Sares

Physical Appearance
Sares is a tall man of normal build. His dark hair is now greying fast, though the short beard he has still retains most of his normal hair color.

His clothing style is polished, he usually wears a dark shirt and trousers with a long cloak over it. Around his neck he wars an iron necklace, a gift from his mentor, Marcus and on his hands he has an enchanted ring. His belt pouch is filled with lyrium potions and his weapon of choice is a long staff made from silverite.

Personality
Sares is usually calm and collected. He learned early on in the circles to always be in control of a situation and keep his true feelings suppressed and hidden. Because of the experiences during his harrowing, he is deeply distrustful of spirits and demons and has a huge animosity towards blood mages.

Talents
Sares is a peoples person. He enjoys conversation with most and is easily approachable by strangers, though has little patience for people who waste his time. He has basic knowledge of almost all schools of magic, though he specializes in spirit magic and shapeshifting in combat situations.

Skills/Spells
Basic knowledge in all commonly known schools of magic  Bloodied Beast 
 * Dispel Magic
 * Mana Drain
 * Mana Cleanse
 * Fade Step
 * Shapeshifting (Insect Form, Golden Eagle Form, Bear Form)
 * Horror
 * Bloody Clash

History
Sares is a true Circle Mage. Born to two mages in the Fereldan Circle of Magi in 9:24 Dragon, he was sent away shortly after his birth and ended up in a Chantry orphanage in Jader, at the border of Orlais and Ferelden. He stayed there in relative safety while the 5th Blight raged through Ferelden, only finding out years later that his parents were some of the victims of the events in the Circle tower during that time. In his 9th year of life, two years after the end of the Blight, his magic manifested and he was sent away from the only home he had ever known, off to the Circle of Magi in Ghislain, to understand and master his talents.

Sares was a quiet and serious child who showed his talent for enchantments early on, though he was fascinated by all schools of magic taught in the Circle and even more by the stories of the Circle mage who would became known as the Hero of Ferelden. During this time, he had a good relationship with most of his fellow students, though as the years passed and he began to forget his life in the orphanage, he came to accept his magic and his life and he could hardly imagine a world outside of the circle anymore. As time went by and he got older, he raised the attention of one of the Senior Enchanters, Marcus Doucy, who took him in as his own apprentice. Sares enjoyed this time of his life immensely, as he was able to use the full extent of knowledge stored in the Circle library as well as having someone he could trust and confide in.

At the age of 17, he successfully went through his Harrowing, though the experience changed his outlook on life. Before, he had focused his studies mostly on enchantments and defensive forms of magic, but meeting a demon of Pride during the test, he felt almost overwhelmed and made the decision to look for another way to be useful to the Circles and find a goal for himself. All of this came to a halt when the events in Kirkwall showed the world the darker sides of the Circles and while conflict had been brewing for years, in almost directly after passing his Harrowing, the Mage-Templar war broke out into open conflict. Many of his peers and teachers left the Circle to fight for their freedom, while others tried to stay out of the battles.

Sares was not at the Circle tower when templars and mages clashed there, resulting in death and destruction. When he returned, his home was once again no more, the smell of fire, blood and death filling the air. Aghast by the amount of destruction, he turned to his teacher Marcus and found a place to stay in the Doucys' family estate. During this time, he continued his studies, though now more limited by not being able to use the Circles libraries. With immense luck, Marcus managed to get an old book about the mostly forgotten magical school of shapeshifting in his hands and Sares, enthralled by this opportunity, took to study it over the years and going outside to research animals and their forms, slowly mastering this art of magic. When the war ended thanks to the Inquisition and the new Divine Victoria reinstalled the Circle of Magi, though now tightly leashed to her hands, Sares and his master returned to Ghislain. They were both welcomed back and Sares attained the rank of Enchanter, using the now restored library and collection of knowledge to also refine his talents in the school of Spirit Magic, to be able to fight off other mages if it should become necessary.

Years passed and when Sares turned 32, he and Marcus were offered a position in Cumberland, which both accepted without much hesitation. There, he began to teach younger mages and share his knowledge while still heavily invested in his own studies, though because of the importance of the new circle he was a part of, he was able to make connections with the local nobility and gain some political experience. While not a big admirer of it, it was a useful tool and because of the way the new Divine executed her duties, Sares' willingness to engage with all kinds of different people, he was granted the rank of Senior Enchanter at the age of 37.

The following years were quiet, until whispers of an uprising of darkspawn in the Anderfels reached the Circles. Worried by the prospect of another Blight, the circles were asked to form a group of ambassadors to the Anderfels and Tevinter, to form contacts and be able to fight off the Blight, should it become certain that another had risen. While the tensions and differences with the Imperium still existed, it had gotten better over the years and mages regularly were allowed to travel between the two countries and act as ambassadors and messengers. Seeing this as an opportunity to learn and see more, Sares volunteered and was accepted in this position in 9:66 Dragon. By now, Sares has spent 6 months in Tevinter, making contact with the local Circles and trying to not get caught up too much in the game of politics, while also immensely enjoying the freedom and knowledge mages have in the Imperium.

In-game
Sares was in Minrathous when rumours of a new rising darkspawn threat in the Anderfels reached the south. They also heard of the attacks on the lyrium deliveries from the dwarven empire to Tevinter and the resulting alliance between the two. Sares was sent to Weisshaupt to investigate the issue and offer a loose alliance with the wardens and establish a connection to the south, so they could prepare early enough should a new blight happen.

In Hossberg, he met Gisele and identified her as an apostate. She convinced him that she was no blood mage and had information the wardens would find useful against the darkspawn, so he agreed to accompany her to Weisshaupt and judge her based on her behaviour during their travels. Together they fought several darkspawn on the way and got to know each other better.

Relationships

 * Gisele - He views her almost as a daughter and wants to protect her, despite her having proven herself over the years.
 * Ser Gwyn - Interested in him, wants to spend more time in him. (Romantically involved™)
 * Katari - Wants to help him control his magic, views him as a potential danger
 * Ophelia - They first met in the chantry orphanage in Jader. A few years younger than Sares and quite annoying. They met again in the circle in Ghislain and later in Minrathous, where she now acts as the Rivani Circle representative. The closest to the bane of Sares' existence anyone has ever gotten.

Miscellaneous
Headaches

Sares is prone to headaches when he is stressed or worried. His go-to solution to them is drinking a lyrium potion, though it mostly acts as a placebo as he refuses to confront the real reason.

Parents

Sares never met his parents and only knows their names. They were circle mages in Ferelden who died there during the events of the Blight. He does not wish to learn more of them, afraid that they might've been a part of the revolution there.

Fear of Demons

After the events during his Harrowing, Sares is deeply afraid of demons and prefers to not interact with spirits. During moments of stress and, sometimes in his dreams, he still hears the voice of the pride demon met during the harrowing, though he does not know if that is his imagination or if the demon still lurks somewhere close, waiting for him to make a mistake.

Wine

Sares loves wine and fine cuisine, though he himself never really learned how to cook. He is able to survive outdoors, but prefers the comfort of a Circle tower to the alternative.

Circle System

Sares knows of the flaws in the Circle system and while they have gotten better under Divine Victoria, he also thinks the mage rebellion was a mistake and that misuses of power are better confronted from the inside of the Circles.