#pre-inquisition

I'll start with my army of Trevelyans, age descending:

Bann Alphonse Trevelyan - ambition in the Trevelyan bloodline always skips a generation. The Trevelyans had been rich and powerful at various points in history, but weak marriages and diluted inheritance made it hard to hold on to what they had. The Bann's father spent their family's meagre fortune on frivolities, but Alphonse swore he would set this right, through whatever means he could. Everything he does, he does because he believes it will be for the good of all of them. He raised all his children and grandchildren with a "tough love" mentality, which had very mixed results - Nadia and Leopold will refer to him as "grandfather", but Jon and the twins will only refer to him and think of him as "Bann Trevelyan". He is an extremely strict and superstitious man, and believes Ostwick is suffering from a moral decay by forgetting the wisdom offered by the past. He fears magic, is very proud of the fact that the Trevelyans do not have magic in their bloodline, and is in favour of very strict regulations of magic by the Chantry.

Minna Trevelyan - Bann Alphonse's daughter, mother of eight, and technically the next in line. In keeping with the age-old tradition, she wasn't much interested in playing the games of the court and making their family more powerful, especially not through whatever means necessary. She was happy to lead a comfortable life and build a large family alongside the man her father married her to for financial gain, but whom she grew to love genuinely. There were several breaking points in Minna's relationship to her father, and now she will not step in their family's city estate in Ostwick. Everything she does is to help her children to discover their calling and lead the life that they truly want to lead. This is why she stepped down as the next in line, preparing the way for her daughter, Nadia, to take her grandfather's place as Bann, when the time comes.

Ferdinand Trevelyan - Part of the new nobility from a family of merchants that used to operate many ships in the flourishing trade of Ostwick's port. He adopted the more prestigious name of his wife's family after they were married, in part at Bann Trevelyan's insistence. He is known as a kind and fair man, who cares deeply about the family he has built. Two years after his youngest children were born, he was arrested and imprisoned in Tantervale while on a trade mission, for fraudulent dealings and bribery involving Chantry property. He was given a life sentence, and any efforts to appeal were refused by the Clerics Council in Tantervale, even after the Bann's generous donation to the Chantry. He has not been seen since.

Nadia - Ambitious and charismatic and I love her. Competence personified. Ever since going to Ostwick, she was taught to rule with strategy and ambition. She could never understand her mother's hesitation to take charge, and she wants to help the Bann propel their family forward. She's the real life equivalent of the sentence "dress for the job you want". Nadia has great hopes for what she will be able to achieve one day, for their family and for the city of Ostwick, so she'll sign the papers, do the posturing, get friends in the right places to do so. She occasionally butts heads with the Bann, but she'll get a pass because she's his favourite - but don't tell Leopold :))

Harold - He used to be Nadia's closest childhood friend before he found his calling with the Templars. Both Nadia and Harold are deeply devout, and through their work they want to serve the Maker. He left to join the Templars when he was ten, renouncing his claim at inheritance as second in line. Harold has always had a deep admiration for the Order's commitment to protect the innocent, whether it be civilians or mages themselves. Whether the principles of the Order actually ring true or not, he has given his life to the order and serves dutifully. He's recently been dispatched to Kirkwall, to help deal with the increased reports of blood magic.

Leopold - Resourceful, cunning, every bit as ambitious as his older sister, but where she is popular with the nobility, he comes across as a little... abrasive. His short temper is rooted in a little bit of an inferiority complex, which just tends to add to the problem. But while the nobility doesn't appreciate his temperament, his bluntness has made Leopold popular with a different sort of crowd. He has friends in strategic places, which makes him a valuable ally to have for other struggling nobility, as well as his sister, whose position at court is very shaky at the moment. What I really truly like about him though, is that for all the blunt edges, his family will always come first, no matter what. Bann Trevelyan has imbued both him and Nadia with this need to see their family rest among the powerful, to always strive to do what's best for them all. But Leopold and Nadia have some...creative differences.

Demuth - our favourite researcher! If you show the slightest interest in what she has to say, she'll talk your ear off. She gets very passionate about the field she is most knowledgeable in - which is, ancient trade relations between the dwarves and the Tevinter Imperium. She has devoted her life to the study of history and economics, and usually spends her professorial stipend from the College of Ostwick on acquiring ancient artefacts for her colleagues to study. Her collection is her pride and joy. One day, she wants to be able to prove her theory about dwarves having once maintained a strong surface culture as an easier means of collaboration with the Tevinter Imperium, at their height of power.

Hette - The family's socialite, she's built a reputation as a bit of a pariah among the richer nobles in Ostwick, which of course brings with it its own irresistible charm. The middle and lesser nobility flock to her as a leader, and as Nadia is making their family name the talk of all Ostwick with her strategic marriage, Hette's reputation starts to form around her lesser status friends, and she gains infamy as the "Queen of the Shells" - 'shells' in Ostwick slang is used as a stand in for merchant princes and princesses posing as nobles by wearing fake pearls made out of resin and crushed shells.

Jonathan - seriously what is there to say that I'm not saying in every chapter update :))) I love him, your honour. There's just too many thoughts I have about him, that's what the fic is for. Here's a fun tidbit that I will not elaborate upon atm - were he a mage, he'd be weak to desire demons.

Now, a little bit about both of the twins. Out of the Trevelyan children, Ilse and Martyn are least encumbered by any pressure to conform to nobility standards. They're six years younger than Jonathan, who is the closest in age, and by the time they reached their early teens, everyone except for Jonathan had moved to Ostwick or otherwise left their family home in Darnaut. They grew up a little isolated from nobility, and the customs haven't been enforced into their daily lives save for the very strict maintenance of titles of address. At 16 years of age, their different upbringing compared to their Ostwick siblings is a big element of pride for them.

Ilse - cheerful, bubbly, easily distracted by shiny things, low sense of responsibility and high sense of mischief. Patient to a fault and extremely crafty, just like Jonathan - she's the one who taught him to weave, which we've seen him do in chapter 5, when he was helping Samahl with the bouquet for Mariol's family. Her enthusiasm and creativity manifest in sowing, tailoring and embroidery, but she was often mocked by other girls for her "rustic" creations. For this reason, her closest friends are her brothers, and she loves them dearly.

Martyn - my favourite little rage ball. He's a lad. With a lad group of friends in the village. He's quite boisterous and likes to brag and be a smartass, but shies away from actual mischief. He doesn't like being made fun of, tends to take things personally and shows affection through scowling and telling people off for being reckless. He's also the first to notice when something is up with someone, and very good at being understanding and giving space. He also has absolutely no patience.

Now a little bonus!

Helmut - I just. Love him. So much.

It's a little difficult to put everything I like about him into words to be honest as I think, even as the author, there are some things I simply cannot know about what goes on in a character's head. But what I know, I love very much.

I often write Helmut as this goofy comic relief character, and he is all that, he is funny, he is a little more laid back, but there's another side to his character that makes him really interesting to me and fun to write. He is the best friend of Jon, Ilse and Martyn, close to them in age too, only two years older than Jon. They all grew up together in their mansion in the mountains, and Helmut was the Trevelyan children's friend before he ever was their servant. I always write this group as very naïve and oblivious to the evils of the world, as a result of being this secluded and having a mostly happy childhood frolicking in the mountains. Helmut however is the one with the best grasp of reality. Sure, he'll laugh and make light of things, but he takes his duties as a servant with diligence and he'll get very serious when he needs to be, often getting a grip much faster than his noble friends.

It wasn't always like this. When they were children especially, they didn't really understand the need for roles and titles that much, and Lady Minna was very permissive with how the servants addressed the children. But one time, they made the mistake of forgetting the title while Bann Trevelyan was visiting, with severe consequences for everyone involved. Ever since then, Helmut's mother has made sure to keep him with both feet on the ground, explaining that their game and this friendship would not work outside this specific time and place. Since then, Helmut became a lot more calculated, and with time gave real thought to his role and to the conflict between being close to the Trevelyan children and having to act on their orders.

He also grew up to despise the Ostwick side of the family, and idolise his friends, who are kind to their servants, who had respect for those who worked for them, and even worked alongside them from time to time. He was happy when Jonathan started getting more responsibilities, hoping that somehow, one day, he could become someone who makes a difference, who could show the Ostwick nobility that being kind to your subjects was preferable to dominating them through fear. The idea felt so right to him, it fuelled his motivations. In time, it turned from wishing it would happen, to wanting to make it happen. In a complicated mess of thoughts, mixing his social status with his own hopes and dreams and with his faith, Helmut sees himself at Jonathan's side, helping with whatever he decides to do.

Gah I just-

Samahl - We haven't seen him in a while, have we :)) Samahl is a Dalish elf who belonged to a small clan that mostly roamed around Ferelden. When the Blight hit in 9:30, the clan was faced with the threat of darkspawn. Two scouts left to investigate a potential place to set camp and never returned. One of the scouts had been the Keeper's daughter. At the Keeper's insistence, they waited in a temporary spot near a road for their scouts to come back, even as the threat loomed closer. Samahl's mother and others pleaded with the Keeper to leave, but seeing as their pleas fell on deaf ears, one night, she hid 12 year old Samahl in a large basket on a merchant's caravan that was headed for Jader. His clan was never heard from again.

The merchant took pity on him and paid for his passage across the Waking Sea to the Free Marches, to Ostwick. Samahl along with another dozen elven children were among the first refugees to be sheltered in Ostwick's alienage.

Having been too young to receive his vallaslin at 12, he honours the elven gods in other ways. He keeps on the practices and traditions of his clan, and was very disappointed to see that they're nothing but a whisper in his new home. He keeps a small shrine to Sylaise that he painted himself, and spends his days collecting herbs from the beach and the forest to make medicines for the other alienage elves. But he never really got used to his new home, and even though he lives and works alongside fellow elves, he's still seen as an outsider, competing with everyone else for jobs in the city. Nothing feels like home to him the way Ferelden had, once. When he meets Jonathan at the wedding, he's a little taken aback. Humans rarely spare their elven servants a second glance, and for a noble to start helping them with chores, it was more than a little bit of a shock to him :)))

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Layer 01: The Outside

Eye Colour: Green Hair Style / Colour: black Height: 1,70 m Clothing Style: things she can move freely in, combination of typical human garments and some Dalish things. Best Physical Feature: Her lips

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Layer 02: The Inside

Fears: bein drawn back into her past Guilty Pleasure: stories about dashing heroes Biggest Pet Peeve: people lying 'for the greater good’ Ambitions For The Future: she just wants to be free

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Layer 03: Thoughts

First Thoughts Waking Up: "where is my weapon and where is the door?” What They Think About Most: how to keep the people safe she is supposed to protect What They Think About Before Bed: “I don’t need sleep.” What They Think Their Best Quality Is: Her ability to endure for as long as it takes

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Layer 04: Either Or…

Single Or Group Dates: no dates, only one night stands To Be Loved Or Respected: respected. love is too raw and too unpredictable to be desired. Beauty Or Brains: beauty. it’s an advantage for her. (and the less brains anyone around her has the easier it makes things for her) Dogs Or Cats: neither

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Layer 05: Do They…

Lie: She is an excellent liar but she despises it to no end. Believe In Themselves: Amara knows she is an excellent fighter and quite skilled in the bedroom and has confidence in that. But she also thinks that that is all that she’s good for. Believe In Love: She has been deeply in love before and it brought her nothing but pain. She believes in it but she doesn’t want it. She has little say in that matter though. Want Someone: She’d say she doesn’t want or need anyone. But the clan becomes her home and she would be lost without them over time, even though she would probably not admit it easily.

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Layer 06: Have They…

Been On Stage: She knows how to perform and has pretended to be an entertainer to sneak into events several times. She even enjoys people watching her when she is doing something she is comfortable with. (aka fighting or sex) Done Drugs: Alcohol and she has dabbled in some minor things in her time in Wycome to try and get through the days. Changed Who They Were To Fit In: In very deliberate ways and situations, namely to get close to a mark/target. But not in a way that changed her entire personality.

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Layer 07: What’s Their…

Favourite colours: she doesn’t have a strong preference but she likes strong colours like emerald green and navy blue or wine red Favourite Animal: Birds Favourite Book: The Tale of the Champion Favourite Game: anything that makes people lose their clothes

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Layer 08: Age

Day Their Next Birthday Will Be: she doesn’t know her birthday How Old Will They Be: She is 34 when she gets sent to the conclave

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Layer 09: I…

… love the idea of just travelling the world and never looking back … feel trapped by my past … hide any strong feelings … miss being able to sleep … wish I ran earlier

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tagging @curiousthimble @kemvee @charlatron @laprincesseecarlate @faerieavalon @zuendwinkel @sharkapologists @fandomn00blr @cornfedcryptid @elveny @midnightprelude @wardenari @kittimau