The armchair psychology of Mage and Templar fans

That's not what I said, though. What I said was that the Codex entry on the Staff of Violation (which Orsino wrote) seems to be a story of a person who you absolutely would not expect to become an abomination on purpose, and who you'd expect to be competent as a mage, becoming an abomination anyway.

And the benefit of the Circle system is that if there is a lot of danger to it, the danger is at least moved out of areas where a lot of non-mages live. I get that concentrating mages is dangerous, but it's not like one mage is all that much less dangerous to an untrained and unarmed peasant who couldn't even defend himself from one common bandit... which probably describes nearly every living being in this setting. The danger might be slightly amplified by putting all the mages in one place, but at least there's not a whole lot of people in the Circle without some form of magic that the danger can menace.

The mages who are able to leave the Circles through manipulating the system or just powering their way out are competent enough that they probably won't become abominations unless they do something stupid. I'd rather they stayed in the Circles, since the Staff of Violation story indicates that they still can go abomination without wanting to, but the ones who I'm really worried about (the otherwise weak mages who are at greater risk of accidentally becoming abominations) can't do either of those. The ones who aren't that competent are probably stuck in the Circles if they manage to get into them.

As for your assertion that there is never reason to detain innocent people, nobody believes that.  People who are sick with something contagious and dangerous can be held until they're cured so that that disease doesn't spread. Mentally ill people who are dangerous to themselves or others (or both) can be held until the danger passes. Neither of those is a moral failing, but they're both ways that you can be dangerous without a moral failing being required, and both are viewed as reason to detain people who don't have any moral failings serious enough to merit it. And both are arguably comparable to the threat of accidentally becoming an abomination.

As long as magic exists, so should Templars. Regardless of anything, mundanes require a countermeasure against any hostile magic, as it would be dangerously naive to have the mages themselves keep this sort of thing in check. What should be removed, however, is the Chantry's grip on the order. That it's part of a religious institution is a big problem, as is the permanence of the average mage's stay in a circle. That mages are denied lands and ties to bloodlines does no one any real favor, and leaves the door open for future Uldreds. That they are put to the test to determine their ability to resist possession but can still be held captive indefinitely is bullshit and is a poor practice.

Good question, I would also be interested to know if they have ever addressed this. I mean, that would essentially mean some mages can become mages through lyrium exposure.

My guess is it should be possible in theory, but skills might be unlikely to fully develop without training. Given the tight control of the lyrium trade, and general fears about magic, probably few would attempt it or pursue it willingly, and it would probably be considered pretty dangerous outside a controlled environment like the Circle. Especially knowing the long term effects on Templars. But it must happen from time to time.

I'm thinking it's probably both. Like, lyrium could awaken or open the door to potential abilities, but then the training is needed to actually do anything with it. And then some people were just born with the talent, or came from a family or blood line that had it. But then we have people like Felix, who must have had all the proper breeding and lyrium and training available in Tevinter, but never became very talented or interested in magic. So there has to be more to what makes a mage. And Templars too. Maybe it's down to mostly intangible things, like personality, interest level, and desire to be one.

But than your supporting drug-over dose for non Mage citizens. Is that better than what the Chantry does to the Templars? 

 No. it's a dangerous drug, no matter how you word it, I protect against this idea, for several reasons - you'd ruin people's lives - as they lose their minds due to Lyruim addiction, and it's not worth it, mages are dangerous regardless if you have a lyrum addiction of not, and it wouldn't fix anything, it would make things worse, for the worse. It would probably destroy the Karta (and the lyrum trade). What your suggesting is crap. Sorry, but not sorry, the threat of them turning towards red lyrum is too high of a possibility. 

GoldenGail3

They wouldn't all necessarily need the lyrium, if that were the case, in my opinion. It just would prove there is some aspect about magic that is learned, and puts a wrench in the theory about it being a curse or punishment for offending the Maker. Like maybe it's just a natural ability that awakens in some people for whatever reason. Lyrium would still be a tool, but there would probably be other ways.

And maybe the problem with lyrium is they are using way more than they need. Maybe because they have the wrong perspective on magic being mostly bloodline and therefore enhanced through external means. Dreamers don't technically need to use it at all, but there is little known about that school of magic since the Elven empire fell and the Magisters came to power in Tevinter.

Still no one is suggesting magic is perfectly safe or can be made to be. But few things are.

In its processed form, lyrium may be handled by anyone, but long term exposure or a single mistake while working with it can lead to serious side effects. Prolonged use by Templar becomes addictive, the cravings unbearable. The effects of lyrium addiction for templars include paranoia, obsession, and dementia  Symptoms of lyrium hunger pangs include fatigue, headaches, forgetfulness, an unquenchable thirst, and cold hands. Over time, templars grow disoriented, incapable of distinguishing memory from present, or dream from waking. They frequently become paranoid as their worst memories and nightmares haunt their waking hours. Cullen states that templars also lose their memories to prolong imbibing of lyrium. It starts small at first- a misplaced item or words to a song- but more fades away over time. Mages have additionally been known to suffer physical mutation. According to Vivienne, anything that increases the capacity of a mage's magic (such as lyrium) creates a damaging effect on the body. For mages, this is known as mana imbalance. Some adverse effects of mana imbalance may include conscious dreaming in the Fade (such as those experienced during the Harrowing periods of dizziness, and hearing voices. Unlike templars, mages are able to recuperate from the adverse effects. - 
 dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Lyrium



It also also states that spirts are immune to the effects, so I suggest that people take lyrium are trained Seekers, and one way or another, it's addictive and poisonous to people, and it'd be idiotic to suggest giving untrained people such a drug, and if you'd like to know, my father was a drug addicts, and you know what ended up happening to him? He died of drug overdose, and I feel like that's a sufficient reason not to give people such a drug in the name of Mage Freedom, as people will have to grow those drugs.. and they might end up killing all mages anyhow, as the wikia pages states that all mages who are in the presence of raw lyrum will die instantly (besides for Hawke, apperately.. but maybe Red Lyriums different.....) Or are you so inconsiderate, you'd just let those things happen? You'd kill mages, on masses, if you allowed lyrium to be grown as a crop, you'd have entire towns that are suffering from the fumes of lyrium, and the dwarves probably would refuse to give people lyrium, so yeah, you'd be forced to grow your own lyrium, and without Ozammars dwarves, your pretty much screwed on that part.

Lol, Mage freedom Is going to backfire if this is the way they get freed, lol. 

Anyone can get Templar abilities without training. You just need to take a specially prepared form of lyrium because regular lyrium will just kill nonmages.

Apparently warden abilities get stronger with age. Also Fiona is a special exception