How does Anuira and her friends intend to stop Fen'Harel? The first of the last three chapters in this story.
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Enjoy!
~.o.O.o.~
Credits for any tevene goes to katiebour at deviantart and the dragonage wikia.
Credits for any elvish goes to FenXshiral and whom ever is responsible for the LingoJam elven DAI translator. I'm sorry if I abuse the language. Bare with me, I'm trying
Chapter 49
~.o.O.o.~
"So this is Skyhold?" Dirthamen said in wonder as he swirled around on the battlements of the huge hold.
The wind was strong, blowing his long, honey blond hair into a complete disarray and his emerald eyes was filled with curious wonder on top of immeasurable happiness. He still couldn't believe that the tiny little elf, former shemlen turned full-blown elvhen - that he now called Vhen'an since a few weeks back - had the power to connect planes within the fade. And with the help of the mark of magic she could even project the connected planes into the realm of the living. She was the greatest fade walker he had met since the days of his brother, Falon'Din and Anuira wasn't even born into it. She had had less than a year to come to terms with her gift, learn to control it and expand it, but still she excelled.
"It looks so different from the great hold of Fen'Harel that I remember." Dirthamen continued as his gaze wandered back to the pale-skinned marvel standing not far off, leaning against the battlements overlooking the magnificent mountains surrounding Skyhold.
Anuira looked tired and pale, even with the brilliant sunlight warming the hue of her skin. Her sea green eyes bore traces of a shadow, their normally sparkling light seemed dull and lacking. Her jaw was set in that stubborn way that meant she was void bent on not giving into something and her brows knitted together slightly to form a miniscule wrinkle between them. Dirthamen quickly came back down from his reverie of being momentarily free of his confinement. He had been so happy to be in the world of the living again that he hadn't thought of what kind of strain it was putting on his love. His prison was sturdily built by Fen'Harel and its magic not easily broken or even paused or overridden as it now was.
He walked over to Anuira, wrapped his lean, strong arms around her waist and pulled her in for a warm embrace as he pushed a few stray locks of her black pixiecut out of her face.
"Let's go back. We've stayed longer than we should have and I can see it is taking its toll on you Vhen'an."
Anuira sighed at the blond, tanned elf's words as he pulled her close. Closing her eyes she leaned into his welcoming arms, resting her forehead on Dirthamen's chest awhile answering the embrace. He was right. She didn't like it! But never the less, he was. Slowly she was getting better and better at connecting realms and planes to one another and she was gaining stamina with her constant practicing. But considering she would have to keep four planes connected to another realm, and for an unknown amount of time - if the spell she was preparing to lower the veil was to work - she wasn't at all happy with her own slow progress.
The world around them blurred as she slowly let go of her control, shifting them back to the right balance. The grey and white colors of the battlements surrounded by snowy mountains was slowly giving way to the warm emerald greens of Dirthamen's clearing.
Anuira, still with her eyes closed, let out a sigh of relief as the world around them clicked back into place and all came to a halt again. She felt the warmth of Dirthamen's hands as he cupped her cheeks and when she opened her eyes to meet the bright green gaze of her lover, she saw only warmth, happiness and pride. Her breath hitched as his lips ghosted hers, awakening that familiar spark of heat that always seemed to penetrate her to her very core. She happily melted into his kiss, enjoying his warmth while she snaked her arms around his slim neck.
"You need to get back Vhen'an." Dirthamen mumbled against her lips after a moment. He pulled back just enough to hover a hairs breath from Anuira and smirked at her annoyed whine.
"I know…" She sneered, stubbornly capturing the warm lips of her lover again and felt him smile at her reluctance to leave his side.
The weeks after their first almost frantic encounter where their feelings had been laid almost painfully clear, Anuira had done everything in her power to be at his side every chance she got. When she went searching places in the fade for his remaining lost brother and sisters, she always took him with her despite the extra fatigue that brought. Despite his constant worry about her exhausting herself, knowing she went to extra lengths just to be with him brought warmth to his heart.
It took a long time but eventually they found every last one of the still alive Evanuris. Even Mythal.
Ghilan'nain was found and won over by Cole even before Anuira and Elgar'nan could make it to her prison. They shared a bond from life before the elven war, a pack-bond forged before the Evanuris ruled supreme and with that bond came a rare understanding and an even rarer trust. And since Cole trusted Anuira explicitly, Ghilan'nain chose to give her the benefit of the doubt even without much explanation.
Elgar'nan joined in the search more often than not and judging by the tumultuous situation that arose when they finally tracked down June, it was lucky for Anuira that he did. June was suspicious of them all, wary it was just another trick by his captor or the spirits that sometimes wandered into his prison. He had been hard-pressed to believe his own eyes after years of going stir-crazy in the only company he had, namely himself and the odd spirit here and there. In the end June had begrudgingly relented at the insisting of his father but he remained at a distance.
Sylaise hadn't been nearly as much trouble even if she also had been a bit suspicious in the beginning. When they had first arrived into Sylaise prison she had called out in surprise for the brother, Falon'Din, whose energy she recognized even after millennia in solitude. She was confused since the man was supposed to be dead and Sylaise became even more confused and suspicious when it was Anuira who answered her call and tight on her heal followed her brother Dirthamen. Dirthamen's presence had cushioned the confrontation and brought clearance to the situation before it got out of hand but it had been awkward none the less.
June and Sylaise's trust grew exponentially as Anuira linked their planes to let the spouses meet again for the first time in ages while she and Dirthamen lingered out of earshot for as long as was possible. Giving Sylaise and June time to reacquaint themselves was a gift both of the Evanuris treasured dearly.
After a few days of recuperating from letting June and Sylaise enjoy some rekindling Anuira linked all the of the Evanuris' planes to that of Dirthamen and there they all met up to discuss the plan to bring down the veil without burning the entire world in chaos in the process.
~.o.O.o.~
Six months ago he, the fabled Fen'Harel, had surprised Anuira in her dream as she wandered the dreamscape of Skyhold pondering how to heal faster. And now he was about to meet her physically there, on the long bridge leading into the hold.
In those six months Anuira had managed to piece together a solution to the problem being the veil. Together with the spirit of wisdom in the depths of the long forgotten catacombs of Skyhold, Elgar'nan, Dirthamen and Dorian, the plan had been forged, mapped out and prepared with deadly precision. It was then sent to Cassandra and Leliana in Val Royeaux for evaluation and from there distributed to every major settlement they knew of. Change was imminent and even if they didn't like it, there was but two options; Lower the veil with the help of Anuiras spell and learn to live with the new consequences or they could let Fen'Harel burn the world in his misguided need to restore what was lost.
While Anuira, Cole, Elgar'nan and Dirthamen worked on finding and bringing the Evanuris into the plan. Dorian and Idrillas was traveling far and wide around Thedas, setting up the necessary runes in places of power. And all manners of people - formerly of the inquisition or friends of the organization – was helping in the preparation of Thedas. Anuira felt bad for lying to everyone, she and most people around her, knew that people would panic worldwide if it became known that the veil was coming down, so she was making people believe that the runes was for protection against the spreading of red lyrium and wards against demons.
Since Fen'Harel's power was being felt in most places by now, Anuira used the fear he created to hide the true purpose of the runes. All that was needed now was bringing Fen'Harel into the fold, they needed his powers whether they liked it or not, and he was going to give it, whether he wanted to or not.
Those six months now past, had also involved frantic searching of the fade to find the remaining Evanuris. With the help of clues from the mortal world, Cole and her own stubbornness they had eventually found Ghilan'nain, Sylaise and June but, however they had tried, they hadn't been able to locate Mythal. She didn't even respond to the invocation at her own shrine and Anuira had all but given up when a letter had arrived at Skyhold letting them know the whereabouts of the old woman. "Do not fret young one. I will be ready when the time comes." was Mythal's parting words, nothing more and nothing less. And knowing Mythal as they did, they knew to trust her.
