The Drakestone Reserve [Plotting/Open Invite]

[Hanamene Thornecroft]

Changed the name to Drakestone Reserve so there's no confusion with Blackstone Irregulars -
also created a Wiki page for the Drakestone Reserve here.​

Alright, so as mentioned in Thornecroft Timelines, Hanamene eventually goes back to Redcliffe and serves the Arling. It can can play out organically IC, her getting to that point.

But this was the concept I had in mind for the cavalry unit she'd lead by the time we get to the DA:I timelines.

The Drakestone Reserve

• A small cavalry unit, never more than 10 horsemen, under this name.
• Originating out of the Redcliffe and Hinterlands region, they'd be based at a cantonment between Redcliffe and Lothering (Hana's family land repurposed for this reason).
• Name simply originates from the abundance of drakestone found in that region, has nothing to do with their armour or weapons. It's just symbolic.
• Though aggressive riders they'd remain a small force, avoiding large-scale combat when possible, and specialize instead on reconnaissance, tactical or attack-and-flee engagements.
• These would be veteran, auxiliary/irregular soldiers and horsemen, affiliated with the Arling of Redcliffe in particular. When the Mage-Templar war spills into the Hinterlands, they would've been doing their part to fight mage or templar alike in favour of defending the commonfolk of the region.
• Riding ability is paramount, pun intended. They'd likely all be riding Ferelden Forders.

If you've a character with loyalties to either Arl Teagan, the Arling of Redcliffe, or the Hinterlands and want to join in on building this idea (which we will ultimately just let flourish/develop IC), or want to be part of this in whatever way - drop a note in this thread.

Otherwise, the horsemen outside of Hanamene will be a revolving door of NPCs i.e. killable whenever needed to serve the agenda of one plot or another.

Since they're an auxiliary/irregular force, they don't necessarily have to be a legitimate offshoot of Redcliffe's militia. In my head, these would be ignoble people, close to a middle-class of citizenry and I drew some of my inspiration for this from the "Origins" section of a Wikipedia article on serjeants-at-arms - which was a real world class of fighter.

In my head, I could see the Drakestone Reserve as having risen from the ashes of a dead knight of Redcliffe's retinue or something. Perhaps the knight is slain and yet his men essentially carried on his mission in still serving Redcliffe?

I don't know, this is just concept stuff. Preliminary brainstorming. Thought it could work alongside Fer's desire to flip the script on DA:I's Teagan running away to Denerim with his tail between his legs when Alexius rolls into Redcliffe. Always seemed dumb to me that no one in Redcliffe rose up, when it was previously made out to be such an impressive, militant arling.

My two cents. Would love to hear yours.

Edit: And their affiliation to the Inquisition and/or to the Ferelden Crown would be dependent on whatever Teagan wanted of them. I see their interests being very centralized to the Redcliffe and Hinterlands region, but they're loyal to Teagan and would do whatever they're told by him specifically. Could be an interesting way to develop characters and play with some lower-scale political tensions if Inquis or the Crown tried to boss them around without Teagan's specific knowledge or express sanction (because that would prob go like this).

 

[Fergus Cousland]

I'm not sure if I will have anyone that would be directly involved in this yet, but I love this.

 

[Nathaniel Howe]

Still have to work out the what with the Grey Wardens during the Inquisition timeline, but I could see there being dealings with the Grey Wardens possibly if you want to chat that out. Besides, @Teagan Guerrin is Nate's bro. Right?

 

[Hanamene Thornecroft]

I'm not sure if I will have anyone that would be directly involved in this yet, but I love this.

Oh yeah, this wouldn't apply much to the current timeline - more so forward-thinking/brainstorming for when we do eventually get to the Inquis plots. This was essentially what I'd had in mind for Hana, but I wanted to post it here as an open invite regardless.

For the current timeline, I'd likely just foreshadow this here and there like Fer and I did with the Hana/Teagan letter.

Hana could potentially pass through Highever at some point en route to the Hinterlands, though - if we wanted to explore that. Magnus would likely hide out in some brothel until she left lol. I'm going to keep the Thornecroft siblings separate as much as if feasible.

Unless it serves to benefit someone else's char development or some other plot in itself, I'm not eager for the siblings to reunite. It'd be anticlimactic, anyway. "You're alive, huh." / "Uh... yep." / "Dick." / "Fair." THE END.

Still have to work out the what with the Grey Wardens during the Inquisition timeline, but I could see there being dealings with the Grey Wardens possibly if you want to chat that out. Besides, @Teagan Guerrin is Nate's bro. Right?

I'm definitely game for that!

I'll assume that by the time Inquis rolls around, Hana will have somehow found out her brother is not dead - so her opinion on Grey Wardens will soften by then and she'd likely be more cooperative with them (as opposed to the current timeline where she's a right bish to and about them).

We could foreshadow their future dealings with one another in the relatively current-ish timeline, even i.e. when Hana takes her first trip back to Ferelden in 9:36 to assess what's left of her family's land. She could pass through either Amaranthine or Denerim en route to the Hinterlands.

It could be a funny set up for later, if they initially got off on the wrong foot in the current timeline because of Hana's piss poor attitude about Wardens. She'd apologize for her behaviour in the Inquis timeline, though.

Mixing it up with Wardens, even if just one, would be fuuuun.

* * *​

Anyhoo, she won't be making trips back to Ferelden until 9:36. I'm thinking she'll wait to do that until the snows start melting away, and she'll probably make around 2-3 trips like that per year until Kirkwall's Chantry is blown up - that's going to be her "fuck this, I'm out" cue where Kirkwall is concerned. She might stay and help fight a bit when shit hits the fan post-BOOM, but as soon as she can thereafter she'd be heading back to Ferelden permanently.

This is also an open invite for future players/characters, if they're thinking about roleplaying a cavalry-type character or want to build toward doing so for the future timeline.

Also standing/continued invite for other collabs with this in mind, as well. For me, it's an excuse to soldier Hana up. And ride horses lol.

 

[Ferren Bairston]

Missed this when it was originally posted. I think it's a great idea.

As far as why/where the unit might be dispatched, I don't see anything really changing Teagan's loyalty to the Crown or the teyrnir. Redcliffe very proudly falls beneath the Highever banner, as far as he's concerned, and Alistair is family. Any issues that would be aided by having a specialized cavalry unit would warrant it in his mind--even if it's probably overkill.

Also probably goes without saying that Rainesfere would also be given aid whenever remotely necessary, lol.

As much as he likes to be a hands-on leader and will probably yearn for some kind of involvement in something that isn't politics by that point, I think he'd respect Hana's leadership over the unit and not try to direct their actions from afar. Yeah, there are some causes he'll fully endorse and some he'll distance himself from, but you should have a good amount of freedom to direct them as you see fit, and for members of said unit to have their own autonomy.

Also re: Grey Wardens, assuming what we've got going on now doesn't go completely tits up, I'd guess Teagan and Redcliffe will still have a good relationship with them. He owes them a lot presently, and I don't see that changing anytime soon.

 

[Hanamene Thornecroft]

Missed this when it was originally posted. I think it's a great idea.

As far as why/where the unit might be dispatched, I don't see anything really changing Teagan's loyalty to the Crown or the teyrnir. Redcliffe very proudly falls beneath the Highever banner, as far as he's concerned, and Alistair is family. Any issues that would be aided by having a specialized cavalry unit would warrant it in his mind--even if it's probably overkill.

Also probably goes without saying that Rainesfere would also be given aid whenever remotely necessary, lol.

Overkill!!!

calms down

But for sure, Teagan has his loyalties. Never questioned that. I do see Hana's loyalty firmly in the region she called home, though, (largely because she feels guilty for having left) but she would do whatever Teagan bid of her given that he's the arl of that region specifically. So if that meant being sent off to do something elsewhere, she'd comply without really questioning it esp. if an order is worded a la '...will benefit Redcliffe' or 'it's the duty of Redcliffe to...', etc. Anything political that she falls into would likely be unintentional on her part. Her eventual leaving Kirkwall will largely be in part because she's sick of Circle politics and the fallout (i.e. the BOOM) that resulted. I'm narrowing her world view after that from the grand ideals she used to believe in to 'okay, but what can I actually do that will make a difference'. She'll be thinking smaller-scale later on (e.g. "I can't save the world, but I can do my part to protect my region instead of running away like I did during the Blight). That all has it's own drawbacks in turn, and could arguably be seen as giving up on the greater good-but hey, that'll be fun to roleplay.

She'll definitely be interested in getting to travel along the way, too though - Highever, Rainesfere, wherever. By then, she'll just be happy to be back in the saddle regardless.

Could also be funny to, on occasion, have some 'on the road' encounters with nobles and/or higher ranking military personnel here or there, since Hana wouldn't know the who's who from first sight if they're, say, plain-clothed sans heraldic signifiers. I mean, she's been in Kirkwall since after the Blight so that could make for some entertaining first encounters/impressions. Open to getting off on the wrong foot, or even the opposite, and rp-ing the awkwardness that ensues on later reuniting. Again, she'll be making her first trip back to survey her land in 9:36 sometime. If that tickles anyone's fancy.

Honestly, she wouldn't even recognize Teagan without some Redcliffe emblem on his person, even though they've corresponded.

If she spoke out of turn in front of anyone like that, depending on who it was, she'd either be pretty mortified about it later or stubbornly stood by it. Could make for some entertaining interactions down the road.

Missed this when it was originally posted. I think it's a great idea.

As much as he likes to be a hands-on leader and will probably yearn for some kind of involvement in something that isn't politics by that point, I think he'd respect Hana's leadership over the unit and not try to direct their actions from afar. Yeah, there are some causes he'll fully endorse and some he'll distance himself from, but you should have a good amount of freedom to direct them as you see fit, and for members of said unit to have their own autonomy.

Also re: Grey Wardens, assuming what we've got going on now doesn't go completely tits up, I'd guess Teagan and Redcliffe will still have a good relationship with them. He owes them a lot presently, and I don't see that changing anytime soon.

He could though, if he wanted to. Putting that out there. I don't see Hana as having assumed the leadership role enthusiastically, over the unit itself, more so out of necessity. So anytime Teagan sends an order, I think she'd secretly be relieved to share the burden of directing the bunch in doing whatever it is that need be done. I see this unit being a little more duty-bound than compared to, say, Bull's Chargers. More duty boners, less freewheeling bravado. Not mercenaries, but soldiers legitimately invested in their cause (i.e. protecting their region, and closely-affiliated regions - will shed their own blood for Redcliffe/Hinterlands without question).

Not that there's anything wrong with being a merc! I just really enjoy contrasts. It would actually be entertaining if the Drakestone Irregulars met with other specialist units, too, sometimes. Just to explore that interaction and those contrasts in turn. Dissimilar people with similar causes. Sometimes awkward, but always fun. ^.^