Anais Flavius

Anais as the Archon (drawn by Silvia)

Julius Scipio (uncle)

Danarius Claudius (grandfather)

Angela Flavius (daughter)

Kaeso Flavius (son)

> *"I always win"*
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Anais Flavius is the daughter of Archon Radonis and one of the player characters in season 1. She's a mage and, although highly intelligent, she has some psychopathic tendencies. She is played by Ana.

## Background

My name is Anais Flavius, daughter of Archon Radonis Flavius of the Tevinter Imperium, and this is a small account of these almost 18 years that I have lived thus far.

Let us begin with the tale of my birth.

My father, Radonis, used to be married to the daughter of a very powerful Tevinter magister, Danarius Claudius. She was born with an extremely frail health which would not allow her to have more than one pregnancy, and my father, born infertile, lost all hope of producing an heir of his own. However Danarius announced him of a certain treatment that could provide him the ‘prowess’ he would need in order to have a child. The only downfall was that, if used a second time, the treatment would kill him instantly. Thus, having only one shot at assuring house Flavius’ legacy, the two eagerly set the plan in motion. My mother got pregnant, then, naturally, nine months passed by and on the fateful night of 26 Guardian (we’ll decide the year after knowing when the campaign takes place) I was born. My parents had waited for this fateful day for a long time, but, alas, I was not what my father had expected.

You see, there is no Tevinter law specifying that the Magisters or the Archon had to be male, however, the tradition says otherwise. There has not been a female Magister in Ages, and there are no records of any female Archons, thus, when Radonis was announced that I did not possess a penis, he was angry. Very angry. That same night, in a fit of rage, my so-called ‘father’ burned my mother to ashes. An elven slave witnessed this and swiftly announced my maternal uncle, Julius, who was with me at the time. He then grabbed me, cradled me in his arms and fled the Archon’s estate.

The following months had been a political turmoil. The Archon’s murder was uncovered to the public thanks to Julius. Radonis managed to escape the accusations by blaming his late wife of some sort of fit or mental illness which had her attack him first, thus justifying his actions. Julius was not convinced and decided that he would be the one raising me, as he did not deem the Archon’s estate ‘safe’.

The following 10 years my uncle had put all of his resources into keeping me safe from my father who, unsurprisingly, made numerous tries to eliminate me. Theoretically he could disinherit me, however there was no reason to. As a baby and as a child, there was nothing he could do. I showed signs of magical talents very early on, I was raised by one of the most esteemed non-Mage nobles of Tevinter, and nobody could deny my lineage.

At the age of 5 I was sent to Empress Celene’s court in order to study the fine art of playing The Game. I became her understudy, her young apprentice. The little girl with big brown eyes and silky black hair, dressed in reds and scarlets, following the empress around like her own tiny ball of magical energy. She grew quickly fond of me, taking me around and treating me like a daughter. She taught me all she knew and prepared me to the best of her abilities, just how Julius had requested of her. 5 years had passed this way, and then I was shipped back to my homeland in order to fulfill my duties as future ruler of the Imperium.

My childhood was spent inside, studying magic, history, manners, intrigue. I was given the best tutors and permanent protection. I had to master the art of politics and deception before going into society, so as to be able to protect myself from the most unpredictable weapon that humanity possesses: scandal. Unless he could somehow kill me, the only way Radonis could disinherit me was for me to somehow publicly shame myself or to be involved in some sort of scandal.

Julius knew this all too well, so he personally trained me in anything social-related. This is what he would tell me:

‘You have to be careful, dear Niece. Your father wants nothing more than your head on a silver plate and he will do all that he can to achieve that. You should not only be able to protect yourself from his men and his magic, but also to protect yourself from all this political intrigue that will forever plague your life. So never forget: seem harmless, but be deadly; play the victim, but be the culprit; act kind, but be ruthless; make those around you believe that everything you do is for their sake, but in truth only look out for yourself. Those who survive are powerful and deceptive. In order to be their ruler and to impose respect you have to beat them at their own game. You are a woman in the midst of a man-dominated world. Do not think of it as a disadvantage, but rather use it to your benefit.’

After I turned 10, my uncle deemed me fit to go out into society. I often accompanied him on his visits and to the different parties he was attending. The first step of mastering politics was to have friends in high places. He introduced me to everyone who was worth talking to: magisters, High Priests, non-mage nobles. I followed my training and left a good impression on all those who spoke to me. My popularity and likeability among the nobility was increasing, which would make my elimination that much harder to achieve.

Next we moved on to gaining the respect of the commoners, the Templars, all the other people of the Imperium. I hosted feasts for the less fortunate, I opened free clinics across the Imperium for the poor. I went out into the streets and talked to my future subjects. I gained their favor.

After this, I had to dig down deeper into the social hierarchy: the slaves. Together, they almost destroyed the Imperium once. Wherever I went I was gentle to the slaves, at least behind closed doors. At night I would venture out into my or my host’s manor and I would listen for the soft cry of an orphaned elf or a widowed wife. I would listen, I would gain their trust and leave a comforting word in their ear. Then, everything fell into place. Soon enough the slaves, elven and not only, knew me as “The Kind Mistress” and placed their trust blindly into my hands. Slaves are a formidable spy network, if you know how to manage it correctly. They are almost invisible to the high and mighty magisters. I extracted vital information out of them, which I recorded in my personal files to use for later. After all, knowledge is power. The more I knew and the less they did increased my social and political value.

As I grew older I found new meanings to my uncle’s teachings. As a woman, a young girl, I had powers at my disposal that magisters spent a lot of time and lives in order to utilise. Humans are simple creatures, mere animals who walk on two legs and like to make life way too complicated for themselves. Find the right recipe and you can get whatever you want out of them. The magisters are, by far, the easiest ones to manipulate. They have layers over layers of protection against mind-control blood magic, and they think themselves way too intelligent to be taken advantage of. Here is where they are wrong. I have been doing it for years.

A stupid man wants a woman who is even dumber than him. He wants to feel superior, he wants to be constantly assured of his power, his intelligence and his manliness. An intelligent man, however, is already aware of all his powers and weaknesses. He prefers a woman who is smart like himself, someone who is confident and independent. Women want strong women, who are not afraid to make the first step and to fend for themselves, need be. Bachelors want someone powerful and exciting, married people want youth and prettiness, parents want a nice and docile daughter-in-law. I know what everyone wants. It is my duty.

The art of manipulating someone, be it through deception, blackmail, seduction or whatever else, can only be mastered by someone who is knowledgeable, someone who can read people like an open book, who can stay detached from their own perception of the world and view things from another’s perspective, someone who is willing to do anything it takes, but who can also maintain their status and reputation in society.

Tevinter is a land of the brutal, battles between houses are never silent, always paraded around as some sign of supremacy. Confront them with something they’re not familiar with and they have no idea what to do. The finesse of the politics in Orlais is, quite frankly, too much for the simple-minded and power-hungry Tevinter Magister. Say the right words at the right time, flick your hair when it is needed, shed a tear when necessary, bat your eyelashes the right way, allow the right pieces of information to slip and you will have anyone at your feet, ready to serve.

I look at my life as if it is just a game, a twisted tale that I would read in a beautiful book covered in gold and jewels. My life does not belong to me, it never has. It’s always been The Imperium’s. I am not my own person, I am the person others want me to be, I am the person I need to be and the person this country needs to have. I do not remember the last time I was ‘myself’. I have never met this ‘myself’, I do not know who this person is, but if ever come across her, I shall kill her in cold blood as she is not needed. If I let her be, she would only stand in my way.

‘My niece, from the moment you were born you have died. You do not exist. The person who exists is Anais Flavius, future Archoness of The Tevinter Imperium. Anais Flavius will do anything she has to do in order to gain power. Nothing is off-limits for her as long as it will pay off later on. She plans her every move. She is 5 steps ahead of everyone. She plays her cards right and cheats however much she may need in order to assure success.’

There is nothing that goes unnoticed by me. Every single movement, every blink, every breath, every single word whispered, be it gentle or menacing. I am aware of everything that I do. I have to, otherwise someone might see past my act and use that knowledge against me. I will never let that happen.

During my life I have seen so many facades of the human mind, it is fascinating and revolting at the same time. The cruelty of some, the sleaziness of others. I can no longer look at humanity and honestly say that it is beautiful. Humanity is dirty, it is disgusting. One may adorn their body with an endless amount of makeup, jewelry and fine silks, that does not change the fact that inside, they are as rotten and as corrupted as the darkspawn themselves.

Tomorrow is my 18th birthday. Tomorrow I will be legally recognised as an adult. Tomorrow, my father, Archon Radonis, will have failed in his attempt to eliminate me. I shall personally seek him out and kill him with my own bare hands. I will keep his head mounted on my wall as a trophy, a recognition of all my work. Then, I will be named the first Archoness of the Tevinter Imperium. So let it be.”

Between the Crimes of the Anti-Paragon DLC and Season 2, Anais murders most of the Tevinter Magisters in an attempt to fix the corruption that has been taking over the Tevinter political climate; in true Lăpușneanu fashion, after beheading all of them (her favorite killing technique), she made a pyramid with all of their severed heads. She married Magister Dorian Pavus, son of late (because of her) Magister Halward Pavus.

She also gave birth to two possible heirs: Angela (in 9:36) and Kaeso (in 9:38) Flavius.

## Involvement

### Season 1

Anais is introduced in season 1 when she arrives in Jader and meets Sarah and Vehlkost. The three of them take on a mission to investigate a series of disappearances around town. Eventually they fall down into the deep roads where she and Vehlkost lock in the half-dwarf Gwaren to blow himself and the thaig up.

She gets covered in maggots and accidentally blows her staff up but otherwise she gets out of the deep roads without a scratch. On her way to Jader she encounters an assassin sent by her father to kill her but the party manages to dispatch her. She is hesitant to help when Jader is collapsing but agrees to evacuate the nobility.

She is put on trial but thanks in part to her relation to Celene she is set free and joins Sarah when she goes to Castle Cousland. There she meets Octavius who turns out to be an agent from her father and gets trapped inside the fade. She is very much against Arasghilana's deal with Desire and the two get into a fight. Anais loses and wakes up outside of the fade. She asks Fergus for Octavius' head and he reluctantly gives it to her.

She travels with the party to Radonis' camp by lake Calenhad and she confronts him. He agrees to duel her but when she's on the verge of losing she signals for the rest of the party to join the fight. Radonis runs and gets on a carriage with a giant box of archdemon bones attached to the back. While Arasghilana and Fenris fight, Anais shoots an explosive arcane lance at Radonis, causing him to crash the carriage. She gets off and cuts his head off.

She travels back to Tevinter with his head and demands to be made Archon.

### Season 2

In the 2 months that pass between Season 1 and Season 2 Anais convinces the Magisterium to make her Archon ~~by crashing one of their meeting and throwing Radonis' head in the middle of the room~~. With the Magisters' ummm "blessings", all that is left is for her to be properly crowned. She invites Leben (and by association Tyra and Sanga), her friend Sarah and her "friend" Arasghilana to the coronation and asks them to show up a month earlier so they can spend some time catching up. While the party is there, they come across a plot to blow up the Minrathous Circle of Magi, where the coronation is planned to take place. The party dispatch the terrorists who were going to put this plan in action in order to protect Anais.

After she finds out about the plot, she hires the party to go figure out who was actually behind the terrorist attack and to stop them. She does not pay them in the end.

### Season 3

In season 3, Anais hires Emily to deliver a carriage full of gold to complete a deal in Llomerynn. She discretely threatens her that if she's unable to complete the task she'd kill her.

## Gallery

Anais in Season 1Anais after her staff exploded in her faceAnais' mother FaleriaAnais before her staff blew up in her faceAU-Anais