004 || video;

[nugqueen]

Who: Leliana
Broadcast: yes
Action: aboard the blue fish
When: now

[Leliana's address to the network came somewhat late - someone had gotten revenge for her prank, after all. Her cowl is pulled back resting about her shoulders and her skin and the ends of her hair are still drying after she'd scrubbed the ink off. Schmooples could be heard snuffling from her lap, his long ears making a cameo as he was cradled against her.]

I apologize. It seems I mayhap have fallen victim to a long slumber. I don't recall the ships leaving the planet we were last on, but I am to understand some time has passed.

[Guaranteed, Riona waited a good few days before daring to draw on her face.]

I will be resuming my duties in the Interfaith Center – Stefan, I apologize sincerely for my absence. I hope it has not caused an inconvenience.

[She smiles warmly, blue eyes lit up as she continues speaking.]

For those who do not know me: I am Sister Nightingale and I assist the Interfaith Center for those of Andrastian faith, hailing from Thedas. I can also be found aboard the Blue Fish, should anyone ever seek counsel from me outside of the Center. You do not have to be Andrastian to do so, of course.

Private: Riona Cousland Theirin.

[There's a bit of an evil smile on Leliana's face as she switches the feed to private.]

You got your revenge, no?

[She laughs warmly, her eyes alight with mischief]

Care to join me for lunch? I'm feeling a bit peckish after being out of sorts. You can catch me up on all the latest gossip.

[She runs her fingers through the wet ends of her red hair and Schmooples crawls up her chest into view to snuffle at the camera over her shoulder.]

I hope I didn't worry you too much.

Action

[Leliana can be found either aboard the Blue Fish or in the Interfaith Center praying silently before her own hand made totem statue of Andraste. The nap seemed to have done her at least a little good. Still she felt the lingering grief of home and the troubles it faced but she was slowly becoming more at peace in her new life. Perhaps she could finally lay down her burdens? She wasn't so sure yet. For now she moved on to the next stage of things – normalcy.

Aboard the Blue Fish Leliana makes her security rounds, stopping to take a break to make some tea and enjoy some quiet in the kitchens. Something seemed amiss, though she couldn't put her finger on it nor guess that perhaps that it was because a crew member had gone missing. Still the stillness put her at ease.]

Comments

[nugqueen]

I am aware. Fenris informed me personally - not long after I posted to the network.

[She crosses her arms loosely, almost as if she can guard herself from the awful feelings in her heart. All those people had died for what he'd done: Chantry members, innocent patrons, templars and mages. Kirkwall had been the tipping point into starting the unquenchable wave of destruction that had overtaken Ferelden. She could only imagine how Riona and Alistair felt as the reigning King and Queen. She knew Riona had tasked herself with more important matters - stopping the Calling from taking the Wardens to Corypheus' side. For all she knows Riona had died in a failed attempt. She had no true way of knowing.

Anders may not have caused Corypheus but his actions in the Chantry had caused political warfare at large in Thedas, something the Chantry could not sit on their hands about.]

Do you remember Cullen? I am sure you spoke a fair few times while in Kirkwall together.

[She wouldn't get to the meat of why she asked just yet, but it was important for him to understand both sides of the issue. Poor Cullen; she remembered the first time they'd met in Kinloch Hold, how frightened he'd been of mages. That sentiment had been born from disasters such as Kirkwall, though she'd never outright place blame for it on anyone or anything but demons. In her mind there was no right or wrong for Mages and Templars - only what the right thing to do was. Imprisoning Mages was not the answer but punishing innocents for the actions of a few scornful Chantry officials was not the answer either.]

[wolfehawke]

[That tracks. Fenris would be worried about Vengeance awakening, he'd said as much, and as such likely went to someone he felt would do something about it, if necessary. It is a little disheartening that he didn't trust Hawke to address the issue, if not Anders himself, though Anders... Adalwolfe has no idea what the other mage would actually say. Either way, he nods at Leliana's sharing of that information.

Asking about Cullen earns a thin smile, though it's not without mirth. Cullen isn't so much a sore subject as a tasteless joke to Adalwolfe, though he has come to understand a bit about the sort of man Cullen really is. He has forgiven him, but forgetting is out of the question.]

Yes, Cullen. He was under the impression that I'm not actually a person so much as a walking bomb, as I recall.

[He lets the smile fade, giving the question a real response in lieu of his dark amusement at Cullen's original opinion of him.]

But no, I respect who he's become. The Commander has a good head on his shoulders most days, and he stands with the innocent when things grow dire.

[Both in Kirkwall, at the end, and in his work for the Inquisition. Cullen had grown out of his zealotry and it had tempered him into someone Hawke could at least work with instead of dreading every interaction. Also it doesn't hurt that he's pretty to look at.]

Why do you ask?

[nugqueen]

Because I want you to understand how damaging assumptions can be. Cullen assumed the blame for what was done to him a long time ago onto all Mages. He convinced himself for years that all Mages were dangerous after a few had hurt him and men whom he worked with while at Kinloch Hold. You assume that because the Chantry has specific views about Mages, that I share all of those views, no?

[She lifts her head a bit, her expression amused. It was a common assumption to make when one paired her with Cullen or some of the stronger views held behind closed doors in Chantry across Thedas. Cullen had evolved his views, had changed his ways, but not all were so easily changed when faced with torture. She wouldn't speak of what happened to him with Hawke - that was between Cullen and others who had been involved. She knew what it took for him to keep his sanity after that and she would respect his privacy on the matter, the same as she would were it the Hero of Ferelden or any of her other close friends.]

Not to be blunt, of course - but I wanted to make a point of how dangerous assumptions can be. Anders views the Circle as a ball and chain. While that may be true of some Circles - that Mages are abused or killed - not all Templars or all members of the Chantry feel that extremely against Mages. I don't fault him for his feelings. It is his actions I take issue with. Cullen hated mages and feared them but he never abused them. He never harmed them. Do you see where I am going with this? There is a saying about wrongs and rights - I am sure I don't have to explain it to you.

[Her own words are measured, not quite as hushed as his though she is still careful of those who were at prayer and took care to move the two of them to a secluded space where they might sit as she spoke.]

[wolfehawke]

I do understand that, and it's why I'm asking what you think, instead of assuming.

[He lets out a breath, calm as ever he is as he follows her to an area of the chapel more set apart from anyone in attendance. It's perfectly reasonable and respectful and he tries to maintain that candor, keeping his voice low to where it won't carry outside their small cloister.]

I think though, perhaps, that you should hear about Anders from me. I know him, I know what happened, and it's not exactly as Varric wrote in his book. There are things even he didn't know, not exactly, or changed for drama. Things that Anders himself doesn't even see clearly for his being too close to the situation.

[Hawke shifts his feet and licks his lips, trying to decide where to start.]

Yes, he saw the Circle as a prison, and the crimes against mages from some Templars cannot be denied, especially from Kirkwall, just as the actions of blood mages or actual malificarum cannot be excused. I agree with you. Anders, now that I've known him from before Kirkwall, I think would even agree with you were he still the younger man that traveled with the Warden-Commander, the man who just wanted to escape for himself and live his life, who he was here in the Fleet for a time. But he took in a spirit of Justice.

[Adalwolfe pauses for a moment, choosing his words carefully.]

It was out of friendship, out of a hope to change things for the better, but spirits are... malleable. The very fabric of the world they're from is malleable and they cannot remain themselves when in such direct contact with a mortal soul. They changed each other. Neither knew this would happen, but Anders was angry, rightly angry through his experiences, and Justice was changed by that anger. He pushed Anders to do something. That took the form of Anders offering his not inconsiderable healing powers to the poor refugees of Ferelden in Kirkwall after the Blight for little to no payment. His first instinct was to heal, even in his anger.

I met him, then. I watched him struggle and help young mages escape the tyranny of the Kirkwall Circle. Mages who were beaten, broken, threatened with Tranquility even after their Harrowings. I know you saw Kirkwall in the aftermath, but I want you to understand the backdrop of how Justice changed. Seeing through Anders eyes all of these misdeeds visited on innocent people. Not all Templars are responsible, but enough of them were allowed to continue that Justice morphed, forming into Vengeance, parallel to what the Templar Order had fallen to in many cases, and in doing so he pushed more, and further, and then too far.

It was Vengeance, not Anders, at work that night. Of that I am completely certain. Without the spirit inside him, Anders wouldn't have had the willingness to do any such thing. He wouldn't hurt anyone who didn't first raise a hand against him as he is a healer first and foremost.

[Hawke draws himself up, not to intimidate - not that he could intimidate Leliana of all people, but it's not even on his mind - but to show his confidence in his facts as he's relayed them to her.]

That said, I do understand that it is far too dangerous to allow them to remain bound to each other. Vengeance may not be a demon, per se, but he is not so far off from Rage and I worry that there may be something that comes up that may well cause him to rise up again where he's been dormant ever since Kirkwall.

[A calming breath, in through the nose, out through the mouth.]

I want to separate them and send Vengeance back to the Fade... or kill him, if that's the only option given. I'm sure I don't have to explain to you how dangerous it would be if he possessed someone else more powerful in the Fleet. Riona will not like it I would guess, as she knew him before he was changed, and Anders won't either for the same reason, but if it has to be done to save Anders, so be it.

[Adalwolfe runs a hand back through his hair, feeling somewhat spent after finally being able to say his piece in its entirety to someone who might understand some of the subtleties.]

Anders knows I'm looking for a way to separate them, though I don't believe he knows yet that I doubt there's a way to save them both, nor if I think the spirit should be saved at all. He shouldn't be told, either, or Vengeance may try to save himself.

[The very thing he wants to avoid.]

[nugqueen]

That is quite the passionate argument you have, Hawke. I respect it and I agree that the best way to deal with this would be to separate Anders and Vengeance, but there are holes that need filling before we are to see such an action to fruition.

[Leliana relaxes, drumming her fingers against one knee as she contemplates how best to explain her thoughts, instead she focuses on something she can properly assure him of.]

As for the Hero of Ferelden: I won't lie to her. Should she ask my views of how best to deal with Anders I know how best to explain it to her. She might not see things in the same way, given her friendship with the Spirit of Justice, but I can help her to understand as much as is within my ability to try. At the moment trying is all we have, no? We must not risk Vengeance surfacing - should he take over Anders even for a brief time... well, Varric told Cassandra and I about that part. The risk is too great and if they can't be separated... then you will have my deepest regret.

[Leliana folds her hands in her lap, staring down for a moment.]

I do not take pleasure in this at all. I have always championed Mages' freedom. I have known wonderful mages in my life - Wynne, rest her soul, was a good woman who was accepting of the Circle. She made her place there and still made her mark on the world. Morrigan - for all her faults - has always done everything in her power to find her own place in the world as well, free of her mother. It lead her to save Thedas in her own way. So, while it is true there are mages with good and bad intentions - as Wynne and Morrigan can attest - it is also true that I will do what needs to be done, for the good of the people we have here. I am sorry, should that come to blows. I won't compromise the justice owed to the Chantry and the people Anders killed for the lives of a corrupted mage and a corrupted spirit. If it comes to that, then you have my answer.

[wolfehawke]

Riona is your charge.

[Adalwolfe shrugs, deferring to Leliana's expertise where it comes to the Warden. It's not as if he has a choice.]

I don't know what Anders has already told her; I haven't policed them. They're old friends, and it would be suspicious of me to either of them to try.

[He folds his arms, looking a bit darker. He doesn't say he'll stand in her way if she does go for Anders if she perceives failure. He doesn't have to say. She must know that, if she knows anything at all. But he doesn't fault her for it, either. It's a strange sort of detached knowledge he's had for some time now. There are those that want Anders dead and neither Hawke nor the man himself can see a problem with that other than they want the opposite. Or at least, Hawke does, and Anders does for Hawke's sake.

At least Leliana is more focused on the danger of Vengeance than vengeance of her own in the name of justice. Ironic, that, to kill Vengeance for revenge, in the name of the spirit it used to be. Death is never just, though. Just final.]

Mages are like anyone else, in that regard.

[He rakes his fingers through his beard briefly.]

Isn't it better, though, to atone through action rather than death? Justice isn't always clear cut, nor does it have only one avenue of being fulfilled.

[nugqueen]

And just like anyone else there is always a right or a wrong choice.

[There as that sharp look of hers again. She wasn't happy with him because it still felt as if he was advocating for keeping him alive. If there was no way to avoid killing him in destroying Vengeance then Hawke would be sorely disappointed with which option she would go with.]

He would not have to atone for anything had he not murdered innocent people. Elthina was an innocent. The Chantry's people were innocents. They did not make the laws that govern mages, only enforced them.

[And there was the rub really. Both sides were in the wrong now.]

And Anders was far from innocent himself. He abandoned his post as a Grey Warden. That in itself should be punishable, no? But it is not for me to decide that - I am not a Warden.

[However bringing up even the idea of killing Anders because of the risk Vengeance posed would not be wise. Riona wouldn't do it.]

I am however still the Left Hand of the Divine and his actions created a war, created uprisings from Ferelden to Orlais. Mages - good and innocent mages have died because of what he's done. He did no favors to the people he wanted to liberate.

[Leliana rises to her feet suddenly, more swift than a shadow, to pace angrily.]

Please tell me you aren't justifying murder with murder, Hawke. You can't possibly be that stupid.

[Maybe she was being harsh, but damned if she was going to allow the continued defense of what Anders had done.]

If - and only if - you can find a way to extract the demon from him, I will let this be. Otherwise you'll leave me no choice. I will find a way to stop the thing from surfacing myself - whether it means killing Anders or not. You won't put more innocent people at risk for him.

[Her stomach knotted just thinking about it. Riona would be furious and that could very well mean losing a friend. Already the two had some tense conversations about what she'd done over the years for the sake of peace.]

[wolfehawke]

Of course not, I have never and will never advocate murder, but aren't you?

[He frowns deeply, very still in contrast to her pacing. There's no anger in him, instead a cold calm settling on his shoulders like a mantle. Her sharp look meets a stoic wall.]

Killing Anders in the name of people already dead, it's the same thing. He did something hideously wrong and I'm not defending that act. I never said I did. All I'm trying to do is shed light on the truth of it for you. In all regards, further bloodshed is hardly the answer, especially here outside of Thedas where there are so few of us.

[He lets out a breath, producing a little cloud with the exhale, as one would in the middle of deep winter. He swallows and his next breath is normal. He never loses reign of himself, but there is certainly an internal struggle, frustration that runs cold instead of hot. He doesn't respond to the jabs about Anders' choices concerning the Wardens though. It's not the point here.]

The spirit will be removed and dealt with, you have my word as Champion.

[nugqueen]

I would not be talking of killing him were he not currently attached to a demon that could kill all of us should it feel threatened.

[And strangely enough now she felt like Cullen. He was so abhorrently against demons and mages being possessed and she had always been staunchly for Mages proving their own worth. She gives a frustrated sigh and a sharp Orlesian curse of Merde. This was a terrible situation all around.]

It isn't just for people long dead but for our own safety as well. Should Vengeance surface and decide to harm others for any reason it would be on our heads. He is dangerous.

[Sighing, she wrings her hands before nodding, not facing him. She was fine accepting his word.]

We've gotten off to a terrible start, you and I. I am not all sharp edges and blades - I wasn't always like that. I care for the Mages... I care for what he suffered, but what he is now compromises everything good we both wish to protect. For now... let's leave this at a stalemate, no? Do with Anders what you believe is best.

[Because right now she's angry and tired and pretty much wants to flee for an hour or two. Her mind was reeling back and back to the Temple of Sacred Ashes, to news of Justinia's death and all the mages and templars who had come to the conclave - a conclave that would not have been necessary were it not for Kirkwall shedding the first blood.]

We will speak again, perhaps on better terms.

[The Left Hand should lay down her burden... Damned if Justinia didn't still haunt her even now. She was heartbroken and wanted to see Anders pay for his crimes but she also knew when to step aside.]

wrap!

[wolfehawke]

We have, but it's no different than my plight with most of the rest of the Thedosians here.

[It does bother him greatly, but he shrugs it off like a joke. Easier that way, and the things that bother him are hardly as important as everything else going on right now.]

I do hope we can start again, eventually.

[He offers a small smile, but the dismissal is obvious. He bows respectfully, not too low but with a hand across his waist in the manner which he was taught - Leandra may have left the Amell name behind, but never the etiquette, which she passed to her children - and moves to retrieve his boots. Putting them back on is a much more graceful process than removing them.

He pauses just briefly, looking at the icon of Andraste silently, then steps out into the corridor.]