Epilogue: The First Step
Corypheus was dead, and the prison that held him with it. The magic used to maintain the place crumbled with the monster's death. The field the captured so many over the centuries had finally dispersed; the traps that killed so many were now no longer active.
Which served the figure who had watched Hawke and his allies just fine, he had no interest in Corypheus, his eye was on a bigger prize.
He had not come alone, ten others followed him, all elves, all clad in black robes with masks that resembled the faces of wolves. These were the Children of Fen'Harel, a secret society that had thrived among the Dalish and city elves for centuries.
The Children existed for one purpose only, for one night that was quickly approaching.
The coming of the Avatar of Fen'Harel, they would be the Avatar's servants, the first of the new nobility.
Once upon a time, the figure had been their high priest.
He remained loyal to them, even though he had been forced to take on new allegiances. He would have been executed if he had not.
It was a sacrifice he made gladly, to ensure the coming of the Avatar went off without a hitch.
They made their way to the main prison tower. A few darkspawn tried to attack them, the figure's magic dealt with them easily enough, without Corypheus to enhance them, they had returned to their natural state.
Plus Hawke and his allies had weakened the creatures greatly.
That served the figures plan's as well.
They covered in a day what Hawke and his allies did in several. Three of them fell to dangers of the place, two killed instantly, the third became tainted…
The figure killed him; it was the only mercy he could offer.
It took time but they finally made their way up to the tower that had once served as Corypheus's prison.
"Is it here, Keeper?" one of his servants asked.
The figure nodded, though he had never held the title of Keeper, the name suited him, he had kept the secrets of the Children alive, so why not?
He should have been Keeper, if his faithless clan had not betrayed him.
They made their way to the tower; the damage remained from Hawke's battle with the darkspawn Magister. Corypheus's body remained where it fell, not even the buzzards would feast on this tainted flesh.
It took a bit of searching, but they found what they came here for.
The body of the warden blood mage Janeka.
The High Priest searched the bisected corpse; it found what it was looking for in the dead blood mage's satchel.
He could not help but smile, his elven ears twitched with delight.
The talisman was small, elven in origin, but stolen by the Tevinter when they destroyed the elven empire thousands of years ago. He did not know how Janeka had come by such a prize, and to be honest he did not care.
It was simply right that it had become his once again.
It was a key of sorts; the ancient elves had used it to commune with the fade. Janeka had used it to breach the defenses of this place; she had hoped to use it to help Corypheus escape with her.
But, it was capable of so much more!
He raised the talisman over his head, his seven remaining followers fell to their knees, the next step in the return of the Avatar was now complete.
Soon…they would be ready.
Their leader sneered; soon all those who had scoffed and laughed at him would learn the error of their ways. Stroud would realize that he was not simply a means of healing his troops. The twins and Lin, he might elevate to nobles as well, as a sign of his generosity. Carver and Arika would likely have to be dealt with; he doubted that they would be able to accept the new order.
Alistair would…
The figure's sneer widened.
Alistair would be dealt with severely; he had taken Lyna the greatest Dalish hero of this age and turned her against her own kind. He had seduced her, convinced her to wed him, to bed him for Creator's sake.
Such a crime would be dealt with…most harshly.
They did not have much time he realized, as soon as the wardens heard this place was no longer needed; they would come and destroy it. The Children of Fen'Harel needed to be gone by then, no trace of their being here, would remain.
He had already destroyed the bodies of their dead brethren; their sacrifice would not be in vain.
They would all be honored, as soon as the Avatar walked this world.
"Rejoice my friends," he cried out, "The means of opening the beyond is once again ours, soon we shall tear open the veil, and usher the soul of Fen'Harel's chosen into this world!"
His fellow elves cried out in delight!
The figure removed his black hood, revealing the face of a young elf with dark hair and Dalish tattoos. After centuries of hard work…the order was about to achieve its destiny!
But not yet, two items remained to be gathered, the first would be most difficult, but it would be theirs in the end.
This was all prophecy after all, it had all been preordained.
The will of the dread wolf made it so.
They fled the tower quickly, it was time to return to their old lives, at least until the time was right. Then, they would push back the curtain of history, and stand before the world, the wonders that they all were.
The High priest would have to put up with his shem allies a while longer.
For now, he could not be a High Priest of the Children of Fen'Harel.
He would have to settle for being the Grey Warden Locian or Loki as he was known to them, formerly of the Dalish folk.
Loki did not fear; everything in his life had led up to this moment.
Soon the Avatar of Fen'Harel would walk the world of Thedas.
And then…
The creators would sob in terror, the shemlen Maker would weep, the dwarven Ancestors would be all swept away!
And then… the stars themselves would hide!
The Avatar was coming.
And justice would finally belong…to the elvhen!
THE END, For Now…
A/N: Carver, Arika, and their friends will have to deal with the coming of the Avatar in my story the Grey Return, the second chapter of the Grey Trilogy. The first chapter will be up soon. As always, I thank you all for reading. You are all awesome!
DG