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Dragon Age: Final Hour
Chapter 13: Shattered Hopes

Time passed all too slowly for Fen'Harel's liking. He spent most of his time in the Fade. Even then he avoided most of the places in the Fade he knew one of the others might be in while they dreamed. Though he doubted they would be there in the first place. Unlike him they didn't care for spending time on end in the Fade. It reminded them of the war. But, perhaps that was what was needed.

Fen'Harel shook his head to clear it and returned his attention to the memory he had found while wandering the Fade. The details were lost on him for the most part. It was sad because he had thought a good find in the Fade would help him forget all that was happening in the now, but it didn't. Instead he was wasting the memory by thinking on what could be and might be.

In reality there were no such could be and might be. The others would have made up their minds by now. Which meant there was only one way left to him to save them. Even after the fight with Elgar'nan or more because of it, he knew that he had seal them away to protect them from Andruil.

Then, what if Andruil was only after him and Mythal for what they had done? No. Dirthamen had seemed certain she would attack each of them in turn. And that, for some odd reason, only Fen'Harel should remain to stop her. That he had to remain after this? No. He wouldn't accept that. If he sealed the others, he should follow them once Andruil was sealed away as well. None of them should remain awake and in the mortal world. It would be for the best, right?

Yet, Dirthamen had seemed certain something was going to happen to the People. That the People would need one of them no matter what to help guide them. Perhaps even if the People no longer knew Fen'Harel as Fen'Harel – but that was impossible. Sure while he wandered he was sometimes mistaken for a noble but it was only for a little while until they noticed the power he held.

But if it was possible. To be seen as one of them rather than as the God most thought he was. The mere idea of it made his heart skip a beat with a mixture of excitement and fear. For such a thing to occur, he would have to change his name, destroy all signs of who he was. It would be a life which was built on half-truths, if not outright lies. In the end, such a life would be hard, even the slightest slip up would end up revealing he wasn't who he told those around he was.

Fen'Harel let out a long breath. There was no point in remaining in this memory. He'd not been able to track any of it as it was. What a waste. The thought was bitter in his mind as he left the memory and returned to Fade. It was unlikely he was stumble across this memory again and even if he did he wouldn't know that it was the same one. Perhaps that was a good thing.

A small breath escaped Fen'Harel. He stopped and looked towards the Golden City. Where he stood in the Fade it was hidden from him. But even from here he could make out the magic of the barrier which separated the Fade from the Void. The soft golden light had once warmed him when he looked at it. Now it only chilled him with the reminder of what it was.

So much had changed and so much more was going to change. He closed his eyes and listened to the Fade. He closed his mind to all the sounds of the People and just listened. At least here he could feel so much more than he thought was possible. Here he was alone, with only his thoughts and occasional spirit for company.

But he couldn't stay here any longer. By now three weeks would have gone by. It was time for the meeting. Dread settled in his heart. What he was about to do was betray those who he thought of as closer than any blood.

He took a deep breath before he forced himself to open his eyes. When he did it wasn't the Fade which greeted him but rather the dark ceiling of his old chambers. The soft rug pressed against his back rather than the bed. His gaze locked onto the stone and hangs around it. If he could have gotten away with it he wouldn't have even slept in these rooms at all. Even the rug felt too soft compared to certain places he had been sleeping in the past century.

A small breath escaped him as he sat up. Today was the day. He closed his eyes and took a deep, calming breath. In his heart he knew there were no more chances left to the others if he hoped to protect them from Andruil. But there was always the small part of him which tugged with fear and worry that what he was about to do wasn't the way. Perhaps he could find another? The voice had been nagging him on and off for weeks now.

No. He opened his eyes and stood. If he didn't do this, they would follow Mythal. Dirthamen was certain of this which meant whatever hope there had been before now of another solution was gone. He had to do this. But did he have to remain awake or free once Andruil had been stopped? Perhaps not. If there was a way around that he would either find it or do as Dirthamen asked and aid the People.

His steps seemed almost hallow as Fen'Harel left his chambers and moved to the eluvian. For a long moment he just stared into the shifting surface, his hand resting on the bag which held his Foci. The orb felt almost warm through the bag as if it knew what he was about to use it for.

"Master," Felassan's voice sounded behind Fen'Harel. "I'm ready when you are." There was no fear or worry in the boy's voice. But the boy knew little of what was about to happen. Fen'Harel hadn't even told him what this meeting was supposed to be about.

"You are to wait here," Fen'Harel told the boy without looking at him. "This is a meeting I must go to alone."

"I don't understand, Master." Confusion had crept into Felassan's voice. There was a pause before the boy repeated, "I don't understand why, but I will do as you ask of me."

"Thank you, da'len." Fen'Harel closed his eyes and bowed his head without turning. Then he took a deep, steadying breath. He opened his eyes and stepped through the eluvian.

As expected he and Dirthamen were the first two there. A part of Fen'Harel had hoped the others would have been there waiting for him, but he knew they were unlikely to come quickly just like with the last time.

"Are you ready, Uncle?" Dirthamen asked, his soft eyes locked onto Fen'Harel.

"As I'll ever be," Fen'Harel confessed. His heart flickered a little and his hand still rested on the bag.

"I will do what I can to aid you," Dirthamen stated, "but then I must be sealed with the others as well."

Fen'Harel nodded, not trusting himself to speak in that moment. He felt almost sick with what he was about to do. They were his only family. Ah, but they were his family which had been about to betray him. The conflict raged raw in his mind and twisted his heart with the pain of all the emotions and thoughts.

Over the next hour the other came. None of them spoke to him or even glanced in his direction. It made I all too clear what they had decided over the past several weeks. He doubted some of them had even needed a full minute to decide his fate. His eyes traveled over Ghilan'nain and June the two who had spoken the most out against him over the years outside of Andruil.

The last one to arrive was Elgar'nan, stopping a few paces away from Fen'Harel than normal. "The vote is ready to be cast," he stated, not even asking if the others had made up their minds or not.

Like the others he didn't even glance at Fen'Harel. It felt as if Fen'Harel had already been removed from their ranks even before the vote was cast.

Fen'Harel snaked his hand into his bag. His long fingers closed over the Foci. Warmth seeped into his hand as he felt power surge through his fingertips.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dirthamen give the slightest bow of his head in the signal that it was now or never.

Fen'Harel turned to the others. "You may think that I am the issue, but I'm not. Even if you will never see it, even if you will never again see me as one of you, I will not stand idly by and watch as you destroy yourselves, the People, or are killed by another!" With those words and took out of the Foci.

Green light erupted from the black orb. It raced through the room, striking June and Sylaise before they could even register what was happening. They collapsed so the table with a dull thumbs, their breathing deep as they were forced into uthenera.

"What?" Ghilan'nain started but she only had time to take a step back before the energy struck her as well. She crumpled to the ground, hair falling over her face.

Sylaise and Falon'Din followed. Both unable to put up a fight before the energy struck them.

"You dare!" Elgar'na shrieked and leapt towards Fen'Harel.

Dirthamen acted faster. He collided with his father and the two of them stuck the table. They rolled, Dirthamen struggling to keep his father under control.

"Now!" Dirthamen shouted. "Hit us both now!"

Fen'Harel hesitated, looking at Dirthamen. The younger man glared at him, eyes filled with determination and a silent plea. Fen'Harel took a deep breath and did as Dirthamen asked.

The two of them fell still, releasing one another as their breathing deepened as well.

Near to the eluvians the High Priests had fallen as well. The magic having only grazed them. But it had been enough for their younger minds and weaker bodies to fall into the same deep uthenera as their masters.

Fen'Harel lowered his Foci and stared at the sleeping forms around him. A numbness had fallen over his heart and mind. But he wasn't done. Placing them into the sleep was only the start of it.

He moved to each eluvian in turn, shattering it as he slowly severed this realm from all the others. Only one eluvian would remain as a gateway between this realm and the mortal and it was already sealed beneath Tarasyl'an Te'las. He stopped by that eluvian and finished creating the barriers around this realm to ensure none could open the gateway without the keys and to ensure that the others would remain in their slumber while the eluvian remained sealed.

At last he moved back to his eluvian. It would be directed elsewhere then sealed so that it could never make contact with this realm again no matter how hard one tried.

When he stopped on the other side, he found himself just staring into the shifting eluvian. His legs buckled. The cold floor flew up to greet him as he fell into darkness.

Elven phrases used:
Tarasyl'an Te'las – The place where the sky was held back "Skyhold"

(Author's Note: Sorry about this chapter being so short, but I really didn't want a flashback here.)