He can see the horror and incredulity playing out across Stephen's face. The indignant, retroactive rage. It's a subtle thing in the lines of his visage, the pull of eyebrows, the widening of eyes, the momentary loss of words. The bewildered exhaustion when he leans back. Mobius can only spread his hands and give a small shrug. Context is important. The Chantry is, in theory, a powerhouse for good. But the Chantry has been historically a nasty piece of work.
It's a reason he can't find fault in what the doctor says. People use the Chant and proclaim the Maker's will to justify all kinds of terror and awful. The Divine might be in charge of the church, but she's an elected official with biases and politics guiding every decree. It will never be perfect because people aren't perfect.
"It's one of the Chantry's fun little open secrets. I could say that if they were upfront about it, a lot fewer people would be interested in signing up to be a holy warrior, but then I can see the argument in return being that maybe there don't need to be that many holy warriors. If any. Which I don't think is true." Just to point out. "They aren't fully truthful or upfront about much. I don't know how much I agree with tricked, though. It's not a bad life."
Hm. Though. He feels he has to amend it. "It wasn't a bad life."
Maker knows, with Circles gone, with the Order in disarray, practically nonexistent but for the Exalted March that he has no interest in joining thank you very much, that it isn't a very good life now.
"I feel like," with a little sigh and a circular motion, "we keep going around this, keep coming back to this, this idea, but Stephen, c'mon, the magic nullifying abilities are good to have around. None of us here are gonna be instructing others how to become one; I don't know that any of us are capable of it. I can't just hand you some lyrium and tell you to shut a mage down and you do it. It's years of training and honing skills, and we need someone to do it with the Venatori around. It's a rock and a hard place, but I'm willing to keep doing this for as long as I'm alive, not because the Maker's Bride told me to, but because it feels like the right thing."
Mobius leans in, elbows on the desk. "I know you don't like it, but I thought you at least understood the position I'm in. Being chosen doesn't necessarily mean that changes. Maybe I can do both, maybe I can do it all!"
no subject
It's a reason he can't find fault in what the doctor says. People use the Chant and proclaim the Maker's will to justify all kinds of terror and awful. The Divine might be in charge of the church, but she's an elected official with biases and politics guiding every decree. It will never be perfect because people aren't perfect.
"It's one of the Chantry's fun little open secrets. I could say that if they were upfront about it, a lot fewer people would be interested in signing up to be a holy warrior, but then I can see the argument in return being that maybe there don't need to be that many holy warriors. If any. Which I don't think is true." Just to point out. "They aren't fully truthful or upfront about much. I don't know how much I agree with tricked, though. It's not a bad life."
Hm. Though. He feels he has to amend it. "It wasn't a bad life."
Maker knows, with Circles gone, with the Order in disarray, practically nonexistent but for the Exalted March that he has no interest in joining thank you very much, that it isn't a very good life now.
"I feel like," with a little sigh and a circular motion, "we keep going around this, keep coming back to this, this idea, but Stephen, c'mon, the magic nullifying abilities are good to have around. None of us here are gonna be instructing others how to become one; I don't know that any of us are capable of it. I can't just hand you some lyrium and tell you to shut a mage down and you do it. It's years of training and honing skills, and we need someone to do it with the Venatori around. It's a rock and a hard place, but I'm willing to keep doing this for as long as I'm alive, not because the Maker's Bride told me to, but because it feels like the right thing."
Mobius leans in, elbows on the desk. "I know you don't like it, but I thought you at least understood the position I'm in. Being chosen doesn't necessarily mean that changes. Maybe I can do both, maybe I can do it all!"