Thank you! Hawke is my only fleshed out canon OC at the moment, so I’ll answer for her. And Esra and Clarisse are non-canon OCs I’ve created. I hope it isnt TOO much but this is my first ask ever from anyone and I wanted to do the best possible. I hope you like it!
1. What’s their full name? Why was that chosen? Does it mean anything?
Melisande Esra: Her father was a Chevalier loyal to the family of Empress Celene, namely her father Prince Reynaud and Emperor Judicael I. Princess Melisande was Prince Reynaud’s little sister and he used her as a namesake.
Clarisse: This is really the only name we know of her, although after she gained her freedom, her former owner sort of adopted her so she could be considered Clarisse Tilani. Clarisse means bright, shining, or gentle.
Shannon Hawke: Shannon means wise one, although theres a few different translations. Honestly, Malcolm just liked the name and gave Leandra puppy eyes to get her to chose it over the others.
2. Do they have any titles? How did they get them?
Esra was a Lieutenant in the Ferelden Royal Guard until the betrayal at Ostagar, one of the youngest officers and certainly the youngest female officer there. She made her work and training her entire life and her skill and devotion helped her climb quickly.
Hawke: Champion of Kirkwall. Probably to most of Kirkwall also Biggest Pain In the Ass. She’s sarcastic as hell and is so done with everyone that she tends to go out of her way to say no to Meredith AND Orsino. If she had an option to use her crew to depose both of them and Elthina and sit them all in a room alone in time out, she would.
3. Did they have a good childhood? What are fond memories they have of it? What’s a bad memory?
Esra remembers her mother and father singing slightly off-key Orlesian folk songs in the kitchen while her mother baked bread and her father oiled his old Chevalier armor. She had a really tense relationship with her brother so their sparring matches could get over the top but overall her childhood was fantastic. Her brother did lock her in a wardrobe at one point for over six hours but her parents realised she was late for dinner and came for her. She’s never had a wardrobe with a lock on it since even though she couldn’t fit in them anymore.
Clarisse didn’t have a childhood. Her worst memory was the day her father sold her to a Tevinter Magister to cover debts. However it was also her fondest memory as Athanir treated her much like an adopted daughter. The first time he gave her a pair of silken slippers to wear in the house while she worked, her eyes were the size of saucers for half the day.
Hawke adored growing up in Lothering. She and her father had competitions to see who could make the rest of their family groan and throwing something at them for their jokes first. She would tease her siblings, although this probably didnt help Carver warm up to her any. Her worst memory there was the loss of their father.
4. What is their relationship with their parents? What’s a good and bad memory with them? Did they know both parents?
Esra adored her parents, still does. Her father would teach her how to fight but at one point she did clash with him when she was little because he didn’t believe she should fight. He was happy with his son as a warrior and his daughter staying home, only to find out Melli wouldn’t stand for it. Her mother was upset when she didn’t learn how to bake and did not want her daughter seeing battle even if she did learn to fight. When she joined the Guard her mother swore she wouldnt speak to her ever again but it didnt last long.
Clarisse only knew her father and feared him. Her only good memory was the day he gave her away as, when she was older, she realised it was the kindest thing he could have done for her.
Hawke had a far better relationship with her father than her mother, although it may not have started that way. She cannot stand that she’s losing her memories of him. Her worst memory of her father was the heartbreak on his face when Bethany’s powers manifested, though he hid it quickly. Her mother was kind and supportive but had a habit that only worsened, of blaming anything that happened to her twins on Hawke until she calmed down. She likely never meant it and Hawke knew it but it created a bit of a rift.
5. Do they have any siblings? What’s their names? What is their relationship with them? Has their relationship changed since they were kids to adults?
Esra. Oof. She had one brother named Reynaud after the Prince. They never bonded. It only grew more snappy and competitive as they got older. When she got into the guard at the same time as him and the Captain took a shining to her he never forgave her. He died at Ostagar.
Clarisse is fairly sure she has no siblings. On any given day it depended on whether she considered Maevaris more of a sibling or an adopted daughter but they are as thick as thieves.
Hawke had two. Bethany and Carver. Sort of a “Only I can harrass these two” sibling. She adores messing with them but is insanely protective, especially as the events in DA2 unfold. Her mother may have blamed her for Carver’s death in Lothering but nowhere near as much as Hawke herself did. When she came back and Bethany had been taken to the Chantry, it took everything not to take her and run. She never got over feeling like she failed her, even after she seemed to grow happy there. She’s immensely proud of how her sister has grown, however.
