Most of the fans will probably know about Project Aon (a collection of online versions of Joe Dever's Lone Wolf work) but just in case you don't:
http://www.projectaon.org/
http://www.projectaon.org/
Well Merrill is a sort of mystery, I agree that her apparent naivety is to link more with a different way of living she isn't used to. Perhaps the writers caricature it a bit too much. But the point is it let feel to be in total opposition with her courage to go against the whole clan for convictions. This putting her in a position between fanatics and people that have the courage to make stuff move despite all obstacles.
care to explain why?
i was talking about isabella
but now merril, she really is inconsistent, she is naive, forgetful, nervous and cannot see into other peoples motives very well yet she has a demon inside of her which have destroyed the minds and bodies of the most powerful mages yet she soehow has managed to exert enough control over the demon to retain herself. (and demons are masters of deceit)
i wouldn't be suprised if she was written by david gaider, seeing he wrote aerie from bg2seeing they share alot of similiarities
The major issue with dragon Age 2's story: it exhibits a defect in the Dragon Age Universe..
Sheehh now you post non codex like posts? The world is going mad, I always said it.
I agree it's a way to see Merrill, but look closely.
Didn't you listen too much the Fenris crap? Don't listen any word of him, he is obviously totally blind because of his hate and he is close to madness. I know Anders will say that too but again do you really think Anders is believable? One more totally blind because of his hate and madness but he hides it better than Fenris does.
So no, Merrill had no Demon inside her. No, Blood Magic doesn't require make a pact with a Demon, any people telling that and not mad is saying it from a second degree perspective looking at Blood Magic as pure evil.
But this is very far from truth. In case of Merrill quest and the point of view of the Archivist is that Merrill is in relation with the demon and the mirror and her quest of the past, and she thinks she will be manipulated by him. But the Archivist has too much love for Merrill and didn't learn have faith in her. Nothing proves the Archivist is right, no demon is in Merrill, and Merrill has the mental strength and purity to beat the demon at his own game particularly with the full support of Hawke. Yes this could have end in Merrill death and the Archivist took care it didn't happen, this time. But she steal Merrill her destiny. The truth is Merrill still has the mirror (for some quest alternatives) and enough determination to find any other demon and continue her quest. The Archivist attempt was so vain she understood nothing and that some values could worth the ultimate sacrifice of life. But no the Archivist stupid choice is pure egoism, but what Merrill was ready for and for what she was ready to, this had a totally other dimension. I really hope a DLC will allow her end her quest but I don't believe at all this DLC will ever be released.
Yeah probably Gaider give too many idea to this story but I'm bored of Gaider obsession to have dark or at least dark grey ends. In fact Merrill death but achieving her quest would have been an amazing end for her quest, very powerful emotionally, less dark in fact.
Well ok someone pointed me there's contradictory points about that in DAO. On one part the hero needs learn Blood Magic specialization from a demon. Something I had forget mainly because I used a mod to unlock specializations. So this is making a link with demons and blood magic. But on another way, Jowan seems have learn Blood Magic only by himself, without any pact with a demon.i thought she had a demon inside of her when she said ''Yes, it was blood magic, but I know what I'm doing. The spirit helped us, didn't it?''
she said that after destroying the magic barrier
Well ok someone pointed me there's contradictory points about that in DAO. On one part the hero needs learn Blood Magic specialization from a demon. Something I had forget mainly because I used a mod to unlock specializations. So this is making a link with demons and blood magic. But on another way, Jowan seems have learn Blood Magic only by himself, without any pact with a demon.
But in both cases, in no way it means the mage using Blood Magic means he is possessed by a demon.
But I do agree your quote that happen when Merrill opens a magical barrier involves confusion.
If I remember well blood magic is more deeply explained in DAO. And if I remember well the point is blood only and not at all demons. But there's two danger about it that have made it a forbidden magic. First the blood could not be the mage blood this allowing easy abuse at depends of someone else life, and this making a Blood Mage potentially more dangerous for normal humans. The second point was that through blood magic the mage was gaining more power and then was attracting more powerful demons making possession and transform in abomination more frequent.
But once again there's the facts, the superstitions and the second degree. One example in a spoil that despite what DA2 seems thrown to player this direct and necessary link between Blood Magic and demon and possession is far to be obvious:
When Orsino transforms in abomination as soon as he is using blood magic, that could be just a desperate and mad attempt to deliberately transform in abomination and use a special blood magic for that. Some quotes highlight he and some previous mage of Kirkwall was studying a special Blood Magic. This special Blood Magic could also be the explanation why so many Kirkwall Blood Mage are able to summon demonic entities.
Also right before he made this desperate choice, Orsino explains the case is lost because more templar will come is they ever win this fight. From his point of view he was going to die anyway.
So I do agree have Merrill mention a spirit is troubling, possibly a second degree answer about the Hawke remark, but possibly something else. But overall if there's a general explanation it's more that in Kirkwall a special blood magic get developed and spread, there's many hints about that. But in no way I see how Merrill could be linked with that special Blood Magic. And once more Blood Magic never mean have an inner demon.
In another comment, I listed some of the occurrences breaking the illusion (spoilers warning is global)The argument about having an apostate walking under the nose of templar and don't believe it is an argument based on robes and staff. In fact only the staff is for the player an identification point, not even the robes.
DA:O is a totally different setting.But the point is it's clearly not an identification proof for the game world conventions only using magic is. And I don't remember in DAO mages was identified at sight because of carrying a staff. If during introduction the Templar point apostate it's because he saw them using magic.
It goes way beyond that the total templar inaction.I don't think the game transgress this, the only cases it happens in my play aren't always directly explained by the game but then you learn later good reason why this or this Templar didn't denunciate you before you had become the herault of the town. But at this point you are untouchable and your companions with you too.
Your second point is about blood magic, but again there's no way to identify a mage is using blood magic or is already possessed by a demon. Only saw him using blood magic or currently possessed are the proof of that. And clearly it didn't happened in cases you quoted.
But I do agree with you that the game convention for which someone with a staff isn't a point of identification of mage at sight, is a hard convention to accept. But it's a convention.
If you don't accept this convention then yes the game is broken but if you do, then it's quite different. And really the game gave you many points showing this convention, like this NPC or this NPC not identifying you as a mage because of your staff… until he see you using magic.
It is not about Meredith. Meredith is an extremistic templar.
The Templar normal purpose is to monitor mages, to prevent the exercise of magic outside the order supervision. This by religious beliefs.
Meredith and kirkwall make the matter worse as they are supposed to be extremelly oppressive, even by templar standards.
Spoilers? more advertizing for the game. People need teasers. And they are teasers. Nothing that can not be found in a Bioware promotional…