Shield Templar Knights

> *“They are called warriors, in the pure sense of the word. Many people see them as saviours, soldiers in a war that we cannot fight ourselves. Yet so much has happened thanks to the war and now many people question why they continue to fight as they do.*
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> In the early part of the fifth decade of the Dragon Age the militant organisation known as the Templar Order was sundered by the choices – and actions – of its many members. The Knights once tasked with protecting both world from magi and vice versa were now soldiers turned fully against their perennial wards, the battles they fought spurred on by the need for victory so that the world could be safe once more. In the midst of these battles many Knights forged a hatred for the magi and were convinced that all magic users who chose to fight ought to be destroyed, whilst the rest needed imprisoning; these were called Swords. Other Knights felt deep shame and regret for turning their backs upon the Chantry and so returned to their duties as they once were; these were called Traditionalists and would come to dominate the ranks of all templars. Some simply disappeared, their minds and souls having been left empty by the vagaries of war and these were mostly called traitors.
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> *And lastly we come to those who did not leave their initial purpose, those who were not swayed so much by external forces but still believed in fighting this war and sought victory with ties to neither Chantry nor the benefactors of the Swords. These were called Shields and to this day prepare for what they believe is the inevitable recurrence of the war.”*
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- Chantry scribe, University of Denerim

The Shield Templar Knights are a group of templar soldiers who have not strayed from the original calling to which all templars answered in the wake of the destruction of the Chantry at Kirkwall. They are bound as brothers and sisters by the blood of war and still prepare for the day that once again forces of templar and magi seek to destroy each other openly across all of Thedas.

Where the Swords rarely conform to the orders of the Chantry the Shields are often open to its influence, though they still mostly obey the orders of Templars themselves. As the signing of the Weisshaupt Agreement neared it became apparent to both the Chantry and the Traditionalist Templar Knights that even though the Shield Templar Knights still refused the binding with the Chantry and to forego the war they were not enemies. Indeed, the Chantry and those templars returned to it saw a great opportunity for an alliance to further hold against rebel magi and Swords alike. Thus it became that the Traditionalists and Shields became bound by an agreement which saw the latter retain their autonomy from the Chantry whilst agreeing to operate with Traditionalists in an effort to hold back the chaos caused by the rebel magi.

Shield Templars are steadfast in their duty and though they do not follow the orders of the Chantry every member continues to follow the Andrastian doctrine. It is a commonly held belief that the Shields are more devout than their Traditionalist brethren, though there is no definitive measure of such a thing.

The Knights of this group are marked by imprints - a symbol representing the company they are a assigned to - that are made by non-Chantry individuals whose identities are kept confidential as part of the agreement between the Shields and the Traditionalists. These imprints are marks of war and Shields see them as confirmation that they are in the company of those to whom they are joined by the blood of war, of the promise made before the eyes of the Maker.

Their promise is thus:

*There shall be no relent from the evils of war,*

*No Light shall save us from the darkness we face,*

*No Fire to turn back our enemy.*

*We are the Shield of the Maker,*

*Burdened with glorious purpose to defeat the enemies of freedom and liberty,*

*So that his Light may pierce the darkness that threatens to overwhelm us all once again.*

*We are split from our Host,*

*Blind in the darkness that awaits us,*

*Lives foregone and sundered until the day of victory is reached.*