WOHOO! Two chapters in a night? This is unheard of!
Ah! I wasn't planning on it, but I was on a roll, so I thought it was best to take advantage and go ahead ahaha
CH 25 - Asha'bellanar - the woman of many years
Three days after Thalia and Cullen's heartfelt conversation, the Inquisitor and his party left to go back the Wilds. It took them about two weeks before they reached the last of their camps down there, where the other companions had been waiting for them, helping to clear out the last of the strugglers. When they arrived, Iazell barely spared the time to change horses and companions before he rode out again, eager to get to the altar. With Morrigan, Thalia, Varric, Solas and Cassandra in tow, the Inquisitor scouted forward. The place they were looking for, appeared to them barely half a day later, hidden in a clearing that had obviously been part of bigger structure before the wilds had reclaimed it.
And there it was, in the farthest corner, a statue of a armless woman with wide spread wings and a head hidden behind a helmet. Thalia recognized it as a representation of Mythal, similar to the ones she had seen back in the temple. There were flowers growing at its feet, and different flower crowns adorned its head and neck. She followed silently as Morrigan made her way towards it, Iazell trailing just behind her, quietly taking in his surroundings.
'This is it. One of the last remaining Altars…' the witch breathed in awe, observing the beautiful sculpture that towered over them.
'How is this different from the ones in the Temple?' she asked, eyes trained on the statue. There was a familiar aura coming off in waves from it, a feeling that prickled the back of her head, telling her that she should know whatever secret was concealed behind it.
'Mythal followers used to come here to pray to her. It is said that she used to appear to them in answer to their prayers…' her friend explained, wonder and scepticism mixing in her voice. She was stunned to be face with such piece of history, but despite what the voices in her head were telling her, she was still diffident from believing them.
'Well, let's see if that ancient elven knowledge in your head comes through with this' Iazell prompted, urging Morrigan to go on and perform the prayers to summon the presumed goddess.
Reluctantly, but not without a certain degree of eagerness, Morrigan stepped in the middle of the altar. She closed her eyes, spread her arms, imitating the way the statue's wings were spread, raised her head, and started to chant. Words that Thalia could not even begin to understand poured from her lips, and soon after a mist materialized out of thin air, covering the entire clearing's floor. Tension rose in the air when their visual started to reduce due to the fog, and when a hearty chuckle resonated all around them, all their hands run to their weapons.
And then, the exact same way that it had appeared, the mist dissolved in a blink, revealing a figure walking towards the altar. It was a woman, her long white hair styled to resemble dragon horns, kept in place by deep red strips, a familiar headset adorning her forehead. She was donning an armour that was all spikes and sharp angles, with deep v neckline that left her chest exposed.
Thalia felt her blood froze when her eyes stopped on the features of her face, finding bright, familiar, golden eyes staring back.
'Well, well, what have we hear' the woman drowned out her words, her voice sweet and thick; familiar, yet unheard before. It missed the raspy and harsh undertones she had known all those years ago…
'Andraste flaming underpants, I never thought I'd be seeing her again' she heard Varric whisper under his breath from somewhere next to her.
That's right, he's met her before, too..
The detail made her wonder how much the woman had really interfered with all their lives.
'Ah, the Merchant Prince. Tell me, how is your Champion?' she asked, smiling down at the dwarf with interest.
Varric was caught a bit off guard, but recovered his swag in a breath.
'Very much alright' he answered.
'Good' she chuckled, drawing her attention away from him and towards the Inquisitor.
'And this must be the famous Inquisitor. A pleasure to meet you, I've heard great things about you' she said, a playful smile painting her purple lips. Iazell respectfully bowed his head, while her eyes roamed towards Cassandra and then stopped on Solas. Thalia was pretty sure she saw something being exchanged between the two, but had not time to consider it as the woman's attention switched once more, now settling entirely on her.
'I must say, it is a surprise to see you here' she confessed, smirking at her still incredulous expression.
'The feeling's mutual, trust me' Thalia sighed, dropping back into a more relaxed pose now that she had assessed the absence of an immediate threat.
Honestly, she shouldn't have been surprised by how things had worked out. She'd always known that the woman was hiding more than secrets of Witch of the Wilds.
But there was one people among them who couldn't reconcile what she was seeing in front of her eyes with what the voices in her head where whispering to her hear.
'Mother…' Morrigan murmured, eyes wide and incredulous, mouth agape.
Everyone but Thalia turned to her with confusion in their eyes, their heads stitching the information together.
The woman that had just appeared in front of their eyes was, presumably, Mythal herself – or at least an incarnation of the goddess –, and Morrigan had just referred to her as mother, meaning that she also was-
'This is Flemeth? The Flemeth?' Iazell gasped, awestruck.
The Witch of the Wilds turned to him, a laugh ready on her tongue.
'Yes, that is one of many names, indeed' she answered.
'No, no this can't be! You cannot be-' Morrigan yelled in disbelief, stepping closer to her mother.
'What do the voices tell you, girl? Am I lying?'
Thalia looked over to her friend, seeing her close her eyes, seemingly intent on listening to something. Her shocked expression only moments later told them all what they already suspected.
That Flemeth was, indeed, Mythal.
'How is this possible?' Morrigan asked, visibly distressed to know that her mother had kept yet another secret from her.
Flemeth looked at her pensively before she dared to answer.
'Once I was but a woman, crying out in the lonely darkness for justice. And she came to me, a wisp of an ancient being, and she granted me all I wanted and more' she said, glancing longingly at the statue that rose behind her daughter. 'I have carried Mythal through the ages, seeking the justice denied to her' she explained, as if she was telling a tale to a child.
Iazell frowned.
'So...you are carrying her inside of you?' he questioned.
'She is a part of me, no more separate than your heart from your chest' she paused, pointedly eyeing Morrigan. 'You hear the voices of the Well, girl. What do they say?'
Again, Morrigan closed her eyes to listen to the voices. When her eyes opened, Thalia could clearly see the defeat in them.
'They say you are telling the truth' she admitted.
It must have been hard, to know that everything you believed to be true was, in reality, but a fragment of the real story…
'But what was Mythal? A legend given name and called a God, or something more? Truth is not the ending, but a beginning,'
After that, Thalia tuned out of the subsequent conversation, her own head occupied with the process of absorbing everything she had just learned. Again, she knew very little about elven history or culture, but she knew enough to remember that Mythal, who was part of the Evanuris, had been killed before the Dread Wolf banished the others beyond the Veil. If that was accurate, then her spirit must have sought out Flemeth, who, like herself, was yarning for a vengeance she could not obtain. Did that make the Witch an "abomination"? Whatever she was, it was clear that her body was not as immortal as her soul, which would explain why she had needed to transfer her consciousness from daughter to daughter to preserve herself and Mythal. It was an interesting discover, if not a disconcerting one, one that made sense at last.
'This meeting was no chance, was it?' she heard the Inquisitor ask after a while.
Iazell was a smart man, and Flemeth had kind of made it painfully obvious that she was there for a precise reason and out of her own free will.
'Clever lad'
'The voices…came from you? Morrigan sneered, regarding her mother with ill-concealed distaste.
Flemeth gave back a hard stare to her daughter.
'The price of the Well seemed no dire thing when you saw so much gain, mmh?' she mocked her naivety, subtly blaming her over eagerness and selfishness for her mistake.
'But the voices did not lie, Morrigan. I can help you fight Corypheus' she proclaimed, taking a step closer to her, extending an arm. Magic pooled at her fingertips, and Morrigan felt something shift in her mind.
'Do you understand, child?' Flemeth asked with a smile.
'Yes, I…think I do' her daughter replied, eyes open but unseeing. She was still focused on whatever her mother had just showed her.
Mythal nodded her approval, turning on her heels and swiftly walking away from her daughter and her own Altar.
'Wait!' Morrigan immediately called after her.
The goddess tuned with a self satisfied smile pulling at her painted lips.
'I wished to see who drank from the Well of Sorrows. It has been a very long time' she said, a chuckle vibrating in her throat at her next words. 'Imagine my surprise to discover it was you' she smirked.
'And that was all?' the Witch asked, somewhat anxious to prolong their interaction.
She could deny it for as much as she wanted, but there was no doubt in Thalia's eyes that she felt a deep admiration and curiosity towards the secrets that her mother seemed to hold; Morrigan was always exuberant and daring when it came to the topic of her relationship with Flemeth, but she had said so herself, that she was grateful to Flemeth for her teachings, and that she had had no complaints with the way she had been raised by her.
The mist started to rise again as said Witch regaled one last glance at her daughter.
'A soul is not forced upon the unwilling, Morrigan. You were never in danger from me' she offered as her parting words, right before she turned and disappeared in the fog and out of thin air, again.
Silence fell in the clearing, stretching for what felt like an eternity, before the Inquisitor broke it with a long, heartfelt sigh.
All their eyes turned to him.
'Well, that was bracing' he breathed, massaging the stiffness out of his neck. That had been one hell of a stressful encounter, for sure.
'Indeed' was all that Solas had to offer, his eyes still focused on the exact same spot from where Flemeth had disappeared.
Morrigan was silent for some more time before she just slumped on her own staff, shoulders dropped and head suddenly heavy. Thalia moved next to her to help, sustaining her weight.
'Are you alright?' she asked softly.
Her friend looked up at her through her thick black lashes, then huffed and straightened, though she did not remove Thalia's hand from herself.
'It figures that the one time you try to make it up to me things should turn out this way…' she complained, glaring sideways to the other mage.
Thalia chuckled.
'Well, I think no one was expecting this outcome, for sure' she tried to minimize the damage, though she knew the Witch would be thinking about this for a very long time to come.
'Maybe I should have let the Inquisitor drink from the Well…' Morrigan murmured, finally moving away from her.
Later that same day, the party returned to camp, where they settle for the night, each of them consumed by their own thoughts and doubts. They spent the night in the Wilds, but the following morning the Inner Circle dismantled the last camp and rode out, determined to get back to Skyhold for a very much earned rest.
As usual, it took them all about two weeks to reach the fortress in the mountains, and at their arrival, they were pleased to see that the majority of their forces had been able to regroup, even though they were still down in the valley and not back in the safety of the castle.
The advisors, now in their entirety, gave the Inquisitor a day to regroup and relax before they demanded an update from his expedition in the Wilds.
Iazell, alongside with Morrigan and Thalia, gave a very detailed report of what had happened, much to his advisors surprise and incredulousness at the tale.
Now, all that remained was to either drive Corypheus out or wait for his next move. Their soldiers had yet to be at full force, and they would take all the time they needed before striking the last hit.
Morrigan reassured them that, when the time came, she knew how to deal with the Archdemon, and the War Council was glad to be able to have the chance to take a breather.
But how went the saying, again?
Speak of the devil – and he shall appear.
They were about to wrap it all up for the day when the sound of an explosion ripped through the air, blasting all the way throughout Skyhold.
Eyes flew at the windows, where a gut wrenching familiar green light shone through.
'the Breach…!' Cullen yelped out in surprise, watching as the once sealed tear in the veil ripped open on their head once again.
'It can't be!' Josephine cried out, her ever tidy writing tablet dropping to the ground, spilling ink everywhere on the floor.
'We are not ready to deal with it again, Our soldiers-'
'There is no time to wait for them, we need to get out there now!' Iazell yelled, speaking over Leliana panicked observation.
'You can't go alone!' Cullen shouted back, ever the strategist.
To go alone was suicide, but Iazell was not alone.
'He will not. We are ready to stand by you, Inquisitor' Thalia affirmed, gripping her hands hard around her staff.
Iazell nodded to her.
'Ready everyone, we are leaving immediately.'
Here we go, towards the end, finally.
I'm saying this now, but be ready to wait a while for the next one; I'm kind of shit at writing combat, but I do want to include this final fight, so bear with me!