A/N: WARNING: Mild The Masked Empire spoilers within. I did not make up some jibberish regarding the eluvians and pull it out my bum. Despite how close this story is teetering to AU it follows the overall plot-line of Origins and I'm too much of a lore/accuracy fanatic to alter the overall universe of Thedas ... just the characters within it and the events that shape them. Well, aside from attempting to dance within the illustrious David Gaider's magical timeline of course. To be frank there are so many opinions as to what qualifies as AU and not merely OOC characters, I'm not sure where this story falls on the AU spectrum. Don't hesitate to enlighten me if you feel inclined.
Also, I am including a summary at the end of this chapter (after the elvish translation) for those who want to avoid any potential spoilers for The Masked Empire. As I said, it's a very mild lore-based giveaway yet I completely understand caution when it comes to things like this. So, I'll put some effort into making it more than a paltry list of events.
Down the Rabbit Hole
"Curiosity... is a dangerous thing, Merrill. It will never let you rest. Never."
- Tamlen
The elgar'ala – beautiful and wicked – thrummed with power. Adopting a life, a will of its own, the crystalline gem sprung from Rytholan's palm and hovered a mere few inches from his face. Delicately floating towards the eluvian, the gem bathed the chamber in a radiant blue light. The mirror warped and changed before his eyes. A deep purple hue bubbled from its depths, its tendrils slowly encasing opaque ocean blue.
No turning back. Rytholan inched forward, hand outstretched and reached towards the very thing that had ripped Tamlen from his side. Clenching his eyes shut he stepped through the portal and then … nothing?
"How very anticlimactic." Rytholan muttered to himself cracking open his eyes.
"Mortals are such odd creatures." A voice echoed beside him, sweet like nectar, its inhuman overtones vaguely feminine.
Rytholan jolted and nearly heaved, shock and revulsion bearing down on him and the demon was not the cause.
This .. this is a graveyard. The ground, deceptively soft and tender beneath his feet was twisted, poisoned. A vile black substance stained the soil and wrapped its wicked tendrils around ancient bones. Ahead, a path lazily wound around what once must have been elegant, soothing lights suspended by unseen forces now cast sinister shadows over this odd land. The elven pantheon Ghilan'nain depicted atop a stone fountain, now dry and choked with taint stood like a pillar of despair in the center. Ghilan'nain Andruils chosen, the mother of halla, warped, by this wicked place. With a roar, Rytholan leapt forward – he could not stand to look at it.
Landing with a sick crunch, he recoiled in horror. The withered bodies were so numerous he could scarcely step without grinding bones to powder. Hands outstretched, hundreds of elven and dwarven skeletons lay as if they had perished, crawling towards the … the exit.
The exit. Ahead, across bones clearly disturbed as if someone had fled in terror, was another Eluvian, its power, vibrating through the distance. Ena'ar Tamlen. Hold on.
But first...
Slipping his mace from its resting place, Rytholan turned and lunged at the Eluvian he passed through mere moments before. A wretched bellow from a world in which he did not belong resounded through his skull as the distinct and joyous noise of shattered glass faintly echoed from beyond.
This relic, best forgotten, would claim no one else.
"That was... amusing." The demon droned, carefree.
Not caring one wit for the demon's remarks, Rytholan crossed the distance praying to the creators for those whose bones he desecrated beneath his heel.
Ena'ar Tamlen
Na din numna'el
Ar tu venan lethallin
Stepping through the opposing portal, Rytholan tensed, not allowing his relief over merely being away from that deplorable land in-between to thwart his intentions. There was no time to acknowledge his surroundings or observe the shadows for threats. As careless as this may be, he has a more pressing issue to address. Holding the elgar'ala firmly, he unsheathed his hunting knife clasped to his belt. With rapid, precise movements he cut the crystalline gem into five shards, an act that should be physically impossible without shattering the crystal beyond repair. Yet, this spirit stone was clay in his shimmering hands, arcane energy crackling on the surface of his skin.
By the gods' own luck, the demon had somehow been hindered in that strange place. Perhaps the in-between was built for elves alone? And only they could walk through without the weight of invisible chains dragging them to a snail's pace. Focus Rytholan. That is of little importance now. The demon had taken the form of a human with a single elven ear, as if it had been trapped in that crystal beyond memory and no longer understood the variances between mortal races.
Rytholan's hair stood on the nape of his neck, announcing the demon's presence.
"Ahh. The mortal realm. Such a dull décor elf. No matter, the bargain is fulfilled." It cooed in that lazy, unnerving feminine tone. "You now have an innate...mmm... sense that will direct you towards your goal. The taint may overcome you by then, however. Ah well."
Standing on the opposite side of the demon while it busied itself posturing in an alluring and revolting manner before the eluvian, Rytholan placed the final piece of the elgar'ala on the stone floor, completing the binding circle.
"What are... No!" It shrieked and lunged bearing otherworldly, slightly feline fangs as it hissed.
"I said I would free you from the elgar'ala. But I never specified where." Arcane energy fizzed to life, the brilliant white lines tracing, encircling, completing. "Somehow, I'm more comfortable with you, trapped within the in-between land of these two eluvians."
"You... mortal... you will regret th..." It's sentence was cut short as a surge of power catapulted the demon back through the eluvian, shrieking.
"Uh. Huh." Rytholan gripped his mace once more, and bore it down on the mirror.
Ena'ar Tamlen. He turned, expecting to begin tracking his brother before setting off in the direction of the wardens, an odd bit of information the demon had … transferred into his mind... and stopped short, gaping. Long corridors of stone with high arching ceilings sprawled before him in every direction.
No earth.
No sun.
No trees.
No sign of life as far as the eye could see.
Yet a sick, foreboding feeling crept along the edge of his senses. Somehow, he knew sinister eyes with wicked blades dwelled here.
Here... "The home of the durgen'len." Rytholan gulped.
How does one track across solid stone? I ... have no knowledge of this. I ...he's...
Tamlen... I.. I've failed you.
Overwhelmed, Rytholan cautiously crept towards a side passage, in the direction of the wardens, of duty. "I will not disobey my keeper." he whispered quietly to no one at all.
Eyes damp with unshed tears, he drug one foot in front of the other, forcing a defeated, desolate march forward.
"Emma ir abelas.
Banalhan'in ar numan
Emma ir abelas
Banalhan'in"
Elven Translations:
Ena'ar Tamlen – I'm coming Tamlen/I come Tamlen
Na din numna'el - you do not cry
Ar tu venan lethallin - I will find you, dear one
Emma ir abelas.- I am filled with sorrow
Banalhan'in ar numan - In/inside this place of nothing I cry/weep
Emma ir abelas - I am filled with sorrow
Banalhan'in – in/inside this place of nothing
Also, banalhan (place of nothing) is used to refer to the blight's source of origin or the blight itself.
Elgar'ala – spirit-trap, also refers to a binding circle that traps a spirit/demon within.
Summary
Rytholan traveled through the eluvian found in the Bracillion forest. As it turns out, the source of the corruption within the magical mirror was due to the fact it connected to another eluvian in the deep roads. Unwilling to allow a demon to walk free, Rytholan betrayed the vile spirit (after it enchanted his mind with the closest exits to the surface and the Warden Commander's location, which if you've read The Calling is next to Kinloch Hold) and bound it within the connecting eluvians. (Yes. This is a clear set-up for DA2.) However, a dalish hunter tracks through forest and is inept to navigate the stone halls of the durgen'len without training. He then faces the fact that he is unable to find Tamlen and heads in the direction of the wardens.
