Shayna Amell

Shayna Amell was a mage in Circle of Ferelden. She was among the mages who survived Uldred's uprising and fought in the battle of Denerim. Following the ascension of Divine Victoria, she became a part of the Divine's honor guard.

## Overview

### **Physical Appearance**

Shayna is a female human of average height with fair skin and shoulder-length blonde hair that she ties into a pony tail.

### **Personality**

Shayna is a devout Andrastian who follows the tenets of kindness and charity. She is fiercely loyal to the Chantry and the Circles.

### **Talents and Skills**

Shayna is an incredibly talented mage, having completed her Harrowing with great ease. She is particularly proficient in the Primal School of magic, favoring frost and earth magic.

She has also learned the skills of the Knight-Enchanter, using fierce battle magic in service of the Divine.

## **Biography**

### **Childhood**

Shayna was born on Harvestmere 24, 9:11 Dragon, the first child of Revka Amell and her husband. Her early childhood was fairly uneventful, despite the troubles that befell the Amell family.

Shayna's magical abilities manifested themselves when she was 8 years old. Her mother, having heard terrible things about the Circle in Kirkwall, instead arranged for Shayna to be sent to the Circle in Ferelden. Before Shayna left, her mother told her that her magic was a gift from the Maker and that she was chosen to serve him.

### **Circle**

Despite having to leave her family, Shayna enjoyed life at the Circle. Even the supervision by the templars couldn't hamper her enjoyment of the education. She took to magical studies fairly quickly. Her impressive progress drew the attention of First Enchanter Iriving, who soon took her on as his protegé.

Among her fellow students, Shayna had few friends. The closest among them was Jowan, a shy boy who was slightly older than her.

So, the years past fairly quickly, with Shayna swiftly developing her skills as a mage. Finally, the time for her Harrowing had come. A templar knight named Cullen, whom Shayna had had few interactions with before, escorted her to the top floor of the Circle Tower, where First Enchanter Irving and Knight-Commander Greagoir were waiting. Using lyrium, Shayna was sent into the Fade, where she would have to encounter and defeat a demon.

The first being she encountered was a spirit called Mouse. Mouse said he had also been a mage, but when he took too long to complete his Harrowing, the templars killed him and trapped his spirit in the Fade. Mouse told Shayna that the demon she would have to face was a being of rage located at the center of the Fade. With Mouse's guidance, Shayna traversed the Fade, gaining the help of other spirits to prepare herself for the fight with the rage demon.

Finally, she faced the demon. The demon revealed that Mouse had actually helped lure previous mages on their Harrowing to the demon in order to survive. Undeterred, Shayna and Mouse fought and killed the rage demon. After the battle, Mouse attempted to convince Shayna to let him enter her mind so that he may see the physical world again. Shayna then realized that Mouse was actually a demon as well and refused. Mouse, revealing himself as a Pride Demon, complimented her for her wisdom and left.

Upon waking from her Harrowing, Irving officially welcomed Shayna as a full-fledged Enchanter of the Circle. Not long after, Jowan approached Shayna with a mysterious request for help. After following him to the tower's Chantry, he revealed that he had been in a relationship with a Chantry sister, Lily. Lily had discovered that Jowan was to go through the Rite of Tranquility. In order to save him, the two devised a plan to destroy Jowan's phylactery so that they may run away together.

In order to do this, however, they needed Shayna's help. Before agreeing to help, Shayna went to Irving and told him of their plan. Rather than stop them, Irving told Shayna to pretend to help them with their plan so that they may be caught red-handed. Otherwise, only Jowan would be punished while Lily would be let off unscathed. Shayna agreed to the plan and returned to Jowan and Lily. The pair instructed her to acquire a Rod of Fire. Upon getting the rod, the trio went to the basement. After overcoming several obstacles, the group finally entered the repository where the phylacteries were kept. Jowan finally managed to destroy his phylactery.

Upon returning from the basement, the group was cornered by Irving, Greagoir and several templars. Upon deciding the guilt of both Jowan and Lily, Greagoir sentenced Jowan to tranquility and Lily to be imprisoned in Aeonar. Not wanting to give up, Jowan used blood magic to incapacitate the templars. Lily, disgusted with Jowan, refused to go with him as he ran away and, instead, accepted her punishment.

Shayna, having acted on Irving's orders, was shielded from the consequences and allowed to remain in the Circle.

She continued to serve as an Enchanter in the Circle until Uldred and his blood mages attempted to topple the templars. Shayna fought against the maleficar, along with her fellow loyalist mages and the templars, but was ultimately overwhelmed. Along with Irving and the other captive mages, Shayna was brought up to the Harrowing chamber, where Uldred and his followers spent days torturing them, trying to get them to accept posession. Shayna resisted for as long as she could, but felt herself beginning to break.

Before Uldred could turn her, the Hero of Ferelden arrived and defeated Uldred, saving her and her fellow mages. Upon clearing the tower, the Hero of Ferelden recruited the mages to fight against the Blight. Shayna remained at the Circle, helping with its reconstruction until the mages were called to battle.

When the Warden summoned the mages to fight at Denerim, Shayna marched along with her fellows to Denerim to fight against the Blight. She fought her way through Denerim and to the top of Fort Drakon, where she fought at the Warden's side against the Archdemon and witnessed its slaying.

After the end of the Blight, Shayna returned to the Circle and continued to serve as an Enchanter. Over the coming years, Shayna advanced her magical abilities and even trained in the arts of the Knight-Enchanter.

Following the events that transpired at the White Spire, the mages convened at Andoral's Reach and voted to fight for independence from the Chantry. Shayna, who was still loyal to the Chantry, refused to join the rebellion and joined Vivienne's loyalists instead. Not long after, Cullen, who had since left the templars, approached her with an invitation.

In order to combat the rebellious mages and templars, Divine Justinia was reviving the Inquisition. Eager and happy to serve the Divine more directly, Shayna agreed to join the Inquisition.

### **Inquisition**

While the Inquisition was still in its infancy, Divine Justinia attempt to resolve the Mage-Templar war peacefully by calling the rebel leaders to a Conclave. Shayna, along with most of the Inquisition, had come to Haven to await the Conclave's result. Instead, she witnessed the Temple of Sacred Ashes be destroyed in a massive magical explosion that killed the Divine and opened a Breach into the Fade. Through the Breach, hordes of demons poured into the physical world. Once again, Shayna found herself facing an endless tide of demons.

For days, she fought to try and keep them back, but the ceaseless fighting, combind with her previous experiences, quickly began draining her. Just as she was about to lose hope, the Herald of Andraste awoke and closed the Breach, stemming the tide.

Hearing that the Herald was the chosen of Andraste and bore her mark, Shayna found her faith restored and her resolve renewed. She served the Inquisition with the same fervor as she did the Chantry. Even when Corypheus attacked Haven, Shayna fought without any doubts. She saw her faith rewarded when the Herald was named Inquisitor.

During her time at the Inquisition, Shayna was introduced to Leliana. While the two were initially distant, they soon bonded over their shared faith and sense of loss. Over the coming months, the two grew closer and eventually began a relationship.

Throughout the conflict with Corypheus, Shayna fought at Adamant and the Arbor Wilds.

### **Chantry**

After Corypheus was defeated and Leliana ascended to the Sunburst Throne, Shayna returned to the Chantry as a member of the Divine's honor guard.

## **Relationships**

Leliana

Shayna and Leliana share a close romantic relationship. Shayna loves Leliana dearly and is fiercely loyal to her as the Divine.

The Inquisitor

During her time with the Inquisition, Shayna was incredibly devoted to the Inquisitor, who valued her as a capable agent and fighter. Even after she left the Inquisition, the two still maintained a friendly bond.

Irving

Irving was Shayna's mentor and father figure throughout her time at the Circle. She looked up to him and he cherished her.