Katrien was born in the alienage of Val Firmin to a city elf mother and a nomadic, Dalish elf father. It was far too common a story, seemingly doomed to end in a broken heart and poverty. Strangely, for most of Katrien’s childhood, Namari and Jathon struck a balance. He never stayed for long, but he always came back. The money and trinkets he sent back supplemented Namari’s washerwoman income enough that life was bearable, even in the alienage.
A boisterous and confident child, Katrien earned quite the reputation among the other children as a miniature but well meaning tyrant. She invented and arbitrated many of their games. After saving Ailwin – a boy of similar age – from a beating, Katrien fought hard to force his acceptance on their young peers.
They became inseparable friends.
As Katrien neared adulthood, they both found work with the noble houses of Val Firman – the same sort of labor and drudgery that so many elves across Thedas provide. Katrien and Ailwin took it a step farther, turning a profit on things secrets overheard. This escalated for some time, until they were working for Briala’s spy network during the time of the Inquisition.
Unfortunately, Briala proved to be perhaps the one person Katrien could never get along with. After witnessing the former sacrifice agent after agent for slivers of influence – and not to mention the open rumor of Briala’s lover Celene’s murder of many elves – Katrien refused to work with her any further.
This difference of opinion led Katrien and Ailwin to split from Briala’s network and go independent, under the name The Forsaken. They returned to Val Firmin and set up shop, thriving despite the complications introduced by the fall of the Veil. Katrien barely understands her spirit passenger, but it is undeniable how much it has assisted her in the years since. Compassion drives her to keep the Forsaken focused on helping city elves when she might otherwise have simply filled her pockets.