![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
virbanalras) wrote2015-10-14 12:17 am
character information
"Seldom spoken of, however, is a fourth way: the Vir Banal'ras, the 'Way of Shadow.' Dalish hunters assume it when a debt of blood must be repaid. Such hunters dedicate themselves to vengeance and nothing else. Thus were born the legends of Dalish assassins."
Backstory
A Dalish elf, Aeras was born to clan Lavellan in the northern Free Marches. His parents were the clan's Halla Keepers, tasks which Aeras and the rest of their children often helped with. Unlike most Dalish, Clan Lavellan was on pretty good terms with humans, often trading with them, so Aeras grew up having some degree of respect for their kind. Yet with all the constant fighting going on in the Free Marches, he still occasionally saw a lot of the less pleasant parts of humanity as well. His clan often migrated around as Dalish are noted for doing, a lifestyle which strongly shaped most of Aeras' personality. As a boy, he became well known for his abilities to sneak around unnoticed and he was often sent along with scouts to aid in finding their next places to roam. One of these scouts, a great hunter named Assan, saw a lot of promise in Aeras and took him under his wing to teach him hunting.
From a young age, Aeras favored the fighting style of the Rogue. He eventually took the most to dual blade wielding and had soon proved himself a very capable hunter. (Though there was one hunting accident wherein he got the scar on the left side of his face). But he wanted more, and he sought that in the cities, breaking away from the clan more and more to do his own thing (and thus he broke the Vir Adahlen). The idea of smuggling caught his eye as a much more profitable way to provide for the clan. Although his closest family and his hunting teacher cautioned him against it, Aeras became wrapped up in a smuggling ring as a teenager, further exercising his skills to sneak around. He became so wrapped up in this new lifestyle that he broke under a lot of pressures to become one of them and forsake his own ways (and thus he broke the Vir Bor'Assan).
This involvement would still prove useful later on as Inquisitor, since he could use these skills to make connections elsewhere. He also met his first young love among the smugglers, who happened to be a human. Still, the smuggling life was not without its problems and he lost some close friends in shady deals. Each time it happened, Aeras took his time to prepare revenge for the fallen. Sometimes this wasn't carried out in the most efficient way and his targets suffered greatly during his revenge (and thus he broke the Vir Assan). Being Dalish he knows a thing or two about what plants are poisonous so used this method to enact revenge... but all in all such punishments were above and beyond what was needed and he knew it. Still, these events would largely influence him later in life to become an assassin. After nearly getting killed, Aeras returned to the clan to recuperate. (He got the scars along the right side of his chin and jaw during this incident, and scars on the right side of his body too). There he rediscovered his roots and realized how deeply he'd missed the wide open freedom of the countryside: city life had been much too confining. Although he settled back into a more Dalish lifestyle once more, he retained his ties to his smuggler friends and on occasion used that knowledge to help his clan.
Aeras eventually went on his own hunt and returned victorious to prove himself a full fledged hunter. Ultimately, Aeras came to favor the deity Falon'Din, even choosing his symbol for his Vallaslin. All Aeras wanted was to continue living his nomadic life of herding halla and hunting... but of course it wasn't meant to stay so simple. Fighting had broken out, and although the clan always stayed on the fringes of cities, not even they were safe any longer. Aeras watched a lot of good friends die in the midst of something they weren't meant to be in the middle of. He prayed to his god to guide his hand in vengeance, yet he got no answers, and there wasn't any singular enemy who he could strike down.
In the years that followed, Aeras never completely got away from doing small criminal activities to get by, and would still do odd jobs whenever he met someone who needed help. He had relationships on and off with people of varying races, always breaking things up whenever the clan moved away. Once of these relations led to a bad dispute with some humans who disapproved. When things turned violent, Aeras' old hunting instructor got in the way of a blow intended for him and died. (From this conflict, Aeras ended up with three scars on his cheek).This almost led Aeras down another dark path of revenge (as in: overdoing it, planning to kill more than just the ones responsible), and he was only stopped thanks to the intervention of the First, Danae, someone who Aeras admired and often flirted with. She had him speak with the Keeper, who urged him to reflect on how he'd broken the Ways of the Hunter and how he might regain favor. So Aeras dedicated himself to all the ways of the Vir Tanadhal from that point on... he never let go of the Vir Banal'ras, but now he was in full balance and only carried out a fair vengeane. Because of his prowess and devotion, he became respected as one of the clan's best Hunters.
As one of the sneakiest rogues they had, Aeras was sent along as a spy to the Chantry's conclave by the clan's Keeper. His talent for sneaking around and being nearly invisible would serve him well. But, of course, that conclave didn't go so well...
Personality
Sarcastic. Flirtatious. A drifter. Aeras is all of these things. He grew up with the life of a nomad, so he values his freedom to pick up and travel above all else. He isn't used to being very settled, and becomes restless if forced to remain in one place for very long. When he does get to go off on a journey, he will always take the scenic route, preferring to meander rather than go straight to the destination. He's most at ease in wide open environments. He still loves regions like the Exalted Plains and Emerald Graves that are filled with Dalish history and remind him of home, but he found himself drawn strongly to desert areas such as the Western Approach and Hissing Wastes.
Devotion to the gods is a complicated thing for Aeras. He doesn't consider himself religious at all, yet he still believes and will invoke the Dalish gods whenever he finds it necessary. They're just a fact of life that's out there, nothing that he feels needs special fanfare. He's far more devoted to the Ways of the Hunter and the Way of the Assassin, following these tenets as best as he can rather than worship as its own thing (he still sometimes takes his own interpretation though). He despised being thought of as the Herald, and didn't particularly care for being tied to the responsibilities of the Inquisition. He still has reservations about certain things, but has better adjusted to all of it... to an extent. He can come across as rather flighty and his reasons for doing certain things may seem totally out of the blue sometimes. He also has the worst sense of timing ever, and is apt to over/under-estimate when he has to be somewhere.He would also much rather roam around at random and take odd jobs here and there than proceed with official Inquisition business. He's always seen himself as just a hunter who was just "in the wrong place at the wrong time."
He's often one to remain cool-headed in most situations, finding it easier to make sarcastic remarks as a go-to defense mechanism. His moods last for long stretches of time, it's hard to change his course once he has a certain feeling. When he gets angry about something, he simply finds the best course for getting even: he very much has an "eye for an eye" mentality. Long-term revenge plans carried out with in deliberate ways is definitely his style. But if you do something good, he won't forget it and will also pay that back in an equal (but usually unexpected) way as well. For the most part, he tends to be on the quiet side, taking that "lone drifter" trope to the extreme. He's not shy, really, just not someone who likes a lot of chatter unless he deliberately goes for it. Yet talk to him enough, and it's apparent that he's an unrepentant flirt, and will direct his amorous commentary at literally everyone, men and women of any species. (Which worked to varying extents among his companions). He is totally self-aware and knows that the quiet mystery man thing is a very appealing way to get someone's attention.
Aeras also enjoys finding out information for its own sake as much as possible... he never knows when it'll prove useful to know later. He's very sneaky, good at blending in to the shadier ways of life, and can readily mingle with these sorts at any time. He's known for being quite the skeptic in most situations, needing to have as much proof as he can find in order to truly believe something. And that's happened a lot as he encountered strange people and locations during his travels as Inquisitor.
In-Game Quotes:
"Wherever I am is home enough for me."
"We should question. If not now, when?"
"Nobody should claim to know the will of the Maker."
Aeras favors long coats: one of his favorites is a red Sturdy Hunter Coat made of dragonling scales. Usually he matches this red with black-colored clothing of darkened samite, which includes a hood in addition. He favors the Superior Hunter Coat Legs when he absolutely can't avoid wearing boots (typically he's a standard barefoot Dalish!) and likewise Superior Hunter Coat Arms. He much prefers the simple cloth cowl because it doesn't restrict his movement, while still allowing him some degree of concealment. The accessories he wears include a Ring of Doubt and Enhanced Shadow Strike Ring, Amulet of Death Syphon, and an Enhanced Belt of Bleeding.
Abilities and Weapons
Rogue: Aeras has specialized in the dual wielding techniques of the Rogue's fighting style. He can wield a bow and has also developed his skills in this area too... and as a hunter, he often switches to archery when the situation calls for it. His background among his clan relied even more heavily on archery, so the skill is really something at his roots that he's never forgotten and that he even learned some new things for during his adventures (Archery Abilities). He's poured most of his recent training into dual wielding techniques, with Double Daggers and Subterfuge being his specialities. He's got a little from the Sabotage tree as well. He prefers to only use poison against the most awful enemies (doesn't want to inflict suffering as he did in the past), so this is one of his weaker, less developed areas.He enjoys being sneaky above all else, and makes great use of invisibility when and where he can. The darkness of shadows are where he feels most at home. In many ways, his fighting style affords him as much freedom as possible...
Assassin: With the assassin speciality, Aeras is an efficient killer, one of the Dalish who follow the Vir Banal'ras, the Way of Shadow. Becoming an assassin has long been a dream of his, a goal he finally fulfilled when he came to Skyhold and trained with Heir.
Perks: Thanks to the perk "Underworld Knowledge", Aeras has access to some sneakier options to help his companions. He has access to smuggler rings, for example, and he has a talent for getting "in" with these questionable types. He also has the Deft Hands, Fine Tools perk, making him incredibly skilled at picking locks.
Weapons: Dual-wielding two daggers is his specialty as a Rogue. The ones he favors are called Walking Death (right) and Wicked Grace (left). The Farslayer is his favored bow for archery.