History

9:18 Dragon

Born in Antiva to Roger & Anh, a quiet scholar couple, Celia spent the first years of her life beloved and treasured. No other family was known to her, only her parents, but that never caused a problem; the community around them provided. However, when  sudden sickness swept through their borough, both Anh and Roger succumbed despite their attempts to research a cure of some sort. Celia, only seven years old, was left to fend for herself, the 'friends' of her family turning their back to focus on their own affairs.  

As she struggled to survive, scavenging and stealing, Celia would eventually find herself stealing from the wrong target - one who had come to her door in search of her parents and instead found a disheveled, angry child. Her technique was hardly expert, but the absence of his Tevinter made watch piqued Forrest Clarke's interest all the same. 

Inviting the young girl to return with him, Forrest promised a hot meal and a warm bed for the night at the least. Although Celia was skeptical, she agreed and gathered what few things she had - and a kitchen knife, should anything go wrong, hidden in her boot.

While Forrest did live up to his promise for the evening, taking Celia to the Clarke Estate and providing some respite from the cold, he also met with a handful of people whom Celia did not know - to be expected, she thought, given the distance from her home. After consuming her weight in rich foods - and suffering the consequences - she eventually went to a room Forrest had set aside for her and slept. 

The next morning found her awake before the sun had risen, uncertain but curious - creeping around the Estate, she found a number of documents that linked to the Antivan Crows and numerous weapons, left out as though the man who had taken her in felt no fear of their use against him. One item in particular, a gem-inlaid dagger that sparkled under the candlelight, drew her gaze - until Forrest emerged, accompanied by a man that she did not know herself, but knew of. 

The Crow looked her over, a thorough inspection before nodding to Forrest, handing him a bag of coin, and escorting Celia out.

9:30 Dragon

The following years were hard and cruel, performing as well as she could among the other Crow children, fighting for survival and prestige within the group. In the end, only she and a handful of others made it to their Proving... Leaving her the last standing in the aftermath. only twelve years old, drenched in the blood of those she had shared meals, stories, and time with, she was escorted out of the chaotic warehouse they had all lived, breathed, and died in. 

When brought to a chamber she did not recognize, Celia was met with a face that she did - Forrest Clarke, returning and reclaiming the girl. Although she no longer held any trust for the man, she followed him to the Estate and found herself boarded in a sparsely decorated room with a simple bed and little else. Once more he attempted to ply her with an abundance of rich foods, an arrangement unlike anything she had seen in the five years prior since he had sold her. She ate little before being sent back to the small room, informed that the 'real work' would begin the next day. 

9:32 Dragon

The years passed as she was subjected to extremes of all sorts, tested beyond the limits of a human body, and punished when failing to live up to the standards set. Although most of these trials were conducted by those other than Forrest, who favored fighting lessons over anything else, one particular session would leave its permanent mark on her.

 Set against a young man, sixteen years of age to her fourteen, the pair were instructed to kill the other using any means necessary. 

The boy performed admirably, throwing Celia continuously off balance and managing to get a nick in here and there; only when he had her cornered, knife raised to make the killing blow, that something unexpected happened - an invisible shield raised, catching the weapon and reverberating to send him flying back. That was the only opportunity she needed, and Celia rabidly threw herself at the boy, killing him in earnest.

When Forrest and the man she had seen several times over the years returned to find the mess, Forrest only nodded solemnly before departing once more, bringing Celia with him so she might clean up and recover. For a few days after she was left to her own devices, which she spent attempting to recreate the effect that had saved her life with little success. Although attempting to hide the burgeoning magic from her benefactor while still attempting to hone her abilities, it did not take long for Forrest to find out. 

She did not know what to expect when he left her in silence, closing and locking the door behind him, but it was still a surprise when, a few days later, two mages arrived to begin her tutelage. Her new abilities never seemed to be mentioned to the Crows who continued to test her under Forrest's gaze, and he discouraged their blatant use in these tests. 

As more time passed, Celia began to hear the whispers of demons on the other side of the veil, lured by copious amounts of bloodshed in the Clarke Estate, where she primarily resided. They whispered of the unfairness of her position; told her of unknown power, forbidden to all but the most talented of mages. Though she did not succumb to their pleas for a host, still she studied, consuming as much information on the forbidden practices of blood magic as she could. The knowledge was not put into use while she studied however, unable to bring herself to take the life force of a living thing through magical means. Magic was always a tool; something with which to augment her fights in her favor. Never was it the killing blow nor clear enough for those unversed in magic, leaving her with a growing kill count and numerous contracts completed.

9:35 Dragon

She continued training, as well largely taking care of a younger girl, Bridget, who came to the Clarke estate at only five years old. The young girl trained with Forrest and Celia both, and the two formed a sisterly bond as Celia attempted to shield the younger girl from Forrest's brutality.

9:42 Dragon

Ten years after the manifestation of her magic, as Celia grew tired of the every more pressing thumb of Forrest Clarke's, facing his manipulations with a boldness he frowned upon, the relationship came to a breaking point. The aftermath left Forrest's body, drained of blood that now splattered across the walls, upon the floor of his Estate, dead.

As well as Celia knew of the Crow's lack of care for the murder of those within or around the organization, still she fled, bringing only three things with her: the ruby inlaid dagger, the Tevinter-made watch, and a picture drawn by Bridget with splatters of blood staining the edges.

9:43 Dragon

Although she initially sought refuge in Kirkwall, the aftermath of the chantry's destruction proved too chaotic for her to remain, and she would eventually turn to the Free Marches, traveling on her own with the few possessions she had gathered since fleeing. 

Within ten years of her departure, Celia had found and deposed a "Mercenary" War Lord, taking his people under her own guidance under her middle name, 'Linh'. Although she was not as bloodthirsty as the previous Leader, still she pursued private contracts, found through whispers between villages and hamlets alike. Those who disobeyed her strict rules on extortion and terror across the Free Marches were punished thoroughly and publicly, for all to see. Many did not survive this brutal crackdown, but it kept the rest in line, and that was good enough. 

9:52 Dragon

As Varric and Harding traversed Northern Thedas, they came across the mercenary band who fought a small swarm of darkspawn; aiding the mercenaries, the pair met Celia formally after the skirmish, who thanked them for the assistance and offered her own in return should they need it. 

This debt would be paid when Harding suggested the mercenary group to Rook as potential allies.

Personal Quest

After forming a strong enough relationship with Rook, Celia seeks them out to discuss a problem: a number of her people had been found dead, left to rot in the center of the abandoned village they use as a headquarters. Rook can accompany Celia to the Free Marches to look into the deaths. While there, they come across yet another recently deceased, with the members of the group milling about in horror. The bodies were seemingly dragged from their various rooms or positions prior to their assassination, left as a message. Something Celia was far too familiar with. 

Further investigations of the murder sites reveals but one clue - a small note, which Celia finds in the most recenly deceased's room, and does not show Rook. 

After making some reinforcements to the village's defenses, Celia will ask if Rook is ready to return to the Lighthouse. 

In Act II, following the siege of Weisshaupt, if Rook has a high enough bond with her, they can Find Celia in her room, looking at the note they had found, sitting at her desk. Too lost in thought, she does not notice Rook's arrival until it is too late to hide the writing - 

Missing You
-B

when asked, Celia will confess that she knows who is responsible for the death of her crew. It takes some prying before Celia divulges any more information, but a strong bonded or romanced character can find a softness in the way she looks at the note and inquire further. Celia finally admits that the person responsible is her Sister, whom she abandoned with the Crows while fleeing for her own safety. She expresses regret and a haunting from this decision despite the increasing abuse she had faced after Bridget's introduction to the Clarke Estate.

Rook's reaction to this information will affect the final decisions Celia can make in this quest.

After defeating the Blight Dragons, Celia will seek out Rook and inform them she has been given a message, written in a different hand than the previous note. It compels her to meet at a location outside Treviso, which she had avoided up until the first attack of Blighted dragons on both there and Minrathous. Though she is skeptical, Celia asks Rook to accompany her for support both emotional and physical, should it be a trap.

Of course, it is a trap, but it is one sprung by both Bridget and a man whom Celia recognizes with horror. She gives no explanation before the fight breaks out, only informing Rook that the man must die.

Although the group survives, having fought off numerous soldiers who had come with the antagonists, it takes only a cut to the cheek for the man to back away, disappearing with a flash of smoke and abandoning his partner to her fate.

Triggering a second fight, the group must take down Bridget - but Celia will intervene before they can kill her. She tells Rook to return to the Lighthouse; that she will meet them back there shortly, and is left alone with Bridget. She will be unavailable until Rook completes at least two journal entries.

Celia's return is unannounced, but she can be found in her room at the desk once more. This time, rather than a vague note set before her, Celia regards three items: a photo that appears to have been drawn by a child, tattered and torn with time, the bloodstains long having crumbled away; a dagger with a gem inlaid in the hilt; and a cracked watch that faded symbols indicate was made in Tevinter. She is not so lost in thought this time, looking up on Rook's entrance. Here Celia will admit to having been raised adjacent to the Crows for quite a while; her explanation is still sparse, but she is more forthcoming than she had been for most of her time at the Lighthouse. She does not apologize for the omission.

Class

Class: Rogue - Mage
Subclass: Duelist - Blood Mage

Abilities: 

Stealth
Dirty Fighting
Deadly Strike
Murder of Crows
A Thousand Cuts
Explosive Daggers
Arcane Shield
Flame Blast
Flaming Weapons
Blood Wound
Blood Control (Rarely Used)