Kion 'Rook' Aldwir

Player
Name: Kiwi
Contact: atomic_kiwi on both Discord and Plurk
Over 18?: Yes
Current Characters: N/A
Link to permissions/opt out: Here

Character
Name: Kion "Rook" Aldwir
Canon: Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Canon point: Following the Siege of Weisshaupt (specifically post 'After The Storm')
CRAU?: No
Age: 23-24ish
History:
- Kion and his twin sister were raised by their parents and older sister as a part of Clan Aldwir, a smaller clan.
- When he was about 5 or 6, an illness ravaged the clan, killing his twin, his father, and a majority of the clan. He survived by sheer chance.
- A nearby village that was also hit by the illness blamed his clan for it as some manner of 'curse' and attacked, wiping the rest of them out, Kion only escaping by hiding.
- Found and taken in by clan Coealeth a short time after when he managed to find his way to the place they were originally meant to meet with clan Aldwir to trade. Over the years he was shuffled around the clan in an attempt to figure out what he might he able to do once he was old enough to need to contribute, eventually hitting on smithing as an option.
- At about 13-14, he and companions ran afoul of a Fade Rift, only those who fled surviving the encounter.
- He took his vallaslin a couple years later with the intention of apprenticing to the clan's craftmaster. Instead wound up in an incident with old elven technology activating, which wound up with him quite far away from the clan.
- Assisted by a Veil Jumper couple, Kion made the choice to stay with them rather than return and spent the next couple years with them.
- After an incident that endangered the couple, Kion took up arms to defend them, and since then pivoted from preparing to assist as a smith to learning combat to better assist in protecting Veil Jumpers in the field, as well as any Dalish they might encounter who need help. (Game history links in here)

-Game-specific history.
- Chose to save Treviso, Minrathous was blighted as a result.

Personality: A spirited and gregarious elf, Kion makes friends easily thanks to his cheerful nature, and he keeps them thanks to his loyalty. His energy can make him a bit much for the more subdued sorts, especially combined with a natural playfulness. It's incredibly rare to see him still or quiet, let alone both at the same time, as if he'd vanish were he to go too long in silence.

Generally, he seems to wear his heart on his sleeve- Kion is not the sort of elf predisposed to deception, though those who spend enough time around him might notice that while he's very open with surface level details, he tends to be almost cagey with details about himself and his life before the Veil Jumpers. It doesn't seem to be a conscious thing given his typical nature, but subconscious or no, he's very avoidant about digging in to his own past and deeper feelings with others. It's hard to say how this affects him, as he typically keeps more negative emotions in check, venting them in pursuits like combat practice, or physical labor. If this fails in keeping things in check, he tends to withdraw from others as if not wanting to burden them with his problems. Hypocritical? Absolutely, but good luck getting him to admit he's even doing it, let alone recognize that he should let his companions help him as he does for them. It does tend to bleed out a bit in actual combat as anger, though he'd just shrug that off, never admit what the anger was actually about, as it hardly mattered in the moment so long as he had a healthy outlet for it.

His eager nature can make him somewhat reckless with his own wellbeing, and a willingness to trust others only compounds the risk- but he considers that worth it, would rather risk that hurt than write off someone who he could help by simply reaching out. He cares deeply about others, does what he can to protect and take care of those around him, especially those who he considers friends or family, though they might notice he tends to not take near as much care with himself.

Despite the terrible truths he's learned about his people's history, the hardships he's seen others face, and endured himself in his own life, he is passionately optimistic and believes emphatically that while there are dark times to endure, that everyone can come out the other side of it if they only come together. So he does what he can to facilitate that, reaching out to his companions in their times of need, protecting those who have no one else, to ensure that as many families as possible can get through the day whole.
Powers and abilities: Kion is generally mundane in abilities- he's a skilled fighter at this point, and generally used to scrambling around ruins and wooded terrain as most Dalish tend to be. Being raised as the craftsmaster's apprentice, he's garnered some skill as a smith, though mostly with experience for more practical repairs or creations than anything fanciful at the moment.
Chosen faction: Sylph
Suitability: Kion's home canon is pretty solidly high fantasy, granted with a bit of a darker bend than Caldera seems to have. But in general he'd adapt pretty readily to it, especially with others from back home to help him get his bearings. (But even alone he tends to be the sort to reach out and make connections so all in all he'd get along well.)

Sample
TDM

Questions, comments, and concerns: Nothing I can think of! <3