This week, Beauties & Headcanons will be taking a little more in-depth look at gender and representation in role-playing games, and while Cremisius Aclassi aka Krem is a much more visible example of a trans character in Bioware’s Dragon Age: Inquisition, there is another character who has been around longer, though she hasn’t made a physical appearance in a game, other than the Heroes of Dragon Age mobile game.
I mentioned Maeveris Tilani briefly in my post about Dorian Pavus, where she teamed up with him to form the Lucerni as a voice of progressive, positive change in the Tevinter Imperium. But Maeveris is more than just a friend of Dorian, she has a rich, thorough backstory that is told, for the most part, through the comics, making appearances in both Those Who Speak and Until We Sleep, along with a blink-and-you-miss-it appearance in Inquisition through a war table mission where the Inquisitor can support her efforts in the Magisterium and as a result, gets a letter from her.
As already mentioned, Maeveris is a Magister in the Tevinter Imperium, and as such, obviously she’s a mage. She was born as a male, but she identified as a woman and when she was 15, began living openly as one. Despite the stigma and the scandal, her father supported her and kept her as his heir. Nine years before the events of Inquisition, however, her father was executed by templars, in what Maeveris believed was retribution for one of his stances he often took that was contrary to what most influential Magisters supported. While the Tilani’s may not have had as much political clout, they had considerable wealth, and she used this to her advantage. She met and became romantically involved with Thorold Tethras - cousin of Varric Tethras, companion to both Hawke in Dragon Age 2 and the Inquisitor in Dragon Age: Inquisition - however he died in a suspicious accident that had Maeveris hunting down and exacting revenge out of those who were behind it.
Maeveris is portrayed as very no-nonsense, not fearing her enemies, of which she has many. Despite that, however, she’s very intelligent and uses her reputation of being feared to her advantage. She supports the Inquisition and cares for her friends and family, as shown in both the comics and in her correspondence in Inquisition. Varric is even shown having a letter from her delivered to him, and he notes that it is one letter he’ll actually read.
One of the things I really appreciate about Maeveris is the lengths to which the writers went to portray her as a fully-formed character in her own right, and not just as a token representation character that can be checked off of a list. In fact, the comics never actually explicitly state she is transgender, and it’s not until the arc Until We Sleep that she’s even revealed as such, and even then it’s subtle and in such a way that not everyone even picked up on it. In no way is she reduced to “just being trans” in order to virtue signal. Having characters who are gay or trans are important, but what’s even more important is that they’re handled correctly and that their entire character isn’t just tied up in their sexual orientation or gender expression. And after the admitted misstep with Serendipity in Dragon Age 2, Bioware and its writers bounced back in a big way with Maeveris.
And with the next game seeming to take place in the Tevinter Imperium, Maeveris is one of the characters who I really hope will finally make a physical appearance in one of the games. I’d especially love if she could be a companion character, because there’s nothing more I’d love than to take this powerful mage out on missions and see her in action!
If we don't get Maeveris Tilani as a companion or advisor or even just a conversation with her in DA4, Bioware had better sleep with one eye open *shakes fist*
