"Everyone kept telling me that I was making things harder on myself. That if I would stop there wouldn't be so much pain or punishment. And most mages believe that, believed it. That the ones who got the most Templar attention deserved it. It makes them feel... I don't know. Safer. Superior. Like they weren't at risk of abuse if they believed it wasn't random."
It was a false security, but when you didn't have any real security people became desperate for it.
"I think that's how Loyalists can exist. They had it easier, and they believed it was because of... them, when really it was luck, randomness, not catching the eye of someone intent on finding a new target."
Anders sighs, curling up against Nate further. "And it's why they're the hardest of all to convince that Circles are bad. They're safer if it was my fault I was consistently gone after, no matter that I stopped and tried to avoid drawing attention for a time. They're safer if it was the fault of all the mages who died or disappeared." He hates them a little, for all he wishes he didn't.
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It was a false security, but when you didn't have any real security people became desperate for it.
"I think that's how Loyalists can exist. They had it easier, and they believed it was because of... them, when really it was luck, randomness, not catching the eye of someone intent on finding a new target."
Anders sighs, curling up against Nate further. "And it's why they're the hardest of all to convince that Circles are bad. They're safer if it was my fault I was consistently gone after, no matter that I stopped and tried to avoid drawing attention for a time. They're safer if it was the fault of all the mages who died or disappeared." He hates them a little, for all he wishes he didn't.