Saris

"I suspect you have questions..."

Saris is an elven apostate and a self-proclaimed expert in the Fade. Despite his elven appearance, he does not recognize himself as a Dalish nor City Elf.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Spoiler: Campaign 1

"I was Saris first. Fen'Harel came later... an insult I took as a badge of pride. The Dread Wolf inspired hope in my friends and fear in my enemies... This is all I have ever been. I sought to set my people free from slavery to would be gods. I broke the chains of all who wished to join me. The false gods called me Fen'Harel and when they finally went too far I formed the Veil and banished them forever. Thus, I freed the elven people and, in so doing, destroyed their world."

Saris' origins are ultimately unknown, but he admitted he was an elf who lived during the age of Elvhenan. According to him, elves during that time were immortal. There was a war amongst them, and during that war generals grew to become respected elders, then kings, and slowly they grew to be recognized as gods. As Saris saw it: war bred fear, fear bred a desire for simplicity... good and evil... right and wrong. The Dalish Pantheon, which Saris refers to as the Evanuris, are not benevolent and kind like the stories told of them today seem to suggest. They were immortal mage kings who controlled such great magical power that they were able to each subjugate their entire people into slavery. The war that Saris mentioned was when the Evanuris turned against one another. Their actions, driven by pride, would've led to the entire destruction of the elves. Saris opposed them and offered refuge to those who did not let themselves be a pawn in the Evanuris' game.
Eventually, the Evanuris killed one of their own: Mythal. Saris saw her as "the best of them" and that she cared for her people... protected them. She was a voice of reason and in their lust for power the Evanuris murdered her. When this happened, Saris wielded his own power to create the Veil. He trapped the Evanuris all in the Fade, and the Veil became an impenetrable barrier that split Thedas from the Fade. In so doing, the Evanuris could never return so long as the Veil was intact.
However, his plans, though ultimately successful in what they intended to do, backfired on him more horribly than he ever could have imagined. The marvels of his people were intrinsically tied to the Fade. With the creation of the Veil, all the things that depended upon the Fade were destroyed. It is commonly believed that the arrival of humans caused elves to begin aging. This is untrue. Creating the Veil stole immortality from the elves. At some point, Saris fell unconscious.
In the raw chaos, the greatness of his people collapsed due to his actions and at some point the Tevinter Imperium found the remains of the elves are crushed them even further down than they had ever been.

Saris grew up in a small village in Northern Ferelden. Before the Jrid started to become more of a threat, he felt content to spend most of his life there, occasionally wandering the wilderness and investigating nearby ruins. Since then, he took it upon himself to fight for a cause that attempts to undermine the world as he knows it.
Despite having no contact with the Circle of Magi or any Dalish tutors, Saris taught himself his own style of hedge magic. As he became more successful in his study, his interest in the Fade grew. Happily, he spent his time dreaming in ancient ruins and learning all there is to learn about what dwells beyond.
Spoiler: Campaign 1

Saris found himself into the Wardens during the Ferelden Civil War. He traveled to distant places with them and saw many marvels. At one point, Borovik Tigerhold and he managed to convince the Wardens to go high up into the Frostback Mountains in search of Borovik's visions. It was high up in that mountain that the group found a strange altar. Through a ritual Borovik performed, Faineth was reborn into the world after having supposedly been killed. She was pleased with Borovik performing the ritual and greeted Saris by saying, "It's been a while, old friend. It's a pleasure to see you again."
Saris also traveled with the high-command of the Wardens into other dangerous locations, like an ancient Tevinter temple deep beneath Kirkwall. Eventually, he earned their trust enough to help them fight an enemy they had faced a number of times: Orena. The Warden high-command took a fight to her turf. Eventually when they killed her amidst the black smoke of a forest fire inferno around them, a few of the Wardens saw Saris run up to her despite the danger given the circumstance. He seemed distraught as he clenched the fading green crackling hand she had only moments prior. After this, Saris quietly said goodbyes to Borovik and Jeeves Tarrington. He then left in the middle of the night.
Saris was unheard from until several months later. The Wardens found themselves in a race against time through the eluvians whereupon they discovered a Qunari plot to mass assassinate Orlesian and Ferelden leaders. In their hastened journey, they found strange stories telling tales of the Dread Wolf. They had always known of the Dread Wolf as cruel and malicious, but the murals and elven stories they found seemed to paint a different story.
As the chase came to its conclusion, Viddasala told the Wardens that both she and them had been played and pit against one another. Saris, who she claimed was the Dread Wolf's chief agent, had managed to play both of them and get them to fight one another unnecessarily. This did not stop the Wardens, as they continued to pursue her. Eventually, the Wardens caught up with her. When they did so, they found Saris.
Saris spoke to her in Qunith before petrifying her. He spoke to the Wardens about the situation and explained that he was not the chief agent of the Dread Wolf, he was the Dread Wolf. Saris continued by explaining small pieces of who he was to the Wardens, since he felt he could no longer hide the truth from them.
He noted that the powerful hand Orena had was his doing and thus the death of Faineth, before she was revived by Borovik, was his fault. He also noted that she, due to previous altercations with the Wardens, had a part of who the Dread Wolf which was buried inside of her. Knowing his friends would be enraged, he explained that he had expected Orena to die in the resulting explosion that occurred when she unlocked Saris' hand's power. She did die, but she surprised Saris by having somehow learned the secrets of effective immortality. He was too weak to face her, so he found his way to the Wardens and slowly shifted their intentions until eventually the Wardens had a strong enough reason to go after her and kill her.
Saris continued and explained that he was troubled over Orena's eventual death because he lost a part of him: his hand. Without it, he has much less power though still a considerable amount. Orena's death also seemed to have brought part of himself back: the darker more Dread Wolf-like emotions that Orena had obtained. Saris explained that if he were to have gotten the hand, he would've entered into the Fade and torn down the Veil. As the world would've burned in the raw chaos and the false gods were freed, he would've restored the world of his time... the world of the elves.
Towards the end of their interaction, he admitted that he still had some sliver of hope for restoration. He knew a way to bring back his world, but it would mean the end of everyone else's. He was unclear on exactly what this meant. Saris admitted that when he awoke a year prior that he saw everyone around him much like people see Tranquil. However, he told his friends that through watching Jeeves and Johnathan grow up together that he learned he was wrong. Unfortunately, he had no choice though. Saris had to save his people from the ruins that his actions caused.
He saw Borovik and Gregory in great pain from "spirits" killing them from the inside. He used his magic to soothe their pain, told them he knew he would great such a decision, and left with his final words being:

"I would treasure the chance to be wrong once again, my friends. I'm sorry. Live well, while time remains."

Morality & Philosophy

Saris fundamentally believes in cause and effect, wisdom as its own reward, and the inherent right of all free willed people to exist. He carries himself with a peaceful and thoughtful demeanor.
Saris sees the many current conflicts in Thedas - mages versus Templars, elves against humans, nations versus nations - as little more than black-and-white reductionist dichotomies which have led to the many tragedies of history.
He hates the Qun and sees it as glorified slavery.

Relationships

Spouses

Siblings