"I think they must know. A mage's only choices are to successfully complete the Harrowing, be possessed by a demon and therefore killed by Templars, or to become Tranquil." And here a sudden thought comes to Ellana's mind.

"I know some volunteer for Tranquility and others have it forced upon them, but I never considered what happens to them after. If they stay in the same Circle, then their friends obviously see them. Maybe the apprentices thought that was the result of failing a Harrowing: you became Tranquil."