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

Voice

[sunshinethroughgrey]

[Bethany sounds a little out of breath - she has in fact run all the way up the steps and to the top of the tower so she can't be overheard.]

Sorry, yes, right. Just to make this clear to everyone? Anders has already been judged by the Champion of Kirkwall, and her punishment to him was to spend the rest of his life making up for all the mistakes he made.

[Her lips press together, before she says quietly.] Beyond that ... as a mage and scholar, someone who has been in close contact with Anders and his spirit hanger-on? I cannot honestly say that all Anders's actions were in fact, his actions and his alone. Justice, or whatever it is now -- has had direct control over Anders for more years in Kirkwall than I can count. Anders maintains direct control, but the subtle, and not so subtle effect on Anders's behavior is something that has to be taken into account.

[Deep breath, Bethany.] Beyond that ... he's one of our own, and he needs our help. In more ways than one.

[paperwing]

[Up until five minutes ago, Sabriel knew very little and had little to say in the matters of Kirkwall save that it had, in some way, led to the mage rebellion and the dissolution of the circles and how so many mages (and templars) had died because of it, why so many mages were afraid and so many children were here who had witnessed horrors they never should.

So, for that, she is a low-key infuriated.

But that this Anders, whom she had never had named or knew of, that he was right here in Skyhold, that he was-]

A Grey Warden destroyed the Kirkwall Chantry.

[Now she's ten steps closer to mad, or anger.

That image of the Grey Wardens is being slowly ruined. Thanks, Joining. Thanks, Anders.]

[foodsofmypeople]

[Kaidan pales as he hears Herc's announcement. He made his way to somewhere quiet, where he could think about things,

As far as he knew, he was the only mage amongst the crew of Wardens who had actually been through the worst of the Circle system. Bethany had lived as an apostate for most of her life till she had been recruited, Sabriel was kept safe by Terciel, but even when she went to Perendale, her experience was a lot more positive than his had been, and Felix had been brought up in Tevinter. He knew what the Circles could be like, and although Ansberg circle had been nowhere near as bad as Kinloch's reputation was, he knew what it was like to be pushed to a breaking point by the Templars. The only difference was he only killed one, and it was a personal attack. Anders was railing against the whole system.

He could see how easy it was for Anders to go down the path he had.

Herc was the only Warden that knows Kaidan's story, as he ran across Kaidan just as he had been recruited - the angry young man, changed forever by what he had done, seeking a new path for his life. Now it was merely a part of Kaidan's past, something that had shaped him, had helped him to become the well adjusted Warden (if there ever was such a thing) that he was.

Right now, Kaidan was full of feelings and not sure just what he was supposed to do. But Herc was right. Anders was one of their own, and part of the deal with being a Warden was who you were in the past was behind you. It could explain why he was not as eloquent as usual when he responded.]

Well.


Fuck.

[bunko]

Ah, but-- why do we have to tell? You say it is integrity. But surely there are times when it is better to keep silent? To lie, to keep a protection.

It has been a secret. Why can it not continue to be a secret?

[unbrokenoath]

Can I officially vote for some kind of summary of what we've discussed and agreed on at this point in time? Maybe points that still need picking at? Because right now it feels like we're just arguing circles around each other. So, uh...

[ Look, she's taking this seriously. And trying to be organized. She's so proud of herself. ]

We're taking Anders in, we're going to talk to him about why he did what he did, and if he'll do it again--which will be a private meeting between a handful of people. We keep someone with him at all times. Nathaniel offered nights, we can probably switch between us during the day.

Then we're talking to the Inquisition, which I'm still personally worried about, because even if we don't really have a choice but to ally with them--there's a cost that could get high. But that cost could be pretty brutal if we hide it. We tell them it's Warden business, we'll take care of it, have a nice day.

--Paraphrased. Hopefully.

And, uh. Then we celebrate with some drinks, hopefully?

We've covered arguing about mage oppression, how shitty our families are, and agreed that Templars are kind of super crazy. No offense to Alistair, we stole him because he's not super crazy.

...Anything else we need to talk over?

[ Pause. ]

I'm sorry if this is super presumptuous or whatever, I'm not trying to override anyone. I'm just an idiot and I'm confused, and I'd love it if we could simplify some of this.