Knight Commander Martel commands the Templar Order in Orlais, wielding significant authority within the Chantry's military. He harbors deep distrust for the Seekers of Truth, leading to frequent clashes with Lord Seeker Aldren. This antagonism surfaces during meetings with Divine Beatrix III, where Martel openly criticizes the Seekers' stealth tactics over Templar reinforcements in operations against blood mages, highlighting the tension between the orders.

Martel spearheads a conspiracy to overthrow the Chantry leadership. He allies with the blood mage Frenic and Grand Cleric Callista to assassinate Divine Beatrix III and other potential successors during the Chantry's ten-year gathering. Their plan involves using Avexis, an elven mage who commands dragons, to stage dragon attacks eliminating the Divine and Grand Clerics. This would enable Callista to become Divine, while Martel seeks to reshape the Chantry into an institution dominated by Templar authority, aiming to prevent events like the Kirkwall rebellion (Perrin Threnhold's uprising in 9:21 Dragon) through Templar supremacy.

His involvement intensifies as he actively pursues Cassandra Pentaghast and Regalyan D'Marcall after they uncover parts of the plot. Confronted by them in a cavern, Martel accidentally reveals his alliance with Frenic via an Elven stone. Though trapped by Cassandra and Regalyan, he survives and infiltrates the Seekers' stronghold, murdering High Seeker Aldren to silence his testimony to the Divine. Martel frames Cassandra and Regalyan for the killing, resulting in their imprisonment.

While presiding over Cassandra's execution, Martel confronts her directly after Circle mages disrupt the proceedings. He justifies his actions as necessary to protect the Chantry from blood magic and instability. During their duel, Cassandra severs his sword arm and orders his capture for trial. Martel breaks free and attempts a final attack, forcing Cassandra to decapitate him, ending his role in the conspiracy.