Ser Lambert rose quickly through the templar ranks, serving with distinction at the Circle of Magi in Ghislain until achieving the rank of knight—captain in 9:17 Dragon. That year, he led a group of templars north into the dangerous border region of the Tevinter Imp erium to chase a group of escaped apostates. When he was confronted by a larger group of Imperial Templars just outside the Tevinter city of Caimen Brea who had already taken his apostates captive, the result could easily have been a diplomatic nightmare that led to war. Instead, Ser Lambert respectfufly negotiated with the templars and won the admiration of a ranking mage who traveled with them: Magister Urian Nihalias.
It was this feat that led to Lambert being recruited into the Seekers of Truth months later—a remarkable feat, considering the vast majority of Seekers are recruited as youths—and, in 9:21 Dragon, led to his appointment as a Seeker liaison to the Tevinter Imperium. This last came at the personal request of Magister Urian. For years, Lambert served with the Imperial Templars, aiding them by taking charge of investigations of magical corruption. It was a task he grew frustrated with, as evidenced by a letter to Lady Seeker Nicoline in 9:25 Dragon.
“Magister Urian has been a wonderful friend, and without him I don’t believe I could stand it,” Lambert wrote. “These people asked for our help, and there is so much corruption I could spend day and night hunting the culprits and still not learn of half of it. Yet I do nothing but encounter obstacles, placed in my way by senators who do not wish their allies displaced, or who obscure their own tracks. Despite the knight-commander assuring me that it will all be rooted out in good time, I am uncertain. I find myself listening more and more to Urian and his talk of extreme measures being needed, but I cannot in good conscience take them while also serving the Orlesian Chantry.”
Regardless of his misgivings, Ser Lambert took part in what amounted to a coup in 9:27 Dragon—when several high-ranking magisters, including Magister Urian, and a select group of Imperial Templars, arrested in a single night the reigning Black Divine and five of the highest—ranking magisters in Minrathous. The resulting trial, including word of Lambert’s involvement, caused scandal back in Orlais… no less than when Magister Urian himself assumed the role of Black Divine. Assured that this would lead to reform in the Imperium, Lambert instead found himself witness to a violent purge of the Imperial Chantry by Divine Urian. After four more years of reluctant service to a Divine who no longer seemed as eager to root out corruption as he did before he attained the position, Lambert finally returned to Orlais in disgust in 9:31 Dragon.