Cole/Dialogue

Cole's dialogue contains a list of conversations he has with his companions.

Location Comments

 * (Cradle of Sulevin)
 * Inquisitor: So this is where the Sulevin Blade was lost.
 * Cole: Lots of things are lost here.
 * (Crestwood - approaching the flooded lake) It sounds different. The water changes the song.
 * (Crestwood - in the Mayor's old house) The mayor dreams about this place. Shock and shame and hurt. I don't know why.
 * (Crestwood - when reinforcements arrive during High Stakes, if the Inquisitor sided with the templars) Venatori. Hungry, hateful ready to hurt people. And they're afraid. They should be.
 * (Crestwood) They want to go home. That's why they take the bodies.
 * (Crestwood - approaching Caer Bronach) They're frightened inside. Trapped by the walls that protect them.
 * (Crestwood - fighting Snowball) So many legs.
 * (Crestwood) The people in Crestwood need help.
 * (Crestwood) It's better that the bodies are burned. The spirits don't think they belong.
 * (Crestwood - Flooded Caves, finding the family of nugs)
 * Inquisitor: The nugs seem to like it down here
 * Cole: It's quiet. They like the quiet.
 * Cole: Dwarves used to trap them, but they don't remember the dwarves.
 * Cole: Even dwarves don't really remember the dwarves.
 * (Emerald Graves) I like trees. Trees don't hurt people.
 * (Emerald Graves) This is better than war.
 * (Emerald Graves - approaching Southfinger tower) There was a lady in the tower. She cried, but no one heard.
 * (Emprise du Lion) The air smells like rocks.
 * (Emprise du Lion - approaching the boat) Get to the boat, Get to the boat, they won't catch me on water, get to the boat. She didn't get to the boat.
 * (Emprise du Lion - approaching the boat) There she is. It was like going to sleep.
 * (Emprise du Lion - near red lyrium) It sings... sick music.
 * (Emprise du Lion - Suledin Keep, seeing the Infected Giant corpse in the cell) They want to be big, to kill everything.
 * (Exalted Plains) Why did they have to fight?
 * (Exalted Plains - approaching the Dalish camp) They keep coming back, searching, seeking, sad, but home is gone.
 * (Exalted Plains - approaching the Desolate Bank) I've never been swimming.
 * (Fallow Mire) The mud wants my feet to stay.
 * (Forbidden Oasis - at the door to Solasan) I'm afraid. It wants us to be afraid.
 * (Forbidden Oasis - after opening a sarcophagus)
 * Cole: Did that hurt?
 * Inquisitor: I feel a bit strange.
 * Cole: You're shinier, but not where everyone can see.
 * (Frostback Basin - Swamp Kuldsdotten) The trees are fighting. They are very angry, but very slow.
 * (Hissing Wastes) The sky is so... big.
 * (Hissing Wastes) There's sand in my shoes again.
 * (Hissing Wastes) Something bit me!
 * (Hissing Wastes) Look at all the stars. They are so far away. Some of them are gone.
 * Solas: Vast but still. Does it bother you, how different it looks than the sky in the Fade?
 * Cole: At first, I didn't remember. Now I just want to forget.
 * Vivienne: The creature has more riddles for us, it seems.
 * Cole: It isn't a riddle. I can say what I mean without you understanding.
 * (Shrine of Dumat) This is a sad place, filled with old pain. People spoke here, and something listened, until it didn't.
 * (Storm Coast) "One by one they follow me, laughing, drowning, into the sea." The rest of the poem is sad.
 * Dorian: And it started out so well.
 * Blackwall: But the start was so cheery.
 * (Storm Coast) So much water. Where does it go?
 * (Storm Coast) The temples have a lot of keys. They all sing, but never the same song.
 * (Storm Coast) I thought there would be more storms.
 * (Storm Coast - Daerwin's Mouth)
 * Cole: They didn't get to say goodbye.
 * Inquisitor: What do you mean?
 * Cole: A templar at Therinfal Redoubt. He wanted to make the world safe for his daughter. Then he turned red inside.
 * Cole: She doesn't know.
 * (Storm Coast - Dragon Island) It's like looking at the world from the other side. Far away but real.
 * (Western Approach) The darkspawn are below us. A long way, but still singing.
 * (Western Approach) The song never sang for them. They were lucky.
 * (Western Approach) Wait, he says. I can still work, I don't need any food. The guard laughs, the blade comes down.
 * (Western Approach) It's thin here. Spirits were here even without the rifts.
 * (Western Approach) Very old voices. I can barely hear them.
 * (Western Approach - during Frederic's Livelihood) Frederic ordered a tea kettle, and it never arrived.
 * (Western Approach - approaching Death Drink Springs) The air hurts. I have to stop.
 * (Western Approach - summoning the Abyssal High Dragon) She's coming.
 * (Western Approach - summoning the Abyssal High Dragon) She smells blood. The hatchlings are hungry. She never stops hunting.
 * (Western Approach - summoning the Abyssal High Dragon) She's very big.
 * (Western Approach - summoning the Abyssal High Dragon) She's here!
 * (The Fade - during Here Lies the Abyss) They still remember when they were higher, before it woke up and everything fell.

''The Descent DLC

 * (Deep Roads - moving through the Forgotten Caverns after the first fight with the Sha-Brytol)
 * Cole: It sings softly under the silence. The Stone took him back. He's home again.
 * Valta: Somehow that brings me comfort.

Trespasser DLC

 * (The Crossroads) "The rocks didn't move themselves. They found a way to make a path."
 * (The Crossroads) "This goes everywhere. Even places that aren't anymore."
 * (The Crossroads) "It's old. The stones remember different ways to be, and it asks them to change."
 * (The Deep Roads) "They're all singing. Coffers, coffins, corpses that aren't dead. A song crying out in the dark."

Combat comments
Fallen companions
 * (Inquisitor) Wait! Stop!
 * (Dorian) Dorian's hurt!
 * (Iron Bull) The Iron Bull! No!
 * (Cassandra) Cassandra's hurt!
 * (Solas) Solas! No!

Kills an enemy Low Health
 * Die!
 * You can't hurt me.
 * (If in party when Haven is under siege.) Can you see me? You will see me!
 * It hurts!
 * Help!

Fighting Demons
 * Do you hear it? Don't listen.

Cole's Cryptic Comments

 * [Varric] "Kid, says the stone. Kid, kidding. It would keep me kept with a name, but the cairn can't catch me."
 * Occurs after Cole's personal quest
 * [Varric] "He writes words that aren't real, but they are for him, in a quiet place whose stone shape shakes the ground."
 * [Varric] "The stone is cracked, split, jagged. The hawk would have been safe if it had stayed, but that isn't what hawks do."
 * A reference to Hawke after the quest Here Lies the Abyss.
 * [Dorian] "Bright, like the fish that kill you if you eat them. Can't hate you for hiding if you burn so brilliantly."
 * [Dorian] "Glittering to gloss a hidden hurt. Unlearning not to hope for more. Stumbling steps where the wall used to be."
 * If in a romance with Dorian.
 * [Dorian] "He tried to melt a snowflake because he liked waterfalls. Swallowing bile and pride as he sees his son defend himself."
 * Refers to Dorian's father.


 * [Solas] "Voice ringing with fullness from both worlds, guiding me to the shining places. He calls himself Pride."
 * [Solas] "Old pain, shadows forgotten from dreams too real. This side is slow and heavy, but here is what can change."
 * [Solas] "Wisdom knows enduring is pain. He hurts for her, another of many he couldn't save. He carries necessary deaths."
 * In reference to and occurs after Solas's personal quest All New, Faded for Her.
 * [Solas] "She is bare-faced, embarrassed, and she doesn't know. She thinks it's because of her."
 * If in a romance with Solas and the vallaslin is removed.
 * [Solas] "She feels her face, marked, marred without malice. She didn't know. She thinks it's why you walked away."
 * If in a romance with Solas and the vallaslin is not removed.
 * [Solas] "He hurts, an old pain from before, when everything sang the same. You're real, and it means everyone could be real. It changes everything, but it can't."
 * If in a romance with Solas and let Cole speak option is chosen.


 * [Vivienne] "A breath-caught smile from the Enchanter as the candle lights. The walls are safe; she will never be hungry again."
 * Refers to Vivienne's relationship with Duke Bastien.
 * [Vivienne] "A cold flame blazes in a robe worth more than children. Protect her, and she consumes you, burning because she can."
 * [Cassandra] "Petals fall open as lips shape words that rhyme. Candlelight softens the edges."
 * If in a romance with Cassandra
 * [Cassandra] "Stomach full of mantras, she burns like a beacon, Faith a flame to bring succor for a Seeker."
 * [Cassandra] "Faith seeks a friend in Compassion, cautious, careful, too much grey but growing."
 * A reference to the budding friendship between Cole and Cassandra.
 * [Blackwall] "He feels naked without the name on the armor, but now he knows you want him naked."
 * If in a romance with Blackwall.
 * [Blackwall] "An old name burns inside armor that shouldn't fit, lit by faces of the children he couldn't save."
 * [Blackwall] "The name breaks free, pulls the pain with it. A black wall to shield the self when the sky is rainier."
 * [The Iron Bull] "Tied, but tenderly, loving in the letters of a word that would stop it, knots in satin scarves."
 * If in a romance with The Iron Bull.
 * [The Iron Bull] "The, a joke. He laughs to himself, imagining herds of cattle in fields of iron, but now he worries it fits."
 * [The Iron Bull] "Salt-spray smell of Seheron. Lost in smoke from a burning ship. Guilt at not feeling guiltier."
 * If the Qunari Dreadnaught is sacrificed in Bull's personal quest Demands of the Qun.
 * [The Iron Bull] "Copper on the lips. Dalish lies dead-eyed beside me. He'll come, he'll call, he won't leave us. Horns pointing up."
 * If the Chargers are sacrificed in Bull's personal quest Demands of the Qun.
 * [Sera] "Fleet-footed and free, the arrow that caught the miller's sack, but no longer shot alone, aquiver in a quiver."
 * [Sera] "She hurts, but helping hurts more. She sees the strings that pull me, eyes like raisins in a stale cookie."
 * [Sera] "Shite. He's wrong. Dead-eyed crazy, shite. I called him a 'him'. Is he alive, is everything alive, shite. I hate raisins."
 * [Leliana] "The Left Hand remembers a knife slipped to her in the darkness, and wonders why the flower blooms."
 * [Leliana] "The Left Hand is harder, faith fallen in folly. It makes the dreams worse, but sends them away faster."
 * If Leliana is "hardened".
 * [Leliana] "The Left Hand blooms on the bush, remembering the light that shone in her darkness. She knows how to sing again."
 * If Leliana is "softened".
 * [Josephine] "Steel flashes, like at the top of the stairs, but this time she knows her voice and it ends with a kiss."
 * If in a romance with Josephine.
 * [Josephine] "She spins, plucking strings, matching wits and words, an admiral who will never send ships of her own."
 * [Josephine] "Ships launch on changing winds. Dizzy sometimes, like the top of the stairs, but sometimes like dancing."
 * [Cullen] "Safe and solid, protecting and proud. He feels like quiet, stronger when you hold him."
 * If in a romance with Cullen.
 * [Cullen] "He is quiet, behind the noise. The little bottle makes him shake, but he tests the chains."
 * If Cullen is told to continue to not take Lyrium.
 * [Cullen] "He sounds right again with the chains in place, but the music makes him sad."
 * If Cullen is told to take Lyrium again.
 * [Cullen] "He sounds new, echoes of laughter on an empty riverbed. Not for sailing, but safer." 
 * [Cullen] "Uldred marked you, but didn't make you. You stayed you."
 * This is not spoken by Cole, but is sent in a message to Cullen from Cole and can be heard being delivered to Cullen in Cullen's office at Skyhold.
 * "It's made from people."
 * A reference to how Red Lyrium is made. Also possibly a reference to the film Soylent Green.
 * "He meant to watch forever. He called himself Sorrow."
 * This is a reference to Abelas that occurs after the quest What Pride Had Wrought.
 * "She's still behind the curtains in the reading room, watching the blood pool on the floor."
 * This is a direct quote from Briala in the novel The Masked Empire.
 * "He hates it all because of the darkness behind the door. Some doors should stay shut."
 * This is a possible reference to the novel House of Leaves.
 * This is a possible reference to the door of Solasan.
 * This is also a possible reference to Corypheus's trip to the fade and finding the black city empty
 * "It wasn't blood in the bath. Fingers on the scalp, intimate, and then the moment is gone."
 * This is a reference to the video game Gone Home.
 * "She knows they're going to kill her, can only save what's important. Precious space to remember her smile."
 * This is a reference to the video game Hate Plus.
 * "He was dead the whole time. He didn't know."
 * This is a reference to the film The Sixth Sense.
 * "It wasn't from a flower. He rode it in the snow."
 * This is a reference to the film Citizen Kane.
 * "He hunts the killer, but he's the one who killed her. He can't remember."
 * This is a reference to the film Memento.
 * "He didn't kill his father. He was his father."
 * This is a reference to Star Wars.
 * "There is no other man. He becomes the other man to do the things he can't."
 * This is a possible reference to the film Fight Club.
 * "He was the boy who was supposed to die. He named himself after the horse."
 * This is a reference to the film Lucky Number Slevin.
 * "He teaches them to fight with a secret flaw, part of a glorious strategy."
 * This is a reference to the Bioware game Jade Empire.
 * "He was their enemy the whole time, but she made him forget, so he could change."
 * This is a reference to another Bioware game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
 * "They should have been born together, but instead they were bound by light."
 * This is possibly a reference to the game Beyond: Two Souls.
 * "Never trust half an elf."
 * This is possibly a reference to the film series Lord of the Rings.

The Descent

 * "It's singing. A they that's an it that's asleep, but still making music."

Companion Comments about Cole

 * Blackwall: Cole's dangerous. Unpredictable. We aren't even sure what he is. Don't know what he might do. I wouldn't turn my back on him.
 * Blackwall: I've been too hard on Cole. He's odd enough and confounding, but there may be some good in him after all. The least I can do is support him while he sorts himself out.
 * Cassandra: Tell that demon...what does it call itself, Cole? Tell it to leave. He may not mean harm, but that does not mean he will not harm us. Spirits are not creatures to take at face value. Be cautious with him, Inquisitor.
 * Sera: Not saying nothing about that. That thing is just wrong.
 * Vivienne: Whether Cole is a spirit or a demon is irrelevant. Neither can be trusted, my dear. Remember that.

Cole and Blackwall

 * Blackwall: They say you're a demon.
 * Cole: Yes. Or spirit. I want it to be spirit.
 * Blackwall: Either way, I know you're dangerous.
 * Cole: Yes. Like you.
 * Blackwall: What?
 * Cole: A sack on the side of the road, struggling. The boy runs from it, crying.
 * Blackwall: Fine, so you're dangerous and insane.
 * Cole: You would stop it if you could. That is enough. But don't do it again.

(Upon approaching the sea in the Storm Coast.)
 * Cole: "One by one they follow me, laughing, drowning in the sea."
 * Cole: The rest of the poem is sad.
 * Blackwall: But the start was so cheery.


 * Cole: So many masks.
 * Blackwall: At the ball? It's Orlesian culture, get used to it.
 * Cole: Not at the ball. Here.


 * Cole: Mockingbird, mockingbird, quiet and still, what do you see from the top of that hill? Can you see up? Can you see down?
 * Blackwall: Wait.
 * Cole: Can you see the dead things all about town?
 * Blackwall: How do you know that song?
 * Cole: It just came to me. Everyone says everyone knows it. The children knew it.


 * Cole: How do you get the hair on your face?
 * Blackwall: Look, ask Varric. He seems to have adopted you.
 * Cole: He doesn't have hair on his face. Is it a mask?
 * Blackwall: No it's a beard. Look, if you were any other lad your age I'd tell that one day you'll probably grow one too, except I don't know if spirits that become boys get beards.
 * Cole: I could try.
 * Blackwall: Right. You go do that then. Good luck. Have fun.


 * Cole: We played by the fire so she would be warm. No, it's summer, Liddy.
 * Blackwall: This thing you do? Maybe you should stop doing it.
 * Cole: Got her flower but they'd taken her. Left it on her bed. Next eight on the sill.
 * Cole: Tourney stands. A garden seat. Five to Chantry altars. One to a child with her hair. The sea? Too many to count.
 * Cole: And thirty-six. Tossed off the battlements today.
 * Blackwall: Go bother Solas.
 * Cole: You have many feelings.
 * Cole: I'm sorry she died.


 * Cole: Your knife is big.
 * Blackwall: (Laughs.) It's a sword.
 * Cole: It's bigger than mine.
 * Blackwall: And now you've made it awkward.


 * Blackwall: How does a spirit become flesh anyway?
 * Cole: I don't know. How does a Warden become Grey?


 * Blackwall: You know, Cole, you're not so bad. But I'll never get used to the things that come out of your mouth.
 * Cole: There was once a man who had bees coming out of his mouth?
 * Blackwall: A perfect example.


 * Blackwall: What are you staring at?
 * Cole: Your head. So many tangles. Knots. And that's just on the inside.
 * Cole: You need a hairbrush.


 * Blackwall: Hey, Cole. Say something interesting.
 * Cole: "Something interesting"?
 * Blackwall: Yes, I deserved that one.


 * Cole: When you charge at them, you make them hit you.
 * Blackwall: Ideally. That's why my armor's heavier than yours.

(If the Inquisitor did not romance Blackwall.)
 * Cole: Golden, graceful, glittering but not gaudy. Voice delicate and delectable.
 * Blackwall: What are you talking about, Cole?
 * Cole: Sweet, soft, and silky. Her dress, and also under her dress. Are you going to talk to Josephine?
 * Blackwall: Maker's balls, get out of my mind, would you? You make me sound like a dirty, old bastard!
 * Cole: Do you want to hear what she thinks of you?
 * Blackwall: No.
 * Cole: You should.


 * Blackwall: Why are you here? Do you even understand what's happening in the world?
 * Cole: I heal the helpless. Give hope where there is hurt.
 * Blackwall: But you've killed before.
 * Cole: Yes. Before I knew what I was.
 * Blackwall: Why should we believe you can help now?
 * Cole: It hurts too much. I can't be me, have to be someone who never killed.
 * Cole: Help enough, and I'm different. I'm not me. Believe it to become it.
 * Blackwall: Maker's balls.
 * Cole: We can change, if we want it enough.

(Occurs after Blackwall's personal quest.) (Occurs after Blackwall's personal quest.) (Occurs after Blackwall's personal quest.) (Occurs if Cole spares the Templar during his personal quest.) (Occurs if Cole spares the Templar during his personal quest.) (Occurs if Cole spares the Templar during his personal quest.) (Occurs if Cole spares the Templar during his personal quest.) (Occurs if Cole forgives the Templar during his personal quest.) (Occurs if Cole forgives the Templar during his personal quest.) (Occurs if Cole forgives the Templar during his personal quest.) (Occurs if Cole forgives the Templar during his personal quest.)
 * Blackwall: Tell me, Cole, how do you make them forget you?
 * Cole: I'm not really real.
 * Cole: They already want to forget me. I find the part that doesn't fit and set it free. Their mind makes a shape that makes sense without me.
 * Blackwall: That's not right.

Cole and Cassandra

 * Cassandra: If you are to fight alongside us, Cole, I expect you to follow orders. The Inquisitor believes you wish to help, but I will not allow you to threaten innocents.
 * Cole: Yes. Help the hurt, save the small. If I become a demon, cut me down.
 * Cassandra: Do not doubt me. I will do it.
 * Cole: Good.
 * Cassandra: You're... serious, aren't you?
 * Cole: Yes. I hope you are, too.
 * Cole: You're a better Seeker than Lambert. You care about everyone.
 * Cassandra: You knew Lord Seeker Lambert?
 * Cole: I killed him. He cared more about stopping mages than protecting people.
 * Cassandra: You... killed the Lord Seeker?
 * Cole: Pathetic mages. Crush them at Andoral's Reach or starve them out. Doesn't matter which.
 * Cole: I need an example, Seekers succeeding, seizing power. Overthrow the Divine, triumphant in the eyes of the Maker.
 * Cassandra: I... am uncertain whether to believe you.
 * Cole: You believe I killed him.
 * Cassandra: Cole, do you have any proof about what you claim Lord Seeker Lambert did?


 * Cole: I was there. I didn't need proof.
 * Cassandra: But he could have been brought to justice. There are rules...
 * Cole: He used rules to hurt people. He always found a way to be right, even when he killed my friend.
 * Cassandra: You had a friend?
 * Cole: A pretty Templar. She died protecting Rhys and me, but she got better.
 * Cassandra: I... don't even want to know what that means.
 * Cassandra: I have considered what you said about Lord Seeker Lambert, Cole.
 * Cassandra: If its true, then perhaps he deserved to die. Though it need not have been you who killed him.
 * Cole: He would have hurt people.
 * Cassandra: It is not that simple.
 * Cole: Why not? He made Templars see monsters instead of mages. Made them push until it all fell down.
 * Cassandra: We thought Lambert was assassinated. It made the rebellion worse, and many people were killed.
 * Cole: But not by him.
 * Cassandra: (Sighs.)

(Occurs if Cole spares the Templar during his personal quest.) (Occurs if Cole spares the Templar during his personal quest.) (Occurs if Cole spares the Templar during his personal quest.) (Occurs if Cole spares the Templar during his personal quest.) (Occurs if Cole spares the Templar during his personal quest.) (Occurs if Cole forgives the Templar during his personal quest.) (Occurs if Cole forgives the Templar during his personal quest.) (Occurs if Cole forgives the Templar during his personal quest.)
 * Cassandra: Cole, you killed Lord Seeker Lambert so he wouldn't hurt people.
 * Cole: Yes. Thank you for remembering. Sometimes people forget me.
 * Cassandra: Is that why you went to Therinfal?
 * Cole: Most sounded the same, but the leaders they listened to were hurt, hollowed, sick with a new song.
 * Cole: They swallowed lies until they sang with darker music. The sound hollowed them.
 * Cole: I wanted them to stop me if I harmed people, but I had to stop them instead.
 * Cole: Oh, wait. You had a question.
 * Cassandra: Perhaps we should think of something more... pleasant.
 * Cole: Like helping people?
 * Cassandra: Yes, like that.
 * Cole: Oh. That makes more sense.
 * Cassandra: Why do you look at me when you say that?
 * Cole: You found faith, not just a feeling. It was a spirit.
 * Cassandra: We do not need to speak of this further.
 * Cole: I'm a spirit that touched a body, you're a body that touched a spirit. We're the same but backwards!
 * Cassandra: Please, stop.
 * Cole: It's you, Cassandra.
 * Cole: Breathing from the belly, cold air warmed, stones beneath me, candle before me, Maker all around.
 * Cole: Then nothing, empty, I'm cut, cauterized, then caught, cleansed by a light that carries me home.
 * Cole: You're thinking backwards. You don't have faith because of the spirit. The spirit came because of your faith.
 * Cole: It's you.
 * Cassandra: Thank you, Cole. I appreciate that.
 * Cole: You're sad about the Seekers.
 * Cassandra: That takes no magical gift to understand, Cole.
 * Cole: The room with the candle. It wasn't a lie. Your faith was real.
 * Cassandra: The same could be said for Lambert or Lucius. A single moment of perfect faith does not make one immune to fault.
 * Cole: Belly knotted, the candle burns like the sun. No voice but my own for months. "Blessed are they who stand before the corrupt and the wicked and do not falter."
 * Cassandra: "Blessed are the peacekeepers, the champions of the just."
 * Cole: It will be enough.

(Occurs after Here Lies the Abyss) (If Bethany is still alive)
 * Cole: Voices sing, but the hawk has flown away and cannot hear them. Standing by the door. Legs stuck. I shouldn't be here.
 * Cole: Where is his sister? Is she crying? Can she breathe? I couldn't breathe. Pain twists, but for which one?
 * Cassandra: I knew the story more than the man/woman.
 * Cole: It isn't your fault he/she died.
 * Cassandra: Perhaps not. Sometimes knowing that isn't enough.
 * Cole: Can you know it more?
 * Cassandra: Be easy, Cole. I will be fine.


 * Cole: The frame holds, hand at the waist moves as body and thought spiral
 * Cassandra: Cole!
 * Cole: Notes drip through the air.
 * Cole: [humming]
 * Cassandra: That's not the song they were playing.
 * Cole: No, but it's your favorite song.


 * Cole: Where would the Inquisition go?
 * Cassandra: What do you mean?
 * Cole: The Wardens wanted to help, but they hurt people instead. You would have sent them away, Cassandra.
 * Cassandra: I believe it may have been safer, but we cannot know for certain.
 * Cole: If the Inquisition stops helping, where would we go to keep people safe from us?
 * Cassandra: We must pray that it never comes to that.
 * Cole: Prayer isn't a place. It would not save them from us.
 * Cassandra: The Wardens fell. The Inquisition need not follow suit.
 * Cole: The Wardens thought the same. So did the templars.
 * Cassandra: Then we must be vigilant.
 * Cole: Warden-Commander Clarel wasn't like you, Cassandra.
 * Cassandra: Thank you, Cole... I think. I never met Clarel, but I will take that as a compliment.
 * Cole: She fell because she fell. That's how Erimond convinced her to hurt people. He made it look like bravery.
 * Cole: She called it a choice, but it was a lie. She was afraid.
 * Cole: You aren't afraid. You won't fall.
 * Cassandra: Thank, you, Cole. I appreciate that.
 * Cassandra: What of magister Erimond? Do you sense a secret pain in him?
 * Cole: No. Erimond is an asshole.
 * Cassandra: (Laughs.) Well said.
 * Cole: Shield catches the blow, blade comes down, shiver through the hilt as it cuts. Another bandit falls.
 * Cole: A good strike, Lucius would have been proud. The bandit's eyes meet mine as he falls, so afraid. Such a waste.
 * Cassandra: Please leave my mind, Cole.
 * Cole: You don't need to feel bad.
 * Cassandra: I do not feel bad. The bandits needed to die.
 * Cole: Not that. You feel bad for being proud of it.
 * Cole: You couldn't help the bandits. Some people have to die. Being happy for your skill doesn't make you cruel.
 * Cassandra: Thank you... I suppose.
 * Cole: Do you ever take off your armor and talk to it?
 * Cassandra: No.
 * Cole: It might say something nice.
 * Cole: Your elbow made him smile.
 * Cassandra: Who are you talking about?
 * Cole: The blacksmith's apprentice. He repaired the armor. He was too shy to ask if you were satisfied.
 * Cole: He saw you smile as you tested the joint. It made him happy.
 * Cassandra: It was fine work. I will remember to thank him when we are back at Skyhold.
 * Cole: My elbows don't make anyone smile.
 * Cole: You don't like dead people, Cassandra.
 * Cassandra: Was that a question? Am I supposed to?
 * Cole: The ones in the dark city. Wrapped in cloths that smell like sunflowers. You hated the singing.
 * Cassandra: Ah, the Grand Necropolis. Yes, I never saw the point.
 * Cole: Maybe dead people like the singing.
 * Cassandra: I would rather not think about that.
 * Cole: Your uncle misses you, Cassandra.
 * Cassandra: Picked that up from my head, did you?
 * Cole: No. He wrote you a letter. There was pain in the page.
 * Cassandra: Stop going into my quarters. How many times must I tell you?
 * Cassandra: Cole, I found a locket on my pillow earlier...
 * Cole: It was Anthony's.
 * Cassandra: It was my grandmother's, actually, but it had Anthony's portrait inside. I thought I'd lost it.
 * Cole: You did lose it. I had to fight a rat for it.
 * Cassandra: Oh? Thank you.
 * Cole: He wasn't a very big rat.
 * Cole: Cassandra, who's... Regalyan?
 * Cassandra: No one to concern yourself with.
 * Cole: You were thinking about the time you—
 * Cassandra: Now I'm thinking about something else. Can you guess?
 * Cole: My hat wouldn't fit there...

Cole and Dorian

 * Dorian: You're not possessing a human body, Cole? You... actually look like that?
 * Cole: Yes.
 * Dorian: But a spirit's true form is always monstrous, or at least unnatural.
 * Cole: The world doesn't make sense to them. It's too real. That's why they look wrong.
 * Dorian: And... this is how you want to look?
 * Cole: I want to help. Looking doesn't matter.


 * Dorian: Can you change your form, Cole? If you wanted to look like something else?
 * Cole: But I don't want to look like something else.
 * Dorian: Hmm. There are magisters who'd be ecstatic if they could summon a demon who could pass for human.
 * Cole: They would use it to hurt people.
 * Dorian: You're right about that. They would.


 * Dorian: Do you need to eat, Cole? Or sleep?
 * Cole: I thought I had to. But I don't. The Old Songs can pull me.
 * Dorian: That's something. I don't know what, but it's something.
 * Dorian: What about when you're injured? Why do you bleed? Is it because you think you have to?
 * Cole: Is that why you bleed?
 * Dorian: I-- well-- uh, yes. You have me there.


 * Cole: You ask a lot of questions, Dorian.
 * Dorian: I'm curious about you. I had no idea something like you was possible!
 * Cole: I'm curious about you, too.
 * Dorian: You can ask me questions, if you like. I'm not sure why you'd want to, but--
 * Cole: Oh, good! Thank you!
 * Dorian: I'm...going to regret this, aren't I?


 * Cole: Dorian, you said I could ask you questions.
 * Dorian: It's true. (Sigh.) I did say that.
 * Cole: Why are you so angry at your father? He wants to help and you know he does, but--
 * Dorian: I'm not certain I can explain it to you.
 * Cole: You love him, but you're angry. They mix together, boiling in the belly until it kneads into a knot.
 * Dorian: Sometimes... sometimes love isn't enough, Cole.

(or)
 * Cole: "Love isn't enough." Enough what? You didn't explain, Dorian.
 * Dorian: (Sigh.) I was rather hoping I had.
 * Cole: His face in the stands, watching as I pass the test. So proud there's tears in his eyes. Anything to make him happy. Anything.
 * Cole: Why isn't that true anymore?
 * Dorian: Cole, this... is not the sort of discussion for walking around. Please drop it.
 * Cole: I'm hurting you, Dorian. Words winding, wanting, wounding. You said I could ask.
 * Dorian: I know I did. The things you ask are just... very personal.
 * Cole: But it hurts. I want to help, but it's all tangled with the love. I can't tug it loose without tearing it.
 * Cole: You hold him so tightly. You let it keep hurting, because you think hurting is who you are. Why would you do that?
 * Dorian: Can someone tell him to stop? Banish him back to the Fade or something!
 * Inquisitor: Cole wants to help you. Maybe you should let him.
 * Dorian: (Sigh.) Marvelous! Everyone's so helpful!
 * Inquisitor:  You're an adult, Dorian. You want him to stop, tell him.
 * Cole: I'm sorry. I keep making it worse.
 * Dorian: No, I'm sorry. Of course you don't understand. Just... leave me with it for now.


 * Dorian: I've been trying to imagine how to explain it to you, Cole.
 * Dorian: The thing is, sometimes the ones you love are also the ones who disappoint you the most.
 * Dorian: You think that if they love you, they should understand. They shouldn't want to hurt you.
 * Dorian: So you feel betrayed. You say things you can't ever take back.
 * Cole: Get out. You are no son of mine.
 * Dorian: Yes, like that.
 * Cole: He wishes he hadn't meant it.


 * Dorian: Did you enjoy the Winter Palace, Cole?
 * Cole: There were so many wonderful hats!
 * Dorian: Did you try dancing? Or did you skulk around invisibly?
 * Cole: Dancing is hard. You have to listen with your feet as well as your heart.
 * Dorian: And not poke around in the heads of the other dancers.
 * Cole: There's a lot to do all at once.

(If the Inquisitor is in a romance with Dorian.)
 * Cole: You're happier now, Dorian.
 * Dorian: Is that what that light, tingly feeling is? I suppose you're right.
 * Cole: Wishing but wondering, wounded and wistful. What if he doesn't want me after?
 * Dorian: But he did.
 * Cole: Now you're smiling! It's good.


 * Cole: Why did you leave your home, Dorian?
 * Dorian: You know why. I had to stop the Venatori.
 * Cole: It was more...it was the man with your eyes...angry, walking on cobblestones, 'I'm on my own now'
 * Dorian: Digging around in my head again, are you?
 * Cole: You said I could ask questions!
 * Dorian: (Sigh.) Rather like inviting someone into your house and they walk off with the silverware!


 * Dorian: Cole, you should be careful dancing around with those daggers when I'm throwing fire.
 * Cole: It won't hurt me. It's friendly fire.
 * Dorian: That doesn't always mean what you think it means.


 * Cole: Your clothes look like the Fade, Dorian.
 * Dorian: The stuff of dreams, an explosion of color and sensation wrapped in an enigma.
 * Cole: It's shiny.


 * Cole: Can you feel the bits of Fade around you when you cast spells, Dorian?
 * Cole: They pull around the Veil, pulled with power, then pushed through to see this side.
 * Dorian: So when I cast a fireball, it's just the Fade saying Peek-a-boo?
 * Cole: I don't think it says that.
 * Dorian: If it says anything other than I'm going to burn your face off, I don't want to hear it.


 * Dorian: Cole, are those real clothes, or-?
 * Cole: They're real. What else would they be?
 * Dorian: I thought maybe you'd conjured them, like your physical form.
 * Cole: Do you conjure yours? Is that why they look like that?
 * Dorian: Never mind, forget I said anything.


 * Dorian: That little trick, Cole, when you dip into someone's mind and take a drink? Do you choose what you're looking for, or is it random?
 * Cole: It has to be hurt, or a way to help the hurt. That's what calls me.
 * Cole: Rilienus, skin tan like fine whiskey, cheekbones shaded, lips curl when he smiles. He would have said yes.
 * Dorian: I'll... thank you not to do that again, please.


 * Cole: Dorian, am I handsome?
 * Dorian: Are you what?
 * Cole: You say you're handsome all the time. Am I? I can't tell.
 * Dorian: You're all right. Might want to rethink the hats.
 * Cole: But I like my hats.


 * Cole: Dorian, what's a slave?
 * Dorian: Festus bei um canaverum!
 * Cole: But you said I could ask questions!
 * Dorian: That's true. Just...go ask the Inquisitor this one.


 * Cole: Dorian, I really wish you would tell me.
 * Dorian: I drew you a diagram. Isn't that enough?
 * Cole: No.
 * Dorian: Good. Because the thought of you trying that frightens me more than a little.


 * Dorian: Cole, the wooden duck I found on my bed... was that you?
 * Cole: No. I'm not a wooden duck.
 * Dorian: I mean did you put it there?
 * Cole: Yes? I couldn't find one with little wheels, though. I'm sorry.


 * Dorian: Cole, do you hear magic?
 * Cole: Yes. I do. Don't you?
 * Dorian: Spells sometimes makes a sound but... I don't think we hear the same thing.
 * Cole: Don't your spells whisper things to you? What is and could be, music in the mind of strange, far away places?
 * Dorian: Not lately.
 * Cole: Then we don't hear the same thing.


 * Dorian: Cole, you saw Corypheus when he attacked Haven. What was your... read on him?
 * Cole: Fear inside. Blackness like a pool of hate. So much has changed, I need to stop it. Bend it to my will.
 * Dorian: Did he actually walk into the Black City? Is that true?
 * Cole: Betrayal, blurred at the edges, like a faded painting. Too long ago, so much confusion.
 * Dorian: I'll... take that as a "maybe."
 * Cole: There were people trying to kill me. That makes it harder.


 * Dorian: Any progress on protecting yourself from binding, Cole?
 * Cole: Not yet.
 * Dorian: Hop to it! You're quick with those daggers. I'd rather not have them pointed at me.

Cole and Iron Bull

 * Cole: I like your horns, The Iron Bull.


 * Cole: But they're dragon horns, not bull horns. You could have named yourself The Iron Dragon.
 * Iron Bull: Oh, shit. That would have been better.
 * Cole: Barman laughs. Slides the drink over. Tankard in view the whole time, no chance poison was added. Blade at his waist. Club under the bar. Moves with training, mercenary or guard. Use that if I have to.
 * Iron Bull: Yeah. I go for the shoulder, a shot he trained to take on the armor. But, since he's a barman now and not a merc, he bleeds, flinches, and I trap the arm and break his neck.
 * Cole: Why, The Iron Bull?
 * Iron Bull: I didn't do it, kid. It was just idle thought, in case it came up.
 * Cole: Do you think about how to kill everyone you meet?
 * Iron Bull: Do you not?
 * Cole: Vasaad was angry. He went first because he wanted to fight. Taking point, then points take him, red on his neck.
 * Iron Bull: I was just thinking about-- Wait, you in my mind again, kid?
 * Cole: Even if you went in first, there would have been another fight, another time he didn't listen. It wasn't your fault.
 * Iron Bull: Yes, it was. I was in charge. Should've found a way to-- Hey, that's pretty good. We could use that!
 * Cole: You can use sadness?
 * Iron Bull: Ben-Hassrath, Kid. We can use anything.
 * Iron Bull: So Cole, you're a spirit...demon...thing?
 * Cole: Yes. And you're The Iron Bull, afraid of demons.
 * Iron Bull: Not fond of 'em, no. But you and I are fine as long as you don't do any weird crap.
 * Cole: Lying awake, sheets soaked in sweat, afraid to call the Tamassrans. Shadows make shapes in the dark.
 * Cole: If it gets in my head, how do I cut it out? Itching, shaking, tears slide cold down my cheeks. "Tama, I'm scared."
 * Iron Bull: Yeah, weird crap like that? Pretty much what I meant.
 * Iron Bull: So Cole, you're polite, you're good in a fight, and your heart's in the right place.
 * Cole: It is? Good.
 * Iron Bull: I've got a plan. I think this could get you sorted out, get both feet on the ground.
 * Cole: I have to lift my feet, or the rocks make noise when I walk.
 * Iron Bull: Yes.... When we get back, you're going to spend an evening with a nice lady named Candy.
 * Cole: Can I lift my feet?
 * Iron Bull: She's gonna lift a lot more than that.
 * Iron Bull: So how was Candy? You two have a good time?
 * Cole: Yes. She danced. Then I untangled the hurt that made her angry at her mother.
 * Cole: I helped her write a letter to send back home. She said I could call her Marguerite, the name didn't hurt anymore.
 * Iron Bull: Well, that was five royals well-spent.


 * Cole: The Iron Bull, do you ever worry about a demon standing to your left where your eye can't see?
 * Iron Bull: Well, I do now.
 * Iron Bull: Hey, Cole. Quick! What number am I thinking of?
 * Cole: Raw and hot, trying to open it, but just darkness. How bad, how bad? No, done now, no sense worrying.
 * Cole: The man they hurt coughs, shaking, but sits up. Eyes wide. No, not a man, a woman, clothes torn.
 * Cole: "You're safe now. I'm Iron Bull. What do you want me to call you?"
 * Iron Bull: Twelve. The number I was thinking of was "twelve."
 * Iron Bull: (Grumbles.) Demon interrogators. Stupid idea anyway.

(Occurs if Cole spares the Templar during his personal quest.) (If the Inquisitor sided with the Ben-Hassrath during the Demands of the Qun quest.)
 * Cole: You got to pick your name, The Iron Bull.
 * Iron Bull: Sure did. Thanks for sticking the "the" on there, too. Most people forget.
 * Iron Bull: It kinda makes it sound like I'm not really a person. Like I'm this dangerous thing, you know?
 * Cole: You made it a joke on yourself, making a mockery, so you would never be that.
 * Iron Bull: It kills the joke if you explain it, kid.
 * Cole: You and Krem say words that hurt, but they aren't real, The Iron Bull.
 * Iron Bull: Yes. We give each other grief. It's a soldier thing. Doesn't mean anything.
 * Cole: It means friendship. And that you're soldiers. Krem likes it, it makes him proud.
 * Iron Bull: I guess I can see that. Him, huh?
 * Cole: Is that wrong?
 * Iron Bull: No, no. I just thought, since you do that thing where you see into people's heads...
 * Iron Bull: Actually, you're good, kid. Keep it up.
 * Cole: The armor is right. The body isn't, but it doesn't hurt him anymore.
 * Cole: You make it better.

(If the Inquisitor sided with Iron Bull during the Demands of the Qun quest.)


 * Cole: The Iron Bull, a woman in the last village wanted you to pick her up and take her clothes off.
 * Iron Bull: Most people do.
 * Cole: In her mind, you were very big.
 * Iron Bull: Well, that's flattering.
 * Cole: When we fight, you make them not people. So their death doesn't stick to you.
 * Iron Bull: Yes. Picked that up in Seheron. Got to keep it separate. Out here, anything could be a threat. You kill for the team, no questions asked.
 * Cole: I see it. A wall of wounds. Nothing on this side has a family.
 * Iron Bull: When we're at the tavern, or back home, it goes back to normal. People get to be people again.
 * Cole: What if someone attacks you in a tavern?
 * Iron Bull: That's when shit gets messed up.
 * Cole: The Iron Bull, in one fight, you let someone hit you so they wouldn't hit me.

(If the Inquisitor is in a romance with Iron Bull.) Inquisitor input
 * Iron Bull: Yes?
 * Cole: But you hate demons.
 * Iron Bull: Listen, Cole. You might be a weird, squirrelly kid, but you're my weird, squirrelly kid.
 * Cole: Oh. Thank you.
 * Iron Bull: Just don't make it weird. No full hugs. Maybe a one-armed slap on the back... at most. 
 * Cole: Alright.
 * Cole: She/He almost says the word sometimes. Katoh. She/He tastes it in her/his mouth, sweet release a breath away, tongue tying it tenderly like you tie her/him. But she/he doesn't. For you, and for her/him because it makes it mean more. A fuller feeling, a brighter burst.
 * Iron Bull: Yeah. (Coughs.) How's she/he feel about you saying this in front of everybody?

Answer 1
 * Inquisitor: Bull and I are consenting adults, and there's nothing wrong with what we choose to do in bed.
 * Cole: Not just in bed. Sometimes it's up against the wall. Once on the war table.
 * Sera (if in party): (laughs.) Hope you took him/her right up the Dales.
 * Dorian (if in party): (laughs.) Ahem

Answer 2 Answer 3
 * Blackwall (if in party): I look forward to informing Cullen.
 * Inquisitor: If a rift opened up right now and swallowed me I'd be fine with that.
 * Varric (if in party): Listen, do whatever works for you. You don't have to act restrained in front of us.
 * Solas (if in party): Provided it tied you down first one assumed.
 * Inquisitor: Moving on.
 * Cassandra (if in party): I could not agree more.
 * Vivienne (if in party): Please do.
 * Cole: Oh, sorry.

Cole and Sera
(Occurs if Cole spares the Templar during his personal quest.)
 * Cole: She tried. The cookies were good until the hate made it bitter in your mouth.
 * Sera: Not there creepy. Go rooting in that part of me and I'll stripe you up, you hear?
 * Cole: Everyone heard. You're scary in another place.
 * Cole: Sera. My tongue wants to whistle on the start. Sera. But it has to stay still or the r is a d. Sera. Seda. Seda. De da de da. If you try, you can say it without moving your mouth, see? Serrra. Say it enough and it stops being a word. Sera, Sera, Sera, Sera, Sera, Sera, Serraa.
 * Sera: Leave me alone.
 * Cole: You like to dance, but can't. You hate to sing, but can. You should not paint. It would be very bad if you did.
 * Sera: Shut it up!
 * Cole: You don't have to be afraid, Sera. I won't hurt you.
 * Sera: Go away.
 * Cole: I won't stab you when you are looking somewhere else. I won't do that to your boots. Or that other thing to your arrows. I don't understand what that last thing is, but I won't do it either.
 * Sera: Why does it keep talking at me?
 * Sera: Could you at least not stare PAST my eyes? Creepy that.
 * Cole: You aren't your eyes. You live behind them.
 * Sera: See...? That right there, creepy!

(Or)
 * Cole:There are songs in every part of you, Sera. Soft silly sibilant, sighing in silence, waiting for you to hear them.
 * Sera:Could someone please shut him up. Or I’m going to shaft him in his creepy, little eyes.
 * Cole:You...you called me “him”. Thank you!
 * Sera:(yells)
 * Cole: Your bow was a tree once. A girl with a long name met a boy with strong hands there.
 * Cole: Her body warm, leaning against the trunk, hair tangled in branches and fingers. "Forever, no matter what."
 * Cole: They cut letters in the bark. When her parents took her away, he cut the letters away to forget.
 * Cole: Every time you pull it, the part that was a tree remembers. Can you feel it under your fingers?
 * Cole: When you fire your bow, it hums after, every time.
 * Cole: Your mind makes it quiet, but if you heard it backwards, it would sound longer, a thrum through the gut.
 * Cole: But don't think about it, or you'll tense your shoulder like you do, and then your shot will go too far left.


 * Sera: It's like its face doesn't know what it's saying! Eww!


 * Sera: Have we been here? I mean right here, doing exactly this? It feels weird.
 * Cole: Yes. But not how you mean.
 * Cole: In the soft thin places, spirits push with memories that didn't happen. Or did. Or might.
 * Cole: Before the door is open. They could just let the cat out, and it would always be alive.
 * Sera: It's like its face doesn't know what it's saying! Eww!
 * Cole: Sera, no matter how you turn your head, your ears point to the Fade. Do you do it on purpose?
 * Sera: Don't look at it, don't look at it!

Cole and Solas

 * Cole: You're different, Solas. Sharper. You're in both places.
 * Solas: I visit the Fade regularly. Perhaps you are sensing traces of it.
 * Solas: You are a spirit who crossed the Veil and took human form.
 * Cole: Spirit or demon.
 * Solas: The two are not so dissimilar, Cole.
 * Solas: While the world may exert a pull in one direction or another, the choice is ultimately yours.


 * Cole: It's brighter here. Glittering. Glaring. Glinting. I can't...
 * Solas: It's a mild tremor in the Veil. Nothing to worry about. Focus on what is here, in this world.
 * Cole: But... what is here?
 * Solas: Feel the ground, the breath in your lungs, fabric rustling against your skin.
 * Cole: (Breathes.)Thank you.
 * Solas: It's nothing. It can be overwhelming for anyone.


 * Solas: How go your attempts to ease the pain of those at Skyhold, Cole?
 * Cole: I made the scullery maid stop crying and one of the boys in the stable is happier. Some of the servants are angry. My help makes work for them. Do you want me to stop?
 * Solas: No. You exist to help others. You are kindness, compassion, caring. If you stop giving comfort, you would twist into something else, as you did before I suspect.
 * Cole: Yes. I will not be that again.
 * Solas: Good. Never forget your purpose. It is a noble one, even if this world does not understand.


 * Cole: You are quiet, Solas.
 * Solas: Unless I have something to say, yes.
 * Cole: No, inside. I don't hear your hurt as much. Your song is softer, subtler, not silent but still.
 * Solas: How small the pain of one man seems when weighed against the endless depths of memory, of feeling, of existence. That ocean carries everyone. And those of us who learn to see its currents move through life with their fewer ripples.
 * Cole: There is pain though, still within you.
 * Solas: And I never said that there was not.


 * Cole: You don't need to envy me, Solas. You can find happiness in your own way.
 * Solas: I apologize for disturbing you, Cole. I am not a spirit, and sometimes it is hard to remember such simple truths.
 * Cole: They are not gone so long as you remember them.
 * Solas: I know.
 * Cole: But you could let them go.
 * Solas: I know that as well.
 * Cole: You didn't do it to be right. You did it to save them.
 * Inquisitor: Solas, what is Cole talking about?
 * Solas: A mistake. One of many made by a much younger elf who was certain he knew everything.
 * Cole: You weren't wrong, though.

Or
 * Solas: Thank you, Cole.
 * Inquisitor: Cole, I think Solas would like you to stop.
 * Solas: It is no bother, Inquisitor. Cole is a spirit of compassion and this world is too bleak to spurn compassion offered freely. I will never know that for certain, Cole, but thank you for saying it.

(Occurs after completing All New, Faded for Her)
 * Cole: Bright and brilliant, he wanders the ways, walking unwaking, searching for wisdom...
 * Solas: I do not need you to do that, Cole.
 * Cole: Your friend wanted you to be happy, even though she knew you wouldn't be.
 * Solas: (Sighs.) Could you... if you would remember her, could you do it as I would?
 * Cole: He comes to me as though the Fade were just another wooded path to walk without a care in search of wisdom.
 * Cole: We share the ancient mysteries, the feelings lost, forgotten dreams, unseen for ages, now beheld in wonder.
 * Cole: In his own way, he knew wisdom, as no man or spirit had before.
 * Solas: Thank you.

(Occurs after completing All New, Faded for Her)
 * Cole: I am sorry your friend died, Solas.
 * Solas: Thank you, Cole.
 * Cole: I didn't know there were spirits of wisdom.
 * Solas: There are few. Spirits form as a reflection of this world and its passions.
 * Solas: We will never lack for spirits of rage, or hunger, or desire. The world gives them plenty to mirror.
 * Solas: The gentler spirits are far more rare. We can ill afford the loss of even one spirit of wisdom, or faith...
 * Solas: Or compassion.
 * Cole: I will try not to die.
 * Solas: Do that, please.

(Occurs after completing All New, Faded for Her)
 * Cole: Is there a way to save more spirits, Solas?
 * Solas: Not until the Veil is healed. The rifts draw spirits through, and the shock makes demons of them.
 * Cole: Pushing through makes you be yourself. You can hold onto the you.
 * Cole: Being pulled through means you don't have enough you. You become what batters you, bruises your being.
 * Solas: Yes, exactly. Deliberately crossing the Veil requires that a spirit form will, personality.
 * Solas: That concept of self gives a spirit the chance to maintain its nature.
 * Solas: Wrenched into this world unwillingly by the rifts, spirits suffer the same fate as my friend.
 * Cole: Then we will help them.

(References the television show Touched by an Angel)
 * Cole: If it helps enough people, it becomes more... wandering, wishing, touched by them, Maker loves you, and it grows.
 * Cole: But I am me. Will I be more one day, if I help enough? Is this a task, timed, temporary?
 * Solas: No. It is a mistake to ascribe human motivations to them.
 * Cole: So I am always this?
 * Solas: You are always you.

(if Cole becomes more human)
 * Solas: How do you feel, Cole, now that you dealt with the Templar?
 * Cole: I don't know. He hurt me... hurt the real Cole. I'm angry at him.
 * Cole: I can't let that go. I have to become more, let it make me real.
 * Solas: You may well become fully human, after all. I never thought to see it.
 * Cole: When did you see it before?
 * Solas: I did not say that I had.
 * Cole: No, you didn't. It's harder to hear, sometimes. Sorry.
 * Solas: Good luck, Cole. You have taken a difficult road.

(if Cole becomes more human)
 * Solas: How do you feel, Cole? Are you...
 * Cole: I am me. I cannot be bound, broken. I will help the hurt and kill the killers.
 * Solas: I see. I... let me know if I can help.

(if Cole remains a spirit)
 * Solas: Are you well, Cole?
 * Cole: Well wishing, waiting for once. Clean and clear, uncluttered.
 * Solas: I am glad to hear it.
 * Cole: Can I help you? You healed my hurt, but yours is old inside, vast across the Veil.
 * Solas: I am fine, thank you. There are others who need your help more urgently.
 * Cole: Yes.

(if Cole remains a spirit)
 * Solas: Do you wish you can return to the Fade, Cole?
 * Cole: I can. I am light, unlittered. I can slip back across a small kind thing.
 * Solas: Yet, you remain.
 * Cole: I can help here.
 * Solas: Then for as long as you remain, I am glad of your company.

(If the Inquisitor romanced Solas.) (Or) (Or)
 * Cole: (If the Inquisitor had vallaslin removed.) Ar lasa mala revas. You are so beautiful. But then you turned away. Why?
 * Solas: I had no choice.
 * Cole: She is bare-faced, embarrassed, and she doesn't know. She thinks it's because of her.
 * Cole: (If the Inquisitor's vallaslin was not removed.) Stop, you're perfect exactly as you are. But then you turned away. Why?
 * Solas: I had no choice.
 * Cole: She feels her face, marked, marred without malice. She didn't know. She thinks it's why you walked away.
 * Solas: You cannot heal this, Cole. Please, let it go.
 * Inquisitor: Perhaps Cole can get a better answer from you than I did.
 * Cole: He hurts, an old pain from before, when everything sang the same.
 * Cole: You're real, and it means everyone could be real. It changes everything, but it can't.
 * Cole: They sleep, masked in a mirror, hiding, hurting, and to wake them... (Gasps.) Where did it go?
 * Solas: I apologize, Cole. That is not a pain you can heal.
 * Inquisitor: I would rather not discuss it, Cole.
 * Cole: I'm sorry.
 * Solas: It was my doing, not yours.

(References the film The Bishop's Wife)
 * Cole: She wants a Chantry, but it does other things instead.
 * Solas: She did not need a Chantry, she needed to remember her faith.
 * Cole: But it also spent time with her. It wanted to fall, feeling.
 * Solas: They are always attracted to the world of the living.
 * Cole: Why did it only talk facing one way?
 * Solas: We all have a face we want to show, and a face we we do not.

(References the film It's A Wonderful Life) (References the film Meet Joe Black)
 * Cole: It sees him ready to jump. Pain pounding, pulsing, life of frustration can finally fall, to freeze.
 * Solas: Ah, yes.
 * Cole: It holds him high, shows the hole, were everything falls without him. He never needs to leave. He matters here.
 * Solas: That is one interpretation, yes.
 * Cole: You think it is different.
 * Solas: I think he fell, and it held him as he died, leaving him with images that told him his life was worthwhile.
 * Cole: That's much sadder. But yes. Calm, comfort, as the cold takes him away.
 * Cole: It makes sense. It holds them as they die. But then it's a man, and he wants a woman. Why?
 * Solas: When they possess people, they often indulge in feelings they have never before experienced.
 * Cole: But it changed. It is blank, black, blunted from being. It never wanted before.
 * Solas: Have you felt no interest in women since you came through the Veil?
 * Cole: No.

(References the film Dogma)
 * Cole: They can only return to the Maker if they become real. Why can't they be forgiven as they are?
 * Solas: People say they lack the ability to learn or grow.
 * Cole: Yes.
 * Solas: But the more contact you have with this world, the more ability you gain.
 * Cole: Why would they want to prove the Maker wrong? He's already far away.
 * Solas: It isn't about right and wrong. It's about attention, when you think you have been forgotten.
 * Cole: And rolling the ball so it goes in the hole.

(References the 1995 film The Prophecy) (References the film City of Angels)
 * Cole: A war in the Fade, waged with human hate. (Shudders.) I should never want to see that.
 * Solas: It would be a terrible thing.
 * Cole: It was wrong to hide it in the child. It hurt her.
 * Cole: They left for love, and then love lost them. More pain, more joy than anyone can bear, and yet they embrace it.
 * Solas: How could they not?

(References the film Angels in The Outfield)
 * Cole: It was a game, but more than a game. It meant he would get a family.
 * Solas: Competition brings passion, Cole, and passion lets people attach import to trivial things.
 * Cole: Why didn't they help at the end?
 * Solas: People wish to accomplish the truly great things on their own.
 * Cole: They didn't give the boy what he wanted.
 * Solas: They did. The boy got a family.
 * Cole: They gave him a new one. He wanted his old one. I would have done it better.
 * Solas: The wise must sometimes give people what they need, not what they want.

(References the television show Supernatural)
 * Cole: Why would they want to make people fight? Why would they fight the Maker?
 * Solas: It is easier for people to believe that they were tricked into making terrible decisions.
 * Cole: The brothers shouldn't fight. They should tell their troubles. Their father didn't teach them to talk.
 * Solas: Often a problem, yes.

Other Companions' Comments
(Other companions will comment on Cole and Solas' cryptic conversations the first time they hear them. These comments always occur immediately after any of the slightly obscure pieces of dialogue.)

(if Cassandra is in the party) (if Vivienne is in the party) (if Iron Bull is in the party) (if Dorian is in the party) (if Blackwall is in the party) (if Sera is in the party) (if Varric is in the party)
 * Cassandra: What are you two talking about?
 * Solas: It will make little sense unless one has spent more time in the Fade.
 * Vivienne: You should not encourage that thing.
 * Cole: Solas is not a thing.
 * Solas: Well said.
 * Iron Bull: You two just work whatever that is out of your system. Like poison. Weird-ass poison.
 * Cole: It's good. I can explain.
 * Iron Bull: I really didn't ask.
 * Dorian: It's fascinating listening to you two. Like working out a puzzle with only half the pieces.
 * Solas: I'm pleased you're enjoying yourself.
 * Blackwall: The two of you make no sense sometimes.
 * Solas: That is a matter of perspective.
 * Sera: You're both nutters.
 * Cole: You want to be the one with the words that wander.
 * Solas: True.
 * Sera: Stop it!
 * Varric: There are times I almost understand the two of you.
 * Solas: You are a rare soul, master Tethras.

Cole and Varric
─────── ─────── ───────
 * Varric: So you could make people not see you, Cole. Can you do that for other people?
 * Cole: Yes. It makes me tired, and doesn't work if they're loud. Or angry. Or bright.
 * Varric: Hm, what about things? Can you make people ignore an object?
 * Cole: Maybe. Like what?
 * Varric: Oh, I don't know. A book, or a box... or a crate... or a wagon full of crates?
 * Sera (if in party): Turning creepy loose on your stuff? Not a good idea, dwarfy.
 * Solas (if in party): Smuggling? That is certainly a... unique use of a spirit's innate powers of persuasion.
 * Cassandra (if in party): Dwarf...
 * Varric: I'm just asking.
 * Cole: They were staring at me.
 * Varric: Who's "they," Kid?
 * Cole: In Skyhold. The servants in the courtyard. They were looking at me and whispering.
 * Varric: It's the hat. Kind of hard to miss. Don't worry about it.
 * Cole: What's wrong with my hat?
 * Varric: That's going to take a while. I'll explain "clothes" when we get back.
 * Cole: Should I change my hat?
 * Varric: Nah, if they're busy staring at your hat, they're ignoring all your other flaws.
 * Cole: A silk shirt with three buttons left undone.
 * Varric: Exactly! If you can't be flawless--and no one can--be flashy. Nobody will know the difference.
 * Varric: How are you holding up, Kid? You've been quiet for a while.
 * Cole: My shoelaces keep coming untied.
 * Varric: You're doing fine.
 * Cole: Can you talk to them? They don't listen to me.
 * Varric: Maybe not so fine... Don't talk to them, Kid. Just tie them in knots.

───────
 * Cole: I like traveling with Dwarves.
 * Varric: Glad to hear it, Kid.
 * Cole: You're quiet, but the old song still echoes inside, almost like Templars.

───────
 * Cole: But he died at the end of the last book. If he comes back, the readers will be confused.
 * Varric: Okay, delving into my personal life is one thing, but a writer needs some privacy.


 * Varric: So, Kid, why human?
 * Cole:  It was the shape that would help.
 * Varric: Huh. Most people don't pick a shape. I guess I was hoping for something deeper with that question.
 * Cole:  It had to be him. But harmless. The him he wanted that wouldn't hurt.
 * Varric: Well that's... deeper. I think.


 * Varric: Hey, Kid, back in the last village that farmer was looking right past you. Why didn't you let him see you?
 * Cole:  He didn't need me.
 * Varric: Maybe not, but you could learn something by talking with him.
 * Cole:  What would I learn? I can hear when they need me.
 * Varric: You could learn not to scare them so badly that they have to forget you.
 * Cole:  I'll... try.


 * Cole:  How do you make them calm?
 * Varric: Who, Kid?
 * Cole:  Everyone. You talk and the fear fades, slipping to sleep. Not always happy, but not angry.
 * Varric: Most people are like cats. They either puff up to look dangerous or they crouch down and hope you don't see them. You show them you're not a victim or threat, and they're in your lap and purring before you know it.
 * Cole:  Cats swat my feet even when no one can see me.
 * Varric: That explains a lot.


 * Varric: How are you feeling, Kid?
 * Cole:  If you don't get some sunshine you wilt. She says she's not a plant, she's fine, but falling, faltering, foolish. Blood on her hands. People and demons always end in trouble. Too many daisies in this garden.
 * Cole: I am good, Varric. I am me. You don't need to worry, but thank you for caring.
 * Varric: Al...right? Well let me know if you ever... er... yeah.


 * Cole:  The heft in my hands, solid, strong, but curving, careful, like her. Soot, smudge on her cheek, tiny scars on her fingers, old fires, her little frowns when she twists her gear ever so slightly.
 * Varric: Yup. That's her, Kid.


 * Cole:  Your stories aren't real. But then people read them and they are!
 * Varric: Get the readers invested and you'll have them forever.
 * Cole:  So many people reading, dreaming, feeling. Spirits spill around the veil making shapes. Reality from writing!
 * Varric: I've got fans in the Fade? Well, that's something. Shame I'll never meet them.


 * Cole:  Do you write to reach across? To hear the song that was sundered?
 * Varric: I'm... not sure what that even means, Kid, but probably?


 * Varric: Hey, Kid, what would a pride demon say to weaken a warrior's resolve? I need something that gets under the skin.
 * Cole:  Does she use a big sword, or a sword and shield?
 * Varric: One of the big two-handers.
 * Cole:  The next time you imagine him touching you, someone you love will die.
 * Varric: Err, well, that went a little dark. Who's "him" in this?
 * Cole:  She knows who he is. Does it not work for your book?
 * Varric: No, it works great! Just glad you're not that kind of demon.


 * Varric: Okay, Kid, try it again like we practiced.
 * Cole:  Two pairs beats one pair. Four of a kind beats two pairs. She slips the ace of dragons into a thigh-high boot, calls to the barman for another round. Blondie stares at the table, angry, always angry.
 * Varric: Focus, Kid, you can't beat four of a kind with bad memories.


 * Cole:  Do they ever stop talking to you?
 * Varric: Nouns, Kid. Does who ever stop talking to me?
 * Cole:  The people in your head. They aren't real, but they have voices and thoughts and sometimes you see through their eyes.
 * Varric: If they stopped I wouldn't have to write so much.


 * Cole:  I think I have it. Let me try again.
 * Varric: Alright, Kid, let's see what you've got.
 * Cole:  Knock, knock.
 * Varric: Who's there?
 * Cole:  Cole.
 * Varric: Cole who?
 * Cole:  It's me, Cole. That is my name.
 * Varric: No, no. You're still not getting it. Sorry, Kid.


 * Cole:  Knock, knock.
 * Varric: Okay, I'll bite. Who's there?
 * Cole:  The Inquisition.
 * Varric: The Inquisition who?
 * Cole:  That's who we are, Varric.
 * Varric: Er... yeah. That's not working either. You didn't get that one from Sera, did you?


 * Varric: Okay, try it again, you'll get it.
 * Cole:  Knock, knock.
 * Varric: Who's there?
 * Cole:  Me.
 * Varric: (Sighs.) Me who?
 * Cole:  Me, and I'm telling a knock knock joke.
 * Varric: Uh... that was... closer. Keep trying.


 * Varric: So, Kid, you don't have any formal combat training at all?
 * Cole:  No? I go where the knife needs to be.
 * Varric: ...Er. Whatever works for you.


 * Cole:  Knock, knock.
 * Varric: Sure, why not. Who's there?
 * Cole:  Dragon.
 * Varric: Dragon who?
 * Cole:  Dragons really don't like wyverns.
 * Varric: Sorry, kid. Still not quite getting it. Closer, though!

Cole and Vivienne
(If Cole is made more spirit) (If Cole is made more human, or if his personal quest has not yet been completed)
 * Cole: Solas doesn't fear spirits, Vivienne. Why do you?
 * Vivienne: Your apostate friend did not benefit from formal training in a Circle.
 * Solas:  How unfortunate for me.
 * Cole: The Circle makes you afraid? Are the demons stronger there?
 * Vivienne: The Circle taught me the tricks demons play to gain the trust of any mage foolish enough to listen.
 * Vivienne: Solas seems to trust you. How long before you turn on him?
 * Cole: Solas is my friend!
 * Vivienne: But you'd like to be more, wouldn't you? You could be together forever if you possessed him.
 * Vivienne: Is that not truly what you want? A body to claim your own, so you never have to return to the Fade?
 * Cole: I have a body. And Solas has nothing to fear from me. Neither do you... unless you attack first. I like the Fade, but I can help here. I could help you if you let me.
 * Solas:  Well said Cole. Although I doubt she will ever accept.
 * Cole: I can't return to the Fade. Sometimes I wish I could.
 * Solas: Ignore her, Cole. She would hurt what she does not understand.

(If Inquisitor supports Cole.) (If Inquisitor supports Vivienne.)
 * Cole: You're afraid. You don't have to be.
 * Vivienne: My dear Inquisitor, please restrain your pet demon. I do not want it addressing me.
 * Inquisitor: He's not doing any harm, Vivienne.
 * Vivienne: It's a demon, darling. All it can do is harm.
 * Inquisitor: Cole, Vivienne doesn't want to talk right now.
 * Cole: She's afraid!


 * Cole: Everything bright, roar of anger as the demon rears. No, I will not fall. No one will control me ever again.
 * Cole: Flash of white as the world comes back. Shaking, hollow, Harrowed, but smiling at templars to show them I'm me.
 * Cole: I am not like that. I can protect you. If Templars come for you, I will kill them.
 * Vivienne: Delightful.


 * Cole: Grass doesn't mind anything. People walk on it, horses eat it, it's always content.
 * Vivienne: It's probably thankful it doesn't have ears, and can't listen to you.


 * Cole: Stepping into the parlor, hem of my gown snagged, no, adjust before I go in, must look perfect.
 * Vivienne: My dear, your pet is speaking again. Do silence it.
 * Cole: Voices inside. Marquis Alphonse.
 * Cole: "I do hope Duke Bastien puts out the lights before he touches her. But then, she must disappear in the dark."
 * Cole: Gown tight between my fingers, cold all over. Unacceptable. Wheels turn, strings pull.
 * Cole: He hurt you. You left a letter, let out a lie so he would do something foolish against the Inquisition. A trap.
 * Vivienne: Inquisitor, as your demon lacks manners, perhaps you could get Solas to train it.


 * Cole: Do you feel spirits when you cast a spell?
 * Cole: Bits of them push through with your magic, tiny, a wisp of a wisp, free before falling back. They pool around you, water in a cup, defined, deafened, hearing only your song.
 * Cole: They want to skate, scintillate on skin. You made them them. Their maker.
 * Vivienne: Now. I need. A bath.


 * Cole: Nugs are kind, Almost everything is bigger than they, but they're still happy.
 * Cole: If you hold out your hand, they will nuzzle it. It's how they call you "friend."
 * Vivienne: Remember, Inquisitor, the harmless-looking ones are always the most dangerous.
 * Cole: Nugs aren't dangerous.
 * Vivienne: I was not referring to nugs.


 * Cole: Are you still afraid of me, Vivienne?
 * Vivienne: Are you still talking?


 * Cole: Dorian is like you, Vivienne.
 * Vivienne: I think not.
 * Dorian: Vivienne, the poor thing is trying to pay you a compliment. How so, Cole?
 * Cole: The Veil sings around both of you. It whispers through you and makes you both brighter.
 * Vivienne: The same could be said of any mage. Beyond that, I have little in common with a noble from Tevinter.
 * Cole: No. For most mages, it's a tool. A toil. You make it you.
 * Dorian: Also, we clearly have the best fashion sense of anyone around.
 * Vivienne: True, but I hardly expect the Fade to notice.


 * Cole: You were not at the Spire when the rebellion started Vivienne. I tried to protect the mages, I would remember you.
 * Vivienne: What were you doing at the Spire demon?
 * Cole: I didn't know what I was. When mages were afraid, their pain called me and I set them free.
 * Vivienne: You helped mages escape?
 * Cole: I killed them so the templars couldn't hurt them anymore.
 * Vivienne: Of course. I should have guessed that a demon's help would end in blood.
 * Cole: It was wrong. I'm sorry.


 * Vivienne: Cole... you were the Ghost of the Spire.
 * Cole: Yes.
 * Vivienne: Your murders stirred the Circle into a frenzy. That was what brought the attention of the templars.
 * Cole: The templars hurt mages.
 * Vivienne: Stupid, panicking mages who became a danger to themselves and others because of you!
 * Vivienne: You brought matters in the Spire to a head. Without you, there would be no rebellion.
 * Vivienne: Countless deaths are on your head, demon. Are you satisfied with the result of your protection?
 * Cole: You're lying. You're... twist the words right, and it will show its true form. Blood or banishment, either will suffice.
 * Cole: You like the templars. You think they were right.
 * Cole: You don't need to be protected.
 * Vivienne: It can learn after all.


 * Cole: Sour smell in the tower library. Rotten meat and ashes. Too quiet without the apprentices. Something crunches underfoot. Burned finger bones glitter in the ash like pearls. Ice in my veins. The archivist... what was her name?
 * Vivienne: Get. Out.
 * Cole: Why did they kill her? She was just like them!
 * Vivienne:  They helped her. Just like you did. Anyone who wouldn't fight for freedom was freed by fire and lightning. Stay out of my thoughts demon. My memories are my own.


 * Vivienne: You are no longer a danger of being bound by enemies of the Inquisition, demon?
 * Cole: Yes. I am no danger now.
 * Vivienne: No more than you were before.
 * Cole: You worried for me.
 * Vivienne: I was concerned about you, demon.
 * Vivienne: You have grown adept at killing. If you cannot be gone, I would prefer you remain pointed at the enemy.
 * Cole: No. You were worried. The part of you that forgets I'm me cared. You want it to go away.
 * Cole: You think caring makes you weak. Don't worry. I won't tell anyone.


 * Vivienne: Why are you still here? If you truly worried about being bound by blood magic, you would leave.
 * Cole:  Where? If I go, the mages could find me.
 * Vivienne: Then perhaps you should go further.


 * Cole:  You don't use blood magic Vivienne?
 * Vivienne: Of course not! Such magic is a tool for the weak. That the Warden mages resorted to it is pitiful.
 * Cole:  Trembling. My knife at his throat. Not this! Not this! Swore I'd do whatever they'd ask but not this! In death, sacrifice. His hand grips my wrist. Pulls the blade across his throat. I'm sorry!
 * Vivienne: As I said. Pitiful.


 * Vivienne: Were you sad watching your fellow spirits banished back at Adamant Cole?
 * Cole:  No. They were free, unbound. Banished back where they belong. I liked watching the rocks break the walls. Falling fortress, old dead fears, cracking like flakes of blood. It was better than last time.
 * Vivienne: Last time? Are we to understand you have been to Adamant before?
 * Cole:  Yes.
 * Vivienne: So your visit to Adamant was better this time despite the arrival of an Archdemon?
 * Cole:  It came last time too.


 * Cole:  You were happy at the Winter Palace Vivienne.
 * Vivienne: Your point demon?
 * Cole:  You were still sharp, but happy. Golden, glittering, everything gleam. Rules that let you win.
 * Vivienne: One does not wish to brag.
 * Cole:  That's why you're happier being a noble than a mage. You fear demons, not people.
 * Vivienne: People can only kill you.
 * Cole:  Gown perfect, shoes perfect, hat perfect. Staff a symbol, not a weapon. My world, my people, mine.
 * Vivienne: Out please!


 * Cole:  I don't understand Celene and Gaspard.
 * Vivienne: I shall try to suppress my shock.
 * Cole:  There's no hurt. Nothing there touched you.
 * Vivienne: Did you expect me to get misty-eyed over who rose to glory and who paid the price demon? It is the Game. No matter what transpired in the Winter Palace, I took steps to strengthen my position.
 * Cole:  How do you make a Game that you always win?
 * Vivienne: Practice.


 * Cole: Uncultured barbarian witch.
 * Vivienne: I beg your pardon demon?
 * Cole: Jaws ache, dress stiff, binding. Years of work, favors fought, deals dealt, and the witch usurped my position.
 * Vivienne: Remove yourself from my head!
 * Cole: You're angry at Morrigan. She took what you had without working.
 * Vivienne: She took nothing! If Empress Celene wished the council of some untrained witch, she was free to seek it!
 * Cole: Celene did not make you go away. She respected you.
 * Vivienne: She feared the consequences of angering me.


 * Cole: Wind is always going someplace. What happens when it gets there?
 * Vivienne: Apparently, it dons a hat and prattles endlessly.


 * Cole:  So many spirits clustering around. Pressing against the Veil, calling your name. Vivienne! Vivienne! Look at me!
 * Vivienne:  I get that at court too darling. They get used to disappointment. Courtiers always do.


 * Vivienne: With so many rift marking the world, I am surprised any demons nearby do not fall back through.
 * Vivienne: It would be a simple matter for such misguided creatures to return to their home and leave this confusing world behind.
 * Vivienne: Would that not be easier for everyone involved, my dear?
 * Cole: Demons can't hear you. It hurts too much. Nothing here makes sense to them.
 * Vivienne: (Sighs.)