Vio de Riva

Silvio "Vio" de Riva is an elven mage who became leader of the Veilguard.

Background

Vio was born in 9:22 Dragon. He was raised solely by his mother, with his father a mystery. Because his mother worked as a live-in servant for a merchant prince in Salle, Vio was also put to work from age six as a scullion in the villa’s kitchen.

As a curious boy, he would often spend the night wandering the halls of the villa, as it was the only time he wasn’t confined to the kitchen or servants quarters. But one unfortunate night, Vio stumbled into watching a couple of Antivan Crows break into the merchant prince’s bedroom and assassinate him. The Crows were fascinated by Vio’s lack of outwards fear watching a murder, and decided to kidnap him as a recruit.

Vio was taken into House de Riva, where he was indoctrinated fairly quickly into the fold. He never felt an inclination to get close with any of the other recruits in his training, and this isolation was only cemented further when his magic manifested at age ten. From that point, Vio was put on a different training path from the others, who viewed him as receiving favouritism because he was a mage. More than once, Vio had to defend himself from peer attacks, on top of the typical challenges in surviving Crow training.

Despite the challenges, Vio did survive to be named a full-fledged assassin. Because of his talent, many assumed it would not take long for him to make a bid at the title of Master Assassin, and yet Vio did no such thing for eight long years. Eventually the stagnancy caught the notice of Guildmaster Viago, who had to force Vio into the bid. Vio did as he was ordered, and was successfully named Master Assassin at age 27. Vio felt as impassive about this as anything else; nothing in his life really mattered, and a higher rank didn’t fix that.

Two years later, Vio made a spur-of-the-moment decision to go against his orders for the first time, when he saw an opportunity to rescue people rounded up by the Antaam occupation in Treviso. Unfortunately, this led to the Antaam cracking down harder against the Crows, and Vio was nearly killed by the Talons for carrying out an unauthorized operation. Viago intervened, saving Vio’s life but kicking him out of Antiva until further notice.
Fortunately for Vio, one of the people he saved that day was none other than Varric Tethras. Varric, impressed with Vio’s act of heroism, asked for his assistance in the fight against the Dread Wolf. Lacking any other direction, Vio agreed.

In the several months that ensued, Vio learned what it was like to have a friend. More than that, Varric was very open about how he saw Vio as a hero in the making, and while Vio still had doubts, this gave him something to strive for.

Involvement

Dragon Age: The Veilguard

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Personality

Vio spent most of his adult life on “auto-pilot”, simply going through the motions without any interests, motivations, or self-worth. He did not think he could be anything other than a tool for assassination, let alone a hero. But Varric had faith in him, and that meant something; it gave Vio a reason to keep trying. Eventually through leading the Veilguard, Vio comes to appreciate that he is more than what the Crows made him. This also unlocks personality traits Vio never realized he was capable of possessing.

Vio is a very good listener, with a surprising natural skill in using his attentiveness to help others work through conflicts. He is, however, not good at recognizing or expressing his own struggles; he is used to ignoring those.

Being so straightforward means Vio can sometimes be a challenge to get along with certain people. He is capable of being polite when he wants to, but prefers skipping things like small talk and indirectness. It also means he can be easily taken advantage of by those who do wield a strong level of charisma.

Vio is ready to take risks. Originally this recklessness was because he had so little value for himself that he did not factor his wellbeing into the equation, but eventually (after Weisshaupt) he has the epiphany that he does not want to die. After this, he becomes much more cautious, albeit still ready to commit actions that most people would consider crazy.

After lacking gentleness for most of his life, Vio really appreciates both receiving and giving it to his friends, and his lover, Lucanis. He needs reminders that he matters to people, even if it just comes in small forms of encouraging touch or words.

Trivia

• When Vio was a little kid, he had a curiosity about elven history. But after being taken by the Crows, he lost that, as well as any tangible cultural connection. What he loves about talking to Bellara is that it reminds him of that interest he had before he lost all personal interests.

Gallery