1656 réponses à ce sujet

[MisterJB]

Gwydden wrote...
And yes, if the Imperial Chantry responded, it would be seen as an expansionist effort. That's the point. People might not want to give Tevinter and excuse to carry on their expansionist agenda.

People should know that Tevinter is incapable of fighting both the Qunari and Thedas at once. A show of force should be enough for them to abandon the rebellious mages to their luck.

[Gwydden]

MisterJB wrote...

People should know that Tevinter is incapable of fighting both the Qunari and Thedas at once. A show of force should be enough for them to abandon the rebellious mages to their luck.

I agree. However, this would throw the mages straight into Tevinter arms. Now they wouldn't be just sponsored by the Imperial Chantry, they would actually be ruled by the Senate. Then Tevinter could use them (in a coordinated manner) and whatever resources it could spare agains its rivals. They would likely lose nonetheless, but the non-Tevinter side would suffer considerable damage while the Imperium wouldn't actually be any worse off.

I honestly believe other nations will consider it too risky and/or costly in a number of ways to go against Tevinter. If they actually wanted to do it, they haven't show a sign of it in centuries.

Modifié par Gwydden, 30 octobre 2013 - 01:50 .

[MisterJB]

Gwydden wrote...
I agree. However, this would throw the mages straight into Tevinter arms. Now they wouldn't be just sponsored by the Imperial Chantry, they would actually be ruled by the Senate. Then Tevinter could use them (in a coordinated manner) and whatever resources it could spare agains its rivals. They would likely lose nonetheless, but the non-Tevinter side would suffer considerable damage while the Imperium wouldn't actually be any worse off.

My very first post today was regarding the possibility of mages going to Tevinter. I think I made a good case of why it shouldn't matter much.

I honestly believe other nations will consider it too risky and/or costly in a number of ways to go against Tevinter. If they actually wanted to do it, they haven't show a sign of it in centuries.

They haven't invaded but they did not remain silent if Tevinter made any effort towards expanding its borders  such as when the Imperium annexed Starkhaven in 2:45. Plus, an Archon was assassinated in 2:99, on the very same day the Grand Cathedral was completed.

[Ieldra]

Gwydden wrote...

MisterJB wrote...

People should know that Tevinter is incapable of fighting both the Qunari and Thedas at once. A show of force should be enough for them to abandon the rebellious mages to their luck.

I agree. However, this would throw the mages straight into Tevinter arms. Now they wouldn't be just sponsored by the Imperial Chantry, they would actually be ruled by the Senate. Then Tevinter could use them (in a coordinated manner) and whatever resources it could spare agains its rivals. They would likely lose nonetheless, but the non-Tevinter side would suffer considerable damage while the Imperium wouldn't actually be any worse off.

I honestly believe other nations will consider it too risky and/or costly in a number of ways to go against Tevinter. If they actually wanted to do it, they haven't show a sign of it in centuries.

I believe any attempt to weaken the Imperium would be disastrous since it might end in qunari domination of Thedas. No doubt the other nations see this problem. They may even hope the two powers destroy each other or weaken each other so much that they cease to be a danger. I think this attitude is dangerously shortsighted. I think a new Alliance with the Imperium against the qunari should be considered.

Modifié par Ieldra2, 30 octobre 2013 - 02:11 .

[Gwydden]

MisterJB wrote...

My very first post today was regarding the possibility of mages going to Tevinter. I think I made a good case of why it shouldn't matter much.

Well, a much larger number of mages was enough for the Thedosians to counter Qunari technological superiority, so I would say several hundred (or even thousand) mages constitute a source of enormous firepower.

MisterJB wrote...

They haven't invaded but they did not remain silent if Tevinter made any effort towards expanding its borders  such as when the Imperium annexed Starkhaven in 2:45. Plus, an Archon was assassinated in 2:99, on the very same day the Grand Cathedral was completed.

As I said, that was centuries ago. Modern Thedas presents a different scenario.

[MisterJB]

Ieldra2 wrote...
I believe any attempt to weaken the Imperium would be disastrous since it might end in qunari domination of Thedas. No doubt the other nations see this problem. They may even hope the two powers destroy each other or weaken each other so much that they cease to be a danger. I think this attitude is dangerously shortsighted. I think a new Alliance with the Imperium against the qunari should be considered.

And why? Tevinter and Qunari ambitions are both equally dangerous. While they're fighting each other, they are not fighting the rest of Thedas which has lead the Southern Kingdoms being at peace; unless they are fighting each other; for the past centuries.
If they united with the Imperium and actually won; all that would lead to is leaving the Imperium free to turn its attention to the Andrastian nations. Let them weaken each other while the normal humans strengthen themselves.

Also, even if it is in the best interest that neither Qunari nor Tevinter win, that goes out of the window if the Imperium takes advantage of this to expand their borders.  If they attempt it, then they are the short-sigthed ones.

[MisterJB]

Gwydden wrote...
Well, a much larger number of mages was enough for the Thedosians to counter Qunari technological superiority, so I would say several hundred (or even thousand) mages constitute a source of enormous firepower.

The most magically adept nation on Thedas lost its whole territory except for Mynrathous back in the first Qunari Wars and has been locked in a stalemate for centuries. Adding some hundreds of weaker mages who've never been in a battlefield shouldn't make much difference.

[Ieldra]

MisterJB wrote...

Ieldra2 wrote...
I believe any attempt to weaken the Imperium would be disastrous since it might end in qunari domination of Thedas. No doubt the other nations see this problem. They may even hope the two powers destroy each other or weaken each other so much that they cease to be a danger. I think this attitude is dangerously shortsighted. I think a new Alliance with the Imperium against the qunari should be considered.

And why? Tevinter and Qunari ambitions are both equally dangerous.

But the qunari are the bigger threat. The Imperium is politically fractured except in the face of an external threat. The qunari have a unified purpose.

As for how many mages might make significant difference, neither you nor I have enough data to make even an educated guess.

[Medhia Nox]

Warden Amell,

I hope this missive finds you.

I am nobody you would speak with. I am not a First Enchanter of high standing, a Reverend Mother, nor a Bann or King. However, I have been compelled to write in the efforts of illuminating that which might be easily ignored.

I had someone die in my arms last week. A young man of no more than twelve summers. He died as he believed he wanted, but it did not change the terror in his eyes as his life slipped from him.

I know of the exploits of the Wardens, and none so great in recent times as your own. Perhaps such an encounter with death does not hold the same weight to you. Perhaps, it is just another in a long series of blood soaked moments that you would find yourself in.

It happened along a river who's name I no longer recall. We're refugees now, my people and I. I'm quickly learning that holding on to the names of places, or people, seems futile. Do you remember all the names of the men and women you've killed? Of the places you've changed, or that changed you? It seems like a blur, and I've decided instead to forget them - even if only for now.

Some of us are Circle refugees. We fled our Circle when important mages with important names made decisions for us in the name of liberating us from other important people who had made decisions for us before them.

We don't want your war. Maybe, as someone so accustomed to violence, this seems like cowardice. I won't make excuses. We hide a lot. Many of us live in fear constantly.

And we die. We die a lot too. Do you have some advice? We're told it's glorious to die in such great conflicts as the one that has been thrust upon us without our consent. I'm not sure anyone in my camp has been convinced.

The young man that died believed in your dream. He was a young apprentice, not yet through his Harrowing. He was prone to grandstanding and had only come with us at the behest of a sheepish young girl that coerced him from the Circle when we fled.

He died like a hero I suppose. The young girl he had eyes for had foolishly healed a sick boy in the village we had stopped in. It did not go unnoticed and we found ourselves fleeing from Templar pursuers.

He wanted a fight. To die like a hero for his cause. He did.

He bled out in my arms a scared little boy who died for all those poetic ideals of his. I couldn't help but wonder if it was worth it. I couldn't help but wonder if, in their zeal of their own self-importance, if heroes ever think about us. If heroes care about the disasters they leave in their wake.

A group called The Mage Collective offered to get this missive to you. They're far better equipped at this than we are. They were nice, they helped with supplies and asked for us to stay. But we knew we had to move on.

They call a flock of ravens an Unkindness, it's a name we've adopted. We're doing what we can to help. To clean up in the wake of radicals and fascists and heroes. Everyone who has ever had an unkindness forced upon them by important people.

You're a hero Lord Amell. Someone who saved us from terrible darkness. Someone who stood against darkspawn and an archdaemon. As you take on your next campaign, I ask only that you remember why you're doing any of this at all and maybe, when possible, linger a while to see the horror that remains in the wake of heroes.

Sincerely,

Medhia Nox,
former Circle Mage and leader of The Unkindness.

Modifié par Medhia Nox, 30 octobre 2013 - 04:16 .

[MisterJB]

Ieldra2 wrote...
But the qunari are the bigger threat. The Imperium is politically fractured except in the face of an external threat. The qunari have a unified purpose.

Infighting between magisters may be common but that never prevented them from invading other nations.
If they are suddenly free of the burden to fight Qunari, they should be unified in their desire to expand.

As for how many mages might make significant difference, neither you nor I have enough data to make even an educated guess.

I disagree. The history of Thedas should be enough for us to make a reasonably educated guess.
Given the prevalence of magic in Tevinter plus their constant need for soldiers, we can conclude that mages in Tevinter should be more numerous than in Andrastian lands (because they are encouraged to breed more mages), more powerful and more used to real combat.
Despite all of this, Tevinter lost everything but Minrathous when the Qunari first arrived; altough, admitadelly, at the time they might not have as accostumed to war as they would be; and have been locked in a stalemate after the other human nations signed the peace treaties.
Now, we certainly lack numbers and a clear account of the situation but, logically, the addition of the southern mages shouldn't make much of a difference.

[lil yonce]

@Medhia Nox; That was perfect.

[Xilizhra]

Medhia Nox wrote...

Warden Amell,

I hope this missive finds you.

I am nobody you would speak with. I am not a First Enchanter of high standing, a Reverend Mother, nor a Bann or King. However, I have been compelled to write in the efforts of illuminating that which might be easily ignored.

I had someone die in my arms last week. A young man of no more than twelve summers. He died as he believed he wanted, but it did not change the terror in his eyes as his life slipped from him.

I know of the exploits of the Wardens, and none so great in recent times as your own. Perhaps such an encounter with death does not hold the same weight to you. Perhaps, it is just another in a long series of blood soaked moments that you would find yourself in.

It happened along a river who's name I no longer recall. We're refugees now, my people and I. I'm quickly learning that holding on to the names of places, or people, seems futile. Do you remember all the names of the men and women you've killed? Of the places you've changed, or that changed you? It seems like a blur, and I've decided instead to forget them - even if only for now.

Some of us are Circle refugees. We fled our Circle when important mages with important names made decisions for us in the name of liberating us from other important people who had made decisions for us before them.

We don't want your war. Maybe, as someone so accustomed to violence, this seems like cowardice. I won't make excuses. We hide a lot. Many of us live in fear constantly.

And we die. We die a lot too. Do you have some advice? We're told it's glorious to die in such great conflicts as the one that has been thrust upon us without our consent. I'm not sure anyone in my camp has been convinced.

The young man that died believed in your dream. He was a young apprentice, not yet through his Harrowing. He was prone to grandstanding and had only come with us at the behest of a sheepish young girl that coerced him from the Circle when we fled.

He died like a hero I suppose. The young girl he had eyes for had foolishly healed a sick boy in the village we had stopped in. It did not go unnoticed and we found ourselves fleeing from Templar pursuers.

He wanted a fight. To die like a hero for his cause. He did.

He bled out in my arms a scared little boy who died for all those poetic ideals of his. I couldn't help but wonder if it was worth it. I couldn't help but wonder if, in their zeal of their own self-importance, if heroes ever think about us. If heroes care about the disasters they leave in their wake.

A group called The Mage Collective offered to get this missive to you. They're far better equipped at this than we are. They were nice, they helped with supplies and asked for us to stay. But we knew we had to move on.

They call a flock of ravens an Unkindness, it's a name we've adopted. We're doing what we can to help. To clean up in the wake of radicals and fascists and heroes. Everyone who has ever had an unkindness forced upon them by important people.

You're a hero Lady Amell. Someone who saved us from terrible darkness. Someone who stood against darkspawn and an archdaemon. As you take on your next campaign, I ask only that you remember why you're doing any of this at all and maybe, when possible, linger a while to see the horror that remains in the wake of heroes.

Sincerely,

Medhia Nox,
former Circle Mage and leader of The Unkindness.

I am not the Amell you're looking for, but you have my sympathies.

However, I invite you to consider your example... multiplied by at least a hundred, all in one night, where you can't hold onto the children who are dying because you have to protect the living. Consider the power structure that promotes this, that allows it to happen time and time again, and that it would continue to happen if we did not fight... if, of course, they didn't simply slaughter us all.

Do your part, but remember why we do ours.

Jana Hawke

[Steelcan]

I could dig an expanding Tevinter.

[Gwydden]

Medhia Nox wrote...

Warden Amell,

I hope this missive finds you.

Medhia Nox, that was awesome *takes off hat*

It is true people often get too caught up in these debates and the different sides begin to mesh into one big blur. We often forget collective are but an amalgamation of individuals, each with their own particular stories, and don't look at the smaller picture, which is not less important.

As a neutral party in this argument who tries not to neglect any side of it, I appreciate your contribution.

Modifié par Gwydden, 30 octobre 2013 - 03:54 .

[Xilizhra]

Gwydden wrote...

Medhia Nox wrote...

Warden Amell,

I hope this missive finds you.

Medhia Nox, that was awesome *takes off hat*

It is true people often get too caught up in these debates and the different sides begin to mesh into one big blur. We often forget collective are but an amalgamation of individuals, each with their own particular stories, and don't look at the smaller picture, which is not less important.

As a neutral party in this argument who tries not to neglect any side of it, I appreciate your contribution.

Keep in mind that it's because of that amalgamation of individuals that I'm pro-mage in the first place.

[Medhia Nox]

@Youth4Ever and Gwydden: Thanks, glad you liked it.

I'm probably going to consider whatever I write as my personal back story for my Inquisitor.

[Ieldra]

@Medhia Nox:
Very impressive indeed. Eorlin (who is a man, btw,, not a woman) will answer later.

[Medhia Nox]

@Ieldra2: Sorry! I'll fix immediately.

[Xilizhra]

Medhia Nox wrote...

@Youth4Ever and Gwydden: Thanks, glad you liked it.

I'm probably going to consider whatever I write as my personal back story for my Inquisitor.

I await your reply to me.

[dragonflight288]

Medhia Nox wrote...

Warden Amell,

I hope this missive finds you.

I am nobody you would speak with. I am not a First Enchanter of high standing, a Reverend Mother, nor a Bann or King. However, I have been compelled to write in the efforts of illuminating that which might be easily ignored.

I had someone die in my arms last week. A young man of no more than twelve summers. He died as he believed he wanted, but it did not change the terror in his eyes as his life slipped from him.

I know of the exploits of the Wardens, and none so great in recent times as your own. Perhaps such an encounter with death does not hold the same weight to you. Perhaps, it is just another in a long series of blood soaked moments that you would find yourself in.

It happened along a river who's name I no longer recall. We're refugees now, my people and I. I'm quickly learning that holding on to the names of places, or people, seems futile. Do you remember all the names of the men and women you've killed? Of the places you've changed, or that changed you? It seems like a blur, and I've decided instead to forget them - even if only for now.

Some of us are Circle refugees. We fled our Circle when important mages with important names made decisions for us in the name of liberating us from other important people who had made decisions for us before them.

We don't want your war. Maybe, as someone so accustomed to violence, this seems like cowardice. I won't make excuses. We hide a lot. Many of us live in fear constantly.

And we die. We die a lot too. Do you have some advice? We're told it's glorious to die in such great conflicts as the one that has been thrust upon us without our consent. I'm not sure anyone in my camp has been convinced.

The young man that died believed in your dream. He was a young apprentice, not yet through his Harrowing. He was prone to grandstanding and had only come with us at the behest of a sheepish young girl that coerced him from the Circle when we fled.

He died like a hero I suppose. The young girl he had eyes for had foolishly healed a sick boy in the village we had stopped in. It did not go unnoticed and we found ourselves fleeing from Templar pursuers.

He wanted a fight. To die like a hero for his cause. He did.

He bled out in my arms a scared little boy who died for all those poetic ideals of his. I couldn't help but wonder if it was worth it. I couldn't help but wonder if, in their zeal of their own self-importance, if heroes ever think about us. If heroes care about the disasters they leave in their wake.

A group called The Mage Collective offered to get this missive to you. They're far better equipped at this than we are. They were nice, they helped with supplies and asked for us to stay. But we knew we had to move on.

They call a flock of ravens an Unkindness, it's a name we've adopted. We're doing what we can to help. To clean up in the wake of radicals and fascists and heroes. Everyone who has ever had an unkindness forced upon them by important people.

You're a hero Lord Amell. Someone who saved us from terrible darkness. Someone who stood against darkspawn and an archdaemon. As you take on your next campaign, I ask only that you remember why you're doing any of this at all and maybe, when possible, linger a while to see the horror that remains in the wake of heroes.

Sincerely,

Medhia Nox,
former Circle Mage and leader of The Unkindness.

Addressed to Medhia Nox



I believe this missive was sent to the wrong Amell, as I am neutral in the war.

Daylen Amell

PS: If any of you seek shelter, I can offer it, if you in turn are willing to help strenghten the veil at the stronghold.

[Medhia Nox]

To Jana Hawke,

When a messenger arrived in our camp, one which I had been so confident I had done everything I could to hide so well, I was crestfallen. It seems I have a lot to learn about the capabilities of the powerful if I'm going to keep my people safe.

I had to ask who you were. I'm sorry, and I truly meant no offense, but I figured your messenger would have told you of my ignorance so I figured I'd address it. Even for a Circle, we are more sheltered than is normal, but when she told me that you were the famed Champion of Kirkwall I was quite beside myself. You honor me.

You wanted to know if I have considered the losses other face. To know the important work of important people. It's true, I've been preoccupied in current weeks, but I will give the thought some time now.

The Templars disappeared almost entirely in those first few days after the vote to liberate the Circles had been made. We thought, even if only for a moment, that liberation was as simple as saying: "No". We thought we were free, and I remember so many being so excited.

There was talk of going "home". It seemed foreign to me, I had no other home. There were parties that lasted well into the night as our Senior Enchanters gathered with our First Enchanter to speak on topics we weren't worthy telling. Nobody could tell us no. Nobody would tell us no ever again.

A small handful of Templars had stayed behind. They kept themselves sheltered in their barracks, until a few days later when they too left. One of them, who I am not ashamed to say was a very close friend, did not leave.

He saved our lives. He told me to flee. That the Templars would be coming back and that he and those few that had remained had refused to answer the call of their superiors. He begged me to come with him. I had initially refused.

I know you are a mage, and after some questioning I know you did not grow up in a tower. But the Tower was my home. It was full of friends who I had struggled to learn about magic with. Friends who I stayed up late nights with talking about our fears about the Fade, demons, and about the Harrowing. Senior Enchanters who were like parents to us, who inspired us, while tempering us.

It may make no sense to someone who has experienced so much, but it was my home.

So, I hesitated. He was angry, but he stayed and his compatriots left him behind. They said they were going to meet with other Templars who refused to answer their Order's demands. I heard them call him a damned fool, but I had appreciated that he had remained behind.

I did not know what was coming.

He harassed me every minute after that to get ready to flee. I hesitated further. We were so happy in those first few days. So sure that a thousand years of misunderstanding and cruelty and prejudice were all gone in one fell swoop. That our very important leaders had done the miraculous and had freed us with a vote.

We knew there were threats from the Templars after the vote was made, but nothing had happened immediately and we had had the audacity to hope.

He convinced me the next night, when he convinced me to take a walk to the town not a few miles from the Circle. I saw there great plumes of smoke, men bristling in weaponry, and banners. Those scarlet banners.

The Templars had returned to tell us "No." one last time.

I had been so stupid, and we paid for it. By the time I had convinced a handful of my friends to leave, the Templars were already upon us. Our teachers, our First Enchanter, died in the first fateful minutes of that encounter, but they purchased with their lives a chance for us to escape.

I wonder sometimes with anger, why they didn't tell us to flee earlier, but I think maybe it pained them deeply to have to destroy the celebrating of so many young mages who believed that mage freedom would be seen in their time. I think a part of them had hoped too. Hoped enough to try to parley with the templars before conflict broke out. Hoped in vain against fear and paranoia. I couldn't blame them.

We escaped, so many died. I took a blow to the head from a mailed fist. The templar who had tried so hard to convince me to leave dragged me to safety as the roaring of fire, the crackle of lightning and the rattling of swords rocked the Circle grounds.

He had taken his own wounds without protest. One had cut deep into his stomach and, in my own self-centered worries about my own superficial cuts and bruises, I only remember him leaving my side twice to attend to something or other. When he came back the second time he seemed weak, but I had thought it was just fatigue from the day. I was tired too.

We talked for a short time, he kissed me good night and we fell asleep.

When I had awoken, I found that he had died in the night from the wound he had taken.

I don't know why I wrote all that I have. It seems so pretentious to be telling a stranger such personal things. But these people I am trying to care for, they've had deaths of their own. They've had lovers and friends die just like I have. Please forgive me if I've bothered you with such petty concerns.

But, I suppose if you asked me if I know the cost of Templar oppression, my answer would be yes. I also know the cost of my own wrong choices. Did the Templars kill my friend when they attacked? Did the mages who voted to force freedom upon us all when we might not have been ready? Did the First Enchanter by not telling us ahead of time? Did I?

I can't be sure of the templars, or the First Enchanter, or the ringleaders of the new mage resistance, or anyone else. But I know this. If I had listened to his warnings, if I had not hesitated, if I had not fought with him when he demanded I leave with his cohorts, he might still be alive.

It seems a cowardice to his memory to blame everyone else.

Is there anything you blame yourself for?

Truly Honored,
Medhia Nox of The Unkindness

[Ieldra]

Eorlin Amell to Medhia Nox:

"I thank you for your letter.

You say I am the kind of person who would not speak with you. Be that as it may, you deserve more than a few placating words as an answer.

Let me first say that there is no dishonor in not fighting. Every soldier who goes to war willingly, and every Grey Warden knows that we fight because we are good at it, so that those who are not as good, and are called to other occupations, will not have to. Nobody should follow the path to war with unseeing eyes, and if someone feels the calling, they should be told what the reality is like, that you experience scenes like the one you described every day, with people who have become friends, sometimes more, dying at your side, and the only consolation is that they have chosen to take that risk, unlike you. If they still want to go, then so be it.

I hear in your letter the question "Why did you - people like you - thrust this fate we do not want upon us?". The answer is both simple and complicated. We do it because we, as people with power whose actions - and inactions - affect many lives, have no choice, because no matter what we do, or not do, someone will ask the same question of us. Mages with power have chosen to fight, and I, another mage with power, have chosen to support their cause, and thus, you have come to ask that question of me. Had those mages decided not to act, and had I decided not to promote the cause of mage liberation, then someone else in some Circle, perhaps someone waiting to be made Tranquil  the next day, would have asked with desperation in his voice "These are people with power and people of my kind. Why do they not act to protect me and other people like me?" Sometimes, careful diplomacy provides a way out of this dilemma, even after a war has already started. We are trying our best to do that. All too often, however, this is not in our power without betraying some of the people who would ask us questions of that kind.

I have pondered long if I should involve myself in this conflict. After all, I could have chosen to live a quiet life as an apostate, being in the fortunate situation of knowing places where the templars would never find me, no matter if they would field armies. My closest companion used to say we should not involve ourselves in others' affairs because every man and woman is responsible only for him- or herself. I believe we, as people with power, are responsible for more than just ourselves, and as soon as you believe that, your inactions carry as much weight as your actions.

So, why have I made this decision instead of another? Why did I choose action instead of inaction? Why did I choose to support a more radical course of action than others?

Perhaps you have heard of Dairsmuid. There was a Circle there, its people being mages following their own tradition. They may have had closer contact with the spirit world than the Chantry deems acceptable, but their mages never did any harm. At least, not more or less than in any other Circle. One day, an army of templars descended on them and killed them all. Men, women, children, everyone. Imagine scenes like the one you described to me, only with the bodies of the dying casually thrust aside, with nobody to be at their side as they passed away, dying alone and knowing that all their friends, the people they love, their children will shortly suffer the same fate. I know a templar who deserted the field that day, because she could not bear to take part in this slaughter. She came to me later to ask if I knew a source of lyrium, which I did, and told me what happened.

Perhaps you have heard of Kirkwall. The Circle there was uncommonly oppressive, so that many mages fled, and when they were captured, they were so desperate that they called upon demons, knowing that they would die, and accepting that if only they could take as many of their oppressors' lives as they could with them. Some of them were truly corrupted, and these were rightly hunted down. However, at the culmination of the conflict the knight-commander decided that all mages in the Circle had to be killed. *In* the Circle, where all those mages resided who did not rise up and never came close to blood magic and contact with demons. The knight-commander of Kirkwall was insane, and rejected by her own in the end, but the Chantry's law gave her the right to order all mages killed.

When I close my eyes, I see other mages I know - from the Circle where I grew up, from others I have visted since then, people like you - suffering the same fate. And I cannot choose inaction. They call this the Right of Annulment. I call it the right of genocide. It is an abomination as....abominable as any ever created from human and demon, and I cannot make any other decision than to fight until it is utterly abolished.

That is why I have chosen my actions and thrust an unkind fate on you that you do not want. You ask "Is it worth it?" I do not know. All I can hope for is that some day, those of you who survive will look back and find that what was achieved has enough weight to make peace with the past.

Do not think I cannot understand your situation. I once lived in a Circle, reasonably content with my situation. Events conspired to conscript me into the Grey Wardens. I did not wish to become a Grey Warden, and I might even have fled that fate had I known the price it would extract from me in advance. The Blight might not have been stopped as early then, and I would have never met some people now very dear to me. So there is always hope that things will turn out well, and all anyone can do is to try and help that come to pass.

So no, I do not think you are cowards for not fighing. Hide and protect your people. Survive. I cannot regret the decision I made, nor the decisions made at Andoral's Reach, but know that I and others are working to bring this conflict to an end as soon as possible. Meanwhile, take the enclosed map. Marked on it are hiding places I have used while evading Teyrn Loghain's forces, and later while moving through Orlais. Maybe they will be of some help to you. 

Eorlin Amell"

Modifié par Ieldra2, 31 octobre 2013 - 08:05 .

[KainD]

My God, that MediaNox mage is one big whiner.

[Xilizhra]

Medhia Nox

If you would know... yes, there are things that I would blame myself for. That I couldn't save my sister's life, so many years ago. That I didn't ascertain whether Grand Cleric Elthina was truly as guilty of aiding Knight-Commander Meredith as I suspected. That I failed to see First Enchanter Orsino's intent to sacrifice himself until it was too late.

But for actions taken by the templars? I bear no blame, and neither do you. What they chose to do is on them alone, and we choose to fight back, for our own sakes, for yours, and for all mages, all their families and loved ones, in the future.

If you know a better way for us to ensure such safety than to cut the danger off at its source, I implore you to tell me. Until then, keep up the work that you do, as best you can; we each fill vital roles as best we can.

Jana Hawke

[dragonflight288]

A Missive to the Grand Cleric of Ferelden.

Posted on the Cathedral Doors and the Chanter's Board in Denerim and Amaranthine

Your grace,

I, a humble servant of the Maker write to you with a simple request.

I am sure that the Chantry, in its infinite wisdom, has long warned against the dangers of abominations and maleficarum while also choosing to respect the autonomy of the Circle's of Magi as had been voted upon recently. The Chantry's stance here has confused many in my arling, some hailing it as the proper course of action as the Hero of Ferelden is a mage, and had been aided a great deal by both a Circle Mage and Apostate. On the otherhand, the more conservative and religiously minded citizens question the Chantry's inaction concerning the mages declaring their independence.

As a Grey Warden we know that politically I must remain neutral. But here in Ferelden we have had many instances of Templars with the full authority of the Chantry interfere with Warden business and recruits. Two such examples are Ser Rylock who illegally meant to arrest the mage Anders despite the King accepting his conscription, and the other being Ser Rylon who played double agent and moved against the mage Anders as a templar, and did not respect the dty or political immunity from the Chantry's laws that being a Warden entails.

Let me be frank, had he come to me first and told me that Anders had become an abomination, and had I witnessed Anders' actions myself, I likely would've killed him personally.

But so long as the templars continue to act against the mages of the Order, I may find myself forced into a position where I would have to act decisively against those who keep me from fulfilling my role as a Warden, and I promise that I will act against whoever gave the orders, no matter who they may be.

As a believer in the Maker, I trust that the Chantry is not culpable in these repeated acts of interference, and humbly request that all templars who remain in service of the Chantry be given standing orders to fulfill their duty to the best of their ability and remain vigilant against those mages who would turn to blood magic, demons or crime. Wherever my wardens duties may take them, they will be very well situated to aid these templars to the best of their ability.

But if the templars continue to interfere, my Warden's assistance cannot be guaranteed, nor can the safety of any templar be assured if they are suspected of interfering.

Your humble servant,

Daylen Amell.

Modifié par dragonflight288, 31 octobre 2013 - 03:59 .