"She was not twisted." That's snapped out, showing his temper. She died doing good and he won't see her memory tarnished. He won't see the memory of any of his network tarnished; they'd paid the ultimate price for the failure of every Chantry person in authority, every Knight Commander and higher, every First Enchanter, and every Seeker of rank enough to have sway.
"As far as the rest, you can stop being condescending. I've judged no mages save First Enchanters for not assisting with Kirkwall, I've already admitted what I've done so there's no need to 'ask' for that, and you're the one trying to act like your aunt had fallen in some way to shame me. You acknowledge you heard of the wrongs of Kirkwall while acting like everyone was as powerless as you to verify it. They weren't. They knew. I don't need to assume anything about their thoughts when they sent Leliana to Kirkwall to protect Elthina, when the Seekers didn't bother to come until afterward despite countless letters to everyone whose name I could find. Their action, inaction, says everything. And finally, you can cease presuming to know what lives I value. Fewer died that night, total. All. Human, elf, half-elf, dwarf."
He knows what rumor has said. He knows how stories have spread. They've grown a thousandfold in the retelling.
"Rumors in this case have become more extreme than the truth. There was fighting in the streets, but this wasn't new to Kirkwall. Night had fallen, and people knew of the regular roaming bandits about the place. The common person was not going to be on the streets. Especially with the memory of the recent qunari invasion still fresh. There was chaos, and there were clashes, and fewer died that night than otherwise would have."
"And," his arms cross, "I knew there would be repercussions. I knew there would be echoes. I did not know how far they would extend. I did not know what would come. It was far more likely that the rebellion would be shut down and ignored than anything spread."
He'd hoped. But he'd also been blocked from most thoughts of what would come after by Justice. They were going to die, what did it matter? Everything, but he hadn't known that at the time.
"I don't want your thanks, and I've never sought the position of hero. All I ask is that if you're insistent on returning to your cage, don't drag everyone else with you. Some of us had to escape multiple times before it stuck, and some never made it out despite desperately wanting to see the sky again. We deserve the same freedom as everyone else has, to give away or embrace as we choose. You might protest that I've chosen for everyone. I haven't. You can go back after Corypheus is dealt with. There will be plenty of Templars looking to control mages again. All that's happened is a respite has been bought, and mages have a choice for the first time in thousands of years."
no subject
"As far as the rest, you can stop being condescending. I've judged no mages save First Enchanters for not assisting with Kirkwall, I've already admitted what I've done so there's no need to 'ask' for that, and you're the one trying to act like your aunt had fallen in some way to shame me. You acknowledge you heard of the wrongs of Kirkwall while acting like everyone was as powerless as you to verify it. They weren't. They knew. I don't need to assume anything about their thoughts when they sent Leliana to Kirkwall to protect Elthina, when the Seekers didn't bother to come until afterward despite countless letters to everyone whose name I could find. Their action, inaction, says everything. And finally, you can cease presuming to know what lives I value. Fewer died that night, total. All. Human, elf, half-elf, dwarf."
He knows what rumor has said. He knows how stories have spread. They've grown a thousandfold in the retelling.
"Rumors in this case have become more extreme than the truth. There was fighting in the streets, but this wasn't new to Kirkwall. Night had fallen, and people knew of the regular roaming bandits about the place. The common person was not going to be on the streets. Especially with the memory of the recent qunari invasion still fresh. There was chaos, and there were clashes, and fewer died that night than otherwise would have."
"And," his arms cross, "I knew there would be repercussions. I knew there would be echoes. I did not know how far they would extend. I did not know what would come. It was far more likely that the rebellion would be shut down and ignored than anything spread."
He'd hoped. But he'd also been blocked from most thoughts of what would come after by Justice. They were going to die, what did it matter? Everything, but he hadn't known that at the time.
"I don't want your thanks, and I've never sought the position of hero. All I ask is that if you're insistent on returning to your cage, don't drag everyone else with you. Some of us had to escape multiple times before it stuck, and some never made it out despite desperately wanting to see the sky again. We deserve the same freedom as everyone else has, to give away or embrace as we choose. You might protest that I've chosen for everyone. I haven't. You can go back after Corypheus is dealt with. There will be plenty of Templars looking to control mages again. All that's happened is a respite has been bought, and mages have a choice for the first time in thousands of years."