1. Maraas is the son of two Ashaad warriors (one of them was an aqun athlok, but I don’t think I am ever gonna specify who on purpose) that fled the Qun after one of them got the asala-taar similar to Bull but was too frightened to hand himself in to the reeducators, and the other could not bear leaving his side. They call themselves Ash and Aad now, since fitting in among the basra requires different names.

2. Despite loathing the idea of having to join Ash and Aad’s mercenary company when he came of age and even running away from home to avoid it, Maaras still ended up becoming a sellsword (just a lonesome one instead of part of a group) because he has never learned another trade. At least travelling on various jobs has allowed him to discover his true passion - cartography.

3. Since Maaras’ design was somewhat inspired by Teldryn Sero from Skyrim, he might have similar stories to share about his various employers (such as a bloodthirsty fellow that loved provoking bandits on purpose).

4. For a brief time, Maaras genuinely believed that he was the one who had caused the Conclave explosion:  he has been suppressing his magic all his life, posing as a swordsman instead, so he was more than ready to conclude that his pent-up arcane energy had finally burst out of control.

5. Similar to Solas (a.k.a Fen'Harel), the name Maaras, which means both One and Nothing in Qunlat, is an insult (or rather, warning) he took as a badge of pride. After this name was given to him by Ash and Aad during their parting argument - as a reminder that he won’t make it on his own - he started mentally referring to himself as that out of spite and stubborness (sort of, ‘Yes, I am nothing, but watch me survive’), while publically introducing himself as ‘Martin’ in an attempt to pass as a human. Maaras will talk about how he embraced his name when he meets Ash and Aad again (which will happen in Sarhnia, where the mercenaries had stopped by on their way to stalk a dragon, but ended up mired in the quarry mess).



Facts about Dragonborn Tisha Marissius (Skyrim):

1. She gets a mini-panic attack when someone calls her by her full name, Laetitia, as it usually implies they are angry with her.

2. The one time she did something mean/petty was when her father considered doing a ‘favour’ of returning to her mother (after abandoning their family), and Tisha told him, with the straightest look on her face, ‘Actually, she has a new wife now’. She felt awful about it later, but her friends reassured her that she was in the right.

3. She sincerely mourns every humanoid enemy she has to kill, and I think I am going to headcanon her getting out of various situations unviolently as often as possible.

4. Kharjo is her stepbrother on her new Khajiit mom’s side, and often acts as a ‘straight-man’ for her lighthearted, trusting behaviour.

5. She and her love Erandur are total saps for mutual hair-petting.


Facts about Inquisitor Kulak Cadash (Dragon Age: Inquisition):

1. He is originally from the Warrior Caste, and has a different birth name, which he has not used since he was about eighteen. Back then, he was given his very first important mission - to escort a dwarven merchant and his apprentice, who had come over from Tevinter to conclude a business transaction, back home through the Deep Roads. Before they left, the merchant offered to share a bottle of rare topside brandy; and while the apprentice, who never could resist human drinks, eagerly downed his helping, Kulak, who was young and still quite disgusted by the taste of alcohol, only took a polite sip. Which ended up saving his life, because when they were way into the Deep Roads, the apprentice toppled over, groaning: the merchant, who had begun to suspect that the poor fellow had gotten wind of some of his shady dealings, had spiked the brandy with a slow-acting poison, supplied by dubious sources in Tevinter. Kulak, having barely drunk anything, only felt slightly woozy, which the merchant took advantage of by knocking him out with a rock. When Kulak came to, he found his weapon gone, and his and the apprentice’s bodies sprinkled generously with another Tevinter concoction, designed to attract hundreds of deep stalkers. Kulak kept the creatures at bay as best he could with his bare fists, until he was rescued by a gang of lyrium smugglers - on the condition that he would join them (which, being still in shock, he agreed to).

2. Due to the above, Kulak is still secretly afraid of deep stalkers. All other creatures, however, seem to instinctively gravitate towards him, seeking his protection.

3. Nor has he grown too fond of alcohol, being quite a moderate social drinker - not only because of the brandy incident, but also because he is afraid that intoxication will make him violent. In reality, however, he is a sad, weepy drunk rather than a mean drunk.

4. During his time with the Carta, Kulak not only guarded lyrium shipments and intimidated malcontents, but also fought in the boxing ring, with his new ‘family’ claiming all his prize earnings.

5. He kind of misses his birth family, but is too ashamed to contact them and explain that he has not, in fact, been torn apart by deep stalkers. Josephine might change his mind on that, though.


Facts about Vestige Ihlen gro-Dres (Elder Scrolls: Online):

1. While a Dark Elf in-game, he is half-Orc on his father’s side, which manifests in him having yellow eyes and a greenish skin tone. Because of his heritage, I would like to have him experience both the Ebonheart Pact and Daggerfall Covenant sides of the storyline, so that he visits some places important to either parent’s culture.

2. His parents died when he was little of an as of yet unknown cause (Knahaten Flu? Not sure if the timeline fits), and he spent his childhood hanging around the household of a wealthy slave-owning Dark Elven family of House Dres, where his maternal grandfather was overseer. At one point, the family’s daughter, Velsa, freed the slaves, and Ihlen’s grandfather lost his livelihood, turning from an empowered sadist to a helplessly bitter one - albeit still dangerous to a small child, especially one of ‘marred’ heritage. Ihlen lost his eye when his grandfather threw a bottle at him in a drunken rage.

3. Few know this fact about Ihlen, however, so the people he has been meeting in adulthood come up with all sorts of insane scenarios as to why he has one eye. He never comments on any of these speculations, though. He talks in monosyllables in general.

4. Due to Ihlen’s imposing height and built, he is mostly hired as a bruiser/bodyguard, but his preferred jobs are those of kennel master or stable hand.

5. He has a great talent for ice magic, which first manifested when he was soothing bruises inflicted on him by his grandfather. He has not reached his full potential as a mage so far, and most of his spells are self-taught from solitary practice.

6. He owns a horse, promised to him before it was even born (of the mare he used to care for), and eventually bequeathed to him in the will by an old Redguard nobleman who found him very handsome and occasionally spoiled him with treats. He would have left Ihlen even more, but his ‘proper’ heirs objected.

7. Ihlen also has a cat, whom he named Toasty because she warms him up by snuggling on his feet as they travel.

8. Even though he is long since dead, Ihlen’s grandfather keeps haunting him as a ghost, because he wants him to exact revenge on Velsa, the woman who freed the slaves and whom the blighter blames for his misfortune. And as Velsa is actually a NPC from the Thieves Guild, Ihlen has not only failed to 'exact revenge’ but actually befriended her (well, as much as that is possible with Velsa, who kind of prefers plants to people). This has made the hauntings even worse, eventually driving Ihlen to search for some priest or mage who might put his grandfather at rest. Unfortunately, the said 'mage’ turned out to be a Worm Cultist.