Circle of Magi (Dragon Age)

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.

In the years before the founding of the Chantry and the start of the Divine Age, Thedas was plunged into chaos. The First Blight had ended, the Imperium had broken apart following Andraste's March, and despite the spread of the Maker's teachings, blood mages and Old Gods cults were widespread.[9] The Inquisition was formed around -100 Ancient with the goal of protecting the people from the tyranny of magic in whatever form it might take; blood mages, abominations, cultists or heretics. A loose association of Andrastian hard-liners, the group combed the land in search of these threats and some say theirs was a reign of terror. Others say they were cast in a negative light by history because their investigations and even application of justice, protecting both mages and common people impartially, crossed too many powerful groups. In these accounts it is suggested that the group was already known as the Seekers of Truth and that the "Inquisition" moniker was perhaps pejorative.

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.

By right of ancient treaties, the Circle is pledged to help the Grey Wardens during the Blight. However, when the Warden reaches the fortress of Kinloch Hold, they find that it has been overrun by demons and abominations, and that the templars under Knight-Commander Greagoir are on the verge of invoking the Right of Annulment. The Warden can save the Circle, in which case the mages will join in the fight against the Archdemon, or side with the templars and carry out the Right of Annulment, killing every surviving mage in the Circle.

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.

The daily life of a Circle mage varies greatly between each Circle, as do the opinions of the mages who live within them. Some mages consider the Circle their true home, where they have their needs provided for them, a place to study their craft and be among other mages, and live free of the fear and persecution of outsiders. Others consider it as little more than a prison, and the templars their jailers, where they are kept against their will and face the risk of tranquility or death should they be deemed too dangerous. Many mages come into the Circle with very few personal possessions, especially those taken against their will. Instead, the Circle provides for the new apprentices with standard issue robes, education, and room and board — the quality of which may vary. In an effort to help a homesick apprentice get accustomed to life in the Circle, First Enchanter Irving arranged a weekly period of supervised outdoor exercise for well-behaved apprentices, until the apprentice in question used this opportunity to escape. By contrast, mages at the Gallows are said to be locked in their cells with no room to stretch and exercise. Physical and sexual abuse by Templars has also been said or implied to occur. Many end their misery by suicide.

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

• Wenselus : First Enchanter Wenselus was a renowned lecturer and scholar of the Circle of Magi.
• Vivienne : Vivienne de Fer was an Orlesian mage and personal enchanter and adviser to Empress Celene.
• Irving :
• Orsino :
• Rhys :
• Uldred : an ambitious Senior Enchanter of the Circle. He is a noted and vocal Libertarian and is unpopular among other senior mages, even though First Enchanter Irving admires Uldred's ability to root out blood mages.
• 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

This article is a stub. You can help Multiversal Omnipedia by expanding it.