"You should have seen what preceded this, my dear," Vergil says, face falling more out of propriety than genuine grief - it's hard for him to feel immediately bad about events that happened elsewhere, much less while at a party, conversing with a fetching woman. Still, it is tactless to keep grinning through such a discussion.
"Best, I suppose, that you did not. I didn't witness much of it myself, all the way in Tevinter. But before the Southern Conclave, before the Breach, I'm told it was truly horrendous. Mages violent rising up against their southern Templar guardians, those same guardians slaughtering mages wholesale. Call it what you will, civil war or no, it was a catastrophe, well before the sky was rent asunder."
This is all of it hearsay, news and rumor. But that makes none of it untrue. At worst, it is a simplified version of what brought Thedas to this moment.
"What has risen in its place is inspiring, no doubt. But it is telling that it took a revitalization of a pre-schism institution - the Inquisition - to restore hope and foster cooperation. An institution the Southern Chantry fails even to recognize."
Mention of Korrin Ataash causes Vergil's brows to leap up his forehead in surprise. He's curious, that much is clear, and ready to leave behind the dour topic of mage versus templar strife.
"A lapsed Qunari? How interesting. I'd very much like to speak with her about what led her away from her native creed-" Vergil has so far steered clear of the horned giants, whose reputation as a race and a force to be reckoned with is as impressive as it is frightful in Tevinter. "It will make quite the expedition: a priest, a rifter, and a horned-crowned mage. Like someone from a long joke or a children's story."
The shove reveals him to be slim, as scholars who are not plump often are, though substantial enough to answer with a light shove of his own, his smile going crooked as she laughs, looking sidelong at her.
"As a man of the Maker, it is my sworn duty to speak the truth as I see it, with the sight and sense the Maker gave me," her insists, "and every perception of you is one of beauty. To say otherwise would be a lie- a grave sin I would not dare commit."
no subject
"Best, I suppose, that you did not. I didn't witness much of it myself, all the way in Tevinter. But before the Southern Conclave, before the Breach, I'm told it was truly horrendous. Mages violent rising up against their southern Templar guardians, those same guardians slaughtering mages wholesale. Call it what you will, civil war or no, it was a catastrophe, well before the sky was rent asunder."
This is all of it hearsay, news and rumor. But that makes none of it untrue. At worst, it is a simplified version of what brought Thedas to this moment.
"What has risen in its place is inspiring, no doubt. But it is telling that it took a revitalization of a pre-schism institution - the Inquisition - to restore hope and foster cooperation. An institution the Southern Chantry fails even to recognize."
Mention of Korrin Ataash causes Vergil's brows to leap up his forehead in surprise. He's curious, that much is clear, and ready to leave behind the dour topic of mage versus templar strife.
"A lapsed Qunari? How interesting. I'd very much like to speak with her about what led her away from her native creed-" Vergil has so far steered clear of the horned giants, whose reputation as a race and a force to be reckoned with is as impressive as it is frightful in Tevinter. "It will make quite the expedition: a priest, a rifter, and a horned-crowned mage. Like someone from a long joke or a children's story."
The shove reveals him to be slim, as scholars who are not plump often are, though substantial enough to answer with a light shove of his own, his smile going crooked as she laughs, looking sidelong at her.
"As a man of the Maker, it is my sworn duty to speak the truth as I see it, with the sight and sense the Maker gave me," her insists, "and every perception of you is one of beauty. To say otherwise would be a lie- a grave sin I would not dare commit."
A glint in his eyes.
"You think me charming, then? I had no idea..."