I...hate to say that there are many like her, but there are.
[ It's not unfounded hate, to be certain, but it is also unwise. Striking blindly at enemies, whether they deserve it or not, is bound to only cause more bloodshed, trouble, and woe. ]
We are content to leave humans alone for the most part. But when they venture too close, particularly if there are lives lost in happenstance, there is very little to sway my brethren from acting against them. We have lost too much.
We saw her. I don't know if she ever rescued her. She disappeared some years back, and I assume it was to look for her. Either way, I don't expect she'll ever return.
Despite her best efforts, [he admits.] She was determined not to like me, at first. Human and noble, you understand. She kept everyone at a distance, but me most of all. I think she wanted us to fight for her friendship, and some of us did. Others charmed her naturally.
[ Gently, she squeezes his arm, an act of reassurance and comfort but little else. ]
It's hard to cope with people who leave, particularly those who are important to us. There are more important things to some people, more important than love or friendship.
[ She thinks of Solas. And, strangely, she thinks of Anders. ]
I would have liked to meet her. I think she would have quite a bit to teach me.
I would have liked to think back then that we'd all still be there, Wardens together. That's what they always say, that a Warden is a Warden for life. But Velanna and Anders are both gone, of their own free will.
[A slight, helpless widening of his eyes.]
Sometimes I even miss Justice, but don't tell Anders that.
Anders was worse, I think. We always suspected Velanna would leave once she had no further use for us, but we'd really hoped Anders could find a place to call home. The templars wouldn't even let him have the Wardens, though.
[He huffs out a breath.]
Justice was intense. It took us a little time to get used to the fact that just because a spirit embodies a virtue doesn't mean they embody more than one. Or...have more than one. Justice nagged us all about things we'd done that we hadn't paid for, like when I broke into Vigil's Keep. Or the things we ought to be doing to set things right. He was...uncomplicated. Which was neither good nor bad. Erm.
[He thinks for a moment.]
He wasn't spiteful or vengeful. He was...single-minded.
Spirits often are. Cole is a spirit of Compassion, and he is driven to help others no matter what. Things have...changed since we first met him, when he came to us, but it was very single-minded. Uncomplicated.
[ Help others, even if it means killing them. Heal the hurt. ]
I've seen a spirit of Command, too. It was the same with her. She was more focused on commanding than understanding the logic - or lack thereof - of our world.
Ah. An ex-templar who joined the Wardens turned out not to be quite so "ex" as we had believed. We found him and a few other templars dead and Anders missing. It didn't take long to work out what happened.
You should have seen Tabris when she found out. She was livid. We all were, at ourselves as much as anyone. We should have protected him.
[I should have protected him.
Nathaniel hesitates, then clears his throat.]
I...failed him then. And I failed him in another way. It's why I can't hate him for what he did. I'm...the one who talked Justice into the idea of possessing a willing, living host in the first place. I didn't know he'd choose Anders.
You didn't fail him. You didn't know any of this would happen.
[ If Cullen knew... It's not his place to know, certainly, but if he did-- Would he be able to understand why Anders despises the templars so much, why he is so frightened? Why all mages are? ]
And how could you have known that Justice would choose Anders? That isn't your fault either. Spirits are not foolish, Ser Howe; they know what will happen should they take a willing, breathing host.
No. Back then, he was innocent. I didn't know and neither did he. We'd only heard of demons possessing the living, and he dismissed it as an act of demons alone, till I convinced him it would be different if the host were willing and the spirit pure.
I don't know if spirits are innocent. There are those who are aggressive and those that are non-aggressive...and spirits who are drawn to people, who reach across the Veil, are always at risk of being twisted by us.
Justice reaching out to Anders or anyone else was always at a risk of being twisted. It's less about the spirit and more about who we are and what we believe.
Anders said that he is the one who corrupted Justice into a spirit of Vengeance. Which...
[A long, tense sigh.]
Vengeance sounds very demonish to me. Anders says Justice...doesn't let him do certain things, that he keeps him focused on the task of freeing the mages. Anything else is a distraction. Here, he is free only because he is here on a purpose Justice approves of. Which...the Justice I knew was insistent, but he was never a tyrant. He hated tyranny.
Vengeance is a demon. Or, more specifically, a spirit whose purpose has been defiled or twisted beyond recognition. Justice's perception of what is just and what is right has been distorted because he's possessed Anders...or because he's witnessed things that have caused him to become this way.
That's...what I was afraid of. I admit I don't know very much about the ways of magic and the Fade, but the way Anders speaks...
[He shakes his head.]
Tabris and I are going to find some way to separate them. Don't tell him I said that--I know you won't, but you must not. Who knows what...what Vengeance will do if he knows. Probably take Anders so far away we'll never find him again.
[ Separating the both of them? Admittedly, she knows very little of how to do such a thing. It could easily be disastrous. She wishes Solas were there; he'd know what to do, far more than she ever could. ]
I won't tell him.
[ And yet, even saying that, sounds like a betrayal. Anders will be furious. Her hand grips his arm tightly. ]
Please, be careful, whatever you do. It's not Justice or Anders that I fear, but what might happen in the process. Whatever you do - you and the Commander both - please take care.
Anders is...dear to us. [Dear to me.] I'm not entirely sure how much worse it could actually get for him, from what I've seen, but I'm...frankly, I'm afraid enough of magic and spirits that every caution that can be taken will be taken.
[He hestitates.]
I can't let him keep living like this. Alone, on the run, starving. But I'm responsible enough for that. I can't be responsible for making him worse. I won't be.
Ser Howe, I would speak to Cole if you mean to do this. If nothing else, Cole could... Cole could tell you how to get through to him, if it's even possible now. Cole could speak to Justice. Perhaps that would help.
But we don't even know how to do this. Cole seems to do whatever he thinks is best at the moment, and I can't trust him to keep it a secret from Justice, not this early.
I trust Cole. He used to be a spirit; he would know better than anyone else how to separate them.
[ She takes a breath, stops. She isn't trying to push and resigns herself to leaving things as they are, though she wants to implore one last time. ]
I understand the precautions you want to take. I won't speak of it to Cole or to anyone. But I ask that you consider him as an option if - or when - you want to make a more decisive move in any one direction.
Cole doesn't even possess a body. How can he know how to end possession?
[Justice had been as clueless as anyone about possession. He'd always deemed it a thing for demons. But the question isn't simply rhetorical. Nathaniel frowns.]
But if he does...Maker. I could be denying the answer I'm looking for. Maker, what if my own caution is the end of Anders?
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[ It's not unfounded hate, to be certain, but it is also unwise. Striking blindly at enemies, whether they deserve it or not, is bound to only cause more bloodshed, trouble, and woe. ]
We are content to leave humans alone for the most part. But when they venture too close, particularly if there are lives lost in happenstance, there is very little to sway my brethren from acting against them. We have lost too much.
[ Never again shall we submit. ]
Did she ever find her sister?
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[His eyes crinkle.]
She was never tame.
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[ Her smile is small. ]
But you were fond of her, despite that.
[ Not necessarily in a romantic way. She can tell, though, by his eyes; he cared for her well being. They were friends. ]
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[The smile fades.]
But it wasn't enough to keep her.
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It's hard to cope with people who leave, particularly those who are important to us. There are more important things to some people, more important than love or friendship.
[ She thinks of Solas. And, strangely, she thinks of Anders. ]
I would have liked to meet her. I think she would have quite a bit to teach me.
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[A slight, helpless widening of his eyes.]
Sometimes I even miss Justice, but don't tell Anders that.
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[ To lose a friend is one thing. To lose a brother-in-arms, even worse. ]
Did you know Justice well before...what happened with him and Anders? [ It's not so strange to her now that she knows Cole. ] What was he like?
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[He huffs out a breath.]
Justice was intense. It took us a little time to get used to the fact that just because a spirit embodies a virtue doesn't mean they embody more than one. Or...have more than one. Justice nagged us all about things we'd done that we hadn't paid for, like when I broke into Vigil's Keep. Or the things we ought to be doing to set things right. He was...uncomplicated. Which was neither good nor bad. Erm.
[He thinks for a moment.]
He wasn't spiteful or vengeful. He was...single-minded.
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[ Help others, even if it means killing them. Heal the hurt. ]
I've seen a spirit of Command, too. It was the same with her. She was more focused on commanding than understanding the logic - or lack thereof - of our world.
[ She pauses here. ]
Why did Anders leave the Wardens? Do you know?
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He didn't feel safe, even with his brethren, because a templar--
[ There's anger there, fury, because no one should be cornered in such a way. No one should believe his brother is his ally only to be turned on. ]
That's terrible.
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[I should have protected him.
Nathaniel hesitates, then clears his throat.]
I...failed him then. And I failed him in another way. It's why I can't hate him for what he did. I'm...the one who talked Justice into the idea of possessing a willing, living host in the first place. I didn't know he'd choose Anders.
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[ If Cullen knew... It's not his place to know, certainly, but if he did-- Would he be able to understand why Anders despises the templars so much, why he is so frightened? Why all mages are? ]
And how could you have known that Justice would choose Anders? That isn't your fault either. Spirits are not foolish, Ser Howe; they know what will happen should they take a willing, breathing host.
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Justice reaching out to Anders or anyone else was always at a risk of being twisted. It's less about the spirit and more about who we are and what we believe.
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[A long, tense sigh.]
Vengeance sounds very demonish to me. Anders says Justice...doesn't let him do certain things, that he keeps him focused on the task of freeing the mages. Anything else is a distraction. Here, he is free only because he is here on a purpose Justice approves of. Which...the Justice I knew was insistent, but he was never a tyrant. He hated tyranny.
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Vengeance is a demon. Or, more specifically, a spirit whose purpose has been defiled or twisted beyond recognition. Justice's perception of what is just and what is right has been distorted because he's possessed Anders...or because he's witnessed things that have caused him to become this way.
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That's...what I was afraid of. I admit I don't know very much about the ways of magic and the Fade, but the way Anders speaks...
[He shakes his head.]
Tabris and I are going to find some way to separate them. Don't tell him I said that--I know you won't, but you must not. Who knows what...what Vengeance will do if he knows. Probably take Anders so far away we'll never find him again.
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I won't tell him.
[ And yet, even saying that, sounds like a betrayal. Anders will be furious. Her hand grips his arm tightly. ]
Please, be careful, whatever you do. It's not Justice or Anders that I fear, but what might happen in the process. Whatever you do - you and the Commander both - please take care.
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[He hestitates.]
I can't let him keep living like this. Alone, on the run, starving. But I'm responsible enough for that. I can't be responsible for making him worse. I won't be.
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Ser Howe, I would speak to Cole if you mean to do this. If nothing else, Cole could... Cole could tell you how to get through to him, if it's even possible now. Cole could speak to Justice. Perhaps that would help.
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[ She takes a breath, stops. She isn't trying to push and resigns herself to leaving things as they are, though she wants to implore one last time. ]
I understand the precautions you want to take. I won't speak of it to Cole or to anyone. But I ask that you consider him as an option if - or when - you want to make a more decisive move in any one direction.
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[Justice had been as clueless as anyone about possession. He'd always deemed it a thing for demons. But the question isn't simply rhetorical. Nathaniel frowns.]
But if he does...Maker. I could be denying the answer I'm looking for. Maker, what if my own caution is the end of Anders?
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[ She looks up, eyes sad, and she holds his arm gently. Lavellan reaches up to touch his arm. ]
This doesn't need to happen right away. For the moment, he's safe. He's all right.
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