1580 réponses à ce sujet

[9TailsFox]

I have to disagree with that point. The South hasn't been this weak in centuries.

 

Orlais, who could conquer Ferelden back in the past, is now incapable of taking back lands from Nevarra and has been weakened by a civil war. Ferelden is still recovering from the Blight, and the Free Marches have many Fereldan refugees. Navarra is on the brink of civil war. The mages, who were fundamental in pushing back the Qunari in the past, have seen their numbers cut down in the Mage-Templar War and will end up divided no matter what you do. And all of them have suffered from the Breach, the rifts, the demon attacks and the war against Corypheus.

 

On the other hand, the Qunari got stronger.

 

Were the Qunari, at their best when they attacked Thedas? Not at all. They started their campaign just 2 years after arriving to Par Vollen, so they basically started a world war just with the forces they had at the beginning plus what they could manage in the occupied lands. By now, however, Par Vollen is not a recently conquered province, but a fully developed and populous Qunari Land. Contrary to the first wars, they've learned to use mages in war, and Tresspasser has given us a taste of what their Saarebas could do if given the chance. Compare that to the absolute lack of advancement in the South to steal or understand Qunari technology, and the Qunari end up being the less stagnant side.

Meanwhile Tevinter fight Qunari all the time. You welcome south Thedas.

[thats1evildude]

The Viddasala lays out why they're attacking now. The qunari were content to let things lie until the Breach occurred, which demonstrated the south was out of control and they were desperately needed to corral all this dangerous magic before the south destroyed itself.

[QueenCrow]

Who says she left it on her desk for the Inquisitor to find?

1) Josie sends letter.
2) Triuumverate responds. "Viddasala who?" It's fake, of course, just a way of covering their asses.
3) Vidassala is either given a copy or has an agent placed high enough to intercept it. She is miffed about the implication that the Triuumverate is hanging her out to dry if she fails and crumples up note.
4) Inquisitor breaks into Darvaarad, finds letter.

I apologize, I was being flippant and that's unworthy of a real discussion.  The only problem I have with the "it was a copy of an official document" theory, though it is a good one, is that if it was a copy, that would suggest that the Inquisition would also get a copy at some point of a reply addressed to Josephine, and meant for Josephine.  I'm more in line with your thinking that the Viddasala had an agent intercept the letter and was pissed about being hung out to dry.

 

That's outside of any discussion of whether or not the Viddasala was a rogue agent.  I'm willing to accept the answer per OP that she was sanctioned.  In truth, it doesn't matter to me at all whether she was rogue or sanctioned.  I'm merely entering the discussion to discuss how people might be lead by the misleading information placed in game by writers and/or devs.  People may believe that the Viddasala was rogue, not because they have their heads up their backsides as has been suggested, or are delusional, but because devs placed items in game that said the Viddasala was rogue.

[QueenCrow]

I think the better question is - Why is the Inquisition digging in someone else's trash?

 

I don't think the letter was important anymore to Viddasala - the relevant information was transferred, and she tossed it. 

 

I'm thinking the best question is why writers/devs would place a codex in game which logically spawns the speculation you've already mentioned if they didn't want us to speculate.  If they wanted sanctioned Viddasala to be obvious, then they could have just omitted Triumvirate denial letters from the Viddasala's trash.

 

Personally, I enjoy the speculation, but perhaps the BSN (or perhaps this thread) is a place for consensus more than speculation.

[IllustriousT]

I'm thinking the best question is why writers/devs would place a codex in game which logically spawns the speculation you've already mentioned if they didn't want us to speculate.  If they wanted sanctioned Viddasala to be obvious, then they could have just omitted Triumvirate denial letters from the Viddasala's trash.

 

Personally, I enjoy the speculation, but perhaps the BSN (or perhaps this thread) is a place for consensus more than speculation.

 

Nah. It may seem that way sometimes, but speculation only helps us solidify our own ideas or beliefs - which makes for better debates (or tiresome squabble, depending on your pov). Personally, I have learned a lot about Qunari society in general through this thread which will hopefully do me well in DA4 .  

[Mistic]

Meanwhile Tevinter fight Qunari all the time. You welcome south Thedas.

 

Probably an intended parallelism with Byzantium. They had to face the bulk of Muslim armies for centuries, in battles such as Constantinople 717 which dwarfs the much talked Tours 732 and all the major battles in the Crusades or the Reconquista (hoping for a DA version in the next game). Losing more and more land every time. Being backstabbed once by the 4th Crusade. And when they were finally conquered, Western Europe stripped their title of "Roman Empire" and called them Byzantines. Geez.

 

The only problem I have with the "it was a copy of an official document" theory, though it is a good one, is that if it was a copy, that would suggest that the Inquisition would also get a copy at some point of a reply addressed to Josephine, and meant for Josephine.

 

It could happen. Let's not forget that Viddasala has an advantage over traditional messengers: she has (or had) the Eluvian network. A message sent to her from Qunandar will likely reach her much faster than a message sent to Orlais from Qunandar.

 

If that's the case, it would explain a lot. They hadn't publicly disavowed her... yet. It would be their way to say "if you don't get results by the time this letter reaches the Inquisition, then it's over". And before anyone says the Qunari wouldn't be able of such duplicity, let's remember Sten's immortal words about Qunari and written assurances: "They signed a piece of paper. But only because they knew that you believed in it".

[Sifr]

Qunari not holding up their end of the bargain is also shown with how they view the issue of Isabela.

 

Despite Hawke having potentially fought the Arishok in a duel to prevent her from being taken into custody, the events of Those Who Speak show they still intend to punish her for having stolen the Tome of Koslun (even if she returned it). Bull even half-jokingly admits that his bosses have been hounding him to find out any information on her from Varric.

 

It's not even a case where Hawke misinterpreted or imagined the stakes to include her freedom, since the Arishok made it clear from his challenge that the conditions were "We will duel to the death, with her as the prize".

 

Unless he was crossing his fingers or omitted the caveat that she won her freedom from them "... for now", it's hard to see how this doesn't constitute another broken promise.

[Lezio]

Meanwhile Tevinter fight Qunari all the time. You welcome south Thedas.

 

To be fair, Thedas should thank both Qunari and Tevinter for keeping eachother busy. I mean, between the 2 i don't know which one would be worse (In Tevinter there is probably some people like Dorian, but there also many more like Danarius)

[In Exile]

The Qunari don't view non-Qunari as people. It is not much of a stretch to say that they're not going to honour any bargain with the furniture.

[KaiserShep]

The Qunari don't view non-Qunari as people. It is not much of a stretch to say that they're not going to honour any bargain with the furniture.

 

Seriously, it's right there in the name they have for non-Qunari too. Bas is literally thing, or purposeless. 

[Xerrai]

Meanwhile Tevinter fight Qunari all the time. You welcome south Thedas.

I wouldn't be too thrilled about that. From what we can tell, while the two may have been fighting, the Qunari were never fighting seriously. I wouldn't be surprised if that entire conflict was little more than a "mock war" to the Qunari before they attack in earnest. This is also in addition to the numerous amount of intel, battle experience and influence that comes with such conflicts and the Qunari are well known for putting everything to good use.

[Mistic]

To be fair, Thedas should thank both Qunari and Tevinter for keeping eachother busy. I mean, between the 2 i don't know which one would be worse (In Tevinter there is probably some people like Dorian, but there also many more like Danarius)

 

Not really. The data we have so far says that, apart from the typical frontier tensions, Tevinter hasn't tried to conquer any other country since they were kicked out from Hunter Fell in 3:49. That's lots of centuries ago. In the meantime, they have suffered massive foreign invasions (four Exalted Marches and the Qunari Wars), and are still fighting in Seheron.

 

They're a nasty country and one may argue that the only reason they didn't try more conquering is because they are too busy with what they have, but any Tevinter could rightfully claim that it's hypocrisy to fear their imperialism when they are the ones being invaded by others. If anything, Orlais has a much, much worse track record in that regard.

[Lezio]

Not really. The data we have so far says that, apart from the typical frontier tensions, Tevinter hasn't tried to conquer any other country since they were kicked out from Hunter Fell in 3:49. That's lots of centuries ago. In the meantime, they have suffered massive foreign invasions (four Exalted Marches and the Qunari Wars), and are still fighting in Seheron.

 

They're a nasty country and one may argue that the only reason they didn't try more conquering is because they are too busy with what they have, but any Tevinter could rightfully claim that it's hypocrisy to fear their imperialism when they are the ones being invaded by others. If anything, Orlais has a much, much worse track record in that regard.

 

Yeah, i was talking in hypothetical terms. If Qunari or Tevinter were free to do as they pleased, mostly Tevinter, started an invasion and won it, who would be better since they're both fairly horrible? Hence the fact that it's good that they're keeping themselves busy (personally Qunari>Tevinter)

 

Still, i think if the Qunari started invading both Tevinter and south Thedas the could actually come out of it on top. If now they're attaccking Tevinter, IMHO, it means they don't want to fight on 2 sides when the actual invasions starts.

Tevinter would actually lose against Southern Thedas, though. Everyone hates tham and attacking is much messier than defending, so yeah i can't see them invading anything and actually holding what they conquered

 

I really hope the war in DA4 is better presented than the mage vs templars' one in Inquisition (which is basically missing altogether), and there must be at least an instance where a Magister fights a Saarebas

[The Baconer]

I wouldn't be too thrilled about that. From what we can tell, while the two may have been fighting, the Qunari were never fighting seriously. I wouldn't be surprised if that entire conflict was little more than a "mock war" to the Qunari before they attack in earnest. This is also in addition to the numerous amount of intel, battle experience and influence that comes with such conflicts and the Qunari are well known for putting everything to good use.

The Qunari have actually committed to a mainland invasion of Tevinter before, as per Sten's extended backstory from WoT vol. 2. Really, they are just Thedas' most pronounced s*** talkers.

[Dai Grepher]

I have to disagree with that point. The South hasn't been this weak in centuries.

Maybe they have been weakened in recent years, but they are still stronger than they were ages ago. Also, the point is that they were weaker during the Breach or right after it was closed. Why didn't the Qunari attack right after Corypheus was defeated?

Nevarra is no slouch though, and Orlais has more to worry about than just Nevarra. Any move Orlais makes must be done with Tevinter and Ferelden in mind.

Ferelden has recovered from the Blight.

Nevarra is facing civil war? If so, a Qunari invasion would only prevent such a war by uniting them against the greater threat.

There will always be more mages.

The Free Marches and Nevarra haven't really suffered that much. The rifts can be avoided.

Were the Qunari, at their best when they attacked Thedas? Not at all. They started their campaign just 2 years after arriving to Par Vollen, so they basically started a world war just with the forces they had at the beginning plus what they could manage in the occupied lands.

That would be their best then.

By now, however, Par Vollen is not a recently conquered province, but a fully developed and populous Qunari Land. Contrary to the first wars, they've learned to use mages in war, and Tresspasser has given us a taste of what their Saarebas could do if given the chance.

The saarebas are complete jokes. They can't even cast spells. They just use raw power and summon elements. Saarath could summon a few demons, which could turn on the Qunari.

Compare that to the absolute lack of advancement in the South to steal or understand Qunari technology, and the Qunari end up being the less stagnant side.

Well, the South does have a ton of undetonated gaatlok now, thanks to Viddasala.

What canon basis supports this?

I posted it directly following my claim. You know, that line of text you had to delete in order to quote only the claim. I would also like to add that The Iron Bull admits to you that Par Vollen sent him to find out if an invasion is necessary to correct the South. So when the Breach appeared Par Vollen sought answers to questions. They did not plot to attack the South as Viddasala claims. And like I wrote in that post, the Triumvirate was pleased with the results the Inquisition achieved, and the Exalted Council was called to curb the Inquisitor as Viddasala claims the Triumvirate wanted. So it made no sense to attack while the Inquisition was still strong. Better to wait until after they are dismantled.

Actually, the role of espionage and assassination would be fall in the purview of the Ben-Hassrath, not the Antaam.

In absence of a war, you would be right. But this isn't just some random official mission during a ceasefire. This would allegedly be the opening attack of a war. In which case this would be overseen by the Arishok, not the Viddasala.

The reason that the Viddasala would have be the one to carry out such an operation in this instance, rather than an senior agent who deals in assassinations primarily is because this plan required the use of Eluvians, Lyrium and Gaatlok, all of which she is the foremost expert at dealing with.

No she isn't. That would be the Dangerous Actions branch. She is Dangerous Purpose.

Answered why Viddasala lied above.

Secondly, Viddasala wasn't talking about the Inquisition, she was talking about the threat that the Inquisitor themselves poses and expressing that they should not have been kept alive after the Breach was sealed.

Which is also a lie, because the Triumvirate continued to use the Inquisitor for various missions in the alliance worldstate.

The future of the Inquisition isn't important to the Qunari, it's a organisation that can have any leader going forward... but the Inquisitor has the unique magical glowing hand that can tear open the Fade, a threat they pose and always have done as far as they are concerned.

Then why didn't the Triumvirate assassinate the Inquisitor first? Why did they instead entrust him with important tasks that they believed he could solve better than their own Ben-Hassrath?

Except that the Arishok was shown to be the sole individual leading troops in Kirkwall, yet had numerous contingents under his command (including Saarebas and Arvaraad), as well as had access to restricted materials such as Saar-Qamek and Gaatlok. Surely by your logic, the Triumvirate would not have let the Arishok have the authority to command any of the troops he had in DA2 that didn't exist in his chain of command?

Um... why would I believe that? The Arishok was tasked with recovering the Tome of Koslum. Of course they would give him what he needed. And he's the Arishok, one of the top leaders of the Qunari people. Besides, this just proves that the Arishok would be in charge of the troops Viddasala was commanding in Trespasser has Dragon's Breath been authorized.

Viddasala was tasked with legitimate tasks suited to her role, but then she repurposed those resources to her own covert operation.

[Dai Grepher]

So this means that either there were indeed agents of these branches in Kirkwall and the Darvaarad, who despite being outside their chain of command normally were placed under the leadership of the Arishok and Viddasala temporarily for the duration of the mission... or you're wrong?

Clearly I never wrote that the Viddasala would never be allowed to command these units under any circumstances. The point was that she would not be the one to command them in the event of war.

Once again, you have failed to provide sufficient evidence why it was not authorised.

I was responding to midnight tea, and the topic was if Viddasala was leading this alleged invasion. Epler clearly used the word "lead". So that proved my point.

As for being unauthorized, that is a separate point, and I wasn't trying to prove it in that particular line of response.

Really, because the epilogues making it clear the Qunari are still gearing up their war machine seems somewhat contrary to that assessment?

The war machine is for Tevinter, as was always the case. The point is that this war machine was not in place ready to invade the South, and they didn't invade the South. Viddasala said they would invade. Viddasala lied. Qunari died.

Furthermore, doesn't this fly in the face of Weekes calling this act an invasion attempt and the Qunari starting a war?

Doesn't the DLC fly in the face of that? There is no war. That's not some opinion of mine, it's a fact. There was no invasion, no war. The DLC ends with things continuing as usual.

Also, Weekes said in the interview "let's have the Qunari start a war". The Qunari in Trespasser certainly tried to, but they failed. In the conference I think he mentioned invasion, but this was in the context of creating Qunari templars, and Weekes also said this idea was scrapped.

Or she died attempting to fulfill her demand of the Qun, that bade her end the threat posed by magic and the agents of Fen'Harel. Qunari are willing to die in service of the Qun if it so requires them to do so, so do you honestly think a zealot like the Viddasala would just have walked away?

You mean like how she walked away from the Inquisitor in the Vir Dirthara and the Darvaarad? Yes. She would have walked away, gone back to Par Vollen, and informed the Triumvirate of the threat posed by Solas so that her successors could come up with a counter-strategy.

But this was never an option for her, because the Triumvirate never authorized her to do any of this.

The least she could have done was tried to kill the Inquisitor.

And regardless of what you think, the text is written in such a manner that it can easily be read as the Triumvirate covering their own backsides by disavowing knowledge of her actions because they got caught red-handed.

Being caught red-handed means you can't plausibly deny you did it. So no, the text is clearly written so that they can and did deny any involvement with Viddasala's actions. It is you and people on your side who read their own ideas into this.

You are rejecting what Weekes tells us the writers intended from the start and instead choosing to instead come up with your own interpretation that takes the Qunari's word at face value.

You are twisting what Weekes said. I am taking Weekes' words literally, and I am posting canon evidence that corroborates the Triumvirate's claim. You have no proof that the Triumvirate authorized Dragon's Breath. That they did and then denied it is just a baseless hypothesis.

All despite the fact this is a group who who have been shown to be as liberal with the truth as Varric was during his interrogation by Cassandra in DA2, such as when he claimed he had no knowledge of Hawke's location.

So because you think they have lied in the past, that means they are lying in this case? That doesn't follow.

The Viddasala likely was throwing her life away out of a refusal to admit her failure, or fear of the potential consequences.

Then why didn't she try this against an easier target, such as the Inquisitor? The consequences indeed. She would have likely been declared Tal-Vashoth for hiding everything from the Triumvirate and nearly started a war they weren't ready to fight.

True, it's very similar to how the Arishok seemed to want Hawke to defeat him when he challenged him to a duel, as dying in honourable combat was preferable to going home in disgrace and facing execution for his actions.

Incorrect. The Arishok's situation has three different outcomes, all of which disprove you.

1. Isabela doesn't return, in which case it's either Kirkwall gets converted, or the Arishok is slain.

2. Isabela returns and gives over the Tome, in which case the Arishok wants to take the thief for punishment, and Hawke must kill the Arishok to prevent that.

3. Hawke allows the Arishok to take Isabela, in which case she escapes and steals the Tome again. In this case the Arishok does return to Par Vollen in disgrace to face the music, and more importantly, to inform the other two memebers of the Triumvirate that he is incapable of fulfilling the task assigned to him, thus allowing them to find a new Arishok.

Had Viddasala been authorized, she would have returned to Par Vollen to give a full account so her successors could form a better counter-strategy. Or else she would have died fighting the Inquisitor instead of the unbeatable Solas.

[Dai Grepher]

And how Sten assisted the Warden because he thought the Warden was doomed to failure. Better to die on a battlefield than a cage.

Sten lost his sword. He would have been slain on sight. Get his sword back and he can leave the party for Par Vollen right then and there.

Pardon, but this is why you should probably pay attention to other evidence, not just a piece of it - the scale of operation, for example. The fact that apparently "rogue" group has access to the only Qunari source of lyrium - you think that a nation so obsessed with control wouldn't notice dissidents grabbing their only lyrium mine?

What? Seriously. What? How is the Triumvirate supposed to know about a lyrium mine accessed only by one, maybe two magic mirrors? And of course this would be the only mine because the Triumvirate does NOT mine lyrium. Viddasala was acting without authorization.

Add to that the fact that IB betrays us if he's not Tal-Vashoth, after his visit on Par Vollen.

Doesn't mean anything. The blind Bull was just following a order from someone with horns.

The fact that there are Qunari spies within Inquisition that managed to smuggle gaatlok to Winter Palace and other places in the South we cannot absolutely confirm were connected with eluvians (most gaatlok in WP was brought with Inquisition, not smuggled through WP eluvian, which eventually was locked in a secure room and under 24h observation) strongly suggesting that this was a much bigger operation that must've involved a lot more cooperation than what's available to Viddasala through a section of eluvians they've managed to open.

Long sentence. This proves nothing. Viddasala had access to numerous viddathari. It was her legitimate role to reeducate them. She likely brainwashed them to her own bidding. And we don't know how many courts were targeted, or with how much gaatlok. So this point can't be confirmed.

But the presence of spies is not in itself evidence of an authorized attack on the South. It's evidence that there are spies for the Qunari in the Inquisition. We don't even know whose spies, official Ben-Hassrath spies, or just Viddasala's spies? Maybe these spies didn't even show up until Viddasala began her covert operation.

Then there are statements made by Viddasala or Solas.

Such as?

And, of course, epilogue slides that clearly state that "With the Dragon's Breath disrupted and any hope of a swift victory dashed, the Qunari retreated back to the North" and now they're preparing to invade Tevinter. You'll also note that the official disavowal happened ONLY if Inquisition was allied with Qunari.

The epilogue slide refers to the remaining forces that were serving Viddasala. They were always preparing to attack Tevinter. They disavow to their allies. The Triumvirate disavows in all cases via the letter. The Ben-Hassrath are the ones who disavow in the epilogue, and if there is no alliance then of course you won't hear of them disavowing Viddasala.

It's not really that hard to conclude that just based on DLC alone - a lot of people here got the exact same conclusion I've had after Trespasser, long before the interview.

Likely because you did not have the alliance. I did. This might be the source of most confusion, but then again, the Triumvirate letter always makes it clear that no attack on the South was authorized. This is just your side reading into things.

So you can't just point to ONE piece of apparently misleading evidence and claim that it's all there is.

She didn't claim it was. She claimed it caused confusion on the issue.

You know, you've got a point. Without copies of official documents, what would Ben-Hassrath agents have to crumple up and leave behind on their desks for people to find? I should have thought of that.

The Triumvirate letter was crumpled up.

Who says she left it on her desk for the Inquisitor to find?

Your side.

[Dai Grepher]

1) Josie sends letter.
2) Triuumverate responds. "Viddasala who?" It's fake, of course, just a way of covering their asses.
3) Vidassala is either given a copy or has an agent placed high enough to intercept it. She is miffed about the implication that the Triuumverate is hanging her out to dry if she fails and crumples up note.

Why is she miffed? She should understand that this is always a possibility. And if this is just to cover their own asses, as you claim, then she really shouldn't be miffed at all.

The Viddasala lays out why they're attacking now. The qunari were content to let things lie until the Breach occurred, which demonstrated the south was out of control and they were desperately needed to corral all this dangerous magic before the south destroyed itself.

Disproven by The Iron Bull, the alliance, and the Triumvirate giving the Inquisitor additional missions. Also, the Qunari help stop the Venatori fire ship. Why, if chaos in the South is desired?

Qunari not holding up their end of the bargain is also shown with how they view the issue of Isabela.

Despite Hawke having potentially fought the Arishok in a duel to prevent her from being taken into custody, the events of Until We Sleep show they still intend to punish her for having stolen the Tome of Koslun (even if she returned it). Bull even half-jokingly admits that his bosses have been hounding him to find out any information on her from Varric.

It's not even a case where Hawke misinterpreted or imagined the stakes to include her freedom, since the Arishok made it clear from his challenge that the conditions were "We will duel to the death, with her as the prize".

Arishok unauthorized in his actions. I thought we all understood that.

[BansheeOwnage]

I'm thinking the best question is why writers/devs would place a codex in game which logically spawns the speculation you've already mentioned if they didn't want us to speculate.  If they wanted sanctioned Viddasala to be obvious, then they could have just omitted Triumvirate denial letters from the Viddasala's trash.

 

Personally, I enjoy the speculation, but perhaps the BSN (or perhaps this thread) is a place for consensus more than speculation.

Ah... I'm heavily reminded of the ME3 post-launch days... Although apparently they wanted speculation then. Well, some of them did.

 

Anyway, here's one thing I was confused about regarding the letter: Why, if Josephine received it, didn't she mention it to us? It seems worth mentioning...

[BansheeOwnage]

Arishok unauthorized in his actions. I thought we all understood that.

Hmm... So the Arishok is the leader of the military, and yet he can be unauthorized? I thought the Triumvirate were more or less equals in authority. So either the Arishok can do whatever he wants, but the Qunari will collectively denounce him if he fails (likely) or the Ariqun is the supreme ruler of the Qunari.

[Reznore57]

Hmm... So the Arishok is the leader of the military, and yet he can be unauthorized? I thought the Triumvirate were more or less equals in authority. So either the Arishok can do whatever he wants, but the Qunari will collectively denounce him if he fails (likely) or the Ariqun is the supreme ruler of the Qunari.

 

The Triumvirate means the Qunari have 3 main leaders who all have to agree on an important decision for it to be "authorized".

They decided the Arishok would go south to get the tome of Koslun back , and nothing else.

They probably didn't agree on"oh yeah Ari you can invade if you're in a bad mood."

Doesn't mean the Arishok can't make any decision , that would be weird...but he probably can't decide all by himself when or where a full blown war with the South happens.

[Hanako Ikezawa]

Ah... I'm heavily reminded of the ME3 post-launch days... Although apparently they wanted speculation then. Well, some of them did.

 

Anyway, here's one thing I was confused about regarding the letter: Why, if Josephine received it, didn't she mention it to us? It seems worth mentioning...

Because Josephine never received it. The Viddasala intercepted it. 

[BansheeOwnage]

Because Josephine never received it. The Viddasala intercepted it. 

Well, someone was mentioning the Inquisition seal being on it. To be honest I don't remember the details of Trespasser very well since I've only played it once, at launch, and in a rush.

[Kurogane335]

Qunari not holding up their end of the bargain is also shown with how they view the issue of Isabela.

 

Despite Hawke having potentially fought the Arishok in a duel to prevent her from being taken into custody, the events of Those Who Speak show they still intend to punish her for having stolen the Tome of Koslun (even if she returned it). Bull even half-jokingly admits that his bosses have been hounding him to find out any information on her from Varric.

 

It's not even a case where Hawke misinterpreted or imagined the stakes to include her freedom, since the Arishok made it clear from his challenge that the conditions were "We will duel to the death, with her as the prize".

 

Unless he was crossing his fingers or omitted the caveat that she won her freedom from them "... for now", it's hard to see how this doesn't constitute another broken promise.

Well, once he was disavowed, I doubt the Triumvirate went in details about what was "legal" and "illegal" in the Arishok choices. Plus, his soldiers probably didn't speak one word of the common tongue (and I can't remember if he said them what was the stakes in the duel in Qunlat).

[thats1evildude]

Having read that codex again, I want to note that "Letter and Replies" is actually multiple documents. The first is Josie's letter to the Triumverate. There are several accompanying messages written in Qunlat and finally the Triuumverate's response to Josie, which was crumpled up.