"Of course. The Order had good intentions once, but your message has become twisted. You say those Templars were wrong, but there are more than you think. Look at Kirkwall, who had the largest Circle in southern Thedas. Did you not hear what they did to mages there, and to the Tranquil as well?"
Her eyes dart down to his hand and she can't say she isn't relieved to see him let down his guard even this much.
"But I did not say only hope. I said hope, yes, but I did not say only. Apprentices know they cannot be saved if they allow a demon in. I am not hiding that from them, nor will I stay my hand against a friend who has been lost to me forever because of it. You say the Harrowing tests us, but again I say that many a mage has let a demon in after their Harrowing. Facing them during that test only gave them a taste. If a mage is going to go down that path, a successful Harrowing does not take away the idea. They would always travel down that path."
For her part, Christine is annoyed too. She really wants to be annoyed at just him, but she can't. She's annoyed at what he represents.
"I think the only thing we can agree on is that we cannot understand one another. You've made up your mind: that all I will teach her is to be hopeful and nothing else. That because I do not lay out every lesson I will give her in her training, as well as the other mages here who are taking apprentices, that you know how it all ends for them. Mages become corrupt; I do not deny this. But many a mage has lived in fear and seized the chance to become powerful. It was the threat of being made Tranquil that made me swear to myself I would be strong, but for others, it crushes them until they feel so weak, they give in. Threats only make the stubborn strong. It should not be used on all of us." She stops there, tired of bandying words back and forth. But she suddenly recalls he said he was of Ferelden. Do any of the mages here know of him?
they're either going to end up having hatesex or staying on opposite sides of skyhold, lol
Her eyes dart down to his hand and she can't say she isn't relieved to see him let down his guard even this much.
"But I did not say only hope. I said hope, yes, but I did not say only. Apprentices know they cannot be saved if they allow a demon in. I am not hiding that from them, nor will I stay my hand against a friend who has been lost to me forever because of it. You say the Harrowing tests us, but again I say that many a mage has let a demon in after their Harrowing. Facing them during that test only gave them a taste. If a mage is going to go down that path, a successful Harrowing does not take away the idea. They would always travel down that path."
For her part, Christine is annoyed too. She really wants to be annoyed at just him, but she can't. She's annoyed at what he represents.
"I think the only thing we can agree on is that we cannot understand one another. You've made up your mind: that all I will teach her is to be hopeful and nothing else. That because I do not lay out every lesson I will give her in her training, as well as the other mages here who are taking apprentices, that you know how it all ends for them. Mages become corrupt; I do not deny this. But many a mage has lived in fear and seized the chance to become powerful. It was the threat of being made Tranquil that made me swear to myself I would be strong, but for others, it crushes them until they feel so weak, they give in. Threats only make the stubborn strong. It should not be used on all of us." She stops there, tired of bandying words back and forth. But she suddenly recalls he said he was of Ferelden. Do any of the mages here know of him?
"What is your name, ser?"