"Andraste's tits, what the fuck was that?!" Varric was the one who broke the silence.
"That, Varric, is why he didn't die when we went up against him."
She saw Hawke emerge from the shadows of the emerald trees. The ruby war paint that was slashed across his nose was smeared with a darker shade of red. By his side was Fenris, his eyes still drooping with sleepiness. But at least Solas had been able to wake him up.
"So he can possess anyone tainted with Red Lyrium?"
Things started to piece together for Talyn, and a haunting realization dawned on her.
According to the Chantry, Tevinter magisters brought the Blight by entering the Fade, and the Maker's golden city. Obviously that was a lie, because Talyn and Solas created the Fade, not a human Maker.
But there was another realm, one that was filled with dark creatures. A place where the very air could warp your mind if you stayed there for too long. A bleak world that was now her family's prison.
She wanted to call out and tell them how Corypheus just did what he did. Where their dreaded Blights came from. But she couldn't, because then she would have to tell them other things that they weren't ready to hear yet. But her and Solas shared a knowing look before Hawke came to a similar conclusion.
"It has to be more than that. Red lyrium must be corrupted with the Blight."
"So he can revive himself with the body of someone tainted with it. " Fenris finished for him.
"That's fantastic." Cassandra said bitterly. "If he is immortal, why did he run away from us? Doesn't he want Talyn dead?"
"The eluvian is more important to him than the Inquisitor's death. He wants to get to it before we do." Morrigan answered her.
Talyn had to suppress her annoyed sigh. She knew that Solas had mentioned Morrigan had come along, but she had hoped that she would still be outside the temple courtyard fighting with the rest of the Inquisition. But there she was, tall and wild looking. She hated looking at her gold eyes.
"We have time. It looks like they couldn't get those doors open, so they're going to have to find another way in." Cullen reassured the group.
Of course Corypheus couldn't walk through the doors. No matter how much Talyn hated her, the Dragon of Justice would never let a monster through those doors. Even in death.
"We're going to have to find a way in as well. If they couldn't get them open, we won't be able to either." Hawke added.
"Not exactly." Solas spoke up. "This is the temple of Mythal, the goddess of Justice." He turned his gaze to Talyn.
She understood the hidden meaning in his words.
"You are the Inquisitor, you are the hand of Justice."
She was your aunt.
"Mythal might welcome you into her temple."
You share the same blood. The doors will open for you.
She countered, "but the lyrium in my blood might make it worse, not better."
What she was really saying was: I am a Banalla, her sworn enemy.
"Lyrium doesn't matter in this situation. The ancient elves used it more frequently than we do now." He responded.
She was a Banalla, too.
"What in Thedas are you guys talking about?" Cullen asked with frustration in his voice.
"I need a knife!" She called out.
Immediately, Cullen had one in his hand, the hilt pointing towards her. She gave him a thankful smile, and she didn't miss the way his eyes softened at that simple gesture.
She took it from him and approached the massive doors. Her tattoos started to glow as she dragged the knife across her palm. The cut stopped stinging the moment she pressed her hand flat against the ancient wood. The glow of her lyrium grew more intense, and it latched onto the doors. They shimmered with magic, and swung back on their creaking hinges.
"That's a zero for the creepy temple, and one for the group of brave adventurers." Varric said cheerfully.
"Interesting." Morrigan mused.
Hawke, Fenris, and Cullen ended up staying outside to guard the doors while the others walked into the shadows of the abandoned temple.
The light coming from the outside world illuminated a hallway with thick vines growing along its stone walls. Pieces of the ceiling had caved in, leaving pockets of sunlight to shine on them. It opened up into a room that was flooded with blue light. Torches lit by magic lined the walls, and a chandelier with the same fire hung from the high ceiling. In the middle of the room was there a statue of the same dragon carved into the doors behind them. The floor was made of black tiles that had glowing symbols on them.
Symbols for the elements, symbols for "traitor" and "Mythal".
"This is definitely not a trap." Morrigan said sarcastically.
Talyn could almost see the ghost of the pilgrims that used to gather in this very room. Andruil hadn't been the only one with a bloodlust.
"We have to walk the Path of Fire." Talyn told them. "Step exactly where I do. One wrong move and we're dead."
"How do you know that, Talyn?" Cassandra asked her.
'Pala. Well, it's too late now.'
"Just trust me."
She started to walk across the room. As she stepped on the correct tiles, blue fire surrounded them. She made sure to only step on the ones that stood out from the rest. The tiles with the uprooted, burning tree. The symbol of the Banalla's defeat.
Cassandra, Varric and Morrigan went next. Solas went last. They were halfway across the room when there was an ominous click. She looked behind her to see that Varric was stretched out between two stones, his heel pressed into the wrong tile.
"Pala, Varric what did I just say?!"
Varric shrugged. "I'm a dwarf, my legs are like a third of the size of yours, Firefly!"
There was another click. Talyn looked to the dragon statue and saw that it's stone eyes were burning blue.
"Get down!" Solas ordered them all.
Everyone dropped their knees as the dragon suddenly unfurled it's wings and dropped the objects it had been holding in it's claws. The stone beast jumped into the air, spraying lyrium fire around the room. She could feel it's heat graze the top of her head.
Solas was standing with his hands braced in front of him. She could see the magical barrier he was holding over them all. The blue fire from the stone dragon bounced off of it and hit the rest of the room. She saw cracks in the ceiling expanding like gold veins as the sunlight started to poke through it.
Solas wasn't going to be able to hold that barrier forever.
Her own lyrium lit up her body as she drove her gloved fists into the floor. The tiles cracked with the force of it. She kept banging her fists on the stone, and then saw a bright flash. She looked to her left to see Morrigan's staff digging between two tiles, the crystal glowing bright.
She was suddenly grateful for Morrigan's quick mind. The floor was beginning to soften like clay. And then it hardened just as quickly, giving it a glassy look. She mustered all of the strength she could, and then she slammed her fist onto the floor one last time.
It caved underneath them, and they went tumbling to the room below. She heard the crack of her head hitting the debris she landed on. The dragon dove after them, it's grey jaws wide open. She could see the build up of lyrium fire in it's throat. But just before it could explode from the magical statue, Solas was standing on the tallest chunk of stone. He held his staff in front of him, and closed the hole in the ceiling. The tip of the dragon's snout sliced off and bounced off of Morrigan's black hair.
She wrinkled her nose and rubbed the spot where the piece of rock had hit her.
"Well, let's not leave through that door." She suggested in her high-and-mighty tone.
Or was it sarcasm? Talyn could never tell with her.
"Next time we have to walk through a booby trapped room, someone has to carry Varric." Cassandra added.
"The minute you pick me up an arrow is going straight in your eye." Varric threatened.
The dust from the fallen stones had settled, revealing the one room that brought a bout of rags so powerful Talyn had to close her fists to keep herself from exploding with her own lyrium fire.
In each Evanuris temple there was a room that was dedicated to all nine of the false gods. Time had let most of this temple rot, but she knew that the destruction of this room was intentional. The only shrine that wasnt crushed into dust was in the far corner of the room, the bright glow of a lyrium torch putting it right in the spotlight.
The elegant figure of Andruil the Huntress was staring back at her. Even though it was mere stone, she could feel those emeralds burning into her soul like they were her real eyes. In her slender hands held a rabbit and a bow, and on the forearm that was holding out the rabbit, sat the statue of a hawk.
She still felt those slender fingers brushing her skin. She could still feel the way her hair felt between her fingers, and the way she smelled when she was in her arms. And that smile that had once filled Talyn with so much joy she could burst with it.
Those memories made her blood burn with anger, and spider legs danced over her skin.
"Andruil, Goddess of the Hunt." Morrigan was standing beside her, talking to her as if she was answering an unspoken question for her.
Talyn snorted and spoke before she could think.
"More like the Goddess of Sacrifice."
"What makes you say that?"
That was twice now. She wasn't doing a good job of keeping it together.
She walked away from Morrigan, who was now staring at her curiously.
"I found an exit." Cassandra said.
They started to walk towards the door that had been hiding by the massive cobwebs Cassandra had just cut down. Solas grabbed Talyn's hand and waited for the others to be a safe distance away.
"You're slipping."
"I know." She whispered back.
"You might as well have just shouted it in front of the whole world. You're lucky that Cassandra and Varric didn't hear you."
She snapped, "I'd rather be in the Fade with Draga'Mora than inside this hellhole."
It was his turn to say, "I know. Just be more careful, vhenan."
They followed Cassandra down a hallway and up a set of long spiraling stairs that seemed to go on forever. But eventually it opened up into another room that was bright with sunlight. Another dragon was in the middle, but this one wasn't enchanted. Water sprayed from it's mouth and landed in the pool below it, where giant rainbow fish swam happily amongst the algae and flowers that had since grown in it.
"You are not welcome here." A deep, commanding voice sounded from above.
Talyn looked up the balcony ahead of them.
Abelas. He was still the same, grim man she had met thousands of years ago. She bristled at the sight of Mythal's vallaslin branching out over his forehead and down the bridge of his nose. The slave mark that he had willingly let Mythal burn into him with his own blood.
Him and Solas started to speak in elvish. She wasn't paying attention.
Mythal's guardians were loyal followers that had to give up everything that made them Elvhen. They guarded her nine temples and all of the treasure that she stored in them. They went into uthenera and only emerged when the temple was under attack. But Abelas was their leader, and he was placed in the most important temple of them all.
Panic and brutal anger seared her skin. Fire erupted from her tattoos, and she leapt towards Morrigan. The other woman didn't have time to defend herself. Talyn shoved her towards the fountain, and Morrigan couldn't stop herself from falling backwards into the water. It splashed over the lip of the pool and soaked Talyn's feet.
But she didn't stop at that. She dove into the fountain after Morrigan, and despite the water that she was waist deep in, her fire didn't go out.
By the time Talyn reached the mage she was on her feet. Frantically, the black haired woman threw up a barrier, but Talyn's lyrium fire broke through it like she was cutting a cake. She pressed her forearm against her throat and shoved her until she was being pressed against the dragon statue.
"Stupid, greedy shemlen!" She roared in Morrigan's face.
"Inquisitor Talyn! What are you doing?" Cassandra shouted at her like a mother scolding her child.
Talyn ignored her, and kept talking to Morrigan, who was clawing at her burning arm while choking sounds came from her throat.
"You didn't come to help us. You came to take the Wellspring for yourself!"
Her face had been turning red from lack of air, but it still paled when Talyn mentioned her dirty secret.
"To... help..." Morrigan managed to say.
Talyn released her from her hold, but she didn't move away from the mage. Her neck, chest and chin were bright red from Talyn's rage.
"You have sixty seconds to explain." She growled out.
"The Wellspring of Sorrows holds the answers for everything. Including how to kill Corypheus! Don't you want that?! Don't you want to know what happened to your people?"
"The consequences aren't worth it, Morrigan! You have to believe me!"
Mythal was dead, but there was still no telling what the Wellspring would do to a person. It was a shiny trap to lure in unwilling slaves. All the knowledge in the world, at the cost of a person's soul.
"What is the Wellspring of Sorrows?" Varric asked.
"Lady Justice's high priests would give their souls to the Wellspring, and all the knowledge they had. If a person drinks from it they will have all of their wisdom. But it comes at a terrible price." Abelas answered him. Then his knowing gaze landed on Talyn.
"You don't have to worry about the shemlen, or this Corypheus getting a hold of it. I would rather it be destroyed than have the unworthy defile it."
Abelas disappeared deeper into the temple.
"No!" Morrigan shouted. There was a flash of green, and she was suddenly an eagle. She picked up her staff in her claws and flew after him.
"Damn it Morrigan, don't do this!" Talyn shouted at her.
She started to run.
She didn't wait for the others. Solas could have easily kept up with her, but he stayed behind, both to guide Cassandra and Varric, and to keep up appearances. Solas the Mage didn't have super elvhen speed. She raced through hallways, slammed her way through doors that had been blocked by ancient rubble, all in an effort to get to Abelas before Morrigan did.
She was furious. She couldn't believe that she didn't recognize what this place was, or Morrigan's true intentions. She should have known that Corypheus wouldn't be after a mere eluvian, a piece of glass that barely worked in this world. The Wellspring of Sorrows would give Corypheus everything he needed to know to tear down the Veil.
He thought that he was about to sit on the throne of the Maker. In reality, he was trying to unleash the hell of six seriously pissed off ancient elves. Elves that would tear him apart. And only she, Solas, Abelas and his men knew the truth.
She braced herself, and rammed the side of her body into a stone wall. Sunlight kissed her face on the other side, and the roar of a waterfall drowned out the fighting that was going on just outside the temple grounds.
She saw Abelas unconscious on the ground, and Morrigan walking up the steps that would lead her to the blood red Wellspring.
She picked up a rock the size of her fist and chucked it at her. She used enough force that when it bounced off of her head, the human woman was sent to her knees. She raced up the steps, grabbed the back of her robes, and pulled her as hard as she could without killing her. Morrigan went flying back onto the grass.
"Inquisitor, with this Wellspring I can preserve your people's culture! I can keep it from being wiped off the face of Thedas!"
She sounded like she had the wind knocked out of her.
"I'm sure that's what you've been telling yourself to cover up your lust for power, Morrigan." Talyn stayed where she was, ready to block her again from the Wellspring.
"Yes, I will admit that the vast amount of knowledge at my disposal would be good, but I respect the ancient elves. I want to study them, learn from them! I don't want Corypheus or the ignorance of humankind destroy what is left!"
"Let them, Morrigan! Think of your son! If you drink from the Wellspring, your soul will belong to Mythal. You will have no more free will."
Morrigan rolled her golden eyes. "Your Evanuris are dead, Inquisitor. I'm sure that nothing that dramatic is going to happen."
"Trust me."
"Why should I trust you, Talyn? How do you know any of this? Aren't you supposed to be suffering from memory loss?"
Morrigan used the distraction of her accusation to fling Talyn away from the Wellspring with magic. She landed on her back in the grass. She was too disoriented to get to her feet and stop her.
"Morrigan, stop!" Solas' voice rang in her ears.
But not even he could stop her from causing her own downfall.
Morrigan descended into the pool of ancient souls, and everyone watched as they pulled her under the surface.