The name on everyone’s lips lately is Lavellan, for good or ill. Reports of her exploits are wildly inconsistent, tales growing taller with each telling, and if Anders hadn’t had first-hand experience with Varric and his creative liberties, he might have had a more difficult time parsing the truth out of rumor. As it stands, he’s not entirely certain what can be believed and what can’t, and his network is not as strong as it might have been had he retained any of his friendships and connections from Kirkwall.
It settles sour in his stomach to think of friendships lost, but he can’t bring himself to regret his actions. He wishes there had been another way, but wishes have never amounted to much, and he will carry the burden of his choices. He must, so that no one else will ever have to.
The Inquisitor is... a concern to him. A Dalish elf, a mage, a woman thrust into a position of power and adoration in the wake of a terrible act -- he does not know who she truly is, and won’t be comfortable with her and her so-called alliance with Redcliffe’s rebel mages until he has taken the measure of her for himself. It is dangerous, but life has been dangerous for him for far longer than it hasn’t, and his personal safety is not as much a concern for him as the needs of the many.
There are things more important than his life, even after Hawke chose to spare it. This is a risk worth taking.
Dawn is barely cresting over the mountaintops when he finally arrives, face wind-chapped and fingers frozen, curled into aching fists in his pockets. The morning guard detains him, and he is lucky, he supposes, that he is not clapped in irons on sight.
Perhaps she is more genuine than he dares to believe. He won’t hold his breath for it, but it would be... it would be something, wouldn’t it?
Calm, level, he restates his case: “I request an audience with Inquisitor Lavellan and Grand Enchanter Fiona.”
He hasn’t given his name, but the staff on his back speaks for itself: he is a mage, a rebel mage. Not the first by far, but certainly the catalyst for all that came after -- and, perhaps, the responsible party, if the mages here are not being treated with respect and dignity.
