nynuwe wrote...
I feel that you are a very selective reader. You claim that Qunari have different definitions for things. What makes you think their definition for pity and respect is the same as ours then? Pity can go two ways. It can be seen as empathy. But it can also take on a degrading context. Remember the wasps in AntZ movie? Their 'pity' towards the ants was not exactly humble. Or have you never wondered why some people dislike being pitied? Depending on the context pity can either be degrading or it can be humbling empathy.
I believe they define it as empathy because they see mages as the unfortunate victims to having magic. They view magic as chaotic and evil, not the mage. Though nature is by its very nature chaotic, and chaos isn't restricted to just mages.
Anyway the Arishok's comments seem to imply that he and by all extension the Qunari do not outright hate a mage or pity them in a degrading context. In fact, most of Sten's comments regarding magic are just that. They are about magic and not mages.
Or they define it in both ways.
As for respect. Remember that the Qunari call mages "dangerous things". THINGS.
To be fair, they call outsiders "bas" (thing) too. They see them as needing enlightenment. They do see them as people, but they don't see them as the people they were meant to be. Hawke is called Basalit-an, which translates to "outsider worthy of respect". Notice how it uses "bas" in the name. It doesn't translate to "thing worthy of respect". It translates to outsider worthy of respect
Considering the way they basically treat mages the same way we treat a dangerous animal in a zoo, have you not thought that the 'respect' they speak of is the type of respect that is interchangeable with "healthy fear" in a sentence? The type we refer to when speaking about dangerous animals? In the Bible, in old versions, when they say "Fear the Lord" they actually meant "Respect the Lord". Not to quiver at his presence, but to keep in mind his power, and your frailty as a human in comparison to that power. Like how we respect the territory of a guard dog because we know its potential to harm. Like how we respect the snake and not foolishly try to spook it. Its the respect of what makes its receptor 'dangerous'. It's not the sort of respect we are more familiar with. If you can accept that maybe their definition of a word is different from ours to defend them, have you not thought to apply it on all possible arguments related to the Qunari? I am not telling you to go anti-Qunari or to stop liking them. Just that maybe you can apply that same flexibility to see the validity in the opposite point of view? Sorry if I sound harsh at the beginning of my post. At this hour I really don't know how else to phrase it, so I apologize for the tone.
Or perhaps it's both?
Who knows really. The Qunari are an enigma, and the only talk on mages by the view of Qunari are the codex on Saarebas and the Arishok's comments on Saarebas' choice. I'd need to see an actual Qunari city complete with Saarebas (plural) to really have an understanding on them. Right now, I'm just giving my thoughts on them.
And don't worry, you don't sound harsh.
Also please don't overlook the factor "choice" in here. The Qun don't exactly believe in choices unless you actually consider "Live by the Qun or die" to be valid choice options.
It is a choice. Not a good one -- actually it's a horrible one that's really coercion -- but it's a choice nevertheless.
Also, I can imagine why many people would be happy to have their decisions done for them. It's the easy way out. If you don;t have to worry about making your own decisions you free yourself from the responsability attached to them. Quite simply put: People are weak.
I think that's being a bit unfair to the Qunari. So the only people who go to the Qun are those who are weak and don't want to think? That's calling the elves who convert because they'll be treated better weak. That's calling Saemus who found their ideas to be compelling and wanted to prove to the world that they aren't just mindless beasts or fanatical zealots weak.
People want the easy way out. They want to have all the benefit of being able to say "I choose my own fate" but without having to deal with the consequences of their actions. People are afraid of comitting mistakes. I feel the Qunari do more so. The more 'perfect' you are, the less experience in dealing with 'mistakes' you have in an efficient emotional manner. Mistakes and errors shape us. Take that out of the equation and you are missing out on experiences. And people are taught to avoid mistakes to the point of fearing them, instead of accepting them as something actually good for you. Yes, it hurts at first, but you become all the better because of it. In those regards, maybe the Qunari are missing out on more than you think. I actually pity them a little. I used to have a phobia of mistakes too.
But Tallis admits that they do make mistakes and that their system isn't perfect. They do make mistakes. They struggle. But in the end they learn from that struggle and are strengthened by it, instead of letting the struggle rule over them.
....it's times like this where I wonder if I'd be a good Qunari. If I wasn't a non-traditionalist Dwarf who believes in the Paragons and Ancestors that is.
I also wonder if any Bioware devs would eventually drop in here and shed some light on the Qunari.
I was really sad when Tallis left at the end, wish she was a permanent member.
Retour en haut
If you're on pc and have console enabled, type 'runscript partypicker', switch your LI out of the party and load a save just prior to the final fight.
