The Right of Annulment is the Grand Clerics' right to have a Circle of Magi purged of mages entirely if they consider it irredeemable.[1]
Background[]
In 2:83 Glory, mages within the Nevarran Circle summoned a demon, which then turned into an abomination and killed multiple mages and templars before escaping into the countryside. It had killed 70 people by the time it was slain by templars. That same year, Divine Galatea granted the Right of Annulment to all Grand Clerics of the Chantry in an attempt to prevent similar incidents.[1][2]
Normally, the Right can only be invoked by a Grand Cleric or a de facto successor (such as a Revered Mother); if there is no access to a Grand Cleric or Revered Mother, then Knight-Commanders of the Templar Order have legal authority to invoke the Right.[3] The Right can be invoked but ultimately not carried out depending on the circumstances.
By the beginning of the Fifth Blight, the Right had been invoked 17 times.[2] The Right was requested three more times between 9:30 and 9:40 Dragon, in Kinloch Hold, the Gallows, and Dairsmuid, and was carried out in at least two of these instances.
According to Fenris, Imperial templars also possess the Right of Annulment, but the line that mages must cross for it to be invoked is "elsewhere".
Known uses of the Right of Annulment[]
- 3:09 Towers: The third invocation of the Right of Annulment. Knight-Commander Gervasio of Antiva killed all of the city's mages for demonic possession, though the Seekers of Truth later found evidence that this may have been a cover-up of Knight-Captain Nicholas' crimes, who confessed to murdering over a hundred mages.[4] In retaliation, the Antivan Crows were hired to assassinate the Knight-Commander and his Knight-Captains.[5]
- 9:30 Dragon (conditional): The Fereldan Circle of Magi during Broken Circle. After the Circle was overrun by abominations following Uldred's rebellion, Knight-Commander Greagoir sent word to Denerim to ask Grand Cleric Elemena for additional templar reinforcements and the Right of Annulment. Depending on the Warden's actions, Greagoir may revoke his request for the Right of Annulment.
- 9:37 Dragon: The Circle of Magi in Kirkwall during the Kirkwall Rebellion. According to Knight-Lieutenant Karras, Knight-Commander Meredith Stannard requested the Right of Annulment directly from the Divine in Val Royeaux, and did so well in advance of any events that would have necessitated Annulment. Following Anders' destruction of the Kirkwall Chantry, Meredith invoked the Right of Annulment herself. Hawke can choose to protect the mages of the Gallows or help the templars carry out the Right.
- 9:40 Dragon: The Circle of Magi in Dairsmuid, Rivain.[6][7] When the other Circles rose up against the Templars, the Seekers were sent to the Dairsmuid Circle to investigate, and found them freely mixing with their families and training young women in the tradition of the seers. They denounced them as apostates and invoked the Right of Annulment.[8]
Codex entries[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 1, p. 81
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Codex entry: The Right of Annulment
- ↑ According to David Gaider's Forum posts 1 and Forum posts 2 on the now-deleted BioWare forum.
- ↑ Magehunter
- ↑ Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights, Eight Little Talons
- ↑ Dragon Age: Asunder, Chapter 22, p. 406
- ↑ Dragon Age: The World of Thedas, vol. 1, p. 102
- ↑ Codex entry: The Annulment at Dairsmuid
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