ALANA SNOWBORN

ALANA SNOWBORN

STAND YOUR GROUND, THE DAWN WILL COME

The night was was getting later, and the sky was clouded. Snow drifted toward the ground in near blizzard amounts. Redcliffe was covered in a thick layer of snow already, and now they were in the process of being coated by a fresh layer of powder. Winter was here.

The sound of screaming was coming from a small home within the walls of Redcliffe, but no one was rushing to the aid of the woman, besides her midwife.The woman on the bed was young, barely twenty. There was no man near her to care for her. There was no man in the house. She lived with her own mother, an elderly, frail woman. The young woman on the bed screamed again, and pushed with all of her might. Shortly after, the screams of an infant filled the air instead.

The early years of Alana's childhood were spent with her mother and grandmother. Alana doesn't remember either of them well. Alana's grandmother died when Alana was four, and soon after Alana's mother decided that they needed to leave Redcliffe for a new start.

It was settled. They would go to Denerim. Alana's mother spent some time getting things together, and settling everything she had left. Her mother didn't have many friends left in town, but a farmer offered to accompany her on her journey. He didn't want anything to happen to the young woman or her daughter.

On the way to Denerim, Alana's mother argued with the farmer on the route they should take. She wanted to go the quickest way, but he wanted to travel safely, even if it took a few more days. Alana's mother finally gave up on trying to reason with him, and left camp early one morning while he was still asleep, taking Alana with her. Surely enough, her mother was ambushed. Her mother told Alana to run, when she realized what was happening. Alana did. On the way back she found the farmer, who had been looking for them. The five year old Alana did her best to tell him what had happened, and he told her to stay with the horses while he went to look for her mother. An hour later he returned, and not with good news.

Orphan Alana returned to Redcliffe with the farmer. As a stable and farm owner, the man saw this as an opportunity. He had a son near Alana's age already, but if he could have workers in his home then he would never have to pay for laborers, once they were old enough to work. His wife was happy to gain a daughter. Alana didn't quite understand what was happening, but she was more than happy to move in with the nice family that had pretty horses.

Alana grew up in Redcliffe on the farms, and she easily settled into her new family. She always thought of the boy as a brother, but as she became older she was not so sure that he felt the same. The farmer's wife passed when Alana was fifteen, of an unknown illness. The farmer was left with two children, but they had been pulling their own weight for quite some time by then.

After his wife passed away the farmer took his children to Denerim where he began working as the Royal Horsemaster. Now he's getting older and close to retiring, though his son may take over. Alana herself had originally considered training for the position and had been helping with his duties and learning everything she would need for the job.

When Alana was twenty, she decided to travel. More for the purpose of killing Bandits than seeing sights, but why question her motives? In five years, she saw much of Ferelden. Her fighting skills improved quickly, she had no other choice. She luckily never wound up with any nasty injuries, although she's not quite sure how. She was stabbed here and there, but she's still alive, so she can't complain. Her body is covered in scars, but she wears them proudly.

She returned to Redcliffe three years later and participated in a tourney. Alana didn't manage to win, but she did well for herself considering the lack of formal training. This garnered her some attention. Soon after she was approached by a a recruiter for the Grey Wardens, and she was ultimately persuaded to sign on.


Standing at 5'6", Alana is athletic with plenty of muscle from her sword, shield, and heavy armour. She has blonde hair that reaches just past her shoulders and blue eyes. Her hair is usually pulled up out of the way, and she is rarely found out of armour. She is marked with various scars, most of which have fun stories behind them.

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Getting to know Alana can be tricky. She doesn't make friends easily, but it's not her fault. She usually rubs people wrong, or disagrees with something they believe in. She's almost awkward when it comes time to put the sword down and make allies. She can talk to people jut fine, but they can only get o close before she begins to get a little uncomfortable. Alana usually just goes with the flow, but she realizes that people are not dependable. She never relies on anyone to have her back, even though she would always have theirs.

She doesn't like to talk about herself, and is known to deflect personal questions with humor. When she's uncomfortable, or just feeling full of herself, she will rely on her wit. Alana is often making snarky comments, and she is more than fluent in sarcasm. She can be surprisingly persuasive, and occasionally she is a good motivational speaker, but she can't stand all eyes on her. She would rather sit in the corner and make everyone laugh at the person up front than be that person up front.

She is a focused warrior who, unsurprisingly, frequently uses taunts during battle. She has a lot of pride, and it can easily be wounded. She never reacts well to ego damage. Alana is very competitive, and takes "I bet you can't" very seriously. If you ever suggest you're better than she is at something then you had better be ready to back up your claim. Unless of course Alana genuinely is bad at it, or she has never attempted it before. She is realistic, after all.

Alana is a fiercely loyal to those she feels she owes allegiance to, for whatever reason. She tries to stay neutral if things don't involve her, but sometimes people she cares about force her to chose a side. She would knowingly stand on the wrong side with a friend, but she would try to talk sense into her friend. She is realistic, remember?

Alana believes firmly in justice, and tries to always be just and fair herself. She does her best to see that the weak are protected, and that the poor can get by. Alana will defend anyone who needs a protector, and will always do her best to protect n innocent. Steal from the rich, and give to the poor? Alana would be all for it if she was a thief. Instead she gives away the things that she does not need, knowing that she is helping someone who genuinely needed the money. Alana does her best to help people, and can't say no to people who need her.

Alana's true passion is in animals. She is not a hunter for this reason. She enjoys spending time among animals, particularly horses and dogs. She will only kill an animal if she is directly attacked, and even then she feels a great deal of remorse over what she has done. She would rather kill humans.

Alana has no interest in politics, and feels no want for power. She is a simple woman, who enjoys having a laid back lifestyle. As laid back as possible, at least. She doesn't trust the "silver tongued", and is constantly on guard when being "propositioned".

Alana is a very determined person, to and well past the point of stubborn. This can get her into trouble from time to time, but she isn't afraid to deal with consequences. She always tries to do the right thing, even if people get in her way. She doesn't mind making a few, or more, enemies here and there.

Unless she's training or working (but she's nearly always working), it isn't uncommon to find her alone. She spends a lot of time with her horse and hound, and she spends a lot of time thinking on her own. She welcomes company, but never actively seeks it out. Not unless she genuinely feels comfortable with someone. Alana spends a lot of time taking care of her things. She prefers to fix things when they're broken to buying new things, however she tries to keep her things in good shape so they don't break at all.

Her father is an Avaar chieftain, but she's never met him. Nor has she ever made any effort to do so.

Lana has a wolf (Lyr), an Imperial Warmblood (Dareon), and a golden eagle (Miro). She wants a Mabari and more horses... and more pets...

[b]KATHERYN WINNICK[/b] as [i]alana snowborn[/i]