#harrowing

Collected by @felassan in [Post One, Post Two, Post Three, Post Four, Post Five, Post Six] I read, copy/pasted, categorized, formatted, light edits:

Fraternities: what are some of the other fraternities of the Mortalitasi?

Sylvia:I’m afraid I’ve deliberately left this one blank, for future people to fill in if/when the need arises. Emmrich complains about the palace necromancers, so we do know there’s a special cadre of mortalitasi running the show over there.” [source]

Marriage & Children: “[Emmrich] mentions he thought he would marry - is that permitted for Mortalitasi when it wasn’t for regular Circle mages? Can they now raise their own children?”

Sylvia: Mortalitasi have a lot of power. I imagine the Nevarran Chantry might grant them permission to marry outside the Circle more regularly than in places where mages are given less respect. (Mages can also marry within Circles, so no permission needed in those cases.) The same might be true for mages raising mage-born children in Nevarra, but I say that with less certainty. I think that’s a topic I would’ve wanted to discuss with the rest of the narrative team.“ [source, two]

Mage Circles: “Do mages in Grand Necropolis learn in Circles?”

Sylvia: Admittedly, I never defined the Mourn Watch’s Circle status in game. It could be a sanctioned fraternity that takes in promising mages and trains them for the Necropolis, but isn’t technically a Circle itself, even if it oversees harrowings. (There’s a bit of banter from a Necropolis NPC on that.) This would explain why there’s non-mages around with full MW membership, like how your Rook can be a MW warrior or rogue. So I’m inclined to think this is the case. (But until it’s ever in a DA game or piece of media, I wouldn’t consider that 100% canon. It’s just my own thoughts.) [source, two]

Harrowing: "Do Mourn Watchers undergo a Harrowing?"

Sylvia: "They do! You may've missed it but there's a MWer in the Necropolis who mentions MW Harrowings if you go by them. (The MW has had to suspend theirs because chaos in the Fade.) But that's a temporary suspension, probably resolved by the time the credits roll. In general: I figure that if you're a mage who underwent a harrowing in some other circle, that stands, but that the MW would also perform harrowings for students they took in early." [source, two]

Nevarra Templars: “I enjoyed Emmrich’s addendum to the codex about Templars in Nevarra: are they primarily there as backup if something goes profoundly wrong?”

Sylvia: “That was my own take. You don’t NOT want Templars, in case some ritual gets disrupted in an utterly disastrous fashion. But other times…the Mortalitasi flex their clout." [source]

Mourn Watch Templars: “Would they ever get someone who just wants to help down in the Necropolis, pretty please?”

Sylvia: “Some Watchers might not be immune to flattery. I think a few templars could be all right under some circumstances, but that they’d be assigned a mage. (A bit of a reverse of the southern mage-templar pairs.) [source]

Non-Mages: “me + a handful of people were wondering about non-mage mourn watchers! id love to hear your notes/thoughts about them! b/c i didnt remember hearing how they become MW or if reaper uses death magic!”

Sylvia: “Sure! Not much to say, though, I think the MW is likely a mage majority fraternity that accepts a few non-mages who have exceptional skills and temperaments sympathetic to the Necropolis. A warrior of great renown, a rogue of exceptional stealth and quiet, a baby found down there in a grave, and so forth. They’d certainly undergo the same kind of oaths and bindings every Watcher goes through. I always pictured them being provided with the best enchanted gear the MW has to offer too.” [source, two]

Exchange Students: "Are Tevinter exchange students like Dorian common?"

Sylvia: “Yeah, I think they’re not uncommon. I took my inspiration from The Grand Tour, and thought it would make sense if Tevinter sent out some of the wealthier scions to see the world a little, pick up a few new spells. [link] [source]

Tevinter Rivalry: “Is there a rivalry with the Tevinter Imperium?”