#Aequittarians

[daughter-of-the-prophet]

Wynne (Tv Tropes)

The Archmage: At the end of the story, she mentions that Irving wants her to take his place as First Enchanter, but she refused the offer.

Badass Bookworm: A senior Enchanter in the Circle.

Badass Teacher: As a senior Enchanter, Wynne is responsible for teaching the unharrowed mages.

Beware the Nice Ones:

She’s almost always nice, but she can occasionally get downright nasty when provoked. In one conversation with Morrigan:

        Morrigan: "Of course I am still young, beautiful, and my life is my own — while you are bound to that Circle. Hmm. I wonder why I asked. It would be a silly thing, prolonging your life. A waste.“ 

      Wynne: "Think what you will, Morrigan. When the end comes, I will go gladly to my rest, proud of my achievements. While you… you will see how empty your life was. You will realize that because you never had love for others, you never received love in return. And you will die alone and unmourned.”

Her reaction to seeing Ilona for the first time since Ostagar is to calmly ask what she and her companions are doing at the Circle Tower and informs them that if they try to hurt the children, she will end them. Ilona assures her however that they don’t plan to harm anyone.

Can't Live Without You: Wynne is dependent on a friendly Fade spirit to keep her alive.

Can't Stop the Signal: In the novel Asunder, she sends a message to all the Circles in Thedas on the way back from the Adamant Fortress, ensuring that all mages everywhere will know it’s possible to reverse the Rite of Tranquility even if she and her companions don’t get the chance to spread the word in person.

Category Traitor: In Asunder, it’s mentioned that many mages have come to feel this way about Wynne, due to her leading the vote not to break away from the Chantry.

Cool Old Lady: She may be relentlessly nice, but she’s a tough old broad, too.

Cry into Chest: Zevran asks her if he may do this. She’s having none of it.

Dangerous Forbidden Technique: Wynne’s Vessel of the Spirit technique weakens the spirit that keeps her alive, further reducing her lifespan.

Dating Catwoman: Asunder reveals the father of her son, Rhys, was actually a Templar.  World of Thedas Vol. 2 heavily implies that the Templar in question was Knight-Commander Greagoir.

Dead All Along: She is already dead when she joins Ilona and her companions as a Heroic R.R.O.D.. A spirit from the Fade helps her to stay in the material world a little more.

Dead Man Walking: Wynne is already dead but is able to remain among the living due to the intervention of a benevolent spirit from the Fade. She has no idea how long she has left.

Good Is Not Dumb: Wynne is the only character in the party to stay unambiguously good and never give up her sense of morals. She also is a wise, experienced, very savvy woman, who correctly identifies Uldred as a traitor, provides many interesting discussions on morality and capable of as much snark as Morrigan or Zevran.

Foreshadowing: One of Wynne’s first conversations with Ilona is about the nature of abominations. Later, Ilona finds out why Wynne was grateful when she told her that if an abomination retains their personality and doesn’t behave evilly, it really isn’t an abomination.

Grandma, What Massive Hotness You Have!: She has really smooth skin for someone her age, and her body model is exactly the same as that of the younger Morrigan and Leliana. Zevran comments a couple of times on her ‘magical bosom.’ She’s not amused:

       Wynne: "Zevran, I’m old enough to be your grandmother!“

       Zevran: "You say that like it's a bad thing.”

Parodied by Shamus Young here.

Oghren seems to think so too.

When Alistair compliments that she looks younger every day, she jokes that he should watch who he flirts with… it would not be the first time she’s woken up to a younger man beside her in bed. This could be a reference to the father of her child - which, if he is who World of Thedas Vol. 2 suggests he is, would indeed be a bit younger than she is.

Heroic Fatigue: Starts to show signs of this early on in Asunder. Which leads to…

Heroic Sacrifice: She sacrifices herself to save the mage-sympathetic Templar Evangeline in Asunder. Though actually, she’d already done a Heroic Sacrifice back in Origins to save the Tower’s child apprentices from a demon, but a Spirit of Faith who was intrigued by her since her youth bound itself to her to save her. The two events are related: she passes the Spirit on to Evangeline, who herself was just killed, and the spirit was the only thing keeping Wynne alive.

Hidden Depths: You really wouldn’t expect a sweet, grandmotherly old woman like Wynne to know so much about alcohol. She even enjoys Oghren’s homemade ale - the same stuff that the dwarf offers a mug to Ilona as a toast to friendship - and manages to correctly identify the ingredients he uses for spicing. This surprises Rhys, Adrian, and Evangeline in the novel Asunder, when they stop at a local inn to rest and eat.

Humanoid Abomination: Ironically, despite being probably the most moral of any of the party members, she’d count as one by the standards of at least some Templars.

Hypocrite:

Wynne will try to persuade any mage she can to go back to the Circle, including her former apprentice Aneirin, yet takes any chance she can get to leave it herself. This is despite the fact that the former is dedicated to fighting the Blight and the latter would be killed on sight after being branded a maleficarum.

She frequently lectures Ilona about duty but turned down her responsibilities to the remnants of the Circle to adventure (Irving even tells her the Circle needs her).

Of course, both can be explained by Wynne still being part of the Circle and is allowed to leave so long as she returns and that Wynne considers her duty to Ferelden greater than the one to the Circle. This still doesn’t change the fact that she tries to convince every mage she meets to physically go back to the Circle despite taking every opportunity to physically leave the Circle herself. (Even after the Blight ends, she declines to return to the Circle in favor of helping Shale find a new body.)

Intergenerational Friendship: Ilona and Alistair, both whom she develops a particularly strong maternal attachment for.

Knight Errant: She’s firmly convinced Grey Wardens are supposed to be this, which is her argument for why Ilona should be a Celibate Hero. Ilona is able convinces her otherwise later on.

The Last Dance: She comes to see her journey with Ilona as one.

Living on Borrowed Time: She doesn’t know just how long the spirit inside her will be there to keep her alive, so she makes every moment count.

Meaningful Name: Wynne’s name has many appropriate meanings in Old English and Welsh, as seen here. All apply to the character. It may just be fan opinion, but Wynne is pronounced “Win” for a reason.

Mentor Archetype: Is considered this towards Ilona most of the time.

Missing Mom: Wynne is this to her own son, assuming he is even still alive. The delivery was extremely difficult, and the newborn was sent away before she’d even recovered enough to see him, as is the policy for all children born to magi. She reveals this to Alistair and admits that she would have liked her son to be like him.

                     Alistair: "Do you ever think about him?“ 

                    Wynne: ”...All the time.“

As it turns out, he is alive. In Asunder, she and her son are finally reunited; he’s a mage named Rhys.

Mrs. Robinson: Hints at it when she flirts with Alistair in Return to Ostagar. It’s not treated very seriously, though, probably because of the mother-son sort of attachment they share.

My Greatest Failure: Her first teaching assignment ended badly. She was apparently such a bitch to her student that he fled the Circle Tower. He was hunted down by the Templars and presumed dead. The only silver lining of that incident was that it taught her how to be a better mentor to new mages. Ilona eventually helps Wynne find closure by discovering that her former student actually survived and bears her no ill will.

Never Mess with Granny: Or you'll get a Stonefist to the face.

Not Afraid to Die: Wynne explains to Ilona that there is no need to fear death. Ilona tells her that she's actually not afraid of death.

Not Even Bothering with the Accent: Fereldan humans almost all speak with different kinds of English accents. Wynne speaks with a standard American accent like elves do. Part of this can be explained by Wynne growing up in the Tower, where humans and elves co-mingle freely. Even Irving seems to speak with a New England accent.

Orphan's Ordeal:  In a conversation with Ilona, she mentions that she cannot recall her parents and that her earliest memories are of living on the streets. She briefly lived with a family who let her sleep in the barn, until the day she accidentally set their son's hair on fire because he was tormenting her. The Templars arrived to take her to the Circle shortly afterwards.

Parental Substitute:  To both Alistair and Ilona.

Power-Strain Blackout: Wynne's Vessel of the Spirit technique leaves her stunned and disoriented every time she uses it. This effect is only alleviated after she receives an amulet which augments the power from Aneirin.

Sequel Hook: At the end of the story, she explains to Ilona that she will be traveling with Shale, claiming that Shale wants to become organic again. As Shale was inspired by Ilona, they apparently travel to Tevinter to see if there is a "cure" of some kind.

The Smart Guy: As a senior enchanter, she's the wisest of Ilona's companions. It's part of the Guardian's question for her during the Gauntlet.

Stern Teacher: Was an incredibly strict demanding teacher in her youth, much to her shame. She's far more mellow these days, although she occasionally slips back into this when she feels Ilona and Alistair aren't taking their duty as Wardens seriously.

Super Mode: Her Vessel of The Spirit power gives her a truly massive boost to Spellpower, the most critical stat for a mage, especially after she receives an item to augment the power.

The Talk: She teasingly gives this to Alistair after he has sex with Ilona for the first time. She also (more seriously) engages with The Talk with Ilona, expressing her disapproval and offering a recommendation of No Hugging, No Kissing. She especially has concerns since it’s Alistair whom Ilona had started a romantic relationship with, given his inexperience with women and the fact that both of them are Wardens. She does, however, eventually change her mind and apologize to Ilona.

Team Mom:

Ilona and Wynne develope a mother-daughter like relationship during the story.

Alistair likes to act as if she were his grandmother.

She plots to knit a sweater for Sten. How much more motherly can you get?

And she reunites with her son Rhys in Asunder.

She lectures Ilona about her romance with Alistair. Morrigan even yells at her to stop treating Ilona and Alistair like they are her children.

While helping Redcliffe Village prepare for the nightly onslaught of undead from the keep, Wynne is able to coaxs a child out of his hiding place in a cabinet by scolding him out of there. The child complies readily.

Wide-Eyed Idealist: Her perception of the Wardens is very idealistic, contrasting considerably with the victory at any cost mentality of the actual organization.

What the Hell, Hero?:

She becomes concerned when Alistair and Ilona start a romantic relationship but relents after realizing how much they really do love each other.

It's mentioned in Asunder that amongst the Circle of Enchanters, she led the vote not to break away from the Chantry entirely. Unfortunately, this has caused many Mages to regard her as something of a traitor, as a result.

White Magic: She's geared towards using healing magic.

White Magician Girl: A rare elderly example of this archetype, being around sixty when she first meets Ilona. Once she joins the group she quickly falls into the role of the resident Healer, frequently is shown to offer kind words of wisdom to various characters and becomes the unofficial Team Mom of the group.

You're Not My Mother: Morrigan calls Wynne out on her trying parent Alistair and Ilona.

Your Days Are Numbered: She survives the massacre at the Circle Tower only thanks to the intervention of a spirit of faith, which soon begins to weaken, meaning that she is literally living on borrowed time. She meets her end in Asunder, sacrificing her life to save Evangeline.

#dragon age #Wynne #mages #Senior Enchanters #Healers #Aequittarians #archmage #Tv Tropes