Vaea

“I'm inspirational like that.”

Vaea
Title	Squire
Race	Elf
Gender	Female
Class	Rogue
Family	Coran (uncle)
Appearances	Dragon Age: Knight Errant Heroes of Dragon Age Dragon Age: Deception Dragon Age: Blue Wraith Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights

Vaea (born 9:23 Dragon) is the first known Fereldan elven squire, accompanying her knight, Ser Aaron Hawthorne, as he travels throughout Ferelden and abroad.

Background

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This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age: Knight Errant.

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The plot follows BioWare's own canon, meaning it may not follow some of the player's choices in the games.

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Vaea as a young girl

Vaea was raised in the alienage of Edgehall, which is located outside of the town; she lived there with her parents. When she was seven, she survived the Fifth Blight in Ferelden, however the darkspawn destroyed the alianage's walls. At the age of nine, in 9:32, her parents were killed when the elves residing there rebelled against the arl, Gell Lendon. Living alone, she turned to theft to survive. Her uncle Coran, a city elf-turned-Dalish, always invited her to live with him and the Boranehn clan, to no avail.

Coran often returned to the alienage to trade. While there, Coran advised Vaea that not all humans are bad, and that the problem is that humans are driven to change their world while elves are more willing with live with it as it exists, and that to do otherwise invites murder or death.

Some four or five years later, around 9:36 Dragon, the alienage's walls still haven't been fixed back from when the darkspawn destroyed them in 9:30 Dragon. When the elves asked their arl to build sturdier walls around the alienage, he ordered his soldiers to cut down the elves' Vhenadahl to put them in their place. Coran's new clan offered a sapling for a new Vhenadahl, but the arl confiscated it before it could reach the alienage.

Vaea mourns Coran after the attack on the Edgehall alienage

Coran and his clan visited the alienage, and proposed a peaceful demonstration of force to compel the Arl to return the sapling. Vaea, now a rebellious teenager, disagreed with the plan and instead encouraged the elves to take up arms against the arl. They refused, reminding her that many died, including her parents, the last time the elves took up arms against their arl. Vaea decided to act alone, sneaking into the arl's keep and successfully stealing the sapling. Upon leaving the town, however, she found the alienage in flames. Some of the alienage elves, supported by the Dalish - including Vaea's uncle - decided to heed Vaea's call and attack the arl's soldiers. The elven casualties were heavy, and the soldiers set fire to the cut down Vhenadahl. Coran was among the casualties.

A knight errant, Ser Aaron Hawthorne, happened to be in Edgehall at the time and managed to prevent further violence and negotiate for the return of the sapling. King Alistair later ordered the newly planted tree to be protected and has forbidden the arl to touch it.

The alienage elves threw a feast in Ser Aaron's honour, but he excused himself when he noticed that Vaea was not participating. Aaron offered that Vaea be his squire, to travel with him from town to town. She accepted, remarking that going town to town sounds good.

Involvement

The plot follows BioWare's own canon, meaning it may not follow some of the player's choices in the games.

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Dragon Age: Knight Errant

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This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age: Knight Errant.

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About seven years later, in 9:44 Dragon, Vaea—now a 21-year-old woman—is still travelling with Ser Aaron. They arrive in Kirkwall for the official coronation of Varric Tethras as Viscount. Varric invites Vaea to the celebration, but she politely refuses, saying that she has things to do first. A few hours later, Vaea goes to The Hanged Man, where she meets a templar, Nevin Faramore. Ser Nevin hires her to steal a box that contains the bribes some parties had given to Knight-Commander Meredith Stannard before the Kirkwall Rebellion. The coffer is hidden in the Gallows. The job is easy, and Vaea successfully steals the box from right under the city guard's noses.

Vaea stealing Nevin's key

Varric, who suspects she is doing something fishy, goes to search for her and insists on his invitation. This time, Vaea cannot refuse. After the celebration, Vaea sneaks into Ser Nevin's house and steals the coffer's key from him. Instead of returning the box to him, she travels to Kirkwall Alienage and gifts it to a grateful elven family. Before she leaves the alienage, however, Vaea is approached by Leliana's second-in-command Charter, who accuses her of theft.

Using this knowledge, Charter demands that Vaea rescue two Inquisition agents who have been taken prisoner in Starkhaven, warning her that they will be eliminated if they can't be rescued. Wary of becoming a pawn in someone else's fight, Vaea declines, stating that she does not choose where she goes, but instead she follows Ser Aaron. Charter answers that Aaron can be pointed towards Starkhaven. She also says she can help Vaea with Ser Nevin.

Upon arriving back in Ser Aaron's bedroom, she attempts to wake him up to make them leave the city, before he learns of the theft. While she struggles to wake the drunken knight, Ser Nevin enters, determined to pay her back for the theft. A fight ensues in which Nevin ends up hanging from a pole, about to drop to his death. Vaea takes pity on him and pulls him up. As soon as he is safe, she hits him over the head, knocking him out. Shortly after, Ser Aaron wakes up on his own, stating that they need to get ready to travel as he's received a birthday party invitation from Sebastian Vael, prince of Starkhaven. Vaea recognizes that Charter has outplayed her and forced her hand into accepting her offer.

Varric accompanies Vaea and Ser Aaron to Starkhaven. On the way, he reveals that he secured their invitations to Sebastian's birthday party, and that though he's not officially part of the Inquisition anymore, he doesn't turn his back on his friends. He also provides Vaea with a map of Sebastian's keep. Upon arriving in Starkhaven, Vaea is mistaken for a servant by Seneschal Granger, but graciously welcomed by Prince Sebastian himself. While Ser Aaron attends the feast with Varric, Vaea successfully jailbreaks the Inquisition agents, Marius and Tessa Forsythia. They tell her that their mission was to steal a notebook of study on red lyrium from Sebastian, and ask her to complete their mission for them, as the injuries they received upon their capture prevent them from doing so. Vaea initially refuses, but after overhearing Ser Aaron's unwitting defence of her thefts, changes her mind. After safely putting Marius and Tessa on a carriage back to Kirkwall, Vaea prepares to steal the journal.

As she re-enters the Keep, Vaea hears an alarm bell ringing, which she thinks will make her job of evading the guards much harder. However, she soon discovers that some of the palace guards have already been killed by Tevinter agents. She slowly makes her way to Sebastian's bedchambers, where the journal is kept but although she reaches Sebastian's chambers and successfully steals the journal, she is caught right by Seneschal Granger. Before Granger can lead her to the cells, Ser Aaron knocks him out but demands explanations from her at sword point. However, Ser Aaron does not ask about her thefts, something he confess he was aware of all along, and also approved of, but about the fact that she is stealing from a good ruler like Sebastian. Aaron is happy to learn of Vaea's involvement with the Inquisition's cause.

Vaea takes out Cedric

Before Vaea can finish explaining herself, Cedric Marquette and a group of Tevinters interrupt their conversation. Ser Aaron orders Vaea to run with the journal and start a new life for herself, while he takes care of the Tevinters on his own. Vaea is chased by Cedric, who wants the journal, but is able to incapacitate him. With him unconscious, Vaea is able to blame him for the heist while pretending the stolen journal was purloined by one of Marquette's soldiers.

While Granger remains suspicious, Sebastian is quite taken by her exploits and believes her story over Granger's objections. Vaea and Ser Aaron quickly leave Sebastian's palace before Marquette can wake up; Ser Aaron vowing to follow the journal's thief wherever they may lead. Ser Aaron remarks to Vaea that they will have to return the journal once they are done with it. Before they leave, Vaea gives Granger's pin to the elven child he had threatened to throw out of the alienage earlier, telling him of a fence in Kirkwall that would gladly buy the pin without asking questions.

While leaving Starkhaven, Vaea reads the journal and discovers that some red lyrium may already be in the possession of the Tevinters. She agrees to go there to help the Inquisition with this matter. Ser Aaron intends to follow her as well, given his earlier promise to follow the journal's thief. As they depart, Vaea takes Ser Aaron's wine and throws it away, saying that his days as a drunk are over. The both of them then agree to help each other in their new adventure in Tevinter.

Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights

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This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights.

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Herold Had the Plan

Vaea and Ser Aaron are in a tavern near Starkhaven when Bharv gives her the amulet he stole from the Grand Tourney. She tells him that Herold contacted her when one of his jobs turned into a charity run. After seeing the devastation left by the invading Qunari in the north, he asked Vaea to bring a healing amulet north with her to Tevinter. Before Vaea and Bharv part ways, they toast to Herold's memory.

Dragon Age: Deception

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This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age: Knight Errant.

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Vaea and Ser Aaron have tracked the red lyrium to Magister Qintara's estate. Aaron recruits Olivia Pryde and Calix to retrieve the Qintara Estate floor-plans from the Ventus Vaults, using their disguises as "Magister Aramis" and Calix "Qintara."

When Ser Aaron orders a mug of ale from the tavern the four hold up in, Vaea picks up that he and Olivia have a past, saying he hadn't touched a drink until she showed up. Aaron hints that she was a past love, while Vaea takes his ale for herself to keep him from drinking.

Calix and Olivia are able to retrieve the floor plans and return to Ser Aaron and Vaea. Things take a turn for the worse when Ser Aaron notices that Olivia has taken Calix to bed, which prompts him to resume drinking. Vaea escorts him away from the patrons he was harassing and reminds him that he promised he would stop for her, to which Aaron says that maybe she's not a strong enough inspiration.

With a rift drawn between the two, the next morning Vaea suggests the four put their interpersonal problems aside to focus on the task at hand, while remaining coldly distant from Ser Aaron.

Vaea demands answers from the elven spy

Vaea has no trouble jumping from one building into another to enter the Qintara estate, then lets the rest of the party in. She instructs them to stay out of her way and guard the exit while she retrieves the red lyrium they're after. However, she comes to discover that it is already gone. Returning to find that the rest discovered Magister Qintara has in reality been dead for years, and instead an elven spy has been pretending to be him, Vaea holds her dagger to his throat demanding answers. The elf tells them that the red lyrium they possessed was actually a weapon imbued it, that it was traded away for information, and that it's now located at Castellum Tenebris, the impenetrable fortress of House Danarius.

When an army of Qunari break into the estate, Calix suggests they flee, and Olivia volunteers to act as a distraction for the rest to escape by pretending to be Magister Qintara. Vaea and the others successfully make it out of the estate and city, where on the outskirts Vaea consoles Aaron over Olivia's sacrifice. Aaron then apologizes to Vaea for what he said earlier, and Vaea tells him that people can change. Ser Aaron tells her that she never ceases to amaze him, to which Vaea remarks that she's "inspirational like that."

Dragon Age: Blue Wraith

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This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age: Knight Errant.

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In their mission to find Castellum Tenebris and the red-lyrium weapon, Vaea, Ser Aaron, Marius, and Tessa attack the Qunari pursuing Cedric Marquette, fleeing from Carastes with an artifact he was hired to recover by Magister Danarius. After Francesca Invidus kills the remaining half-dozen Qunari with a single spell, Ser Aaron starts telling one of his stories, but is interrupted by Vaea. When Ser Aaron replies that he thought Vaea liked his stories, she apologises and asks him to go on, but he says that the moment is lost.

When Francesca leaves the group for Fort Viridan, Vaea chooses to follow her, arguing that she shouldn't be left alone, and that they might need her firepower to infiltrate the fortress. Ser Aaron tells her to take Autumn, whose tracking abilities she'll need to rejoin the main group once they've followed Marquette's caravan to Tenebris. While Calix initially protests, saying that Olivia's dying wish was for Autumn to keep Calix safe, he eventually relents.

Vaea and Autumn catch up with Francesca just outside Fort Viridan. Though Francesca initially dismisses their offer of company, the discovery that her father has been abducted by the Blue Wraith makes her reconsider. She asks for help in tracking her father, which Vaea readily provides, saying that she knows what losing family is like. More than Autumn's tracking abilities, Francesca believes that having an elf at her side might help when talking with the Blue Wraith. Vaea concurs, and asks that she be the one to do the talking, as she and the Blue Wraith have a mutual friend. As they notice the corpse of a man with a gaping hole in its chest, the Blue Wraith appears, telling them it was a mistake to come.

Vaea stops the fight between Fenris and Francesca

Vaea physically interrupts the fight between Fenris and Francesca, and convinces him that they only came to talk. He tells them that he’s not the one who took Magister Invidus, but that he’s tracking the man who did. Vaea offers Autumn’s tracking skills in exchange for a guarantee of safety for Francesca’s father, but Fenris refuses, saying that he no longer has teammates, that people only use you for as long as they need your power.

As Autumn tracks Fenris to Magister Nenealeus’ estate, Francesca tells Vaea that Fenris is right and that she suspects Vaea is only helping so that she’ll join their group in return. Vaea denies this, saying that her experience with Ser Aaron has been very different, and that while they've had their problems, it doesn't mean that she'll leave him.

At the estate, Vaea convinces Fenris to investigate before attacking. They find that the Qunari, led by a Viddasala, have taken the estate, and are interrogating Nenealeus' elven slaves as to his motives and whereabouts. When the slave reveals that the magister has gone to retrieve a sarcophagus that infuses elves with lyrium, Fenris angrily attacks the Qunari, saying that the sarcophagus was broken beyond repair. Fenris and Francesca kill most of them; Vaea only disables her oppenents. She tries to comfort Fenris after the Viddasala escapes, but he lashes out when she touches his shoulder. He quickly apologizes, explaining that his markings sometimes cause pain. They learn of Nenealeus' whereabouts from one of his surviving slaves, and arrive just in time to help Ser Aaron's group in their fight against more Qunari and unstable test subjects.

Vaea comforts Francesca

Vaea follows Francesca and Fenris as they chase the caravan to rescue her father. She tries to reason with him when he attacks Francesca for interfering, but he calls her a knife-ears and blasts her off her feet. Francesca is eventually forced to kill her father to protect Fenris. Vaea comforts Francesca in her grief. After the battle, Ser Aaron tells her that he had faith she would bring Francesca back and she replies that it's good to know, as they are a team and she'll deal with anything he has to deal with. As Fenris leads them towards Tenebris, Ser Aaron starts telling a tale of a time he spent in the Dales traveling with a group of elves who had dreams of restarting the Emerald Knights. He stops to asks Vaea if he's already told her that story. She replies that he has, but that it's a good one he should share with the others.

Trivia

• Varric's nickname for Vaea is "Fingers".
• Vaea prefers to use non-violent means to accomplish her goals. While she's participated in several fights, she hasn't killed anyone directly.
• Vaea’s horse is a Dalish All-Bred named Da’len. He was a gift from a Dalish clan. She doesn’t know the meaning of “da’len”, but as that is what her uncle called her, she thought it would make a good name for a horse.

Gallery

Vaea on the cover of Knight Errant #2

Vaea in Heroes of Dragon Age

Artwork of Vaea's tier progression in Heroes of Dragon Age

Vaea in Dragon Age: Knight Errant #5