Da'Renan Mahariel

Da’Renan Mahariel is a Dalish Grey Warden who earned the title Hero of Ferelden.

Background

Da’Renan’s parents came from two different Dalish clans inhabiting the Brecilian Forest in Eastern Ferelden. Neither Keeper Zathrian nor Keeper Marethari approved of them joining the other’s tribe, and so they had to meet alone in the woods whenever they could. Unfortunately, this left them open to a bandit attack one day, where Da’Renan’s father perished.

Da’Renan was birthed shortly after this, on the summer solstice of 9:08; a sacred day for his people. He was bestowed the name “little/small voice” in the elven language due to his weak cries. However, weighed down with grief over the death of her partner, Da’Renan’s mother could not bare to raise him as her own. She left the child with Clan Sabrae and disappeared into the woods, never to be seen again.

The child was raised communally by the clan, though one woman in particular spearheaded Da’Renan’s nursing. After losing her own infant to frost-cough, Ashalle took to caring for Da’Renan as if her were her own.

Growing up, the Elders found difficulty in finding the best path for Da’Renan to follow. Where his best friends Tamlen and Merrill were already set to be a hunter and an apprentice to the Keeper respectively, Da’Renan remained a mystery. The only thing for certain was the boy was never going to be a hunter, just barely skillful enough with a bow to be classified as dangerous. When asked to gather and harvest vegetation, he was sooner to wander off in distraction. When asked to care for the halla, he grew bored, despite the gentle affinity the creatures held for him. It wasn’t until Da’Renan’s late teens that he finally found his calling in woodworking, apprenticing under the watchful eye of Master Ilen. Da’Renan proved to have naturally skilled hands, even with the infamous Dalish ironbark. It was almost enough to keep Da’Renan occupied and out of trouble… almost.

Da’Renan’s close friendship with Tamlen and Merrill blossomed into romantic involvement between the three. They were inseparable, for better and worse, as the three were frequently in trouble. Tamlen’s mischief, Merrill’s curiosity, and Da’Renan’s audacity all fed into each other. Because this reflected poorly on her apprentice, Keeper Marethari often attempted to isolate Merrill from the two boys the best she could by piling on research tasks for her First to undertake. This left Tamlen and Da’Renan going on many adventures on their own. One day, their trouble-seeking nature took them too far.

Involvement

Dragon Age: Origins

While hunting in the woods with Tamlen, Da’Renan came across three humans who claimed to have discovered ancient ruins in a nearby cave. Despite Tamlen’s protests, Da’Renan convinced him it was better to let the humans flee unharmed, while they went to investigate the cave. Inside the ruins was an ancient elven eluvian, tainted by the Blight. Tamlen touched the mirror, and the magic unleashed knocked Da’Renan unconscious. Da’Renan was retrieved and saved by the Grey Warden Duncan, who brought him back to his clan. Unfortunately, Tamlen was never found, and Da’Renan was now sick with the taint. Duncan recruited him to join the Order as a means of saving his life. Da’Renan was heartbroken over the assumed death of Tamlen and loss of all his loved ones in one foul swoop, but agreed to join the Order out of a newfound sense of duty.

Da’Renan had little time to adjust to life as a Grey Warden, for immediately after surviving the Joining, he was thrown into the Battle of Ostagar. The plan was for him and Alistair Theirin, the other novice Grey Warden, to light the fire at the top of the Tower of Ishal to signal Loghain Mac Tir’s troops to flank the darkspawn and join the rest of the fray with the King’s Army. Upon seeing the signal however, Loghain quit the field, and the tower was overrun by darkspawn. Da’Renan and Alistair were saved by Flemeth, while the rest of the army was decimated by the darkspawn forces, including both King Cailan and Duncan.

Alistair was wrecked with grief over the loss of Duncan and the other Grey Wardens, and left leadership on what to do next up to Da’Renan. Da’Renan was unsure of himself, but feeling like he had no other choice but to step up to the plate, did just that. The two set out with the goal of using the Grey Warden treaties to amass a new army to take on the darkspawn, all while sidestepping the growing tension of civil war with Loghain now in true control of the land through his daughter, the queen.

They personally recruited a colourful collection of companions to aid them in this task; Morrigan the apostate witch, Leliana the former Orlesian bard, Sten the Qunari soldier, Zevran the former Antivan Crow assassin, Wynne the Circle mage, Shale the golem, and finally, Oghren the disgraced warrior of Orzammar. Of the crew, Da’Renan grew to become especially close to Zevran and Alistair. In the case of Zevran, the two formed a strong bond that Da’Renan never expected he would ever find again after losing Tamlen and Merrill, but the love between he and Zevran proved otherwise.

Despite the overarching threat of the darkspawn, Da’Renan always went out of his way to help those in need, wherever the party went. He insisted they save the settlement of Redcliffe from the undead hoards summoned by the arl’s possessed son, Connor, and did so without killing the boy. He insisted they save Ferelden’s Circle of Magi from a demon takeover where the templars abandoned all hope, and did so with minimal loss of life. He insisted they free a Dalish clan from a pack of werewolves, and did so with both parties coming out the better. He insisted on putting aside the petty squabbles of Orzammar politics to find the Paragon Branka, and did so with ending the crown dispute. And for every major turn of events was an equal, small scale difference made, like finding a lost sibling, or donating coin to someone in need. In turn, most people were more than happy to dedicate themselves to the fight against the Blight, in whatever capacity they could. And by this time, Da’Renan’s confidence in his ability to lead grew significantly.

There was one obstacle still in the way, though; Loghain’s tyranny. After gathering all the allies gained in the Landsmeet, Da’Renan and Loghain ended up settling things the old fashioned way, in a one-on-one battle. Da’Renan came out the victor, and at Alistair’s encouragement, demanded Loghain’s execution for his crimes against the people of Ferelden. With Loghain gone, Anora was free to rule as queen in her own right. While Arl Eamon wanted to put Alistair on the throne, Da’Renan sided with his friend’s preference to stay a Grey Warden, and supported Queen Anora.

It was only on the eve of battle, that the big secret to defeating the Archdemon was revealed to Da’Renan and Alistair by the Orlesian Grey Warden, Riordan: a Grey Warden must be the one to make the final blow, and in doing so, the Archdemon’s essence is transferred into that Warden’s body, destroying it and the Warden for good. While Riordan volunteered to be the one to make this sacrifice, Da’Renan was terrified over the million ways things could go wrong. Luckily, Morrigan had a plan, though one that came at an awkward cost… she proposed that if Da’Renan had sex with her and fathered a child, with magical means, the Archdemon’s essence would be called to the future child’s cells instead of the Grey Warden, meaning no one would have to die, including the future child. While extremely hesitant over all the unknowns, Morrigan was able to convince Da’Renan to do this.

Sure enough, when the Battle of Denerim came and Da’Renan personally slew the Archdemon at the top of Fort Drakon, he did not perish in the process. With the Archdemon’s death, the rest of the darkspawn retreated back underground, and the Fifth Blight came to an end.

Awakening

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Witch Hunt

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Personality

• Patient
• Adventurous
• Adaptable
• Reticent
• Charming
• Clever
• Empathetic
• Modest
• Protective
• Calm
• Softhearted
• Gloomy
• Sentimental
• Insecure
• Agreeable
• Intuitive
• Ignorant
• Dedicated
• Stiff
• Quiet
• Complaintive
• Loyal
• Helpful
• Vindictive

Relationships

• Alistair: While Da'Renan first mistrusts Alistair for his templar background, with time they become best friends; more like brothers.
• Morrigan: Da'Renan is the only one of the party to trust Morrigan wholeheartedly, and she appreciates him for it.
• Leliana: After learning there's more to Leliana than her faith in the Chantry, Da'Renan comes to see her as a good friend.
• Sten: Da'Renan is intimidated by Sten's overall demenor, but deeply respects him as a warrior and ally.
• Zevran: Da'Renan never expected to love anyone again after losing Tamlen and Merrill, but Zevran changed everything.
• Wynne: The guidance Wynne offers to Da'Renan is in his point of view, more like annoying, preachy human nonsense.
• Shale: Da'Renan is endlessly fascinated by Shale's entire existence, though is too polite to be invasive about it.
• Oghren: If Oghren was sober, Da'Renan thinks he might be a worthy companion. But he can't stand how he is always intoxicated.

Gallery