Quickish backstory of Fiyero in the DAI au/crossover
Fiyero was born in 9:17 Dragon to Dalish parents. When he was seven, his small clan (only seven members) was struck by an illness and he was the only survivor. He wandered into a nearby human town where he was found, and subsequently sent to the Circle at Montsimmard.
He was a fairly good student in the circle. He was talented and kind and knew when to stay his tongue and when to talk. At age 14, he was apprenticed to Madame Vivienne de Fer and followed her just about everywhere after that. Being her apprentice was not easy but he actually enjoyed the challenge and was thrilled with the level of access to materials that Madame de Fer allowed to him. A level well above what most apprentices were allowed. He was not as welcome in the Imperial Court as he would have liked to be, but he dealt with that in stride, adapting well and even flourishing under the unique political conditions in Orlais.
When Madame de Fer joined the inquisition in 9:41 Dragon, he followed her there. He did not particularly find it odd that he was still her apprentice even at 24, as Madame de Fer told him that they were not willing to put apprentices through the Harrowing during the period of uncertainty surrounding the rebellion of the other circles (the real reason for the lack of being allowed the harrowing was that his phylactery had gone missing, he was neither involved with nor aware of the issue. The Templars decided that with his phylactery missing the easiest way to keep track of him was to keep him apprenticed to Madame de Fer.)
He could have stayed behind in the Circle, he knew, but he would say that he's anything but a coward. Indeed, as an elven mage he was uniquely positioned as an apprentice to the Enchanter of the Imperial Court, to be able to give advice on matters relating to elven relations not that much of anyone except Madame de Fer actually listened to him.
While in the Inquisition he found himself at odds with the ideals that Vivenne held herself, leaning more toward his own ideas of how things could change while staying the same. He listened to Elphaba, Glinda, Dorian, and Vivienne and decided upon the idea that Circles should be a choice, like a school of some sort. Giving everyone the best of both worlds, allowing Mages to be protected and learn in an environment designed just for that, but allowing the ones that wished to stay free/live with their families the opportunity to do just that.
Quickish backstory of Galinda in the dai au/crossover
Galinda Upland was raised in Highever. Her mother and father were very careful about how they dealt with other people, refusing to draw attention to themselves despite being minor nobles. They tried to hide Galinda's magic from other people, and it worked for a while. Galinda was 13 when she ended up being discovered by Templars.
Once she was in the Circle she had a hard time adjusting to the lifestyle. She wasn't used to anyone telling her what she could and couldn't do. She got into trouble with the Templars a few times before one of the other apprentices, an elusive green girl named Elphaba, had stepped in and worked with her on adjusting to life in the Circle. It took nearly six months for them to become anything even close to resembling friends, but by the time Uldred had taken over the Circle during the fifth blight, the two of them were practically inseparable.
Galinda took well to her studies, liking a lot of the aspects of magic, but she felt that she and the other mages were treated unfairly by the Templars. Still as whispers of rebellion floated around she chose instead to focus on trying to find ways for her magic to be both useful and pretty. She saw no reason for her magic not to be an art, and decorated both her robes and her staves.
When she was 18 she was put through the harrowing. She chose not to speak of it afterwards, even to Elphaba who hadn't yet gone through it despite having been there and an apprentice for much longer.
In 9:39 when the rebellion began, she didn't strictly join the rebels, but she didn't stand against them either. She stood with Elphaba, fighting only to keep herself alive for her friend. It amazed her how fiercely Elphaba fought to protect her.
Despite not joining the rebellion, Galinda stayed by Elphaba, following her both to Redcliffe and to Haven, where she waited for Elphaba to return from the Conclave. That was where she was when the explosion happened and the Breach was opened. It was in Haven that Galinda mourned until they brought Elphaba down off the mountain from the remains of the temple. It was in Haven that Galinda waited for Elphaba to wake up, rehearsing what she would say to the Left and Right Hands of the Divine to convince them of what she knew to be true: Elphaba did not cause that explosion.
15 headcanons about Elphaba in the DAI au/crossover thing
1. Elphaba prefers fire magic to the other kinds, but is also good at spirit magic and things like barriers.
2. Elphaba is allergic to water, it gives her a mild rash. She's learned to combat this with minor wards and healing spells along with learning how to waterproof her clothes/armor.
3. Elphaba is in fact elf-blooded, but that is not what caused her skin to be green.
4. If you ask Elphaba, she and Galinda are not dating, but she'll imply that if you dare hurt Galinda you won't see the light of day again.
5. She does not get along with Templars. This includes Commander Cullen, and Averic a former templar who supposedly supports the mage rebellion.
6. Books are some of her most prized possessions as Herald, and the Inquisition Library is her favorite place to be. (Along with that room down near the kitchens that has all the cobwebs and shelves of books, and the huge open book on the desk.)
7. Her first instinct is not to trust Dorian, but after a while she does end up getting along with him.
8. Though she doesn't actually say it, she is more than a little angry at Vivienne for calling Cole a demon, it just strikes her wrong as there were enchanters in the circle that said the same thing about her when she was brought there. To this end, she is impressed that Fiyero, the apprentice Madame de Fer brought with her, does not agree with the assessment that Cole is a demon-he believes Cole to be a spirit.
9. She is fairly snippy with Sera at first. Despite evidence that she does not get along with Sera she is actually quite impressed with the things Sera does and the whole concept of "The Friends of Red Jenny" if she wasn't convinced that Sera hates mages she'd ask to join them.
10. Politics isn't exactly her favorite thing in the world but she respects Ambassador Montilyet and is more than happy that Galinda is working with the ambassador to try and stem the rumors that spread about her.
11. Elphaba does not believe she is the Herald of Andraste. Nor does she actually believe in the Maker.
12. Her sass cannot be contained.
13. She met Galinda's parents once and was surprised that they were nice to her.
14. The only reason she managed to gain enough court approval that she was able to stop the assassination of Celene without fighting Florianne was because of Galinda.
15. The Fear Demon tried to find her worst fear and failed (to find a way to use it against her because her will was too strong).
Sidenote, I’m not sure since I have a lot of things I’m currently working on but I might turn the backstories into fics at some point. As it stands I have no real plans for if/when the actual au will become a fic. I currently have at least seven fics I’m actively working on. I apologize for the general messiness of the wording and grammar, i wrote this at like one in the morning.
Word Count: approx 500
Elphaba Thropp was born in a small village in Ferelden in 9:14 Dragon. She was five years old when she was taken to the Circle, rumor upon rumor had spread about the strangely colored witch-child and eventually the Templars had come to investigate. Her parents gave her up with little fight. Her father claimed it was the Maker's will and her mother was just glad to be rid of her.
She liked to claim that she wasn't a witch, or a mage. She did so for nearly a year before someone explained to her that the "weird things" that happened around her weren't just her being incredibly unlucky, they were indeed her magic showing itself. After that she stopped saying she wasn't a mage, and retreated to the Circle's library, only leaving when it was the only choice she had.
There was very little trouble surrounding her for the longest time. She avoided the Templars, and in turn they didn't bother her often. It was ideal.
When Elphaba was 13, a new apprentice arrived. A girl named Galinda. Elphaba mostly avoided talking to Galinda, until she realized that Galinda was going to end up getting herself hurt, or worse, because she didn't know how to act around the Templars. It was hard work getting Galinda to trust her and avoid the mages that whispered-or openly spoke-of rebellion. Though Elphaba wished to join them, knowing that mages were treated unfairly and wishing to fix it, she felt like if she joined, Galinda would follow and that could only lead to Galinda's death.
At age 16, Elphaba was called upon to help the Warden fight the Blight. She was one of a few mages to survive the events of Uldred's little uprising. Both she and Galinda survived it, Galinda had stuck by Elphaba's side the entire time, neither of them were prepared to fight as much as they did, and though they succeeded in staying alive Elphaba wondered if perhaps it had been too much for Galinda who had become much quieter after the events.
Elphaba had her harrowing at age 19. She hated it. Hated having to prove that she was "strong enough" or "good enough" for the Templars. Hated the fact that if she hadn't done it satisfactorily then they would have killed her. She became determined after that that no mage should ever have to deal with that again, and started working in secret with the groups that wanted a rebellion.
In 9:39 Dragon, the rebellion happened. It started in Kirkwall, then spread to most of the Circles. Elphaba assisted in the fighting protecting Galinda who did not wish to fight, but also did not wish to die. Elphaba was sent as part of the group of mages to represent the rebellion at the Conclave in 9:40. While there, Galinda was waiting in Haven, Elphaba stumbled upon Corypheus' little ritual, interrupting it.
Through some miracle, she survived, forever marked; becoming the "Herald of Andraste" despite the fact that she didn't actually believe in the Maker at all.
Also feel free to send me questions about the au/crossover and I’ll answer them (maybe not immediately, as I might have to think a bit about the answers, but I will answer them).
