#abrial lavellan

[felikcs]

That 'Sera is the vessel for Andruil's wisp' theory is fucking me up you guys. She calls a friendly fem Inquisitor like a sort of sister at the end. Abrial has the vallaslin of Sylaise. Sylaise and Andruil were sisters. I'm flipping out I'm flipping ouuutttt.

[felikcs]

Sooooo I'm a few weeks late to the post-your-Inquisitor party, but this is Abrial Lavellan, and I am head over heels in love with her. She's my baby, my favorite, and when I got her face perfect I thought I might cry.

I have...probably over 200 shots of this nerd? And the only thing stopping me from having more is that little symbol that pops up on the PS4 whenever you take a screenshot, I hate getting that in there. But look there's one now.

Ask me questions about heeeeeeeerrrrrrr! <3

[felikcs]

Oh my god I'm doing the 'make your inquisitor a companion' thing and it's so fantastic, this is so much more helpful with finding her voice and stuff. Man. I'm so excited for companion Abrial.

[felikcs]

Countdown to Inquisition: Days 6-4

I'm ALMOST THERE I have to finish this!

6.) If you’ve already planned a romance, then who? And why? How would it come about, in your head canon at least.

Solas! But I don't have any idea how it would come about in head canon. But there are a bunch of factors so far, based on what I've seen of Solas and what I really know about Abrial, who to a certain extent is still enigmatic, and will be until I have the game in my hands and she starts making decisions.

For one, he's the first elf he meets after the Breach, and it's nice to see familiarity after a sea full of interrogating humans. His humor also clicks with her, how dry it is. He's the first one to make her smile after the explosion, and for Abrial humor goes a long way. So her initial conscious impression is 'I like this funny man.' Pretty simple there. She also really appreciates the whole 'kept-me-alive' and 'understands-what's-happening-to-me' thing. As they continue traveling together, she finally starts to notice how calm he makes her feel, how much easier it is to think through all the chaos without panicking when he's around. I don't think Abrial would survive nearly as well without him. But I guess I'll find out soon how it goes down!

5.) How does your Inquisitor feel about the Mage-Templar conflict? Which side, if any, do they come down on?

Until she's sent to the Conclave it's not exactly a conflict she knows a lot about. No one in her family was a mage (though actually if Junrel had survived birth he would have been one), and the only two she was ever around were the Keeper and the First. But Abrial sees magic itself as a tool and a weapon, as much as her bow is a tool and a weapon, the use depends on the wielder. As such, she's extremely against this idea that all mages are harmful and violent. Yes, they are dangerous, to be able to conjure fire in their hands, but she's dangerous too. Vanya was dangerous too, every hunter she ever knew was dangerous. But they aren't targeted, even though they could kill people just as easily as a mage could. So I guess Abrial would side with the mages, if it came down to it. 

I think being Dalish has something to do with it too. Abrial can't imagine being stuck in one place, in one tower, her whole life. The very idea is terrifying and makes her feel claustrophobic. So that's a part of it too.

4.) What is your Inquisitor’s perspective on the oppression of the elves and the Orlesian city elf rebellions?

Uhm...she's extremely against it? I don't really know how to answer this coherently. Getting to see the prejudice first hand disgusts her. I mean, her clan has had contact with the other races before, and city elves, but on the clan's terms. So she's familiar with every insult with the book, and has a general knowledge of the injustices happening against elves in the world, but seeing them first hand is a whole lot different for her. She knows some Dalish see themselves as better than the city elves, but Abrial doesn't. They just make her sad.

The elf rebellions make her sad too, because of how fruitless they prove to be. The power imbalance is so profound that even a whole population in rebellion can't change anything. Abrial hopes maybe her presence as the Inquisitor will help turn the tables from the political end, where the city elves have no power to begin with.

[felikcs]

Countdown to Inquisition: Seven Days (Apparently? I'm bad at this.)

7.) How DO they feel about being called the Herald of Andraste? Do they even care?

Abrial doesn't really like it. Not even because she's not of the Andrastian religion, though that's part of it. It honestly just doesn't make sense to her. She's not a herald of anything. She really just feels that, despite the fact she lived through the Breach explosion, she was still in the wrong place at the wrong time. Abrial was glad to be of use to the Keeper, to be sent to the Conclave as a spy, but that was all she ever intended to do. Spy, then return and report. Simple. So the sudden turn for the disastrous doesn't jive well with her, nor do the repercussions of her very survival.

Eventually she just...accepts it, though. I think for her it becomes a defense mechanism. Sort of like, "I never wanted this but if I want to help people this is what I have to be. I'll be whatever they make of me, whatever they need me to be." Which gets really unhealthy for her, honestly. The Inquisition is gonna be a rocky part of Abrial's life, I hope she survives it.

[felikcs]

Countdown to Inquisition: 11-9 Days? I don't even know anymore.

11.) What class specialty will they likely take and why?

Abrial will take the artificer specialty, hands down. It makes the most sense for her, as she was a hunter in the clan and so already has good experience with hunting traps and such. She just needs to take it a step further. For gameplay aspects it makes sense as well. The other two specialties feel, to me, more well suited for a dagger rogue, someone who is in the middle of the battle all the time. Abrial will very much NOT be in the middle of battle, as she uses a bow.

10.) What team (or teams) will the Inquisitor probably take most often? Why? Among the companions who do you think they will get along with, based on what we’ve seen so far?

I'm actually not sure! I don't know how Abrial will get along with everyone yet, really. I could see her taking along Solas a lot, not just because I like him but because he's an elf like her and one of the first companions she meets, and also seems to be the one best suited to help her with all this fade and breach stuff. For some reason I feel she and Dorian would get along well, though that remains to be seen.

Maybe like a Solas, Cole, Dorian team, they could be Team Social Pariahs. Though without a warrior it's not very balanced. Or maybe like an Iron Bull, Vivienne, Sera team could be Team Table Manners. I dunno! I like teams with interesting character dynamics as well as good combat balance, so we'll see how it goes. 

I think that Abrial could potentially get along well enough with all of them, though I'm positive some will rub wrong on their first meeting. We'll just have to wait and see! Not much longer now.

9.) How will they develop the keep? Intrigue, Warfare or diplomacy? How do they feel about having a keep for themselves?

I can see Abrial trying to develop the Keep in pursuit of diplomacy. When it comes right down to it she really doesn't like the whole killing people thing, at all. She never asked to be a part of this, and it takes time for her to accept that it's a part of her life now, no matter how diplomatic she is. But she tries to keep the violence to a minimum. 

Abrial is fond of the Keep, but it takes a long time for her to call it a home. When it comes down to it, Abrial's 'home' her whole life has been a people, not a place. Maybe her aravel was a part of that, but it served more to carry her things than be her home. So for a while, the Keep is just a place that serves to make her stationary, and keep her from her clan, her real home, even if she hasn't always fit in best with them. The Keep grows on her as the people do. If the Keep is where her new clan rests, where he clan can grow and flourish, then it is part of what she thinks of as home.

[felikcs]

Countdown to Inquisition: Twelve Days

12.) How does your Inquisitor fight? Do they enjoy it?

Abrial uses a bow to fight, and she's going to specialize as an Artificier. It only makes sense, as when she was with her clan she was a hunter, having to use her bow and set traps on the daily. So why not adapt the shots to a human torso and the traps with more extreme measures? Anyway, both will help keep the enemies far away, she hopes.

Abrial does not particularly enjoy it. Perhaps...the actions of it? She always enjoyed the exertion of hunting, and the trickery and deftness required for a good hunting trap. But before she joined the Inquisition she did not have extensive experience with killing people. In fact she could count the people she had killed on one hand and still have fingers enough to draw her bow string. And those were killed in self preservation or protection of her clan. So the initial killings with the Inquisition are jarring. She becomes numbed to it of course, and even grows to appreciate the adrenaline and excitement of battle a bit, but overall she's always glad when it's over, and usually she's able to justify them by reminding herself that it's very much 'us or them' in the world she's been thrown into.

[felikcs]

Countdown to Inquisition: 16-13 Days

I'm falling more and more behind lololololol

16.) Does your Inquisitor have any hobbies outside of Inquisition business?

Yes! Abrial straight up loves music, maybe more than anything else. She loves all types, all instruments, all voices if they can carry a tune. She's a pretty good singer, herself! Though she's a bit shy about it. Sometimes the companions catch her doing it and she gets embarrassed, and Cole stays to listen when he thinks she doesn't know he's there. She loves hiding away in the upper levels of the tavern to listen to whatever bard is performing that night, or Iron Bull's deep-voiced drinking songs, or Sera's slightly smoky voice rasping out some scandalous shanty-like thing. It's all good to her. Abrial also likes to have something to do with her hands, even if it's as simple as braiding twine. She likes to keep her hands busy.

15.) Describe the world state for your Inquisitor. Who rules Ferelden, Is The Warden still alive, Is there an Old God Baby, Did Hawke side with the mages or the Templars, etc etc.

Okay! Anora rules Fereldan on her own, my lady Dalish Warden lives (and is basically Abrial's hero), OGB exists, errybody in the party alive and loyal. Uhhhmmm...yeah! I don't know what else is vital. Purple Lady Hawke kicking it on the run with Fenris after siding with the mages, but friends with Cullen, Bethany still alive and with the Wardens, friendship with all companions. Anders alive (so...Sebastian hunting her?). I'm honestly a sucker for whatever I consider to be the 'happiest' endings, so my true canon for Canon Abrial may differ from above, though not by much.

14.) Tell us about The Warden. Race, class, love interest, name gender? How would your Inquisitor feel about them? Do you think they would get along?

My Warden is Lascia Mahariel, a female Dalish rogue (I'm a sucker for rogues) who, since you could in Origin, dual wields swords yeaaaaaah! Her love interest is Alistair, though she and Tamlen sort of had an unofficial ~thing~ though it never went anywhere. Abrial would LOVE to meet Lascia, my goodness. There's some hero worship there, honestly. I can imagine Abrial and Cassandra meeting up and discussion their heroes in slightly reverent voices. After the initial blinding hero worship, I think Abrial would like her very much. Lascia, by Inquisition, has grown quite a bit. Her time with the Wardens and wherever she's been has made her wise, I think. She's calm and collected and seemingly unbreakable, and I think Abrial would really admire that sense of unerring reliability. 

I think they'd definitely get along, though perhaps not as close friends. I think that the level of respect Abrial has for Lascia (or at least the Lascia that the stories paint) lends a kind of distance to their relationship. I think their relationship would settle into a more mentor-student one than anything else. Honestly Abrial would love nothing more than to be student to one of her biggest heroes.

13.)  Now tell us about your Hawke. How would your Inquisitor feel about them? Do you think they would get along?

My Hawke is Abigail Hawke, a female rogue who wields daggers. She is of the sarcastic personality dominantly, but with a side of diplomacy, especially when talking to people who are panicking or who she finds herself sympathetic to. She uses her humor to deflect, but also to low-key insult those she meets that she doesn't like. Or, on occasion, so Fenris will crack a freaking smile. Her LI is Fenris, incidentally! Abigail lives to make people laugh, and Fenris is like the ultimate challenge. Finally getting him to laugh was a huge victory, and hearing it sort of cemented in her mind that good-lord-I-can't-lose-this-elf. 

Abrial would initially be very confused and skeptical of Abigail. This is the Champion of Kirkwall, who slew the Arishok but also was responsible (at least in part) for the Chantry explosion and the death of hundreds? When they meet Hawke is all casual, hardly a threat, light and almost vapid in her humor. But I think as they continue to talk that Abrial sees that glimmer of steel behind her jokes, that sort of sharp humor that says Hawke is truly in the present, and understands the gravity of the situation. And then she starts to like Hawke, because Abrial used to be a lot more humorous and trivial herself, and hearing the jokes and nonsense is sort of nostalgic for her.

I think they'd get along very well, as close friends. They're a lot alike in some ways, their lives have both taken similar turns for the disastrous. Hawke has lost most of her family, Abrial has lost all of her family. I think Abrial is quite a bit like what Hawke might have been if she'd lost Bethany in the Deep Roads, and not had Fenris there. Abrial is a girl who lost her sense of wonder and humor for a really long time once her sister died, the last of her family. Hawke is a girl who kept her humor as a defense mechanism, but it really only survived because she knew Bethany was out there still alive, and she still had to make Fenris laugh again. I think their personalities could have been much reversed in a different canon. As it is though, I think they'd get along swimmingly because there's a bit of a kindred spirit thing going on, which Abrial being the straight-man humor-wise of the two.