The morning was pale and cold on the mountain, the sun not having risen quite yet but it's light beginning to illuminate the land in soft shapes. Andra mulled over her thoughts as she renewed the fire in the pit before her with wood she had gathered last night. She felt herself coming to a decision and despite any lingering hesitation, she knew it was the right choice.

Solas stirred just as the sun crested the horizon to the east, sending out its brilliant gold light to chase away any lingering evening blue. It warmed Andra's skin and set her resolve in stone. The uncertainty of last night was gone.

"On dhea," Andra said as her companion sat up on his bed roll, stretching out any stiffness from sleeping on the ground. She handed him breakfast as he crawled out from under the small tent.

Despite the recent tension, Andra couldn't help but think fondly of the last few weeks. Ever since that morning in Arlathan Forest, the two of them had more often than not spent the night in each other's arms. She reveled in that feeling. Of his warmth and gentle touch. There was no way to explain how happy she felt to sleep at his side and wake up there. It made her feel safe.

It made her feel content with all that had happened up to this point.

After they had both finished eating, however, she had to know, "Solas?"

He turned to her, curious, "Yes?"

"Do you remember what you said to me in Denerim? About giving anything to restore our people? And that you wanted to fix the problems you've caused?"

He seemed to hesitate a moment, then, carefully, "I do."

"What does that mean?"

He tilted his head as he looked at her, as if wondering whether to answer. "It is exactly how it sounds," he finally said.

"But... your words make it seem as if you're the reason all Elvhen have suffered..."

Solas' expression remained stoic, "Because I am."

"That doesn't even make any sense. You realize you're claiming responsibility for what all Elvhen blame Fen'Harel for?" But even as she said it, her mind was already drawing the conclusion that had always been right in front of her. "Are... are you saying that you are Fen'Harel?" She didn't know what to make of that thought. Somehow, it felt right as she said it, but also impossibly ridiculous.

He looked at her sadly, "Would that make you think different of me?"

"What?" The thought had never crossed her mind and she found it absurd, "No! Solas, I have never looked down upon Fen'Harel—even as a Dalish. He—you... I've read and seen enough history to know that people demonize others to make reality easier to swallow. Nothing is ever so black and white; you've said as much to me before. I just... suppose I wanted to know what you meant when you say you'll do 'anything' to restore our people."

He eyed her contemplatively, "Walk with me."

Andra was confused but obeyed and followed him up a short walk to the summit of the peak they were camping on. He gestured towards the distance, "Do you know what that is?"

She raised an eyebrow, "Skyhold?" They were quite close to the fortress. If they trudged through the snow for the rest of the day, they'd reach the gates just before nightfall.

"Yes, but beyond that." She stared at him with confusion as he continued, "Did you know that many people have occupied this place over the years? It's changed hands many times, even dwarves have taken residence behind its walls. But before that, before even the Human Chantry existed to count the years, and long before that too—it was a nexus for rituals amongst our people. At the height of our civilization. And for a time, it was even mine." He paused, dawning a thoughtful expression as he reminisced and looked out over the expanse.

"This is where I erected the Veil," he finally said after a moment. Andra opened her mouth to reply but he cut her off to explain, "I once told the Inquisitor that the name Skyhold—Tarasyl'an te'las—came to me in the Fade. That I knew of this place because it burned like a beacon there, spirits drawn to it." He smiled, "That is true, but not completely. I have always known of this place. But it is my actions that draw such strong power here. It pools and seeps into all it touches. And it is those actions that have given this place its name." He trailed off, his eyes searching for something that wasn't there. "If I hadn't been so careless... If I had just planned better... our People would not still be suffering."

"What do you mean?" Andra asked.

Solas replied, "I didn't have the strength to open the orb myself when I awoke from my long slumber, but I hadn't accounted for Corypheus uncovering the secret of effective immortality. He was meant to die in the explosion at the Conclave, Andra. Then I would have used the Anchor to tear down the Veil myself."

Silver eyes widened, "You want to tear down the Veil? Isn't that... dangerous?"

"It is. But it is the only way to restore our people."

"You mean back to the days of Arlathan?"

"Just as you saw it in your dreams, but even more magnificent." A memory seemed to come to him as he smiled. Then he turned to face her, "All Elvhen would have a home again, a place completely our own. No longer would we be vagrants begging in human cities or outcasts who wander the wilds using temporary settlements, too afraid to dig in roots anywhere."

That struck a chord with Andra. It had never been a fully formed thought, but she had always resented how the Dalish were treated—chased out of any area they tried to make their own. They weren't savages, only people trying to make the most out of life. The same way anyone else was.

Solas continued, "We would be able to easily rebuild all that was lost. Our language, our history." He paused, then, "Our immortality."

That surprised her.

"When I created the Veil," he explained, "I did so to banish the Evanuris, to keep them from destroying the world with their excess. I did not mean for it to destroy our people in the process."

Andra wanted to laugh, "That's not what the Dalish are raised to believe."

"I know," Solas said with distaste, "They believe me to have locked away the gods on a whim, simply because I could. Dooming Arlathan and then retreating to some far corner of the world to revel in my trickery while Elvhenan fell." He scowled, "I know I am believed heartless, that I don't care for the plight of others, especially the elves—but that isn't true. I care a great deal. I have tried many times to reach out to the People, to teach them of what I know, but they reject me at every turn. Labelling me a madman."

"I don't think you're mad," Andra said with sincerity.

Solas smiled at her and reached out a hand, brushing the backs of his fingers against her cheek. "Were it enough."

"Then... you really mean it?" She asked, "You plan to find another way to tear down the Veil?"

"It has to be done."

"Won't that free the Evanuris?"

"I have plans."

Andra crossed her arms, thoughtful, "The chaos that would ensue..."

"Is the world not already in chaos? People can hardly get along even in times of peace, but elves always get the brunt of it."

"Won't people die?"

"Yes." He said it with such finality that Andra found a little hard to swallow. "But true magic would return to the world. The Fade existing alongside reality. Elvhenan restored. Everything back to how it should be. The world as it is now would be no more. Much in the same why my world was no more when the Veil was created. Countless elvhen marvels were lost. History and culture destroyed because of my carelessness."

"And you want to do that again? But to everyone else?"

"I want to fix what I've done. This world would not have existed if I had not been so reckless."

Andra thought on his words for a moment. They made sense to her. And while she didn't outright hate any of the other races, she still saw the mistreatment of her people at their hands and resented them for it. She resented that they did it to each other too. Every year that passed, Humans, Dwarves, the Qunari, they all got to progress and build and grow.

And elves suffered in their wake.

No one cared about their squalor.

Would anyone even have the right to blame Solas for what he wanted to do? He was simply fighting for their people. Fighting to restore what he had destroyed. Fighting to give all Elvhen hope of a better future. Given the chance, would anyone else not do the same. She doubted it. Was justice only acceptable conditionally? Did their people not deserve what they never should have lost in the first place?

The more she thought on it, the greater her resolve.

"Take me with you," she finally said.

Solas looked at her with surprise.

"I believe what you're doing is right, Solas. Maybe it's not the best course of action, but what other avenue could the elves even take? Every time we try to get ahead, we're cut down. People look at us with scrutiny and distrust no matter what we do—more than they do with any other. I'm tired of seeing how beat down we are. I'm tired of seeing our people enslaved." She felt a fire burning within her at the words, "I want to help you."

Solas smiled, "It will not be so easy."

Andra moved close, erasing the gap between them and reaching her arms around his neck, "As long as I'm with you, it doesn't matter."

He stared down at her as he wrapped her in his arms, pressing at the small of her back. He still didn't know if this was wise, if he would be able to keep her safe when all was said and done, but it felt like fate. To wake up after millennia and find the one elf in all of Theadas who was connected so closely to his world. He felt immensely selfish, but he was glad.

"Ar lath ma," he whispered as he pressed a soft kiss on her lips.

She smiled and reveled in his closeness.

Wherever this choice led her, she was content in knowing that it was by his side. That she would be helping further a goal that would do good for the Elvhen. It didn't matter if the world would be forever changed—sometimes a drastic decision needed to be made.

More than that, Andra just knew that there had never been any going back. She wanted this. Wanted him. Solas had shown her that the world wasn't so innocent. It was often violent and ugly, but that made it's beauty all the more prevalent. And amidst it all, they had found each other.

She remembered the necklace her father wore, gifted to him from her mother. It sent a realization over her—she felt the same love for Solas. He was her nas'falon. She would go to the ends of the world for him if he asked it. But not just because she loved him—because she believed in him.

"Isalan hima sa i'na." Andra breathed softly when their kiss broke.

Solas groaned, "Ma'av'in."

Andra grinned at him and pulled him back towards their camp.


ELVHEN USED:

On dhea: "Good morning"

Tarasyl'an te'las: "The place where the sky was held back" (Skyhold)

Evanuris: The Elvhen gods.

Elvhenan: "Place of our People", the original civilization of the elves. Before it was destroyed, it covered most of Thedas—from the city of Arlathan to Ferelden, Orlais and lands west of Orlais.

Ar lath ma: "I love you."

Nas'falon: "Soulmate" (This denotes and immensely close relationship where two people are so close and so incredibly inseparable, that it is like they have the same soul. You can only ever have one soulmate.)

Isalan hima sa i'na: "I want you." (Literally: "I lust to become one with you")

Ma'av'in: "My mouth". (A very personal and slightly sexual endearment. The meaning is essentially, 'I love you so much, and desire you so much, that my mouth tastes like yours', but also, 'We understand each other on such a personal level that you could talk for me'.)