Tell me about a Dragon Age AU where your Surana was a straight up blood mage. :p how would this have affected her relationship and friendships? Would she have romanced someone else? Made other choices differently?
Yikes, hardball right away, huh. Had to think about this one. :’D
I can answer this two ways.
* Ilvy didn’t pick it up until joining the Wardens and justified it as part of the whole “anything to stop the Blight” mentality.
1. I’m pretty sure it’d put a strain on her friendship/relationship with Alistair. But I could see her asking him to pretty much act as her morality chain on the matter, and follow the same sort of “it’s okay as long as I just draw from my own blood” logic as Merrill do. It’d be a last resort kind of thing, nothing to be used regularly, and only against the Darkspawn. It’d be a constant issue whenever it gets used tho, but with both of them having grown up in the Chantry, I think they could find some common ground.
2. She’d feel suuuuuuuper hypocritical when encountering Jowan at Redcliffe and just ask for him to be released as opposed for him to be returned to the Chantry.
3. Ilvy already take a bit of a issue with Wynne telling her how she still have a responsibility to the Circle, so I can only see her taking up blood magic would make it worse, to the point of Wynne leaving.
4. She’d still do the same major choices as in my canon; Save Connor and Isolde, destroy the anvil, break the curse, don’t do any deals with any demons and so on, but execute Avernus at Soldier’s Peak both due to his experimentations on others and as a harsh reminder to herself that there’s a point where the means no longer justify the ends.
5. While I already pick dialogue options with Morrigan that show support and curiosity for using old magic, like shapeshifting (I spec Ilvy as one just for the RP reason), I think her pragmatic, suffer-no-fools view on life would be a solace.
* Ilvy fell into using blood magic while at the Circle
1. Sole way I could see her deciding to dabble in blood magic would be just for the thirst of knowledge, rather than to use it on others or to escape the Circle. As such, she’d probably learn it on her own, rather than making a deal with a demon. Doubt Uldred’s little club would let in Irving’s “pet pupil” but, ya know, books are easy to misplace and all that.
2. But if she were using blood magic right at the start, she’d not be so trusting of the Circle and not be convinced that it’s just a mistake that Jowan is to be made a Tranquil. She’d just help him right away, rather than go and inquire with Irving.
3. If her motivation for blood magic was knowledge, she’d probably end up with Zevran instead, who wouldn’t have as much of a issue with her maybe somewhat ruthless approach to learning more.
4. She’d leave Alistair to lead the Fereldan Wardens after the events of Awakenings, and instead travel to learn more about the blight and the original magisters. Especially since Bethany ends up as a Grey Warden in my DA2 canon, so Ilvy would have a second “hey the old magisters are still around” thread to pull on. The red lyrium bit would have her really curious.
5. She’d let Avernus continue his research, provided he only used willing subjects.