The Orlesian Chantry

Beliefs of the Chantry

Andraste, wife and prophet of the maker wrote a series of teachings which became known as the Chant of Light and progenitor of the dominant religious force in all of Thedas, Andrastianism. There are two separate sects of this religion with the most dominant organization being the Orlesian Chantry located in southwestern Thedas. The Orlesian Chantry aims to spread the Chant of Light to all of the world in hopes that the maker will return once more, their belief being that the maker had abandoned humanity permanently after the second sin was committed in imperial magisters breaching the golden city, the seat of the maker, which caused it to turn black and heralded in the first blight.

Primarily because of this belief mages saw heavy persecution after the first blight had ended, winning only some independence after the events of the 2nd blight but still under the thumb of the newly formed Templar Order whose sole duty and mission is to watch over the mages and purge any in danger of becoming an abomination, real or imagined. They are able to do this with the help of lyrium, a mineral that is highly dangerous to mages, so much so that mere contact with it in its unrefined state would swiftly end the life of a mage. Templars ingest trace amounts of the mineral to augment their ability to battle the forces of magic, however it is not unheard of for a templar to become addicted to the substance and subsequently go mad. For a templar obedience and loyalty to the order comes above all else for one shall not waver in their duty for any reason, their duty is the will of the maker.

Despite the dominance of the Orlesian Chantry, it is by and large a belief that is held only by humans. Due to this the Chantry views all other races as in need of saving as they had turned from the maker to worship false gods.The quanari worshiping the Qun, the elves worshipping there own pantheon and the dwarves, the stone. This has caused persecution of all non-human across Thedas and especially in the primarily human kingdoms of Ferelden and Orlais where slavery of non-human races is common and seeing any willingly follow the chant is perhaps even more rare than the chance the maker will actually return.