Davrin's past and his Dalish clan and his vallaslin (all mentions I could find)
So much in the game is hidden behind banters between companions (which is ahhhh a bit annoying) so I compiled all the banter and information I found about Davrin's past.
Not really plot spoilers, just Davrin spoilers.
At the end I will summarize everything in a bullepoints list.
Bellara and Davrin banter:
Text here (link)
There are also a few other banters I did not record where it is implied Davrin does not care about the gods or some other late game revelations. The only thing he cares about (and mentions again later in game, in a main scene) is how people see Dalish and elves, and how to minimize the risk of humans hating elves even more.
Taash and Davrin's banter (text in description for each image)
Davrin's quests information:
Here are other mentions from Davrin first quest:
Rook: How did it go?
Davrin: Poorly. They felt like I rejected them.
Rook: Did you?
Davrin: Yeah, I suppose. Clan life wasn't for me. I had to get away.
Rook: So then what happened? You're out in the world, looking for adventure…
Davrin: Got my ass kicked. Went broke.
Davrin: I couldn't go crawling back to my clan a failure. Doubt they'd take me back. It forced me to figure out what I was good at. Always had a knack for hunting.
Other info we get from the Halla quest is that: Davrin spent summers tending Halla as a kid alongside Eldrin, who is not his uncle, but like an uncle. So this is a case of Davrin wanting to spend time with Hallas, or being made to by his clan.
Eldrin's vallaslin is Ghilan'nain:
So it could be that Davrin's new vallaslin might be Ghilan'nain too. But I think it is Andruil's or a mix of the two.
Davrin could have gotten the vallaslin to honor Eldrin (we know he is the only member of his clan - if he is part of his clan - Davrin has no trouble contacting, even if they seem to have not met each other's in a while). But we also know Davrin was a hunter.
Eldrin was also the one who taught Davrin what to hunt basically. In his first quest Davrin says "When I was a kid, I'd hunt just about anything. Rabbits, deer, fox. Eldrin gave that purpose. Taught me the Way of Three Trees. The Way of the Arrow, Way of the Bow, Way of the Wood."
This is from Andruil and if we look at all three vallaslin:
Emmrich and Davrin:
(they have some discussions about Davrin not believing in the Fade or liking it, this is the one which mentions the Dalish clan)
There are also a few other banters at the Lighthouse that mention the Fade and the sky. Mainly they are about Davrin being uncomfortable with the open space and stuff about him disbelieving the Fade: "Good. Because it's not the sky. Emmrich says it's the Fade. Me, I don't know what to think."
Final banter with Davrin:
So basically, the summary of what we know for certain is:
Davrin left his clan voluntarily because he felt restless, he did not care about tradition and lessons, and he wanted to see the world
He felt like he did not fit in his clan since he was a kid
He was also hunting everything he could find until Eldrin taught him the way of the Three Trees and to protect life by hunting darkness (monsters)
Eldrin is like an uncle for him and lives isolated (unsure if he is part of Davrin's clan) and Davrin used to spend summers helping him with the hallas
Davrin feels like he pissed off his clan, he rejected them and both Davrin and Bellara agree it would be hard for him to go back
In another dialogue, he says he actually did not think the clan would take him back at all even if he crawled back asking for help ("Like a failure" he says)
He does not regret joining the Grey Wardens and looking for adventures, but he seems to regret that came at the cost of leaving the clan and not being able to return or keep in contact with them
Also, he says the outside world was different from what he imagined
Author's note: For Day 7 of Davrin Week: Free Day! Although some parts of the fic might fit other prompts from previous days. Tagging @datvcompanionweeks @lesbianwyllravengard @finallygaveintothesirencall
Summary: The day that Davrin left his clan, as experienced through his mother's point of view.
This couldn't be happening.
Nor'lahni thought that she would have more time than this! Ever since Davrin voiced his desire to leave, things between him and the clan have been tense to say the least, but Nor'lahni still held out hope that they could change his mind before the matter escalated even further.
It was a foolish hope, one that she should have known better than to nurture. Rather than wasting what precious little time she had left with him trying to convince him to stay, she should have been treasuring every moment together down to the very last second.
Thanks to @fantastical-bump-in-the-night's amazing Beyonder's story, I have another meme, this time about the wizards we all love to call out for their crimes against humanity.
So there might be some out there that disagree with me on this but I am not willing to budge on this personally: This is not a white man. He is a native elder.
You know why I know that? This man looks extremely similar to my own grandfather. Who was born on my tribes reservation. And many other native elders I have spent my entire life around. Yes he has a lighter complexion. Indigenous people across the Americas have a wide variety of skin tones depending on a multitude of factors.
But the way he looks is not the only thing that makes him a native elder coded character. He also teaches Davrin traditional Dalish stories and beliefs to help guide and encourage him in his journey the way native elders do. He believes that these lessons are important for Davrin to know and hold on to, whether or not Davrin chooses clan life or not. Because Davrin is still part of their people even if he has chosen to walk a different path. He shows a deep care for nature and living things and the balance of life, all commonly held indigenous beliefs. Even the way that Davrin calls him Uncle Eldrin, despite the way he talks about Eldrin making it clear they are not actually blood related, is pulled from Native culture. We call older members of our communities that we respect and are close with uncle or auntie. It is part of being a member of a close knit community that sees raising the next generation as a community effort; family is not just your direct relatives but the community who helped raise you.
As an indigenous person, playing the Dragon Ages I have had to deal with a lot of racism, appropriation and anti indigenous propaganda being shoved into the storylines of this series. But Eldrin is actually one of the better and more respectful representations of the Dalish being an indigenous coded people group we have gotten in these games and I will die on that hill quite frankly.
A challenge! I went way more realistic than I usually do. And I tried REALLY hard to make it exactly like she had in her head. I’m still trying to find that perfect balance between my style and something that feels real, if that makes sense.
Elven went to The Wall of Light's with Neve. Rana then showed up and Neve relighted the orb of her partner's. Elven then helped Lucanis confront Illario and Lucanis became first crow. Illario is now locked up. Davrin took Elven to go meet Eldrin. Then Assan, Davrin and Elven went to go heal the halla.
Bellara had returned to Arlathan, disappearing into the depth of the forest on a personal expedition within a week of trying to live a 'normal' life, whatever that was before the world changed.
Beside the small river, Bellara set her tent, her fire and her small workstation. She hunts for food, gather berries, uses her provisions parsimoniously, and soon a week passes. At the dawn of the second week, foot steps approaches her camp from the nearest path and she peeks out of her tent.
Eldrin raises a hand in greetings, accompanied by a red feathered griffon with a splint on one of its forelimb. "I thought I saw someone move around the paths lately! Do you mind the visit?" The griffon seems shy, hiding behind Eldrin's legs almost.
Bellara smiles and with a quick waves of her arm, invites Eldrin to join her by the embers of her fire. "I've been avoiding people for a while, but I think I'm ready for someone to share my fire." She digs into her bag and pulls out a gingerwort truffle, offering it as treat for Eldrin's companion. "What happened to him?"
"Oh, she's not the best flyer and took a bad tumble when she tried to land on top of my hut. She's been scared to fly since, so, I'm making sure she gets to see the sights from our vantage point." Eldrin takes a seat on the offered seat and the griffon tentatively enjoys the treat, rewarding Bellara with a happy squawk
"What's her name?" Bellara retrieve a notepad she got in minrathous, the same kind that Neve uses and scribbles something on it. It's the first time she's written this week.
"Hummingbeak is how the wardens named her, she tries the fly like a hummingbird, flapping her wings too fast, makes her flight uneven." Eldrin smiles.
Bellara blinks at Eldrin and then at the griffon. "My brother called me Vora'Shivan. Think I could help you with her recovery? I'd love to learn more about griffons and help you out!" Bellara said, feeling her energy, her interest returning.
"Rook thought you might suggest that." Eldrin smiles when Bellara's smile brighten. "Froegerick came in and checked on the griffons early last week. They thought you might be around here. Said to give you a week before checking on you." Eldrin says, reaching to pat her shoulder comfortingly. "They miss you."
With a deep, longing sigh, Bellara admits wistfully "I miss my anchor too, I think I'll send a letter, maybe they can help me help this girl back in the sky!"
"That sounds like a very wise choice to me" Eldrin says
(This was my first romance, my first playthrough. They/them Grey Warden Human named Froegerick Thorne)
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