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[Maria Caliban]

"It’s a Keeper’s job to remember, even the dangerous things."

The Keepers of the Dalish are the masters of ancient lore and guardians of old secrets. As First, Merrill has been a student of Dalish lore and magic all her life. She can recite all of known elven history and navigate the Fade… but has very little experience with the world or even her own people. She has always held a respected place within her clan, but an isolating one – being Keeper Marethari’s heir kept her just slightly apart from the others. Forced to flee north to escape from the Blight ravaging Ferelden, Merrill finds her clan in a foreign land, trapped between a bustling city full of humans and a haunted wilderness, and must find help for her people. Whatever the cost.

Official Character Info

Chris Priestly wrote...

To help you better understand Merrill as a character, here is a short story written by the Dragon Age 2 Development team.

Merrill

“Watch your step, da’len.”

The Keeper’s warning comes too late -- as usual -- and I trip over the rock, bruising my knees and losing the skin on my palms to the jagged mountain rock. Mythal’enast! Someday, I’ll learn to watch where I’m going. I struggle to my feet, hands covered in blood, and look around.

We’re here.

The cave mouth is unbearably spooky, even for Sundermount, which you’d think was trying for some sort of spookiness medal.  Most Terrifying Mountain in Thedas, maybe. Mist swirls out of the blackness as if it’s breathing, and the hillside around it is barren. A gaping maw, devouring all the life within its reach…

Not a good mindset, Merrill. Think positive! At least the weather’s fair.

“You feel it too, then.” The Keeper’s voice snaps me back to reality. She’s looking at me expectantly. .. which means I’ve forgotten something.  I try to smooth my tunic and succeed in smearing blood down the front.  Wonderful. And I still don’t know what it is she’s waiting for—oh! Answer. Right.

“Yes, Keeper. The voice is much louder here.” The whisper tugs at the edge of my thoughts, and I can make it out if I concentrate. In the camp, I could only hear it in my dreams, and the words were lost upon waking. Only a memory of terrible loneliness remained. Even the Keeper woke sobbing the second night.

Come to me.

I shiver. This is definitely the source.

“Follow me, da’len. And keep your wits about you.” The Keeper vanishes into the hungry mouth of the cave. I take a deep breath and go inside.

The dark is a shock after the sun-drenched mountainside. Like jumping into a pool of icy water on a hot day. My eyes adjust to the dimness, we pass through a narrow passageway into a grand chamber and I see… ruins. Light shines through cracks in the ceiling, broken by the shifting of time and tree roots. Not a cave after all then? A temple or a tomb or… I don’t know what this is. Strange.

“It doesn’t look elvish, does it, Keeper? Tevinter, maybe?” I look to the Keeper, who is peering silently at some sort of archway with a disapproving frown that I know all too well. Poor archway. It didn’t do anything.

“If this place was part of the war, then it doesn’t matter who built it. It is dangerous.” The Keeper turns from the archway, apparently dismissing it. “If it isn’t from the war, it is unknown, and probably still dangerous.” I’m certain there’s a flaw in her reasoning somewhere, but it seems like the middle of the creepy tomb-cavern is a bad place to argue the point. She descends a short stairway into the temple below.

I trail after her, giving the archway a reassuring pat as I pass.

Come to me.

The voice comes from the far end of the temple, from an ugly statue of a big squatting… thing with too many arms and legs. Well, that’s not promising at all.

“Who calls us?” The Keeper demands, drawing herself up. She looks the way I imagine the elves of Arlathan did, regal and wise, and the timbre of her voice says, I don’t care if you are a spirit, I will thrash you if you give me a reason. She scolded a wild sylvan with that voice once, and it stumbled off looking ashamed of itself. Well, as ashamed as a tree can look, anyway.

Help me.

Oh, that was not the right answer at all.

Keeper Marethari seems to grow taller, becoming a towering pillar of angry Dalishness. “Name yourself! Or be left to your silence.”

I am One Who is Trapped. Help me.

“Your name!” I have never seen the Keeper this angry. Not even when Tamlen disappeared.

Three seems to be the magic number. Audacity. The voice is like a winter wind, bitter and ragged.

“A demon.” The Keeper spits the word as if it tastes foul. She nods at me, “Bound to the statue. It will not threaten the camp.” She turns to leave, satisfied.

Wait! I have been trapped here for time beyond counting. I bore witness to the fall of your kingdom. Help me, Keeper of the Dalish, and I will give you knowledge of all I have seen. For a moment, I see visions of the world as it once was. An empire that spanned all Thedas, glittering cities of the elvhen…. All this could be yours.

“Come, da’len.” The Keeper beckons. The vision fades.

I turn and follow her out into the light.


Learn more about Merrill when you play Dragon Age 2.

-----
There's apparently a group:


Concept Art:
It's a Keeper...

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Merrill Mods:
Sunnie's Merrill Launcher for DA II



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Fan wurks:


aceyl Fanart:
- Merrill face

Agregor's Fanart:
-Merrill Sketch

Aimo's Fanart
- Archer Hawke and Merrill

artsangel Fanart:
- In the forest green...

Aristorum's Fanart:
- Fenris and Merrill
- People are watching!

Arylas' Fanart:
- Merrill, Fenris, and Orsino Frolic

Artshardz Fanart:
- Bloody Merrill

Aztarieth's Fanart:
- Commisioned Work

bagoflimbs' Fanart:
-First Kiss (comic)
- Lowtown Fun


Buukkin's Fanart:
- Body Shots (NSFW)

broutefuin's Fanart:
- Merrill Face Skt

Dolm's Fanart:
- Weeping

BHellstern's Fanart:
- Poki'Merrill!

Blze001's Fanart:
My Little Keeper

broutefoin's Fanart:
-Pensive Merrill


BTCentral's Fanart:
- Merrill: Tomb Raider!

carrot cake bandit's Fanart:
- Hawke and Merrill (NSFW)

comiclasm's Fanart:
- Marrill on White

DaggerFiend's Fanart:
- Merril thugs out
-- To go with this image is Merril's Fresh Keeper of Kirkwall song!

Dalish Ranger's Fanart:
- Comfort

Drat Nine's Fanart:
- Sacrifice (Comic)

Drizzt ORierdan's Fanart
- Dealing with demons
- Cute and Bossy
- Come to Jamaica.

enife's Fanart:
- Once Upon a Time...

Estigiakin Slayer's Fanart:
- Magia de Sangre – Comic

Fishmas' Fanart
- Busted

ipoppet's Fanart:
- lil frolicker

Jackeldragon's Fanart:
- Merril hits you up gangsta style

Jessique's Art
- Alone Time (comic)

Karlov's Fanart
- Thank thing you do

Kuurankuiskaus' Fanart:
-Merrill portrait

MorningBird's Fanart:
- Lady Hawke and Merrill Sketch

Nassi's Fanart:
- Merrill + Kitten

OraVelnoria87's Fanart:
- Vale Hawke and Merrill

Pseudocognition's Fanart:
- Merrill smiling
- Isabela will love her, and pet her, and call her Merrill
- Stip Poker

ramgoatlover's Fantart:
- Merrill Shares a Scarf

rychan's Fanart:
- Liar, thief, ghost, killer

Shadowcat's Fanart:
- Dainty Merrill

Siradix's Fanart:
- Merrill at the beach
- Merrill's winter wonderland

spiraldonsta's Fanart:
- Last Word

Squanderling's Fanart:
- Slightly melancholy Merrill
- Chibi Merrill

Taix Rules All
- Merrill with storm in background
- Stoner Merrill

Tehnazzy's Fanart:
- Merrill and Gerret Hawke

TotoroTori Fanart:
- The FIRST fanart

Tsyele's Fanart:
- Sketch of Merrill
- Merrill standing

Victorian Trash's Fanart:
- Run Merrill, Run!

ViSeirA's Fanart:
- A gif of our first image of Merrill
- Merril with stenciler effect
- Sculptured Merrill

YamiSnuffles Fanart:
- Double (blood) Rainbow!

Zjarcal's Fanart:
-Merril the Martian

Maria Caliban's Fanart:
- Merrillcat

Fanart by Unknown:
- Merrill Face
- Merrill and Lady Hawke reading


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Sig Banners!




Glowy Staff 0_o


Very punny


I cannot imagine a sexier tiny blue ball of cuteness










Is the scarf also innocent and virginal? We can only hope.


Do you feel the irresistible urge to NOM on Merrill? This is the banner for you.

--------------------------------
And we now have our first Merrill Avatars:

Edited by Maria Caliban, 30 April 2011 - 05:22 AM.

[David Gaider]

Maria Caliban wrote...
Jenifer Hepler suggests she's a "virginal girl next door."

Err... I'm assuming this is because there's voiceover that says this when Merrill is on-screen?

Just a word of caution not to see the two as being related-- sometimes they are, though not in the way you might think. You're free to believe what you like, however, all I'm saying is not to make assumption based on that alone.

[David Gaider]

Atakuma wrote...
I think they will go with a new actress unless the old one can do a welsh accent.

It's a new actor-- and is the last on the list of "actors I specifically asked for and got on the first try".

Edited by David Gaider, 10 January 2011 - 11:10 PM.

[Mary Kirby]

TheHawkeWhoFlies wrote...

Excellent. Now all we need to know is who wrote her

I did.

[Mary Kirby]

Dhiro wrote...

She have chest hair? :happy:

You may feel free to assume she is an amalgam of Sten, Loghain, and Varric.

[Mary Kirby]

Maria Caliban wrote...

Is she as cute as she seems?

Pfft. She's way cuter.

[Sheryl Chee]

leggywillow wrote...

You know that heart-squeezy feeling you get when you see a basket of kittens or something?  Yeah, that's exactly what I felt when I saw this little elf.  She is unbelievably precious.  Seriously, I have never seen anything so damn adorable in my life.

Yes! This! You guys have no idea how cute Merrill is. I work here and and I still squee when she says things I haven't heard.

There's a lot of this in the writer pit:

Merrill (in-game): (something unbelievably cute)
Sheryl: GIGGLESQUEE!!!!! SO CUTE!!!
Mary: Hee hee.
Sheryl: She's so adorable I love her and want to hug her omgIcan'tbelievehowadorablesheisCAN-I-NOM-HER-HEAD?!
Mary: ... No.

[Mary Kirby]

TotoroTori wrote...

Sabariel wrote...

It's not that she's "cute", it's that she looks like a 13 year old with 30 year old breasts

if you look Mr.Gaider already pointed out, that the reason behind that was because of the outfit, so hopefully that will be fixed

There's nothing to "fix." Merrill is tiny. The front of her tunic is baggy. It sticks out a bit, and without the side view, you're assuming it sticks out farther than it does.

[Stanley Woo]

Let's keep it somewhat mature, folks. Thank you.

[David Gaider]

SteamPunks wrote...
I'm assuming that
Merrill is a very small elf, and is potentially a head shorter than male
Hawke. But in the video she is "walking up" to Hawke. Literally. So she
could even be on a hill. 

I think it might actually be the party that's standing on a hill, I'm not sure.

But, for those who were wondering, yes-- all elves do look different. They all have a very slender build, and their ears are more prominent. Their eyes and noses are also fairly different. Like most races, however, there's a fair amount of variation between the individuals. With any like, you'll get some looks at other elves to criticize examine.

[David Gaider]

The Lyons wrote...
This isn't meant to be a slight or anything, but how does one who acts like this on the internet get taken seriously as a writer? I have not heard so many instances of "squee" and "nom" from women on the 'net since I was early teens. When someone basically says that they behave in a manner similar to a teenager in real life, my faith in their ability to actually write a good story or character diminishes greatly. I really wish the writing team would exhibit Obsidian's level of professionalism in this case, as it reflects better on a title that I -want- to like as I have enjoyed the developers' past work.

I really hope this is not indicative of a shift in the quality of BioWare's future games. 

Mary and Sheryl are just people, and are allowed to have fun like anyone else. Considering how admirably they both proved themselves on Origins -- which I assume you enjoyed -- I'd think they'd be above such insulting comments as this.

HolyJellyfish wrote...
Create an appreciation thread for a
male character, and everyone is all over celebrating their beauty and
gorgeousness and adoring them like none other.

Create an
appreciation thread for a female character, and everyone is busy tearing
the character down by personality, appearance, bicep size, height, chin
length, and whether or not they are too cute or too loose.

This is pretty normal, I'm afraid. Mary and Sheryl and I were talking about this just the other day, and predicted this response to a tee -- though I think we're also very pleased to see she has fans, as well. No character's ever without their detractors, and that doesn't change anything. We don't take it personally, and neither should any of you.

Edited by David Gaider, 11 January 2011 - 03:00 AM.

[David Gaider]

The Lyons wrote...
It reeks of a lack of professionalism, and this is the main reason why people do not take video games seriously as an artful expression. Acting like that in front of your fanbase is just asking for the development of a very toxic relationship with them.

I think it's clear that some people could afford to take video games slightly less seriously as an artful expression.

I have no problems with their professionalism, and a harmless bit of joy is hardly toxic except when greeted by a response like your own. I suggest this particular conversation end here. If you have further issues, I suggest you take them to PM.

[David Gaider]

tmp7704 wrote...
I suspect she represents pretty well the body/silhouette of "new" female elves if nothing else, since these are shared across the board.

That is correct -- the elves are now super-slender -- though I would suggest getting a better look at her body (and her height) before making extrapolations. Not that this will stop people anyhow, but I'm simply suggesting that you realize you're operating on limited info there. This was not, after all, the "come see how Merrill and elves look" video.

[David Gaider]

Sandtigress wrote...
Last time I ask it, I swear. >.> If I remember right, you wrote the Dalish origin, yes David? Would you say then that Merrill is still a recognizable character from that origin, with her character expanded thanks to her bigger role but in a way that is growth and not complete change?

I think she's recognizeable-- but I also recall Merrill having very little to say in the Dalish origin. She was focused on your mission and expressed curiosity about the elven ruins, but not much beyond that. In fact, I'd say she was more or less a blank slate. As for what she is in DA2 and why, you'll see that soon enough I'm sure.

SteamPunks wrote...
Will we get to see Merrill without all the
baggy clothes in the way? (I don't mean naked, but in something that
shows of her figure better. Like some tighter armor or robes. Or does
her current outfit do that just fine, just not in this clip?

Her current outfit does that fine. I suppose we should have expected people to over-analyze the clip (I didn't pick it, myself), but it's certainly not intended as her introduction or anything. You'll see more eventually, I assume.

Edited by David Gaider, 11 January 2011 - 03:18 AM.

[David Gaider]

Thief-of-Hearts wrote...
So whoa wait, if she's super cute, 'virginal' but is curious about the ancient dalish ruins (someone else mentioned this either in this thread or another one just now)....does that mean she is the female elf equivalent of alistair, personality wise? sans chantry training and the big spoiler.

Heh.

We think she's super-cute, but bear in mind our standards may be slightly different than yours.

You'll see.

[David Gaider]

themageguy wrote...
i like the new elf designs. everyone hated origins elves looking so human like and now that they look different ppl arent happy? what the?

I don't think everyone hated elves in Origins. We certainly thought they looked too much like humans with pointy ears, however, which is a big reason for the change. For those who liked elves in Origins just fine, I think a bit of adjustment is perfectly understandable-- and maybe some allowance that some of them will never like it at all. C'est la vie.

[Seb Hanlon]

Folks, let's take the personal attacks and bickering out of the Merrill thread. Consider yourselves warned.

[David Gaider]

Beerfish wrote...

twincast wrote...

David Gaider wrote...
They all have a very slender build, and their ears are more prominent.

The size of the ears isn't the problem, it's the tips pointing back instead of up that makes them ugly.

Agreed, that is my only beef with her as we dissect every aspect of every character.

The ears kind of drooping looks odd at least in the still shot.

Hmm. Yes, I can see how dissecting a single screenshot (*cough*Carver*cough*) could give one all sorts of problems.

Especially considering the ears do point up, and only look the way you're describing when someone raises their chin slightly.

Edited by David Gaider, 11 January 2011 - 07:46 PM.

[David Gaider]

Lord Gremlin wrote...
Like cat ears? Now, she was cute already, that's just overdoing it. This character is about to leave dark fantasy area and enter hentai...

Perhaps you could try a little harder. I don't think you quite broke a sweat, there.

[David Gaider]

Maria Caliban wrote...
I thought Sheryl considered most anime creepy?

She does. The people making these comparisons either

a) don't know what anime is.

are blind.

c) are exaggerating because they think it's clever.

I look forward to a better shot of her, but until then expect the HERP DERP folks to have their way.

[Mary Kirby]

Pseudocognition wrote...


Have a Merrill. *toss*

I think I made her too short. Not used to drawing super narrow people.

All the writers went "D'awwww!" in unison when we saw this. It is eerily accurate, even.

[David Gaider]

Saibh wrote...
I don't think you can find humans with eyes that big. Her facial structure is different than a human's--close, and I wouldn't think she was an alien if I saw her walking down the street, but she'd startle me. She doesn't simply look like a skinny human, I think.

Indeed. Their body structure is different, their ears and eyes are different, even their noses (which you will see when you get a better look at them) as well as their overall skull shape. We're not going for alien... they're still humanoid, just as the dwarves are... but simply an identifiable silhouette that doesn't require you to see their ears, first.

[Mary Kirby]

Face of Evil wrote...

If you need suggestions for a banner, how about about "Merrill: She's a keeper"?

I admit, I laughed when I saw this. Well done!

[Mark Barazzuol - Designer]

BTCentral wrote...

ViSeirA wrote...

it does have some differences than her Origins' blood writing but if you don't directly compare you might not notice the difference.

Indeed, overall it's fairly similar, but it definately changed.

I can tell you that there certainly was effort to make anyone seen in Origins look similar in DA2.  Sometimes it's not always possible to make them look exactly the same.  And sometimes, thats even a good thing.

[Mark Barazzuol - Designer]

Saibh wrote...

Mark Barazzuol - Designer wrote...

I can tell you that there certainly was effort to make anyone seen in Origins look similar in DA2.  Sometimes it's not always possible to make them look exactly the same.  And sometimes, thats even a good thing.

Hm...I see it. I mean, you guys changed the basic facial structure of the elves.  I think you did a pretty good job to keep her looking somewhat similar. In any case, does this mean her eyes are still blue? They look hazel to me, but the lighting affects all the colors.

Out of curiousity, how close would you say you got the human characters to look similar to their past counterparts, if you kept the same face?

It varies.  The art style in DA2 has changed so the look of everything has changed.  On average the more well known a character from DA:O was, the closer their look will be (again on average) in DA2.  IMHO anything returning looks as good or better than the original.