Equinox Vaharel (Lavellan)

## Equinox "Nox" Vaharel

The one with many aliases

> "*That's what I do. Fall out of the sky, make bad decisions, and somehow everyone still follows me.*"
> ― Equinox Vaharel (to Morrigan)
>
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## Overview

### **Physical Appearance**

Nox is often described as a tall, lanky guy. He's 6"4' (193.04 cm) tall, has pure white hair and golden eyes. Previous to his curse, he had dark red hair and light brown eyes, but the trauma of the incident caused Nox to lose pigment in his hair. The reason for his eye color change is unknown. Nox has a slim build, useful for both stealth and archery. He has a scar across his right eyebrow and cheek, and another scar across his left lip. He also has several bite scars on his body, long deep scars starting from his right shoulder all the way down to his hip, a scar just under his right glute, and a scar on his left forearm. He is almost entirely tattooed in the same color as his vallaslin.

### **Personality**

To people he doesn't know well, Nox has a standoffish and slightly acerbic attitude. Despite being a diplomat, Nox doesn't enjoy being around many people and trusts very few to be close to him. To people he's friendly with, he's definitely less guarded. However he does watch what he says, and has earned the nickname "Ghost" if only partially because of his innate talent of ghosting people to learn more about them-- for his own purposes, of course. With those he loves, he loves unreservedly. Deep down he's a romantic, gentle person who wants to love and be loved in return. But due to his fear of his own condition, he tries to push people away so he can ensure their safety. If they still don't let him go after that, his loyalty is undying.

### **Talents and Skills**

* Archery-- he was the best shot in his birth clan, previous to leaving them.
* Knitting-- he enjoys the focus and effort it takes, and gifting the finished product to people he loves.
* Poison/potion making-- both for killing (his assassination/spy days), or trying to make his transformations more bearable (experimenting with elfroot potions).

## Biography

### **History**

Previous to joining the Lavellan clan, Nox grew up in the Vaharel clan with his (formerly) identical twin brother Elassan. There weren't many other clan mates around their age-- either too young, or too old-- so for a long time Nox's companionship was rather limited. That is, until a nearby clan was slaughtered by bandits and the sole survivor joined their clan. **Jenalhen** became Nox's hunting partner, and eventually his lover. Their relationship was toxic for Nox, but he stayed with Jenalhen until he was banished from the clan. Not long after, Nox was mauled by a werewolf while protecting his brother. After a long debate in the clan, it was decided he wouldn't be banished as well. (However, his own father did attempt to vote him out, which solidified the end of their familial bonds). Nox ended up leaving his clan because he wanted space away from everything that happened, joined Clan Lavellan at the arlathvhen and tried to try and stay under the radar. That didn't exactly happen. He became friends with several people in the Lavellan clan that changed his life, one of them being his eventual life partner Julian. After some time of pining after each other (in which neither of them even suspected the other had feelings) they began a relationship that they carried on secretly from the rest of the clan for some time. Nox was sent to the Conclave to investigate things as a diplomacy mission, and ended up becoming Inquisitor.

Conversely in an AU, he leaves to follow his partner Julian who was sent to the Conclave instead, and becomes his companion throughout Inquisition.

### **In-game**

Nox's decisions were pretty straight forward.

He allied with the mages, believing it would be wrong to conscript them. Especially after what Alexius had just put them through.

He allowed the Wardens to stay in Ferelden, and allowed Hawke to sacrifice himself in the Fade. (Sorry, Fenris).

In Halamshiral, he allowed Celene to be assassinated. He blackmailed Gaspard into letting Briala rule over him, wanting the elves in Orlais to have a better life and trusting that she knew how to make that happen. He had good faith that she would be an excellent ruler.

He completed the Petitioner's Path, and allied with Abelas.

His partner convinced him out of drinking from the Well himself, and Nox subsequently denies his partner's request to drink from the Well on Nox's behalf instead. Nox argues that he'd rather be the one who faces the consequences, but respecting his partner's opinion too much to ignore it, he allows Morrigan to drink from it instead despite not wanting her to have the Well's knowledge. (But he was pleased to find that karma bound Morrigan to her mother forever.)

When Nox is companion, this quest is reversed. He offers to drink from the well on Julian's behalf, but Julian denies him on the basis of not wanting to lose him.

In the (very bad, very banned) AU where Nox's twin brother Elassan is Inquisitor, Nox drinks from the Well of Sorrows. He's later killed by the Corrupted Dragon fighting Corypheus.

### **Post-game**

Despite losing his arm, Nox believes that the price he paid was worth having what he does after Inquisition: he still has his friends, he has his birth clan, and he has his partner. Even though Nox chooses to keep the Inquisition as an underground organization masquerading as an honor guard for Divine Victoria (Leliana), he largely lives his own life away from it all. He and Julian have gone to the Vaharel clan and settled down together, where their Keeper is largely tolerant (her concerns are because Nox is a werewolf, not having to do with a same-sex relationship) and his twin-brother is First to the clan.

After they join the Vaharel clan, they bond together.

And they remain weary of Solas, and anything he might be planning.

In another AU, Solas reveals that there **is** a cure to his condition, and together he and his partner cure him. He disbands the Inquisition and lives with his clan as a "normal" elf again, despite the lasting after effects of the damage the curse has left on his body.

## **Relationships**

His party is almost always made up of Cassandra, Solas and his partner. All of his closest friends and confidants.

**Cole** sort of freaks Nox out in a lot of ways, because of his ability to read memory and blurt it out at inopportune time. It especially wigged him out when Cole made it known that he knew Nox was a werewolf. However, his true desire to help people eventually came through and he accepted Cole into the Inquisition. And as a friend of sorts, even if the spirit thing always did make him weary.

Nox relates to **Bull** in a lot of ways, and sympathizes with him for losing his spy status when he becomes Tal-Vashoth. They're good friends who occasionally have drinks together, even if Nox doesn't drink alcohol anymore. Nox actively encourages Bull and Dorian to get together-- mostly because he thinks they would be a good fit. But also because he'd prefer if Dorian stepped off and stopped hitting on him. And everyone else, actually.

He enjoys listening to **Varric**'s stories, even if he believes next to nothing the dwarf says. Regardless, their friendship took a hilarious turn when he wrote a series of awful friendfiction about Nox and his partner just to annoy them. Nox is still secretly flattered at the Ghost nickname, however.

**Sera** is like the little sister he never had. She lightens the mood and treats him as a regular person, not a holy figure. He appreciates that greatly, and has taken to pranking people in Skyhold with her.

He has a mutually salty almost-friendship with **Dorian**. Dorian refers to him as his friend, but Nox isn't quite as on board with that assessment.

He was friends with **Blackwall** up until he admitted to his crimes. Nox hates people lying to him more than anything else, and there was a lot of hurt there for Nox. Even though he eventually pardoned Blackwall and allowed him to repent as Thom Rainier, they never resumed their friendship and Nox remained cold toward him for the rest of their work relationship.

Nox understands a lot of **Vivienne**'s attitude, and reasoning for the way she is. Having spent time studying and spent some time around the people that she flourished around, he's analyzed her behavior down to a single feeling: he pities her mostly. Even though he completed her personal quest (along with everyone else's), they never were quite friendly with each other. Perhaps a quiet mutual respect might be the best way to describe this relationship.

## **Miscellaneous**

He has an adopted daughter named Khaldera, who he adopted when he was eighteen. Both of her biological parents were murdered, so he took her in to give her a better life than he thought would have happened if he hadn't. (If they'd chosen to make her a spy or assassin, and taught her to kill like they did with Nox. Both of those things have had long lasting consequences on his conscience.)

His name still would have been Equinox if he'd been born a woman.

His spy name was "Moonshadow", but he was temporarily known in Orlais as Fellenaste.

Nox is pansexual, however all of his relationships have been with men.

## **Gallery**

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