Dragon Age: Inquisition
The Inquisitor, known to many Thedosians as the Herald of Andraste, is the playable character protagonist of Dragon Age: Inquisition.
The Veil has torn across Thedas. The Inquisitor is the sole survivor of a tear, referred to as “the Breach,” that occurs during a peace conference between the leaders of the Chantry, the Templar Order and the Mage Rebellion at the Temple of Sacred Ashes. Finding themselves in the Fade with no memory of how they got there, the Inquisitor remembers being chased by giant spider-like creatures. The Inquisitor notices it had been granted a mysterious magical mark on their left hand which activates when they reach out to a feminine spiritual entity. Emerging from the Breach, the Inquisitor passes out and is captured by Chantry forces. The Inquisitor is interrogated by Cassandra Pentaghast and Leliana. They are blamed of causing the Breach and the deaths ensued, given that they are the only one to have survived and the mark is connected to the incident. The Inquisitor’s mark spreads each time the Breach expands – thus slowly killing them. Yet it also has the power to seal the Fade rifts.
Due to the Inquisitor’s unique ability, Cassandra brings the Inquisitor to attempt to close the Breach. At the site of the first Fade rift, an echo of the past reveals that the Inquisitor was present when Divine Justinia V was being held captive by an unknown male entity and had called to the Inquisitor for help, but the Inquisitor has no memory of this event. The Inquisitor then used the power of the mark to stop the Breach from growing but not sealing it. Some time afterwards, people who witnessed the Inquisitor’s actions, as well as hearing of the Inquisitor’s account of a feminine spirit they reached out to in order to activate the mark, believed the entity to be Andraste and the Inquisitor to be Andraste’s Herald. Many view the Inquisitor as a symbol of hope and others blame them for causing the Breach in the first place. The Inquisitor is inducted into the reborn Inquisition and aids their efforts in strengthening the Inquisition’s influence, sealing the tears, and putting an end to the chaos.
At Redcliffe, the Herald learned that Fiona had no recollection of their previous meeting in Val Royeaux and that she had already pledged the rebel mages to the service of Magister Gereon Alexius of Tevinter, claiming that she had no other choice given their dire circumstances. Soon after his arrival, Alexius usurped Redcliffe Castle from Arl Teagan Guerrin, alienating the mage rebellion’s sole benefactor. With the mage rebellion’s survival now entirely dependent on him, Alexius changed the terms of the alliance: from protection and eventual Tevinter citizenship in exchange for indentured servitude to conscription of all the rebel southern mages into military service under his command. Negotiations between Alexius and the Herald for the use of the rebel mages in closing the Breach were cut short by the arrival of his son, Felix, who feigned illness to direct the Herald to the chantry. There, they met Dorian Pavus, who explained that Alexius, his former mentor, had manipulated time itself to recruit the mages before the Herald could do so, and warned that this magic was dangerously unstable and threatened to spread beyond Redcliffe, where rifts had already started to alter time around them. Felix joined in to reveal that his father had joined a cult known as the Venatori, serving an entity known as the Elder One. After returning to Haven, the Herald receives an invitation from Magister Alexius to continue their interrupted negotiations in Castle Redcliffe—an obvious trap.
With Dorian’s help, the Inquisition infiltrated Castle Redcliffe and reclaimed it. Facing defeat, Alexius pulled out the time amulet and attempted to erase the Herald from existence entirely. Dorian interrupted him, accidentally sending both himself and the Herald one year into the future, where their absence had resulted in the spread of the Breach and the Elder One’s conquest of southern Thedas. While attempting to return to their time, the Herald and Dorian found Fiona and their companions, jailed and infected with red lyrium, as well as Leliana, who had been the subject of Blight experiments. With their help, the Herald learned something of the Elder One’s plans and were able to use the future Alexius’ time amulet to return to the present, where they captured the present Alexius.
The Fereldan monarch(s) (Alistair and/or Anora, depending on who was made sovereign) arrived and ordered the rebel mages to leave Ferelden, angered by their actions in Redcliffe. No longer welcome in Ferelden, and without Tevinter’s support, Fiona reluctantly accepted the Herald’s offer of either a full alliance or forced conscription.
Without the Herald’s help, the templars of Therinfal Redoubt were fully corrupted into Red Templars and became the bulk of Corypheus’ army during the attack on Haven.
The Inquisitor is able to close the Breach. But the victory is short-lived, as Haven comes under attack by Corypheus. The Inquisitor distracts him long enough for the village to be evacuated before causing an avalanche to bury his army. When the Inquisitor reunites with the Inquisition, the Herald leads them to Skyhold, where the Inquisitor is formally declared their leader.
In 9:41 Dragon, Adamant Fortress is reoccupied by the Orlesian Grey Wardens, who had allied with the Venatori. Sacrificing their own warriors, enthralled Warden mages began summoning demons, ostensibly to march into the Deep Roads to kill the Old Gods. However, the fortress came under siege by the Inquisition, due to the Wardens sheltering Magister Livius Erimond, a member of the Venatori. When the Inquisitor, Hawke and a Warden ally reached Warden-Commander Clarel, they are able to convince her that Erimond is in league with Corypheus, an ancient darkspawn. In the resulting battle, the Inquisitor, Hawke, the Warden ally and their party escape into the Fade. There they meet a spirit posing as Divine Justinia V, who is revealed to be the same spirit that was believed to be Andraste and led the Inquisitor to the Breach to escape as they were chased by demons. The spirit briefs the Inquisitor that they are in the realm of a Nightmare demon who is controlling the Grey Warden mages and that the Inquisitor must recover the memories it took from them. As the Inquisitor recovers these memories, they remember how the mortal Divine was bound by Grey Warden mages and sacrificed to power an orb. The Inquisitor interrupted their ritual and when Corypheus lost control of the orb, the Inquisitor picked it up and gave them the mark. After escaping the Fade with the spirit’s help, Hawke stays behind to fight the Nightmare demon. The Inquisitor has the option of either allying with the surviving Wardens or exiling them from Orlais.
Ultimately, The Inquisitor chooses to exile the Wardens. This weakens not only Orlais but the Grey Wardens, whose numbers have only continued to dwindle in the years since after repeated Blights.
The Inquisitor attends a ball held by Empress Celene I at her Winter Palace in Halamshiral after learning of an assassination plot against her. The Inquisitor’s actions resolve the Orlesian Civil War and decide who holds the throne of Orlais.
During the Orlesian War—or the War of the Lions—The Inquisition stops an assassination plot on Empress Celene and supports continued leadership. This helps stabilize Orlais and gives the Inquisitor a powerful ally.
In 9:42 Dragon, Corypheus is pursued to the Temple of Mythal in the Arbor Wilds, where he attempts to gain the knowledge to use the eluvian network and so reenter the Black City. The Inquisitor foils his plans, and in desperation Corypheus retreats to the Temple of Sacred Ashes to reopen the Breach. The Inquisitor finally defeated Corypheus by killing his red lyrium dragon, thus stopping Corypheus’ ability to leap into other bodies. The Inquisitor then ends Corypheus by using the Anchor, i.e., the Inquisitor’s mark, to banish Corypheus to the Fade, destroying his body in the process. Afterwards they reseal the Breach, ending the threat for good.
After the Inquisition establishes a presence in the Frostback Basin, the Inquisition is spurred by Professor Bram Kenric’s archaeological findings to discover the fate of Inquisitor Ameridan – the Herald’s predecessor. The Herald align themselves with the Avvar tribe of Stone-Bear Hold and discover that the hostile Jaws of Hakkon seek to unleash their imprisoned god, Hakkon Wintersbreath, on all of Thedas out of revenge. The Inquisition discover that Ameridan has been keeping the dragon vessel of Hakkon confined with time magic, and after his bindings fail – passes on the duty to finish what he started to the Herald. The Herald foils the Hakkonite’s plans and slays the dragon vessel of Hakkon.
Following the Battle of Haven, a string of violent earthquakes grip the Storm Coast region. Ordinarily, it wouldn’t have been brought to the Inquisitor’s attention, but the quakes aren’t subsiding and are threatening the Inquisition’s vital lyrium trade with the dwarves of Orzammar, collapsing mining tunnels and causing casualties. The Inquisitor is asked to meet with a Shaper on the scene named Valta.
The Inquisition descend into the Deep Roads to find the cause of the worsening earthquakes with Valta and a Legionnaire of the Dead named Renn. Along the way they battle the monstrous Darkspawn and the dwarven Sha-Brytol guardians. Renn was a casualty of an ambush by the Sha-Brytol. During their adventure, they discover that the source of the earthquakes is a recently stirred Titan. Valta uncovers information about the ancient titans from old lyrium etchings and piece together its relationship with lyrium and the Sha-Brytol. Eventually they reach a verdant cavern that is surmised to be the inside of the titan itself. At the heart of the cavern is a massive stone of raw lyrium which strikes Valta with lyrium energy and knocks her unconscious. Rocks and stone armor the raw lyrium and form a rock-lyrium guardian that the Inquisition defeats.
Following the guardian’s defeat, Valta regains consciousness but is pained by a loud song until she releases a wave of telekinetic force. Valta reveals that the raw lyrium’s energy blast established a connection between her and the titan. She reveals the titan was disturbed by the Breach but seems to have calmed now that it has established a connection with one of its “children”. Valta has come to believe that everything that has transpired went according to the titan’s plan. Though she admits that she is now different, she assures the Inquisitor that she is still the same shaperate she once was and wishes to stay in the verdant cavern to commune with the titan. She hopes in time, its song will reveal more knowledge about the dwarves and their mysterious history. The Inquisitor respects Valta’s decision to stay with the Titan and tells her to be careful as they part ways.
Two years after Corypheus’ defeat, representatives from Ferelden, Orlais, and the Chantry formed the Exalted Council to negotiate with the Inquisition about checking its influence. To compound the Inquisitor’s problems, the Anchor’s magic has become unstable again and threatens the Inquisitor’s life.
In the midst of talks, the Inquisitor is notified by an Inquisition elven guard to meet privately with Leliana who reveals the discovered dead body of a fully armored Qunari warrior from the Antaam. The Inquisitor investigates the Qunari threat until they find a human former templar turned Viddathari in the Deep Roads surrounded by Qunari. The former templar calls himself Ser Jerran, and he reveals that agents of Fen’Harel have been hindering the Qunari. He also says the Qunari believe the Inquisition are part of Fen’Harel’s agents. Jerran seems wary of his superior the Viddasala, who is the mastermind behind a plan called “Dragon’s Breath”. Jerran believes she intends to conquer southern Thedas and has been mining Lyrium to supply her Saarebas as well as making use of the Eluvians for that purpose. The Inquisitor destroys the Viddasala’s lyrium mine and reports back to their war council to discuss the turn of events.
Later on, the Inquisitor is notified that an Inquisition elven guard has detained an Orlesian elven servant transporting suspicious barrels. The Inquisition begins to exert its influence to control the situation, much to the displeasure of the Exalted Council. Leliana reveals that the detained elven servant was transporting gaatlok barrels, ostensibly to assassinate every noble in the Exalted Council and beyond thus depriving southern Thedas of effective leadership when the Qunari invade. The Inquisitor pursues the Viddasala while Leliana’s agents remove the gaatlok barrels planted across Thedas.
When the Inquisitor confronts the Viddasala, she accuses the Inquisitor of wielding dangerous magic and must be ended for the greater good. She also reveals that the Qunari planned on assassinating their leaders and indoctrinating those left after being conquered but an agent of Fen’Harel disrupted their plan and they must now resort to a conquering by war. Furthermore, it appears the Inquisition is implicated in the Qunari’s plans as the Qunari have been using Inquisition resources to transport the gaatlok barrels, thus revealing that the Inquisition’s ranks are corrupted by elven Qunari spies and saboteurs.
As the Inquisitor pursues Viddasala through the eluvians, she reveals that Solas is an agent of Fen’Harel and that his meddling is what disrupted the Qunari’s plans to convert southern Thedas. When the Inquisitor finally reaches Solas, they find Viddasala and her followers are defeated and petrified by Solas. Solas then uses his magic to stabilize the Inquisitor’s Anchor so they can have some time to talk.
Solas reveals he has amassed a network of spies and agents and many of his spies are also planted in the Inquisition which is how he uncovered the Qunari plot to invade southern Thedas. He disrupted the plot by having his agents discreetly help the Inquisitor uncover the Qunari invasion.
Qunari invaders, the Dragon’s Breath, have pursued him as an agent of Fen’Harel but Solas proved elusive as he has complete control of the Eluvians and has grown so much in power that he can petrify foes with a thought. Solas reveals he is no agent but is in fact the Dread Wolf himself. Solas reveals to the Inquisitor how he fought back against the Evanuris after they betrayed and murdered Mythal, in his words the one elven god who served as a voice of reason, who cared for and loved her subjects. As punishment, he erected the Veil and banished the Evanuris to the Beyond, despite the irrevocable damage wrought across Elvhenan as a result. He has since vowed to walk the solitary path of the Din’Anshiral in order to restore the elven people regardless of the cost to Thedas, and he cannot be swayed even if romanced.
He warns the Inquisitor about the inevitability of an organization as large as the Inquisition becoming corrupt, and that it in fact already has, before the time Solas has bought to converse runs out and the Anchor becomes unendurable. As the Inquisitor doubles over in pain they can declare that they will either stop Solas’s plan or redeem him and show him that the world that exists now is worth saving. Then he uses his magic to sever the Inquisitor’s left forearm, preventing the Anchor from killing them. He instructs them to enjoy what time they have left before departing once more.
The Inquisitor returns to the Exalted Council to decide the Inquisition’s fate with their left forearm now amputated. The Inquisitor can either have the Inquisition become Divine Victoria’s honor guard, or disband.
The Inquisition is kept and moved under the Chantry. The Inquisitor officially maintains a desk-bound role in the now-smaller organization answering directly to the Divine.
She later becomes a Red Jenny working in secret.
Privately, the Inquisitor is also mobilized in a plan to stop the Dread Wolf; Later on, the Inquisitor meets with the Inquisition’s war council in Haven to discuss Solas’s plan and resolves to foil him by finding agents he is unaware of. The Inquisitor stabs a dagger through the portion of their war map labeled “Tevinter Imperium”.