andrastian

OUT of CHARACTER
Name: Sar
Other characters:Joly(Les Miserables), District 12 Tribute

IN CHARACTER
Name: Prince Sebastian Vael of Starkhaven
Alias: "Choir Boy"
Fandom: Dragon Age
Canon point/AU: Post attempted Annexation of Kirkwall

Journal: andrastian
PB: I will be using icons made from in game screencaps
Age: 31
History: History: http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Sebastian_Vael

A Note on Game “World-State”:

The above link provides a good overview of Sebastian, with some information left up to the player’s personal choice. Here is a list of the PC decisions made during Dragon Age 2 and Dragon Age Inquisition as they affect Sebastian, and the world that he comes from.

Dragon Age 2:

The Hawke of Sebastian’s world, affectionately known to the mundane as Erec the Self Hating Mage, acted as his “rival” (meaning he encouraged him to return to Starkhaven instead of staying with the chantry). Hawke also romanced Anders, allowed him to live, and sided with the mages, presenting the major impetus needed for Sebastian to make his decision between Starkhaven and the chantry, returning home to claim his rightful throne and to bring the world to the justice that he felt was his due.

Dragon Age Inquisition:

In terms of the decisions regarding Sebastian in Inquisition, Sebastian became an ally to the Inquisition at first. This seems, naturally, to have ended when Inquisitor Ras Adaar, a Qunari mage, chose to support Knight Captain Aveline instead of Sebastian during his attempted annexation of Kirkwall. Thus beaten, Sebastian slunk away home, rather disheartened, and realizing the bad decision he had made in the attempt. He’ll be pulled into Panem on his trip home to Starkhaven following his disgrace, while the Inquisition is still an ongoing event and effort for him.

Please also note that events that refer to Sebastian's time in Starkhaven following his journey to claim the throne are drawn from extensive roleplaying of the character over the past several years, and serve as headcanons from which I draw more information, rather than hard facts. Sebastian's personal guard, for instance, are a group who I have headcanoned for several years now, though Annexation of Kirkwall information is,naturally, quite new. I have also extrapolated upon his feelings and motivations based on things alluded to in the games, but not touched upon in a great deal of detail.



Presentation: On the surface, Sebastian Vael is a fairly attractive nobleman with dark auburn hair, blue eyes and a fantastic, rather Scottish sounding accent. Sebastian’s also a ruling prince, and makes no work of hiding the fact, something that may actually work to his advantage as a Tribute to Get To Know. On the surface, to those who do not know Sebastian, or know OF him, this makes him look like a fantastic social prospect.

However, those things are not exactly part and partial to the public Sebastian Vael at all, and, for the most part, are not even entirely true. Yes, he is a prince, and yes, his accent is genuine , and certainly his looks are real, but he’s not exactly one for wild nights on the town anymore, and prefers to avoid the sort of situations that will end in sex if he can possibly help them.

Just because he’s left the Chantry does not mean he’s left Andrastianism behind him entirely, and he does intend, this time around, to save that for a serious relationship if he can at all help it. Sebastian’s not at all shy about making that fact perfectly clear, thank you very much. He’s also not shy about his love for Andraste, and is certainly willing to go on about his faith, in depth, if someone doesn't stop him.

Also of importance to note is Sebastian’s general awkwardness around pick-up lines and innuendos. Having spent the better portion of his late teens and twenties in his world’s version of a nunnery, he’s genuinely learned to ignore accidentally suggestive phrasings, or, even when he recognizes one, to try and stay polite as much as possible. Sebastian is no blushing virgin, but he IS a man who has learned that there are higher callings in life, and ways to treat himself, and others with more respect than he did in his wild younger days, and, coupled with the fact that he’s hardly heard their like in the chantry, or among his men, who are still adjusting to him as prince (an adjustment obviously similar to having a new boss at work), he’s generally not been in an environment where coarser language and suggestions are made, and now tends to react with genuine embarrassment or shock, but not quite disapproval.

He does try to make it a point not to actively disapprove of people, but to quietly stare into the distance scratching his neck, or to gently suggest a newer, “worthier” topic of conversation. As a result, he does come off as a bit of a judgmental prude even while trying his best not to. When he has been back around rough language for a while, I have no doubt that Sebastian will fall back into a more relaxed state, perhaps even laughing at a clever comment, or making a few of his own, but those are at least a month down the line from the way that he presents just now.

Additionally, Sebastian will likely have gained a reputation from his time in Kirkwall, and due to his insistence on storming Kirkwall during the Inquisition in search of Anders. Before that, however, Sebastian gained a bit of a reputation as an indecisive waffler. After learning of the deaths of his parents and brothers in Kirkwall, Sebastian was left to make a big decision. As the rightful heir to Starkhaven’s throne, he could, of course, return home and assume leadership of his people. His other choice was to honor his vow to serve Andraste and the Maker, and to have no bride but Andraste for the rest of his life. He had not quite made his final, ultimate vows, so the option was left up to him. At first, sticking around made a great deal of sense. There was, after all, the matter of rooting out his family’s assassins, and then finding someone willing to dispatch them, and to find out who had paid them and demand an explanation. After all of this was accomplished, however, Sebastian still lingered between his choices, mulling over them for a good several (about 6-7 given the game’s rough timeline) years, and often talking himself both into, and out of, one path or another.

Even toward the end of his last year in Kirkwall, Sebastian still had a difficult time making his decision, preferring to leave things up in the air until Anders blew up the chantry, killing the woman Sebastian regarded as a mother, and several others in his chantry family. When Hawke chose not to execute Anders for this action, Sebastian’s decision was finally clear: Return to Starkhaven, raise an army and march on Kirkwall to demand justice for the wrongs that had been done.

Naturally, due to his indecision lasting years, those who knew of Sebastian at the time, or who were among Hawke’s companions in Thedas are likely to see him as immature and indecisive, and, especially as he’s only lately claimed the throne in Starkhaven, an untested leader of his people. He’s been working hard in his first few months as Prince to prove that he is anything but, and not a fool, but with very little precedent to disprove this so far, Sebastian does have his work cut out for him.


Motivations: Beneath the charming smile, and the attempts to make friends where he might, Sebastian has a few factors going on that certainly influence his motivations in Panem. While Sebastian is now Prince of Starkhaven, he’s spent a good half of his life as a brother in the Chantry. Andrastianism’s matriarchal nature (except in the Tevinter Empire, part of a great schism between the sects) means that he would have been equivalent to a sister in a religious order, a sort of male nun, in terms of chantry traditions and hierarchy. As a result of his time with the Chantry, Sebastian is dedicated to helping others where he might, in the service of Andraste and the Maker. Of particular interest to Sebastian is bolstering the faith of others, and attempting to help them through difficult times. Sebastian’s rather open nature means that he is likely to approach those who appear to be hurting, and to offer to help them.

Now, Sebastian’s version of helping people DOES involve a lot of prayer, but it is certainly not limited to that, by any means. He’s less interested in converting for its own sake, but in helping others to find the peace that he eventually did. While Sebastian does present as somewhat easily scandalized and shocked, this is also fairly far from the truth. He’s had a wild youth before his time in the chantry, which allows him to understand some types of behavior, which he would never dare judge, having been there himself.

An example of this can be seen in canon, throughout Sebastian’s relationship with the pirate Isabela. While Sebastian does often suggest that Isabela might be happier finding the Maker, he certainly does not disparage her activities, even if some of the things she says make him uncomfortable. He also does not push the topic of faith, only occasionally gently reminding her, and others, that he is there if they change their mind. Sebastian is also quick to point out that Fenris, ordered to kill by his former master, did not act out of his own free will, and he would defend that concept to the death. He’s not likely to judge anyone who kills him in the arena, seeing the system for what it is. He’s also likely to attempt to deal with his mixed emotions about taking lives in the arena by trying to add the same qualifications to himself. This, of course, will be much harder, as are most forms of Catholic Andrastian guilt.

There is, of course, a lot about Sebastian that is not quite so noble or pure and the biggest example of this can be seen through the character of Anders. While Sebastian knows that he is meant to forgive those who sin, and can, officially hear confessions and grant absolution, he also knows that he can never forgive Anders for his behavior in Kirkwall. In one last bid for the rights of mages everywhere, Anders elects to blow up Kirkwall’s chantry, while several members of the faith, including Grand Cleric Elthina, Sebastian’s beloved mentor and mother figure. Forgiving Anders for what he’s done has been in impossible for Sebastian in Thedas, to the point that he returned to Kirkwall with an army to annex Kirkwall, in revenge for Hawke’s allowing Anders his life. Sebastian feels that he will only get complete satisfaction once Anders is dead, and the thought has become something of an obsession for him.

In part, this obsession with revenge is what contributed to Sebastian’s choice to leave the chantry, and to resume his parents’ throne. Having realized that he had no place in the chantry when he cannot forgive a wrong, and noticing a pattern of events from the past in which his revenge seeking behavior reached similar critical points (the death of his family and his sheer demand and determination to see their murderers brought to “justice”), he decided that, while he loved Andraste, he did not have what it took to serve her. He still struggles, and horribly, with forgiving people who hurt those that he cares about, especially the ones who take them away, and does not always make the best decisions when he acts out against the source of his pain.

His attempted Annexation of Kirkwall is one of those terrible decisions that has had negative repercussions for people other than Sebastian. Thankfully, he did not lose too many of his men during the bits of fighting that did break out, but among those lost were one of his very skilled knight lieutenants, who directed the mounted and heavy combat, and had taken the new prince under his wing during his time readjusting to life in Starkhaven and as a monarch. Even more devastating for Sebastian, the fighting also cost him three talented young squires he had personally been training in archery, tactics, and other skills, whom he had hoped would become full members of the personal guard he’d been selecting, men and women who could both keep up with him and serve Starkhaven’s interests by using some of their other roguish skills.

Needless to say, as he arrives in Panem, Sebastian will have only just reached the realization that punishing Kirkwall was a bad idea, even though he cannot forgive or get Anders and his actions out of his mind. He knows, more than ever now that he needs to do it, but the hurt has been done and will take a long time to heal. It will also need a specialized, and very particular brand of healing that must come from within himself, even if others may help him with it along the way.

Instead of a gaping wound, his all encompassing need is something like an infection bubbling up under Sebastian’s skin that badly needs to be lanced, and grows a bit with each new hurt that follows in the same direction. It’s likely to grow again in the Capitol, especially if he watches those he cares for being hurt, killed for good, or taken away from him. This might extend to losing even a fellow district member, mentor, or stylist if the circumstances are right, or if they invoke his feelings of loss and rage at that loss that are already present within him.

Additionally, if Panem ever gains an Anders, or if anyone in Panem who he can reach harms him in the same sort of way, it will be only a matter of time before Sebastian catches up with HIM in an arena and makes him regret what he’s done, even if it means that he can only take those feelings out by causing pain.
Of course, once he’s done breaking someone that he hates, or seeing that person broken, things are likely to become different, and fill Sebastian with horror and regret either for what he has done, or, if he was not the one to break the person, horror at his own capacity for hatred and what it could have caused him to do.To a smaller extent, he’s been through something similar before, regarding another sort of wound that would not heal, his resentment for his two older brothers, both strong warrior sons and heirs who would do the family proud, and who tended to receive the focus of their parents’ attention and affection, while Sebastian could do nothing right, somewhat by choice.

As Sebastian himself explains to Hawke, while discussing his family situation: “My parents were rather...traditional. They wanted the heir, and the spare, and I was left in the cold.” He also confesses that “I was bitterly jealous of my brother. I wanted to be prince.” While his brothers, and his parents were alive, Sebastian first sought to heal that particular wound through cultivating a great degree of vices, including drinking, whoring, gambling, and the like. They never exactly worked. When Sebastian’s parents sent him to the chantry it was part to spare themselves from having to deal with his antics, partly for the political purposes of always sending a member of each generation to serve, and to avoid the creation of any bastard children who could compete with the future, legitimate children of his brothers.

Even while he found peace in the chantry after a time, and a few significant conversations with Grand Cleric Elthina, who offered him a way out if he was miserable there, and a chance to chose his own life, what Sebastian saw as rejection from his family remained a problem, and a major hurt for him, up until his family were murdered. When he was notified of these murders, Sebastian was angry, yes, and he grieved as a son and brother should, but he was also strongly affected by the shame and guilt of having been so bitter towards his family, and carrying those feelings around for so many years.

Due to this reaction to events in his (expanded upon and somewhat extrapolated) past, it seems likely that a tragic resolution of any anger, hurt, or other bottled up feelings will end a bit messily for Sebastian. If this tragic resolution occurs at his own hands, or even as a result of his own words or actions (ie, repeating a statement that causes someone to be tortured or avoxxed), dealing with the aftermath of having realized he has broken someone, or caused them to be broken due to his rage, things will obviously be much worse for him to deal with. If someone is harmed by another series of actions, even if this person is an enemy, or has caused him to wish for them to be hurt, Sebastian still is likely to have a difficult time seeing a person who is broken and in pain, without wishing to aid them somehow.

This may have some interesting ramifications in the months ahead, particularly as things move into war. While Sebastian would never balk at killing someone he believes is evil, and would never let them go free, he would be more inclined to kill with mercy, even when it is entirely undeserved, and would certainly provide humane and respectful treatment of prisoners, particularly if he sees them treated badly by another. The Games and Capitol have already stripped away the honor of several good men and women, and he’ll not allow himself to be another casualty in that department if he can at all prevent it now.

While he’s known in fandom as having a tendency towards indecision and even waffling between making key decisions in his life (most significantly, whether to return to Starkhaven or to remain in Kirkwall as a chantry brother), Sebastian is through with such behavior now, having made the biggest decision of his life while standing in the ashes of Kirkwall’s chantry, though he didn’t quite understand himself until some reflection on his long trip back to Starkhaven. He’s certainly becoming more decisive now, and should prove an interesting player in the Games during the months ahead as he confronts his past mistakes, his deep seated need to avenge a primal hurt, his skill with a bow, and his desire to be honorable in a world where the concept has been made null and void. Starkhaven’s Prince is one to watch, at any rate.


Setting:

While Sebastian is a skilled fighter, who has become more accustomed to violence as a whole during the years he spent as one of Hawke’s companions, there is still a difference between supporting a loyal friend and ally in their fight against the wrongs of the world, and between games that are fought to the death. One is a righteous use of force that functions to help protect society and the matter of a greater good. As to the other, while he’d suppose it could be true that the Hunger Games carry on much the same purpose, they only truly seem to protect against the brutality of the Capitol should the districts attempt to step up, or speak out against it even a little. Sebastian will certainly struggle with the idea of fighting an unjust fight and see little honor in such a course of action.

While he’s not unaccustomed to the the concept of staged combat for entertainment, Sebastian does take issue at the idea that death could ever be presented for the same purposes. As a member of Starkhaven’s royal family, he’s attended the Grand Tourney (A festival showcasing armored competition whose main event is a Last Man Standing bout, essentially The Hunger Games Lite) on more than a few occasions. He was once even been forced to act as the unwilling squire to his much older eldest brother, so the idea of something LIKE the Hunger Games isn’t the problem.

The problem lies, for one thing, in the mockery of life and death. Given the unique circumstances of the Never-Ending Quell, Sebastian is not so likely to be horrified by arena deaths themselves after his first arena and resurrection, but the idea that such deaths are taken as only entertainment is a terrible one. To Sebastian, it will seem as the gamemakers are playing at being gods, a blasphemous, unnatural and heretical action in the Chantry, prompting a strong loathing that will be left behind. Of note, too, is the fact that The Games do not truly allow for the honor that is due when two warriors meet in battle. When the only rules are that you must kill everyone who stands between you and the prize, it becomes harder to respect your opponents, and that much harder to grant them the honor that is their due. In an event that is a cheap mockery of all of the concepts that Sebastian holds most dear, he’s likely to become quite angry about the fact and want to do something about it as quickly as he can.

When it comes to the Capitol itself, Sebastian is likely to see the totalitarian control as similar to the control that the Templars, and even his beloved Chantry, exercised over mages. Through his friendship with Hawke, Sebastian has been gradually exposed to the idea that the chantry can be wrong about some things, and through the desperation he’s seen mages turn to, simply for the right to be human, in some cases, he’s come to an understanding that this treatment of mages is unconscionable. Having only just come to see things from these terms being hit in the face with an entire world governed on the same principles, he’ll be disgusted to witness this system, and then, especially, to be another useless pawn in it. While the Capitol’s behavior will disgust him, he’s also likely to experience significant guilt for the years in which he did not realize the truth of what was going on at home, and actively worked to avoid that truth at the same time.

His tendency to act with honor and to treat even the enemy, even officials of the capitol themselves with dignity once they’ve been captured, wounded, or sentenced to death could make Sebastian useful in a variety of ways. He would certainly be willing to act as a chaplain of sorts for prisoners or those condemned to die, would prove to be a guard who treats his captives with respect and honor instead of with blows and jeers, or would even make a decent executioner who would not prolong the condemned’s pain, or emotional distress.

Another potential interesting reaction to the setting is Sebastian’s faith. He is very devoted to The Maker (the Andrastian religion’s God, similar to the Christian one) and even more so to Andraste, the maker’s martyred disciple and bride (Jesus meets Jeanne d’Arc). He’s used to being teased for his devotion and can live with it to a point. Out and out attacks,or mockery, against Andraste are, however, a great way to truly enrage him, far beyond the petty annoyances he might have with someone for the reasons of lesse arguments. Since his token will be his belt buckle, which features Andraste’s face (Yes, it’s ridiculous), there are several avenues in which Andraste and her honor might be mocked already, and Sebastian’s responses where she is concerned are honestly rather kneejerk, and stand the most chance of getting him into trouble, in the long run.

Overall, I see Sebastian as simmering with anger beneath the surface. His faith is too strong to be lost, but he may need the help of others to keep from getting himself into too much trouble when it, or his core values are questioned and crossed. When it comes to the issue of the brewing war, Sebastian is more than likely to throw his support behind the Districts, and to fight where he, and his bow (or another weapon as he IS willing to learn) can be appropriately used to make a difference to Panem, and the Districts, as he’ll very much want to do here.


SAMPLES
First Person Thread: An example of a first person post, at least 200 words minimum. Feel free to use introspection and scene setting if your character is not chatty. Please use one of the two following prompts:

For Tributes: [There had been pain, than nothing, and now, white light, and Sebastian is sitting up immediately, looking quite hopeful for a moment there. And when he speaks, his voice is cracking, and his accent rather strong]

Andraste? Can it be?

[And then, no. There is the invasive little device they call a “camera” and Sebastian’s been instructed to react to what had happened in the arena. He’s still a little shocked that life and death are not so fragile here, but it doesn’t help the situation at hand, does it? Instead, he’s looking at the camera quite seriously, having seen his first bit of Games Combat and been far from impressed with it. When the camera turns on, he’s certainly looking more subdued, at any rate.]

Do yeh know, I never much liked fighting? [The words come fairly easily, as though he’s simply telling a friend. Then again, perhaps the people that he represents could become friends to him, if only he does well enough for them. ] Mostly, I just hated getting hit. This time, it’s not me who’s getting the bruising, but my district, and I am sorry I’ve failed yeh this time.

[It’s an apology too, in parts ,for how he carried himself on his arrival, for the arrogance he showed the gamemakers and wishes he could take back now he knows what they can really allow, or even cause to happen. ]

My Grandfather taught me to shoot when he found out what my aversions to close combat were. Hes said the bow was a thinking man’s weapon, and I still agree he’s right. Maker only knows, but Grandfather was right about just everything. [As he speaks of his grandfather, Sebastian’s eyes light up with something genuine, but it’s only there an instant. He’s gotten the impression it’s a bad idea to show the Capitol too much of yourself, even if he only feels so calm and centered again by a memory they can hardly dig up and parade in front of him just now.] I miss him...

However, I am finding what I learned was not quite true for everything life throws at me. And I owe my district more than I have given them just yet. [The smile shifts from open to rather wry, as Sebastian pauses for a moment, rubbing the back of his neck as he attempts to grope around for words that promise next time will not have so much embarrassment attached to it.]

So it seems I must return to lessons, as I did when I was a boy, in anything but archery, though if yeh’re willing to shoot a few rounds to keep me on my toes, I’d welcome the company. As for trying to master something new or find some competence in the field of hard and bruising combat…

[Sebastian’s face displays only too well what he thinks about that prospect, though he is,also , at least, fully resigned to the training he must do. ]

Weelll, I am hoping for all the help that I can get, from all of yeh out there. I think yeh know where yeh can find me, somehow.

Prose:
Well, one moment a prince, the next, nothing at all. At least, Sebastian’s getting the impression that’s what’s happened here, when he’s pushed into the large room after only the briefest of explanations possible. Of all things, the explanation reminds him of his childhood, being asked to perform, or rather to ‘assist’ his brothers in performing various feats of arms to entertain the guests or his brothers’ potential brides. He’s never had a liking for most melee combat, and, as a result, hated those quite a great deal.

All the same, the reminder, actually, is far more helpful than you’d think. There is, after all, a similarity in approaches. As Sebastian understands the purpose of this scoring, and the off the cuff way of 'explaining' things, they mean for the newcomers to this 'game' of murder and ultimately death, to be set off-balanced, to feel outclassed.

Sebastian hasn't felt the old, seething resentment of his brothers for a long time now. He'd struggled to cast it aside in his early years in the chantry, prayed over it constantly, and felt horrible upon learning of their deaths. No, resentment hadn't come for a long time, but he recognizes the feeling, all the same, growing within him, and such practices with his brothers have, at least, given Sebastian some experience both in knowing how to lose so that your enemy is never quite certain they'd entirely won, and, more importantly, in learning how to cheat and win, particularly when you're confused and angry.

Chantry brother though he had been for the last several years, Sebastian, nonetheless has honed his skills with Hawke, getting off nearly impossible shots, darting around to fire on dragons from point to various point, and it's clear, to him at least, what he ought to do. There are still ways to make oneself hidden from a variety of places around almost any room and Sebastian has that to his advantage here.

There is a bow, and arrows for it along one of the walls. Not exactly flashy, or life-changing, but then, he hasn't picked them up yet, has he? Along the way, there are some shadows to hide in, places to crouch down, and then jump up from to find new cover, when an audience isn't looking. It's slow going, but Sebastian IS making use of them all the same. The gamemakers might notice, after a moment, that the bow and arrows are gone from their place, but the tribute in question is nowhere to be found.

As a few of them turn to confer with each other, Sebastian raises the bow, shorter, and of a lighter weight than Grandfather's but still comfortable enough, nocks an arrow, aims, straight away, for every source of light that he can find. The light sources here are strange and very bright in some areas, but they still might be powered by oil, or if not oil, something that will still make for a grand mess.

"Andraste, guide my bow." He murmurs the old prayer, hoping she is still watching out for him, somewhere, as he's done since leaving Kirkwall, being restored to his throne and all the rest. It may be a presumptuous prayer, considering what he's about to do, but Sebastian doesn't really care right now. They've asked for a show and, drawing further into a shadow, he disappears from view for a moment, and then, seconds later, an arrow is arching high from a completely different direction, then piercing the largest of the light structures they have. There is no oil crashing to the floor, but the room DOES go darker, and, with the added darkness, the rest of the lights are quickly following.

After, and fighting the urge to laugh as much as he wants to, he makes good use of moving through the darkness, arrows flying out of seeming nowhere to pierce targets of any kind. Pretending the last training dummy left is Anders gives him pause for contemplation, but, once the lights are restored, it is embedded with a few arrows, cleverly buried at the target's throat, at the heart, and through the shoulder behind it as well, and the same for the soft and squishy places where an intestine might be pierced.

As for Sebastian himself, by the time the emergency lights come on, he's calmly waiting about seven feet away from the forcefield, with his hands at his sides, resisting rubbing his aching lower left arm, where an unfamiliar to him bow, and a lack of proper arm guard or bracer will ensure he has a bruise tomorrow. Instead, he’s looking, for all the world like he's been waiting to make an introduction the entire time. Andraste might not approve of that by common wisdom, but the thought is not enough to keep a smile from spreading across his face.

"My Lords and Ladies," He begins, his brogue rather thick just now as the rest of the emotions catch up to him again. Nonetheless, the smile is becoming a triumphant grin as he looks first at the gamemakers, and then the chaos he has caused, and sinks into a perfectly executed, very courtly, and only part mocking bow.

"Prince Sebastian Vael of Starkhaven. I believe we’re finished here?”


What is your character scored:8

Sebastian’s a skilled archer and rider, reasonably well built, and in good condition from his recent years of fighting, both with Hawke, and then, preparing for war against Kirkwall, once he was back on his throne. He's spent the last seven years of his life fighting with Hawke and other companions in a variety of settings, helped to bring down dragons, and proved effective at moving in shadows, covering his tracks, knowing when to throw a decent grenade to grant him the cover of escape. Sebastian can also, when pressed, use a dagger fairly effectively.

In the months after regaining his throne, before marching on Kirkwall, Sebastian had started working on handpicking from among Starkhaven's soldiers, knights, squires and other skilled fighters to create his own personal guard, and, once he had chosen them, spent a great deal of time evaluating their skills, and training them, through a series of exercises and activities, including a "game" that was very much like "Capture the Flag". He's honed his ability to think on his feet, can land a shot from almost anywhere, and while he lacks the muscular definition of a heavy armed combatant, he still is capable of holding his own for a fairly long time, is good at picking and choosing allies, and works a great deal on his own personal shooting technique.

He’s also good looking, with that fantastic accent and an air of quiet nobility and contemplation outside of the arena that could seem dreamy, or brooding, to those who are attracted to such things. Not to mention his devotion to a religion that probably doesn't make sense to much of Panem. There’s a built in cult for his potential fans to follow, really, or to think that they are following, which could make Sebastian an exceptionally interesting marketing tool at the very same time!



Token: Sebastian's token is a gigantic belt buckle featuring the face of Andraste, which really looks a bit more like a codpiece, actually. It's huge and obnoxious and hilarious,but doesn't give him any advantages. If needed, it can be converted to a pin in the same shape!

Additional information: