Therminn Danforth
"Thinking there can ever be equality between mages and [everyone else] is preposterous. They are not like you and me. They are like fire, waiting to burn and destroy anything that gets close. A lone man with a blade can only inflict so much harm before being stopped. A single man with magic can light a city on fire in a fit of rage."Ser Therminn Danforth was a Knight-Divine of the Templar Order and was the highest ranking member in Ferelden during his lifetime. He was a key participant in the Danforth Incident, an event whose ramifications are still felt even today. His terribly corrupted corpse is entombed within several feet of rock and iron in the courtyard of Fort Drakon in Denerim.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
The Danforths have a long ancestry of being mighty warriors and notable knights. Therminn's great-great-grandfather fought in many battles between the Avvar when they invaded the territory of the low-lander Alamarri near Lake Calenhad. His great-great grandfather was given the nickname "Thunder Heart" when he supposedly yelled so loudly during a battle in the Frostback Mountains that he caused an avalanche that buried all of the Avvar who opposed him. Therminn's grandmother, Alarra Danforth, took up arms against the Orlesian occupiers during the Ferelden Rebellions. She, with the help of those she rallied, successfully drove the occupiers from her family's holding.
Therminn's parents heard the Chant of Light following Ferelden's liberation. Both of Therminn's parents felt themselves too old to want to begin a new life in the Order, but gave each of their children the chance to either join the Chantry or to join the Templar Order. Each, hoping to carry on the legacy of their ancestors, joined the Order and were sent to Orlais' White Spire to train. They returned several years later.
Therminn's first assignment as a Templar seemed quite straightforward: investigate rumors of apostasy near Dragon's Peak. The mission turned into a chaotic brawl involving a cult of maleficarum, a pride demon, a Dalish clan, a pair of Seekers of Truth, and two Goliaths enslaved by magic. Therminn's cool head proved instrumental in leading his squadron to victory and protecting innocent parties embroiled in the affair.
For quite a while, many around him saw his career as a Templar as one of great success while he constantly rooted out threats against the Chantry, Circle of Magi, and the Templar Order. Through his actions, he regularly proved himself to be one of the best members in Ferelden, if not across all of Thedas. Not long after the Ferelden Civil War began, Divine Justinia V personally promoted him the title of Knight-Divine after a recommendation came from the Knight-Vigilant for such action to be taken.
When he received this promotion, he overruled his two previous cohorts, the two other Knight-Commanders of Ferelden. They had wished for leniency with respect to the mages of Ferelden's Circle, but Danforth was strict and, to those who opposed him, merciless. This was inspired by his previous role as Knight-Commander where he was tasked with bringing rogue mages back to the Circle and handling extreme cases of maleficarum. More and more over the course of the year and a half of him being Knight-Divine, Danforth started to seem crueler and began believing that many of Ferelden's Circle mages had been resorting to blood magic.
This came to a head when a powerful blood mage, the Circle's Senior Enchanter no less, submitted to blood magic and transformed many mages within the Circle into abominations. This event only stooped Danforth further into his corner of believing all mages reckless, stupid, and conspiring against him.
When the Circle had to relocate to Fort Drakon, Danforth and the Circle's First Enchanter were often seen butting heads in the streets of Denerim. Their arguments often got heated and regularly came close to violence, but always deescalated thanks to Revered Mother Elthina's intervention. This came to a head when a mage blew up Denerim's Chantry and killed the Revered Mother. Stone and rock fell from the skies, destroying much of the city, and upon witnessing this mage's actions Danforth called for the Right of Annulment upon all of the mages within Denerim. He supposedly decided to do so because he knew that it would minimize casulaties: either his Templars deal with the mages or otherwise the citizens would try to extract their own violence against the mages.
He brought the entirety of the order that was present in the city into an all out war in Denerim against Ferelden's mages, beginning what is now referred to as the Danforth Incident. During this conflict, many were slaughtered on both sides as well as neutral civilians. King Flume, along with several other Wardens, eventually came to the aid of Ferelden's mages. They demanded Danforth step down and call of the Right of Annulment. Danforth vehemently denied, knowing what had to be done.
Danforth called upon his fellow Templars to subdue King Flume and the Wardens, but none did. This occurred because the Wardens had questioned Danforth's sanity and their words were starting to influence some of the Templars that indeed their Knight-Divine may have been a bigger threat to Ferelden than any mage. After his second-in-command relieved him of his title, Danforth angrily accused all of his templars of being enthralled by blood magic. He unsheated a blade made of some unknown substance which is now referred to as "red lyrium". Danforth battled against the Warden high-command while wielding the red lyrium sword which granted him supernatural abilities that far exceeded what any man should've been capable of. Many hypothesize that the red lyrium had some unnatural and corrupting effect on his mind. It is unclear where he obtained this red lyrium from.
When it became apparent he was going to lose, Danforth refused to accept defeat and attempted to draw more power from the sword. Instead, the sword exploded and the lyrium sank into his skin, petrifying him in the courtyard. Due to its sickening aura, a dwarven stonemaster working for the Wardens decided to entomb Danforth's petrified corpse under several feet of stone. He later came back and built a several feet thick iron box that surrounds the stone, since people claimed they were still feeling that sickening aura through the stone.
Morality & Philosophy
Danforth saw the dichotomy of mage and templar to be one of necessity. Especially after having seen all the terrible things that maleficarum could do, Danforth knew that it was impossible for mages and normal people to ever live together. It was necessary for mages to be locked away and on a short leash.
He acknowledged the frightening reality that even the most willful and powerful mage could be overcome by demonic possession due to their connection with the Fade, even if the mage was unwilling. In a moment's notice, that "mage" could burn down an entire house or even an entire city block if they were possessed by something so powerful.
His beliefs were based in part on historical evidence. The one well-known civilization that allowed mages to run free was the Tevinter Imperium and, not surprisingly to Danforth, they built an entire empire based on the glorification of mages. The mages of the Imperium knew that they were better and more powerful than others due to the lack of restriction. In the pursuit for more and more power, those mages unsurprisingly became obsessed with blood magic and demons, knowing that it could give them just a bit more power. If unchecked, Danforth strongly believed this was the inevitable fate of mages.
Social
Contacts & Relations
Therminn and Meredith Stannard spent a lot of time together during his final two years. They both had spoken publicly, saying that they saw eye-to-eye on many different topics troubling their minds. It is somewhat unsurprising that during the time of their interactions, Therminn had been shifting his policies to be more in line with how Meredith ran the Templar Order in Kirkwall.
A bard from Orlais named Philliam wrote a short book about some of the Danforth family's more prominent ancestors. Each chapter is dedicated to one particular event that made that individual memorable. Therminn's great-great grandfather's tale can be found in the chapter Thunder Upon the Mountains!, while Therminn's tale can be found in the chapter The Battle for the Heart of Dragon's Peak!.
Relationships
Ethnicity
Honorary & Occupational Titles
ex-Knight-Divine
Circumstances of Death
Spouses
Siblings
Children
Aligned Organization
Other Affiliations
Comments