"If you're not going to help me, then your blood will suffice!"
Nerya Surana was a Blood Mage who would eventually become known far and wide as The Hero of Ferelden.
Originally born to Zathrian's Clan of Dalish Elves, she was originally intended to be Zathrian's first, but the cunning machinations of the Keeper lead to him exiling Nerya so he could protect his secrets.
Starving, Frightened, and Alone, she was eventually found by a human farmer and his family in Lothering, who gave her a place to stay, but when she used her magic to protect them from bandits, her reward was for her to be taken away by the Templars, where she would spend the next twelve years of her life in the Circle.
Her intense skill with magic combined with her vocal dislike of the Templars attracted the attention of Senior Enchanter Uldred, who took her under his wing and trained her to become a powerful Blood Mage. Together, they formed a plan to start a rebellion against the Circle with an army of Blood Mages and gain their freedom.
Nerya would not get the chance to participate.
Instead, she was caught in the middle of another mage's escape attempt. Although, she intended to turn Jowan over to Irving and the Templars to cover her own tracks, her prowess unknowingly caught the attention of Duncan, Commander of Ferelden's Grey Wardens.
Realizing she wouldn't need to fight her way out in Uldred's Rebellion, she seized the opportunity and joined the Grey Wardens, unaware of just how important her role would be in saving Ferelden from the Blight.
Overview[]
Physical Appearance[]
Nerya takes great pride in her appearance. After all, it is far more amusing and requires less effort to enthrall somebody with her beauty than by using Blood Magic to simply take over their minds.
Her hair is black as the night, and she likes experimenting with different types of hair styles. Her favorite hair style is keeping her hair shoulder length with bangs in the front, and her hair tied up in a braided bun in the back.
Her eyes are a dark shade of brown, almost black like her hair. The fact that she doesn't sleep very much often takes its toll on her eyes, so she wears heavy levels of eye shadow to hide the circles below them.
Since she was forced to leave her clan before she came of age, she does not have the Traditional Vallaslin markings of a Dalish. Instead, she created her own by having the right side of her face tattooed just below her eye, which matches her makeup perfectly and compliments her pale skin.
Personality[]
Being kicked out of her Dalish Clan by Zathrian, combined with her grudge against the Chantry which was fueled by Uldred's teachings led to a deep sense of ambition and hatred to grow inside Nerya. When she wants something she stops at nothing to acquire it. One might even call her a cold blooded sociopath if they knew even half the things she is willing to do to get what she wants.
A Master Manipulator, she puts on the appearance of an innocent little elf who wouldn't hurt a fly, and to those who discover she is a blood mage, she has a million excuses as to how she came to know such dark powers. It is all a front of course. Behind that gentle face lies the exact type of blood mage the Chantry warns people about.
Talents and Skills[]
Nerya is a powerful blood mage, able to use it with great efficiency to control the battlefield. Being outnumbered was never a concern for Nerya, as she could paralyze dozens of enemies at once with Blood Wound, or even take control of some of them with Blood Control.
A Master of both the Primal and Entropy Schools of Magic, her favorite trick on the battlefield is immobilizing a group of enemies by either stunning them with Blood Wound or putting them to sleep, and then watching them burn in a storm of flames after using Fireball or Inferno.
After acquiring the knowledge of an Arcane Warrior, she began to train in physical combat and swordsmanship so her physical frailty would no longer be an issue. She now is just as skilled with a blade as she is with a staff, and she wields the sword, Spell Weaver with deadly levels of efficiency.
Being Dalish by birth, Nerya is fluent in both the common tongue and the language of the Ancient Elves.
Biography[]
History[]
Nerya was born in 9:10 Dragon to parents she never got the chance to meet. Her mother was a huntress of Zathrian's clan who fell in love with a City Elf living in Highever's Alienage. It was a brief affair of passion, but since her mother was unwilling to leave her clan and stay in the city, and her father couldn't abandon his family to join the Dalish, they were forced to go their separate ways. Nine months later, complications during the birthing process took the life of Nerya's mother, who survived just long enough to name her.
Nerya's childhood was difficult. Zathrian made sure she was given proper care and treated like one of the clan, but many of the hunters viewed her with disdain, viewing her mother's foolish affair with her flat-ear father as a mistake which cost the clan one of their best huntresses. It only got worse when her magic manifested, as Nerya needed to be isolated from the clan to train with Zathrian. She was proud of the idea that she would get to be his First, and yearned for the day when she would grow up to be keeper. Then she would prove everybody who doubted her wrong.
However, Nerya's strong willed personality began to come back and bite her. She would often question the traditions of the tribe, and ask even more controversial questions about Zathrian himself. Most of the clan accepted Zathrian's explanation that he had unintentionally rediscovered the secret of elven immortality and it would return to the rest of the clan in time, but Nerya didn't buy it, and her refusal to let the subject die resulted in tension between the Keeper and his first.
When another Dalish Child began to show promising signs of Magic, Zathrian made a decision. Nerya was rebellious, independent, and too cunning for her own good. Each time they passed the Brecilian Forest, there was a risk Nerya would figure out the truth behind Zathrian's long lifespan. Lanaya on the other hand was passive, obedient, and greatly admired Zathrian. She would never question him or pry into his secrets. So, it was decided Lanaya would replace Nerya, and Nerya would be sent out to see the world, which was just a colorful phrase that really meant the Dalish were kicking her out. She was only ten years old.
The provisions they gave her didn't last very long, and her body wasn't nearly as physically fit as the hunters of her clan. She eventually began to succumb to starvation and hypothermia, until a kind old farmer and his family found her and brought her back to their home just outside Lothering. The family was not like the nasty Shemlen the Dalish believed all humans to be. They were kind to her, and they didn't care that she was an elf. They agreed to let her stay in exchange for helping them with chores. Nerya was grateful for the kindness she never thought she would witness in humans, but the comfort wouldn't last long. When the farm was attacked by bandits, Nerya used her magic to protect the farmer and his family. She viciously slaughtered the bandits and burnt them all to a crisp, but in doing so, she scared the humans, and they turned on her. Within an hour, the Templars arrived to take her to the circle, and no matter how much she cried and begged, the farmer who used to treat her as a second daughter, ignored her.
Nerya would spend twelve years in Kinloch Hold, and from her despair came a growing sense of hatred. How dare her clan betray the one destined to become their Keeper? How dare they send her to be a prisoner of the Shemlen Chantry and its Templars? How dare those Shemlen farmers throw her to the wolves after she saved their lives? These questions repeated themselves over and over in Nerya's mind, and it resulted in Nerya taking her first step in transforming from an innocent little elven girl into a True Maleficar.
Nerya would spend twelve years in the Circle Tower. She only tried to escape once thanks to a fellow apprentice, Anders, encouraging her. After the Templars explained the concept of phylacteries to her, she gave up that dream. Freedom would be pointless if she was constantly running from Templars who could always find her eventually. That didn't stop her from lashing out
In-game[]
- Told Irving about Jowan's Plan to Escape
- Voluntarily Joined Duncan
- Cured the Mabari Hound
- Recruited the Werewolves, Killed the Dalish Clan
- Recruited the Templars, Killed all the Circle Mages
- Bhelen becomes King of Orzammar
- Destroyed the Anvil of the Void
- Defended Redcliffe Village from the Undead
- Isolde is sacrificed for the Blood Magic Ritual
- Made a Deal with the Desire Demon to allow Connor to remain possessed.
- Killed the High Dragon at the Temple of Sacred Ashes
- Corrupted the Urn of Sacred Ashes
- Sophia Dryden is Killed
- Avernus allowed to continue his research
- Anora Imprisoned in a Tower (Killed by Nerya later)
- Alistair executes Loghain
- Alistair becomes King of Ferelden
- Alistair performs the Dark Ritual with Morrigan
Post-game[]
During the Events of Inquisition, The Inquisition was puzzled by the surprising amounts of Werewolf activity across Ferelden and Orlais. Even more surprising was the knowledge that these werewolves were specifically attacking Venatori and Red Templar patrols.
With her growing coven of Elven Blood Mages along with the army of Werewolves still under her control, Nerya wanted to fight Corypheus herself, but with the knowledge that Corypheus could potentially take control of her, she couldn't risk it. Instead, she followed Morrigan's lead on a potential cure for the calling.
By the time she did successfully cure herself, Corypheus was already defeated, but one of her Elven Spies in the Inquisition told her of a shocking revelation. A seemingly normal elven apostate, Solas, was not only the one truly responsible for the Breach, but he was actually the Dread Wolf himself, Fen'Harel.
Relationships[]
Companions[]
- Alistair -
- Morrigan
- Zevran
- Oghren
- Shale
- Sten
- Wynne
- Leliana
- Dog
Others:[]
- Keeper Zathrian
- First Enchanter Irving
- Knight Commander Gregoir
- Senior Enchanter Uldred
- Warden Acolyte Avernus
- The Architect
Miscellaneous[]
- In all other world states where she is not recruited by Duncan, she fights in Uldred's Rebellion as his second in command. She is eventually possessed by a Desire Demon and then slain by the Grey Wardens.
