A shy, skeptical baby ptarmigan.
Overview[]
Physical Appearance[]
Julian is shorter than most people. He's got dark curls, freckles, rosy cheeks, and the general look of someone who needs to be bundled into a blanket. His facial expressions generally range from "unimpressed scowl" to "ambiguous concern."
He has a scar across his mouth from a run-in with a bear, and one on his forehead from In Your Heart Shall Burn.
Personality[]
Julian's a two-daggers rogue assassin and a quiet little grouse of a person. He's prickly and sarcastic on the outside, anxious and obsessively pessimistic on the inside. Making dry jokes in tense moments is the only way he knows how to survive the various anxieties of his life.
Deep down, he's a gentle, caring little duckling. Please don't tell anyone I told you.
Talents and Skills[]
Stealth, stabbery, acrobatics, and lockpicking. Also cooking, whittling, and drawing the silliest doodles.
Biography[]
Julian never quite felt like he belonged in his clan. Following a slow crisis of faith through adolescence, he found himself not believing in the Dalish Creators anymore, but far too ashamed to admit it to anyone -- which manifested in a general tendency to keep quiet and push people away. He also was slightly despairing at the idea of never finding companionship within his clan, as his sexual orientation was not particularly "on the Dalish path" of being fruitful for Sylaise.
He was an incredibly reluctant Inquisitor. The implications of being the "Herald" terrified him and he denied being holy at every opportunity. In the role he tried to be kind and merciful and rather laissez-faire, as he does not consider himself particularly qualified to be deciding the fates of others.
Relationships[]
Julian's usual party members in the field are Cassandra, Solas, and his partner.
Cassandra and Julian don't always see eye to eye, but he greatly respects her straightforwardness and they have a strong working friendship. He's also pretty sure she's the real Inquisitor around here, oversized novelty sword be damned. Meantime, Solas is a bit of a mentor figure for Julian -- the first elder he's had who's encouraged him to have questions and venture off the Dalish path.
Sera is particularly good friends with Julian: her silliness helps him relax. They have a lot of dumb schemes on the go in Skyhold, including posting crude drawings and fake letters around the place, challenging each other to trivial contests, and endless doodling together (sometimes caricatures of their pals, although they also have a tendency to draw each other detailed sketches of genitalia). Julian is also known to have drinks and laughs with Varric and Dorian.
While he's not close with Vivienne, he is pretty sure she'll only ever stab him in the front, so that's comforting in a way I guess. By contrast, he is completely terrified of both Blackwall (who is just a bit too worshipful of the Inquisitor to be sane) and The Iron Bull (trained manipulator, you say? nooooope).
Equinox Vaharel is Julian's life partner and joins the Inquisition as his companion. (In another version of the universe, Julian joins as a companion under Inquisitor Nox.)
Miscellaneous[]
That Non-Dalish Name[]
Julian was named after a human in some vague circumstances, which doesn't help how little he feels like he belongs among the Dalish. Some of his elders try to pretend his name is "Jun'falen" instead -- he appreciates that even less.
Full Inventory[]
In addition to filling his pockets with all manner of junk -- leaves, bark, rocks, twine, screws, buttons, etc. -- Julian often keeps lizards in his jacket. His lizards are called Princess Elfroot, Pocket Frostback, Coryphyfish, and Commander Cuddles. Some of his companions think this means he has four lizards. In truth, he just dubs any lizard he finds with one of these four names at random, then lets it hang out on his person for a bit until it decides to return to nature. Lizards gotta be free.
