Tiberius Valerian

## Overview

### **Physical Appearance**

Tiberius is a broad shouldered young man with olive skin and dark brown eyes. He has thick, dark eyebrows which are often scrunched down in a frown when he is concentrating or confused. His hair is dark brown and cropped closely to his head. His cheeks and chin are covered by a neat, close-trimmed beard. Tiberius’ arms and chest have an assortment of scars from poorly healed wounds he received while serving in the Tevinter military.

He feels most comfortable in armor, so it is rare to see him without his Warden armor or at least a neat military uniform.

### **Personality**

Tiberius a serious and reserved young man. He prides himself on his determination and commitment to duty. He will go to any lengths to help his friends and those he is most loyal to. A childhood of futilely trying to earn his father's approval has lead to Tiberius harshly berating himself for any physical and mental failings. His wry and sarcastic sense of humor occasionally slips out when he becomes frustrated or distracted.

### **Talents**

Having been a soldier in the Tevinter Army for his entire adult life, Tiberius is skilled at keeping himself alive on the battlefield. He has been trained to fight with sword and shield in conjunction with large squads of infantry.

He also has a lovely baritone singing voice, though he doesn't often use it outside of singing marching songs.

### **Skills/Spells**

* Shield Bash
* Scatter
* Payback Strike
* Warrior's Resolve
* Combat Roll

**Lyrium Reaver**

* Spectral Blood Shield
* Blood Specter

## Biography

### **History**

Tiberius was born to Aron and Claudia Valerian in 9:44 Dragon. The couple and young Tiberius belonged to the non-magical Soporati class of Tevinter society, and lived in the poor district of Minrathous alongside a colorful collection of non-magical humans, freed elves, and seedy surfacer dwarves. Two years after Tiberius' birth, Claudia gave birth to his brother Gaius. Less than a year later, she succumbed to a pox that swept through Minrathous.

Without Claudia, Aron struggled to raise both Tiberius and Gaius. Tiberius grew up hearing his father often complaining about their station, mumbling about the Valerian family's history as prominent magic users back in the time of Andraste. No one knew if this was true or not, and the family had been lacking in magic for so long it no longer mattered. Their situation changed completely, however, when Tiberius' brother came into his magic in 9:50 Dragon. Suddenly, the family was not considered Soporati, but Laetan. Aron bent over backwards to enroll Gaius in the best magical academy offered by the Minrathous Circle. He could not afford it alone, however, so Tiberius stepped up to help pay his brother's tuition. He spent his childhood doing menial tasks at a glass shop.

Rifts began to open in the brothers' once close relationship. Aron doted on Gaius, the son who had elevated them from Soporati to Laetans, and all but ignored Tiberius. Gaius became more and more consumed by Tevinter high society while Tiberius struggled to support his father's and brother's ambitions.

When he turned 17, in 9:61 Dragon, he enlisted in the Tevinter Army. He served faithfully under several Altus and Magister commanders on Seheron. Tiberius slowly became disillusioned with the war effort, however. This came to a head in 9:66 Dragon. During the siege of an important settlement, Tiberius' legion was ordered to march directly into open fire in support of another battalion's flank attack. The troops were on the edge of revolt, so their commander, Cassius Varro, used blood magic to compel them to attack. The entire battalion was slaughtered, save Tiberius (who fell early on to an arrow in his shoulder and was shielded by the advancing troops) and three others who were too badly wounded to walk. When he finally had control of his body back, Tiberius searched the battlefield for his commander and stabbed him through the back. With that, his fate was sealed. He had to desert or die.

Back home, however, he received a colder welcome than he was expecting. Gaius had recently been taken on as an apprentice by a prominent member of the Magisterium named Magister Mactator and refused to risk his political position to help his brother. He went so far as to threaten Tiberius with forcible removal from Minrathous. Desperate and with nowhere else to turn, Tiberius decided he had to flee again. An old friend of his caught wind of a force of guards leaving Tevinter with the Archon’s ambassador. Tiberius was able to acquire forged documents and join the guards just before they left for Weisshaupt fortress. Little did he know, he’d soon be obligated to undergo the Joining and become a Warden himself.

### **In-game**

Tiberius participated in a mission with other prospective Warden recruits to destroy a large group of darkspawn near Weisshaupt Fortress. Using their blood, he completed his Joining. That same night, he joined Katari, Andryanna, and Ser Gwyn in a mission to rescue Minne, who had been left behind after their mission. They succeeded, but as a consequence of their unauthorized mission Tiberius was assigned a guardian- Warden Rhita.

He allowed Andryanna to pull him into further trouble when she enlisted him in her quest to find the cause of Ser Gwyn's unexpectedly severe reaction to lyrium withdrawal. Since then, Tiberius has been stationed in the infirmary to learn healing skills or on guard duty. He has also been pursuing training in warrior abilities with Warden-Captain Penelope.

After Andryanna's breakthrough in cracking the cipher in Gisele's documents, a small team of Wardens traveled to Hossberg. There they sought any information relating to the Blight or the codes. Tiberius and Gisele requested information from the Chantry and became embroiled in a power struggle between Revered Mother Gertrude and Knight Commander Shawcross. The Wardens sided with the Revered Mother and the mages and helped kill Shawcross and the templars participating in abuse of the mages in the Hossberg Circle. Having obtained new information, the group prepared to follow leads on an artifact relating to Razikale which is somewhere in the Tevinter Imperium.

Upon arrival at the gates of Minrathous, Tiberius and Gwyn were taken to a prison called the Pits. They spent several days being experimented on and, in Tiberius' case, fighting in gladiatorial combat for the entertainment of Magisters. Tiberius was able to escape when Andie managed to get herself thrown in prison. The next day, Tiberius went to his brother's home and was able to kill his patron, Magister Mactator, with Gwyn and Salacia's help. Gaius was south of the city with the Relic, so the group went to confront him and retrieve the Relic. Tiberius failed to kill his brother; he escaped. They recovered the relic and returned to Weisshaupt.

After an incident involving the First turning into a wyvern and maiming Gwyn, Tiberius spoke with Amell about redistributing her power. She agreed and made him a member of that new governing council.

## **Relationships**

* **Andryanna**- Tiberius is deeply attracted to Andryanna, admiring both her beauty and her personality. The two have enjoyed a subtle courtship since the rescue mission to save Minne. Tiberius is hesitant about the future of their romance, however, given his own insecurities about his intelligence and his past experiences with mages. The more their romance progresses, the deeper their love grows. He can't imagine being without her now.
* **Ser Gwyn**- The relationship between Tiberius and Gwyn is strained at best. He considered the former Templar a friend, but the man's over-zealous protection of Andryanna made for an uncomfortable undercurrent in all of their interactions. Since their experiences together in the Pits, Gwyn has much more respect for Tiberius. Unfortunately, Tiberius found out that Gwyn provoked Andie into self-harm.
* **Sares-** Scares the snot out of Tiberius. He's the perfect, suave, magical gentleman that he was always told he should have been. He finds Sares' educated talk and impeccable dress very intimidating.
* **Salacia-** He sees similarities between himself and Salacia, but their vastly different world-views confuse and intrigue him. He could see himself developing a friendship with her if she'd stop touching his stuff.
* **Katari**- Despite his distrust of Qunari, Tiberius considers Katari his closest friend at Weisshaupt. He was devastated when Katari left the group.
* **Rhita**- The Warden assigned to guard Tiberius. She has a sharp tongue and can be hard to read, but seems to have a small soft spot for Tiberius.
* **Gaius Valerian**- Tiberius' brother. Their relationship was close in childhood but became strained as the two brothers' paths diverged. Tiberius feels betrayed by Gaius' refusal to help him after he deserted from the army. Gaius was also responsible for sending Tiberius to the Pits. Despite all of this, Tiberius was unable to finish him off when they encountered him transporting the Relic.

## **Miscellaneous**

### **Trivia**

* Tiberius has an intense phobia of horses, stemming from a traumatic incident from his childhood.
* He spent most of his youth working in a glass-shop and still retains a fondness for glassworks. He would have become apprenticed to the master of the shop the year he left for the army.
* Tiberius stitches a little black "X" on all of his left socks to tell them apart from right socks.
* He keeps the first word he ever wrote, his name, as a keepsake.
* He also keeps several marbles of various sizes and colors. He has plans to turn them into figurines for his closest friends just as soon as he can get time at the forge.

## **Gallery**

* Tiberius Valerian Portrait
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