"I suppose it does," a little bit quieter. "The Fifth Blight was ... I suppose I don't want to say better or worse than the current potentially world-ending threat. But there's something visceral about fighting Darkspawn, especially when they're in your home. It's hard for me to imagine not doing anything about it in a world where I have the capability."

He'd wondered, before, if in another world he'd have ended up a Warden. Certainly it wouldn't have fed his ambition, but on the other hand, there's something uniquely unsettling about the Blight that has lingered with him decades later.

"Still. Some people face danger in the streets and run. I think everyone in Riftwatch has passed that test, at least." All of them have put their lives on the line to oppose Corypheus, even if some divisions do it more directly than others.