One of the many secondary antagonists of Dragon Age: Inquisition, Calpernia holds a significant role in the game’s narrative as a powerful Tevinter Mage and Corypheus’ Lieutenant. Depending on the player’s choices; choosing to complete the Champions of the Just questline, over In Hushed Whispers; she will reveal herself and trigger her subplot, where players will learn all about her motivations and intentions in serving the Elder One. This will eventually culminate in a confrontation with the player, wherein they must face off against her powerful influence and ultimately decide her fate.
History
Sold into slavery at a young age, Calpernia lived a life of servitude to a multitude of masters with little to go on when it came to her past or even her true name. Inspired by the stories of the first Archon of Tevinter, Darinius the Ferryman, and impressed by his power and intelligence, Calpernia exonerated his memory by taking his mother’s name as her own. In reverence to all that the woman had once accomplished, she aspired to be just like her and hoped that one day she could be worthy of the name she chose.
While serving Magister Erasthenes, a scholar of the Old Gods, Calpernia obediently tended to her duties with a determination very few of her counterparts had. Teaching herself how to read and write, a little at a time, Calpernia’s voraciousness for learning grew as she got older. Her determination to learn eventually garnered the attention of her Master; as he took notice of her potential; and when Calpernia began to show signs of magical abilities, he put aside his research to teach her properly -only to give up not long after. Irritated by his lack of enthusiasm, Calpernia did what she could to teach herself the ways of magic on her own and strived to be better than those around her.
Motivations
On the surface, Calpernia may seem like a one-note villain to most players. A mirror to Sampson, merely there to counter the choice of siding with the mages, but, just like Sampson, she is a character with a rich backstory and motivations. Growing up in Tevinter as a slave, Calpernia saw first-hand how people were treated, how corrupt the system was, and how it would take a great deal of work to fix. She balked at the mistreatment of slaves, most of all, and exalted the days of the old Imperium -when sacrifices meant something, and the loss of life always had a purpose. This spurred her to aspire to something better, a way to restore the Imperium of old.
“To see her reborn,” Calpernia explains, when confronted by the Inquisitor and questioned about her motivations, “Slaves allowed their true potential, corruption excised. Tevinter was the cradle of civilization, imagine what her future could be: a crafter of wonders, standing against the savage Qunari, a beacon for all.”
Questline
Calpernia’s inclusion in the story of Dragon Age: Inquisition is predicated on specific choices players must make early in the game. The first choice that will determine the course of the game is to choose between the branching story arcs of the In Hushed Whispers questline or Champions of the Just. Completing the former means choosing the mages as allies and will prompt Corypheus to corrupt the Templars. The latter does the opposite, allowing the player to pick up the Templars as allies, and thus triggering the Calpernia quest line.
Walkthrough
The first time the soon-to-be Inquisitor encounters Calpernia is at the beginning of the assault on Haven after the completion of the quest In Your Heart Shall Burn -wherein the player finally closes the Breach with the help of the Templars. After the town’s destruction, and the move to Skyhold, the full map of southern Thedas opens, allowing Leliana to inform the player about her suspicions and charge them to investigate her—the first stop: the home of a Tevinter Slaver: Vicinius.
When the Inquisitor arrives, they find the place utterly ransacked and destroyed. For the investigation that follows, the player picks up three pieces of a memory crystal; that when repaired reveals that Calpernia killed Vicinius for abusing the slaves she had bought and freed from him previously. Under more investigation, Dagna, the Inquisition’s Arcanist, tinkers with the same crystals and triggers a projecting expositing on an interaction between Calpernia and Corypheus. This reveals that the latter intends to use her as a vessel for something unknown and that she does not fully trust the blighted Magister.
Shrine of Dumat
Further projections explain that Calpernia had once requested to train at a Shrine of Dumat, but Corypheus had denied her. Soon after, the crystal is destroyed leaving the Inquisition with one lead: investigating the shrine. At the heart of Dumat’s shrine, the player will come across Calpernia’s former master, Magister Erasthenes, bound by magic and forced to speak the truth or suffer horrendous pain. He reveals that Corypheus intends to do the same to Calpernia once she has become his vessel, before begging the Inquisitor to set him free -thus killing him in the process.
Culmination
The Calpernia questline ends at the culmination of the Arbor Wilds’ quest, What Pride Had Wrought, as the Inquisitor finally confronts the would-be Keeper of the Well of Sorrows, face to face inside the Temple of Mythal. Here the player must decide what to do with her: either tell her about Corypheus’ plan to bind her -thus re-enslaving her once more -or kill her outright.
Should the player choose the former, they will hand over evidence (if properly looted in the Shrine of Dumat) that confirms their accusation and convinces Calpernia of the Elder One’s plans. She becomes furious at the implications and refuses to oppose the Inquisitor any longer; stating that she will confront Corypheus herself, and if she survives, return to Tevinter.
Aftermath
Not much is known about what happens to Calpernia after the events at the Temple of Mythal. The only additional information players get is from the Dragon Age: Magekiller comic. Following BioWare’s own canon, the comic tells the story of Calpernia reuniting with her lover, and former slave, Marius. At their reunion, she learns that Archon Radonis, the current leader of Tevinter, has charged Marius to assassinate her. To her great joy, Marius refuses to fulfill his orders, and with Calpernia’s help, she safely smuggles him out of Tevinter and spares him from the Archon’s wrath.
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