Zhautas app
Oct. 29th, 2018 06:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
indigobirdPlayer name: Kenkai
Age: 28
Contact:
Characters currently in-game: N/a
Triggers/Fears/Squicks: Rape/non-con, suicide (in particular hanging), and fleas (I wish I was kidding but I’m really not).
Character Motivation: Mostly in order, she came because 1) someone has to save Thedas and the other worlds so it might as well be her, especially since, 2) she hasn’t had sex in quite a while, and she’ll also take any excuse to, 3) get the fuck off of Thedas for a while.
VOLUNTEER PROFILE
Name: Relm Hawke
Age: 34
Physical Appearance: Full body and profile
Point in Timeline: After Here Lies the Abyss, when she departs from the Inquisition to go to Weisshaupt.
World Description: The entire known and studied “world” where Relm is from is called Thedas, though it’s just a continent. The rest of the world is currently out of reach, mostly due to geographical obstacles like dangerous oceans and impassable mountains and wilderness. The continent is home to four races: humans, elves, dwarves and Qunari. Humans are dominant, though the Qunari could topple them should they ever try to do so (again). Thedas is not exactly peaceful; there are often conflicts between the human nations, mostly due to territorial disputes, expansionist aims and religious differences. Those nations are Orlais, the Tevinter Imperium, Ferelden, Rivain, the Anderfels, Antiva, and the Free Marches (a loose confederation of free city states). The elves live primarily in either the human cities in slums called alienages or in wandering clans known as the Dalish. The dwarves live either in Orzammar, their last remaining underground city that survived the collapse of their empire, or on the surface as exiles. The Qunari live in Par Vollen in the north. They attempted to conquer Thedas a few hundred years earlier but ultimately called a ceasefire with all but one nation, Tevinter. The two are still at war today.
The major religious institution in Thedas is the Chantry. It preaches Andrastianism, which centers around the prophetess Andraste, believed to have been the Bride of the Maker, their only deity. The Chantry has considerable powerful, able to influence political offices, as well as oversee the Circle of Magi (in all nations but Tevinter, Par Vollen and Rivain to an extent) and the Templar Order. It’s supposed to serve as a moral center for the people of Thedas, though like any major institution, it’s been rife with corruption and decay.
Magic exists in Thedas, but in almost all countries, it’s not considered a good thing. Most mages are sent to Circles, institutions that help them learn to wield their magic, but also effectively serve as prisons. A few live as apostates outside the Circle (Relm being one such mage). Templars guard the mages and hunt down apostates and abominations as needed. Recently the two groups came to blows, a war that Hawke sort of inadvertently helped kick off. The newly formed Inquisition, brought together in response to the war and other issues, is helping to bring an end to it currently while also dealing with the current major threat to Thedas.
History/Background: General history here.
Like in any Dragon Age game, there are specific choices the protagonist makes that can alter the story. Relm’s major decisions in game are as follows:
- She met and recruited all the companions
- Saved the mages who escaped the Circle by convincing the templars looking for them to look elsewhere
- Saved Feynriel and sent him to the Dalish
- Helped Sebastian avenge his family
- Looked into a string of murders, including that of Ghyslain's wife, Ninette. Found her remains but did not tell him how she died
- Brought Carver with her on the Deep Roads expedition. Circumstances led him to becoming a Warden in order to not die from the taint
- Helped Anders investigate Ser Alrik and his "Tranquil Solution". Killed Alrik and stopped Anders/Justice from killing the mage Alrik had cornered. Talked Anders down from proverbial ledge and showed him that Meredith and the Divine rejected Alrik's plan
- Helped Merrill get the aruin'holm for her eluvian
- Recruited Sebastian and aided him in discovering who was behind his family's murder
- Helped Fenris track down his former master's old apprentice and helped kill her.
- Refused to side with Petrice in her battle against Qunari influence
- With Keeper Marethari's help, aided Feynriel and prevented him from being possessed. She let him go to Tevinter
- Helped Varric confront Bartrand. When it was discovered the red lyrium idol they found had drove Bartrand insane, Relm talked Varric out of killing him
- Helped Isabela find her relic. Proceeded to be sad when Isabela took off with said relic
- When the Qunari attacked the city, Isabela returned with the relic and turned it over to the Qunari. When the Arishok threatened to arrest Isabela for what she had done, Relm intervened and dueled him
- While tracking down a legendary gemstone Gamlen once sought, Relm met her cousin, Charade. Desperate to have family, she convinced Charade to meet Gamlen and build a relationship with him.
- After being attacked suddenly by Carta dwarves (and learning the same happened with Carver) she went with her brother and the others to a Carta hide out in the Vimmark Mountains. They learned about her father's past, having found his "will". And when faced with having to free a darkspawn magister from his confines in order to escape, Relm sided with Larius against the Wardens who wanted to control Corypheus.
- An elf named Tallis approached Relm and asked for her help in finding a treasure held by an Orlesian duke. Relm went along and helped, though she later discovered Tallis was a follower of the Qun and was looking for a list of Qunari operatives the Duke had obtained. Despite considerable hesitation, Relm continued to help her and defeated the Duke.
- Relm agreed to escort Fenris to meet his sister, whom he had tracked down. The meeting turned into a surprise encounter with Danarius. Relm refused to turn Fenris over to the magister and they fought and killed him. She then stopped Fenris from killing his sister for betraying him.
- Helped Isabela deal with Castillion for once and for all. She didn’t stop her from bargaining for Castillion’s life in exchange for his ship
- Circumstances led Merrill to having to confront and fight Marethari. When the clan cornered her, Relm talked everyone down and took responsibility for Merrill.
- Helped Anders gather ingredients for a potion to help separate himself from Justice. Or so he said
- When forced to decide between standing with the mages or templars, Relm chose the mages.
- Relm spared Anders, though she chewed him out the entire way through Kirkwall for what he did.
- When Relm, Warden Stroud, and the Inquisitor were escaping the Fade, Stroud and Hawke volunteered to stay behind to slay the Nightmare. The Inquisitor chose Stroud to stay behind.
Noteworthy Positive Characteristics:
1. Loyalty: Relm isn’t easy to get to know, but once she considers you a friend, you’ve got a steadfast ally who’ll do everything to be there for you and help when needed no matter how dangerous or difficult the situation may be. She’s really quite loyal to those who’ve earned it. One need only look at what she’s done for her friends in her canon. She’s helped them confront their pasts and those who sought them harm, often at great personal risk. Despite what Anders did in the end, she still spared him and protected him from Sebastian, who wanted him dead. Granted, she was very angry with him, but she still stood by him.
2. Caring: Despite the sarcastic, flippant front she presents to the world, Relm really does care. On the outside she takes a carefree, c’est la vie attitude about the problems she sees and faces in the world, but on the inside she worries and agonizes over what’s going on. For every sarcastic quip she made about Meredith and the templars, she would later spend minutes worrying about what they were doing to the mages in the Gallows – or the repercussions she might face. For as much as she complained about everyone coming to her with their problems (everyone ranging from her friends to random strangers in Kirkwall to the king of Ferelden), she always helped because she cared. She doesn’t want to see (decent, innocent) people suffer. When Merrill shut herself away with her eluvian, she went to her home and talked to her to figure out what was going on. She always checked up on her friends, no matter what kind of mood they were in.
3. Determination: Once Relm sets her mind on something, she will see it through. No matter how hard, tiring, or painful it is, she will do it. Doubly so if it’s for a friend. Relm is stubborn and determined, and while that occasionally does backfire, it mostly benefits her. Sheer determination is what kept her going through her year of indentured servitude, and drove her to get in on the Deep Roads expedition. It’s what’s kept her alive for 34 years and counting, despite the crazy life she’s led.
Noteworthy Negative Characteristics:
1. Closed-Off: But Relm does not let her good qualities show very easily. For all that she loves to be social and loves her friends, Relm keeps most people at arm’s length. It took her companions years to get to really know her, and there are still parts of herself she didn’t show most of them (for example, many don’t know she loves to draw). She’ll have a drink with you and laugh and joke. But good luck getting her to open up about herself. She’s built up a lot of walls around herself, and it takes time to get those defenses down. Even after her mother was murdered, she still wouldn’t admit to how upset she was to Aveline (though luckily the guard captain knew better and comforted her anyway). Anders’ actions and the subsequent fallout, along with having been separated from her core group of friends, has worsened this trait.
2. Flippant: Relm likes to laugh things off. Sometimes a bit too much. Even the direst situations fail to prevent her from making a quip or joke. When she told Ser Alrik about the woman’s bones she found, and he lamented how it confirmed that woman was dead, she fired back with “If they’re not dead, watch out for a bunch of boneless women flopping around.” Not entirely appropriate humor for the moment, but the realization of what she found made her too uncomfortable and she didn’t want to face it. There’s also the time that she consoled the Viscount over the murder of his son by assuring him that “At least it can’t get any worse. Not today, anyway. It’s pretty late.” It’s not that Relm doesn’t care; it’s just how she copes. There’s enough pain and awfulness in the world. To her, the easiest way to deal with it is to laugh at it. It also hides how much she cares about things from other people, as she doesn’t want people taking advantage of her soft heart.
3. Stubborn: This is the flip side of her determination. It’s gotten her through some hard times, but it’s also made things unnecessarily difficult as well. After her father died, Relm took it upon herself to be the head of the family. She shouldered a lot of responsibility and blame, and not once did she ever ask for help or admit to when she was feeling overwhelmed. It’s led to some resentment on her part but she also refuses to address it because it would show weakness on her part. Even after her mother died, Relm refused to cry in front of the others or admit to Aveline how much she was hurting, even though they told her they understood and expected it. When she sets her mind to something, she sees it through, even if she has to push and shove and grit her teeth the whole way through. Even if it costs her dearly and inflicts a great deal of pain, she’ll do it. And that’s not always a good thing.
Powers/Abilities:
Relm is a mage, a user of magic born with the talent to wield it. Bioware's explanation and rules about magic tend to... fluctuate a bit throughout the series but the general gist is that mages use mana, an inner reservoir of magical energy, to pull magic from the Fade and use that magic to cast spells. The Fade is essentially the realm of spirits, and where mortals' consciousness go when they dream. Mages can interact with spirits outside of dreaming, though it's very dangerous to do so. Many of those spirits, referred to as demons, would seek to possess and use mages to access their power. A mage who is in danger of dying and out of mana, or just in need of more power, may desperately summon a demon into their body. They become an abomination, a twisted mix of mortal and spirit contorted into a monstrous form with great power. There are rare exceptions where a spirit and a mage can coexist without this happening. Relm has never summoned a spirit, though she admittedly knows how.
There are two ways to strengthen the power of a spell (aside from demon summoning): either through lyrium, a glowing blue substance found naturally underground that has some ~mysterious~ connection to magic, or through blood magic. It involves more or less what it says: a mage uses blood, either theirs or another's, to power their magic. Blood magic supplies far more power than lyrium (unless you have piles of the stuff) but it's verboten by the Chantry. Blood magic is seen as intoxicating: once someone uses it, they're very likely to be tempted to use it again. And more powerful spells means more blood, which means people might start dying in order to supply that blood. Relm has only ever used blood magic once, though not exactly willingly. She was raised to never use it, but if she was truly out of options and saw no other way out, she might just use hers. She'd never use someone else's.
Relm is essentially capable of casting any spell, provided that she's learn how to cast it. Her listed abilities are simply the ones she is best at and is most comfortable with. For example, there is an ice wall spell mages can use. Does she know how to use it? Yes. Is she very good at it? Not really. She's just not naturally inclined towards ice spells. She learned the listed fire and ice spells simply so she has a bit more of a rounded repertoire of spells. In a pinch, she's not likely to use them.
Her natural infinity lies with lightning, earth/nature-based, and gravity spells. She might not be able to summon the biggest fireball ever, but ho boy does she know how to zap you. These fall under the Primal and Force Mages specializations (at least in Dragon Age 2). Relm’s abilities are listed here, though for more specific explanations, they can be also found here and here.
Character Fears: Losing everyone she loves, her weaknesses being exposed, being made Tranquil… and wasps.
Personal Item: Bethany’s scarf
VOLUNTEER SAMPLES
Network Sample: Here
Action Log Sample: Here!
