The Mage Underground - "I have made this place a sanctum of healing and salvation! Why do you threat

I have come a bit late to the debate but I voted "freedom with no strings attached" simply because when you say "with rules" I would ask who decides?

“A civilization cannot be civil if it condones the slavery of another. And that is what this Circle is! But by accident of birth, those mages would be free to live, love, and die as they choose. The Circles will break—if it be one year, a decade, a century, or beyond. Tyrants always fall, and the downtrodden always strive for freedom!” Aldenon.

I wish the history concerning Aldenon had not been buried in a DLC weapons pack because I think his story brings out an important point. The Chantry would never have even formed let alone have achieved the level of power it did without the aid of a secular ruler. The Circles would never have been allowed to exist so long as they had without the co-operation of the secular rulers. There was always a two-tier system within the Circles with one rule for those of noble birth and another for commoners.

Bethany and Emile Du Lancet are both allowed contact with their families and receive visits from them. I believe the same is true of Connor after he goes to the Circle. The Sun Dome in Cumberland was originally the palace of a noble that was gifted to the Chantry/Circle so that the noble's daughter could continue to live in the style to which she was accustomed. There was the story given in MoA about the daughter of a noble family in Orlais who on joining the Circle had handpicked Templars to watch over her and when she became First Enchanter left the Circle behind to live on an estate outside it. Vivienne might have started as a commoner but having become the lover of an Orlesian noble she was then given a privileged life within the Circle system. None of these people would ever have been abused by Templars because their families would have heard about it and kicked up a fuss. I have often wondered how many children of nobles were ever made tranquil, let alone against their will.   You will note how Meredith went easy on Emil and his family compared with other people and yet he had been going around boasting of being a blood mage (he was simply a fool but nevertheless was he not dangerous?)

By contrast Anders was torn away from his family and never saw them again. The same was true of Ella. Jowan and Wynne ended up in the Circle because their families no longer wanted them around but when Wynne became pregnant her child was taken from her. Anders and Karl were forcibly separated even though Irving knew that being with Karl had calmed Anders down (he never tried to escape as long as Karl was in Kinloch Hold). I am pretty sure much of the abuse of mages occurred among those with commoner backgrounds because they had no one to speak up for them, having been denied all contact with the people on the outside even if those people still wanted to know them.

I think the reason the Chantry was allowed to control mages is that the majority of them did come from commoner ranks and the nobility didn't want powerful people around to challenge their behaviour in the wider community. It seems no accident to me that the Circles were originally formed in Orlais, the home of Chevaliers who have right to treat commoners however they please. Since the Chevalier order is often made up of the same landless nobles and younger offspring that can be found in the Templar Order, it is hardly surprising that a similar attitude is prevalent among both groups, that you can treat those of lesser status and over whom you have control, in any way you wish.

Then the Chantry and particularly their Circle system only spread to other nations with the collusion of the nobility. This is illustrated by the story of Aldenon. He was free to operate in the area of Ferelden until Calenhad sold out to the Chantry/Circle in order to gain their support for his bid for kingship over that region. Aldenon had originally given his support to him in the anticipation of being able to establish a realm where all people were free and have a united nation that was strong enough to oppose Orlais and its Chantry. Sadly Calenhad thought he would be better off with Chantry support and chained mages.

The more I have read about the period before the establishment of the kingdom of Ferelden, the more it is apparent that the Chantry did not have the degree of influence they liked to maintain. I also think this was true of the period between the death of Andraste and the rise of Drakon. It may well be that the original Inquisition tried to maintain order and hunt down rogue mages but the fact is southern Thedas was no more chaotic than it had ever been. It had always been a region of warring barbarian tribes. Part of Andraste's significance was that she had been able to unite them into a cohesive battle force. This was largely because she had links to three main tribes of influence: her father's Alamarri, her mother's Ciriane and her husband's Avvar. We now know that the Avvar have long given mages reverence and influence in their social system. Each tribe has its own Augur, who consults with spirits and helps guide young mages, which includes allowing them to be possessed by benign spirits as part of the training. The other country not dominated by Chantry influence is Rivain and once again they have mages who are revered in the social system and help to govern. What is true today was likely equally true at the time of Andraste. Thus if Andraste was a mage it would have seemed entirely normal for the barbarian tribes of that time to respect her wisdom. After her death the clans continued to live as they had always done and that likely included having mage Augurs giving guidance. Each clan was said to have their own traditions of worship concerning Andraste and the Maker.

It is clear, therefore, that it was Drakon and his Chantry who invented much of what is said to have been taught by Andraste, or at least twisted her words to suit their agenda. This includes blood magic. There is nothing specifically in Andraste's words to condemn this but Justinia I chose to interpret certain sayings of Andraste as indicating condemnation of blood magic. Whilst the writers have been a bit inconsistent with their portrayal of this form of magic and if PW's tweets are to be believed, seem not even clear about how blood magic obtains its power, the fact is that it is something that can be misused like any other magic and should not be attempted without due care but the very fact that it has been so long supressed by the Chantry will have prevented it from being properly researched and understood. Still I've gone on long enough. If you want a debate on blood magic, maybe that should be a different thread.