insert your inquisition jokes here

I understand that the Inquisitor comes from a pretty recent canon, so if people wish to opt out of threading with him or specifically at least want me to avoid tagging you with spoilers, here's the place to do it!

Otherwise, if you have any concerns and want to state them and they aren't really HMD-relevant, this is a perfect post for it.

〈 PLAYER INFO 〉
NAME: Alba
AGE: 28
JOURNAL: albaaulbath
IM / EMAIL: jaberrywrites AT gmail DOT com
PLURK: albaaulbath
RETURNING: Yes. I currently play Fulcrum.

〈 CHARACTER INFO 〉
CHARACTER NAME: Mahanon Lavellan | The Inquisitor
CHARACTER AGE:
SERIES: Dragon Age
CHRONOLOGY: Post-From the Ashes.
CLASS: Hero
HOUSING: House him wherever!

BACKGROUND:

The Inquisitor has a story, just like any other hero. Before the Inquisition and before the Breach, there was the Dalish hunter Mahanon of Clan Lavellan, who roamed the Free Marches with his fellow elves. Due to the war waged between the templars and the mages, the Dalish knew that if the war continued it would affect their clans as well. Lavellan was sent to spy on what would known as the Conclave at the Temple of Sacred Ashes to see the results and determine how dangerous things would turn out, or perhaps it would turn out better than expected.

It, of course, didn't.

A mysterious explosion occurred at the temple, destroying it and killing everyone involved except for Lavellan. He stepped out of the Fade, which is a completely new and unknown experience for a person to physically go in and out of. That and the mark on his hand caused him to become suspect to be the cause of the explosion. Not only did the destruction of the Conclave and the temple happen, but there was also a rupture in the Fade that became known as the Breach.

Suspicions dropped when Lavellan was able to use the mark on his hand to close smaller rifts and temporarily seal the Breach. Due to the chaos in the world of Thedas, Cassandra and Leliana ordered a new form of the Inquistion. Lavellan, due to the impossible actions he had achieved, became known as the Herald of Andraste and people began to believe that the Maker sent him to resolve the Breach and consequential issues in Thedas. He was adopted into the Inquisition and began to work with Cassandra and Leliana, as well as Cullen and Josephine as his advisers. Cassandra would often go adventuring with him in addition to the elf apostate Solas and the rogue storyteller Varric.

Adventures continued as Lavellan went out into the world and began to recruit more people into the Inquisition in an effort to close the Breach. The most notable of these ended up becoming companions that would go adventuring with him. They were the Qunari mercenary Iron Bull, enchanter to the Imperial Orlais Court Vivienne, Grey Warden Blackwall, and "elven" archer Sera. With the help of these new party members, Lavellan has been able to adventure throughout various locations in Thedas, go on quests, and attempt to restore balance. In the meanwhile, he began to build trust and respect with the people he started traveling with.

Roughly around this time, his clan asked for help in protection against bandits in the Free Marches nearby Wycome. The bandits are suspiciously un-bandit like, but Lavellan is able to make the right choice to protect them. This is important for later.

Eventually, Lavellan would have to decide who to reach out to for help in closing the Breach: the rebel mages, or the templars? After much debate among his advisers, Lavellan made the choice to set out to Redcliffe and approach the mages who holed up in Redcliffe castle. Despite the fact that Fiona made an invitation to him in Val Royeaux, upon arriving she had no memory of this action once Lavellan arrived in Redcliffe. Fiona revealed that she became desperate and attempted to protect the rebel mages by submitting their freedom to the Tevinter Imperium. Stepping in the middle of the confusion was Tevinter magister Alexius, who explained that the mages would be indentured in servitude to the Imperium for ten years before they could become full citizens. Determined to get the help of the mages, Lavellan began to negotiate the terms with Alexius, only to be interrupted by Alexius's son, Felix, who feigns illness to secretly pass a note to Lavellan.

After Alexius and Felix leave, Lavellan finds that the note invites him to meet Felix elsewhere to learn of what's really going on. Going to the Chantry causes Lavellan to meet a Tevinter mage named Dorian. He and Felix reveal the truth to Lavellan: Alexius found a way to use magic to bend time, which is why Fiona had no memory of the invitation originally made to Lavellan. Alexius used time travel to intervene. Determined to stop his former mentor, Dorian joined Lavellan in confronting Alexius at Redcliffe castle.

The confrontation causes Alexius to use his new magic to throw Dorian and Lavellan one year into the future, where it is a hellish apocalyptic place where someone called the "Elder One" has taken over Thedas. There, Lavellan and Dorian learn that this has been accomplished by different ways: killing Empress Celene of Orlais, and obtaining a demon army. After rescuing a few of his party members and Leliana, they set out to confront Alexius and obtain the amulet so that Dorian can send them back to the present. After defeating the magister, Dorian is successful and it allows Lavellan to arrest Alexius in present time.

Kind Alistair of Ferelden arrived to Redcliffe castle not long after, furious with what Fiona had done. He banished the mages from Recliffe which in turn allowed Lavellan to step in and request aid from the mages with an unpopular motion: he chose to make the mages equals and free people in the Inquisition. Regardless, he had finally obtained assistance that everyone has desperately needed.

With the help of the mages, Lavellan was able to use the mark of his hand to finally close the Breach. It became a moment of victory and celebration for the Inquisition, but the feeling was all too brief when Haven suddenly was under attack by unknown forces. Having come to warn them was a strange being simply known as Cole, who did his best to come help. He explained as best as he could about what became of the templars: they chose to submit to red lyrium and join the Elder One, also known as Corypheus. With the use of the trebuchets, they were able to cause avalanches over much of the forces but were interrupted rather alarmingly by what appeared to be an Archdemon. The tides of the fight turned to ill, and quickly Lavellan did his best with others to make sure people could escape Haven.

Cole explained that Corypheus came to Haven with one purpose: to find Lavellan. Deciding that there was only one way to deal with this, Lavellan had Cullen work on evacuating everyone that was left while he caused a distraction with the Archdemon. In doing so, Lavellan was confronted by Corypheus, who expositioned on what the Mark was on his hand: it is known as the Anchor and it was given to him by accident when Lavellan stepped into a ritual that Corypheus was in the process of doing back at the Conclave from an artifact. Having distracted him long enough, Lavellan released the last trebuchet and fled into the snow.

After stumbling around in the Frostback Mountains, Lavellan discovered a new ability with his Anchor which allows him to use the Fade to attack multiple targets. Eventually, he found the rest of the Inquisition as well and with Solas's help, Lavellan was able to lead everyone to a new stronghold: Skyhold. It was here that Lavellan was finally officially made into the leader of the Inquisition, or rather simply known as the Inquisitor.

Once everyone settled in, Lavellan was introduced to Varric's friend. Known as the Champion of Kirkwall, it was the infamous Hawke. Both Varric and Hawke were able to shed some light on Corypheus and their previous encounter with him and that they were ready to help investigate more on the matter with him.

Not long after, his clan reached out to him again. This time, the Duke of Wycome threatened to destroy all of the elves in the area. Desperate to protect his clan, Lavellan sent out Leliana's assassins to kill the Duke. This action, sadly, only causes Duke Antoine to slaughter his clan and the elves in the alienage.

It is here that the story ends. For now.


PERSONALITY:

In the face of danger, heroes stand tall and are unwavering. They are noble, they are honorable, and they are the stuff of legends.

Of course, the truth is a bit more complex than that.

While many exaggerated tales circulate around the Inquisitor AKA the Herald of Andraste AKA Lavellan AKA that elf guy with the hand thingy, he doesn't view himself as above it all. Lavellan has always been curious and eager to learn of the world around him, whether it is about his own heritage or about other cultures and people. Are you a Tevinter mage? Well dang, now he needs to ask you about everything, including culture, religion, and political views. Lavellan will ask a million and one questions, and he's happy to hear others talk about themselves when he asks for them to. Getting to know people around him is enjoyable, especially if he plans on recruiting you developing a friendship with you. As far as Dalish elves go, Lavellan is surprisingly social towards others outside of his own people and keeps a fairly open-mind. This stems from the sort of culture he derives from; the Dalish wander Thedas to explore and rediscover their lost history, so curiosity to some regard has always been encouraged. For Lavellan, his interest in other cultures bridges from this aspect but is also combined with the fact that he's had to prepare himself to spy on literally every other kind of person at the Conclave. With both of these things in mind, the Inquisitor has developed the desire to expand his knowledge and is all too glad to learn. Eventually, this has formed him to simply want to know more about individuals as well as he continues to work with them.

With that in mind, let's about his approach to people he isn't really all that fond of. Usually, Lavellan comes in two flavors with enemies and rivals: either he's laying on the sarcasm so thick you could cut it with a knife, or he's just outright spiteful and vitriolic. His dislike of people is hardly subtle, and he rarely holds back his disdain if he truly despises someone. Granted, it's a rarity when this happens. After all, his enemies tend to be people who want to be a god at the expense of other people's survival, they're slavers, or kill innocents. So really, most individuals have a good shot at being someone he'll attempt to socialize with. Most Dalish elves tend to turn their backs on other species, even elves born in human alienages -- but most of all, many of them despise humans. Lavellan has come to quickly learn that judging a person based purely on their species isn't precisely productive, especially when they can be a powerful and reliable ally like Cassandra, Leliana, or really many other humans he's met. After his experiences at the Conclave and studying how humans interact, Lavellan has determined that it is best to judge someone by their actions than where they are from, something that can be implied based on a conversation he has with Solas in regard to how the Dalish treat humanity. So if you're really into enslaving people and tormenting innocents, it's a good bet that the Inquisitor won't be too eager to hang out and throw back some mead with you.

So as a bit of a social bug who enjoys getting to know people, here's the next thing to know: once someone has Lavellan's friendship, his loyalty to them is unwavering. He is protective, and he will go out of his way to assist his friends. Whether they fall in battle and he has to go racing through the madness to pick them back onto their feet, or they ask for his help with a sidequest task? It doesn't matter. He's there for them. From a tightly knit clan of elves he's known all of his life, Lavellan simply cannot fathom not being there for a comrade that needs him. His allies are a bit like a second clan to him that he's come to care about.

All right, so we have a good idea of what his habits with people are. So in addition, the Inquisitor has a sense of charisma and adaptability, which is probably one of the reasons why his Keeper picked him to spy on people. He can adjust well enough to his surroundings and by getting to know people along with his innate sense to help others, he comes off typically as very inspiring. And while Lavellan would like to think he's quite charming, the truth is just that he deals with many situations by cracking jokes and being playful so it's really up to others to determine if he actually is as charming as he likes to think. The approach he takes is somewhat practiced from his time in leading hunts in his clan, and let's be honest: life is way, way too short to not have fun with. Regardless, most of these traits work well for him so that he can lead the Inquisition.

So, as the leader of the Inquisition, that means Lavellan can usually make split-second decisions on the fly (while secretly hoping it'll work out somehow, which usually it does). Sense of humor aside, he's perfectly capable of making serious decisions and remaining determined all the while. He has a strong force of will, and is certainly too stubborn in the face of almost certain death. To him, dying is not an option during battle. He will do everything he can to find the silver lining, even in the most garish of situations. Remember of course, this doesn't mean that the Inquisitor is a flawless individual. In his own eyes, he's just lucky and he hopes his luck doesn't run out. His ability to make decisions in a split-second also means he sometimes has to make things up as he goes along and hope it works out in the end. Which also means, certainly, mistakes can and will be made. They have been and it's something he hasn't forgotten.

All in all, Lavellan is a strong friend to have -- and an equally strong enemy to make.


POWER:
The Anchor - The mark on the Inquisitor's left hand is known as the Anchor, given to him by pure chance after making contact with the Orb of Destruction. It links him directly to the Fade, allowing him to open and close rifts to the Fade at will. In addition, the Anchor allows him to banish demons in the area, as well as cause a wide open magical attack on enemies that will temporarily slow them down. Granted, I'm not sure how much of the Fade would be allowed to be introduced to Mask or Menace, so I'm willing to accommodate the means of the Anchor; it can be amended that the Anchor can open and close more generic portals that will allow him quick travel, as well as the magical attack and banishment of demons.

Mount Summon - The Inquisitor will be able to summon one of his mounts. Specifically, it will be the Pride of Arlathan hart mount. When there is battle and the hart is in danger, it will simply disappear.

Invisibility - As a rogue, the Inquisitor has always been native to stealth and stalking his enemies. With a more literal invisibility power, it will allow him to become completely unseen by others.

〈 CHARACTER SAMPLES 〉
COMMUNITY POST (VOICE) SAMPLE:

Bear with me, but this is insanely fascinating! The way this whole thing is set up in the bathroom. I can-- I can have a bath whenever I want. A hot bath! In five minutes! I could bathe every day. This is revolutionary!

And in the same tub, I can make it rain. Hot rain, even. I have my own personal waterfall. This is ridiculously amazing.

Don't even get me started on the toilet.

LOGS POST (PROSE) SAMPLE:

Adjusting to a new brand of life is something that the Inquisitor has done before. Going from an almost entirely Dalish life being forced into human politics and somehow roped into being the leader of an Inquisition set out to save the world when but a month ago he was just a hunter? Big shift.

Now there's this. A whole new world, new culture, new things to explore.

Something he's still not really used to is how they've organized roads here. These small metal boxes with wheels are like carts without horses; it's strange and unique and they make loud noises when he's in front of them. There are no mounts, and people don't just walk in the road. There are some of the same worries here; day-to-day life, enemies, heroes, and those in between.

And it's admittedly a bit refreshing to be the elf Lavellan and not the "Herald of Andraste" here. Hell, no one's even heard of Andraste! And no one to call him knife-ears. That's something.

Right now, Lavellan reminds himself to not walk in the middle of the road again lest the metal carriages make sounds again. He waits for them to pass before he crosses the street. He only stops when he sees a merchant standing outside of one of the shops, holding a tray with assorted samples on it. Bits of food, nothing he's ever seen before. It smells vaguely familiar, like the pasta made for him a few times before at Skyhold and Redcliffe. Less steamy, though.

"Excuse me. What do you call this?" The elf rubs his chin curiously.

"A sample?" is the answer he's given.

Lavellan grins wryly at the response. "I gathered that. But what is it, exactly?"

She looks bewildered for a moment, then quickly gives in. Maybe he's not the first stranger to ask. "It's pizza."

"Hm." Curious, the rogue takes a piece pinned by a toothpick and places it into his mouth.

It's less like pasta and more like... like dough. Dough and marina sauce and cheese and some kind of meat. It's an interesting combination, like a hot sandwich but more.

He is absolutely enchanted with it. He's never had anything quite like this.

Lavellan needs to see how he can obtain more of this pizza.


FINAL NOTES:

I'm a bit favorable to the idea of the Anchor keeping its magical link to the Fade on account of potential plots that I would enjoy bringing to the game. However, I totally understand if this isn't feasible. Just let me know if the Anchor does need to be adjusted for the setting.