Cade Harimann

Name: Cami
Age: 28
Contact: PM only_hymns (or eolasemah)
Other Characters: Sina Dahlasanor
Interests: I like angst! I like farce! I like terrible things happening to good people and vice versa. With this character I'm interested in exploring some of the moral relativity/ambiguity that would accompany being what is essentially a trained oppressor.


Name: Cade Fenimore Harimann
Canon/OC: Dragon Age OC
Journal: only_hymns
Race: human
Nationality: Marcher (Kirkwall)
Occupation: Templar
Age: 32

History

Born the second son of a lesser noble in the Harimann family tree, Cade was bound for the Chantry early on to prove his family's devotion to Andraste. He has barely known any life but that of a Templar, having begun training at the youngest possible age and been thoroughly molded into the Templar ideal.

Few know of the darkness he encountered from boyhood; although Cade was not aware of the wrongness in his childhood and can only barely articulate it nowadays, he has been permanently scarred and, in his way, twisted by years of ongoing emotional and sexual abuse at the hands of a Chantry brother who served as his mentor.

Stationed in Kirkwall as a Knight-Lieutenant through the Champion's whirlwind reign, Cade encountered some difficulties when word spread that the wife of his distant cousin had betrayed the Vaels of Starkhaven. Although he barely knew those involved, he faced potential blackmail by a fame-seeking Chantry Sister when she uncovered rumors of his sordid past. With the knowledge that Kirkwall was a dangerous place for a Harimann at that time, regardless of affiliation, Cade requested that he be allowed to operate strictly within the Circle's walls.

When Knight-Commander Meredith and her Templars took hold of Kirkwall, Cade obediently took part in the flushing out of apostates and maleficarum. In the fallout from the attack on the Chantry, he was one of many Templars deployed to Ferelden to help rein in the chaos. Although the Order was dissolved, he remained part of the effort in Redcliffe until circumstances forced him to flee and attempt to seek his fate at Skyhold.

Personality

Put simply, Cade is a zealot. The Maker is real, Andraste is responsible for all the good in the world, and mankind is at all times under their scrutiny. He truly believes that mages are a threat and should be kept in captivity, ultimately seeing no issue with this since he grew so accustomed to what was essentially his own. He also firmly believes in the virtue of the Exalted Marches, and although he has no particular hatred for other races, he doesn’t understand them and is likely to regard them with suspicion unless they are overtly Andrastian. Elves and Qunari in particular he is concerned by, and he tends to find dwarves more confusing than anything.

Having said that, he's not an especially violent person, nor is he outspoken. He is loyal to a fanatical degree, the best pet any superior officer could ask for while not exceedingly competent at giving orders himself. He considers himself a tool of the Chantry, and lives for the affirmation and gratification of those who outrank him, whether in the military sense or just philosophically.

On a personal level, he can be quite gentle, self-possessed, merciful, and even compassionate. It is rare to see him smile, and he is so fraught with the guilt of his imperfection and the shame of his past that he appears to be carrying a great emotional burden every waking moment of every day. It might be said that a good portion of his obsessive obedience is a matter of not wanting to be left alone with his own thoughts.
He is overly polite to women and often either excessively deferent to or intimidated by other men. He avoids children outright, and any nonconforming gender is a subject of absolute mystery to him. All the same, regardless of source, he can be won over by way of his sweet tooth and not being prodded with too many questions.


Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths:

His devotion to given tasks is absolute.
Along the same lines, if placed under someone else's authority, he will heed them unquestioningly.
He has great physical endurance and can go for a long time without needing rest.
He has an air of stoic professionalism that serves him well in times of conflict.
And of course, he is rather physically strong and adept with a blade (though his real talent is actually with a bow).

Weaknesses:

Any of the above can be his downfall when he takes them too far, when he usually does.
He doesn't entirely consider himself a person, which means his needs tend to be the last ones addressed. This can obviously lead to things like injury, sickness, and overall bad well-being.
He's very mentally shaky and suffers from PTSD. If something sets him off into a panic, he may react in any way from blindly attacking to completely shutting down.
He's really bad with people on a personal level. Like reeeeeeally baaad



Inventory

Templar stuff: plate armor, some lighter chain and leather armor, a few changes of clothes, a sword, a shield, a bow and quiver. Very few other material possessions.

Motivation

Cade is directionless and, as he understands it, has done terrible things. His men were some of the first to defect in Redcliffe, and with all the chaos, his hands weren't left entirely clean themselves. There are leaders in Skyhold, and he seeks duty and atonement, at the cost of whatever punishment he may deserve.


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