Zevran Arainai

Zevran Arainai (born c. 9:04–9:05 DragonHis father was killed in 9:04, before Zevran was born.) is an elven Antivan rogue and accomplished assassin. He is a potential companion and a romance option for either male or female Warden. He gained his surname Arainai after being brought into House Arainai as a Crow recruit.
== Background ==
Zevran was born around 9:05 Dragon to a Dalish woman who fell in love with an elven woodcutter. His elven mother abandoned her clan and moved with the woodcutter to Antiva City. Zevran is unsure whether the woodcutter is indeed his father. After the woodcutter died suddenly - presumably from disease - Zevran's mother was forced into a life of prostitution in Rialto to pay off the woodcutter's debts, and died soon after giving birth to Zevran. He considers himself lucky for a boy who grew up in a brothel.
In fact, the woodcutter was a contract kill by the Antivan Crows in 9:04 Dragon. Along with other elven orphans, Zevran was raised communally by the sex workers in the brothel until the age of seven. His cunning and skill in stealing had brought him to the attention of Guildmaster Talav of House Arainai who paid the remainder of the debt his mother had been forced to repay. As such, he was considered compradi (purchased).
He and Taliesen were both purchased in 9:12 and out of eighteen recruits bought that year, they were the only two to survive. Despite a promising start, however, neither boy showed any real talent until Rinna was introduced into the House. The trio complemented each other well, Rinna overseeing planning, Taliesen providing the physical strength and Zevran handling both poisons and seductions. Indeed, they worked so well together than Eoman Arainai trained them together as a unit within House Arainai. This eventually led to the trio becoming romantically involved.
In 9:28 Dragon, Zevran and Taliesen were tasked with killing Rinna, whom the Rosso Noche were trying to put forward as an heir to King Natale. Following her murder, the heart seemed to go out of Zevran. Indeed, it appeared that during later missions, Taliesen was covering for Zevran in order to keep up the appearance that Zevran was still a loyal member of the Crows. His later bid for a contract to kill the two remaining Grey Wardens in Ferelden was interpreted by some in the Crows as an attempt to attain the rank of master, but was in actuality a suicide attempt.
== Involvement ==
===Dragon Age: Origins===
==== Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening ====
==== The Darkspawn Chronicles ====
=== Dragon Age II ===
=== Dragon Age: The Silent Grove ===
=== Dragon Age: Inquisition ===
== Quests ==
===Dragon Age: Origins===
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=== Dragon Age II ===
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=== Dragon Age: Inquisition ===
: (war table)
: (war table)
: (war table)
== Romance ==
A supposed master of seduction, Zevran will blatantly flirt with the Warden, in addition to some of the other companions, even if only in jest. He is typically undeterred by anything short of a firm and clear rejection of his advances, thus making it easy to start a relationship with the Warden, regardless of gender. Almost immediately after being recruited into the team he will reveal his attraction to the Warden, and from there the Warden can drop unsubtle hints that the thought is reciprocated.
It is a simple enough matter to get into Zevran's good graces. He enjoys playful innuendo and being asked of his exploits, and as long as the Warden can accept his sexual history, the romance will continue. He can be asked to accompany the Warden back to their tent with a moderately high approval rating, which he happily accepts. Afterward, he explains that he holds no claim on the player character and it is their choice to either continue the relationship or end it there. Conversely, if Zevran has a high approval of the Warden and they have not yet asked him to bed, he will offer his company for the night. Asking Zevran about love afterwards will result in a loss of approval, though telling him it's a one night stand will result in a significantly larger approval loss as well as ending the relationship. Zevran is just as faithful as the other romance partners once in a relationship.
Indeed, according to David Gaider, Zevran finds himself quite surprised by a stable romantic relationship with the Warden. Though his reputation as a laughing lover is not undeserved, Zevran had—until meeting the Warden—assumed his life would consist only of "shallow encounters and jobs to be completed," and that he himself was undeserving and in fact incapable of love. A blooming romance with the Warden forces Zevran to confront and admit his own deep feelings. As much as the Warden benefits from Zevran's company, it is fair to say as well that their love is literally life-changing for the assassin.
If the Warden is concurrently romancing Alistair, Leliana, or Morrigan, Zevran will eventually ask if that relationship is going anywhere. He will offer to step aside to avoid complications down the road, stating they have "had their fun" but the Warden should pursue the path of lasting happiness, though there is some indication, as noted above, that his feelings run quite a bit deeper than he is letting on. Choosing to stay with Zevran will result in a significant approval boost while dumping him will produce a corresponding approval loss.
While Zevran and the Warden can become very close quite soon after starting the romance, Zevran's approval rating won't switch to "love" until after the calling of the Landsmeet. The party encounters and slays Zevran's old friend Taliesen, and with that Zevran is given a reprieve from being hunted by the Crows. In gratitude, he offers the Warden an earring. Upon being asked if the item is a token of his affection, Zevran will give an awkward response that should make the answer obvious. However, pushing him to actually say so will result in a refusal to hand over the earring and a minor approval drop. Another alternative is to refuse the earring altogether, which will also cause disapproval. Later, he will offer it to the Warden again (if the right dialogue choices are made when pressing Zevran on why he no longer accepts their sexual advances -see below-). There is an option to suggest that the earring represents a proposal, which Zevran will agree to if it is the Warden's wish that it be taken as such. This apparently is what Zevran wishes as well. If the Warden decides a proposal is too much after suggesting it, however, the relationship ends as Zevran wants some promise of a future together.
After he has offered the earring, Zevran will refuse sexual encounters. If prompted to give a reason why, or asked if he wants to end the relationship, he will snap at the Warden and end the conversation with a small gain of approval. When asked about his change in behavior he explains that he is confused about his feelings, and from here the Warden will have to either express love or end the romance. If the conversation ends well, Zevran will again take the Warden's bed and, more importantly, their relationship will continue.
If the Warden survives the fight with the Archdemon and elects to rebuild the Grey Wardens, Zevran will assist with recruitment and training though he will never actually join. The Warden electing to remain in Denerim, return to their clan, travel, or other such options will result in Zevran staying around for a time. A Cousland Warden is also able to keep Zevran as a consort if his approval rating is high enough, even if they choose to marry Alistair or Anora and becoming a co-ruler of Ferelden. There is an additional conversation with him regarding this once the engagement is announced, where he will ask about where he stands and whether or not the romance will continue in spite of the upcoming nuptials.
Finally, if the Warden makes the ultimate sacrifice in the final battle, the epilogue notes that Zevran, despite frequent offers of bed partners, never loved again.
== Gifts ==
Zevran enjoys leather items and bars of gold or silver. When given the Dalish Gloves , he will initiate a brief conversation that may lead to an extra approval bonus, for a maximum of .
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He also enjoys a Rare Antivan Brandy (Feastday Gifts and Pranks DLC) for .
== Statistics ==
Zevran starts out as a Rogue one level above the Warden.
=== Initial attributes ===
Relative attribute weightings on auto-level:
:
Strength	Dexterity	Willpower	Magic	Cunning	Constitution
0.5 	1.5 	0.5 	0.125	0.375 	0
=== Initial specialization ===
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=== Initial skills ===
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=== Initial talents ===
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Assassin 	Assassin 	  (level 11)
Rogue 	Dirty Fighting 	
Rogue 	Below the Belt 	    (level 9)   (level 12)
Rogue 	Stealth 	    (level 10)
Dual Weapon	Dual-Weapon Training	(level 8)   (level 13)
Dual Weapon	Dual-Weapon Sweep 	    (level 7)
=== Initial equipment ===
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Weapons 	   
Armor 	
Accessories	
=== Restricted gear ===
:
=== Plot skills ===
== Quotes ==
=== Dragon Age: Origins ===
* (When first introduced) "The Antivan Crows send their regards."
* "Can you smell that? Like rotting flesh. Just like back in Antiva City. Now if only you could find me a prostitute or two, a bowl of fish chowder and a corrupt politician, I'd really feel like I was home!"
* "We all do our share of murdering around here, don't we?"
* "You tend to get up to interesting things. You meet interesting people and then you kill them. I'm game to tag along, if you are."
* "Let's see... when was the last time I slipped my hand into some dark hole? Hmmm... I remember. Long story, that."
* "In truth, for the chance to be by your side I would storm the Dark City itself. Never doubt it."
* "What we are doing here... stopping the Blight. I cannot think of anything I have ever done which is so worthy."
==== Dialogue ====
*Warden: Care to answer some questions?
*Zevran: (If Zevran is in love) If they're dirty ones, certainly.
*Zevran: (If romance is active, pre-love-making scene) All right, but I get to stare at you luridly while you do so.
=== Dragon Age II ===
* "Killing my former brothers-in-arms is oddly satisfying."
== Codex entries ==
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:
:
== Trivia ==
* In conversation with Oghren, Zevran jokes that the sarcastic insults and slight tension between them is the result of a "typical dwarven/elven rivalry", though Oghren denies it. This references the fantasy trope that elves and dwarves do not get along (most notably seen with Legolas and Gimli from The Lord of the Rings), though ironically this trope does not carry over into Dragon Age. 
* The quote during one of the possible endgames - "You meet interesting people and then you kill them" - is a nod to the movie Full Metal Jacket in which the lead character mentions that he wanted "to meet interesting and stimulating people of an ancient culture... and kill them."
* Zevran is mentioned in Dragon Age: The Silent Grove, as he put Alistair in touch with Prince Claudio Valisti.
* Initially Zevran was intended to take the place of Varric Tethras in the Dark Horse comic series but his appearance was cut due to concerns about party dynamics.Dragon Age Library Edition Volume 1, p. 18, annotation by David Gaider. Zevran was also to make a cameo appearance within the comics but that too was cut from the final script.
* In Awakening, when recruiting Nathaniel Howe, the Warden-Commander (if imported) can say, "Some of my best friends once tried to kill me." This is likely a reference to Zevran. If present in the team when recruiting Nathaniel, provided that he was released earlier and is approaching an imported Warden-Commander of his own will, Oghren will comment that the others should be on their guard, should Nathaniel "pull a Zevran", referencing the latter's failed ambush that introduced him to the Warden in the first place. 
* After the Blight ends, Zevran begins to kill off his fellow Crows and becomes known by them as the "Black Shadow."
* Upon request, Zevran's voice actor (Jon Curry) recorded an audio of himself saying "trans rights" in Zevran's own way of saying it, and also expressed that he wishes everyone to stay safe during the 2020 coronavirus pandemic.
== Bugs ==
* You can loot Zevran's invisible corpse even after he has joined your party so long as he is not one of the active four teammates.
* If you romance Zevran as a male Warden, the epilogue may refer to you as "the woman he loves".
* When in a romance with Zevran and the conversation allows the choices "I want to discuss something personal" and then "Care to join me in my tent", there is a chance to gain an infinite amount of approval from Zevran. Invite him the first time and choose options that end the conversation without the love-making cut scene playing (i.e. "I was only joking, really. Just forget it.", "Fine. Get in my tent. No more questions.", "That's... not what I had in mind.") After the first invitation has failed, you can repeatedly ask him again and give the answers "Enough with the coy bit. Get in the tent," and then "That's... not what I had in mind." Each time you do you'll gain . However, if you ever trigger the love-making cutscene, you will lose these conversation options, though subsequent tent visits always net so it's really not necessary to use this cheat.
* There is one pivotal conversation which can end with Zevran initiating a kiss (this kiss can happen publicly — it has nothing to do with tent time). However, his romance will never update to love.
* (v1.04) It is possible for Zevran to disappear from your party for good. This can happen during the confrontation with Taliesen. If you skip through the dialogue too quickly, he will not join the fight and will disappear forever. There is no way to fix this and you'll need to reload your save.
== Gallery ==
Zevran mask detail.jpg|Sketch of Zevran's mask by artist Matt Rhodes.
Zevran in Haven.jpg|Zevran in Haven (Dragon Age: Origins)
Zevran Ambush.jpg|Zevran about to ambush the Warden
Zevran Blurb.png|Official description of Zevran from Dragon Age: Origins
Zevran's Nightmare.jpg|Zevran's nightmare in the Fade
HODA Zevran.png|Tier progression of Zevran in Heroes of Dragon Age
HoDA Crow Zevran.jpg|Tier progression of Crow Zevran in Heroes of Dragon Age
Promotional Zevran.jpg|Artwork of Zevran in Heroes of Dragon Age
== References ==
Category:Characters
Category:Dragon Age: Origins characters
Category:Dragon Age II characters
Category:Heroes of Dragon Age characters
Category:Elves
Category:Antivans
Category:Rogues
Category:City elves
Category:Slaves
Category:Assassins
Category:Antivan Crows
Category:Romantic encounters
Category:Companions
Category:Dragon Age: Origins companions
Category:Love interests
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