Rajmael of Clan Lavellan

by Powerslammer

Rajmael is an elf possessed of great pride and an incredible power. Born with a powerful name and a greater destiny, he has lived his whole life by the the Vir Tanadhal. And now he must use his ancient knowledge to stand against forces that threaten his world and everything he loves. Watch as he stands as a Dalish Elf, a Herald and as The Inquisitor. Please, please review.

29. Breaking The Jaws: Part III

Breaking the Jaws: Part III

Rajmael and the others made their way back to Stone-Bear Hold in the hopes of getting their aid against the Hakkonites. Because of The Basin's location, it would be extremely difficult to move more soldiers and siege equipment here fast enough, and they needed to get into that Tevinter ruin immediately, and besides it seemed like the Avvar of Stone-Bear Hold were itching for a fight with their unfriendly neighbors. Especially Auger Siobahn of Bear Hold, she's all but begging for an excuse to shed Gurn Harofsen's blood. Siobahn Skinchanger stood silently and watched the two leaders with deep interest.

The Inquisitor stood once more stood in the Thane's furbished cave. Thane Sun-hair could see from the Lowland elf's face that he bore ill tidings. And there was not a doubt in her mind that it concerned the Jaws of Hakkon.

"Inquisitor." Svarrah Sun-Hair addressed.

"I need to get into the Tevinter ruin where the Jaws of Hakkon are festering. Will your clan aid me?" The Dalish elf said bluntly.

A look of sinister delight beamed in Siobahn's eyes and smiled fiendishly. Those had to be the sweetest words she heard the Inquisitor say since he arrived. Thane Sun-Hair on the other hand, did not share her fellow Avvar's enthusiasm.

"Nothing would please me more than to bathe my warhammer in Hakkonite blood, but I'm afraid you're putting me in a difficult position, Inquisitor." Svarrah answered. "We have sworn peace with the Jaws of Hakkon, and while they may not truly care for it, they have not broken their peace with us. Furthermore, we'd be obligated to go to their aid should they request it, but you have guest welcome here."

Rajmael was not convinced. "Yes...but?"

"It's no secret that the Jaws of Hakkon will eventually turn their blades against us, and thus far, you have proven yourself an honorable man. If you were to do a great service to use, one that outstrips our strained relationship with the Hakkonites, then we'd gladly aid you in your actions against them." The Thane explained.

"You would break your vow so easily for a favor?" Cassandra asked cautiously.

"I could say that all Avvar keep their oaths, that all Avvar hold their word sacred, and I would not be lying. But a clever thane knows how to find the holes in any promise." Svarrah chuckled. "We are all only blood and bone. Are your Lowland promises any more permanent? A promise is kept until it is broken, that is the way of things. I do not do this lightly, Chantry-Knight, but the Jaws of Hakkon are tiresome and are friends to very few. It would be good to get out of this oath."

"So what boon would be enough for your to disavow your oath with The Jaws of Hakkon?" Rajmael asked.

"Our Hold-Beast, Storvacker, has disappeared. She has not made herself known to the Auger or to anyone else in the Hold. Find her and we shall aid you against the Jaws of Hakkon."

The Thane's request seemed as dangerous as it was ridiculous to the rest of Rajmael's party. This was a request worth turning on the Jaws of Hakkon?

"Seriously?" Sera asked incredulously. "You want us to find a bear?"

"I've got to admit, that does seems pretty random." Iron Bull concurred. "Couldn't you just get a new one?"

"Storvacker isn't just a bear. She is our Hold-Beast." Svarah stated as fact. "She ties us to our gods and them to us. And to have her just taken from us is a terrible thing." The Thane looked to the Dalish Inquisitor. "I've heard that your gods were stolen from your people. Was that not a terrible thing? It is as that to us."

The Thane's request seemed as dangerous as it was ridiculous to the rest of Rajmael's party. This was a request worth turning on the Jaws of Hakkon?

"Seriously?" Sera asked incredulously. "You want us to find a bear?"

"I've got to admit, that seems pretty random." Iron Bull concurred. "Couldn't you just get a new one?"

"Isn't finding their wandering pet beneath us, Inquisitor?" Vivienne complained. "Surely we could do better than finding their bear?"

"Ah. She is like your anchor to the spirits that watch over your people." Solas surmised.

"I know more about this world than I know of Spirits." Svarah confessed. "They are our gods, not yours. Let it be enough that she is extremely important to us, and we must have her back."

"Your relationship with your Hold-Beast sounds like my people's relationship with our Halla." Rajmael pointed out. "The Dalish are nothing without the halla, and your Hold cannot stand without your Hold-Beast."

"Is it unusual for your...spirit bear to wander off? Does she have a pen? Do you feed her?" Blackwall asked.

"Storvacker is not a pet, Lowlander. She does live in the Keep with us, and we do bring her offerings, but not enough to where she won't hunt for herself." The Thane answered. "What's unusual is that she has not returned as she always does after she's hunted."

"How do you know she's not dead?" Iron Bull insinuated. "I mean, you've seen the big-ass animals that live here. Isn't it possible she got into a fight with another big-ass animal with teeth?"

"I doubt that, horn-man." Siobahn spoke. "Storvacker is a warrior and not easily slain. And besides, if she was dead the Auger or I would have sensed it. No, she is alive, somewhere in the Basin."

"Can you not find this bear on your own? Why ask our aid?" Cassandra asked curiously.

"Under any other circumstances, we would, Chantry-Knight, but these circumstances are dire." Thane Sun-Hair answered embarrassedly. "I have no doubt that Gurn Harofsen is watching us for any weakness, and the loss of our Hold-Beast would not only give him the opportunity to attack, but it would give him the right to do so in the eyes of all the other Avvar Holdings. No clan would ever let their Hold-Beast just disappear, and any that would deserves to be attacked. So for the sake of saving face, we must continue as though Storvacker were still amongst us."

"A grim situation indeed. Where was she last seen?" Rajmael asked.

"Our huntmaster said he last saw her tracks by the Karsdotten River. No surprise. She often treks over there this time of year to fish for salmon." Svarrah informed.

"Then we'll begin our search there."

Later By The Kulsdotten River...

The Inquisitor and his companions made their way to the river where this bear, Storvacker was last seen. Rajmael could see why the Hold-Beast would frequent this area: the salmon here were the size of dogs! Maybe it was because the Veil was thin here, or maybe it was just natural, but everything was bigger in the Basin. Maybe it was something in the water?

During his years as Keeper Deshanna's First, Rajmael would often go into the forest to hunt alongside Nethras and Evanura. The tracking skills he learned from them would be useful here. They found a set of tracks by the river, obviously a bear's but bigger. They must have been Storvacker's paw prints. Strange. The prints walked away from the river and deeper into the marsh, like she was following or looking for something else. The tracks stopped abruptly beneath a tree and judging from the how the ground was flattened and the imprint left behind, Storvacker dropped herself her to sleep.

There was something out of place here. Right under the tree were the gobbled remains of what smelled like honey cakes. Rajmael picked up one of the crumbs and sniffed it. There was another scent coming from the cake. Something that a hungry bear wouldn't notice thanks to the sweet smell of honey. Now Rajmael knew what happened.

"Something wrong, Inquisitor?" Dorian finally asked.

"I think I know what happened to our missing bear." Rajmael answered. "Someone left out some honey cakes for Storvacker and laced them with sleeping dugs. And the people who did it were obviously expert hunters. They left no tracks behind them."

"Why drug and capture a bear when they could have just easily killed it?" Blackwall asked.

"Well, that's just great. Now how are we supposed to find it?" Varric complained.

"Whoever took Storvacker, hid their tracks because they don't want to be seen, but there's no way they could move a bear that size without being noticed, especially with the Stone-Bear Hold's hunters looking for her." Rajmael scrutinized. "They would have had to take her somewhere close by, a cave or something. Somewhere like...over there."

Rajmael pointed over to a cave entrance none of them noticed through the thick foliage. It was carved right into the side of the stone hill, and none of them probably would have seen it were it not for the fact that there was a large metal door with the exterior made to look like the hill side, but it had been left wide open. Someone was careless.

They carefully, silently, made their way inside the cave. No guards. That meant that someone would probably be coming back soon. They'd have to be quick. When they reached the back of the cave, they found several ancient Tevinter styled cages. Was this a dungeon of some kind?

"She remembers falling asleep, then waking up. Cramped, beaten and captured. She is angry and wants to be free." Cole trailed off.

"Andraste's flammin' knickers!" Sera cursed at seeing the sole occupant of this dungeon.

A booming growl echoed through the dungeon and powerful claws smashed against the bars inside one of the cells. Everyone, even Iron Bull, was taken aback by the incredible size of Storvacker. Rajmael now realized what Siobahn meant by Storvacker being no ordinary bear. She was bigger than any Great Bear that they had ever encountered. If she stood on her hind legs, she could easily dwarf Iron Bull. What did the Avvar feed her? She was painted with Avvarian designs on her fur that signified her status as a Hold-Beast. The size of her claws and maw was enough to shame any wyvern and varghest that was currently living. Just one swipe of her claws would instantly mean death for whoever attacker her, if her teeth didn't tear their head off first. How the hell could anyone put her in there?

She growled and hollered viciously, pounding her enormous paws against the bars to get out. What was this cell made out of that it could keep a beast such as her confined? There was a winch by her cage, it must be how her captors put her in there, and it would also be here way out. Rajmael cautiously, and deliberately, walked over to the winch and made sure Storvacker saw what he was doing.

"What're you doing?!" Sera gasped. "You wanna become this thing's dinner?"

"I hope this bear knows that you're trying to help it." Varric spoke as he slowly backed away.

"She knows I mean to help her." Rajmael assured. "She means none of us any harm. Right?" The massive bear looked at him with a sense of knowing in her big brown eyes. The bears were sacred to the Avvar, and to his people they were guardians of knowledge, favored by Dirthamen. He cranked back the winch and quickly raised the bars, allowing the giant ursine beast to move free.

Just standing on all fours, Storvacker was head-high to Rajmael. With shoulders that could shame a bronto, her whole mass was a giant mountain of muscle with claws that could easily rip the horns off an ogre, she could easily rip Rajmael's head off if he allowed it. But instead, she graciously licked the Inquisitor's hand and walked her way out of the cave. They all followed after the bear, and the instant they made it out of the cave they were met by Storvacker's kidnappers: The Jaws of Hakkon. Big surprise.

"The Inquisitor has freed the sacrifice!" One of the Hakkonite warriors snarled with an axe clenched in his fist. "Kill 'em!"

Rajmael and the others just stood back and watched as the gargantuan, angry, previously caged bear mauled her captors to death. And this time, there were no honey cakes to save them. She disemboweled three of them with one swipe of her vicious claws. She grabbed one of them by the head in her powerful jaws and swung him like a ragdoll, snapping his neck like a twig, and threw him at his comrades, breaking their neck in the process. The archers shot their ice-enchanted couldn't even pierce her thick hide and course fur, it only made Storvacker mad. Within seconds, the Hakkonite's realized the often fatal folly of invoking a hungry bear's anger and were quickly reduced to shredded slabs of torn flesh and broken bones that would be feasted on by the crows.

Later, Back at Stone-Bear Hold...

Rajmael and the others had arrived back at the Avvar village with Storvacker accompanying them. The entire Hold was a volatile mix of relieved joy and heinous outrage. Thane Sun-Hair was feeling outrage to the homicidal capacity.

"Goat-shagging, piss-for-blood, dung-eating Hakkonite chicken-shits!" The angry Thane spat. "Thank you, Inquisitor. You have done my people a great service. My hunters saw what you and Storvacker did to the Hakkonites who captured her. In trapping Storvacker, the Jaws of Hakkon have broken their peace-oath with Stone-Bear Hold. Our blades are yours."

"Thank you, Thane Sun-Hair. The Jaws of Hakkon have greviously offended both our peoples." Rajmael spoke.

"More so than ye might think." Siobahn whispered grimly, her face veiled with foreboding.

"What were the Hakkonites trying to do with your Hold-Beast, anyway?" Cassandra asked.

The Thane became just as grim and dark as the Skin-Chaner's, and there was a glint of shame in both women's eyes. "It is not something you will like. Indeed, it is something very few Avvar would ever speak of, let alone tell to any Lowlander...but you must hear it. You've earned the right to know."

"Many generations ago, the first fools to call themselves The Jaws of Hakkon sought to bind the god of winter and war, and wage war on the Lowlands." Siobahn recounted dismally.

"Wait a minute...when you say 'god' do you mean the kind you bow down and worship kind of god?" Varric asked disbelievingly. "That kind of god?"

"Yes. Hakkon Wintersbreath, bringer of the cold winds and harbinger of war." Thane Svarrah answered with reverent respect.

"That cannot be." Cassandra denied. "There are no other gods, save for the Maker."

"Right, what she said." Sera agreed. "There can't be the Maker and a bunch of other gods running around, right?"

Cassandra was a logical woman who preferred to use her pragmatism and headstrong attitude to perform her duties as a Seeker, and relied on her faith to always answer what she didn't understand. But Cassandra had no way of comprehending or dealing with something that defied both her logic and her faith. Sera, on the other hand, preferred to keep her world small and if there was something that would force her to expand her horizons, she'd deny it's very existence until it went away.

"Say that all ye like, but the gods of the Frostbacks were here long before your Maker, and they'll be here even after the world ends." Siobahn responded indifferently.

"How does someone, anyone, bind a god?" Rajmael asked trying to keep on track.

"With lots of blood, and foolish rituals. Rituals that require a powerful sacrifice, like what they going to do Storvacker." Siobahn answered. "And though ye have given them pause, they will try again. Ages ago, the first Jaws of Hakkon did the same. They brought their god to life to destroy the Lowlands. Their foolish actions lost Hakkon to all Avvar, and now Gurd Harofsen seeks to set him free and start the madness again."

"What do you mean that their actions lost Hakkon to all Avvar?"

"When they bound him to mortal form, he became blood and bone of this world." Siobahn answered. "He could no longer hear prayers, nor speak to the augers. All he could do was kill. And then he simply vanished instead of dying. It was as if he was rendered mute, lost for ages."

"If they sought to free Hakkon from his mortal prison, I could understand. But using him as a battering ram to attack the Lowlands is a fool's task." Svarrah lamented. "The gods belong in the land of dreams where they may help guide our people."

"What mortal form did the original Hakkonites bind their god in?"

Than Sun-Hair laughed as though the Inquisitor was joking. "Ha! Why, the only mortal form befitting the god of war, Inquisitor: a dragon, of course!"

"A dragon?! Are you absolutely sure of that?" Suddenly everything Rajmael was looking for and everything he had learned fell together like a perfect puzzle. Now it all made sense.

"It's not something any Avvar would forget. The Jaws of Hakkon certainly haven't. Why?"

"Eight-hundred years ago, Inquisitor Ameridan came here in search of a dragon that was destroying the Lowlands." Rajmael answered. "A dragon that came down from the mountains accompanied by Avvar warriors. A dragon large and powerful enough to rival an Archdemon. And it seems neither the Inquisitor or the dragon came back from that encounter."

"Ah. Your Inquisitor Ameridan must have been a great warrior indeed to have faced and stopped Hakkon Wintersbreath himself." Svarrah praised.

Rajmael was quite surprised. "You have no problem that a prominent Chantry figure killed your god."

"Your last Inquisitor did not kill Hakkon. That would have been easier, for he would have been reborn and returned to us." Svarrah clarified. "And besides, I find no fault with a man fighting to protect his home and people, and have nothing but respect for a warrior brave enough to face down a god. Not so different from you, I suppose, Inquisitor."

"If the Jaws of Hakkon seek to revive their god to wage war on the Lowlands, then we must stop them now, and find out how Inquisitor Ameridan stopped Hakkon in the first place."

"Then let us gather our forces, and we shall form a battle plan together." Svarrah Sun-Hair rose to ready her men, and sinister smile crept across Siobahn Skin-Changer's heart-shaped face.

A Short Time Later...

With Stone-Bear Hold's warriors armed and ready, Rajmael and his company met back up with Thane Sun-Hair and Siobahn. In place of his absent councilors who were back at Skyhold, Rajmael brought in both Scout Harding and Professor Kenric for any tactical input. Both of them had done much in the Inquisition's mission to find Ameridan's resting place, and deserved to know what the plan for its final outcome.

"Your scout and your skald have arrived Inquisitor. We can begin planning for the final assault." Svarrah announced.

"Oh, I like the sound of 'skald' much better than 'Professor'." Kenric admitted excitedly.

"Ahem. Professor, you're doing that thing again." Scout Harding reminded.

"Oh, right. Well, ahem, everything we've found out about Ameridan suggest that he never emerged from that Tevinter fortress where the Hakkonites are." The Professor stated.

"If that is where your last Inquisitor defeated Hakkon, then that is where Thane Harofsen must perform the rite to free him." Thane Sun-Hair added.

"Then we have to get in there and stop this ritual before it can be completed." Rajmael asserted. "I'm not sure the world could handle another godlike figure with a dragon running around."

"You really have no problem with us killing your god?" Scout Harding asked curiously.

"Ha. Gods cannot truly die, Stone-Child, only reborn." Siobahn laughed. "And it would seem Hakkon could really use a good rebirthing."

"If you say so."

"With the ice-wall destroyed, the fortress is open to attack." Svarrah pointed out. "And without Storvacker, they cannot bind Hakkon to another vessel. You have disrupted their plans and struck a serious blow against them. Now is the time to strike before they have time to recover."

"They already trying." Scout Harding informed. "I've already got most of our men protecting the shrine from Hakkonites who want to restore the wall."

"The Tevinters who built that fortress made it to last." Rajmael groaned. "And we simply don't have the time or any viable passes to bring in more men or any engines to lay a siege."

"A siege? That won't be necessary." Thane Sun-Hair assured.

Kenric also saw their dilemma. "I'm no warrior, but with Scout Harding's men guarding the shrine and no way to breach the walls...?"

"Lowlanders...Why not simply climb the walls?" The Thane laughed.

"Your warriors can get over those walls before the Hakkonites can stop them?" Harding asked skeptically.

"This is not a war, Stone-Daughter. This is a raid, something my warriors are masters of." Svarrah assured with full confidence. "We strike at night, clad lightly. We climb the walls, and open the gates for you from the inside."

"I can have our forces feign a retreat, that should make the Hakkonites confident enough to draw more men out the fort and away from the ritual." Harding said confidently.

"If we're going to be attacking Avvar, we may as well fight like Avvar. Let's finish this." Rajmael asserted eagerly. "While your men climb the walls, we'll draw their attention by attacking the front gate. That give your men an ample distraction."

"I'll be joining ye, if ye don't mind." Siobahn stated with fervent anticipation. "I want to hear Gurd Harofsen's screams as you send him to the Lady, and I'm going to remember that sound every night when I go to sleep. And I've got the perfect distraction to help get those door opened for ye."

Rajmael wasn't sure who he was more scared of right now, the prospect of fighting a god-possessed dragon, or just being around Siobahn. Now he could definitely see her being the bond-sister to Aedan Cousland. And he dreaded what kind of distraction she had in mind.

Later that night, at the gates of the Tevinter Fotress...

The Inquisitor and his company hid in the shadows of night, ready to begin their final assault on the Jaws of Hakkon. The warriors of Stone-Bear Hold moved swiftly and silently as they began to scale up the fortress walls like thieves in the night. Now was the time to attack.

Siobahn approached Rajmael. "Before anything begins, ye must take these. Yer lives may depend on them." She handed him a satchel full of vials containing a strange blue liquid. "If that fool Gurd Harofsen is truly going to summon the spirit of Hakkon Wintersbreath, then he will bathe the whole ruin in ice-magic to keep ye from getting close to him. These salves will give yer bodies the strength to fight his enchantments."

Rajmael held one of the vials in his hand looked at blue glowing contents. He could feel both magic and a strange warmth emanating from it. "What exactly is this made from?"

"Probably best ye don't know. Because it may have some bogfisher blubber, gurgut stomach acids and some whiskey for that extra kick."

"Wait, what?!"

But before Rajmael could give any word of protest, Siobahn was already making her move. She walked towards the front gate and began to casually cast off her clothing.

"What in the Maker's name is she doing?!" Cassandra couldn't believe her eyes.

"Stripping down naked or so it would seem." Dorian answered blithely.

"I see some of the tales of the Avvar barbarians aren't exaggerations." Solas observed disinterestedly.

"Ugh. These savages have no sense of decency." Vivienne groaned.

"She wants people to watch. If they look at her, then they won't see what she's doing." Cole whispered with his eyes also stuck on Siobahn.

"Normally you have to pay to see something like this." Blackwall commented.

"I know a certain Rivaini pirate who would literally murder to be seeing some of this action." Varric chuckled.

"Shut up! You're ruining the show." Sera hissed.

"Oh, yeah, that's the stuff. Take it all off slowly...make us forget our troubles." Iron Bull sighed lecherously. "Oh, I wish I wasn't wearing any armor right now."

The cold air seemed to have no effect on her, as she wore only enough august ram leather clothing to barely cover her now perky breasts and nether regions. Rajmael could hear Iron Bull, Sera, Varric and even Cole breathing heavy just watching her strut. The moonlight shimmered off the sultry mage's pale skin and golden hair as she swaggered her curvaceous hips, and with every step she took she purposely showed off her long, supple legs. Siobahn stopped in front of the gates and posed before it, showing off her generous feminine assets to her would-be victims on the battlements.

"Ohhh Hakkonites! Come out and play-yyy!" Siobahn called with mocking desire.

"Ha-Ha-Ha! What is this?!" A hulking Hakkonite laughed boastfully from the battlements. He jumped down from the fortress walls right in front of Siobahn, leaving a small crater where he landed. "Have you come to offer yourself to Hakkon, you soft piece of mink?"

"I've got this unbearable hunger that is just driving me mad. I was hoping one of you big strong Hakkonites could...satisfy it." Siobahn pouted her lips and batted her eyes. She leaned forward, giving the towering Hakkonite a clear view of her bountiful cleavage.

While Siobahn was distracting the Hakkonites, and Inquisition, her kin was skillfully climbing the walls and slitting the throats of the distracted guard. Rajmael noticed that Iron Bull and Sera were both getting nosebleeds from watching Siobahn do her job, while Cassandra, Solas and Vivienne looked away from the shameful display. Blackwall also turned his head away, but his eyes kept darting back to the scene with blushing cheeks. Cole actually couldn't take his eyes away; now that he was a real boy, he was filled with natural curiosities. And Dorian actually seemed genuinely impressed with the Avvar mage's tactic.

The muscle-bound guard was now breathing hard and boldly cusped one of Siobahn's perky breasts. "Oh, I'd be more than happy to satisfy any hunger you've got."

"Really? Oh, well, let me thank you properly." Siobahn clasped the Hakkonite's rough hand to her bosom and brought his course-bearded face closer to hers. Everyone watched in shock at what happened within a split second. The lecherous Hakkonite didn't even have time to react when Siobahn morphed into a giant bear and bit his head right off.

"FORWARD!" Rajmael's order ripped the night silence apart and everyone charged the fortress.

"We're under attack! Sound the alar-hrgkh!" The remaining guards were cut off when the raiders of Stone-Bear Hold slit their throats.

With the guards taken care of, they opened the doors to the rest of their forces. And none too soon. More Hakkonites emerged from the fortress when they realized what was happening. Soon the Hakkonites came pouring out of the ruin like maggots from a dead carcass, but thankfully, they were met by the full might of Stone-Bear Hold and their secret weapon: a certain really big, really pissed off bear named Storvacker.

With both their Hold-Beast and the Skin-Changer leading their charge, the warriors of Stone-Bear Hold lanced through the gates and engaged their blasphemous rivals. Storvacker attacked the men who dared to try and make a sacrifice out of her, mauling and goring them with her claws and teeth. Siobahn morphed her form from bear to wolf and to eagle, and crushed the bones, tore the flesh and ripped throats of her enemies with claw, fang and talon.

Thane Sun-Hair led her men against their Hakkonite rivals with her massive bear-headed maul. She demonstrated her legendary warrior status as she swung her war hammer with speed and dexterity that broke the Hakkonites' bodies and smashed their skulls. Tonight she would remind the Jaws of Hakkon why Stone-Bear Hold was not to be trifled with.

"Go now, Inquisitor!" Thane Sun-Hair yelled. "Stop Harofsen's madness before he summons Hakkon. We will make his followers pay the blood-price." Svarah, Storvacker and Sionahn led their brothers against the Hakkonites, breaking their bones, mauling their bodies, and ripping their limbs. They would make the Hakkonites realize the folly of their arrogance. They would find no glory in fighting against Stone-Bear Hold, only blood, death and pain.

The battle played out much like a one-sided barroom brawl: jerks being swarmed on by the men they pissed off and their friends. Bodies and debris flew everywhere the but the Hakkonites weren't smart enough to know when to run away, getting knocked down and trying to get back up, only to get knocked down again. While the Avvar were having the time of their life, rest of them tried moving out of their by keeping their heads down. While their Avvar allies took care of their enemies in the courtyard, Rajmael led his team straight to the ruin.

Once inside, the instant the door closed behind them, all of them felt the power of the forces Gurd Harofsen was playing with like an ignorant child. The entire ruin, the very air itself, was gripped in the frigid, uncaring grasp of the harshest winter. The cold bit into them like a hungry animal and seeped into the very being until they could feel their bones starting to freeze inside of them.

"This is cold is magical, some kind of last defense. It will kill us if we do not hurry." Solas shivered through his teeth.

"Everyone take one of these vials now!" Right now none of them cared if disgusting smelling salves were made, right now they'd drink dawkspawn blood and horse shit if it could help them fight this biting cold. They held their noses and downed every drop of the blue liquid. An explosion of warmth erupted inside them and crept through their whole bodies, causing the cold gripping their bodies to disappear.

"And here I though accepting strange drinks from strange people only led to me waking up in a barn with my horse and clothes stolen." Blackwall sighed as his body warmed up.

"We have to get moving. Gurd Harofsen has to be here somewhere." Cassandra asserted.

"Wait. Listen..." Rajmael urged.

There was a growling voice being carried by the cold winds and echoing throughout the ruin like the voices of a battle march. It was Harofsen himself reciting some kind of song. Or an incantation.

We sing the song of Savage Hakkon

Born in battle, bloody-bladed

Meet the might of Mountain-Father

Crush the Creed of Korth the Callow

Leave the Lady lost and lonely

Scour the sky of spirits sallow

Gurd Harofsen, called the Cutter, Wyver-Slayes, Lowland-Bane

Begs mighty Hakkon bring his body bloody blessings, cold and pain!

"He's trying to summon the spirit of Hakkon into his own body!" Solas realized.

"Is he insane?!" Cassandra couldn't believe any willingly doing such a thing.

"I hope that was a rhetorical question, Seeker. Of course he's insane, why else would he be doing this?" Dorian said sarcastically.

"We have to end this now! I've already got one would-be god to deal with, I don't need another running around fucking things up." Rajmael spat.

The further they went into the ruin, the colder it became, but thanks Siobahn's ice salves keeping them warm, the ice-wards the Hakkonites set up no longer had any effect on them. The ruin was lightly guarded. Most of the Hakkonites had been drawn out and were fighting the Inquisition forces and the Avvar. Harofsen must have thought that his wards would be enough to keep out any possible intruders, but he would most likely be surrounded by his own guards to protect the ritual.

They got closer to the ritual site where Harofsen's voice became louder as he continued to recite his damned ritualistic prayer. They all looked down towards the ritual site and where beheld in awe and horror at the site of the ritual. A dragon of epic proportions magically frozen in midair. It was like a Great Mistral, only even greater. It's folded wings were of such immense size and width it could uproot trees just by flapping them. Its scales were white a snow with jagged black stripes like claw marks over its body, just like the war pain the Hakkonites wore. Of all the dragon Rajmael had encountered in his time with the Inquisition, the only one that could compare to this awesome beast was the false Archdemon that Corypheus commanded.

They all looked down at the bottom floor where the ritual was being conducted and noticed that a swirling vortex of magic was being emitted from something resting on top of the huge rock just beneath the immense beast. Whatever spell that was done, it was strong enough to hold back a god-possessed dragon. Right below the dragon stood Thane Gurd Harofsen standing on a summoning glyph surrounded by his remaining guards while his spell-binders circling him and reciting their incantations. While he screamed his prayer at the top of his lungs, the mages were activating a spell that seemed to be siphoning the spirit of Hakkon out of the dragon and guiding it into Harofsen's own being. The bastard was actually crazy enough to do it.

We sing the song of Savage Hakkon

Born in battle, bloody-bladed

Meet the might of Mountain-Father

Crush the Creed of Korth the Callow

Leave the Lady lost and lonely

Scour the sky of spirits sallow

Gurd Harofsen, called the Cutter, Wyver-Slayes, Lowland-Bane

Begs mighty Hakkon bring his body bloody blessings, cold and pain!

The Inquisition all charged down to the ritual site with everything they had. Harofsen's guards met their assault to give their mages more time, but it didn't matter, the inquisition did not make it this far just to lose now. Vivienne conjured a wall of ice around some of the Hakkonites, funneling them into a narrow pass. they tried to get away from it but forced back by Blackwall and Cassandra, making them easy targets for Sera and Varric's arrows. One of the bruisers managed to jump out from between the walls of fire and steel and was met by Iron Bull. Iron Bull swung high and Cassandra came in low, making the hammer-swinging barbarian flip ass over kettle.

Cole and Rajmael found themselves surrounded by a group of Hakkonite rogues. They shattered vials at their feet that made them disappear in puffs of smoke. But it didn't matter. Cole threw several knives into the rock formation on his right flank and three Hakkonites fell out of the shadows dead with his knives stuck in their hearts and heads. Rajmael stood silently and waited, his sword sheathed. His heightened Arcane Warrior senses allowed him to sense where they were coming. Four rogue burst from out of nowhere, pouncing at him from all sides with their ice-enchanted daggers. They landed on him and plunged their daggers deep into his body, or so they thought. All they hit was his afterimage as he dashed behind them, then through them with one, two, three, four deft strokes, and all fell to the ground with their heads rolling off their shoulders.

While the others were fighting through the remainder of Harofsen's guards, Dorian and Solas tried to disrupt his mage's conjuring. The Hakkonite mages had set up some kind of barrier to protect the ritual. It needed to come down. Solas concentrated his will on the Veil surrounding the mages, trying to dispel their enchantment and disrupt their connection to the Fade and bring down the barrier. Dorian had an advantage over these Southern barbarian mages; while Solas tried to interrupt their spell-binding, he conjured fire glyphs around them, and they were too busy to notice. The glyphs exploded into balls of flame that caught on the Hakkonite mages like paper. With mages' concentration broken, Solas was able to bring down the barrier.

"Inquisitor, now!" Solas shouted.

With an attack now open, Rajmael performed a magnificent leap into the air and came down on Gurd Harofsen with all his might and power behind his sword. The Thane grinned mockingly at the elven Inquisitor with a powerful, twisted gleam in his eyes. The Enasalin barely made contact with Gurd Harofsen when everything around both warriors exploded in flash of bright light, sending Rajmael flying back in the air and landed hard on the ground, his sword knocked out of his hand.

Rajmael staggered to his feet and tried to focus his vision so he could see straight. When the smoke cleared, a sense of shock and horror filled the frigid air at what they all found. The muscle-bound, axe-wielding giant had been replaced by a massive, ghoulish monstrosity carrying a sword a long as it was tall with the blade inscribed with heinous runes, and a pair of haunting blues eyes over a set of sharp teeth in a draconic helm. The spirit of Hakkon had turned Gurd Harofsen into a Revenant.

"Ha-Ha-Ha! I WILL BRING COLD AND DEATH TO THE LOWLANDS! COME! FACE YOUR DEATH, INQUISITOR!" The demon-possessed Avvar challenged. The Revenant extended its mailed claw at the Inquisitor and used a telekinetic attack to pull Rajmael on to his extended sword, to impale him on his grotesque blade.

If it wasn't for Rajmael's Shimmering Shield he would have been pinned like a butterfly on the Abomination's sword. He was held up in midair by Harofsen's newfound powers as he tried to pull him onto his sword and skewer him, but his Shield held strong. Rajmael increased his Shield's power while the Revenant pulled even harder to stick his blade through the captured elf. The Inquisitor could feel the tip of the icy cold weapon breaking through his magical defense, the more he resisted, the more powerfully the Revenant thrusted his sword. Rajmael was burning too much mana trying to keep his Shield up, had to get out of the creature's grip.

A shrill cry echoed throughout the ruin and a beautiful giant golden eagle flew out of nowhere and descended on Harofsen. It's powerful talons dug deep into the possessed warrior's face, shredding chunks of flesh of his skull. The Revenant screamed in rage and smacked the offensive raptor right out of the air. The eagle fell to the ground unconscious. The eagle's form melted away and revealed it's true form as Siobahn Skin-Changer.

Thanks to Siobahn's bravery, Rajmael was now free of that telekinetic attack and able to summon his sword back into his hand.

"Eat shit, Harofsen!" The enraged Arcane Warrior threw an arc of veilfire from his sword and into the Revenant's face. Harofsen screamed in enraged agony and lost his telekinetic grip on the Dalish elf.

The elf squared off against the towering Abomination, his sword held tightly in his grip. He attacked with magically enhanced speed, but Harofsen matched it and kept him at bay with the length of his sword. Sparks flew off both the leaders' magical blades as the slashed back and forth between each other, Rajmael trying to get close enough to hit the Revenant and Harofsen keeping him off balance while trying to cut the Inquisitor in two.

"Rajmael!" Cassandra rushed over to her lover to aid in his fight. The Seeker felt the magic pulsating inside the Abomination like a sick fever and summoned her power to purge it with holy light. Perhaps she could weaken the spirit of Hakkon that possessed Harofsen. But it was to no avail, the foul magic possessing the Avvar war leader was too strong, and the corrupted spirit of Hakkon clung to him like a disease.

Rajmael and Cassandra tried combining their efforts and attacks, but it was still too difficult. The Revenant swung its freakishly long sword at them both simultaneously with incredible speed and dexterity and blocked their attacks with its demonic shield. Harofsen used a telekinetic push to knock Cassandra away and resumed his attack on the Inquisitor. Rajmael masterfully dodged and parried each attack, but Harofsen recovered and continued his assault.

This couldn't go on much longer. Rajmael could feel the draught Siobahn gave them was starting to wear off, and the possessed Harofsen was emitting some kind off powerful cold enchantment that would freeze them all if this kept going. They had to end it now, but none of them could get close enough so long as it had that damned sword. And then Rajmael remembered the technique Nethras' father taught him when he was young.

Rajmael held his stance once more, his sword burning with veilfire and waited for the exact moment. Harofsen lunged forward with his sword like a lance, aiming to finish what he started and impale the elven Inquisitor. Time slowed down for Rajmael, and just barely moved out of the sword's devastating strike. And in three moves, he flawlessly performed the technique he was taught. He blocked the sword away from him, then struck it upwards, then finished the attack with a downwards stroke with all his might behind it, and his sword burning like a bonfire. The Revenant's sword shattered like glass. Junnarel would have been proud.

"Everyone attack NOW!" Rajmael ordered. Harofsen may have had immense power now, but that didn't mean he knew how to use it. The Inquisitor and his followers would show him what true power was, and why fighting gods was there specialty.

Dorian reached out into the Fade and summoned several wisps through the Veil and placed them into the corpses of several dead Hakkonites. The undead minions picked up their weapons and viciously attacked their former leader. They managed to stick their weapons into Harofsen before he cleaved them open with his mailed claws. Dorian followed through with a barrage of fire spells.

After witnessing their leader break the Revenant's sword, Blackwall swung his ancient Avvarian mace and broke the neck of the Hakkonite guard he was fighting. Blackwall let that strutting ponce Dorian get all the hits in on this bastard. He flashed a knowing glance at Iron Bull, and both knew what they were going to do.

"Iron Bull. Move on my strike!" Blackwall called.

"Got it!" Iron Bull answered.

Blackwall clenched the Thunderstrike in his hand, the lightning enchantment crackled with the might of a thunderstorm, and threw it with all his might. The ancient Avvar relic flew like a comet right at the Revenant. Harfosen blocked the weapon with his shield and screamed a shrill cry as the Avvar mace bounced off the shield was destroyed in an explosion of blue lightning. With no time to think, Blackwall quickly picked up his mace and joined in Rajmael and Cassandra's attack.

Not seconds after Blackwall's attack destroyed Harofsen's shield, Iron Bull jumped off a boulder and dove at the possessed Avvar with his axe, to cleave his skull in half. But Harofsen quickly regenerated and caught Iron Bull in midair by the neck.

"Kid, your turn!" Iron Bull yelled and planted his massive fist into the Revenant's rotting face.

Cole jumped out of the shadows and jumped on Harofsen's back, repeatedly planting his daggers deep into the enemy's body.

"You will not hurt any more people!" Cole yelled with every stab of his blades. He stabbed his dagger into Harofsen's neck and forced him to raise his head up.

Several arrows flew from Sera's bow and landed in Gurd Harofsen's chest. Sera ran up to him and nimbly jumped up each of the arrows like they were stepping posts and smashed one of he Fire Flasks in his face. Harofsen's whole skull became a big ball of fire. "Hope yer hungry, arse-biscuit!"

"Bianca, introduce yourself!" Varric launched one of those anti-cold salves Siobahn gave them into the Abomination's burning face. If this bastard was made of cold, then having that salve in his face probably was going to feel too good.

Vivienne held her staff firmly in her hand and prepared her spell. She knew full well that her trademark ice spells would have no effect on this possessed savage, she needed to do something else. It had been some time, but she still remembered how to use her ethereal blade in her training as a Knight-Enchanter. The Imperial Enchanter drew out her spirit-sword and activated it's magical blade. Not wanting to get caught between one of her fellows in the melee, she threw her ethereal blade at the Abomination and stuck right through its ribs, causing the creature even more damage before the blade dissipated.

Solas could feel the spirit of Hakkon dwelling within Gurd Harofsen like a virus, it's corrupted presence polluting the Avvar chieftain's whole being. Despite the damage his comrades were dealing the creature, it would recover because of how powerful the possessed spirit was. But if the spirit was battered by attacks from the Fade itself, it would disrupt the connection between the spirit and the host. The elven apostate extended his will and manipulated the very fabric of Veil and struck at the spirit of Hakkon with pure Fade energy, disrupting the Revenant's healing power and dealing massive spirit damage.

Even with the power of Hakkon he coveted so much filling his soul, Thane Harofsen was unable to stand against the combined strength and anger of the Inquisitor and his companions. The warriors hacked at him like he was a ram being slaughtered while the rogues and mages peppered him with arrows, daggers and magic. The attacks were so vicious his newfound healing factor could barely keep up with it. And with both his weapons shattered, all he could do was make vain attacks with his claws. This could not be happening. It cannot! Not after everything he had done to claim his rightful power.

"This cannot be! I cannot be defeated! I AM HAKKON REBORN!" Harofsen denied even as he was being cut down and eviscerated by anger of the Inquisition.

"SILENCE!" The Inquisitor commanded as his sylvanwood blade burning with veilfire lanced straight through Harofsen's chest and silenced him. The mighty Thane fell to the frozen floor like a felled oak with a powerful crash.

Everyone watched in disturbed awe as the powerful Revenant's form shift back to the true body of Thane Gurd Harofsen. The power of Hakkon's spirit was leaving Gurd's body, leaving behind a ruined, broken, shattered husk of the once powerful Thane riddled with deep gashes, burns, and torn flesh bleeding on the ground with Rajmael's sword sticking out of his chest. And despite the amount of horrible agony he must have been in, Harofsen was laughing at them, mocking them.

"What's so damned funny, shem?" Rajmael demanded.

"You've...hrgkh...you've...accomplished nothing. You've failed!" Harofsen laughed and hacked blood out of his throat. "You...may have beaten me...but I've still won. H-Hakkon will rise. And the Lowlands...will be...destroyed by ice cold death. You...will see Hakkon's might!"

Rajmael grasped the handle of his sword stuck in Harofsen's chest, and twisted it. Hard. Harofsen screamed in pain, hacking up more blood. The Inquisitor placed his foot down on the dying fanatic's head and started applying pressure.

"I'm still not impressed." Rajmael stamped down with all his might, and broke Harofsen's jaw like shattered ice beneath his heel, finally killing him, just as he promised he would.

With Harofsen dead, it was now time to get the answers they had fought so hard to find in this frigid ass-end of the Frostbacks. A set of steps magically lifted up to the boulder where the magic binding the dragon was coming from. They carefully walked up the steps to the top of the giant rock, and none of them could ever have been prepared for what they found there, especially the Inquisitor himself.

All the answers they were looking for were found in their questions. His lover, Telana. The shrine he maid to Andraste and Ghilain'nan. The magic he used to leave clues behind at the shrine. How he was able to seal the dragon possessed by the spirit of Hakkon. Why his personal helmet bore the maker's mark of the Temple of June: Inquisitor Ameridan, who brought the Inquisition into the Chantry, was a mage and a Dalish elf. And now here was, the Last Inquisitor, standing before them as though he were waiting for not even an hour.

Rajmael stared at Ameridan with shock and disbelief. One could almost mistake the two elves as kin. They even bore the same vallaslin that honored Dirthamen.

"In-Inquisitor?" Rajmael beckoned hesitantly.

"Inquisitor." Ameridan welcomed gladly. The elder elven mage smiled at his younger counterpart warmly. "Andaran atish'an, lethallin. I am glad to see Drakon has kept ties with our people."

Rajmael feelings of shock and disbelief were quickly replaced by revilement and disgust at the mere mention of that name. Rajmael hocked in his throat and spat in hatred. "It hasn't. His son, Kordillus the Second allowed the Chantry to call an Exalted March and destroyed the Dales!"

A pained look of shock and sorrow glinted in Ameridan's eyes. "What? That cannot...How long ago?"

"You were the last Inquisitor." Cassandra answered. "There hasn't been another for since you disappeared eight hundred years ago."

"Drakon was my oldest friend, he would have sent someone to come after me." Ameridan insisted.

"He never had the chance. The darkspawn were pouring out of the Anderfels and threatening Orlais." Solas informed.

"I see." A look hesitation came over Ameridan. He wasn't sure he wanted his next question answered. "Telana escaped the battle. Did she...what became of her?"

"Ir abelas, hahren, but Telana died when she returned to the island and tried to reach you in her dreams." Rajmael answered sorrowfully.

"No. I asked her not to. She was a good hunter and the love of my life, but she never..." Pain, loss and regret twisted on the Last Inquisitor's face. "I never wanted this job. Hunting demons was always so much easier than politics."

"Inquisitor Ameridan, how could the leader of the Seekers be a mage?" Cassandra asked with eagerness and disbelief.

"Has history forgotten so much? I was not a Seeker myself, as many Inquisitors were. I used my magical gift in the hunting of demons and malificarum." Ameridan answered. "Do the Seekers no longer welcome the aid of mages?"

"No. That was forgotten as well...among many other things." Cassandra lamented.

"Cassandra is a Seeker." Rajmael informed. "And after the Seekers went rogue, she discovered the truth about them."

"We learned they...developed the Rite of Tranquility." Cassandra revealed regrettably.

"You mean sundering one from the Fade? The Seekers use it briefly to grant their initiates their abilities." Ameridan remembered.

"Now it has become a way to control mages, and even punish them. They are left Tranquil. Permanently." Cassandra shamefully confessed.

Ameridan sighed with dismal regret and anger. "Killing a man is an ugly thing. You learn not to look at it as your first recourse. But sundering them from the Fade is easy. Bloodless. I told them spreading such a 'solution' would lead to abuse. They swore it would never happen. They promised! I...I am so sorry."

"Sorry?" Rajmael said the word like it was an insult. "The Rite of Tranquility is vile! Unnatural! Evil! The entire world was brought to the brink of destruction because of that fucking thing! When Chantry allowed its Templars to use it on mages for any reason, forcing the Circles to finally rebel, causing continental chaos! And you're sorry?!"

"There is nothing I else I can be at this point, lethallin." Ameridan lamented.

Rajmael felt that thing clawing at the back of his mind once again, and a well of outrage and sorrow sprang up inside of him. "I...I don't understand. You...you had to have been the best of us, Ameridan. The greatest of the elves. How could you serve a man like Kordillus Drakon?! How could you give such power to the Chantry?!"

"Try to understand, Inquisitor." Ameridan bade. "I lived in a time of darkness, when dark cults, demons, and chaos ruled. I tried to transition the Inquisition into a force of peace. The Dales was still young, and our people were still weak from millennia of enslavement. I thought Kordillus' Chantry could help give light and protection, and his empire could be the ally our people needed ever since Andraste died. But many of my brethren thought he was no different than the Imperium, and wanted the darkspawn to destroy Orlais. I couldn't let that happen. Did our people not help in the Blight?"

"No. The elves stayed out of the fighting, even as the Blight ravaged Orlais. It led to a cold war with the Dales which eventually erupted into an Exalted March." Vivienne answered in her trademark haughty tone. "Such a waste."

"Without your voice to tell them, the People couldn't see the wisdom in fighting alongside the humans. Not while they still remembered millennia of slavery." Solas added.

"It would seem that by trying to destroy Orlais, the Jaws of Hakkon inadvertently destroyed the Dales." Blackwall sighed.

"Friggin' pride-cookies. Again." Sera commented disrespectfully, earning an angry glare from Rajmael.

"I tried to tell the Hahren'al that that would be a foolish mistake." Ameridan sighed sadly. "We needed to stand with the humans to be seen as equals. I told them we would lose everything we had gained."

"And what did we have to gain in helping against the Blight except leading our people back down the road to destruction? You were wrong, Ameridan. Drakon was no different than the Imperium!" Rajmael spat. "Tell me, how many cities and peoples did he crush to build his empire? How many other religious sects did he destroy for the sake of his Chantry?"

Ameridan said nothing. There was nothing he could say

"That many, huh?" Rajmael sighed angrily. "Do you have any idea what the Chantry did to us? Do you understand what it's like for elves who are ruled by Orlais? They destroyed our kingdom! Stole everything from us, and forced those who surrendered to give up our gods and culture to live like slaves and scum again! While elves like me, the remaining Dalish, are forced to live in the woods like vagabonds. Do you realize the sacrifices we've had to make?! The extremes we take just to survive!?" Rajmael was so overcome with grief and anger that tears were unconsciously welling up in his eyes. "You gave the Chantry the power to destroy us, then they erased you, Thane Shartan and all elves from history like we were nothing! It would have been better if you never helped Drakon at all..."

"Ir abelas, lethallin. Ir tela halam var vhen." Ameridan replied trying to hold back his own tears. "I...only tried to do what I thought was best in dark times. I never wanted this job, to track a dragon to far reaches of nowhere. I had our people to deal with, to try and make them see the reason in helping Orlais against the darkspawn. But Drakon told me I was needed, as I suspect you were needed."

"I never wanted to be a leader or a symbol for a religion I don't believe in." Rajmael confessed. "I had a life, a daughter who needs me."

"And now you have the weight of the world on your shoulders, where all that you love will always be put second. Take moments of joy while you can, Inquisitor. The world will take the rest." Ameridan groaned in pain, and the magic connecting him and the dragon started crackling. "This dragon carries the soul of an Avvar god. I lacked the strength to kill it alone. My own magic was able to bind us, locked in time. But when the cultists tried moving the soul into another vessel, it disrupted my bindings, and now it is breaking free."

"Then let us finish this together, as elves and Inquisitors." Rajmael urged.

"I would relish at the chance for such a hunt, Lethallin, but it is not to be." Ameridan smiled sadly. "The passage of years can be delayed, but never ignored. I will soon join Telana at Andraste's side with Falon'din and the Creators."

"Waging war with human-made gods has become my specialty. I will finish what you started." Rajmael promised.

"Then I leave the world in good hands. Take this." Ameridan handed his counterpart an ancient, and extremely powerful bow laced with magic.

"This...this is Andruil's Gift." Rajmael beheld with reverence. "This was one of our most sacred relic. The Dalish all thought it was taken by the humans during the Exalted March."

"No, I took this bow from the Temple of Andruil and used it in every dragon hunt I went on. May it serve you well in the hunt I couldn't finish." Ameridan bequeathed with his blessing. "Mala ghil-dirthalen. You are the best of our people now. It was an honor to meet you...Inquisitor." Ameridan closed his eyes smilingly. He released his spell on the dragon, and fell into dust. His duty finally over and could find peace.

They all stood stunned. Of all the answers they expected to find in searching for Ameridan, they never expected anything so revolutionary. The truth about Ameridan could unfound centuries of Chantry propaganda and so-called history. But none felt the impact of this revelation more than Rajmael, for no one more effected by Ameridan's life than their own people. Rajmael never knew the truth could be so bitter.

"That Inquisitor wasn't like most elves. Good for him." Sera remarked smugly.

"Inquisitor Ameridan, who brought the Inquisition into the Chantry, and established the Chantry as we know it, was a Dalish elf. And he honored both the Maker and the elven gods." Cassandra said with awed respect.

"They are not so different, Kordillus. Just a different pair of boots to walk the same road." Cole spoke the memory of Ameridan with sadness in his voice. "He doesn't see, wants it kept simple. One god, one empire to bring order to the world. But I will make him see. Instead, he died here, but before everything else he cared for died."

"It is a rare thing for a man to honor both beliefs equally, and to do so much without any knowing the real truth." Solas said with more than respect. It was as though he could relate. "He didn't do this to be remembered, he did it because it was necessary. And the world dishonored him."

Dorian shook his head in disbelief. "In Tevinter, we still sing the Canticles of Thane Shartan and remember him. The Chantry should have done the same, and remembered what those men did."

"When the Chantry and Orlais learn of this, they'll be shitting bricks, I swear." Blackwall commented.

"Indeed." Vivienne agreed. "And all the Orlesian families who claim to be descendants of Ameridan will be discredited and shamed."

"Damn. Now that...that guy was basalit-an." Iron Bull saluted in awe. "Anaan."

"Both the last and current Inquisitors are Dalish elves who try bring order in a world gone mad." Varric stated. "Either that is the most crazy coincidence in history, or you really do have the Maker looking on ya."

Rajmael looked at the dwarf with grief on his face. "If it was the Maker's will that I be made Inquisitor, and Ameridan's action came at the cost of my people's future, then He...is truly a sick, twisted and evil god, indeed."

The whole ruin shook, and they were all snapped back into reality as epic dragon began to stir and awaken. With Ameridan's spell no longer holding it back, the dragon broke free, roaring with life and broke through the roof, flying into the Basin. Hakkon Wintersbreath was finally free to wreak devastation on the world.

"Holy shit!" Varric cursed. All of them watched in bedeviled horror as the godlike creature flew off into the distance.

"We have to stop this creature before it destroys the Basin and moves on to the rest of Southern Thedas." Cassandra urged.

Iron Bull smiled joyfully as cracked his neck and flexed his heavy muscles. "Oh, good. Another dragon fight. And this time it's a god-dragon. This is gonna be fun."

"But how are we going to fight it while it's flying? Can we make it come down?" Cole asked honestly.

Cole's question was a serious concern. In all the times they've killed dragons, they were able to do so by baiting it towards them or invading its lair. The dragon carrying the spirit of Hakkon however, was focused only on destroying everything in its path and moving on to destroy some more. How could they bring it down?

Rajmael stared at the bow in his hands. There was no string to fire its projectiles, it didn't need one. Ameridan left him a single enchanted arrow, it was all he needed. His finger traced over the inscription on the bow written in ancient elvhen, his elven eyes were capable of reading the forgotten language. Even after eight hundred years of being dormant, Rajmael could still feel the powerful magic residing in this weapon and streaming into his arms like electricity. This was no wooden bow like the Dalish made, but forged with a material and technique of an age long forgotten. A true elvhen weapon. Never in all his life did Rajmael dream of finding this lost sacred piece of his people's history. And in this bow, he found the answer to Cole's question.

"We challenge him." Rajmael answered with deathly determination burning in his eyes. "That dragon is Avvar god of war, their ultimate warrior. And no Avvar warrior can ever turn down a challenge."

"So we challenge the beast, then what?" Blackwall questioned. "How are to combat such a creature and kill it?"

"It is not an unsound tactic, my dear, but how are we to ground such a beast?" Vivienne questioned.

"With this." Rajmael revealed the bow to his companions. "Andruil's Gift will sunder Hakkon Wintersbreath from the very sky."

"That?" Sera chortled doubtfully. "That stupid elfy bow doesn't even have a string! And can you even use a bow?"

"This weapon doesn't need a string, or even arrows." Rajmael answered grimly. "It just needs the will to use it. And all Dalish elves know how to use a bow."

A shrill cry split the air and shook the ground, and they all felt Hakkon's fury smashing the mountains.

"Whatever is to be done, it must be done now." Solas counseled urgently.

Following Solas' sage advice, they quickly brushed themselves off and moved out. They needed to go out and face the full might of the god of winter and war. And Rajmael would show Hakkon what it meant to do battle with the Inquisitor.

~XoXoXo~

Rajmael and the others finally caught up to the Hakkon-possessed dragon. Rajmael had slain many dragons thus far, but this beast was something else entirely; larger, stronger, more powerful, and it held the soul of an Avvar god. This creature was more akin to an Archdemon than anything else. This dragon with all of Hakkon's rage and might was already laying waste to the Basin. The beat of its powerful wings uprooted trees like a hurricane. Its roar was greater than any storm that heralded impending doom. And the breath from its maw was the mightiest blizzard anyone had ever seen. Truly, this was Hakkon Wintersbreath, Avvar god of Winter and War.

Hakkon's rage shook the very ground and destroyed the earth beneath him. He had already turned Cloudcap lake into a frozen tundra. If this kept up, Corypheus wouldn't be the only would-be god destroying the world. This must end. But none of them could do anything so long as the beast was airborne.

Rajmael knelt down, bracing himself, and held the Andruil's Gift firmly in his grip in his grip. His magic, his very will, charged through the bow, bringing it to life and making a string of pure magic connect between the powerful limbs together. The string hummed with power, like the charge in the air before a summer storm. The Inquisitor felt the ancient magic of this sacred weapon vibrate and surge through his arms.

Rajmael aimed the arrow at the dragon while flew and remembered Nethras and Junnarel's words when he taught him how to use the bow, the most sacred of all elvhen weapons. Anticipate his quarry's movement. Let the beat of his wings be one with his own heartbeat. Don't think, but feel. Let his instincts guide his aim. Let the arrow, the bow and his very soul become one.

"Andruil, blood and force, Lady of The Hunt, I prey to you. Turn your fatal gaze on to this worthy prey. Grant me glory. Grant me victory over this foe whose crimes against The People cannot be measured. Strike him down with your Gift. Sunder him from the very sky. Bring flying death to this creature who brought ruin to my people. Las ar ensalin, ten las ar atishan." And with that prayer, Rajmael let his arrow fly. The fury of a gathered storm flew forth from the bow's golden limbs, it's projectile flew forward with the screams of the south wind carrying it.

Rajmael cried in pain when thunder erupted from the bowstring, the explosion of such powerful and ancient magic caused the bow to explode in Rajmael hand and shattered his arm. The arrow flew like flaming lance as it hurled through the air. The destructive projectile found its mark in the dragon, and sundered its mighty wigs from its immense body. The colossal beast hurled down to the ice-island it created with a booming crash that resonated throughout the Basin. Rajmael had done the impossible, and struck a god to the earth.

"FACE ME AND DIE, INQUISITOR! YOUR PREDECESSOR COULD NOT DEFEAR ME, YOU SHALL FARE NO DIFFERENT!" The dragon roared with utter rage that split the very air. "I AM THE BREATH OF WINTER, THE COLD WIND OF WAR! I AM HAKKON REBORN!"

Rajmael's arm throbbed in pain as he gritted through his teeth, "I'm still waiting to be impressed."

Hakkon didn't keep the elf waiting long. A blast of ice erupted from the dragon's throat and flew straight at the insolent elf.

On instinct, Rajmael executed the same maneuver he had used against Corypheus' pet Archdemon in Haven and reflected the attack. The force behind the blast was no different than the Archdemon's but Sweet Sylaise it was freezing! This wasn't ice, but rather Fade-touched ice. Even in that brief moment of parrying, the "cold wind of war" seeped through Rajmael's shimmering shield and all but froze the lyrium solid in his veins. But the Arcane Warrior did parry, nonetheless, and sent the dragon own attack flying right back at it.

The Inquisitor was already feeling the effect of such a dangerous maneuver. His bones, muscles, even his blood felt like they had frozen and were ready to shatter under any strain. But he could not let up, not now. With Hakkon dazed again, Rajmael began to give out tactical orders. "Take it down!" he yelled as he fought to remain standing on legs that had lost feeling. "Mages and archers, spread out! Ranged support for the warriors!"

But Hakkon would have none of it. The dragon charged straight past the squad as they mobilized. It even allowed them to get a few hits in, but merely because they were so insignificant to him. With a single swipe of its awesome tail, the dragon sent the Inquisitor's companions flying. Nothing mattered to the draconic god but the death of its nemesis. Twice now, once called "Inquisitor" had dared to defy him. Twice now had an Inquisitor trapped him in a foolish attempt to save the Lowlands. Hakkon would no longer suffer their existence. Any Lowlander to hold the title would be crushed without mercy, their holds reduced to frozen wastelands!

Rajmael was still feeling the both effects of deflecting Hakkon's breath and Andruil's Gift shattering in his hand. And after his fight with Gurd Harofsen, his mana was running low. The dragon barreling for him, its hungry maw gnashing angrily and its powerful limbs crushing the ice beneath it, but Rajmael was not afraid. He stood defiant, eyes blazing as he prepared for either an overwhelming victory or an unmarked grave.

The dragon opened its maw once more, ready to finish off its nemesis. Suddenly, Rajmael felt the lyrium igniting in his veins, and knew what was going to happen next. A harpooned chain flew out of nowhere right into the dragon's eye and pulled it straight down, making Hakkon fire his breath right at his won feet. Hakkon screamed in pain, Cassandra's attack was successful.

Cassandra learned that technique from her brother Antony, and it was a signature move amongst Nevarran dragon hunters. To the Seeker, this so-called god-possessed dragon was nothing more than a powerful demon, and all demons were vulnerable to the attacks of Seekers. And Cassandra had been fighting dragons and demons her whole life. She would not let the love of her life face it alone.

Cassandra stood at Rajmael's side and ignited the lyrium in his veins, revitalizing his power. The dragon found them with his good eye, and prepared to come down on them, but the Seeker held her sword high. Winter and War came to a screeching halt as Cassandra summoned the Wrath of the Heavens against it's spirit, inflaming it with staggering agony. A dragon's body was impressive, but the true Hakkon was the demon possessing that body, and therefore it was subject to her full power.

The Seeker made Hakkon stagger back. Made the world more real. False cold isn't real enough to freeze her fire. Cole was more real too, so it wouldn't hurt him. But Hakkon did hurt. So many hurts tangled up through time and trauma and trouble. Underneath his wide-brimmed hat, the boy's face twisted with anger. So much pain. This dragon took the Dales away. More than all the connected pain, he felt this pain from Rajmael directly, and it became too much. Gripping both knives, Cole jumped off a boulder of solid ice towards Hakkon.

"People lost everything to you!" The former spirit screamed. He landed on the back of the dragon's bridge-like neck, stabbing his knives under the plates of its scales deeply into the frozen flesh underneath.

Dorian felt that this was the time to finally utilize that spell he had been working on ever since he came back from the future with Rajmael in Redcliffe. An offshoot spell based on the Rift Alexius made to warp time itself. The Tevinter mage harnessed the residual energies of the Fade to create a pocket vortex around him and all his companion, slowing time down to a halt but allowing the rest of them to move freely as though time had no meaning.

Not one to be shown up, or to give an enemy the advantage, Vivienne also decided it was time to utilize one of her most powerful spells. Knowing that everyone was still tired and wounded from the previous fight with the Hakkonite leader, she knew they needed to be healed to keep up the fight. Focusing all her will, the Imperial Enchanter created a powerful glyph beneath her feet and summoned benign and beneficial wisps from the Fade to heal her companions. She could keep this up for a short while, giving them the opportunity to deal as much damage as they could to the demon-possessed dragon.

"Aw, shit yeah! This is going to be good!" Iron Bull laughed as he felt the effects of Vivienne and Dorian's spell. "Hey, Sera, follow me!"

"Alright, yeah!" Sera yelled as she followed the large warrior to the dragon's underside.

The former qunari and Red Jenny worked in tandem as they combined their efforts in a single, and absurdly haphazard attack. All dragons were weak around the underbelly, and this dragon was big enough for both of them to get under there. Iron Bull hacked at Hakkon's legs like he was chopping trees while Sera smashed a fire flask against her leather jerkin shot every arrow she had into the softer scales above her. Both of laughed like maniacs as they fought.

What neither seemed to notice was how Hakkon thrashed and stamped, looking to crush them both like bugs. A fact that did not go unnoticed by Varric.

"Shit," Varric muttered. "Chuckles, Tiny and Buttercup need a barrier!" Solas complied, wrapping both Iron Bull and Sera in a protective magical aura that would shield him in his moment of recklessness. Meanwhile, Varric took the distraction provided by Seeker and the Inquisitor to line up a beautiful shot from Bianca. His aim was almost as flawless as Rajmael's as he put an explosive bolt right into Hakkon's bad eye. Judging by the screeches that dragon was making, he felt that one. "Great shot gorgeous," he whispered, petting his beloved crossbow.

Blackwall saw what Cole was doing, and as insane as it seemed, it was a brilliant tactic. All snakes were most vulnerable behind their necks because the couldn't reach that spot, and there was no creature in the world that was immune to attack to the back of the head. While Iron Bull and Sera occupying its legs, Blackwall timed it just right, and ran up the dragon's tail, over its ruined wings, and past Cole right to the back of its head. With his Avvar, he quickly knocked off the scales in his way and began bash the bare flesh on the back of the dragon's neck. By using the Thunderstrike, an Avvar weapon of legendary renown, against the Avvar god of war, Blackwall felt like he was returning the mace home.

Hakkon roared furiously and shook the miserable pests off and out from under him, but their attacks were already taking their toll. But the more it was harmed, the greater it attacked.

"Everyone, get away now!" Rajmael ordered. Sensing that Vivienne and Dorian's spells were beginning to wane, the Inquisitor needed to get his companions away from being so close to the beast, lest they get trampled or chomped on.

Hakkon raised his gaping maw skyward, releasing a shrill cry of a note so bizarre, alien and unnatural that stunned all his attackers. A chorus of gaggling ear-piercing shrieks filled the air as a pack of undead, fade-rats phased up from the ice and stampeded towards the Inquisition. These gibbering horrors were summoned by Hakkon to protect him.

Blackwall and Iron Bull ran to engage the screaming rat demons. Blackwall was a shield wall of a man with the resilience of ten, while Iron Bull was stampede of primal rage all on his own. They would hold these little freaks off while the others engaged Hakkon.

"Solas, cover us!" Rajmael ordered.

The elven apostate knew what the Inquisitor was asking, and did what was asked of him. Solas struck his staff to the ground, it burned with a powerful green spark as he extended his will through the Veil and into the Fade. By will alone, Solas tore open a rip in the Veil and summoned a rain of meteorites from the Fade to batter the wingless god-dragon down, preventing it from recovering from its wounds.

The once powerful, magnificent dragon, lay battered to the ground, its wounds bleeding and smoking, and its wings that could once create a winter gale were nothing more than tattered ruins ripped from its back and one eye remaining in its skull. The beast must have had some god-like quality to still be alive after all that. Rajmael might have felt sorry for the dragon if he wasn't consumed by his hatred for it and what it cost his people.

Just as his last host did, despite the damage it suffered and pain it was in, the Spirit of Hakkon laughed through the dragons mouth and tongue. "WELL DONE. A MAGNIFICENT FIGHT. YOU ARE WORTHY, INQUISITOR!"

"Ma vhenan..." Rajmael beckoned. "Give me the strength to finish this."

Cassandra obliged her love and held him to her, igniting the lyrium in his veins and strengthening his magic. Rajmael held his sword in his grip, the veilfire blade burned like a bonfire for all who dwelled within the Basin to see. Rajmael leapt forward and all but flew at Hakkon Wintersbreath as he poured all his hatred, anger and grief into one final stroke.

"HALAMSHIRAL!" And with that word representing everything his people had lost, he drove his ancient sylvanwood sword through the skull of Hakkon reborn.

An ethereal silence gripped the whole Basin and a faint cry of welcome drifted from the distance. The spirit of Hakkon, at long last, free, flew from his ruined shell and returned to the world of spirits. In time, he would be reborn and once again heed the prayers of the Avvar who sought his favor and wrath.

But the victory seemed hollow to the Inquisitor as he knelt before the splintered remains of Andruil's Gift. He regained this long lost relic, only to destroy in stopping the madness the Jaws of Hakkon unleashed. He stopped a corrupted Avvar god possessing a High Draon from destroying Orlais, and for what?

"Rajmael?" Cassandra called worriedly.

"What...what did I do this for? The Hakkonites corrupted their own god and used him as a rabid tool for their bloodlust, and Ameridan gave his life to stop it, and for what?" Rajmael lamented.

"You stopped that creature from destroying thousands of innocent lives, Rajmael. Just as Ameridan did." Cassandra said, trying to be comforting. "You did the right thing, just as Ameridan did."

"And it only cost my people our kingdom, while Orlais and the Chantry benefitted from Ameridan's wisdom and selflessness, and left our people with nothing. Ameridan's life...was for nothing." Rajmael knelt down and tried to purge the sorrow from his mind. "Everyone, please, just...leave me for a moment."

It hurt Cassandra to see how this was effecting Rajmael. He came here to seek the truth about his predecessor only to learn that all this was the root of his people's undoing. The Chantry greatly wronged both Inquisitor's and the elven people. She swore in the name of the Maker, and her love for Rajmael, that his and Ameridan's actions and accomplishments would not have been in vain.

Cole could still feel Rajmael's pain, even if he wasn't a spirit anymore, it would be difficult not to feel his pain. Grief, betrayal, anger and sorrow. Everything his people lost, everything they could have been, it was all stripped from them here in the far reaches of nowhere. And worst of all, history forgot. There could be no greater betrayal than that.

Solas had seen much of forgotten history during his years in the Fade. But to see what the elves had lost first hand, to witness what cost them so much, was a different matter entirely. Ameridan didn't deserve this fate, not after everything he did, and the elves deserved better than what the humans did to them.

"Wow. I've never seen the Inquisitor take down a dragon before. It's pretty impressive." Scout Harding appraised, appearing from nowhere with Siobahn right behind her.

"Scout Harding? How long have you been there?" Blackwall asked curiously. "And how are you faring, Lady Siobahn?"

"Oh, I followed you into the Tevinter ruin." Harding answered. "I saw everything. How you all killed Harofsen, the truth about Ameridan. Everything."

"I woke up not long after ye all killed Harofsen, may the Lady leave him for the worms." Siobahn informed. "Imagine my surprise when I found this lovely red-haired Stone-Child looking down at me, as lovely as dream." Siobahn stroked Harding's face tenderly, making the scout blush intensely.

"You know it's funny." Harding observed. "History forgot so much. They never knew Ameridan died saving everyone, and no one thought to honor him for what he did before. Is that what it's like for Inquisitor Lavellan?"

Cassandra looked over to her lover with sorrow in her eyes. "There are things that no one, not even the people in Skyhold, will ever know or even understand. Everyone looks to him and sees a savior, a symbol, a Herald. But to himself, he is just a Dalish elf, and that's all he wants to be. And the less they see of that, the less he is to the world."

"For what it's worth, Lavellan," Harding called over to Rajmael. "I think there's a reason why Dalish elves make the best Inquisitors. For what it's worth."

"All of ye, please. Return to Stone-Bear Hold with me." Siobahn beckoned. "The Lowlanders may not know how to honor their heroes, but we do. Let us thank you properly."

Rajmael picked himself up and composed himself. "Very well. I still have a world to save after this."

Back at Stone-Bear Hold...

By the time they arrived at the Avvar village, the Avvar were already celebrating. Even Professor Kenric was partaking in the festivities. Thane Sun-Hair immediately wanted to speak with them in her hut.

"Inquisitor, well done. We of Stone-Bear Hold honor you." Svarrah congratulated. "You have done all Avvar a great boon by returning Hakkon to the spirit world. It is not right for you to be considered merely a guest after everything you've done for our people. From this day forward, we shall know you as Inquisitor Jaw-Breaker, hold-kin to our tribe."

"Ooh. Jaw-Breaker. That has a good ring to it, Boss." Iron Bull applauded.

"Maybe we should ask Ruffles to put that in with your other list of titles." Varric suggested.

"Short and to the point. I like it." Blackwall agreed.

"How very specific of you." Dorian commented.

Rajmael nodded his head in thanks. "I am honored, Thane Sun-Hair."

"I cannot promise all Avvar will be friends to you, but you are kin to us now, and we shall sing songs of your deeds until the mountains crumble and are swallowed by the sea." The Thane swore. "May the Lady keep you safe and the Mountain-Father strengthen your arm."

Siobahn stepped forward, and placed herself closely to Scout Harding. "I would like to join yer Inquisition. If ye don't object."

"Why would you want to join us?" Cassandra asked curiously.

"After watching all ye defeat Hakkon Wintersbreath in battle, how could I not?" Siobahn then hugged Scout Harding very close to her, her hands shamelessly wandering, making the surface dwarf blush seven shades of crimson. "And besides, I'd use any excuse to get close to a lass as adorable and deadly as this redheaded darling."

"Um, Inquisitor? Permission to stay in Basin for a couple more day? F-for recruitment and scouting purposes, of course." Harding blushed as Siobahn hugged her closer to her breasts.

"Permission granted. To both of you." Rajmael answered. He and few of the others snickered at Siobahn's shameless affections while Cassandra and Vivienne scoffed in disdain.

"Inquisitor! I heard everything from Scout Harding about the truth of Ameridan." Kenric said excitedly. "With the evidence you found and your testimony, I'll either get tenure or beheaded, either way, I'm still committed to the truth. I swear by Andraste's pyre, that I will make it known to the world what you and Ameridan did here."

Rajmael didn't think it was possible, but he actually found a kindred spirit in Professor Kenric. The professor was truly a rare human, indeed. One who sought the truth, the real truth. Not looking to benefit from it or twist it to his own agenda like so many others would.

"Inquisitor wait, I beg ye." They were already outside the hold's walls by this Siobahn caught up with her. Despite the fact she had an adorable ginger dwarf with ample assets waiting for her back in her hut, she ran out to them for something important.

"Something wrong, Auger Siobahn?" Rajmael inquired.

"Yes and no, Inquisitor." Siobahn answered with guilt in her eyes. "I saw what happened with yer predecessor, saw how terribly it hurt ye. And ye may hate me for this, but I feel ye deserve to know what the spirits have told me."

"What?"

"This is not the end of it." Siobahn said cryptically. "Ye have suffered more than almost anyone else can bear. Indeed, when I hear the spirits speak of yer past, my heart breaks and I weep for ye. And ye shall suffer more and more for as long as there are those who will call ye 'Herald of Andraste'. And every pain ye suffer will be worse than the last. Ye have my deepest condolences, for whatever they're worth."

Despite the shocked or incredulous looks everyone gave Siobahn's little prophecy, Rajmael remained undeterred. "As you said, suffering and I are old friends, and if I must continue to suffer so that my daughter never has to, then I consider that a life worth living." The Inquisitor turned around and continued on his way as though Siobahn's prophesy was nothing more than a pipe dream as he waved her goodbye. "I'll see you back at Skyhold, Agent Siobahn. Don't go too hard on my scout, I still need her."

"Rajmael. That elven phrase Ameridan said to you before he died? What did he say to you?" Cassandra asked curiously as they walked.

"He called me Ghil-dirthalen." Rajmael answered as he gently grabbed Cassandra's hand. "It means 'one who guides seekers of true knowledge'."

Cassandra held her lovers hand in hers, and couldn't help but laugh at how appropriate it was for the last elven Inquisitor and leader of the Seekers to declare Rajmael thus. "There are none more worthy of such a title than you, my love."

Siobahn watched as the Inquisitor and his company departed from the Basin. How she wished with all her heart that her prophesy would never come true. "Lady of the Skies, watch over this worthy one as he walks into darkness to protect this world. Korth, Mountain-Father, grant him the strength to walk this path of pain well and with honor. And Hakkon Wintersbreath, if ye can still answer prayers, grant this Inquisitor victory."

Language Codex:

Harhen'al: Elven, translates as "Gathering of Elders".

Ir abelas, lethallin. Ir tela halam var vhen: Elven, translates as "I am sorry, my friend. I have failed our People."

Mala Ghil-dirthalen: Elven, literally, "You are one who guides seekers of true knowledge."

Author's Note:

Okay, so I know that's it's been about a month since my last update, but hey, it's the holidays and life keeps me busy.

And I'd like to give a big hand to Blindluck92 for assisting me with the difficult task of doing that fight scene with the dragon.

I've finally completed this arc, so please review and tell me what you think.

Happy Holidays, everyone.