dirthsal | (no subject)

PLAYER

Name: Nina
Age: 30+
Contact: smoke signals
Other Characters: Ennaris Tavane
Interests: Elves elves elves elves

CHARACTER

Name: Talin Shira'nehn
Canon/OC: OC
Journal:

dirthsal
Race: Elf
Nationality: Dalish by way of Orlais
Occupation: Agent of Fen'Harel :)
Division: Scouting
Mage or Not: Not
Age: 25

History

Born 9:25.??.?? to a very loving elf mommy and daddy in an aravel somewhere in Orlais. Had two older sisters.
Clan was barely affected even slightly by the Fifth Blight, mostly just heard whispers of a clan in Fereldan losing a couple hunters to the taint.
Grew up healthy, friendly, and well-liked by the clan. Apprenticed with the Halla Keeper from a young age, after his way with animals became apparent.
Clan moved more frequently during the Orlesian Civil War and the Mage-Templar War. Had a few close calls with Templars and chevaliers, but aside from some injuries, the clan made it through both alright.
Took Ghilan'nain's vallaslin at 19 in 9:44 during the Arlathvhen, where he was betrothed to a hunter from another clan, and it was decided she would join Shira'nehn.
Bonded to Ban'abelas (Bela) Ralaferin in 9:44 August. They didn't know each other, but they were determined to make it work—and it helped that they were both attractive and kind.
Within a few months, Bela was pregnant. Their daughter, Sulana, was born in 9:45 Solace.
In 9:45 Kingsway, Shira'nehn ended up in the path of the Exalted March through sheer dumb luck. No one survived.
No one but Talin, who was healed of his injuries by (agents of) Fen'Harel, the Dread Wolf. While recovering, Talin learned of (some of) the Dread Wolf's goals and motivations, and, upon being deemed hardy enough to return to his feet, became an agent of Fen'Harel.
In the five years since, Talin has let Fen'Harel free him of his vallaslin, has gotten a couple new tattoos, has returned to the site of his clan's slaughter and planted trees for as many of them as he could, and done exactly what Fen'Harel asked of him whenever he asked.
In 9:50 Solace, Fen'Harel asked him to join Riftwatch and report on their efforts... so off Talin went.

Personality

Talin's early life was marked by successes and wins, a happy community, and as much safety as could be expected from the Dalish, and he had every reason to think it would continue. Hell, he deserved for it to continue: he was confident but humble, kind and friendly, beloved of his community and genuinely good at what he did. He wasn't the main character of his clan, but you'd have been forgiven for thinking he was.

None of that saved him from tragedy.

The slaughter of his clan, bondmate, and infant child didn't so much break Talin as it focused him. Where in the days before the March he was happy to meander through life with no goal but happiness, in its aftermath he's become a man of purpose, laser-focused on achieving his goals. He's still affable, confident, competent—but he's no longer content to be just those things.

The idea that his goals, and his alignment with Solas, are borne of nothing but a broken young man's broken heart is one he would argue against fiercely—he sees genuine merit in taking down the Veil, despite its dangers, as a matter of practical and logical destruction. Does one not sometimes burn a forest to save it from rot and allow new growth to flourish? Does a mis-healed bone not sometimes need to be broken to be reset? The pain and loss there is no less tragic for its necessity, but it is necessary. He is willing to die for what he truly, genuinely believes will be a better world...

...But he is a broken young man with a broken heart, and that influences him more than he's allowed himself to be aware of. The loss of his family has instilled in Talin a misanthropy that he's blinded himself to, as in spite of it he makes friends easily, and holds no resentment toward individuals for the actions of groups. There is still, within him, a sense that the whole world is to blame for his tragedy, and so the whole world needs to be corrected. It's not enough to work for elf liberation, or a Dalish homeland, or any more conventional justice—the world itself must be remade, or he cannot remain within it.

Opinions & Affiliations

Fen'Harel—The Saviour This World Needs, But Not The One It Deserves.
Dalish—the last of the Elvhenahn, the People, the true stewards of Thedas.
City Elves—Apart from themselves, but still People.
Elfblooded—Why Do You Exist.
Humans—Not The Real Problem... but not not a problem.
Dwarves & Qunari—Also Here.
Mages—Love 'em, very necessary to a functional community. Kill them if they fuck up.
Rifters—Spirits, probably, but according to Fen'Harel spirits might be People...? Unsure.
Wardens—Fen'Harel doesn't like them, so Talin doesn't like them.
The Chantry—More of a real problem... But still Not The Real Problem.
Templars—Fuck 'em.
Chevaliers—Fuck 'em.
Orlesian nobles: Fuck 'em.
The Veil: The Real Problem.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths
Animal Handling—They just like him! Mammals, birds, reptiles, fish–he vibes with all manner of non-human creature, but has a particularly calming presence with ungulates. Halla are THE BEST.
Dalish—Talin has the requisite Dalish skills, such as general wilderness living. He can skin a rabbit as fast as he can tame one, and he won't even feel bad about it.
Elvhen—From working for Fen'Harel, he has a somewhat higher degree of knowledge about Elf Stuff than even your average Dalish. Still can't read or write Elvhen, nor is he fluent in it, but he knows the interesting stuff from the mundane stuff.
Spy—The skills Talin had as a Halla Keeper's apprentice have been honed and sharpened by his past five years of work as Fen'Harel's agent. He's more skilled in a fight than he would have been five years ago, and he's got experience keeping his cool under pressure. Lying and obfuscation are the new tricks of his trade, and he's gotten pretty good at them.

Weaknesses
Literacy—He has just barely learned to read and write Trade, and he's not good at it. It's still fastest and most effective for him to dictate to someone or be read to.
Cities—Dalish upbringing makes cities a dangerous place to be, and he still hasn't entirely gotten used to them. Money is annoying, can't we trade goods or skills instead. How do you navigate? How do you interact with so many different kinds of people all the time??
Dwarves/Qunari—He has not paid them a single iota of attention. Culturally ignorant and utterly useless with any of their history or architecture.
The Veil—Talin truly, deeply, in his heart of hearts, thinks the Veil is at the root of all of Thedas' problems, and is a true believer in Fen'Harel's cause. Convincing him to change his mind would be extremely difficult, if not completely impossible.

Inventory

The clothes on his back
His clan's First's ring
Bela's lovespoon, charred

Motivation

Fen'Harel said jump, and Talin said "How high?" He's not here to sabotage anything, or to steal the eluvians back—it's useful to Fen'Harel for Riftwatch to have them, at least for the moment—he's just observing, making sure Riftwatch's focus remains on Corypheus, and sending information back. His instructions were to earnestly assist with Riftwatch's goals, and he intends to do just that. Sending information to Fen'Harel might even benefit Riftwatch in some ways—they both want Corypheus dealt with, after all.

SAMPLES

Inbox log with Astrid
Network thread with Sennara