Victoria Trevelyan (LadyNorbert)

## Victoria Hope Trevelyan

"Eyebrows"

**Victoria Trevelyan** is also known as Her Worship, the Lady Inquisitor and Left Hand of Andraste. She is the co-leader of the Second Inquisition of Thedas.

## Overview

### **Physical Appearance**

Victoria is a human woman of average height, with a pale complexion, soft grey eyes, and vibrant auburn hair frequently worn in a braided style. She has a very expressive face, which leads Varric Tethras to give her the nickname "Eyebrows." In her native Ostwick, she's often called "the Bann's ugly duckling" because she's considered much less pretty than her two older sisters.

### **Personality**

Vivienne describes her manners as being "very pleasing and proper." She is a well-read warrior, equally at home in the practice yard and the library, and generally friendly and warm. She is very soft-hearted - too much so at times, according to her counterpart - and prone to giving second chances. A devout Andrastian, she always assumed her faith was unshakable right up until her second trip into the Fade.

### **Talents and Skills**

She is a two-handed warrior who favors the Sulevin Blade, once it comes into her possession. She is also an able horsewoman, a voracious reader, and a pretty good judge of character - at least usually.

## Biography

### **History**

Victoria was born in Ostwick, in the Free Marches, in 9:21 Dragon. She was the youngest of Bann Trevelyan's four children; as such, she was groomed from a young age to take a position in the Chantry, per Trevelyan family tradition. Her name was chosen to reflect this, as *Victoria Hope* essentially means "hope of victory" and she was intended for the Templars.

Her martial skill had her father expecting that she would fall in line with his plan to make her a Templar. However, Victoria was more interested in the Seekers, and was able to persuade her father to allow her to attend the Divine's Conclave as part of the family entourage so that she might possibly gain an audience with Cassandra Pentaghast in order to learn how to join them instead. She, along with a handful of her assorted relations, set sail from Ostwick's harbor aboard a ship called the *Queen Madrigal*.

Not long after they began to cross the Waking Sea, Victoria happened upon a group of sailors who had cornered an elf, and were threatening to toss him overboard as a stowaway. She intervened, claiming the elf was a member of her party, and brought him back to her quarters. In this manner she became acquainted with Mahanon Lavellan, a Dalish hunter who had indeed stowed away on board (but only, as he explained, because they wouldn't let him buy passage properly). They decided to continue with the cover story, having taken an immediate liking to one another, by claiming that he was acting as the young noblewoman's bodyguard for the duration of the Conclave.

During the course of the Conclave, the unlikely pair overheard some strange noises and broke into a sealed chamber in time to disrupt a strange ritual being performed on Divine Justinia V. The Divine took advantage of their appearance to knock an enchanted orb from the grasp of Corypheus, the ancient magister performing the ritual, and it rolled across the floor to where Mahanon caught it in his right hand. He cried out as if in pain, leading Victoria to instinctively try to take it from him with her left hand. Moments later, the two friends and the Divine found themselves in the Fade, from which Victoria and Mahanon were able to escape with the Divine's help - at the cost of her life.

### **In-game**

As a result of the events which sent them into the Fade, Victoria and Mahanon both found themselves with strange green marks on their hands - hers on her left, his on his right. They were brought by Cassandra Pentaghast - the very woman Victoria had hoped to meet - to the site where every single attendee of the Conclave except themselves had been annihilated. Along the way they were introduced to Varric Tethras, the renowned dwarven author, and Solas, an elven mage who taught them to use the marks on their hands to seal small rifts in the fabric of reality and prevent more demons from spilling into the world. After rescuing a group of previously missing soldiers, they attempted to use their newfound ability to seal the main rift, called the Breach. The effort was not entirely successful, but it did improve the situation, and the odd duality of their markings led people to nickname them the Lord and Lady Herald, the Left and Right Hands of Andraste. The bond between the two was frequently compared, and not unjustly, to that shared by the Heroes of Ferelden - a human noblewoman and a city elf who had worked together years earlier to end the Fifth Blight.

It was soon apparent that this would be no walk in the park. Denounced by the Chantry and struggling to find allies, the newly reborn Inquisition nevertheless set to work helping the common people in nearby areas. Everyone was already suffering due to the Mage-Templar War, and the explosion of the Conclave and the resultant death of the beloved Divine only made things worse. The Inquisition worked to handle matters both magical (like the demons breaking through the Veil through the assorted rifts) and mundane (like food shortages). It never felt like enough to Victoria, but she had to settle for what was feasible. They slowly began gathering personal allies as well as recruiting scouts and soldiers, ranging from the Imperial Court Enchanter to the Warden-Constable of Orlais.

She and Mahanon were quickly introduced to the members of the advisory council who governed the Inquisition. Leliana, the spymaster, they had met during the period just following the opening of the Breach. Josephine Montilyet impressed them favorably with her exquisite manners and masterful organizational skills. Cullen Rutherford, the commander of the armed forces of the Inquisition, left Victoria unable to speak properly. Mahanon laughed at her for a few days about her reaction to the handsome ex-Templar; but he wasn't much better, being openly attracted to Cassandra, and so Victoria gave as good as she got.

They quickly found that there was a dire need for additional firepower, as it were, to back them up in their effort to seal the Breach for good. The mages were holed up in Redcliffe Castle, while the Templars had taken up position in the old fortress of Therinfal Redoubt. After some arguing with the council, it was decided that they would approach both groups. Victoria, accompanied by Varric, Warden-Constable Blackwall, and the Tevinter mage Dorian Pavus, would approach the mages; Mahanon went to the Templars with Cassandra, Solas, and the elven archer Sera.

Neither mission was as straightforward as they had hoped. Mahanon ended up a prisoner inside his own mind, and only escaped with the help of a spirit of compassion who called itself Cole. Victoria and Dorian, meanwhile, found themselves thrown forward in time an entire year, and she was traumatized by the devastated world she found there. Thankfully, they had found the means by which Dorian could undo the spell which had caused it, and the end result of the whole thing was that both the mages *and* the Templars would join the Inquisition. They returned to Skyhold with their new allies, as well as forearmed with knowledge about a plot to assassinate Empress Celene of Orlais and another plot to raise an army of demons, both of which had been instrumental in creating the dark future Victoria and Dorian had discovered.

As a result, they were able to close the Breach. Afterward, however, Haven was assaulted by the forces of the Elder One, Corypheus, the same being responsible for the marks on the Heralds' hands. They had no memory of his actions which had sent them into the Fade, but that only made him all the more terrifying. He was aided by Samson, a former Templar who had been friends with Cullen back in Kirkwall, and Calpernia, a mage and former Tevinter slave. They were rivals for his favor, and the Inquisition was caught in the crossfire.

While Victoria remained behind to draw the Elder One's ire, Mahanon (reluctantly) helped to guide all who could escape from Haven into the mountains. Victoria faced down the misshapen creature alone, and was honestly shocked that she survived the encounter. Barely. With a couple of cracked ribs and various bruises for her trouble, she waded through thigh-high snowbanks to where the Inquisition had taken shelter from the storms. There she collapsed, and had to be attended by Mother Giselle, but she was alive.

Once she could be moved, Solas showed everyone the way north through the mountains to an ancient elven ruin known as Skyhold, where they could rebuild. Victoria and Mahanon were proclaimed the official leaders of the organization, the Lord and Lady Inquisitor, and from the crumbling walls of Skyhold they began to spread their influence farther and wider than ever before. They joined forces with Varric's best friend, Marianne Hawke, who gave them intelligence of strange behaviors of the Grey Wardens. She introduced them to her friend Jean-Marc Stroud, a high-ranking Grey Warden who was able to give them even more information, none of it particularly cheerful.

Before they could deal with that whole mess, they first had to brave the halls of Halamshiral Palace and the treachery of the Game. At Vivienne's recommendation, Victoria was kept front and center in the Empress's ball, doing her best to charm nobles into lending their support to the Inquisition. While she kept their attention, Mahanon and a few of the companions slipped off through the palace in search of the source of the plot to assassinate the Empress. The guilty party turned out to be her cousin, Grand Duchess Florianne, who cut down a few Inquisition soldiers before fighting Mahanon and his friends in the palace courtyard. While she dueled them to her own death, Cullen saved Victoria from being killed by one of Florianne's Harlequin assassins, and together the two defended the ballroom until the worst was over. Empress Celene ordered the execution of Florianne's brother Gaspard, due to Mahanon's discovery that he had brought mercenaries into the palace; Victoria begged for clemency, and the Empress commuted the sentence to exile. Mahanon then deftly reunited Celene with her estranged elven lover Briala, something which utterly baffled Victoria and had to be explained to her later. But first, both Inquisitors shared a private dance with their respective love interests.

The events of Adamant soon followed and were very difficult, especially when both Inquisitors were plunged back into the Fade along with Hawke, Stroud, Solas, Cole, and Cassandra. They eventually fought their way out thanks to a heroic sacrifice on the part of Stroud, but not before the Inquisitors regained their lost memories about how they ended up with the marks on their hands. What they learned prompted a crisis of faith for Victoria, which was in no way helped by her ensuing argument with Mahanon. He objected to her decision to pardon the Wardens for their crimes and more or less induct them into the Inquisition's fold, and relations were strained between them for some time. In response to his accusation that she judged people too softly, Victoria condemned the magister Livius Erimond to death, a sentence she intended to carry out herself; Mahanon intervened, quickly realizing that beheading a man would destroy the Victoria he knew and loved, and dealt the killing blow with his own hand instead.

In an effort to give the Inquisitors a bit of space, Dorian and Cassandra devised a plan to split them up for a time. Mahanon accompanied Cassandra, along with Sera and the Iron Bull, to Caer Oswin in Ferelden to follow a lead regarding her fellow Seekers. Meanwhile, Victoria went with Solas, Varric, and Dorian to the Cradle of Sulevin to see if there was any truth to the legends about a blade housed there. They successfully collected the fragments of the weapon and put down the restless undead who prowled the crumbling halls, but Victoria was seriously injured when a blow from a revenant sent her crashing through the ruined floor. Her companions got her back to Skyhold quickly, where Cole - having sensed Dorian's distress over the accident - had alerted Cullen to their impending arrival. He had Harritt and some medical staff waiting when they arrived, and the Lady Inquisitor was soon resting comfortably in the room she and her counterpart shared.

Mahanon hastened his own return when they received word of the incident. Softened, perhaps, by the possibility of nearly losing her, he had a long heartfelt talk with Victoria (as witnessed by Varric, who was in the room and completely unnoticed by the Lord Inquisitor) culminating in a hug. Victoria was presented the next day with new armor to replace that which she had lost, as well as the refurbished Sulevin Blade. They both came in handy when, during what seemed to be a routine trek to Din'an Hanin in the Emerald Graves, Mahanon ended up captured by the enemy forces. This was while Victoria was in Val Royeaux learning the truth about Blackwall, which didn't help the man's popularity with the companions at all.

Thanks to some spywork and a dwarven recording crystal hacked by Dagna, they were able to learn that Mahanon was being held at the Shrine of Dumat. Victoria, Cassandra, Cullen, Varric, and Dorian mounted a rescue, bringing Mahanon back safely. While in the Shrine, Victoria performed a mercy kill on Calpernia's former after first learning about the plan Corypheus had to use one of his generals as a mindless puppet. They returned to Skyhold, where a number of changes took place; Blackwall was judged for his crimes and directed to continue serving the Inquisition. Just after his trial, it was announced that a contingent of soldiers had arrived from Starkhaven on the orders of Prince Sebastian, and accompanying them - to Varric's shock - was Bethany Hawke, who had previously been staying in the palace there under the prince's protection.

Aided by Lady Morrigan, formerly the arcane advisor to Empress Celene and the lover of the male Hero of Ferelden, they tracked the enemy to a lost temple in the Arbor Wilds. Corypheus sought the Well of Sorrows, a repository of wisdom from ages past guarded by worshipers of the elven mother-goddess Mythal. By the end of the skirmish, Calpernia had been persuaded to turn against Corypheus, as Victoria revealed what he intended to do to her once she drank from the Well. Samson was taken prisoner, and later sentenced to serve the Inquisition under Cullen's watchful eye. Mahanon laid claim to the contents of the Well - much to Victoria's displeasure. (She didn't mind him having what it contained; she was just upset because she thought he was dying after he drank from it. When he recovered, she relaxed.)

Corypheus was finally defeated after he once again opened the Breach in the Valley of the Sacred Ashes. A united front was impossible, as most of the Inquisition forces were still traveling from the far-off Wilds, so it was only the Inquisitors and their own closest companions who could confront him. He was destroyed, the Breach was closed for good, and a celebration awaited them upon their return to Skyhold. Solas disappeared just after the battle, much to the puzzlement of the heroes.

### **Post-game**

Leliana, formerly the Left Hand of the Divine, was chosen to succeed Justinia on the Sunburst Throne. She adopted the name of Divine Victoria, a fact which surprised the Lady Inquisitor; though as Varric later observed, she named herself not only after Victoria the person but also after the victory of the Inquisition. Morrigan and her son Kieran left Skyhold to reunite with the Heroes of Ferelden, who were on a quest to find a cure for the Calling. Vivienne returned to the imperial court, feeling that she was needed there. As this left Dorian as the only mage in the inner circle, Bethany was prevailed upon to remain with the Inquisition to help bolster the numbers for a time.

Following the downfall of Corypheus, Victoria and Mahanon cleaned up a few additional messes in the Frostback Basin and the Deep Roads. With this accomplished, they decided to make a return to the Free Marches, and together with a few of their companions, they boarded a ship bound for Kirkwall. After enjoying Varric's hospitality for a few days, the non-Kirkwallers split up. Mahanon and Cassandra headed toward Wycome to visit his clan, while Victoria took Cullen to Ostwick so that he might be introduced to her family. Cullen had a rather important conversation with her father during this time.

They returned to Skyhold in time to travel to Halamshiral for the Exalted Council, with tremendous reluctance. There, they were reunited with most of their companions, which was the only good thing about it as far as they were concerned. On the second day of the council, rather unexpectedly, Cullen asked Victoria to marry him. They held a private, discreet ceremony, officiated by Mother Giselle and attended only by Mahanon, Dorian, and Cassandra; they afterward assembled in the nearby tavern to celebrate with the rest of the inner circle.

The council was concluded a few days later when both Inquisitors lost their marked hands in a shocking encounter with Solas. The Inquisition was downsized into an honor guard for Divine Victoria, with the members of the inner circle parting and going their separate ways. Mahanon and Cassandra went out into the world so that he could help her continue her search for the other missing Seekers. Cullen and Victoria went to South Reach, in Ferelden, for a visit with his siblings before settling not too far away. On land given to them by the Divine, they established a hospital for former Templars trying to wean themselves off of lyrium. King Alistair - having been almost a Templar himself - took a particular interest in the project.

The former Inquisitors keep in frequent contact with their various friends, and most particularly with each other. Varric provided each of them with a noble title in Kirkwall, where they share ownership of a luxurious estate.

## **Relationships**

As a general rule, Victoria gets along with the entire Inquisition, though only those closest to her are encouraged to call her by the nickname "Toria." These are her most prized relationships:

#### **Cullen Rutherford**

Victoria was immediately taken with Cullen at their first meeting, which only got worse the longer she knew him. Fortunately, it was not as one-sided as she assumed. Their bond grew over their mutual love of books, horses, history, and swordplay, as well as their shared Andrastianism. They tried to keep the growing relationship relatively circumspect for a while, mostly for fear that their enemies might use it against her, but it quickly became apparent that the entire Inquisition was more or less aware of it. By the downfall of Corypheus they had stopped making any attempt to hide it. She was the only one privy to a full understanding of why he was so uncomfortable at the ball in Halamshiral, and with Cassandra's help she was able to support him in his continued efforts to break free of his lyrium addiction.

#### **Mahanon Lavellan**

Mahanon is, of course, Victoria's dearest friend. As far as she's concerned, he's more of a brother to her than her biological brother Aloysius ever was. His nickname for her is *ma da'vhenan*, which is Dalish for "my little heart," because it's the closest he can get to calling her "my little sister" in that language. She in turn is the only person allowed to call him "Nonny." They've had their ups and downs, and they are fundamentally very different, but they are incredibly loyal to one another.

#### **Dorian Pavus**

Dorian is also like a brother to Victoria, and he takes that very seriously. They occasionally play chess together, or watch as one or the other faces off with her beloved commander. They also have a tendency to gossip about other Inquisition members and are particularly prone to discussing Varric's love life. (Not Bianca - Victoria wouldn't betray his confidence like that - but rather the direction in which they suspect he might be heading with someone else.) Victoria supports his relationship with the Iron Bull; Bull is closer to Mahanon than he is to her, but she likes him all the same. Before Dorian returned to Tevinter for good, taking his father's seat in the Magisterium, he presented his dearest friend with a communication crystal through which they speak many times a day.

#### **Cassandra Pentaghast**

Cassandra is Victoria's closest female friend, which both women find amusingly strange. They are brought together by their mutual faith and also their mutual interest in questionable literature. They also, of course, bond over their love for Mahanon, which boosts his ego to what they both consider an unhealthy degree.

#### **Varric Tethras**

Varric is fond of "Eyebrows" and has often threatened to write a book with her as the main character. He instead settled for overseeing the writing of *All This Shit is Twice as Weird: The Inquisitors Trevelyan and Lavellan Story*. She's tickled by it. He's faintly annoyed by her speculations about his romantic prospects, mostly because she figured it out before he did.

## **Miscellaneous**

* In addition to the nicknames from Mahanon and Varric, the Iron Bull calls her "Lady Boss" and Blackwall takes to simply calling her "Ladyship."
* Her favorite snack is apples and cheese.
* She rides a magnificent barded charger. He was a gift from her cousin Flavio, who paid the best blacksmiths in Val Royeaux to create the barding. The horse's name is Falon, the Dalish word for *friend*, which was Mahanon's suggestion.
* As revealed in the Fade, her greatest fear is *Unworthiness*.
* She loves history and has a particular fondness for the works of Brother Genitivi, which is a bonding point with Cullen. She especially loves to listen to him read out loud.
* At the same time that she was given the refurbished Sulevin Blade, Victoria was also presented with the Taken Shape armor and the Ardent Blossom helmet. She admits to delighting in both, prompting Mahanon to tease her about being a "girly girl."
* She considers judging Blackwall to have been one of the hardest things that was ever asked of her.

## **Links**

### *Twice Upon An Age*

Victoria's story is unfolded in the *Twice Upon an Age* series, written by "Lady Norbert, Chantry scholar" and edited by Varric Tethras.

* The series on AO3
* The series at TV Tropes

## **Gallery**

* Victoria accompanies Vivienne to Bastien's deathbed
* This is why Varric calls her "Eyebrows"
* Victoria with her co-Inquisitor Mahanon (art by Tumblr's MerrillyDoodles)
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