“Death is never justice.”
Elthina is the Grand Cleric of the Kirkwall Chantry, and one of the most powerful people in Kirkwall. She is seen arguing with Sebastian Vael regarding a notice posted by him.[1]
Background
Portrayed as an empathetic, kind and compassionate soul in Sebastian Vael's back story, Elthina acted as a guardian to Sebastian after he was forced into the Chantry. Seeing how miserable her charge was, Elthina helped him escape in the dead of night, telling him that people should enter the Chantry through the front door, not the back. She gave him a purse full of gold, and told him to go and live his life. Thanks to her words, Sebastian returned to the Chantry - through the front door this time - his faith restored.
She is responsible for Meredith rising to the position of Knight-Commander of Kirkwall.
Involvement
When you first speak to her during Act 1 it is possible to gain 
(+5) friendship with Aveline Vallen and Isabela by choosing "The hero of Ferelden stopped the blight, not the maker". Conversely you gain 
(+5) rivalry both Aveline Vallen and Isabela by choosing "He works in mysterious ways".
When you speak to her during Act 2 you can gain (+5) friendship with Anders by choosing "You should help the city".
Elthina avoided taking sides in any circumstance, except in regards to Sebastian. When Sebastian puts up the notice of death on the Chanter's Board for the murderers of his family, she was adamant he should return as a devote and give up on his quest for vengeance. However, when it came to Qunari, Templars or Mages, she had faith in the Maker, and does nothing except pray and wait. Elthina was well loved by the entire city, but some see her refusal to take sides or enforce control over Meredith as cowardly and there have been quietly made requests for her to step down. She claims not to support Meredith's methods, but she refuses to order her to change the Templar's behavior or to publicly denounce it. By so doing, some might see her as implicitly siding with the Templars, since under the status quo, they had power over the mages. Although some might argue that she is the only one holding the peace together between the templars and mages, her refusal to take any public stand perpetuates the abuse of the mages through inaction and in so doing is ushering the inevitable confrontation between the two groups forward by allowing each opposing side to push one another further and further into the extremes.
Divine Justinia V deployed an agent in Kirkwall to pass a warning to Sebastian Vael. She told him that the Grand Cleric must flee the city for Orlais, for she was in grave danger there, thanks to the radical new groups of mages which were appearing. Her warnings went unheeded, and Elthina refused to abandon her flock. Both First Enchanter Orsino and Knight-Commander Meredith vied for her support, but to no avail. She was inside the Kirkwall Chantry when revolutionary mage Anders destroyed it, and consequently she was killed in the blast. Her death was arguably the spark which ignited the Mage-Templar War.
Fate
Quotes
- (Regarding Sebastian's notice) "This is murder!"
- "Death is never justice."
- "Go carefully, Sebastian. You could start a war."
- "I am sworn to Andraste's service, but that does not mean I am ignorant of the world."
- "People serve the Maker in many different ways. You don't need to take vows to do His work."
- (To Sebastian) "Nobody should enter the Chantry through the back door. The only one who can make this commitment is you. The front door will always be open."
- Hawke: "Saemus Dumar has been murdered, here, in your name."
- Elthina: "I'm sure my name won't like that."
- Mother Petrice: They deny the Maker!
- Elthina: And you diminish him even as you assume his side. Andraste did not volunteer for the flame.
Trivia
She is part of the "Friends in High Places" achievement along with Knight-Commander Meredith, Viscount Marlowe Dumar and First Enchanter Orsino
Gallery
References
- ↑ Gaider, David. "The Exiled Prince, Sebastian Vael". BioWare Social Network. Retrieved 2011-01-10.