did I just write 3500 words of character notes and lore about how my new Surana (mage elf origin) Dragon Age protag (DAO top right, DATV bottom right) is actually the sister of my canon Inquisitor Lavellan (DAI top left, DATV bottom left)
YES I DID. (I might even publish it if there's interest!)
Basically, "Why would Researcher Minaeve, an extremely smart researcher who works for Josephine AND LELIANA, who is an ex-Dalish ex-Circle Mage herself, make a very bold proactive point of telling a Dalish 'Herald of Andraste' about "Dalish kids getting abandoned and sent to Circles?" entirely out of pocket.
Also, "Literally imagining Alistair (husband), Cullen (forbidden love), and Morrigan and Leliana (best friends)' collective freakouts at the resemblance, especially once Alistair gets there and nearly soils himself. Plus Cullen's going feral for a mage Lavellan 0.0003 seconds after meeting her.
LASTLY: Dalish names typically have THREE parts: (Given Name) (Family Name) (Clan Name).
To use my OCs given names, a child kicked out of the clan could easily lose their clan name, while retaining the other two. So Gabija Surana Lavellan becomes just Gabija Surana (and young enough to not even know the difference), while her older sister stays and thus remains Vilkė Surana Lavellan.