There's tears in her eyes. He has no idea what to do aside from feel even worse because he's making her cry, and that's the opposite of helpful. Quickly he steps to the side and uses the hand that hasn't been touching ointment to grab a clean cloth square and bring it over and offer it out.

"I wish... Maker, I wish I believed that. That there was always hope. I've seen so many times when there's none. When it's all loss, when there's... When there's nothing."

Karl, his network in Kirkwall, the Starkhaven mages, so many people he'd failed to heal and failed to save and his list grows steadily longer.