Canicus Callixtus

Canicus Callixtus

STAND YOUR GROUND, THE DAWN WILL COME

Canicus was born a slave in 9:22 Dragon, in the Imperium city of Perivantium on the borders of The Hundred Pillars. He and his parents were owned by a cruel man, a mage named Alcimus who was of no small regard and owner of a large vineyard. They, and many others, were tasked to care for the vineyard, to be certain it produced quality and profit.

It was a life of hard labor, shackled in lines as they worked in rows to ensure none would attempt escape. When vines withered and wine soured, the slaves who worked the fields all felt it with switch and whip, or worse. Still, to other slaves on the estate, they were lucky: they were out of the master’s sight, and could often avoid his ire. Such luck did not always hold, however. At the age of seven, while attempting to shield himself from the whip of an overseer, he accidentally lit the man on fire. Magic had manifested in a slave, and everything changed.

Alcimus was intrigued by the idea of a pet mage to act as his hand in the shadows, and brought Canicus into his home, forbidding him contact with his family. There, he was given new chores: stoking fires, cooking meals, emptying chamber pots and scouring dishes. And, most importantly, he was to be given lessons – his Master personally saw to teaching him to read, to write, and to control his magic.

It was no luxury – the lash was replaced by ice and fire, and Alcimus demanded excellence. Canicus learned quickly that there were no second chances, and threw himself into his studies due to both actual interest, and keeping his head off the proverbial block. Under his Master’s tutelage, Canicus’s magic developed substantially, trained as much as a servant as an assassin.

He was 9 when he witnessed his first blood sacrifice; Alcimus was ever trying to elevate his status in the Imperium’s aristocracy, seeking a seat in the Magisterium relentlessly by eliminating competitors and other house’s heirs. This meant power, and it was his slaves that provided the blood to gain it. This first sacrifice was a young girl, not much older than Canicus, whom he had befriended over his time in the household. She begged him to save her life. Alcimus found it amusing, and when he could afford to, intentionally sacrificed those closest to his pet mage whenever he was present. It alienated Canicus dramatically, and he couldn’t blame anyone.

From that point forward, blood magic worked its way into Canicus’s studies. While he was forbidden to use it, he was to learn it’s secrets and delve into research to find new ways to exploit it, and in his solitude he was able to dedicate hours upon hours to his study. Such was his life for many years forth: suffering abuses, losing those he loved to sacrifice, and learning. Always learning.

This cycle came to an end when Alcimus was ready to hatch his master plan to claim his seat, and intended to do so with the help of his now 17-year-old slave-mage. The ban of him using blood magic was lifted, and Alcimus called him to his side where he was building his magic in preparation for a grand gala they were both to attend, where he planned to make his move. Canicus was horrified when he entered the sacrifice chamber; he had seen such revulsions before, but the amount of bodies shocked him to the bone. Alcimus demanded he make demonstration of his own skills, the fruits of his labor, so that he could see them and be judged accordingly. To test him, he had arranged for a special sacrifice.

Canicus’s parents were brought forward, whom he had only seen passing glimpses of for nearly 10 years, as the people whose blood he would use to prove himself. For the first time in his life, he outright refused his Master.

The beating for each refusal was severe, and the demand remained. Eventually, Alcimus threatened that if he did not make some use of them, he would simply kill them because he could. Canicus was never given a chance to answer before their throats were slit. Enraged, the slave whose obedience had never been questioned, lashed out at his Master. Using the blood of his parents in his fury, he demonstrated the full force of his learning by tearing Alcimus in two. When the deed was done and his blood cooled, he was resigned to his own death.

Yet, it never came. Alcimus’s wife, Carina, who hated her husband about as much as their slaves, was quite pleased to find her husband murdered and held no ill will towards his killer. In fact, she rewarded him with a set of fine clothes for the occurrence. However, it would not do to keep Alcimus’s murderer in her household – too much potential for scandal, you see – and began making the arrangements to sell Canicus in the market. Certainly a trained slave-mage would fetch a high price.

Canicus’s luck held, however, and an associate of Alcimus who had become familiar with the young man over the years was the first to make an offer. Iduma was a relatively kind man, an anomaly of a Magister, and was interested in what Canicus had learned over the years. Having borne no real love for Alcimus, he was pleased to take the boy under his wing.

Unlike his former master, however, Iduma strongly believed training of a more formal nature would benefit his new slave more than private tutelage. After all, he was a busy politician and often didn’t have the time. Thus, after many strings has been pulled, Canicus was sent to the circle in Carastes where he lived and trained for a further nine years. Iduma would pay regular visits to check on the boy’s progress, and over that time developed a certain fondness for him. Canicus, for the first time, found worth in his life.

But Iduma was not without his own ambitions. After the events of the Exalted Council, the downsizing of the Inquisition in 9:44 Dragon, and the resurgence of the Qunari attacks on the Imperium, the Magister saw a grand opportunity to further his influence by gathering information on the southern countries who yet refused help. With enough intelligence gathered, surely the Imperium would be able to force their hand to join the war.

And so, he recalled his mage home from the circle, where he appraised him of his plan. As an established Magister, he couldn’t see to such infiltrations himself. However, an elf of meager standing, one who could blend in as well as Canicus had learned to to avoid his former Master, would be ideal. Naturally the young man was both afraid and aghast to be trusted with such a task, and to be sent unaccompanied from the country he’d never left. Iduma was insistent, and as an act of goodwill – and perhaps to subtly form a debt Canicus could never repay – he offered to free him.

It took a month or two for the legal proceedings, but on his 26th birthday, Canicus was officially freed. He has joined the ranks of the Liberati, the freed slaves, and while restrictions remained, he was the master of his own life for the very first time. Eager to repay the man who had given him this invaluable gift, he agreed readily to the task. Iduma spent another few months briefing his former slave on the ways of the world beyond the Imperium. When it was time, he gave him funds enough for travel, supplied him for the journey, and presented him with a new staff.

And so, Canicus set off to Orlais to begin his task.


The first year of his travels has proven the most difficult. While he’d studied the cultures of the other nations of Thedas, experiencing them firsthand was something he could never have hoped to prepare for. From the food, to the fashion, to the people, the culture shock was immense and he was unable to accomplish much of his task at all.

Now into the second, he’s become more adjusted – immersion is the quickest way to learn, as they say – and has been able to gather interesting pieces of information to send home to Iduma in coded messages, simply by overhearing the talk of nobles and soldiers. Even in these lands, an elf was invisible to the eyes of others.

He has also slowly begun learning what it means to truly be free, something far more difficult than any mission. While he has accepted he will always bear the scars of his past, he has gradually begun to look towards the future, and what this wide world may hold for him. However, this thinking may not be entirely a good thing.


As he’s learned and experienced other parts of Thedas, engrossed himself in the cultures and integrated himself with the people, he has begun to question the morals and beliefs he had once staunchly believed in. He’s noticed he’s occasionally excluded some bits and pieces from his reports, leaving out important details and even wording things to protect the people he was spying on. He has caught himself wondering if threats of war and violence against these people is truly the right way, if the Tevinter he knew was as flawless as he had always been taught to believe.

Questioning these beliefs has both led to a great deal of internal turmoil. He knows he walks a dangerous path and that his debts must be paid, lest it cost him his life.

Yet the freedom to think for himself, beyond what he has been taught, has also been liberating. While his loyalties will always lie with his country, he finds himself constantly at struggle between what is right and wrong. Eventually, he hopes to make that decision, but for himself, not for a Magister or a Master.

danila kovalev as Canicus Callixtus