"There's more to it than that," Cullen says, glancing at him. He takes a leisurely bite of ram while thinking of how to put it. He's not completely sure why it matters to him if Dorian understands or not, but it does. It's not just a matter of thinking mages are less than people, although to his shame there was a time he held that harsher view.

"As templars, our duty and charge is to watch them as well as protect them. There's a very real risk that if you get too close to someone and they turn, you'll hesitate. You'll hesitate, and an abomination will rampage through the entire wing before anyone is the wiser. They will never be free of fear when they see me, and I can't afford to lose sight of why I'm here. When templars and mages are too close in a Circle, that Circle falls. I haven't just heard it. I've lived it."