Cullen

Cullen's family began to raise horses after the Orlesian occupation, and supplied everything from plow animals to steeds for the nobles as time went on. He was one of two other boys, so it wasn't a struggle with his parents when he decided at eight years old he wanted to be a templar. They made him wait until he was fourteen to make absolutely sure it wasn't a boy's flight of fancy, but they finally allowed it on his fourteenth birthday. He went into it with a head full of dreams of protecting people from everyting between abominations to zombies. Reality and maturity changed that, of course, but he still loved his duty. He trained hard and seriously, and his instructors found he had an uncommonly strong willpower, even for a templar. Because of it, he was considered a great prize to the Order, as it was believed he'd have a slight edge at keeping low levels of mind control from taking him when a weak minded individual would fall into their traps.

Cullen trained at Denerim, and loved his new home when he was transferred to the Circle Tower. He always had a strong camaraderie with his fellow templars, and took took his training very seriously. In spite of that, he was he was never particularly ambitious, and more focused on the spirit of what the Order stood for. He assumed he'd spend his entire life in the Ferelden Circle, protecting the mages as well as making certain none of them became Abominations. The thought of such monsters never actually troubled him until he heard some graphic stories about a failed Harrowing, but Bran dispatched the thing with such professional accuracy that Cullen never feared the templars would manage such a monster should a mage fail in their own discipline and become one. A social young man, he liked to play chess with templars or mages alike in the common room, read, and trade stories about what was going on between his few leisure days.

He had ideals that mages and templars could work together on friendly terms, and particularly began to grow fond of one beautiful mage named Solona. Although he'd never betray the rules of the Order, he never could completely put her out of his mind, and enjoyed talking to her in the hallway whenever he had the chance. When flustered, he has the tendency to stutter, particularly because he was shy around women his own age who he thought were pretty.

Unfortunately, Knight-Commander Greagior noticed Cullen's fascination for Solona, and devised a test to be certain of the young man's loyalty to the Order. If Solona failed her Harrowing, Cullen was to be the one who delivered the killing blow to end her life.