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[shiftsandshades]

PLAYER

Name: Dove
Age: 21+
Contact: hellzapoppin or PM this journal
Other Characters: N/A
Interests: I'm interested in building out Kieran's character and sending him on adventures. In general, my RP interests currently tend toward horror, character-driven drama, complicated CR, and whatever extreme situations I can finagle.

CHARACTER

Name: Kieran
Canon/OC: Canon
Journal: shiftsandshades
Race: Human
Nationality: Fereldan by heritage, stateless by vibe
Occupation: Wanderer
Division: Scouting
Mage or Not: Mage
Age: 19

History

Wiki for the first 10 years of his life, OGB flavor. His father was Alistair.

Since that point:
• Kieran lived briefly at Gwenaëlle Baudin's Kirkwall mansion while his mother served as a member of Riftwatch.
• After Morrigan moved on from Riftwatch, Kieran went with her. Where possible, they traveled together, sometimes using eluvians. When her pursuits were too dangerous or delicate for a boy to assist with, she left him with trusted allies.
• As a result, he's seen bits and pieces of Ferelden, Orlais, the Free Marches, Nevarra, Antiva, Rivain, and the Fade.
• He's spent the most time in the Marches and Orlais, respectively; at least a year of his mid-teens was spent at the edge of the Grand Game, learning more explicitly the dozens of unspoken rules of the nobility.
• In the last year or so, he's begun to explore the world on his own. He comes to Riftwatch by way of Nevarra.
• His father - about whom he was told several years ago - died earlier this year, and he's privately mourned that loss since he found out about it.

Personality

On the surface, Kieran is a quiet, well-mannered young man. Perhaps a bit over-educated and fussily clothed - but clever, easy to chat with, and willing to help allies in sticky situations. He puts the gentle in gentleman and tends toward the steadfast...though he's as capable as any nineteen-year-old of overindulging in the world's vices occasionally. While he's clearly well-off, his connections aren't especially notable.

And he'd prefer it if most people stayed on the surface with him.

Though his upbringing featured everything Morrigan's didn't, it managed to lead to the same place in many ways. He didn't grow up isolated from the entire world - but he did spend much of his youth in appearance-obsessed Orlais, where his mother took pains to ensure he wasn't connected to her publicly. While he wanted for nothing, the Old God sharing his body ensured he also experienced terrifying nightmares and perceived the world in ways he couldn't fully understand or share with others. His life has always involved some careful rearrangement of the truth in order to protect himself and present himself advantageously.

It wasn't all bad, of course; he didn't always notice the weight of the more complicated aspects of being himself. The people around him cared about him, often a great deal, and there was generally someone he could turn to when Morrigan wasn't available. And whenever he escaped society's eye, he was free to talk about anything he liked, in the company of the mother he adored. Travel, and especially camping in the wilderness, became a safe haven for him.

As a result, he might have better social skills, but he's very much his mother's son. Fiercely independent, he's reticent to get too close to others or allow them into the depths of his emotional life. Sharing the details of his family, his past, or the strange marks both have left on his thoughts is an idea that discomfits him. He's stubborn, too, and canny - though he tends to be choosier than his mother about sharing sarcastic observations, preferring to catch his flies with honey.

When he's interested in something, he can be intense, putting all his energy toward it. When he's not interested, he'll drag his feet and has to be pestered to do it. His ambition is outstripped by a desire to be comfortable and happy, and he tends to prefer active work to studying. The exception to this is - unfortunately - blood magic, something he's quietly fascinated by, thanks to his own early awareness of just how much one's blood can tell.

Ultimately, he's interested in being left to his own devices to do what he likes. Since he lives in A Society, however, he spends much of his time trying to bridge the gap between who he is and who he wants other people to think he is.

Opinions & Affiliations

• Chantry: A blinkered and often cruel view of the world. Individuals might be fine, but someone who professes a great love for the Chantry should be regarded with some suspicion.
• Qun: Also blinkered, also often cruel. Same general rule as the Chantry.
• Other races: Generally positive; close alignment with the major religions of Thedas gives him more pause than someone's background. Really does think elves are pretty.
• Circles: He understands the theory behind them - but they're so antithetical to his baseline worldview that his kneejerk reaction is a mix of bafflement and sadness.
• Grey Wardens: Great fondness, shot through with grief at the moment.
• Magic: As vital to existence as breathing. He feels some pity for people without it.
• Blood magic: Feels natural to him in a way he knows it shouldn't. Most interested in the question of how blood magic could be wrought without spilling blood, and whether it could be used for matters of perception rather than offensive magic.

Adaptation Notes

While Kieran's not an adaptation, he's an elaboration, so in the spirit of explanation: I've tried to build out his personality and experiences by thinking about the environments he's existed in and the expectations they might have impressed upon him. Formative experiences in settings where appearances are everything, for instance, where his identity can only be shared in pieces. Awareness of others' fears of magic, abominations, and by extension, his mother and himself. Unconditional love and affection - but also high expectations for him, often upheld from afar. A war-torn land filled with people who lack the security he's always been able to rely upon.

I've also tried to think about him in terms of the question How has he disappointed his mother? Every child grows in directions their parent doesn't expect, after all - and Morrigan's desire to give her son everything she never had, only for him to long for (a better version of) the experiences of her youth appeals to me as a premise. Fight for Riftwatch now so he can be the Witch of the Wilds soon.

Strengths & Weaknesses

STRENGTHS:
Personality
• Socially adept
• Adaptable in the face of change
• Bright, well-educated
• Reads people fairly well
• Good-humored

Skills
• Outdoor survival
• Non-magical basic first aid
• Fencing
• Common and Orlesian languages

Magic
• Magic related to:
◦ Transformation
◦ Theoretically, blood (I wouldn't want him to have any such abilities upon apping him in, but I'm interested in exploring blood magic over time)

WEAKNESSES:
Personality
• Distrusting of others
• Fitful about his work and studies
• Lacks ambition
• More inclined to brood than share difficulties

Skills
• Doesn't blend well - he's easy to pick out in a crowd both visually and in terms of The Vibe He Gives Off
• Gets seasick
• Despite the occasional lesson from his father as a boy, he has neither the bulk nor the skill for melee fighting or hand-to-hand combat beyond unskilled scuffling

Magic
• Magic related to:
◦ Healing
◦ Creation

Generally speaking, I hope to write his magical abilities as naturally tending towards destruction, chaos, and change. It's far more difficult for him to build something than to take it away or destroy it.

Inventory

• Several sets of clothing, clearly well-made but not necessarily flashy
• A staff
• Several books - some for reading, some for writing in
• A dagger
• A fencing foil

Motivation

Kieran spent some time in Riftwatch's orbit as a young boy, when his mother was involved with the organization. He thinks well of their efforts to end ongoing conflicts and recalls the kindness he was shown in the past. It seems only right to come back and help, now that he's old enough to be an asset to them.

More selfishly, he benefits from lasting peace; it would make both travel and setting up a home base of sorts far less onerous.

SAMPLES

one, two