Fade Rift app

[dalishious]

PLAYER

Name: Candy
Age: 27
Contact: zombietoad
Other Characters: n/a
Interests: I really love action and battle scenes, or calamities which force unlikely characters to work together. My favorite events are ones where characters can collaborate on solutions to problems, such as completing missions or fighting enemies--in small groups, especially, so every character has something to do. In terms of my character, I'm looking forward to exploring him outside of his role as Inquisitor, without the massive amount of development/growth he has in the game. He's like a 'default' version here, and his interactions with other characters will be super interesting as a result.

CHARACTER

Name: Merrick Ashara
Canon/OC: OC / modified Inquisitor
Journal: dalishious
Race: elf
Nationality: Dalish (roamed the Free Marches)
Occupation: hunter/protector
Age: 20

History

[ This history section comes with a trigger warning for suicide ]

- Merrick is a part of clan Ashara.
- The name 'Merrick' obviously isn't Elvhen; it was taken from a human woman Merrick's father had a brief affair with in his youth. Of course, no one in the clan knows that.
- Merrick was extremely young when the plague that swept his clan took his mother from him. His father was a strong hunter and fierce fighter, but suffered from long bouts of depression and sudden, violent mood swings. When Merrick was eight, he witnessed his father committing suicide by botched hanging.
- An older child named Pel was also there when it happened, and he soon joined her and the circle of Dalish children who lost parents to the plague. Though Merrick was a temperamental and unpredictable child, he formed a tight bond with the other children, enough to call them his family.
- As he grew, Merrick's violent temper and unpredictable nature caused problems. He was very easily provoked, and often lashed out with his fists at other children. The Keeper found that focused activities like woodcarving or cleaning fish helped calm him and eventually he began playing with the knives and showed a natural affinity for them. When he reached adolescence he fell back into old habits, which caused many of the other elves to call for his removal from the clan. His 'brother' Cyril managed to convince the Keeper that Merrick's wild energy just needed focus, and he was allowed to apprentice as a hunter alongside his brother.
- Merrick quickly became the most skilled hunter of the clan. He began to train under the warleader and became a protector for the clan, slaying anyone who would seek to harm them. Though he has big responsibilities, Merrick is never above a bit of mischief. He always enjoyed taking dares, fighting dangerous creatures and playing pranks with Cyril. The two would often work together to steal from humans who made camp near their territories.

Personality

Essentially, Merrick can be described as a Dalish bad boy. He's tough-talking, intimidating, and very short-tempered. Emotional and tumultuous, he was often described in his youth by other elves as violent and even unstable. He does not hold back on expressing his feelings, and is often overcome by them to the point of lashing out at others.

Merrick has very little tolerance for bullshit. He doesn't appreciate being lied to or talked in circles around. His own approach to conversation is to speak very directly, blunt to the point of being downright rude. He has no trouble telling anyone exactly what he thinks, and thus can often seem callous or rather cruel.

It is important to note, however, that he doesn't extend violence or cruelty to those he deems undeserving or innocent-- On the contrary, he is very protective of them. It bears noting, though, that if he decides someone is a coward he will treat them even worse than anyone else.

Like his father, Merrick has endured depression and mood swings his entire life, and has learned to manage it on his own to the best of his ability. He functions best when he has a singular goal in mind, and will often pursue that goal to an obsessive degree once he sets his heart on it. He is also prone to self-medicating with drugs and alcohol.

Merrick is very stubborn and prideful, sometimes even a bit arrogant, and will go out of his way to prove others wrong. He loves challenge and competition, and lives for a good fight. Part of his reasoning for joining the Inquisition is that he wants to see how many thrilling battles he can get into. He also has a decent sense of humor, which is often sarcastic or completely deadpan to the point where other people can't really tell if he's joking or not.

In regards to matters of faith, Merrick doesn't exactly cling to Dalish beliefs. To him, the simple and hardworking nature of Dalish life just makes sense, and he could take or leave the legends told by his people. Preserving Elven history isn’t nearly as important to him as feeding and protecting his loved ones.

While the emotion he shows most often is anger, Merrick feels all of them intensely. It is very obvious to tell what he is feeling at all times; he makes no effort to hide it. When things start to get serious for the Inquisition and he witnesses comrades dying for the first time, he will not take it well. After all, once he lets someone close enough to call them a friend, he gets very attached and is fiercely loyal to them.

Because of being isolated with the Dalish for so long, Merrick is quite naive about many things, and is overly confident in his own fighting prowess. Now that he has joined the Inquisition, that is likely to change very quickly.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Merrick is clan Ashara's foremost hunter and fighter. He chooses to use twin daggers instead of the typical bow used by the others, and over the years he has grown deadly with them. Because he is in such close range, he has to move quickly and silently, so he has proficiency with stealth as well. His skills, however, are held to a Dalish standard; he has never fought anything like a demon or monster, or even a group of people larger than a handful of human thieves. Thus he may be overconfident and bite off much more than he can chew, and will start out with a dangerous amount of naivety.

Though bound to his clan by duty and responsibility, Merrick has always had a thirst to explore the world and learn as much as he can about it. When meeting outsiders, he doesn't regard them with suspicion like many of his kinsmen do, and tends to treat all people the same way--most of the time. He tends to have little respect for anyone he deems pathetic or useless, and may be unfairly cruel to them as a result.

Indeed, in terms of social interaction or matters of diplomacy, he is often too blunt in his words or callous in his delivery to be particularly effective. He doesn't realize that being so harsh and direct can often result in serious consequences, and that he sometimes comes across as rude even if he doesn't mean to. He is also ruled by his emotions, which can cause him to behave unpredictably and even lash out violently if angered. This, combined with his love of drinking, could become a big problem for the Inquisition if unchecked.

Thankfully, Merrick functions best when he's focused. If he has a way to channel his energy and anger, he is less likely to fall back into old habits. The downside to this is that he gets obsessive sometimes, and will keep pushing to complete an assignment or defeat an enemy even if it's not in his best interests. He is also very stubborn, and might not know when to quit if things get dangerous.

Even with his lack of experience, when it comes to fighting, Merrick is a natural. He’s athletic, whip-smart and incredibly fast. With the Dalish, he became so good at hunting on his own he could bring down big game by himself. He also has much more experience with killing people than his fellows, many of whom have never taken a life at all, which makes him much better-suited for such tasks than many others. He also isn’t afraid to use dirty tricks to get things done--such as steal, hit a foe from the back or slice their Achilles tendons, spy on people, etc. To the Inquisition, he will be a valuable asset to any covert operation, if quite difficult to work with. He’s one of those people who are so good at what they do that you have to put up with them.

With a bit of training--particularly in the Assassin discipline--and a lot of focus, he has the potential to be a deadly force for the Inquisition. Without it, though, he may become a real liability.

Inventory

- a pair of daggers
- a small collection of throwing knives
- several self-made smoke bombs
- leather Dalish scout armor
- a cloak + a scarf
- some lockpicks
- a pipe with some dried tobacco and elfroot to blaze

Motivation

Honestly? To kill shit. That's one reason, anyway-- Not unlike his clanmates who have joined, Merrick has a powerful thirst for adventure. This is the perfect opportunity to finally leave the clan and see the world, without the guilt that would come from leaving for no good reason.

Now, he gets to travel and learn a whole lot and get into a ton of crazy battles. Why wouldn't he want to join?

SAMPLES

Brothers being... not very brotherly.

Bitch tried to steal my ram.