#the second inquisition

[loopofrosewood]

anyway the inquisition we run in dai is definitely not doing torture where we can't see it. for sure. ignore the fact that at least one of the people who started it is fine with it and that we put prisoners in tiny cells next to a giant chasm in the freezing mountains and the forcing people the chantry slaughtered to work for us and that we're called the inquisition. i'm sure its. fine. its fine.

[bohemiantea-scorpiocoffee]

The World Is Right to Fear the Inquisition

...regardless of your Inquisitor’s intentions.

The original Thedosian Inquisition was much like the real world Inquisition in that it was martial and existed to hunt down heretics of all sorts. Where it differs, aside from one being fictional and the other not, is that Thedas’s Inquisition was initially formed before the Chantry even existed. The Chant of Light had only been compiled 30 years prior to its formation; Andrastianism was known as the Cults (yes, plural) of the Maker, each region having its own interpretation or version of the Chant and therefore its own cult within that loose affiliation. And within these cults were hardliners of the nascent faith, believing it was their duty to root out heresy and hunt down maleficarum (mages, demons, etc.) in the name of the Maker.

Here’s the relevant parts of the timeline (quoted from the link):

1025 TE or -170 Ancient: Andraste is betrayed by her husband at the city of Nevarra, one of their strongholds, and taken to Minrathous. She is burned alive and then killed by Archon Hessarian.

1035 TE or -160 Ancient: A cult devoted to Andraste's teachings spreads rapidly in the south but is largely disorganized and is very unpopular with the temples of the Old Gods. However, Archon Hessarian converts from revering the Old Gods to the Cult of the Maker and reveals Maferath's treachery. The Alamarri abandon Maferath, and southern Thedas collapses into anarchy. Back in the lands of the barbarians, groups which are claiming to be the Disciples of Andraste are formed, and the new religion begins to grow, referred to collectively as "the cults of the Maker." Archon Hessarian converts the Tevinter Imperium to Andrastianism, beginning the Transfiguration.

1065 TE or -130 Ancient: The Chant of Light is created by Andraste's disciples, collecting her story and her teachings into hymns. Numerous versions of the Chant are written over time, with different interpretations of what Andraste taught about the Maker, each prevalent in different regions

1095 TE or -100 Ancient: The Inquisition is founded around this time. The loose association of Andrastian hard-liners hunt heretics and mages in the name of the Maker.

1159 TE or -36 Ancient: Castana Drakon, mother of Kordillus Drakon, is named gothi of the tribes of the Ciriane. [NOT MENTIONED: This is also the year of Kordillus’s birth. Mentioned here to underscore just how young he was in the following entry.]

1184 TE or -11 Ancient: The cults of the Maker spread quickly in the southern lands, resulting in the commencement of construction of the first great temple in Val Royeaux which becomes the center of worship for the new faith. One of its most fervent followers is the young king of Orlais, Kordillus Drakon. Drakon begins a series of holy wars in the name of the Maker, quickly proving himself to be one of the greatest generals in history. [NOT MENTIONED: That “first great temple” is the Grand Cathedral. It will not be finished for at least another two hundred years; the Towers Age is so named because of its completion.]

1192 TE or -3 Ancient: Having conquered several neighboring city-states and forced others to submit to his overlordship, Kordillus Drakon is crowned emperor of the new Orlesian Empire in Val Royeaux. His ambitions to spread farther north into the Free Marches are confounded by constant pressures from the Dales to the east. The Chantry is formed by Emperor Drakon as he formalizes the Maker's cult an official religion. The emperor commands that missionaries be sent forth into the other lands, thus spreading the Chantry's teachings.

1195 TE or 1:1 Divine (1st year of the 1st Divine Age): The first Divine of the Chantry, Justinia I, is instated at the still unfinished Grand Cathedral in Val Royeaux. The free use of magic is declared illegal in Orlais except by those mages operating under the direct auspices of the Chantry. [NOTE: See link immediately after year. Timeline link for the Divine Age.]

1:20 Divine: The Nevarran Accord is signed between the Chantry and the Inquisition. The senior members of the Inquisition form the Seekers of Truth. The Circle of Magi and Templar Order is then born from this agreement.

It was not until the Nevarran Accord was signed that the first Inquisition “put down their swords,” as Mother Giselle put it. 

Note: The Second Blight began 1199 TE/1:5 Divine and lasted 90 years. Ameridan, the last Inquisitor of the original Inquisition, was lost in the Frostback Mountains due to the Jaws of Hakkon. The Nevarran Accord (1214 TE / 1:20 Divine) was signed partially to give mages official Chantry permission to use magic against the darkspawn -- and so the Blight had been going on for approximately 15 years until then.

The first Inquisition ran from 1095 TE to 1214 TE. The first Inquisition lasted 119 years. It’s also clear it did not have much centralized authority until Drakon, but its unified purpose spread and exercised its beliefs in violent fashion. Chances are good that there were definitely mages of evil intent at that time, as well as unchecked abominations and demons and such, but given that these members of the Inquisition were “hardliners” against the “rule of magic” chances are also good that there were mages hunted for practicing magic in a way that various cultists disapproved of.

The first Inquisition existed during a time of chaos and uncertainty, and while its aim was certainly attempting to impose some order, I believe it would be generous bordering on naïve to think it was entirely altruistic, and likely contributed to the fear and chaos. Ironic, then, that the Dragon Age’s Divine Justinia would see it reborn to reinstill order (in the wake of the Mage-Templar War and the dissolving the Nevarran Accord by Lord Seeker Lambert, and carried through by Cassandra Pentaghast after the explosion of the Conclave) when her namesake saw it put down to do the same.

While Thedas of the Dragon Age did indeed need a unifying force to guide it through the chaos of the Mage-Templar War, Orlais’s Civil War (also ironic, as Drakon was its first Emperor and had tried abolishing the Grand Game), and the return of a Magister Sidereal, the Exalted Council knows its history extremely well. It knows how long the original Inquisition lasted and at whose behest it ended. The Second Inquisition had no such charismatic and tempering hand as Drakon’s...

...not unless your Inquisitor chose to be that force, because the unifying power was them. With the extralegal authority of the Wardens backing them, the Inquisition could take what it said it needed when it couldn’t ask for it from the pen of Josephine Montilyet, the military might backed by a feared Knight Commander and survivor of Kirkwall, and validated by the Right and Left Hands of the Divine.

Leliana: “They seek to tear the Inquisition down. You feel it, no? Fear. [...] They are afraid of nothing so much as the hand that directs it all.”

The Inquisitor: “Mine.”

[violet-makes-an-entrance]

THE SECOND INQUISITION NEEDS YOU

(ask to tag)

[violet-makes-an-entrance]

wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip

[violet-makes-an-entrance]

another wip :3

[loopofrosewood]

Tamar: Inquisition Agent

"I was afraid of Tamar for a long time. She was the sort of shemlen the elders warned us about—wild, bloodthirsty. And then one morning, as we watched the Chantry mothers preach to the soldiers, she said something I'll never forget: 'The gilded Chantry says only one truth exists. And its servants lie, steal, kill to make it so.' I think we reached an understanding that day." — Neria

The Disciples of Andraste were a dragon cult that lived in the secluded village of Haven in the Frostback Mountains, near the Temple of Sacred Ashes. After the Hero of Ferelden's discovery of the temple, the Chantry took great interest in the area and sent soldiers to reclaim it. What was left of the cult was forced out of the area. Many died, but at least one, a woman named Tamar, survived in the cold wilderness. For years, she waged a one-woman guerilla war against members of the Chantry. She had no illusions that she would ever drive them from Haven; her goal was simply to demonstrate to the trespassers that they were not safe and that the Disciples would fight so long as one of them lived. The Chantry lost at least a dozen people to her ambushes before launching an organized, coordinated campaign to bring her in. Tamar was captured and imprisoned in the cellars of Haven's chantry, only to be forgotten in the flurry of activity that surrounded the Divine Conclave.

However, the destruction of the Conclave and the opening of the Breach necessitated the formation of the Inquisition. The fledgling organization had little support and few soldiers, and suddenly, a battle-hardened warrior and survivor became a precious resource. Wary of treachery, Commander Cullen offered Tamar an ultimatum: waste away in prison or raise a sword in the Inquisition's name. Longing for the heat of battle, she pledged herself to the Inquisition. While she never let go of her beliefs, the Inquisition provided her with an endless supply of foes to defeat, and she has served it well and loyally.

— World of Thedas Vol 2, pg. 266/267

Quotes

"Your Chantry goes belly up, the Inquisition steps in. Always something to keep the same people in power."

"If I survive, I’ll be free. The commander gave his word – I fight for him, and I get to live."

"The last time I met a group of rebel mages, I let them live. One of them told a funny story."

"Well, [the Inquisition] didn’t give you the choice to serve or die."

"I don't eat meat."

"How strange we are fighting for the very people who took Haven from us. Kolgrim would be ashamed."

War Table Mentions

Commander,

Repairs to the damaged bridge at Judicael's Crossing are complete, although we ran into some complications. The workers were spooked by sightings of dragons flying around the site, so we brought in Tamar for extra security. She did a good enough job, but next time I think we'll call in anybody else. That woman doesn't just frighten dragons, if you know what I mean.

Captain Mathis

— Restore Judicael's Crossing

Inquisition forces waited until Virellius left the royal palace in Nevarra, watching until we were certain his goal was to report to superiors in the Tevinter city of Trevis. Then we struck. I'm told that our agent, a reaver named Tamar, cut a bloody swath through their ranks... and Virellius himself was captured. We recovered various artifacts he carried, and reports state that King Markus "came to his senses, as if awakening from a dream." The Venatori threat in Nevarra has been eliminated.

Cullen

— The Serpent of Nevarra

My agent Tamar reports success: one less despicable Tevinter magister to worry about. Naturally, the rest of the Magisterium assumes the hand behind the deed was Magister Tilani herself, and she reports they have respectfully backed away from both her and her supporters. She sends her thanks, a box of candied chocolates, and a variety of other useful items. The chocolates are mine, but the rest I pass onto you, Inquisitor. Leliana

— The Tevinter Resistance

[turbin-merlin]

What?

Be me. Watching some VtM La By Night. Go through four seasons of heartbreak, darkness, and crazy stuff. What’s season 5 got? Ep 1:

[violet-makes-an-entrance]

18

18- Final Death

“One incendiary bullet is all it takes...”

(ask to tag)