Deshanna Istimaethoriel Lavellan

" 'Magic is all around us, da'len. It breathes inside the bark of a tree, slumbers beneath the earth, flows with the water. It sings in the wind to those of us who care to listen.'"Deshanna is a Dalish elf mage from the Free Marches, Keeper of Clan Lavellan, the paternal aunt of and de facto mother to Noalen.

Physical Appearance
Deshanna has an oval-shaped face, adorned with the full vallaslin of Mythal in the traditional green ink of Clan Lavellan.

Though she shares her flat nose, full lips, brown eyes and cheekbones with her late halfbrother Ezrin, she inherited darker skin and hair from her mother.

Deshanna is rarely seen with her hair down, instead preferring to keep her long, dark mane in a tight bun or braid.

Though she would not admit it, Deshanna is a fairly vain individual; she religiously treats her skin and hair with essential oils and never leaves her tent without some colour on her cheeks and lips and kohl surrounding her eyes.

Deshanna is tall and statuesque, a trait inherited from the father she shares with Ezrin and passed down to Noalen as well. At 5'10 she is the tallest elf of Clan Lavellan. She takes pride in her height and secretly considers it an asset in her role as leader.

Personality
" 'She's a right besom, that mother of yers.'""- Brann to Noalen about Deshanna"

Biography
Deshanna was born in the midst of the winter of 8:91 Blessed in the Orlesian Dales near Verchiel. Her father was a mage and First to the Keeper of Clan Istimaethoriel, her mother was a halla keeper. In early 8:94 Blessed, shortly after Deshanna's third birthday, her mother passed away from 'a sickness of the lungs'. Deshanna remembers very little about her since she was still so young, but recalls her 'coughing red slime' during her last days. The illness took her mother quickly according to the stories she was told. Shortly after, her father bonded with another woman (an artisan from Clan Istimaethoriel) who conceived Deshanna's halfbrother Ezrin during the summer of that same year.

Deshanna was resentful towards her father for bonding so quickly after her beloved mother had passed away, believing it inappropriate he did not take time to mourn her as she herself did. As a result, she came to dislike her new sibling who was born during the spring of 8:95 Blessed. Despite this, she did not particularly dislike her stepmother, who taught her a great deal of arts and crafts and was there for her during the early years of her adolescence.

When Deshanna was only six years old, she started showing signs of magical talent. According to her, her manifestation of magic was 'rather volatile' and highly dependant on her wellbeing. It became clear early on that she would have a particular talent for Storm Magic as she unwittingly summoned 'clouds of chaos' upon her clan whenever she was upset. With the next Arlathvhen still seven years into the future and Clan Istimaethoriel already having a Keeper and both a First and Second, Deshanna was taught the art of magic by her father and the clan relocated from the Orlesian Dales to the outskirts of the Fereldan Korcari Wilds to keep the child safe from Templar interference until she could be placed into another clan.

Deshanna remembers this time fondly; she enjoyed spending time with her father a great deal and admits to some sense of superiority over her brother, who wished to be a mage as well but displayed no signs of the gift. Despite Deshanna's resentment towards him, Ezrin loved her a great deal and made this evident frequently by giving her small gifts and learning how to sew so he could manufacture clothing in colours she liked for her.

In 9:04 Dragon, when Deshanna was thirteen and Ezrin nine, an Arlathvhen took place in Northern Ferelden. There, she was placed in the then Orlesian Clan Lavellan which had been desperately searching for mages. Her brother and paternal grandfather Noa'len decided to join this new clan with her.

Under the tutelage of Keeper Mathan'el Lavellan, Deshanna thrived. She had no problem mastering even the most difficult types of destructive magic, teaching even the Keeper some of her innate skills. Mathan'el, in turn, taught her how to keep her powers under control and tutored her in more restorative skills like healing. When Deshanna was only sixteen, she was already considered ready to come of age and choose her vallaslin. A responsible young woman with natural leadership qualities and more than a little weakness to the allure of authority, Deshanna chose Mythal, the All-Protector, as her personal patron.

As a mage and future Keeper, it was expected of Deshanna to bond and bear children but she was notoriously picky, rejecting all male suitors of Clan Lavellan on the grounds that they were too weak, too dimwitted, too unattractive or simply 'too plain boring' for her. According to her, she had high standards for bonding and projected these onto her brother (whom she was secretly extremely fond and protective of) as well. She disapproved of his match with Athalia, considering her a 'pretty face halfwit'. Nevertheless, she was happy for Ezrin when she found out that Athalia was pregnant with his child and vowed to him to take care of the bairn no matter what.

When in the spring of 9:14 Dragon the next Arlathvhen took place in Northern Ferelden, Deshanna, at last, fell madly in love with a young male elf warrior from the Nevarran Clan Alerion. Salladin, as he was called, was three years Deshanna's junior but, according to her, 'more courageous than even the most seasoned Dalish warriors of Lavellan. (...) And thankfully a whole lot smarter'. Salladin - who transferred to Clan Lavellan then and there - and Deshanna became bonded quickly but their marriage was of short duration and, likely as a result of this, childless. During early autumn of that same year, a group of Lavellan elves that scouted a forest in the Orlesian Dales and of which both Salladin and Ezrin were a part, fell victim to a skirmish of Chevaliers.

Following this and numerous tales of such 'elf hunts', Mathan'el and Deshanna decided that the Dales were too dangerous a place to remain for the clan and Clan Lavellan began its long journey to the Free Marches.

When in early 9:15 Dragon Noalen was born to the widowed Athalia and she decided to abandon the child, Deshanna took the infant into her care and raised Noalen as her own. Despite insistence from the clan that Deshanna, as a mage, should remarry, she never did and when in 9:31 Dragon she became Keeper after Mathan'el passed away, she forbade the clan to press the issue any further.

Trivia

 * Deshanna is exceptionally gifted in offensive magic, preferring Nature magic and Storm magic from the Primal School to defend herself and the clan. Noalen, at one point, recounts to Solas how human bandits attacked the clan and Deshanna retaliated by 'manipulating the very heavens to darken with heavy clouds, burning every attacker with lightning hot as molten steel'. The display was, according to him, 'unlike anything [he] had ever seen before or since' and 'may even surpass [Solas'] skills [with Storm magic]'.
 * She is a heavy smoker. At all times, she carries with her a pipe made from animal bone, embellished with elaborately carved Elvish symbols. Noalen once describes her to Brann as smelling of 'jasmine and bitter, burnt tobacco' and her face as looking like 'always veiled in thick smoke, her dark brown eyes smouldering as faint ambers amidst the ashes of last night's fire'.
 * Her staff is called 'Tarasylah ' (voice of the sky); it deals Storm damage and is the oldest staff in Clan Lavellan's possession. It is said to be some four centuries old and to have been crafted by the very first Lavellan Keeper when the clan was founded.