#mercar

Happy Valentine's Day!❣️

Rook says in a conversation with Tarquin that their father "commanded legions near Ventus." Rook was found on a battlefield as a baby, likely near Ventus, and adopted into a military family.

According to a letter from Maevaris to Dorian, there is a high-ranking Soporati named Charon Mercar, who serves in or near Ventus as a "Legatus" in the Tevinter military. (In ancient Rome, a legatus was a high-ranking military officer equivalent to a modern-day general.)

Given the previous information about Rook's father commanding legions near Ventus, it seems likely that Charon Mercar is Rook's father.

EDIT: I should have said adoptive father here to make it clear that Rook is not Charon's biological child.

Charon Mercar has "privately expressed support for reform" and has influence with the current Imperator of the Tevinter military. (In ancient Rome, the title "imperator" was used to indicate the highest rank of military command.)

It makes sense to surmise that despite not being mages, Rook's family is as highly ranked in Tevinter society as a Soporati can be and has some influence in Tevinter's military and political affairs.

My Worldstate 1 heroes✨

Mercar

1. Was Rook born in Ventus? How did they end up in a battlefield as a baby? If this wasn’t how the Mercars found them, how did Rook end up being adopted by the Mercar family?

2. What is life like for Rook growing up? Do they like/love their adopted family? Do they even know they’re adopted? How do the Mercars treat them? Do they have any siblings?

3. For Mage Rooks, when is their magic discovered? What is their training like? Do they specialise in any type of magic, or further any research into magical theory? Are they interested in climbing the ranks of the Magisterium?

(3a) Do they enjoy the status and power given to mages? Does it make them uncomfortable? Is it normalised to them, as it’s how things are in Tevinter?

4. For rogue/warrior Rooks, what drew them to their preferred method of fighting? Do they like fighting? Was their father involved in their training? If not, how were they trained?

(4a) Was there an expectation that Rook would become a soldier, since their adopted father is a high-ranking Commander? Did Rook join the army? Did they want to? If they didn’t, how did their adopted father/family react?

5. Were the Mercars living in Ventus in/around 9:44 Dragon when the Qunari/Antaam invaded? Was Commander Mercar still an acting member of the military there? If so, what happened to them? If Rook wasn’t in Ventus at the time, when did they hear about it? How do they feel about Ventus being captured?

6. What caused Rook to see slavery as something that needs to end? Did the Mercar family have slaves? If so, does Rook start there, and convince the Mercars to free their slaves/pay them as servants? If not, what caused the Mercar family as a whole to break from Tevinter’s status quo and pay servants/free their slaves?

7. How did Rook first learn about the Shadow Dragons? Did they join a cell in Ventus, or find them in Minrathous? When did they join? What did that entail? Does their family know they’re part of the Shadow Dragons, or do they keep it as anonymous/secret as possible?

8. What was Rook’s first job or operation with the Shadow Dragons? Was it a solo job, or part of a bigger team? Was it successful?

9. Does Rook have a ‘day job’? If so, what is it? Does it help the Shadow Dragons, or is it just to keep up appearances/make enough money to make ends meet?

10. How involved does Rook become with the Shadow Dragons? Does this change over time? Do they move cities, stop using the Mercar name, or make any other efforts to hide their identity? If so, do they do this to protect the Shadow Dragons, the Mercar family, or both? Is it required of them as they get more involved in Shadow Dragon operations?

11. How does Rook end up with the Nessus job? Why are they chosen to “guard a visiting dignitary”? Who is the dignitary? Are they a secret member of the Shadow Dragons? If not, how did Rook get the dignitary’s cooperation while they went “deep into Venatori-controlled zones and brought him back, along with the rescued slaves”?

(11a) What led Rook to conclude that “the mission would fail without throwing caution to the wind”? What was their mission? Was it always the plan to free the slaves in the slavery ring in Nessus? If so, what would have caused the mission to fail? Has Rook always been the type to be bold and take chances, or was this new for them?

12. When Rook learns that the Nessus job brought attention to them (and the Shadow Dragons), how did they feel? What repercussions did this have, for them personally and/or the Shadow Dragons as a whole? Did they regret any of their actions? Were they told to leave for a while, did they volunteer, or was it a group decision? How did they feel about leaving?

13. Was Varric involved in the Nessus job in some way? If not, how does Rook meet him? Do they become part of the team to stop Solas right away, or does it take some time for Varric & Harding to fill them in?

14. Does Rook like travelling with Varric & Harding? What do they think of each? What do they think of the mission to stop Solas? Were they worried about returning to Minrathous as part of the mission?

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For use as writing prompts, as an ask game, etc! Enjoy fleshing out your Rook's origin!

oh, I'm going neon in the night time oh, what a time to be alive

Painted in 9:50 Dragon by renowned (and notoriously tight-lipped) Tevene artist Otho Mercar, this portrait of his adopted daughter Kehda has hung in his Minrathous estate since the time of painting. Anyone familiar with his work will recognize marked similarities between her and another dwarven woman featured in his earlier works.