InsaneJournal

APPLICATION
somerealitymods
YOUR NAME: Ames
PREFERRED CONTACT METHOD: Email or Discord
TIMEZONE: US CST/GMT -6
GENERAL AVAILABILITY: Most evenings and weekends
HELD UNDER: aufwiedersehen

FULL NAME: Brahda Cadash
FANDOM: Dragon Age
NICKNAMES: Inquisitor, Herald of Andraste, Herald, “Your Inquisitorialness”, Boss, First-Thaw
BIRTHDAY: Born 9:11 Dragon
IMMEDIATE FAMILY: Father, mother, three older siblings who died in accidents or working for the Carta before Brahda was born
SPECIES: Dwarf
POWERS/ABILITIES: As a rogue, Brahda is skilled in the use of double-daggers, subterfuge, and is a trained assassin. Prior to becoming the Inquisitor, Brahda grew up learning to guard and guide lyrium smuggling opperations and would probably have ended up in the Carta equivalent of "middle management" if the Conclave had not ended so...explosively.
PB: Asia Kate Dillon
Canon Puncturing: No
WIKI LINK? Here and here

DESCRIBE YOUR CHARACTER'S HISTORY & PERSONALITY:
Brahda isn't what most people would expect from a Carta tough. And she's not what most people would expect as the leader of an organization like the Inquisition. One was a fluke of birth; the other was a product of soft spot for helping people in trouble and a tendency to pick up anything that looked interesting combined with getting carried along by a tide of people who needed a hero who could do what only Brahda could do...because of picking up a damn rolling ball.

Growing up as a member of House Cadash meant learning the ins and out of lyrium smuggling, stealing, and killing anyone who got it the way or crossed House Cadash or Carta groups currently allied with them. Brahda was the youngest and only surviving offspring of a lower-level branch of the House. From the beginning, Brahda had a knack for sneaking around and slipping out of trouble, even if she did seem to find it rather often. She was dextrous and quick, sure-footed and surprisingly acrobatic for a dwarf; she also had a penchant for climbing and prefered the most direct path to her goals--even if that meant more effort.

She also had a knack for knives that showed up in her training, which landed her a designation as a combination guard-scout-spy in the organization. She had her first real combat experience at sixteen, managing to survive with minor cuts, a facial scar, and a kill count House Cadash was proud of.

Eventually, Brahda's skills landed her a spot on a crew of spies that House Cadash sent to the Divine Conclave to see what the talks between rogue mages and the Chantry might mean for the lyrium trade. But it couldn't be as simple as that, not for Brahda. She followed what sounded like someone needing help, opened some doors to find...something very strange going on, and picked up some sort of rolling ball. Next thing she knew, she was in pain, then in a strange, greenish place. And then she was chased by spiders--giant spiders, because of course there had to be giant spiders. She found the woman who'd been floating in the air when she stepped in the door and attempted to escape with her--only for the woman to tell her go, leaving her behind. Next thing Brahda knew, she'd landed in rubble, been found by human soldiers...and couldn't remember a thing that had just happened. Passing out seemed like a grand idea after that.

Awakening, Brahda found she had a strange green glowing...thing on her left hand, and people were blaming her for blowing up the Conclave and killing the Chantry's Divine Justinia V. Things definitely weren't going to plan. There was a giant tear in sky--and apparently in the Fade (not that Brahda knew much about that)--that people were calling the Breach. There were also many small tears, which the strange mark on her hand was somehow able to close. It was all very confusing--as was suddenly having to fight demons--and only got more confusing when some people decided Brahda had been saved by--of all people--Andraste, Bride of the Maker and was thus chosen as Andraste's Herald. Somehow the fact that Brahda was a generally agnostic dwarf did nothing to dissuade people of that idea.

From there, Brahda found herself the leader of the Inquisition--a somewhat motley group bent on fixing whatever had opened the tears in the Veil and putting a stop to them for good. It was a very, very big leadership position for someone shorter than nearly all the advisors, companions, and allies that Brahda eventually made in her quest to set things right for Thedas...and for as many people as possible along the way. The responsibility was a heavy weight, as was the knowledge that she couldn't save everyone, no matter how she tried.

But she made friends along the way, at least. Friends as unlikely to end up in something like the Inquisition as she was, and all of them with their own baggage that Brahda couldn't help but try to lighten for them. She even fell head over heels for two of them--Seeker and Right Hand of the Divine Cassandra Allegra Portia Calogera Filomena Pentaghast, she of the ridiculously long name and adorable secret love of romantic fiction...and Enchanter Vivienne, the Lady of Iron, a mage with fashion knowledge far beyond Brahda's comprehension who already had a lover among the Orlesian nobility. Whether from a sense of duty or a lack of interest for whatever reason (and despite Brahda's best efforts at wooing), neither woman returned Brahda's feelings. Which hurt, admittedly, but didn't stop Brahda from continuing to love them both from afar.

Brahda clashed with the intity that had sought to open the Veil between Thedas and the Fade--one of the original Dark Spawn Magisters named Corypheus--more times than she cared to, at more cost of life than she cares to think about. But she did defeat him, eventually. Even if she did still have the mark--the Anchor--on her hand.

Two years after defeating Corypheus, Brahda found herself having to answer to the Inquisition's former allies about what should be done with the organization's vast reach and power. Which Brahda thought was a fair question, even if negotiations tended to make her want to bolt. The fact that the mark on her left hand was acting up and doing what seemed to be spreading and becoming worse (it certainly hurt more than it had since she'd first discovered she had the damn thing). And as if that wasn't enough to deal with, the Inquisition (and Brahda) has to deal with Qunari infiltrators and well as agents of Fen'Harel--the one the elves called the Dread Wolf, the god of betrayal. During the ensuing investigations (aka "the pain-in-the-ass bullshit which does not help the pain-in-the-arm bullshit"), Brahda discovered that her companion Solas, elven mage and something of a mentor, was himself an agent of Fen'Harel. And then Solas revealed that he actually was Fen'Harel, and that he'd actually given the blasted orb thing to Corypheus in the first place, hoping to use the ancient dark spawn to access the orb's power. Solas himself had created the Veil in the first place, but now intended to restore the world of the ancient elves even if it destroyed all of Thedas. Betrayal wasn't new to Brahda. Carta infighting and backstabbing had been what she'd grown up around. Finding out she'd been used to clean up Solas's mistakes just so he could have the chance to destroy Thedas stung quite a bit more, though.

Naturally that was the point in the conversation between Solas and Brahda where the Anchor decided to nearly kill her from pain. Despite that, Brahda told Solas that the world they lived in now was worth saving, and that she'd do whatever it took to prove it to him. She was fairly certain he didn't believe her, but he did at least use magic to remove her left forearm. It saved her from dying from the Anchor's powers, but it also made her less of an opponant--a rogue who fought with two daggers was down a weapon without both hands.

Returning to the Exalted Council, Brahda declared that the Inquisition would downsize but continue to serve as a peace keeping force...as well as an honor guard to Divine Victoria, the replacement of the deceased Divine Justinia. Of course, Solas was still a problem...

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In-Game Decisions/Actions:

Companions/Advisors: Friends with all.

Cullen: Urged him to stay his course and give up lyrium permanently.

Josephine Montilyet: Restored her family's trading status in Orlais.

Leliana: "Softened" and advised to stop torturing herself.

------------

Blackwall: Pardons Thom Rainier

Cassandra: Encouraged her to rebuild the Seekers

Cole: Becomes more like a spirit

Dorian: Gave him the letter; chose "Let's get you out of here" and didn't not make Dorian try to reconcile with his father.

Iron Bull: Saved the Chargers; Bull becomes Tal-Vashoth

Sera: Lets her kill Harmond

Varric: Destroyed red lyrium nodes and tracked down the red lyrium source.

Vivienne: Collected tomes for her; gave her the heart of a snowy wyvern

Solas: Helped him save the spirit he was friends with.

Quests:

The Wrath of Heaven: Chose to take the mountain path to save what remained of the scouting party.

In Hushed Whispers: Conscripted the rebel mages into the service of the Inquisition. Forced Alexius to work for the Mages.

In Your Heart Shall Burn: Rescued Harritt, Lysette, Seggrit, Flissa, Adan, and Minaeve; declared the Inquisition for the Inquisitor saying "Corypheus must be stopped."

Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts: Celene rules alone. Grand Duchess Florianne de Chalons is killed.

Here Lies the Abyss: Warden Stroud stays behind in the Fade. The Wardens are allowed to remain, rebuild, and fight for the Inquisition. Livius Erimond imprisoned; sent Ser Ruth to the Deep Roads.

What Pride Had Wrought: Respected tradition, allied with the guardians; Morrigan drank from the Well of Sorrows. Gave Samson to Dagna for study.

Descent DLC: Completed the DLC

Jaws of Haakon: Discovered the fate of Inquisitor Ameridan. Recieves the legend-mark "First-Thaw".

Doom Upon All the World: Fought with the help of Morrigan in dragon form. Vivienne became Divine Victoria.

Trespasser DLC: Freed Ataashi. Wants to redeem Solas. Preserved the Inquisition as a peacekeeping force and honor guard to Divine Victoria.

WHAT POINT IN TIME DOES YOUR CHARACTER COME FROM IN GAME?
Post Trespasser DLC, right after walking out of the Exalted Council

THREE DEFINING MOMENTS IN CHARACTER'S LIFE.

BECOMING THE INQUISITOR. Having people think she was the Herald of Andraste was pressure enough, but Brahda never dreamed people would chose her to actually lead the Inquisition. She'd expected to act as an interim leader, then as an agent at most. But when people decide you're a hero...you don't really get a choice not to be. Especially when there's something only you can do. Like close the tears in the Veil. And of course, becoming the Inquisitor didn't really stop when she raised a sword bigger than herself into the air. There was so much to investigate, so many people who needed help--including the people she'd recruited, all of who came to become friends she'd never have had without that stupid Anchor on her hand.

DEFEATING CORYPHEUS. Brahda didn't expect to walk away from fighting Corypheus, who, as a red-lyrium-infused ancient Magister and original darkspawn might as well have been an Old God as far as she was concerned. It was a gruelling battle, and in the end what kept Brahda going was knowing that the lives of her friends depended on her. Yes, so did all of the lives of everyone in Thedas, but her friends were with her. And when it was over, she knew it was really just the beginning of finishing cleaning up all the mess Corypheus had caused.

THE TRUTH ABOUT SOLAS. More than anything, Brahda hated knowing that so much of her interactions with Solas hadn't been completely true. She expected that from Carta thugs, but Solas? She'd trusted him like a mentor, and knowing that he'd mentored her so that he could achieve his own ends--only because she'd accidentally foiled his plans for using Corypheus--well. It made her angry, but she didn't want to give up on changing his mind. And saving Thedas. Again. She didn't want to think about her odds of success the second time around.

WHAT DO YOU WANT YOUR CHARACTER TO ACCOMPLISH IN GAME?

I want Brahda to relearn how to not be THE hero. She's young (33), but she doesn't exactly remember--or know, exactly, having been trained by a crime family since childhood--to be a "normal" young adult. I also want her to learn how to deal with the differences in this new world she's about to find herself in. And I want her to adjust to being an amputee--for a dual-wielder, that's going to be hard.

WHAT EXCITES YOU ABOUT PLAYING THIS CHARACTER?

Brahda was the first Dragon Age protagonist whose romantic life I had to totally headcanon, because she fell head over heels for a character the game didn't allow female Inquisitors to romance (Cassandra) and one the game didn't let any Inquisitor romance (Vivienne). Also, I built roughly like a DA:I dwarf as far as build (taller and heavier, but similar nonetheless) and that is soething that drew me to the dwarves. Plus, she was my first and main Inquisitor--I love rogues with hearts of gold, especially when there are things they're a bit clueless about.

WHAT JOB WILL YOUR CHARACTER HAVE IN GAME? DO YOU HAVE A ROOMMATE REQUEST?

Possibly something security related, since it's what she knows. Nothing specific, but if there are Dragon Age peeps with space, that would be cool.

SAMPLES

THIRD PERSON THREAD SAMPLE:

Here; I play Shaw.

FIRST PERSON JOURNAL ENTRY:

Here.