by: Jon Curry Zevran Arainai is an Antivan city elf and member of the Antivan Crows, a guild of thieves and assassins notorious in all of Thedas. Zevran and his men were hired with the intention of killing any Grey Warden survivors of Ostagar; he will be encountered during a random event in which the Antivan Crows have set up a trap for the Wardens. He will be the sole survivor of the failed attempt to assassinate the Warden, forcing the Warden to either kill him, let him go or recruit him. Zevran's personality is practical to the point of ruthlessness, and will generally approve if the Warden does whatever it takes to gain the strongest possible allies against the Blight. While Zevran has no personal quest, there will be a point before the Landsmeet where the Warden meets Taliesin, an Antivan Crow and former friend of Zevran. Depending on Zevran's approval rating and relationship with the Warden, he may remain loyal to the Warden or defect and ally with Taliesin. Zevran is bisexual, and thus a possible romance option for both male and female Warden. Shale Voiced by: Geraldine Becker Shale is an optional companion who is introduced in Origins via the DLC content, The Stone Prisoner. Shale is a stone golem who has a negative perception of humans and living beings after a life of servitude to a former master and having been stuck in place in the village for a long duration, as well as a hatred of birds due to being a frequent target of avian defecation. In order to recruit Shale, the Warden must first complete a quest in the Village of Honnleath and learn an activation code for the golem. Later in the story, the golem will attack the Warden if they choose to side with Branka in a quest pertaining to the Anvil of the Void. If Shale is not in the active party, it will confront the Warden upon their return to the party camp and will leave the party unless persuaded otherwise. Shale's personal quest involves a search for answers to its past. The quest leads the Warden to a long-forgotten dwarven city, where they find a monument. Upon observation of such monument, the Warden finds out that Shale was formerly Shayle of House Cadash, a female dwarf who had volunteered herself, amongst other volunteers, to become a golem to fight