Vincent Calix

vincent calix

STAND YOUR GROUND, THE DAWN WILL COME

TRIGGER WARNING FOR ABUSE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT

Marawen Fenena had been a hunter for her clan. A sprightly young elf with curly black hair and a lot of ambition, she'd often dreamed of reclaiming the Dales, seeing her people rebuilding together and returning to their rightful glory, much like any other Dalish. Her clan was doing well, despite the fact they had no true home, and their keeper and their first were in good health. By all accounts, their clan should've survived for at least the next century with how they were doing... but they didn't.

The clan was ambushed, one night. Slavers had thought them an easy target, and although the Dalish did give them a run for their money, in the end, the clan was defeated. Half of them were killed in the fight. The survivors were shipped off to the Tevinter Imperium to be sold on the slave market, Marawen among them.

The young elven woman was bought by a magister, and for the rest of her life, she became little more than a display piece. A wild heathen from the south, they called her. Something that they took quite a delight in 'taming'. It wasn't just the magister that raped her; his two sons did as well, and the occasional partygoer would get handsy from time to time. Marawen eventually stopped trying to fight back, accepting her fate. The assaults slowed, after a while, when new slaves were brought in, but they still occurred on an infrequent basis. They certainly didn't stop, however, even after she found herself pregnant with a half-blooded child. Her spirit was broken, at that point, and she desperately hoped that her child would not be forced into the same place she had been.

When he was born, Vincent was given two names. Calix, from the magister who claimed him as a slave and therefore had sovereignty over him, and Vhen, from his mother. The second name was used only when the two were alone, and even then, it was more of a pet name. The young Calix was used as an errand boy by the masters of the house, someone to run to and fro delivering messages or crawling into tight spaces to clean. The only time he was free in any sense of the word was at night, when the magister and his sons were usually asleep, and therefore, the slaves could speak freely. There were a small amount of them that actually worked within the home, most of them elves. Marawen, his mother, taught both him and the others of her clan and culture, though a few of the former city elves mocked her for preaching. Calix was enraptured by the stories his mother told, and always begged her for more. She taught her son songs, prayers to the elven gods... anything she could. For a while, despite their dismal life, there was a light that they found in each other. Up until Calix turned fourteen, in any case.

The magister died on his birthday. His eldest son became the master of the estate, and when he did, he decided to sell some of his slaves. Calix was among those he decided to be rid of. Marawen was not. They weren't able to properly say goodbye to each other, only managing a short-lived hug before he was dragged away to the market. His next master, stationed in Minrathous, was a disgusting woman; an altus, rather than a magister, but disgusting nonetheless. All of the slaves in her estate were boys close to or around Calix's age, and she insisted on treating them all like pets. She renamed them, all of them, the moment she purchased them. She called him 'Vincent'. He didn't mind the name, honestly, it reminded him of the one his mother used for him, but the woman who gave it to him? He hated her with a passion.

Olivia, the altus woman, would smack the slaves with her staff if they so much as moved a hair without her say-so, and often demanded that they entertain her. Said entertainment could range from singing to... 'pleasing' her. Vincent was usually called upon for the singing, due to his soothing voice, but he was sadly not exempt from the alternatives in any way. Two years under her heel, and he finally snapped. He killed Olivia in her sleep, after she'd called upon him in the night, and ran. A few of the other boys followed him, and they hid. They had nowhere to go, no money to travel, so they were forced to stay in Minrathous as a tightly nit group. They became very similar to a gang, over a few months, stealing what they could and bullying the non-mage citizens for what they couldn't. Vincent doesn't see it as a proud moment in his history.

Their luck took a turn, one day. Vincent was caught pickpocketing, but the woman he'd tried to steal from didn't call for the authorities. She smiled slyly at him and offered to train him. To this day, he still doesn't know why he accepted it. All but one of Vincent's group were too afraid to follow the rogue they'd met, and even then, he'd been an urchin they'd taken in a month back. He hadn't been subject to Olivia.

The rogue, who simply said that her name was Opal when pressed, brought them to her own group. They were a small bunch of mercenaries, who took any job they could and traveled around Thedas. Vincent and the urchin were soon assimilated into the group, with Vincent being taken under Opal and her lover Judith's wing to be trained in the art of being a rogue and the other boy, who showed a talent for magic, beginning to learn under the group's token mage. For a while, he was content. He was free, although a convict, learning to defend himself, and among friends... but it hit him, one day, when Judith asked him about his necklace after training. His mother was still a slave.

He begged his newfound friends to help him release her, but they refused. They couldn't, and wouldn't, take on a magister and his entire household just to free a single elven woman. The seventeen year old Vincent, furious and determined, decided he'd try to get her on his own. Opal caught him sneaking away from camp and stopped him, sitting him down to talk him out of going. It took until sunrise before she managed to get him to give it up, although she kept a close eye on him afterwards, and decided that the group should leave Tevinter to spare the boy death. Vincent never quite forgave her for that, even though he now understands how dangerous his idea of liberating his mother all by himself actually was. If she was even still alive, that is. They arrived in Orlais just as the breach occurred, and the group decided they would aid the Inquisition. More to save their own hides than anything. The most Vincent saw of the Inquisition itself were the army and a few scouts, who gave them their jobs and payment. When the breach was closed and Corypheus killed, the company returned to their own interests.

He stayed with the small mercenary company for years after that, becoming an adept rogue and tempest. He could've stayed with them forever, if he's honest with himself. He saw them as a family. However, when he turned twenty-two, things finally, and inevitably, went south. Opal died when they were clearing out a wyvern nest. Two more of the company, including the urchin boy, fell when the group went on to battle demons. With three of their number gone, they were down to four. Judith left one night after saying her goodbyes to Vincent. The other two ditched him while they were wandering the Hinterlands. For the first time, he was alone.

And he still is. Nowadays, he's more of an adventurer than anything, though he still hires himself out as a bodyguard or fighter. He's decided that he hates being alone... but he doesn't know who to turn to, either.


- His mother gave him an amulet when he was born, and to this day it is his most prized possession. It's a simple design; a small piece of wood engraved with a dancing halla with the rest of the necklace bearing small beads to represent elven gods. It's the only thing he has of his mothers', and if he ever lost it... well. He tries not to think about that.

- Vincent knows a little elvish thanks to his mother. It's not enough to hold a conversation, but he does know a few words.

- Upon becoming 'free' by killing Olivia (and managing to get off free only because the boys that didn't run away didn't rat him out), he decided to combine the names he was given to form the one he uses today. Vhen is still a name he reserves only for his mother... though he's not certain if she's still alive.

- One day, Vincent wants to return to Tevinter and track down his mother. He just knows he can't do it alone.

- If you love living, for the love of the Maker, please do not call him 'pet' or any variation of the sort.

- He's a dual wielder. He named his daggers Halam, meaning 'the end' or 'finished', and Abelas, meaning 'sorrow'.

[b]GEORGE BLAGDEN[/b] as [i]vincent calix[/i]