Ayelet "Yel" Lavellen is a Dalish archer from the Free Marches. She has reluctantly accepted her role as Inquisitor and operates through pragmatic trial-and-error.
Ayelet follows Garrett Hawke (Champion of Kirkwall) and Myriani Surana (Hero of Fereldan) in this timeline.
Overview
Physical Appearance
Ayelet is of average height for an elf, standing at 5'0" and has a petite, slightly pear-shaped frame. Her eyes are large and golden-green in color. She has a round, slightly upturned nose, full lips and warm medium-brown skin. She also bares a vertical scar across her right eye from an accident as a teen. Her vallaslin is Ghilan'nain's and is blood red in color. Her dense curly hair is dark brown, and usually falls just below her shoulders. True to in-game representation, the left side of her head is shaved, and she often braids a bit to seperate the shaved and unshaved portions.
Her casual attire is usually soft brown leather accented with red or white fabrics, and she's often seen wearing a scarf. She prefers pants to skirts or dresses, but doesn't mind wearing something more feminine if the occassion calls for it. For armor, Ayelet almost exclusively wears Prowler Armor tinted with dragon scale, darkened samite, and volcanic aurum. Rarely, she'll wear Dalish Warrior armor.
Personality
Ayelet is a master of snark and a bit of a ball-buster. Though many miscontrue her comments as rude, her closest friends know that the jabs are good-natured and she fully expects to be roasted in return. Yel is often heard making bad puns or jokes that no one else is laughing at (except maybe The Iron Bull). Underneath the sarcasm, Yel is kind and empathetic; she cares deeply for her family and friends, and hates the idea of anyone sacrificing themselves for her.
Her sentencing decisions usually involve exile or service, only resorting to execution for the worst offenders. At times Ayelet can be impulsive. This is simply due to inexperience with human and Chantry politics. She tries very hard to make decisions that will impact as many Thedosians in a positive way as possible, but learns that making everyone happy is impossible.
Talents, Skills, and Hobbies
Ayelet is, obviously, an accomplished archer and was the former Second to clan Lavellan's Master Hunter. She's chosen to specialize as an assassin. Her favorite fighting skills are Leaping Shot, Twin Blades, and Mark of Death. She enjoys collecting legendary bows, now that she has the financial resources to do so.
Besides filling things with arrows and daggers, Yel has enjoyed learning to read in Common and Tevinter. Once she learns, she becomes a voracious leader. Her favorites are Fereldan fairytales and elven histories. Caring for her red hart, Nima, and her cat, Vherise, take up a good portion of her attention. She hasn't been able to have a pet cat before, as they can't easily travel with a Dalish clan.
She also dabbles in alchemy, making simple healing potions and poisons in which to soak weapons. This requires a bit of skill in gardening. Ayelet learns how to care for plants during her time as Inquisitor, but her real strength lies in identifying wild herbs.
Biography
History
- Ayelet Lavellan was born in the summer of 9:14 Dragon to Gaenan and Vessa of Clan Lavellan. Her father is the clan’s Craftmaster, making and repairing aravels, weapons, and even toys for the children. Her late mother was the clan’s former first and the daughter of Keeper Istimaethoriel, as well as a skilled alchemist before her untimely death. Ayelet has one younger brother Thallan, who works with their father now as a tailor and sometimes acts as a merchant when trading with nearby cities.
- Ayelet was an active and precocious child. Anyone in her clan would describe her childhood as a happy one, filled with pleasant memories. Being the Keeper’s granddaughter afforded her slightly more privileges than most other children. Yel’s parents, however, made sure their children didn’t receive too much special treatment just for having a particular genealogy. From a young age, she aided her parents with their respective work, learning to fletch arrows with her father for the clan's hunters or going into cities with him to trade, and joining her mother on forest outings to gather herbs. When she was strong enough to draw a bow, Ayelet began carrying one on these small adventures with Vessa. So began her love of archery. Ever indulging the curiosities of her children, Vessa encouraged Yel to shadow the hunters once it appeared she didn't carry magic.
- Ayelet excelled as a hunter and seemed naturally gifted in stealth. The others were always thankful to have her along on hunts as she never minded mending broken bows or spears. After killing her first wolf at age 14, Ayelet was chosen by the Huntmaster's first, Thederial, to be his personal apprentice. Thederial wasn't much older than Ayelet at the time, at 19, but he was strong and extremely fast. Under Thederial’s guidance, Ayelet grew into a most capable hunter and soon earned her vallaslin just after her fifteenth year.
- Not long after this milestone, unexpected tragedy befell Clan Lavellan. While the Blight swept across southern Fereldan, the Free Marches felt untouchable. Vessa, daughter of the Keeper and first of her clan, found a set of rings, obviously magical, but missing the stones that should have been inlaid within. Vessa set out on her own in search for the missing gems. After two weeks of no word the clan sent out a search party, including Ayelet and Thederial. They found Vessa’s body in an elven ruin, surrounded by the rings, her shattered staff, and two rage demons waiting to attack.
- After her mother’s death, Ayelet withdrew emotionally from those close to her, with the exception of Thederial and a few other hunters. Her once close relationship with her father and brother suffered. She focused only on improving her skill, eventually being promoted to Second Hunter at age twenty.
- It was around this time that she began a codependent, semi-romantic, mostly sexual relationship with a fellow hunter named Soriel. This relationship was an open secret for a few years, as both elves had been promised to bond with others, to secure alliances with nearby clans. Ayelet used this as a form of rebellion, but when Soriel was sent to another clan to bond, she acted out even more. She would sneak away to Wycome or Hercinia and drink in the alienage whenever the clan was close enough. Thederial and Keeper Istimaethoriel finally put a stop to Ayelet's downward spiral. From 9:39 til 9:41, she did her best to heal, from her mother's passing and from the loss of her crutch in Soriel. Her relationships with her father and brother were rocky, but they were pleased to work things out. Keeper Istimaethoriel even broke off Ayelet’s betrothal.
- The mage rebellion disrupted the easy peace felt in most of the Free Marches. Templars came looking much more often, inciting fear in the Dalish mages. Keeper Istimaethoriel worried for her people, and wanted to know what the humans planned to do to contain the problem they had created. Ayelet and Thederial ventured South on their Keeper’s command. Thederial died in the explosion at the Temple of Sacred Ashes. Ayelet survived only because she was looking for a place to pee, and heard Divine Justinia calling for help.
In-game
Here's what happened during the events of Your OC's game, boyo.
Post-game
Here's what happened after the events of said game, brosef.
Relationships
Party
- The party almost always includes Dorian and Cassandra, with the fourth companion being chosen by whoever feels appropriate for the missions or enemies in a particular region. Favorites include Sera, Bull, and Cole.
Family
- Ayelet is currently on good terms with her grandmother and father. She and her brother, Thallan, write to each other often; in person, they share a tense relationship.
- The rest of the clan is a mixed bag. Some are grateful she’s alive and making a positive name for the Dalish, while others resent her for Thederial’s death.
Friendships
- Her closest friends are Dorian, Cassandra, Lace and Varric (after Hawke’s disappearance). Yel and Sera have an on-again-off-again sibling-like relationship. They disagree on a lot of things, but they would defend each other to the death. Ayelet is also quite close with Leliana, almost using her as a mentor after Thederiel’s death.
- For most of the other companions and advisors, Ayelet enjoys certain things about them, or doing a particular activity with them. Drinking with Bull, watching Blackwall carve (which reminds her of her father), trading alchemical recipes with Vivienne, and having light-hearted conversations with Josephine.
- Ayelet and Solas had a strange relationship. He’s one of the first people she met in Haven, and was immediately soothed by the presence of another elf. She felt almost drawn to him, and can tell he felt the same kinship. But his views on not only elves, but every group of people seemed so harsh to her. She began only seeking him out when she needed arcane advice. Still, she felt that if she had something important to talk about, she would have trusted him with it. She was hurt by his leaving, but not surprised.
Romance
- When Ayelet met Cullen, she noticed how very tired he looked. Then she remembered he was a Templar and intimidation set in. After a few war table meetings, she realized he was not nearly as frightening as the Templars she had heard stories of. Ever the rebellious type, Ayelet was quickly smitten by her Commander, but had spent enough time around humans to know that acting on her crush would be disastrous. Yel delighted in making Cullen squirm with inappropriate questions. After making him blush for the fifteenth time, Ayelet decided to go for it, but then Haven burned to the ground.
- After arriving at Skyhold and being named Inquisitor, Ayelet put her thoughts of Cullen on the back burner for awhile. They shared a few knowing looks and implicating conversations, but there was far too much work to be done. Once the fledgling organization gained more influence and found it's stride, Ayelet could spend more time in Skyhold, but only marginally. Regardless, she began playing chess with Cullen regularly, after suggesting they spend more time together. After hours and hours of glances and flirting and Cullen’s admittance that watching her leave each time was getting increasingly difficult, Ayelet confessed that she couldn’t stop thinking about him.
- Both Cullen and Ayelet struggled to truly open up in the beginning. She had abandonment issues to overcome, he was still fighting a battle with lyrium dependency. Cautiously, they worked together to get past these, at least to a point of trust. She carries his lucky coin every time she travels, and he keeps an ivory halla statue on his desk.
- Their relationship is very supportive and organic. Neither of them pressures the other to be what they are not. She admires his competence and his dedication to do what’s best for his soldiers, his protective nature and perseverance. He appreciates her joviality and hopeful spirit, her complete lack of love for being famous, and how she wants to help those in need. They share a love of making snarky comments about things they find stupid.
Miscellaneous
Political Stances
Major Judgements
Random Headcanons
- Vallaslin patterns of Clan Lavellan will differ from elf to elf, but they have the blood red ink in common.
- Ayelet is a fan of Antivan red wine. Cullen is a fan of the way it stains her lips.
- Yel hates wearing armor with more than a few plates of metal. It makes her clumsy and lessens her accuracy. (Admittedly, her Prowler armor is fully decked out by the end of Inquisition.)
Other
- Ayelet is a Hebrew name meaning “gazelle of the dawn.” I chose this name because it seemed fitting for the role of Inquisitor, but also for the character herself. Ayelet’s life started very happily, and went through a dark period that no one predicted. Her rise to power is a second chance, and a chance to help others during their own darkness. Ghilan’nain’s vallaslin also drives home the “gazelle” part.
- Ayelet was created without mods (on a console), and I'm really proud of how she turned out!
Links
Reddit Headcanon Threads:
Reddit Writing prompt Threads:
Non-Reddit links (AO3, DeviantArt, Tumblr):
Tumblr dedicated to DA screenshots and inspiration.
Gallery
