Ink Cousland

## Ink (Kieran) Cousland

The Ghost of Ferelden

*"I made a deal with a spirit that cost me my soul."*

**Ink to his fellow party members after killing Loghain.**

Kieran Cousland, who is more famously known by his alias Ink was a warrior who was conscripted into the Grey Wardens by Duncan. He went on to become the Warden who ended the Fifth Blight and is known as the Hero of Ferelden.

Many years after the events of the Fifth Blight he disappears with rumors of sightings popping up all across Thedas, he is now known as the Ghost of Ferelden.

## Overview

### **Physical Appearance**

Ink is 6'2'' with brunette hair, brown eyes and a stubble. He has a small scar across his right eye that he got during Arl Howe's siege on his family's castle. His hair is parted with the bangs brushed to the side, partially covering his left eye. If Ink has the time, he will occasionally tie his hair back.

Ink has a tattoo of the grey warden crest and motto on his back.

When enraged the Spirit of Power will manifest and his eyes and parts of his skin will begin to glow and crack a dark shade of green.

### **Personality**

Though his companions are not nobility, Ink usually treats them as equals. His upbringing shines through, however, as reflected in his body language, poise, and posture in contrast to his team. He regularly dozes off; this is present from his early childhood. According to his brother Fergus, Ink's personality changed following a childhood incident, making him more withdrawn despite having been a lively child before. In his teenage years, he appeared perpetually bored and uninterested in the things happening around him.

Also, according to Fergus, Ink's overprotective upbringing has left him with poor interpersonal skills, and he comes off as brusque with all but his family and those he feels comfortable with. Having witnessed his father work as teryn has made Ink respect the position and the dedication needed of a good leader, but also fear for the time he would need to assume the position himself, making interactions with his father a struggle.

Duncan describes Ink as having experienced isolation in his youth, and fearing losing those close to him. Ink's words and actions often stem from a fear of being unable to meet the expectations of those around him, but as a counterbalance he desires to please them.

He enthuses about the things he enjoys, and has a bit of an inflated ego, as noted by Wynne. He can be reckless, having to be held back by others, though this does not always stop him. He's playful, especially towards Cub, his mabari, and is frequently snarky and sarcastic. Near the end of Ink's journey, his companions note his increased confidence, and he has become sterner and more resolute. He has learned to take on the responsibilities of a Grey Warden and does so without hesitation.

Ink dislikes cheese, much to Alistair's displeasure, who tries to encourage him to try it. Ink and Alistair also share a distaste for bugs and a love for animals, especially mabari. Ink seems unaware that Leliana has a crush on him, though it is obvious to everyone else.

### **Talents and Skills**

As a Grey warden, Ink exhibits great strength, speed, and resilience. His past experience has provided him with a reasonable degree of stealth capability. This allows him to utilize small walls, corners, and the foliage of thick bushes to eliminate his enemies silently and swiftly without being detected.

#### **Swordsmanship:**

He is a skilled swordsman after many years of training, and he has honed his skill in the use of swords and daggers. He is able to wield his weapons with great dexterity and is capable of performing various finishers, including stealth and aerial takedowns. He possesses great skill in open combat and can easily engage multiple opponents in battle with incredible force and brutality.

#### **Parkour:**

He has proven to be a skilled enough free runner, able to sprint and vault across the city of Denerim and the trees of the Korcari wilds with great agility and manoeuvrability.

#### **Spirit bond:**

After being revived by the spirit of Power, Ink is granted supernatural powers which augment his abilities, greatly increasing his strength, speed, stealth, and free running abilities.

#### **Fade connection:**

Aside from his physical armaments, Power grants Ink a host of additional powers which he can use to his advantage. While in the fade, Ink is capable of using shadow strike, an attack which allows him to teleport to his enemies' location, opening opportunities for a surprise attack or to navigate over difficult terrain. Ink is also capable of slowing down time in combat with focus.

#### **Dominate:**

The most important of Ink's abilities is his power to dominate darkspawn, allowing him to make them his minions. These darkspawn will then perform tasks such as protecting him, gathering intel, spreading dissent, or attempting to assassinate their peers, underlings, or commanders.

## Biography

### **History**

Kieran Cousland, more famously known as Ink was born in 9:09 Dragon to Teyrn Bryce and Eleanor Cousland and was their second son. He was close to his elder brother Fergus and the two often sparred together with Ink constantly besting him.

Ink was always the quietest of the siblings, compared to his more confident and louder older brother Fergus. He would always join his brother in his combat training and was always the better swordsman between the two. He greatly enjoyed spending his time in the library, reading, and looking up battle strategies.

As he’s from Ferelden he also had a great love of dogs, mabari in particular. When he was twelve, a fat mabari pup in the kennels imprinted on him after he fed it scraps from the kitchen. Fergus jokingly said that it looked like a baby bear, leading Kieran to jokingly name it Cub. The name ended up staying.

When Ink was a child he was kidnapped and held for ransom by assassins who were hired Arl Rendon Howe. While in captivity Ink managed to befriend a spirit, who helped him to escape and kill his captors so he could return home. This event was quite traumatic on the young boy and his family causing his parents to become extremely overprotective. As a result, he was forced to train even harder during his warrior training, given the best tutors and trainers to ensure that something like this never happens again.

In order for his parents to measure his progress he would spar with Fergus or compete in many tourneys. He would constantly win these to the point where many of his opponents would quit if they knew he would be competing due to how often and easily he would win.

Ink's skill attracted the attention of the Grey Warden Duncan, who wanted to recruit him into the order. The prospect intrigued him, but he told to stay in Highever by his father. Although he was upset by this, he still respected his father’s wishes.

When the Blight broke out, Ink stayed in Highever to take care of the terynir while his father and brother went to Ostagar to fight the darkspawn. Unfortunately, the castle was attacked by his father's friend, Arl Howe, resulting in the death of Ink's family (minus Fergus, who had left for Ostagar) and Ink's conscription into the Grey Wardens.

During the siege, the spirit returned and offered Ink the same assistance it did when he was a child. The spirit again merged with Ink again to help enhance his already great strength, speed, and skills.

### **In-game**

Here's what happened during the events of Your OC's game, boyo.

### **Post-game**

Here's what happened after the events of said game, brosef.

## **Relationships**

### Power:

Power is the name of the spirit that inhabits Ink's body.

### Cub:

Cub is Ink’s most loyal and trusted friend. Cub has never disappointed or betrayed Ink and has remained by his side through thick and thin. He even fought a Dragon without hesitation to protect Ink.

## **Miscellaneous**

What else happened, or what else can you tell us about Your OC, bruh? Think of things like likes, dislikes, fears, strengths and weaknesses, etc. This is as close as you'll get to being able to word-vomit about your OC while keeping the article organized and will probably be the longest section. Feel free to add sub-headings as necessary with sub-heading 2:

## **Gallery**

* Sample Photo
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