"Not that inaccurate," he said with a shrug of one shoulder. "It's a foothold against Tevinter, as much symbolic as it is practical. People still talk about how it took three Exalted Marches to push us back in that far in the first place. When we got Seheron back, it became more important to hold it. The locals like us better than the Imperium, so it's seen as a success."

He sort of stared off at nothing as he talked about it, but his hands never stopped their gentle attention to Dorian's feet. By now he knew every little thing that would make him sigh and shiver and relax.

"Between the Tal-Vashoth and the Fog Warriors, I welcomed the Vint incursions. That always felt straight-forward."