Fenris (Dragon Age 2) CDC Application

[parumlupus]

PLAYER INFO.

✖ Handle: Prince

✖ Contact: Parumlupus as plurk or PM

✖ Are You Over 16: Yes

✖ Other Characters Played in Consignment: N/A

CHARACTER INFO.

✖ Character Name: Fenris

✖ Canon: Dragon Age 2, Canon point from around Act 2, after the completion of A Bitter Pill

✖ Character Appearance:

✖ Character Age: Its not stated in game but probably around mid 20’s to maybe early 30’s. Round it off to about 27?

✖ Pick A Number: 657

✖ Canon Setting:

Fenris was a slave in the Tevinter Imperium, one of the countries which constitute the continent of Thedas. The world of Dragon Age is a medieval fantasy, but borrows from other cultures as well - as an example, Tevinter is based on Rome. As in Rome, there is a distinct class system, the working system effectively comprised almost completely of slaves. To gain power and distinction in Tevinter one needs to be of noble birth and lineage, and also be a mage. They are a society run almost completely by Magi, though they have a senate and are lead by\ an Imperial Archon. Because The Imperium is effectively a magocracy, there are few rules limiting or restricting mages in any way - and while publicly, blood magic is frowned upon (magic which deals directly with demons/spirits and often costs human sacrifice) it is generally practiced behind closed doors and often mages who turn to this tool are considered some of the most powerful. Because of both the heavy reliance on the slave trade, mage rulership, and their slightly skewed version of the Chantry, Tevinter is but a shadow of its former glory and its people are isolated and treated with suspicion by both Fereldan and Orlais.

The magic system in Dragon Age is what causes most of the societal upset within the world - people are born with an intrinsic connection with the Fade or they are not. The Fade is a metaphysical realm that is tied to Thedas and separated by the Veil, kind of like an invisible barrier. Every living being in Thedas enters the Fade when their spirit leaves their body after death, or sometimes mentally when they dream, and mages tap into it when they cast spells. The only exception are the dwarves, who cannot access the Fade. Most people do not remember their time in the Fade - mages being a distinct exception, as they are able normally to remain "conscious" while traveling there. The Fade is the source of all magic, and living within it along side the souls of the departed are spirits and demons. Spirits are pure magical beings often tied to a virtue - such as Justice, or Compassion. Spirits are different from humans as they feel or understand little but their single purpose. In the Fade, they can bend the metaphysical realm to their will, but if they cross the Veil and end up in the world they do not have the same power. Demons are spirits which have been corrupted, generally by humans, and are twisted versions of themselves - Justice becoming Vengeance, Compassion becoming Indifference, etc etc. Demons often torment mages, or attempt to take over their bodies so they may directly affect the world. Mages who use blood magic often make pacts with spirits or demons, and because of this, leave themselves vulnerable. Most magic is permitted in Thedas, but mages are kept in check by the Circle of Magi. Mages who refuse to bow to the circle, and the imposed confinement that entails are known as apostates, and are hunted by Templars.

The Templars are an order created by the Chantry who are a church system which worships Andraste. Andraste was an escaped slave of the Tevinter Imperium who led a revolt and freed elves from slavery. She is a prominent figure in lore and mythology, and is considered sent from the Maker who is the Dragon Age equivalent of God. The Chantry are intrinsic in the running of both the Circle of Magi, and the Templars. The second commandment of the Maker is “Magic must serve man, not rule over him,” which lead to the creation of the Circle of Magi, to keep mages in check and protected from the allure of dangerous magic, such as communication with demons. Templars are knight specifically trained to fight mages and safeguard them in the circle of Magi towers. Templars are fed a steady supply of lyrium by the Chantry as to keep them strong and magic resistent - with the side effect of making them cripplingly addicted. The Chantry controls the lyrium trade, and therefore both the Templar’s and the mages.

Fenris is an elf and a slave, elves having been captured and enslaved hundreds of years ago by the Tevinter Imperium. Elves are looked down upon throughout most of Thedas, and overwhelmingly make up most of the slave class. Eventually, Fenris escapes from his master, ending up in Kirkwall, where he meets Hawke and joins the party.

Kirkwall used to be a thriving hub for the slave trade until the fall of the Tevinter Imperium, after which slavery was banned in most of Thedas. Kirkwall still bears the grim reminders of its haunting past, with many of the monuments featuring depictions of slaves bound by chains, and the huge Gallows complex, in which the Templar’s and Mages currently reside. The circle in Kirkwall is renown for being one of the worst in all Thedas, known for its harsh punishment of mages who go out of line. Fenris was born into slavery, but to try and set free his mother and sister, entered a fighting tournament. He won, and his mother and sister were set free - his prize, as the winner however, was continued servitude and being branded with magical tattoos. The tattoos were made from lyrium, a special mineral which is known for enhancing magical powers in mages. The tattoos do not give him magic like mages have, but an ability to phase in and out of his corporeal form.

Fenris ends up in Kirkwall after his eventual escape, and lives in an abandoned mansion in High Town, where the nobility of Kirkwall reside. Fenris errs on the side of the Templar’s when there come arguments about the treatment of mages, but doesn’t seem to particularly enjoy the city itself, from his various cutting quips when in the poorer sections of the city, and the alienage, the quarters where city elves live.

✖ Character History:

Fenris was born on Seheron, a island that has been warred over by the Tevinter Imperium and the Qunari for years. It is presumed he was born into slavery and worked with his mother and sister. He entered a fighting tournament in Tevinter and won; his prize was his mother and sister’s freedom, and a complex set of lyrium tattoos. During this extremely painful ordeal all his previous memories were erased. It is unclear whether he was already the slave of the influential and powerful Magister Danarius’, or this was his prize from winning the contest, but from then on he was Danarius’ slave and bodyguard, attending to the Magister’s every whim. It is implied in canon that he was also used sexually by Danarius.

While visiting the island of Seheron, a territory still fiercely contested by the Qunari against the Imperium, a battle broke out. Danarius was placed on a ship to be evacuated immediately, but there was no room for slaves on the ship and Fenris was left behind. He was wounded and weak, but was picked up by Fog Warriors, Qunari who have defected from the Qun. They taught him about being free, and he explains this time as some of the happiest in his life. However, months later Danarius returns to pick up Fenris. The Fog Warriors refuse to allow him to be taken and fighting ensues. Danarius is injured and enraged by this, orders Fenris to kill everyone there. Fenris describes feeling as though he had no choice - that his master had returned, and any semblance of freedom he had gained was gone. He killed the Fog Warriors, but after looking round at the massacre he has wrought by his own hand, was horrified and fled. He was chased at every turned by soldier’s and slaver’s who worked for Danarius, but managed to remain one step ahead for 3 years.

Finally, he ends up in Kirkwall where he meets Hawke under a guise.

Dragon Age is a game where at various points in the story, the player can make different choices which affect the outcomes of the personal histories of the companion characters. After this point, Fenris stays in Kirkwall and continues to work for Hawke, accompanying them to an expedition to the Deep Roads (old Dwarven tunnels deep underground filled with Darkspawn and treasure), and helping them with various other quests. He is un-romanced but definitely befriended at least enough to continue his personal story line. The canon point I am taking him from is just after the completion of A Bitter Pill, in which Fenris, Hawke and their party are ambushed by a group of Tevinter slavers while on the way to Sundermount. They are quickly dispatched, but one lives long enough to say they are working for the Magister Hadrianna, Danarius’ old apprentice. She has holed down in some nearby ancient Tevinter slave caves, remnants from the slave trade now outlawed in the Free Marches. They head over and find most of the slaves had been killed in a blood magic ritual, as Hadrianna realized they were coming and panicked. They fight their way to her, defeat her and just before landing a killing blow, she begs for her life. She offers to trade it in exchange for information regarding Fenris’ sister, and offer he accepts. She tells him everything she knows - then he crushes her heart. After this he storms away refusing to talk about the issue further.

✖ Character Personality:

Fenris is a former ex-slave with no memories of his life beforehand, and precious few worth remembering even after they were wiped. Having spent years as a slave and undergoing both mental, physical, and heavily implied sexual abuse, it is little wonder he is incredibly bitter and closed off. When not driving himself to madness with the thought of finding Danarius, his former owner, and tearing him to shreds, Fenris finds himself a little at a loss. He is unused to freedom and what it entails. Fenris’ goals for a long time were to stay alive and one step ahead of Danarius - after three years on the run, he finally stops and makes a stand. After failing to capture Danarius, he settles into the domesticity of living in Kirkwall unsure if he can truly start a new life while his old master is still at large. He lets revenge remain his lone motivator, but occasionally considers living a free life - he’s not really sure he understands what that means however.

Fenris is a person who is unequipped at handling change, and decisions. He falls into life in Kirkwall kind of by mistake, and falls into Hawke’s company much the same way. He struggles to make decisions for himself and the prospect of a future is not something he has considered. This is shown through the multiple conversations with Hawke.

Fenris has had severe trauma in his past, so is quite justified in his poor opinion of mages. Living in Tevinter high society and being privy to the back stabbing and political machinations that occur behind closed doors, Fenris has seen the true horrors of what people with magic are capable of. Because of this, he is quick to judge anyone who uses magic. His greatest fear in regards to it are people who are unable to control themselves, and letting it loose on unsuspecting victims.

Fenris is blunt, and to the point; he doesn’t keep his past obfuscated and he isn’t disarming about how dangerous he is or the danger he puts his companions in by being in his company. The only time Fenris lies in game is to Hadriana when he says he will spare her, and even then, he feels conflicted over it. He states that he wanted to spare her, but couldn’t bring himself to.

 

Fenris struggles with settling down and finding direction because he’s always lived his life on the run. Fenris is a quick thinker, and good observer - this can bee seen in the keen and often cutting remarks he makes about the various locations throughout Kirkwall - often very true statements which break a place down to its key issues. Thats why he’s quick thinker and good at observing things - he had to be, or he’d be killed. He’s smart, but he’s scared. Also, he managed to learn Qunlat, the language of the Qunari, even after only spending a few months in the company of the Fog Warrior’s. He’s mistrustful and paranoid because he’s been running for so long. He also has a temper that flares up when dealing with sensitive topics such as mages, or slavery. He does not deal well with being confined or restricted.

 

Fenris isn’t a bad person - he’s bitter and jaded by his experiences, but genuinely wants to do good. The problem is, he doesn’t really know how - having his previous memory wiped, he has known only a life of servitude and then a life on the run. Things like trust and friendship were on the back burner, while suspicion and spite kept him alive. Slowly as he begins to open up to Hawke and the others, he lowers his guard, finding it easier to let his sense of humour show. He is a person who do, but does genuinely care about people. He doesn’t believe in filling time with meaningless niceties, but would show up to show he cares. Fenris is doggedly loyal to those who gain his trust. Despite this grimness, he is not without humour and can play along with a joke if struck in the right mood. His dry sense of humour is pretty endearing, and if befriended. He has a tendency to blame himself for things. He will stand up and protect those who are helpless or weak, especially slaves. Fenris see’s himself as an elf, an ex-slave who camps out in a half destroyed decrepit mansion that he doesn’t really own with few resources other than the sword on his back. His own opinion of himself isn’t very high, but he doesn’t sell his abilities short; he knows the skills he posses due to his tattoos and experiences are rare and quite powerful.

✖ Character Powers & Skills: Fenris is a seasoned bodyguard/fighting trophy turned mercenary, so has sharp reflexes and battle hardened abilities with most heavy two handed weapons, like broadswords and axes. He also has the ability to phase in and out of things - i.e. phasing his hand through someones chest to crush their heart. It can also be used to avoid some damage, or stealth. It cannot be applied to weapons or other people - this power comes from his tattoos. He is also much stronger and faster than he may appear due to his lyrium tattoos. The tattoos can also flare and pulse - when active giving off a blue glow, and can be used as a sort of barrier/pulse to push off enemies surrounding him. Because of the lyrium in his tattoos, it can negate some effect from magical abilities.

CHARACTER SAMPLES.

✖ First Person POV: http://codecrew.dreamwidth.org/11010.html?thread=21372674#cmt21372674

http://codecrew.dreamwidth.org/10953.html?thread=20629705#cmt20629705

(Ah, I just thought I’d mention, I messed up a few small details - mostly about the exact items recruit’s are issued with, and also didn’t understand the necessity of the wrist cuff! I did some further reading and understand how vital the wrist cuff is, and also came across a more detailed list of equipment given. I couldn’t go back and edit the comments though, so I thought I would mention it here!)

✖ Third Person POV:

The candle light is flickering low, wax leaking down across the worn oaken table top. Fenris shoves the book away with an ugly snarl, and fists one hand through his hair in frustration. The letters across the front are symbols he knows the words for, but cannot pick apart - the neatly drawn little rows inside an even worse amalgamation, a tiny ant-sized army marching across a page and he is mute and weaponless when faced with them. It doesn’t help that he’s been drinking - bottles are sprawled across the workspace, and he notes guiltily in his haste to shove away the book, he’d knocked one over. Sullenly it drips dark red Tevinter wine across the unswept stones of his bed chamber pooling somewhere beneath the table and making further mess he refuses to clean. Hopefully, it stains some expensive carpet still spread across the floor. He picks another bottle, one half full from another night and takes a swig as he rises to his feet with a slight shake.

The wine is too sickly sweet for him, with an after taste of dust - everything in this accursed house seemed to collect dust. He swills it in his mouth for a moment more, the deep heady smell of red wine soaking through his senses. He swallows with distaste rolling the bottle in his palm, the deep sea green of it a cool reprieve to the heat that seems to sink beneath his skin. He edges to the window, glances into the street beyond; the twinkling candle lights in the windows of the noble houses around him like fireflies in the night. He closes one eye and lines the bottle up to aim - it sails straight out, of course, the glass of the frame (imported from Orlais) long since broken. He hears the gratifying shattering that is the audible equivalent of a particularly clever joke that only he is privy to.

The moment is then considerably dampened by the yelp that follows from down below.

Fenris pauses for a single, sobering minute, before realizing he may or may not have just accidentally thrown an exceedingly expensive Tevinter wine down on some Hightown noble. Or a burglar. There was a 50/50 chance either way.

He groans.

Taking the steps two at a time, he skids past a statue long since tipped over and smashed, narrowly dodging the sharp and shattered edges of a once elegant picture frame. He scrambles clumsy fingers with the front door, takes a minute to take a breath, before opening it - the cool air racing in to nip against his blazing cheeks and ear tips as he peers into the gloom.

Upon his doorstep is a single hunched person looking especially surprised and staring at him wide eyed, the edge of their cloak soaked with deep, red wine. They reek of the stuff.

They peer at him owlishly, rooted to the spot and he pausing for a minute, fishing for the words to say.

“Sorry,” He slurs, hand scratching tentatively at his cheek, “about that.” It is halting, but it seems enough - the person edges forward, still huddled over. They look ragged, he notes; not the sort of person you would find wandering the streets of Hightown at night.

More the kind you’d trip over drunkenly in an alleyway.

He raises a brow as they get closer with a frantic sort of hobble step.

“Serah, I, I,.. gravely need your help,” They begin, their voice short and clipped and stuttered with an unfamiliar accent.

Fenris would interrupt, but they shuffle forward once more, eyes pleading - he is a man of young age, tan complexion. Rings around his eyes that can even be seen in the wane glow of candlelight from within the mansion.

“I heard rumor you were squatting here, an escaped slave of the Magister’s, and I came as soon as I was able to get away,..” He’s shaking and Fenris narrows his eyes.

The man rests one hand on the door frame, and looks up, face pleading.

“I can take you to him,... Will you come with me?”

Danarius. There could be no doubt of whom he spoke. The suspicions that had been mounting tear free and chase each other through his mind, the possibilities endless. Who had this man heard of him form? Why was Danarius here? How had the slave gotten away? Was this escaped slave simply another decoy, a lure for which Danarius knew he would fall?

And yet.

If Danarius was in the city, it was a chance he could not miss. There was no way to siege the walls of Minrathous, no way he could carve a river of blood through that many guardsmen and mages. Perhaps he had come for Hadriana - the thought alone sends a sick sort of relief settling in the pit of his stomach. Hadriana’s death had brought him nothing - no closure. But Danarius was the final piece - once he took the king, the game was his.

He would truly be free.

“My sword,” He says quickly, words seeming to tumble round his thick tongue. “I need my sword.”

The man bobs his head, seems content to wait a moment as Fenris hikes the few steps to his borrowed quarters, and grabs his blade. It rests snug against his palm, grip warn and ready. The weight of it settles him - his heart thuds against his chest, a steady sort of rhythm as he descends the stair case in the mansion where he had thought he would end this once and for all. It looks as though fate would give him just one more turn.

“I will help, yes - lead on, and I will follow.”

And if it was a trap?

Danarius was not the only one who would be ready for bloodshed.

CHARACTER ITEMS.

✖ Pick a Team:

Fenris would probably fit best into the Red Team. He could certainly fulfill the kill orders of the Red Team, and has experience with being incognito (having been on the run for quite a few years) as well as having the ability to phase through things, and become almost invisible.

✖ Reason for Joining the CDC:

Fenris is good at working at the behest as others - when left to his own devices, he’s unsure what to do. While he views the CDC as another set of chains he has unwittingly stumbled into the cause of saving his home world is at least a worthy one. He will mostly comply with regulations, maybe occasionally bending rules when he thinks they have gone too far? Killing monsters and aliens, demons and eldritch abominations is just another day’s work but when it comes to innocents or civilians, he would become less willing to comply.

✖ Mission Freebie: What or who is your character's end mission request?

One Magister with minimal bruising please and thank you. He wants Danarius delivered to him, alive.

✖ Personal Item or Weapon:

Fenris has a large, two handed sword, called the Blade of Mercy. The sword itself actually very probably taller than he is and is a gift and token of honour given to important people (read: Magisters) in Tevinter. It is a gift from Hawke. When he runs his hand down the blade a certain way, it appears to glow with light - this doesn’t seem to have any purpose beyond aesthetic.

✖ Character Inventory:

Fenris is rather simply dressed:

• His armour, which consists of chest piece and spikey clawed gauntlets

• His tabard which is under his armour and made of well worn leather

• A thick belt with a few good sized pouches perfect for storing stolen coin, dried rations, or a pack of cards and a book looking a little battered and dog eared, titled ‘The Book of Shartan’ (All of which is confiscated of course.)

• Pants sort of like leggings that go down to his feet and wrap under his foot