Haydée d’Argent

Haydée d’Argent is a Chantry Templar and member of the High Dragons adventurer's company.

Appearance
Haydée is tall and curvaceous, a beauty that garnered suitors. She has brown eyes, not dulled by the weight of the world. Her skin is tanned from a soldiering lifestyle. Still a rookie, her skin bears no battle scars. Her straight hair is raven black and is kept cut short, out of the way. She stands up straight and walks with a subtle sway to her hips. When appropriate and able, Haydée is drawn to wearing dresses. That said, she has perhaps one dress to her name. Oftentimes, though, she wears her functional Chantry coat, navy blue with accents of gold trim for the emblems, alongside riding boots.

Haydée can also look the part of the classically armored Templar out of the tales known to common folk all across Thedas, by wearing her shiny Templar plates, anointed by the blessings of Revered Mothers. Her emblazoned shield joins the famous ensemble when needed. Generally, the shield hangs across her back, unless the mission calls for Haydée to take up her role as an archer. In those cases, the shield is forgone and a quiver of arrows takes its place, slung across her back. Haydée’s Templar Bow appears common, but she is more than capable with it.

In armor or otherwise, Haydée also carries a certain keepsake with her: an expertly made Antivan Bleeder, dubbed Morsure d’Amour by her father. Whether wearing her full armor or her archer’s leather coat, the weapon is worn on her belt for use as a parrying dagger or secondary weapon. Out of armor, when carrying Morsure d’Amour, she often wears the dagger concealed underneath her clothes.

Armament

 * Morsure d’Amour - While Haydée’s half-siblings claimed greatswords and suits of plate armor, Haydée only took a fine dagger of Antivan make, won by her biological father in a high-stakes game of Wicked Grace and subsequently renamed. Haydée alternates between using the dagger as a concealable self-defense weapon and a parrying dagger.
 * Templar Sword and Shield - Forged by professional smiths and anointed by the blessings of Revered Mothers, these are the armaments known by nobles and commoners all across the continent. Simple but effective, they are the backbone of an army of Templars and Haydée’s bread and butter as a warrior.
 * Templar Bow - Unlike the fanciful hunting bows contained within the d’Argent family armory, this bow is plainer. That said, this bow is just as deadly, perhaps even more so.

Abilities

 * Crippling Smash  - Haydée knows how to fight in the phalanx, using shields to stun and drive the enemy back.
 * Chevalier’s Step - Though trained in the phalanx, Haydée has always kept an eye on the tactics of chevaliers, even if she could not attend the academy herself.
 * Great Lunge - A Templar like Haydée must be ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice, whether it’s slaying maleficarum or putting out barn fires.
 * Archer’s Lance - Haydée’s martial training began with hunts on her father’s land, striking from afar with a hunter’s precision.
 * Full Draw - Since her first hunt, Haydée has known the value of patience, taking the time to make the right shot.
 * Roll With It - Afters years of training with masters-at-arms and many squabbles in barracks, Haydée knows how be evasive when needed.

Skills

 * Archery
 * Riding Mounts
 * Hunting
 * Sword Fighting
 * Persuasion
 * Diplomacy
 * Knowledge of Lore (Noble and Chantry Affairs)
 * Dancing
 * Dagger Fighting
 * Medium Armor

Biography
Born out of wedlock between Orlesian Baron François d’Argent and Fereldan, elven prostitute, Amaya, Haydée spent her first few years living in a Jader brothel with her mother. Even so, her father visited regularly, both to see Haydée and to receive Amaya’s services. The visits continued semi-regularly, even after François’ infatuation with Amaya faded. François would play with little Haydée for long hours. For him, it was the joys of fatherhood without the responsibilities. François’ life was a tale of avoiding responsibilities. The man spent his days in Jader, drinking, gambling, and revelling, miles away from his family’s ancestral seat at Lac d’Argent. François cared nothing for ruling over his (in his view, mundane) lakeside village, Château, and lands. Instead, François chose to leave those affairs in the hands of his very capable seneschal.

And so it was for Haydée, blissfully unaware of her father’s troubles. She grew up in the brothel, and was put to work in the kitchens. Luckily for Haydée, this was no cutrate knocking shop, but a high-society establishment. Catering to wealthy merchants and nobles, the brothel was a swanky place, playing host to musicians and poets. Many of the courtesans were educated citizens, protected by their own guild. All the fornication happened behind closed doors, unless the voyeuristic client paid specifically for an audience. As such, Haydée thought that she simply lived in an upscale inn for several years.

Unfortunately, Amaya died when Haydée was seven years old, killed in a carriage accident with a client. While affected by the death, the pain was rather muted for Haydée. Truth be told, the two were not particularly close. Haydée did not see as much of her mother as most children do. The girl was raised somewhat communally in the brothel. She was not Amaya’s first child. And while Amaya was fond of the girl, Haydée was also an asset, keeping a wealthy patron in the form of François linked to the brothel. Given her young age at the time of Amaya’s death, and their somewhat distant relationship, Haydée was left with few memories of her mother.

Amaya’s death affected François as well, in a different manner. The death prompted him to make his visits to Haydée more frequent. François took her out of the brothel more, bringing the girl to stay with him in his Jader apartments different nights of the week. Before every time, François made sure that his servants thoroughly cleaned his residence of he and his drinking companions’ raucous nightly activities. François even took to fathering his daughter in some respects. Although, François’ version of fathering consisted of regaling Haydée with the ideals of chevaliers, tales of Andraste and Aveline, and playing with toy swords. Haydée was happy.

The father and daughter’s time in Jader did not last. Two years later, François learned the true cost of decades of reckless debauchery. After ignoring the countless warnings from his seneschal, concerning matters of finance, François received a letter that he had driven the d’Argent family to the brink of destitution, and that he risked losing everything if serious austerity measures were not enforced immediately. François finally got the message, if only he would have come to his senses earlier.

The Jader apartments were sold off. The luxurious Val Royeaux townhome was put to market and replaced by a suite, kept on retainer. Taxes were raised; timber, cut down and sold off; art and heirlooms, auctioned off. Finally, given François’ attention and permission, the astute seneschal was able to save the family from ruin, though it was quite a near-run thing.

Even with bankruptcy having been temporarily staved off, the d’Argent family’s lot had changed immensely. François’ carefree days of unchecked spending were over. His standard of living had fallen greatly. François had lost the only way of life he had ever known. Haydée had been taken along to Lac d’Argent upon François return. With little gold or silver left in the d’Argent coffers, the seneschal knew that another form of currency could be utilized: children. Though François had no trueborn children, the baron had sired multiple illegitimate sons and daughters. Provided decrees of legitimation, Haydée and her half-siblings could be used to forge alliances and bring in dowries.

Haydée had never known of her half-siblings. Upon her arrival in Lac d’Argent, Haydée learned that she had seven. In truth, she very well might have even more, those that the seneschal and François could not locate. There wasn’t much of a happy family reunion for the long-lost siblings. Four were already adults. Haydée was nine years old. The remaining three were even younger. The four adults had lives of their own and cared little for their newfound younger siblings or their father. The three youngest ones were too small to understand. François withdrew, once again leaving the business of ruling to his seneschal. Haydée’s father’s spirits, once held aloft by a life of excess, never recovered. The man turned to drink heavily, no longer for the fun of it, but to forget how far he had fallen.

The seneschal kept the ship afloat, busying himself with the ultimate goal: legitimation. Gathering the signatures of Orlesian judges, meetings with and the approval of royal ministers, necessary to legitimation, for the d’Argent family which had little in the way of political clout or funds—the process would take years. The seneschal impressed upon the four adults their newfound importance. They had grown to hate François over the years of his absence—raised taxes had not helped—but resolved to play nice, awaiting the day that they could rise in station.

François grew morose. His only solace was hunting. Though his former companions had abandoned him, the man still had his lands. With no friends left and his adult children too busy, François took Haydée on his hunts. Exploring d’Argent lands with her father, Haydée learned how to hunt and track, how to ride, how to shoot a bow. After living in the city her whole life, Haydée was met with an entire new world of sights and sounds around the lakes and forests of Lac d’Argent. She climbed trees; she swam in lakes; she even made the journey north to the Waking Sea a few times with her father. Haydée found herself drawn to water. She loved to swim and remains quite accomplished at it.

While Haydée and her elder, adult half-siblings were never close, Haydée was in close proximity with her three younger half-siblings. Given the d’Argent family’s financial woes, they could not afford to feed, clothe, and house many servants. Most were released from their employment. As such, scarce few nursemaids or nannies remained. Haydée was rather forced to pick up some of the slack in helping to raise her three younger half-siblings.

Luckily, Haydée was not without aid. Given the shortage of servants, the seneschal turned to the Lac d’Argent Chantry, led by Revered Mother Margaux, to see to the raising and education of Haydée and her younger siblings. Haydée must have spent as much time in the village chantry as she did in Château d’Argent. Haydée received a fine education, from history, to logic, to the Chant of Light. Hunts with her father, and lessons with Château d'Argent’s master-at-arms, honed her body and martial skills. Eventually, the seneschal even took Haydée into his study for instruction on the Grand Game. Even if decrees of legitimation were one day achieved, the parchment would be of little value if Haydée and her half-siblings did not have the knowledge to play their parts. He instructed her adult half-siblings more extensively, but privately wondered if he could see François’ selfish streak inside them.

The older half-sibling were not kind to their younger counterparts, or each other, for that matter. Haydée did her best to avoid them, focusing on her studies, training, and simply growing up. Growing up in Lac d’Argent provided the girl a freedom that she had never thought possible. Still, whispers and rumors persisted. Most villagers were kind to Haydée, either out of common decency or fear of their lord. Others resented the bastard from the brothel. Haydée’s martial training and closer proximity to her father acted as a form of shield. Her younger half-siblings were not so lucky.

During one such incident of bullying, Haydée’s youngest half-sibling, Cerise, displayed magical talent in a fit of anger. No one was harmed, but of course, it meant that her life would never be the same. Cerise was sent to the Montsimmard Circle of Magi. The event served as Haydée’s first major goodbye. The older girl knew it had to happen, from her studies at the Chantry, but that did little to make the break easier.

By this point, Haydée was almost fully grown. Educated, tall, and curvaceous, she was to play a role in the d’Argent family’s future marriage alliances. Alongside dowries, she and her half-siblings would help restore the family to glory. The seneschal, while well meaning in his struggle to save the family, did not exactly pause to account for the children’s opinions on his plans. Haydée, still in the summer of her teenage years, was able to think of other matters: training, her studies, romantic flings. Her older half-siblings harbored darker plans. The seneschal soldiered on, until at last, letters arrived from Val Royeaux. After years of work, the judges and ministers had at last been swayed. Baron François d’Argent could legitimize his children.

The joy was short lived. Finally, so many years of alcohol and debauchery caught up to François. He suffered a major stroke, and in the weeks following, rapidly deteriorated. In his final moments, delirious, François proved himself an even greater fool. Using the royal ministers’ decree, he legitimized all of his adult children at once, signing from his deathbed. The older half-siblings deception of their hated father had worked. They were legitimate, of age, with full access to all that remained of the d’Argent family’s assets.

Almost immediately, the fighting began in the Lac d’Argent countryside. Each elder sibling had been preparing for legitimation for years. Plots had been laid. All that was needed was the money. Mobilizing mobs of supporters and gangs of men-at-arms, two half-brothers skirmished at the lakeside. Soon, one floated face down on the water, turning Lac d’Argent red. A half-sister was poisoned, thanks to a bard’s handiwork. For all his efforts, the seneschal was thrown into the Château d’Argent dungeon. A hasty alliance between the two surviving older half-siblings formed to secure their power.

To safeguard the young ones, Revered Mother Margaux, having received news of the fighting, swore the children into Chantry service and split them up, sending them to Chantries far and wide. Haydée, seventeen years old, chose the Templar Order, to suit her martial talents and perhaps have a chance of seeing Cerise once again. The girl barely had time to mourn her father’s passing before she was sent across the border to Ferelden for training in Denerim. She excelled in training, though her doing so won her few friends. Most saw her as a foreign girl who had arrived in training and started showing people up. Other recruits teasingly called her “Little Baroness,” and “Lady Haydée.” The harsher ones called her “bastard.”

The few friends she did make, Haydée made by sharing her knowledge. Back in quarters, Haydée could provide follow-up lessons. And she wasn’t a strict taskmaster akin to those that they all trained under. Haydée was strongly protective of her few friends. She hoped to be assigned to a Circle of Magi. Privately, she hoped to be sent to Montsimmard. There, she could see Cerise, but Haydée knew that was an unrealistic wish.

Cerise’s being a mage was part of the reason why, somewhat to her surprise, Haydée was not sent to any Circle of Magi. She was also surprised to find herself not assigned to a Chantry. Put simply, Haydée’s superiors understood that she did not fit in, despite her efforts. She was an illegitimate daughter brought up in a Château, who had been rather forced into Templar Order. Perhaps they doubted her resolve, regardless of her skill. And so, the young Templar was transferred to a newly created outfit.

Personality
Growing up in a position of precarious social standing, Haydée had to grow up fast and learn to keep her wits about her. Four major moves before she was fully grown helped to reinforce the young woman’s adaptability. Haydée is Andrastian, and has been for years. She values the Chantry and good it does for common people. That said, Haydée did not plan on being given over to the Chantry and sworn in. She has made the best of it, choosing the Templar Order to match her martial skills and desire to see more of the world; however, Haydée misses her old freedom. What’s more, Haydée feels badly for her misgivings concerning her oaths. The woman knows that without the Chantry, she could very well have been killed. In short, she feels that she owes them. Whether this is true, and how she ultimately feels about the matter, is something that she will have to decide for herself in future.

Haydée has a great deal of martial prowess, backed up by a bevy of good training. She is confident in her skills. And yet, Haydée is hardly battle-tested. While not exactly green, the woman has never taken another human life. Privately, she wonders whether she will be prepared for the fires of battle. Templar training was already an adjustment for her. Though an illegitimate daughter, Haydée grew up with a much higher standard of living than most common folk. Pitching camp night after night for months, living in the wilderness, will test her mettle. Previously, her time in the wilderness fell under bright-eyed exploration, hunting trips, and field exercises.

Having had to help take care of three younger half-siblings only added to Haydée’s need to grow up fast. Mature for her years, Haydée is also a more maternal person than many of her peers. This trait is reinforced in part by her Andrastian beliefs as well as her history taking care of her younger half-siblings. They never had much in the way of mothers, so Haydée did her best to step in.

One of Haydée’s younger half-siblings, Cerise, is a mage and was taken to the Montsimmard Circle of Magi. Cerise was the first mage that Haydée ever met. As they share blood, Cerise helped humanize mages for Haydée, a different perspective from most Templars. Haydée has also never served in a Circle of Magi. She of course has been trained to deal with magic. But, whether out of ignorance or tolerance, Haydée has no ingrained hatred of mages. Haydée’s mother, Amaya, was an elf. Being elf-blooded, Haydée sympathizes with their plight.

A Chantry-educated, daughter of an Orlesian nobleman, Haydée knows her manners and decorum. Haydée is quite accustomed to working within organizations featuring clear hierarchies and chains of command, a byproduct of Templar training and being partially raised by the Chantry. Haydée obeys orders and respects superior officers. Even so, Haydée believes that she would not follow an order that went against her moral code or the Chant of Light, but she has never been in a situation that truly tested those values.

Having lived inside cities and a castle for much of her life, Haydée has a strong desire to see more of the world than the inside of city walls or the streets of her village. After exploring her surroundings as much as possible, the girl wants to do more. Haydée grew up on stories of the Chant being sung from the four corners of the earth. She wants to get out there and see some of those corners.