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Lyra knows many don't agree with her choice to keep the Templars as free allies. She couldn't bear the thought of destroying the Order, not when mages needed keepers, not when they all were moments away from being posessed and dangerous. It's better than having arvaraad there, for sure, or being bound and kept in place.
Vivienne flags her down to talk, after she returns to Haven, victorious and with a good few dozen Templars following Cullen's lead towards the mountains. Lyra finds herself a bit intimidated by her, her poise, the mask affixed to her face. Lyra has always worn her heart on her sleeve, unable to hide her anxieties and her need to be gentler than what the world asks of her. Vivienne is sharp-tongued and witty, a self-assured smile on her lips she almost wants to emulate.
"It is good that you salvaged as many templars as you did, my dear," Vivienne starts when she steps closer to her. "We will need every templar, but they will require proper management. We also need to increase our lyrium supplies considerably. The Chantry may still have stockpiles we can use."
Lyra nods heavily. "We need more than they have, I believe. They were on the process of phasing it out for red lyrium, and we cannot have that."
"Indeed," she agrees. "We may need Josephine to open negotiations with the dwarves directly."
"I'm sure she's already on the case," Lyra notes. Vivienne chuckles measuredly.
There's a bit of a pause. "The Breach has done more than disfigure the sky. The Veil itself is broken. All mages, no matter how skilled, are now in danger of drawing demons to them. Before this crisis is over, you may find that templars, flawed as they may be, are all that stand between us and chaos."
Lyra listens intently. She knows most mages are anywhere from negative towards the Templars to downright hateful—yet Vivienne speaks of them with no ill will, like they are attack dogs best left in a tight leash. And the danger of demons… The memories of those tales, of saarebas being posessed, of saarebas being killed if they were left alone, plague at her.
Yes, it's best if there's Templars. Someone to keep them in check, yet not as violently as it could be.
"It's a good idea to plan for trouble," Lyra says.
Vivienne's eyes glint with interest. "I'm glad you understand," she says. "I wonder what your experience has been, as a Vashoth apostate. It varies by group, I have heard."
Lyra freezes, eyes widening a modicum. She always forgets not everyone knows how the Qun has stuck to her, far beyond any stories of her parents being the ones to leave it. She has not told Vivienne—only a select few have been given access to such volatile information.
"A Tal-Vashoth apostate," she corrects.
Vivienne's brows raise and she smiles wider. "Oh, and here I thought you couldn't play The Game, my dear. How wrong I was, if you've kept that a secret. So you defected, I take it?"
"Yes." Lyra sighs. "I left soon after my magic manifested properly. I could not bear it."
Vivienne hums. "The tales are true, then?"
"Very. I could not deal with being bound for the rest of my existence, even if it was for the good of everyone else. I agree with you, about mages needing to be kept in check, about how dangerous we are, but—"
"But surely it's a waste to just keep us bound forever," Vivienne interrupts. "A power like this should be weld properly, not just locked away. I understand, Lyra. How old were you when your magic manifested?"
"It became impossible to hide it when I was thirteen," she says. "I snuck into an Antaam ship and made my way down to Rivain. Then just kept running, until the Valo-Kas took me in."
"So you've never had proper training?"
"No. There was another mage in the Valo-Kas who taught me what he knew, but we made it up as we went. I wished for the Circle, sometimes. Somewhere I could be looked after and I could learn. The arvaraad keep you in check, but the saarebas are barely mages."
Vivienne hums. "I wonder what any Circle would have said to a Qunari apostate giving herself up. I don't think that's a situation that has ever occured."
"I imagined the same," she says. "Either way. Mages are dangerous. It really is best if there's someone or something holding us back, making sure we are safe."
"Indeed. So, you would like for the Circle to be back, then?"
Lyra swallows. "I know it is not perfect. But it has to be better than the alternative, yes?"
Vivienne holds her hand up like she is inspecting her nails. "There are many alternatives, dear, but the Circle is the best one we have."
She nods at that, a stone at the bottom of her belly as the stories she'd heard echoed around her, from her Tamassran telling her of the sareebas' plight to a human she was working with talking in hushed whispers about the plight of the Circle mages. There seems to only be suffering for mages in all of Thedas, and if you are in Tevinter, well, you must impart suffering upon others.
The Circle and the Imperium were both impossible options for her. She had to carve herself somewhere new, and now she holds power over those who will look after her—the Templars look at her with fear and awe both, and are ready to wield their swords both for her and agaisnt her if the situation calls for it.
"You're preaching to the choir, Vivienne," she says with a sigh.
Vivienne smiles at her. "Oh, I know, dear. But you'll find the issue of the Circle is divisive, even amongst friends. Just something to consider."
Lyra nods. She hesitates for a moment, the heft of her body seeming not to follow with just how small she feels in moments like these. Vivienne leans forward to squeeze her shoulder, a small show of affection she knows she doesn't give out lightly, and it's enough to make Lyra stumble away from her and towards the War Room.