this is my first network post in this game oh god i hope i don't ruin it

[twelvelabours]

FORM: sending crystal
SENDER: Hercules Hansen
RECIPIENT: locked to Grey Wardens! Grey Wardens only club!!!
WHAT: Anders & what do with him: a Grey Warden opinions discussion
WHEN: late Guardian /mumbles vaguely - set after Anders turns himself into Herc, before Leliana deduces is identity
WHERE: Skyhold
NOTES:
This is regarding the Anders reveal plot, as discussed in this ooc post and as a follow-on from this log thread.
Threadjacking and hopping around encouraged!
If you'd like a thread with Herc to turn to actionspam for characters in Skyhold, go for it.

Wardens. We’ve got something important to discuss. If you’re not someplace private, stop listening now, drop whatever it is you’re doing, and get somewhere suitable. This is strictly Warden business.

( This is not the happy and friendly Herc. This is tense and angry Herc, even with his temper very carefully kept in check.

He leaves a pause to allow them to either stop listening without him accidentally unveiling something, if they need to, takes a breath, and carries on. There might be the sound of wind whipping behind him as he stands on the ramparts - what you can’t hear is the sound of him trying to reduce Anders to ash with his gaze. )

A Grey Warden who left our numbers has handed himself in to answer for crimes committed. Not against the Grey Wardens, but against Kirkwall and the Chantry. Some of you already know this man. Some of you knew him by the adopted name ‘Detlef.’ Others will just know the crimes of the mage Anders.

( Considering how to continue, what to say next, Herc exhales a moment. What a day. )

Anders has turned himself into us of his own free will, ( which unfortunately denied Herc the chance to tackle-slam him face first into a wall, ho hum ) and confessed to blowing up the Kirkwall Chantry, an act he claims was for the sake of mage freedom.

( He pauses, there. )

I don’t have much of a personal stake in that. I’m not a man of the Chantry, and I’m not a mage. Far as I’m concerned, there’s mages and there’s mages. The likes of Bethany and Kaiden have saved my life more times than I can count. Others can be dangerous, and I reckon the same goes for Templars, same as any other person. You’ve got honourable ones, and you’ve got monstrosities.

Now, I don’t even know all about what was happening in Kirkwall, back then, but I can’t say I’m a fan of killing some innocent people for the sake of saving other innocent people, one way or the other.
( Sounds like a pile of crap to him, personally. ) And as Grey Wardens, our roles is to try and protect all of Thedas. From the Blight and darkspawn, usually, but I don’t think innocent lives being lost, no matter who they belong to, sits well with any of us.

( Still. )

But Nathaniel reminded me that we all know how much someone can change, and that we all come to the Wardens for different reasons. Atonement is one, but Anders’ fate isn’t something any one of us can decide. He’s one of our own, and he’s our responsibility. Speak up with your thoughts.

Whatever our decision is, we are telling the Inquisition. The Wardens integrity isn’t going to be compromised any further.

Comments

[byblow]

Not all of it.

[unbrokenoath]

You can talk about my parents, if you want. My ma lied to me about the tooth spirit. I still have trust issues.

[sunshinethroughgrey]

So are we going to start talking about your father then?

[She likes you, Alistair, but leave Nathaniel's family out of this.]

[unbrokenoath]

His father is a legendary hero king who beat the Orlesians like a drum.

Maybe he forgot to bless someone's sneeze?

[sunshinethroughgrey]

Amongst other things, Kaisa. Again, none of us are without sins.

[Firmly, but without malice. Although she does cough out a laugh.]

... Hmm, that would have been one for the history books. 'Then King Cailan forgot to bless the sneeze of Divine, and the umpity March began on Fereldan.'

[byblow]

I'm always ready to complain about Maric. You start. I'll jump in when I have something good.

[ They're so off topic someone help.... ]

[sunshinethroughgrey]

[Oh Maker's tits, Alistair she's trying to make a point and be mad at you. Making her laugh is bad for her serious image right now.

Choking. Down. Laughter.]

Alistair.

[Cough.]

The point is, we can't control who our parents are, even who our siblings are. We should be judged by our actions, and our actions alone.

[byblow]

I'm not judging anyone. I'm making sure Loghain is only accountable for the wrongs he actually committed. If we add too much more to the list it will get really hard for me to remember.

[sunshinethroughgrey]

[Oh good grief.]

Well Loghain betrayed the Grey Wardens, Cailan, and half of the Ostagar army. He enslaved innocent elves to Tevinter. He tried to poison Arl Eamon. He is indirectly responsible for what happened at Kinloch Hold. He's the reason I nearly didn't have a twin. So I think we can be fairly certain that Loghain?

Is still an ass.

[byblow]

That's not—

[ Of course Loghain is still an ass. Rendon Howe is just, additionally, possibly more of an ass. Several things on that list were his doing. Alistair was there and would love to blame Loghain more if he could—so he doesn't actually go through the effort of explaining now. It's probably easier for history to have one villain than two, anyway. As a personal gift to fidgety young scholars throughout Ferelden, he only sighs. ]

[sunshinethroughgrey]

[Bethany is well aware how much of an ass Rendon Howe is. She just wasn't going to bring him up because he was one, dead. Two, Nathaniel's father. Three ... well, not important in this discussion.]