Chapter Eleven: The Fall of the Evanuris
"What do you need to show me?" Valla asked.
"A memory. Something that no one has seen in over a thousand years." Solas replied. "You remember the Evanuris, the elven mages who came to be remembered as your people's gods?"
"Yes," Valla said, "You told me that you banished them to the Fade for killing Mythal."
"You remember well." Solas said, "I need to show you what happened on that day. The day the elven gods vanished from the world." With a casual wave of his hand the fog lifted and a different scene took its place. Valla saw a regal looking elven man in beautiful robes standing in a palace of shining marble. He wore a golden crown on his head and carried an intricately carved mages's staff. It took a moment before Valla recognized him.
"Is that...Elgar'nan the All-Father?" Valla asked.
"One of the Evanuris, the supposed elven god of vengeance, yes." Solas said.
Another man stood across from Elgar'nan. He wore a wolf skin and a hood over his face, he did not share any of Elgar'nan's regality. In his hand he carried an all too familiar looking object. A gray stone orb.
"Why do you hide your face from me, Fen'Harel." Elgar'nan said sternly.
The man in the wolf skin took off his hood. It was Solas. He looked different, almost younger and much more savage. It was hard to tell that it was the same man who was showing her this memory.
"Tell me why you did it." the image of Solas said, his voice seething with anger. "Tell me why you killed her!"
"It is none of your concern." Elgar'nan tried to wave him off.
"You have made it my concern." Solas countered.
"Mythal had outlived her usefulness." Elgar'nan shrugged. "She refused to accept the path I have chosen for the elves. She was misleading her people."
"She was protecting her people from slavery!" Solas shouted, "She was protecting them from you and your lust for more power!"
Elgar'nan seemed surprised by his insolence, "Are you putting my judgment into question?"
"Yes." Solas growled.
"You are nothing but a dog that been off its leash for too long, Dread Wolf." Elgar'nan laughed at him mockingly. "It is time someone brought you to heel."
"Your power-mongering has made you lose sight of your people, Elgar'nan." Solas said, "You would lead us down a path that only ends in death."
"You dare question my authority?" his eyes flashed dangerously.
"I'm not questioning your authority," Solas said. The orb in his hand glowed with a familiar green light. "I am revoking it."
Elgar'nan appeared ready to defend himself, "Do you honestly think you can kill me?"
"No," Solas said, "But where you are going, you might as well be dead."
The orb flashed and a brilliant light appeared from behind Elgar'nan. A powerful wind started pulling him towards it. He struggled to break free, cursing at Solas who watched him coldly. Unable to escape the vortex, Elgar'nan vanished into the light and it quickly dissipated.
Solas swiftly walked out of the palace."May the Fade be kinder to you than I."
The scene slowly faded and another one took its place. This time Valla saw the image a woman standing alone in a forest. She recognized her as Andruil, the Dalish goddess of the hunt, another one of the Evanuris.
"I knew you would come for me." she said, turning to look at Solas who had emerged from the trees.
Solas had confronted Elgar'nan in anger, but with Andruil his anger had been replaced by sorrow. "I take no joy in what I must do, my friend."
"I have no excuse for the crime I've committed." Andruil said. "I take full responsibility for my actions."
Solas shook his head in disbelief, "You knew better than most that Mythal was the best of us. How could you allow yourself to take part in her murder? How could you think enslaving our own people was the only answer?"
Andruil bowed her head in shame. "Elgar'nan manipulated us all. He told us Mythal's death would consolidate our rule over the elves. He played on our fears, and like fools we believed him." She looked at Solas and chuckled, "You are fortunate that you never swore loyalty to anyone, Fen'Harel. You were able to roam freely through our world, unbound by duty or allegiance. You were able to see how far we've fallen when the rest of us became blinded by greed."
"I'm not sure if I would call that fortunate." Solas said grimly.
"I suppose it must be a lonely life." Andruil said. "I can't help but ask, how do you plan on keeping us in the Fade? Surely you know we will find a way to return."
Solas cast his gaze on the ground as he spoke, afraid to meet her eye,"I have plans."
His words peaked her interest. Slowly her curiosity turned into horror as she realized what Solas was going to do. "You will block off the Fade? Do you have any idea what that will do to our people?"
"I know what will happen, but what other choice do I have?" Solas sounded desperate, "I cannot allow beings as powerful as us to remain unchecked. I will not allow our people to become slaves."
"But you would cut our people off from the essence of what they are?" Andruil exclaimed, "You will destroy them!"
"They can label me the villain if they must." He seemed to already expect it by the manner in which he spoke.
"If you barricade the elves from the Fade, they will lose a part of themselves. Everything they know will be destroyed! How can you judge us when your plan is no better than ours?"
"Because every other alternative is worse." Solas said, "Our people may lose a part of themselves, but they will be free. They will no longer have to submit to the will of a group of mages claiming to be their gods, the same self-proclaimed gods that would end up destroying the very world they have created for themselves."
Andruil resigned herself to her fate. "I can see you have made up your mind. Do what you must, I will not fight back."
The orb Solas carried started to glow with the same light as before. "I am sorry."
As she faded into the light, Andruil said one final thing to Solas. "May you learn, lethellin."
"We will see, in time." Solas said, his voice already laced with regret.
The memory slowly faded and they returned to Valla's dream. She said nothing, trying to process what she had witnessed.
"I hunted down the Evanuris one by one, banishing them to the Fade." Solas said to her, "Some were resistant and fought against me, others had realized what they had done and accepted their fate, like Andruil."
"It seemed like you and her were close." Valla said.
"She was a wise and trusted friend. But even she had fallen victim to the allures of power."
"Andruil sounded shocked that you were planning on blocking all connection to the Fade."
"None of my people could have ever conceived such a thing, but it was what needed to be done to prevent them from destroying the world. There were no other options." Solas said, "After I banished the Evanuris to the Fade, I used the power of the orb to create a magical barrier to prevent them from ever returning."
"You created the Veil." Valla said.
"Yes," Solas replied, "And the elves were left to endure the consequences of my actions. It threw them into chaos." He looked at Valla earnestly, "You must try to understand what our people went through. It didn't take them long to realize something was horribly wrong. They no longer felt the presence that had been with them all their lives. Their sense of self, their sense of purpose vanished in an instant. In the crossroads, you saw the ruins of the buildings that had once been connected to the Fade. Imagine seeing those buildings crumble before your very eyes. All of the wisdom and collected knowledge of our people, gone. The ancient elves were terrified. They didn't know what was happening to them, or why."
"It truly must have been horrible." Valla said.
"The elves prayed to their gods in desperation, pleading to deliver them from the chaos. Their prayers were never answered, so they assumed they were being punished. The elves didn't know their self-proclaimed gods no longer existed. Everything was made worse when the people realized they had begun aging. The loss of their immortality was the final crushing blow."
"And where were you when all of this was happening?" Valla asked.
"I watched the chaos unfold from afar. There was little I could do to console them. I knew if I tried to intervene the elves would suspect my involvement. It didn't matter in the end. They drew the conclusion that I had something to do with Mythal's death and the vanishing of their gods. In the centuries that followed, the Dalish elves formed the myth that it was I who had tricked Mythal and the others and they became lost beyond the Fade." Solas chuckled, "There is a reason the name Fen'Harel is used as a curse among your people."
"The Dalish were always taught that it was the arrival of humans that caused the elves decline." Valla said.
"As I've said before, that was never true. The fault is mine." Solas replied. "I am the reason our people have fallen so far, and I will do what is necessary to change that."
"I understand why you believe you need to make amends for what you've done," Valla said, "But this world dying is not the answer."
"I did not expect to change your mind, Valla. I only wanted you to understand."
Valla shook her head. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting from this encounter. She should have known it wasn't going to be easy to change his mind. "I will still try to stop you." she said.
"I know, vhenan. And you will be putting yourself in danger by doing so." Solas said, "My agents will try to hinder your progress, I'm afraid there is little I can do to stop them."
"You make it seem as if I've never been put in danger before." Valla smirked.
"I never thought I would be the one to do so." Solas said wearily. Even with all of his troubles he couldn't help but smile at her, "I am happy to see you still posses the same indomitable spirit. At least some things never change."
Hearing him say that made Valla even more determined, "Whatever it takes, I will find a way to change your mind."
"I look forward to the day you prove me wrong again." Solas said, "Until that time comes, I will continue to do what I must." He started to walk away from her, slowly disappearing into the fog. "If you should ever feel alone, you know how to reach me."
It pained Valla to watch him leave, but she knew there was little else to be said. There was so much more she wanted to ask, but she knew she would get little out of him.
She awoke soon after, knowing there would be no more rest for her that night. There was too much to consider. Despite their feelings for each other, they were both still bound to their duties. Solas and Valla had both promised to do what they thought was best for their people, but what they each thought was best would destroy the other. It would only be a matter of time before the winning side was determined. Once again Valla's decisions would shape all of Thedas, but unlike before, the line between right and wrong was not so easily defined.