1, 3, 15, 18 for your inquistor!
Why were they at the Conclave? Were they trying to achieve something there? Did they go alone or were they accompanied?
I admit I haven't really thought through this part of her backstory that well, given that we don't have a TON of information on the exact timeline between the fall of the Ostwick Circle and the start of Inquisition.
After the fall of the Ostwick Circle, many of the senior leadership among the Circle were either MIA or KIA - Iris' mentor Senior Enchanter Lydia among them. She decided to join the mages gathering and taking refuge in Andoral's Reach, and it was there she met Grand Enchanter Fiona, and the surviving First Enchanters from other fallen Circles.
When the opportunity came to send a delegation to the peace talks at the Temple of Sacred Ashes, Iris, and two Senior Enchanters from Cumberland were selected to represent the mages. Grand Enchanter Fiona understood that Iris' family ties, although they had formally disowned her when she was taken to the Circle, might still come in useful when negotiating with the Chantry. That, and she recognized Iris' natural talent for political maneuvering.
Iris is one of those types who wants to dismantle the system from the inside. Although she and Vivienne may disagree about how to do things and are technically on opposite sides of the mage freedom debate (loyalist vs rebel), their core philosophy on how to accomplish their goals are actually fairly similar. Iris has a lot of contempt/resentment for Circles and is personally quite glad her Circle fell. She went to the Conclave to ensure the mages had someone on their side who could draw on a semblance of influence due to their name and title to bring favour to their cause.
What was their life like before the Conclave? Did they have friends and family?
Iris' life was as good as it could get for anyone. She was the middle daughter of a wealthy Bann, she didn't have to worry about inheriting the title, as there were two older brothers ahead of her for that. She had two younger sisters who loved jewelry, fashion, and horses as much as she did. The three sisters all got along fabulously. She had a few close friends - daughters of other nobles. It was quite a privileged existence - until the day she awakened her powers. Very publicly I might add. It happened at a Wintersend Ball when a few boys made fun of her new dress, and one even spilled a drink on it for fun. She responded in kind by throwing him across the room with a mind blast. The public display of her power made it impossible for her family to sweep it all under the rug - the entirety of Ostwick polite society had seen her do it after all.
What made it sting even more is that her second brother, Marcus, who was closest to her in age, who subdued her with his Templar abilities and brought her to the Circle in her ruined dress. It was all really public, really humiliating, really traumatizing, and all around a terrible day.
Since Religion is a major component of DAI, is your Inquisitor religious? What do they believe in?
She has a complicated relationship with religion. She grew up strictly Andrastian, and considered herself fairly solid in her faith. Iris's older brother Marcus serves the Chantry as a Templar. The family even has a dedicated prayer room in their home with a statue of Andraste. You get what I'm saying. Their family is as religious as it gets. She saw magic as a curse, like her family did.
When it came out that Iris was a mage, and her life had changed objectively for the worse, her faith was tested to the extreme. When she knew what it was like to be a part of those who were 'cursed' by the Maker, she really started to ask herself what good did any of her teachings from the Chantry really do?
While she was at the Circle, a lot of her success was driven by spite. She wanted to spite her religious upbringing, spite her parents and family for disowning her, spite the Chantry, spite the Templars. And this leads into another ask that I'll get into later, but she's quite happy to be called the Herald of Andraste and take up the mantle of Inquisitor. She secretly revels in her family begging her to acknowledge them as she is now the most important person in Thedas. Iris sought to turn religion as a weapon against her enemies, as it had been turned on her.
Is there anyone in their inner circle they can't stand/don't like? Why?
She doesn't like Solas lol. While she will listen to his advice, she doesn't have a particular interest in getting to know him further as a friend. She treats him as an advisor and not much more. She finds him irritating. I honestly think its because he reminds her of herself and how she might come across to other people :')
