Nehna Lavellan

Smells like mint and elfroot

Nehna Lavellan (9:22 - present) is the Inquisitor of Thedas, First of Clan Lavellan, occasional Red Jenny and Sera's former lover, now wife.

## Overview

### **Physical Appearance**

Nehna has fair skin, dark black hair and golden eyes. Her most noticeable feature is probably her red vallaslin, done in honour of Dirthamen, and she also wears fairly subtle makeup most of the time. She is roughly 5'6 in height, being slightly shorter than Sera although about average height amongst her clan, and is quite slender and willowy in build. She hates it if you mention that, though.

### **Personality**

If Nehna could donate all her money to solve Thedas's problems forever, she'd do it in a heartbeat. She lacks the guile to be a master of the Game (which she disapproves of anyway), although she does possess her own form of cunning.

The word 'bookworm' was probably invented for her, because Nehna is almost always found with a book of some sort in her free time; generally an esoteric arcane tome or some kind of reference to Elvhenan, both of which she pores over eagerly. Dirthamen's vallaslin was an apt choice for her, because the young elf has a truly insatiable thirst for knowledge, rivalling that of even Solas as she attempts to learn and absorb as much history and information as possible.

Her biggest weakness is that she cares a lot, and probably too much: the sight of all the chaos in Thedas brought about by the Breach and the Mage-Templar War, along with all the general poverty and inequality that has always existed, troubles her deeply. She finds it extremely difficult to walk away from people in need, even if she cannot personally help them at the time, and being unable to improve an unpleasant situation sends her into a spiral of guilt. Luckily, this caring nature translates well to her relationship with Sera, being able to both love her a great deal and support the 'little people' whose cause Sera champions.

Trained as a First to be a future leader, Nehna still struggles to understand the complicated and often vicious politics of Thedas, often thinking and reacting with her heart rather than her head. She often wishes she could just return to her simple life among the Dalish, yet knows that she must fulfil her purpose as Inquisitor first. She is relatively shy and quiet, often preferring to simply observe situations, and tries as much as possible to find a peaceful solution to problems. Nehna also has a relatively good sense of humour, although she more often laughs at jokes rather than telling them herself.

### **Talents and Skills**

Nehna is especially gifted with natural and healing magic, being her main area of focus. This causes no end of amusement of her companions, who assume she just 'talks to flowers all day.' As a healer, she is frequently relied upon by her party in lieu of potions, yet she can hold her own in a battle if need be, using elemental magic to compliment her companions' fighting styles.

Beyond the battlefield, Nehna also has a knack for learning things in general, but particularly enjoys languages. To Leliana's delighted surprise, she was able to learn enough rudimentary Orlesian by the time she visited the Winter Palace to be able to wittily disarm plenty of nobles, making it much easier for her to earn their approval in the Game.

Nehna is also fluent in Trade yet knows a decent amount of Elven as well, being able to read and write it as a First. Her efforts in the latter are supported by Solas, and the two regularly converse in the ancient language or read and write together to develop her understanding.

As noted by Sera, Nehna can hunt things with a dagger if needed, although obviously she much prefers using her magic to do so. She is also not too bad a chef, being able to make tasty trail mix or excellent stews for her companions, or even bake very tasty cookies.

Sera is additionally quite satisfied with Nehna's abilities as a lover, although the latter always sees room for improvement and, as always, is eager to learn or try new techniques with her.

## Biography

### **History**

Nehna was born in 9:22 in Clan Lavellan, daughter of Atisumis, a huntress, and the warrior Ellas. She is their firstborn child, and the only one that has (so far) shown any magical abilities.

When she started displaying her gifts aged 5, Keeper Deshanna took her in with the aim that she would become the clan First when she was older, a task the young elf was more than equal to. Over the years of Deshanna's focused magical tuition, as well as immersing her in ancient knowledge as her First, Nehna came to regard her as a second mother, something that flattered the older woman greatly.

Even though her younger siblings never shared her magical gifts, they never resented her for the key position she held in the clan, and Nehna would often use her talents to amuse, entertain and educate the younger ones, such as forming the shapes of halla and *shemlen* in flames between her fingers. As a First, she also formed close relationships with the *hahren* of her clan, respecting their wisdom and using it to inform her in turn.

She attended her first Arlathvhen in 9:40, and was surprised to encounter less progressive attitudes among some of the Keepers. Deshanna had always taught her to be open in embracing new perspectives, although to always remember her own upbringing as well, allowing Nehna to form a hybrid stance between the old ways and the modern world. This kind of flexible thinking would become a key point of her life as Inquisitor, allowing her to make reasonable decisions and come to conclusions fairly without any bias, which was something even the hardest of her opponents could not deny.

Shortly after she turned 19, the Conclave was announced, and Deshanna decided to send Nehna as her spy to figure out what was unsettling the humans so much, and whether this problem might affect their clan or the Dalish in general. Nehna felt reluctant to be placed in such a dangerous and murky situation but agreed out of loyalty to her clan and her own interest to understand just what was going on.

### **In-game**

After the events of the Conclave, Nehna was widely viewed by many Thedosians as 'the Herald of Andraste' because of the Anchor on her hand and her miraculous survival, a title she felt uncomfortable wielding both for its power implications and the way it exacerbated her struggles to reconcile her 'Dalishness' with a predominantly Andrastian and human organisation. As a proudly Dalish elf, she found herself uncomfortable pledging allegiance to and representing a god and woman that she did not believe in, yet (as with so much else) she carried on in an attempt to project the correct image, all the while battling feelings of intense guilt and nearly had an identity crisis that Sera and Solas helped kickstart.

In 9:41, she was declared Inquisitor, leader of the newly reformed Inquisitor, and pledged herself to do whatever she could to restore and save Thedas, doing what was right instead of trying to grab power or make a statement. This won her massive support among her companions.

Trusting the words of Dorian Pavus (a stranger at that point) and horrified by her experiences with time travel to a dark future in Redcliffe, she allied herself with the mages, taking them on as free members of the Inquisition as opposed to conscripts. In doing so, she declared the Inquisition to be a safe haven for all those oppressed, whatever their race, winning her the support of many mages and downtrodden smallfolk as she championed their cause, but the ire of the corrupted Templars and some nobles. This led the Templars down the road to terminal corruption as Red Templars at the hands of Corypheus, an irreversible action that she regretted for the rest of her life.

Later at Adamant, she was appalled seeing the state of the Grey Wardens and was desperate to make amends for the way she felt she had erred with the mages and Templars. Being trapped in the Fade with her friends, Hawke and the Warden Stroud and being unable to leave without abandoning someone to fight a colossal demon, she eventually chose Stroud. Wracked over the pain the Templars' fate had likely caused their loved ones, she felt unable to leave Varric's best friend to an uncertain future or make Varric suffer similarly and saved Hawke instead, having additionally formed a respectful bond with the fellow mage. She decided to allow the Wardens to stay and rebuild as allies of the Inquisition though, valuing their experience and abilities and fearing they, too, could succumb to magical corruption if she exiled them while pitying them in their weakened state; still, a part of her wondered if they would face *political* corruption instead.

At the peace talks at the Winter Palace held under the guise of a ball, Nehna was able to expose Florianne's machinations without bloodshed and saved the Empress from likely assassination. She was able to reunite Celene and Briala as lovers, allowing the latter to become the Marquise of the Dales (and the first elf to hold a title), while Gaspard was executed for treason.

Shortly afterwards, Nehna found herself at an ancient temple of Mythal with Solas, Sera, Dorian and Morrigan and learnt the truth about the fall of Elvhenan and Tevinter's involvement. She allied herself with Abelas and his sentinels, unwilling to risk the lives of these ancient elves who her people regarded as heroes, even if they were looked down on in return as nothing more than 'ignorant and weak children.' Fearing how Morrigan might otherwise seize power for her own ends and feeling that by rights as a First and Dalish elf, she deserved the knowledge and secrets more, Nehna drank from the Well of Sorrows.

In 9:42, Nehna defeated the ancient darkspawn Corypheus alongside her friends and allies, with the help of the Anchor. Leliana was elected Divine Victoria with Nehna's approval and support, who was instrumental in reforming the Chantry into a more liberal organisation, allowing men and different races to serve for the first time and even openly allowing and encouraging romantic relationships among the clergy, pointing to Andraste's example.

### **Post-game**

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

## **Relationships**

Nehna formed close relationships with all her companions and advisors. While obviously forming the closest bond with her future wife, Sera, she was good friends with everyone in the Inquisition: her gentle and diplomatic nature was instrumental in solving much of the group's infighting, and she was held in high esteem and great affection. Her trusting and friendly nature made it easy for friendships to flourish, and she was a popular target of free drinks whenever she visited the tavern.

Of particular note were her friendships with the Iron Bull, Dorian Pavus, and Solas, although she was very close to Varric as well, trading quips and story ideas regularly. She saw her fellow elf as a *hahren* to be respected for his skills and knowledge, although she did not see him as above gentle reproaches for his attitude towards her Dalish kinsmen despite this.

Bull and Dorian were her partners in crime, and the quartet (when joined by Sera) shared a very strong bond. They were able to negotiate together despite their different backgrounds and perspectives, often illuminating Nehna's choices and helping her find less obvious solutions to problems. When not charging into battle together, the group bonded over their respective love lives in lurid detail over drinks, laughing and teasing one another. Little was held sacred between them, and as a result they flourished together, trusting each other as they did few others.

Of course, Nehna's most notorious relationship was her romantic entanglement with the infamous elven rogue and Red Jenny, Sera. They began a relationship at Skyhold in 9:41. The two women became very close in spite of their perspectives on their shared elven nature (and Nehna's Dalish background), eventually agreeing to disagree so long as the subject wasn't brought up too often. They found a hybrid mixture of old and new suited them best, something unique to the couple, which in itself suited Sera's discomfort with being tied down by the past or feeling too 'choked'. Nehna helped Sera get over her fear of magic, and it was rumoured that the two even used her powers for sexual purposes, although there was naturally little evidence to suggest it beyond ribald jokes that the rogue herself spread and encouraged.

Still, regardless of the naysayers suggesting Sera was using the Inquisitor for her own political gains, or that Nehna might 'disgrace' herself as a result of Sera's infamy, the two women genuinely loved each other a great deal, eventually marrying in 9:45. It is a testament to their shared bond that Sera, out of respect for her lover's family, agreed to hold *two* ceremonies: an Andrastian one, and a Dalish bonding ceremony amongst the Lavellan clan. The two are currently considering starting a family, whether through adoption or more magical means - Nehna is researching the possibilities.

## **Miscellaneous**

### **Trivia**

* Nehna's full first name is Sulahn'nehn'ara, roughly translating to 'my song of joy.' She uses her nickname, Nehna, professionally and when speaking with non-Dalish, who are less used to such lengthy names.
* Nehna has a fear of spiders, which amuses Sera: for such a powerful woman, it is humbling that she has such a simple, normal and relatively common phobia.
	+ However, Nehna has never admitted to anyone her truly greatest fear: that some day she will have to 'choose' between the Dalish and their ancient heritage or the more Andrastian present. As a First, her fears have added weight: without anyone to carry on passing on the knowledge and traditions of the old ways, she fears that someday the elves will lose all their connections to their shared past, and that the Dalish will either become so distant from modernity that they fade away entirely, or they assimilate and become lost forever.
* Being only 19 when she was declared Inquisitor, Nehna is the youngest member of the organisation, bar Sera or Cole (who is technically only a year old).
* Aside from Trade, Nehna is skilled in the Elven language, and knows rudimentary Orlesian (from Leliana) and Antivan (from Josephine).
	+ She has also developed a series of hand gestures for the Red Jennies to communicate with silently in close quarters. Sera made the explicit version.
* Despite being a mage, Nehna is relatively able with a dagger (such as if her magic is nullified), although she will obviously never have the hope of and doesn't even try besting her wife at archery.
* Nehna is fond of "the language of flowers": among the Dalish, 'flowers' are rare because plants are grown and used either for medicinal or nutritional purposes, not ornamentation (besides honouring the gods or celebrations). As a result, she appreciates its usage and even likes sending Sera bouquets with hidden messages (who pretends not to be flattered).
* Nehna has a strong sweet tooth, and can't help falling prey to Orlesian frilly cakes.

## **Links**

### Non-Reddit links (AO3, DeviantArt, Tumblr):

Her Lover's Hands - AO3, WIP

Screenshot album (mostly Nehna shots, but including Nehna/Sera - WIP)

## **Gallery**

1/3