#circle mage origin

[absyntheartref]

── Dymitr Amell, Battle of Denerim, 9:31 Dragon ──

"When I was sixteen, I won a great victory. I felt in that moment I would live to be a hundred. Now I know I shall not see thirty." - King Baldwin IV, Kingdom of Heaven (2005)

[bumblewarden]

Btw if "Thedas" is just "The DA s(etting)", i fully believe that "Surana" comes almost as directly from "Surname" and they just altered the end to make it sound more like a name

[sweetmage]

Click for full res!💐

Some doodles of Leticia, one of my wardens. She's Sebastian older sister (by about 7 or 8 years) who was was sent to the circle when he was still a baby. He grew up thinking that she died and was never told differently.

Leticia, on the other hand, was not privy to this cover up and believed that she may one day be reunited with her family and that that they still loved and missed her. It would only be many years after their murder that she finally learned the truth.

Also, in my canon she was actually an enchanter. To a degree she enjoyed her life in the Circle, if only for the opportunity to learn and her privilege to guide other mages to accept and appreciate their magic, despite the world around them insisting it was a curse. She was not entirely sad to leave though.

[arcane-gold]

i started origins again. this is pim. he was made to die

[abyssal-ilk]

no more romance. romance is canceled. tell me about your warden/hawke/inquisitor's best friend and any info you want to add about their dynamic 🖐

[eldrtchmn]

Grey Warden

[wesslesprout]

Wynne being named after Langwynne in Bannorn and Anders from the Anderfells has me emotional in a certain sort of way because these mages are taken away so young, given a name of a place they can never remember, a home they never had and its almost cruel mocking that their identity is taken from them and then given back as their most identifiable feature.

[sadmages]

Canon worldstate line-up <3 Varis Tabris, Fin Hawke, and Florian Travelyan.

[bogprincessofthewest]

Jowan is my bestie

[freelanceplatypus]

Dragon Age Origins demon got me by the shoulders "ooohhh you wanna play a blood mage so bad. Ooohh blood blood blood"

[saltyb0ba]

a deep blood moon, a starless night

dark enough to see the light

[sweetmage]

Some edits of my blood mage Warden El'la 😀

[El'la uses any/all pronouns btw!]

[contrivedcoincidences6]

I understand Loghain sympathizers I really do but I just can’t deny Alistair his justice. He’s my baby girl and if he wants to commit legalized murder in a dual I’m going to let him and if he wants me to do it I’m going to do it.

[abyssal-ilk]

daily vivienne headcanon: vivienne's gloves are designed perfectly in a way to keep her fingers exposed and to cover the center of her palms. this serves a few reasons; the most obvious being simple fashion, but it also allows her to have zero barriers on her hand to even slightly hamper her magic and it hides the matching scars on each palm. one from when her hand was cut to fill her first phylactery when she was taken into the circles, and the other from when her blood was drawn again to make a bigger phylactery when she became a knight enchanter.

[eldrtchmn]

more versions of him, from Circle Mage to Grey Warden

[thefadecodex]

I am curious about your thoughts on what transpires during a mage’s Harrowing, given what we have learned of spirits in Veilguard.

Salutations, curious soul!

I must say—I fundamentally disagree with how the Harrowing is conducted. While I understand the Chantry's desire to ensure mages are trained well enough to resist possession, their methods are deeply flawed. Even Dorian Pavus points this out in DATV, noting possession is far more common in the South than in the North:

The difference is one of acceptance and education. Here, a mage child is celebrated. Their magic is a gift, and they are taught—with objectivity—how to use it. They are shown possibilities, not just pitfalls. In my time in the South, I've seen how your mages are treated. You cage them—with templars, with walls, but most of all, with shame.  They learn to hate and fear everything that they are. When they are told that every spell they cast may open them to possession, every magical action becomes fraught. Is it any surprise then, that magic becomes what they believe it to be—their downfall?  – Codex: Abominations in Tevinter

In the South, mages are seen as inherently dangerous, breeding a culture of fear. While fear can be a healthy instinct, constant fear of one's own nature fosters insecurity and self-doubt—emotions that make mages more vulnerable to possession, not less.  

This fear is amplified by the secrecy surrounding the Harrowing. Apprentices are thrust into the Fade with little preparation or understanding of what awaits them, creating fertile ground for spirits drawn to raw, desperate emotions—whether benevolent or malicious.  

We see this in the Mage Origin of DAO where a Spirit of Valor can be approached by the protagonist. Valor isn’t there to exploit but to test, offering aid only if the mage can prove their worth through a duel or by challenging the spirit’s purpose.  

This encounter highlights an essential truth: spirits are drawn not just to fear, but to the ideals and emotions that resonate with their nature. Whether through combat or sheer force of will, the mage must either accept the challenge from Valor to duel it, challenge Valor's purpose and earn its assistance, or decline the assistance completely.

Spirits are drawn to emotions and ideals that reflect their nature, and Valor is no exception. All it knows about the Harrowing is that it’s a test—a test it openly calls cowardly, especially when mages are sent in unarmed to face a demon.  

The Harrowing ultimately comes down to the mage’s ability to navigate these encounters. Can they resist a demon’s temptations? Can they recognize a spirit’s true intent? Or will fear and uncertainty leave them exposed?

Imagine if the Harrowing were approached with transparency and respect—if mages were taught to understand spirits, recognize their benevolent and dangerous aspects, and enter the Fade as confident navigators rather than terrified initiates. Would possession still be a risk? Absolutely. But the chances of a mage emerging unscathed—physically and spiritually—would be far higher.  

May your path through the Fade remain well-lit! —The Fade Codex