PLAYER
Name: Ema
Age: Late 20s
Contact: ![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
arlathvhenOther Characters: Beleth Ashara, Kaisa Daesun
Interests: With Gareth I'm particularly interested in getting involved in mage politics, inspecting why blood magic is still The One Taboo, anchor shard things, doing fun action plots with combat, and long walks on the beach.
CHARACTER
Name: Gareth
Canon/OC: OC
Journal: ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
foundmyselfagainRace: Human
Nationality: Free Marcher
Occupation: Rebel mage
Division: Research
Mage or Not: Mage
Age: 23
History- Born in a small village of little consequence, in the general vicinity of Kirkwall.
- Around age 6, he proudly showed his mother a cool electricity 'trick' that could make his hair stand on end, and promptly got shuffled off to the Gallows.
- Grew up in the Gallows, known as a bit of a goof and a prankster, but was otherwise fairly harmless and suitably Pro-Circle. He was too young to get heavily involved in Circle politics, but he tended to favor the ideas of isolationism.
- He showed an an affinity for primal magic, and started learning the specialization of force magic.
- Before he got very far, the situation at the Gallows started rapidly decaying. Young and until this point optimistic in his trust of the Circles, he vocally protested. Seeing others who were a little too enthusiastic in challenging the Templars getting turned tranquil, he quickly backed down.
- As things got worse and worse, he neglected his other studies to join other Gallows mages in secretly learning blood magic. It was his hope that he'd never have to use it, but he wanted to be prepared, as he observed shit getting precariously close to the fan.
- Shit finally hits the fan, and the Gallows erupts into chaos. Gareth ends up having to use his new skills (and probably says 'told you so' at least once) in order to escape into the wilds with a group of his fellow mages.
- The group find themselves free, but perpetually hunted by the remaining Templars. Traumatized from years of maltreatment, as well as the horrors of the fight within Kirkwall, the group violently lashes out. Gareth readily joins in, and spends the next three years lost to his rage, honing his blood magic skills on anyone whom he perceives as a threat.
- Gareth hears that the Circles have dissolved, and they're officially at war with the Templars. More importantly, there's an actual army of rebel mages. He elects to finally end this bloodthirsty rampage and shows up to join the rebels.
- Most of the other mages aren't huge fans of the 'killer blood mage' thing, and he struggles to overcome the rage and thirst for revenge that he'd spent the last three years indulging.
- When a splinter cell that wants nothing to do with the conclave or Tevinter forms, Gareth ends up joining it, unwilling to let go of the fighting just yet. Even after others begin leaving for the Inquisition, he refuses to give up.
- After an incident with a rift ends up giving him an anchor shard, he reluctantly finds himself making his way back to Kirkwall for the first time since he was forced to flee for his life. Joy.
PersonalityGareth is, at first glance, a perfectly amicable young man, friendly and prone to silly jokes. It might take some time around him to realize just how macabre these jokes can get, but they're always given with a lopsided grin and a warm laugh. He stubbornly clings to that smile even under emotional duress, preferring to laugh things off rather than show any emotions such as fear or pain. It can be difficult to tell just how upset Gareth actually is in a situation.
Anger is a complicated exception to this. He spent his life in the Gallows repressing all the outrage he felt at his situation, and after he finally escaped, it erupted into three years of bloodshed and violence. He's working to make sure that never happens again, and tries to control his temper as much as he can. But it's a work in progress, and if certain subjects come up (usually relating to his past experiences) he can lash out without almost any warning. He's gotten to the point where he'll usually manage to contain his outburst to a shouting match, and will try to leave the situation before it escalates.
Blood magic is one area where Gareth has a lot of opinions, and it is to his continued ire that he can rarely air them, without risking the repercussions that blood mages risk. It's a double-edged sword, and while he'll be the first one to admit there are some serious drawbacks--he'll often speak about it like it's a drug, and for good reason. Once you take those first steps, feel the raw power, realize the potential you could reach, it's hard to back down from it. But he's also well aware that it saved his life, that it's a game changer in the power balance between mages and everyone else, and if mages could freely practice it, they'd never be able to force them into circles again.
He's a curious man by nature, with a thirst for knowledge and a genuine desire to learn more about the world around him. Everything from the implementation of magic he's not familiar with, to cultures he's never known to be more than words in a book. He loves getting to witness something entirely new, and pester anyone related with a million questions, and it's one of the few times that Gareth seems genuinely content with life.
If he had it his way, all he really wants is to be left to his own devices, to explore and learn as he desires, without worrying about being burned at the stake. But life hasn't quite worked out like that.
Opinions & Affiliations►Mages
Since the Chantry Incident, Gareth's belief in the Circles (which had been slowly eroding up to that point) spectacularly exploded. If he had it his way, they'd all just fuck off somewhere quiet and be left alone. But it's not up to him, so he'll settle for at least not having to be forced back into Circles.
►Templars
Gareth has the blood of plenty of Templars on his hands, and he doesn't regret any of it. They were supposed to help mages, but that's not the case anymore. Deep down, he knows that it's not black and white, that some templars are as forced into their positions as he was, but it's something he can't bring himself to dwell on.
►The Chantry
The head of the snake. If the Templars aren't completely at fault, then the rest of that fault lies with the Chantry. Putting Templars on a lyrium leash, killing and abusing mages, and for what? A god that has already turned His face away from them?
►Other races
He has little opinion on dwarves, having only rarely seen them. Elves are okay, he may find himself accidentally being particularly condescending now and then, but who isn't? Tal Vashoth / Vashoth are both fine to him, but he's pretty disagreeable about the Qun proper, and the way they treat their mages. And, like, everyone else, too, but especially mages.
►Other Nations
He's a bit irate at Ferelden, since it seems to him that things really started getting worse right around the time they went and sent half their country to Kirkwall. Rivain seems nice, a pity all their mages are dead. He's fascinated by the Nevarrans, but is pretty sure they're all fake. Even the ones he met. Fake. No one is actually like that.
Adaptation NotesN/A
Strengths & Weaknesses►Strengths
Blood Mage: Gareth's a skilled blood mage, having spent several years relying on blood magic to keep himself alive. As this magic draws power from life force rather than the Fade, he can use it even when silenced by Templars. He can use it to manipulate living people, draw health from corpses, and all the usual terrifying things that blood mages are capable of.
Primal Mage: Before Gareth learned blood magic, he had primarily trained in the primal school of magic, particularly favoring storm magic. While his studies were neglected for a few years, he's been training and using it more and more, as he lessens his use of blood magic.
Sociable: Gareth is an amiable guy who can easily strike up conversations and warm up to strangers. He finds it easy to make friends, or to at least be friendly enough with people that they like him. He'd also like to think that his jokes are simply hilarious, but that's entirely up for debate.
►
Weaknesses
Distant to the Fade: While blood magic is a powerful tool that's saved his life, it's got plenty of drawbacks. One of the major ones is that he has a harder time connecting to the Fade than most mages. This makes it harder for him to use conventional magic--he has to put more effort into casting a lesser spell than most people would have to. He also rarely dreams, though he'd say that's more of a benefit than anything.
Considered a Danger: Few are the people who don't find blood magic abhorrent, and wielding it once carried a sentence of death or tranqulity. Even without the Circles, blood magic carries a strong taboo. As Gareth is trying his best to fit in with society, that generally means that he can't use it around other people without risking a great deal.
Anemic: One of the drawbacks of blood magic, especially those who mostly use their own blood, is that losing that much blood takes a toll on your health. Gareth is physically pretty weak, even by mage standards, tiring out and losing his breath during physical exertion far faster than healthier people. He tries to offset this with a diet that includes a lot of water and foods high in iron, but there's only so much you can do. He's been getting better as he lessens his blood magic use, but it still has a definite impact on his health.
Anger Issues: Gareth is not entirely recovered from the trauma of his various horrible experiences, and it manifests in outbursts of rage that he struggles to control. There's usually little preamble to it--all it takes is a few wrong words and Gareth can do a complete 180 in behavior.
Inventory- A few worn sets of clothing, most of which are everyday attire, and one of which are mage robes
- A staff.
- A dagger, kept sharpened and in better condition than the rest of his gear.
- A backpack of miscellaneous gear for living out in the woods (bedroll, flint, etc)
MotivationHis hand is stupid and green and hurts when he's away from other people with shards and he isn't a big fan of that. The Inquisition is also the most likely group to figure out how to remove the stupid things before anyone else. Additionally, he is somewhat interested in being around to watch / try to affect how politics about mages will be forming after this, though that hadn't been enough to drag him here without the shard.
SAMPLES
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