Had anyone else started off in this way - well, almost anyone else - talking about the so-called inquisition and how much of a bloody failure-slash-disaster it had been, Ravak would have put on his best scowl and attempted to bore a hole through their skull. But with this being Maever, even with Dax hovering in the background, Ravak made himself listen patiently. After all, the First Weaver had never done him wrong, and was potentially one of the few pure-hearted people in the entire Tower, if not the city.
Poison. Yes, it had been poisonous. Never my--. Thoughts faded away as Ravak listened. Tortured? Immobilised and muted? Hurt? An anger began to swell in the Shienaran's chest before he even realised at whom that anger deserved to be directed. That made him pause in shock. Ravak listened to the rest without internal thought. Only afterwards did he permit himself to consider what had been said, and also what had been done through his actions.
The Master of Arms rose from his chair, sliding it back until the rear legs hit the edge of the fireplace's hearth. Ravak wasn't about to address Maever except for face-to-face. I owe him that much.
"I cannot apologise for what happened," Ravak stated quietly. "To apologise, I had to have made a mistake, but what I did, what I convinced the Hall to vote for, was not truly a mistake. I asked the Hall for the permission to root out Darkfriends. People who knew what I had planned tried to warn me of the consequences and of the fallout, but I didn't listen to them. I think I knew what I was going to happen if my plan was enacted, but I didn't want to admit to myself the truth of that."
"How else does one root out Darkfriends? By asking politely? Waving a ter'angreal in front of their face that detects the taint of the Shadow? Not many novices are that stupid, and I'm certainly no novice. No, what happened happened, and I knew full well about it before it started."
Sighing, Ravak crossed to the side of his desk. He glanced briefly towards Dax and the open door, then bit his tongue. Whatever rights or opinions the Shienaran held were irrelevant in this situation. He drew up before Maever, easily within swinging distance.
"If you want to hit me, you have the right. Plenty of people have the right to that, or more. I placed a desire to rid this place of evil by inflicting evil upon it, and without even the courtesy of admitting that to myself, or to have a hand in its execution. I set other men and women, maybe even the Darkfriends themselves, to enact my business. I've only ever understood the way of the blade, but even I know a little about medicine. You can't cut out something rotten without harming the patient."
Nodding to himself, Ravak looked Maever straight in the eye. "If you want to know how to make it hurt, Dax here can tell you how. And Dax, tell Mia that Maever had my permission."
It was time.
Poison. Yes, it had been poisonous. Never my--. Thoughts faded away as Ravak listened. Tortured? Immobilised and muted? Hurt? An anger began to swell in the Shienaran's chest before he even realised at whom that anger deserved to be directed. That made him pause in shock. Ravak listened to the rest without internal thought. Only afterwards did he permit himself to consider what had been said, and also what had been done through his actions.
The Master of Arms rose from his chair, sliding it back until the rear legs hit the edge of the fireplace's hearth. Ravak wasn't about to address Maever except for face-to-face. I owe him that much.
"I cannot apologise for what happened," Ravak stated quietly. "To apologise, I had to have made a mistake, but what I did, what I convinced the Hall to vote for, was not truly a mistake. I asked the Hall for the permission to root out Darkfriends. People who knew what I had planned tried to warn me of the consequences and of the fallout, but I didn't listen to them. I think I knew what I was going to happen if my plan was enacted, but I didn't want to admit to myself the truth of that."
"How else does one root out Darkfriends? By asking politely? Waving a ter'angreal in front of their face that detects the taint of the Shadow? Not many novices are that stupid, and I'm certainly no novice. No, what happened happened, and I knew full well about it before it started."
Sighing, Ravak crossed to the side of his desk. He glanced briefly towards Dax and the open door, then bit his tongue. Whatever rights or opinions the Shienaran held were irrelevant in this situation. He drew up before Maever, easily within swinging distance.
"If you want to hit me, you have the right. Plenty of people have the right to that, or more. I placed a desire to rid this place of evil by inflicting evil upon it, and without even the courtesy of admitting that to myself, or to have a hand in its execution. I set other men and women, maybe even the Darkfriends themselves, to enact my business. I've only ever understood the way of the blade, but even I know a little about medicine. You can't cut out something rotten without harming the patient."
Nodding to himself, Ravak looked Maever straight in the eye. "If you want to know how to make it hurt, Dax here can tell you how. And Dax, tell Mia that Maever had my permission."
It was time.