Name: Hannah
Age: 27
Contact: viridianwings
Other Characters: N/A
Interests: Things I want to explore with Eirlys in game include: learning to fight and being torn between wanting to heal and having to kill; having her learn a little about elven history/culture; learning to read; learning to assert herself; trying to find and take care of the daughter of her former master; trying to figure out how to be a worthy representative of alienage elves to the Inquisition


Name: Eirlys Ancarrow
Canon/OC: Dragon Age OC
Journal: ancarrow
Race: Elf
Nationality: Ferelden
Occupation: Former servant/trainee herbalist
Age: 27

History

Eirlys is from Gwaren, and lives in the alienage there. Her parents died when she was young, and for years she was the sole guardian of her younger sister Keren. From a young age, Eirlys has worked for Samuel Wellow, a lower-middle class herbalist who keeps a shop in Gwaren's commercial district, her parents being paid by Wellow for her to live and work for him, something Eirlys has always bitterly resented. Her tasks have primarily consisted of cooking, cleaning, and organising for Wellow. As an adult she keeps a small house in the alienage, but she's mostly slept in the kitchen at Wellow's house, to attend to him in the night/early mornings. Eirlys is subject to a level of abuse common to elven servants in her work, having been beaten and locked in the cellar in the past, and enduring racist comments on a daily basis, particularly from certain of Wellow's customers. However she is aware that she is in a far better position than many of her people, having seen the way humans treat elves for herself; she's always wished that she were in a place where she could speak up against this.

Wellow is now very old, and this has meant a couple of things for Eirlys. First, he's developed a tremor in his hands and so has reluctantly begun to teach Eirlys to mix herbs herself, as he can't physically do the tasks requiring finesse any more (although of course he still passes it off as his work). For another thing, he has episodes of confusion where he calls Eirlys by another name: Tessa. Eirlys does some digging around and it turns out that Tessa is his daughter, who is a similar age to herself, and was found to be a mage as a child and taken to the Circle.

When news of the Conclave reaches Gwaren, Wellow is certain Tessa will be there. He's too frail to make the journey across Ferelden, but he packs up both himself and Eirlys to travel to Haven, ostensibly to sell his wares but really to get news of his daughter. They don't quite make it to the Conclave, but are almost at Haven when the breach bursts open. A rift opens near them and demons pour out of it. Eirlys' instinct is to run and leave Wellow to the demons, but she trips right into the path of a rage demon. To her utter surprise, Wellow throws her out of the way and is killed by the demons himself. Eirlys is unsure whether he mistook her for his daughter in his confusion or if he was genuinely trying to save her.

Eirlys joined the Inquisition at Haven, not having anywhere else to go and no way back to Gwaren, and has mostly kept to herself, fearing discrimination. She requisitioned herbs for her potions and poultices, sometimes going out to gather them herself, and spent a lot of time researching more complicated recipes, as well as helping to heal others where she was able to.

After a month or so at Skyhold, Eirlys was sent to Redcliffe to help with triage and healing there. However after a couple of weeks, when things had settled down somewhat and the influx of wounded had slowed, she was taken to one side and told that the locals would very much prefer to be treated by human healers. Hurt at still being discriminated against despite feeling she's contributed so much, she decides to go back to the alienage in Gwaren. However when she arrives, she's told that there was a disease outbreak while she was away and her sister is among the dead. At first Eirlys blames herself for not being there to help and heal, but then she acknowledges that the Inquisition didn't do anything either. She realises that by helping the Inquisition, she's not been bringing about the change she wants to see, but merely sticking a band aid on Ferelden, and in the worst case scenario actually help to restore the status quo. She decides that she needs to be the change she wants to see, and sets out to return to Skyhold, to aid the Inquisition and to bring the plight of the alienage elves to their attention and get the help they need.


Personality

Eirlys is very aware of her status as a lower class citizen. While the injustice heaped upon her and her people makes her bitterly angry, she's always known that she's been in no position to do anything about it, and she's always borne her position with all the dignity and grace she can muster. She hopes to be an example for others in her position, knowing that resorting to the tactics used by groups such as the Friends of Red Jenny are only going to make those in charge think even less of them and make them even more determined to keep them at the bottom of the ladder. This means however that she tends to get stuck on the mindset of the 'bigger picture' and the hopeful eventuality of gaining equal status in the long term by biding their time and making a good impression, rather than reacting against the injustices suffered every day, so although Eirlys sees herself as acting in her people's interests, other city elves have seen her as more distant and not in solidarity with what they need right there and then.

Her knowledge of crafting gives Eirlys a pride in herself, both in being able to offer a useful service and feeling on a bigger scale that she can help and heal - she tries not to think about the fact that she's going to have to create instruments of war, too. She sees herself as a healer foremost, and this extends to enemies too, wanting to give them the same dignity that she herself would wish to be treated with. Sometimes this is out of compassion, and other times, for instance if her enemy was belittling her while she was trying to patch them up then she would make herself rise above it in order to prove that she's the better person. This can make her come across as stuck up on the one hand, or that she's trying to martyr herself on the other - and her joining the Inquisition is likely to further these images. In truth Eirlys isn't consciously trying to do either of these, but is relying on the way she has survived so far and what she genuinely thinks is best for herself and her people.

Opinions & Affiliations

Eirlys hasn't been a member of any organisation apart from the Inquisition. She doesn't know much about the Qun, and on learning more would be torn between disliking the lack of free will and liking the fact that everyone is provided for. She sees the Chantry as a source of stability and Andraste as an inspiration, but she doesn't know too much about how elves were erased from the Chant etc. and would probably turn against the Chantry if she found out. She thinks the Circles are wrong, but she is deathly afraid of demons and thinks that there needs to be some sort of protection against mages bringing them through the Fade. She is very pro-elf rights, resenting the way her people are treated and very slowly becoming more militant about this. She likes the fact that city elves can get a way out of the alienage and get prestige through becoming a Grey Warden, but dislikes the idea of conscription. She doesn't know too much about the Dalish elves and has always thought of them as a lost ideal for her people to reconnect with, but her own limited experience with them has left her disappointed that they look down on city elves so much.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Elf abilities - as with all elves, Eirlys has slightly higher magic defence than humans, better night vision, and eyes that glint in the dark

Crafting knowledge - Extensive knowledge of the different plants and roots that grow in Thedas, as well as knowledge on crafting potions/poultices/tonics

✔ Strong willed, patient
✔ Very dexterous, good with tasks requiring attention to fine detail
✔ Good in a crisis, keeps her head and is the first to dive in to fix things
✔ Strong moral centre, compassionate

× No combat/weapon training, and not physically strong
× No real knowledge of other cultures outside of the Fereldan humans and city elves
× Tendency to overburden herself with others' problems while refusing to share her own
× Likely to show too much mercy/leniency where a firmer hand is needed
× Used to being guarded with her emotions and may take time to open up

Inventory

Her clothes, mortar and pestle, a small stock of herbs, a worn dagger for protection

Motivation

Now that her employer is dead, Eirlys is stranded alone half a continent away from Gwaren. She can either go it alone or join the Inquisition, and the latter is by far the better prospect for her as she can help out and fully use her skills, and have the space to be herself as a person rather than simply a servant of a marginalised race, as she's had to live up to now, and as an advocate of city elves. She also feels some personal responsibility to find Tessa, if indeed she still lives.

SAMPLES

1. Thread on the test drive meme!