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trant_book_n_curioA History of Lies - Fiction, History, and Sausage: 2
Dragon Age, Cullen & various chantry brother OCs, SFW
Cullen recalls a dispute over Kirkwall's history
.
2.
During my years in Kirkwall, I knew two brothers in the Chantry who argued endlessly over the events that sparked Threnhold’s Rebellion in 9:21.
The most well regarded historical account of Kirkwall’s years under Threnhold was written by Brother Genitivi. He based his work on extensive interviews conducted with Brother Mikel of Kirkwall.
Brother Mikel was old enough to be my grandfather. He had been born in Kirkwall and lived in the Chantry his entire life. Not only have I read Brother Genitivi’s account, I have heard Brother Mikel speak extensively on these matters. According to Brother Mikel, Threnhold’s Rebellion could be traced back to a problem that began a few years earlier.
In 9:17 at least forty percent of the goods that should have passed through Kirkwall’s port authority were brought into the city by the Merchants Guild’s smugglers. No matter how hard the City Guard tried to catch them, these smugglers remained a few steps ahead. This dwarven tax evasion scheme kept much needed funds out of the Keep’s coffers. Viscount Perrin Threnhold’s hand was forced. He had no choice. He raised import tariffs to make up the revenue lost to the black market. Yet, the more revenue lost to the black market, the higher taxes needed to go.
This set a series of events into motion, tumbling like dominos. High import tariffs angered Orlesian traders and enraged the nobility who financially backed them. The Orlesians refused to pay, so Threnhold retaliated by chaining the harbor shut. The government of Orlais responded with a threat of invasion. They pressured the Chantry to rally Kirkwall’s templars against Kirkwall’s civil government.
Obviously, Knight-Commander Guylian refused to interfere with civic political affairs but when Divine Beatrix III ordered the templars to do otherwise, Viscount Perrin Threnhold took the offensive. He hired a mercenary army who stormed the Gallows during the middle of the night. His mercenaries dragged Knight-Commander Guylian into the Gallows courtyard. They hung him from one of the statues. At that point the templars in Kirkwall were left with no other choice. They were forced to defend themselves. Meredith, who was knight-captain at that time, freed Kirkwall from decades of economic tyranny under the Threnholds. The harbor was reopened, Marlowe Dumar was appointed as the new viscount, and the exorbitant import tariffs were abolished. Trade flourished, wages doubled, and both the nobility and the working class hailed the templars as heroes. This is the story everyone from Kirkwall to Orlais knows. It was published in the 9:24 edition of Kirkwall: the City of Chains, written by Brother Genitivi.
Brother Alfonse of the Kirkwall chantry argued endlessly with Brother Mikel over this well-known telling of history. Brother Alfonse had spent most of his career searching through Kirkwall’s archives. He had collected a variety of inconclusive scraps from the Kirkwall City Guard’s reports, dating from 9:14 through 9:20. According to Brother Alfonse’s tabulations, the Office of the Viscount was fully aware of the correct monetary value contained within ninety-five percent of the cargo crates imported by the Merchants Guild. Yet, rather than tax this cargo appropriately, the Office of the Viscount chose to ignore a significant portion of the cargo.
Brother Alfonse theorized that the Merchants Guild struck a secret agreement with Viscount Perrin Threnhold, giving him justification for doubling import tariffs, and that he did this knowing that it would not only anger Orlais, it would threaten financial ruin among the noble houses across the Free Marches. Now, everyone knows that the Threnholds were tyrants and it is common knowledge that the Merchants Guild suffers from endemic greed, but most people find Brother Alfonse’s theory complete nonsense.
His theory hinges on a hypothesis that is labeled dubious by most people inside the Chantry and Brother Alfonse has never found a single piece of written evidence that definitively proves his hypothesis. Alfonse believes that the Merchants Guild colluded with Viscount Perrin Threnhold in a gamble to increase the power of Kirkwall’s Templar Order. Although it is clear even to a young child how the Merchants Guild benefits from an increased templar presence — after all, the dwarves control the lyrium trade and an increase in the number of templars means an increase in lyrium profits — this hypothesis fails to explain why Viscount Perrin Threnhold would ever agree to such a thing.
Since the year 7:60 Storm, Kirkwall has been ruled by a series of Orlesian noble lineages. In 8:05 Blessed, the Marchers ousted Orlesian bloodlines from the Viscountcy and from that point on, it became unthinkable in Kirkwall to allow an Orlesian-influenced military to gain power in the free city. Kirkwall took pride in its hard won independence for good reason. The city had suffered a long legacy of colonial rule. It was founded as a mining colony and a slave city for the ancient Imperium. For a few years Kirkwall became an occupied port for the Qunari and then, later, a colony of Orlais. By the time the city won its freedom, the Marchers of Kirkwall had lived through a millennia of foreign rule. This is why the templar army at the Gallows needed to remain on good terms with Kirkwall’s government.
When Kirkwall became a free city, its people drew a clear line between the Chantry and civic affairs. Such a decision wasn’t unheard of at that time. Outside of Orlais, many nations’ governments refused to allow the Chantry to involve itself in anything beyond the governance of magic. In Kirkwall, for the length of a century, this separation of powers proved beneficial for both sides. The templars concerned themselves with the regulation of magic. Kirkwall’s Keep regulated everything else.
This raises a question of why, after one hundred and eight years of independence, would a viscount of Kirkwall collude in secret to expand the Orlesian-backed templar army. This unanswered question is the main reason why most people find Brother Alfonse’s theory preposterous. Also, as Brother Alfonse’s detractors were always quick to point out, Threnhold’s Rebellion began with a blood-soaked battle between the viscounty and the templars. Shouldn’t that fact alone stand as proof that Threnhold did not enter a secret agreement to expand the Templar Order in Kirkwall? Even the College of Magi called Brother Genitivi’s account the definitive historical text on Threnhold’s downfall. His story is plain and simple: dwarven greed ran amok in Kirkwall and forced an already corrupt viscount’s hand. The Keep was on the verge of falling bankrupt, which forced Threnhold to raise tariffs. When the nobility denounced their tyrannical viscount, both the nobility and the working class begged the Chantry to intervene.
Kirkwallers who are a generation older than me assure me this story is true. Obviously, these events concluded a decade before I moved to Kirkwall. I was hardly four years old when Perrin Threnhold succeeded his father as Viscount and merely ten when Perrin was arrested for his crimes. Also, I am Fereldan, born and raised in Honnleath, so what would I have to say about foreign matters? Nothing. I had no reason to challenge it. Brother Genitivi’s historical account, based on interviews with Brother Mikel, has been well regarded since the year the account was published. In contrast, Brother Alfonse’s theory relied on evidence that could not be found. Most sensible people wrote off Brother Alfonse as a conspiracy theorist.
When I arrived in Kirkwall, I made a point of studying the city’s history. If the story of Kirkwall’s power struggle between the templar order and the Keep was precipitated by a failed, bankrupt government, why should I think the story wrong? After all, in 9:31 Dragon, both nobles and commoners alike still hailed Knight-Commander Meredith as the hero who saved Kirkwall from Threnhold’s iron grip of economic ruin.
Yet, today, an astute student of history might note that the events leading up to Threnhold’s Rebellion served as the opening moves of a chess game that culminated with the second storming of the Gallows in 9:37, which ended when yet another knight-commander was declared dead. That battle in Kirkwall is now seen as the event that sparked the Mage-Templar war.
.:.
A/N: The text above is based on and expands the four History of Kirkwall codex entries plus additional information about Kirkwall's history in World of Thedas vol. 2.
.:.
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Dragon Age, Cullen & various chantry brother OCs, SFW
Cullen recalls a dispute over Kirkwall's history
.
2.
During my years in Kirkwall, I knew two brothers in the Chantry who argued endlessly over the events that sparked Threnhold’s Rebellion in 9:21.
The most well regarded historical account of Kirkwall’s years under Threnhold was written by Brother Genitivi. He based his work on extensive interviews conducted with Brother Mikel of Kirkwall.
Brother Mikel was old enough to be my grandfather. He had been born in Kirkwall and lived in the Chantry his entire life. Not only have I read Brother Genitivi’s account, I have heard Brother Mikel speak extensively on these matters. According to Brother Mikel, Threnhold’s Rebellion could be traced back to a problem that began a few years earlier.
In 9:17 at least forty percent of the goods that should have passed through Kirkwall’s port authority were brought into the city by the Merchants Guild’s smugglers. No matter how hard the City Guard tried to catch them, these smugglers remained a few steps ahead. This dwarven tax evasion scheme kept much needed funds out of the Keep’s coffers. Viscount Perrin Threnhold’s hand was forced. He had no choice. He raised import tariffs to make up the revenue lost to the black market. Yet, the more revenue lost to the black market, the higher taxes needed to go.
This set a series of events into motion, tumbling like dominos. High import tariffs angered Orlesian traders and enraged the nobility who financially backed them. The Orlesians refused to pay, so Threnhold retaliated by chaining the harbor shut. The government of Orlais responded with a threat of invasion. They pressured the Chantry to rally Kirkwall’s templars against Kirkwall’s civil government.
Obviously, Knight-Commander Guylian refused to interfere with civic political affairs but when Divine Beatrix III ordered the templars to do otherwise, Viscount Perrin Threnhold took the offensive. He hired a mercenary army who stormed the Gallows during the middle of the night. His mercenaries dragged Knight-Commander Guylian into the Gallows courtyard. They hung him from one of the statues. At that point the templars in Kirkwall were left with no other choice. They were forced to defend themselves. Meredith, who was knight-captain at that time, freed Kirkwall from decades of economic tyranny under the Threnholds. The harbor was reopened, Marlowe Dumar was appointed as the new viscount, and the exorbitant import tariffs were abolished. Trade flourished, wages doubled, and both the nobility and the working class hailed the templars as heroes. This is the story everyone from Kirkwall to Orlais knows. It was published in the 9:24 edition of Kirkwall: the City of Chains, written by Brother Genitivi.
Brother Alfonse of the Kirkwall chantry argued endlessly with Brother Mikel over this well-known telling of history. Brother Alfonse had spent most of his career searching through Kirkwall’s archives. He had collected a variety of inconclusive scraps from the Kirkwall City Guard’s reports, dating from 9:14 through 9:20. According to Brother Alfonse’s tabulations, the Office of the Viscount was fully aware of the correct monetary value contained within ninety-five percent of the cargo crates imported by the Merchants Guild. Yet, rather than tax this cargo appropriately, the Office of the Viscount chose to ignore a significant portion of the cargo.
Brother Alfonse theorized that the Merchants Guild struck a secret agreement with Viscount Perrin Threnhold, giving him justification for doubling import tariffs, and that he did this knowing that it would not only anger Orlais, it would threaten financial ruin among the noble houses across the Free Marches. Now, everyone knows that the Threnholds were tyrants and it is common knowledge that the Merchants Guild suffers from endemic greed, but most people find Brother Alfonse’s theory complete nonsense.
His theory hinges on a hypothesis that is labeled dubious by most people inside the Chantry and Brother Alfonse has never found a single piece of written evidence that definitively proves his hypothesis. Alfonse believes that the Merchants Guild colluded with Viscount Perrin Threnhold in a gamble to increase the power of Kirkwall’s Templar Order. Although it is clear even to a young child how the Merchants Guild benefits from an increased templar presence — after all, the dwarves control the lyrium trade and an increase in the number of templars means an increase in lyrium profits — this hypothesis fails to explain why Viscount Perrin Threnhold would ever agree to such a thing.
Since the year 7:60 Storm, Kirkwall has been ruled by a series of Orlesian noble lineages. In 8:05 Blessed, the Marchers ousted Orlesian bloodlines from the Viscountcy and from that point on, it became unthinkable in Kirkwall to allow an Orlesian-influenced military to gain power in the free city. Kirkwall took pride in its hard won independence for good reason. The city had suffered a long legacy of colonial rule. It was founded as a mining colony and a slave city for the ancient Imperium. For a few years Kirkwall became an occupied port for the Qunari and then, later, a colony of Orlais. By the time the city won its freedom, the Marchers of Kirkwall had lived through a millennia of foreign rule. This is why the templar army at the Gallows needed to remain on good terms with Kirkwall’s government.
When Kirkwall became a free city, its people drew a clear line between the Chantry and civic affairs. Such a decision wasn’t unheard of at that time. Outside of Orlais, many nations’ governments refused to allow the Chantry to involve itself in anything beyond the governance of magic. In Kirkwall, for the length of a century, this separation of powers proved beneficial for both sides. The templars concerned themselves with the regulation of magic. Kirkwall’s Keep regulated everything else.
This raises a question of why, after one hundred and eight years of independence, would a viscount of Kirkwall collude in secret to expand the Orlesian-backed templar army. This unanswered question is the main reason why most people find Brother Alfonse’s theory preposterous. Also, as Brother Alfonse’s detractors were always quick to point out, Threnhold’s Rebellion began with a blood-soaked battle between the viscounty and the templars. Shouldn’t that fact alone stand as proof that Threnhold did not enter a secret agreement to expand the Templar Order in Kirkwall? Even the College of Magi called Brother Genitivi’s account the definitive historical text on Threnhold’s downfall. His story is plain and simple: dwarven greed ran amok in Kirkwall and forced an already corrupt viscount’s hand. The Keep was on the verge of falling bankrupt, which forced Threnhold to raise tariffs. When the nobility denounced their tyrannical viscount, both the nobility and the working class begged the Chantry to intervene.
Kirkwallers who are a generation older than me assure me this story is true. Obviously, these events concluded a decade before I moved to Kirkwall. I was hardly four years old when Perrin Threnhold succeeded his father as Viscount and merely ten when Perrin was arrested for his crimes. Also, I am Fereldan, born and raised in Honnleath, so what would I have to say about foreign matters? Nothing. I had no reason to challenge it. Brother Genitivi’s historical account, based on interviews with Brother Mikel, has been well regarded since the year the account was published. In contrast, Brother Alfonse’s theory relied on evidence that could not be found. Most sensible people wrote off Brother Alfonse as a conspiracy theorist.
When I arrived in Kirkwall, I made a point of studying the city’s history. If the story of Kirkwall’s power struggle between the templar order and the Keep was precipitated by a failed, bankrupt government, why should I think the story wrong? After all, in 9:31 Dragon, both nobles and commoners alike still hailed Knight-Commander Meredith as the hero who saved Kirkwall from Threnhold’s iron grip of economic ruin.
Yet, today, an astute student of history might note that the events leading up to Threnhold’s Rebellion served as the opening moves of a chess game that culminated with the second storming of the Gallows in 9:37, which ended when yet another knight-commander was declared dead. That battle in Kirkwall is now seen as the event that sparked the Mage-Templar war.
.:.
A/N: The text above is based on and expands the four History of Kirkwall codex entries plus additional information about Kirkwall's history in World of Thedas vol. 2.
.:.
... previous . next ...
go to Table of Contents
no subject
Date: 2015-07-29 05:30 pm (UTC)I read a bit about Meredith reminding Dumar of his place in WOT2, but beyond that and the broad strokes I don't know much about the rebellion. Does WOT2 provide depth (if you have read it?) or have you fashioned your own explanations?
I could honestly read about historians bickering all day.
no subject
Date: 2015-07-30 12:11 am (UTC)I have WOTv2 and I've been picking through it slowly, mostly via the index. WOT feels like the game and the codex in how it tells us a lot in broad strokes but leaves it to us (or future writing?) to fill in the reasons why. Over the past few years I've filled in some of the whys and hows through shared headcanon brainstorming sessions. Although, with DAI and WOTv2 out, I've felt a need to make sure nothing contradicts so, still making minor adjustments to my whys+hows.
Heheheh. The alt summary for AHOL really could be "people bickering endlessly about Kirkwall's and the Chantry's history." ;)