The Anchoress

For the quest action card in Dragon Age: The Last Court, see The Anchoress (Card).

“Come to put an end to the Shame's last mistake, have you?”

The Anchoress
Gender	Female
Class	Mage
Family	The Shame of Serault (father) Mother Half-brother Marquise of Serault (half-niece) Marquis of Serault (great half-nephew/ -niece) Unnamed Sibling of Marquis (great half-nephew / -niece)
Appearances	Dragon Age: The Last Court

The Anchoress is a strange woman who tends to the shrine of Masked Andraste at the Anchoress' Dell in Serault.

Background

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This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age: The Last Court.

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The Anchoress is actually the only daughter of the "Shame of Serault", the former Marquis of Serault. Thus, she is the great-aunt of the current Marquis of Serault. She describes herself as "the Shame's shame." The Anchoress is the bastard daughter of the Shame and an unknown Chantry sister from the Abbey of the Bans. Fearing that siring a bastard would provoke war with the Marquis of Alyons, the Shame's father in law, the Shame left the Anchoress out to die in the Applewoods. Two days passed before her mother rescued her.

Eventually, the Shame came to regret his action as his singular greatest mistake and went out of his way to provide for his daughter, visiting her often and sending her supplies. He even went so far as to instruct her in how to control her Magic. His last act was to leave her his staff.

Involvement

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This section contains spoilers for:
Dragon Age: The Last Court.

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The Anchoress potentially encounters her distant relative, the current Marquis of Serault, if the Marquis unseals the Chateau Serault Chantry, discovers the secret passage within, and follows it into the Anchoress' Dell. After talking with her, the Marquis can decide her fate.

If the Anchoress is accepted and brought to live at the Chateau with her kin:

Despite being given fresh clothes and all the trappings one would expect for an elderly noblewoman, she ultimately rejects them and transforms her tower into what amounts to an indoor version of where she once lived. She adopts a quiet lifestyle at the Chateau otherwise, avoiding the court and enjoying watching Serault bustle around her, sometimes taking supper with the Marquis.

As the Marquis remarks, you can take the Anchoress out the dell, but you can't take the dell out of the Anchoress.

If the Anchoress is arrested and imprisoned:

When Divine Justinia V discovers that the Chantry was broken into, she can be placated by handing over the imprisoned Anchoress as an apostate. The Anchoress will be taken away to be made Tranquil.

If the Anchoress is banished:

The Anchoress leaves with only some of her possessions (the brooch from her mother, the doll from her father). After her departure, the Marquis digs up her herb garden and clears out the cave, removing all trace of the Anchoress' presence.