empathieas app

[carefulapostate]

⌈ PLAYER SECTION ⌉
Player: Dubs
Contact: dubbins
Age: 27
Current Characters: Kael'thas Sunstrider


⌈ CHARACTER SECTION ⌉
Character: Solas
Age: stated to be "early to mid 40's", being one of the last ancient immortal elves he is obviously much older, but in the spirit of Solas' character being centered around half-truths rather than outright lies, it's possible he's just excluded the time he spent sleeping in Uthenera.
Canon: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Canon Point: After absorbing Mythal's powers

Background:
In the playthough I ran an Elvish male inquisitor that kept Solas in the party, and befriended Solas. Sided with the mages and let them be free, saved empress Celene, did not exile the Wardens, the inquisitor drank from the Well of Sorrows without killing any of the ancient elves, and was generally a mouthy cinnamon roll the entire playthrough. Also went through the descent DLC with him- where he had surprisingly little to say.
Wiki link!

Personality:

Solas is generally an introverted person, keeping to himself if he can help it. He's not necessarily against working with others if the need arises, and will offer advice when asked. In fact, he enjoys when people ask him for advice, or ask about his skills as a mage. He often has a habit of walking people through various situations through questions, seemingly for no other purpose than to get them thinking. He's fond of telling stories of the memories he's seen in the fade. He respects those who pursue knowledge, though not at the expense of others.

He has moments where he can get obstinate and preachy, believing his ideals or opinions to be right, particularly when free will is involved. There are also times he will concede his point after hearing it from another perspective, or realize he got too heated in the discussion, and will apologize shortly thereafter. However, for the most part he is right, and will deliver the message bluntly. For example, should the inquisitor encourage The Iron Bull to Follow the Qun on his personal quest, he will turn on the inquisitor during Trespasser. Doesn't matter how close of friends you are, Bull will turn, and the inquisitor will have to kill him. Later when confronting Solas on everything, Solas will point out that there are spies in the inquisition. Should the inquisitor try to deny this, even a female Lavellan that romances Solas and someone who romanced Bull, he will point blank point out Bull to your face which is like salt on a fresh wound at that point. As Patrick Weekes, Solas' writer, aptly summarized conversing with Solas, "You're right, but you're also kind of a jerk".

Despite his generally polite demeanor, he is also "rather racist" as Patrick Weekes stated when claiming why he could only be romanced by elves. He holds no grudge against anyone, but expects the worst when dealing with others. He sees Qunari as mindless brutes, humans as foolish and self-serving, Tevinter mages are immoral and power hungry, and even views other elves as backwards. The only race he doesn't have many preconceived biases are the Dwarves, as can be seen with his party banter with Varric about babysitting humanity. This is likely due to the fact that they have no connection to the fade, thus he was unable to see much of them. Hence he expressed quite a bit of curiosity when he encounters a dwarf, and appears to be a bit less reserved than with other races. He shows open hostility to the Tevinter mage of the group whenever he speaks to Solas, despite said Tevinter mage attempting to try and make up for past transgressions of Tevinter. Solas also very rarely initiates conversation with him. Qunari he will speak to, only to question them about their opinion of their life under the Qun, and then proceed to lecture. Humans and other elves he simply treats as foolish, but only subtly, often commenting how surprising it is when a party member shows the most basic kindness or intelligence. Over the course of the game, Solas slowly starts to come to terms with some of his biases on an individual basis and starts resolving some tensions towards some he was previously hostile to.

But that doesn't mean he's cured of his preconceived notions of certain races. Even though he praises and expresses respect for Cassandra for her noble ideals and willingness to do what must be done, and shows a certain kinship with Blackwall due to their shared circumstances, and even goes as far as offering a Tal'Vashoth Iron bull comfort after being exiled and shunned from his own culture, those are individuals. It is a step in the right direction for him, but only a first step. He displays just how deep his prejudice goes in a negative relationship with an inquisitor. Even despite the friend ship he develops with the other members, in an argument with a low approval inquisitor he will sarcastically "thank" the inquisitor, for proving to him that his preconceived notions had been right all along. Not to mention the only time he ever openly expresses that he had been wrong about a group of people, he's speaking to an elven inquisitor about the Dalish. That isn't to say that in time he couldn't get past these notions, he gets very close if romanced. There's a discussion that leads to him trying to make sense of his new love interest, he asks if she thinks the anchor has changed her in any way, she expresses that it has not. She is not unique or special, she is simply another byproduct of the world he perceived as flawed. That very realization threatens his resolve, because if she can be real, that would mean that all the others that he would destroy are just as real, as even Cole states when speaking on Solas' feelings.

One of the most complex parts of his personality relate to his past as "Fen'Harel" the Dread Wolf, "trickster god" of the elves, and the massive sense of guilt brought on by his actions under that guise. Fen'harel is essentially the persona he adapted as a rebel against the other Evanuris. Originally an insult he adopted it, and it became something that "Inspired hope in his friends and fear in his enemies." He's never claimed godhood like his peers did, in fact he always explicitly stated the contrary. He cared for his people, but ultimately wound up destroying their civilization with his actions, but for the greater good, such is the legacy of Fen'harel. Even centuries later his name is cursed by elves who do not even understand what happened to their empire. He has become a God whose name is used as a curse among his people. Even though it's implied that after the death of Mythal there was a great war that threatened destroying the world impending, he still holds himself in contempt for that. It's also implied that after Mythal's death, Solas brashly reacted out of anger at the other Evanuris, and even if his actions were ultimately for the greater good, he admits that he knows he should be punished for what he did, but in his eyes his people still need him. Thus, he has fixated on undoing his past mistake which would destroy the world as it is, which he's also come to feel preemptively guilty for, even more so in a friendly/romanced relationship with the inquisitor. Throughout the final interaction with him in Trespasser (provided you were friendly with him or more) Solas shows just how much his decision weighs on him, particularly if romanced. He has once more taken up the mantel of Fen'harel and all that comes with it. His tone is subdued, his expression crestfallen, and he tries to explain the situation as gently as he can (the bit about Bull's betrayal aside). Though if a friend of the inquisitor he leaves on a slightly more hopeful note than if romanced, stating he hopes the inquisitor will prove him wrong again. However he won't be deterred, even if he hates himself for it.

Free will is an extremely important concept to Solas, which doesn't come as a surprise considering he got his start as Fen'harel by freeing the slaves of the other Evanuris. This comes in conflict with the other party members a few times, particularly when it comes to mages. So passionate in his rhetoric on this matter he often neglects to make important points to his argument, for example, he often sounds as though mages should be free of consequence- this is not true at all, but he does not always make that clear. As well as his distaste for the Mage Circles, the Qun, and the slavery in Tevinter, he also has a unique view on voluntary servitude that can reflect on his actions with others. Cole at one point asks him to bind him to ensure that he will not become a demon, Solas steadfastly refuses despite Cole's insistence that it's not slavery if he asks. Solas states that is not the case, this is particularly important in cases where he's been romanced. He refuses to let Lavellan follow him on his Din'anshiral, even if she asks, likely for the same reason he refused to bind Cole.

Because of his actions in the past, when he wakes from Uthenera, the shock for him is almost unbearable, to the point he cannot even think of those around him as people due to their lack of connection to the fade. He describes it as being surrounded by Tranquil. His greatest fear is dying alone, and in his mind he is now alone. It is a mistake, the people are a mistake, and they are his mistake. This is the reaction that spurs him to undo what he has done, he seeks an item that would allow himself to tear down the veil he has put up, but finds himself too weak to unlock it. Hence he (somewhat unwittingly) sets forth the plot of Dragon Age Inquisition into play. He leads Corypheus to the ancient artifact, fully expecting the Darkspawn to destroy himself in the process of unlocking it. That did not go as planned and what he wound up with was a half-immortal Darkspawn, spontaneous tears in the Veil, and a giant hole in the sky that threatened all of Thedas. To say he felt guilty about this turn of events would be a gross understatement. The reason he goes so far out of his way to help the inquisitor stop the Qunari invasion is because he does not want there to be needless suffering, even if, should his plans go through, many if not all of the people effected would die anyway. It goes to show he's not without flaws and despite all his age and wisdom, he'd prone to making mistakes just as anyone else, and feels guilt just as anyone else. Just on a far, far grander scale.


Abilities:
(paraphrasing/copying a lot of this from the wiki)
Rift mage abilities:

Veilstrike+ Punching Down- Make a fade magic fist for smashing people into the ground, and causing them to do less damage after.
Stonefist+ Shatterstone- pull a huge rock from the fade to squish people, then the rock subsequently explodes weakening and staggering enemies.
Encircling Veil- uses stray magic against weakened enemies to increase status effects on them.
Pull of the Abyss + Shaken Veil- creates a tiny rift that pulls enemies to a central point, also weakening them.
Smothering Veil- weakened enemies do less damage.
Firestorm- Generic raining fiery meteors from above move. Hurts a lot, can't be used very often.

Spirit mage abilities:

Barrier+Elegant Defense- Provides a magic bubble in an area that adds an extra healthbar on the targets. Must be depleted or dispelled before targets can take damage again.
Peaceful aura- generates less threat/overlooked by enemies
Dispel+strengthened veil- Dispels negative magical effects from allies, and positive magical effects on enemies in an area, also weakens enemy magic for a time. Disrupts summonings too.
Guardian Spirit- Automatically pops a barrier around Solas when he takes a lot of damage. Long live the "healer".
Revival+ Lightward- Summon spirits to heal fallen allies in the area, getting them fighting again. And not in an undead way. Spirits hang around for a while to make sure these recently revived failures don't just die again.

Winter mage abilities:

Winter's grasp- Freezes a target in place making them incapable of action. Also chills nearby enemies causing them to move slower.
Mana surge- Barriers explode if an enemy breaks it, making the next spell cost no mana.
Winter stillness- mana regenerates faster and cooldowns are faster when the caster remains still.
Ice mine- really obvious shiny trap put on the ground. Anyone dumb enough to step on it gets frozen. Takes some time to cast.
Wall of Ice- Makes a big wall of ice to block enemies before Overwatch made it cool.
Ice Armor- Solas takes less damage because magic! Effect is strengthened if he's near enemies that have frost magic debuffs on them.
Blizzard+ Ice Storm- Makes a blizzard! Who would have guessed?! Also gradually freezes enemies slowing them until they're completely frozen.

Other crap:
Solas can heal apparently, mentioning using healing wards on the player character to keep them from dying while they were unconscious at a point, and often wanders off to tend to wounded. He just doesn't do it in combat unless you're unconscious and lying in a pool of your own blood. He can also make things (namely rocks) float/move around to unblock passages/ fill holes/ and make bridges. He can also pop into someone's dreams if they are able to dream "coherently enough". After he does something or another with Mythal, presumably taking her power, he gains some unique abilities. Namely raising spirits to fight for him and turning people to stone. May have other abilities because of this, but it's not known what right now.

Alignment: Piphron: distrust and trust

Trust is the basis on how Solas interacts with everyone around him, he needs to be trusted yet cannot trust anyone around him with the truth. He works in half truths and sidestepping conversations, which winds up weighing heavily on him the closer he gets to people.

Other:


⌈ SAMPLE SECTION ⌉
Remember that we ask for samples that show 1) core character portrayal and 2) some use of emotions, such as environmental effect. You can also use the same sample source for both, just make sure to directly link or quote the emotion portion. We highly encourage using the Test Drive, and you can use prompts from the Test Drives, Intro Logs, and the Task board if you need them. Refer to the main application page for links and more suggestions.

General Sample: TDM link!

Emotion Sample:
A light breeze fluttered the pages of a book Solas had been attempting to read as he sat out in the field. The city had been interesting, and he had been enjoying exploring it, but it was busy time of day and he would rather avoid the crowds. Unsurprisingly he found himself drawn near the old ruins, though he did not wander too close for now. His attention was focused on a history book from a foreign world. It was the closest he could get from journeying the time-lost memories of the fade, and it served as a distraction from the loss of such a connection.

He was interrupted by a shout, and when he looked up he saw a human bounding over to him. A large oafish-looking man, when the mage bothered to look up at him. He looked up with placid curiosity to the man's dilemma, but another breeze blew by only thing time it had the slightest cold bite to it. The man didn't seem to notice, but Solas did, and he was aware he was the source. It made him put a great effort in schooling his emotions, pushing back thoughts of bias and focusing on his words. Soon the area fell perfectly still and quiet, not out of apathy, but rather a very well practice calm.

The man seemed to be in need of help, which was not surprising to say the least, but Solas did not speak until the man was completely finished. Apparently the man's child had been bitten by some venomous beast, and he was in need of a healer. It was a noble job, and Solas closed his book, tucking it away before he took up his staff. He beckoned the man to lead the way, and he was content to follow.


Questions: No questions, just want to thank the mods for being so chill with my questions and clarifications last round!