Disclaimer: I do not own Bioware or Marvel Cinematic Universe.
After helping Sir Marlein, who had been inspired by Marian public rebuke to Meredith seizing control of the city with zealot templars harming innocent, who had been providing shelter for mage, Marian came to visit Merrill.
"You've got a good heart, Marian. Trying to keep peace, where you can." Steve said.
"Sometimes my best is not enough." Marian sighed.
"I know the feeling. I've lost more than enough already." Steve said and Marian looked saddened. "But you need to keep trying and…"
"…not give up. I know." Marian said. "I can see why people look up to you, Steve. You're a good man."
"And you're a good woman, Marian." Steve nodded. "About Wanda and that elf…"
"I know." Marian nodded. "Truth be told, I wasn't sure at first either, not only because Wanda doesn't belong here but because of her powers as well but apparently, she seems to be a good influence on her. Fenris may still not approve of magic but he realizes by now that it is not as black and white as he had believed. I think that Wanda might be good for him."
"I hope she knows what is she doing." Bucky said.
"Honestly, if there's one thing I've learned about her, if there is a problem, Wanda doesn't give up so easily." Marian said.
"She got that from me." Clint chuckled.
Merrill was pacing back and forth in front of the mirror as Marian entered with Strange. "Lethallin, I need to ask you for a favor." She sighed. "I thought the arulin'holm would be the last thing I needed, but the eluvian still won't work. I think…" She hesitated. "I think I have to go back to the…" She looked away. "Spirit that helped me at the start of all this."
Spirit. Marian sighed. Again, Merrill was about to deal with a demon. "Why do you think this demon will help?"
"He knows about the mirror. I don't know how much. He wouldn't tell me everything, and it\s dangerous to trust…" Merrill looked down at her hands. |He said he witnessed its forging. He told me how to cleanse it of its corruption. He must know how to make it work."
"What do you mean it doesn't work?" Marian asked.
"Well… look at it. Do you think it's supposed to just sit there and show nothing at all? I can feel the power in it, but it's… like it's asleep. I can't seem to wake it." Merrill said.
"Nothing bad ever comes from summoning demons." Marian said.
"Whatever you're doing, it's risky, especially when a demon is involved." Strange advised.
"That's why…" Merrill took a deep breath. "Why I need you to come with me. I've called to the spirit, but he doesn't seem to hear. He was sealed in an artifact on Sundermount. I have to look for him there. But…" She inhaled. "If things go wrong…" She looked up at them. "If he possesses me, I need you to strike me down."
"Let me see, if I understand, you're about to perform a ritual with a demon that might possess you and you want us to kill you if that happens? That's your idea?" Strange asked incredulously.
"Please, do this for me. There's no one else here I trust. Lethallin, please… come with me. I don't want… anything bad to happen." Merrill had an imploring look in her eyes.
"This is a bad idea." Strange shook his head.
Marian sighed, not believing she was going to say this. "If you're determined to do this, then I'll come with you to make sure nothing goes wrong."
"Ma serannas." Merrill hugged her. "You've no idea what a relief that is. The demon is sealed in a cave on Sundermount. The sooner we get this over with, the better."
"This is a bad idea." Steve said.
"No kidding." Wanda nodded as they went with Varric, Sebastian and Bucky. Neither of them looked forward to killing Merrill.
Varric spent most of the walk to the Sundermount trying to talk Merrill out of her plans. "Does anybody else get the feeling that this is going to end badly? Just me, huh?"
"That makes more of us." Bucky said.
"It's not all bad, Varric." Merrill tried to give him a cheerful smile. "Think of the stories you'll be able to tell later."
"No offense Daisy, but I could live without telling anyone that we murdered you on some mountain side, it's little hard to made that one sound good." Varric said, worried as Marian sighed. If not even Varric's considerable powers of persuasion and charm would not help where her own had failed, there was only one more person that might be able to talk Merrill out of her plan.
They approached Keeper Marethari, who smiled when she saw Merrill. "Welcome home, da'len."
Merrill shook her head. "This isn't a homecoming, Keeper. Why is the clan even here? You should have moved on ages ago."
"The clan still has business here, da'len. We will leave when it is time."
"It was time three years ago." Merrill gestured. "You can't stay here. Eventually, the humans will force you to leave."
"There are plenty of hiding places in these mountains. We will stay until my business is done." The Keeper said. "If you are not returning to us, what has brought you back?"
"If one of the Dalish becomes an abomination, what do you do?" Marian asked, hoping for a solution that would not demand killing Merrill.
"If you are hoping the Dalish hold miracles, child, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. Even if the demon is driven out, the soul is left scarred. It can never recover. Not truly. Like a wounded animal, it will fall prey to scavengers. The only cure is death." Well, there goes that idea.
"How can Merrill fix the eluvian?" Marian asked.
"I wouldn't restore that cursed thing, even if I could." The Keeper shook her head angrily. "It has stolen lives, brave young souls who were well loved by this clan. And if awakened, it will do far worse."
"No one is pained more by their loss than I, but the mirror wasn't responsible." Merrill protested but they weren't convinced. From what they read, the mirror was cursed and tainted with the Blight. Anyone, who would come near it and not be careful, would be infected, even despite Merrill's efforts to cleanse it with blood magic.
"You must come to your senses, Merrill. This evil cannot be allowed in our world." Marethari pleaded.
"It is part of our world. It has been in our world for centuries." Merrill put on her stubborn face. "But I'm wasting my time. You'd rather fear the past than reclaim it. This is pointless. Let's go."
All of this would be so much easier if they knew why the mirror was such an issue. If it had been cleansed of the corruption, what was the threat? This appeared to be getting them nowhere. Right now, short of Theron himself coming over the mountain and telling her not to do it, they saw no way to convince Merrill. For a moment, they considered trying to convince Merrill to come back to Kirkwall so they could send a letter to the Wardens. But she was already on her way up the mountain. With a sigh, they followed.
"This can't end well at all." Bucky muttered.
"No. It can't. That mirror is certainly more trouble than it's worth." Strange nodded.
They soon reached the top of the summit and found a giant statue that was ugly, sitting on an altar. Merrill was shaking her head. "Something is wrong. This is where the spirit was bound. But now, it feels… empty."
"Who bound this demon here and why?" Marian asked.
"There was a war, long ago. Between my people and the Tevinter Imperium. After the magisters sunk Arlathan, my people made a last stand here, fighting on the graves of our elders. I don't know if it was the Elvhenan or Tevinter who bound the spirit, but he was left here from the war."
"The demon escaped?" Wanda questioned.
"It would have taken powerful magic to break him free of this prison." Merrill shook her head, eying the statue. "You couldn't just set him loose. Nobody could. Not without doing something terrible. This is very wrong."
"It can't have just disappeared, right?" Clint questioned.
Merrill whirled around. "He shouldn't have been able to leave! What happened to him?"
A footstep came from behind them, scraping against the stone. "I happened." Keeper Marethari descended into the chamber.
"Keeper, what have you done?" Merrill neared her, worried.
Marethari's face held sorrow. "The demon's plan was always for you to complete the mirror. It would have been a doorway out of this prison and into our world. You would have been his first victim. I couldn't let that happen, da'len."
"You stopped it. You saved Merrill." Marian said, although it was obvious she was more like trying to convince herself. They all had a strange feeling this wasn't over yet.
"Not yet." Marethari said as cold air filled the cavern, almost giving them shivers and goosebumps. "The demon is still here. I couldn't fight it in the Fade while it was trapped. And I couldn't banish it without making it stronger. So I made myself its prison. Kill me, and it dies too. Merrill will finally be safe."
"No. You can't ask…" Merrill covered her face with her hands. "I won't do this."
"You always knew your blood magic had a price, da'len. I have chosen to pay it for you." The Keeper smiled gently. "Dareth shiral."
The demon took over.
Merrill used her staff to fling rocks at the demon as Anders hit it with a blast of ice. Suddenly, it vanished, and Keeper Marethari was standing there again. She fell forward.
"Keeper!" Merrill cried out, rushing towards her.
"You've beaten it, da'len. You are so much stronger than I imagined. The demon is dead." Marethari smiled.
"Keeper, I…" Merrill's face was joyful.
"Let's leave this awful place. The clan should hear the good news." Marethari said.
They wanted it to be true. For Merrill's sake. For the clan's sake. They all knew there was only one sure way to stop the demon.
"You told us that the demon was bound to your life. It would only die with you." Marian said.
Merrill's eyes went wide, and filled with tears, realizing what had to happen. "Ir abelas, Keeper." Merrill whispered before she pulled out a dagger and drove it into the Keeper's chest as Marethari gasped before slumping back. The Keeper glowed strangely before the spirit apparently disappeared. Merrill broke down and fell on her knees, hugging the Keeper in her arms. "Keeper! What have you done? I don't want this. I never wanted this. Creators, please let this be a bad dream…" Marian stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll wake up and feel like an idiot and she'll scold me for not listening…"
Marian sighed. She knew this wouldn't help but Merrill needed to hear this. "You knew consulting with demons was dangerous. You knew people would get hurt, and you did it anyway."
"If there was a price to pay, I should have paid it! She had no right to interfere!" Merrill glared.
"That wasn't up to you, Merrill." Wanda said.
"Blood magic always has its price. And we don't always get to decide who pays it. You should've known there would be consequences." Strange said but Marian cleared her throat as they saw Merrill break down, burying her face into Marethari's chest. Obviously, more criticism wasn't going to help.
"She loved you, Merrill." Marian comforted her. "She wanted to protect you."
"Why couldn't she have believed in me?" She bent her head. "I don't know what to do now." Marian helped Merrill up on her feet. "I… I should go to the clan. Someone needs to know, needs to come… take care of her."
Fenarel met them a few steps outside of the cave, several other hunters behind him. "We know the Keeper came here. What's going on? Where is she?"
"Uh-oh." Steve said.
"Fenarel, the Keeper, she…" Merrill started to cry again.
One of the other hunters gestured. "Look at her, Fenarel. She's covered in blood."
"What have you done, Merrill?" Fenarel walked towards the cave. "Keeper. Can you hear me?"
"She's dead." Merrill choked out the words.
"I should have guessed you'd turn on her, you monster." One of the Dalish hunters glared.
Marian stepped in between Merrill and the elves. "This was a tragedy. I promise you, I'll make sure no one else is hurt by Merrill's blood magic."
"You expect us to take the word of a shemlen?" The hunter started to reach for her blades.
"Stand down, Ineria!" Fenarel raised his hand, gesturing for her to let go of her weapon. "She was our First, once. The Keeper loved her." He would not look at Merrill. "More than she loved the clan, it seems."
"Fenarel… I'm sorry. I never wanted this. If I could have saved her… if I could have died instead, I would have." Merrill said, tears filling her eyes.
"Words are cheap." Ineria spat, disgust and hate filling her eyes. "That you're still breathing says enough."
"Enough, Ineria." Fenarel met Marian's eyes. "Human, take Merrill away from here." He gestured, and the other elves followed him.
"They'll never forgive me. If you weren't here, they'd kill me." Merrill said, broken.
"I hope you realize that blood magic was a mistake." Strange said.
Merrill looked at him with tears in her eyes. "I know I should've died there, not Marethari. Don't you think I feel guilty enough?"
"Guilt isn't a punishment. It just reminds you of what you've done wrong and beating yourself up is not going to help." Bucky said. "You need to find redemption for what you've done by trying to make up for your mistakes."
"But how?" Merrill cried. "The Keeper is dead, my clan lost everything because of me. There's not enough I can do in this lifetime to make up for that."
"It was your pride and obsession that led you to the demon. Admitting what you can't do is a good first step. You need to learn from what you've done wrong. That way, you might find out how to do things the right way. It may take your lifetime but you need to try." Steve said as Merrill had a contemplative look on her face.
Marian smiled, glad that Strange, Steve and Bucky had come along. Harsh criticism was not going to help.
They had accompanied Merrill back into her home, while she was devastated. Merrill was standing in front of the mirror, gazing into the non-existent reflection. "She's gone. She's really gone…"
Marian found herself glad she had decided to come check on her. "Merrill?"
"How did all of this happen?" Merrill sobbed.
Marian could have answered that in a million ways. Because Merrill didn't listen. Because she was too proud to consider the possible consequences of her actions. Because she thought she knew better than anyone. Because the Keeper had tried to keep secrets. Because the Keeper also thought she knew better than anyone. Because a long time ago, she had lost two of the people who mattered to her most. But she knew that criticism or blaming was not going to help.
"I don't think beating yourself up over what happened will bring Marethari back." Marian said.
"No, but she'd want me to kick myself a few times, at least. All this time, I thought…" She sighed, and pulled away from him. "I could help them. Save them. But they won't let me, will they? They'll destroy themselves to escape my help."
"You can't help people without their consent. I'm sorry, Merrill." Marian said.
"No, I suppose I can't." Merrill stared at the mirror, contemplating. "All the time I've wasted… maybe… maybe it's time I stopped living for them. My people will kill me if I go back." She turned to Marian, worried. "I'm all alone. What will I do now?"
"There are plenty of elves in Kirkwall who could use your help." Marian said. "Do what you want with your life."
"That's true…" Her eyes lit up. "The Dalish always say we're the only true elves. And I've lived here for years, and never thought…" She laughed softly at herself. "I've barely even looked at them. I'm not even sure what I want to be honest. I feel like such a fool. I suppose I have a lot to think about, don't I? Thank you."
Present
Cassandra sighed. "No wonder Theron was quiet all the way back from Kirkwall."
Leliana nodded, remembering her lover Theron. "He contacted Ashalle as soon as we reached Denerim. She made arrangements to help Sabrae clan get back to Ferelden." Leliana sighed. "If Fenarel hadn't been there, hadn't kept a clear head…"
"You think the Champion and the Avengers would have harmed them?"
"If they attacked first, they'd have left them little choice."
For those familiar with Dragon Age, frankly, in the first game, I think Merrill was more or less fine in the prologue for the Dalish Elf Warden but in Dragon Age 2, out of all companions, asides from Anders, she was the worst. Blood magic, consorting with demons and dealing with a cursed mirror, despite everyone's warnings, thinking she could have handled it. And on the top of it, she was so naïve to believe she had it all under control.
But in the end, I felt bad for her.
So, what do you guys think about it?
Please review and let me know if you are enjoying this so far and want for me to continue.
