Profile
This is a Dragon Age fan character and some things might not make sense without knowledge of that world.
| Name | Mahanon Lavellan (stolen name), Maverick Cady (real name), Fireball (varric nickname) |
| Age | 50ish |
| Pronouns | he/him or she/her |
| Species | Elf, possibly half-elf |
| Location | Ass end of Thedas (aka anywhere in Thedas) |
| Story | Dragon age Inquisition |
About
Mahanon is a charismatic, well-loved member of his clan and has a way of getting along with anyone he meets. It's only natural that he'd be sent to the conclave as the clan's ambassador; not that anyone else was really vying for the role. His wife isn't very happy with it, since it will leave her alone with their toddler, but whatever. It's important! This whole mage-templar thing is impeding the clan even across an ocean and getting first-hand information about those dealing with it is a boon that can't be passed up! Not to mention he is just feeling incredibly stir-crazy stuck at home, in this clan of nomads that isn't quite so nomadic at the moment.
Mahanon is a lovely guy, he's a people-person, he's interested in others and hard to upset, he's a great face for the dalish among humans. He'd have been a great inquisitor, if he hadn't been vaporized when the conclave fucking exploded.
The person who steals his name is laughably unlike the real Mahanon, but apparently all of the people the real Mahanon met and charmed during the conclave died with him. So there's nobody around to notice he couldn't charm his way out of a wet paper bag and has the temper of a wolverine.
He gets away with identity theft for an impressively long time, for a guy who doesn't know shit about being dalish. Maybe because he's surrounded by humans who know even less than him. By the time any of the people closest to him realize he's been lying out his ass this whole time, it's a bit late to drop the act. He's inquisitor. He's known across multiple countries by the name Mahanon Lavellan.
• Has been tranquil for the past 7 years and got blasted back into lucidity by the mark :)
• (was made tranquil while covering for his favorite apprentice's blood magic) (which. Mav is the one who taught the apprentice the blood magic in the first place, so,)(anyways yes he should have just been executed for it, and he was fully ready to die for that kid, but the templar commander was a sadistic fucker and decided to make Mav tranquil instead purely because Maverick was visibly unafraid of dying)
• Solas is the only one who knows at first; he clocks Maverick as a Mage immediately but Mav basically begs him to not let anyone else know, and together they convince everyone else that any mage-like qualities Mav exhibits are side effects of the mark
• He can't use his magic to protect himself bc it would blow his cover and also every time he tries to use it it backfires on him. So he has to learn how to fight as a warrior(specializes into reaver)(Listen I know I'm drawing power from spilt blood and using demons to bolster my strength and literally leeching the life out of my enemies to restore myself but it's not blood magic I swear)(also by the time he's level 20 he can 1v1 a dragon, wtf are you gonna do about it).
• Chose to go to the mages for assistance, did not even consider the templars as an option even when it was blindingly obvious that Alexius was trying to lure him into a trap
• Honestly was very 'why the fuck should i care about the world? It's shit let it burn' until the trip to the future when he sees how fucked everything gets without him specifically. That will knock the nihilism right out of you every time.
• Didn't stop him from trying to sacrifice himself at haven so everyone else could get away, he was really just praying that closing the breach is enough to prevent the horrible future he saw. Unfortunately he survives that avalanche and lands in a pile of rubble in that weird old tunnel under haven, and injures his back p severely. He does consider just letting himself freeze to death down there but. Fuck you if he doesn't die for a cause he's at least going to die somewhere warm. He attempts to heal himself, despite knowing fuck-all about healing magic and having a very shaky grasp on his magic at all.
• Task failed successfully! He is healed enough to walk but he's going to be in pain for the rest of his life! Also he barely catches up with the refugees from Haven before developing a fever and infection :)))
• Was everybody singing? Did he dream that? Somebody gives him a staff to help him walk and he can't remember their face.
• Completely baffled to be named inquisitor, all he has done up to this point is dispense violence and keep his co-leaders from bickering in circles over every single issue. But apparently that's all it takes to be a leader. Okay.
• He was extremely pissed at his advisors when they suggested letting Celene, whom they came to this shitty ball specifically to save, be assassinated. And he just gets more pissed throughout the course of the night as he discovers more bullshit and the end of the fiasco has him yelling at the rulers of a goddamn nation like they're a bunch of bratty children. PEOPLE ARE DYING. YOUR PEOPLE ARE DYING. AND YOU LET IT HAPPEN FOR YOUR STUPID BULLSHIT GAME. IF I HADN'T SEEN WHAT THE FUTURE IS WITHOUT YOU I WOULD BURN THIS PALACE DOWN WITH YOU IN IT. (you know, fun things for josephine to salvage)
• He wears a pretty gown to the ball tho (sidebar image). He's generally comfortable as a man and a woman equally but when it comes to formalwear he would rather re-explode his face than dress masc.
• Lets Morrigan have the Well. Feels shitty that this human knows more about elfy shit than him, a fake dalish. But also he has enough going on in his head he doesn't like, without the collective knowledge of thousands of ancient elves living inside him.
Personality & Outlook
He's deeply, deeply terrified of his circumstances and does his best to hide it behind anger and distrust. But he has little control over his moods and is as likely to cry as punch you, really. Has hysteric laughter fits, Has a lot of feelings in general.
Even when he gets a better grip on his emotions, he's still mercurial as hell. Luckily his new day-to-day gives him a lot of enemies to take out his rage on. Also alcoholism yay alcoholism!!
Loves as hard as he hates! Ride or die bitch. Fuck with his friends and you better watch your fucking back. Especially nowadays, when he solves a lot of problems with violence. Almost all of his problems, really.
Powers & Assets
Reaver
Definitely not blood magic idk what you mean.
Relationships
Lorant [Apprentice]
His favorite apprentice from the circle, who he wasn't supposed to be teaching because he wasn't an approved enchanter but did anyways because REBELLION. They got separated after the circle fell & Mav wasn't sure if he was even alive anymore until they encountered each other in a brothel in Val Royeaux (Lorant working, Maverick uncomfortably distracting the benefactor with his presence while Sera fucked some shit up in the back rooms).
Mahanon [The Real Mahanon]
The one he stole the identity of to keep his secrets hidden. They only ever spoke briefly at the conclave, Mahanon there to gather information for his clan and Maverick accompanying some Templars to the talks as a tranquil servant, but he was a kind man and Maverick thinks a lot about what would have happened if the real Mahanon had survived in his stead...
Ellana Lavellan [The Real Mahanon's Widow]
Mahanon's wife, who almost blew his entire lie super early when she came to check on him at Haven(because she felt something was off about the letters the clan received from the inquisition). Luckily she didn't actually see him until they were in the privacy of his little shack & avoided outing him as a fake in front of the entirety of Haven. He was able to convince her to let him use her husband's name a bit longer with promises to aid to their clan & not tarnish the guy's reputation.
She shows up to Skyhold later, when her daughter's magic comes in and she was forced to leave the clan if she didn't want to be separated from her only living family. Initially she tries to threaten Maverick into taking them in, but she really didn't have to bother. His own guilt wouldn't have let him turn her away. They pretend to be married but anyone who observes them together can tell they have no romantic interest in each other (presumably they only married because of the baby).
They're so awkward together, they're both in emotionally fraught phases of life and also Ellana is like 25 and Maverick feels gross having people think he's involved with a woman half his age. He definitely tells his friends it's not a real marriage.
Siobhan [Ellana's Daughter]
Ellana's little magelet. Ellana has elected to just gaslight the kid into thinking Maverick is her father and has always looked like that. Maverick is very uncomfortable with this but it's Ellana's decision. And the alternative is introducing a two year old to the concept of death and loss and also trusting her to keep a secret so what can be done...
As bad as the situation is that brought them together, Maverick still whole-heartedly adores this kid and tries to be a good father for her. He always wanted kids but could never be anyones blood-father for a number of reasons, so he's pretty excited.
Gale [ex]
Would it shock you to know Maverick used to date a templar lol. Because he did.
Gale was chill, he only even joined the templar order because free healthcare(transgender beam please). He was very respectful of the mages as people, and also the first other trans person Maverick has ever met. Not that Maverick is exactly trans, but Gale was the first person he could show his femme side to earnestly.
Their relationship ended when Maverick was found out for blood magic and made tranquil. Gale feels betrayed about it, since he gave Maverick special treatment, but Maverick also feels betrayed because Gale just fucking stood there and watched while he was made tranquil.
Confrontation that happens when Gale arrives at skyhold with a gaggle of mage children he's been watching over since the rest of the templars left (had to leave Ostwick because Gale had no way to get lyrium and was completely incapable of watching the kids on top of dealing with withdrawal, and the inquisition offered sanctuary)
Maverick: How could you fucking do that to me. I thought we loved each other.
Gale: You were maleficar, Maverick, I did love you but damn! I wasn't going to throw my life away to save you when you betrayed my trust too! What did you expect me to do!
Maverick: I didn't expect you to save me, I wanted you to fucking kill me! You're supposed to kill maleficar! But you just stood there and watched! While your sadistic piece of shit commander ripped my soul out because I wasn't scared enough of dying!
Frederick [the dragon scholar]
Weird scholar he encountered in the western approach. To be honest he only gets involved in Frederick's research because Siobhan is kind of obsessed with dragons and he wants cool stories for her.
Post-inquisition, Maverick retires to a piece of land he bought in Emprise Du Lion. Which he got for very cheap because of. The three separate dragons that make the area their home. He was very attracted to the natural hot springs and at this point has nothing to fear from dragons(also they're...weirdly-respectful of him, maybe because he's ingested so much dragon blood that he just reads as one to them). He only had to Dragon Rage on them a few times before they stopped trying to eat his Dracolisk(Pebble, named by Siobhan, also Siobhan's best friend)
Anyways Frederick is one of few brave enough to visit his house and uses it as a research outpost. Mav is happy to indulge him because it makes Siobhan happy. When she's older she will even apprentice under this guy :)
Solas [Dear Friend]
Arguably the first person Maverick befriends in the Inquisition. Solas figures out Mav's a mage before he even wakes up at Haven but agrees to keep it a secret & that paired with Solas also being an Elven Mage makes Mav more comfortable in his presence than anyone else early on. Also Mav kinda idolizes Apostates & Solas has cool stories.
They butt heads on certain issues(Maverick really doesn't understand Solas' hatred of the Grey Wardens)(because he also idolizes the grey wardens lol. When he was younger he constantly fantasized about Wardens recruiting him out of the circle).
Finding out Solas is secretly a god was shocking but mostly Maverick is mad at him for disappearing for 2 fucking years without even leaving a note. But more than that he is happy to see him again, and relieved that he is safe.
Also damn it he cares about the world now he can't just let you bring about an apocalypse that will destroy all non-elves. Half of his friends are non-elves, man. I don't want to fight you, Solas.
Also damn it this is like the 4th time Maverick has walked into a situation fully expecting to die, only to walk away missing a part of himself. He wants to die for his friends but he's probably going to slip in the bath and hit his head and drown or something.
Varric [Friend]
There is camaraderie in surviving being interrogated by Cassandra. Maverick is terrified of her, especially early on, and wants to protect Varric and Solas from her.
Mav's also a fan of Kirkwall's Champion & co. especially Anders and wanting to know more about them fueled a lot of their early conversations but it turns out Varric's a pretty cool dude who's just trying to do good & fix his fuckups & protect his friends & Mav can respect that.
Cassandra [ Tolerable, eventually ]
His distrust and hatred of Templars & the Chantry makes warming up to Cass a very slow process, but her willingness/determination to change her behavior & opinions in the face of new information makes it hard to hate her. They bond a little over Maverick's warrior training, but they're never quite comfortable around each other.
The discovery of Seekers always having the cure for tranquility does um. Upset Maverick quite a lot. He had no respect for the Seekers to begin with, and fully hates them now and actively encourages Cassandra to disband them when it comes up. Honestly Cassandra's general naivete about what templars are like despite it being her job to keep them in line...is infuriating to him. He hates the circle, he hates the templars, he hates the seekers, and she is too much a part of that for him to not hold it against her.
Cullen [Advisor]
Similar to Cassandra: Cullen is a templar and he pays the price for that in Maverick's ire. The forced proximity of co-leading the inquisition does a lot for their relationship, honestly. Maverick might begrudgingly come to like the guy, after enough bonding over a hatred of politics, and the fact that they have very similar problem solving methods (hit it until it either stops being a problem or kills you). The confide their suicidal feelings in each other <3
Mav also never talks to him again after they stop working together but it's fine.
Vivienne [Frustrating!]
Her killing a dude at his request in the middle of a party was such a fucking power move he kinda fell in love(but that fades quickly with her loyalist mages thing). He respects her & what she's done for herself despite the limits of the circle but is also just so incredulous that she seems to think anyone who complains/rebels about the fucked up shit in the circles just isn't trying hard enough to follow in her footsteps.
"So what, everyone's supposed to just go whore themselves out to some noble?!" -a quote Maverick regrets deeply after watching her watch Bastien die.
Sera [Autism-to-Autism communication]
An absolute delight who always has a distraction for him when he needs it, whether it's intentional or not. He's not above joining in on her shenanigans & loves her very much. Thinks she's outstandingly talented and admires her learning ability, she's taught him a lot about being a better leader. A lot of things that he would dislike in other people he doesn't get fussed over in Sera, purely because she is an endearingly weird child (to him)(don't remind him that she's the same age as his supposed wife).
Cole [is anyone gonna adopt that?]
Normally he's more wary of demons, but Cole just looks SO MUCH like Lorant (it's the hair, and the big nose, and the inability to make eye contact, and the general weirdness) that Maverick can't send him away at first and now he just genuinely loves him. Mother-hens him about as hard as Varric & Solas do.
Cole ends up on the more human route purely because Maverick can't just not kill a templar. I mean he doesn't, because Cole and Varric and Solas do not let him, but he wants to so fucking bad. The moment does leave Maverick wondering when he started solving all his problems with murder, though. Why can Cole forgive the guy who killed him when Maverick can't? He has a similar realization while helping Josephine not get assassinated, but it hits harder when it's Cole, who has no scruples about killing.
Josephine [Advisor]
He doesn't know how she does what she does and is glad to have her around, truly, but she makes him feel like a monster sometimes. She's the only person in his life who doesn't kill regularly, who actively detests it and will go far out of her way to avoid the deaths of anyone, even enemies who are trying to kill her actively.
And he recognizes that as normal. He never killed before the inquisition, and it should have been harder but it is so, so easy for him. He accepted death before he ever turned a weapon on another person(to be fair you have to think about death a lot when you're a necromancer).
It doesn't stop him from breaking into the assassins' safe to steal that contract rather than go through the convoluted time-wasting process Josephine has designed. But he feels bad.
Dorian [Mav's son now]
They bond a lot, between being the only ones who remember the fucked up future & drinking heavily about it. Also being nerds about Necromancy together(Lorant is also there). It's probably not the best way to keep his identity hidden but Necromancy is Maverick's autistic catnip he can't stop himself.
Maverick is fully willing to murder Dorian's father & when he actually dies Mav tries to be sympathetic about it but the only thing he feels bad about is that he had nothing to do with the guy's death.
Iron Bull [Short-lived Love Interest]
Maverick has a type and it is huge muscular silly dads. As soon as he saw Bull, and the way he is with his chargers, he was Very Into That. They don't actually get involved because Maverick is supposed to be married, and honestly he's very grateful that nothing happened when he finds out Bull is only 35.
Which he doesn't find out until Bull and Dorian get together.
Maverick: Dorian? Really?
Bull: Sorry boss, you should have made your move when you had the chance. I didn't take you for the jealous type..
Mav: W- I'm not jealous! You don't think he's a little young for you?
Bull: Six years isn't that much of a gap? It's a lot shorter than the gap between you and me, that's for sure.
Mav: [doing some math in his head that isn't adding up] Um. How old are you? Wait how old is Dorian?
Bull: Well I'm 35, The big guy's 28, maybe 29. How old did you think we were?
Mav: [definitely thought bull was over 40 and dorian was closer to 20 than 30]....I'm just going to not answer that and go throw myself out a window.
Blackwall [respectable guy]
As much as I, the author, hate Blackwall(the boringest character in the entire series, genuinely completely bland in every way. you couldn't even be bisexual?) Maverick would give him a chance purely because of his warden idolization. Even when Blackwall has his big reveal(how do you have a reveal and still be totally uninteresting), Maverick would pardon him because. He is also a shitty guy with a regretable past who is trying to do good. If there's no redemption for Blackwall, what chance does Mav have? Blackwall says it is corrupt and will stain the inquisitions reputation but Maverick barely cares about that on a good day. He just wants to take care of his friends.
Aesthetic
A description of this character's appearance & their preferences when it comes to decorating both their body & personal space.
Trivia
- Dragon Age AU of Maverick
- Nickname from Varric is Fireball, as in 'Much more fun when aimed at someone else'
- Falling into the fade reversed his tranquility and also exploded the brand on his forehead. He spent his early days at haven with a huge messy wound & it has scarred spectacularly
- He doesn't look in a mirror often but when he does the scar still surprises him
- Can't stand near a ledge without thinking about throwing himself over & whether that's genuine suicide ideation or just intrusive thoughts depends on the day ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- has chronic back pain now, especially in the cold(another thing for his twiggy ass to hate about the cold)
- Was devastated to learn that not all deserts are hot. He was excited to go to the western approach until he got there and it was still COLD AS THE FUCKING VOID.
- blames all magey shit that happens around him on the mark. ('you have a very mage-like aura' 'must be this fuckn green thing' / 'barriers i put on you seem to last longer than normal' 'must be the anchor, i should have solas look into that')
- regarding pronouns: Maverick prefers for people to just pick one set and stick to it.
Q & A
Q: How does he get away with not having Vallaslin while pretending to be Dalish?
A: Honestly, he just really plays up the being a shitty dalish who never earned it lmao(it's not hard to fake, he is used to failing to meet societal milestones, as a mage who never made enchanter despite living in the circle since he was 14).
He doesn't really know shit about elven history/culture, uses a lot of shemmy phrases( shit like 'Thank the Maker!', other andrastian-references in exclamations), can't hunt/fight/sneak around for shit. It's a lil hard to balance being shit at everything dalishy with not tarnishing Mahanon's reputation.
Artist Notes
- The mark is on his left hand, sorry all my refs are wrong i'm stupid.
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