The explanation is long, complicated and involves a lot of politics and religious context divorced from Thedas - he'll explain that properly trained Elene sorcerers are exclusively from the knighthoods, militant religious orders created for the protection of the Elene nations and faith, similar to Templars if instead of 'protect mages/protect from mages', they were considered the only men trustworthy enough to wield magic at all. And, you know, just men. The title equivalent of cardinals is literally 'Patriarch', REAL SUBTLE, CHYRELLOS. Their people have no system of magic of their own; they're taught by Styric sorcerers and sorceresses, and each of the four knighthoods has a patron god in alliance with the Elene church, a representative of whom acts as the tutor to the knights. Lady Sephrenia, from whom Martel learned, has been teaching Pandion knights for several hundred years. This is probably a clue as to why a man in his forties could still, with his hair coloured, pass for a solid ten years his own junior.

Somehow the official church stance is still that Styric gods aren't real. POLITICS.

The more they talk, the clearer it'll become he actually has no beef with the Templars (recognises their similarities and respects the concept and intent), he's just fiercely independent. If she presses the babysitter thing he'll give her his schedule and tell her to knock herself out, but that he has too much work to do to pander to it.