Cullen Rutherford

Cullen Stanton Rutherford

Cullen Rutherford is a former Templar, and Commander of The Inquisition.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Born in the Ferelden village of Honnleath, Cullen was the second eldest child of four. Mia was his elder sister, his brother Branson was younger, and his sister Rosalie was the youngest of them all. He was eight years old when he told his brother and sisters that he would become a Templar. Though his siblings took the proclamation playfully, Cullen's intentions did not waver. He started visiting the local chantry in Honnleath, asking the templars there to teach him anything they could. Honnleath had only a few templars, but they humored the boy and taught him basic sword techniques. From a young age, Cullen had a strong desire to enter a profession that helped people, and he refused to be swayed from the path he had chosen. Despite his siblings' initial teasing, Mia became Cullen's greatest supporter, insisting that the others help Cullen train. When he was thirteen years old, a visiting Knight-Captain took notice of Cullen's hard work and offered him the chance of formal training. His parents agreed to the request, as the Templar Order was known to be a respectable and honorable profession, and they wanted to give their son the opportunity to have a life he would be happy with. As most Templar recruits were taken in at a young age, Cullen, at the age of thirteen, was considerably older than the other recruits and less prepared than some. But any concerns of him falling behind his peers were quickly dispelled. Finding that the training was everything that he had imagined it would be, Cullen quickly caught up to the other recruits, matching them in their expertise. When the time came to take his final vows at the age of eighteen, Cullen was eager to pledge his life in service to the Maker and take the lyrium that would bind him to the Order. He finally achieved his childhood dream to become a Templar when he was assigned to the Circle Tower at Kinloch Hold, under Knight-Commander Greagoir. When the Blight came over the land, Cullen's family was forced to flee to South Reach. His mother and father did not survive. Cullen was the Templar assigned to execute Solona Amell and Alim Surana if they were to fail their Harrowings and become abominations. Cullen had feelings for Solona, and hated the idea of having to be the one to kill her. When Solona was taken to Aeonar following Alim and Solona's friend Jowan's escape from the Tower, Cullen committed himself to his duties and tried to put her out of his mind. When Uldred took over Kinloch Hold, Cullen was the last surviving Templar. Since Uldred was unable to break Cullen, he trapped him inside a magical prison to be dealt with later. It was there that the Warden, Kallian Tabris, encountered him, tortured and frantic. He tried to convince her to kill all the mages in the Harrowing Chamber, fearing that Uldred may have turned them all into abominations, or the rest had been turned into blood mages. Kallian refused, but returned to free Cullen after killing Uldred. Knight-Commander Greagoir sent Cullen to the Chantry at Greenfell to "level out" following the events at Kinloch Hold. Howevedr, Cullen was quickly reassigned to the Kirkwall Gallows, under the command of Knight-Commander Meredith Stannard. Cullen was promoted to Knight-Captain, Meredith's second-in-command. However, Cullen did not support the path that Meredith was leading the Templar Order down, as he confessed to Garrett Hawke. He maintained that the Order's purpose was not only to protect the population from magic, but also to protect the mages that the Templars are sworn to oversee. As a result, he began to have doubts about his loyalty to Meredith versus his loyalty to the Templar Order. Garrett first met Cullen on an investigation into missing Templar Recruits. Cullen also maintained that Ser Alrik's "Tranquil Solution" had been discussed among the Templars, and there were no plans to go through with it. Cullen alerted Garrett to the accusations against his friend, Guard Captain Aveline Vallen. Cullen and the other Kirkwall Templars attacked the Gallows after Meredith invoked the Right of Annulment. When Garrett Hawke sided with the Templars, he was asked to decide the fate of three mages who surrendered. When Garrett asked Cullen for his opinion, he questioned the necessity of annulling the Kirkwall Circle. He said the situation in Kinloch Hold was much more dire, and even then, they saved some of the mages. In response, Meredith asked Cullen if he would take responsibility if it was proven that their prisoners were blood mages, and Cullen answered that he believed that was what being a templar is all about. During the final confrontation with Meredith, Cullen ordered her to step down when she ordered the Hawke Twins executed, stating that they had agreed only to arrest the twins. Meredith accused him and the surviving Templars of being blood mage thralls and attacked; Cullen fought alongside the Hawke Twins to save the city. Following the Kirkwall Rebellion, Cullen rallied what remained of the city's templars - including Carver Hawke - and restored order. Seeing his potential, Cassandra Pentaghast recruited him into the Inquisition, granting him the rank of Commander. He leads the military arm of the organization and serves as the tactical adviser to the Inquisitor, Merai Lavellan. When asked now about his feelings about mages, Cullen admits that he has seen the suffering that magic can inflict, and has treated mages with distrust because of it in the past - sometimes without cause. He admits that it was unworthy of him, and says that he will try not to do so in the future. However, he still thinks that mages should be checked with safeguards to protect people - including the mages. Though he disagrees with the Templar Order's actions, he sympathizes with the Order's frustrations of having their work taken for granted by the Chantry. Cassandra and Leliana suggested approaching the rebel mages for help securing the Breach. Cullen disagreed, maintaining that it would be better to recruit the templars instead, fearing that pouring too much magic into the Inquisitor's mark may destroy them all. After Lavellan sealed the Breach with the aid of the rebel mages, Haven came under attack by The Elder One. Cullen led the defense, but ultimately, they were slowly outmatched and trapped by the enemy. Cullen suggested using the remaining trebuchets to cause an avalanche to bury Haven, and The Inquisition and their enemies along with it, until Chancellor Roderick revealed a secret pathway for them to escape. Cullen organized the evacuation, while Lavellan distracted Corypheus and his dragon. Once everyone was clear, he sent up a signal via fire arrow to let Lavellan know that the others were safe, at which point she triggered the destruction of Haven. She managed to escape and regrouped with the Inquisition. Lavellan led the Inquisition to Skyhold to set up their base of operations. Cullen rallied the warriors and others present to accept her as the official leader of the Inquisition. Cullen informed Lavellan that the Red Templar Order was being led by General Raleigh Samson, a man he had personal history with. Following Cullen's advice to investigate Samson, the Inquisition raided a quarry full of the Red Templars' red lyrium supplies and Cullen personally aided in the raid over the Shrine of Dumat- Samson's headquarters. Following the events of the Exalted Council, Cullen continued to serve as Commander of the Inquisition. He adopted a Mabari puppy, and established a sanctuary for former Templars who want to quit lyrium, or who have lost their minds to the addiction. He visits Greenfell Sanctuary often to help his former brothers however he can.

Mental Trauma

Cullen struggles with lyrium withdrawal, and has a standing agreement with Cassandra to remove him from duty should he prove a liability. His friend, Merai Lavellan, worked with him to fight his addiction.