Anders chooses to look down at Pounce, giving him a scritch between the ears. "What more can I say that I haven't already said? You were gone. An Orlesian Warden came to Amaranthine, to serve as acting Warden-Commander. One of his acts as acting Commander was to put a former Templar through the Joining. How did a templar come to be a Grey Warden? Templars don't retire. Templars burn out when their lyrium tolerance is so high they can't work any longer, or when their addiction makes them a liability. Yet here this templar was, and by an amazing coincidence, he just happened to get assigned to every duty I had. Every patrol. Every foray into the Deep Roads."

He takes a deep breath. "I'm not stupid. Neither are you. Obviously, our killing Ser Rylock and her posse of mage-hunters didn't go over well with the Divine."