"Those not intimately connected to the Chantry, historically. Elves, mostly."

"And mages?"

"There are very few of those that have grown up outside of Chantry control."

Unhappy face. 

"Quite," Solas agrees, turning back to stare at the forest pensively.

Quietly: "Any power can be used to do harm. A lot of it. My world would probably be better off without alchemy, even."

"So - maybe people shouldn't have that much power. Maybe they should, maybe it doesn't matter because power will always exist, in some form or another, and denying us alchemy or magic or guns or swords wouldn't do much about it. But governments definitely shouldn't have that power instead; better in the hands of random people - however unresponsible - than those who rule them."

"An interesting theory. What happens, I wonder, when those random people given power become the rulers?"

Wry, unamused smile. "Then you get to the reasons my world would be better off without any alchemy at all. People who start with great power, and go on to seek more..."

"Well."

"Alchemist," she says, with the air of a quote, "Be thou for the people."

"Those in power represent power. They don't represent the people."

"That seems a problem that forbids its own solution, then."

"There's not some dichotomy where either alchemists are controlled and wielded by the oppressors or are, themselves, the oppressors, you know. Life isn't a race to see who can be the bastard standing on top of the highest pile of bodies first."

"In my experience," Solas says, still looking out at the forest, "other equilibria are unstable. It only takes one such person to spark that fire."

"If you took a thousand people of a certain group - mages, elves, rulers, slaves, whoever - and put each of them in a room alone, where they can't communicate with each other, can't know the decisions of a single other person - "

"And a being of provably great power sat down in front of them, and offered their greatest wish - the dead returned to life, all the knowledge of the universe, their loved ones safe - if only they made a certain deal... And then informed them that if a mere five people take this deal, everyone in the world except for the collaborators and their immediate loved ones will be destroyed, or oppressed, or otherwise ruined, such that the only safe actions are to collaborate or else refuse and pray there's no more than four defectors..."

"And the being clearly can fulfill its promise, if it wished to."

"What do you think will happen?"

"I think that the sun would rise on a much sadder world the next day," Solas says after a long pause.

"And yet..."

"Only four of us did say 'yes,' and that was before we knew about the little 'destroy everyone else' caveat."

"Ah." Solas glances at her, perhaps a little surprised and (faintly) impressed.

"Not something I can take credit for, though."

She turns abruptly and starts walking off.

And, so quietly Solas can barely hear: "I said 'yes,' after all."

He doesn't really have much to say to that.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning at the gates."

And she goes back to report that she's got their crew to Cassandra.

"I suppose I must count that as good news."

Giggle. "Surely it's better than going out without the help?"

"Ask me again in a week."

"...Though - what are your problems with them?"

"Solas... is an apostate. And helpful as his skills have been- he has not shared any details of his past. In a way that makes me itch. Leliana as well. She has not found anyone who can truthfully claim they have seen him more than a year ago."

"Varric..." Sigh. "Is trouble, in full generality. He revels in it."

" - Not even like, really weird rumors of someone fitting his description but not where you expect to see him?"

"Not so far."