Halli Brosca is a casteless Dwarf and former Carta member who would go on to end the Fifth Blight, an achievement that got her named a Paragon of Orzammar, something that she found highly amusing.
Appearance and Personality[]
Halli, although half the height of most of her companions, is also quite stocky and muscular - although she often wears heavy plate armor that hides her figure. She has bright red hair which she often wears in a messy ponytail, and blue eyes. Like most casteless dwarves, she bears a facial brand marking her former status.
Halli can be a bit rough and she's not always particularly well-spoken, but she has a strong sense of empathy and a desire to prove that she's not just another casteless thug.
Still, Halli is loyal to her friends, fiercely protective of her sister, and respectful to those who earn it. She doesn't put much stock in nobility of any kind, and once wrote a profanity filled (and badly written) song about where the nobles could stick it. Later, she grudgingly developed a soft spot for King Bhelen for helping her sister, as well as for Queen Anora.
Talents and Skills[]
Halli is a fierce, largely self-taught warrior who is quite skilled dual wielding a pair of axes. She's also very strong, with only Sten and Oghren matching her physically. Her fighting style requires her to be quick on her feet, and of course, she is, having spent most of her childhood stealing. She is also a skilled pickpocket.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Halli was born casteless to Kala and Orrick, their second child after her older sister Rica. Orrick left for the surface shortly before Halli was born to seek out greener pastures, leaving his daughters behind with their mother, a miserable alcoholic who really only cared where her next drink was coming from.
Halli's childhood was not a particularly pleasant one. With their real mother usually indisposed, Rica was left to care for her younger sister, resulting in Halli saying that she was more a mother to her than Kala ever was.
Still, without much in the way of supervision as she got older, Halli was largely left to her own devices. She frequently stole in an effort to free herself and her family, and eventually started picking fights. During one of these fights, she met her best friend (and occasional bedmate, once they got older) Leske.
As a teenager, Halli, against her sister's wishes, joined the Carta in an effort to bring some money in for her family. While she hated Beraht, she grudgingly worked for him, and through her skill in a fight and her willingness to get the job done, earned his respect. Halli managed to convince him to help her sister Rica, and he trained her to become a noble hunter who could potentially advance the family's position. However, Beraht frequently harassed Rica, resulting in Halli occasionally swindling some of his Carta money for herself as revenge.
"Proving" Herself[]
During one of Halli and Leske's jobs, they were instructed to fix a Proving so that Beraht could win a bet on one of the fighters. However, when Everd, the fighter he had bet on turned out to be extremely drunk and in no shape to fight, Halli decided to impersonate him in the Proving so that Beraht could still win his money.
Hidden in Everd's armor, Halli beat nearly every warrior in the Proving, and was set to compete in the championship match when the real Everd stumbled in at the worst time possible. When Halli realized that she would be forced to reveal her identity, she did so with pride, boasting that though she had no caste or clan, she had defeated them all. She put up quite the fight against the guards, but was overwhelmed, arrested, and then kidnapped by the Carta.
Beraht's Death[]
Halli was imprisoned in Beraht's base following the disastrous Proving, but she and Leske managed to escape his custody. After hearing Beraht threaten Rica, Halli killed him, which she had been planning to do anyways.
After escaping, Halli was found almost immediately by the warrior caste, but she was saved from a painful execution by the Grey Warden Duncan, who had been impressed by her strength and courage and decided to conscript her. Knowing she had no better options and wanting to make something of herself beyond just being another brand, Halli followed Duncan and ended up becoming a Grey Warden.
As a Grey Warden[]
| Quest/Location | Outcome |
|---|---|
| The Battle of Ostagar | Helped feed the deserter. Recruited Dog |
| Broken Circle | Helped the mages and saved the Circle. Did not agree to Cullen's request. |
| The Arl of Redcliffe | Helped the village fight the undead. Saved Connor with the help of the Circle mages. |
| Nature of the Beast | Made peace between the elves and the werewolves. |
| A Paragon of Her Kind | Bhelen Aeducan is king of Orzammar. Sided with Caridin and destroyed the Anvil. |
| The Urn of Sacred Ashes | Killed Kolgrim on sight without ever hearing his offer; did not defile the ashes. |
| The Landsmeet | Tried (and failed) to fight her way out of Arl Howe's estate and was captured. Fought her way out of Fort Drakon. Refused Caladrius's offer of blood magic (and stuck an axe in his face). Gained the support of the nobles. Anora was made sole queen. Loghain was killed in a duel by Alistair. |
| The Battle of Denerim | Refused Morrigan's ritual. Fought the generals in the city. Alistair made the ultimate sacrifice. |
Post Game[]
Halli is quickly named the Hero of Ferelden for her actions by Queen Anora, and only a few months after the Battle of Denerim, the Assembly names her a Paragon - the first casteless dwarf in generations to gain such an honor. Despite all of the praise that she got, Halli was never sure if she deserved it.
She returned to Orzammar for a little while and helped out the human soldiers that had been sent to clear out some of the Deep Roads - the dwarves managed to reclaim a couple of thaigs with her help.
After she is named Warden-Commander and Arlessa of Amaranthine, Halli goes to Amarantine to help rebuild the Wardens in Ferelden, recruiting a small but loyal group of Wardens. Unwilling to leave her friends behind, she saved Vigil's Keep and felt horrible about it. However, she killed the Architect, seeing him as too dangerous to be allowed to live.
Once things were settled, Halli alternated between her duties as Warden-Commander and her duties as a Paragon for many years. She also starts searching for a cure for the Calling. Once she found a good lead, she chose to go into the west, with a few of her closest friends in the Wardens, in order to go look for it.
Relationships[]
Zevran[]
When Zevran first met Halli while trying to kill her, he almost immediately started flirting with her and called her beautiful. Fortunately, Halli found this funny and agreed to take him on. The two ended up becoming pretty good friends and they quite like bouncing jokes off of each other.
Shale[]
Shale and Halli maintained a rather close friendship based on their shared love of violence. The pair even traveled together for a while after the Blight. Halli also thought it was cool that Shale used to be a dwarf like her.
Oghren[]
Oghren introduced himself to Halli by coming on to her, however, Halli thought he smelled like a brewery and was turned off by his drinking habit, which reminded her of her mother. The creepy flirting never quite stopped, but the pair developed a healthy respect for each other and bonded as fellow dwarves driven to the surface by their circumstances.
Halli encouraged Oghren to take an active role in his child's life, in an effort to spare the kid the grief of living without a father that she had suffered. Ever since then, the pair have been on very good terms with each other.
Alistair[]
Halli wasn't sure how to feel about Alistair and even thought he was a bit dim. Still, he was kind to her, and that counted for a lot for Halli, who hadn't had much kindness in her life. While she normally wouldn't have gone for a human, she couldn't deny he was attractive, too. The two became friends easily and ended up bonding over their shared grief for Duncan's death. The two of them were constant supports for each other, and it wasn't at all a surprise when Alistair gave Halli a rose and confessed his feelings for her, which Halli gratefully returned. They were, respectively, the first people in each other's life that accepted each other for who they were, without regard for bloodlines or family. Halli chose to support Anora as queen so the two could stay together in the Wardens, and the couple have remained happy with each other.
Sigrun[]
As another casteless dwarf and Legion of the Dead member, Sigrun thought that Halli was the coolest person ever and Halli really liked Sigrun's energy and enthusiasm. The pair became very good friends and could frequently be seen travelling or going on assignments together.
External Links[]
The First Meeting - Halli meets Jocelyn and her companions for the first time. (Multi Warden AU)