Hello everyone! Thank you so much for your patience!

So, at the end of it all, I decided to stick with my original plan. Thank you guys for your input!

Hope you enjoy!

48 - Vir'Abelasan

I stand over him twenty minutes later. My body shakes, my skin soaked with sweat. I heave, bend over my knees.

"Not the well, you wretch," Samson gasps. "You can't take it from Corypheus. You mustn't…" He takes a deep, shuddering breath. He then collapses face first into the ground.

Blackwall walks up to him, stares for a long few seconds. "Still breathing after all that. Impressive."

I force my spine straight, feel it crack and pop. "We can take him back to Skyhold for judgement."

A great pop echoes around us and I jump. A hooded Elvhen figure comes running around the corner, a black raven materializing out of no where just behind him.

"Abelas!" I yell.

He runs for a great hill just out of reach of where we stand. Ethereal green light bursts at his feet, stones dashing up inches before him, creating a massive staircase leading to the top.

I push myself forward, following as close as I can. As he reaches the top, I hear another loud "pop." I clutch my chest, see Abelas look back at us and then at Morrigan in front of him.

"You heard his parting words, Inquisitor," Morrigan says, her lips pursed. "The elf seeks to destroy the Well of Sorrows!"

Abelas glares at me as I move around him, then toward Morrigan. "So the Sanctum is despoiled at last."

"You would have destroyed the Well yourself, given the chance," Morrigan says.

"To keep it from your grasping fingers! Better it be lost than bestowed upon the undeserving!"

Morrigan growls. "Fool! You'd let your people's legacy rot in the shadows!"

I reach out, touch her shoulder. "Enough."

She shoves my hand away. "You cannot honestly—"

"I said, enough."

We glare at each other for what seems a long moment. Finally, she shakes her head. "The Well clearly offers power, Inquisitor. If that power can be turned against Corypheus, can you afford not to use it?"

Abelas scowls. "Do you even know what you ask?" He turns, gazes down at the water at his feet. I hadn't even noticed it. I had been too focused on Abelas and Morrigan.

It's much like a giant bath. Steps lead down into the dark water, which ripples despite the completely still air. I close my eyes for a moment, letting the power emanating from the water wash over me.

"As each servant of Mythal reached the end of their years, they would pass their knowledge on…through this." He gestures at the water. It seems almost to respond to him, the ripples on the surface increasing in speed. "All that we were. All that we knew. It would be lost forever."

I step forward, ignoring the pang of my heart. "This can't be easy, holding on to what's left."

"You cannot imagine. Each time we awaken, it slips further from our grasp."

Solas smiles at him. "There are other places, friend. Other duties. Your people yet linger."

Abelas stares at him. "Elvhen such as you?"

"Yes. Such as I."

Everyone grows silent. Abelas's gaze shifts to me. "You have shown respect to Mythal, and there is a righteousness in you I cannot deny. Is that your desire? To partake of the Vir'Abelasan as best you can, to fight your enemy?"

I hesitate for a moment. I then nod. "Not without your permission."

"One does not obtain permission. One obtains the right." He turns away from us, walks to the edge of the hill. "The Vir'Abelasan may be too much for a mortal to comprehend. Brave it if you must, but know you this: you shall be bound forever to the will of Mythal."

Morrigan scoffs. "Bound? To a goddess who no longer exists, if she ever did?"

Abelas nods. "Bound, as we are bound. The choice is yours."

I step between them. "Is it possible that Mythal might still exist?"

"Anything is possible."

Morrigan shakes her head. "Elven legend states that Mythal was tricked by Fen'Harel and banished to the Beyond."

"'Elven' legend is wrong. The Dread Wolf had nothing to do with her murder."

My heart stops and I look back at Solas during the brief silence.

"Murder?" Morrigan mutters. "I said nothing of—"

"She was slain, if a God truly can be. Betrayed by those who destroyed this temple. Yet the Vir'Abelesan remains. As do we. That is something."

"Are you leaving the temple?" I ask.

"Our duty ends. Why remain?"

"There is a place for you, lethallin." Solas's voice is soft, full of sadness. "If you seek it."

"Perhaps there are places the shemlen have not touched. It may be that only uthenera awaits us. The blissful sleep of eternity, never to awaken. If fate is kind."

"Thank you for this gift, Abelas," I mutter.

"Do not thank me yet, shemlen."

Solas extends his hand for just a moment. "Malas amelin ne halam, Abelas."

The two of them stare at each other. Abelas then inclines his head before turning and walking away. I watch until long after he's gone from view. When I look back, Blackwall is giving Solas a strange look.

"His name," Solas says once he notices. "Abelas means sorrow. I said… I hoped he finds a new name."

Blackwall says nothing.

"You'll note the intact Eluvian," Morrigan says, turning to look at the other side of the pool. A giant mirror, just like the one back on Skyhold, stands untouched against the stone wall. "I was correct on that count, at least."

"Is it still a threat? Can Corypheus use it to travel the Fade?"

"You recall when I took you through my Eluvian, I said each required a key? The Well is the key. Take its power, and Mythal's last Eluvian will be no more use to Corypheus than glass." She reaches a hand toward the water, pauses. "I did not expect the Well to feel so…hungry."

I take a step toward her. "Don't go any closer, Morrigan."

For a moment, it seems as if she doesn't hear me. She continues to stare into the water, her eyes unfocused. Finally, she turns toward me. "I am willing to pay the price the Well demands. I am also the best suited to use its knowledge in your service."

Before I can respond, Solas steps forward. "Or more likely, to your own ends."

"What would you know of my 'ends,' elf?"

"Morrigan," I growl.

"You are a glutton drooling at the sight of a feast," Solas says. "You cannot be trusted."

"Enough," I say, raising my voice only slightly.

The two of them scowl. Morrigan shakes her head. "Of those present, I alone have the training to make use of this. Let me drink, Inquisitor."

My brows furrow. "'You alone?' This is my heritage!"

"I have studied the oldest lore. I have delved into mysteries of which you could only dream! Can you honestly tell me there is anyone better suited?"

I scoff. "Of course I can!" I turn, lock eyes with Solas. "What about you?"

The hardness of his gaze makes me come up short. "No. Do not ask me again."

I gulp. It takes longer than I want to admit to compose myself. "Then I would be."

Morrigan shakes her head. "You lead the Inquisition. This is not a risk you can take. I have the best chance of making use of the Well…for everyone. Let me drink."

"You're not concerned about the price? 'Bound forever to the will of Mythal?'"

"Bound to the will of a dead god? It seems an empty warning. Perhaps a compulsion yet remains. Who can say otherwise? I do not fear it, even so."

I turn away from her, cross my arms over my chest. My head pounds. "I hate to say it, but Abelas's plan to destroy the Well may be the best one."

"And what happens when Corypheus comes for you again? He is immortal. The wisdom of the Well may include a way to destroy him. Give me this, and I fight at your side. I shall be your sword."

I sigh. "Give me a moment to think."

"We have not the time."

I look at Solas, chew on the inside of my lip. I know his look too well. If I let Morrigan drink of the Well, he will never trust her, never be satisfied that it was the right choice. If I drink…he will forever be disappointed in my willingness to bind myself to someone, let alone a God.

I don't know what to do. I turn back toward the water, stare at its depths as Morrigan had. "Looking at it, listening to it… That's not just knowledge from the ancient elven priests. It's their will."

Morrigan raises an eyebrow at me. "How would you know such a thing?"

"That's what Abelas was telling us." I frown, sigh. "The collective will of the priests puts anyone who drinks under a compulsion, a geas." I reach out, fingers not quite touching the water. "Can't you feel it?"

She hesitates. "That…would match the legends, but it does not tell us what the geas entails." She quiets for a moment. "I would still use the Well, but you are right. We must be cautious."

I shake my head, rub my eyes, pushing away the want, the need to dive into the water. "Thoughts?" I say, turning toward everyone else.

Solas is the first to speak. "She is right about only one thing: we should take the power which lies in that Well."

This shocks me, but only slightly.

"I'd trust you with this power more than her," Blackwall says, glaring at Morrigan. "But it is not for me to decide."

I look to Cole, who wrings his hands. "So many voices. They would be in your head, talking over you. You don't want them."

"Enough deliberation," Morrigan says. "Give me your decision."

I stand for a long moment. There is a part of me, so strong I can barely contain it, that wants this power for myself. Not just to defeat Corypheus, but because I am Elvhen. Why should I let Morrigan have this power when I am more worthy of it? When I have spent my entire life worshiping the gods she so casually dismisses? When I am the one with Mythal's vallaslin etched across my face? I could do so much for my people with this knowledge. I could help them rebuild, take back what once was ours. I take a step toward the Well, clenching my fists…and then look back at Solas.

His look is what stops me. Helps me remember the consequences.

I am no slave. Not even to Mythal.

I am me.

I stop mid-stride and then take a step backwards. "Perhaps…you're right, Morrigan."

"I am. You know I am."

I take a deep breath. "Then, it's yours."

Morrigan does not hesitate. She turns toward the Well as I move backwards, towards Solas. He wraps his arm around me as she lifts her foot over the water.

Jealousy grabs at my heart. But I repeat to myself, over and over…

I am no slave. I am me.

The Well senses her. The water begins to pulse, light twirling around her as she lowers herself into it. She walks toward the center, the light around her growing brighter with every step. Finally, she turns toward us, her lips tight in a wide smile. She closes her eyes.

She drops into the water.

A great wave shoots into the sky, spraying in every direction. I gasp, cover my face against the gust of wind and power that engulfs us all.

When I open my eyes, the pool is dry. Morrigan lies in the center, her body still.

I push away from Solas, rush toward her. "Morrigan?" I bend down over her. "Are you all right?"

She gasps when I touch her. She pushes me away, shaking her head.

"Ellasin selah! Vissan… vissanalla…"

I don't recognize the words. I look up at the rest of them, who have joined us on the now dry bed of the pond.

Morrigan stands, rubbing her eyes. She shakes her head. "I… I am intact." She touches her forehead, glances around the room. She fidgets, backs away from us. "There is much to sift through… but now we can—"

A dark fog begins to surround us, twirling around our feet. I feel it at the same time as Morrigan, look back at the entrance on the other side of the room to see Corypheus standing there, watching us. He is too far away to see clearly, but his scream echoes off the walls.

And then suddenly he is in the air, floating toward us.

"The Eluvian!" Morrigan yells.

My heart beats furiously. I turn just as she points at it. Instantly, it starts to glow.

"Through the mirror!" I scream. I run ahead of them motioning for them to go through before me. I watch, heart hammering, as Corypheus grows closer.

Suddenly, a glowing figure appears from the bottom of the pool, moving so it floats between me and him.

I don't stay to watch. I turn, push myself through the glowing mirror. Seconds later, I feel it shatter behind me.