Lorelei

Appearance
Lorelei is tall for a woman, even by mountainfolk standards, standing at around 6 feet. Her pale eyes and fair, weathered skin are consistent with the mountain tribe stereotype, as are her many piercings and wide range of tribal tattoos over her face, neck and shoulders. Her tattoos have a number of meanings and purposes, including her tribe’s crest, runes of protection and symbols for the Avvar gods. Her dark red hair is long but rarely seen as it is usually tied back and hidden by her hunter’s hood – as is much of her face.

Well muscled and fighting fit, Lorelei is in her hunting prime. Her armour isn’t as outlandish or barbaric as some might expect – the trade the tribe does with the lowland villages has had some influence. She still has her a bird skull on her belt, however – birds are the messengers of the Lady of the Skies, the Avvar goddess who governs war and death. All Avvar hunters or warriors carry a bird skull with them somewhere on their armour, a talisman of the Lady and a reminder that all things must end.

Personality
Mountain life is not easy, but Lorelei revels in a challenge. Wild and headstrong, and the only daughter out of seven, Lorelei was spoiled for companionship and attention, with close bonds with most of her brothers. At the side of any one of her tribe, she feels like anything is possible, but equally has the desire to prove herself. As a result, she’s equal parts eager and serious, determined to prove her worth. Her stubborn nature has meant she has refused to sing for any man that has asked for her hand – and, despite the murmurings of some of the more conservative tribesmen, her father has let her get away with it, not wanting to force her into a contract (however brief it may be) that she would not be comfortable in.

She has an easy and comfortable rapport with animals (helped by her ranger training) and, like many Avvar hunters, has her own hunting bird, a falcon called Sark, who she has had since he was a gifted to her as a fledgling when she was 20.

Lorlelei has yet to spend much time outside of the shelter of the mountains. She has been to the lowland villages with the traders and her brothers many times, and is curious about lowland life, but she has never interacted without one of her tribe or brothers nearby. On her own, it’s likely her curiosity will be tempered somewhat by suspicion, depending on the temperament of the lowlanders she meets.

The Avvars
Which can all be found and more here: The Avvars
 * DA Wiki entry
 * Codex entry
 * BSN thread (note: I've only used the canon "what we know" bullet points in the first post, and none of the subsequent discussion.)

Lorelei
The Avvar are largely an unknown quantity to the lowlanders of Ferelden. Most keep to themselves, deep in the Frostbacks, using only the gifts of the mountains for their needs and sending small trading parties to the lowlands as and when needed. However, in recent years, some tribes have begun developing a regular arrangement with their lowland cousins, venturing from the mountain passes regularly during the spring and summer months to trade. Lorelei was from one of these more forward-thinking tribes, the youngest child and only daughter of the tribal Thane.

Her mother sang for her father three consecutive times, totalling nearly thirty years of marriage – one of the longest unions in their tribe’s history – and her father has not asked for any other woman’s song since her mother’s death when Lorelei was fourteen. Lorelei has six older brothers – Haldor (36), Rannulff (34), Vidar (31), Sigmund (30), Brickel (28), Logmar (27) – and she has particularly close bonds with Haldor and Vidar (both of whom helped teach her to hunt and scout). With the exception of Vidar (who chose to devote his life to the Lady of the Skies, the goddess of war and death), all of her brothers have been married at least once, and she has a number of nieces and nephews. Logmar moved to be with the tribe of his new wife at the last Gathering, their numbers having dwindled during the previous winter.

Lorelei has had a privileged upbringing by mountain standards, if only because of her father’s position and the rare devotion between her parents. Her tribe is easily one of the largest and most prosperous in the mountains, possibly because of the regular “dallying” with the lowland traders (an act which is taboo to some of the more heavily conservative tribes).

It was while on one of the trading trips that the Avvar heard news of the darkspawn, the Blight and the army forming at Ostagar. They were in the village of Appleedge in Rainesfere when word of the Blight arrived via the King’s courier. Lorelei headed back to the tribe’s camp ahead of the traders to inform her father and the tribal elders. The Thane sent Brickel and Rannulf to relay the message to any nearby tribes in the mountains. The tribe then began preparations to move further into the mountains, but Vidar was restless. He proposed to take whoever wished to volunteer to Ostagar to aid the King of Ferelden. Most of the elders objected, but Haldor saw the practicalities of offering aid.

“The Blight is a threat to all life,” he had said. “It cares not whether we are Avvar or Fereldan. If our cousins are to make a stand at Ostagar, then we should help them while we can. Even united the tribes do not have the numbers of the lowlanders – if the lowlanders fall, it will not be long before the darkspawn spread over the mountains.”

Haldor offered to volunteer, but Vidar argued against it. “If we fall, my brother, our people need you,” he said. “You have the skills needed to negotiate passage into Orlais if the worst should happen.”

Lorelei, eager to be of use to the tribe as well as take the opportunity (however dark) to venture outside of the mountains, volunteered to be Vidar’s second. Haldor objected, but the Thane, knowing his daughter’s determination on issues where she had made a decision, acquiesced to the request. A band of over a dozen Avvar warriors and hunters, including Vidar, Sigmund and Lorelei, headed to Ostagar, joining the Imperial Highway at Lothering.

If the old Avvar tribes had offered their blades and bows to the King of Ferelden before, it was in an age when record-keeping was so poor that the event had gone overlooked. Their arrival was a surprise, but Loghain was never one to look a non-Orlesian gifthorse in the mouth, and the Avvars were quickly put to work, scouting and taking part in the initial battles.

At the final, fateful battle, Lorelei was on the frontlines with her tribesmen, the Grey Wardens and part of the King’s Army. Sigmund, along with most of the Avvar warriors, was slain when they were overwhelmed. Vidar, Lorelei and the two other hunters that were stationed with the archers, retreated into the Wilds. Erik was shot as they retreated and Arnkell succumbed to the taint some days later despite Vidar and Lorelei’s best efforts to keep him alive. Eventually, once they had reached the edge of the Wilds and the Highway was in sight, Vidar revealed that he too was tainted, and requested that Lorelei kill him before he ended up like Arnkell. Her heart-breaking and her eyes filled with tears, Lorelei eventually did as she was asked, sliding the knife between her brother’s ribs and holding him as he died.

With only Sark for company, Lorelei headed north along the Highway, fully intending to return to the mountains to warn her people. However, she has yet to find out that their defeat was due to Loghain’s betrayal – and when she does, it will no doubt be easy to enlist her aid.

Sark
Sark is a four year old mountain falcon, gifted to Lorelei as a chick when she was 20. He's a hunting and scouting bird, trained to alert Lorelei of any movement in the passes ahead. His scouting skills are even stronger in the wide lowlands, his sharp vision letting him see for miles.

Sark stays with Lorelei out of companionship - she has no hood, tag or method of binding him to her, but she treats him like a human and a family member. Sark has his own opinion much like a mabari, and is not averse to making his views known.

Sark is based off the real world version of a Saker Falcon but a little bit larger, around 25 inches long with a wing span of nearly 150cm.

Trivia

 * The moniker "Lorelei" was first coined by her brother Vidar as a jest. Despite years of Lorelei quite vehemently (and sometimes violently in the more extreme cases) rejecting all of her suitors, she still seemed to attract more when she would sing at the holiday gatherings. Rannulff commented to his brothers that her singing reminded him of the siren Lorelei from the Alamarri legend and, as a way of agreeing, Vidar started using the name for his little sister. Although initially disgruntled by the teasing, Lorelei later embraced the name, hoping it would at least serve as more of an obvious warning for any future suitors. Unfortunately for her, it rarely worked that way.

Timeline

 * August 1: Highlander Diplomacy
 * August 1: The Prisoner
 * August 1: Sister of Mercy
 * August 2: Truths and Oaths
 * August 8: The Antivan Crows' Regards
 * August 21: Noble Vows
 * August 25: Raptor Roguery