Leliana

Leliana (a.k.a. The Nightingale, Divine Victoria)

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Leliana was born in Orlais, and though she is culturally Orlesian, her mother was Ferelden and so she considers herself as such. Leliana's mother, Oisine, was a servant of Lady Cecilie Vasseur, an Orlesian noble. One of Leliana's earliest memories is the scent of her mother's linen dress as they held hands on the terrace of an Orlesian villa with a view of the Waking Sea and gardens of sweet orange and lavender. Though Leliana is uncertain if this powerful memory is real or not, she cherishes the image of her Ferelden mother. Following the Ferelden victory in the Rebellion, Oisine followed Lady Cecilie back to Orlais.
At sixteen, Leliana made her first trip to Val Royeaux, to attend a soiree with Lady Cecilie. There she met and was impressed by Marjolaine, a wealthy widow and patroness of the arts. Marjolaine began calling upon the aging Lady Cecilie shortly after the soiree, who often left Leliana to entertain the dazzling visitor.
Leliana was fascinated by Marjolaine's worldliness and daring, and the two became close friends. On a hunting trip, Marjolaine gave Leliana her first bow. In teaching her how to use it during that trip, Leliana wounded (but did not kill) a hart the hunters were tracking. Too upset to end its suffering, Leliana watched in amazement as Marjolaine efficiently killed the animal.
That same summer, Leliana visited Marjolaine at her Val Royeaux estate, and the widow began to teach her way of the bard: manipulation, subterfuge and combat. Always her teaching was subtle and disguised, easily assumed to be merely a lady's idle amusements.
In Marjolaine's company, Leliana met Tug and Sketch, and traveled with the pair across Thedas. Leliana's enjoyment of the freedom of these days dovetailed Marjolaine's increasing fear of her student's growing skill and potential to strike at her. Consequently, Marjolaine struck first and had the trio framed, arrested and abused.
With the aid of an Orlesian Revered Mother, Dorothea, Leliana escaped her captors. She and Sketch, as well as a Ferelden named Silas Corthwaite, sought revenge against them and Marjolaine. Upon securing a new, if uncertain life, Leliana found purpose in the Chantry and Dorothea's calm advice.
In memory of Tug, who perished during their arrest, Leliana toasts his memory every year with Antivan plum brandy, pouring some out as well and intoning "Atrast tunsha, salroka." Her relationship with Sketch remains rocky due to Leliana's embellishment of the past, though she seeks his aid to translate messages left by Tug in dwarven.
Ultimately, Leliana ended up in the village of Lothering. To atone for her sins and to hide from Marjolaine, who survived the original encounter, Leliana joined the chantry there as a lay sister, becoming intensely religious.
There, her confession of a vision from The Maker, and discovery of an impossible white rose on a dead bush in Lothering, both made her an outcast and spurred Leliana's passion to aid the Warden in the Fifth Blight. No one could shake her determination to stop this evil and bring hope to the world.
After the Blight, Leliana answered a summons from Divine Justinia V, her old friend Dorothea who had now become the head of the Andrastian Chantry. Returning to Val Royeaux, Leliana agreed to become her Left Hand and spymaster. Leliana assumed mastery over a coterie of her own agents, and once again reinvented herself and resumed the role of bard that Marjolaine had trained her for.
In this role, Leliana investigated rumors of mage rebellion in Kirkwall and suspicions of Qunari activity at Chateau Haine, as well as serving Dorothea's will in attempting to quell the Mage-Templar War as well as brewing elven uprising. To this day, even despite the love of her mother Oisine, the nurturing presence of Lady Cecilie and the salvation of Dorothea, Leliana understands that Marjolaine shaped her deeply, in both speech and action. As with Marjolaine, Leliana's enemies continue to move against her, seeking out weaknesses to exploit.
Leliana, in her capacity as the Divine's representative, met with Empress Celene I at the University of Orlais to discuss the continued mage-templar tensions. Although she attempted to maintain anonymity, Celene revealed her knowledge of both Leliana and Justinia's identities and past exploits. The empress went on to demand that the Divine make an official statement on the mage-templar conflict within three weeks, or she would be unable to restrain the overeager nobles at her court from interfering. Leliana agreed to take this proposal to Justinia.
Leliana later delivered to Celine the Divine's price for helping to quell conflict between mages and templars: the empress must end the elven revolt in Halamshiral. By doing so, Celene would demonstrate the same control over her own affairs that she had demanded of the Divine. Given her adventures alongside elves in the past, Leliana regrets the repressive tactics employed against the elven population, but bid Celene good luck before leaving.
After the Explosion at the Divine Conclave, Leliana joined The Inquisition as its spymaster, and led the clandestine division responsible for espionage and assassination. She provided an effective alternative when diplomacy or blunt force failed, collected information, dispatched agents and scouts, and signed her letters with an ominous nightingale sigil that left no question of its author. Given all she had gone through, the carefree bard had changed, and with the responsibilities of the Inquisition, even if Leliana wished to show her softer side, she could not.
Leliana brought her old friend, the Antivan noblewoman Lady Josephine Montilyet, into the Inquisition. Grieving the loss of her dear friend, Divine Justinia V, Leliana struggled with a crisis of faith following the tragedy of the Breach. As the war council assembled, Cassandra and Leliana suggested approaching the rebel mages for help with the Breach. When asked why she was so invested in the rebel mages, Leliana revealed that she supported the Divine's plan to use the Inquisition to challenge the tenets of the Chantry so that the mages would be treated more fairly. She believes that mages deserve their freedom, in inspiring good rather than dictating it, redemption of past sins, and in radical reform for the Chantry to stamp out inequality for all races.
Leliana and her group were sent alongside Dorian Pavus to eliminate the Venatori and their leader, Gereon Alexius, at Redcliffe Castle where the mages made their base of operations.
When the Inquisitor, Merai Lavellan, took control of the fortress of Skyhold, Leliana spent her free time in the rookery, making it a new home. Leliana was more hardened and was willing to respond to betrayal with vicious reprisal. After the attack on Haven, she also berated herself for the sentimentality she had for her agents, believing they lost Haven because she pulled her agents back when the first lookouts went missing. Merai disagreed with her, insisting their people were not disposable.
After Merai returned from the Fade, she had a message for Leliana from a spirit that assisted her in the Fade, and posed as Divine Justinia V. The message was "I'm sorry, I failed you too." After hearing this message, Leliana tried to make sense of the message and the events that led to Justinia's death. She believed that it wasn't Justinia who failed her, but she who failed Justinia.
Leliana accompanied the Inquisitor to the Winter Palace, and advised her to search for the identity of Celene's arcane advisor.
Leliana received a posthumous letter from Justinia, directing her to the chantry in Valence, the place where she met Justinia before she was Divine. She asked Merai to accompany her, and the two were greeted by Sister Natalie when they arrived. Merai found three hidden mechanisms that unveiled a hidden box, and Leliana grew suspicious of Natalie, who made a slip of the tongue, prompting Leliana to put a knife to her throat. She deduced that Natalie was sent by Grand Cleric Victoire, who had secretly disparaged Justinia and was anti-Inquisition, to see what secret Justinia kept hidden. Merai stopped Leliana from killing Natalie, and said the woman should be brought to Skyhold for judgment. Leliana then opened the box, only to find it empty, with an inscription reading "The Left Hand should lay down her burden." Justinia released her from her service because she feared she was using Leliana.
In the wake of the Breach and the death of Divine Justinia V, Leliana begun investigating all of the late Divine's known enemies. She was scrutinizing Lady Cybile Maronn of Baisne, a minor but exceedingly wealthy noble. Evidence of plots against the Divine led her to socially and politically destroy Lady Cybile despite not being involved with events at the Temple of Sacred Ashes. Lady Cybile's only son, seeking to appease the Inquisition, handed over a significant portion of his mother's assets, including the assassin, Argent's, contract in order to avoid following his mother's fate.

Education

When Leliana's mother died, shortly after her fourth birthday, she was raised by Cecilie (though she did not likely legally adopt her), and in her care Leliana learned much about the royal court and Orlesian culture.
Oisine's death cast a pall over Leliana's normally sunny disposition, however, and in an effort to cheer the girl her new guardian gave her whatever she asked for; Leliana only ever wanted books. As a result, she quickly developed an obsessive interest in Orlesian and Fereldan stories, ballads and songs, as well as any tales she could learn from Cecilie's elven servants. Tutors were soon called for by Lady Cecilie to foster Leliana's passion. Leliana often practiced her dancing on the stone terrace of Cecilie's villa on the Waking Sea, as well.

Employment

Leliana was elected as the new Divine, Divine Victoria. She disbanded the Circle of Magi, and allowed mages to rule their own lives. She admitted non-humans into the Chantry priesthood, allied with the Inquisition, and adhered to the principle of service to others. She also opened the Chantry to male clerics, and allowed Chantry personnel to marry. Her message of love being the Maker's greatest gift spread despite opposition.
Divine Victoria's rule was controversial from the start, but Leliana met with their leaders, urging unity, and miraculously, her words took root, and for now, the Chantry remains united and strong.

Social

Hobbies & Pets

Leliana's pet nugs, Schmooples II and Boulette are being cared for by one of her agents, Sparrow.

Current Location

Val Royeaux

Species

Human

Honorary & Occupational Titles

The Nightingale, Divine Victoria

Year of Birth

902 42 Years old

Current Residence

Val Royeaux

Aligned Organization

The Inquisition

Other Affiliations

• Andrastian