Crystal | closed to mages

[galvanising]

FORM: Crystal
SENDER: Nell
RECIPIENT: All native mages based in Kirkwall who could be identified from the Inquisition member/ally records
WHAT: A summary of the phylactery negotiations and agreement
WHEN: Now
WHERE: Kirkwall
NOTES: This includes non-Circle mages and those who did not strike. Warning that it's stupidly long.

This is Nell Voss, with a message for all Inquisition mages in Kirkwall. I know many of you have questions, so I'm going to explain more about what happened in Skyhold, the agreement that was made, and what it means for us.

Julius, Marisol, Vandelin and I spent most of a week negotiating the terms under which the Inquisition would be willing to destroy the phylacteries in its possession. It wasn't just us and the advisors--they sent representatives, but they also invited representatives of the Inquisition's Templars, and from the Chantry. The only thing we went there to do was have these phylacteries destroyed or returned to their owners. That is all that we asked for, initially. But the Templars and the Chantry right away brought up a dozen other things, like creating new phylacteries for unharrowed mages, and for apostates, and for rifters; discipline for all of you who participated in the strike; and giving the Chantry access to all Inquisition research and reports, which would have effectively put this entire organization under the Chantry's review.

Because they had raised so many things we needed to fight, we did the same to them. That is where requests like Inquisition support for greater legal rights for mages came from--at no point did we put inheritance rights ahead of the goal of eliminating phylacteries. These other demands were pieces we put on the board to distract our opponents. Some of them the Templars simply agreed to immediately, I assume because they know the Inquisition will be reluctant to take open action on them, or because they believe they can find a way to block them in the future.

There were also some things we agreed to immediately because we felt doing so gave us greater credibility, like agreeing that Templars should have the right to seek out lyrium contracts that aren't mediated through either the Chantry or the Inquisition. If we don't want to be leashed, we shouldn't oppose others seeking the same. We also agreed that any phylacteries belonging to known supporters of Corypheus could be preserved.

We fought as long and as hard as we could on every other demand that was made, but it simply was not possible to win everything with the Inquisition, the Templars, and the Chantry all aligned against us, and especially not with our own ranks so clearly fractured. Even with hundreds of the mages at Skyhold and elsewhere joining us, there are also those who chose not to, and the Inquisition was only willing to risk the loyalty of the Templars and the ire of the Chantry so far knowing we were divided. Without making concessions to them it could not make any to us. Had more stood with us, we might have had the leverage to force their hands further, but as things were, we could only do so much.

We fought against the proposal of phylacteries for rifters until the only way left that had even a chance of preventing it was for us to agree to keep and create phylacteries for poorly-defined groups of mages under terms that could have been easily abused, and that could have forced apprentices to undergo Harrowings if they wished to be free of their phylacteries. There was no alternative. Believe me, we debated amongst ourselves for hours in the attempt to find one, but it was very literally us or them. We were sent by mages to speak for mages, and we felt it our duty to prioritize the goal we were sent with and the people who supported it by their action.

Had we given it up sooner we might have been able to prevent the absurd new rule that any missions involving other mages that aren't linked to Corypheus must be led by Loyalists, but the Templars' representatives essentially threatened to quit the Inquisition entirely if they didn't agree to this demand. We wish the Inquisition good luck finding enough mages that are qualified for such work.

I make no attempt to hide the fact that I am dissatisfied with parts of this agreement, as I am sure many of you are as well. It isn't perfect, by any means. But while there is reason for frustration there is greater reason for hope. It's important that we all look at the larger picture, here, and not lose sight of what we have accomplished together by this strike:

We have ensured that every mage in the Inquisition has the right to determine what happens to his or her phylactery, and to see it destroyed if they wish--with Chantry consent--freeing us from the danger and indignity of this cruel leash that has so long been used to control and abuse us.

We have ensured that the Inquisition will never create a new phylactery for any mage unless they are first rightfully imprisoned for a serious crime like aiding Corypheus, a determination that will be made by the Inquisition, not the Templars or the Chantry.

We have ensured that no one will be punished for having stood up for their rights by participating in the strike, making clear to all that the action we took was both necessary and legitimate.

We have ensured that should a situation arise in which any mage wishes to seek their legal right to own land, inherit property or title, or to marry, the Inquisition will support them, opening the door to greater integration with society and the restoration of the fortunes and families that have long been denied us.

Most importantly of all, we have set a precedent. We have shown the Inquisition, and the Chantry, and the world, that we will not allow the trappings of the Circles to be quietly restored. We have, for the first time, forced them to publicly acknowledge us as a faction in our own right, and to sit down with us at the table as equals, as allies, to negotiate with us as they might any group or any nation. We have forced the Chantry itself to negotiate with us, and we have denied it most of its demands. That alone is a monumental step forward in our quest for lasting freedom.

There is of course more to be done. We have not yet won this war, and there remain threats to others that we may feel it only just to continue to oppose, but we have much today that we did not have a few weeks ago. Freedom is not merely a principle or a theory or a dream: it is choice, and it is action. All who chose to risk themselves to take action and stand together in this should be proud of what they have accomplished not just for themselves but for all mages of the Inquisition and of Thedas.

I thank you all for the trust and support you placed in me and the other delegates. I hope that we have served you well.