I hope this letter finds you well, my friend. I know I promised that I would visit Par Vollen, and I still intend to, but I am afraid that the Breach has halted any plans I had for leaving the South. We have our differences, but I think we an agree that it needs to be closed as soon as possible. Indeed, if its influence spreads further North, even Qunari lands will suffer from the rifts.

I ask for your help, old friend, to stop this happening. I cannot hold back this storm alone, nor can any of us. The one who opened the Breach has been active for years now, working in the shadows, and I was never able to come close to catching him. I have tried being subtle, and I failed. Ellie is gone because of that failure. Now, I am done with subtlety. I have what this being wants, and sooner or later he will have to show himself to obtain it. When he does so, the might of all Thedas will descend upon him.

Once we saved the world, and slew a god. Now, we are fewer. Shale, Wynne, Ellie, and Morrigan are dead or missing. It will take all of us, those that remain, to stand a chance. Whatever aid you can lend, be it soldiers, ships, or supplies, may make the difference. As the new Arishok, I know it's a faint hope to think your duty will spare you for this. Nevertheless, I hope that we have the chance to fight by each others sides, Starfang and Asala in hand, one last time.

May you and your people prosper,

Aegnor Mahariel

-A letter from Aegnor to the Arishok

Ellie's Nightmare was thrown back by the force of my words. Wounds that should have slain me closed, bones that had been ground into dust reformed. My skin steamed as the blood coating me evaporated. By the time her Nightmare landed, I had been restored. I moved to finish the fight, finally understanding Elgar'nan's warning, yet my body continued to change. "Elgar'nan, what-"

"She is an Evanuris. Flawed, twisted, driven by rage and hate, yet the power she wields is undeniable. There is only one power in the world to match it. Behold what she should have been."

I recognized the magic of Shapeshifters, and stood in awe as my body grew larger, larger than any form I had ever seen taken. Flemeth had transformed into a High Dragon, yet this form dwarfed even that. Wings grew out of my shoulders, and claws adorned my hands and feet. My face elongated into a snout, and scales overtook my skin, thicker than any armor. Instead of obsidian, they shone with a golden light, save for patterns extending across entire body, blood red in color. Elgar'nan's vallaslin! I had always worn that of Andruil, written in my own blood, yet unbinding. A sign of maturity, not ownership. As the lines converged on my face, I felt the chains I had accepted, and realized just what I had sworn myself to. I roared, and heard myself as an Archdemon, so loud the stones beneath me cracked.

"Archdemon? No. This is the form I wore in battle, before I was entombed and corrupted. This would be the height of the power we had, were the world unchanged from the days of Arlathan."

Ellie's Nightmare charged, even as she bombarded me with Spirit Bolts. Thousands of them surrounded me, changing between the elements and slamming into my glimmering hide. As before, the hide of an Old God was too resilient, and I felt only the barest hint of discomfort. I could not even feel the heat of the fire.

"And why should you? My fire has ever burned brightest."

I opened my maw, and a torrent of white flames engulfed the Nightmare's armored form, stopping it in its tracks. The stones beneath it liquefied near instantly, causing it to sink into the molten rock. Powerful as it was, the breath of an Old God was beyond it, and its armor began to crumble away. The blade in its hand, wreathed in flames, guttered and smoked before, finally, it was extinguished. The blade withered to ash.

It was not yet dead, however. Ellie's fears could not be slain so easily. It waded through molten rock to reach me, and I closed my maw, letting my breath cease. It was then I spread my wings and took to the air, slamming into the massive figure with claws outstretched. Steel plates tore, and I ripped outwards, removing both of its arms. I savaged the helm with my teeth before I managed to get a hold of it, and ripped it away, revealing the abyss beneath it. Instead of gazing into it, I breathed again, bathing it in flames. No longer protected by its armor, the very essence of it was destroyed, and the monstrosity finally dropped, never to rise again.

Ellie screamed and fell to the ground. Is it over? I had slain her Nightmare. Surely its influence could not reach her now? When she looked back up at me, however, I saw the truth. The Nightmare was nothing more than a symptom of the disease. She was summoning new magics as I watched, thinning the Veil itself to lash out at the world around her once more. Ellie, forgive me. Already I could feel the strain of this form. Destroying a Nightmare as powerful as hers had nearly drained me, even with Elgar'nan's help. I couldn't withstand another attack.

Am I really going to do this? Will I kill my best friend, even now? I felt Elgar'nan's influence, but I could feel where he pulled and ignored it, leaving what I truly desired. In my heart, I knew I couldn't kill her. I couldn't leave it to where there was no chance of her coming back. Elgar'nan, I ask for one last gift. Without waiting for a reply, I summoned a memory I had traveled to Minrathous to collect. My maw could not form the words, but I spoke them in my mind. As I did so, I barreled toward Ellie and swatted her away, her broken frame already healing before it hit the ground. The Veil around her, already weakened, shattered as my spell finished, as it had more than a thousand years ago, and swallowed Ellie. Unable to sustain it, I let the Veil close behind her, swayed, and collapsed.

Aegnor opened his eyes to Leliana and Alistair, staring at him in shock. A mere moment had passed, but he knew what they had seen. He removed his hands and sat back down.

Alistair began. "That was..."

Aegnor nodded. "It was as I lived it. I left nothing out."

Leliana clenched her teeth, desperately trying to keep from crying. "Then you-"

He smiled sadly. "I tried everything in my power. I failed. Sending her to the Fade physically was her best chance of survival."

"That's no chance and you know it!" She shot back, tears streaking down her cheeks.

He sighed. "I had assumed she was dead before, as you do. Now, I know that isn't the case."

Alistair frowned at Leliana's puzzled look. "You didn't tell her?" He demanded.

Aegnor shook his head. "I didn't have the chance." He turned to Leliana. "You know that Alexius sent me into the future. What I didn't get a chance to say was that Ellie was in that future."

"WHAT? How!?" She demanded.

Aegnor winced. "I will share that memory with you, one day. You have a right to it. But for now, know that it's because of her that I obtained this." He raised his hand, revealing the Anchor.

Alistair raised an eyebrow. "Is that the Mark everyone was talking about? I thought only the Herald of Andraste had one."

"And I assumed that it was just another illusion of yours, to take command." Leliana added.

Aegnor lowered his hand. "It is no illusion. Ellie gave it to me, along with a message."

Leliana wiped her cheeks. "What did she say?"

Aegnor closed his eyes and sighed. "She told me it was time to stop protecting her memory."

Leliana's hands clenched until her knuckles turned white, before she slumped forward. "So what you're saying is that you've been doing all this... to protect her memory?" She whispered.

Aegnor smiled sadly. "All of it. The lies, the half-truths... I planned to take the blame and be the most hated man in Thedas, just so Ellie would be remembered a hero, not as the mage who destroyed the White Spire. She was blameless in all that transpired, but the world is not so kind with its judgement."

"And the Templars?"

Aegnor nodded. "My only regret is that I didn't destroy them sooner. When I think of all they've done to harm us... I cannot say that I regret even one of their deaths, nor do I regret the bargain I made with Elgar'nan. Even now, there are thousands that I can't account for. Elgar'nan only agreed to let me return when the Breach opened. We both agreed that it was our most pressing concern."

"So that's the only reason you came back?" Leliana asked.

"Not the only reason. "Aegnor replied. "That was what convinced Elgar'nan. I came back for you."

"Me!?"

Aegnor nodded. "Ellie and I had many promises, should one of us be killed. One of hers was that I look after you, and so long as the one pulling the strings is still out there, none of us are safe. By opposing their plans, we've placed a target on our backs. I failed you and Ellie in so many ways. I refuse to let it happen again."

Leliana scowled. "I can take care of myself!"

"We know you can." Alistair interjected. "That's not the point. You, me, Aegnor, Ellie... we all survived the Blight, and after that we've been able to go our separate ways. You became the Divine's Left Hand. I'm the King of Fereldan, Ellie was Warden-Commander, Sten's the new Arishok, Aegnor and Oghren are as irresponsible as ever-"

"Hey!"

"-but that's not the point." Alistair continued. "It's been so long since any of us needed help, REAL help, in what we're doing that most of us are too proud to ask." He gestured to Aegnor. "He's the most prideful of us all, and HE is asking for OUR help. We didn't stop the Blight by turning our noses up at help. We called in every favor we could, earned a few more along the way, and even then it was a near thing."

Aegnor chuckled. "Since when have you been so adept at guessing my plans?"

Alistair shrugged. "I had Anora's help.

Leliana's eyes widened in realization. "You don't mean..."

"I do." Aegnor said. "Alistair was the first to arrive, but he's not the only one I sent letters to. Ravens are flying to every corner of Thedas, from Amaranthine to Par Vollen. None of us are strong enough to weather this storm alone. But together, we saved the world once. We can do it again."

Leliana looked at him, sorrow and trepidation plain on her face. "And you plan to lead us?"

"I did so once." Aegnor replied, a hint of steel entering his voice. "The Herald is gone, and no one can unite Thedas like he could. No one except me. I have the Anchor, I have the reputation, I have the allies, and I have strength in both arms and sorcery." He extended his hands, one towards Alistair, the other towards Leliana. "Will you follow me, knowing the truth of what I've done? Will you trust me to save the world, as you once did?"

Alistair clasped forearms without a second thought. "That's the Aegnor I remember." He said proudly. "Whatever's behind this, we'll kick its ass!"

Leliana hesitated. "When all of this is done... will you help me find Ellie?"

Aegnor nodded. "I will. I once thought her beyond us, trapped in the Fade physically. But if she escaped in the future I saw, then she can do it again. I will do everything in my power to ensure we're both there when that happens."

Leliana closed her eyes, breathed deeply, and clasped her arm with Aegnor's. "Damn you, Aegnor. Damn you for not coming back sooner. Damn you for not trusting me. Damn you for letting me hate you for so long. I will follow you, if only because there is no other option. Maker have mercy on us all."

Aegnor smiled, relief plain on his face. "Thank you, my friends. Let's begin."

I'm alive! Andraste's flaming arse, this took way longer than I expected. Chapters will probably be a bit less frequent in the future, and for that I apologize. This project started out on a whim, and I haven't really planned the story out past the last chapter. Now, with a respectable following and more than 5,000 story views, it's dawned on me that I need to figure out how to finish this story in a satisfying way, and figure out how to finish the Blight story arc, which in itself will be dozens of chapters.

To those of you who've stuck with this series thus far, thank you! Know that after chapter 30 I plan on doing a bunch of desperately needed editing and rewriting, but afterwards it's full steam ahead until we reach the finish line. I started this, and damned if I'm not going to finish it. Cheers, readers! As always, favorite, follow, and review!