[She doesn't remember shifting Templar attitudes, much, but closer supervision by older mages now comes to mind.]
...I wasn't going to bring current politics into this, but now I have to ask; did seeing all that influence your thoughts on the upcoming election at all, either way?
I suppose it's influenced my politics in its way for years. I've never made it a secret that I think that it's a mistake to pursue a future for mages with no oversight or safeguards at all. What precisely those safeguards look like, and how much the Chantry is involved, is certainly worth discussing, but... I suppose find it all too easy to imagine Uldred in a university, or a city like Denerim. If he took so many lives among mages and templars, most of whom could fight back, how many more could he have killed if he'd been set loose on a population with neither magic nor the tools to counter it?
That's certainly fair...and I can't say it hasn't influence my own mindset.
[How could it not? She had been but a child and seen some of the worst that could come of rebellious mages who threw morality aside. Nor did she limit the blame to Uldred; his followers all made their choice. She nods, her mouth set.]
Our worst enemy will always be ourselves and our own kind, if unshackled from concerns of morality. We've seen what happens when mages give into the worst of themselves. Trying to justify it doesn't change the damage done, or lives lost. And blood magic will never just be another school, like any other.
[Did that sound bitter? Well, maybe just a little.]
So far...I admit I favor Agathe. Elise doesn't stand a snowball's chance in the Western Approach, and some seem to forget the potential for severe backlash that would happen if by any chance she was elected.
I agree. I think Agathe is the best choice that will stick. Backlash would be the least of it if Elise is chosen, and the middle of a war is not the time I want to see how long it takes a truly radical Divine to be assassinated.
[It's much franker than he might be in other circumstances, but... he's willing to be pinned down this once, this far.]
If Agathe is stubborn, well... any changes are likely to stay changed, and I suspect she won't go back on anything the Chantry has already promised. It's something to build from.
I also think Isaac had a point in the broader discussion, though; all of us can agree Gertruda would be a disaster. If we can't unite for someone, uniting against someone at least saves us from the worst case.
[She nods grimly at mention of assassination. Elise has too many detractors for that to be anything but a likely outcome.]
Gertruda is a problem...though the wishy-washy one could be just as bad, if she has those strongly in favor of the old system without any changes to influence her. Anything that could grin the ascension of either one to a halt would have my approval. [A small smirk forms.] If the northern Grey Wardens are going to throw away any pretense at avoiding politics, I won't hold back either.
I've no love for Clorentine, but given the Inquisition's overall position, I assumed cooperation there was more or less given. Not that I can see why she'd have many supporters anyway -- too risky. Give me someone I disagree with who holds a consistent, coherent position any day.
So far...research. I want to know more about all the candidates involved; their strengths, their weaknesses, their opinions about dogs. [Mostly joking about the latter. Mostly.] And of course if anything uncovered might compromise certain candidates, I would love to see it fall into the right hands. Those voting might not care about the same things that we hold dear, but that isn't to say that the candidates hands are clean. Everyone has skeletons in their closet.
Information is never a bad thing, though we don't have as much time for gathering it as I'd like. In fairness, we probably should have been keeping a closer eye out before now, but... Corypheus.
He may not have caused all of the issues we now deal with, but he's certainly manipulated them. No wonder we didn't have time or energy to spare for this until now. And you're right, there isn't much time for research or even action. But...I hate waiting for whatever is to come without doing something to influence it. It shouldn't matter to me anymore, I'm a Warden. They won't make me return, but....
[...she gestures at him, also meaning all the colleagues and friends she's made in the Circle and now outside it. Whatever will happen to them is something she can't ignore.]
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[She doesn't remember shifting Templar attitudes, much, but closer supervision by older mages now comes to mind.]
...I wasn't going to bring current politics into this, but now I have to ask; did seeing all that influence your thoughts on the upcoming election at all, either way?
no subject
I suppose it's influenced my politics in its way for years. I've never made it a secret that I think that it's a mistake to pursue a future for mages with no oversight or safeguards at all. What precisely those safeguards look like, and how much the Chantry is involved, is certainly worth discussing, but... I suppose find it all too easy to imagine Uldred in a university, or a city like Denerim. If he took so many lives among mages and templars, most of whom could fight back, how many more could he have killed if he'd been set loose on a population with neither magic nor the tools to counter it?
no subject
[How could it not? She had been but a child and seen some of the worst that could come of rebellious mages who threw morality aside. Nor did she limit the blame to Uldred; his followers all made their choice. She nods, her mouth set.]
Our worst enemy will always be ourselves and our own kind, if unshackled from concerns of morality. We've seen what happens when mages give into the worst of themselves. Trying to justify it doesn't change the damage done, or lives lost. And blood magic will never just be another school, like any other.
[Did that sound bitter? Well, maybe just a little.]
So far...I admit I favor Agathe. Elise doesn't stand a snowball's chance in the Western Approach, and some seem to forget the potential for severe backlash that would happen if by any chance she was elected.
no subject
[It's much franker than he might be in other circumstances, but... he's willing to be pinned down this once, this far.]
If Agathe is stubborn, well... any changes are likely to stay changed, and I suspect she won't go back on anything the Chantry has already promised. It's something to build from.
I also think Isaac had a point in the broader discussion, though; all of us can agree Gertruda would be a disaster. If we can't unite for someone, uniting against someone at least saves us from the worst case.
no subject
Gertruda is a problem...though the wishy-washy one could be just as bad, if she has those strongly in favor of the old system without any changes to influence her. Anything that could grin the ascension of either one to a halt would have my approval. [A small smirk forms.] If the northern Grey Wardens are going to throw away any pretense at avoiding politics, I won't hold back either.
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Have you any plans in mind?
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[The tone of what can one do?]
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[She nods in grim agreement.]
He may not have caused all of the issues we now deal with, but he's certainly manipulated them. No wonder we didn't have time or energy to spare for this until now. And you're right, there isn't much time for research or even action. But...I hate waiting for whatever is to come without doing something to influence it. It shouldn't matter to me anymore, I'm a Warden. They won't make me return, but....
[...she gestures at him, also meaning all the colleagues and friends she's made in the Circle and now outside it. Whatever will happen to them is something she can't ignore.]