The question was unexpected and seemed to come from nowhere. A flash of emotion flicked over the expressive templar’s face before being smoothed away behind the stoic, often firm demeanor. Homesickness, worry, pain, despair. He was left with a simple furrowed brow. Hard to determine where in the spectrum exactly that one rested.
“I was indeed stationed and trained at the Ostwick circle.” Aden answered in a measured tone, his arms crossing across his chest as he leaned his rear against a table. Might as well be comfortable. “Became a full Knight a short while before Kirkwall exploded into chaos. The tales coming out of there were nasty before that though, and it made things tense in the Circle before then.”
“The Libertarians never had much of a grip on Ostwick, nor the Isolationists. We had a large group of Aequitarians, and it made a very modest circle. When it came to the Templars themselves, we had three major splits. There was a sizable group whom favored harsh punishments, a group of us who did what we could for the mages, and the majority whom just did what they had to, when they had to. Our Knight-commander, he fell into the group who were mage sympathetic, but balancing all parties made him distant, cold, and detached.”
“We templars… We’re unified in our knowledge and duty; we’re a brotherhood, and this conflict drove a wedge into our bond. Upon initiation, the bonds we share are strong, but… Its like a tear in a family.” Aden would know of that too, as often as he fought with his brothers. But that was not the heart of the question. Maha asked something else.
“Starkhaven’s circle had burned a few years before, and we had a few transfers from there. They tended to be more extreme in view. That added friction. Then word came of what happened in Kirkwall.” His blue gaze had turned introspective and distant, memories taking him now instead of the present attempt to be guarded.
“The effect was pretty immediate. There was a cry to crack down, to impose severe restrictions on the mages to prevent any mutters of rebellion. There was the call to run searches, employ and enforce curfews, limit curriculum… My Knight-Commander was having none of that. While there was a move to heighten vigilance, like more frequent patrolling and doubled guard, we didn’t actively impose any more on the mages life. Officially.”
“There was definitely a shift though. The mages became standoffish, just waiting for the hammer to fall, and some of the templars felt severely restricted, which came out in fits of temper. Tensions boiled, but interestingly enough, the winds turned against the extremists. Templars pushing for annulment and violence, mages whispering of rebellion and repression, they were encouraged to find a different location. Ostwick was supposed to be a haven.”
“And now it lies in ruin. Annulled, as the fear of magic after the Conclave grew worse.” Bitterness tainted his voice now, his head shaking.
“You want to know what we endure, Herald? Distrust. Hatred. Fear. The Order was meant to protect people from the dangers of magic, but we’re seen as brutal tools, useful only when magic gets out of hand. We’re the heartless beasts whom take loved ones, the butchers, the jailers. At every turn, we’re watched as closely as watch. Yet every one of us submits willingly, never ask for recognition, for payment. We do what we must.”
As the Templar speaks, Maha tips his head, chewing more slowly in order to clearly hear every word; this question was far from a weightless one, he knows. Most people are reluctant to speak of what had happened in the Circles, particularly those who had borne witness to it. As that is the case, the elf does his best not to interrupt, though a dozen more questions jump to his lips for every one answered. The accounts had come pouring in from the mages, and he has long since asked much of the same thing from any number of them that have joined their ranks from Redcliffe; but the few Templars still amongst them have not been so forthcoming. Aden, it seems, will be the exception.
He will admit that his judgment of the Templars had been, perhaps, a bit hasty; despite Cullen’s fierce defense of the Order, there had been such an outpouring of condemnations against them, and his own mind had been preoccupied with everything else suddenly bearing down on him. Still, he likes to think he is doing his best for all of them -- and that’s why these moments are important, these questions. Knowing his people, and their stories, it is important. It will make him a better leader, it will keep him close to them, one of their number, and not just a distant figurehead.
Another piece of the apple disappears into his mouth, and he nods along with the words, expression thoughtful, making it clear that he is listening to the other still. In the wake of the Kirkwall incident, he had heard a dozen stories of the Circles -- and though each event had happened a little differently, each Circle had met the same inevitable end. Destruction. His lips tug into a frown, and his expression turns somewhat sympathetic. Though he does not know what it is to have such close bonds dissolved in the wake of calamity, he does know what it is to lose a place that is supposed to mean safety. The Dalish know that loss perhaps more clearly than anyone else in Thedas ever could.
“Your Knight-Commander sounds like a good man. Do you know what became of him after?”
There’s a slight pause, a silence that falls between them after Aden’s slight outburst; Maha seems troubled, head tipped to one side. Finally, he takes a little breath, and begins to speak, carving another piece of the apple away, but refraining from placing it in his mouth.
“I am an outsider to the Mage and Templar conflict. I can’t know, truly, what it was like for either side -- but I am trying to understand. The system seemed broken from the start; to entrap people who have done nothing wrong pre-emptively is a good way to ensure they might turn to the very things they are told not to pursue. But you were doing your duty; no doubt because you believed in it.” There’s a slight shake of his head. “In truth, I don’t believe the Circles were ever the answer to this problem. Education, yes. Templar presence, even, in mages’ lives. Cullen spoke to me, and...Well, I think he had the right idea of it. Clinics, with Templars assisting mages, and other situations like that. Do you think that would be a fair compromise? Mages, allowed to work outside of Circles after being educated properly on the use and control of magic, alongside Templars, who, in turn, no longer have to be cooped up in the Circles as well? You were all trapped there, in one way or another -- it can’t have been easy. Another solution is needed.”
The apple slice disappears past his lips.
“Though, I may be speaking out of turn. As I said, I’m somewhat ignorant on these matters.”
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