Name: Sereda Salrokallak
Race/Nationality:
Dwarven Exiled Smith Caste
Age: 33
Gender: Female
Class: Rogue
Personality:
Sereda loves money more than anything. That being said, she still has more morals than just making money, but it's a very nice incentive. She'd sell out her friends if she can make up the money to cover the difference, depending on how close she is them. Which usually isn't, since she makes it clear from the get go that she only really befriends others if they could be used to make more money. To that end however, she happens to be friendly with lots of people; she's the type of person who'd made a square hole for square pegs, someone who always tries to see the usefulness in someone and make them feel needed. She's very stingy with her money however and is hesitant to spend it freely, and it carries over into how she deals with day-to-day problems; she won't invest her time into something she can't profit from in some way or form. She's also rather paranoid and quick to jump the gun if she feels that she or something she values is being threaten, and is not a very forgiving person. She's played the politics back at Orzammar, and while she's not the best, she knows her way about manipulation and doesn't tolerate others trying to use her.
History:
Sereda was born between the Warrior Caste of Salrokallak (Friend in War) and Isana (Singing Stone). It was largely a political marriage, but the two newly weds liked each other enough. Sereda's mother was from the House Isana, a smith with little renown but great skill. She was one of the developers of the Runic Crossbows; that is, crossbows that can infuse the bolts that fly out of it with various magical effects depending on what Rune is attached to it. Different from merely enchanting the crossbows, as the effect is an innate ability of the crossbow itself, thus allowing additional enchantments alongside the given effects of the crossbow. Sereda's mother also developed the Spiral Edge Bolts, special crossbow bolts specifically designed to through stone walls. Most armors don't fare any better. Sereda's father had fought in many campaigns into the Deep Roads and is a teacher of the Twin Maul fighting style; using two clubs to their fullest efficiency, making even the more artistic swordsmanship look downright barbaric in comparison. Sereda was just one of the children that her father sired, and Sereda had at least a dozen half-siblings, most of whom want nothing to do with her and the feeling is mutual.
Sereda spent much of her childhood learning her mother's trade, which she picked up quickly. Her mother would boast about Sereda's skills to the others, claiming that she'll be the next Paragon with how quickly she was picking up her mother's teachings. Sereda was a bit more humble and downplayed her talent, but there was no doubt that before she was even ten years old, she knew how to work Silverite into a fine blade and how to fuse Lyrium into even the most complicated of armors. Her skills in the forge is actually want made her father take notice of her more so than his other children; while they tried to take up arms and become warriors, they also bickered and fought among each other. Sereda was the only one who didn't seem to care about screwing over her bothers and sisters, and was actually concerned about her father's well-being during his expeditions. Because of it, when Sereda's father was around he would take some time to spend with her, to teach her the Twin Maul fighting style and life in general. Sereda's father was aloof, but carried a sort of wisdom from his life constantly fighting not only the Darkspawn, but his own people. He knew that the path the dwarves were going on right now was only going to led to a slow death, and that it would take extreme action to change them for better or worse.
Despite Sereda's wish to remain unaffiliated in Dwarven Politics, her own neutrality made her a target for many, and not just within her own House. Some sought to gain her favor simply to reinforce their own influence, others saw her as a threat since she often would refuse to give her favor. While not the most sociable child of House Salrokallak, she arguably had the closest bond to her father, who was at the time the next in line to be the leader of the House. Those who sought to ally and use House Salrokallak sought to either appease Sereda's father or Sereda herself, and every time she refused to give into their bribery, she only made more enemies.
It all came to head when she was around 30 years old. Her father was now the leader of House Salrokallak, and rumors have spread that Sereda was to be the next in line, despite having three older brothers. Sereda herself denied these claims and was not even aware that her father would think that she's worthy of such a position. Sereda had fought in a few fights in the Provings and against wayward assassins, but she lacked the tactical knowledge and battle prowess to lead a house of Warriors as her father did. But regardless of what she thought of herself, others only saw her as a threat. And because of her neutrality and her refusal to create allies, she was easily blackmailed for crimes she did not commit, but had no one to stand by and defend her. Even her father could not protect her, though that was because he was out on another campaign. Sereda's mother tried her best to claim her daughter's innocence, but being Sereda's mother made her testimony invalid. Sereda was to be exiled from Orzammar and her names erased from the Shaperate. Despite fighting tooth and nail against it, Sereda decided to leave Orzammar with at least some dignity. She gathered what little belongings she could and headed to the surface.
Life outside of Orzammar was not as bad as Sereda had thought. Though she initially did find it hard to get along with the surfacers, soon enough she managed to get into a mindset that would allow her to befriend others; Money. Her skills weaving Lyrium and Smithing made her quite valuable, and she found to make most of her money working with the Templars at the Circle of Magi. She created for them armor and weapons she enchanted herself, while at the same time, shared a little bit of her knowledge on enchantments and Lyriums with the mages. Soon she left the circle and joined up with a Caravan, where she put her skills with her crossbow and the Twin Maul style to good use; when she wasn't selling her skills fixing up kitchen ware or making fancy lanterns, she was bashing bandit skills into their heads. It was good money and an enjoyable experience, but once again Sereda felt the need to find something new to do.
Weapons:
Steel Studded Club - A deceptively light but durable wooden club with steel studs. Despite looking like nothing more than an embellished cudgel, in Sereda's hand it can move faster than an arrow and hit harder than a Golem's fist. She'd often have it constantly moving in order to both build up and maintain constant momentum, and shattering the blades and hilt of other weapons is a common tactic she employs. It also has a spike on the tip for stabbing.
Murder Knife - Actually more like a dagger. A simple steel dagger that is weighted for throwing, stabbing, slashing, and other reasons you might need a blade for. Affectionately called the Murder Knife by Sereda due to what she mainly uses it for. Often the off-hand weapon when wielding her club.
Runic Crossbow - The last gift Sereda made for her daughter before her exile. The rune on it gives each of the bolts fire from it an explosive effect, not only harming enemies near the point of impact, but also knocking enemies back or to the ground. Sereda carries normal bolts as well as Fire, Ice, and Sureshot (Highly effective against Darkspawn).
Armour:
While it may look like Sereda wears what may only be normal clothes and maybe some parts armor, she actually wears iron chainmail underneath her clothing, with some iron pauldrons to both provide protection and to show her pride of being formerly part of House Salrokallak.
Skills:
Proficient Two-Weapon Fighter especially with maces and other blunt weapons. A dead shot with a Crossbow, but only decent with a bow. Knows how to maintain and make equipment and magical enchantments. Her smithing expertise not only cover weapon and armor, but just about anything dealing with metals in general, including locks and traps. She would like to say that she's a good manipulator, though in truth it's more like she knows when someone is trying to manipulate her. Bonus points to her Sense Motive checks. And while not necessary a skill, Sereda is fairly resistant to both poison and magic due to exposure to both over the years as well as being a dwarf.