Altair remained silent, as Anders told him his tale and every now and then his head would tilt as he considered his words. He seemed so afraid that Altair would turn on him, even though Altair really wasn't hearing anything any sane man would judge Anders for. Maybe it would have been different if he'd been from this world. Or if he'd been a Jedi who'd found his way here somehow.
But as a Sith he was a man of action. And Anders had taken action.
When he finished talking, instead of pulling his hand away, Altair moved to grasp Anders's hand with both of his and giving a comforting squeeze. All that apprehension he could sense. Anders really did believe that he would pull away from him after hearing this. That he'd think less of him, somehow.
"So your people suffered from both the apathy of the Chantry and the cruelty of the Templars, including a woman who wanted to slaughter all mages in this Kirkwall Circle for no crime other than what?- being born?- and you did something to make sure that that didn't happen..."
An apathetic Grand Cleric content to sit by and weep false tears to garner sympathy it sounded like, monstrous Templars, and some Revered Mothers lost to give the mages a fighting chance where before all they had been promised was death at the hands of the prejudiced. And considering Anders hadn't mentioned any innocents being caught in the blast, Altair was pretty sure he'd taken precautions to ensure that none would be, which would have been the only reason why one might blame him for anything.
"And I'm supposed to what? Judge you for that? Blame you? Get angry? For doing what you could to save lives in an impossible situation?"
Maybe some people would argue that there was a better way, but. Not him. In that sort of situation, answering in a moderate way would amount to nothing, and innocent lives would be lost as a result.
"I think you did what you could when most others were content to sit on their hands doing nothing besides offering empty platitudes. I'm not going to turn on you for that. And certainly not judge you for it. If anything, I think you were very brave and that you saved a lot of lives doing what you did."
no subject
But as a Sith he was a man of action. And Anders had taken action.
When he finished talking, instead of pulling his hand away, Altair moved to grasp Anders's hand with both of his and giving a comforting squeeze. All that apprehension he could sense. Anders really did believe that he would pull away from him after hearing this. That he'd think less of him, somehow.
"So your people suffered from both the apathy of the Chantry and the cruelty of the Templars, including a woman who wanted to slaughter all mages in this Kirkwall Circle for no crime other than what?- being born?- and you did something to make sure that that didn't happen..."
An apathetic Grand Cleric content to sit by and weep false tears to garner sympathy it sounded like, monstrous Templars, and some Revered Mothers lost to give the mages a fighting chance where before all they had been promised was death at the hands of the prejudiced. And considering Anders hadn't mentioned any innocents being caught in the blast, Altair was pretty sure he'd taken precautions to ensure that none would be, which would have been the only reason why one might blame him for anything.
"And I'm supposed to what? Judge you for that? Blame you? Get angry? For doing what you could to save lives in an impossible situation?"
Maybe some people would argue that there was a better way, but. Not him. In that sort of situation, answering in a moderate way would amount to nothing, and innocent lives would be lost as a result.
"I think you did what you could when most others were content to sit on their hands doing nothing besides offering empty platitudes. I'm not going to turn on you for that. And certainly not judge you for it. If anything, I think you were very brave and that you saved a lot of lives doing what you did."