Durance

"It's what's beneath the skin and the letters I care about, what burns within. It's more important to me you're a Watcher than whatever culture or accent decorates your letters like awkward crowns. Take pride in your actions, not where you hail from... Or how your name rolls off whatever liar's tongue coats it now."

Durance is a male human priest and one of the recruitable companions in.

He can be found in Magran's Fork, at the shrine of Magran in the center of the map. You simply need to talk to him, and unless refused, he will join the party. Player characters who are affiliated with Magran will have additional dialogue options.

Background
Durance is an incredibly ugly man, with bulging red cheeks raked by pox scars, and a scraggly beard. He appears to be in his early 40s and wears the frayed robes of Magran. He wields a unique staff that has a magical flame. Durance is not his name and it is never revealed.

Beliefs
Durance studied Magranic scripture at Ashfall. However, he is part of a non-popular sect that observes the teachings of Durance.

Durance (the original) sought insight from meditation while watching a flame. If that failed, he would seek conflict instead. His teachings were comprised of trials and lessons and his followers were usually not welcomed because they were often hostile to other Magran clergy they viewed as weak. His followers saw this outcast status as a trial and their wandering nature became a sign of "physical devotion".

A point of contention between Durance followers and the rest of the Magranic order was their views on justice. Traditionally, Woedica is the god of justice. However, Durance's followers believed in dispensing "justice" during their wandering trials. They used Woedica's exile as justification that their actions were appropriate for followers of Magran.

Saint's War
Durance was part of a team of twelve priests from Ashfall who worked on the Godhammer Bomb that ended the Saint's War at Halgot Citadel. Each member of the team was awarded a staff made from the Ashfall forest that was blackened during the War of Black Trees.

Durance was the only priest that survived the blast. However, his body was left scarred and his soul was damaged.

Aftermath and Purges
Durance found himself shaken after the events at Halgot Citadel. He felt Magran turned her back to him and fell silent.

At first he headed back to Ashfall, but changed course after deciding to follow the teachings of Durance. He joined the Purges, killing many Eothasians. He recalls this as "saving the Eothasians from themselves. Burning any that didn't die with their god."

When Waidwen's Legacy struck, Durance felt it appropriate to kill any Hollowborn he crossed paths with.

Conflicts
As a fiercely loyal citizen of the Free Palatinate of Dyrwood and a zealous follower of Magran, Durance is vocal about being at odds with many groups:
 * Eothas and his followers, Eothasians, because of Waidwen.
 * Hylea and her followers, whom sheltered Eothasians after the Saint's War.
 * The nation of Readceras, where Waidwen was from.
 * The Aedyr Empire that once ruled the Dyrwood.
 * Animancy, ciphers and watchers. All of which he feels contirbuted to Waidwen's Legacy.
 * Orlans.

In the Watcher, Durance sees a person who can make the barren field of the Dyrwood fertile again and latches on to test them, to ensure that they speak truth, not lies, but the learning goes both ways. Over time he comes to learn that the gods are not unlike the authority ﬁgures he so often ﬁnds himself at odds with, and that he and the killed Magranic clergy were perhaps nothing but pieces in the gods’ games (see endings).

Companion

 * Durance is found at Magran's Fork towards the center of the map by a shrine to Magran.
 * He can provide support and healing as a priest.
 * He also starts with points in mechanics, making him a good companion to tackle locks and traps.
 * While not particularly conversational with anyone other than the Watcher, his personality is confrontational and consequently most of his banter is argumentative with other companions.
 * Durance keeps secrets that unravel the more you talk to him. He will tire of talking and periodically stops answering until after resting.

Companion Quest

 * Durance's companion quest is The Trials of Durance, which is received as soon as you recruit him.
 * His quest is progressed after resting with him in the party and seeing a vision.
 * A second vision will become available after resting with him in the party in Act 3.
 * The quest can be completed after Council of Stars in Act 3.

Endings

 * Using knowledge gleaned from his dialogue, you can try to convince Durance that Magran conspired with Woedica, and that she no longer speaks to Durance not because he did something to offend her, but because the damage to his soul has left Magran blind to his being.
 * This has the effect of making Durance realize that the violence and brutality he perpetrated on Eothasians - and, perhaps, the Godhammer - to regain her favor were unnecessary. If he comes to the conclusion that Magran did, in fact, try to kill all the makers of the Godhammer at Halgot Citadel, and he only escaped with the wounds his soul sustained in the blast by sheer luck, he will swear revenge at Magran, promising that he will continue to use and drain her power as long as he needs, until he finally finds a way to strike back at her.
 * Failing to convince Durance of this plot results in his belief that Magran's continued silence is condemnation of his existence.

Other Interactions

 * If he is an active member of the party when finding the burning stone during Cinders of Faith, Durance has extra dialogue in which he refers to the stone as "a whore's cruel jest" and a "divine practical joke." He refuses to explain the joke, as he considers himself the only one who would get it. But potentially, the burning stone can be regarded as a metaphor for Durance himself: another cast-off, broken, remainder of the Godhammer's explosion.
 * If he is in the party at Teir Evron during Council of Stars, Durance has extra dialog in which he tries to gets Magran's attention, but she ignores him.


 * If recruited in the first game, Xoti will see Durance in her dreams as a skeletal priest.
 * When speaking with Eld Engrim after the prologue you can refer to Durance.
 * If you did convinced him of Magran and Woedica's plot:
 * Watcher: "The last Magranite to travel with me almost went mad because of his goddess' trials."
 * Engrim: "Aye, but almost mad ain't fully mad. Ah, Old Durance. The goddess shan't forge another like him in our lives, captain."
 * If you didn't convinced him of the plot:
 * Watcher: "The last Magranite to travel with me wasn't quite up to the goddess' challenge."
 * Engrim: "Aye. Poor Durance. May the mad whoreson see better days come the next turn of the Wheel."
 * Magran references her plot with Woedica after leaving Port Maje: "I acted in haste during the Saint's War. You will not goad me into doing the same now."
 * Edér references Durance's ramblings during his personal quest The Lighted Path when dealing with the Partisans of the Lighted Path: "You almost wish you could lock 'em in a room with Durance. See how fast they talk their way through the air supply."

Behind the scenes

 * Durance was written by Chris Avellone.
 * Before PoE 1.03, Durance had the following Attributes: Mig: 14 Con: 15 Dex: 9 Per: 9 Int: 13 Res: 19.
 * Durance is voiced by actor Dave B. Mitchell, who is also the narrator.
 * A conflict in their past was planned for Durance and the Grieving Mother, and may have been resolved during the story of the Watcher, but that didn't make it into the release version of the game.
 * Durance's name in the game files is "companion_GGP". This is also the name used in console commands.