"Be at peace, my Lady," he says almost before she's through asking. "So long as there are those that sing the Chant, so long as some carry the Light, we are not forsaken."
Only then does he give himself a moment to collect his thoughts on the matter. It's partly a line, a script practically, but he believes in it no less. His shoulders roll, then set firmly, letting out a slow breath. "The world does seem to be falling apart around us. There's no denying that it is bleak. Some might even see this as the end of days. We are here," he continues evenly, "to keep that from happening. We stand here to push back the darkness and keep the end from swallowing us whole. We do not give up without a fight, and indeed we will fight until our breath is gone, until the Maker Himself tells us we may lay down our arms. If we seem unworthy, then we will work to prove otherwise."
This he knows. This he is certain of. But he doesn't grudge anyone questioning. If there's anything he's picked up on from what he's been taught, it's that not only is it fine to question, it is almost imperative. To simply do as one is told, mindlessly, without thought, without reflection, is to be brainwashed and made stupid. Doubt and faith do not contradict one another; they go hand in hand.
If this truly is the beginning of the end, then he's going out swinging, not hiding under a rock praying until another building falls on him.
"Tell me, even if you were told here and now with no uncertainty that we have failed, even if the Maker turned His back on us, even if Andraste wept for this world, wouldn't you still fight?"
no subject
Only then does he give himself a moment to collect his thoughts on the matter. It's partly a line, a script practically, but he believes in it no less. His shoulders roll, then set firmly, letting out a slow breath. "The world does seem to be falling apart around us. There's no denying that it is bleak. Some might even see this as the end of days. We are here," he continues evenly, "to keep that from happening. We stand here to push back the darkness and keep the end from swallowing us whole. We do not give up without a fight, and indeed we will fight until our breath is gone, until the Maker Himself tells us we may lay down our arms. If we seem unworthy, then we will work to prove otherwise."
This he knows. This he is certain of. But he doesn't grudge anyone questioning. If there's anything he's picked up on from what he's been taught, it's that not only is it fine to question, it is almost imperative. To simply do as one is told, mindlessly, without thought, without reflection, is to be brainwashed and made stupid. Doubt and faith do not contradict one another; they go hand in hand.
If this truly is the beginning of the end, then he's going out swinging, not hiding under a rock praying until another building falls on him.
"Tell me, even if you were told here and now with no uncertainty that we have failed, even if the Maker turned His back on us, even if Andraste wept for this world, wouldn't you still fight?"