"Last time mages 'powered up'," and what an odd turn of phrase that is, "then we ended up with a world where those with magic must live in the shadow of the Tevinter magisters, as if they too share the blame for the horrors of the past. Though that would explain why the Chantry says mages must serve man in much the same way a prisoner serves a sentence when in the Circles. I do wonder what Andraste would think of them were she alive to see it."

At least out here in the world, the mages can actually do something a hell of a lot better than anyone save Grey Wardens; magic is best for fighting demons, something more able to match them and there are certainly plenty of them out there now.

"What happened to the elves is that after losing one home to Tevinter, they gained another and then Orlais felt threatened. There were skirmishes, battles, the elves prayed to their ancestors and not the Maker so they were regarded as heathens and then the Chantry called down an Exalted March of the faithful to crush them. Ever since the elves have remained in their alienages, impoverished and in service to humans, or roaming constantly as the Dalish do. Though here they may make something new for themselves, only time will tell." Try camping with Zevran as he waxes poetically about and old woman's bosom, it's a wonder they all survived the Blight.