Seekers of Truth

"When a Seeker steps from the shadows, templars run for cover—because why would he come unless the templars somehow failed in their duties?"

Introduction to the Seekers of Truth
This is an Andrastian order that are currently most often used at the behest of the Divine in Val Royeaux.

The organization continues to be a check and balance to the power of the Templar Order, acting in a secretive, investigative and interrogative capacity to root out corruption and protect the Chantry from internal and external threats.

The Seekers of Truth – more commonly referred to as Seekers – are a group of Templar Knights that have come to hold more influence than is commonly known in events across Thedas. They are utilised in a variety of ways but very little is known about their function nor their orders. This groups actions are rarely ever recorded into history books, however - the mage rebellion saw their status officially recognised for the first time.

Officially classified as "des agents de l'extraordinaire et gardiens de la mère pur empereur" the Seekers have spent much of their history accruing power and wealth through agreements with the rich of Thedas. It is very rare indeed to see a Seeker turned from the door of a wealthy household.

Purpose
"“The Seekers of Truth were once said to be shadow agents of the Divine, an order that had held their workings so secret that not even the Knight Vigilant knew their secrets, of how they were able to operate as overseers of the Templar Order. However the war changed many things, the actions of the apostate known as Anders the root cause for monumental change across Thedas and the very existence of the Seekers did not escape this ripple effect. They became much more than they once were, changing from overseers to handlers of the Templar Knights with influence so extensive that even whispers of contacts within the Tevinter Imperium have grown louder over recent years. We now know for sure that they operate in conjunction with the highest levels of both the Chantry and Templar Order and whilst their numbers do not match either organisation there can be no denying that the Seekers of Truth are arguably the most influential group of the many that hold sway in the war.”" - From the notes of a Chantry scribe

Seekers are still used to hunt down the most dangerous and elusive of maleficar, their role in the War a very important one. When the Seekers enter the fray the (corrupt) Templars are not the only one to run for the shadows. It is very difficult for the average mage to survive against even the least experienced of Seekers.

Methods & Structure
Having been traditionally tasked with both investigatory and security roles as a group, over time the Seekers have grown into specialists in all but the most remote of skillsets. They are leaders amongst most templars, fine-tuned for battling magi and non-magi alike, and equipped with the skills to negotiate with the sharpest of minds.

Each Seeker is given two superseding powers of command when at a templar base;


 * Assumes lead command of all knights.
 * Has the ability to promote any ranked knight.

These powers were not initially effective to either Swords or Shields, regardless of the location of the particular base; the authority of the powers were spread to include all templar knights as part of the Weisshaupt Accord.

Ranks

 * Lord Seeker
 * Seeker General
 * High Seeker
 * Seeker

Recruitment & Training
War has seen their wealth and power put to use by expanding the group, both recruiting and establishing training in each country of Thedas. They cherry pick very talented templars from each sub faction of the Order.

This group continues to grow even during the last four years of peace.

Specifically their training culminates in seeking "Tranquility" and bonding with a spirit. This is the source of a Seeker's Templar abilities and is why they do not need to use lyrium. Any Seeker recruited from the ranks of Templars have to be weened off their lyrium addiction before formally beginning their training.

History
The Seekers of Truth and the Templar Order were once known as the Inquisition, a group of people who fought against the threat of dark magic after the First Blight. Some accounts suggest that the Inquisition was always known as the Seekers of Truth and that they strove to restore order in a time of chaos through their even application of justice.

In the twentieth year of the Divine Age, the fledgling Chantry convinced the Inquisition to unite under the banner of their common faith. Upon signing the Nevarran Accord, the two organizations jointly created the Circle of Magi and established the Templar Order as wardens for the Circles and guardians over magic use. Under the Accord, senior members of the Inquisition formed the Seekers of Truth as they are known today.

Seekers are typically chosen from the elite ranks of the templars. In their roles as overseers of the Templar Order and the right hand of the Divine, they serve as the Chantry's investigators and are given considerable latitude to function outside the law. The leadership hierarchy of the Seekers runs parallel to that of the templars, although a senior Seeker outranks any templar.

At the breakout of the war they were tasked by the Divine to discover the truth behind the events of Kirkwall but soon found little of worth in their endeavours as the main players of those events all but disappeared. So it was that the war became their jurisdiction, the protagonists on either side of the battle lines their main concern.

The Seekers drew influence from various sources across Thedas to combine with their newly strengthened authority over the Templar Order, received by agreement from the Divine herself. With this power they grew their numbers, recruiting those men and women of great potential and established ability to form their group anew; they became an agency that could be most accurately compared to the Grey Wardens in terms of levels of individual brilliance and the Antivan Crows in terms of levels of collective power. They are not constrained as the Templar Knights are and so even the Divine cannot hold them from achieving the goals that she herself sets out by any means necessary.

With expansion came change in an entirely visual manner, their livery turning from black to white as they became a symbol for the pure deciding voice of the conscience of every Andrastian in Thedas.

It was as the war deepened across the first half of the destructive event that the Seekers gained a foothold in each land, sealing their influence even by proxy in others. They took command of Templar Knights by mere sight of their insignia and could slay magi even with lesser numbers. The white of the Seekers soon became a blazing sign of the Maker’s will as many a mage rebellion was quashed across all of Thedas.

Politics
The Seekers maintain direct oversight of Templar Order and have oversight of Swords and Shields; though the latter is dependent upon each situation. This is one of many issues at the heart of negotiations between all three groups.