Possible Templar Meeting/Council OOC Discussion

[perseverances]

Moving this here from plurk.

In the wake of the Abomination attack, a possible council should be form among the Templars to discuss issues, their role in the Inquisition, and other such things.

Possible discussion points:

- What is their role in the Inquisition

- what should be done in terms of reparation or punishment for those who were involved in the mage-templar war

- is there going to be special training, limitations, ??? for the templars who are here now that the order has disbanded

- What is the lyrium situation

Feel free to discuss.

Comments

[keeperofmagi]

Nerva is also going to want to put forward a motion for the Safety and Protection of the tranquil, and also suggest that they search for those that might still be lost and abandoned in the wild.

And that someone be voted as the Voice of the Templars to the Council that Isn't Her.

[equanimiti]

What's a matter? Nerva doesn't want to chat with angry mages all day? Hehe~

If anything, I might have to volunteer Alayre for this task. He's been dealing with the Magi for awhile now and encouraged them to form a council.

[keeperofmagi]

she's about THIS CLOSE to putting her fist through a wall so yeah don't let her be the diplomat for the love of god

HE'D BE GOOD

[cicatrices]

Maria seems to have already formed a good relationship with several mages and has been working with them to develop co-training programs that have made progress toward working together and have gotten her mentioned favorably by several councillors in the mage meeting. Cassandra would suggest that if they want someone to liaise with the mages they keep building on that existing foundation and have her do it.

[nofury]

Maria will sign up for this. She and Dorian have been waiting for the whole meeting thing to settle oocly before starting the training stuff for real IC, but during her chat with them about that other things can be brought up, including tranquil search and rescue.

[colecomfort]

There is definitely nobody over in that corner. Nope. Nobody here but us chickens.

[arlathvhen]

If the meeting is open, Beleth will be there. Watching. Waiting.

If not, she'll try to eavesdrop somehow. Through a hole in the ceiling or window or something.

[equanimiti]

Alayre has given much thought about the plight of the Order, and he honestly believes they're here to help restore balance. For too long the Order has lived under the thumb of the Chantry and in turn abused their authority. The Knight-Commander seeks redemption for the Order and for the chance to lay down the foundation for a better future. With this said, Alayre is not entirely comfortable with the thought of the Mage Council calling all the shots here in the Inquisition. If there's to be balance here, then decisions MUST be made in partnership with the Order and not without them.

He cannot stress that enough. The Templar are few and stripped of the authority they once held. Grumblings amongst the Templar will grow if the Mage Council are given too much power and thus cause more imbalance. This is something he'll bring up every now and then.

In regards of reparations for the brutality that took place during the war, Alayre would be the first to state that both the Magi and Templar are to blame. There's victims on both sides and so he would warn that this shouldn't be used as an excuse for Mages to condemn the Order. He does recognize that crime must be punished accordingly but he calls for an thorough investigation instead of head hunting

In regards to special training and such, Alayre will suggest that they ease the Templars away from using lyrium from here on out. Lyrium was used as a tool of control by the Chantry to lord over the Order, therefore it will be best for them to try and weed out the usage of it somehow.

[keeperofmagi]

Yeah if investigations into the war happen Nerva is going to get squirrely.

Especially since she doesn't see anyone accusing any of the mages for anything, and she hasn't really made friends... If she actually came under investigation she'd probably quietly take off for a while :'|

But on the other hand even though she thinks 'what happened in the war should stay in the war', she would never actually vocalise said thought, out of fear that it would put her in question.

[equanimiti]

To be honest, Alayre feels the same.

What transpired during the war should be written off as the follies of war. The entire tragedy started at Kirkwall and most of the major players had since either died or moved on to the Inquisition. Meredith is dead, isn't she? And of course Anders went into hiding and Rutherford now leads the Inquisition!

There's no real need for reparations here. That soul only cause more bitterness and Alayre is aware of that.

[nofury]

Maria is all for Templar/Mage partnerships, her main concern at the moment is the mages don't seem to have actual plans for what happens when things go bad. The word 'investigation' is getting thrown around a lot, but not what the plan is if someone is actually found guilty of blood magic and dealing with demons. Mainly, she's focused on building the Inquisition as a military unit and not the new Templar/mage orders.

In hand with this, to her view easing off the lyrium as an Order goal may be something to save for later. The Inquisition has supplies, people can make individual choices on what to do with it from here on out.

[dairsmuid]

If Alayre wants to take away lyrium he can pry it out of Elian's cold dead hands. Which may actually be what happens.

He wouldn't say that, but he would be pretty unhappy with the suggestion that they might lose lyrium access. But the point is: lyrium does have magic-resistance enhancing properties, among other benefits, and without Cullen having yet 100% successfully broken his addiction to prove it's possible and survivable, there's no solid evidence that it is. Withdrawal symptoms suck and would temporarily or permanently incapacitate a lot of the Inquisition's Templars/ex-Templars.

He would also look very uncomfortable with the idea of the Templar Order being independent from the Chantry, but he's a quiet guy + an Inquisition soldier now, so he probably wouldn't argue. Just frown.

[onlyhymns]

If individual investigations are done Cade will submit to them but be Very Unhappy Forever. But I mean what else is new.

He makes an aghast face at the idea of easing out of lyrium. Uhh lyrium is how they use their powers!! Are we going to just let the mages run around willy-nilly, what if there is another abomination or maleficarum who need to be silenced!

Council

[perseverances]

Cullen would point out that first and foremost, they are Inquisition soldiers. The Templar Order is no longer, much like the Circle of Magi.

The Council can be voted on, but will be comprised of people of various ranks. No one should be exempt from being able to have a voice in every matter. And as such, any decision will be given to the Mage Council as well, because many decisions would be reflective of them. They are supposed to be working in tandem, not against each other.

He will also repeat that no one will have more power than the other. Like stated before, they are all part of the Inquisition, and as such must work together to achieve anything. How can they battle Corypheus if they are battling against themselves?

Lyrium will be given to those who feel the need to continue taking it. No one will be forced to quit.

[keeperofmagi]

Nerva is a bit surprised that she's being told she has an equal voice - surprised, and suspicious, but mostly surprised.

Also relieved re: lyrium.

[equanimiti]

To be frank, Alayre honestly doesn't think unity will come between the Mages and Templars soon. At least not before Corypheus strikes. It took an abomination attack to prompt such discussion and the remnants of the Order are few and far between. They're not going to be battle ready with the Mages seeking possible revenge for the war. Just the idea of reparations suggests that everyone minds still lingers on the issues of yesteryear.

Though, Alayre might be just as problematic since he still upholds belief in the Order and plots for it's resurrection.

Re: Council

[nofury]

Maria supports all of this, but is a little worried about so much bureaucracy in military order (meaning the Inquisition, not the Templars). In the end, Cullen is the leaders of the soldiers. When they all have downtime, chatting and working things out is good, but at the end of the day what he says goes.

Which...means she is being a little hypocritical when she says to Cullen that she's here to work for him instead of obeying his order to be more democratic. But hey. What can you do.

[dairsmuid]

Thank u for the lyrium Commander Dad.

Now can you order all non-Harrowed mages to sleep outside Skyhold in the snow?

[onlyhymns]

Cade is secretly glad that his Templar rank is meaningless because that means he doesn't have to be anyone's boss anymore.

Training

[cicatrices]

Cassandra is primarily leaving this to Cullen's direction at the moment, but she would agree that the most important matter for former templars as for mages is how they can best serve the Inquisition. And she would suggest that the way they can be most useful in the fight against Corypheus and his growing army of Venatori is to focus on teaching other soldiers their magic-dispelling techniques.

[keeperofmagi]

okay but then who will be zookeeper of the mages

[dairsmuid]

This is a good idea though.

And someone should definitely make a "come learn how to defend yourself against mages" announcement.

I nominate Nerva.

[judgemewhole]

WELL now that Norrington is in ... he has some notes. Ahem.

- He agrees with Seeker Pentergast. Their current role in the Inquisition should be training the other soldiers how to handle magical attacks. They won't be able to teach all of it, mostly because it involves the use of lyrium. However he knows all Templars here are good men and women, and even better warriors. He welcomes the challenge.

- As for punishment, he is already putting forward his own crimes to Seeker Cassandra, Leliana and Cullen to see if he went over the line with his actions towards the rogue templars

- He doesn't see he and his men as 'disbanded'. They are loyal to the Chantry, not to whatever Seeker Lambert has made of the Order. They would like to continue to be seen as such. They are part of the Inquisition but they are Templars first. It cannot be the will of the Maker for them not to have the chance of redemption, as Maferath himself. He also would like the mages to have the chance to ask for forgiveness of their own crimes against the people of Thedas. Equal blame between them means equal share of making up for their mistakes.

- His men are free to stop taking lyrium if they so choose. He is not going to weaken himself at this time of great peril, thank you.

FURTHERMORE, he agrees totally in taking care of the Tranquil. They made them, they are responsible for them. Whatever assistance Maria and Nerva require, please let him know. He ... knows all the nookies and crannies of Thedas, by now.

He would also like to suggest that the young mages who are not trained and are not to be Harrowed be kept instead in one of the towers of Skyhold. Senior mages can guard them, Inquistion soldiers who have been trained by the Templars can take standing watches.

[perseverances]

because sticking frightened young mages into a tower ever ended well

Stick unharrowed mages into a tower might not go over too well with the Mage Council.

[cicatrices]

Being loyal to the Chantry over the Inquisition is a problem, given that the Chantry does not recognize the Inquisition and in fact is mainly calling it a bunch of heretics.