Leliana

"In the cloister, away from the fuss and the flurry of the cities, I found peace. And in that stillness, I could hear the Maker."

Leliana is an Orlesian bard who came to the village of Lothering to become a Lay Sister of the Chantry. In Dragon Age: Origins, Leliana is a possible companion and romance option to a Warden of either gender. She can also teach the bard specialization. In the Leliana's Song DLC, she becomes the player-controlled protagonist. In Dragon Age: Inquisition, she serves as the Inquisition's spymaster and as an advisor to the Inquisitor.

Background
Leliana was born in Orlais, and though she is culturally Orlesian, her mother was Fereldan and so she considers herself as such. Leliana's mother, Oisine, was a servant of Lady Cecilie Vasseur, an Orlesian noble. One of Leliana's earliest memories is smelling the garden and recalling standing there with her mother amidst the scents of sweet orange, lavender and especially the scent of her mother's gray linen dress. Though Leliana is uncertain if this powerful memory is real or not, she cherishes the image of her Fereldan mother.

Following the Fereldan victory in the Rebellion, Leliana and her mother followed Lady Cecilie back to Orlais. Cecilie raised Leliana after her mother's death (though did not likely legally adopt her ) shortly after her fourth birthday, and in her care Leliana learned much about the royal court and Orlesian culture.

Oisine's death cast a pall over Leliana's normally sunny disposition, however, and to try and cheer the girl her new guardian, Lady Cecilie, gave her whatever she asked for. Leliana only ever wanted books. As a result, she quickly developed an obsessive passion for Orlesian and Fereldan stories, ballads and songs, as well as any tales she could learn from Cecilie's elven servants. Tutors were soon called for by Lady Cecilie to foster Leliana's passion. Leliana often practiced her dancing on the stone terrace of Cecilie's villa on the Waking Sea, as well.

At sixteen, Leliana made her first trip to Val Royeaux, to attend a soiree with Lady Cecilie. There she met and was impressed by Marjolaine, a wealthy widow and patroness of the arts. Marjolaine began calling upon the aging Lady Cecilie shortly after the soiree, who often left Leliana to entertain the dazzling visitor.

Leliana was thrilled by Marjolaine's worldliness and daring, and the two became close friends. On a hunting trip, Marjolaine gave Leliana her first bow. In teaching her how to use it during that trip, Leliana accidentally wounded a hart the hunters were tracking. Too upset to end its suffering, Leliana watched in amazement as Marjolaine efficiently killed the animal.

That same summer, Leliana visited Marjolaine at her Val Royeaux estate, and the widow began to teach her way of the bard: manipulation, subterfuge and combat. Always her teaching was subtle and disguised, easily assumed to be merely a lady's idle amusements.

Ultimately, Leliana ended up in the village of Lothering. To atone for her sins and to hide from Marjolaine, who survived the original encounter, Leliana joined the chantry there as a lay sister, becoming intensely religious.

There, her confession of a vision from the Maker, and discovery of an impossible white rose on a dead bush in Lothering, both made her an outcast and spurred Leliana's passion to aid the Warden in the Fifth Blight. No one could shake her determination to stop this evil and bring hope to the world.

Dragon Age: Origins
{{SpoilerDAO| Leliana first encounters the Warden at the Dane's Refuge tavern in Lothering. When the Warden is set upon by soldiers loyal to Loghain Mac Tir, Leliana assists the Warden in the skirmish. Following the fight, she explains that the Maker had sent her a vision which meant that she must aid the Warden in their quest to end the Blight. Despite the Chantry's claim that the Maker does not communicate directly with individuals, Leliana is firm in her belief. This causes Alistair to suspect she was mentally unstable, while Morrigan also doubted her sanity.

{{CodexConditionalParagraph|If Leliana was rejected| The Warden denies Leliana's request to join their party, though she intercepts them as they left the village and again presses her request. Once again she is denied and so leaves Lothering and the Warden behind.}}

{{CodexConditionalParagraph|If Leliana was accepted| To her great delight, Leliana is accepted into the Warden's party and sets out with them from Lothering, having previously obtained permission from her Revered Mother to do so.

The Urn of Sacred Ashes
During the quest to recover the fabled Sacred Ashes of Andraste, the Guardian of the Ashes states that the Maker only ever spoke to one mortal, Andraste, and accuses Leliana of inventing her vision. He proposes that she fabricated the tale for attention as she feared her life would become dull in the Chantry when compared to the thrill of a bard's life. Affronted, Leliana makes a flustered denial of the Guardian's accusation.}}

Leliana's Past
Following much discussion with the Warden of her life as a bard, Marjolaine sends assassins to murder Leliana. Upon defeat, the assassins reveal that Marjolaine is in Denerim. Leliana and the Warden thus set out to find her former mentor.

Epilogue
Leliana is present at the coronation of the new monarch of Ferelden following the death of Urthemiel and the end of the Blight. }}

Romance


The Warden's first opportunity to kiss her occurs when her approval reaches "Adore" (71 or higher) and the Warden is not already in a romance with another party member. She starts a conversation in camp with the opening sentence "I enjoy the nights at camp. The night always seems more peaceful, to me. Safer." Nevertheless, she isn't interested in a fling and will only bed the Warden once she's fallen in love with them. She will not fall in love with the Warden until her quest has been completed and her approval rating has reached 91 or higher. To increase her approval, talk to her a lot, listen to what she tells you, be supportive, avoid criticizing her when she talks about the Maker, give her gifts that are personally meaningful to her, do good deeds while she is in the party, and avoid evil acts (or at least avoid having Leliana in the party when performing them).

Although it isn't clearly a romantic advance on the Warden's part, asking "She was special to you, wasn't she?" starts a romance when talking about what happened with Marjolaine during Leliana's personal quest. This happens regardless of what dialogue choices you make after that, even if you don't ask about her current romantic interests. Take care not to select this option if you only want to be friends.

Gifts
Leliana prefers gifts with "Andraste" in their name, as well as other symbols of the Chantry. The white flowers called Andraste's Grace work particularly well. She loves shoes, too. Leliana can also be given a pet nug from the Idle Dwarf in Dust Town. It will stay with her throughout the game.

Attributes
Relative attribute weightings on auto-level:

Skills
&ensp; (level 8) &ensp;  (level 12) &ensp; (level 10)

Leliana's Song
Leliana starts at level 10.

Attributes
(1 available point)

Skills
(no available points) &ensp; &ensp;



Talents
(2 available points)

Dragon Age: Origins

 * (Sacred Ashes trailer) "The righteous stand before the darkness, and the Maker shall guide their hand."
 * "I came to Ferelden and the Chantry because I was being hunted, in Orlais. I walked where the Maker led me and... He has rewarded me for my faith. I found you."
 * "There were many lovely young initiates in the Lothering cloister—all of them chaste and virtuous. Ah, it added to their mystique."
 * "I love stories far too much to keep them to myself. Everyone should benefit from them, I think."
 * (after fighting herself during "The Gauntlet") "Did you see the cruelty on my...on her face? Is that really what I am?"
 * (When confronted with floor puzzle) "Oh, this looks fun! I bet we'll have to work together and join hands and sing a happy song to get across!"

Leliana's Song

 * (About 'The Game') "The only way out of this game is to kill or be killed."
 * (Prologue) "Do you want to know a secret? This tale of foolish people long ago... I know what happened, and what is true... but I don't know how it should end. Let me tell it one more time, and perhaps together, we will see."

The Masked Empire

 * "The elves are the children of the Maker, just as we are, and just as deserving of His grace."

Dragon Age: Inquisition

 * "Though darkness closes, I am shielded by flame. Andraste, guide me. Maker, take me to your side!"
 * "The Chantry dictated where it should have inspired. It spoke of judgement instead of acceptance. It should encourage the good in everyone, rather than rebuke us for our sins. No one should be turned away from our doors. No one is without worth. Whoever you are, whatever your mistakes, you are loved. Unconditionally. 'In your heart shall burn an unquenchable flame.'"
 * "The Chantry has committed many injustices. If we're going to change it, why not change the whole thing?"
 * "I've known mages. Some of them were better people than me. And yet I'm free and they're not. It's not right."

Dialogue

 * Interrogator: "You will break."
 * Leliana: "I will die first. Or you will."

Trivia

 * Leliana shares some similarities with Sharwyn from Neverwinter Nights: they both are bards, redheads, familiar with high society and have playful personalities that hide a certain seriousness. She is also somewhat similar to the thief Imoen from Baldur's Gate. 
 * In her BioWare's character file, Leliana's appearance is described as: "Red hair, pale, slender."
 * Leliana is one of the three companions who appear in the Sacred Ashes trailer. Her CGI model in the trailer is based on adult model Alexandra "Alleykatze" Stein.
 * When imagining a single-note scent for Leliana, her writer Sheryl Chee likened her to "sugared roses, incense and candy floss." Chee returned to write her in Dragon Age: Inquisition
 * If Leliana is given the Cute Nug, she will name it Schmooples. (To see this while in the party camp, hold down tab on the version or left trigger on the console versions to note all names in the vicinity.)
 * If Leliana's approval is high enough, it is possible that she will hum a little melody when the player takes control of her.
 * If Leliana is hardened, she will be clad in armor during the coronation; however, if she remains unhardened, she will simply wear a dress.
 * Statistically, Leliana is the most commonly-picked romance option in Origins.
 * If you talk to Bethany Hawke in the chantry in Dragon Age II, she will say, "I miss the Lothering chantry. Sister Leliana told the best stories." In Dragon Age: Inquisition, Leliana comments on how Bethany enjoyed her stories.
 * If you talk to Aveline in the chantry in Dragon Age II, she will comment about feeling uncomfortable around chantry sisters due to a "red-haired trickster in Lothering."
 * Leliana's most prominent alias by far is "Sister Nightingale". She is also referred to as "Red" by Iron Bull, and "Shadows of Birds" by Sera. Helsdim Rolfsen may refer to her as a "Winged Trumpeter of Wisdom against the Darkness."
 * Despite an Orlesian accent, Leliana's features are strikingly Fereldan and reflect her heritage.
 * As the Left Hand of the Divine, Leliana is considered the "sinister" agent of the Divine working in the shadows, a counterpoint to Cassandra's more knightly position as the Right Hand. When diplomacy or military might fail, she steps in on behalf of the Chantry and the Inquisition.


 * In the Trespasser DLC, nug breeding and wrangling becomes a hobby of Leliana.

Bugs

 * One important dialogue option that leads to Leliana's background quest can be lost if you get her approval too high without talking to her. Therefore, do not simply shower Leliana with gifts—talk to her and make sure you choose "I heard that in Orlais, minstrels are often spies" when that option appears. As her approval increases further, you can no longer ask about it. Leliana's background quest requires her to first tell you a lie about her background, and then feel bad and come clean on it. If the question about spies disappears from the dialogue options before you ask it, you will never learn of Leliana's past and you will not get the quest to seek out her former bard master, Marjolaine. Using Feastday Gifts and Pranks is also a useful way to deal with this problem for those still encountering it.
 * A female human noble Warden who does not engage in a romance with Leliana and becomes Alistair's queen during the Landsmeet can still get a heartbroken speech from her back at camp on the topic if her approval rating is high. Oddly, it is possible to squeeze a few more approval points out of this dialogue if you are regretful about having to "end it" with Leliana, even if you were never in a romance with her to begin with.
 * Similarly, a male human noble who is arranged to marry Anora will also receive the heartbroken speech from Leliana even if they weren’t in a romantic relationship.
 * If you give Leliana lots of gifts and have her at 100 approval, in Orzammar's Proving Grounds, when you are in the championship battle and are almost finished, Leliana will blurt out, "Oh thanks, that's wonderful!" as though she has been given a gift.
 * When Leliana asks the elven magi Warden about living in the Alienage, there is no option to say that you don't remember the Alienage. This occurs even if you have already established that you remember nothing in the origin story.
 * Leliana has blue eyes, yet when she has blood all over herself her eyes turn a greenish colour.
 * In Leliana's Song, if you put a point in Coup De Grace, it will vanish when Leliana levels up. A variation of this occurs on as well, where Feign Death can be obtained before losing Coup De Grace, resulting in having the later without the former (ver 1.05).
 * If an Awakening or Witch Hunt (instead of Origins) save game is imported in Dragon Age II, the game will not acknowledge an active romance between Leliana and the Warden (and she will not refer to the Warden as "dear to her heart"). This is because the unmodded DA2 checks imported approval ratings instead of romance flags to determine Origins romance, and while the flags are imported properly, neither Awakening, nor the DLC campaigns keep the approval ratings of absent party members. An unofficial fix exists to address this problem. It has also been fixed as of patch 1.03.