Adrian Black
"There is nothing I would not do for my homeland."Adrian Black was born into an occupied Ferelden though the Ferelden Rebellion was close at hand. Before he turned six, he saw the Orlesian Empire driven out of his homelands. For their service to Calenhad Theirin, when Calenhad took the title as King of Ferelden he gave the Black family teyrn-ship over Gwaren. When his father passed away, Adrian inherited the title of Teyrn of Gwaren. Before he declared an open rebellion against King Calenhad, he represented ideals of hard work and independence. He always fought tooth-and-nail for the "little guy" and vocally tried to steer Gwaren in a direction away from the path Ferelden was going down. After several years of sitting in teyrn-ship, Adrian had enough. He called for a revolution against the King during a Landsmeet, quickly thereafter formed the Alamarri Sons. After his revolution falling to pieces, he was conscripted to join the Wardens by King Gregory Flume.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Born as a Freeman, Adrian was the son of a farmholder from Oswin in the Western Bannorn, Merdin of Oswin. Adrian has no recollection of this other than what he's been told, but when the Orlesian Emperor Reville declared a tribute tax from all the Ferelden freemen, Adrian's Father refused to pay. As a result, the Black's lost their home due to tax evasion.
The family resisted, but the Orlesian soldiers bested them, forcing Adrian and his father to watch as they raped and killed Adrian's mother. One of Adrian's closest friends, his mabari named Adalla, ran away. Merdin was nowhere to be found for the next three days. When he finally returned, he said wrongs had been righted. Many years later, Merdin informed his son that he had murdered the Orlesian commander responsible. Unable to stay in Oswin, they lived on the run in the Ferelden wilds, banding together with other desperate Alamarri to eke out a living however they could. A month later, Adrian found his lost mabari, Adalla, with several of its legs broken as if thrown out of a moving wagon. The dog was so weak that it died a week later in Adrian's lap.
The life of living with "outlaws" lasted many years, much longer than Adrian's father would have hoped. When the Alamarri Rebels started gaining the attention of those around them, Merdin was one of the first to join the rebels. Merdin pledged himself wholeheartedly. Eventually, he found himself into a circle involving the brilliant Calenhad Theirin, a man who wanted Ferelden united. Merdin and Adrian continued moving from place to place as the rebellion required them to.
After the Battle of River Dane and the collapse of Orlesian forces in western Ferelden, Merdin was awarded the teyrn-ship over Gwaren. When Merdin eventually passed, Adrian took on the position his father had left him.
As he continued to hear lies and broken promises from his King, he continued to feel betrayed. Adrian knew his father had fought for a Ferelden where there was the ultimate goal of freedom. Adrian has, in his eyes, seen this goal be tossed aside despite it being the underlying principle of which his nation was built upon. Enough became enough when King Calenhad openly stated that he would not interfere in the actions Templar's take against those Alamarri who have magic. Adrian, seeing that the trajectory his nation was taking as one of abhorrence, consulted with those who felt the same betrayal. Together, they formed the Alamarri Sons.
The Alamarri Sons, spearheaded by Teyrn Adrian Black, helped tear the nation apart during a time of crisis. After the Battle of Dur Themriel, where the Wardens were thought to have been massacred by Jrid, the Alamarri Sons began their revolution against King Calenhad. For the longest time, Adrian Black helped control this organization which included political leaders from all across southern Ferelden. His organization's secession from Ferelden sparked the Ferelden Civil War which tore Ferelden to its knees for more than a year.
This came to a head when King Calenhad was killed by the Arishok. The then Warden-Commander, Gregory Flume, called for an emergency Landsmeet and he demanded the Alamarri Sons meet him and his people one last time. After much heated debate, both Gregory Flume and Adrian Black were proposed as the two champions who people would sufficiently agree for their kingship. The two dueled for the fate of Ferelden but despite Black's early lead, he was quickly felled by Flume. At this moment, the Alamarri Sons all but fell apart.
In a surprising move, much like what Calenhad did with Simeon when the first duel was done for kingship of Ferelden, Flume did not kill Black as was intended. Instead, he conscripted Black into the Wardens and demanded that he right is wrongs. Otherwise, Black was to die. Black, not wanting death, begrudgingly decided to join the Wardens. For the final months of the Jrid invasion in Ferelden, Adrian fought as a seasoned veteran alongside other Wardens until they eventually vanquished the Jrid menace.
After all was said and done, King Gregory Flume stripped Black of all his titles outside of the Wardens and decreed that he would never be allowed to have political title nor land of his own. For a while, Black was considered to be a disgrace by many Wardens and most saw having people like him in the order as an insult to the integrity of the Wardens. Since being conscripted into the Wardens, he has stayed quiet. Regardless of what he has done, in recent years he has earned the respect of those who fight beside him. Despite all the harm and hatred that many still direct at him, he rose to become a general amongst the Wardens and has been able to acquire King Flume's hesitant trust.
Education
Adrian was never formally tutored. Instead, most of his knowledge is either in matters of martial battle, warfare, and leading the common-folk by example.
Morality & Philosophy
(Thoughts on the Orlesian occupation of Ferelden) "Hate doesn't describe it. I've seen painted, masked lords beat an old farmer to death. To this day, I don't know why. Is that hate? I saw good, sensible Alamarri fighting armored chevaliers with nothing—no weapons, no armies, not even hope of success—to see the occupation end. Is that hate?"Adrian holds a deep seeded hatred for Orlais and all those in it. As a child he saw the terrible things they did, namely raping and killing his mother. He has never and likely will never forgive them. In his eyes, the Orlesians are sickening as their whole structure of power relies upon abusing those who have little power and using whatever power one has to keep others down. Regardless of anything else he thinks, he knows that Orlesians never have other people's interests in mind. If they were ever to get another chance to subjugate the people of Ferelden, they would do so in a heart beat. They would then rule with cruelty and malice, as they did before. Beyond his thoughts on Orlais, Adrian sees many problems in the society that has propped him up. Continuing the same fight Adrian's father did until his passing, Adrian actively opposed some of the proposals that came from King Calenhad during the king's rule. Namely, Adrian sees the existence of the Circle of Magi in Ferelden as an absolutely anti-Alamarri thing. To him, the whole point of the Ferelden Rebellions was to bring freedom to the Alamarri. The creation and existence of the Circle Tower at Kinloch Hold is an active opposition to that. In his argument, he cites the decades and centuries that the Alamarri existed without having to treat mages as if they were ravenous animals.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Adrian Black wants to see a day where the Alamarri are free once again, and stay as active opposition to the tyrannical ideals set out by other nations and their "ideals of mankind". The Alamarri are meant to be free.
Social
Religious Views
Adrian Black is a vocal believer in the Alamarri pantheon.
Ethnicity
Honorary & Occupational Titles
ex-Teyrn of Gwaren (stripped of his title), ex-Leader of the Alamarri Sons (organization is no more), Warden-General
Children
Quotes & Catchphrases
(At the Landsmeet before starting his revolution with the Alamarri Sons) "You are traitors! Which of you had family who stood in the fields of battle against the Orlesian emperor when his troops flattened your fields and raped your wives? Calenhad... your fascination with glory and legends will be your undoing."
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
Comments