[ Dorian smirks at his odd choice of words. That's certainly one way to look at life. Not a bad one, mind you. He'll play along, since they seem to be getting on so well. ]

Well, Balthier, one might say there's been a shift in the genre, hmm? [ Dorian's not sure what kind of 'story' Balthier might come from, but dashing rogues don't really go so well with wars like these. ] I myself provided more of a supporting role to our grand tale, but normally there's a hero at the helm of these things, unifying the world for a good cause. I wouldn't call our Queen that, certainly.

[ There's no heart in it. Figuratively, not literally, though he supposes there might be some of that too. It doesn't sit well with him, all this talk of shards and magic. Being without his own is even worse. For all his smiles, Dorian's words lack much of his earlier humor. ]

They do a good job of trying to varnish the truth, but regardless of the glaze a war is still a war. And we, it seems, have been made the pawns in a rather large chess game.

[ He scoffs, shrugging off the matter with a sip of his drink. ]

At least the wine is good.