Knight-Enchanter Elena

Knight-Enchanter Elena is the wife of Bann Cullen Rutherford of Caer Bronach and former commander of the Inquisition's battle mages during the fight against Corypheus. She is the granddaughter of the Banns Trevelyan and was educated at the Ostwick Circle.

Childhood and education
Elena was born in 9:18 Dragon at Nanveran House on the Duloe estate to Lord Robert Duloe and Lady Elena Trevelyan. She entered the Circle at the age of four due to the strong magic in her bloodline, and announced a desire to join the Templars from an early age. The Circle's Templars began to train her when she was six, and continued despite her magic manifesting at the age of seven. By the time she was fifteen she was one of the Circle's top Maff players as well as an accomplished archer and duelist who competed in five different competitions at the Grand Tourney that year. When she was eighteen she was permitted to travel to Tantervale to represent Ostwick in the melee, where she completed three rounds without any suggestion that she had used her magic.

Her aunt, Inquisitor Evelyn First-Thaw and younger siblings, Erica and Earnest also studied at the Circle during this time, and Earnest remained with the Templars and joined their ranks whilst the two women left to continue their studies outside. Elena, known as Ellie to most, was a well-liked and well-respected pupil, apprenticed to Senior Enchanter Lydia and the school of Knight Enchanters.

The Mage Rebellion
Through her aunt, Elena was involved in the Mage Underground in Kirkwall as early as 9:34 Dragon when she began a correspondence with Anders. She was one of the first to see his manifesto and contributed significantly to its development, then authored the first draft of the Declaration of Mage Rights in collaboration with the apprentices of the Ostwick Circle. Knight Commander Roland permitted even apprentices to write to other Circles, so Elena was soon communicating frequently with circles throughout Thedas, and formed particularly close friendships in the Minrathous, Dairsmuid, Orzammar and Qarinus Circles. Both openly and covertly, she and her associates used the Trevelyan shipping network to spread the campaign for mage rights out of the Underground, and increase awareness of the persecution happening in Kirkwall and other cities.

When she was 19 and preparing for her final Harrowing, the Kirkwall Circle was annulled and the Chantry destroyed. Ostwick had already been preparing an invasion of Kirkwall in an attempt to restore order, but the Circle planned to send additional forces to help restore order and protect the civilians of Kirkwall. Elena petitioned to be allowed to complete her Harrowing and travel with them, and was ready to join the mission the morning after her Harrowing. They arrived in the city only three days after the explosion, joining the planned invasion forces under the command of the Hero of Ferelden, acting Knight Commander Cullen and Guard Captain Aveline Hendyr. Thanks to the large invasion force that had been gathered, comprising of soldiers from both Ostwick and Ferelden and mages from both Circles, order had largely been restored and rescue efforts were well under way. Elena remained in the city offering her support as a force mage, able to lift collapsed buildings far faster and more safely than a team of volunteers. She and the other mages saved many lives, especially in the undercity where the explosion had caused deadly escapes of chokedamp.

A week after the mages arrived in Kirkwall, however, Templar support from Val Royeaux under command of Lord Skeeker Lambert arrived. When he discovered that the authorities had accepted the assistance of the mages he stripped the Knight Commander of his post, demanded that the annulment of the Circle be completed, and ordered that all mages return to their Circles. Elena returned to Ostwick as ordered, but was back in Kirkwall by the middle of 9:38 Dragon by request of Seneschal Bran. She moved into the Trevelyan estate in Hightown with her uncle, Lord Edward Trevelyan, where she lived openly as a mage and worked closely with Guard Captain Aveline and Knight Captain Cullen until the first Conclave in 9:40 Dragon. Throughout this time she maintained contact with the Mage Rebellion, and was invited by the Divine to the second Conclave as one of its leaders. The timing was poor, though, as she had fallen pregnant during the summer of 9:40, and she remained in Ostwick to support the apprentices taking refuge at Gwadar Castle.

The Inquisition
Knight Commander Elena gave birth to her first child, Richard, in the spring of 9:41, shortly after the official formation of the Inquisition. A few months later, after word of Corypheus's assault on Haven and the escape to Skyhold had reached them, Anders returned to Ostwick to resume his research. They decided to travel south to Skyhold, to join the Inquisition, leaving Earnest in the care of Lady Elena Trevelyan. They crossed the Waking Sea to Amaranthine and then travelled west along the coast road in search of Warden Commander Loghain. He and his forces were settled in the village of Crestwood due to Loghain's disagreements with Warden Commander Clarel. As the first undisputed settlement in Ferelden, Loghain's command was unquestionable, and all Grey Wardens sent in pursuit of him and his men were ordered to support the defence of the town against the undead besieging it. Elena joined the defences and sent word to the Inquisitor asking for relief, against Loghain's orders. When the Inquisitor arrived she was able to relieve the Wardens by sealing the Rift in the lake and leading an assault on Caer Bronach. With the town thus better defended and the Inquisition's forces supporting a growing refugee camp, Elena travelled with the wardens and the Inquisition to Skyhold, where she joined the ranks and rose quickly to command of the Knight Enchanters before the siege of Adamant. She continued to lead the mage warriors, under Commander Cullen, for the remainder of the war.

Peace Restored
During the war, Elena had confirmed suspicions that she had been in a relationship with Cullen during her time in Kirkwall, and that he was Earnest's father. They resumed their relationship and married in 9:42 Dragon, shortly after the defeat of Corypeus. They served together with the Inquisition until it returned to the Chantry under Divine Victoria, and then retired to Ferelden where Cullen was made a Bann by King Alistair and awarded Caer Bronach. He set up a recovery centre for former Templars seeking to give up the use of Lyrium, whilst Elena led the area's recovery from the damage wrought by the war. Cullen's sister and her family moved to join them, and the Trevelyan family established a new trading route into the nearby port at Daerwen's Mouth. Their second child, Dorothy (Dotty) was born in 9:43.