Siali Arnith (née Tathvathar) was born in the Highever alienage, daughter to two members of a local, largely-elvish mercenary group called the Adders. She spent most of her childhood being secretly trained in the use of blades and running small errands for the group, and was a generally content child, if a bit sombre at times, until she was married off at eighteen.
In the seven years following her marriage suffered stroke after stroke of bad luck. Her parents and many of her friends died from plague or during the Highever riots, her husband was killed in front of her, her former mentor took out a bounty on her head, and following a former colleague's attempt at manipulating her into a physical relationship, she murdered him and fled the city. She has yet to return. As a consequence of this, she temporarily became aggressive and self-destructive.
After striking up an unlikely friendship with a chatty dwarf called Erna in Redcliffe, Siali responded to a call for help from her cousin and headed towards Denerim with Erna in tow. Erna's cheerful demeanour began to break through Siali's shell, and while she remained surly towards strangers, she began to settle comfortably into a new life in the capital. She befriended a few elves and eventually entered a relationship with Sa'Vael Elen.
Finally caring enough to want to improve her lot in life, Siali volunteered to join the Wardens, seeing it as a way to gain a little respect and keep trouble from her friends. She Joined on the 12th Drakonis 9:33 and is dedicated wholly to the Order, finding a sense of purpose in it that she's not found elsewhere. She is still bothered by some aspects of her past, and the total disappearance of Sa'Vael, but she is largely focusing on the future and trying to grow enough to serve as a better mentor to the new recruits than her mentors were to her.
Changes Since Conception[]
Siali now has a tattoo of a feather lining her left hip, impossible to see when she is clothed. She has gained enough weight to not be quite so gaunt as she was, although is still best described as 'skinny'. There are three deep dents on either side of her calf on her left leg, the remnants of an injury caused by stepping on a spring trap in the middle of battle. She is significantly scarred across her torso and arms from various battles over the last two years.
Since joining the Wardens, Siali has dispensed with her old leather armour and now usually wears a Warden rogue set, made simpler and darker by her request to help with stealth. She learned how to wield two swords and now carries a matched pair based on the design of a Dar'Misaan.
Significant Events[]
Siali was initially contracted in Rainesfere to help Bann Teagan sort out his problems with some local mercenaries, but abandoned the job when she received a letter from her cousin summoning her to Denerim. Her aim was Taolen find what happened to his clanmate/lover Riomen. On the way there, she passed through Lothering, arriving at night and therefore completely missing the hanging werewolves outside the town. Challenged by drunks in the local tavern, she met and was assisted by Aldyn Pyke, who waited for her on the road the next day and enlisted her help against bandits. On their way there, the two encountered Flinn De'Lora, who had attempted an attack on the same group of bandits Pyke and Siali were now targeting; the three formed a group and attacked the bandit camp largely successfully, despite Siali ending up in a trap that later turned out to have been laid down by Flinn. After scavenging everything they could carry, the three returned to the road and bumped into a merchant caravan, where to Siali's surprise she was reunited with Erna, a dwarf she met in Rainesfere. Erna and her dog attached themselves to the other three and the group have been making their way steadily to Denerim, held back a bit by Siali's leg injury.
Siali was temporarily adopted by a squirrel she named Monster (after it startled Flinn), although she maintains it was only after her food.
Over the course of her journey, her somewhat agressive nature eased a little. In particular, she has a great deal of time for Erna, and secretly doesn't mind it when the dwarf rambles (not that she'll ever admit this.) The two shared a hovel in Denerim's backstreets, and Siali was content with this arrangment for a while; however, on joining the Wardens, she accepted the move to Amaranthine a necessity. Since then she was sent on a mission to Lothering for a few months to train the militia in tracking and combating remaining pockets of darkspawn, before being summoned to Denerim by Nathaniel.
As of Firstfall 9:34, she has returned to Vigil's Keep.
Relationships[]
{C Erna Kis - Siali met Erna by nearly tripping over her in the street. Caught off-guard by Erna's bubbly nature, Siali was more gregarious than usual, going so far as to offer the dwarf a free vial of Milk of Magnesia and giving her a humourous warning about avoiding indigestion at the upcoming Cladan festival. The two have met again on the road to Denerim and shared some stories about their pasts, although Siali has kept her assassin training to herself. Siali quietly respects the dwarf for what she's heard about Erna's past, and considers the dwarf a friend; despite being aware that Erna is capable of handling herself, Siali is very protective of her.
Sulevin - The two met on the trade route between Gherlen's Pass and Rainesfere, and a conversation between the two led to Siali having a nervous breakdown. Sulevin comforted her and offered her a sleeping space in her tent. Siali impulsively kissed Sulevin in an effort to remove traces of Meryon's touch from herself, and the other elf reciprocated. The two spent the night together and parted ways in the morning.
Raiziv Carvi - Siali is in the initial stages of friendship with Raiziv; after he helped her track down the supplier responsible for selling the poisons used by a serial murderer, she trusts him to watch her back, and will return the favour, as demonstrated when the pair were defending Sa'Vael from mercenaries. They fell out after Siali broke Raiziv's nose - for breaking Savvy's nose - and things are still shaky between them.
Sa'Vael Elen - The pair met when Siali and Raiziv were (in Siali's case, unknowingly) defending him from mercenaries. Siali liked his reasonably jokey attitude and was surprised when she realised she liked him personally, not something normally easy to achieve. The two are now 'together', and the ex-Dalish has helped Siali discover a more playful aspect to her personality. However, he vanished on the way back to Denerim after escorting her to Vigil's Keep, and she has since given him up for dead.
Nathaniel Howe - Given the havoc Rendon Howe had wrecked on Highever, Siali was initially a little wary of Nathaniel. However, this did not last long; trusting that Aedan had made the right decision, and respecting Nathaniel for keeping no aspect of their duty or the consequences of their joining in the dark, she is willing to accept his orders. A shared interest in poisons, ironically, makes Siali feel more at ease about answering to a human.
Philippe - Siali is respectful of Philippe. She recognises his experience and that he can make hard decisions. She aims to prove to him, above anybody else, that she is worthy of the title of Warden.
Innes Cameron - Siali met Innes before she became a Warden, having been contracted as a freelancer by the City Guard. The pair worked well together and have had a habit of finding danger, then managing to wriggle their way back out again, usually by the skin of their teeth. Innes is the first human man who Siali has called a friend, and he's seen more of her vulnerable side than most will ever see.
Niamh Ròcas - Siali found Niamh a bit flighty and innocent, but sweet at first blush. The two only had occasional sparring interactions before a battle with darkspawn beneath Denerim resulted in Niamh losing part of a finger and Siali also being injured, whereupon they started to get a bit closer during their convalescence. They've shared a kiss and have decided they're going to try being together, although with Siali's return to Amaranthine, it remains to be seen whether they can make it work.