For some, talk like this comes easily. For most, it's deeply personal, guarded, frightened that by speaking of it, some shadowed beast might slip inside and tear it all apart. Mobius lets her speak, to say whatever she feels, explain whatever she knows.
Ellie offers up her wrist and the strange symbol attached to it that Mobius had never asked about before. His uninjured hand reaches out- hesitates. This is something important, precious. There's the absurd thought that he doesn't want to sully it or somehow take away any of the magic (real or imagined) that exists to offer its protection. But his fingers are gentle when lightly touching it, tilting it between light sources. He has to imagine it's warm from the proximity to the fire now, or residually warm from proximity to Ellie's body.
Just as faith is a deeply personal thing, a lack of faith is as well. "'Heart that is broken, beats still unceasing, an ocean of sorrow does nobody drown. You have forgotten, spear-maid of Alamarr. Within My creation, none are alone.'"
Mobius gives a one-shouldered shrug and a sheepish smile. Maybe it's uncouth to quote a religious text in this context, but it felt like a thing to say. "Maybe you only feel alone because you don't know who or what you're even praying to. Maybe wanting to believe isn't actually the same as believing. My prayer, every day, gives me some solace. It's less about expecting any answers or any miracles. Honestly, part of it is just that it's become so routine for me that it helps settle me. A calm and quiet moment of reflection is good for my soul, you could say. But what everyone believes and how they go about believing, that's different for every individual. You might be surprised how many atheists there are in Thedas."
Is that the point? Hm. Not really, but it's context nevertheless. Even, maybe especially, among Riftwatch.
(Will he forgive Marcus for making it feel like having faith makes him suspect? To Be Determined.)
"I can't speak on some of the other faiths. I've apparently seen first hand that the old elves might've had something going for them with their gods. I don't know their stories. But of the faiths I do know, at the end of the day most of them are just collections of stories. Histories, if rewritten, and allegories, and fables, that end up being collected and translated from people all around the world. People tell stories, as people have always told stories, as people will always tell stories, to teach lessons and to pass on information. There's power in a story, but whether you think the story is true or not, whether it gives you comfort as fable or as fact, is up to you."
He's told Astarion before. That he knows his prayers to the Maker fall on deaf ears, that they are more for Andraste than the god that has turned His back on the world. That praying for a better world will not make it so; it still takes the work of mortal people all doing their best to change the world for the better. But that also isn't the point of prayer. It's...
Complicated. It's always complicated. "In a place like this, and with a heart as strong as yours? Kid, I think so long as you have faith in yourself and the people around you, you're never gonna feel alone."
no subject
Ellie offers up her wrist and the strange symbol attached to it that Mobius had never asked about before. His uninjured hand reaches out- hesitates. This is something important, precious. There's the absurd thought that he doesn't want to sully it or somehow take away any of the magic (real or imagined) that exists to offer its protection. But his fingers are gentle when lightly touching it, tilting it between light sources. He has to imagine it's warm from the proximity to the fire now, or residually warm from proximity to Ellie's body.
Just as faith is a deeply personal thing, a lack of faith is as well. "'Heart that is broken, beats still unceasing, an ocean of sorrow does nobody drown. You have forgotten, spear-maid of Alamarr. Within My creation, none are alone.'"
Mobius gives a one-shouldered shrug and a sheepish smile. Maybe it's uncouth to quote a religious text in this context, but it felt like a thing to say. "Maybe you only feel alone because you don't know who or what you're even praying to. Maybe wanting to believe isn't actually the same as believing. My prayer, every day, gives me some solace. It's less about expecting any answers or any miracles. Honestly, part of it is just that it's become so routine for me that it helps settle me. A calm and quiet moment of reflection is good for my soul, you could say. But what everyone believes and how they go about believing, that's different for every individual. You might be surprised how many atheists there are in Thedas."
Is that the point? Hm. Not really, but it's context nevertheless. Even, maybe especially, among Riftwatch.
(Will he forgive Marcus for making it feel like having faith makes him suspect? To Be Determined.)
"I can't speak on some of the other faiths. I've apparently seen first hand that the old elves might've had something going for them with their gods. I don't know their stories. But of the faiths I do know, at the end of the day most of them are just collections of stories. Histories, if rewritten, and allegories, and fables, that end up being collected and translated from people all around the world. People tell stories, as people have always told stories, as people will always tell stories, to teach lessons and to pass on information. There's power in a story, but whether you think the story is true or not, whether it gives you comfort as fable or as fact, is up to you."
He's told Astarion before. That he knows his prayers to the Maker fall on deaf ears, that they are more for Andraste than the god that has turned His back on the world. That praying for a better world will not make it so; it still takes the work of mortal people all doing their best to change the world for the better. But that also isn't the point of prayer. It's...
Complicated. It's always complicated. "In a place like this, and with a heart as strong as yours? Kid, I think so long as you have faith in yourself and the people around you, you're never gonna feel alone."