One thing I never really understood is that we haven't heard, to the best of my knowledge, of Trevinter or the Dalish being overcome by demons. So is it fair to say that only non-Elves living in some areas of Thedas are particularly vulnerable? Is this because the veil is thin?
I am also not sure I fully understand Solas's assertion that demons are spirits, brought into the world unexpectedly or against their will. If spirits are not inherently evil then why are the people of Thedas so afraid?
Spirits channel and embody emotions. Fear is perpetuated by lack of knowledge and understanding. Fear also permeates your perceptions, which distort how things truly are. Your perception therefore is tainted and when a spirit picks up this notion it is fundamentally changed to reflect those raw feelings.
Spirit Cole also says this about The Fade and spirits
"It is here (The Fade) but held, constrained by a construct, veiled. Feelings, memories, minds, mortality: All shape it, a glass to hold water, we flow in the deep (Fade). Without you (Mortals), we (spirits) have nothing, not even us."
Our fears, our hopes and everything in-between is what shapes everything they embody.
It is the same as saying God did not create us, we created God. He embodies all we wish to be, all we wish to have. Power over things we cannot change, answers to that which we do not understand, a tool to help us let go and move forward, the embodiment of faith itself. The same way demons do not hold sway over our fears, but rather it is our fears that fuel our demons.
Given The Chantry views on magic, such as trying to control it, by limiting practice and study, eyeing it with suspicion and warning of its danger, and given the influence it has on the World of Thedas, then one can understand the correlation between possession within such a strained relationship between the people's perceptions and reality.
The Avvar and Dalish are less populated, therefore have an easier time watching over their charges i.e. mages, though Tevinter shows us that this is not the main reason for the lack of incidents. The most important difference is they seek understanding first. A relationship of trust for example is established between spirits and the Avvar. An Augur will help mages by having them bond with a spirit who teaches them the ways of "The Fade". Spirits are not regarded as inherently dangerous or evil and therefore reflect those thoughts and feelings. The Dalish similarly seek knowledge and treat magic as a natural part of the world rather than something that is "Unnatural" and perverse within itself.
Tevinter is ruled by many mages. The main difference is they do not fear magic but embrace it. The problem here is that some mages seek power and willingly choose to be possessed through their lust for power, greed and arrogance. Similarly spirits will reflect those feelings and so manifest as "demons" as this is what the mages seek. Obviously this is not the case for every Tevinter mage, like any massive population, but because of the amount of mages residing there, and the liberal use of magic ingrained in the culture, the potential for abuse is also greater.
The most important thing to remember is the potential for misinterpretation is perpetuated by a lack of understanding and the nature of one's personal desires and perceptions.
These are all consequences of the veil being put in place, which sundered a natural balance that was struck and changed the dynamic of both "worlds".
This is why I don't approve of the Chantry or the circles, not because they are "inherently bad" but because they alienate magic while perpetuating fear, misinterpretation and misunderstanding across the general populace which leads to a vicious circle (pun intended) of abuse and danger. This also then transfers to apostates and their parents, who either try to hide their children (effectively ignoring their circumstances and making things worse, where the child does not learn to control his magic) or who resent their "gifts" and make their children resent themselves or feel ashamed of who they are simply because they were born with special gifts.
That increases their chances of being possessed and becoming hostile. They have a very limited amount of people in which they can confide, either people who would understand or people who wouldn't be judgmental or biased. They also lack the tools with which to deal with their emotions or an outlet to express them in a "healthy" and "sound" manner. Think of people in our world that have emotional or psychological disorders or come from "broken" homes, third world countries ruled by dictators etc. It all comes down to the same problems, with the added dangers related to the use of "magic".
The Avvar still have to deal with weaker mages that cannot cope with their emotions i.e. fear, greed, pride etc. and so handle them (in a humane way). It is a sad state of affairs but the natural order of things. This is where the tool and how you use it comes into play.
to quote spider-man, with great power comes great responsibility. Not everyone is equipped to deal with such a situation, though understanding the nature of that power is instrumental in learning how to handle it properly. The system that the Chantry employs doesn't give way to that concept. They rather deny such power in fear of the consequences, yet the consequences are precisely the result of such fears, not the other way around. There's an important difference between being cautious and acting out of fear.
This is why the harrowing is so horrendous. It already creates a negative disposition within mages, enhancing their fears and doubts, making them ripe for possession and giving "demons" an unfair advantage. Surviving does mark an exceptionally willful individual, but also prevents mages who could have come into their own with time, patience and understanding the short end of the stick, dying without reaching that potential.
"Ultimately, a demon is simply a spirit whose purpose has been perverted. Pulling a spirit unwillingly into the mortal world, particularly to achieve a goal out of keeping with its nature, will change a spirit into a demon (however, a spirit passing willingly through the Veil will not be changed[3]). Furthermore, an individual anticipating seeing a demon will do so, even if the entity is in fact a spirit.[4]"
This is why I like how the Avvar deal with it. I also hope the college of enchanters trains their mages in the same way, though I'm "disappointed" in the fact that the circle is forced upon the world no matter our choices in inquisition, it is solely about the "illusion" of choice. I fully understand the decision from a narrative standpoint, after all, conflict is what drives good storytelling. Also, we all need a similar starting point when moving into the next frnachise. It would be much too hard to encompass a huge variety of decisions, big and small in one game while keeping with a focused narrative. Their can be "minor mutations" but some "major" themes have to be respected.
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