The apostate mage known as Anders was born and raised in a small farming village in Ferelden. His father was originally from the Anderfels, but had come to Ridden when he was just a boy. Cheerful and good-humored, young Anders was well liked by the people of his village and was often seen surrounded by a gaggle of village children. That was, until he turned twelve, when he accidentally set the family’s barn on fire with magic.
[Possibly more here, I’m not sure?]
Anders’s father feared his son’s newfound abilities, and though his mother still loved and wished to protect him, the templars were called. Anders was clapped in irons and taken away to Kinloch Hold.
The only thing he was allowed to bring with him was a small pillow, hand-embroidered by his mother. First Enchanter Irving of the Circle recall that Anders refused to speak when he arrived there, not even to tell the other apprentices his name. They began calling him “the Ander”, referring to his Anders heritage. “Anders” would become the only name he’d use.
The young mage rebelled against the Circle’s rules and restrictions. Having known friends, a loving family, and a life free of constant supervision, he was keenly aware of what he’d lost. Anders made his first attempt to escape less than six months after arriving at the Circle. When he was caught, he was brought immediately to Irving. When asked why he escaped, Anders replied that he had simply wanted to go home. Irving took pity on the tearful boy and decided that punishing homesickness was unnecessarily harsh and would only serve to deepen the child’s hatred of the Circle. Irving had Anders escorted to his room and counseled the templars to treat him with greater kindness.
After his first try, Anders made no recorded attempts to escape for more than a year. But the second time Anders slipped away from the Circle, it took the templars three weeks to find him. The next time, it took over a month. To elude the templars, Anders displayed an ingenuity and resourcefulness far beyond his years and was described by Ser Hadley, one of the many templars assigned to hunt him down, as “a skinny, blonde headache”. Luckily for Anders, his friendly manner and easy charm had by then endeared him to many at Kinloch, including First Enchanter Irving. Most saw him at nothing more than a spirited young boy with a troublemaking but mostly harmless streak in him. Irving in particular looked upon Anders with sympathy and made valiant attempts to help him become accustomed to life in the Circle going so far as to arrange some time outdoors for well-behaved apprentices. There is no indication that Irving’s had any effect on Anders. Years later, the first enchanter would remark that perhaps his approach had backfired. The kindness he showed to Anders every time he was returned to the Circle simply proved to the boy that he could get away with most anything. When asked if he regretted not punishing Anders more severely, perhaps with Tranquility, Irving only sighed and would not discuss the matter further.
When Anders was still an apprentice, he met and befriended an older boy, Karl Thekla. Karl and Anders would commiserate about life in the Circle and joke bitterly about being templar slaves. For years the two were inseparable, and Anders later disclosed that there was more than a simple friendship between Karl and him. The two shared a deep love, and their relationship was a sanctuary, an escape from the harsh realities of life in the Circle. Anders would often tell Karl he was the one good thing about Kinloch Hold. In the years when Anders and Karl were together, Anders made no attempts to escape the Circle.
Shortly after both Anders and Karl undergone their Harrowings, Karl was transferred from the Fereldan Circle to Kirkwall’s Gallows, where more experienced mages were needed. Anders did not take their parting well, and he would not see Karl again for many years, though the two would continue to write to each other.
In the weeks that followed Karl’s departure, Irving worried that Anders would likely try to escape again, cautioned him that there would come a point when even the first enchanter would not be able to protect him. Irving requested that Anders be watched carefully, hoping increased templar scrutiny would discourage the young mage from doing something regrettable. By this point, Anders no longer cared. The pain of losing Karl was too much, and Anders broke out once again.
Anders endured several more years in Kinloch Hold, before making his final escape. After his sixth escape attempt, he spent a year in solitary confinement, locked in a small cell that was watched day and night by the templars. Anders’s only company that year was one of the tower’s mousers, a cat he named Mr. Wiggums. According to Anders, Mr. Wiggums was later possessed by a rage demon and killed three templars before being put down. There is no mention of a possessed cat anywhere in the Circle of Magi’s records.
Shortly after emerging from solitary confinement, Anders escaped again. He’d learned that his phylactery had been moved to Amaranthine, and traveled there, thinking he would destroy it once and for all. The templars anticipated his move and captured him in the city. They were passing through Vigil’s Keep on the day it was to be handed over to the Grey Wardens, when the keep was attacked by darkspawn. The darkspawn quickly … overwhelmed Anders’s templar guard, leaving him to defend himself. Finding Anders to be a capable mage and interesting company, the Warden-Commander invoked the Right of Conscription.”
[Possible missing bit?]
Anders traveled with the Warden-Commander for several months as they worked to rebuild the ranks of the Wardens in Ferelden and investigated a new breed of darkspawn. [Possible missing bit] While a Grey Warden, Anders met Justice, a Fade spirit stranded in the decomposing body of a dead Warden named Kristoff. Justice struggled to understand the real world and the people who inhabited it, leading him to engage in probing discussions with Anders, as well as the other newly recruited Wardens. [Possible missing bit?] Months later, Justice, Anders, and several other Wardens were sent on an assignment. None of them ever returned to Vigil’s Keep. The Wardens who investigated the disappearance tracked the missing men to a forest south of Amaranthine. In a clearing lined with the charred stumps of trees, they found the bodies of of the men, torn limb from limb and left to rot.
Nach oben
And I think David Gaider said if the player had killed him, he was dead.
Tranquils are my berserk button. It's worse than death, and just to think how many templars must have used them...
