The Gallows is an isolated fortress built in the harbor just off the Kirkwall Docks. It is sometimes used to control the flow of travelers arriving by sea but predominantly functions as the home of the Templar Order in the city as well as the site of its Circle of Magi.
Statues of tortured slaves fill the Gallows courtyard, a ghastly memento of Kirkwall's history. The statues are not monuments to the suffering of slaves. Every inch and angle of the courtyard was designed by magisters bent on breaking the spirit of newcomers. Executions here took place daily, sometimes hourly, and corpses were hung from gibbets throughout the yard. New slaves trudging in from the docks saw what awaited them.
It is the home of both the Circle of Magi and the Templar Order in Kirkwall. Hundreds of mages live in the Gallows.[1]
Background[]
Statues of tortured slaves fill the Gallows courtyard, a ghastly memento of Kirkwall's history. Fifteen-hundred years ago, Kirkwall was the Tevinter Imperium's largest quarry, feeding the construction of the Imperial Highway.
The Imperium's hunger for expansion led to legions of slaves forced into working the quarry. When the empire's construction phase ended, Kirkwall slid naturally into its new role as the capital of the slave trade—the Gallows at its heart.
The statues are not monuments to the suffering of slaves. Every inch and angle of the courtyard was designed by magisters bent on breaking the spirit of newcomers. Executions here took place daily, sometimes hourly, and corpses were hung from gibbets throughout the yard. New slaves trudging in from the docks saw what awaited them.
When Our Lady turned her armies against the Imperium, the slaves of Kirkwall revolted and claimed the city for themselves. The Gallows stood empty for two hundred years, not to be reopened until the crowning of Divine Justinia I. The Gallows transformed the city again when the abandoned prison tower became the home of Kirkwall's Circle.
—From In Pursuit of Knowledge: The Travels of a Chantry Scholar, by Brother Genitivi
—From Codex entry: Kirkwall - The GallowsInvolvement[]
Dragon Age II[]
Living conditions in the Gallows become progressively stricter under Knight-Commander Meredith Stannard.[2] Mages are locked in their cells, denied appearances at court, and made Tranquil for the slightest crimes. The mage underground is created to help mages escape the Gallows and find refuge in far away areas where the templars can't easily reach them. While the templars fight against the mage underground and maleficars, Knight-Commander Meredith begins to impose harsher sanctions on the Kirkwall Circle while templars such as Ser Otto Alrik abuse their charges in secret. As the years go by, Tranquil mages in the Gallows Courtyard become more numerous—presumably to cow the mages into submission. Many mages are terrorized into compliance and the templars are divided on whether these inhumane tactics serve the Templar Order's noble tenets. Knight-Commander Meredith only empowers her sycophants and anyone who criticizes their authority eventually become muzzled pariahs or choose to leave the Order.
In 9:37 Dragon, Anders, an apostate mage and abomination possessed by Justice, destroys the Kirkwall Chantry—igniting the Kirkwall Rebellion and inspiring mages throughout Thedas to rebel against the Circle system. His magical blast is not contained and rains deadly debris upon half of the city.[3] The Champion of Kirkwall kills First Enchanter Orsino and Knight-Commander Meredith Stannard during the rebellion in the Gallows.
Dragon Age: Inquisition[]
Trespasser[]
Places[]
Characters[]
- Alain
- Athenril
- Cavril
- Cullen Rutherford
- Emeric
- Ewald
- Feynriel (conditional)
- Friedrich
- Grace
- Harbormaster's Assistant[5]
- Helena
- Hugh
- Jaken
- Karras (conditional)
- Keran (conditional)
- Margitte
- Meeran
- Meredith Stannard
- Moira
- Orsino
- Paxley
- Raleigh Samson
- Ruvena
- Samson (conditional)
- Solivitus
- Templar Lieutenant[6]
- Thrask
Stores[]
Quests[]
Act 1[]
Wayward Son- Enemies Among Us
- The First Sacrifice
- An Errant Letter
- Favor and Fault
- Herbalist's Tasks (Act 1)
- Map of Occupied Kirkwall
Act 2[]
- Dissent
- Prime Suspect
- Herbalist's Tasks (Act 2)
- A Debt in the Family
- How to Frame a Templar
- Sketchy on the Details
- The Eyes of Azure Jamos
- The One True Pantaloons
Act 3[]
Known residents[]
First Enchanters[]
- Casimira – the first of the Kirkwall Circle of Magi's First Enchanters[7]
- Honorus – First Enchanter in 9:01 Dragon[8]
- Maceron – First Enchanter until his death in 9:28 Dragon[9]
- Orsino – First Enchanter from 9:28 Dragon[9] until his death during the annulment of the Kirkwall Circle in 9:37 Dragon
Senior Enchanters[]
- Consuelon – Senior Enchanter who suspected Malcolm Hawke was hiding his talents to avoid Templar attention[8]
Enchanters[]
- Bethany Hawke (conditional) – apostate younger sister of Hawke; arrested and sent to the Circle if not brought on the Deep Roads Expedition
- Malcolm Hawke (formerly)
- Ursula – an Enchanter during Malcolm Hawke's childhood[8]
Mages[]
- Alain – formerly of the Starkhaven Circle
- Evelina – formerly of the Fereldan Circle; later became an apostate
- Grace – formerly of the Starkhaven Circle
- Heborah de Soliere – escaped and became an apostate[10]
- Huon – later became an apostate
- Idunna (conditional) – an apostate blood mage and a prostitute at the Blooming Rose; joins the Circle if spared and handed over to the templars by Hawke
- Innley of Starkhaven – escaped and became an apostate[10]
- Jake the Black – escaped and became an apostate[10]
- Malcolm Hawke – later became an apostate
- Emile de Launcet – later became an apostate; can be sent back to the Circle by Hawke
- Maud – friend and contemporary of Orsino who was discontent with life at the Gallows and committed suicide[9]
- Solivitus
- Terrie (conditional) – a fugitive apostate formerly of the Starkhaven Circle; can be turned over to the Kirkwall Circle by Hawke
Apprentices[]
- Ella
- Jaken – an elven apprentice; Helena's lover before she was made Tranquil by Ser Otto Alrik
Tranquil[]
- Ceridweth – an infamous apostate who was eventually captured and made Tranquil[1]
- Elsa
- Feynriel (conditional) – an elf-blooded apostate and somniari; if turned over to the Circle, he can later be rendered Tranquil by Hawke
- Maddox
- Orana – a Tranquil mage who created the amulet Tranquility[11]
- Karl Thekla
- Helena – Jaken's human lover before being made Tranquil by Ser Otto Alrik
Knight-Commanders[]
- Guylian[12]
- Meredith Stannard (9:21-9:37)
Knight-Lieutenant[]
- Otto Alrik (9:31-9:34)[13]
- Templar Lieutenant (c. 9:34)[14]
Knight-Templars[]
- Conrad Vernhart[15]
- Cullen Rutherford (9:31-9:40)
- Emeric (9:31-9:34)
- Hugh (c. 9:34)
- Karras (9:31-9:37)
- Keran (9:31-9:34)
- Mettin (9:31-9:37)
- Moira (9:31-9:34)
- Nevin Faramore (c. 9:37)
- Paxley (9:34-9:40)
- Raleigh Samson
- Roderick (c. 9:34)
- Ruvena (c. 9:34)
- Thrask (9:31-9:37)
- Varnell – in charge of protecting Sister Petrice (9:31-9:34)
Templar-Recruits[]
Codex entries[]
Notes[]
- The first time Hawke visits the Gallows with Fenris in the party, a dialogue scene begins that allows for approval changes:
- "It's wrong to oppress mages."
- Fenris: rivalry (+15)
- Anders: friendship (+5)
- Merrill: friendship (+5)
- "The Circle doesn't work."
- Fenris: rivalry (+5)
- "The Circle is necessary."
- Fenris: friendship (+5)
- Anders: rivalry (+5)
- Merrill: rivalry (+5)
- "It's wrong to oppress mages."
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Codex entry: The Spiral Eye
- ↑ Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 2, pp. 191-194
- ↑ Mary Kirby. [1] Twitter.
- ↑ Codex entry: Varric and the Last Few Years
- ↑ How to Frame a Templar
- ↑ The Midnight Meeting
- ↑ Codex entry: Staff of Violation
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 2, p. 148
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 2, p. 196
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Bounty Hunter
- ↑ Codex entry: Tranquility
- ↑ Codex entry: History of Kirkwall: Chapter 4
- ↑ Is taken down by Hawke during the Dragon Age II Act 2 companion quest for Anders.
- ↑ The Midnight Meeting
- ↑ He can be framed by Hawke during the quest How to Frame a Templar if Keran was allowed to remain in the Order.
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