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magneticmage · 3 years

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What my Dragon Age OCs named their animal companions (at least those that have them);

As this was longer than anticipated, it's under the cut, otherwise enjoy my babbling!

Lynera Mahariel has the following animal companions as a ranger:

-"Vengeance " aka Nan the Bear (a bear that underwent a type of modified Joining and became a bereskarn who later acquires the ability to wear heavy and massive armors). She will often use him as a beast of burden and a mount into battle. It is very docile for its kind, oddly enough, and she perhaps guesses that it might be because she raised the bear from a half-grown cub after its mother was killed by human hunters. When it got the Blight post-Deep Roads, she used some of the Archdemon's blood they had collected (yes, they fought it in the Deep Roads but that's another post on its own) and she is known to have stayed by its side the entire time, fully prepared to put it down should the need arise. As this was on the heels of Tamlen's ghouldom and subsequent death, she did not want to have to lose another friend to the Blight's corruption, but felt no other alternative was available. She is also prepared to kill Nan before going on her Calling (while she helped to find the cure for the Taint, she did not use it herself as she had accepted her fate as a Grey Warden during the Fifth Blight). She named him Nan after the rage and grief she feels over Tamlen and the loss of her old life, something the bear seems to share towards bow and arrow armed humans who have not been recognized as allies. He is brown and black furred.

-"Anger" aka Nin the Wolf (another animal companion who was Joined-seeing a pattern here yet?-after contracting the Taint and transformed into a blight wolf that eventually gains the training to wear medium and then heavy armors). She took the wolf in after he was separated from its pack by a darkspawn war party in the Kocarri Wilds and he has remained with her ever since. While extremely territorial and aggressive, she can soothe him with a simple touch much to the bafflement of others, and sometimes even herself post-Joinings. She named him Nin due to all the anger and frustration she was feeling at the time, as well as how aggressive and snappy he was to others. He has red fur with a dark gray underbelly.

-"Sadness/Depression" aka Nume the Spider (the final mention of animal companion to Join Lynera's menagerie of pets-turned-Tainted-Wardens and capable of wearing light armor). She hatched the spider from an egg sac recovered in the Dark Forest from around the Queen spider's nest. While Nume takes some time (probably a few months to half a year, given spider's known moulting rates as juveniles into adults) before the spider is fully grown and capable of combat, Lynera doesn't generally use her for direct skirmishes and often has her set up webbing to facilitate ambushes. She contracts the Taint after a few skirmishes with the darkspawn and Lynera promptly has her Joined. Careful to a fault and uncertain about the abilities and effects this new type of Spider would have should Nume ever be allowed to breed, Lynera makes a point to kill any male spider within the general facility and often has Nin or Nan do so. She also noted the Nume's weaknesses to certain types of damage and had Wade craft specially designed armor to protect her friend. Nume is named after the rage and grief that Lynera experienced at the time. Nume is black with vivid red and white markings and gold-hued eyes.

Isemaya Tabris;

-Kisses the Cat=An old she-devil calico cat that's been Fade-Touched after she rescued it from the Alienage orphanage's attic. She taught the cat to wear a set of modified studded leather-and drakeskin armor that Wade designed after showing her to the staff at Vigil's Keep. Prior to that, she simply kept the cat in her pack and had trained it to come when called. She named it Kisses after it proceeded to continously bite at her armor and clothes before calming down as time went on, at least until Ser Pounce-a-lot came around as the two only get along at certain times (when their owners are in the room, her heat strikes, etc.).

Catriona Surana;

-"Freedom" aka Revas the Warden Mabari Warhound (Was also Joined upon contracting the Taint post-Solidier's Peak and it inspired Catriona to modify the Joining in such a way as to allow-or, at least, attempt-other creatures to undergo it and hopefully have a higher chance of success. The results of the test have yet to be determined due to the small sample size thus far, but it offers promising results if the current survival rate holds true. Although this does not stop the creature's from changing due to their now Tainted nature nor does it make them immune to the Calling, however, she has also begun further research into modifying the Cure for them, as well. The results will have to be remain to be seen as this modified cure hasn't been tested yet). She had the mabari trained to wear medium and heavy armors over time so that he could continue to fight beside her as she is a blood-mage, spirit-healer, and arcane-warrior and thus often fights on the front lines when not shuffled away in her research libraries. Revas himself was named after she found community and acceptance among the Danish and city elves after being so estranged from her respective heritage and cultures due to being in the Circle at Kinloch Hold since the age of eleven. He was also named for the fact that she found she actually wanted and enjoyed her newfound freedoms after so long denied them by the Templars. He's got white fur with icy blue eyes and seems slightly more wolf-like in appearance than most mabari.

Cale Amell;

-Barkspawn the Mabari Warhound is the sibling of Catriona's wardog due to being in the same litter. He is a dull black-furred dog. He was not Joined and was often used as a frontline of defense should enemies get to close to his owner as his owner is far more squishy than Catriona and so was taught to wear medium and heavy armor sets. He is also extremely fond of Morrigan and almost seems to prefer her over Cale at times. He was returned to the party, alongside his brother, by a chance meeting with Cale's estranged sister, Raven Amell, in the lifting of the seige of Gwaren during the Fifth Blight.

Raven Amell;

-Ribbon the Falcon=This lovely bird was give to her by one of her past Orlesian lovers (now deceased due to poisoning by rivals in the Game) during their time at Montsimmard together before she was set to be transferred to The Gallows at Kirkwall. Needless to say, the Blight interrupted those plans and Raven kept her bird until its death by arrows during the fight against Corypheus' forces in the Arbor Wilds despite the light armor vestments it had been granted and trained in by that point of time. Prior to her death and the Mage-Templar War, she was often used to scout and send encoded messages or for hunting small game like rabbits. Ribbon is named after the streaks-"ribbons"-of lighter colors across her dark brown wings and underbelly.

Fion Cousland;

-Hafter the Mabari Warhound is exactly what a Cousland should have in a mabari; purebred, stalwart, noble, and fierce. He's a charcoal grey color with some uneven ashy and soot colored stripes. He was given combat training around the same time as Fion had begun to excel at his own warrior training and the two quickly became a nigh-unbeatable time. By the time of Awakening, Hafter is able to wear truly massive protective armor and still keep fighting as effectively as ever, though he has gained a healthy fear of water after going under a river for a few hundred feet post-Awakening but pre-Inquisition. He was named after the old tales Nan would tell him as a child.

Aelynne Cousland;

-Rabbit the Mabari was the runt of the litter and was given to Aelynne upon the previous death of her old dog (an aged greyhound named Marble she'd been given by a relative). She is a simple brown color with a white underbelly and darker brown ears. She's got a small "mask" across her eyes that matches her ears. She was named Rabbit due to Aelynne having stated she wanted a pet rabbit for Wintersend and Fergus promptly giving her the long-eared mabari as a present soon after instead. Rabbit is calmer than her master and often helps to keep her calm and collected and focused. Due to Aelynne preferring longer range combat (though she later gain a reputation for being a skilled duelist post-Fereldan Civil War and her own raider adventures), Rabbit was trained to be a more direct threat to their enemies and thus wears medium and heavy armor (though the later is often only used for ground assaults as it's often a detriment at sea).

Barran Aeducan;

-"Family" aka Kalnath the Deepstalker Queen is a hardy and rather large deepstalker matriarch of unusual gold and blue coloring with alert and bright red eyes. While her numerous and fast-growing progeny is occasionally weaponized as fodder after becoming acclimatized to having Barran at the top of the "pecking order" so to speak and thus often trained for simple tasks and commands, Kalnath herself is extremely valued by Barran as she was the first creature to not attack him during his exile in the Deep Roads. He freed her from a darkspawn trap and nursed back to health while traveling to Ostagar. Once healed, she did not leave and seems quite content to continue her adventures with Barran. She was trained to wear light to medium armor to better protect her in battle (though her progeny goes without). Barran has begun an extensive breeding program of her descendants to make them viable as scouts and pets (often those of unusual colorings such as Kalnath herself or gentler and obedient natures) among other things. He is adamant that Kalnath is not a pet but is often found secretly doting on her whenever possible. Kalnath is named for fact that he viewed his family-namely Bhelen, Trian, and even King Endrin-as a nest of deepstalkers with slightly more complexity in motive and means that he often had to navigate growing up but they were deepstalkers if the same pack, at least. Also Bhelen's betrayal was still fresh in his mind and he decided he would be a "deep lord" by swallowing "the venom" of his traitorous brother if that is what it took to get vengeance.

Valda Aeducan;

-"Peace" aka Partha The Giant Spider Queen is a companion of Valda that rarely leaves the Palace walls except when she goes on expeditions into the Deep Roads. Partha is a vivid blue color with green and yellow markings as well as with eight large red eyes. Valda's fascination with spiders started young upon being served them as a special birthday dish when she was six. Since then she has been breeding them for a variety of uses (from exotic pets to poisonous toxins and tools of death against her enemies to more mundane uses such as spidersilk threads for clothes and meat for food) for quite some time. Partha is the latest and most successful individual she has produced thus far, having lived nearly as long as Valda herself (Partha is currently in her late teens) due an extremely strong toxin and elemental resistances paired with powerful muscles for strength and speed. This spider queen is even capable of wearing light armor to aid in covering up her weaker joints and underbelly, as well as occasionally some more sharp drakeskin-and-teeth options for intimidation purposes. She was named after the dwarven word for peace due to Valda wishing to bring about an end to the systematic oppressions faced by many in Orzammar as seen when she encountered a young Brosca ruffian during her youth.

Tatha Brosca;

-"Friend" aka Salroka the Bronto is a beast of burden that Tatha "liberated" from Beraht's cages before killing the crimelord. He is a deep cobalt color. Initially taken so that she could quickly gather what supplies she could scavenge (and an emergency food supply if that failed) before she could abscond off with Rica and Kalah into the Deep Roads-at least that was the plan until the guards arrived and she was Conscripted into the Grey Wardens. Salroka is a simple brute and not easily frightened though it was a rough adjustment period for them both on the way to Ostagar. She often ended up using him as a warmount during the Fifth Blight and so took preparations to get him used to heavy (and then later massive) armor. She named him Salroka after Leske as she missed her fellow partner in crime and did not fully trust Barran despite having been friends with his twin sister for some years prior to the whole mess with Beraht and Jarvia (also another story for another post). She managed to avoid killing Leske during the initial engagement with Jarvia and sent him away when he woke up. Unbeknownst to her, Valda has recruited him to serve as a hidden bodyguard of sorts for Kalah Brosca. Tatha had joked that her old Salroka was even better than her new one so killing him was just a waste of dwarven talent when she was questioned about why she let him go.

Dion Caron;

-Victoy the Giant Rat is a pet rat with fluffy and curly grey and brown fur that Dion has had for a number of years. He doesn't know why the creature is still alive and frankly doesn't care enough to find out. He has trained the rat to help Garam look for and set up traps for the darkspawn they often hunt. He even gave her a makeshift set of Grey Warden gear out of a sense of camaderie. Her name is Victory to remind him that in the war against these monsters and other great evils, the world is still so full of little victories like her.

Jasper Hawke;

-Honey the Mabari Warhound is a beautiful golden-brown mabari from a litter of seven that was birthed by Malcolm's mabari when they were kids and, although one died shortly after, two were given away to family friends, and another was killed by the darkspawn in the flight from Lothering (it was Leandra's white dog named Cotton), he managed to survive among other things; being mauled by a bear, getting burned by mage fire, and losing a fight to a giant rat (poor Honey now has a crippling fear of them). Jasper has trained him to follow commands and wear specially crafted heavy armor (often matching Jasper's own) alongside the special magical-resistant Kaddis he uses. Jasper also has him help train the templar recruits and will even let Aveline borrow him for similar purposes from time to time. Honey was named as such due to getting into a fight with a bear over its beehive of his own volition. He was found hours later beside a dead bear, horribly wounded and covered in bees and honey. Jasper couldn't help but laugh at the memory once he'd recovered.

Gray Hawke;

-Biscuit the Mabari is a grey and brown mabari and was the runt of the litter. A sickly pup that required lots of attention, he has grown to be a very healthy (if somewhat needy) and overly large lap dog. The Kaddis Gray uses are often used for their artistic aesthetics but a few are for actual combat as well. Gray often has him guard the family estate when he is away or sleeping; he even goes on little patrols around the neighboring blocks if rumors are to be believed! He is also very friendly and prone to stealing biscuits, hence his name.

Skye Hawke;

-Pudding the Mabari is a deep brown color and was the largest of the litter. She is also the most curious of the bunch and has been known to get into anything and everything if left to her own devices (much like her owner, some would say). While she often used to help round up the animals around the farm growing up, she's since developed into a capable and well-rounded animal. Skye often uses her for assisting in pranks and diversions, but doesn't often use her for battle out of sentimental reasons. A number of Kaddis designs and types are used for this purpose. She was named Pudding after Skye's favorite desert.

Violet Hawke;

-Cream Puff the Mabari Warhound is a mostly white furred with gold-spots mabari with gray paws and tail. Violet often fights alongside her mabari and even had Cream Puff's own Champion heavy armor comissioned (though her dog did not join her in the fight against the Arishok). Otherwise, Cream Puff is as docile as they come and is known to "kidnap" little kids and other small creatures and bring them home which Violet then has to return. She was named by Malcolm Violet asking for his help in naming her mabari.

~Additional Bonuses~

Emilyse Trevelyan has a cream-colored mabari gifted to her by an Antivan suitor (much to Cullen's consternation) after a recent litter of his Fereldan relatives kennels. She goes on to often use the dog-and its inevitable litters of pups with Cullen's own mabari- to help with the therapies for trauamtized mages and templars looking for some form of comfort who come into the sanctuaries and clinics set up in the Inquisition's wake. She named her Butterscotch.

Garam Kader has acquired a giant silverite-and-steel golem he's named after the dwarven word for war, "Kallak", by the time of Awakening. The details of how exactly he managed to acquire this particular golem are unclear and no one on his team is willing to elaborate on it either.. He has the control rod but upon being told the truth of the Anvil of the Void by Barran and Tatha, he has set a team of researchers to finding a way to break the rod to restore the dwarf's original personality and (hopefully) even find a way to reverse the process and return them to a dwarven form once more. Until then, he maintain Kallak in as best a condition as he can manage despite the numerous missions and dangerous assignments he is given by the Grey Wardens. In the meantime, he has augmented Kallak with some truly massive crystals. He often leaves the golem to its own devices in Vigil's Keep's courtyard where it will wander off to the forge. Wade complains that it is watching him and making his work difficult but Lynera seems to soothe these fears with a simple "perhaps it remembers the craftsmen who made it or what it once was before it became a golem".

#my ocs stuff #my dragon age ocs #my ocs' pets and animal companions

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arnoldjaime13 · 3 years

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Blog Tour- BETRAYER by @ANConway With An Excerpt & #Giveaway! @RockstarBkTours

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the BETRAYER by Nicole Conway Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

About The Book:

Title: BETRAYER (The Dragonrider Heritage #2)

Author: Nicole Conway

Pub. Date: February 23, 2020

Publisher: Broadfeather Books

Formats: Paperback, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 352

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, B&N, TBD, Bookshop.org

Read for FREE with a Kindle Unlimited Membership!

The darkest secrets of Murdoc’s violent past may be their last hope.

As pressure mounts to find the Tibran witch, Devana, Thatcher and his companions struggle to regroup after discovering Phillip’s bitter betrayal. Forced into hiding while they await a new plan of attack from Prince Judan's network of spies, tensions rise and threaten to tear their company apart. Murdoc knows every second they linger risks another attack from the vicious Ulfrangar Assassins or Phillip, but Reigh is determined to stay and await new instructions.

With two of his closest friends now locked in a battle of wills, Thatcher is caught in the middle—until a surprise assault by the Ulfrangar drags him into the darkest depths of their brutal order. Faced with a life-and-death race against time, Murdoc is the only one who might be able to save him now. But for Murdoc, taking up an assassin’s blade again to fight the same order that trained him will also mean facing the worst demons of his past.

Can Murdoc finally rise above his bloody past and save his only friend? Or does destiny have a new path in store for an assassin-turned-hero?

About Book 1:

Title: HUNTER (The Dragonrider Heritage #1)

Author: Nicole Conway

Pub. Date: November 24, 2020

Publisher: Broadfeather Books

Formats: Paperback, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 352

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N, TBD, Bookshop.org

Read for FREE with a Kindle Unlimited Membership!

One boy must earn the trust of a blind dragon and hunt down an elusive sorceress before she can rekindle the war that nearly destroyed their world.

As the Kingdom of Maldobar emerges victorious from the brutal invasion of the Tibran Empire, much of the land is left in utter ruin. With his home destroyed and family gone, 16-year-old Thatcher Renley has no one left to turn to. And when he’s mistaken for a Tibran soldier and banished to a wartime prison camp, Thatcher knows his only hope for freedom lies in appealing to Queen Jenna directly.

But getting out of the prison camp might be the least of his worries— especially after he stumbles across a feral dragon locked in an iron cell.

As far as dragons go, Fornax is a lost cause. The battle that killed his rider also left him blind and too aggressive for any knight to control. But Thatcher can’t deny feeling drawn to the beast. Does he have what it takes to calm Fornax and join the proud ranks of Maldobar’s dragonriders? Only time will tell. And with a bloodthirsty Tibran witch threatening to rekindle the chaos of war, everyone’s time may be running out.

Excerpt

PART ONE

Murdoc

Chapter One

Thatcher Renley was, by far, the biggest idiot I had ever met in my entire life—and that’s saying something, because I’d also met Prince Reigh Farrow. He was in a close second. But at least he had enough common sense to know that this so-called hunt Queen Jenna and Jaevid Broadfeather had sent us on was essentially a glorified suicide mission. We were charging straight into a fight with a largely unknown Tibran witch, armed with only fragments of information about her abilities and location. And if that weren’t enough, there were only three competent fighters among our group—dragons included.

Granted, Reigh could manage decently against common enemies. He’d apparently been trained in combat by the Gray Elves, and their scouts had recently improved in their fighting ability. They must’ve stumbled across someone with an actual brain who was now training their scouts and warriors. Knowing that, Reigh had probably held his own fairly well in Luntharda. But we were a long way from the wild jungle, and sooner or later, that temper of his was going to cost him.

Phoebe was … well. Hmm. Perplexing, I guess. She fluttered around with her mad storm of red curls flying, bubbling like an excited child about the projects she was working on, and radiating a relentless optimism that sort of made me sick to my stomach after a while. Not that she annoyed me, really. It was just strange to be around someone that persistently happy all the time. Happiness wasn’t something I’d had much experience with.

Which brings me back to the biggest moron of them all who, unfortunately, was now both my primary concern and the bane of my existence. Thatcher was astronomically stupid. Honestly, it was staggering he’d survived as long as he had without someone following him around, smacking his hand whenever he was about to try something dangerous. He’d volunteered for this mission without having any combat training of any kind. He was a farrier’s son, for crying out loud, and was essentially the human personification of a dandelion puff. Short, scrawny, wide-eyed, and baby-faced—he didn’t have a prayer of surviving this mess unless someone watched over him constantly.

How, by all the Gods and Fates, I had wound up being that person was still beyond my understanding.

Ugh. Fine, fine. I’d done it by choice, I suppose. Sort of, anyway. I mean, sure, I could have left him there in that alleyway in Thornbend to die along with most of the other peasants and villagers. Maybe that would’ve been kinder in the long run—especially if we were all soaring toward a gruesome death right now. Still, in that moment, with all the world swallowed up in flames and that pitiful kid on the ground at my feet, I’d looked into his eyes as he spoke to me, offering me a different path I’d craved for so long. And I’d realized … no one had ever talked to me that way before. Like I was someone and not something. No one had ever treated me that way. No one had ever looked at me and regarded me like … a person.

So, I’d made a rash and irrevocable decision. A mistake, probably. But then again, I’d been swallowing back hopes of escaping that life—the life of an Ulfrangar assassin—for as long as I could remember. That night in Thornbend had been my first real opportunity. The only catch was, of course, keeping the baby-faced kid who kept calling me “friend” alive, too.

Thatcher treated everyone that way, though. It’s like there was no room in his mind for the possibility that a person really could be evil. Shocking, considering the vacant way he stared at me sometimes—like you could pass a twig through his ear and it would come out the other side and not hit anything in between.

At first, I’d just assumed he was incredibly sheltered or naïve. Maybe he was. But after our experience with Phoebe, finding out that she had been a Tibran, I’d expected him to reject her entirely. Anyone else probably would have. Whether out of shame or fear, she’d kept that information from everyone.

But Thatcher had insisted on helping her. He’d forgiven her without a second thought. He was stupid, yes. But he was also far kinder than anyone could ever deserve.

Least of all me.

He still called me his friend like it was nothing. He laughed and chatted with me as though he genuinely enjoyed my company and wanted me around. He kept chasing after me whenever I tried to put some safe distance between us. Didn’t he get it? Couldn’t he sense it at all? I was not a good person. I never had been. I’d accepted a long time ago that no matter where I went or what I did, the pack—the Ulfrangar—would always own me. They’d carved their mark upon my soul from the very beginning and nothing could erase it. Deep down, I would always be one of them.

Even now, sitting behind Reigh astride his lithe green dragon, the weight of their presence crushed down over my body from every side. They were everywhere and nowhere. They moved in shadow, lived in anonymity, and thrived on the constant stream of the world’s darkest secrets. There was no place I could hide, nowhere I could go that they wouldn’t be able to reach.

The more I thought about it, the harder it was to justify why I’d let Jaevid set me free—even if I knew the answer already. Because of Thatcher, the idiot. No one seemed to know what he’d done to provoke Devana and her new monstrous minion, Phillip. Maybe nothing. And honestly, I didn’t care. It didn’t matter. They wouldn’t put a hand on him if I had anything to say about it. He’d called me a friend—someone who was like a brother to him—and that was enough. It was more than anyone else had ever done for me my entire life.

We cruised, riding the strong winds coming in from the sea along the eastern coastline. The tower of Eastwatch faded behind us, and far below, small villages and towns dotted the hills. Most were a safe distance from the steep cliffs that dropped into the toiling dark ocean—places where wild dragons liked to nest. But the farther we flew to the north, the more the cliffs gave way to rocky beaches. Fishing towns were built right up against the banks amidst the clusters of odd, hexagonal basalt columns and massive trunks of washed-up driftwood from Luntharda’s giant trees.

Dayrise stood just a few miles inland, stretching all the way to the sea where a large port was packed tight with big merchant ships. The vessels cruised in from the open sea, white sails puffed and banners fluttering high as flocks of seagulls chased them in. Most were probably owned by merchants happy to be sailing their trade routes again now that the Tibran war was over.

Not that I’d ever been to Dayrise myself, honestly. The Ulfrangar network spanned far beyond Maldobar’s borders, but the territory I’d been assigned to work was back down on the southern tip of the kingdom. I’d never had any reason to journey this far north.

Too bad it didn’t make me feel the least bit more secure.

A glimmer caught my eye far in the distance off our right side—the tell-tale flash of sunlight over glossy scales. A dragon. He was far off, maybe three miles on our tail, and had been since we left Eastwatch. From so far away, I couldn’t tell much else. Maybe it was just a security escort from the dragonriders keeping an eye on us from afar. Maybe it was a curious wild drake that’d caught wind of the dragoness in our group and was interested in her. I didn’t know.

And when it came to being followed, I hated not knowing.

The sight of those faraway scale flashes and the faint shape of great dark wings flapping put a pang of dread like a cold iron spike in my gut. I looked away and set my teeth against the rush of adrenaline that made my skin tingle and my heart pound like mad. I’d have to mention it to the others eventually. But not yet. I needed more information, first. To be sure this wasn’t some arrangement Jaevid had put in place because, well, he now knew what I was. He had every reason to be concerned and to want to keep a close eye on things.

Or on me, rather.

Reigh started our descent as we neared the city’s outer limits. I had no idea where we were supposed to go or who Jaevid Broadfeather had waiting for us. Hopefully not another noble with an estate we might accidentally burn down. Well, sort of accidentally, anyway. And technically we hadn’t been the one doing the burning, but I digress. Whatever. Burned is burned, I suppose.

Unlike Eastwatch, the city of Dayrise wasn’t one visited by dragonriders on military orders on a regular basis. There was no towering spire meant to house soldiers and mounts looming over the rooftops, and no high city walls topped with battlements. Not that we got any strange looks as our dragons circled outside the city’s outer limits. In fact, there were more than a dozen sizable inns crowded around the main roads leading in and out of the city’s tightly packed streets. Many of them were flanked by massive barns two or three stories tall intended to house dragons.

Reigh chose one closer to the port on the western side of the city and guided his green dragoness into a smooth landing. She cupped her wings and stretched out her hind legs, landing on the grass as elegantly as a swan on a pond.

Thatcher’s much larger orange drake landed next to us, shaking his black-horned head and puffing unhappy snorts through his nose. The dragon curled his long, striped tail around his legs and bristled, small ears turned back as those milky green eyes darted around.

I frowned. Thatcher trusted that beast wholeheartedly. But I’d seen it drag him across the horizon like caught prey once already. Thatcher had been lucky to walk away from that ordeal—luckier than anyone else seemed to want to acknowledge.

“Let’s get Vexi and Fornax settled here and find our contact,” Reigh called back to me as he straightened in the saddle. He pulled off his helmet, nearly slapping me in the face with the end of his long, sweaty braid in the process.

“This is an old city,” I muttered as I studied the road ahead that led into the narrow cobblestone streets. “Places like this tend to be dangerous after dark, and there’s only a few hours of daylight left. We should go quickly.”

He unbuckled and dismounted first, then stood sorting through his saddlebags while I climbed down. “I agree. Which is why I’m leaving you in charge of this.” Reigh took out a small drawstring purse, poured a few gold coins into his palm then tied it shut again and tossed it in my direction. “Our contact is supposed to meet us at the sign for the Crosswall Docks. They’re probably already waiting on us. Think you can find it? Taverns with dragon accommodations are harder to come by here, and we need to keep a low profile—meaning, we stay away from the ones farther into the city. So, I’ll settle up for the dragons here and meet you there.”

The purse jangled when I caught it, as though there were still quite a few coins tucked away inside. “You expect that to take a while? We need to stay together.” It wouldn’t take that long, of course. I knew that as well as he did—meaning he had another motive for wanting a few minutes alone.

“I’ve got some letters to send back to Luntharda. Shouldn’t take me more than an hour,” he replied, bowing his head to hide his face as he crammed the handful of coins into his pocket. Reigh’s emotions ran so close to the surface, it was ridiculously easy to read him even with his face angled away. Judging by the scarlet color his ears were turning, these must have been personal letters. Letters to a girl, most likely. Love letters. Ugh.

He would’ve made a terrible assassin.

“And who is it that I’m supposedly looking for at the docks?” I pocketed the bag of coins and ran a hand through my hair, trying in vain to get it out of my eyes. Months away from my former life had allowed it to grow out longer than it’d ever been before. I’d have to fix that soon.

Reigh’s expression scrunched as though he were trying to think—emphasis on trying. Complex thought didn’t seem to be one of his stronger qualities. “He didn’t say specifically. Just that we’re looking for another Broadfeather. His brother, probably. I can’t recall his first name, but I met him briefly after the war ended.”

“If we go on ahead, how do you intend to find us later?” I arched an eyebrow.

He shrugged. “Looking for someone named Broadfeather at Crosswall Docks? That’s plenty to go on. I’m sure someone can point me in the right direction.”

Fair point. A last name like that was one people generally remembered, after all.

“Did you see all the ships?” a sing-song voice chimed suddenly. Phoebe practically fluttered over to stand beside me, her red curls bobbing around her and her big, blue eyes shimmering with excitement. “Aren’t they beautiful? Can we go see them up close?”

Reigh’s entire demeanor soured as he stood straighter. “Didn’t see enough of them while you were sailing around with the Tibrans, conquering other kingdoms and slaughtering their people?” He growled every word through his teeth as he leered down at her.

She shrank back some, almost like she might duck behind me if he made a move toward her. “O-Oh, um, well, no. I mean, yes, I did have to sail with them. But Lord Argonox didn’t allow me to leave my cell or go up onto the deck during—” She stopped short and went quiet. Her brows drew together as she flicked speedy, nervous glances around everyone. “I-I’m sorry,” she stammered at last, as though she couldn’t think of anything else to say.

Reigh didn’t respond. Instead, he glowered down at her with his mouth mashed into a tight frown. His light amber eyes flashed with a mixture of wrath and what I could only guess was withheld terror.

I’d seen that look before from my Ulfrangar handler whenever I’d challenged or defied him, as though for the briefest instant he wasn’t sure if he should hold his ground or flee. And while I could sympathize to a degree—after all, Phoebe had apparently been the one in charge of all the magical experimentation for the Tibran Empire—she was about as threatening as a freshly-cut daisy on her own. She probably weighed seventy pounds to his one hundred and fifty or so.

Awkward silence hung in the air until Thatcher drifted over to join us, sporting his usual, blissfully vacant grin. “Are we staying here for the night?” he asked cheerily. “I’ve never stayed at an inn before. I thought Jaevid had arranged for us to stay with someone in the city?”

With a tight sigh, Reigh spun on a heel and gestured for Thatcher to follow him. “He did, but we’ve got to get the dragons settled and I’m betting yours will need extra assistance. So, come with me. Murdoc, you can take her and find our host. We’ll catch up.”

Phoebe didn’t say a word for a long time as she followed along close beside me. Lugging her bag of gear over my shoulder, I tried not to look her way more than necessary. According to Thatcher, I gave the impression that I was glaring whenever I stared at someone for too long. No need to make it worse.

Besides, one glance was all it took. The distant fogginess in her eyes as she stared down at the sidewalk put an uncomfortable tightness in my chest. I should say something, right? That was the normal thing to do. Wasn’t it? Gods and Fates, how was I supposed to know what normal was?

“You should stop apologizing,” I blurted before I could change my mind. My tone came out much harsher than I intended, as usual. Curse it all. I should have kept my mouth shut. Silence was always safer.

Phoebe tripped over an uneven stone. She staggered, and I snapped my free hand out. I seized her arm to hold her steady.

She let out a scream. Not a surprised little yelp—a real, primal, utterly terrified scream. Phoebe went completely stiff in my grasp, blinking up at me with her entire body trembling.

What? Why would she look at me like that—like I was about to do something terrible to her? I’d never raised a hand to her. Was it because she knew I was an Ulfrangar now?

Before I could ask or even say a word, her entire expression suddenly went blank again. Her body relaxed and she glanced around, seeming confused for a moment. “O-Oh! Murdoc! I-I guess you startled me.” She blinked up at me, face flushing almost as red as her hair. The forced, twitchy smile on her lips looked almost painful. “I’m so sor—um, I mean, thank you.”

I slowly let her go. “I … I didn’t mean stop apologizing in general. I meant stop apologizing to Reigh.”

Phoebe swallowed hard. Shifting her weight from one foot to the other, she fidgeted with the embroidered hem of her long tunic as her mouth scrunched up. “I, um, well, I mean he is right to hate me. I did—”

“I know what you did,” I interrupted as I began walking again. “Most everyone does now, right? But Queen Jenna forgave you. The Court of Crowns absolved you. You’ve apologized to everyone over and over, including Reigh. You’ve made changes to your life to become something better now. No one can ask any more of you than that.”

“But he still hates me, doesn’t he? He’d probably kill me if you and Thatcher weren’t here.” She trotted to catch up and fall in step next to me like before.

“There’s nothing you can do about that. You can’t change your past or erase what you’ve done. And because of that, some people will always hate you. Even if you do everything right from now on, it still won’t matter to them. They will never be able to see you as anything more than what you were,” I tried to explain without biting every bitter word through my teeth. “But that doesn’t mean you should go on groveling for forgiveness. You’ve done your part. Forgiving you is Reigh’s problem now. So let it go.”

She didn’t respond right away. For a few more blocks, she followed along in total silence while we wound our way through the city’s narrow streets toward the sea. Then I felt the pressure of her wide, blue-eyed gaze on me again. It hit me like the glare of the sun, making my skin tingle. “Aren’t you afraid that people won’t forgive you for being an Ulfrangar?”

I paused at a corner before a broad, open square. In the center, a white stone fountain sprayed ribbons of water around the bust of a man in battle armor. He stood tall and proud, his eyes seemingly focused right on me, with a helmet under his arm while his other hand rested on the pommel of the sword belted at his hip. A dragonrider, most likely. But not one I recognized.

“That’s different. I don’t expect them to forgive me, so it would be pointless to ask for it,” I confessed as I held the statue’s frozen gaze. “The people who know what I’ve done could never truly forgive me. Like King Jace. And the ones who don’t understand only offer their forgiveness because they don’t know any better.” I flicked a look down at her. “Like Thatcher.”

Her mouth scrunched into a dissatisfied little frown. “What about Lord Jaevid, then? He knows, doesn’t he?”

I couldn’t keep the irony from my tone. “No. Not really. He’s gotten a small taste of it, so now he’s suspicious. But he doesn’t understand the extent of what I am.”

“Well, I forgive you, Murdoc,” Phoebe announced, a rebellious crease in her brow. “So which am I, then? Someone who understands? Or someone who doesn’t?”

I had to think about that.

The Tibran Empire had paid hefty sums to hire out Ulfrangar assassins and spies throughout the war. Phoebe had probably seen others like me before, if only in passing. She’d certainly seen all of the evil and unbridled cruelty that could come from a man like Argonox. In fact, she had probably witnessed and experienced more of it than even she could remember. But did she really comprehend what I was? What I’d done to survive up to this point?

“Could you forgive Argonox?” I countered. “Or any of the soldiers who were in charge of keeping you obedient? What about the ones who put those marks on your skin?”

Her face slowly drained of color. “B-But you didn’t do tha—”

“I’m no different from them,” I cut her off quickly. “You strip away the emblems and the banners, the flags and the creeds, and you’re left with the same thing. At its roots, evil is evil, and it doesn’t matter what you dress it up in. That’s why deep down, I’ll always be what the Ulfrangar made me. I’ll carry their darkness in me until the day I die.”

“You really think that?” Her voice was hardly more than a whisper. “You truly believe you’re evil like Lord Argonox was?”

I set my jaw and looked away. No matter how I turned the words in my head, none of them sounded right. I couldn’t bring myself to answer. It wouldn’t matter anyway. Clearly, she couldn’t understand. We were nothing alike. Phoebe hadn’t chosen to become a Tibran. She hadn’t chosen to do all of the things Argonox had forced her to do. But there had been moments in my life, a few vile moments steeped in malice and blood, when I had. I could have rebelled then. I could have let the Ulfrangar kill me for my defiance and ended it there. But instead … I’d accepted that fate. Wanted it. Thrived on it.

Sometimes, I’d even enjoyed it.

That was the part of myself King Jace would never trust—the part Reigh, Thatcher, Jaevid, and Phoebe should have been disgusted by. But they didn’t know.

And I had no idea how to tell them.

About Nicole:

Nicole is an award-winning, #1 international bestselling author from North Alabama. With a passion for relatable, authentic characters and exciting, fast-paced plots, Nicole is best known for her series, THE DRAGONRIDER CHRONICLES. Other published works include THE DRAGONRIDER LEGACY SERIES, SPIRITS OF CHAOS SERIES, MAD MAGIC SAGA, and THE DRAGONRIDER HERITAGE SERIES (Coming Winter 2020).

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softdekus · 5 years

Note

Tell us about your DA characters!!!!

aa thank you! I’ll put it under a read more so it doesn’t take up too much space, and fair warning...it’s pretty long.

Tldr i have Feynhel and Pirras Lavellan, Selanz Adaar, Luelle and Hayden deLoriot- Camriel, and Tenar Brosca. I dont have any canon hawkes yet bc i haven’t gotten to play da2 and i wanna wait till i can to do that asdfas

First there’s Feynhel Lavellan, my most developed da character; he went through a backstory overhaul within the last year or two! When Inquisition starts he’s around 27, and he’d show up at Haven to be a companion pretty soon after the start of the game. He’s a gay trans man, and usually he ends up with either Pirras or Dorian(though if he were an actual companion he’d be open to romance by any male inquisitor). that’s a whole other subject entirely though that should probably be a post of it own lmao

He was born in Orlais and left his family there to go join his father’s Dalish clan (Lavellan) when he was around 12. It was a fresh start he dearly needed considering his history with his mother. He’s a mage but had no interest in being First despite being very gifted with his magic, instead he was content to learn the basics and try to help out around the clan where needed. He apprenticed under the Clan’s craftmaster (Pirras’s father) and helped out the Hunters on occasion. Feyn’s father Thelras is a hunter and his stepmom, Shi’thra is a scout. He also has a younger brother named Cyrris, who’s now about 14 when Inquisition starts.

A big defining moment for him was when he was around 14/15 and had a close call with some Templars who wandered too close to where he was gathering craft supplies. He survived the encounter just barely, but since one of the Templars managed to retreat it made him paranoid of the possibility of being tracked. It’s part of the reason why he agreed to study under the Traveling Keeper who came to his clan looking for an apprentice some years later. He left for that when he was around 18/19 and has been away from his clan for most of the time after that, save for when he checks up with them in accordance to his duties.

He takes his duties very seriously and has explored quite a few ruins in search of knowledge. He’s friendly with many and has quite a number of friends in the clans he’s visited across Thedas, as well as contacts outside of the clans. He loves to tell stories about the places he has visited and things he’s seen. He also will tend to hide the fact the he’s a mage(and by extension a Keeper) from most people until necessary, and he prefers to use a long sword or a dagger in most combat situations. He uses it as a focus for his magic and claims he simply had the blade enchanted. Overall he has a fairly diplomatic stance about many things, but he has strong morals and is very vocal about them if confronted with situations that challenge them. He’s generally a very warm and pleasant person to be around, although he’s tired pretty much all the time because he just refuses to sleep until he absolutely has to. I love him very much...

After him there’s my current/consequential Inquisitor, Pirras Lavellan. He has a lot less development but I have added a lot to him recently. When Inquisition starts he’s about 29, a couple years older than Feyn. He’s very bi, and very into Iron Bull if he and Feyn don’t get together. He’s Inquisitor only because he went to the conclave with Feyn and a small party of other Dalish scouts, but got too impatient and went ahead before everyone else.

Pirras’ whole arc is about him growing out of his previously childish and arrogant behavior. It takes him until the end of Inquisition though and its pretty back and forth. He has a natural feel for magic and out of other apprentices he was pretty much a shoe-in for First. Family-wise, it’s been just him and his father Tala’ren since he was young, since his older brother(a mage) and mother were lost to Templars when returning from visiting another clan. After that he was fairly withdrawn even when his magic manifested. It wasn’t until Feyn showed up and tried to befriend him that he really opened up and became more outgoing. Pirras was constantly(and still does) treat everything like a competition and feels the need to try to impress everyone, especially Feyn. (despite Feyn telling him numerous times he doesn’t need to)

Shortly before Feyn left and Pirras became First, he went into the forest to try and prove how ready he was and promptly got his ass handed to him by a bear that had been giving the clan’s hunters trouble. He barely made it by virtue of Feyn and another hunter showing up, only because Feyn and Tala’ren had an idea he might do something foolish. Up till and even after then he was fairly sheltered about life outside the clan, never having ventured to speak to humans when the clan traded largely due to his own strong dislike of them.

The events of Inquisition were a pretty big shock to him and he grows a lot and learns much more about responsibility than he did in the clan. Though he’s certainly eager to return to the clan after Corypheus is defeated. Pirras and Feyn have a..complicated on and off relationship that really needs more space than this to talk abt lol.

Aside from those two we have my other Inquisitor, Selanz Adaar, who I haven’t really worked on in a long time. She’s 25 at the start of Inquisition, and fresh off her parent’s farm in Ferelden, only having done mercenary work for a couple of years when she heads to the conclave.

She’s a dual-wield rogue, and one of her moms is a former Saarebas. Selanz is smart and cheerful and always ready for more action. She becomes fast friends with Sera, and most of the other companions(Sera and Selanz end up getting married in Trespasser and she later joins the Red Jennies.) She’s really intrigued by history and lore, and spends a lot of time in either the library going through all the books, or the garden checking on the various herbs growing since she knows her way around plants. As i said she isn’t nearly as developed as some others, but i should do another playthrough with her and fix that,,,

After that there’s Luelle and Hayden du Loriot-Camriel. Luelle is in their mid/late thirties, nonbinary(genderfluid they/she) and pan. Hayden is 25/26, a trans man and is bi.They’re both mages, Luelle trained as a Knight Enchanter and Hayden is a Spirit Healer.I’m toying with the idea of Luelle becoming my new HOF so their story is likely to change.

Luelle and Hayden are half-siblings, sharing the same human father of a minor noble house, while Hayden’s mother is actually a mistress. Though since both Luelle and Hayden’s mothers were quite close Hayden and his mother were allowed to live on the estate. Luelle was very protective of Hayden growing up, and still is currently, and Hayden feels the same way.

Luelle’s magic manifested when she was around 14 and at a very bad time. Her elder sibling and Heir to the house had a number of bad habits, one of which included being particularly shitty to Luelle, a number of the servants, and even their parents. It was really a long time coming, but after a particular instance Luelle’s anger bubbled up and the magic just manifesting reacted to it in an explosive manner. Quite literally. The fiery explosion was so intense that it killed their sibling and burned her arm so badly it needed to be amputated. Their parents notified the Templars and after medical treatment they took Luelle to Ostwick before being transferred to the Ferelden circle(this is where it would branch to becoming HOF). At the circle she learned to control her magic very quickly under the constant watch of the Templars because she had already proven she could be dangerous. However, they were a quick learner and by the time the the events of Origins rolled around they were going to begin studying under a Knight Enchanter. In the event Luelle isn’t the HOF, they go through with their Knight Enchanter training but disappear

Meanwhile, since Luelle was a mage Hayden was left as the only heir. He didn’t want to be the heir but he took it in stride and was pretty spoiled, though he turned out very kind. He was upset with his father for sending Luelle so far away and not even telling him where,though he never actually brought it up and didn’t fully understand why it was such a bad thing that she was a mage. In secret, between his studies in the library he had actually been obtaining and reading books on magic. His magic manifested in a much more subtle way than Luelle’s did, he awoke one night to find his sheets had frozen where he was gripping them after a dream. He was able to keep his abilities a secret for a few months as he tried to learn more about controlling them from his books. His father found out on accident one day during dinner, where their mabari spooked him and he froze his glass.

In contrast to Luelle’s situation, their parents were now desperate to keep some sort of heir. Instead of informing the Templars, Hayden’s father sought to hire an apostate tutor in secret, despite Hayden’s own desire to learn in a Circle(with the goal of finding out which circle Luelle had been sent to). Before his father could find an apostate to hire, Hayden simply packed up and left in the middle of the night to find Templars to take him to a circle. He was around 12, and like Luelle he learned very quickly and had a strong desire to become a healer. He became a capable spirit healer about 3-4 years before Inquisition starts, and if he joins the Inquisition as a healer after being contacted near the Crossroads in Ferelden while accompanying a group of mages and tranquil in aiding refugees from the fighting.

Then theres my main Hero of Ferelden, Tenar Brosca. He’s a two-handed warrior and Berserker specialization. He’s trans and bi bc i say so, and romanced either Zevran or Alistair.(i did playthrough for each and couldn’t,,,decide which i liked more) He is sort of morally questionable with a dark sense of humor(him and Morrigan get along rlly well), but from exposure to his companions he’s grown a bit and is trying to be a better person. He doesn’t have nearly as much to his backstory bc i haven’t really messed w him in a while, but he goes along with the dark ritual with Morrigan, and does some adventuring with Zevran before he eventually plans to help the Wardens rebuild.

There’s also a few other characters i have but for the main ones thats it sldakfj

#Anonymous #dragon age oc #da oc #feynhel lavellan #pirras lavellan #hayden camriel #luelle camriel #selanz adaar #tenar brosca #thank you for asking!! i love them all alot...

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