It's something he hasn't really thought about before so concretely; as Strange has just mentioned, it's not as if Riftwatch has the personnel to spare to offer to take anyone in themselves. But the second idea is one he turns over.
"You'd be asking anyone affiliated with the Chantry to take a massive risk," he says, after a few moments. "Yes, we could frame it as a wartime necessity, never meant to be permanent, but sanctioning it would be a tacit admission that the Circles effectively do not exist right now. That's mostly true, but if the Chantry admits that, it is going to be much harder to shove mages back into them after Corypheus is dealt with and the Templars aren't all on an Exalted March. If someone did that without permission, there's a risk they could be branded a heretic."
With his arms folded, he taps his fingers above his elbow, absently thinking it through.
"It's a couple of problems together, I think. I've no doubt we could find at least a few mages willing to help with some rudimentary training and instruction. But without at least a veneer of Chantry involvement, parents like mine aren't likely to voluntarily send their children to a mage-supervised situation. Sympathetic parents, maybe, or those who are just so scared they want a mage out of their house and don't care where they go. But there's enough piety in Thedas that there would be resistance, even beyond the Chantry itself." He shakes his head. "I don't think it's impossible, but it's going to be a challenge. On the other hand, if we could establish something now, it will give us some bargaining power later. And it would give at least some children somewhere safe to go."
no subject
"You'd be asking anyone affiliated with the Chantry to take a massive risk," he says, after a few moments. "Yes, we could frame it as a wartime necessity, never meant to be permanent, but sanctioning it would be a tacit admission that the Circles effectively do not exist right now. That's mostly true, but if the Chantry admits that, it is going to be much harder to shove mages back into them after Corypheus is dealt with and the Templars aren't all on an Exalted March. If someone did that without permission, there's a risk they could be branded a heretic."
With his arms folded, he taps his fingers above his elbow, absently thinking it through.
"It's a couple of problems together, I think. I've no doubt we could find at least a few mages willing to help with some rudimentary training and instruction. But without at least a veneer of Chantry involvement, parents like mine aren't likely to voluntarily send their children to a mage-supervised situation. Sympathetic parents, maybe, or those who are just so scared they want a mage out of their house and don't care where they go. But there's enough piety in Thedas that there would be resistance, even beyond the Chantry itself." He shakes his head. "I don't think it's impossible, but it's going to be a challenge. On the other hand, if we could establish something now, it will give us some bargaining power later. And it would give at least some children somewhere safe to go."