“Because people like you never try!”
Sapphira, more commonly known as Hira, is a Tevinter mage who served in the Inquisition during the War against the Elder One.
Background[]
Hira was born in northern Tevinter to a wealthy, influential, noble family. During her childhood, her family began helping the people of Tevinter (particulary slaves), which drew the ire of the Venatori. They burned Hira's father alive on their front lawn as an example for defying Tevinter's traditions. Since then, Hira has developed an intense hatred for everything the Imperium stands for and all of its people.
Some time after fleeing Tevinter, she met a runaway elven slave named Miriam; the two became close friends and later lovers.
When the Breach began, Hira wanted to join the fledgling Inquisition, as she believed that an organization where everyone was welcomed—regardless of race or creed—could change the world for the better. Her lover Miriam did not wish to join, as she believed people like them were not important enough to change the world—and so the two ended their relationship and parted ways. Hira went on to join the Inquisition while Miriam continued her life as a mercenary and thief.
After the Breach was closed, Hira believed that the Inquisition could eradicate the remaining Venatori in Tevinter; however, the Inquisition's leadership did not wish to cause collateral damage in Tevinter. This decision made Hira betray the Inquisition and ally herself with a group dedicated to destroying the Tevinter Imperium led by the Crimson Knight.
Involvement[]
Dragon Age: Absolution[]
Before the Inquisition was disbanded, Cassandra Pentaghast and Leliana gave Hira and Fairbanks one last mission: to steal the Circulum Infinitus from the Tevinter Imperium. Hira recommended Miriam and Roland to join their crew—and Fairbanks agreed once they passed his test of stealing lyrium from a Nevarran Circle of Magi. Miriam defended Hira from a gang of thieves—known as Dolph's Daggers—when they try to attack Hira and Fairbanks after it is revealed that the job they were hired for (to steal the stolen lyrium) was a test and that they were also tricked into being fugitives for the theft.
Once the group find safety outside the city, Miriam discusses her bitterness over Hira abandoning their relationship to join the Inquisition. Hira however, claims that the Inquisition's work was necessary to not only save the world, but to also make it a better place. Hira tells Miriam that people like her have given up in trying to pursue that noble goal, and Hira herself can't live her life with her trauma hampering her from taking action. Nevertheless, Hira promises Miriam that once she helps her accomplish the last mission given to her by the Inquisition, she will retire with Miriam in the Hinterlands to make cheese. Miriam agrees to take the job and hear about the details with the rest of the group.
Inside a forest, Miriam and Roland are introduced to the rest of Fairbanks' crew: Lacklon and Qwydion. Fairbanks reveals that Cassandra Pentaghast and Leliana tasked him and Hira to steal the Circulum Infinitus from the Tevinter Imperium and deliver it to Orlais. They tracked it to the Summer Palace, which belongs to the Imperial Divine. When Fairbanks states that the Circulum is being studied by Magister Rezaren Ammosine, Miriam's former slave owner, Miriam becomes vexed and initially refuses the job. Fairbanks tells Miriam that they under time constraints and she is the only one who's been to Nessum and knows the Summer Palace's defenses and layout; thus her help is their only hope to complete the heist. Hira goes after Miriam to try to change her mind but Miriam reaffirms to her the commitment she made to never return to that place and also expresses her disappointment that Hira used her promise of a future together to trick her into accepting this job. Hira agrees and apologizes for her manipulation but persuades Miriam to help with the heist by stating that this mission will help her confront her trauma, hurt her abusers, and find closure. Hira reaffirms her desire to retire with Miriam after they've completed their mission. Miriam consents to accepting the job so long as her only role is helping them find a way into the Summer Palace.
The group then makes preparations for their heist on the Summer Palace while Miriam conceives of a plan that will facilitate the group's infiltration of the Summer Palace. After the group fought a bar fight against Tevinter ruffians that were harassing Miriam, Miriam revealed her plan and secured the group an entrance into the Summer Palace.
Once inside the Summer Palace, the group splits up into four teams. Hira and Qwydion head to the Cathedral to contain the people there while Fairbanks executes the theft. The two mages use their magic to secretly put some sort of magical glyph-seals onto the Cathedral's entrance doors. However, Magister Rezaren Ammosine left the Chantry sermon before they could finish sealing one of the doors. Qwydion told Hira to rendezvous with Fairbanks while Qwydion finishes sealing the door.
Hira regroups with Fairbanks just in time for him to break his way into the vault. Hira then uses her magic to disable the barriers but afterwards, Fairbanks stabs her in the back. Hira quickly recovers and engages Fairbanks as they fight over the Circulum. Fairbanks manages to pin Hira to the ground and attempts to flee with the Circulum. However, Hira uses her magic to hurl stone projectiles at Fairbanks and gravely wound him. In order to keep the Circulum within her reach, Hira willingly triggers the vault's magical wards which activates the Summer Palace's security system. She then drinks a healing potion to heal her wounds and tries to compose herself.
Miriam, Roland, and Lacklon find Hira trapped behind the vault's magical lockup. After Miriam briefs Hira on their situation, Miriam tries to find a way to free Hira but it is ultimately futile. Hira tells Miriam that Fairbanks attacked her and tried to steal the Circulum. Miriam reveals to her that Fairbanks died and gave the Circulum to her. Hira then urges Miriam to leave her and give the Circulum to her contact in The Hanged Man, a Kirkwall tavern. She tells Miriam that the Inquisition meeting in Orlais was set up by Fairbanks and is probably a trap. The companions then hear the roar and fire breathing of a dragon inside the vault, and realizes that it's just about to break out of its confinement. As more demons and undead reach their position, Hira pulls away from Miriam and goes further inside the vault so that Miriam will be forced to abandon her.
Hira is later captured by Tevinter guards and sent to a prison cell to be interrogated by Knight-Commander Tassia. Tassia tells Hira that they seek to utilize the Circulum to restore people from the dead, and if Hira's friends will return it, then she can negotiate leniency for her and her group. Hira however, says that their goal is self-serving as they will only revive dead Tevinters. Tassia points out that Hira herself is a Tevinter since she noticed the Tevinter crest on her necklace. Hira then reveals the history of how the Venatori punished her family for helping downtrodden slaves and that no one in Tevinter defended them. That trauma made her determined to see all of Tevinter burn and the Circulum is the one thing required for her allies to see her revenge realized. Tassia argues that there are some in Tevinter who oppose the Venatori and wish to see the Imperium redeemed. Hira however, doesn't care as she hates all Tevinters and wants to annihilate them all—the good and the bad. Tassia is then interrupted by Rezaren who dismisses Tassia so he can privately interrogate Hira himself. Just as Hira begins to taunt Rezaren, Rezaren uses his magic to hurt Hira. Rezaren chastises Hira for stealing the Circulum from him and demands to know why she helped Miriam escape. Hira responds that she did it because she loves Miriam. Rezaren laughs derisively at Hira and threatens to execute Hira in front of Miriam when she returns the Circulum to him. Hira tells Rezaren that Miriam would never forgive him if he did so, but Rezaren is confident she will be grateful once he reveals to her their collusion. Rezaren then gives orders to Neb and tools to help him apprehend Miriam.
While Miriam and her friends fight Tassia and Neb, Rezaren wonders what Miriam is doing. Hira tells Rezaren she is trying to rescue her and that Miriam is no longer afraid of him. Although Rezaren claims Miriam never had anything to fear from him and sees himself as not asking too much of her, Hira mocks Rezaren for being so unaware that Miriam sees him as a villain and that she knows the Circulum is somewhere he will never find. Rezaren then drags Hira outside the palace to coerce her to reveal the Circulum's location. However, Qwydion freed the vault's dragon and its rampaging caused intense damage to the palace. Rezaren and Hira were both knocked out by the falling debris of the palace's collapsing structure.
Hira regained consciousness first and took the key from an unconscious Rezaren to free herself of her handcuffs. She then conjures a magical platform and uses it to levitate to the safe house, despite Lacklon calling out to her. Hira then ransacks the safe house, eventually finding the Circulum underneath a hidden tile. As she was running out of the safe house, she runs into Miriam and the group, who escort her back into the safe house. Miriam's group find the safe house ransacked and grow suspicious of Hira for trying to leave, refuting her cover-ups, and also for her refusal to relinquish the Circulum. After Miriam deduced that Hira was the traitor, Hira attempted to escape but was trapped by a wall of fire conjured by Qwydion. After Miriam took back the Circulum, Miriam demanded an explanation.
Hira revealed that she grew disillusioned with the Inquisition when they refused to fight Tevinter, which has been a safe haven for the Venatori. Thus she became an ally of the Crimson Knight, who had no qualms about waging war with Tevinter. Together, Hira and the Crimson Knight made a plan to turn the Templars against Tevinter, even the ones inside it. However, the two needed the Circulum to do it. Hira made a deal with Rezaren to arrange for the Circulum Infinitus to be at the Summer Palace. Hira and her group were meant to get caught and Hira would make an exchange for the Circulum. Once Hira delivered Miriam to him and he has used the Circulum to resurrect Neb, Rezaren can then let Hira go with the Circulum. Rezaren was suppose to then scuttle any investigation into the matter so that the Imperial Divine wouldn't be able to trace the theft back to Hira. Although Hira tried to reassure Miriam she had no intention of letting Rezaren keep her and would have rescued her eventually, Miriam is upset by her betrayal.
Suddenly, Rezaren, Neb, and a dragon he mind-controlled attack the group and Hira is seemingly knocked out. Rezaren's attempt to resurrect Neb ends terribly and in the chaos, the group manages to kill Rezaren and free the dragon. In the aftermath of the battle, Hira regains consciousness and Miriam gives Hira an ultimatum: Help her take the Circulum to what's left of the Inquisition and they can try to rekindle their relationship. Miriam pleads with Hira to tell her she is more important to her than her vengeance. Hira however, reveals that the Hira she was speaking to was an illusion. Hira appears behind Miriam and tearfully tells her "[She] wishes she could," before casting a spell that put the entire group to sleep. Hira is last seen riding to Kirkwall with the intent of delivering the Circulum to the Crimson Knight.