The voyage back from Kirkwall had been rather uneventful, all things considered. But as was almost inevitable, there had been plenty of work to do immediately upon returning to Skyhold, and it was only now, a fortnight after they'd returned, that Leon at last found himself with the free time to visit Cyrus.
He wasn't the only one invited; Rilien and Séverine had been extended invitations as well, and he had little doubt that the Lady Inquisitor would also be present—apparently, some matters of interest had come up in Cyrus's perusal of the Lord Seeker's tome. Leon didn't know what to expect, but at this point, he'd be a fool to be overly optimistic about the news.
Coming to a stop outside the door, Leon knocked once and announced them before stepping inside, holding the door for the other two. Cyrus's office always had a distinct sense of dishevelment to it, one that clashed with Leon's military sensibilities but typified its occupant very well. A strange mash of the chaotic and the orderly, the scattershot and the precise, the overwhelmed and overwhelming. Not entirely unlike Cyrus was in conversation: a great deal of interesting things to say, but not always the firmest command of how to say them.
Estella greeted them with a thin smile, gesturing to the empty seats. All of them had been arranged in a circle with the ones she and Cyrus occupied, around a tea service and snacks, from the look of it. Maybe it was paranoia, but that was almost a worse sign than it would have been if things were only perfunctory. Still... he did like tea, and took one of the seats readily. "Got through the whole thing already?" Leon directed the question at Cyrus. Had it been anyone else, he'd have expected to be waiting much longer for any detailed study of the contents.
Other people slept nightly, after all.
The book itself sat on Cyrus's lap, his legs folded up underneath him on the armchair. His cat had wedged herself between it and the arm, inspecting the visitors with disinterested green eyes. He balanced a teacup on the other rest, humming at the question. “Thrice. It's very interesting reading, with some relevance to everyone present. Which is of course why you're present." His brows knit. “I'll be honest: I haven't really given much thought to what order I present this in, so I suppose I'll start with the biggest thing."
He took a sip of his tea, lowering it back to the armrest before tapping the book's cover with his other index finger. “Not only is there a cure for Tranquility, but the Seekers have known about it for as long as they've been conducting Vigils."
"Wait... what?" Estella broke the silence first, glancing between the rest of them like she was surprised none of them were expressing more shock. "There's a... a way to reverse Tranquility? I thought it was permanent." Her eyes landed on Rilien for a moment, then slid back to her brother.
Truthfully, Leon was surprised, but only about one part of what Cyrus had said. "A few years ago, there was one confirmed case of someone becoming Tranquil and then the process being reversed," he explained. "I have no idea how it was done; details on the incident were sparing, and the subject has since disappeared. In the rest of the chaos at that time, it's not all that unusual that even something like that would have fallen through the cracks, but... you're suggesting the cure is much older than that."
Cyrus nodded. “It's not just that, Leon." He frowned, looking troubled by something. “I honestly don't even know how to tell you this, but... not only have the Seekers known for as long as they've existed, but it's integral to the Order." His thumb dragged repetitively along the bottom edge of the book's cover, smoothing over worn leather quickly enough to suggest some level of agitation. “For the sake of getting everyone on the same page: how would you explain the Vigil to someone who didn't know about it?"
Leon considered the question, taking a sip of tea and pursing his lips as he swallowed. "It's what happens when we've finished the training particular to our Order. The training itself isn't what gives us our... particular powers. It's just an education in things like strategy, interrogation, espionage, history, and the like. The Vigil is—once we know all the rest of that, we are taken to a cloistered area, and left there for a year. No contact with anyone, meals left anonymously. We're meant to contemplate our faith, taught how to meditate the right way. When it's over, we—" He paused, digging back through his memory to try and recall exactly what had happened when his year was up.
"Our seniors return for us, and... something happens. I don't remember exactly what. Ritual words—mostly I just remember going outside and seeing the sun for the first time in a year." It had been a revelatory experience, that part of it, so much so that the rest of the recollection utterly paled in comparison. Still, he was surprised by the number of missing details, now that he was trying to recount them in particular. What had happened?
“According to this..." Cyrus trailed off, his eyes finding the ceiling for a moment before they dropped back down. “By the end of that year, the end of the Vigil, you are Tranquil, or close enough to it. What happens after is blurry in your memory because part of it involves having your mind touched by a spirit drawn from across the Fade."
He let that silence sit for a moment, but before it could truly settle, Rilien spoke. “I can confirm that proximity to powerful enough spirits or demons does temporarily lift Tranquility, if they will it so. It is not an implausible leap to suppose they could make it permanent."
Cyrus nodded. “And in fact they do. The Seeker's mind is touched by a spirit of Faith, and in so doing they are able to access power that comes about as a side effect. The source of the ability to use templar-like talents without lyrium."
Leon didn't have any reason to disbelieve what Cyrus was telling him. The information tracked with what he knew, and explained the gaps in his otherwise-decent memory. No doubt having one's mind interfered with by a spirit might cause some memory loss, at least of the event itself. And perhaps... perhaps it even explained why that first step outside was so vivid. If it was the first thing he'd experienced after some months as tranquil, then... his brows knit. "If that's the goal—to bring us in contact with a spirit in that particular way, why go through the Vigil at all? It's not as though spirits cannot reach those who aren't tranquil. In fact, it would surely be easier."
Cyrus hummed. “Actually, that's just the problem. If you weren't tranquil, you would have had strong emotions of your own in the mix, and there would have been no guarantee that something negative wouldn't have corrupted the spirit. That's all it takes, you know—to turn one into a demon. It's part of the reason so few instances of possession ever end well. Even if the possessing entity isn't a demon to begin with... the negative aspects of their host can cause them to become warped."
"How detailed are the instructions for this... ritual, or whatever it is?" Estella reentered the conversation with a troubled look on her face. "When I think about all the mages for whom Tranquility was a punishment for disobedience—something like this could go a long way towards healing the rift that started a war, don't you think?"
Leon shook his head slightly. "It would be vastly more complicated than just that," he said softly, holding his teacup in front of his mouth but forgetting to actually drink from it. "The number of questions that would arise, the number of accusations... there's no doubt that this information was misused in the past, but if that were to get out now, when what the Chantry really needs is stability and rebuilding... I'm not sure any attempt to repair its credibility would survive. Before, unjustified uses of the Rite were something to be blamed on individual Knight-Commanders, rogue subordinates, or at the very worst, individual Circles. But if the Chantry has had the ability to reverse those injustices this whole time and never used it..."
“There are... further ramifications." Cyrus moved his free hand from the book to Pia's head, stroking absently at her ears. “To be reintroduced to one's emotions and connection to the Fade after a few months without is one thing. But some Tranquil have been that way for years or more. There is a chance the very act would drive them mad."
Rilien was silent, stirring a small measure of sugar into his teacup impassively. There was no mistaking that he was listening, however, his attention every bit as keen as Leon had always known it to be.
No doubt if he wanted to know what the elf was thinking, Leon would have to ask. He was parting his lips to do so when Estella made a frustrated noise, like she'd been trying to clamp down on a thought for a while and could no longer manage it. "But then what? We wait until the Chantry is more stable and then tell everyone about this? Won't that topple credibility just the same? If... if you've got a bad foundation, you can't just sweep away the old house and build a new one on top. It'll fall, too. You've got to rip out the foundation and redo that first." She exhaled heavily, shifting in her seat. "I understand that the Chantry's position is precarious right now, and I understand that it needs to be rebuilt. But I don't think it should be rebuilt like it was, with all the same designs on the same foundation and new boards to fill old places. It should be something new, something better than its history."
Her lips thinned. "And you can't start that process by continuing to deceive people, even by omission. No one here is responsible for making this mistake. But the positions we have, the influence we could wield... we could be responsible for either fixing it, or just repeating it. The two of you especially." Her eyes moved between Leon and Séverine.
Séverine looked to Leon, but when she saw he was waiting to allow her to weigh in first, she shifted and cleared her throat. She'd been quiet, absorbing the information no doubt with some difficulty. "I may not have much place to speak on this," she began. "After all, I've suggested using the Rite before, in a manner that was deemed unjustified or at the very least unnecessary. But... I think Estella has a point here."
She looked to Leon. "At this point, we're starting from scratch. The people that knew about this secret before, they're dead now, all of them. We're the ones who know about it now. We're the new foundation, if we're using the Inquisitor's metaphor. The faith has survived so much already. And people are seeking answers now more than ever. I think honesty is the way forward. An admittance that the old Chantry we served was wrong, in many ways. So they know that our goals aren't the same." She glanced at Rilien, no doubt wondering what he was thinking as well.
"We might soon be living in a world where mages aren't made Tranquil ever again... but that won't help those that already are. And if secrets like this are kept to ourselves, I'm not sure we're any more worthy of trust than all who came before."
Leon let himself consider what the both of them had said. In all honesty, he knew they were right, and he wondered when it was he'd lost that same sense of justice and rightness that seemed to be where they were speaking from. Perhaps his convictions had never been strong enough after all. After a few moments, he dipped his chin in a slow, ponderous nod. "Then we'll release the information. Maybe not the details, but at least the knowledge that reversing a Rite is possible, and the information that this had been concealed by the Chantry in times past." Convincing people of the last part would be perhaps the most crucial step, but like everything else of great import, persuasion would be more a matter of actions than words.
"Is there anything else in there that we ought to know about? If there are demons to be exposed and slain, we'd best be sure to get them all."
Cyrus lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “Nothing particularly damning. Lord Seekers were apparently once privy to a lot of rather dirty historical secrets, but much of the rest of it is just a record of their various tenures in the position and events contemporary with their lives. It's fascinating as a matter of record, and of course I'll let you know if anything else seems off as I continue, but I'd say that was the big one."
He paused a moment, then, moving his eyes to Rilien. “Of course, the ritual is described in enough detail that we could very easily conduct it here, had we a reason to do so. It only takes a couple of mages, some lyrium, and a Seeker. Something to consider, perhaps."
The tranquil in the room blinked, clearly aware of the implication. “Perhaps."
He wasn't the only one invited; Rilien and Séverine had been extended invitations as well, and he had little doubt that the Lady Inquisitor would also be present—apparently, some matters of interest had come up in Cyrus's perusal of the Lord Seeker's tome. Leon didn't know what to expect, but at this point, he'd be a fool to be overly optimistic about the news.
Coming to a stop outside the door, Leon knocked once and announced them before stepping inside, holding the door for the other two. Cyrus's office always had a distinct sense of dishevelment to it, one that clashed with Leon's military sensibilities but typified its occupant very well. A strange mash of the chaotic and the orderly, the scattershot and the precise, the overwhelmed and overwhelming. Not entirely unlike Cyrus was in conversation: a great deal of interesting things to say, but not always the firmest command of how to say them.
Estella greeted them with a thin smile, gesturing to the empty seats. All of them had been arranged in a circle with the ones she and Cyrus occupied, around a tea service and snacks, from the look of it. Maybe it was paranoia, but that was almost a worse sign than it would have been if things were only perfunctory. Still... he did like tea, and took one of the seats readily. "Got through the whole thing already?" Leon directed the question at Cyrus. Had it been anyone else, he'd have expected to be waiting much longer for any detailed study of the contents.
Other people slept nightly, after all.
The book itself sat on Cyrus's lap, his legs folded up underneath him on the armchair. His cat had wedged herself between it and the arm, inspecting the visitors with disinterested green eyes. He balanced a teacup on the other rest, humming at the question. “Thrice. It's very interesting reading, with some relevance to everyone present. Which is of course why you're present." His brows knit. “I'll be honest: I haven't really given much thought to what order I present this in, so I suppose I'll start with the biggest thing."
He took a sip of his tea, lowering it back to the armrest before tapping the book's cover with his other index finger. “Not only is there a cure for Tranquility, but the Seekers have known about it for as long as they've been conducting Vigils."
"Wait... what?" Estella broke the silence first, glancing between the rest of them like she was surprised none of them were expressing more shock. "There's a... a way to reverse Tranquility? I thought it was permanent." Her eyes landed on Rilien for a moment, then slid back to her brother.
Truthfully, Leon was surprised, but only about one part of what Cyrus had said. "A few years ago, there was one confirmed case of someone becoming Tranquil and then the process being reversed," he explained. "I have no idea how it was done; details on the incident were sparing, and the subject has since disappeared. In the rest of the chaos at that time, it's not all that unusual that even something like that would have fallen through the cracks, but... you're suggesting the cure is much older than that."
Cyrus nodded. “It's not just that, Leon." He frowned, looking troubled by something. “I honestly don't even know how to tell you this, but... not only have the Seekers known for as long as they've existed, but it's integral to the Order." His thumb dragged repetitively along the bottom edge of the book's cover, smoothing over worn leather quickly enough to suggest some level of agitation. “For the sake of getting everyone on the same page: how would you explain the Vigil to someone who didn't know about it?"
Leon considered the question, taking a sip of tea and pursing his lips as he swallowed. "It's what happens when we've finished the training particular to our Order. The training itself isn't what gives us our... particular powers. It's just an education in things like strategy, interrogation, espionage, history, and the like. The Vigil is—once we know all the rest of that, we are taken to a cloistered area, and left there for a year. No contact with anyone, meals left anonymously. We're meant to contemplate our faith, taught how to meditate the right way. When it's over, we—" He paused, digging back through his memory to try and recall exactly what had happened when his year was up.
"Our seniors return for us, and... something happens. I don't remember exactly what. Ritual words—mostly I just remember going outside and seeing the sun for the first time in a year." It had been a revelatory experience, that part of it, so much so that the rest of the recollection utterly paled in comparison. Still, he was surprised by the number of missing details, now that he was trying to recount them in particular. What had happened?
“According to this..." Cyrus trailed off, his eyes finding the ceiling for a moment before they dropped back down. “By the end of that year, the end of the Vigil, you are Tranquil, or close enough to it. What happens after is blurry in your memory because part of it involves having your mind touched by a spirit drawn from across the Fade."
He let that silence sit for a moment, but before it could truly settle, Rilien spoke. “I can confirm that proximity to powerful enough spirits or demons does temporarily lift Tranquility, if they will it so. It is not an implausible leap to suppose they could make it permanent."
Cyrus nodded. “And in fact they do. The Seeker's mind is touched by a spirit of Faith, and in so doing they are able to access power that comes about as a side effect. The source of the ability to use templar-like talents without lyrium."
Leon didn't have any reason to disbelieve what Cyrus was telling him. The information tracked with what he knew, and explained the gaps in his otherwise-decent memory. No doubt having one's mind interfered with by a spirit might cause some memory loss, at least of the event itself. And perhaps... perhaps it even explained why that first step outside was so vivid. If it was the first thing he'd experienced after some months as tranquil, then... his brows knit. "If that's the goal—to bring us in contact with a spirit in that particular way, why go through the Vigil at all? It's not as though spirits cannot reach those who aren't tranquil. In fact, it would surely be easier."
Cyrus hummed. “Actually, that's just the problem. If you weren't tranquil, you would have had strong emotions of your own in the mix, and there would have been no guarantee that something negative wouldn't have corrupted the spirit. That's all it takes, you know—to turn one into a demon. It's part of the reason so few instances of possession ever end well. Even if the possessing entity isn't a demon to begin with... the negative aspects of their host can cause them to become warped."
"How detailed are the instructions for this... ritual, or whatever it is?" Estella reentered the conversation with a troubled look on her face. "When I think about all the mages for whom Tranquility was a punishment for disobedience—something like this could go a long way towards healing the rift that started a war, don't you think?"
Leon shook his head slightly. "It would be vastly more complicated than just that," he said softly, holding his teacup in front of his mouth but forgetting to actually drink from it. "The number of questions that would arise, the number of accusations... there's no doubt that this information was misused in the past, but if that were to get out now, when what the Chantry really needs is stability and rebuilding... I'm not sure any attempt to repair its credibility would survive. Before, unjustified uses of the Rite were something to be blamed on individual Knight-Commanders, rogue subordinates, or at the very worst, individual Circles. But if the Chantry has had the ability to reverse those injustices this whole time and never used it..."
“There are... further ramifications." Cyrus moved his free hand from the book to Pia's head, stroking absently at her ears. “To be reintroduced to one's emotions and connection to the Fade after a few months without is one thing. But some Tranquil have been that way for years or more. There is a chance the very act would drive them mad."
Rilien was silent, stirring a small measure of sugar into his teacup impassively. There was no mistaking that he was listening, however, his attention every bit as keen as Leon had always known it to be.
No doubt if he wanted to know what the elf was thinking, Leon would have to ask. He was parting his lips to do so when Estella made a frustrated noise, like she'd been trying to clamp down on a thought for a while and could no longer manage it. "But then what? We wait until the Chantry is more stable and then tell everyone about this? Won't that topple credibility just the same? If... if you've got a bad foundation, you can't just sweep away the old house and build a new one on top. It'll fall, too. You've got to rip out the foundation and redo that first." She exhaled heavily, shifting in her seat. "I understand that the Chantry's position is precarious right now, and I understand that it needs to be rebuilt. But I don't think it should be rebuilt like it was, with all the same designs on the same foundation and new boards to fill old places. It should be something new, something better than its history."
Her lips thinned. "And you can't start that process by continuing to deceive people, even by omission. No one here is responsible for making this mistake. But the positions we have, the influence we could wield... we could be responsible for either fixing it, or just repeating it. The two of you especially." Her eyes moved between Leon and Séverine.
Séverine looked to Leon, but when she saw he was waiting to allow her to weigh in first, she shifted and cleared her throat. She'd been quiet, absorbing the information no doubt with some difficulty. "I may not have much place to speak on this," she began. "After all, I've suggested using the Rite before, in a manner that was deemed unjustified or at the very least unnecessary. But... I think Estella has a point here."
She looked to Leon. "At this point, we're starting from scratch. The people that knew about this secret before, they're dead now, all of them. We're the ones who know about it now. We're the new foundation, if we're using the Inquisitor's metaphor. The faith has survived so much already. And people are seeking answers now more than ever. I think honesty is the way forward. An admittance that the old Chantry we served was wrong, in many ways. So they know that our goals aren't the same." She glanced at Rilien, no doubt wondering what he was thinking as well.
"We might soon be living in a world where mages aren't made Tranquil ever again... but that won't help those that already are. And if secrets like this are kept to ourselves, I'm not sure we're any more worthy of trust than all who came before."
Leon let himself consider what the both of them had said. In all honesty, he knew they were right, and he wondered when it was he'd lost that same sense of justice and rightness that seemed to be where they were speaking from. Perhaps his convictions had never been strong enough after all. After a few moments, he dipped his chin in a slow, ponderous nod. "Then we'll release the information. Maybe not the details, but at least the knowledge that reversing a Rite is possible, and the information that this had been concealed by the Chantry in times past." Convincing people of the last part would be perhaps the most crucial step, but like everything else of great import, persuasion would be more a matter of actions than words.
"Is there anything else in there that we ought to know about? If there are demons to be exposed and slain, we'd best be sure to get them all."
Cyrus lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “Nothing particularly damning. Lord Seekers were apparently once privy to a lot of rather dirty historical secrets, but much of the rest of it is just a record of their various tenures in the position and events contemporary with their lives. It's fascinating as a matter of record, and of course I'll let you know if anything else seems off as I continue, but I'd say that was the big one."
He paused a moment, then, moving his eyes to Rilien. “Of course, the ritual is described in enough detail that we could very easily conduct it here, had we a reason to do so. It only takes a couple of mages, some lyrium, and a Seeker. Something to consider, perhaps."
The tranquil in the room blinked, clearly aware of the implication. “Perhaps."