𝒅𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒂.

[castlecrows]

ANYA DE RIVA • "rook" of the antivan crows. • dragon age: the veilguard ❝ one of the strongest pieces on the board. but she tends to think in straight lines. ❞

NOT SPOILER-FREE FOR DRAGON AGE: THE VEILGUARD.

Woman who does not know how she ended up with this job but someone's gotta do it.

"When people know someone has hired an assassin to come after them they're so good at checking their food for poisons and locking their windows and they never expect a woman who kicks down their door and beats them to death with her bare hands. And that's why I'm the crows' secret weapon."

7'3" qunari brawler and former "indentured" pit fighter from Tevinter. Bought up by an organization of assassins because they liked her style and raised to become a member of the group.

Viago de Riva's favorite annoyance.

God of lies, rebellion and betrayal lives in her head and regularly menaces her dreams.

[absolutionem]

"Your mentor experimented on you?"

[castlecrows]

❝ yeah? he tested out some of the stuff i made, too, but only when he was watching me mix it, and choosing ingredients... you know, teaching. that's just the kind of relationship we had. ❞

[allhesaid-deactivated20250918]

" i guess that's .. true. poison's always good to have. and it's versatile, too, you can put it on blades AND drinks! yay! "

" still, i was talking about the .. getting poisoned as a teenager or something equally worrying? "

[castlecrows]

❝ oh, i mean, that's normal? viago did it because he cared about me. and it was only ever in small doses, right? got real sick but i never died. and i'm more or less immune now, which is a good skill to have. if you ever wanna pick it up, i got some of my mixes left still. never too late to start building immunity! ❞

[allhesaid-deactivated20250918]

" what was that? "

[castlecrows]

❝ about poison being handy to have around? yeah, i mean, if you need to add some extra punch to a weapon or take a contract on short notice, you know? ❞

[castlecrows]

❝ you think i could find something similar to my old poison supplier in archimedes...? poison's always useful to have handy, plus my mentor liked to experiment on me with various chemicals as a teenager so i'm basically immune to most poisons now, and don't have to worry about accidentally hurting myself with them... ❞

[mirevasan]

when her phone went off, alerting her to a new notification, what she found upon opening the messaging screen up was....admittedly the last thing she expected to see. the name was familiar enough but anyone could have that. yet it was the chess piece next to it that told her otherwise and upon reading each message sent, she was now absolutely sure of the sender.

to: Rook ♖ from. Lavellan

[txt] yes, I remember who you are [txt] it's good to hear from you rook, circumstances aside [txt] circumstances of which i can explain to you later if you wish to know [txt] i'll be right there

it'd be a lie to say the young crow's vocabulary didn't earn a laugh out of the elf, a lighthearted sort of humor. the location sent was a familiar one, a place she spent many days at during the summer. thankfully, the rest of her day was empty so it was up and off with perhaps far too hurried steps.

she's quick to spot rook but takes her time strolling over, pausing at the empty chair across the table as one eyebrow raises, lips quirked in a half grin. while curious to know just what they wanted to talk about, it would come soon enough. firstly, tjough–

" Well, if it isn't the 'super hot and sexy' young leader of the veilguard was in town. That's how you put it, right?"

[castlecrows]

Anya leaned back in her seat, hands behind her head. She looked casual, despite the fact that she had a fair few serious questions to ask.

❝ that is what they call me. from orlais to rivain, i hear. ❞ She said, with a wink and a chuckle, ❝ along with other things, like, you know, dragon slayer, archdemon killer, our only hope against the gods, and savior of treviso... viago especially. viago de riva especially says all those things. no lie. ❞

She sat forward again, picking up her coffee mug and swirling the contents, looking a bit more thoughtful for a moment.

❝ that said, uh... ❞ She added, ❝ yeah, i don't know what's going on here with this city or anything. and i never got a chance to talk to you about that wolf statue, either, so i was thinking maybe now might be a good time? did you know all that stuff? about solas? ❞

[castlecrows]

❝ hey, little guy! ❞

Nailed it. That was a greeting that definitely wouldn't put anyone off, elven or otherwise. Well, at least from her perspective, it was almost always accurate. She hadn't seen too many elves around, but she was at least familiar with them, so when she did spot one, it was exciting.

❝ hey, listen. you know any good taverns or anything around here? ❞ She asked, catching up. Archimedes had been busy last time she'd been here, but it didn't seem too busy now. ❝ the coffee's alright here, it's no antivan coffee of course, but it's fine. but i'm looking for someplace good to like, drink, and there's a hundred coffee shops and not a sign of a good, down-to-earth tavern yet... ❞

@lyriumveiins

[castlecrows]

❝ look out! ❞

The knife impacted the telephone pole next to the man's head with a dull thud, sinking several inches deep into the old wood. She had been juggling several of them for a few of the neighborhood kids in Fibonacci. The surprise of someone else showing up on this near-empty side street had distracted her for a second, and she had accidentally loosed one of them—but at least her aim was good enough that she didn't hit him.

The kids all immediately shouted and scrambled in different directions, like a nest of rats that had abruptly had a light shined into it, leaving Anya standing alone and holding several knives.

❝ my bad? ❞ She said, jogging up to retrieve her knife, crow-wing cape trailing behind her in the breeze, ❝ i wasn't trying to kill you, i promise. ❞

@absolutionem

[castlecrows]

matching outfits with older brother viago.

[castlecrows]

She'd found her way to a coffee shop eventually. Which was good, because she needed caffeine and somewhere to sit down after all the walking she'd done, and she was finally going through her 'phone' that she'd been given. It had taken her a minute to get the hang of it, but once she had, she'd given over to scrolling through names to see if anyone familiar popped up.

Solas? That was the first one she noticed. She took a second to wonder if it was the real guy or someone with a suspiciously similar name, and then decided to utilize her block button, just to be safe.

Then she happened upon another one, and raised an eyebrow as she sipped her latte. She considered the messaging system for a moment, and then figured nothing ventured, nothing gained, and started punching in a text.

[To:] Lavellan [From:] Rook ♖

[txt]: so hey i think we've met before right with the wolf statue stuff and morrigan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! [txt]: admittedly not a lot of familiar faces round here but if i am correct which i usually am would you want to get coffee and catch up or something because im dying out here and also i have some questions about some shit [txt]: its rook by the way you know the super hot and sexy young leader of the veilguard whos saving the world and shit you know me right right [txt]: anyway im uuuh wait i think i can send my location on this thing andrastes fat tits that ru;les [txt]: hold on im doing some magic bullshit [txt]: ~~~~~~~FWSHSHSHHSHSHS~~~~~~~ [txt]: [GPS Location]

@mirevasan

[castlecrows]

Several hours of exploration later, she was weaving in among skyscrapers and busy streets, holding a stray cat under one arm and a backpack under the other, trying not to get caught by anyone who looked vaguely authority-esque. This seemed about par for the course for her, and the only thing that would have made this feel more normal was if Varric had been there. Well, and she could have done with shorter buildings.

Rounding a corner as a brisk jog, she put a hand on the shoulder of the first person she met. Looking down at the stranger, she said, ❝ hey, buddy. i need you to do me a favor. ❞

She lifted the poor ginger cat with one hand and dumped it into his arms. ❝ take this, run around the corner up the road, and i'll meet you in a block. okay? ❞

@havairiansong

[castlecrows]

❝ uh, hey, ❞ She had wandered into some park or something, she wasn't really sure. She wasn't even sure she could find her way back to where they'd dropped her. Was she going to have to sleep in an alley somewhere? She could, and she had before, but she'd prefer not to. So she pulled up next to the nearest person, not thinking about how quietly she tended to walk despite her size.

❝ you know how to get to... ❞ She paused, ❝ uuuh... somewhere... somewhere that's less here. i don't know, maybe an inn or a tavern or something? ❞

@wshingwells

[castlecrows]

It's a bright and lovely day and Anya has never been more lost in her entire life; and that's saying something when you regularly have to wander through the Crossroads looking for the right mirror to get where you need to go.

But it wasn't so bad. Being lost was just the first step in finding new, cool places. The first time she'd been able to navigate a city off-leash, so to speak, had been Treviso, and she still remembered the magic in being able to just duck into new buildings or wander through parks without fear of being hunted down.

She plopped down on a bench next to a stranger in the middle of a very bright lane of marble buildings and fancy shops.

❝ nice horns! ❞ She said, and then tapped her broken left horn. ❝ i snapped mine a few years ago. still need to get it fixed. back where i come from, they have these cool crystal replacements... but i haven't been able to find anyone that makes them since leaving. ❞

@viladlind

[corvisque]

Zevran has spent most of his time since the Fifth Blight being a thorn in House Arainai's side. It would be insulting if the Antivan Crows had not acknowledged his hard work. Still, the last thing he expects is to be called a legend by this... surprisingly large but still young Crow.

"Three of those kills were mine, I believe." Eoman, Runn, and Availa. They had all been taken out in quick succession -- the guild had not been able to keep an Eighth Talon alive for at least a year. Eoman, in particular, he remembers with some measure of satisfaction. That man had always been a bastard. "Did they kill more because of me? I am flattered!"

Who knew being called an embarrassment could invoke such a sense of pride? Until she says the last thing, that is.

"Old? Why would they make me look old?"

[castlecrows]

❝ because your last contract and that blight stuff was like... twenty years ago? ❞ She said, with a chuckle, ❝ i was, uh... two or three, i think. so i guess you're fifty or so, right? that's pretty old. ❞

Viago would surely have had something to say to her about this conversation. Please do not make small talk with the crow-killing assassin who was trying to dismantle house Arainai. What is wrong with you, idiot? You want to die? Not that she ever listened to Viago, or to his voice that popped up in her head whenever she was doing something 'rash' or 'impulsive' or 'reckless.' And she was pretty confident she could take a little old man, if it came down to that.

❝ sorry, i'm bein' rude. anya de riva. ❞ She didn't offer him a handshake, since that was a great way to give someone an opening to shank you and they'd both know it, so better safe than sorry, ❝ or rook, if you want. codename. you know. ❞

[castlecrows]

❝ hey, i know you! i've seen your wanted posters! ❞

That was always a solid way to greet another Crow, as far as she was aware. She'd barely been here any time at all, and was finding it a little disorienting. It was nice to see a face that was somewhat familiar, though, even if only in a celebrity sort of way.

❝ aren't you the guy who embarrassed house arainai so bad that they killed like, five talons? you're a legend. ❞ She said, jogging to catch up with him, ❝ you're so much tinier in person than you look in the artwork! and way less old? ❞

@corvisque

[twifairy]

I'm gonna make a Rook that is so Viago Migraine Coded

[castlecrows]

she's here!! :3c i'm gonna make this a starter call. cap 3, castmates exempt. <3 ♖