Fade Rift Application

[samahl]

PLAYER

Name: Mel
Age: 30
Contact: theangstmonkey
Other Characters: Also apping Felix Alexius
Interests: I'm looking forward to a lot of the CR possible with this version of the character and exploring how he deals with things in a position of much less power. I admit I am really looking forward for a great way to have him interact with characters that he might not usually get to meet. The fact that the game has characters from other realities is a huge draw, as is the idea of him meeting and befriending other Inquisitor OCs or OCs in general. There's also the curiosity to see how canon DA characters respond to Cy when he isn't marked by the Anchor. I really, really enjoyed the political aspects of the plot of Inquisition and am looking forward to figuring out how that works for this version of the character. I'm also curious in general to see how the game goes through the plot of DAI.

CHARACTER

Name: Cyril Ashara
Canon/OC: OC [Modified Inquistor]
Journal: samahl
Race: Elf
Nationality: Dalish. Clan was based in the Free Marches.
Occupation: Hunter/Scout
Age: 24

History

* Cyril comes from Clan Ashara.
* Cyril's mother was known for being a little usual and strange. She always had a fascination with humans - even going so far as naming her child after something she read in a human book. She was known for being a little flighty and physically weak but she was also very creative at coming up with cooking recipes that used limited resources and had a way with building and maintaining traps and contraptions. This made her an asset to the clan in her own way.
* His father was a well-liked hunter who protected the clan and his family, which was good considering how odd his wife was. A tragic hunting accident took his life when Cyril was two. Cyril remembers very little of him except that he seemed like an unmovable force in his life that was suddenly taken away.
* When Cyril was six a plague came through the clan. Cyril's mother, who always had poor health and who never fully recovered from the grief of losing her husband, was one of the first to fall ill. Cyril only really remembers that he was with her when she passed. Many children lost their parents to that illness.
* Afterwards, Cyril was collectively raised by the clan with the other plague orphans. This caused him to be very close to some of them, to the point where he considers them his siblings - especially Merrick.
* Cyril took after his mother in his affinity for inventing and making traps and contraptions. Despite the fact that the Crafter was interested in taking him as an apprentice, Cyril chose to become a Hunter. Some believe this was to keep an eye on Merrick, but has more to do with Cyril’s own wanderlust.
* He has a bad habit of pulling pranks on humans who come too near the clan, usually starting with him trying to confuse or seduce human men. One of his favorite tactics includes convincing humans that he’ll give them a night to remember, but then once they're stripped of their belongings and fully distracted, his brother will come in and take their things without them noticing. This reckless behavior worries his Keeper, who sees him as a bit of an impish troublemaker.
* While Cyril is very loyal to his clan, he has always had a sense of restlessness. In part due to not being entirely sure he believes in the Creators. He values the Dalish culture and feels a bit of envy over those who are pious, but can’t bring himself to fully commit to the belief. It might also have something to do with his lack of desire to get married and start a family. While his clanmates accept him, he still feels pressure to continue the bloodline and isn’t sure he wants that. Finally, a part of him just plain wants to see the world - and meet all of the handsome men in it.


Personality

Cyril is the type of person to make a joke to defuse tense situations. This has served him well as people tend to find him charming. His humor leans towards witty quips and is never used against others, except the times he's mocked bandits or villains in an attempt to throw them off-center. He is also known to use some self-depreciating humor.

While his humor makes it seem as if Cyril doesn’t take things seriously, he is actually pretty good at handling arguments. He strives to set up solutions that work for all parties, believes strongly in compromise, and is known in his clan as being able to defuse quarrels by coming up with a third option. This is something that he used quite often while dealing with his extremely temperamental adopted brother Merrick, who is known for his short temper.

Growing up, Cyril tended to protect and care for the younger elves in his clan, including his before mentioned brother. He has remained fiercely loyal and extremely protective of younger elves, especially children. This desire will also transfer over to non-elves the more time he spends around them.

When it comes to others around his own age - or older - Cyril is very open with his sexuality. He is very open to expressing attraction to those around him, especially men. He's also known for flirting with women as long as the friendship is close enough that boundaries are established. He doesn’t lead people on. He will always follow up, even on his most lewd suggestions.

It is important to know that at first Cyril has a tendency to not think of humans as fully complex people. He has no problem pulling pranks and tricks on them because he has that dissonance and tends to quietly think of them as a sort of toy to assume himself with. Part of this opinion is due to his lack of meaningful interaction with humans. Add to that his Dalish prejudices and the fact that this is his response to the deep sorrow many Dalish feel over what humans have taken from them. This will quickly dissolve as he gets to know humans. Amusingly enough, he doesn’t have the same issue with dwarves or Qunari/Tal-Vashoth – mostly because he has zero interaction with them and therefore no real opinion to speak of. His messed up opinion on humans likely won’t come up very much, as Cyril tends to keep his own opinions to himself and instead tries to put people at ease.

In fact, while Cyril is indeed caring, flirty, and funny with most people he gets to know, he uses all of that as a wall to protect his own emotions and vulnerabilities. It's very rare that people see him express weakness or sadness, though he experiences both very deeply. He's far more focused on tending to others rather than himself and can sometimes seem emotionally distant because of the walls he has created to protect himself.


Strengths & Weaknesses

Cyril is very skilled with a bow. This comes in handy as a hunter and is a skill he's very proud of. He might not be as good at trick shots as Gavin, another member of his clan, but his aim is very true. Cyril also has some skill in stealth and tracking, which he used to hunt deer and other animals for his clan. He basically has the skill set needed to be a well-liked and effective hunter.

Cyril has some notable skill with trap making. His traps are known throughout the clan for never failing. More than just that though, he has thought of creative contraptions to do things that improve life for the clan. For example, he created a device to more effectively collect rain water and worked on a brace that helped an older member of the clan who was having issues with their knees in cold weather. He has the beginnings of an Artificer but lacks proper training. Despite that lack, his mind still tends towards that line of thinking. He likes taking things apart and putting them back together. He can even manage that last one most of the time. He is fascinated by Dwarven technology despite his lack of experience with it.

While his body is lithe and the muscles in his arms are well trained to flinging around arrows, he is not very strong physically. He lacks the strength needed to swing around a giant sword. While he has some basic understanding of how to use a dagger he isn't the best at dual welding. He also has no magic ability to speak of. Being Dalish, he has an inadequate understanding of human society and culture. What he does know comes mostly from books and his limited interactions with humans - as stated above his interaction with humans usually feature him playing tricks on them so that's not the best for getting into Orlesian politics.

He can learn rather quickly though. Given a chance, he's able to become a skilled enough diplomat and pretty decent at The Game. This is mostly because he's already very good at pretending nothing bothers him and because he has some experience mediating disputes within his clan - thanks in part to his brother’s talent for getting into fights.

When it comes to interpersonal strengths, Cyril is pretty at ease while speaking to others and tends to make friends easily. That said, he is terrible at being open and honest with his feelings. He prefers to hide behind laughter. This sometimes causes friction between him and people he cares for, because they might feel like he doesn't fully trust them. It just takes a while to get to that point, since it's not like people who are just acquaintances would know enough about him to realize that's what he is doing. (Unless they are mind readers of some kind? Always up for mind readers!)

This means that when Cyril feels as if he’s getting too close to someone, he will instantly pull back a bit from them. He stays friendly and kind and is still there if they need someone to talk to, but he’ll no longer pursue anything more than friendship. If someone is interested in more than just a fling, they have to approach him very carefully. That said, when it comes to friendships or familial relationships, Cyril is very loyal and devoted to those people. This loyalty can be the the point of creating a huge blind spot for him, as once he's dedicated to someone as a friend or family he will want to do what he can to make sure they are safe and protected.

Cyril also has a certain level of vanity and spends a nice chunk of time tending to his appearance. He also has a lot of desire for luxury and the finer things in life, though he has limited experience with that due to being Dalish. While this isn’t a weakness that really can be exploited in the heat of battle, it does give fuel to those who might want to best him on a more personal level.


Inventory

Cyril has the following when he arrives:
1 basic set of Dalish scout armor (dyed in dark greens and blacks)
1 Dalish bow
1 quiver fully stocked with basic arrows
1 dagger
1 leather bound journal plus writing quill
Some lockpicks
Basic trap making tools
Some healing salve
And let's be honest, he probably has some kind of eye makeup tucked in a pocket somewhere.

Motivation

Cyril is joining the Inquisition because he believes that they are the best bet for saving the world. He’s worried not doing anything will cause the death of his people and he can’t just sit idly by and let that happen. He wants to do his part to protect his clan and the Dalish as a whole.

At least, that's the motivation he'll tell everyone. Deep down, Cyril has always had a sense of restlessness when he thinks about his life and he's looking for a way to relieve that. He thinks joining the organization that wants to save the world might be a good way to do that.

SAMPLES

Note: One of the samples linked uses his Inquisitor journal which is notyourherald. For purposes of this game I'll be using samahl.

Here is a thread with Gavin, another Clan Ashara OC.

Here is one of him and Merrick, who is mentioned a couple times in this app. This one details the conversation they had when they chose to join the Inquisition.