Kallian Tabris, the pipsqueak Warden

PLAYER INFO
Player Name: Parker
Preferred Contact Methods: AIM: way to the dawn / Plurk: wildarms
Other Characters: None!

CHARACTER INFO
Character Name: Kallian Tabris
Series: Dragon Age: Origins
Canon Point: post Witch Hunt
History Link: Well, here's a link to the City Elf Origin...

Kallian is the only child of Cyrion Tabris and his wife Adaia. She learned much of her swordsmanship, lockpicking, and trap disarming from her mother, who was a clever rogue in her own right. However, Adaia was killed by humans a few years before the start of Origins; although Kalli was bitter, her mother had taught her not to hate all humans, for there were some in the world who were good. That belief was broken on the day of Kalli's wedding.

Per alienage custom, Cyrion arranged the marriage between Kalli and Nelaros, an elf from the Denerim alienage. Although she did not want to get married, she decided to go through with it so that her father wouldn't worry about her future. The day of the double wedding (Kalli's cousin Soris was getting married as well), the Arl's son Vaughan arrived with armed guards, abducting all the young women, Kalli included, for his "entertainment."

Thanks to Soris sneaking into the castle with a sword, Kalli fought her way through the guards and reached Vaughan, only to find that she was too late -- her cousin and best friend, Shianni, had been raped. In a rage, Kalli slaughtered Vaughan and all of his friends, then helped the other elves flee back to the alienage. More guards showed up soon to find the guilty party and Kalli spoke up, claiming full responsibility. Before they could arrest her, they were interrupted by Duncan, leader of the Grey Wardens in Ferelden. He conscripted her into service, which protected her from the law, and took her away to Ostagar, where she was the only candidate to survive the Joining and become a Grey Warden.

Origins:

• Saved Redcliffe with minimal casualties.
• Isolde killed Connor after Kalli couldn't bring herself to do it.
• Sided with the mages at the Circle.
• Recruited Zevran.
• Did not desecrate the Urn, but killed Genitivi to keep others from finding it.
• Convinced Zathrian to lift the curse on the werewolves.
• Destroyed the Anvil of the Void.
• Gave the crown to Harrowmont.
• Broke up the slave trade in the alienage.
• Surrendered to Cauthrien and escaped the fortress.
• Killed Loghain, put a hardened Alistair on the throne.
• Convinced Alistair to do the ritual with Morrigan.

Awakening & Witch Hunt:

• Recruited Anders, Oghren, Nathaniel, Justice, and Sigrun. Velanna was recruited as well but never had the chance to do the Joining.
• Fully upgraded the Keep.
• Protected the farmlands.
• Stopped the conspirators by enlisting the aid of the Dark Wolf.
• Talked the peasants into leaving peacefully.
• Helped the militia with the smuggling problem.
• Helped the orphans.
• Saved Amaranthine.
• Left behind Oghren, Justice, and Sigrun at the Keep.
• Killed The Messenger.
• Killed The Architect.
• Allowed Morrigan to leave through the Eluvian.

Personality: A smartass, clever rogue? Who else saw that coming? Kallian is in many ways a stereotype of the rogue profession, equipped with a sharp tongue, a cunning mind, and dexterous fingers. She's not the type of girl to wear her heart on her sleeve, instead using sarcasm and an affected nonchalance to hide her true emotions. Teasing and flirting are her weaponry to keep anyone from looking past the surface.

Because to look beneath the surface is to find a cynic who's grown weary with the world. She's faced a lot of discrimination, attempted assault, and has been hunted by a lot of people who want her dead. Her cynicism made it difficult to get along with some of her comrades, especially Alistair, Leliana, and Wynne. The hardest lesson she's ever learned is that sometimes there are no good choices to make, just bad ones that you have to live with regardless. And below even that lies rage that threatens at any moment to lash out. It's that rage that led her to drench the Arl's estate in blood, and that same rage that fuels her to kill darkspawn with vigor. She's pissed off and she resents the world -- for the racism against her people, the death of her mother, the rape of her cousin, the enslavement of her friends and neighbors to fuel Loghain's seizure of power. It's made her an excellent fighter, but at the same time it's left something in her broken, perhaps beyond repair.

Despite the hatred she feels, Kalli has learned to feel empathy for those who have faced similar obstacles such as herself. Originally she didn't give a damn about what other people went through; she had herself and her family to worry about. The extent of her goodwill reached out to the other elves in the alienage -- she used her wedding money to save a young woman from having to work in a camp with a bunch of human men -- and anyone else was out of luck. But when Isolde killed her own son because Kalli refused to seek outside help, the young Warden was left shaken to the core. This was a turning point for her, and she began to sympathize with not only mages, but with other groups struggling under oppression. Her cynicism creates conflict with her actions, leaving her to wonder if what she's doing is truly making any difference, but after slaying an Archdemon and saving Amaranthine from darkspawn invasion, she's allowed the tiniest bit of hope to shine through.

In some ways her biggest fear is commitment. After nearly being married off to a stranger, Kalli values her independence and freedom more than anything. She never had an intimate relationship with her companions, although she did allow Zevran to join her and Isabela that one night in Denerim, because she was finally free and on her own for the first time in her life. She might settle down one day, but for now she's enjoying herself too much to give it much thought.

Powers: Kallian is a capable rogue, meaning that she excels at picking locks and disarming traps. She typically fights with two longswords and utilizes dueling and assassination techniques taught to her by Isabela and Zevran. Cunning and dexterity are what she excels in. She's quick, nimble, and exploits her enemies' weaknesses whenever possible.

The only benefit Kallian has gained from becoming a Grey Warden is a high resistance to the darkspawn taint. She may appear to be immune, but in the end she will either succumb to the taint or be forced to end her own life, be it by her blade or by falling in combat. Magic users or other people sensitive to such things might be able to detect the taint in her.

Also, the taint has made it nearly impossible to become pregnant, and she can hear the thoughts of an Archdemon. Not very good recruiting points.

Other Details: Those unfamiliar with Dragon Age elves should know that Kallian actually has pointed ears, is shorter than most humans, and has very thin limbs and large eyes. The icons I use are more or less so people can get an approximation of her skin tone, hair color, and facial structure.

SAMPLES
For what seemed to be the third time that week, the group noticed that the road was blocked by an array of men in shoddy.

The group's leader huffed. "More bandits. Just great. Don't these idiots know that we're trying to save the world here?"

The rest of her companions didn't answer; by now, they were used to the fact that Kalli often complained just to hear herself talk. The petite Warden moved past the rest to lead them towards the highwaymen, who leered at them from behind the roadblock. Perhaps they expected easy prey.

It'd be the last mistake they made.

One of the larger bandits met Kalli halfway, flanked by two lackeys. "Ya got to pay the toll," he said.

Kalli arched an eyebrow at him. "A toll? I didn't know you were part of the army!"

"Must we always try to outwit these buffoons?" groused Morrigan. "Let's kill them all and be on our way."

The Warden shrugged and unsheathed her blades. "Fair enough," she replied, and pounced on the leader, driving her dagger into his throat.

The rest of the fight went quickly, the bandits no match for a pair of Grey Wardens, an apostate, and a Mabari hound. After looting their corpses, the four of them continued on their way back to camp, two sovereigns richer.

Not really worth the effort, as far as Kalli was concerned.


Any Concerns: I was wondering if Kalli would be able to bring her Mabari along. His name is Faoladh.