PLAYER
Name: Liz
Age: 30
Contact: discord @ middlemarching#9936; plurk @ ragweed
Other Characters: Kithan Gandir
Interests: For Atticus, I'm interested in exploring some negative CR; he's definitely going to be a character who elicits some bad reactions from other people, and that is by design.
CHARACTER
Name: Magister Atticus Vedici
Canon/OC: Dragon Age OC
Journal: ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
minrathousian Race: Human
Nationality: Tevinter. He hails from Minrathous.
Occupation: A magister, and a senior Venatori enchanter and researcher.
Division: Prisoner! Possibly Research at a later date, if he behaves himself.
Mage or Not: Mage. Definitely a mage.
Age: 46
HistoryAtticus was born the coveted only child of Magister Horatio Vedici and his wife, Leonita. The Vedici family has a long and established history in Minrathous, but much of Atticus's early childhood was spent living in a quiet estate far removed from the city. By just about anyone's standards, his was an idyllic and privileged youth. Bright and inquisitive, and a bit cunning in his childhood games and adventures, Atticus spent most of his days studying alongside his parents' students, or enduring pedantic lectures about the responsibilities that would ultimately befall him once he grew old enough to shoulder the burden. He also spent considerable time daydreaming, entering the Fade at will, and it took him some years to realize that not all mages possessed this gift. Even today, it is his most closely guarded secret.
In his early teens, it became politically expedient for his parents to relocate their family from their countryside estate to Minrathous proper. It became apparent to Atticus that his unique magical abilities could be leveraged to make other children do as he wished in his games--or in his risky hobbies. In the countryside, he had few opportunities to strengthen his abilities as a somniari. In Minrathous, however, Atticus delighted in visiting his newfound friends in their dreams--or in their nightmares--to manipulate the Fade around them to bring them both indescribable delight, or unspeakable horror.
As a grown man, he took calculated pains to fly under the political radar. He did his duty to preserve the Vedici line and maintain his reputation; he took on apprentices from reputable families, and married a woman of good breeding from a family in Qarinus. He and his wife, Ophelia, had one son together, Octavius; with that meddlesome task completed, he brooked no objections when Ophelia insisted on returning to her family home in Qarinus with their young son. He didn't follow them.
Just weeks after his thirtieth birthday, Atticus's father died suddenly in his sleep. The news came as a shock to his friends and enemies alike; Horatio Vedici was notorious for double-dealing (and double-crossing) his political allies. That his death appeared to involve neither foul play nor violence prompted many to speculate that it had to have been murder--just murder that was expertly covered up. Due to their fractious familial history, Atticus was the prime suspect. And while no one was prepared to explicitly lay the blame for his death at the feet of the son (for no one could prove how he did it), it was more or less an open secret that patricide was the avenue by which Atticus Vedici claimed his seat in the Magisterium.
Since Corypheus's rise to power, Atticus has cultivated a professional relationship with the Venatori in secret, but recently chose to become more involved in their work--not because he particularly shares Corypheus's vision of an ascendant Tevinter, but because the power of the Fade has always held tremendous sway over him. Any chance to strengthen his connection to it is one he will seize on and exploit, regardless of who is injured in the process.
PersonalityAtticus is poised, elegant and well-read, and more than capable of performing the appropriate emotional reactions to most social situations. They are, however, just performances. The artifice tends to collapse when something he prioritizes must be set aside for the good of others. When he encounters a subject that genuinely attracts his attention, his focus can be unsettlingly intense; in these situations, he struggles with impulse control.
While it wouldn't be fair to categorize him as completely devoid of empathy or compassion (e.g., he's fond enough of his wife, his son, and his apprentice in a limiting, detached way, and recognizes that it is important to ensure that their needs are met), his understanding of these feelings is intellectual. Emotional literacy, in other words, is something that he has worked to acquire the way one acquires other learned skills or trades--and when they become inconvenient, he can set them aside like one would clutter.
What moral code guides his actions are structured around ensuring his access to the Fade remains unfettered. Over the course of his life, he's invested in interpersonal relationships with people who have enabled him to strengthen his connection to the Fade, and has leveraged his power and influence to ensure they have access to whatever tools--or people--they need to give him what
he needs. Similarly, when their relationships have become a hindrance or an obstacle for him, it has felt 'right,' to him, to eliminate them using the very powers they have helped him develop.
It's important to note that Atticus
doesn't derive enjoyment out of torture or cruelty to others just for the sake of being cruel--but he isn't put off by it, either. When he visited nightmares on his childhood friends, the exhilarating rush he experienced was not a result of their fear, but what their fear did to the Fade around them.
Opinions & AffiliationsTevinter and blood magic. The Imperium is the lens through which Atticus has come to view the entire world, but while it has shaped many of his opinions, he doesn't hold to the theory that Tevinter is any more or less deserving of power over Thedas than any other country. He views blood magic with distaste, and refuses to use it because it impedes his connection to the Fade.
The Qun and Seheron. Atticus doesn't generally get worked up about anything enough to hate it, with the exception of the Qun, due to the literal stranglehold it exerts over anyone born with magical ability. (He feels no empathy for the Qunari mages; likely, he just harbors a deep fear of experiencing that oppression himself.)
The Venatori. A distasteful means to an end. Atticus doesn't share the Venatori's reverence for Corypheus, believing him to be a relic from a dead age--but a relic who possesses the ambition to sunder the Veil and bring the Fade into the physical world.
The Inquisition. He suspects that the Inquisition is to Southern Thedas what the Venatori are to the Imperium--a gaggle of religious fanatics investing too much faith and hope in an entity with dubious connections to divinity. Once in the Inquisition's custody, however, he finds them on the whole more palatable company than the Venatori... though he'd never admit it.
The Chantry--Imperial and Orlesian. A load of poppycock, but it keeps the rabble in line for the most part and the pomp and circumstance can be pleasant to watch. He's led a life insulated from the Orlesian Chantry's oppressive views of mages and magic.
Elves and Slavery. Atticus is privileged to view slavery as just another aspect of life; however, when sizing up a potential ally or enemy, he tends to ignore the race or social class of his mark. He'd ally with an elf without hesitation--but he'd just as soon toss one into the line of fire if it became necessary.
Strengths & WeaknessesStrengths:
Somniari. Atticus is a dreamer--a fadewalker--who can enter the Fade at will, without the assistance of lyrium or blood magic, and can visit others while they dream. He recognized early on that his was a rare gift, and so he has sought to keep his abilities a secret.
Venatori Researcher. He is well versed in the research projects and procedures utilized by the Venatori cult.
Tevinter Magister. In addition to being a skilled somniari, Atticus is also a gifted spellcaster and has devoted years of his life to perfecting his more socially appropriate magical abilities. In a pinch, he relies on magics from the schools of Entropy and Spirit, both to protect allies and to inflict psychological damage upon his enemies.
Beyond his magical abilities, his status as a magister allows him to leverage certain political connections to Tevinter. He wields a lot of bargaining power.
Educated. Growing up the scion of an influential Tevinter family, Atticus had excellent tutors and received instruction in all classical subjects. He is well-read and proficient in most of the common languages of Thedas; his Qunlat is a bit under developed, however.
Charismatic. It might seem unlikely, but Atticus is very good at making people believe they are the exception, and that he wants to be their friend.
Weaknesses:
Pathologically Reckless. When it comes to the Fade and risk-taking, Atticus lacks that instinct that most people possess that tells them when to put the brakes on.
A Prisoner. At present, he is very literally at the mercy of the Inquisition. Should they decide he is more of a liability than an asset, he would be virtually powerless to stop them. (He could probably take down a few people with him, though.)
He's A Mage. Which means that anyone with any ability to nullify or dispel magical abilities or effects--or swing a sword, frankly--will have the edge on him in combat.
Inventory- The clothes on his back.
- A book of research and field notes from his time with the Venatori. It also includes some spells, though he is in no position to use any of them.
- A staff, which was likely confiscated, though he doesn't require it.
- A wedding ring, which he still wears out of habit, and the Vedici signet ring, which he wears on a chain around his neck.
MotivationAt his core, Atticus is driven by his desire to explore the Fade and experience as many different aspects of it as possible. This desire to strengthen his connection to the Fade supersedes any other alliances that he might force.
SAMPLES
Atticus interacting with Wren in the TDM.
Atticus interacting with Vandelin in the TDM.
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