Dangerous Thing (9:12 Dragon - 9:25 Dragon)

Avorra was born on 31 Haring, in the year 9:12 Dragon, on the island of Seheron. Her father was a Rivainian convert of the Qun, while her mother was a runaway Elvhen slave escaping the Tevinter Imperium. They were 'assigned' to each other under guidance of the Qun, being neither partners nor lovers. Their relevance to each other ended when the mating was done. Her father's purpose was served at conception, her mother's purpose served at birth. They produced a Viddathari child, who's original name was irrelevant to history.

So came forth a daughter.

The Viddathari girl was born in the capital of Seheron proper, being raised for five years without incident. When she was five, however, she herself exhibited signs of raw magic. Like water raging against a failing dam, her magic overwhelmed her, unable to be contained by what little self-restraint she had. She quickly became a conduit for a force of nature beyond her control. The Qun quickly clamped down, labeling her a Bas-Saarebas and forcing her into a life of forced constraint. She was now a dangerous thing, and although Saarebas were honored by the Qun, they were also watched with keen eyes and stitched lips.

Life under the Qun was strict. The Bas-Saarebas was never to be left alone, always kept under the watchful eye of an Arvaarad. Although her magic was strong when it first manifested, it was grew slowly and gradually throughout the years. At first, it wasn't noticeable, sparing her the death sentence of those Saarebas who failed to restrain their magic. By the year 9:24 Dragon, however, her chaotic magic began to cascade. No longer did she have any power over herself. Akin to a pot of water boiling over, her magic made itself known, refusing submission. She was forced to have her lips stitched - a warning - but that wasn't to be the end of it.

These were the first true signs of Arcanist Derangement.

Breaker of Chains (9:26 Dragon - 9:33 Dragon)

Less than a year later, the Bas-Saarebas' magic finally reared its ugly head. A freak magical outburst led to the devastation of a Seheron city-block. Under guidance of the Qun, cutting her tongue out wasn't enough. In the eyes of her handlers, she had become a rabid beast that needed to be put down. Rather than comply like most Saarebas, she found herself defying the Qun. For the first time in her life, she felt a sense of individuality. She had become self-aware, choosing to resist her executioners - and resist, she certainly did. Seeking to escape her impending doom, she fled Seheron, leaving a warpath of destruction in her wake.

Nothing was safe. She let her magic flow through her freely, no longer attempting to restrain it. Like bottled-up lightning, she exploded. Her rampage throughout the city destroyed several more blocks, but by the time she reached the gates, she found herself surrounded and cut off. Unexpectedly, her frenzy actually helped a raid-in-progress by the Fog Warriors native to the island. They ambushed her captors, preventing her death and rescuing her. They fled the city into the surrounding wilds, where the Tal-Vashoth was welcomed with open arms.

For the next several years, she became an asset to the Fog Warriors. Her own agenda had become one of rebellion - if there were other Saarebas like her, they deserved freedom. They deserved a choice. Learning the ways of the Fog Warriors, her magic was pivotal in providing stealth to their raids, producing a potent fog that overshadowed what the Warriors were normally capable of. Raid after raid, she freed her brothers and sisters from the tyranny of the Qun. In some cases, she was able to bolster the Warriors' ranks with new Tal-Vashoth. In others, the freed chose death over defiance, their faith in the Qun unshaken. This was the case with most of the liberated Saarebas, however a select few chose freedom over death. They became valuable assets to the Fog Warriors, just as the Tal-Vashoth girl did.

Her actions in freeing those under the dominion of the Qun earned her the moniker of "Breaker of Chains". She quickly became a legend amongst the Fog Warriors, a sign of the island's independence and a future without the rule of the Qunari. The Tal-Vashoth honored her, and her fellow Saarebas revered her. Battle after battle, they were one step closer to victory. She quickly became a target of interest to the Qunari, a threat that needed to be put down if the war was to fall into their favor. They began sending out Tallis assassins from the Ben-Hassrath to eliminate her, to no avail.

In the year 9:29 Dragon, life would change for the Breaker of Chains. In a pivotal moment of the war, she and her fellow Fog Warriors fell into a trap laid by the Ben-Hassrath. The ambush was a slaughter, her friends either killed or hauled off for reeducation. She herself escaped amidst the chaos, using her magical fog to obscure her movements. They traced her back to a Fog Warrior village, where she found even more of her kin dead or disappeared. The ambush wasn't the only one of its kind - a simultaneous, surgical strike had occurred across the island, dealing a heavy blow to their war effort. Although she was able to kill or evade her pursuers, the damage had already been done. The tables had turned.

For four years, she continued her fight against tyranny, but progress was slow. Her magic was becoming more unstable, her mind losing its tactical prowess. As her sanity slipped, the lines began to blur between friend and foe. As a Hedge Destructor, she was a force of nature, unbiased in who or what she obliterated in her path of rebellion. The last straw occurred when a new Ben-Hassrath agent, The Huntmaster, was sent to eliminate her. The Aqun-Athlok was one of her most persistent enemies yet. For weeks on end, the Breaker of Chains tried to either kill or evade her assassin, to no avail. The killing blow to the war effort came when the Breaker of Chains was traced to a village, where key leaders had been gathered.

The Huntmaster struck without warning, eliminating most of the leadership, and enraged the Tal-Vashoth. In a brief moment where she lost control, the village was consumed in flames. Her unpredictable magic, stirred by hate, led to the death of any Fog Warrior left in the village. The Huntmaster had escaped, and the rebellion's leadership was in shambles. It was all she could do to flee the island in shame, retreating to Rivain as she abandoned a losing war. Her magic had become too unstable, and she was unwilling to lose anymore lives to her own mistakes. The Fog Warriors were sent into a frenzy by the supposed death of their Breaker of Chains, along with their leadership. This would lead into a renewed war effort, a zealotry that lingers on to this day.

Shadow in the Mist (9:34 Dragon - 9:44 Dragon)

With the war falling apart and in the wake of her supposed death, the Breaker of Chains had quickly disappeared, choosing a new name for herself - Avorra. She spent the next ten years in hiding, roaming the outskirts of Rivain, her magic continuing to feed off of her as it gradually became more unstable. Never having a proper teacher to hone her magic, the effects of Arcanist Derangement were getting much worse - the river had broken the dam. Her magic was chaotic, unpredictable, and extremely potent. With the Hedge Destructor's new powers came a price.

Her magic was feeding off of her like a parasite, draining her hair and skin of all color. The color of her eyes turned amethyst in response to her unnatural power. The years were now tough on her; her journey became one of hunger and starvation, but not of the mortal kind. Her magic was reaching a critical mass, becoming insatiable - she craved power, she craved chaos. She needed to become stronger, or her magic would devour her from the inside out. Suddenly a ticking time-bomb, she became increasingly desperate as she sought for ways to stabilize herself. With her becoming a center-point for magical power, beings from beyond the world began to call out to her. These were the temptations that the Qun had warned about - what each and every Saarebas was in danger of giving into. She was not afraid. In fact, she embraced the calling. Who were the Qunari to deny her what she considered a birthright?

One night, as she felt herself lulled into sleep, a creature reached out to her from what it called "The Fade". At first, it appeared to be a benevolent spirit, but she saw through the ruse. This being was powerful and she could sense it. She wanted its power for her own. The creature revealed itself as a Demon of Pride, and made her an offer she couldn't refuse. In exchange for a gateway into the living world, it would be her guide. It would help her hone her magic, teach her and provide her with a simple deal: If she ever needed power, she need only to ask. She accepted the deal, becoming a host for the Pride Demon. Fortunately, it did not attempt to overwhelm her, rather it willingly shared the body with her. It was now as much of a companion to her as a mentor.

Avorra forged a path into Rivain proper, spending several years learning the Demon's magic, to include Blood Magic. By 9:34, it had taught her the secrets of youth. Performing a blood ritual once a year, preferably on her birthday, she would appear 22 indefinitely. The systematic disappearances and sacrifices of Rivain's impoverished citizens went unnoticed, for a time. Eventually, even as the Demon taught her what it could, her magic continued to destabilize. The Demon made it clear that if she could not find a cure - and soon - it wouldn't hesitate to abandon her to fate. With the encouragement, she came across rumors of a powerful magical artefact, one that could help her contain and control her magic. At least, that was the hope she clung to.

She laid low in the slums of Dairsmuid, utilizing it as a headquarters for her search. The slums became her new home, where her magic fed off the despair and desperation of the of the people living in squalor. Her magic even enticed the gloom, bringing hopelessness and pain to the people around her. Life in the slums grew bleak for its inhabitants. Her presence inside Dairsmuid was known, but only in rumors and tales. Her arrival heralded a brief period of suffering and unrest, the source unknown. The people were becoming delirious, crime was skyrocketing, and distrust was commonplace.

It all came back to one certainty: Everyone felt the presence of a being who was always close, but just barely out of reach. Avorra clung to the shadows, unheard and unseen as she fed off the resulting chaos. Her hunger was again satiated, but the Demon made it clear that temporary fulfilment wasn't enough. The Demon inside was indeed pleased for a time, but her magic would only be satiated temporarily. She needed to find the cure, through any means necessary. Thankfully, she had found a lead on the artefact: A nearby forest, on the furthest outskirts north of Dairmuid.

She vacated the city, taking residence in a cave just outside of a village next to the forest. Her magic mutated, her arrival bringing an uncontrolled, heavy fog that surrounded the village. This fog was thicker than the ones she was able to create in Seheron. The mist followed her wherever she went, obscuring her presence to outsiders and unwanted attention. The villagers would occasionally spot Avorra as a black figure inside the fog, where should would become the source of a new myth: The "Shadow in the Mist". It didn't take long for the myth to reach Dairsmuid, who's residences no longer suffered the effects of Avorra's magic. Soon, the connection had been made - whatever had haunted Dairsmuid had moved on, now set on a village in need.

A Rivainian militia was formed, setting out from Dairsmuid proper to protect the haunted village. By the time they arrived, Avorra had already retreated into the now-fogging forest, continuing her search. No one dared to follow the Shadow. She was left to her own devices as she explored every inch of the forest that she could, desperate to find the ancient relic that she had heard so many stories of. It was an artefact of untold power, a power with enough potential to let her magic feed for decades to come. Hopefully, without killing her in the process.

She eventually found a decrepit ruin, calling to her and her magic. She could sense the power within. It was real. For the first time since she made the deal with the Pride Demon, she felt safe. She no longer had to fear death, for her magic would finally be tamed. She explored the ruins for a time, her magic guiding her to the source of power that called to her. She found it in the form of a bone-forged ring. When she approached it, her Demon reeled in response. Whatever the ancient power was, the Demon wanted nothing to do with it.

The Pride Demon appeared before her, admonishing her for her supposed foolishness, but it refused to elaborate on the how or the why. It was clearly afraid. A battle quickly ensued. The Demon was powerful, but Avorra's own magic had grown over the years. She was a force of nature, her abilities in Seheron paling in comparison to what she was now. She was a conduit for raw chaos, a deranged Hedge Destructor who's magic up until now had no rival, no equal. The fight was long and brutal, but she was able to suppress the Pride Demon and absorb it. In a last ditch attempt at survival, it attempted to repossess her, this time intending to take full control. It wanted her power for itself.

With no other options, she slipped on the bone-forged ring. The chaotic power coursing through her was overwhelming, to say the least. Whatever ancient being that slumbered inside the ring was now awake. The being banished the Pride Demon from her mind, forcing it into a corporeal form once again. Avorra tapped into her newfound magic, forcing the Demon to its knees. Rather than destroy it, she opted to absorb it for its raw magical potential, increasing her own abilities tenfold. With the battle finally over, she found a moment of peace. She was able to breathe.

The ancient being introduced itself as Zazikel, Dragon God of Chaos, and she was now in possession of one of its Shards. The ring was forged out of the bones of the Old God, its soul now held inside the ring. Avorra had become a Vessel for a being so unfathomably ancient, her own years were just a small drop in time compared to the Dragon's entire existence. The Old Soul spoke to her, reassuring her that her chaotic magic had been tamed. Her body had ceased aging completely, no longer needing the blood ritual. The damage to her deranged mind had been somewhat repaired. For once, she could think rationally, not instinctually. For once, she could feel power coursing through her, without it being overwhelming. It was fully within her grasp. For once, she felt at peace with the world, with herself.

She had a future.

Chaos Unleashed (9:45 Dragon - Present Day)

Avorra spent the next five years in Dairsmuid, harnessing her new abilities. She willingly recreated the fog from the village, reinforcing the claim that the Shadow had returned to Dairsmuid. No one knew who she was, however, so the Shadow could never be hunted. She remained in the slums, feeding off the residents for their life energies. Although her magic had been repleted, she herself was still craving, a residual effect from spending years hungering for more than what she had. She wasn't even sure what she really craved anymore, beyond the feeling of fulfilment. By the time her needs were met, the slums had become an empty husk that no one dared to venture into. The slums were now her home. Her home. No matter where her travels took her, she always managed to find a way or reason to return.

In the present day, Avorra's current travels takes her to destinations unknown. The Old Gold inside her guides her next steps. As of now, she's in search of more Shards of Zazikel, in an attempt to grow her power while pleasing the being. She's only heard rumors of two: One somewhere in the Kingdom of Fereldon, under siege from a new blight, and one in the Empire of Orlais, now overran with Darkspawn. She's yet to seek out these Shards, instead biding her time inside of the slums as she plots her next move.