The Return of Cassandra in Dragon Age: Inquisition

GameInformer is offering a new editorial on the return of Dragon Age II’s quasi-narrator Cassandra in its sequel, Dragon Age: Inquisition, and offers a few reasons to explain why that’s a good call on BioWare’s part. Here’s a snippet:

Overcoming Her Past

Cassandra has a complicated relationship with mages, which is part of why she joined up with the Seekers of Truth. When she was young, a blood mage killed her brother before her eyes, and ever since she’s held a grudge against all mages. In Dawn of the Seeker, she started to realize that not all mages are bad, but she’s still extremely cautious around them. After all, she’s seen the ugly side to magic firsthand and knows that too much power in the wrong hands is catastrophic.

With her views beginning to change, it will be interesting to see how much her past plays a role in her ideals in Dragon Age: Inquisition. I suspect her brother will come up at some point; he’s the reason she keeps a watchful eye over the mages. At the start of Dragon Age: Inquisition, the Chantry and mages are at war, but the Templars and the Seekers of Truth have also broken away from the Chantry. I imagine watching the whole system come crashing down won’t be easy for Cassandra, and I wonder how she feels about the Chantry. After all, the Seekers of Truth must have broken off from them for a reason, and maybe she’s part of the reason.

Where Will She Stand?

I’m most looking forward to finding out Cassandra’s true feelings on everything. What is her perspective on the Chantry, mages, and the Maker? As noted earlier, she was already starting to change her stance on many of her convictions. Some time has passed since the events of Dragon Age II, and BioWare already hinted that Cassandra has had time and experience to reassess her views. Creative director Mike Laidlaw told us, “To some degree, I think that Cassandra undergoes probably the biggest transformative arc of any character in Dragon Age II.”

I think back to the words Cassandra’s mentor left her with in Dawn of the Seeker: “Hate will only breed more hate.” I don’t think she’ll be happy with all the conflicting sides and the ugliness that’s occurring in Inquisition. I’m guessing she’s had enough time to reevaluate her animosity and her focus will be on what’s more important: peace. Watching how she’s grown and finding out the why behind the change in her ideals should be exciting in its own right.