Gareth Bel'tel

"I serve the Spirit of the Order, its intent to protect everyone from the dangers of harmful magic."

~Sir Gareth on being a Templar.

History
Sir Gareth Bel’tel is the second son of the late Amalia Pentaghast and Hector Bel’tel. He was sent to join the Order at 13, this family already had their heir and had no need for another son, as his brother was married with a child on the way. His parents died in the Mage-Templar War, leaving his grandmother in charge of the Barony, she has named Iacob as her heir. He has not seen his home since he left it.

Gareth has an older brother, Iacob, who is the heir to their Barony and married to a noble lady from Nevarra City. They have a child on the way and are hoping for a boy. He also has a younger sister, Helena, who is mage. She is studying at the Circle Tower in Cumberland and hopes to become a Mortaltasi.

Gareth excelled in horsemanship and mounted combat. He was given a draft horse of good breeding by his family to serve as his mount. He prefers to use a long sword and shield, but is able to use a lance from horseback. He spent most of the Templar career under the guidance of his Knight-Captain in his home Barony, in the city of Docean. Docean is a large city that receives a lot of traffic from across the border (Tevinter) and also has a large garrison of Templar's to ensure that nothing nefarious is going on. Gareth often frequented the Red Light District as a form of distraction. Though the vast majority of his visits were just in the comfort of someone’s arms. He paid for time, whatever he needed at the time.

His family being one that consistently produces mages every generation Sir Gareth has a higher tolerance to the effects of Lyrium than normal. His addiction has not seemed to affect him as much as others his age, he is not sure if that is a blessing or a curse. Also during his time serving he was present for three Harrowings, one failed, which fell to him to execute the mage as he had the least attachment to the mage in question.

During the Mage-Templar War Gareth followed his commanders to Fereldan, following the Lord Seeker to Therinfal Redoubt. He had his own suspicions on what was going on there and supported Sir Barris’s decision to reach out to the Inquisition. However, the Lord Seekers disgraceful behavior in Val Royeaux forced Gareth to make a decision. He stayed behind and left with the Inquisitor, unable to follow where the Order was going because he knew in his heart that it was wrong.

The Inquisition provided him with the lyrium he needed to remain effective and active as a Templar. While seen as a necessary evil he was never unkind to the mages he encountered. He was kind, courteous and respectful. His intent was to protect both mages and non-mages from the dangers presented by the Breach. He has been willing to step between Templars and Mages before to de-escalate conflicts before they turned bloody.

Sir Gareth was injured by Darkspawn in the Western Approach, which turned into a nasty infection (taint), during the battle at Adamant. He continued to fight until the battle was done collapsing afterward. The only way to save him was the Joining, making him a Warden, but at least he wouldn’t die as a mindless ghoul. Although delirious from fever he agreed and went ahead with the Rite. He survived the rite and stayed with the Warden order as they set out to regain their orders honor, now he is coming to serve in Vigil’s Keep for the remainder of his days.

Personality
Gareth's experiences as a Templar have forever shaped the man that he became. As a child Gareth was introverted but eager to please his family and friends. When he was sent to the Order to become a Templar he applied that loyal and determination to please his peers into becoming a Templar. He was, in nearly all cases, a model student. He worked hard, listened to his tutors and excelled. His excellent memory had allowed him to memorize that entire Chant of Light, as well as everything else thrown at him.

This changed with the introduction of Lyrium and his formal induction into the Order. When his memory began to fail Gareth was distressed, when he tried to confide in the Chantry mothers he was told this was normal and would pass. No one told him it would only get worse with time. Now in ability to remember things is something that still distresses him but he combats this with writing everything he deems important down and keeps numerous diaries.

Growing up in the Order where they were training them to be soldiers meant that he was extremely touch starved. His tutors were not the most loving of individuals and as a result Gareth appears to be cold and distant only because he doesn't know how to ask for affection. Especially after the failed Harrowing, in which he had to kill the poor mage who was possessed, he doesn't believe that he deserves affection of any kind.

He is plagued with guilt, which has resulted in him using self-harm and pain to cope with the painful memories that he can remember. Mostly commonly Gareth bites his lips, to the point of bleeding, when he experiences high amount of emotional stress.

Since becoming a Grey Warden Gareth has felt like a burden to those that he serves under. He is useful as a Templar but with his failing memory and episodes of zoning out for hours at a time (in some cases) his previous command found him an unwanted burden on their resources. He has accepted that his post in Vigil's Keep will likely be his last and he will stay here until he perishes in the Deep Roads. Sadly he thinks about just going into the Deep Roads often to release everyone from the burden of caring for him, even before the Calling takes him.

Trivia
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 * Memory Lapses or Spacing out: Tends to forget small things, once they leave his hands he can’t recall where they are, he’ll be just standing somewhere staring off into space, or perhaps even walking into a room and forgetting why he went in there in the first place.
 * Self-Defeating Personality Disorder (SDPD):Also known as Masochism, characters that suffer from SDPD tend to associate feelings of pain and/or other feelings of discomfort. Gareth rationalizes pain and guilt as punishment for his"sins".  His ‘sins’ being killing mages who have failed Harrowings or on orders. He uses self flagellation to cleanse these sins.
 * Nightmares: He often has night-terrors in which he cannot be woken from, but has little to no recollection of the next day. He can be violent during these episodes.
 * Gareth is 5'10" and weighs 180 pounds.
 * He is silver flecks in his eyes which appeared after beginning to take Lyrium.
 * He has heterochromia, a portion of his blue eyes are brown.
 * Favorite Flower: Andraste's Grace
 * Favorite Food: Roasted Duck
 * Favorite Drink: Dwarven Ale
 * Gareth's mount is a draft horse by the name of Bess. He talks to her as if she is a person. She is not fond of strangers. She is combat trained to carry a rider into battle.
 * Family:
 * Iacob:  Iacob is Gareth’s older brother and despite being the eldest and heir to the Barony he hates Gareth.  This is due to Gareth having been their Grandmother’s favored child, even after he was sent to the Order, their Grandmother hoped that he would come home and run the barony.  Iacob has bribed Templars to assault him and tried to hire people to kill Gareth during the chaos of the war but he always seemed to survive.  Iacob still isn’t done trying to remove Gareth from the picture so that their grandmother is forced to focus on him.
 * Helena:  Helena is Gareth’s younger sister.  She is a mage in Cumberland, studying to become a Mortalissi.  Along with Gareth’s grandmother, Helena loves her brother very much and always seems to be able to find him.  She keeps in contact with them through couriers and often sends him packages of fine goods and clothing that the Order won’t provide.  She wishes she could be there with him to help take care of him, but her studies keep her in Cumberland.
 * Datala: Baroness Datala  is the current Baroness of the Badal Pol Barony.  She has governed the Barony since Gareth’s parents died soon after Helena was born.  She raised all three of her grandchildren and obviously favored Gareth for his gentle nature and strong sense of justice.  She was sad to see him sent to the Order, but it was the best for Iacob, who needed to be groomed to take over when she died.  Even if she would have rather chosen Gareth to succeed her.
 * Gareth's Personality Type: ISFJ-T