Merrill

"It's a Keeper's job to remember. Even the dangerous things."

Merrill is a Dalish elven mage and First to the Keeper of the Sabrae clan. She is a temporary companion in the Dalish Elf Origin in Dragon Age: Origins and a companion and romance option for a male or female Hawke in Dragon Age II.



Background
"Merrill can recite all of known elven history and navigate the Fade, but she has very little experience with the world or even her own people. Forced to flee north she must find help for her people, whatever the cost."

Merrill was born into the Alerion clan, which wandered the hills of Nevarra. She was the third child of the clan with magic born to her. Following the next Arlathvenn, the gathering of Dalish clans, she was given to the Sabrae clan to be First to Keeper Marethari.

Dragon Age II
{{SpoilerDA2|

Act 1
Following the events surrounding the disappearance of Tamlen, Merrill has kept a fragment of the Eluvian in the old ruins to cleanse it of its taint. She studied the lore on the Eluvian, and extrapolated information from the shard. Merrill asks Marethari for help in cleansing the shard of the taint, but the Keeper refuses. Her efforts to construct an Eluvian caused her to turn to blood magic, which she learned from a pride demon imprisoned and sundered from the Fade atop Sundermount. As she lacked the necessary amount of lyrium to cleanse the shard with ordinary magic, she used blood magic to amplify her power so she could succeed; this spell seemed to be used in the Dalish Origin to help the protagonist deal with the taint. She argues with Marethari that her efforts to learn blood magic were necessary towards the restoration of the Eluvian, and ultimately the survival of the Dalish; with the Keeper publicly opposed to her efforts, she faces the scorn and contempt of her clanmates as a result.

When Hawke arrives at the Dalish camp in Sundermount, she takes part in a ritual that Hawke is to perform on a mountain-top altar. In the rite, Merrill recites the song In Uthenera, a poem for the departed. The ritual actually entails the resurrection of Flemeth, as a portion of her essence is revealed to have been embedded in the amulet. Marethari explains to Hawke that Merrill had decided to leave her increasingly hostile clan in order to learn more about the outside world and continue her studies into restoring the Eluvian. Initially nervous when arriving in Kirkwall, Merrill finds lodging in the city's Alienage and joins Hawke's party. However, while staying in Kirkwall, her use of blood magic puts Merrill at odds with Anders and Fenris.

Act 2
Three years have passed since Hawke joined the voyage to the Deep Roads, and Merrill seeks Hawke's help in facing Marethari to request a special dagger to help complete the Eluvian. As they confront the Keeper, she calls upon vir sulevanan, the right of every Dalish to claim any property or artifact of the clan in exchange for a service. Reluctantly, Marethari requests that they slay a Varterral that had killed a number of their hunters, as the deal for the dagger. While exploring the Varterral's lair, they run into Pol, who flees in fear at the sight of Merrill, straight to the Varterral itself. After killing the Varterral and returning to camp, Merrill inquires as to why Pol was so afraid of her. She discovers that Marethari had warned her clan that she may potentially bring back the darkspawn taint. Marethari tries to use this to coerce Merrill to abandon her research on the Eluvian, and return to the clan; Merrill adamantly refuses. Though Merrill honors her side of the bargain, the Keeper does not, and instead, gives it to Hawke for safekeeping, leaving Hawke with the choice to either give the Arulin'Holm to Merrill or deny her the tool.

Act 3
After another three years since the invasion of the Qunari, Merrill finds an alternative to fixing the still-inactive Eluvian, regardless whether Hawke gave the Arulin'Holm to Merrill or not. She plans to consult Audacity, who said to her years ago that he witnessed the creation of the mirror itself during the days of Arlathan. She asks Hawke to accompany her to Sundermount, as she is concerned about the threat Audacity may pose, especially since it has been silent in her recent attempts to remotely communicate with it. It's discovered the Keeper released Audacity from its prison, and contained the demon within herself, independent of whether Hawke supports Merrill's plan or not. Marethari claims that the demon was intending to use the Eluvian as a way out of its prison and that Merrill would've been its first victim, but never explains how she came to this conclusion.

As an abomination, Marethari attacks Merrill and her companions, forcing them to kill her to survive. As Merrill mourns Marethari, Hawke can comment on the Keeper's recent actions, including informing Merrill that the Keeper "was stupid" for releasing Audacity. Afterwards, the clan will confront and interrogate Hawke and Merrill about the Keeper's disappearance, eventually discovering that she is dead. If Hawke reveals the Keeper became possessed by the demon or warns the clan to back off, they will attack and force Hawke and Merrill to kill them in order to survive. However, if Hawke blames Merrill for Marethari's actions, the clan will simply ask them to leave.

Back in the Alienage, Merrill is crushed. If she and Hawke are rivals, she bemoans that she was too "stupid and ignorant" to listen, then shatters the Eluvian. If they are on friendly terms, she states that the clan and Keeper did not heed her when she was trying to help them, despite devoting several years of her life to help end the plight of the People through the painstaking restoration of ancient elven technology that may have revitalized the People from their plight; she will consult Hawke on what should be her next course of action, since the Eluvian remains inert.

Merrill pleads for Anders to be spared after he destroys the chantry, and for him to assist the party and make up for his act. She willingly joins Hawke in defense of the mages. She can also stick with Hawke despite siding with the Templars, if completely loyal.

If otherwise, Merrill initially refuses to help a pro-Templar Hawke if she was not spoken to after an unpleasant encounter with her clan, and if Anders considers Hawke a full rival. He must also be talked with after fulfilling all his requests so that he can be potentially persuaded to turn against the mages; his actual fate is irrelevant.

Later, Hawke meets Merrill in the Gallows courtyard. If the Champion asks Merrill to rejoin them at this point, she can be convinced; Hawke is the only person she is very close with, a bond stronger than her pride in magic. Instead, if Hawke does not want Merrill at their side, she walks away, and is eventually killed in combat after her last words with Hawke.

If Merrill stands triumphant with Hawke after the battle in the Gallows, she leaves the Champion along with the others, for personal reasons, as stated by Varric. }}

Friendship and Rivalry
Merrill's friendship can be gained by:
 * Helping the mages or the elves.
 * Choosing options that favor blood magic or demons.
 * By being agreeable to her in conversation.

Rivalry with Merrill can generally be earned by contradicting the "hows" of developing a friendship with her, as mentioned above.

Dragon Age II
Act 1

Act 2

(gift)

Act 3

(gift)

Mark of the Assassin
 * Merrill is the only companion who has no quest in this DLC.

Gifts

 * Halla Carving
 * Sylvanwood Ring

Skills
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Armor


Merrill's armor, Vestments of the First, can be upgraded four times:


 * Act 2 – – available at Robes by Jean Luc in Hightown; adds an extra rune slot.
 * Act 2 – – available at Master Ilen's Shop in Sundermount; increases health.
 * Act 2 – – found at the top of Sundermount's Mountain Graveyard; +20 health regeneration rate.
 * Act 3 – – looted during A New Path; adds an extra rune slot.

Other
– requires Mage Item Pack DLC – requires Mage Item Pack II DLC

Quotes

 * (Long Way Home) "I'll try not to hit anyone. On our side, I mean. I'm babbling again. Let's go."
 * (Memento of the Dalish) "Guarding a clan from the Dread Wolf... is a Keeper's place."
 * "Your 'Maker' is a story you humans use to explain the world. We have our own stories. I don't need to borrow yours."
 * "Spirits differ from each other, just as you and Hawke and Isabela are all human. More or less..."
 * (The Last Straw) "Magic can't be made safe and it can't be destroyed. Fear makes men more dangerous than magic ever could".
 * (The Last Straw) "(laughs) The Champion of Kirkwall going to battle naked. Why can't I ever have that dream?"
 * "Being a blood mage does not mean sacrificing innocents!"

Trivia

 * Mary Kirby wrote Merrill for Dragon Age II.
 * According to David Gaider, Eve Myles was last on the list of "actors I specifically asked for and got on the first try".
 * As a result, Merrill is the only character, to date, who has displayed a Welsh accent. The rest of the Dalish possess Irish accents.
 * If you give Merrill the Halla Carving bought from Master Ilen's Shop in Act 2, it will be on display on the table beside the door to her home for the rest of the game.
 * Although Marethari warns the members of the Sabrae clan that Merrill may bring back the taint, she remains uncorrupted in her handling of the shard for several years (after successfully cleansing it of the taint with a spell amplified by blood magic), while the elves in Witch Hunt who came in contact with the remaining shards in the Elven Ruins turned into ghouls.
 * Despite claiming that Audacity would escape through the restored Eluvian, Marethari never reveals how she came to this conclusion, especially when her argument in Act II against this course of action was entirely different. Morrigan's revelation in Witch Hunt about the Eluvians serving as a doorway to a place "beyond this world, and beyond the Fade" call into question the validity of Marethari's claim.
 * In spite of her blood magic, Merrill seems to have been taken under the wings of several of her new friends:
 * Varric calls her "Daisy" affectionately and is repeatedly referenced to have bribed any would-be attackers whenever she took any side alley routes around Kirkwall and he gave her a ball of twine when she first moved to the city so she could find her way around.
 * Isabela calls her "Kitten" and tells her several things about being "a lady" (seduction tips, how to strut, etc.) as well as helping her with issues she isn't familiar with, because of her cultural differences with humans. Should a male Hawke enter into a relationship with Merrill, Isabela will threaten to "cut off [his] balls" if he hurts her.
 * In some Carver/Merrill and Carver/Isabela conversations, there is a hint that Carver may have a thing for Merrill.
 * Mike Laidlaw said at PAX East 2013, that Merrill fixing the mirror was a 'bad call'.

Bugs

 * Upon returning to the alienage after completing Long Way Home, selecting the option "I don't think so." when asked if you wish to stop by later and flirting with her during Welcome Home may lead to a bug with her approval for Hawke, making it impossible to gain any friendship or rivalry points with Merrill henceforth. Note: It has also been noted that this bug randomly occurs even if you select the "I Will." option and later flirt with her. You'll know it's not working because you'll gain no friendship after all friendly and flirt dialogue options have been concluded in Welcome Home. If this does happen, simply reload and do not select the flirt option when chatting with Merrill in Welcome Home. This initial flirt is fortunately not required to begin a romance.
 * If the sibling either joined the Wardens or died during the expedition, the quest "Mourning" was supposed to take place. However, it has since been cut from the game, but may reappear if the game has not been patched.
 * There have been some cases where, during the sex scene between her and Hawke, some graphical issues occur. Such reports claim that the two characters abruptly show up standing idly at the entrance to the Hawke estate, both in their intimate attire. The dialogue wheel, however, is still present and choosing any option will promptly fix the bug, placing the characters in their proper place and the scene will proceed normally.
 * During Act 3, the Questioning Beliefs involving Merrill's reaction to the end of A New Path will occur, even before you completed the quest, where she is upset by the death of her clan's Keeper. It can be worked around, but is messing with the chronological order of the related quests. (2, 1, 3).
 * In Act 3, when initiating A New Path, it seems that if you are on a path of rivalry with Merrill, she will mention you keeping the arulin'holm from her, even if you gave it to her.
 * If her clan is wiped out after her personal quest A New Path, she is stuck to your party, being locked forever. This can be fixed by either taking another quest where a party member is locked in, such as Sebastian's Faith, or by returning home to the Hawke estate. Both methods will remove all current party members, restoring Merrill's unlocked status.
 * With patch 1.03, some of the Act 3 romance scenes may not trigger properly, but the flow will proceed as planned.