#mahanon declared that he would be selfish and remain alive

[themournwatcher]

Cas I am obsessed with the archdemon situation in your worldstate out here. The selfishness undoubtedly seen as some national-level people's heroism at a personal level without accounting for Mahanon or Loghain's warden status, the anger after death, the lack of room for closure for anyone involved including Loghain??? Steel chairing into the position of martyr under their noses. And yes Mahanon comes out of it alive but seething??? Chewing on it 👀

Talking about Thedas having a print news cycle earlier, too, can you imagine the spins and public takes on that whole situation? Delicious.

LAST OF THEIRIN BLOODLINE: SACRIFICED

Mahanon stared down at the water-logged scrap of parchment trapped underneath his boot. 'Sacrificed' was hardly a new claim. He'd seen several circulating about Alistair in the weeks following his death. Warden. Hero. Prince. You name it, the people were happy to affix it to the dead man like the crown he had so long denied. It made his blood boil.

Once the sun had set, the rain had followed suit. No longer a torrential downpour, it was only a misty drizzle that chilled the back of Mahanon's neck as he stalked through the city streets to the memorial for the fallen warden. It was dark and late enough now that no mourners or zealots were crowding the site with their tears and their flowers. That was good; it meant that Mahanon could say his piece alone.

He sat on the edge of the lead coffin and took a long sip of his drink. The cheap alcohol burned all the way down his throat, but it was nothing compared to the reaver's blood running through his veins. Since the death of the Archdemon, his blood had been burning him from the inside out. He couldn't have been so lucky to be like poor Andraste, able to quench that fire on the end of a blade.

"You're a bastard," Mahanon said quietly. His mumbling slowly turned into laughter. "A royal fucking bastard! You just couldn't stand it that I called you out for what you were. You selfish prick!" He threw the bottle down and smashed it. Shards skittered across the wet ground, reflecting his own face back up at him. "You just had to get back at me, didn't you? You couldn't live with the consequences of your actions, could you? Not even at the very last."

He wasn't sure how long he sat there and seethed, spitting curses on the dead man's name. Long enough that he'd given up sitting and drinking and taken to pacing around the coffin, as if he could shout at it loud enough and long enough that the man inside might rise back up to tell him off. He was there long enough that, soon, he felt a hand on his shoulder that pulled him to a stop.

"We should go," said Loghain, unsure if he should be grateful that he was spared. He knew that Mahanon's intention was to place him in the path of the Archdemon, and he had been willing to take that fate upon himself. Instead, Maric's remaining son had died for them both.

They were all a bit selfish.

UHHHH sorry lex you possessed me but ummm yeah this is the vibe. this is the vibe, right???