Kintsugi Plays Dragon Age 2 (a winner is me!)

Also, since we met our first potential LI: I can't wait to the part where we decide who we're gonna ROMANCE

 

oh boy if all of them are as cute i might die

 

>Yet you risk the city's danger.

OH, I thought this dialog option was going to be accusing the Dalish mages of putting Kirkwall in danger. Whew.


>Thanks for the help.



She sounds genuinely very surprised and pleased. it's adorable.



>Onwards and upwards

 

More corpses? Really?

Another elf! Maybe he'll be as cute as Merrill!


(Merrill's talking here)

:| Not nearly as cute.




>_?

 

[[CODEX ENTRIES INTERLUDE]]
(The text of these is all taken from the Dragon Age Wiki. Thanks, people who had the patience to type this up.)

Creatures

Spoiler: Corpse

"To anyone who doubts the wickedness of blood magic, I say: With your own hands, strike down the corpses of your own brothers who have fallen in battle to a maleficar, then we may discuss morality."

--Knight-Commander Benedictus, in a letter to the Divine, 5:46 Exalted.

The walking dead are not, as superstition would lead you to believe, the living come back for revenge. They are, rather, corpses possessed by demons.

The shambling corpse, controlled by a demon of sloth, causes its enemies to become weak and fatigued. Corpses possessed by rage demons go berserk and simply wade into their opponents mindlessly. Devouring corpses are held by hunger demons and feed upon the living. The more powerful demons rarely deign to possess a dead host.

Spoiler: Hurlock

Taller than their genlock cousins, the hurlocks are roughly of human-size but are possessed of considerable strength and constitution. The shock troop of the darkspawn, a single berserking hurlock can often be a match for numerous opponents at once. They are known to adorn themselves with roughly-carved tattoos to keep track of their kills and deeds, though it is unknown whether or not there is a uniform standard to these markings.

Spoiler: Ogre

Towering over their darkspawn kin, the massive ogres are a rare sight on the battlefield. Traditionally, they only appear during a Blight, but some records claim that ogres have been spotted in the Deep Roads hunting alone or in small groups. At least one report by the Grey Wardens claims that an ogre was spotted alone in the Korcari Wilds in 9:19 Dragon, though it was weakened and easily dispatched. Up to a hundred of these creatures can accompany a darkspawn horde at any one time during a Blight, often using their great strength to burst through fortifications and demolish the front lines of the opposing army.

They use brute force to charge their enemies like bulls, slam the ground with their fists to shake enemies off their feet, and hurl great rocks into the face of oncoming foes. Melee can be difficult against a giant that snatches a warrior up in one hand, crushing the life out of him or beating him into oblivion with the other hand. The nimble can try to wiggle his way free, or an ally can attempt an array of stunning blows on an ogre to free the comrade in danger.

Grey Warden lore urges caution when slaying an ogre. Unless it is ensured that they have received a major wound to the head or the heart, it is possible that they are lying dormant and will regenerate to full health within a matter of minutes. During a Blight, most Grey Wardens recommend burning all darkspawn to ashes... "dead" ogres in particular.

Spoiler: Giant Spider

Giant spiders tend to appear in old ruins and other places where the Veil has become thin because of magical disturbances or a great number of deaths. In such places, spirits and demons pass into the world of the living and attempt to take control over living beings, spiders among them. Not all scholars accept this explanation for the presence of these beasts, however. Some claim that the thinning Veil allows magic to "leak" from the Fade, tainting such creatures as these spiders to transform into larger and more potent creatures than they ever would become naturally. While such spiders are known to possess powerful poisons and the ability to fling their webs at opponents in combat, studies of them have been few and the full range of their abilities are unknown.

Items

Spoiler: The Spiral Eye

Kirkwall has been a tinderbox since becoming the center of templar power in eastern Thedas. Of the hundreds of mages that live in the Gallows, it is perhaps telling that the most well known are its apostates.

Ceridweth was one such infamous apostate. She lived during the latter half of the Storm Age and was known for hunting priests and templars that abused their charges excessively. Ceridweth was also known as the Watcher and the Spiral Eye, so named for the spiral glyph she marked near her victims.

Templar records show that Ceridweth was captured and made Tranquil in 7:90 Storm. Many refuse to believe this, so her legend lives on.

—From Kirkwall: The City of Chains, by Brother Genitivi, 9:24 Dragon

Places

Spoiler: The City of Kirkwall

Kirkwall once lived on the edge of the Tevinter Imperium and was home to nearly a million slaves. Stolen from elven lands or shipped from across the sea, all slaves fed the Imperium's unquenchable thirst for expansion. They worked in massive quarries and sweltering foundries that produced stone and steel for the Empire.
The city's complicated past is not easy to forget, history having earmarked many corners of the stone city. A ship approaching the harbor spots the city's namesake: an imposing black wall. It is visible for miles, and carved into the cliff side are a pantheon of vile guardians representing the Old Gods. Over the years, the Chantry has effaced many of these profane sentinels, but it will take many more years to erase them all.

Also carved into the cliff is a channel that permits ships into the city's interior. Flanking the channel are two massive bronze statues—the Twins of Kirkwall. The statues have a practical use. Kirkwall sits next to the narrowest point of the Waking Sea, and a massive chain net can be erected between the statues and the lighthouse, closing off the only narrow navigable lane. This stranglehold on sea traffic is jealously guarded by the ever-changing rulers of the city as the net trolls taxes, tolls, and extortions in from the sea.

—From In Pursuit of Knowledge: The Travels of a Chantry Scholar, by Brother Genitivi

Spoiler: The Korcari Wilds

It is said that in the midst of the Black Age, when werewolves stalked the lands of Ferelden in numbers that kept every farmholder indoors and a hound on every doorstep, a powerful arl of the Alamarri peoples stood and declared that he would put an end to the threat. His arling stood on the border of the dark forest on the southern border of the Ferelden Valley, and he claimed that the werewolves used the forest to launch their midnight assaults on humanity.

For 20 years, this arl led an army of warriors and hounds deep into the forest. In his hunt for the werewolves, he slew not only every wolf he came upon, but also every member of the Chasind wilder folk. Any one of them, he said, could harbor a demon inside and thus be a werewolf in disguise. For 20 years, the forest rang with screams, and the rivers ran red.

The tales say that an old Chasind woman found her sons all dead at the arl's blades. She pulled one of those very blades from one son's heart and plunged it into her own chest, cursing the arl's name as she did so. Where her blood touched the ground, a mist began to rise. It spread and spread until it was everywhere in the forest. The arl's army became lost, and it is said that they died there. Others say they wander still. The ruins of his arling stand to this day, filled with the ghosts of women waiting eternally for their husbands to return.

The forest of the legend is, of course, the Korcari Wilds. There are as many legends about the great southern forest as there are shadows, or so the saying goes. The Chasind wilder folk have made their home there since mankind first came to these lands, and the wildlands spread as far into the south as anyone has ventured. Beyond the mists are vast tracts of snow, white-capped mountains, and entire fields of ice. It is a land too cold for mankind to survive, yet the Chasind eke out an existence even there, and they tell of horrors beyond the Wilds that the lowland folk could not begin to comprehend.

To most, Ferelden simply ends with the Korcari Wilds: There is nothing beyond. The Wilds is a land of great trees, wet marshes and dangerous monsters. What more need be said?

--From Land of the Wilders, by Mother Ailis, Chantry scholar, 9:18 Dragon.

Lore

Spoiler: The Dalish Elves

In time, the human empires will crumble. We have seen it happen countless times. Until then, we wait, we keep to the wild border lands, we raise halla and build aravels and present a moving target to the humans around us. We try to keep hold of the old ways, to relearn what was forgotten.

We call to the ancient gods, although they do not answer and have not heard us since before the fall of Arlathan, so that one day they might remember us: Elgar'nan the Eldest of the Sun and He Who Overthrew His Father, Mythal the Protector, Fen'Harel the Dread Wolf, Andruil the Huntress, Falon'Din the Friend of the Dead, Dirthamen the Keeper of Secrets, Ghilan'nain the Mother of Halla, June the Master of Crafts, and Sylaise the Hearthkeeper.

We gather every ten years for the Arlathvhen, to retell the ancient stories and keep them alive. For when the human kingdoms are gone, we must be ready to teach the others what it means to be elves.

—Gisharel, keeper of the Ralaferin clan of the Dalish elves

Spoiler: Elfroot

Elfroot was first used by the elves of Arlathan, hence the name. The root gave their medicines particular efficacy, so when the Imperium conquered the elves, the magisters adopted its use and its popularity spread to all corners of the empire.

Elfroot is a hardy plant with large green leaves that grows wild in many places. It's so common that it tends to show up in most gardens and fields, almost like a weed. Unlike a weed, however, most people appreciate having access to the wonderful little plant. The roots can be used with very little preparation. Rubbing some of the juice on a wound, for example, will speed up healing and numb pain. And chewing on a slice of root treats minor ailments like indigestion, flatulence, and hoarse throats.

There are several varieties, but the most useful for herbalists are the Bitter, Gossamer, and Royal Elfroots.

—An excerpt from The Botanical Compendium by Ines Arancia, botanist

Spoiler: Silverite

The lustrous, white-blue silverite has long been prized by the dwarves for use in jewelry, rune making, and weapon smithing, but on the surface, it is more commonly used by apothecaries and healers. Since the metal does not rust, many traditions believe it to be proof against poison.

There is a tale passed down among the people of the Anderfels: A knight returned home after many years of war, only to be struck by an adder. His wife immediately bound the wound with a medallion of silverite pressed against the bite like a poultice. By morning, the poison had left him. And the knight lived to an old age.

—An excerpt from An Alchemical Primer of Metallurgy: Volume One, by Lord Cerastes of Marnas Pell

Spoiler: An Honest Answer Regarding Apostates

A mage who does not receive the teachings of the Circle and who does not have the words of Andraste in her heart is an apostate, and a danger to us all. Without the guidance of the holy Chantry, a mage may foolishly dabble in the darker arts—blood magic, or demon summoning, thus becoming maleficarum. And a mage's mind will ever be a doorway to spirits of the Fade; without proper instruction, this doorway remains open and unsecured. If a demon should come through this doorway and possess a mage, an abomination is created. Abominations know only madness. They cannot be reasoned with and will slaughter man, woman and child without thought. Whole cities have fallen to these creatures. Thousands have died at their hands.

The Chantry and her templars have a duty to ensure that this does not happen.

If I knew a better way to deal with magic, I would seize upon it immediately. You say we should let the mages guard themselves. I tell you that this is no solution. Look at the Tevinter Imperium. Their magisters do not know restraint. Without Chantry oversight the magisters abuse their power. Those without magic are trampled underfoot and forced to serve. Slaves are slaughtered by the hundreds to feed the magisters' hunger for power. Even some mages are not spared, for in mages as in all humans, there exists a spectrum—on one end, the very powerful, on the other, those that can barely light a candle. The Empire cares only for the strongest, and those who do not compare favorably are thrown to the wolves.

Imagine your children growing up in such a world. If a mage asked it of you, you would have to give him your daughter, not knowing what his plans for her might be. You could not resist him, and neither could she. Without our templars and without the Circle, the common man would have no defense against magic. We must deny the mages certain freedoms for the common good. I wish there was another way. I tell the apprentices this is a test of their faith, that it is the will of the Maker. Many understand that we do what we do for their own good.

—Excerpt of a letter from Grand Cleric Francesca of Starkhaven to Lord Guthrie Abholz.

Spoiler: Darkspawn

Those who had sought to claim
Heaven by violence destroyed it. What was
Golden and pure turned black.
Those who had once been mage-lords,
The brightest of their age,
Were no longer men, but monsters.
--Threnodies 12:1.

Sin was the midwife that ushered the darkspawn into this world. The magisters fell from the Golden City, and their fate encompassed all our world's. For they were not alone.

No one knows where the darkspawn come from. A dark mockery of men, in the darkest places they thrive, growing in numbers as a plague of locusts will. In raids, they will often take captives, dragging their victims alive into the Deep Roads, but most evidence suggests that these are eaten. Like spiders, it seems darkspawn prefer their food still breathing. Perhaps they are simply spawned by the darkness. Certainly, we know that evil has no trouble perpetuating itself.

The last Blight was in the Age of Towers, striking once again at the heart of Tevinter, spreading south into Orlais and east into the Free Marches. The plagues spread as far as Ferelden, but the withering and twisting of the land stopped well beyond our borders. Here, darkspawn have never been more than the stuff of legends. In the northern lands, however, particularly Tevinter and the Anderfels, they say darkspawn haunt the hinterlands, preying on outlying farmers and isolated villages, a constant threat.

--From Ferelden: Folklore and History, by Sister Petrine, Chantry scholar.

Characters

Spoiler: Aveline Vallen

“If it's family, you protect. Doesn't matter who it is, blood or not.”
Aveline was born in Orlais, but she never knew the country. Her father, Benoit du Lac, was a chevalier who lost his patron to the game of intrigue. He fled to Ferelden while Aveline was an infant, and though his holdings were meager, he was determined she would have the life he had lost: she would become a knight, no matter the cost. He eventually sold everything to sponsor Aveline into King Cailan's service.

Knightly skills seemed bred into Aveline's bones, but she had her doubts—starting with her namesake, Ser Aveline. The first female knight of Orlais was orphaned, mocked for her looks and murdered when she dared stand with men in tournament. Her glory lies in tragedy, but the living Aveline doesn't revere sacrifice: a principled death is still a death. Her father was proud of her, but she would never be the knight he wished for.

Aveline married Wesley Vallen while serving in the Fereldan army. They were kindred spirits and determined guardians. His death during the Blight scarred her—not just his loss, but that she failed to protect him. Aveline has healed in the past year, but she has yet to forgive herself. Accordingly, she is fiercely protective of the Hawkes and Sparrow. They share a bond in loss, a connection she cherishes but will not allow to be repeated.

Spoiler: Bartrand Tethras

"Half of Kirkwall wants to be my best friend right now."

The history of noble House Tethras stretches back to the foundation of Orzammar. The memories say that three times, a child of House Tethras took the office of Assembly Steward. They held appointments in the Shaperate of Memories and the Shaperate of Golems. But no longer.

In the second year of the reign of King Endrin Aeducan, Lord Andvar Tethras was found guilty before the Assembly of willfully manipulating Proving matches in favor of his House. For this affront to the Ancestors, he and all his House were sentenced to exile on the surface. Andvar died a mere five years later, leaving behind his Lady Ilsa, ten-year-old Bartrand, and two-year-old Varric.

Exile, surface life, and the loss of her husband conspired against Lady Ilsa, who took to drink, leaving young Bartrand to manage what was left of House Tethras.

By the time he was fifteen, Bartrand had doubled his family's fortune. The disgrace of House Tethras fueled his ambition and his once-noble title gave him an instant place among the kalnas, the old money elite of the Dwarven Merchants Guild; he used it to build alliances and business ventures as if he were a member of the Orzammar Assembly.

By the time Lady Ilsa died, Bartrand had made the Tethras family one of the Guild's most influential, but wealth and power on the surface couldn't sate him. He began to court alliances with the wealthiest ascendant families, branching into banking and mercenary companies. Guild members mutter that nothing will satisfy Bartrand but a complete reconstruction of House Tethras' estate in Orzammar--down to the rivers of lava--built in Kirkwall.

Spoiler: Bethany Hawke

Sparrow's younger sister, Bethany, died during the family's flight from Lothering, leaving Sparrow and Bethany's twin brother, Carver, as the only surviving children. Like Sparrow, Bethany was an apostate mage in hiding from the Circle since childhood. Protecting Sparrow and Bethany from the templars became the defining fact of the family's life, forcing them to move frequently and live well below their means in small hamlets in Lothering. Bethany was close to her eldest sibling and idolized and envied the way Hawke embraced magic, but she could never give up her resentment of being different and fear for what their future would hold.

Spoiler: Carver Hawke

"A hundred ways to run, and we choose backward. Whatever you say, but chasing an old name isn't really starting over."

Strong and strapping, Carver is a skilled warrior set on proving himself, although it's not always clear who he is trying to impress. The son and sibling of mages, he grew up surrounded by magic he couldn't truly understand - and he feels like something was expected that he could never deliver. He cares deeply for his family, but sometimes feels like the stupidest person in the room.

Carver foundered in Lothering. He blamed his lack of direction on not wanting to draw attention to his family of apostates at home. After his father died, he started down a military path; however, the Blight and rout at Ostagar ended his career almost before it could start. While he knows that swift flight was the only reasonable course in the face of the darkspawn advance, he almost would rather have stood and fought. Doomed though the effort was, facing the horde had purpose - something Carver had been searching for.

 

> So...nice mountain you got?

 

Merrill is precious.
>So... nice mountain you got.

 

oh my god merril is so cute :D

 

>So.. nice mountain you got.


):


Looks inviting.



>_?

 

> Are you alright?

 

>Are you alright, precious cinnamon roll?

 

(Y'all are the real cinammon rolls; your reactions are adorable)
>Are you alright?






(Fucked up and deleted the video of the next segment, lemme redo it really quick)

 

In real life I think caves are neat, if kind of spooky. However, in Dragon Age...

I HATE CAVES BECAUSE THEY'RE FULL OF GIANT SPIDERS

WHO THE *FUCK* NEEDS A MULTI-WAVE SPIDER BATTLE

Anyway, what's in this rubble pile?

Some.. cool gloves and stuff?

Cool enough gloves to have their own codex entry. (I'll add it to the Codex post.)

And over here.. some metal!

 

My new gloves are too fancy for me. ): Someday..

ARE THIS MANY SPIDERS REALLY NECESSARY

Gross.

I found a house seal in a box in a cave...

.. and it gave me a quest. Returning it, I guess?

A promising location name.

 

Awww, no rubble spiders.

 

Admittedly it would have been hilarious if the rubble had contained more spiders.
>Hawke: Leave cave, enter graveyard

A magicky thing! Do I get to do magic to it?



I guess Merrill's gonna do magic to it.



Uhhh



SEE, TEMPORARY THREAD TITLE "BLOODY ELVES" WAS A PUN




^Carver's speaking here.

Now Sparrow.


>_?

 

>they don't keep helping.

but more importantly, we need to get cinnamon elf lots of liquids and a nice lie-down for that blood loss @_@

 

(Oh gosh im guessing blood magic is especially dangerous/stigmatized)
> It did^help us.

 

@IvyLB it is because... it doesn't need to be YOUR BLOOD for you to use it. So blood magic gives one a lot of very unique ways to violate other people's

ETA: That, and with the right resources (that is LOTS OF BLOOD) it can be really powerful on levels other types of magic can't. So... you can not only boil the literal blood in your enemy's veins and control them with it, but even your garden variety fireball is more deadly if it draws from blood rather than mana, like other types of magic do.

 

@IvyLB yeah, blood magic involves spirits and/or (the distinction is fuzzy) demons, and can also use OTHER people's blood without their , and includes mind control spells. so. yeah.

(Ok, my codex post got too long so I'm moving the rest of it here. After I finish this I'll add Codex entries when we discover them, but there are a lot already. x_x)
Lore - Continued

Spoiler: Deep Mushroom

"Deep mushroom" refers to the entire group of fungi that grows underground in caves and many parts of the dwarven Deep Roads. Collection can be a dangerous task, as the Deep Roads are often infested with darkspawn. Because of this, dwarven merchants often recruit "casteless" hirelings for the job, and pay them a meager percentage of what they earn selling the mushrooms to surfacers.

The most common varieties used in the herbalist's trade are the Blightcap, Ghoul's Mushroom, and Brimstone Mushroom, almost all of which tend to carry the darkspawn's corruption. While they cannot transmit the disease, this trait often makes them quite poisonous. Deep mushrooms should only be handled by experienced herbalists and should never be consumed without first being adequately cleaned and prepared. Careless consumption has been known to cause insanity, severe abdominal cramping, and even death.

—An excerpt from The Botanical Compendium, by Ines Arancia, botanist

Characters - Continued

Spoiler: The Hero of Ferelden

The Hero of Ferelden was the younger son of Bryce Cousland, Teyrn of Highever. When Arl Rendon Howe's forces attacked Castle Cousland and murdered most of the Cousland family, the Hero escaped to safety with Grey Warden Commander Duncan, who then recruited him into the order.

The Hero fought and killed the Archdemon, and lived to tell the tale. With the Archdemon gone, the darkspawn ranks broke, and the horde was easily routed.

After ending the Blight, the Hero of Ferelden took up the mantle of Warden-Commander and began the task of rebuilding the order in Ferelden.

Spoiler: Flemeth

"You are required to do nothing, least of all believe."

Ages ago, legend says Bann Conobar took to wife a beautiful young woman who harbored a secret talent for magic: Flemeth of Highever. And for a time they lived happily, until the arrival of a young poet, Osen, who captured the lady's heart with his verse.

They turned to the Chasind tribes for help and hid from Conobar's wrath in the Wilds, until word came to them that Conobar lay dying: His last wish was to see Flemeth's face one final time.

The lovers returned, but it was a trap. Conobar killed Osen, and imprisoned Flemeth in the highest tower of the castle. In grief and rage, Flemeth worked a spell to summon a spirit into this world to wreak vengeance upon her husband. Vengeance, she received, but not as she planned. The spirit took possession of her, turning Flemeth into an abomination. A twisted, maddened creature, she slaughtered Conobar and all his men, and fled back into the Wilds.

For a hundred years, Flemeth plotted, stealing men from the Chasind to sire monstrous daughters: Horrific things that could kill a man with fear. These Korcari witches led an army of Chasind from the Wilds to strike at the Alamarri tribes. They were defeated by the hero Cormac, and all the witches burned, so they say, but even now the Wilders whisper that Flemeth lives on in the marsh, and she and her daughters steal those men who come too near.

Morrigan's mother saved the last Grey Wardens from death at the top of the Tower of Ishal, but just who, or what, Flemeth truly is, is a mystery.

Spoiler: Merrill

"The stories tell us that all elvhen once had the gift; but like so many things, it was lost. It's a Keeper's job to remember, to restore what we can."

As each generation passes, magic becomes more rare among the Dalish. As the gift dies out, talented children are moved between clans so that every Keeper has a successor, and no clan is in danger of being left without guidance.

Merrill was born to the Alerion clan, which wandered the hills of Nevarra. She was the third child of the clan with the ancient gift born to her--when the next Arlathvenn (gathering of the clans) occurred, she was given to the Sabrae clan to be First to Keeper Marethari. Merrill was just four years old.

She spent most of her life in Ferelden and the Korcari Wilds until her clan was driven north by the Blight.

Spoiler: Varric Tethras

"I know everyone in this city worth knowing."

Varric was born three years after his father's exile from Orzammar, into the world of the Merchants Guild: the Ancestors never spoke and Paragons were the heroes in tall tales; the number of dances a kalna lady gave to a lowborn ascendant boy were more pivotal than the reign of kings.

While Bartrand ran the businesses and drove House Tethras ever higher up the social ladder, Varric looked after the family and their retainers. His mother, Lady Ilsa, suffered terribly from the trauma of her disgrace and exile, finding solace in liquor and smoke. It fell to her younger son to try to curb the worst of her drunken rages, to keep her from becoming a matter of public scandal, and to care for her when she fell ill from her excesses.

Though he is famous throughout the Merchants Guild for his stories, Varric speaks rarely of himself or his family. Most of Kirkwall knows him; everyone has bought him a drink at least once--for the sake of his fictions rather than his family connections.