Kiera Trevelyan was much like any other mage in the Ostwick circle, except for her extraordinary talent for learning magic, and her noble birth. Aside from these things, she studied like all of the other mages, was confined in the tower like all of the others, and regarded the Templars with an air of cautiousness like all of the others. That was until she was taught to fear the Templars.
Kiera came into her magic at a young age, being swept away from her home and family at age 8, after she accidentally froze the pond in the gardens, in the middle of summer. At the Ostwick circle, she quickly became known as the model apprentice, learning quickly and always willing to do as she was told, though not without her own personality. At the circle, she met one Desmond Halen, a boy from an elvish alienage who came into his magic about 6 months after herself. His trouble-making and otherwise polar opposite personality drew Kiera to him, and they became the best of friends, growing up together in the circle.
Kiera and Desmond were each 18 when the mage rebellion in Kirkwall happened, the prelude to an even larger revolt to come, and it created an itch in Desmond for freedom that he had never shown before. He almost constantly was daydreaming out of the tower windows, a sudden longing to explore awakened in the man. He talked with Kiera at length in private about wanting to escape the confinement of the circle tower, wanting to be free- he even suggested that they escape together, find a secluded area of Thedas and live out their lives there, poor but free. His constant imaginings of this world of freedom slowly drew Kiera in, making her remember the freedom she had before she had come into her magic, the freedom that had been taken from her because she was deemed a "danger to society". Through the years of war that followed, they each grew more and more serious about their escape plan, until finally in 9:40 Dragon, they decided to go through with the escape, having seen the terror that the Mage-Templar war had caused, the Circle officially disbanding, and Lord Seeker Lambert declaring the Nevarran Accord nullified. Despite the Ostwick circle remaining neutral in all of this, tensions were high even there, and only intensified Desmond and Kiera's desire for freedom. They soon began planning their escape, set to occur on the darkest night of the month, the cover of blackness to help their escape once they were free of the tower.
As that fateful night grew closer, Kiera grew more nervous for their escape, worrying about whether the Templars would sense their escape and pursue them immediately, and what would happen if they were caught. The First Enchantress of the Ostwick circle was like a second mother to Kiera and she was terrified what Lydia would think of her if they were caught. Despite her fear, Kiera too desired the freedom Desmond saw outside the circle and went through with their plan. As fate would have it, however, the two never set foot outside the circle. Someone had overheard their plans and turned them over to the Templars. When both Desmond and Kiera stepped out of their quarters, there were several Templars waiting for each of them.
They were unceremoniously chained and dragged down through the tower to the underground levels, where they were tossed into a cell together, still manacled, and the heavy wooden door shut behind them. Fear shone in Desmond's eyes when Kiera turned to him, and she reached for his hand in order to comfort him. They sat like that for several hours, hands cold and clammy with fear, but having each other was the most comfort they could find in the dark cell. The Templars returned hours later and took Desmond out of the cell, with no explanation, leaving Kiera sitting in the cell alone, shaking in fear for what was happening to Desmond. They were likely interrogating him about the escape attempt, how many mages were involved, who was their leader... She longed to see him returned without harm, but she knew that was not going to happen. And then the Templars would likely return to take her for interrogation, and the thought of interrogation by Templars terrified her.
When Desmond was finally tossed back into their cell, he was bruised and bloody, but instead of taking Kiera to face the same fate, they left, leaving her scared and confused. She tended to Desmond's wounds as best she could without her magic, as using it would have raised the ire of the Templars and might have gotten them both killed. Trying to understand what had happened in the interrogation, she prodded Desmond for what they'd asked him, what had happened, but he only shook his head and hung it low with his knees drawn up to his chest. She moved close as a comfort, hugging him close with her arm around his shoulders.
They waited in silent companionship for what felt like a day before their Templar jailers came back, this time dragging both of them up and leading them out of the dismal cell. They were guided through narrow stone pathways and around corners before finally being led into a small room with no windows and a single stone table in the center. What was painted on the wall, however, was what really terrified Kiera. An image of a sun was on the far wall of the room, painted in the bright red of the Chantry – the symbol of the Tranquil.
Fear brought bile to Kiera's mouth as she realized what was happening, and her mana rose within her in response, bringing a harsh response from the Templar that was holding her, his lyrium suppressing her magic to the point that she fell to her knees. Desmond cried out to her when he saw her fall, and was punched in the gut as retaliation by the Templar that held him. Desmond was pulled to the table in the center of the room and held down in order to secure him with straps that were on either side of the table. Desmond had a look about him of quiet sadness but acceptance, as if he had chosen this path, and he looked her in the eye – a look filled with such sadness and longing that Kiera's breath hitched.
"I love you, Kiera," Desmond spoke softly, looking her in the eyes before his head was strapped to the table by one of the Templars.
His confession was the last thing she heard before she was suppressed by the Templars into a state resembling unconsciousness. She desperately tried to call out to Desmond but no sound escaped her mouth, her heart breaking hearing Desmond scream in pain as consciousness fell away. She awoke as a lyrium brand was being lifted out of a brazier and the knight-commander walked toward Desmond, who was an emotionless form laying on the table. Kiera's fear rose to a fever pitch as the knight-commander lifted the brand above Desmond's head, and she screamed out his name- desperately trying to get him to look at her. She screamed until her voice left her as the knight-commander lowered the brand to Desmond's forehead, marking him forever changed. Collapsing onto the floor, she gave up all attempts to resist and felt herself being dragged unceremoniously back to her cell in the dungeon, the rite complete.
She did not remember any events of the next several days, only the overwhelming grief and the desire to end her own life. Confined in the cell she did nothing but weep, wondering when she would be next, wishing they would kill her instead. Days later, First Enchantress Lydia came into her cell, and Kiera could not bring herself to look at the woman. Shame and fear regarding their escape attempt bubbled up from deep inside her, along with a new anger that the woman must have agreed to punish Desmond with Tranquility.
"Kiera... I want you to know, I am very sorry about what happened to Desmond, and though it does not make the situation any more bearable, I would like you to know that I was not consulted in this matter, and as such the knight-commander is being relieved of his duties here. He would have made you Tranquil as well, but I discovered the truth and prevented him from doing so," Lydia looked at her with concern, her eyes shining with tears for her young apprentice.
"I wish you would have let them. I do not want to live like this... watching what they did to Desmond... I..." Kiera broke off into sobs, embracing Lydia and weeping into her shoulder.
"Come child, let us get you out of this miserable dungeon and back to your chambers," Lydia slowly moved to support Kiera and guided her up the tower stairs and back to her chambers, sitting on her bed next to her.
"I will leave you here if you wish, but know that I am here for you Kiera and that you will no longer be confined to a dismal room. You may come visit me whenever you feel able, and send for me personally if you need anything. I will see to it that the knight-commander is punished for this offense and that no other mages will suffer from his rash decision-making," with that, Lydia gently laid Kiera on the bed and left the room, shutting the door softly behind her.
At that moment, Kiera vowed to never allow a Templar to take advantage of her like that again, she would be prepared should she ever have to fight for her life again. It was also the first time she began to sense the lyrium in their cursed veins.
Almost a year later, when Kiera had just turned 25, Divine Justinia V called for the divine Conclave. It was a desperate attempt to reconcile the mages and Templars and bring them both back into the Chantry. First Enchantress Lydia asked Kiera and a few other high-ranking members of the Ostwick circle to attend the Conclave as their representatives. Kiera agreed, and this decision set into motion events that would change her, as well as Thedas itself, forever.