Liara Tabris

NAME: Liara Tabris
GENDER: female
ORIENTATION: romantically and sexually attracted to all genders, though she's not interested in romance unless she already has a close relationship with the person (=demiromantic pansexual, polyamorous)
RACE: elf - cityborn
CLASS: rogue
NATIONALITY: Fereldan, grew up in the Denerim alienage
CURRENT AFFILIATION: Inquisition/Sister Nightingale
FEARS: Drowning, suffocating, deep water, large dogs

FATHER: Cyrion Tabris
MOTHER: Adaia Tabris, deceased
SIBLINGS: none
OTHER FAMILY: cousins Shianni and Soris who grew up with Liara in the alienage. They were all very close and Liara considered them her best friends, long ago, in another life.

LOCATION:

• Pre-Origins: Denerim, Ferelden
  
• Between Origins and Inquisition: primarily Free Marches, but can end up pretty much anywhere upon request (e.g. Ferelden, Orlais, Antiva, except for maybe the Imperium)
  
• Inquisition: Haven, later Skyhold - various other locations are possible through war table operations/assignments

PERSONALITY:

• Distrustful - Especially towards humans, but she's not particularly trusting towards any race. Though she might be softer on fellow city elves.
• Self-serving - Not the "sell your father for a pouch of gold" type, but her own interests come before random strangers.
• Unfriendly - Can easily come off as cold or unfriendly, and often that is how she wants to come off.
• Loyal - Nevertheless, once she finds her own little circle she's loyal to them to the death.
• Determined - Works tirelessly for her own goals and gets up if she's pushed down.
• Cynical - Tends to assume the worst about people's intentions.
• Confident and Assertive - Aware of her own abilities and her own worth, and not afraid to voice these.
• Aggressive - Constantly ready to fight, and doesn't need much excuse to attack.

HISTORY:

And perhaps the day will come when the humans come and try to take the alienage from us, too. If that day comes, I swear they shall regret it.

Liara was born to Adaia and Cyrion Tabris in the Denerim alienage, behind the walls that separated them from the world of the humans. From her mother, Liara learned how to handle daggers and how to defend herself. From the humans who killed Adaia, Liara learned exactly where the humans think the place of her kind is. From her father, Liara learned she should keep to her own people and strive to be ordinary, instead of attracting unwanted attention.

Not all of that teaching stuck. It was far too often that her cousins, Shianni or Soris had to drag Liara away or step on her feet before she could get into trouble - before she could stand up for herself, lash out at those who called her knife-ear or talked to her like she was the scum of the earth. Liara would not back down, and Cyrion feared she would meet the same fate her mother did. Though he was proud, his fear for his child was greater than any pride, and the two of them clashed often after Adaia's death.

And yet, Liara agreed to stay in the alienage and accept the marriage her father planned for her. Leaving her only remaining family was not an option, and the marriage with Nelaros seemed like the best choice. What's more, she genuinely had a good first impression about Nelaros and was looking forward to getting to know him better. But the wedding did not work out as planned. Liara was knocked out and dragged away by the arl's son and his men, together with her cousin Shianni and other women from the wedding party.

In order to save herself and her traumatised cousin, Liara had no other choice but to take a weapon from a guard and cut down everyone on their way back to the alienage - accompanied by Soris, who managed to sneak into the arl's estate through the servant entrance. Soris and Liara knew that they could not stay in their homes after what they had done. As they attempted to flee, Soris decided to turn back and turn himself in to save the others in the alienage from a worse faith. Liara was not fast enough to stop him.

For several years, that was the last she had seen of her family at all. The only news she got from the Denerim alienage were rumours, and they told her nothing about whether Cyrion or her cousins were alive. To stay alive, Liara took any job she could do with what her mother taught her - she was a thief, a mercenary, or an assassin if it was needed. That is, until she met Sister Nightingale. She became part of Leliana's spynetwork not long before the Inquisition was officially formed.

Mild Trespasser spoilers under the cut