Willem Trialmont - Blog Posts
obscure elven heroes! appreciation. post
The Pale Demon: after Orlais conquered Halamshiral in 2:20 Glory and the Dales fell, one of the Keepers of the diaspora clans became infamous for his vicious attacks on Orlesians. humans came to know him as the Pale Demon, for he set upon soldiers and even unprotected merchants with iceblasts and blizzards from his staff, even in summer. these attacks continued until chevaliers killed the Keeper and then slaughtered his entire clan. the staff he bore was called Yavanalis (it’s curious to me incidentally, that Flemythal named one of her daughters Yavana - any connection? maybe the two words share the same root word in elven).
Wenni di Ladia: a City Elf from Nevarra, she was one of the most famous elven heroes from the Towers Age. directly descended from one of the last Emerald Knights who protected the Dales, she took up her grandfather’s bow, Tenasarin (any relation to the river Tenasir, where shrines to the elven gods stood?), to fight when the Third Blight threatened Thedas. her deeds, skill and beauty inspired entire armies, such that I don’t think it would be a stretch to say Wenni was one of the Heroes of the Third Blight. after the Archdemon was defeated, her name launched revolts and rebellions in the alienages, becoming a rallying cry - mien’harel! human Marcher rulers were angered by this, and Wenni was forced to flee criminal accusations. she vanished into obscurity, not unlike some Wardens in some of the potential epilogue slides, but her legend still lives on in the hearts of City Elves. this is very important, because in the City Elf Origin elven children playing “Heroes and Humans” will tell Tabris that they don’t know any stories about elven heroes. I like to believe that Wenni’s story is one that every elven child knows and takes great pride and solace in, just like Garahel’s is noted to be.
Rajmael: a great general. the elves of the Dales fought valiantly against the Exalted March, but defeat became obvious. in one last act of defiance, Rajmael threw his dragonbone waraxe, The Veshialle, at the oncoming enemy before committing suicide by jumping from the Forlorn Falls. his weapon is said to rebel against all but elven hands. Rajmael may have been an Emerald Knight. a verse in the Chant of Light insists that he recanted his faith in the Creators, but we all know that’s human bullshit. curiously, his tale bears some similarity to that of Nomaris, one of the last Emerald Knights alive after the Dales were destroyed. he too bore an axe - the Axe of Green Edges. he lodged it in a tree, declaring that it should remain there until his People were free, before flinging himself into a river, presumably to his death.
Iloren: the Keeper of a Dalish clan that wandered the Anderfels during the Second Blight, in a time when Keepers were priests that served as archivists and magical scholars. he was a hunter in his younger days, and as crafty as a wolf. he led his people in their flight from the darkspawn horde, staying always one step ahead by the grace of his wits alone. one night, the darkspawn cornered and ambushed them. but the dark ones fell into Iloren’s trap. he and the other hahrens called upon the old magic, and with lightning set fire to dry grass and kindling that the hunters had strewn around the camp in preparation. the area went up in flames, and not a single creature made it through the blaze to harm his clan. today his tale is preserved in its most cherished form in books.
Willem Trialmont: a City Elf who followed a company of the Legion of the Dead for three days through the Deep Roads, doggedly intent on fighting darkspawn with his family blade - a fine elven sword which would later come to be known as Topsider’s Honor in light of his deeds. he was quiet but insistent; the dwarves, confused at why someone from the surface would care to combat darkspawn underground, initially thought that he wouldn’t last, and threatened to kill him if his actions put them at risk. but he shocked them, for later, they witnessed him fight like a man possessed, with incredibly light, silent strikes and marked precision. they toasted and broke bread with him, and when he died in 7:5 Storm, they extended that which was sacred to them and conveyed him to the Stone as if he’d been born a dwarf. his epitaph reads that he served the Deep Roads better than a native son. many Legionnaires lived to see another day because Willem fought at their side and fell in their place. in death, the dwarves lauded his honor and claimed him as a brother in blood. his story is one of true family beyond kin and taking up arms against darkness.
Alidda of Halamshiral: the most famous elven criminal in all of Orlais. a City Elf, she was arrested in 4:45 Black for killing three knights - a deed which hardly makes sense to pair with the word “crime”, as chevalier initiation practices involve “testing their blades” by entering alienage slums after dark to murder innocent elves who happen to be out after curfew. Divine Clemence I presided over Alidda’s trial, where it came to light that she had actually killed twelve chevaliers, in justified retaliation for the abhorrent graduation ritual. she escaped and killed twenty more chevaliers - two in single combat - before finally being cornered. rather than be captured, she cut her throat with Knightslayer, her own dagger.
Orahn: A Dalish smith known to have created fine weapons such as the Dal’Thanu waraxe that was an heirloom in the possession of Deygan’s family. His grandfather passed it down to him. Family legend holds that it was used to fight in the service of Andraste herself, meaning Orahn may have been a contemporary of Shartan.
Corimae: Presumably a City Elf, she owned a beautiful dagger called the Voice of Velvet. She was an assassin - possibly an Antivan Crow? - and when a nobleman refused to take her as a lover, she used the dagger to open his throat.
Sendis and Iselle: A Dalish archer and blood mage respectively, this brother and sister pair were part of a band of heroes that saved the Free Marcher city of Kaiten, having aided Viscount Ravi in preventing an abomination from destroying the place. Their clan was led by Keeper Tianne. Over time Iselle and Ravi became lovers, and she eventually died bearing their elf-blooded son Eiton. Sendis later saved his clan from blood magic control by calling on Ravi for help.
Embri of Gwaren: A City Elf, she was a mage, though unfortunately one of limited talent. Testament to her brave spirit and selfless desire to help, Embri volunteered of her own volition to be made Tranquil. As a Tranquil she proved to be a skilled enchanter, despite her absent-mindedness. She always kept an array of magical herbs and other ingredients at her belt, and eventually the belt itself came to hold magical properties. Embri died of lyrium poisoning.
Temolai: A skilled craftsman who made The Long Sight, a helm which grants a strange and unnerving acuity. He made one more helm better than it, but that helm allowed him to gaze upon the Black City, and he was lost forever.
Korin: An elven king, from a tall tale Tabris can tell children in the Denerim Alienage.
Tathas: A sneaky elven bandit, from a tall tale Tabris can tell children in the Denerim Alienage.
Blargha: A mighty elven warrior, from a tall tale Tabris can tell children in the Denerim Alienage.
Willem Trialmont, the honourable topsider. A sort-of-cleaner version of the sketch I photographed a few days ago, with some very half-assed colours because I was bored. Yes.
The following text is my elaborate and lengthy headcanon for a character whose name is only mentioned once in a codex entry, constructed solely for the purpose of fic:
Willem is from the alienage in Val Royeaux. (Reasoning behind this is that “Trialmont” sounds very Orlesian.) Like Tabris from the city elf origin, he was secretly taught by a close family member how to wield the family longsword – the swordsmanship, the weapon, and the blade’s inscription traditions covertly passed on from generation to generation. Weapons are discouraged in the Denerim alienage, so I assume they’re also frowned upon in Orlais. The longsword is his most treasured possession, and the inscribed text defines his behaviour: “There must always be another to take up arms against the darkness. That is the core of true family beyond kin and the unifying link that will bring day to night and allow the fallen to rest.”
At some point in his youth, Willem no longer had a reason to remain in the alienage. He probably sought out the Dalish as some city elves do. He eventually finds a clan and they begrudgingly take him in. There he hones his proficiency at fighting as well as learning the history of his people. He spends many years with the Dalish until they accept him as their own. (I kerfuffled with canon a bit and gave him vallaslin even though the Dalish don’t do the ritual on humans or city elves. However, the codex entry on vallaslin is unclear as to whether city elves who join the Dalish have the privilege of being tattooed or not, so I’m assuming the former for plot reasons.)
One day, Willem learns from the Keeper about the darkspawn and the Blights, as well as the Exalted March of the Dales. He is appalled that the Dalish did not help defend Montsimmard and is unsatisfied with the reasons the elves provide. He knows that the Dalish did not help the humans because they did not wish to interact with them in order to regain their lost heritage, but his Trialmont sensibilities found this behaviour selfish and unacceptable. The conflicting opinions over this matter led to Willem leaving the clan.
Taking the words inscribed on his longsword to heart, Willem decides to go into the Deep Roads to find the darkspawn. A Blight hasn’t occurred for around two Ages, and like in DA:O the common populace probably don’t really believe darkspawn are real. Willem is determined to find out whether they still exist, so he travels to the Frostback Mountains to find an entrance underground. He succeeds and enters the Deep Roads where he eventually runs into a group of Legionnaires trying to reclaim Bownammar. And that’s when the codex entry happens.
(I did not make Willem a Grey Warden because part of the codex entry says, “Topsiders usually assume the end of a Blight erases the darkspawn from the world. Why does this one care that his victory just drives them back on our doorstep?” It sounds like he’s a regular topsider, since Grey Wardens have reason to seek out darkspawn in the Deep Roads (e.g. for their Calling) and they aren’t unknown to the dwarves.)
By the Dread Wolf, that’s a lot of text. Apparently tumblr doesn’t let me put things under cut for photo posts…