Circle of Magi (Dragon Age)

Revision as of 10:20, 29 August 2022

The Circle of Magi is an organization that features in Dragon Age.

History

The Circle of Magi was a magical organization that was formed among the nations of the continent of Thedas. It was created centuries ago as a means of controlling mages and protecting common people from the effects of magic. In that time, this society of mages operated in each city of the ancient Tevinter Imperium.

Ten years to the day after Andraste's death, Archon Hessarian converted to the Chant of Light and claimed that he had heard the voice of the Maker when his blade had touched Andraste leading to the formation of a new religion. He declared the Maker the one true god, made Andrastianism the religion of the Imperium and publicly revealed Maferath's betrayal. Most of the high-ranking clergy, including nearly all of the ruling Altus magisters, refused to give up their Old Gods, but the non-mage Soporati class overwhelmingly supported Hessarian, beginning a period known as the Transfiguration. With the High Priests dead, Hessarian repurposed the Old God temples into schools for mages.

During the Second Blight, Orlesian emperor Kordillus Drakon I enlisted the help of the mages and permitted them to use their full power against the darkspawn. The mages proved essential in the subsequent battles and won enough respect to negotiate greater independence. In 1:20 Divine, the southern Chantry and the Inquisition signed the Nevarran Accord, and created the Circle of Magi to regulate the use and systematic training of magic throughout Thedas. The Templar Order was created to catch mages who refused to join the Circle and monitor the mage societies and the Seekers of Truth created to root out corruption.

As magic had been the source of the Imperium's power, it was all but banned when the Chantry became the new dominant force in Thedas. Blood magic was completely forbidden, and those who practiced any kind of magic were confined. At first, the Chantry detained mages and had them continually light the eternal flame in every chantry in Thedas, with all other forms of magic forbidden. Unsurprisingly, being relegated to using their powers in such mundane ways caused the mages of the Grand Cathedral to protest by snuffing the sacred flames. Divine Ambrosia alone was surprised by the mages' insolence and almost ordered an Exalted March on her own cathedral, until her own templars advised her otherwise. After negotiations, the Circles of Magi established a new precedent of being exiled to remote fortresses far from society where they could practice their magical arts outside of normal society and the Chantry.

Overview

In appearance, the Circle of Magi was a magical organization that governed the actions and activities of spellcasting magi.

The Circle was divided into a six-tier hierarchy that included:

• Grand Enchanter :
• First Enchanter :
• Senior Enchanters :
• Junior Enchanters :
• Enchanters:
• Mages :
• Apprentices :

For apprentices, a noted and feared ritual of the Circle was an experience known as the Harrowing that was considered a rite of passage. Only those that pass were ever seen again and returned as full members of the Circle of Magi. The rite involved an apprentice entering the Fade as part of a ritual using Lyrium where they crossed the Veil and had to overcome a demon that sought to possess their body to enter the living world. Completion of the Harrowing saw the respective mage being traditionally given a ring made of lyrium-infused silver. Some apprentices instead of undergoing the rite could volunteer to be made Tranquil though Chantry law forbade mages that passed the Harrowing from choosing this path as they had theoretically proven themselves to resist possession. Those that feared to take the rite of passage or were deemed too weak or unstable were instead offered to take part in the Rite of Tranquillity. The procedure for this rite was kept a close secret but it severed the connection the mage had to the Fade thus meaning that upon completion they lost the ability to dream. Thus, the greatest danger namely attracting demons from the Veil was removed making them safe. However, the side effect of the process meant an end to magical ability and emotion with those taking part in this rite resembling sleepwalkers as they were not entirely asleep or even awake. Despite this state, the Tranquil were part of the Circle of Magic and considered its most important part as they still retain incredible powers of concentration as it was deemed impossible to distract them. As such, they formed a branch of the Circle called the Formari that were devoted to the art of enchantment allowing them to become such fine craftsman with skills able to rival the Dwarves. Such was their importance of the Tranquil that it was held that the wealth of the ruling magic was sustained by the Formari. Every city of respectable size boasted a Circle of Magi shop that was run by a Tranquil who conducted their tasks without emotion or feeling that could leave some people uneasy when interacting with them.

A further aspect of the Circle was the fraternity whereby mages that became enchanters having to ally themselves with one of them. These groups cross Circle boundaries whereby mages of common interests and goals banded together in order to ensure that their voices were heard in the College of Magi. The largest fraternities included the:

• Loyalists :
• Aequitarians :
• Libertarians :
• Isolationists :
• Lucrosians :

Though mages ruled Tevinter, not all its mages were equal. At the top were Magisters who were figures of real power in Tevinter. All other mages served at their pleasure, and any mage not of proper lineage has no influence outside of that which personal wealth and talent provide.

A class not affiliated with them were those deemed as apostates that were mages not part of the Circle. These consisted of either those that escaped the Circle of Magi or were never part of it. The latter of these were referred to as hedge mages that were those with magic ability in the hinterlands that followed a different magical tradition of their own. Some hedge mages were not aware of their nature with their undeveloped abilities manifesting in a number of ways with the individual attributing it to either their faith, will or some other reasoning. Some of these traditions were passed down from generation to generation with these being present among certain groups. Regardless of their reasoning for being apostate, the Chantry treated them the same with the Templars dispatched to systematically hint them down to bring them to justice that typically involved execution or in some cases they were exposed to the Rite of Tranquility. Those mages that explore the forbidden path of magic were apostates that were classed as Maleficar who were criminals that were hunted down for their actions.

Members

• Vivienne :
• Irving :
• Orsino :
• Rhys :
• Uldred :
• Wynne :

Notes

• The Circle of Magic were created by BioWare and featured in the setting of the Dragon Age universe.

Appearances

• Dragon Age: Origins:
• Dragon Age: Inquisition:

External Links

• Dragon Age Wiki Entry

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