Which is really just reinforcing his point. Stephen has that ruminative look on his face, trying to figure out the best way to phrase this.
“Joining the Order and making that decision and agreeing to that addiction when you’re a young man with your entire life ahead of you, and the dementia is decades away as only the most distant of worries— I can see it, y’know. We all make gambles against our own futures. That’s a problem for your future self; maybe you won’t even live that long. It’s an acceptable tradeoff at the time.
“But, speaking frankly, you’re older than I am. You’ve been taking it longer than some of these kids have been alive. Eventually, the bill comes due.”
Christ, did he really just quote Mordo—
“I’m still not, y’know, trying to force you to quit tomorrow. I think what I’m saying is— keep an eye out for those symptoms. Monitor it. Be honest. If it seems like that dementia’s starting to catch up to you, changing the equation and diminishing your faculties, then would you at least consider it anew? Better to be another trained warrior without his templar abilities but who can blow people apart with an anchor-shard, rather than a trained warrior whose brain is mush and doesn’t know where he is and can’t do a lick of good.”
no subject
“Joining the Order and making that decision and agreeing to that addiction when you’re a young man with your entire life ahead of you, and the dementia is decades away as only the most distant of worries— I can see it, y’know. We all make gambles against our own futures. That’s a problem for your future self; maybe you won’t even live that long. It’s an acceptable tradeoff at the time.
“But, speaking frankly, you’re older than I am. You’ve been taking it longer than some of these kids have been alive. Eventually, the bill comes due.”
Christ, did he really just quote Mordo—
“I’m still not, y’know, trying to force you to quit tomorrow. I think what I’m saying is— keep an eye out for those symptoms. Monitor it. Be honest. If it seems like that dementia’s starting to catch up to you, changing the equation and diminishing your faculties, then would you at least consider it anew? Better to be another trained warrior without his templar abilities but who can blow people apart with an anchor-shard, rather than a trained warrior whose brain is mush and doesn’t know where he is and can’t do a lick of good.”