#mage adaar

Happy 8 years Dragon Age Inquisition!

Death’s Shadow, Harbinger

— (Deimos Adaar)

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thank you for asking about my newest bebbe, Bryn! I'm still fleshing them out and love any chance to explore who they are, so I appreciate this so much

it’s necessary for us to be transformed each moment into an icon

cw: saarebas body-modification mentions, fantasy racism

"Oxman."

"Beast."

"Brutish."

"Savage."

"Darling."

Bryn Adaar holds tight to that one, precious darling that drips from Madame de Fer's wry mouth. Whether sarcastic or not, it doesn't matter. The First Enchanter still lays a hand on their arm and calls them darling, while looking directly up into their eyes.

"They will fear us or love us," she says. "Make their attention your power."

"Us?"

Vivienne smiles, the dim light of the chantry making her teeth bright in the brown of her face. "Why, we're mages, my dear. Who do we have if not each other?"

-

"You do not use a staff."

Bryn snuffs out the flame dancing in their hand, then shakes the ash loose as they eye the dead bandit at their feet. "No. Tama didn't, and neither do I."

Dorian Pavus frowns, looking between them and the charred corpse in the grass. "It's all rather uncivilized, isn't it? What if your spell goes wrong, or you charge it with too much mana? Won't you blow your hand right off?"

A dozen frozen memories flash behind their eyes — their tiny fingers tracing the scarred holes around Tama's mouth, a cropped tongue trapped behind Tama's teeth, scars around Tama's neck from a heavy collar that broke long ago, Tama's hands signing <Your power is your own, and no one can control it but you.>

Bryn straightens, making strong the line of their shoulders. The mage beside them is very small, even for all his golden finery, well-waxed mustache tips, and perfectly coiffed hair. It is one of the few moments they are glad to be large. Make their attention your power.

"No," they say. "My spells will not go wrong. Don't worry about my hand, Dorian, I have it under control."

-

"You have no formal training?"

Bryn looks sharply at Solas's face. The thin lines of it are lit from beneath by the flickering green in their palm.

"Neither do you," they say, "hedge mage."

He concedes this with a tiny inclination of his head. A swell of blue swallows his hand, wrapping around and around under the twists of his fingers. The fire flickers nearby, casting shadows against the walls of their tents and deep among the trees beyond.

"I understand your mother taught you what she knew," he murmurs. "It could not have been much, considering how the Qun treats its mages."

Bryn bristles. "She taught me enough."

He looks up at them. The hollows of his eyes are dark in his skull. "Enough to keep you alive thus far. But for how much longer? This is a dangerous world for a mage at all, and perhaps even more so for one of your... stature."

They square their shoulders. "Why do you tell me this? What could I possibly do about it?"

Solas considers them, a slow smile creeping over his face. The blue magic fades from around their hand, and he releases their fingers from his own as if casting away a spider. "Posturing is necessary, Herald. It is an unfortunate reality that you will be transformed into an icon in a world such as this, in the position you hold. Take care to make it one that they will remember."

"Stop talking in circles," they sigh. "I'm tired of it."

He surges to his feet, barely as tall as they are even as they sit. He stares evenly at them, eye to eye for the first time since they awoke in the bowels of Haven's chantry.

"I have a book for you to read," he says finally. "Stay here."

And so they wait, until Solas returns from his tent with said book in hand. He drops it into their lap — the title is a scrawl of something foreign, paired with a translation beneath.

"Here is what is known of the path of the arcane warrior," he says. "I believe it would suit you and your staffless style. Vivienne knows more of the modern chantry application as a knight enchanter, and Leliana may have more resources for you otherwise. I would teach it to you myself if I knew it."

Cole is precious, he’s like the little brother I never had

I just want to put him in my pocket and give him soft pats like a kitten

My first reaction when I met The Iron Bull was “wow he could step on me”

And when he said he likes red heads I saw my ginger Lavellan look down at herself and say “wAiT I’m a red head”

I’ve never romanced him but im thirsty for qunari with rough, growling voices

Though when Bull came in to my Adaar’s room and said message received on her flirtatiousness I could see my girl just start laughing because my Adaar is like no boy I’m gay, but thanks 🙏

And I could see Bull just connecting the dots

My Adaar and Dorian are soooo lesbian/gay solidarity

Like seriously, completely and totally

She heard about his father and planned about sixteen ways of killing Halward

After the discussion between the two, after going to camp and resting before leaving for Skyhold, Adaar totally snuck back and threatened Halward

Like single handedly knocked out his guards, pinned him to the wall if pure strength not needing her magic at all as she looked down at the pathetic weasel her hurt her friend

And she said, “The only reason I haven’t killed you, is because you are not worth the effort of cleaning my blade. I’ll say it now, you’re going to let Dorian go, you aren’t going to approach him, you aren’t going to stalk him, follow him, speak to him again. If you do, I swear on every ancestor you believe in, that I will hunt you down- and you know I will, I’ll cross every sea, fight every demon you raise, and than I will gut you- pig!”

Adaar is very protective of her friends, case in point, and would put herself between them and an archdemon itself to keep them safe

My first reaction at the choice between Hawke and Alastair my brain immediately went, I’ll stay

I still wonder what would happen, I mean the mark can open and close rifts so logic states she’s be able to fight the fear demon, reopen the rift and close it from the other side

My first reaction when I met Josephine was that she was so cute- especially when you meet her as a qunari

‘You’re, a lot taller than I expected.’

She’s just so cute and soft, and the romance with her is sooo sweet

Mind you my Adaar flirted with everyone, Cullen, Bull, Dorian, Josephine, Harding, Varric, Krem, etc, etc- my big girl did not shy away from romance or sex

But that scene where Josephine’s finally free from the assassins after her and they watch the sunset

And again at the Winter’s Ball when they slow dance on the balcony

It’s just so freaking cute!

I also love that in trespasser Cassandra basically tells Adaar she wants to be the maid of honor in her wedding to Josephine because Varric played a joke

And I could just see Adaar all wide eyed like, yes, I can marry her?

Yes I want to marry her!!

But the world is still crazy, all at arms, and she plans to wait- but

Then Adaar nearly dies

She knew she wasn’t going to live a long life- even before the events of Inquisition. She’s a qunari mage, one who never quite knows when to keep her mouth shut, she knew her life would be rather short

But, now she’s got something to fight for- no someone to live for

After the events of Trespasser, things are still crazy, especially with whatever Solas is planning

But Adaar finds herself carving out a piece of her horn- she asks Dorian as he knows where to cut to not hurt her and has steady hands

Plus she’s trying to give Dorian ideas for his own proposal to Bull

Adaar’s known about their relationship, they’re not good at hiding it

Or better Dorian is not good at hiding it and Bull doesn’t care what people think

Honestly she might have better luck talking Bull into proposing, however in doing so she’ll lose the pool, so-

Yeah she and the others- especially Varric- have been shipping them since the night they shared a tent in the Western Approach

Adaar had shared with Varric because he doesn’t take up much room

Though at that point Adaar wasn’t sleeping much

She was always good at compartmentalizing- she had to be in order to survive as a mage- let only a qunari mage

While she has her anger, and her despair, fear demons often flock to her- especially since the Mark

She’s good at fighting them back, though she’s tired

She’s so tired sometimes, though with Josephine…she has a reason to keep going

It takes some time before she can get the horn piece ready, though Dagna is willing to help polish and set it into a gold band with a small trio of diamonds next to it

Once it’s made up, well Adaar has some proposal ideas- and it helps when she’s called away on a mission

In the end she gets all her work done early, and sneaks home, not telling Josephine

Cassandra leads Josephine out to a balcony overlooking Orlais- it’s not the same place as where they were before but it’ll do

And there’s Adaar, who hauled her six foot+ self up the wall to avoid suspicion

She’s a bit out of breath, black hair braided and tied back, and she’s taken off her vitaar

Josephine is surprised, taken aback, lost for words before she takes a step forward only for Adaar to raise her hand

She gives Josephine a small smile, before easing herself onto one knee, and says- well, she says:

“Josephine, I never thought I’d live long- especially after-“ she looks down at her prosthetic arm, a gift from Dagna, phantom pain from the mark lingering in her mind, “Well after everything. And I was ready for it, I was ready for a short life.”

She looks up to meet Josephine’s eyes, “Then I met you, and I realized, that I want to wake up again and again next to you. I want to listen to your day, dance with you to your favorite song, making you your favorite breakfast even though we both know I can’t cook.” There’s a little laughter, but it’s emotional and breaks easily.

“You saw through the facade I never realized I had, you saw me, not as the inquistor, but as me. And I want to spend the next lifetime, however long that might be, showing you how much that meant- how much you mean to me for the rest of my life.”

“So, will you marry me?”

The answer…

Was yes! Of course, and they kissed deeply, richly and Adaar slid her ring onto the woman’s finger

In the background Dorian shoots off a blast of magic, light arraying across the sky letting sparks falling over them

Cassandra wasn’t watching…no she definitely was and the hopeless romantic is in victory

Varric is definitely not writing down ideas for his book

And Bull- well Bull is glancing down at the ring carved from Adaar’s horn and wonders if he should look into that

Since Adaar lost her left hand, she decides to go in the style of her parents, who wore their wedding bands around their horns, and Josephine styled it too match, all warm gold and pinpricks of white diamonds.

They end up having two weddings, one for the nobility and the other for themselves

The noble wedding is huge, bombastic, though there’s whispers in the background. A qunari, two women, a mage! It was all so shocking.

But Adaar did defeat Corypheus

And Cassandra and Lelianna are scary when they’re glaring at you

No one forgets that Adaar is friends with the Grand Divine

And said Divine used to be an assassin

The noble wedding is over the top with gold chiffon, at least a hundred people with a cleric officiating and Adaar somehow wrangled into wearing a dress.

But the home wedding, it’s just the main members of the inquistion, a few soldiers and friends, but mainly all of them

Lelianna can’t come, being the Divine doesn’t give much free time

Adaar doesn’t believe in the Chantry or the maker, so while the cleric married them in the noble wedding, this is just an exchange of vows, toasting and celebration

Adaar wears her dress robes for the occasion (she wants to burn the wedding dress but Josephine won’t let her)

commission of inquisitor herah adaar !

Another fine art piece by @catalystcrisis done of my big ol lug of an Inquisitor.

Kost Adaar, mage, reluctant inquisitor, and josie romancer.