Title: Dragon Age: Those Who Speak and Dragon Age: Until We Sleep
Creators: David Gaider (writer) and Alexander Freed (artist)
Posted: About three pages total from Those Who Speak #1 and handful of panels from Until We Sleep #1 & 2
Availability: Digitally from Dark Horse and Amazon, also available in trade

Some time back, there was a kerfuffle on Bioware’s Dragon Age message boards regarding their disappointingly offensive portrayal of a trans character in DA2. There was the usual tact and sensitivity you’d expect from the dudebros, but one of the game writers did step in, apologize for the poor portrayal, and say they’d try to do better in future.

Well, here we are.




Ultra-super, major-condensed version: Alistair, Varric, and Isabella are trying to track down King Meric, Alistair's father. The quest has brought them to Tevinter, in pursuit of a powerful mage named Titus.




Maevaris Tilani is introduced in Dragon Age: Those Who Speak #1. She’s unassumingly announced as a Tevinter Magister and part of Varric’s family. She promises to help them out as she can.



And, of course, trouble shows up in the form of Alistair deciding to pick a fight re: his dad's whereabouts as soon as Titus walks in the door.







The trio dashes off in pursuit of Titus, and Mae vanishes for the rest of the series.

Pick up again in Dragon Age: Until We Sleep #1, where Mae has been captured and interrogated by Titus for her betrayal...



...and this is where the reader is let in on Mae not having cis-female attributes.

Varric frees her and continues through the catacombs. He finds the quest object suspended over a pulsating magical artifact and, in the grand dungeon crawl tradition, decides that the best way to investigate it is to shoot a crossbow bolt into it.

He comes to in The Fade (the dreaming realm) some time later, shakes off his own bittersweet memories, and tracks down Mae.



Varric points out that they're still on a job; Mae is a little distracted by her reunion with her husband (and no little under the spell of The Fade).



Ah, yes. Priorities.

Further in, they find Isabella, who, after a run-in with the Qunari, has fancied herself as one of their warriors and attacks them outright. Even after they managed to shake some sense into her, she feels the pull of the Fade, and of how easy it would be to let someone else take charge of her life.



Eventually, they collect Alistair and fight their way clear of The Fade before dispatching with Titus and freeing Meric.

So far as Mae's portrayal goes, I think this was excellently done. Not once is there so much as a snide remark about Mae’s body conformation. She’s addressed with the proper pronouns throughout both series. She’s a person of accepted high standing among her peers and an undeniable asset to the heroes, not plunked down as a curiosity or so that the writers can show her off for diversity points. And she is not killed off for angst!

I’m still not hearing anything about the DA3 game that’s making me excited to pick it up. (Human Templar PC. Ugh.) But! If Mae’s one of the companions, I will put down money for it.