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Lilias followed the Inquisitor and his party through the eluvian to a castle of some kind. The courtyard was littered with shattered eluvians, as though the Qunari had tried each of them and smashed them when they didn't work.

They had all noticed the mark on Thule's hand growing, and felt the power as it discharged energy into the air around him. By now, it was so powerful that it brought him to his knees with the pain of it. Cassandra hurried to his side, one gentle hand on his shoulder. "There must be something we can do."

He looked up at her, and Lilias could see the resignation in his face. She looked away while the two of them held each other, whispering into each other's ears. She had felt the imminence of death many times, but she had never carried her own doom in the palm of her hand the way he did. He was very strong; stronger than most gave him credit for.

Like Alistair, she thought. There was a strong man in there, one determined to do his best for his country, but he couldn't see it. And if he couldn't see it, no one else would, either.

Thule got to his feet. Varric looked at him kindly. "Come on, Stones," he said. "Let's show the tall people how it's done, one last time."

"Ready when you are, Varric."

"You know … things didn't end well for Kirkwall the last time the Qunari got angry," Varric observed. He looked up at Lilias, both of them remembering that day, the Viscount's head rolling across the rug, the duel with the Arishok that Lilias had barely survived. "I really hope we settle this fast. I've seen all the burning cities I ever want to see."

"Same here," Lilias agreed fervently. She joined Thule, helping him lead the way into the castle. Once inside, they discovered what the Qunari meant by Dragon's Breath: a dragon. A very sick dragon, who had been chained and abused.

Lilias didn't know what the others might think, but she wasn't about to stand here and kill a creature who had been so badly mistreated. They had fought their way through the Qunari in the castle, and they were still fighting those who had been the dragon's handlers and tormenters. While the others were distracted, Lilias figured out how to open the gate to the outside, and she smashed the dragon's chains with all her strength.

Once she felt the cool night air, the dragon realized that she was free. With a look of almost human understanding, she took wing and was gone, off into the darkened sky.

With their dragon captive flown, the Viddasala and her remaining warriors were retreating through the nearest eluvian.

Varric followed Stones and the others as they gave chase. They were so close to ending this, even Varric could feel it.

But before they could reach the Qunari, the mark on Stones' hand flared once more and he went to his knees, crying out in pain.

The Viddasala halted the few of her people who remained on this side of the eluvian, watching Stones as he writhed in agony. There was even a kind of pity in her face as he suffered.

"Dear Inquisitor," she told him, "you have such little time left. You must finally see the truth."

Stones tried to form words, but the pain was too great. Varric stood beside him, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Enough riddles," he said. "Enough lies and stories and half-truths."

"Elven magic already tore the sky apart," she said, her eyes steady on Varric's face. "If the agents of Fen'Harel are not stopped, you will shatter the world as well."

"Then we will handle them," the Seeker declared, her voice ringing off the stones of the walls.

The Viddasala looked at her as though she was a very small, not especially bright child. In another circumstance, Varric would have enjoyed it. "How, when you have never defeated anything without their assistance? One of their chief agents kept the Inquisitor from dying, helped seal the Breach, led you to Skyhold …"

"Son-of-a-bitch," Stones hissed.

"Chuckles. That bald bastard." Varric sighed wearily. How tired he was of being betrayed by his friends.

"He tricked us all. He was the one who pushed a dying Qunari into the Winter Palace, to lure you into opposing us," the Viddasala continued.

The mark flared again, forcing Stones back to his knees even as he was trying to rise.

"Panahedan, Inquisitor," the Viddasala said, with some semblance of respect. "If it is any consolation, Solas will not outlive you."

And she was gone. The Seeker went to her knees next to Stones. "Solas is the only one who can help him now. We must get to him before they do."

"Then let's go," Varric said. He wasn't going to lose another friend. Not today. They would carry Stones if they had to.

Only Thule was able to go through the last eluvian. The others were turned away. He gave a last glance backward, wondering if he would ever see Cassandra again, or Varric, or any of them, and then made his way forward through a forest of statues that had until recently been Qunari warriors.

He found Solas just as the Viddasala did, in time to see Solas turn her to stone with nothing but a thought.

Thule called out Solas's name and found the elf's eyes, suddenly piercing, looking in his direction. Even as he did so, the Anchor flared to life in his hand, the pain beyond anything Thule had ever imagined, much less endured.

And then it was gone, suddenly and completely, and Solas was looking down at him not unkindly. "That should give us some time to speak."

"You were Fen'Harel's agent all along," Thule said, his voice rasping and his eyes watering from the pain of the previous moment.

"No. I am no one's agent but my own." Solas stood still, waiting for the truth to dawn.

"You are Fen'Harel."

Solas inclined his head, rather grandly. "I was Solas first. 'Fen'Harel' came later—an insult I took as a badge of pride. The false gods called me Fen'Harel, and when they finally went too far, I formed the Veil and banished them forever." There was true sorrow in his face as he added, "Thus I freed the elven people, and in so doing, destroyed their world. I lay in dark and dreaming sleep while countless wars and ages passed. I awoke in a world where the Veil had blocked most people's conscious connection to the Fade. It was like walking through a world of Tranquil."

"We're not even people to you," Thule said in comprehension. It explained so much about Solas's attitude.

He didn't deny it. "I will save the elven people, Inquisitor, even if it means that this world must die."

"I'll have to stop you."

"I know you will try."

They gazed at each other evenly, neither willing to back down.

At last Solas said, "If it's any consolation, I do not do this happily."

"It's not."

"I did not think it would be." Solas studied him. "But, I would not leave you with no chance, or your world without you. Cassandra was kind to me—I will be kind to her and return her lover to her."

A roaring was filling Thule's ears, a darkness blurring his vision. As he lost consciousness, he heard Solas saying, "I doubt that you will thank me for this."

He woke on the other side of the eluvian, free from pain for the first time in a long while. When he looked at his hand, he discovered why: Solas had removed it, and the mark it bore.