fanart by reissaH
Calpernia, ex-slave, leader of the Venatori, and if you play your cards right and allow it - a future Tevinter revolutionary.
Voiced by Alexia Healy (Thanks @Jo Berry for the info)
Ever since I met her, I found her to be one of Bioware's most interesting antagonists, not just because her intentions are believable and acceptable, but because when confronted with Corypheus' betrayal, she is intelligent enough to see that she has choices. She doesn't throw herself against the Inquisitor in despair, or deny the truth, but - if you allow it - she leaves to follow her original agenda.
Ever since DA began, one of the things I wanted more than almost anything else was the opportunity to attempt to change Tevinter. As Calpernia - and Dorian - I've always seen what it could be, and I disliked that in this story, the role of the Evil Empire fell to a civilization I would've admired more than any other if not for the human sacrifice and slavery. In Calpernia's words, Tevinter could be "A crafter of wonders, standing against the savage Qunari. A beacon for all". Calpernia embodies that hope in DAI, together with Dorian, and she embodies the breaking of the bonds of slavery.
Read more about who she is here. As minor as her quest "Under Her Skin" appears in DAI - it has so much more plot weight than screen presence, it's really disappointing - it does a great job of characterizing her. It's worth playing the templar path for it - and I say this as a player who has more trouble allying with the templars than most.
I want to see her again. Preferably, if the next DA game plays in Tevinter, as a major NPC whose efforts we can support. We do not have a confirmation of her death in any path through DAI, so that's completely possible. [Edited this due to new information]
Unfortunately, her story in DAI is rather short, so there isn't that much to discuss. So....post anything Calpernia-related you want to say, or what you can find elsewhere, including links to fan art or fan fiction. Because, well, I'm a fan. I hope there are more.
Footage of our only encounter with her in DAI, in the version we favor:
Calpernia turns against Corypheus
And here the short story "Paying the Ferryman" by Jo Berry, published 2015-06-02. Recommended reading!
Statements about Calpernia, taken from "World of Thedas, Vol 2"
"Her reading had given her an appreciation for Tevinter's past triumphs and a burning frustration with the ruling nobility's indifference to their homeland's slow decay".
"She saw these Venatori as the key to saving Tevinter, a group dedicated to forging a great future for the Imperium and humanity as a whole."
"Her dreams of revitalizing Tevinter included uplifting the enslaved as true citizens of the Imperium. Calpernia believed in the worth of the people unseen by the powerful, and well remembered her own longing for dignity."
"It is a testament to Calpernia's strength of vision that she remained the Venatori's leader, largely unquestioned and second only to Corypheus, until the end".
"What happened to her is sadly a mystery. Corypheus returned from the Wilds with his army broken. Calpernia did not return at all. Did that blazing power and spirit of steel outlive a second master, or does she lie silent in the shadows of the temple of Mythal? The last of the Venatori are scattered to the winds, and those few who can be found either do not know or are intent on preserving their former leader's secrets."
(Source: The World of Thedas, Vol 2, 249)
Why the thread title?
It is, of course, an allusion to Calpernia's potential as a character rather than a reality. However, I do feel that time is running out for the Imperium. The magisters are more concerned with their internal rivalries than with their empire's real problem, and that takes away resources from more important matters as well as the war against the qunari, which I feel needs to be won - or at least ended under reasonably favorable conditions - for the sake of Thedas as a whole. Tevinter needs allies, and for that it needs to become something others would ally with, as well as acknowledge its need in the first place. It is not clear whether the endemic slavery is something that can plausibly be removed in short order without wrecking the economy, but the practice of human sacrifice can, assuming someone has the power and the will and enough support.
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