Stephanie Amell

Stephanie is a very sheltered girl - or she was until about two years ago. Growing up in the Circle meant a lot of restrictions and limitations on what they were allowed to do or consume, and while some people tried to get around the rules whenever they could, Stephanie mostly abided by them. She maybe got involved in the apprentices' illicit romance novel trade, but she mostly followed the rules and pretended she didn't know when her friends were breaking them.

Her childhood wasn't necessarily what most people would consider "happy", being separated from her family when she was around 6 years old and raised in the Circle that she assumed she would never leave, but on the whole she was happy - she's a very optimistic person by nature, ready to see the silver lining to almost any cloud. Her ability to do this has been severely tested since her conscription, but she has held on to that, mostly.

She is a very giving person in a lot of ways - when people need help, her first instinct is to offer to help in any way she can, even if all she can do is help them find someone who CAN help them. Up until recently, there wasn't all that much to help with, other than helping other apprentices study, or maybe watching the younglings for a bit so they could have time alone with someone special.

Though she's had two years of practice outside the Circle, she's still inclined to stretch herself thin and forget to look after herself in the pursuit of helping others. For a year she had Natalia and Morrigan to help curb her and make sure she ate, slept, didn't give away their last piece of gold or their last spare piece of armor. After that, she had the steward and captain of the guard from Vigil's Keep forcing her to delegate, and Anders to at least make sure she ate and slept. She still hasn't gotten the hang of it, though, and without people who know to expect this sort of thing from her, she's likely to run herself a bit ragged for a while.

Stephanie is also a very loyal, determined person. She could in some ways be likened to the Mabari hounds that Ferelden is so famous for - she's intelligent, fiercely loyal, and dogged in her pursuits. If she starts something, she'll finish it unless something makes it impossible for her to do so. If she decides to trust you or you otherwise earn her loyalty, she will stand at your side through thick and thin. When she respects and trusts you, it's very hard to lose that respect and trust (though if you manage it, she will likely never entirely forgive you). She is, honestly, a complete Hufflepuff, even though that's crossing the canon streams a bit.

Despite the fact that she saved Ferelden (and probably the world) and has been dubbed the "Hero of Ferelden" and was given the command of all the Wardens in Ferelden, Stephanie doesn't much feel like she deserves it - while she certainly found allies that Natalia wouldn't have, and was good at trying to find non-violent solutions to problems, she knows that without Natalia (who was largely overlooked, and glad to not be the center of attention) she never would've been able to gather the forces they needed to fight the Darkspawn, much less actually defeat the Archdemon. She doesn't see herself as having been anything other than extremely lucky, and most of her victories can, in her mind, be attributed to the people around her.

It's lead to her not only feeling like a little bit of a sham, but to feeling like she doesn't know what her purpose in life is. That's part of why she's trying to find Morrigan, despite the other woman's pleas not to look for her: when she was with Morrigan, she could forget the expectations on her to save the world, and just be herself. She hopes that being with Morrigan again (on top of being something that would make her deeply happy, as she's kind of completely smitten) would let her forget the expectations people have of her now that she's the Hero of Ferelden, especially as she has no idea what she should even be doing.

• able to use magic to cause destruction/heal a la most video games
• moderately skilled archer (learned post-conscription)
• able to sense Darkspawn
• learning basics of computer construction and programming
• ridiculously helpful

When Stephanie was a very small child, she showed signs of having magic, and was taken to the Circle of Magi to be raised, trained, and kept under close watch to make sure that she did not become possessed by a demon and go around killing people, like all mages. Her parents were nobility in the city-state of Kirkwall, but as previous children of the family had also exhibited magical ability, she was sent to a separate Circle, as the Chantry preferred not to have family members within the same Circle. She was sent, ultimately, to the Circle in Ferelden.

Due to her young age at the time of her joining the Circle, Stephanie has only the vaguest memories of her parents and her life before the Circle. Her earliest clear memories are of the Circle, of being raised among the other children, trained to control her powers, reading in the library, enjoying the rare trip outside to the lake outside the tower, and other such mundane things. She grew up happy and her natural inclination to help people was encouraged by the First Enchanter and the other senior mages. Her two closest friends were both older apprentices - Anders, who arrived shortly before she did, had been 12 at the time, and had looked after her their first few months there, as he was scared and angry, and she was scared and confused. Jowan was only a few years older than her, and they had studied together a lot as they got older. In the weeks leading up to her Harrowing, she had a small (and completely inappropriate) flirtation with one of the young templars, Cullen, but nothing came of it, as both knew it was forbidden.

She was just shy of 16 when she went through her Harrowing - the ritual all young mages must eventually go through to prove they have learned enough to be able to resist the temptations of demons who would try to possess them. She passed, with flying colors (in her opinion), and was made a full Circle Mage, rather than an Apprentice. That very day, her friend Jowan (who had yet to undergo his Harrowing) enlisted her help in he and his lover escaping their respective responsibilities at the Circle. Stephanie was not sure it was the right plan, but she cared for her friend and thought it would be all right because their intentions were good. Unfortunately, they were caught on their way out. Jowan resorted to blood magic, incapacitating the Templars so he could escape, and left Stephanie to face the punishment - most likely execution.

Luckily for her, there was a Grey Warden, Duncan, visiting the First Enchanter, who invoked his Right of Conscription to basically draft the young mage into the service of the Grey Wardens, to fight against the monsters known as Darkspawn and protect the world from being destroyed by them, especially under the leadership of an Archdemon when they would swarm and, if unchecked, cause a Blight that could last for years. Though she didn't particularly want to be a Warden, she also didn't want to be dead, and so Stephanie went with Duncan to the staging grounds of a great battle between the Darkspawn and the combined forces of the Grey Wardens of Ferelden and the King's army.

Her initiation went well (ie she didn't die), the battle began with the King and the Wardens at the front, and Stephanie with a young Warden named Alistair and a fellow new recruit - an elf from the Denerim alienage named Natalia - ready in a tower to light a signal fire to signal the King's army (led by Ferelden's greatest general, Loghain - the king's father in law) to join the battle. Unfortunately, Loghain thought the battle was madness, and unnecessary, and instead ordered his troops to retreat, leaving the king and the Wardens to die. The king and all but three Wardens - Stephanie, Natalia, and Alistair - died. The two remaining Wardens were rescued by a witch and her daughter - nursed to health and left to try to raise an army to fight the Darkspawn and try to prevent a Blight on their own, without the support of the king, without the support of the Grey Wardens of other countries.

Over the weeks and months, they collected various allies and built the army they needed. Alistair, though he was the illegitimate brother of the former king, did not want to claim the throne from Queen Anora and her traitorous father, nor did he want to lead the armies and allies they'd amassed, leaving the leading to the combined forces of Natalia (who was more tactically minded) and Stephanie (who was better with people). They went to the capitol, met with the Landsmeet of nobility from Ferelden, Loghain challenged Stephanie specifically, and while she defeated him, it was a very near thing. Loghain was recruited into the Wardens at the Queen's behest (as he was her father). Alistair, angry that Loghain had caused the death of Duncan and the other Wardens, left the city, and Stephanie didn't hear from him again.

Not long after her 17th birthday, they fought the main bulk of the horde and defeated the archdemon, and while there was substantial loss of life, Stephanie, Natalia, and the assorted companions they'd acquired over the previous year managed to make it out alive. After that, Natalia left the Wardens with Zevran, and Stephanie was - much to her dismay - made the new Warden-Commander of Ferelden, as the most senior remaining Ferelden Warden. The Wardens were granted land and a keep by the queen to use as headquarters.

Stephanie spent some months in the keep helping get organized and both recruiting new Wardens and welcoming Wardens from other countries who arrived to help the Ferelden Wardens become established and properly trained. At the same time, she and her first few recruits (including Anders, much to her surprise and, admittedly, relief - always good to see a familiar face) dealt with the last remnants of the Darkspawn forces. Once that was done, a few weeks shy of her 18th birthday, Stephanie named one of the older and better trained Wardens the new Warden-Commander and gladly washed her hands of the whole Warden business, opting to begin searching for her lover Morrigan, who had disappeared after the death of the archdemon.

(Timeline on game events is approximate, as I haven't found anything official and made a best guess)

❚ approval ❚ disapproval ❚ neutral ❚ romance

SS BISHOP

Hiro engineering

Hiro is a smart, sweet kid. Stephanie's bonded with him pretty quickly over their mutual losses, as well as music and their similar desires to experiment and try new things, though he does so with robots and technology while she works with magic. He challenges her and gives her new things to experience and think about (like computers and modern music), and things are always interesting with him around. Especially considering their close ages and similar temperaments, Stephanie already basically considers him family, and would do anything for him.

Kirian security

Cranky crewmate and new to the ship, Stephanie has only had the most cursory interactions with him thus far. Hopefully he'll warm up to the rest of them, but she has to admit that the hours they keep (the Hamadas in particular) are not likely to endear them to him. Still... he could always transfer, if he found it that bad, right?

Krista personnel

Krista and Stephanie are about the same age, and similarly fond of books. Stephanie doesn't get on like a house on fire the way she does with Hiro, but Krista is fun and interesting, and Krista's library project is one that Stephanie is very invested in. SHe's not human, which Stephanie finds fascinating, and hopefully she'll get the chance to ask all sorts of invasive questions sometime soon.

Tadashi lab support

Stephanie doesn't know Tadashi well yet (plus technically he's uh. Not on the Bishop yet. SHH.) but Hiro loves and looks up to him so much, and Tadashi clearly loves and looks out for Hiro, so Stephanie's inclined to like him. Probably they'll get along really well, once they have a chance to start spending time together. (plus he's got a really cute... face.)

CAST

Anders SS Golden

Anders has been a part of Stephanie's life as long as she can remember. Originally he kept an eye on her from time to time in the Circle, but after the Blight, she started keeping an eye on him when she saved his life by conscripting him. He makes a lot of bad life choices, but he means the world to her.

cullen ss huntress

Cullen is a confusing subject for Stephanie. While he was one of the Templars guarding the Circle in Ferelden, Stephanie was on relatively good terms with him, and even nursed a crush on him for a while. The trauma they both sustained at the Circle when it was taken over by blood mages, however, and his memories of Kirkwall, are making things a bit more volatile and uncertain.

Dorian SS Three Twins

Stephanie is pretty sure that Dorian thinks she's silly. And she's not entirely sure how to feel about a mage from Tevinter. He seems nice, though, and he did do a lovely job on her hair. Really, she feels a little intimidated by him, and she's not sure if she wants to ask him all the questions about Tevinter or never ever ever ask about it ever.

Fenris SS Tourist

Stephanie had a rather good conversation with Fenris when she first arrived, but then he got... very angry about Anders' existence, and she's not really sure if he'll want to associate with her now. She thought he was otherwise quite nice, though.

Garrett SS Blue Fish

Cousin. Her cousin. Her FAMILY. What is cousin. Andraste's ass. He seems like a decent sort, at least. If a bit irreverant. Thoguh, it's not like she hasn't grown used to that with Anders... Still. FAMILY. It's bizzare and wonderful all at the same time, and she's very glad he's here.

Jove SS Pathstone

They haven't had the chance to talk much, but already Stephanie feels like she and Jove could be friends. If nothing else, Thedosian girls should stick together. It definitely helps that she seems fond of Anders - that alone is enough to endear Stephanie to her, especially in light of how everyone else sees him.

EVERYONE ELSE

Cassandra SS Three Twins

Cass and Stephanie arrived at around the same time, and had a couple of days before they were assigned to ships. She has good taste in friends, if questionable taste in "things that are decent to wear". All in all, Stephanie thinks that she's a good, sweet person. Also very pretty. Shhhhh...

Sora SS Bloodsport

There's something to be said about those who are essentially child martyrs in the cause of saving the world, and both Sora and Stephanie fit that bill. Neither of them died (yet), but they still lost a lot more than they should have as young as they were, and had to take on a lot more responsibility. Stephanie feels a strong kinship to Sora because of that, even if they're not particularly close.

Stephanie SS Caprine

Stephanie and Stephanie, blonde badass alliance. Steph has been through a lot, though Steffa doesn't know the details of it. She's a good listener and a good friend, and it doesn't hurt that she's very cute. Steffa will have her back if she ever needs her.

Tim SS First Breath

Tim is smart, handsome, and a better dancer than Stephanie. Those on top of the fact that she quite enjoys having conversations with him mean that he's caught a little corner of her heart. Maybe not romantically (for now), but she definitely wants to keep him around and would trust him to have her back if she needed him.