"You're new to our lands. You don't know how strong the word of the Chantry is. The figure at its founding is the reason we are free to govern ourselves today, rather than still being a part of the Tevinter Imperium. As a result, you'll find very few figures of authority interested in turning their backs on the Chantry. And law does not require everyone to agree with it. It requires only a hand that can and will enforce it."

Which brings them around to her second, considerably less pleasant topic. There's a long pause as she considers how best to explain it, though being a mage? It's not going to be pretty for her, either way. "The Right of Annulment is a last, desperate act, when a Circle is proven to be beyond saving. The templars...the templars purge the inhabitants, to prevent any chance of a possessed or corrupted mage from escaping and wrecking havoc."

Her lips tighten together. "And it is every bit as horrifying as it sounds."