Hesitantly, Merrill stepped into the room, broom in hand, and walked over to the Eluvian, shards of glass scattered around it. It was evil. She was stupid not to have seen that earlier. The elf bent down next to the glass shards, and stared at them. There were a million little faces staring back at her. This puzzled and somewhat frightened Merrill, though. Because the reflections in the glass were not that of her own. She was hallucinating; that must be it.

"Aneth ara, lethallan."

Or perhaps she wasn't hallucinating. Slowly, Merrill stood up and turned around; when she saw who stood in front of her she felt herself go pale.

"You're dead," Merrill said, confused.

The elf in front of her shrugged. "It takes more than death to keep me away from my people."

"Why are you here, Mahariel?" Merrill asked. "How are you here?"

"How I'm here isn't important. I heard about what happened," Lyna said, looking at the Eluvian and frowning.

"Ir abelas," Merrill said. "I shouldn't have... I didn't mean to..."

"Merrill, you know what that mirror did to Tamlen and me," Lyna pointed out.

"I know," Merrill admitted, "but I thought I could control it, or fix it or something!
"Mahariel... do you know what... what happened to Tamlen? Did you find him?"

Lyna frowned. "I found him," she whispered. "No... He found me. The Taint from the mirror turned him into a ghoul. He tried to kill me, but I didn't fight back. Then Alistair and the others killed him; they didn't even know... Tamlen died, Merrill; the Eluvian killed him. Why did you use it?"

"I wanted us to reclaim some of our past," Merrill explained. "Our people know almost nothing of our ancestors."

Lyna sighed. "I wanted so badly to know about my past. The day I left to become a Warden, Ashalle told me my parents would be proud. I asked what happened to them, and she finally told me. My father was killed by shemlen, and after my mother gave birth to me she disappeared one night. I think she killed herself. I'd wanted for so long to know about my past, and I found out. All that time I was wondering what had happened. I should have been focusing on the future. Look for the future, Merrill, not the past."

"I know, but what am I supposed to do?" Merrill wondered. "Hawke said I could help the city elves, but I'm only one person."

"You've changed, Merrill," Lyna said with a grin. "The Merrill I knew wouldn't have let that stop her. I was only one person, but look what I did! You can help the city elves. You can help our people. These are Elvhen. You're an elf before you're a Dale."

"I'm not a Dale anymore," Merrill sighed. "Mahariel, why did you die?"

"To defeat the Archdemon," Lyna replied.

"You wanted to die," Merrill accused her in a somewhat bitter tone.

"You're very observant," Lyna laughed. "Can you guess the rest?"

"It was for Tamlen," Merrill continued, everything beginning to dawn on her. "It was always for Tamlen."

"He's what kept me going," Lyna said. "I was willing to die to stop the Blight. I was willing to die to be with my parents. To be with Tamlen. Before he died he said he loved me. I'd wanted to hear that for the longest time."

"I... we miss you," Merrill said.

Lyna smiled. "It's alright," she insisted. "I'm with Tamlen and my parents. Even Pol and the Keeper are there. It's a beautiful place, Merrill. Hopefully you won't have to see it for a long time, though.
"So no more blood magic?" Lyna asked hopefully.

"No more," Merrill said. "I want nothing more to do with it or the Eluvian."

"Our people will forgive you one day, Merrill," Mahariel said. Merrill looked at her skeptically. "I'm serious; anyway, you have people here who love you, don't you?"

"I… I suppose," Merrill said.

"I regret nothing I did," Lyna said, "but I don't want you to die, too. So live, lethallan. Live."

"I don't know how," Merrill admitted.

"You have people who will help you," Mahariel said. "You have people who love you; people who need you."

"You're right," Merrill said. "You're right, lethallan. I—."

However when Merrill turned to face Mahariel, she was gone. She had finished what she had come for.

"Dareth shiral," Merrill said. "Ma serannas, lethallan."

Merrill jumped when she heard a pounding on the door. She walked over, and opened the door, slightly. She frowned, but opened it up nonetheless.

"Thank the Maker you're alright," Hawke said. "I had no idea where you went."

"I'm sorry," Merrill said. "I came to sweep up the Eluvian, and then an old friend visited."

Hawke looked curious, but Merrill's expression was enough of an indication that the matter should not be pressed. "I should have listened to you," Merrill said. "I'm sorry; for everything."

"Don't be sorry," Hawke said. "You didn't know what you were doing. I should have stopped you."

"Thank you, Hawke," Merrill said. "For everything… ar lath ma."

"What does that mean?" Hawke asked.

Eyes watering, Merrill kissed the human standing in front of her. After a moment she pulled away, smiling.

"Oh," Hawke said, now understanding. "…Ar lath ma."

Merrill smiled, thanking the Creators; thanking Mahariel. Merrill could move on; she had Hawke with her. Hawke would always be with her; she knew it. Merrill felt like she could do anything when Hawke was beside her. Merrill could move on, and she could be happy again. She had Hawke to help her.

Hawke was her vhenan'ara; her heart's desire.