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OC Musings: The Champion & The Inquisitor
Sep. 30th, 2019 10:16 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fereldanwenchAnsley Hawke and Melisande Trevelyan don’t spend much time together, but during the little time they are around one another, there is notable tension.
Although plenty of rumors and stories about Kirkwall reached Ostwick, Melisande refrained from forming solid opinions about the Chantry explosion and the ensuing bloodshed in the Circle. She suspected there was a lot of misinformation in the wake of the event, and Melisande generally took the position that magic needed to be contained, which was a job for the templars. As far as she was concerned, curbing unchecked magical power and helping the needy were the only things the Chantry was good for.
After hearing firsthand accounts from Ansley and Varric, however, Melisande felt that Ansley played a bigger role in the catastrophe than she originally assumed. Melisande thought someone with Ansley’s influence should have been more responsible and diligent in her local communities, using her status as Champion to squelch conflict rather than using it to get (to steal a line from Ansley’s girlfriend) “giggles and gold.” She didn’t understand not seeking a higher authority when Meredith started to lose control, or rallying the nobility to put her in a position of true authority. She couldn’t fathom not turning Anders into the templars before he could act.
Melisande sees some reparation in Ansley’s efforts to disrupt Corypheus’ plans, but she overall regards Ansley as someone who wants to look the other way while the world falls apart, hoping if she closes her eyes long enough someone else will fix the problem. She was reckless, short-sighted, and forgiving to a fault, and the rest of Thedas suffered for it.
Conversely, Ansley was largely unfamiliar with Melisande prior to meeting her in Skyhold. She did recall the occasional gossip among Kirkwall’s nobles, chatter about the youngest Trevelyan breaking the family’s tradition of serving the templars and instead turning her attention to fortifying Ostwick’s army, but Ansley had little opinion herself–She was never interested in the affairs of nobles and royals, even when she found herself brushing shoulders with them. Aside from Varric’s letters, that was the extent of Melisande’s reputation from Ansley’s perspective.
But Varric’s descriptions didn’t really prepare Ansley for the woman she met. What he described as “charming,” Ansley read as “manipulative.” What he said made her a “strong leader,” Ansley saw as making her more of a “power-hungry control freak.” Although Melisande had a disarming smile and a warm voice, her decision to re-brand the Templars and Grey Wardens under her Inquisition unsettled Ansley. She seemed to care less about the people who served under her and more about enforcing her vision for a disciplined world.
Ansley sees Melisande as every other authority figure she had ever met: obsessed with order at any cost. Melisande is far too eager to become the law of the land, even willing to perpetuate beliefs she herself doesn’t share if it will grant her command.
Although plenty of rumors and stories about Kirkwall reached Ostwick, Melisande refrained from forming solid opinions about the Chantry explosion and the ensuing bloodshed in the Circle. She suspected there was a lot of misinformation in the wake of the event, and Melisande generally took the position that magic needed to be contained, which was a job for the templars. As far as she was concerned, curbing unchecked magical power and helping the needy were the only things the Chantry was good for.
After hearing firsthand accounts from Ansley and Varric, however, Melisande felt that Ansley played a bigger role in the catastrophe than she originally assumed. Melisande thought someone with Ansley’s influence should have been more responsible and diligent in her local communities, using her status as Champion to squelch conflict rather than using it to get (to steal a line from Ansley’s girlfriend) “giggles and gold.” She didn’t understand not seeking a higher authority when Meredith started to lose control, or rallying the nobility to put her in a position of true authority. She couldn’t fathom not turning Anders into the templars before he could act.
Melisande sees some reparation in Ansley’s efforts to disrupt Corypheus’ plans, but she overall regards Ansley as someone who wants to look the other way while the world falls apart, hoping if she closes her eyes long enough someone else will fix the problem. She was reckless, short-sighted, and forgiving to a fault, and the rest of Thedas suffered for it.
Conversely, Ansley was largely unfamiliar with Melisande prior to meeting her in Skyhold. She did recall the occasional gossip among Kirkwall’s nobles, chatter about the youngest Trevelyan breaking the family’s tradition of serving the templars and instead turning her attention to fortifying Ostwick’s army, but Ansley had little opinion herself–She was never interested in the affairs of nobles and royals, even when she found herself brushing shoulders with them. Aside from Varric’s letters, that was the extent of Melisande’s reputation from Ansley’s perspective.
But Varric’s descriptions didn’t really prepare Ansley for the woman she met. What he described as “charming,” Ansley read as “manipulative.” What he said made her a “strong leader,” Ansley saw as making her more of a “power-hungry control freak.” Although Melisande had a disarming smile and a warm voice, her decision to re-brand the Templars and Grey Wardens under her Inquisition unsettled Ansley. She seemed to care less about the people who served under her and more about enforcing her vision for a disciplined world.
Ansley sees Melisande as every other authority figure she had ever met: obsessed with order at any cost. Melisande is far too eager to become the law of the land, even willing to perpetuate beliefs she herself doesn’t share if it will grant her command.
