Their moment as Wardens had finally arrived. They stood redeemed to their countrymen after the Landsmeet. Now, they just needed to stay alive long enough to kill the Archdemon that was grounded at the top of Fort Drakon – and Raina was ready.
Last night, Riordan told Raina and Alistair that the taint they willingly took into their bodies during their Joining was what enabled them to kill the Archdemon. Whoever killed it would absorb the essence of the Old God within the Archdemon and die with it. If someone who was not a Grey Warden killed it, the soul would simply travel to another darkspawn and never truly be defeated. After speaking with Riordan, she found Morrigan waiting in her room to explain to her about a ritual that would allow the Warden to kill the Archdemon and not die.
Raina listened to the witch's plan, which entailed convincing Alistair to sleep with Morrigan and conceiving a child. The elf already knew that Alistair would never agree to such a thing, no matter how much she tried to convince him. But, even more than that Raina didn't want a "loop in her hole." She wanted to die.
Death would be an escape from a life without him – her Tamlen. It would be a mercy and she fully intended to use it. After she turned Morrigan's offer down, the witch left the party permanently. Raina was sad to see her go, but realized it was for the best. She didn't tell Alistair of Morrigan's offer, either. Some things were better left unsaid.
The Dalish woman turned to loot the two ogres and emissary before exiting to the top of the tower. She could feel the roar of the Archdemon in her bones as it shook the tower, rattling ancient dust from the masonry. She gave her three companions one final sad smile before kicking open the double doors and rushing to meet destiny.
Calling the dwarven reserves to help them out, she and Leliana ran to a high point and used their longbows to rain death on the Archdemon with elemental and poisoned arrows. Whenever they needed to take a break, Raina used the ballistae scattered across the tower on the dragon. Alistair and Zevran kept the squadrons of darkspawn off their backs, going through health potions left and right, but it seemed their methods were working. Raina could see the dragon weakening, at last!
It collapsed and Raina ran down the parapet to finish the beast when Alistair stopped her. "No, it should be me, Raina." The elf only smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. She should have known that the valiant and noble Templar would try to prevent her from sacrificing herself.
Placing her small hand on his chest she only shook her head. "I have lost everything that I once lived for, my friend. Let me die." His eyes widened in horror and he made to protest, but she shushed him with a finger on his lips. "I cannot live without him. Please, let me die and join him in the Beyond…lethallin."
"Go," he whispered. "Dareth shiral, friend." Raina sighed and stepped back with purpose. The dragon was beginning to raise its head, but she would make sure that it would be the last time. Grabbing a nearby sword that was twice her size, Raina ran with all her remaining strength, sliding the tip of the greatsword under the Archdemon's chin, slicing all through it's long neck. It flopped weakly on the ground splashing in a lake-sized puddle of its own blood. With a guttural cry, Raina jammed the sword straight through its monstrous head.
Light poured out of the Archdemon and cocooned the Dalish who was hanging on for dear life. The ground shook beneath the companion's feet that were watching in disbelief. Alistair watched guiltily, believing that he should be the one to sacrifice himself, but then he managed to catch a glimpse of the euphoric look on Raina's face. He heard her quiet voice whispering in his ear again as he watched, "Let me die."
Then the world shattered and the three of them were thrown across the tower. They came to only after Wynne patched them up with her healing magic to find themselves ensconced in the Palace. The next few days were a flurry of activity in the capital as Anora was crowned Queen and delegated the rebuilding of the city. A funeral was also carefully planned according to Dalish tradition since Raina's clan could not be located. They had no luck in locating Tamlen's resting place, so they chose the prettiest part of the Brecilian Forest they could and prayed that the two elves found each other in the Beyond.
A/N: Please leave reviews - they are greatly appreciated! Hope you enjoyed reading! See you on the next story :)