Sorry y’all the brainworms got to me again. Cullen and Mava in between DAI and Trespasser.
Mava actually LOVES dancing and that was one of the only things in the winter palace that she enjoyed.
After DAI she takes up teaching Cullen her clan's dances, and he tries his best- bless his heart
The inquisitor is known for taking 5 minute power naps standing up and then just GOING for days. How she’s still functional is a mystery.
My character ramblings below the cut.
For the most part Mava and Solas get along well and on the topic of the fade the two chat all the time. Mava admires his knowledge of magic as well of his painting skills which she secretly finds most impressive. She comes to him for any magic advice first and quietly learns through the conversation he has with Dorian and Vivianne. That being said if Solas starts trashing the Dalish Mava will argue with him ALL DAY annoying anyone within earshot and each other. She also doesn’t completely trust him, his lack of history too suspicious to ignore.
Mava has a certain affection for Cole. She finds the boy endearing and takes him out often, encouraging him to talk with their companions. His existence between spirit and human fascinates her. After specializing in the way of the rift mage she felt even more comfortable with him as he sees the responsibility she has on her shoulders. She comes to him to hear gossip, the inane unimportant kind. A hold over of when she used to eavesdrop as a child that developed into a sort of guilty pleasure. Mava also enjoys when she hears other’s talk of his gentle presence, even if they don’t know it. It makes her oddly proud and she sees him as a little brother.
Mava’s relationship to her commander is… complicated. Mava was initially evasive towards Cullen, a human ex-templar is not exactly comforting to a Dalish mage. The two were polite but not close, though Mava appreciated his banter with her other advisors. Things became unavoidable when Mava allowed the Mage rebellion to join the Inquisition as equals, a choice that she worried might make him, and some others of the inquisition grow angry or even leave. Cullen’s support despite him disagreeing made Mava respect him and the two found they had more in common then they once thought. Mava can see the weight he puts on himself and finds comfort in someone who understands her and checks in. His stories of this family reminds her of her own and the two grow to appreciate each other’s company despite their disagreements. Though Cullen’s love of the game chess will forever allude her.
WARNING MAD LONG POST
In which I ramble about my inquisitor- Mava Lavellan's backstory
Just so I can get it out of my head.
TW (Emotional Abuse- Severe Burns)
TL;DR How does one person deal with shouldering the responsibility of a world saving semi-cult? Parentification
Mava was first born to Hanina Lavallen and Ethlam Lavallen, in the year 9:09 dragon. Hanina was sister to Keeper Deshanna Istimaethoriel Lavellan and as such when Mava first showed signs of magic at 5 she was favored and chosen to be Deshanna’s First.
Hanina was incredibly proud of that fact and made sure that her daughter knew her responsibility at a young age.
Cylus, her brother was born 9:11 Dragon. The two were inseparable and she adored him. In 9:14 Clan Lavellan was attacked by a group of humans, this almost resulted in the death of Cylus, and Hanina who was pregnant at the time, went into labor prematurely. Vela was born small and weak, and the event scarred Hanina. She grew protective of her children and kept a strong presence in their raising, atypical of the more communal raising of the Dalish.
Mava spent most of this time with Deshanna learning magic, or with her mother. She had little time with others her age besides her siblings. Her mage training and her mother’s expectations took all of her time. Mava didn’t mind, she loved learning about her clan and the gods. Still she wasn’t the quickest to pick up magic, and often struggled to do more than just the most basic of actions.
Hanina’s protectiveness developed into paranoia, worsened by Ethlam often being gone hunting. She placed her fears onto Mava, and told her that she was responsible for her siblings safety. If anything ever happened to Cylus or Vela it was Mava’s fault for failing to look after them.
The lectures didn’t happen often at first, Cylus was a chatty, and sweet child. He learned to placate his mother and soothe her worries. No the lectures grew much more frequent as Vela grew older. She was always a bit of a spit fire but she was her mother’s favorite. She was allowed much more freedoms then the older two. Her mother was even more proud of her when she showed magic at the age of 3. She was made second under her sister and quickly excelled in her studies. Magic came easily to her and as she was allowed to interact with others more, she also was much more comfortable with those her age.
Mava was happy her sister was doing well at first. When Vela did well her mother was happier, so it was a win-win. But as Vela hit her preteen years she began to pass her sister in magical abilities and chafe against her mother’s grasp. Hanina began to pit her daughter against each other. Often telling Mava that she should be more like her younger sister. Mava internalized this, but still saw her primary job to be protecting her siblings. It was only to make her better for her clan, Mava would justify. Hanna started fighting with Deshanna at this time, who could see how her sister was spiraling. This only made Hanina worse and harder to speak with rationally.
The two sisters got into a lot of fights usually over Vela’s tendency to wander from the clan, and not pay attention in studies. Even so Mava would never tell her mother about it, a part of her fearing the response. Cylus often got stuck in the middle of these fights, eternally the mediator. He studied under the Head Storyteller and thrived, weaving tales with songs. He was mostly forgot by his mother as he had no magic. The only time the three siblings got along and had fun were during clan dances. Mava and Vela were stand outs and in sync when dancing and Cylus loved singing and playing music.
In 9:30 during the blight, clan Lavellan was traveling past the border of Ferelden and was recruited into helping the Warden fight Darkspawn. Mava’s father Ethlam was killed helping in the battle. This was the breaking point for Hanina and her health deteriorated for the next several years. Mava stayed by her mother’s side the whole time and tried her best to keep the family together as her mother became more erratic.
In 9:35 she died. It was a mix of emotions for the siblings, but mostly guilt. She was supposed to protect her family, and why did it feel easier to breathe? She didn’t want to be keeper and now that her mother was dead she could almost admit that to herself. Vela and her stopped fighting for a few months, trying to process her passing. Mava came to one conclusion Vela another.
The eldest talked to her Keeper about making her sister the First over her. Vela was great at magic, charismatic, and comfortable taking charge. Her mother knew she was a better fit, she said so all the time, she was just too traditional to actually propose it! Deshanna tried to dissuade her student from the idea but Mava was determined. So she said if Vela agreed to it, she would allow it. So the two sisters met up outside camp to talk. It went about as well as the Keeper expected.
Horribly. Vela revealed that she was thinking of going to another clan, to get a fresh start. She had already talked to Cylus and Deshanna about it. That was fine, Mava argued, she could just become a First here if she wanted to be First. Vela refused, she didn’t want to stay. Mava argued that she should just stay and train to be First for a few more months to see it she liked it.
Vela shut it down, and blurted out that she wanted to leave the Dalish all together. This freaked Mava out completely, she became desperate, this was her mother’s worst fears come true. The escalated a conversation into a full blown fight, Mava terrified to go back into the role she was forced to be in all her life, and Vela wanting to have freedom in her life and choices. It got heated, literally. When Mava grabbed her sister’s arm, Vela let a burst of fire burning her.
Her left side was burnt badly, and Vela rushed her back to the clan. When asked about it Vela said human mages attacked them. This caused the clan to immediately start packing up to move while the Keeper stabilized Mava. When they started to move, Vela was gone.
Mava woke a month later, her burns still bad but better. She was nonverbal for the first week, her mind still in shock. Cylus was by her side as soon as she woke up. It was like when they were little, but reversed. Cylus would tell her everything happening in the clan. Stories, gossip, and all the interesting things in his life.
The clan settled for a while, Mava’s recovery meant that she couldn’t be far from the healers. And with them settled they welcomed more and more city elves into the clan. Mava refused to leave her tent for long, grappling with what she saw as her failure marked on her. She told no one the truth about how it happened, though she was sure her aunt suspected something.
One city elf that later joined the clan was Diya. She became a talented crafter and friends with Cylus. After much convincing he introduced the two, hoping that meeting others outside of the family would help her. He was right Diya was direct, honest, but still kind to Mava and the two got along super well. Mava got to passionately explain and educate the lore of the clan to Diya and Diya would bring gifts in return. She was a scholar of her craft in her own right, and the two enjoyed the other’s passion.
A year after the incident Mava began to return to some of her regular duties. Most of them were unrelated to magic. She was relieved, as after the argument Mava found she had trouble doing any kind of magic at all. It was the first time that Mava connected to many in her own clan. Her mother’s protective grasp prevented her from making more relationships. She had in her own time listened in when she could, an unquestionable eavesdrop. It made gauging how much she should know quite hard. She found that many of the clan saw her in a totally different light then she saw herself. Her own image warped by her mother’s parenting and harsh words.
In the years that followed she slowly gained confidence and tried to reconcile what exactly happened to her. She looked for her sister but no trace of her was ever found. No clan had seen her and no city elves had ever had a glance of her. In the meantime it turns out that Cylus and Diya had hit it off. Two years after they met, they were married, and Mava was thrilled for them. Soon after her niece Elgaris (Ellie) was born, and Mava was instantly smitten. She loved her and often took turns in taking care of her with her clan.
It was healing to see how the clan all gathered around the family and she couldn’t help but contrast it with how she was raised. At the age of 3 Ellie is discovered to have magic abilities. Mava pushes hard for her to remain with the other children her age, and only teaches her to control her power allowing her to learn on her own time.
In 9:41 Dragon Deshanna talks of giving Mava more serious duties, the first being attending the Exhalted Council in secret. She isn’t thrilled to leave her clan for so long, and still ill fit as a First but her Keeper assures her it will be a simple, but important task. And who is she to argue? It is her duty.
What’s this??? An obsession with a ten year old game suddenly re-emerges??? I finally bought myself Dragon Age Inquisition and the brain rot I had for it as a teen re-emerged with full force. I will be posting about it way too much so feel free to block the tag.
This is Mava Lavellen. Dalish First to Clan Lavellen and also the inquisitor I guess. She is used to responsibility of leading, Mava knew she would since she was young, what other choice is there?
