there for three years. this decision had nothing to do with her sudden overwhelming fame and scary new responsibilities at home, including the daughter she sorta kinda kidnapped while in a terrifying death spiral of emotional and mental turmoil. nothing at all! (she got a better grip on it all when she returned to Caed Nua. well, up until Eothas smashed her castle and killed her.)

Vaargys: a priest of Wael in PoE, a Zealot (priest of Wael/debonaire rogue) in Deadfire. i've talked about his parentage and upbringing a bit before, but i'll reiterate for the uninitiated: Vaargys was the product of his clan's Rymrgandian priest and the priest's young protégé. in his clan, priests of Rymrgand were expected to eschew coupling and producing children, to prove their dedication to the principles of finality and the inevitable cessation of the cycle of life by never contributing to it themselves. Vaargys' mother knew this, which is why she studied under the priest in the first place– terrified of and repulsed by the idea of bearing children, she sought a life of celibate asceticism instead of becoming another clan mother. so of course the one and only time the priest managed to seduce her, it resulted in a difficult and complicated pregnancy. she died in childbirth, and Vaargys' father vehemently denied siring the child, despite the overwhelming evidence suggesting otherwise (the acolyte spent no time alone with anyone but the priest, and he and Vaargys were the only two members of the clan to share the same very uncommon eye color). everyone in the clan knew the truth, but no one felt they could say anything, for to rise up against an elder was unthinkable, but a consensus was silently reached: their community had been irrevocably corrupted by a spiritual leader bereft of the fortitude needed to properly serve Rymrgand, and so they were doomed to forego their coveted spot in the Void and all would suffer the Wheel yet again, reincarnated into other, hopefully worthier clans as they allowed this one to slowly die off. Vaargys, herald of his clan's downfall, was regarded as a bad omen and a symbol of weakness, and so he grew up shunned and barely tolerated by his clanmates. he hated Rymrgand and sought to challenge him by defiantly wandering the White alone, a very dangerous and foolish thing to do, but instead of the death the Beast promised, he received visions and messages from an unknown entity he would eventually determine must be Wael. the inevitability of Rymrgand's doom was contested by the infinite possibility of Wael's mysteries, and this revelation gave Vaargys the strength to carry on living. when the old priest finally died, the elders performed their rituals to determine who would lead them now– obviously the old priest had never had another acolyte, as he was utterly unworthy– and to their great shock, every sign and portent and auspice they could muster pointed to Vaargys. and to their great shock again, he accepted the position– and announced that under his guidance, the clan would no longer plod in the frozen footsteps of the Beast of Winter, but would now instead be lead by the whims of the Eyeless Face, as he had been ordained by the Hundred Visions a priest of Wael! ...so the clan exiled him and he drifted alone for decades until he met Axa and moved to Ixamitl with her. after PoE, he did some work for the Doemenels (having more or less stumbled accidentally into allying with them for the animancy trials) and took a level or two in rogue, specializing in confusing the wealthy and powerful into unfair deals– or sniping them with his arquebus when need be.

9. who are your watcher's favorite companions?

Axa: Aloth– the first person she met in the Dyrwood after the caravan was wiped out who didn't insult or try to kill her, she very quickly grew fond of him for his kindness and helpfulness. after getting to know him better– his impressive intellect, his responsible and cautious personality, his upbringing and relationship with his parents, Iselmyr– she grew fonder of him still. when he revealed his connection to the Leaden Key, though she knew she ought to feel betrayed, she was instead impressed by and grateful for the loyalty he'd shown her in remaining by her side and risking his life for her when he easily could have just turned her over to the Key and secured his future with them. what had started as a superficial attraction slowly grew into a deep and genuine desire to keep him by her side, and although he felt the same way, they would distance themselves from one another between PoE and Deadfire to better grow as individuals rather than risk bungling an attempt at a romance due to lingering insecurities and personal hang-ups. in Deadfire, they found each other again and basically had to start from scratch– they'd both changed a lot, and Axa was missing most of her soul and quite a few memories. but the same qualities they'd admired in one another before charmed each other again, and eventually they started a romance, ultimately returning to the Dyrwood and marrying before continuing their work to better the world together ♡

Pallegina– Axa admires and respects her immensely for her strength and conviction. her own brother is an avian godlike so they bond a bit over that, and they share a belief in the power that animancy has to do good in the world (especially after the Big Reveal regarding the gods). she directly inspired Axa to join the Kind Wayfarers, encouraging her to put her passion, position of power as a Watcher/thaynu, and her strong sense of justice to good use. while Axa trained in the Republics she was struck with immense guilt upon finding out Pallegina had been exiled because of Axa's suggestion to defy her orders. she made up for it by siding with Castol's VTC in Deadfire, and when Pallegina called her camerata, she was truly honored.

Vatnir– although she strongly dislikes him at first (being lied to and nearly killed by a dracolich is one of Axa's least favorite activities, after all), she is a Kind Wayfarer and he is someone who is trying very hard to go somewhere else, so she quickly warms up to him. she's always had a soft heart for a hard luck story. he reminds her a lot of her ex-fiance, Vaargys– both are Glamfellen priests from the Land with lonesome upbringings and dubious relationships with the truth– and ultimately her friendship with him allows her to explore certain facets of herself she'd locked away or tried to leave behind since Vaargys' betrayal. for instance, after leaving Vaargys she didn't speak another word of Ordhjóma for nearly six years despite studying it for about twice as long as that– not until she met Vatnir. plus, it's nice to have a smoking and drinking buddy, and he's always more than happy to accept her offers.

honorable mentions: Kana, Edér, Sagani

Vaargys: Aloth– although they're very different people, Vaargys can't help but be fascinated by such an intelligent, uniquely troubled man. really, Vaargys mostly likes him for his polite passivity, and because he's a terrible liar but somehow simultaneously a tough nut to crack– Vaargys likes a contradiction, as it usually provides a fun little puzzle to pick at. Aloth isn't nearly as fond of him, but against his better judgment he can't seem to turn his back on the Waelite. he suspects that he does secretly enjoy bickering with the priest, although not enough to pursue a romance with him, despite that one time they ended up making out in the middle of an argument. Iselmyr resents this, but let's face it– they'd never last.

Zahua– after his years in Ixamitl among scholars and philosophers, not to mention his childhood and young adulthood wandering the Land while hallucinating and accumulating injuries, Zahua's company is very familiar and comfortable to Vaargys. they share a love of mind-altering substances and the important messages they impart, as well as an impressive collection of scars. he's like the father Vaargys always wanted but never had, and he weeps at their parting. and finesses some of his malcachoa.

Vatnir– much like Axa, Vaargys entered into Vatnir's acquaintance primed for a fight (reminder: Vaargys super hates Rymrgand). he was delighted to instead discover that the High Harbinger wasn't the rigid, death-obsessed zealot he presented himself as, but rather a desperately lonely, cowardly charlatan who wanted nothing more than to run away from his own life. this resonated very deeply with Vaargys, and so he made it his mission to introduce as much fun and joy and chaos into the godlike's life as he could. Vatnir, on the other hand, was usually more chagrined by Vaargys' shenanigans than entertained, often finding himself compelled to tend to the Waelite– although he didn't mind so much when it lead to sex. as with anyone he gets very close to, Vaargys tends to spoil and dote on his lover, which Vatnir finds very endearing... when it's not irritating or offputting.

honorable mentions: Hiravias, Kana, Serafen

22. what has your watcher been doing between poe1 and poe2?

Axa: as stated briefly above, she basically ran off to the Republics for three years to train with the Kind Wayfarers, learning the paladin moveset and guiding escaped slaves and Eothasian dissidents through unfriendly territory. after returning home to Caed Nua, she mostly focused on protecting travelers passing through her land, working with the Dyrwoodan government and animancers to heal the nation after the Hollowborn Crisis, and cultivating a better relationship with her daughter. she also had her brother Tico visit her now and again, although she never got up the nerve to invite their mother before Eothas rose.

Vaargys: also stated briefly above, he fell into working here and there for the Doemenels– the money was good, the work was usually fun and interesting, and he liked having an excuse to stop by the Hall of Revealed Mysteries for deep theological discussions over copious amounts of illicit substances with his fellow Waelites. he was also known to wander the countryside just as he had when he'd lived in the Land, sometimes alone and sometimes with a small retinue in tow– not for himself, but to look after his treasured adopted daughter Vela when she accompanied him. he especially loved to dote on her and was known to spend lavishly on her toys and clothes in an attempt to give her the loving, affluent childhood he never had.

#pillars of eternity #watcher axa #watcher vaargys #thanks for ask ♡

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