To: Senior Enchanter Wynne

Circle Tower, Fereldan

Greetings to you, my dear friend,

I beg your forgiveness for not writing sooner; things here have been frenetic. Thank you for your last letter. It is always good to hear from you, even if the news is troubling. All we hear from the north seems bad of late. "Perhaps it is simply their turn?" as Leliana would say. I would ask why there can be no lasting peace in this world, but as those wiser than me have said "such questions have no true answer, and will drive you to madness." You were right to tell me so. Between Tevinter's never-ending war and Kirkwall's self-inflicted chaos, now it seems as though the Orlesians press to recover their lost territory. Maker grant our king the strength to resist.

You were right about that too, you know. I even knew it at the time, but youth is nothing if not stubborn. I am no longer quite so young, though hopefully I remain as stubbornly difficult to kill. If things continue as they seem, we will need all our resolve. Yet, even with the intervening years, the struggle against bitterness is a daily one, and at times a singularly painful one. But, it is the road I chose, so I must not shrink from walking it to the very end.

In the loudest silences of the night, I sometimes wonder if all the accomplishments were worth the cost of their making. Yet one more thing I learn with the years, that one cannot foretell how badly the price will cut you. I made ugly choices to spare others the agony of living with them. I believed I was strong enough to bear any cost, never comprehending how some sacrifices must be made daily, even hourly.

There was an old Avvar saying about pain giving birth to wisdom. And these past years I have ample opportunity to grow wise indeed. Yet even tallying the price, I still find that I would still choose to pay it. Some things are worth more than comfort. This I have heard and this I have even spoken. I do not regret any of it, save the disbanding of our company. But nothing lasts forever, save perhaps for Shale.

Thank you again for your letter. Any news you can spare of the College is welcome. I may no longer be bound to a Circle, but this matter is dear to my heart. Would that I could share equal news of our efforts here, but I am forbidden by those in Weisshaupt. It seems we must ever submit to the will of our superiors. What I can do is ask you to pray for us my friend. You still believe, so perhaps your prayers will still be heard. The stars portend evil days to come, and I fear they are too right. Change comes swiftly, usually without consent, but never silently, and it seems we now stand at the knife's edge of it. My thoughts are with you Wynne, and with our brethren in Kirkwall.

Maker keep you my friend

Given at Vigil's Keep

9:36 Dragon