#anti-templar

[viiisenyas]

Conversations that should have taken place in Dragon Age: Inquisition (1/?)

[greenteabtch]

templars are like 400lbs of steel and kinloch hold is surrounded by water. babe just PUSH

[crqstalite]

"Who did this to you?" + #7 please!!

more dragon age content from me? more likely than i thought.

i think i spoke on it previously in another ask, but reyna’s entire late game character is...kind of a terrible person? not super morally redeemable either. and not at all a fan of the templar order or meredith. like she has her reasons, but are they all justifiable? probably not.

f!handers. late act 3, dragon age II. not at all templar positive. mentions of injuries.

-

There were better ways to spend an evening. Like at home roughhousing with your mabari, or at the Hanged Man getting your coin stolen or stealing others coins. Waiting up for your mage partner was one of the less entertaining ones, but still viable. There was enough wine left in the cellar to make it more fun and knock her out sooner if anything.

That wasn’t the way she chose to spend the spring evening though. No, Reyna Hawke had better things to do. Morally better than getting wasted and mourning everything she’s lost? That was debatable. Her ankle probably shouldn’t have ever been twisted the way it was, no, decidedly no bone was supposed to click the way it was now. There’s a nice knot at the back of her head that’s throbbing like no tomorrow. A clean cut through her shoulder from a sword that was probably on a trajectory to end her then and there if she hadn’t moved in time. Three or four bruises down her spine from falling the wrong way, the wind still feels like it was knocked out of her.

She’s getting sloppy. Reyna hadn’t thought there’d be so many out and about tonight, Meredith’s grip was tightening on Kirkwall since she took power and she’d forgotten to stake out for long enough to make it look more like an accident rather than a pre-planned massacre.

Still, four of them soaked in their own blood this time. One on the way out to meet Andraste and his precious Maker. It was good hunting, just a night she’d need to reflect on in the next week or so.

Or whatever Aveline would have to say. Reflection was for those who had time and people. Not those who had a bone to pick with the current ruling class.

Her probably dislocated finger says otherwise.

Darktown is relatively empty this time of night, the occasional fire crackling along the wall as she continues on her way. No one who is out gives her a second look. These days when she dresses down, she can be mistaken for any other Kirkwaller. Dark hair, dark eyes, dark clothing. Without the straw yellow hair she’d been toting around for the last six years, she isn’t exactly a beacon anymore to people more than three meters away.

It helped that no one who may have seen her...theatrics, in the back alleys could identify her from their houses. It made her job a little easier.

The torch is still lit at the clinic. Good, that meant Anders was still here and that she wouldn’t have to ascend an absurd amount of stairs to get home.

The heavy door creaks when she pushes it open, alerting the blonde mage to her presence near immediately. Anders jolts from where he’d been sitting, grabbing for his staff, but relaxes once he realizes who it is. And then his brows furrow in concern not a moment later once he actually focuses on her.

The duality.

“Hawke-!”

“It does look bad, I’ll give you that.” Her voice is rougher than she’d expected, closing the door behind her and limping past him over to a chair. A hard landing leads her to groan, though she’s relieved by taking the weight off her ankle, “It...may or may not be as bad as it looks. You pick.”

Three billion thoughts are running through Anders’ head all at once after she says that, and it’s a feat she’d had yet to see. Cogs visibly turning in his head as he sputters trying to answer. She drops her cowl, rolling her jaw when his eyes widen to near dinner plates. Blue flickers on his face and she sighs, “Anders. I’m fine. Alive. Just a little banged up.”

“A little?” He asks, rushing over to her, “You’re bruised black and blue, and you want to say you’re a little banged up?”

She shrugs, then regretting the action as her shoulder clicks, “That is exactly what I’m saying, my dear Anders.”

“Your sarcasm will be the death of me, love.” He takes her head into his hands, tilting it up so that she’s looking directly at him. The real fear in his dark eyes hides nothing, and she wonders for a moment why while he tilts her head left to look at the largest bruise on her jaw. He’d been beside her for years in fight after fight, and he seems only now extremely concerned about mostly minor injuries?

This is probably the most worried she’s seen him since her duel with the Arishok. How odd. It makes her feel a little more loved.

“Who did this to you?” When he speaks again, his voice is quiet and dark. As if he’ll go out and fight them himself, which she doesn’t entirely doubt. That’d be something she’d love to see if she hadn’t already done it herself, and something that’d be great if it didn’t mean Justice was that much closer to snapping and taking control, “I will make them pay.”

Reyna puts a hand over his, raising an eyebrow. The notion is so sweet, yet it’s so misplaced, “That depends, do you want to light a dead body ablaze?”

He pauses, “What?”

“I’ve done it myself. Another bunch of Templars, a few too many this time, but I took care of it.” She smiles, “I got a little sloppy, let them get a few too many hits in. I felt bad they hadn’t been able to defend themselves before. Gave them an inch, they took a mile.”

Anders groans at her admission, and Reyna rolls her eyes. He’s frustrated, she can tell. Maybe because of the Templars, maybe because she’d gone out on her own. One of the two, she never really knew exactly what Anders was thinking at any given time, “Hawke, I thought we talked about this.”

“You’re right, we did. You’re doing what you do best here at the clinic, and I do what I do best when no one’s watching. That’s what I remember that conversation being about, Anders. That and you being insufferable.” She winces and bites down on her tongue, he’s already healing one of the bruises on her cheek. It’s that kind of warm that should be soothing, but is somehow also terribly annoying as her skin is pulled apart and stitched back together, “Think I ran into a few veterans this time. They had a few choice words for me, I had a few for them as well.”

“They’re going to notice the drop in patrols at some point. It isn’t as if this crusade of your’s is sustainable. What then?”

“It isn’t like I’m doing this every night. Just whenever I can get one or two away from the main patrol. At best, they think it’s bandits. As worst, they think it’s a boogeyman.” He starts undoing her top, and she shifts it off to allow him access to the gash down her arm, “It isn’t that bad. Meredith hasn’t even said anything about it yet. Those people are a copper a dozen.”

“The chance of you getting caught goes up by the day, Hawke.” He says quietly, cleaning the wound and placing his hand over it. It’s worse there, Reyna squeezes her eyes shut when it initially burns before giving way to mild throbbing. When she blinks back to looking at him, he wears a disapproving frown, “One of these days someone is going to make the connection. You’re one of the very few hightowners actively loathing the Templar order.”

“As if Elthina has not already seen your face?” She asks. He gives her a pointed look, one she mirrors, “There are more and more of them swarming the clinic during the daytime. Someone in the order knows you’re a mage, and I fear for the day they come and take you.”

“They will never take me.”

“Anders-”

“They will not. And that is final.” He states, his grip on her arm tightening ever so slightly, “They will not take me from you. I can handle them during the daytime, they do not suspect much. Current rumors are that I was sent by Andraste herself.”

“And during the night?” She asks, shifting her arm a bit to look at what he’s done so far. Reyna is still somewhat stunned every time she’s healed by him, the deep cuts leaving little more than just thin scars in their place where his magic touches her, “You don’t come home anymore, Anders.”

“There are nights where I can’t go back to the estate, there are people here who need me.” He answers, brushing his thumb over the scar once he’s done, “I wish I could. I would like nothing more than to.”

“Good for them.” She bites back, running a hand through her hair with her good arm when he pulls back, “I don’t feel safe leaving you here alone with them milling around like feral beasts. If I can’t prowl about the clinic, then I will do so on my own terms.”

“And if you die out there in those back alleys, I would never forgive myself for allowing you to do so, love.”

“You aren’t allowing me to do anything. I chose to because I feel slighted. I am not afraid of them, they are afraid of me. And they will stay that way if I have anything to say about it.”

Silence stretches between them. The unfortunate thing is that one is the unmovable object, the other an unstoppable force. He knows she’s right, thinning out their population only means they can’t be about as far as they usually are -- making it easier for Anders and others to go about their work easier.

She understands his concern, but she doesn’t understand what else she is supposed to do if not take matters into her own hands. She may not have a pretty staff or lightning at her fingertips, but her daggers were not for show.

Another press of his hand, this time against her shoulder. A quick breath before he shoves it back into place  and she bites back a shout, “I only say this out of concern. This isn’t your fight, Hawke.”

“As long as you are by my side, it will always be my fight. And until you are no longer in danger of being taken from me, I will not quit.” She feels as if she is staring into his soul the way his eyes seem so open to her right then and there, “I mean it, Anders. Whatever you need from me, whatever you want from me, I am willing to make that sacrifice.”

Warmth spreads against her shoulder, “I fear you will not say the same thing when the time comes, love.”

“I am not a liar, Anders. They took my sister, they will not take you.”

He presses a kiss to her cheek, “I admire your resolve, Hawke, I have never met a woman like you before.”

“I am aware. I am quite unique.”

His chuckle is dry, and a bit sad, “You are. Whatever comes, let yourself know that I love you more than anything in this desolate world.”

That same declaration echoes in her head for the years that come afterwards.

[aspiritofcompassion]

News of the hour, Templars can't read!!

[chess-blackmyre]

Dragon Age Inquisition - Cabinet Battle #1

The Inquisition leadership discusses approaching the Templars or Mages for an alliance. Elsa Trevelyan, a formerly Tranquil mage, makes sure to tell Commander Cullen what she thinks.  If you're curious to learn more about Elsa and her story, you can read more about her here on ao3:  https://archiveofourown.org/series/1795546

Thanks to @radioactivepeasant​ for being willing to listen to me rant about Elsa!

Further context (and a bit of ranting) under the cut.

So, the first thing that you should know is that my Elsa Trevelyan isn’t an entirely original character. I based her off of Elsa, Knight-Commander Meredith’s Tranquil assistant from Dragon Age 2.

[image description a young woman dressed in Chantry style robes. She has dark blonde hair, blue eyes and a vacant expression as explained by the sunburst brand of Tranquility on her forehead]

Remember Elsa? I wouldn’t blame you if you don’t, as she shows up in precisely one quest in the game, if I remember right. (My personal headcanon is that she was actually there for a lot more time as the Knight-Commander’s assistant, but Varric either didn’t notice or just forgot about her). But she seemed like the perfect person to use as a jumping off point for a formerly Tranquil Inquisitor. After all, she comes with an interesting backstory and you can fill in the blanks in an interesting way with her.

For one thing, as the King-Commander’s assistant, she goes into this already knowing Cullen. Specifically, knowing Cullen during his lowest “mages can’t be treated like people” point. Even if she was Tranquil the entire time she’s known him (which I don’t think she was, but that’s not important right now) it definitely colors her opinion of him when they meet again in Haven.

Now this whole animatic is a representation fight/debate between Elsa and Cullen about recruiting the mages or the templars to help close the Breach. But, as the song progresses, she uses this fight to basically redefine her relationship with him, and how she keeps hitting him where it hurts argument-wise

[image description: Elsa addressing Cullen with a frown on her face, before her is the sigil of the Templar Order, a giant red X over it to symbolize her disapproval and denial of ever approaching them for an alliance]

While the song is just a stylized version of the debate that actually happened between them, in both ways Elsa found it extremely cathartic to argue against the Templars, even if it was just initially just about the Breach.

It’s also right after this in the song that Hamilton--and therefore Elsa--shift from policy to personal attacks. (I skipped over the slavery portion of Hamilton’s verse because I couldn’t find a way to interpret it into the Dragon Age story. Plus, just less things for me to draw)

[Image description: Elsa walks forward closer to Cullen, a look of annoyance on her face. Cullen, Cassandra, Josephine, and Leliana have looks of surprise that she’s doing this.]

The first big change that happens is that Elsa gets right up into Cullen’s face. Up until now she’s been at the other side of the table, but now she’s crossing the divide to let him know exactly how much dislikes him and his arguments. To me, this is the moment where Elsa voluntarily gets this close to Cullen since she awoke in Haven, as every interaction they’ve had before she’s made sure to give herself some space between the sorta-Templar and her no-longer-Tranquil behind.

[Image description: Elsa is holding Cullen by the collar of his furry pauldron, and getting right up into his face. Both have twin expressions of displeasure]

“Don’t lecture me about the war--you didn’t fight in it!”

From what I understand, during the majority of the Mage-Templar War, Cullen was in Kirkwall trying to restore order. Elsa, meanwhile, was on the front lines of this, as a result of being rescued by other mages who took her along with them when they fled Kirkwall. She had to endure the same hardships as them, the freezing elements, the murder-happy Templars, not knowing where their next meal was going to be coming from, if at all. This is important to her.

Now, getting up in his face is a pretty bold move, even if you strip away the layers of the Mage/Templar power dynamics. Here Elsa is telling Cullen loud and clear: “You are not in charge here. I will not be cowed by you, or by any other Templar anymore.” And this is before she becomes Inquisitor.

[Image description: Elsa pushes Cullen away from her. A good few feet of space between the two as they glare daggers at each other]

She solidifies this by pushing him away from her. The other important thing is that he lets her push him. Because Cullen is a significantly larger and bulkier person than her, and is wearing plate armor besides. But for the purposes of the argument--plus he’s actively trying to Not Be an Asshole Anymore--he lets her push him around a little bit. She then continues on her point by telling him outright: “I’m not scared of you.”

“You think I'm frightened of you, man? We almost died in a trench, While you were off getting high with the French”

[Image description: Elsa huddled down in a trench with an elven woman and a small child, all of them trying to stay quiet and avoid notice. Above, an unseen Templar orders “Spread out and find those damn mages!”. Knight-Captain Cullen, face shrouded in shadow, holds a bottle of lyrium]

Now, here is where I really start kicking Cullen below the belt. Because the reason that Cullen became a Templar in the first place was to protect innocent people. It was no accident that one of the mages I had Elsa huddling with was a child, a little kid who had no say in being born with magic or going to war but is caught up in the mess anyway.

In his big monologue he says “Kirkwall’s Circle fell, innocent people died in the streets.” Also I can’t remember where he says this offhand, but Cullen also believed that being a Templar meant not just protecting ‘normal’ people from mages, but protecting mages as well, be it from themselves or other abuses of magic. While Kirkwall was mainly a watershed moment for tensions that have been going on for ages, it’s still pretty clear to me that Cullen feels a measure of responsibility for what happened. Now here Elsa is, rubbing his nose in his failures, both in the problems that started the war, and what he was doing while all this was happening. 

Which brings us to our next point: Lyrium.

To be entirely honest, I wasn’t even planning on bringing up Cullen’s lyrium withdrawal, but then when I was doing storyboards for the next part, the lyrics just fit too perfectly to pass up.

“Madison you mad as a hatter so take your medicine.”

[Image description: an illustration of a lyrium kit used by Templars, the same one that Cullen throws at the wall during his “Perseverance” quest]

[Image Description: An uncertain, shadowy look crosses over Cullen’s face and he crosses his arms. Elsa’s back is to him, an glib, uncaring look as she steps away]

“Damn, you're in worse shape than the national debt is in“

[Image description: a close up on Cullen, his hands shaking as he grips the hilt of his sword. Not in a threatening way, but as it he’s holding on to ground himself]

Now, to be clear, Elsa has no idea that Cullen has stopped taking lyrium at this point. She vaguely assumes that he’s still taking it. 

In the “real” version of this argument, the mage would say something like “You’re not looking so hot, are you up to date on your lyrium?” but in a snide, sardonic way; the implication being that ‘you’ll always be a Templar no matter what you do’. 

His hands start to shake and he grips the pommel of his sword. To be clear, he doesn’t want to hurt Elsa. It’s just a habit of his that we see in the game, and many people besides me think it’s a way to sort of self-soothe, if I’m using that term correctly. At the very least to keep people from noticing how bad his hands are shaking.

Elsa has turned away, not seeing how badly her words are affecting him. When she does look back Cullen has now quickly put a lid back on his reactions.

[Image description: Elsa, scowling, dramatically points at Cullen from across the room. Cullen has a much more measured expression]

But Cassandra did notice, and intervenes to separate the two before the situation can escalate.

[Image description: Cassandra and Cullen have their backs to the camera, Cassandra has her hand on the man’s back as she leads him away, an expression of concern on her face.]

Anyway! Sorry for the rant! I hope you enjoy the animatic!

[loreillustrated]

ok, so i feel like i need to say this. people aren't necessarily hating the templars because they're evil (there are a lot of explicitly evil factions who are beloved just look at the dark brotherhood, the sith, etc) they hate them because bioware seems to think they’re not and that they’re even “heroes” and tries to both sides an issue where is one clearly an oppressor.

if they would just admit it that yeah they’re evil and be done with it everyone could have an easier time.

[fangirlofmanyfandoms]

So, I’ve seen quite a bit of discussion about the Mage/Templar war among the fandom. I’ve heard many people say that if you are pro-Mage, you cannot like any Templars or any Templar characters, more commonly, Cullen. I have a few things to say about this.

Best way to put it is that I believe there is good and bad on both sides. No! I do not believe that Mages are equally in the wrong as the Templars are! But there are always good and bad forces to everything, even if misguided.

Now, back to my example of Cullen. He grew up in a society that always taught that magic was to serve man and not rule man. He admired the Templars growing up, much in the same way that children sometimes admire police, firemen, or soldiers. He joined the Order at 13, a very idealistic - and impressionable - age. 

Now, I have grown up in church. I went to a college that, in the way they presented themselves, was very similar to what I learned growing up. However, when I got there, the college was much more cult-like. And even though I did not fall into the trap of believing what they were trying to pound into my head, the things they taught eventually weighed me down. I knew I wasn’t doing anything wrong after hearing what they said over and over and over, I began to feel as if I was a bad person for not believing like them.

I’ve seen how religion or a religious denomination starts out good but is ruined by fanaticism or zealotry. Maybe the Templar Order started off as a good organization. Maybe they had limited power when they first started. But, as time went on and they joined forces with the Chantry, the organization became corrupt.

“You know what my problem with religion is? Man. Like anything that has the potential to be beautiful, man will turn it into something ugly. For every saint there are two million sinners.” This is a quote from the show The Blacklist, said by Raymond Reddington and to be honest, this is something I have experienced and wholeheartedly disagree with. This applies to my college, but also to the Templar Order.

Cullen began his career as a Templar. Throughout Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age 2, his character is portrayed as the type who takes his job seriously but isn’t like the cruel Templars who take advantage of the Mages and the Tranquil. He was kind to his charges, even had a crush on one of them. Some mages will comment on how he is polite to them. Then, he went through the trauma with desire demons and Uldred. Anyone who experiences a trauma as severe as what Cullen is implied to have gone through are going to be affected differently. (Through my studies and the experience of others, I personally believed that he was raped or molested by the Desire Demon that kept taunting him. I’ll save that for another post though.)

His response is to lash out at all mages. Everything that the Chantry and the Templars taught him has actually happened. He has witnessed it. He saw his friends die left and right. He can’t tell friend from foe among the Mages. So he generalizes all of them. He groups them all together and believes they all have the ability to be a threat.

He gets moved to Kirkwall, where Knight Commander Meredith takes advantage of his trauma. He’s on lyrium, so everything that is going on in the Gallows, he experiences it in a very detached manner, like he’s watching it on TV, disconnected, drowsy if that term can be used. In the end though, he sides with the Mages and helps fight Meredith. After that, he takes charge of the Gallows and works to get Kirkwall back in order.

Now, some people want to point out that he’s never really apologetic in Dragon Age: Inquisition about his past mistakes. He still wants to recruit the Templars. He’s still wary of Mages. 

My view of his character is that he is a man of action, not necessarily a man of words. He’s not going to vocally shame himself. He may feel like words are inadequate, trite. But!!!! He stopped taking lyrium. Now, anyone who decides to quit any addiction cold turkey is going to go through a LOT of pain. Some side effects of withdrawals are tension, panic attacks, tremors, difficulty concentrating, short-term memory loss, anxiety, irritability, disturbed sleep, headaches, heart palpitations, sweating, nausea, muscle pain and stiffness, hypertension, and irregular heart rates. In the same vein as those in the Middle Ages who would whip themselves and cast themselves before God, not taking lyrium is Cullen’s penance. He is distancing himself from the Templar Order and punishing himself at the same time.

Now, on to the fact that he still wants to recruit the Templars and is still wary of the Mages. Cullen is falling back onto something familiar as well as seeing the potential to get some of the good Templars away from the Order. 

As I said earlier, even though I didn’t agree with my college’s beliefs, the fact that they were constantly present in my everyday life affected me. For example, if they said that it was a sin for women to have short hair, there I am sitting with short hair and feeling like I’m the bad person even though I knew there wasn’t anything wrong with what I did. The college’s beliefs became familiar to me even though I didn't agree with them. I was constantly uncomfortable in my own body at college. When I came home from college, I was okay for a time, but then I went back to being uncomfortable in my own body. It was an easier way to cope. Not necessarily a healthier way.

In this way, Cullen also falls back into something that is familiar. He knows that there are Templars that he can rely on. Mages, for him, are unpredictable. He isn’t a Mage, so he doesn’t know what it is like to be a Mage. However, he is fine, if a bit unsettled, if you recruit the Mages. Yet again, he’s unsettled due to the unfamiliarity. He becomes friends with Mages throughout the game. He even has the possibility of being romanced by one. The game shows that he becomes more open to relationships with mages, be they friendships or a romance.

Everyone has the potential to change. Sometimes, that change shows itself in small ways. And sometimes those small ways of change have a much bigger influence that people might not be able to see.

This has been a long post and I may not have made as much sense as I would have liked to. It all sounded so much better in my head. I hope I was able to get my point across

[breaking-circles]

Hello, DA Fandom!

Hi!! I completely forgot to introduce myself to the da fandom!

My name is M, and my main is @wolfcat-hybrid​! I figured I reblog too much da stuff to bother tagging it all, so I just... went ahead and made a sideblog, so I wouldn’t bother my non-da followers on my main ^^’

I am pro-Anders, pro-mages (including bloodmagic), and pro-dalish

I am anti-Cullen (FUCK that guy), anti-templar, anti-chantry, anti-circle, and I think Solas is a dumbass bitch who's too stuck up his own ass to see that his plan fucking sucks

Heres a link to a post with info on my warden/hawke/inquisitor!