inquisitor elera "egg fucker" lavellan

★ Character Information ★

Character Name: Elera Lavellan
Character Age: 33
Character Species: Elf -- short, slight, with pointed ears.
Current Health: Alive, but missing her left arm from right above the elbow.
Outfit: here, but without her weapon.

Character Canon: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Link to History: Here. Relevant to Elera's 'World State' are the below decisions:

All companions recruited.

Romanced Solas.

Recruited mages, offered freedom.

Clan Lavellan lives.

Gaspard emperor, Briala pulls strings.

Hawke left in the Fade.

Wardens pardoned.

Allied with Sentinels.

Drank from the Well of Sorrows.

Leliana made Divine.

Vowed to redeem Solas.

Disbanded the Inquisition.

Cole made more spirit.

Dorian encouraged to reconcile with his father.

House of Repose contract destroyed.

Cullen encouraged to remain off lyrium.

Solas allowed to kill the mages.

Sera allowed to kill Harmond.

Cassandra encouraged to rebuild Seekers.

Vivienne given the snowy wyvern heart.

Iron Bull saved Chargers.

Blackwall sent to the Wardens.

Leliana softened.

Varric invited the Inquisitor to a game of Wicked Grace.

Canon Point: Post-Trespasser, the final DLC for DA:I
Canon Iteration: Original Canon
Canon Iteration Explanation: N/A

★ Folkmore Roles & Attributes ★

Skills: Leadership, research and critical thinking skills, cooking. A knack for finding herself in over her head and dealing with 'well this might as well happen' scenarios. Limited spycraft knowledge.
Canon Abilities: Here and here. TL;DR: Elera is a mage -- an extremely powerful one -- who uses both a staff to cast and a sword hilt with a spirit in it to conjure a blade with which to whack the shit out of enemies.
Role: Familiar
Role Qualities/Attributes: Elera will most likely turn into a raven as her primary shape, and promptly use it to gather information that will help her figure out this place, the rules it goes by, and how best to protect herself, her world, and use anything she can gain here to do so. Her highest priority is stopping Solas and saving Thedas, so spying on people is an acceptable means of gathering intel, a way to give herself an edge up against him.
Role Reasoning: Elera, in spite of being a woman who believes in her abilities to lead and the pride that comes with it, does not believe the world is a simple black and white as some people wish to pretend. She is willing to hear out and entertain solutions that may not be the optimal or the most obvious -- because perhaps one of those will lead her to the conclusion that she wants. The evolution of her own beliefs and the realization that her heritage and culture are based on lies only reinforces this, and her friendship (and romance) with the antagonist pre-reveal gives her a unique look at the shifting values of what might be good and what might be bad. The world is a complicated place, and at the end of it Elera's just trying to make the best of it for her and her people. My plans for this role and Elera is just to get her used to it and for her to figure out a way to make it work for her, like she has everything else that life has thrown at her.

★ Personality ★

OPTION 2 QUESTIONS (PICK 4-5) 100-300 WORD LIMIT EACH:

What experience challenged your character's core beliefs? How did they handle this or change from it? It might be trite to say, but the experience of being Inquisitor has done the most to challenge Elera's core beliefs due to the amount of elven history and truth that Elera uncovers due to her position and exploration in the name of the Inquisition. From the truth of the event that sparked a genocidal march upon the second ancestral home of the elves to the revelation that the elven gods weren't gods at all -- the experience of being Inquisitor has completely undermined the beliefs and identity that Elera holds closest to her. Her response has mostly been anger, bitterness, and the complete disassociation from her clan and her culture. She dares not tell the truth to her people for fear that they will become like her, but now finds herself aimless and adrift as she no longer has anything to tie her identity to -- she's in a continuing crisis of identity and doesn't know how to continue forward.

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 biggest headcanon I have when it comes to playing Elera Lavellan is that mages are in a position of privilege within Dalish clans. The games can't decide how the Dalish handle their 'surplus' mages -- either they trade them to other clans who need them, or they leave them out in the forest to die, your pick -- but if a mage is within a clan, then they're guaranteed to to be in a position of power. The de-facto leader of a clan is called a Keeper, and they are always mages. They are considered the wisest person in the clan, as well as the spiritual leader -- guiding a clan's religious practices and are normally the individuals who deal with the non-Dalish individuals of Thedas on behalf of the clan. Non-mages cannot lead the clan, even if there was someone better suited for the role, and it is mentioned in-game that those who aren't Keepers or First/Seconds have been chastised for attempting to concern themselves with matters best left to a clan's mages -- matters regarding Dalish and Elvish history, for example. This is key to Elera because it informs both her natural leadership ability when Inquisitor and because it makes her think that she is always in the right, especially when those matters concern magic and the elves. Her pride is her biggest strength and her fatal flaw, and for her sense of self to be so challenged by the revelations in-game about her culture that it threatens to destroy her, she needs to come from a place where that hasn't ever been called into question before.

Is your character capable of forgiveness or will they hold a grudge until they die? Would anything ever make them change their mind? Elera is a grudge holder, but the grudges she develops are extremely specific and slightly hypocritical. Slights against her, her people, her allies, or her way of life are unforgiveable... unless she likes the person doing it, in which case she'll find a way to move past it. She's not afraid to let her nearest and dearest act on their most vengeful impulses on their own grudges as well, such as letting Solas murder the mages who unknowingly summoned a spirit friend of his and destroyed it. Dorian, a man who -- at the beginning of the game -- doesn't see slavery as morally incorrect, is still one of her close friends; while she does challenge him on it she doesn't strike out viciously at him as she would someone she doesn't know. It is possible to change her mind -- but it would involve spending time with her at her worst in order for her to see that someone is worth giving another chance, but who would want to put up with a woman with a cutting tongue and a bad attitude in order to do so?

What would your character sacrifice to get what they want or to reach their potential? What have they sacrificed already? Everything, including most of her arm. Alright, so maybe that's a little too broad, but Elera is not above sacrificing everything she can in order to achieve her goals, and at this point she expects it. Her wants, too, are not entirely selfish -- saving the world from an ancient evil, trying to keep her ex-boyfriend from destroying the world -- those are the goals and wants that she places above her own when it comes to sacrificing for, simply because she knows she must. Her wants, her own desires, are completely secondary, and are prone to less drastic measures. She would not, for instance, sacrifice her clan's entire belief system in order to carve a space out amongst them once more. She'd rather take the hit herself, and refuse to drag them down with her. If getting what she wants or reaching her own potential comes at a personal cost for her, there really is no limit as to what she'll sacrifice -- but bring other people into it and she'll put them before her own desires every time.

What famous folklore, legend, or myth would you associate your character with? Are they literally inspired by Snow White? Do they have similar struggles or energy as Red Riding Hood? Tam Lin -- a woman holds fast to the man she loves in order to save him, even as he transforms through multiple monstrous forms, all chosen to make her give him up. The heroine does not, and saves him by doing so. While Elera cannot save Solas through her love (because he will not let it, in fairness to her) she refuses to see him as anything else than the man she loved and not the monster he both will become and has been painted by history and her own myths and legends. Unfortunately, beyond that one problem, Elera isn't protecting Solas from an evil fairy queen who has kept him in thrall but from himself, and that's a lot more difficult to counter.