Karrin Brosca

Karrin "Finally! Something that can swallow me whole!" Brosca

Karrin Brosca (9:10 - 9:31) was a casteless dwarf, who worked for the carta under Beraht, before being recruited as a grey warden by warden commander Duncan. A kind hearted yet tactless woman, she always wanted to do the best for the people she cared about, damn the consequences.

## Overview

### **Physical Appearance**

Karrin is a female dwarf. She is 3'3, with shoulder length black hair, that she ties back into a ponytail. She's snub nosed, and has the brand of the casteless on her face. She also got tattoos on the right side of her face on her 18th birthday. Her eyes are a dark brown.

### **Personality**

Determined not to let Dust Town claim her like it has so many others, Karrin is a kindhearted and empathetic, though often tactless individual, unafraid to speak her mind. She is usually good tempered, though once angered it's hard to get through to her before she does something rash. None of this has stopped her from being able to lead her friends through the Blight, with the responsibility proving to be a burden she could carry. She has a taste for pretty clothes and jewelry, life in the dirt didn't provide much opportunity to get dressed up unless you were a noble hunter.

### **Talents and Skills**

Having been trained with bladed weapons since she could walk, Karrin is very good with a sword, particularly those which require the use of two hands to wield. Even those that are almost the size of her aren't too tricky, as she's learnt to balance their weight against her own. She also cooks deep mushrooms very well, and is able to make a nice stew from them. From her time in Dust Town, she's a skilled pickpocket, able to lift the sword off a knights back without them noticing, and is also able to manipulate or intimidate people in equal measure, depending on the situation at hand.

## Biography

### **History**

Born in 9:10 Dragon to Kalah Brosca and Faren Decken, Karrin Brosca spent her formative years in the Dust Town district in Orzammar. When she was old enough to walk, she and her half sister, Rica Brosca, swept the streets for a living whilst her mother got progressively drunker and nastier after her father left for the surface. Rica was the one who raised her, nearly single handedly, leading to an incredibly close relationship between the two of them.

As they grew older, predatory eyes took notice of Rica's growing beauty, and Beraht, leader of the carta recruited them in 9:18. His first act was to start grooming Rica to be the perfect little heir hunter/meal ticket, and to give Karrin to his second in command, Jarvia to train into one of the carta's dog. Their mother did nothing to stop this. However, it wasn't all bad, as whilst training under Jarvia, Karrin met her best friend, and first crush, Leske. He was able to help Karrin recover from the savage beatings she received from Jarvia's training, and over the years they became thick as thieves.

Over the next 12 years, Karrin and Leske became fairly accomplished members of the carta, rising through the ranks to the point where they started getting their tasks from Beraht and Jarvia themselves. Of course, these tasks were usually more dangerous, particularly the ones they got from Jarvia, who Karrin deliberately kept pissing off. And so it was in 9:30 Dragon, Karrin's life changed forever.

### **In-game**

In 9:30 Dragon, Karrin and Leske were tasked with the rigging of the provings, that the warden commander Duncan was watching. To do this, Leske drugged one of the combatants water, whilst Karrin flirted with him to distract him. However, when they went to check on the dwarf they were rigging the fight in favour of, they found him passed out from having too much to drink. Being as Karrin was the better fighter, she stepped into his armour, and took his place on the proving fields, beating every opponent that went against her. Things were going well until the drunken dwarf she had taken the place of wandered on to the arena floor. When forced to tell the watching crowd who she was, in a moment of pride and foolishness, she pulled off her helmet and showed them all that their beloved champion was one of the casteless they all looked down on. Predictably, this did not go down well. After being roughed up by the guards, Karrin and Leske were handed over to Beraht, and put in the carta's own prison. After tricking the guard and escaping, they fought their way through the carta's headquarters, finding and killing Beraht. However, it did not end there. They left the carta's legitimate business store, only to be confronted by the city guard. A timely interruption from Duncan, saved them however, with Karrin getting recruited into the Grey Wardens, and Leske managing to give the guards the slip. And thus the adventure began.

The first leg of their journey was getting from the Frostback mountains to Ostagar, which was a challenge in itself, given that Karrin had never seen the surface before. And, most importantly, the sky. She spent the first week of the journey being terrified that she was going to fall into the vast empty void above her. Thankfully, Duncan was able to help her acclimatise to the surface world, and they made quick time to Ostagar. There she met her new best friend, and fellow Grey Warden, Alistair Theirin, and her beloved dog Barkspawn. Also of note were her fellow recruits, Ser Jory and Daveth, who she got along quite well with. Their task was to go into the Korcari Wilds and gather three vials of Darkspawn blood, and find the old Grey Warden treaties. As they made their way through, and gathered the blood, they met the mysterious witches of the wilds, Morrigan and Flemeth, who had come into possession of the treaties. After this they went back to Ostagar, and participated in the secret Grey Warden initiation, known as The Joining. Of the three who undertook it, Karrin was the only one to survive. A few evenings later, disaster struck.

It was the night that was supposed to be the final battle. King Cailen, and the Grey Wardens would meet the Darkspawn head on, and after a signal sent from the tower of Ishal, Teyrn Loghain and the rest of the Ferelden army would attack the Darkspawn from behind. Karrin and Alistair were sent to the tower to give the signal, only to find it had been overrun by Darkspawn from below. Together with a mage and soldier who had been stationed at the tower when the fight broke out, they fought their way to the top to send off the signal. Once it had been sent however, the tower was overrun, and Karrin was knocked out.

She awoke in the hut of the witches she'd met earlier, and was informed by Morrigan that Loghain had betrayed the king, and the only Grey Wardens left in the country were her and Alistair. Once she'd dressed, she and Alistair were sent out with the treaties to recruit the mages on lake Calenhad, the Dalish who roamed the forests, and the dwarves of Orzammar. They also decided to head to Redcliffe, to request help from Arl Eamon. Before they left, Flemeth sent her daughter to accompany them on their journey, for reasons unknown at the time.

Their first stop however, was to be the town of Lothering. On the way there, they were waylaid by a group of Darkspawn who had been chasing an incredibly unlikely survivor from Ostagar. The dog that Karrin had cured. After slaying the Darkspawn chasing it, the dog was given the name Aeducan by Karrin, who believed herself to be a comedic genius, and so he joined their team. They continued on to Lothering, slaying the bandits who were preying on refugees that were fleeing to the village. Whilst there, they decided on what order they should take to gather their allies, and preformed various tasks to make life easier for the people of the village. They also encountered two of their companions there, a giant qunari in a cage for the murder of three families named Sten, and a lay sister who'd had a vision, called Leliana. Upon hearing what Karrin was setting out to do, both of them joined up, and the party grew. When they left, they rescued a merchant by the name of Bodahn Feddic, and his son Sandal, who followed the relative safety of the group, and sold them necessary items. He also provided them with a strange message that led them to the village of Honnleath.

Their first stop however was the village of Redcliffe, to get aid from Arl Eamon. Unfortunately, when they got there, they found the village suffering from nightly attacks from a horde of undead that emerged every night from the castle, held back only by the dwindling villagers who were being led by Bann Teagan. Whilst they only needed to get into the castle, Karrin decided to help the villagers and did everything in her power to help them prepare for the coming night, including finding a missing child, and buying his fathers sword, and forcing a stubborn dwarf and his bodyguards to join the fight. When night fell, she and her companions stood in battle with the villagers, and were able to repel the undead nightmare. Alas, not everyone survived the night, and the tavern ended up under new ownership. After they said the funeral rites for the dead, they were approached by a woman from the castle, a Lady Isolde, who demanded Teagan went with her. Being in no position to refuse, he left, but not before informing Karrin about a secret way into the castle through the mill. They followed this tunnel into the dungeons, freeing a blood mage named Jowan they found there, and fought their way through the hoards of undead and demons, rescuing the blacksmiths daughter on the way, to the centre of the castle, where they found that Arl Eamon's son, Connor, had been possessed by a desire demon, and was responsible for the undead attacks. Connor had mind controlled Bann Teagan and the guards to do his bidding, but after a tough fight, Karrin and friends prevailed, leading to Connor being trapped. Isolde however, wouldn't let them kill him, not that Karrin wanted to, and instead was given an alternative option by Jowan. One that cost Isolde her life. She was used in a blood sacrifice, and Morrigan was sent into the fade to fight the demon head on. She emerged victorious, but Arl Eamon still remained in a deathlike sleep. Their only option was to find the Urn of Sacred Ashes, but they had more pressing matters to attend to first.

After saving Redcliffe, their next stop was the village of Honnleath, which they found under attack by Darkspawn, and disturbingly empty of human life. They fought their way through the Darkspawn to the centre of the village, where they found a golem. Their attempt to use the control rod to awaken it however didn't work. Investigating more, they found survivors behind a magical barricade in the basement of one of the houses. Investigating the tunnels behind the barricade, they came across a young girl having a conversation with a cat that had been possessed by a desire demon. Thinking quickly, Karrin lied to the demon, and unlocked the seal that was preventing both it and the girl from leaving, allowing the girl to escape and Karrin to slay the demon. In gratitude to her for saving his daughter, the son of the man who originally owned the golem gave them the correct activation words. With those words, Karrin awakened the golem, who decided to join them once it turned out the control rod didn't work. And so, Shale joined the team.

On their way to the circle tower, they were ambushed by assassins hired by Loghain, who wanted anyone who could stop his rise to power dead. Hearing that his plot to dispose of Arl Eamon had failed, and the last two grey wardens were responsible for it, he sent the Antivan Crows against them. Of course, considering the things they had faced by this point, they weren't about to be slowed down by an assassination attempt. They defeated the crows, but it turned out that one of them, an elf named Zevran, was still alive, and offered to join them in exchange for his life. Against her, and her companions, better judgment, Karrin allowed this, and so Zevran Arainai joined the battle against the Fifth Blight.

Next up was the circle tower, also known as Kinloch Hold, where the mages of Ferelden lived. After persuading Carroll, the templar guarding the docks, to let them past, they discovered that the circle was in complete disarray, having been taken over by a powerful blood mage named Uldred, who had used the chaos of Ostagar and the Blight to seize control. Karrin was able to persuade the templars not to enact the rite of annulment, in case there were any survivors, and went with her companions to see who they could save. The first mages they encountered were led by another surprise survivor from Ostagar, the old mage called Wynne, who joined the party in order to help the surviving mages. Together they fought through the demons to the top of the tower, where Uldred was keeping several mages prisoner in order to turn them into abominations. Amongst them was first enchanter Irving. After a grueling battle, Uldred finally lay defeated, and Kinloch Hold was safe once more.

Before they could meet the dwarves, they were intercepted by a man called Levi Dryden, who wanted their help reclaiming Soldier's Peak, an old Grey Warden stronghold, in order to find out about his ancestor, the warden commander Sophia Dryden. In return for helping him, he said they could station their troops in Soldiers Peak whilst they waited for sight of the Archdemon. Given it was between Denerim and Redcliffe, this sounded ideal to Karrin, and so she took him up on his offer. When they got to the keep, they found the corpses from the battles there weren't entirely dead. After cutting their way through them, they found to their surprise, that Sophia Dryden wasn't dead after all. Not as such anyway. It turned out she had been possessed by a demon. Talking to her, the creature revealed that Sophia had ordered another warden, called Avernus to use blood magic to hold off the Ferelden army, but it backfired, and the demons started to attack the wardens as well. After Avernus fled, one was able to possess her, and she had stayed that way ever since. Sophia informed Karrin that Avernus was still alive, and asked her to kill him. So Karrin went to find Avernus in his tower, to see if he could help them seal off the fade and make the keep safe for their troops, and found him in his tower where he had concocted a potion that would enhance a wardens control over their taint, and gave it to Karrin. Then they went and confronted Sophia and defeated her. Then Avernus stopped the demons from coming through the veil whilst Karrin protected him from the waves of them that tried to stop him. Finally, Soldiers Peak was safe at last. Whilst there, Karrin met Levi's brother, an excellent smith, who, using a chunk of metal that had fallen from the sky that Karrin had found, crafted the legendary blade that often featured in the stories of Hero of Ferelden, the two handed sword Starfang.

After this, the party were headed to Orzammar, an event Karrin was less than excited about. Her return was even less glorious than she had thought, as they returned in the wake of the death of king Endrin Aeducan, and they were facing a succession crisis. As the party entered, it became clear that Karrin's new station didn't get her any more respect, and there was nobody happy to see her. Except her sister, who was delighted to see her again, and update her on the things that had happened since Karrin had been gone. It turned out that she had given birth to the son of Bhelen Aeducan, one of the candidates for the throne, and he had taken her and their mother into the palace. With that, it was clear who Karrin would support in becoming king of Orzammar, and didn't even bother meeting with lord Pyral Harrowmont. First she had to deliver some letters to supporters of Harrowmont, informing that he was planning on double crossing them. She also helped a dwarf named Orta join the assembly in exchange for her support of Bhelen. Afterwards however, was when the journey took even more of a downturn, as they were sent to route out the carta. Finding out Jarvia was in charge of it, she was more than OK with shutting them down, but she wasn't prepared in the slightest to be betrayed by Leske. Having been tricked into an ambush by him, and seeing him stood at Jarvia's side, she knew she had no option but to kill him. To the end of her days she regarded it as the worst thing she had ever done, and was never able to forgive herself for it. However, there was no time for grief, as they had one more task to do before they could get help from the dwarves. They had to venture into the deep roads and find the legendary Paragon Branka, who had disappeared into the tunnels many years ago. As they set off, they met Branka's husband, a disgraced dwarven warrior called Oghren, who insisted on accompanying them. Together, they headed into the depths of the deep roads, facing hordes of darkspawn, spiders and deepstalkers that made the caverns their homes. Fighting through, they reached the dead trenches, and met the Legion of the Dead, led by Kolgrim. Together they pushed further through the dead trenches, cutting down hordes of Darkspawn. Whilst the legion regrouped, Karrin and her friends continued pushing through, eventually meeting Hespith, the lover of Branka, who was halfway to becoming a ghoul. From her they learnt of the horrific actions Branka had taken, and destroyed a broodmother, the sickening monsters that Darkspawn came from. They continued further, eventually meeting Branka, who was looking for the Anvil of the Void, which had been used by the master smith, Paragon Caridin in order to create the golem forces of Orzammar. Fighting their way through the traps left by the Paragon, they encountered him along with the anvil, where he revealed the horrific truth of how golems were made. Karrin sided with Caridin, and killed Branka and destroyed the anvil. Afterwards, they headed back to Orzammar, and Bhelen was crowned king, pledging dwarven forces to the cause. Before they left Orzammar, Karrin informed a grieving mother about her son Ruck, who was going mad in the deep roads, and helped a young girl named Dagna get to Kinloch Hold to study. She also boosted her funds by completing a lyrium deal with a mage at Kinloch, helped a woman reconcile with her family, returned a stolen tome to the shaperate, and proved that the Legion of the Dead were connected to a noble house.

After they left Orzammar, having taken a week after the coronation in order to recover from their wounds, they went to find the mysterious dalish elves that supposedly made their home in the Brecillian Forest. After several days of searching, they were able to find the camp of the dalish clan Fen'Dirthara (Thanks to /u/BelleInCanada for the name) currently making their home there. However, once again, they were unable to get support from their allies without solving their problems. This time, the clans keeper, an elf named Zathrian wanted them to take care of a pack of werewolves that were cursing the clan. More specifically, he wanted the heart of their leader, a werewolf named Witherfang. Whilst familiarising themselves with the camp and their surroundings, the group met a young elf named Cammen, who was pining after another elf named Gheyna, who couldn't date him as he hadn't become a proper hunter yet. Finding this to be a complete load of nugsdroppings, Karrin told her to stop being ridiculous and just get with him already. Surprisingly this worked. This wasn't the only problem with the tribe, as they also encountered Varathorn, who wanted ironbark, Athras, whose wife was missing, and a halla with a mysterious illness, that Karrin persuaded the Halla Keeper to put down. The other issues could only be solved by going deeper into the forest, and they needed to do that anyway. They ventured deep into the forest, meeting a werewolf named Swiftrunner, who threatened them and told them to turn back. Karrin was able to persuade them to leave them be for now, and they continued into the forest, finding a fallen elf named Deygan, who they escorted back to the camp. Afterwards, they continued to venture into the gloomy depths, fighting off a group of Darkspawn that had managed to advance this far, and after fighting some demonic trees known as Sylvan, they found a strange creature called The Grand Oak. Unlike other sylvan, this one seemed to be friendly, and was willing to help them get past a magic barrier to the werewolves lair in exchange for its acorn, which had been stolen by a strange hermit. And also spoke in rhyme. As it was getting late, the party decided to make camp, being delighted to find one seemingly left completely empty, a ways off from The Grand Oak. Unfortunately it turned out to be a demonic trap because of course it was. After fighting off the demons, the now thoroughly annoyed party went to find the hermit, when things went from bad to worse. Whilst looking for the hermit, they were ambushed by a group of werewolves, and during the struggle, Karrin's helmet was knocked off. One of the werewolves saw its opportunity, overwhelming Karrin and viciously biting into her neck, the sharp teeth piercing her throat. Thankfully Alistair was able to knock it off before it tore her throat out, but it was too late. The curse had already passed on to her, albeit without the party knowing. After killing the werewolves, they noticed one that had held back. To their surprise, it still had the ability to speak, telling them it was the wife of Athras, her name was Danyla, and she wanted Karrin to kill her before she lost her mind. Karrin agreed to her request. They continued on, eventually coming to a clearing, where they found the hermit they were after. After partaking in a game of riddles, Karrin was able to receive the acorn in exchange for a book she had received as a gift from Cammen. With that, they headed back to The Grand Oak, who gave them a branch, with which they could pass the barrier. Once past, they encountered Swiftrunner again. This time he wouldn't back down. They fought, but before either could strike a killing blow, Witherfang appeared, calling Swiftrunner off. They continued onwards, hearing more werewolves mention something about protecting a lady, and entered the ruins that were their lair. It was at this point, that the curse began to affect Karrin. The first day she was sweating intensely, a lot more than she usually would, even in her heavy armour. Thinking it was just the heat, the party pushed onwards, fighting through the creatures there, including a young dragon that had made its home there. It was only when they stopped for dinner, and Karrin began to throw up that they started to worry. Still there was nothing they could do but continue, and so they went through the ruins, fighting the various insects,undead and demons that lurked there, until they eventually came face to face with the lady of the forest, the leader of the werewolves. She told them how the curse had come to be and told them to bring Zathrian to them to talk. Desperate to do anything to end the curse that was running through her veins, they went to find him, only for it to not be very far, as he had come to see if they were still alive. Once they got back to the werewolves, an argument broke out, and upon Zathrian telling her to cut out Witherfang's (who turned out to be the lady of the forest) heart, Karrin, with the fever setting in, agreed, and readied Starfang for the upcoming battle. It was long, violent and bloody, but eventually they emerged triumphant, and Zathrian was able to cure the elves of his clan and Karrin from the curse. On their way back to the camp, Karrin was able to find the ironbark that Varathorn had asked for, giving her another friendly merchant to trade with, and a new shield for Alistair.

Whilst they were on their way to Denerim to find Brother Genitivi, and with him, the location of the Sacred Ashes in order to cure Arl Eamon, they found a dying soldier named Elric Maraigne, who had been a member of King Cailen's honour guard, and had somehow managed to escape Ostagar, only to be imprisoned by Bann Loren. He had managed to escape, but he was mortally wounded in the attempt, and only had enough breath to pass on the key to a chest containing important documents, and the sword of Maric Thierin. The only problem was that this chest was still in Ostagar. The party decided that this could be important, and immediately changed course, heading back to the ruins of Ostagar, to claim the documents, and to butcher as many darkspawn as they could. They made their way to Ostagar, moving as swiftly and silently as possible, so as not to attract the attention of the main bulk of the horde, and eventually arrived back where it had all started. Being as most of the Darkspawn horde was moving further inland, there was only a small number of the foul creatures left in and around Ostagar. Karrin and her friends put down every single one. Not only did they find the documents, and Maric's sword, they also found the body of king Cailen himself, stripped of his golden armour and strung up in mockery. The Darkspawn were made to regret it. They recovered the armour, as well as Duncan's weaponry, ensuring they would continue to strike down the inhuman monsters for years to come, and once all the Darkspawn in the area were corpses, they were able to give Cailen the proper funeral rites. Afterwards they left the dead place behind them, vowing once again that the Blight would be stopped, whatever the cost.

First though, they needed the help of Arl Eamon. And to get that they needed to find Brother Genitivi, which meant heading into the territory of the power hungry traitor Loghain. Thankfully, the people of Denerim didn't seem to recognise them, or if they did they did nothing about it. When they got to Brother Genitivi's house however, he was nowhere to be found. The only person there was a strange man named Weylon, who was acting incredibly suspiciously. Probing him caused him to give up any pretense of civility and attack the group. After he was dead, Karrin and friends searched the rest of Brother Genitivi's house, finding the body of the real Weylon, and information pointing them towards the Spoiled Princess inn on the shore of Lake Calenhad. Arriving there, they confronted the innkeeper, only for him to act suspiciously as well. He convinced them to leave after giving them a well timed warning, and they were able to avoid the ambush set up outside. Searching the body of the leader, they were led to a small village in the Frostback mountains known as Haven. Once they reached the town they were once again confronted by people behaving strangely. This time however, it was the entire village acting odd. They were unsure why until they accidentally came upon a blood covered shrine, with the body of a missing knight nearby. Upon exiting the building they'd found this in, they were attacked by the entire population of the village. They fought their way through, in hopes of reaching the relative safety of the chantry, only to be confronted by even more angry villagers. After holding out, they found Brother Genitivi in a hidden room, his legs broken, but otherwise unharmed. After healing him he told them about the temple the ashes were in, and led them there, telling them about the various things they could expect to face. With Brother Genitivi staying by the entrance to make sure any survivors from the village wouldn't come after them, Karrin and friends ventured into the ruins, fighting members of the cult that had taken over the village and demons they had summoned, eventually coming to a place where the temple seemed to become tunnels into the mountain. There they found more cultists, along with drakes and dragonlings. Cutting their way through, they found the leader of the cult, a man called Kolgrim, who believed that Andraste had come back as a High Dragon, and asked Karrin to mix dragon blood into the sacred ashes to honour her. Refusing to defile the ashes led to Kolgrim attacking her, and getting killed. After dealing with the cult, the group emerged onto the mountain top, where a tower had been built to house the ashes. Upon entering, they met a spirit, that referred to itself as The Guardian. The Guardian informed them that to reach the sacred ashes, they had to complete four trials, in what The Guardian referred to as a test of faith. Before that, it questioned the team on their past, including asking Karrin whether she felt she'd failed her family. After answering, they were allowed in to face the gauntlet.

The first task of the gauntlet was a series of riddles pertaining to Andraste's life and the people she knew, most of which were fairly easy to figure out, and Karrin passed easily. Before the second trial however, was something incredibly difficult for Karrin to face. There, standing in front of her was Leske. They had a heartfelt discussion, ending with the spirit forgiving her, and handing her an amulet. She wore this amulet for the rest of her life. After composing herself, she and her team moved on to the next trial, where they had to face themselves. Literally. Demons, spirits, it wasn't known which, took forms identical to the party in everything except colour, and mirrored every movement the party made. After a long and grueling battle however, the real Karrin and her friends were able to triumph. After healing their wounds, they moved on to the third trial, where they were faced with a yawning pit with seemingly no way across. It was Leliana who figured it out, as she stepped out into the void - and didn't fall. Slowly and gingerly, the party made their way across the invisible bridge, moving on to face the final trial. In front of them was an impenetrable wall of fire, that even the strongest spells couldn't put out. Their only clue was a riddle on an alter. Figuring it out, Karrin began to strip, much to the surprise of the group. Then to their horror, she walked naked through the flames. However, she had been correct, and emerged on the other side unharmed. The rest of the team were quick to join her, and they were congratulated by the guardian for passing the trials. He pointed them up a flight of stairs, and there they found the urn within which were the ashes of Andraste. They took a pinch, and left, collecting their gear on the way. They made swift time to Redcliffe, and with the ashes were able to cure Arl Eamon, who after hearing everything that had gone down, immediately set out to Denerim to call a Landsmeet. They had a Blight to stop, and the only thing that stood in their way was Loghain.

Upon arriving at Arl Eamon's estate in Denerim, Karrin was annoyed to learn that it took time to call a Landsmeet, and so there was nothing to do except wait it out. This annoyance only increased once she learnt that she would have to fraternize with the nobles in order to swing the Landsmeet in their favour. Still, with nothing else to do, and being very good at persuading people to their cause, she set about her task. On her way through Denerim, she was confronted by a man named Ser Landry, who blamed the Grey Wardens for the death of King Cailen. Luckily, Karrin was able to convince him that they were innocent, and Loghain was to blame. Getting them their first ally for the Landsmeet. Whilst they had explored the temple of the Sacred Ashes, Karrin had found an old scroll, that was of interest to the chantry. She handed it into them, earning the gratitude of the archivist who took it off her hands. Continuing through Denerim, they met a man named Slim Cauldry, who in exchange for money gave Karrin high value targets for pickpocketing, including the man preparing a crown for Loghain. A crown that was promptly pinched, and given to a more deserving person later. They also met one of the leaders of the Antivan Crows, a man who went by the name of Master Ignacio, who gave them notable targets to dispose of that would help their case. Indeed, one man they helped was one of the nobles who would partake in the Landsmeet, gaining them more support. They also helped the captain of the guard, getting rid of a band of ruffians named The Crimson Oars who had been hired by Loghain and were causing a nuisance. They also got rid of a group of rowdy customers who were causing havoc in the local brothel. Whilst there, they entered the alienage, where the city elves were coming down with a mysterious illness. Whilst there they found an old amulet and returned it to a sick and half mad elf. The sight of it seemed to calm her down. Afterwards they went to the centre of the alienage. There they found tevinter mages who were supposedly curing the ill, but after some investigating, it turned out they were shipping them off to Tevinter to be slaves. After killing all the slavers, they found that they had links to Loghain, and took the evidence with them to present to the Landsmeet. Whilst they were readying everything, news came to them. Anora Mac Tier, wife of King Cailen, and daughter of Loghain had been imprisoned on Loghains orders by one of Loghain's biggest supporters, Arl Rendon Howe. Realising that rescuing her would be enough to strike the final blow against Loghain, Karrin, Alistair, Leliana, Morrigan and Aeducan were sent to infiltrate the estate as a small strike force to rescue her.

They were led into Howe's estate by a maid loyal to Anora, taking the back way in, and disguising themselves as guards. They were able to get through the estate without any confrontation, eventually reaching the room Anora was trapped in. However, a new problem reared its ugly head, as the door was magically barricaded, and Morrigan was unable to dispel it. Their only option was to find the mage casting the spell and force him to drop it. However, this also meant confronting Arl Howe himself too. Continuing on through the estate, they found that Howe was in the dungeons, as there was a door leading there from his bedroom. When they got down the jig was up, and they had to fight their way through. One guard they were going to fight however, was knocked out by a prisoner. Another Grey Warden, named Riordan, who had come from Orlais to find out what had happened. They told him where Arl Eamon was, and gave him a guard uniform to help him escape. Continuing on through the dungeons, they found the son of Bann Sighard stretched out upon a rack. They freed him and gave him another guard uniform, so he could also escape. They continued on, finding more prisoners to free, including a city elf, named Soris, a near dead templar related to a member of the Landsmeet named Alfstanna, who gave them a ring to take to her, and another noble named Vaughan, who promised to vote in their favour if they let him out. Karrin did so, making a mental note to let Zevran kill him after the Landsmeet. Eventually, they made it to the final room of the dungeon, where Arl Howe and his guards were waiting. After a tough fight, Karrin and her friends emerged victorious, with Loghain's biggest supporter lying dead at their feet. Now it was just a small matter of sneaking Anora out and getting back to Arl Eamon, but the group had been betrayed. As they headed to the exit they were confronted by Loghain's most trusted lieutenant, Ser Cauthrien, as well as a very large squad of guards. Knowing they couldn't fight their way out, and having had experience escaping cells before, Karrin surrendered to them.

She woke up naked in a cell in Fort Drakon. The most secure prison in all of Ferelden. It turned out that they had also managed to capture Alistair, but the rest of their companions had managed to escape along with Anora. However, this wasn't a problem for Karrin. It was far from the first cell she'd had to escape from, and at the time she thought it would be far from her last. Getting the key was easy enough. Using all her womanly charm, she was able to convince him to 'keep her company', then, when he came in and started to strip, knocked him unconscious. Luckily for her and Alistair, the guard hadn't got round to delivering their equipment elsewhere, and they were able to claim their gear. From there, they just had to find a way to sneak out, disguising themselves as guards and using Karrin's silver tongue in order to do so. And so they left Fort Drakon, the guards well wishes ringing in their ears, and grins upon their faces. She sent Alistair ahead to Arl Eamon's estate, and gave Alfstanna her ring, and informed Bann Sighard about his son, securing their support for the Landsmeet too. Then she returned, and the group readied themselves for the final confrontation against Loghain.

The night before the Landsmeet, Anora spoke to Karrin in private. In return for helping them against The Blight, she asked for her support for the crown. Thinking she could be useful in helping them win, Karrin lied and agreed to support her, with no intention of letting the crown go to anyone except its rightful owner. The morning of the Landsmeet dawned bright and early. Tension filled the air. Today was the day the fate of Ferelden would be decided. On their way to the Landsmeet however, Karrin and friends were delayed by Ser Cauthrien, loyal to Loghain as ever. After an incredibly tense conversation however, Karrin was able to persuade her to let her through, and with that, Loghain lost another ally. They entered the hall where the Landsmeet was held, meeting Loghain face to face once again. The battle of wits was one of the toughest she had engaged in, but Karrin was never going to let a noble be one to beat her at it, no matter how much he was once respected. It was clear which way it would go when Anora swept in and declared her support for the Grey Wardens. Then it was time to vote. The first cry was from a terrified noble who only knew tradition, and supported Loghain. Then, slowly, but with growing speed, support for the Grey Wardens came from all corners of Ferelden. In the end, Loghain was decisively outvoted, but this didn't prove to be enough for him. He demanded a trial by combat, which Alistair gladly accepted. It was a tough battle. Despite his age, Loghain was still as strong as ever. But his strength was outmatched by the righteous fury within Alistair, and he was beaten. Before the entire Landsmeet, Teyrn Loghain, hero of the river dane, was beheaded. Afterwards came the small matter of crowning a new ruler, and the men and women of Ferelden were more than happy to put Alistair Theirin on the throne. Anora was to be locked away until the Blight had been dealt with by the new king and the Grey Wardens. They had little time to prepare, The Archdemon was coming.

As the most likely target for the oncoming horde, Karrin and her friends went to Redcliffe, but found to their dismay that they were too late, and the village was already ablaze. They fought their way through the darkspawn to the castle, where the siege broke. To their horror they realised they had been tricked, and as they spoke, the Darkspawn were already marching towards Denerim, with the Archdemon at their head. It was too late in the day to go after them however, so whilst the armies of the dalish, the mages, the dwarves and Arl Eamon came into Redcliffe, Karrin and her friends took time to rest. It was that evening they received even more bad news from Riordan. If a Grey Warden struck a killing blow on an Archdemon, that Grey Warden died too. Riordan volunteered, but deep down Karrin had a horrible feeling that wouldn't be an option. Returning to her rooms she found Morrigan waiting for her there, who told her of a ritual that could be done that could save the lives of the Grey Wardens. All Karrin needed to do was convince the new king to sleep with her in order to produce a child that could take the soul of Urthermiel instead. However, try as she might, Alistair refused to, and threw her out of his chambers. The news angered Morrigan, and despite Karrin's begging, she left, never to be seen by the group for a long time.

Dawn rose, and the armies began their march to Denerim. Today, one way or another, The Blight would be over for them. Speeches were given, weapons were sharpened, bows were strung, and then they were there, and battle was joined. First they had to clear the gates so their forces could access Denerim proper, and the party fought together as one. There were heroics performed on that battlefield that would be immortalised in song for decades to come that day, but this was just the start. The Archdemon was seen flying close to Fort Drakon, so Riordan took a small group of Redcliffe soldiers one route to get to it, and Karrin took a small group consisting of her, Leliana, Alistair, Wynne, and Aeducan another. The rest of her friends stayed behind to guard the gates, under the command of Sten. Before they split up, Karrin insisted on speaking to each of them in turn as to give a proper goodbye. After their heartfelt goodbyes to each other, Karrin and her team departed to the cheers of the soldiers gathered there, and headed to Denerim's market district. There, together with the help of a small group of the dalish soldiers, they fought their way through, cutting down Darkspawn by the dozen, with Karrin landing the finishing blow on two ogres herself. They left the group of dalish there to search for survivors and cover them, and headed into the Alienage. There they found the place relatively untouched, as the gates still stood. However, even as they watched they saw them being besieged by Darkspawn. Thankfully for Karrin and friends, they were able to persuade the city elves to fight for their homes, and with the gates forming a natural chokepoint, they were able to fight off the Darkspawn there, with Shianni, the first elf there to pick up a weapon bringing down the ogre that had been battering down the gates. However, trouble struck after Karrin and her friends crossed the bridge seperating the Alienage and the rest of Denerim, as the Archdemon, finally having taken notice of them, swooped down and destroyed the bridge. With no way to go but forward, Karrin and her friends pushed on. They worked their way towards the palace district, meeting up with a small group of mages that had managed to fight their way there. There they found the body of Riordan. The Grey Warden had failed to kill the Archdemon, but he had injured its wings enough so it had to land on the roof of Fort Drakon. Together, Karrin and the mages faced a large number of Darkspawn, but though mage casualties were high, they managed to get through, with the turning point being backed up by warriors from Redcliffe, who trapped the Darkspawn in a pincer movement. Finally they fought their way through to the ominous front of Fort Drakon. The last of the mages defended the rear lines, whilst the warriors of Redcliffe helped Karrin fight her way to the entrance. Though the cost was high, it was one they repaid many times over in Darkspawn blood. Not even the two dragon thralls that had been tainted and enslaved were enough to hold back their righteous fury. They stayed outside to hold the entrance, and Karrin and friends ventured into the fort alone. The group fought their way upwards, floor by floor, annihilating the foul creatures that dared to stand against them. However, all this was taking its toll, and the groups supplies were running dangerously low. But by some miracle, Sandal was there, with a bag of supplies to sell them, and surrounded by masses of dead Darkspawn. When asked what happened, he only answered Enchantment. Then, it was time. They walked out onto the roof of Fort Drakon, to face their toughest fight yet. However, they weren't alone. As they faced the howling Darkspawn, and roaring Archdemon, a door on the other side of the roof burst open, and out came a band of dwarven warriors, including members of the Legion of the Dead, led by Kardol. The dwarves were also joined by First Enchanter Irving, and Zathrien, who immediately began to lay waste to the masses of blighted monsters upon the roof. With a warcry, Karrin and her friends joined. The ensuing fight was vicious and brutal. Many heroes were made and many heroes died, including Kardol, who was torn apart by Urthermiel itself. Even as his death approached he hacked away at the scaled beast, carving deep gouges into its flesh. It was when the warriors got the ballista working that the tides turned fully in their favour however, as several well placed rocks, stunned the massive beast, leaving it wide open to the Grey Wardens. After a last goodbye to her friends, Karrin ran forward and beheaded the beast, thus ending her life and The Fifth Blight.

### **Post-game**

The remaining Darkspawn fled, with the fury of the joint forces of Ferelden at their back. Though Denerim and much of the countryside was in ruins, Ferelden was saved. Before rebuilding could take place however, the dead needed to be tended to. Karrin, now known as the Hero of Ferelden, had a small funeral ceremony in what remained of Redcliffe. Her sister had been allowed to attend and escort the body back to Orzammar, where a more official ceremony would be held, and she would get a funeral worthy of the Paragonhood she had earned. Her arms and armour were collected by the newly appointed Warden Commander Dalras, whom the order had sent there, and were sent to Weisshaupt, to be displayed alongside those of the heroes of the first four blights. From then on, tales of Karrin Brosca, the casteless who became Paragon, were told throughout Orzammar for generations, and on the surface, The Tale of the Warden became a published book, read throughout Thedas. And so ends the story of Karrin Brosca

## **Relationships**

**Family**

Karrin's relationship with her family was tumultuous to be sure. She got along incredibly well with her half sister Rica, with the two of them being fiercely protective of each other, and were close from the day Karrin was born. Her mother however, was a terrible abusive drunk. Karrin didn't realise how awful she was until they met again when Karrin came back to Orzammar. After a shouting match, coupled with Morrigan comparing her to Flemeth, Karrin knew she had to break ties for good, and never spoke to her again. She was indifferent to Bhelen, her future brother-in-law, not knowing him long enough to form any strong opinion on him, but he seemed to love Rica and that was good enough for her. She adored her newly born nephew Endrin, and proclaimed him to be the most adorable child in all of Thedas.

**Companions**

Karrin and Alstair got along quite well when they met. They shared a similar sense of humour, and had each others backs in battle. They also provided support to each other in situations regarding their families. Alistair was the first of her friends to get her to realise how awful her relationship with her mother was. In return, Karrin helped Alistair find his long lost sister, and when she turned out to be a complete bitch, was there to support him, with some words of advice about families that steeled his resolve and hardened him against the cruelties of life. This helped when he was crowned king, and he often looks back at her advice to him in times of troubles. Their relationship soured a little when Alistair refused to perform the dark ritual, but Karrin refused to die whilst they weren't on speaking terms, and made up with him before she killed the Archdemon. Alistair was one of the two people to carry her body out of Fort Drakon.

Though she was originally incredibly dismissive of her, Morrigan grew to love Karrin as a sister in time. Karrin had a small interest in magic, and Morrigan was only too happy to inform her about it. The similarities between their mothers was another bonding moment, leading to a long discussion once they'd left Orzammar. When Morrigan found out her mothers intentions for her, Karrin was more than happy to go and slay the woman, even after she transformed into a dragon. Bring her back Flemeth's grimoire was so touching for Morrigan that the usually cold woman even shed a few tears of happiness. Alas, their friendship didn't last, as upon being told that the Dark Ritual wouldn't happen, Morrigan was enraged, and yelled at her, before fleeing into the night, never to be seen by Karrin again. She didn't even attend the funeral ceremony, though she bitterly regretted it. After her time with the Inquisition, there were reports in Orzammar about a strange dog being seen near the statue of Paragon Brosca. When people went to look, all they found were violets placed at its feet.

Karrin had always been a lover of animals, so she was delighted when the dog she had helped cure at Ostagar found her. The dog for its part loved his mistress more than anything, even hunting rabbits. Quickly named Aeducan, because Karrin believed herself to be a master of political comedy, Aeducan was a firmly established member of the party, being separated from Karrin only once, when she was imprisoned in Fort Drakon. He was at her side during the deep roads, he looked after her when she was afflicted with the werewolf curse, and he was with her when she slew the Archdemon. He didn't eat anything until after her funeral. When the companions went their separate ways, he went with Sten to Par Vollen. There he spent the rest of his days being adored by the big qunari, and though he loved Sten, his final thoughts were of his old mistress, chasing rabbits together again.

Speaking of Sten, though it was hard for Karrin to understand him, and vice versa, The qunari and the dwarf got on quite well in time. They did have their differences, especially about gender roles and what little Karrin got about the Qun off of him, but they agreed to disagree, and focused on the things they had in common instead. Being as they were both skilled in the use of two handed weapons, they often trained together, sparring at camp until they were both exhausted. They also both loved cookies, and often shared some when their funds allowed them to buy some. However the point where their friendship was well and truly cemented was when Karrin retrieved Sten's sword, which he had lost along with his squad to a Darkspawn attack. From then on, Sten referred to her as kadan, the qunlat word for friend. He was more than happy to stay behind and defend Denerim's gates from Darkspawn, but regretted that he wasn't there when she sacrificed herself. After the funeral, Sten adopted Aeducan, and returned to Par Vollen. Upon being asked if he had met any worthy outsiders, he replied with one.

Meeting Leliana was one of the most pivotal events in Karrin's life. Though she knew she was attracted to both men and women, it wasn't until Leliana she had grown close to a woman romantically. It helped that their first meeting was when Leliana helped her fight off some bounty hunters. From there, their friendship grew, and eventually evolved into something more. It took a lot of awkward flirting and good natured ribbing form the rest of the group, but eventually they declared their love for each other, and the rest of their time together was wonderful. What helped was when Karrin slew Marjorlaine, Leliana's ex lover and the woman who had betrayed her. Leliana was by her side always, with them even sharing a kiss in front of the Urn of Sacred Ashes. She comforted her when Morrigan had left, though that wasn't the reason she was crying, and fought with her all the way to the to the top of Fort Drakon, taking down scores of Darkspawn whilst Karrin and Alistair fought the monstrous dragon. She and Alistair were the ones to carry her body out of the fortress. Karrin's death affected her deeply, with her even attempting suicide before being saved and brought into duty as her right hand by Divine Justinia.

Meeting Shale was a novel experience for Karrin. She knew of golems, but before The Blight she had never seen one before, so meeting one and finding out that not only could it talk, but was also incredibly snarky was quite fantastic in her opinion. It took a while for the two of them to get along, mostly due to Shale's disdain of squishy fleshbags, but Karrin's upbeat attitude and willingness to listen finally won the golem over, and the two of them made a pretty good team. At Shale's request, the golem accompanied Karrin through the deep roads during the search for Paragon Branka, and down there they found out more about who Shale used to be. On their way back to Orzammar, Karrin took a detour to the thaig where Shale had once lived, back when she had been a dwarf, in order to reawaken the golem's memories. The trip turned out to be a success, and Shale was happy to stay by her side and help stop The Blight in return. During the battle for Denerim, Shale proved to be an invaluable asset, her overwhelming strength and defence meaning she could take down dozens of Darkspawn before needing to be healed. She attended Karrin's funeral, both the ceremony in Redcliffe, and the full funeral in Orzammar, even being the one to carry her back to her old city. Afterwards she headed off with Wynne, the two of them going on many adventures together before they separated.

Given how awful Karrin's mother was, it was hardly surprising that she got along with Wynne, the kindly old woman being the perfect example of what a mother should be. At least in Karrin's opinion. Of course, due to being incredibly screwed up because of her upbringing, Karrin never referred to her as such, mostly joking that she was more of a grandmother. She did enjoy the life advice that Wynne gave her, and Wynne respected her, even if she did treat her like a child sometimes. They only really had one major argument about this though, when Wynne urged her to be cautious with her relationship with Leliana, after which, Karrin refused to speak to her for a few days. In the end she forgave her though, and supported her, when Wynne was unsure whether she was an abomination or not. Karrin even helped her find her student, who had ran away many years ago, the two of them finally being able to reconcile. After Karrin fell facing the archdemon, Wynne was the first at her side, fruitlessly trying to use her healing magic to bring her back, only stopping when she was on the verge of passing out from exhaustion. After Karrin's funeral, she and Shale ventured out together, spreading the tale of the warden wherever they went.

For somebody hired to assassinate her, Zevran got along quite well with Karrin. Though their first impressions of each other weren't exactly the best ones ever, in time they became close friends, even if the flirting was only one sided. They became close friends as they shared stories over cooking duty, which they both worked on together fairly often, with Karrin giving him the family recipe for nug and mushroom stew, an honour that was only shared with him and Leliana. During their time together, Karrin helped him confront his past with the crows that he was trying to flee from, and as an added bonus, stopped the contract against the Grey Wardens from ever being completed. It was only reluctantly that he stayed behind at the gates of Denerim, and ever afterwards he wondered if he would have been able to prevent her death if only he had been with her. After the funeral, he went on to hunt down members of the crows and inflict plenty of damage on the organisation, even teaming up with the Champion of Kirkwall, in more ways than one.

Though Oghren was a drunken lech, Karrin was still happy to have him around. Partly because it was good to have another dwarf on the team, even if he was a complete mess, and partly because when he sobered up and acted seriously, he was a competent warrior who fit well into Orzammar's warrior class. For a time though, the friendship was one sided, as Oghren refused to view her as anything other than just the groups leader. Try as she might, the only time Oghren was more communicative was when he was drunk. Originally she believed that this was because she had killed Branka, but in truth that was only part of it. The other reason why eventually revealed itself when he requested her help with getting together with an old flame of his, a dwarven woman named Felsi. It turned out that she and Karrin were identical in everything except hair colour. After successfully getting them together however, Oghren relaxed and opened up a lot more around her, even teaching her how to be a berserker, and often sharing drinks with her. They fought back to back during the fight at Denerim's gates, reaping a bloody toll on the Darkspawn that dared approach the two whirlwinds of anger and swords. After Karrin's funeral, which he was invited to attend in Orzammar as well, he settled down with Felsi, the two of them eventually having a child together. A young dwarven girl that Oghren tearfully named after his departed friend and student. Though the family went through some rough patches, with Oghren leaving to join the Grey Wardens, they still loved each other a lot, and Oghren made sure to be an important part of his child's life.

## **Miscellaneous**

Karrin is a good story teller, and regarded as one of the best at it in the group, with only Leliana and Wynne beating her at it. Her favourite flowers are dandelions, and Leliana left a bouquet of them at the foot of her statue in Orzammar before she became the left hand of the divine. Her favourite meal is nug and mushroom stew, and it's her signature dish, along with mushroom soup. She always had a tendency to put herself in harms way instead of letting anyone else risk themselves. In spite of living in Dust Town, she learned to read and write, mostly so the carta knew they weren't getting cheated. Even after leaving Orzammar she still believed in the stone and the ancestors, which caused several arguments with Leliana, though they always made up.

## **Links**

### Reddit Headcanon Threads:

Spooky prompts

Heroes and party members

Things they'd hate to become

Family meals and conflict deals

Lewd headcanons (NSFW)

Gifts and failed ambitions

Change and music

Illness and old lives

Snowball fights and ugly sweaters

Resolutions, drinking and new years eve

Immoral acts

Self righteousness and arguments

Left brain and right brain and LI attraction

First kills and nemeses

LI descriptions, getting together and first dates

Ever changing family

Demonic possession and early memories

Unrequited feelings, unequal respect and ungraciously stuffing themselves

Lack of skill and misunderstandings

Technology skill and internet quiz forms

Sense of humour, specialist topics and stories

Secrets

First kisses, Meet the Family, and getting knocked down a peg or two

### Reddit Writing prompt Threads:

A Happy Family Dinner

The Death of Karrin Brosca

Family, Coronations and Relaxations

## **Gallery**

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