Chapter 42: Bethany's Harrowing

Among apprentices of the Circle, nothing is regarded with more fear than the Harrowing. Little is known about this rite of passage, and that alone would be cause for dread. But it is well understood that only those apprentices who pass this trial are ever seen again. They return as full members of the Circle of Magi. Of those who fail, nothing is known. Perhaps they are sent away in disgrace. Perhaps they are killed on the spot. I heard one patently ridiculous rumor among the Circle at Rivain, which claimed that failed apprentices were transformed into pigs, fattened up, and served at dinner to the senior enchanters. But I could find no evidence that the Rivaini Circle ate any particular quantity of pork.—From In Pursuit of Knowledge: The Travels of A Chantry Scholar, by Brother Genitivi.

The Gallows-Circle of Magi Interior

The Circle of Magi is the dominant organization for the training of mages within nations of Thedas. In the south, it had traditionally been governed and monitored by the Chantry, and also guarded and supervised by the Templar Order. The Circle is allowed to take any child (usually age six to twelve) from their families as soon as they show signs of magical ability, including those from royals and nobility. As such, they are taken from their families while still children, and highborn children who are able to use magic will lose all claims to their family's estates and titles when they are taken. Upon joining a Circle, mages undergo a process as apprentices of having a few drops of their blood taken by the First Enchanter and placed in a phylactery. This ensures the mages' compliance and the ability to track down any mage who decides to run away, since a templar can track anyone through their a mage has deliberately caused harm or death to others, it is customary to imprison them when they are first brought to the Circle until an inquiry is made. The investigating templars will determine whether the mage will be made Tranquil, killed, or released to be trained under supervision. In the Tevinter Imperium, they are governed by high ranking Magisters who utilize the Imperial Templar Order.

The Circle maintains a neutrality policy, since the Chantry might take action against them if they regularly became involved in conflict (Blights is perhaps the sole exception to this rule). Nonetheless, it isn't unusual to see the Circle ignore at least one or two mages serving either side of a dispute, either as a courtesy or as a way of not creating too much enmity against the Circle on either side. The Circle has a very mixed reception among mages and non-mages alike. Despite the restrictions imposed on its members, it is not a system of slavery, and mages themselves—while not "free"—are not owned by the Chantry and not forced into servitude on its behalf. Nevertheless, due to the limitations on personal freedoms, such as the confinement of the mages in a Circle fortress indefinitely, the Circle is tantamount to a prison. By law each Circle is supposed to respect certain rights of the mages. Ambiguity or inadequacy in regulations, however, such as a weak First Enchanter failing to advocate a Circle's rights or the local templars' or priesthoods' penchant for corruption and abuse, can affect how much these laws will be respected.

Orsino gave Bethany the tour of the circle. The young mage was struck with awe; there were books than she ever saw in her life. The mages that lived here had better food and quarters than most people in Thedas except for the nobility themselves. Orsino explained how life would go for Bethany as an apprentice. The apprentices of all Circles, though, live communally and are taught by the Enchanters in small classes. They are allowed no contact with their families or anyone from outside with the exception of mail privileges. They pass the days studying and researching the different schools of magic and alchemy.

"Not the most exciting thing compared to your old life I'm sure" the First Enchanter said jokingly.

Bethany chuckled. "I'm sure I will make due First Enchanter" She knew Orsino was trying to reassure her, but how reassured could one be with this tension in the air. The Templars stood there at their post like statues while watching the mages with a cold stoicism. The mages worked away on their spells but every so often would look over their shoulders like prey looking for predators. Not even the fights she's been in with her brother felt as suffocating. The daily life of a Circle mage varies by fortress. Many mages come into the Circle with basically nothing since typically; they must leave behind all personal possessions from their previous life. Instead, the Circle provides for the new apprentices with standard issue robes, education, and room and board- the quality of which may vary. Some Circles were more liberal and lax with the amount of freedom a mage had like Kinloch Hold in Ferelden and the Dairmuid Circle in Rivain. Others like the Gallows or the White Spire in Orlais was restrictive to the point of being abusive.

The First Enchanter then grew serious. "I…hope so, for your sake Bethany"

"Excuse me?"

"Meredith…in her infinite 'wisdom' wishes for you to take part in the Harrowing" Orsino said. "Immediately"

Bethany's eyes went wide. "B-But I just arrived here! Why does the Knight-Commander want me to go through that now?!"

"Meredith is paranoid, she can't take one step without seeing blood mages and abominations everywhere" Orsino said. "Plus I believe she wants to make an example out of you…"

"The mages and some Templars here have grown rather discontent with her leadership in recent years" he said. "A mage becoming an abomination due to weakness during the Harrowing would be all she needs to justify her methods as well as put those that oppose her in their places"

"The good news is I have fought to give you enough time to prepare"

"And…the bad news?"

"That may not be enough…if Meredith has her way" the First Enchanter said. "She is not above sabotage to prove her point, just be ready for anything"

"I will try…"

"When it comes to the Knight-Commander, you must do more than try"


Now-The Harrowing Chamber

And so Bethany worked for months on end studying and perfecting her arts among others of her kind. Bethany was an excellent student to the point that she started to mentor the other apprentices even though she had not yet gone through her Harrowing. Although she thrived within these stone and iron walls, Bethany was constantly reminded that the Gallows is as much a prison as a refuge. The ever-vigilant Templars watched over all mages, constantly alert for any sign of corruption …though so many of her kind were punished for crimes smaller than that. Unlike many of the apprentices here, Bethany still had a link to the outside world; she would receive letters from her mother giving her a boost in confidence whenever she felt low. Her family made it to Hightown; apparently the entire city was abuzz about the Amell family coming back. Once she passed her Harrowing, Bethany would see a lot more of her family.

Bethany was led through the halls of the Circle by the Templars until they reached a large room with a pedestal in the middle. First Enchanter Orsino was surrounded by three other Templars, one of whom was the Knight-Commander herself. Up on the rafters were her teachers, her fellow apprentices, usually the Harrowing was a secret rite only known the apprentice about to take their trial but Meredith wanted an audience to bear witness to her failure. Bethany's eyes filled with determination, the Knight-Commander would only feel disappointment today.

"Magic exists to serve man and never to rule over him" Meredith said. "Thus spoke the prophet Andraste as she cast down the Tevinter Imperium, ruled by mages who had brought the world to the edge of ruin"

"Your magic is a gift, but it's also a curse, for demons of the dream realm, the Fade, are drawn to you, and seek to use you as a gateway into this world" she said. "This is why the Harrowing exists. The ritual sends you into the Fade, and there you will face a demon, armed with only your will"

"Should you fail, you will become an abomination and we will be forced to slay you" Bethany looked at the Templars around her, some of them looked so eager to put a blade to the mages neck. Orsino led her to the center of the room where a glowing pedestal stood.

"This is lyrium: the very essence of magic and your gateway into the Fade" Orsino said. "Every mage must go through this trial by fire. As we succeeded, so shall you"

"Keep your wits about you and remember the Fade is a realm of dreams. The spirits may rule it, but your own will is real"

Meredith frowned. "The apprentice must go through this test alone, Orsino" she said. "She is ready" Bethany took a deep breath and went to the pedestal, she touched the lyrium and her world went white.


The study of the Fade is as old as humankind. For so long as men have dreamed, we have walked its twisting paths, sometimes catching a glimpse of the city at its heart. Always as close as our own thoughts, but impossibly separated from our world.

The Tevinter Imperium once spent vast fortunes of gold, lyrium, and human slaves in an effort to map the terrain of the Fade, an ultimately futile endeavor. Although portions of it belong to powerful spirits, all of the Fade is in constant flux. The Imperium succeeded in finding the disparate and ever-shifting realms of a dozen demon lords, as well as cataloging a few hundred types of spirits, before they were forced to abandon the project.

The relationship of dreamers to the Fade is complex. Even when entering the Fade through the use of lyrium, mortals are not able to control or affect it. The spirits who dwell there, however, can, and as the Chantry teaches us, the great flaw of the spirits is that they have neither imagination nor ambition. They create what they see through their sleeping visitors, building elaborate copies of our cities, people, and events, which, like the reflections in a mirror, ultimately lack context or life of their own. Even the most powerful demons merely plagiarize the worst thoughts and fears of mortals, and build their realms with no other ambition than to taste life.—From Tranquility and the Role of the Fade in Human Culture, by First Enchanter Josephus.

The Fade

According to the Chantry, the Fade is a realm of primeval matter from which the Maker formed the physical world and all living beings. It is sometimes compared to a well of souls, with lyrium being its "emerald waters." It was the first realm created by the Maker, populated with spirits, the first of the Maker's "children." Growing unsatisfied with them (as what they created was "fleeting, ever-changing"), he then created Thedas, separated from the Fade by the Veil and populated by mortal creatures. Many spirits grew jealous of these new children, and became what mortals call demons, craving and/or emulating their basest desires and sins.

The Chant of Light states that the Black City was originally the Golden City, seat of the Maker. An attempt by Tevinter magisters to physically enter the city blackened it with their prideful ambition, and their punishment was to be cast down as the first of the darkspawn, commencing the First Blight. When the Chant of Light spreads to all corners of the world, the Maker will forgive mankind and return, restoring the Golden City.

Bethany awakened on an island that seemed to float in the air, the sky was eerie sickly green and in the distance was the fabled Black City that was so close and at the same time so far away. Bethany could hear a voice in the air.

"Someone else thrown to the wolves. As fresh and unprepared as ever" In front of her was a rat…a talking rat. "It isn't right that they do this, the Templars. Not to you, me, anyone"

Bethany's test begins! Next Time! As always Review and Comment!