#i don't really like having him in my party w a cousland

[bhalspawn]

i finished origins again :(

[inner-muse]

2, 5, 14 for the OC Codex prompts for Kelandris and Karena

Hey so remember that time you asked me this ages and ages ago?! I didn’t forget about it!!! Codex ask prompts!! I’ll split them up by character, with most below the cut because long posts make me sad.

Kelandris Trevelyan

2. A letter written by your OC’s family member

(From her older sister)“Kelandris,

Thank the Maker you’re alive! And thank you for informing us. I write you from the Trevelyan estate – I rejoined our family here when news of the Conclave’s destruction reached Ostwick. Losing Her Holiness was bad enough; losing you as well was heartbreaking. Now that the mood here has lifted, however, I will return to the chapel soon— though I shall have to temper my joy, first. The whole Chantry is in mourning for the Most Holy, nor was I the only Sister who lost someone close to them. It would be cruel to flaunt our family’s good fortune.

The others are just as glad; I suspect this is not the only note you will receive. Asharion is already scoffing at your new title. I must admit, I never thought I’d be glad to hear our brother’s complaints. He refused to speak of you after your supposed death; he refused to speak of almost everything. The silence was terribly disturbing. Within five minutes of your letter’s arrival, though, he was back in fine form. “As if Kelandris needed any more reason to be smug,” were his exact words. (He smiled as he said it, but don’t tell him I said so.)

Herald of Andraste is quite the impressive title, to be sure. Did you trulyI confess to much awe and confusionIt seems impossible to believe, and yet(I fear my thoughts on the matter are as disordered as this parchment. Our lady Mother would be scandalized to see such scribbles.)

Whatever else may have changed, you are still, and will always be, my little sister. I know it would be futile to say “Stay safe” – you’ve never let anyone face  danger on your behalf. So instead, I will leave you with “Be careful.”

Lady’s blessings,Not that you need them,Ellanora”

5. Letters between two of your OC’s companions about them

(From Josie)“Madame Vivienne,

Thank you once again for the fine list of boutiques. The Inquisitor and I made good use of your recommendations. Your hopes for Lady Kelandris were well-founded; her sense of style is impeccable. I cannot judge whether she comports herself as well in silks as she does in armor, having never seen her on the battlefield, but she does cut a striking figure.

She has insisted I withhold the full report until our return. A mere letter could never do justice to all the Orlesian finery, she claims; such things are best described in person, preferably over tea and fine pastries. Perhaps you would care to join us, once we are back in Skyhold? Lady Kelandris has offered to play hostess. Seeker Cassandra and Leliana are invited as well. We have already seen to refreshments – your suggested chocolatier is delightful, and the Inquisitor knows a patisserie that sells the most lovely lemon tarts. You will find the address enclosed.

Respectfully yours,Josephine Montilyet”

14. Your OC talking about your favorite quest

(I have no idea who she’s talking to, but it must be someone close for her to be quite so open.)“Afraid? I faced down a self-styled god who keeps an Archdemon as a fucking pet, and you’re asking if I was afraid?” (She laughs.) “I was terrified. Honestly, I was certain I was going to die… But I would have, to save the people of Haven. The Inquisition, the pilgrims, the refugees— everyone was depending on me. I wasn’t about to let a little thing like ‘fear’ get in my way. Although… afterwards, in the snow… that was— difficult. Determination kept me going for a while, but the fires of conviction can only do so much against an actual blizzard. I will confess, I started to wonder if I wasn’t meant to be a martyr, after all. It seemed a particularly ignoble end, freezing to death mere hours after surviving the fall of Haven. Then again, Andraste perished in fire; I suppose it would have been poetic for Her Herald to perish in ice.

“Yes. I do think I’ve been chosen. Or touched, or blessed, or something, at least. How many others were at the Conclave? Hundreds, at least. And yet, out of everyone, I was the one survived. I know how to fight; I know how to lead. I have the courage to stare down a dragon – I know not everyone could have done what I did. I’ve always thrived under pressure. I’m good at this, all of this. It’s hard not to believe that Andraste has a hand in my presence here.”

Karena Cousland

2. A letter written by your OC’s family member

(Written in a six-year-old’s untidy scrawl. I’m not crying, you’re crying.)“Deer Dear Auntie,

I kno you are still out saling saleing saeling sailing but Papa says if I rite a letter you will see it soon. Was Grate Grandfather reely really a pirate? And Grandmother. Sinse you are on the'ir ship you must be a pirate too! Is there lots of pirate treshur tresure treasure there? Will you bring me back a sword?

Your favrit nefew favorite nephew, Oren”

(Added below, in a smaller, neater hand)“Karena—

I tried explaining “privateers” to Oren. I’ve told him that Mother and Grandfather hunted Orlesian ships for King and Country, not gold and glory, but he won’t hear of it. Perhaps you can appease him with some “pirate treasure?” I would suggest a cutlass from Grandfather’s armory, but Oriana would have both our hides. I’m sure you can come up with something suitable. 

—Fergus”

5. Letters between two of your OC’s companions about them

(Sometime during Inquisition’s timeline.)“A little bird told me you’re having some problems with cultists. Need assistance? —Z

Not if you’re making my birds sing. —L

Not yours. I know better than that, dear Nightingale. —Z

No snakes in need of tickling at the moment. But V. R. is hiding nests of vipers and I’ve no eyes to spare for our friends in Denerim. Can you keep watch? I worry that a disgruntled Bann or Arl will contact your former employer, with all these new enemies to use as cover. —L

Of course. What have they been doing to rile the country so? I’ve not been following Fereldan politics. —Z

You know A & K – they’re both idealists. Trying to right all the world’s wrongs. K has a good head for diplomacy, but there’s only so much even her silver tongue can do against ages’ worth of ingrained prejudice & corruption. —L

Is that not what your Inquisition faces as well? —Z

Among other things, yes. But the Inquisition was formed amidst the ashes of the Chantry. We can rebuild it from the ground up. Our friends do not have that luxury in Ferelden. —L”

14. Your OC talking about your favorite quest

(Yes, the Deep Roads was my favorite. Come at me, deep-roads-haters! She’s pretty clearly talking to Alistair here, who wasn’t in the party for the expedition. Also, once again – I’m not crying, you’re crying.)

“Awful. It wasawful. I don’t want to go back there. I never want to go down through that terrible Tainted darkness ever again! I d-don't— I don’t want to be the strong one anymore!” (The words devolve into muffled sobbing. After a while, the sound of distress eases.) 

“S-sorry. I’m very good at getting your shirt wet, it seems… Thank you. I needed that. Andraste’s blood, the things we saw down there…” (There’s another choked sob.) “No, I’m alright. I’m all cried out, now, anyway…” (A pause; a deep breath, slightly shaky.) “It w-wasn’t all bad. Well, I mean, it was; but the Dwarven-made parts were quite impressive under all the Tainted muck. You could see echoes of grandeur, sometimes. Soaring columns and wondrous bridges, covered in intricate carvings, where the ‘spawn hadn’t defaced them, anyway… 

“The song was everywhere, though. Just whispers, at first, but it just kept getting louder and louder the deeper we went. And then— and then we… We heard it from the source. We saw it. We saw the Archdemon with our waking eyes, and the whole horde spread out beneath him… We looked death in the face, that day. I thought for sure it would see us, or sense us up on that ridge – but I guess even Tainted Old Gods can’t pick out the sound of two Grey Wardens from such a cacophony.”

(A weary sigh.) “Nothing like an Archdemon to put this whole thing in perspective… Would you believe me if I said that wasn’t even the worst thing in the Deep Roads? It shows up in our nightmares, at least. There are other— other things, horrors like I’d never even imagined… If you’ve ever wondered how darkspawn reproduce, the answer is ‘horrifically.’ Don’t ask any more than that – if I think about it too hard it will just make me throw up. Again. And neither of us wants that.”