though hell may bar the way

Because it’s about damn time I just put everything in a single post that’s easy to refer to. I will add to this as more characters ever come up!

I don’t see the point in just plain listing things, so I’ve included all the math and reasoning behind these. 

Companions are grouped by games, with other characters at the end.

There is so much depth to Zevran Arainai’s writing that is often overlooked in favour of either sexually objectifying him or ignoring him altogether… which is kind of ironic, considering that’s how so many people in his life have treated him within universe. And then, of course, there’s the biphobia directed at his character back when Dragon Age: Origins first released. He was a joke in many Gamer Bro circles about how they killed him for flirting with their male protagonist. It’s such a shame, really. Because personally speaking, Zevran is one of my favourite characters in the entire Dragon Age franchise.

So anyway mages are better off under Vivienne as Divine than they are under Cassandra as Divine IMO

First, lets look at the actual conditions of the Circles with each Divine:

Cassandra, D:A:I Epilogue -

One month after the defeat of Corypheus, the Chantry names Cassandra as successor to the Sunburst Throne. Given the name Divine Victoria, she immediately enacts reform: a new Templar Order, and a new Circle of Magi.Despite her popularity, the new Divine’s reforms are seen by some as going too far.

Vivienne, DA:I Epilogue - 

One month after the defeat of Corypheus, the Chantry shocks the world by naming Vivienne as successor to the Sunburst Throne. Given the name Divine Victoria, she is the first mage to hold the position - and the uproar is immediate.Three revolts follow in quick succession, and her response is immediate and vicious. For months, chaos reigns.To the surprise of many, she reinstates the Circle of Magi and creates a Templar Order firmly leashed to her hand. Mages rise quickly in the new Circle, having more freedom and responsibility then ever before - even if all true power lies with her.

Cassandra just puts things back to the way it was before, because you know it worked out so well, and it’s immediately seen as too strict. All she really ends up caring about is the fate of the Seekers of Truth. (Which I didn’t include here, because it’s not relevant, and also there’s a bunch of different outcomes depending on what the Inquisitor suggests she do.)

Vivienne, however, redesigns the structure of the Circles, where Templars are under more control, and mages “have more freedom and responsibility than ever before.” She does this while also having to dodge immense backlash about her election, simply because she is a mage, and we can’t possibly have a mage on the Sunburst Throne now, can we?

Next, lets look at the fate of the Inquisitions mages with each Divine:

Cassandra, DA:I Epilogue -

The Inquisition’s mages – the former rebels led by Grand Enchanter Fiona – are left with a choice.

In the end, [the allied mages]refuse Cassandra’s invitation to rejoin the Circle of Magi and instead reform the College of Enchanters as a new order.The College, they say, will allow mages of the South to gather in peace and seek new solutions to age-old problems.From the beginning, the College and the Circle have clashed – and some fear it will lead to a new war of the mages upon themselves.

In the end, [the conscripted mages]accept Cassandra’s invitation to rejoin the Circle of Magi, but as a new college called the Bright Hand.It is not long before this new college dominates, pushing for reform and close ties to the Inquisition.Rumours begin to circulate of a split within the Circle, a shadow war against the new college by unknown forces.

Cassandra, Trespasser Epilogue -

[Allied mages] Some believed that the end of the Inquisition as it had been heralded the destruction of the fledgling College of Enchanters. Having clashed against the Circle, the College now found itself without support against the newly elected Grand Enchanter, Vivienne. Fortunately, Grand Enchanter Vivienne grudgingly agreed not to destroy its terrified leaders, as a personal favour to Divine Victoria.

[Conscripted mages] With the Inquisition no longer the power it had been, the College of the Bright Hand floundered. The newly elected Grand Enchanter Vivienne succeeded in pushing it into the margins of the Circle politics. No longer anyone’s hands, its leaders reforged it as the College of Enchanters, breaking away completely from the Circle.

The two institutions settled into an uneasy coexistence across the South, vying for power.

Vivienne, DA:I Epilogue -

The Inquisition’s mages – the former rebels led by Grand Enchanter Fiona – are left with a choice.

In the end, [the allied mages] refuse Vivienne’s invitation to rejoin the Circle of Magi and instead reform the College of Enchanters as a new order.The reaction from the new Divine is instantaneous: a war to dissolve the College before it begins.Some mages surrender; others return to the Inquisition. Either way, the new Circle of Magi stands triumphant.

In the end, [the conscripted mages] elect to leave the Inquisition and refuse Vivienne’s demand that they join the reformed Circle of Magi.However, this new mage rebellion does not last, as the Divine brings down her fury upon them.Some mages surrender; others return to the Inquisition. Either way, the new Circle of Magi stands triumphant.

Vivienne, Trespasser Epilogue - 

As the Inquisition forces returned to civilian life, its mages pushed for independence from the Circle. Divine Victoria, secure on her Sunburst Throne - and with a rebuilt Chantry Circle at her disposal - chose to be magnanimous. She grudgingly allowed them to remain as the College of Enchanters, as a mark of her regard for the Inquisition. For the next few years, the College and the Circle coexisted peacefully, if barely.

Yes, Vivienne’s actions are initially way harsher than Cassandra’s, (though I suppose that depends on your views on mages fighting mages, since that’s what Cassandra leaves to happen,) but ultimately, two years later, things work out for the best with Vivienne as Divine. The College of Enchanters and the Circle coexist with more ease than they do with Cassandra.

It’s also worth noting the differences in what happens with the templars, (assuming Cullen is cured of his lyrium addiction, and they are allied with, since the outcome for if they are conscripted is the same):

Cassandra, DA:I Epilogue - 

Those Templars of the Inquisition who were recruited at Therinfal Redoubt are left with a choice. Many follow in the footsteps of Commander Cullen, going through the slow and agonizing process of lyrium withdrawal.

[If the Seekers are rebuilt] This frees many to join the Seekers of Truth under the Divine – a renewed Order dedicated to justice for all.

[If the Seekers are not rebuilt] They rejoin the Templar Order under the new Divine – on the condition that her leash will not be reattached.

Vivienne, DA:I Epilogue - 

Those Templars of the Inquisition who were recruited at Therinfal Redoubt are left with a choice. Many follow in the footsteps of Commander Cullen, going through the slow and agonizing process of lyrium withdrawal.

[If the Seekers are rebuilt] This frees many to join the Seekers of Truth under the Divine – a renewed Order dedicated to justice for all.

[If the Seekers are not rebuilt]They refuse to join the reformed Templar Order under a mage Divine, instead forming a new knightly order called the Silver Shield.

So an added bonus is Vivienne easily gets rid of all the templars who have no business being templars right away, since they refuse to serve a mage. You know, what many templars claim is their purpose. Whereas under Cassandra, they rejoin on the condition she won’t keep them in check like LMFAO???

Finally, Vivienne being the first mage to ever sit on the Sunburst Throne is a monumental and symbolic achievement in itself. Before this, mages were not allowed to be part of the Chantry–the very organization that has controlled their lives for so long–let alone as the actual Divine. Whether mages across Thedas under the Southern Chantry’s rule agree with Vivienne’s personal stances or not, her being Divine shows them that they can have a voice, that they can represent themselves in their own system.

It seems my overwhelming love for Teia Cantori and Viago de Riva has garnered a reputation that I’m worth asking questions about them. I’m honoured! But I think it would be easier to just make a master post about them that I can direct to, so that’s what this is.

One of the first things Merrill tells Hawke is that she’s not very good at the whole social thing. “I haven’t exactly had many friends. Not even among my own clan. This is… tricky.” “I was never that good with people.”

She’s known to spend long periods of solitary in her home, which while Varric finds this concerning, Merrill doesn’t seem bothered by it at all.

She is over-consciously afraid of making mistakes, especially saying the wrong thing.

Doesn’t have much of a filter; she says what’s on her mind, then sometimes immediately afterwards questions out loud if that is something she should have said. That second part suggests that she’s aware this is an issue, but can’t help the automatic response.

She quite frequently misses what people are trying to say through metaphors, sarcasm, indirect statements, etc. This is another thing that she is aware of, but doesn’t have control over, saying that she wishes she did pick up on things more. 

She, in her own words, “babbles” a lot.

Other characters at least consider her “obsessed” with her mirror. I’m not sure if this is a real fixation or not, but it certainly could be.

Entering the Hanged Man, her only reaction is “it’s awfully noisy in here.”

House Dellamorte is so gloriously messy. You don’t get to achieve and keep the seat of First Talon without getting your hands dirty…. and unfortunately, without a great deal of loss.

It’s actually more of what Alistair says when talking about his childhood. He is very nonchalant about the whole thing, and in his head Eamon is a great man, but that doesn’t change the fact that he downright suffered from child neglect, in the least.

In the conversation where Alistair tells you he’s Maric’s son, he says quite a few things about how his childhood was less than ideal, depending on your dialogue choices. “The arlessa made sure the castle wasn’t a home to me by that point. She despised me.” “I wasn’t raised as the arl’s son, though, if you’re picturing that. I slept in hay out in the stables, not on silk sheets.”

In Redcliffe Castle’s dungeons, Alistair says “I locked myself in a cage, once, when I was a child. For an entire day. Ahh, good times.”

In Eamon’s Denerim Estate, Alistair says “The arl used to come here in the winter when I was small. I, uh… slept with the hounds.”

He then of course forcefully shipped Alistair off to templar training, because Isolde “felt threatened” by Alistair’s presence. The King of Ferelden entrusted him to raise his son, and he decided to send him away the minute he could.

He then lies to the warden in Denerim when trying to convince them Alistair is the most fit to rule: “I only wish Maric had taken more time to instruct the lad in the politics of ruling. I did my best, but…” You did your best? Your best was raising him as a stable boy, locking him up with dogs, letting your wife make him feel unwanted, and then sending him away at age ten?!

So, that’s my biggest problem with Eamon. But there are a few more things here and there that also add up to me not liking him:

He was needlessly a jerk to Anora, and tried to convince Cailan to divorce her, even though there are such things as concubines in Ferelden?

Also, he doesn’t seem to care for elves. After you encounter Loghain at the Landsmeet, he has the gall to turn to an elven warden and say “You can’t know what it was like to grow up as a vassal in your own land.” (???) He apparently doesn’t care that his human staff treats his elven staff poorly; if you talk to one of the elven servants in the Denerim Estate, she’ll say that “The Chamberlain disapproves of us. If Lady Isolde hadn’t brought me into this household from Redcliffe last year, I’d never have been given a place. I beg your pardon, ser, but I really can’t be seen standing about. The housekeeper will have my head. Good day.” And after you discover that there’s slavery in the Denerim alienage, he says that he’s glad to hear that they have dirt on Loghain, and not, you know, horrified and disgusted that it happened.

Hell yeah, here’s some stuff about Duncan!

Duncan was 18 years old during The Calling, which takes place in 9:10 Dragon. This would make him born in 8:92 Blessed. This would also make him possibly only 17 years old when he joined the Grey Wardens, six months prior to the events of The Calling. (Grey Wardens out here recruiting teenagers???)

Duncan’s mother was a Rivaini woman named Tayana, and his father was a Tevinter man named Arryn. (There’s been some conflicting information on his father, saying he was both Tevinter and Ferelden, but then WoTv2 says that he was “Fereldan with Tevinter roots.”)

He was born in Highever, but moved to Val Royeaux when he was very young, where his parents opened up a woodworking shop that Duncan helped out with, assisting his father.

Duncan lost his parents when he was a young boy, and joined a group of other homeless boys in Val Royeaux, who he refers to as a guild. They taught him how to survive on thievery.

Duncan did not regard any of these boys as friends, however, save for one; Luc. Luc happened to be a mage, using his magic to telekinetically lift coin out of purses. Rumours started spreading of his magic though, and Duncan witnessed the Templars kill his one friend when he tried to run away.

During a round of storytelling, Duncan shares an adventure he had with this group of young thieves when they broke into a Marquis’ mansion while he was away. Duncan forgot his rope, so he ran down the stairs to go get it, slipped and fell the rest of the way down, and landed on a cat. The cat scratched him up horribly, he was furious and chased it for four blocks. Then he fell into a well, where he sat for three days until a guardsman heard him yelling and pulled him up. The guard then threw him in the gaul for a night, but Duncan was fine with that because at least he got a meal. And as it turned out, someone had tipped the Marquis off and all his guards were waiting for the other thieves, and they were all killed. The rest of the young thieves guild thought Duncan was the one who turned them in, since he was the only survivor. 

One day, he broke into an inn room and tried to steal an expensive looking ring, one that turned out to be an engagement ring belonging to a Grey Warden who caught him in the act. The warden demanded he put the ring back, but Duncan was starving, so they fought, and Duncan accidentally killed the warden. He was so distraught by this, even more so when the warden thanked him, he stayed there over his body when the guardsmen burst in. He was sentenced to death.

The warden for whom the engagement ring was for, Genevieve, intervened with his execution with the Right of Conscription. She saw this as a suitable punishment for killing a warden, believing that the joining would kill him. However, Duncan ended up surviving, and she ended up stuck with a new recruit who didn’t want to be there anymore than she wanted him.

Duncan was brought to the Grey Warden fortress in Montsimmard, where none of the other wardens wanted anything to do with him. Fiona ended up becoming his first and only close friend.

Duncan repeatedly tried to escape the wardens, literally by running away and by committing petty theft hoping to get kicked out.

Eventually Genevieve ends up seeing Duncan has “proven useful” and issues him orders she sees too dirty or hard for other wardens to do. Such as ordering him to kill Maric if he learns anything that would make the Grey Wardens look bad. Duncan accepts this as confirmation that he is not a good person. 😢 Despite this, Duncan desperately tries to gain Genevieve’s approval.

However he ends up telling Genevieve to fuck off by the end of the book, and is done with her guilt trips! “I’ve only been a Grey Warden for six months and I’m a better Grey Warden than you’ll ever be.” (OOOHHH)

Duncan ends up getting everyone out of the Architect’s prison by freeing himself from his handcuffs and picking the lock to the cell door. He’s basically Storm from the X-Men in that he has lockpicks hidden on him at all times LOL. He claims to have broken out of harder prisons before.

I’m not sure if you mean like, A) how do I a player like Carver as a character, B) how does my Hawke like Carver as a person, or C) how I in the game get approval with him? 

A) Carver’s probably the only Dragon Age character my BioWare Nemesis has written that I actually think is really well done

First though, Carver is not as anti-mage as many people make him out to be. 

When Fenris insinuates he has an issue with Hawke being a mage: “If you have a problem with my sister/brother, you have a problem with me.” 

When Hawke talks to templars, he is concerned over Hawke’s safety and risk of revealing themselves. With the templar recruits say they can’t talk to them: “Probably for the best, brother/sister.” When Hawke goes up against Cullen: “It’s the blasted Knight Captain. Don’t!” When Hawke goes up against Cullen again: “Yes, how can you say that to the templar right in front of you?” When Cullen says that he’s told Meredith about Hawke’s involvement: “Oh, more attention. That’s just great.”

In Enemies Among Us, he says how he never even understood why people feared mages before this quest, but is very shaken up over the idea of having a demon forcefully put into someone.Carver: “I never… I never understood why people could be so terrified of mages. Our family had two. You. Bethany. But this… Andraste was right to warn against magic.”Hawke: “Tarohne made a choice to practice blood magic. Most mages are good people.”Carver: “You don’t think I know that? It’s just that I never really thought about their side. Now I see.”He agrees with Hawke that most mages are good people. He just now understands why people fear magic. For the first time.

When finding out he’s named after a templar: “Have we met a templar who isn’t a colossal prig?” It isn’t until finding out that there was a single good templar that he starts to question if the Order has potential to not be total bullshit. This is where he starts to wonder if it’s possible for the Templar Order to be good. He wants them to be good, because it’s the only connection he has ever known to have with his father, now.

When as a warden he returns to Kirkwall upon hearing about Meredith’s attack and goes to rescue his sibling, to instead find that Hawke has sided with the templars: “I expected to find my brother/sister under attack by templars. But you’re helping them? Tell me this is a joke. You can’t be siding with that bitch against your own people!”

Most of his comments about Hawke being a mage really are because he’s either concerned that Hawke is bringing too much attention to themselves, or because he is a younger sibling who felt neglected/unimportant in a house full of mages. Not because he has legitimate hatred towards Hawke being a mage. That he will defend Hawke so avidly when anyone says anything other than him shows that. He really is just a tempestuous little brother.

As for him joining the templars if Hawke leaves him behind, well, he didn’t really have much of an option. In the opening of Act 1 it’s specifically said that without the expedition, the Hawke family isn’t going to survive. They are Ferelden refugees living in poverty, and no one will hire them. Carver tried to join the guard first, but Aveline wouldn’t let him. Which means the only two options left are working in the Bone Pit, or joining the Templar Order. He’s a nineteen year old skilled swordsman who’s personal quest is all about finding out he’s named after the templar who helped their father escape the Gallows, which do you think he chose? An extremely hazardous job with little coin and a waste of his training and experience, or the only way he’s ever even thought of to try and get closer to a father who he always thought didn’t like him? “It’s… a connection I didn’t think was there,” is what he calls it in his personal quest. And in Legacy: “If father believed in a templar, why can’t I?” He joined the Templars because it was a means of keeping their family from dying in poverty while Hawke was MIA and could very well have been dead, and because he wants to believe that he can make the Order good for something.

Let’s really zero in on the fact that he is only nineteen years old during Act 1, too. Do you know how stressful it is to be nineteen and feel the entire weight of your family’s life on your shoulders? And within a year of his twin sister’s violent death and the traumatic experience of Ostagar? It’s amazing Carver is as put together as he is.

And as for him joining the Grey Wardens, well, that’s my favourite route, because he seems so happy with them. Even with as grim as being a warden is, for the first time he’s found what it’s like to feel needed, to feel skilled, to feel like his own person and not a mini Hawke. He gets that with the templars to a lesser degree I suppose, but with the templars I always feel like it’s more him looking to make the best out of the situation, rather than genuinely feeling like he’s found, if you’ll forgive the term, his calling with the Grey Wardens. “This is what I was meant to be,” he says.

Carver’s whole character is about feeling like he’s unspecial, unimportant and unwanted his whole life, and that’s why he lashes out at Hawke and the world. He talks a lot about feeling like he’s always stuck in Hawke’s shadow, not ever able to be his own person. And I know a lot of people see this as him being selfish, but just consider his perspective for a second, if you have not before. Hawke and Bethany are the ‘gifted’ children, and he is left behind, never able to measure up. Because his strengths lie on a different scale. If you’ve ever felt like the rest of the world around you is ten steps ahead at every turn, I think you can relate to Carver in at least some ways.

Carver reminds me a lot of my younger brother. Like, the dialogue between him and Hawke is some of the most accurate portrayals of a sibling relationship I’ve ever seen. They truly love and care for each other, would defend each other from the world itself, have plenty of meaningful, heartfelt conversations with each other… but they also fight and bicker and tease. Escalated because of the circumstances of their raising. And maybe that’s why I love him and sympathize with him so much. 

B) I mean, pretty much everything above?

But from my Hawke’s perspective? Carver drives Dalia up the wall sometimes, but she loves him dearly. And she knows that he always has her back.

C) I’m a cheater LOL

Let's discuss one of the most divisive characters in the Dragon Age fandom; specifically, the single action that makes him so divisive.

Full transcript below:

Alistair: The Circle is here at the king’s request and the Chantry doesn’t like that one bit. They just love letting mages know how unwelcome they are.

Alistair: You want the Chantry’s version or the truth? Warden: They aren’t the same thing? Alistair: (Laughs.) They seldom are.

Alistair: The Chantry raised me and becoming a templar was a decision made for me a long time ago. Alistair: Duncan saw I wasn’t happy, and figured my training against mages could double for fighting darkspawn. Now, here I stand a proud Grey Warden. Alistair: The grand cleric wouldn’t have let me go if Duncan never forced the issue. I’ll always be grateful to him. Warden: You didn’t want to join the Chantry? Alistair: It just… wasn’t for me. I believe in the Maker well enough, but I never wanted to devote my life to the Chantry.

Warden: You speak fondly of Duncan. Alistair: I spent years in that chantry, hopelessly resigned to my fate. Duncan was the first person who cared what I wanted.

Warden: So you’re not happy in the Grey Wardens? Alistair: Far from it. I never wanted to be a templar, anyway.

Alistair: The Chantry would tell you that the templars exist simply to defend, but don’t let them fool you. They’re an army.

Warden: Have you hunted many mages? Alistair: No. I never actually became a full templar. Duncan recruited me before I took my vows. Alistair: I was only present during one Harrowing. That was all I needed, too. I don’t know how anyone could get through that. Alistair: The girl they tested… she had a demon put inside her, to see if she could resist. And she couldn’t. We had to… end it quickly. Alistair: I have to say I didn’t have much interest in becoming a templar after that.

Alistair: I’m not exactly the Chantry type, if you haven’t noticed. I don’t think I would have made a very good templar.

Warden: You don’t seem like the religious sort. Alistair: You’re telling me. I was banished to the kitchens to scour the pots more times than I can count. And that’s a lot; I can count pretty high.

Warden: Do all templars make these jokes? Or just you? Alistair: Oh, you know… between all the guilt and the hours spent in solemn prayer, any good templar or priest is just bursting to tell a few good jokes when the opportunity arises.

Warden: Not this again. Can’t you answer a simple question? Alistair: I used to be able to, but then the Chantry beat it out of me. Sad, but true. I can’t hardly get through a pillow fight these days without becoming overcome with guilt, either.

Alistair: [Broken Circle] As I recall from my time as a templar, locking the door and throwing away the key was ‘plan B’.

Alistair: [Warden about to accept Kolgrim’s gift of dragon blood] Are you sure this is wise? I stood by while you did that thing with the Ashes, but they’re just ashes. This is different.

Leliana: You must have been a brother before you became a templar, no Alistair: I never actually became a templar. I was recruited into the Grey Wardens before I took my final vows. Leliana: Do you ever regret leaving the Chantry? Alistair: No, never. Do you?

Wynne: The Templars serve a function, and a necessary one. If what has happened at the tower proves anything, it is that we mages can be dangerous… even to ourselves. Alistair: That’s… one way of looking at it.

Morrigan: So I take it you did not enjoy your templar training? Alistair: That’s directed at me, I take it? Morrigan: Do you see any others about who have failed at their religious instruction? Alistair: I didn’t fail. I was recruited into the Grey Wardens. Morrigan: And if you had not been recruited? What would have happened, instead? Alistair: I would have turned into a drooling lunatic, slaughtered the grand cleric and run through the streets of Denerim in my small clothes, I guess. Morrigan: Your self-awareness does you credit. Alistair: I thought you’d like that.

Alistair: Let me guess: that’s your final answer? Meredith: [If Mage Warden] You declare your Circle of Magi free, as if its your right to do so, and thus stir up every mage outside of your kingdom. Meredith: [If not Mage Warden] Three mages have fled to Ferelden, and you have intervened to protect them as if it is your right to do so. Meredith: What other answer did you expect, your Majesty? Alistair: A “maybe” might have been nice.

Hawke: You were having an argument about mages? Alistair: Yes, well, apparently I don’t feel the same way about mages as the Chantry does. Alistair: So we’re in disagreement. That means they get nasty. They’re like that.

Alistair: What you can do is protect Kirkwall. It will take someone like you to keep it from falling apart. Hawke: Protect Kirkwall from what, exactly? Alistair: You ask me, the biggest threat to this city just walked out the door. Alistair: But maybe that’s the ex-templar in me talking.

This scene confuses me so much because it makes no sense for Vivienne to say this!!! Are you seriously telling me that a First Enchanter doesn’t know even one of the multiple cases of abomination reversal? 

She knows Fiona personally. Fiona, who became an abomination in The Calling, and then reverted herself back to normal through sheer power of will by defeating the demon in the Fade. Now maybe Fiona has just never talked about this; fair enough.

Wynne was able to pass on her spirit of Faith into Evangeline in Asunder by will, though again this is one she might not know about.

But surely she’s heard about what happened in Redcliffe with Connor during the FIfth Blight? Potentially that he was cured?

She must know about Pharamond, and how not only was he an abomination and cured, but also reversed tranquility. 

Not to mention the fact that the Avvar have an undisclosed method for curing abominations, but whether she knows this or not is unknown, (she likely doesn’t, since we the players don’t even know details.) 

@nikkoliferous tagged me in a hilarious post by a blog called fuckyeahtemplars asking me to debunk it. Who am I to not oblige? Because if you want to make a post about the benefits of the Circle, fine. But don’t spread false information.

Bullet points are OP.

[Image of a mage in the Gallows tagged as ‘loyalist mage’ in the toolset saying “People talk about the Circle like it’s a prison. It’s no different than anywhere in Thedas.”]

First off, I would take anything this NPC says with a major grain of salt, considering they also consider tranquility a deserved punishment for “preaching sedition.” So that really tells you how far up the templar’s asses they are.

“If there weren’t so many mages preaching sedition, the templars would not feel so compelled to use the Rite of Tranquility.”

Second, I’m really not sure how you can look at that comment as a positive thing. Saying that every circle in Thedas is just as bad as the Gallows is not what I’d call a good argument. 

It is only the apprentices in training who are not allowed to leave the Circle at will. Of course, there are exceptions to that rule in canon, including Illana of Montsimmard.

Once a mage has passed their Harrowing, they can leave any time with the First Enchanter’s permission. There are many examples of this in canon, including Wynne, Finn, Ines, Vivienne, Bethany Hawke, and even Malcolm Hawke before he left without permission. 

After their Harrowing, a Circle mage is not required to reside in the Circle itself. 

[Image of a quote from Vivienne: “Most Circles allowed mages to live away from the tower, either on their own or in service to the nobility.”

Some of this is true, and some of it is not. 

It is not true that only apprentices are not allowed to leave the Circle at will. It all depends on if the mage has permission or not to leave, and it is not typically the First Enchanter who decides this, but the templars. In Witch Hunt, Finn asks Hadley for permission to leave. In Asunder, it is Seeker Lambert who sanctions Rhys and Adrian to leave with Wynne and Evangeline. The only example of it being a First Enchanter granting this is with Wynne in DA:O, with Greagoir standing right next to him.

And here’s the thing: Every single example of mages having more freedoms and interactions outside the circle are clarified to be nobles or serve nobles, save for Ines (possibly; we know nothing about her) and Wynne. And Wynne had to help kill a GD Archdemon to get her freedoms.

“Who are you to counsel patience? You have more freedoms than any of us. You’re not locked into a tower, herded into your chambers at night like a child. Nobody’s threatening you with the Rite of Tranquility for stepping out of line. It’s easy to be patient when you haven’t been through what we have this last year!” There was a smattering of applause, most prominently from Adrian and the other Libertarians, but he heard opposition as well. Several voices rose in complaint, while others argued; the general level of noise began to escalate. Wynne raised a hand, and slowly the talk quieted. “I do have freedoms,” she admitted. “They were earned through years of service, and as a reward for my part in defeating the darkspawn. I worked to gain the trust of the Chantry; I did not expect it to fall into my lap.” “And what have we done to be denied that trust, those who have spent our entire lives doing everything asked of us? Why are we all held accountable for the mistakes of a few?” –Asunder, pg 53-54

The character from the codex you mention, Enchanter Illana, was a noble from Val Royeaux, and it specifically says that she rose through the Circle thanks to her father’s backing.

Finn’s father is Magistrate Kingston Aldebrant of West Hill. His family sends him magical items he’s equipped with.

Vivienne fell in love with Duke Bastien de Ghislain, and then became Empress Celene’s Court Enchanter.

Bethany is the sister of Hawke, the Champion of Kirkwall.

Malcolm Hawke was never allowed to go out of the Circle, save for when multiple mages were tasked to perform at the Viscount’s banquet, accompanied by templars, where he met Leandra. (Similar to how Vivienne met Bastien.) He was only able to sneak out of the circle because a sympathetic templar willing to risk ending up like Samson covered for him. This is detailed in WoTv2:

“Over the following months, Malcolm continued to steal away from the Gallows to meet Leandra. Malcolm was known to have struck up a strong friendship with a templar, Ser Maurevar Carver, and some speculate that Ser Maurevar played a crucial part in protecting Malcolm and Leandra’s secret.”

He was not allowed to leave. He broke the rules by leaving.

If you’re a noble, and your family still cares for you, your life in the Circle is much easier. Trevelyan has the option to say their family paid off the Circle to make their life easier, and allow them to visit. As such, it really doesn’t seem to be as much about ‘protection’ as it does Chantry control, does it? In contrast, mages who are not nobility/serve nobles appear to have less opportunity to leave. Most mages never get to see their families again. For example, the girl in DA:2′s quest Dissent who attempts to escape the Circle so she can see her family. Alrik threatens her with tranquility, even though she says she’s passed her Harrowing. The minute you wake up from your Harrowing in DA:O’s Mage Origin, you hear NPC’s say things like “Don’t you ever get homesick?” “I wish I could leave the tower once in a while.” And if you ask Irving if you can leave the tower upon receiving your full status as a mage, he says no.

So, in summary, no. Mages are not allowed to leave the Circle willy nilly. They need to either do something so incredible after a lifetime of good behaviour, or have outside financial help.

Mages living outside the Circle can hold land and titles, particularly those who are contracted by nobles.

The Chantry specifically has a rule that, to quote from WoTv1, “Mages could not unduly influence rulers or become rulers themselves.” They are required to be “politically neutral.” This is also clarified in-game in DA:O with Arl Eamon having no heir even if Connor lives, because Connor was a mage. Mages who hold land and titles are apostates hiding their magic, such as Lady Harimann.

Mages living outside the Circle can have families. The Stone Prisoner DLC introduces us to the son and granddaughter of Enchanter Wilhelm, a Circle mage who had a family, along with his own land and house, outside of the Ferelden Circle.

Again, Wilhelm was serving nobility. He was Court Advisor for Maric Theirin, as said in The Stolen Throne. Maric then gave him special permission to settle in Honnleath. His son, Matthias, is an apostate. 

Circle mages both living within and outside the Circle building itself work to earn their own money and do in fact keep this money. There is even a fraternity among the enchanters called the Lucrosians, whose main purpose is to use their magic for profit and to make as much money possible. Circle mages who dedicate their lives to making money are not being deprived of this money by the Chantry.

First of all, the Lucrosian fraternity is said to be the smallest in numbers, which I feel is worth pointing out. Second, they do not actually have full freedoms to make money, that is the whole point of their fraternity; they want that freedom.

“To the Lucrosians magic is power, pure and simple, and therefore the work of a mage is the acquisition of power. To Lucrosians this pursuit extends past magical power and knowledge to other forms of worldly power, particularly wealth. If a mage has the potential to earn great wealth, why should they not be allowed to do so like any skilled artisan or crafter? The Lucrosians find allies amongst the Libertarian fraternity, who favour greater freedom to pursue the kind of power that interests them. They are most often opposed by the Aequitarians (with their rules and sense of duty and service) an the Loyalists (who would cede power to the Chantry).” –Dragon Age RPG Book

Now, mages are allowed to make money, but that money is for the Circle. In DA:2 a tranquil elf has this ambient comment:

“The first enchanter has marked up these potions well beyond the cost of making them. He is trying to earn money for the Circle.”

But who knows, perhaps mages are allowed to keep some earnings for themselves. Though it’s not like they have a lot of options on spending it.

The Harrowing is a very simple test which goes: do you agree to let a demon possess you? If the answer is no, you pass your Harrowing. If the answer is yes, then you become possessed and turn into an abomination that the Templars must destroy. Killing a Circle mage who fails their Harrowing is literally stopping a demon. If a mage cannot stand up to demons, then nobody else in the Circle, mage or Templar, can trust them not to turn into an abomination at any given moment.

The problem with the Harrowing does not lie in the actual test. It lies in how mages are set up to fail. Imagine getting woke up in the middle of the night to write a life or death exam, that you are given no knowledge about prior to, and are not allowed to prepare for? And when mages do fail, their friends don’t even know for sure what happens to them. No one questions when mages just disappear, because maybe they failed a Harrowing, maybe they killed themselves, maybe they attempted escape, or maybe they were sent to another Circle without so much as a warning.

The templars gathered you for your Harrowing in the middle of the night, without warning. Succeed at the test and you were a mage in full. Fail and you were dead. If you refused the test, you were put through the Rite of Tranquility and rendered an emotionless neuter. It was a preferable fate for some, but Rhys found that hard to believe— he couldn’t get near a Tranquil without shuddering. He would rather be dead than spend the rest of his life looking at the world through those dead eyes. When someone failed their Harrowing, however, the rest of the mages weren’t told. The apprentice was just gone. It happened frequently, and considering a mage’s life was never his own–you could be transferred to another Circle or whisked off to some duty assigned by the Chantry without so much as a by- your-leave–one became accustomed to people coming and going. You didn’t question it. There could have been many more murders than any of the mages suspected, and only the templars would know for sure. –Asunder, pg 25

Educating mages–especially mage children who are more likely to be impulsive–not to give in to demons and become possessed is the entire point of the Circle.

Hmm, you should tell that to all the people saying the purpose of the Circle is to protect the rest of Thedas from mages.

Don’t get me wrong, I think mages should have a place for education. It’s just that the system as is, is mega corrupt. Instead of annulling the Dairsmuid Circle in Rivain for allowing mages to come and go as they please, they should have taken inspiration from it.

It is explicitly against Chantry Laws to make mages who have passed their Harrowing Tranquil.

When Meredith and Ser Alrik were doing this in DA2, they were knowingly breaking Chantry Laws. 

Well that sure doesn’t fucking stop it from happening now, does it? And what happened as repercussion? Nothing. Meredith is making mages tranquil at random as a fear tactic and nothing. Happens.

“Three of the Starkhaven mages were made Tranquil. I hear they picked at random.”

Elthina is fully fucking aware of the shit going on in the Gallows, but does nothing but sit in her Chantry with her thumbs up her ass.

The Chantry did not condone most of Meredith’s actions, but she wielded enough political power in Kirkwall after personally overthrowing Viscount Threnhold that the Chantry presence in Kirkwall could not hold her back. 

The Chantry is the highest power in all of Thedas, superseding governments. The only country this is not the case is Rivain, and then of course the Qunari controlled lands. Again, Elthina chose to do nothing.

Even going above Grand Cleric Elthina’s head to send for the Right of Annulment was breaking Chantry Law. 

It is explicitly stated in canon that the Gallows is run differently and much more strictly than any other Circle of Magi in Southern Thedas and that Meredith has placed more restrictions than any other Circle has.

LMAO and yet the opening image was of a mage saying that the Gallows are just like any other Circle, remember?

Yes, the Gallows were worse than most. But that’s like comparing two turds and saying one is more appetizing because someone sprinkled some salt on it.

And honestly? I’d argue that the White Spire in Val Royeaux is described to be either just as bad as if not worse than the Gallows, in Asunder.

Therefore, it is illogical and a direct contradiction of canon to take the worst examples of the Gallows and claim this is commonplace throughout every single Circle of Magi.

Except many of the problems with the Gallows is commonplace. The mages talk about being locked up in cells? This is the same for the White Spire in Asunder. Mages tortured/abused? Again, the White Spire was horrible for this; Cole died because of it. The mages talk about always being watched by templars and having no privacy? Mages say the same in the Ferelden Circle in DA:O. Meredith calls for the Rite of Annulment before getting approval? She’s not the first. I could go on, but TL;DR: All these problems are not special cases just in the Gallows. The Rebellion came to be because of the mass accumulation.

The Circles are in fact the only places in Thedas where humans and elves are on equal footing.

Not true on a few levels.

The Qun has lot of issues, but racism is not among them. Elves have just as much as humans have just as much as dwarves have just as much as qunari. The whole reason so many elves have flocked to the Qun is because many of them actually have more freedom under it. (Which says something.)

We have been told a few times that elves in the Circle are treated the same as humans… all by human characters. I would no sooner take this as the ultimate truth as I would Iron Bull or Vivienne explaining Dalish mages. 

Instead, elven mages have to face oppression in Thedas for being both an elf and a mage. Hell, in Witch Hunt, two mages engage in a casual racist conversation as Arianne passes by. Thedas’ racism against elves doesn’t just disappear by walking into a Circle.

The Circles also provide better food, shelter, and education to many of its apprentices, particularly city elves and human commoners, than they would otherwise receive.

THEY SHOULDN’T HAVE TO GIVE UP THEIR FREEDOM AS A PERSON TO HAVE BASIC NEEDS. THIS IS A HUGE STATEMENT ON THE INEQUALITY IN THEDAS, RATHER THAN IN SUPPORT OF CIRCLES.

Circle mages are not locked up so that they never see the light of day. That does not happen even in the strictest Circle.

Yes, it does happen. 

The White Spire only has windows in the Templar levels of the tower.

From [the Knight-Commander’s windows] one could look down at the entirety of Val Royeaux, even as far as the port district at the sea’s edge. It was a spectacular view of the capital, one that few mages got to see; they were rarely invited into the upper levels of the White Spire. –Asunder, pg 24

In Witch Hunt, Finn says that the Circle used to allow the mages to go outside on the docks for fresh air and exercise once a week, but after Anders used this as a chance to escape, they no longer allow even this.

As an Amell or Surana, you can talk to a templar guarding the doors outside, (which he also mentions takes four guards to open,) and ask him “what’s out there?” Because it’s been years since you saw it.

Circle mages are not cut off from their families. Some do not seek contact with their families and some families do not seek contact with the mages, but others remain close, including Finn from Witch Hunt. Even in the Gallows, Arianni is able to frequently visit Feynriel and Leandra is able to frequently visit Bethany.

I don’t see the need to repeat what I already said above about all those examples being almost exclusively with noble families. Arianni would be an outlier. So I’ll just leave this from Orsino’s entry in WoTv2, about his friend Maud:

“As tome wore on, Maud found it increasingly difficult to put thoughts of her family from her mind, and she grew homesick. When letters from home arrived, Maud would cheer up slightly and then sink to even greater depths, knowing that she would never see her loved ones again. Her studies suffered, and the templars took note of it. Orsino would urge her to focus on her magic, warning her that she was drawing the gaze of their guards, but Maud did not seem to care. “You mustn’t make them suspicious,” he would say. “It’s terrible, but at least you’re still alive.” And Maud would only reply, “This is no life, Orsino.” When the templars broke down the door to the closet she had locked herself into, all they found were dark scorch marks on the walls and floor.” –WoTv2, pg 195

What did Maud do to never deserve to see her family again?

Circle mages are not enslaved, and calling them slaves is a great disservice to the suffering of actual slaves in Thedas, many of whom are enslaved by mages. This is not the Oppression Olympics; stop appropriating the suffering of others for senseless Templar/Circle/Chantry hate and/or to attempt to claim your fave is the Most Oppressed ™.

Fuck you.

No, it’s not the “Oppression Olympics,” because contrary to your belief, you can talk about oppression of one group without minimizing the suffering of another. Talking about the oppression of mages in no way negates the issues of others in Thedas.

Anyway, here’s a quote from Fiona, a former slave, on the Montsimmard Circle:

The Countess found her in the dungeon, unconscious and lying in a pool of her own blood. Almost dead. Why the woman had contacted the Circle of Magi to come and take Fiona away, she had no idea. She never saw the woman again. Perhaps the Countess had felt pity? Perhaps she had felt some gratitude for the elf who had finally slain her cruel husband and transformed her into a rich widow? She could just as easily have called on the watch, or let her die. The Circle, sadly, had been little better. At least the nightmares grew fainter in time. –The Calling, pg 320

I think Fiona, being a former slave herself, has every damn right to compare the Circle of Magi to slavery.

Mages in the Circle of Magi are treated like prisoners.

(NOTE: I would like to sincerely apologize to my followers - this should have been posted publicly like two months ago. I genuinely thought I do so, but apparently not. But at least I caught it now!)

I admittedly do not always pay close attention when my character is talking to Wynne, as I find her preachiness often boring to listen to. However, I recently found myself snapped to attention over her explanation for how she went from, in her own words, a girl who “hated her life and herself”, to living happily in Kinloch Hold:

“The revered mother came out and decided to speak to me. And because I had no one else to talk to, I talked to her. I must have said many silly things… But she told me that the Maker puts us all on our paths for a reason, and fighting our intended course is what causes so much anguish. … She taught me that you can find your family in the people around you, that you can love your work and find fulfillment in duty. And there is joy even in self-sacrifice; if you put others before yourself, then their well-being is yours, and their happiness is your happiness.”

This struck me with how unhealthy it sounded. The game even gives you the dialogue option of telling Wynne that sounds unhealthy, but she rebuts that as a Grey Warden, you have no right to judge. But this only made me think about how unfair the comparison between the Grey Wardens and the Circle of Magi is, given the extreme differences in even the most basic levels of freedom between both factions… which then only made Wynne’s comments all the worse sounding.

It was at this point that it truly dawned on me that a great deal of the Circle’s problems revolve around the fact that the Circle of Magi in Southern Thedas is a cult. The BITE Model of Authoritarian Control, developed by undue influence expert Steven Hassan, is an outline of how cults build and maintain control over people. Applying this real life BITE Model to this fictional organization shows just how elaborately crafted a cult it is; probably one of the most developed in all of the fantasy genre.

Not every single point in the BITE Model applies of course, but enough to justify calling the Circle a cult. Here are all the points that apply, and how they apply.

Magic is so vast that mages often put special emphasis or interest in a particular brand of magic. Sometimes this is because they have a natural affinity for it, or sometimes it’s just a matter of what their education is like.

Magic has its limits, but not many. Even still, those limits are pushed and broken—for example, World of Thedas vol. 1 stated that true teleportation is impossible, but in the Tevinter Nights story The Wigmaker Job, an elven mage does just that, transporting a room from one location to another. What we know of magic lore is constantly evolving, and when we talk about the fields of magic, or specialties if you prefer, there are only so many concrete facts and constraints.

In other words, it’s much easier to imagine whatever the hell you want. When looking at the principles of magic schools, I argue that the imagination should not be limited to in-game battle mechanics. For that reason, this post is not about just listing off all the specific abilities each school of magic can do, but rather, the concepts behind each school. The general principles. The ideas!

CONTENTS:

The Stone

The Gangue

Stone Sense

After Death

Ancestors and Paragons

Titans

The Stone

“The Stone is eternal. She was here before us and remains after we die.” —Valta (Dragon Age: Inquisition – The Descent)

Most Dwarves of Thedas do not worship or believe in any god(s). Dwarven spirituality is built around veneration for “the Stone”; literally the rock of the earth. It is intrinsically connected with equal veneration for their ancestors.

There is conflicting information as to how long reverence for the Stone and the Ancestors dates back to. Shaper Czibor in Dragon Age: Origins says it is a tradition that dates back 2,000 years. However, The Provings—an important part in honouring the Ancestors—was already a well-established practice by -1200 Ancient, when Archon Darinius partnered with the Dwarven Empire and adopted arena fighting in Tevinter, based on them. This would mean the Stone has been part of dwarven culture for well over 2,000 years, to an indiscernible time possibly predating the Shaperate’s Memories (Orzammar’s historical records). This accompanies no concrete knowledge of the origins of dwarven beliefs.

[Famous Dwarven Figures in Thedas]

In DA:O’s city elf origin, you have the option to speak with two young elves who tell you they do not know of any elven heroes. Considering the Chantry’s active erasure of elven history, this is not surprising. But there are great elven heroes and notable figures, past and present. 

I’ve got a long list of them right here.