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.

53. The End of The Beginning: Part II

The End Of The Beginning: Part II

Earlier That Very Night In The Darvaraad...

Tallis had made up her mind, she was going to free Eva and take her home. She had found irrefutable evidence, letters between the Ambassador of the Inquisition and the office of the Ariqun, stating that what the Viddasala was doing here, the entire Dragon's Breath Operation, was unsanctioned, and therefore violating the Qun. Yet, despite this, Tallis still felt an inner conflict wrestling inside her mind. A conflict between her conscience and her duty to the Qun.

As a member of the Ben-Hessrath, Tallis' role was one of obedience, to serve the Qun in the capacity her role dictates. Not to question her orders, or even contemplate the inner most meanings of the Qun's dictums. That was the role of the priests, and the Ben-Hessrath's was to maintain the security of the Qun, nothing more and nothing less.

If Tallis took this step, she could very well destroy any hope of a future she might have in the Qun, and everything she had worked for her whole life, everything she wanted the Qun to be, would be gone forever. There was a solution, however. Since it wasn't her role to question the Qun, or interpret its meaning, she would seek guidance from someone who had studied the deeper meanings of the Qun.

Tallis quietly snuck into the lower recesses of the Darvaraad where the Qunar housed their sarebaas. They were little better than jail cells, no light, little air, with thick walls and chains. Sarebaas, mages, were considered extremely dangerous by the Qun and couldn't be trusted to master themselves, so they were always kept under heavy guard. And this place was built to keep the strongest one they had. Normally, there'd be an Arvaraad and a company of soldiers guarding this place, but the sarebaas here was trusted enough to be kept alone, for he answered solely to the Viddasala.

Tallis stood before the behemoth mage that the Viddasala kept as her own personal weapon. He was giant, even by Qunari standards. As tall and powerful as an oak tree, with horns as thick and gnarled as its branches. Anyone who encountered this behemoth, friend and foe alike, would easily fear him as a beast, and rightly so. He could easily overpower any of their soldiers with his raw strength and bare hands alone, and if that wasn't enough, the destructive magic he wielded was easily ten times more powerful than any of their canons.

Yet, despite his monstrous size and strength, his destructive magic, deep inside this colossus, there dwelled the mind and soul of a philosopher and priest. This was Saarath, an ashkaari philosopher and a student of the Ariqun himself, dedicated to the study and interpretation of the Qun's inner most truths. At least, that's what he was before his magic manifested. Now, he was Sarebaas, a dangerous thing that couldn't be trusted to master himself, and meant used like a weapon under the Viddasala's command.

Tallis leaned against the bars of Saraath's cell, her eyes full of sympathy and felt true remorse for this man now bound, harnessed and chained like an animal. If not for this cruel accident of birth, he would be a priest in high standing, respected and revered by all who have embraced the Qun. Instead, he is seen as little more than a thing, a dangerous object that can feel pain, and reviled by his own kind. And he was the only one who could possibly give Tallis the answers she sought.

"Honered Saarath, I know I'm not suppose to be here, but I...I am in desperate need of your guidance." Tallis whispered quietly, but her voice resonated with uncertainty. "My heart is in conflict with my loyalty to the Qun, and my role in it. All my life, I've believed that the Qun has all the answers, that it would guide my life to its purpose. Now, I find myself questioning the Qun, and my own role within it, even though my heart is screaming at me to act against my role. How can I obey my conscience without betraying the Qun, and everything I believe it be?"

Saarath looked down at Tallis from behind the bestial mask locked on to his face, and for the first time in what seemed like an eternity, life shined in those previously glazed-over eyes. He parted his sewn lips as far as he could, even tearing his own skin for just one chance to speak as the priest he was once meant to be was worth it, if even for a moment.

"Elf-Who-Is-Tallis..." The bound giant of a mage whispered. His voice was hoarse and rough; for years, he had never uttered a word in his life as a sarebaas. "It is no longer my role to instruct others in the Qun, but I will share what I can with you if it brings you peace. You are not alone in your struggles to achieve mastery of yourself and your purpose."

The threads that were sewn into Saarath's lips were tearing his skin further and further the more he spoke, but he ignored the pain. The chance to enlighten even one soul after all these years was worth the pain.

"Many vidithari come to the Qun, filled with fear and anger, much like you did when you were found. These feelings often build walls within the self, walls that prevent them from seeing the truth that lies in front of them. From seeing the world for what it truly is. But...it's not just the vidithari that struggle with these illusions." Saarath paused a moment While his lips were wet with his own blood and the tearing he was causing around his mouth stung, but it was the feelings of nostalgia the truly hurt him.

"The world changes the self, and we must adapt with the turnings of the tide. Once, I was an ashkaari, and I studied the Qun to find the enlightenment the prophet Koslun found. Then my dreams of demons took me down a different path. Under the Viddasala's command, discovering these lost truths of the ancient elves, and the world they once ruled, I also find myself questioning what I have always known about the Qun. To have lived in a world where magic was as present and abundant as the sun, where every person had magic and could dream without falling prey to demons. It makes me wonder what the world would be like if the dam that blocks the dream world was never erected."

Tallis was intrigued by Saarath's words. Even now, when his role was so very different from what it once was, there was such wisdom to be found in his voice. Yet, her mind was still not at ease. She came here seeking answers, and instead found only more reason for doubt.

"How can I find my purpose in the Qun, understand what my role in life is, if the world keeps on changing what that is? How do I stay true to my path if it isn't a straight one?" Tallis pleaded, gripping the bars to Saarath's cell.

Saarath reached out to Tallis, and gently placed his giant, claw-like hand on top of hers, and looked down at with gentle understanding behind the ugly mask locked around his face.

"Things change, little Tallis. The world changes. Find purpose in people around you, and your role will be clear. Let those whose lives matter to you help you to tear down the walls and break the illusions that others would place around you. And once you've torn down those walls, you will be able to see the truth. But it all starts, as the Qun is suppose to, by aiding those who need our help."

Tallis raised her head, and felt the weight of guilt and conflict ease from her shoulders. She came her looking for wisdom to help ease her conscience, and she found it. Not from a Tamassran, or an Ashkaari, but down here with a Sarebaas. Wisdom is determined by one's role.

"What is it you seek, Saarath?" Tallis asked curiously.

Saarath looked down at his own clawed hand, and felt the collar and chains that bound him. Tallis felt a twinge of guilt in her heart; not only because she couldn't save him as well, but the fact that the Qun they both revered would do such a thing to one of their own.

"What I seek, Tallis, is for just once in my life, that I might make a choice that is all my own within the role I'm in now." Saarath answered honestly, the threads in his lips tearing his flesh even more. "You still have you choice to make, Tallis. Go now, and find your purpose in the choices you make."

Tallis turned away and quickly left the cell. She knew her purpose now, and Saarath's wisdom helped make her choice abundantly clear. Tallis just hoped that Saarath would be able to attain his own desire and find that choice he could make within his own role.

Now, In the Present...

The Inquisitor and his band, accompanied by the Hero of Ferelden and the Champion of Kirkwall and their comrades, ran through the Eluvian, leaving the Daravaraad behind them, and followed after the Viddasala. They emerged through the portal and found themselves once again in the Valley of the Dread Wolf. Despite the fact that they knew it was nighttime, it was as bright as day in this realm, like time never passed here.

Despite the fact that the fate of Southern Thedas now hung by a thread, that Eva was still in the hands of that zealous Qunari lunatic, and that Rajmael's own life was reaching its end, all of the Inquisition members were reeling from the latest revelation, given to them by the Viddasala herself. Solas, once an ally, and even considered a friend by some of them, was an agent of Fen'Heral. It was so incomprehensible, yet made absolute sense. When things were at their darkest, Solas was there with just the solution they needed. Yet, he never took credit, always stayed away from all the attention, all the while no one truly knew him, his motivations, and always underestimating him. It was the perfect agenda of a spy and agent.

"Solas, an agent of Fen'heral...I should have suspected something. I should have looked deeper into his past." Cassandra cursed herself for her negligence.

"It's always the quiet ones. You never see 'em coming." Varric commented insightfully.

"I always knew Solas was more cunning than people gave him credit for, but damn. He made the entire Ben-Hessrath look like chumps." Iron Bull said, genuinely impressed. As a former spy himself, he was able to respect this kind of deception.

"Always seeming so unimportant, letting everyone think he was just a wandering vagrant with his outrageous views on magic. Clever apostate, very clever." Vivienne said contemptuously, yet it was the closest thing to a compliment she ever said about Solas.

"Yeah, he right duped you, didn't he, Vivvy? But I always knew that bald-headed whiner was up to something!" Sera shouted with vindication. "Always complaining about how bad elves got it now, his head always crammed up a thousand years ago. It only figures he serves Fenny!"

"Never showed his true colors, always hiding his hand, like any good Wicked Grace player. Looks like he had more in common with Orlesian Nobles than I ever would have thought." Ranier added grudgingly.

"But why help us? If what the Viddasala said was true, and Solas was the one who gave Corypheus that damned Orb, why would he risk his life to help us defeat Corypheus?" Dorian wondered, completely vexed.

"If it were me, or any real kind of agent for that matter, I'd do it to find out the Inquisition's weaknesses." Zevran pointed out, lending his extensive experience as a professional assassin.

"But this Solas has been harassing the Qunari, and it's obvious he's been trying to help the Inquisition against the Viddasala. Maybe he's still trying to help save the South?" Hawke said inquisitively.

"Solas doesn't want to hurt people. He is not that kind of wolf. The Qunari don't see, don't care. They only want to hurt people." Cole said frantically.

"Maybe you could all ask him these questions when we get to him. But first, you're gonna have to shut your traps, and haul ass!" Aedan shouted, trying to pick up the pace so they could catch up to the Viddasala.

Before they could run any further, Rajmael fell so his knees in the middle of a puddle, the Anchor flaring worse than before. All of them could see the energy crackling out of his hand and engulfing his arm.

"Argh! The Mark...I think's it's going to...everyone, GET BACK!" Rajmael screamed in pain. Arcs of energy began firing out of the Anchor like green lightning bolts, and the mark's magic exploded out of Rajmael's palm, blasting away all the nearby debris. The mark was now spreading throughout Rajmael's lower arm, burning away his flesh, and spitting its uncontrollable power with his pulse.

Cassandra held onto Rajmael and helped him back to his feet. The mark was worse than she had ever seen it, even when the Breach was threatening to consume the world, it was never this bad. "We have to get Solas. Maybe he can help, like he did back in Haven. He must!"

"Never mind me!" Rajmael hissed painfully through his teeth. "All that matters is stopping the Viddasala and saving Eva. I refuse to die until Eva is back home."

Rajmael ran up a set of broken flight of stairs up a shattered ruin, the same path the Qunari must have taken. When they reached the top of the ruins, they discovered it was merely a piece of a greater structure, and it was a breath taking sight. This was a region of the Valley they hadn't seen in their previous visit here. An entire castle complex of ancient elven design was spread across the landscape. Ancient towers of white marble carved into the mountains, with waterfalls cascading through them, and none of this magnificent architecture disrupted the natural beauty of this land. Despite being in ruins, it was still a majestic sight to behold. Truly the seat of the Dread Wolf.

"Look at all this. And look up there, that must be where Solas is." Dorian pointed to the top of the castle where they could see a large, active eluvian shimmering with life. It had to be where their old comrade was.

"And if Solas is there, then that's where the Viddasala is heading, and she'll have Eva with here." Rajmael surmised, looking at their destination. "Come on. She couldn't have gone far."

On a nearby ledge overlooking the lower valley, was an active eluvian. It had to be the one Viddasala and her men used to enter the temple complex. A squadron of Qunari soldiers in full battle armor emerged from the mirror, brandishing their weapons with bloodlust and savagery, with every intent of keeping the Inquisition from stepping any further.

"Ataash Qunari!"

"Vinek Kathas!"

"Herah katara, bas!"

The Qunari soldier shouted and cursed in their native tongue, and assumed battle formations with their shield-men in front, and pikemen behind with their sappers. The Viddasala tasked them with stopping the Inquisitor from advancing any further. He had already interrupted their plans enough. It was time to finally stop him, and these Qunari refused to fail their duty.

Rajmael had no time for another battle, not when he was dying, Eva was in danger, and not when he was so close to finally learning the truth from Solas. Rajmael felt the unstable energy from the Anchor in his hand stirring again. If he didn't discharge the energy, it would cause another unstable explosion. Perhaps he could finally get some use out of this damned Mark after all the grief it's caused him.

The Inquisitor leaped through the air and right above the enemy squadron. He clenched his left fist, and summoned his willpower to charge the unstable energy of the Anchor. He landed right in the middle of the Qunari ranks and planted his marked fist to the ground, and released the pent up power from the Anchor. An explosion of green energy erupted right in the middle of the Qunari's ranks that was powerful enough to send all them flying like they weighed nothing. The Qunari were sent hurdling right over the edge and down into the valley below, screaming all the way.

Rajmael grasped his fist and groaned painfully. Using the damned mark as a weapon was more painful than he anticipated, but he couldn't let that stop him now. He had to keep pressing forward, for Eva's sake.

~XoXoXo~

The eluvian brought them to another region of the valley, just on the outskirts beyond the castle they were just outside of. There, working with the closed-off mindset of worker ants, were even more Qunari soldiers. And they were right in the middle of moving as much of their blackpowder barrels as they could. They were trying to transport their destructive chemicals in wagons, but the thick foliage and ponds on the valley ground made it impossible, forcing them to carefully carry the barrels by hand.

In the middle of the valley stood the ruined foundations of an ancient structure built upon a giant stone outcropping with an active eluvian stood. There was the Viddasala, overlooking the transport of her gaatlok, with that monstrous sarebaas still at her side. And still clutched within that gargantuan Qunari mage's clawed hands, was Eva.

The Viddasala's eyes flared furiously at the sight of the Inquisitor. He had followed her all the way. Could she not be rid of him?!

"That look on your face is just priceless, you oversized heifer." Eva sneered mockingly, her shackles still being held by the damned sarebaas. "You know that uncomfortable feeling you've got in your gut right now, along with that chill running up your spine? That's called fear. Most people feel it right before they die."

"Then I am sure the Inquisitor is terrified right now, as well he should be." Viddasala rebutted with cold indifference, and looked down on her enemies below her.

"Over there! There's the Viddasala." Cassandra pointed over towards the active eluvian.

"Looks she's got her pet horned gorilla with her." Aedan noted.

"And he has Eva!" Rajmael shouted.

"Sarebaas! Rethra! Shokra!" The Viddasala commanded the ranks of all her soldiers here. All of them dropped what they were doing and moved to attack the Inquisition. No matter what, their mission had to be carried out. The Inquisitor was the greatest threat to their plans, and she needed her men to kill him, or keep him at bay long enough to complete her task.

"Eva!" Rajmael yelled desperately to his adopted daughter.

"Rajmael!" The elven child cried out to her foster-father.

"Know when you are beaten, Inquisitor. You were defeated long before you ever even returned to the Winter Palace." The Viddasala derided coldly. She motioned her hand towards her loyal sarebaas, and walked through the eluvian, dragging Eva with them. "Kill them all!"

The mark began flaring up again, hurting him terribly. He did his best to push the pain out of his mind and focus on the battle at hand. One moment's distraction could mean death for all of them. He had to gain control over the battlefield, couldn't let the Qunari dictate the terms of the fight.

The Qunari soldiers assumed battle formations, their tight ranks preventing the Inquisition from reaching the eluvian above them. Rajmael gritted his teeth angrily; he didn't want to waste his time fighting these Qunari in a trench battle, not when that horned-headed zealot was getting further and further away with his daughter, but he had no choice.

"Everyone, form ranks! Warriors in front, archers and mages behind!" Rajmael ordered vociferously with such authority and command that even Aedan didn't bother questioning him.

"Dorian, cut the forward ranks from the back. Vivienne, box them in. We need to nullify their numbers, and force them into close quarters combat." Rajmael ordered.

Dorian whirled his draconic staff and conjured up a spell that created a wall of fire between the front and back ranks, separating the two groups, and roasting anyone who was caught in the middle. Vivienne planted her elegant staff into the ground, making it glow as she charged her magic through it, and created a wall of ice on either side of the Qunari's front ranks. The Qunari were now effectively boxed in by ice, and caught between a wall of fire and a band of extremely pissed off warriors.

"Ar enaste ar'tu na'din...I will enjoy killing all of you!" Rajmael seethed hatefully and brandished the Enasalin, burning with white veilfire, at his enemies.

"Yeah, you guys are in some serious shit now." Iron Bull chuckled, pulling out his axe.

"Now you're cornered and trapped, with us." Aedan grinned sinisterly with Vigilance clenched eagerly in his fist.

"Your only purpose today is to be made an example of to the rest of the Qun." Hawke swore, holding the Celebrant with its fire enchantment blazing.

The Inquisitor slashed his sword and sent a wide arc of veilfire at the Qunari; the arc passed through their armor but sliced right through the bodies beneath. Over half a dozen of the initial attackers fell down dead where they stood, blood leaking out of their armor. All that silverite did nothing to keep them from being split in half by Rajmael's magic sword. But the Inquisitor would not end it there, no. Not after everything these Qunari have put him and his daughter through. Rajmael charged his magic through his sword, and a web of lightning bolts charged from the blade. Each bolt struck the Qunari soldiers who stood in Rajmael's path, and snaked to the two men standing next to them. The Qunari's silverite armor conducted the electric attack beautifully, and the soldiers screamed in horrible agony as they incinerated inside their own armor. Their protection became the conduit of their own painful deaths, leaving behind burned out, desiccated corpses entombed in their own armor.

This wasn't the end, not by a long shot. Rajmael would kill every Qunari in his path, every single one in this realm if he had to. There wasn't an ounce of blood he wouldn't shed to get Eva back.

Following Rajmael's lead, Aedan, Hawke and Iron Bull charged the Qunari ranks. With their numbers nullified by the walls of ice, and no reinforcements coming through that fire wall in the rear, unable to move, the Qunari were trapped, their superior numbers now their crippling weakness.

Aedan's gruesome sword, the Vigilance, ripped through the Qunari's silverite armor and shredded their flesh with its saw-like edge, making anyone unfortunate enough to be struck by it bleed and scream. The pain it caused them fed the blades hunger for more agony. Aedan was intoxicated by the Vigilance's power, like an addict that hadn't indulged in his vice for so many years. Vigilance hadn't been fed in years, and Aedan would use the flesh of these invaders to quench his sword's hunger. Aedan ran the Vigilance straight through an Arvaraad, and stabbed the two soldiers behind him. Then he pushed his sword downward and split all three of them right down the middle. The Vigilance consumed the entropic energy of their agonizing death, and fueled Aedan's need for carnage. For a Reaver, this was a truly wonderful day.

The circumstances of this battle was almost exactly like the ones he fought the Qunari in back in Kirkwall, when the Arishok invaded the city. Hawke and his companions had to use superior tactics in close quarters to negate the Qunari's size and numbers. There couldn't been a more perfect scenario for the Champion to once again absolutely crush the Qunari's hopes from conquest. Hawke held the Celebrant over his head, charging the powerful fire enchantment that engulfed the blade, turning it into a pillar of fire in his hands. Hawke brought his enchanted greatsword down on his enemies with all his might, like it was wrath of the Maker himself. The Celebrant split the ground when it made contact, and launched a wave of fire, setting any and all in its path aflame. The Qunari screamed as their silverite armor melted on to their skin, and they were roasted alive inside their own armor.

Iron Bull swung his immense axe with bloody abandon, smiling like this was the most fun he had in years, because it was. It had been two years since he fought with his comrades in the Inquisition, and it was made even better with the Hero and the Champion here. Iron Bull always loved fighting, ever since he was just kid, and fighting for people he cared about made that mean even more. Kicking ass with these guys was the best thing that ever happened to him, and if this was going to be his last battle with them, he'd make it count. So, he kept swinging his axe left and right, cleaving every sorry bastard in his way wide open, and enjoying every damned minute of it. He would never find another battle like this again.

Ranier charged with his might against the Qunari ranks with his shield. The face of his shield smashed the armor of any soldier caught in his path, and knocked them out of his way. He swung his mace left and right, blocking with his shield and countering with his heavy cudgel. There wasn't a place in the entire world that he was more suited to than this. Ranier spent almost his entire life in battles like this, up close and personal, every soldier wanting to just smash each other to bits. Against these Qunari, Ranier was perfectly outfitted to fight them in close quarters combat. His heavy armor and shield gave him the utmost protection, and his mace smashed their armor, broke their bones, and crush their skulls and horns. Fighting for the Inquisition was the best thing he had done in his whole life, and he would give the Inquisitor everything he had to repay him for giving him that chance.

"Ha! Like shootin' fish in a barrel, eh, Buttercup?" Varric laughed as he shot another arrow from Bianca.

"Pbbt, nah! Even fish in a barrel know how to move outta the frickin' way!" Sera chortled, shooting one arrow after another from her bow. "Hey, wanna see which of us shoots the most a' them 'tween the horns?"

"You're on!" Varric accepted, and shot three more arrows from Bianca. Each one shot a Qunari soldier between his horns.

"Hey, you two, follow me." Tallis called out to Zevran and Cole. "No point in letting everyone else do all the hard work."

The three rogues scaled along side the ice walls, and landed behind the Qunari's rear ranks, almost right up against Dorian's fire wall. With the Qunari so distracted by the warriors decimating them at the front, they were too busy to notice the rogues behind them. Tallis, Cole, and Zevran attacked the rear guard with surgical and silent precision. Their weapons were more suited to close quarter combat; they weren't as unwieldy or difficult to swing in such confined spaces. They used their daggers to stab at the weak points in the Qunari's armor, opening their arteries and cutting their tendons. By the time the Qunari realized they were being attacked from behind, over a dozen of them had already been killed, and they were now tripping over the bodies of their dead comrades.

"I have to admit, my dear woman, I do admire the way you stab a man in the back. And the color of blood on your armor compliments your hair perfectly." Zevran complimented flirtatiously.

"Gee, thanks. You really know how to make a lady feel special." Tallis said blithely while she stabbed an enemy soldier through the neck. "And here I thought you Antivan Crows were only highly paid thugs."

"Your words make women feel special, warm, and impassioned. Meridia's words make people feel special, too. I'd like to know how use words to make people feel good, instead of making them nervous." Cole admitted earnestly, before throwing one of his daggers into a Qunari's head.

"If we're both still alive after this, young man, I'd be happy to impart advice on how to woo the fairer sex." Zevarn laughed as he cut his current victim's jugular.

Dorian and Vivienne stayed out of the fighting. With their comrades engaged with their enemy in such a confined space, using their spells would have been more harmful than beneficial. All they had to do was finish off any Qunari that some how managed to survive long enough to get past the walking death sentences in their path, but with the way things were looking, that wasn't going to happen.

The Qunari officer, an Arvaraad, watched from atop of the outcropping near the eluvian watched with deep but contained outrage as he watched his men get slaughtered not even a story's depth beneath them. The bas managed to cut their main force off from the reinforcements with their mages, boxing them between walls of ice and fire. Now they were being slaughtered in the front and back, because no force, no matter how big, can fight on two fronts. The Arvaraad was tasked by the Viddasala herself to make sure the Inquisition did not make it past this point, and he was failing, miserably. He hated to do it, but he needed to use his trump cards if he was going to succeed in his mission.

The Arvaraad looked over to the two sarebaas under his command, both of them chained and bound so their magic wouldn't get out of control, especially in this horrible realm built by magic by the ancient elves. He unslung the control rod strapped to his hip, and, regretfully, unleashed both the sarebaas. With their magic unleashed, and their purpose clear, the two sarebaas flew down to the battlefield like a pair of comets in a halo of destructive energy.

The pair of sarebaas landed right in front of the warriors who laying waste to their brethren, creating a pair of craters where they hit the ground. Both of them created spheres of unstable energy in their claw-like hands, and they began to grow bigger. In such close quarters, and after being given lyrium by the Viddasala, their destructive magic would lay waste to these ignorant bas.

The two sarebaas fired their spheres of energy at the Inquisition members, expecting to see them all die in a large explosion. Instead, their attacks were deflected, bounced off a shield bearing the Eye of the Maker, held by an angry Seeker. After everything she had been through with Rajmael, and seeing all the heartbreak and agony he had suffered, Cassandra refused to let these Qunari fanatics cause the man she loved any more pain by robbing him of the child he loved as his own. Cassandra had lost enough people dear to her, she would not lose Rajmael, too.

One of the sarebaas launched a bolt of lightning from his hands. Cassandra deflected the attack with her shield and charged towards the Qunari mage. Another bolt of lightning came at Cassandra, but she ducked beneath it, and the attack barely missed her head. Cassandra closed the distance between herself and the mage, and right before he could conjure another spell, Cassandra effortlessly cut off both the mage's clawed hands. The Qunari mage made no sound, even with all the pain he must have been in, as if his silence meant more to him than his agony: even in death, he refused to lose control. He just stared at the stumps on his wrists where his hands used to be, and quickly bled to death.

Just as his compatriot fell to the ground dead, and before the Seeker could mount another attack, the second sarebaas cleared his mind over everything except her death, and conjured a powerful vortex of destructive magic, threatening to implode on itself and annihilate everything around it when it went critical. The vortex began pulling Cassandra towards it, despite her efforts to get away from it. The Seeker focused her will through her sword, channeling her own inner abilities, not of magic but of sheer willpower, to cleanse the area around them off all mana, and completely canceling out the vortex of destructive energy. Even with all the lyrium the Viddasala had been giving her mages, the sarebaas' power was still nothing compared to the Seeker's willpower. And the mage could only stand there defenseless when Cassandra plunged her sword into his heart.

The initial Qunari force was being decimated by a mere handful against their superior numbers. There was no stopping them, not now. Rajmael had been through too much, gone too far to be stopped now. He had lost enough loved ones and family to religious fanatics. He would not lose Eva, as well.

Rajmael finished off the last of the Qunari soldiers that had trapped by decapitation. All the Qunari they had boxed in had been completely slaughtered, butchered like cattle. The Arvaraad couldn't believe his eyes, but maintained his Qunari reserve and showed no emotion. He signaled his men; left with no other choice, it was time to use their true trump card against these tenacious baas.

Dorian and Vivienne dispelled their respective magic walls and cleared the way up towards the eluvian, where the rest of the Qunari were blocking their path. Before they could make even a step forward, an unfamiliar sense of terror gripped Rajmael's chest when he saw the Qunari's trump card staring down at them. The true might of the Qunari's military, a weapon that made them a force to be reckoned and feared by all of Thedas: their cannons.

A line of cannons with enough ordinance to smash a castle to dust was pointed right at them, and were ready to fire. All this time, they thought they had out maneuvered the Qunari, but it was the other way around. All those men they killed were mere distractions to occupy the Inquisitor and his company while the Qunari readied their cannons. It was a perfectly played out deception.

"Oh, shit!" Aedan cursed.

"Everyone, go for cover!" Hawke shouted, and tried to follow his own advice.

"VINEK KATHAS!" The Arvaraad shouted to his gunners.

The sound of a hundred thunderbolts clapped across the valley as the cannons exploded fire and thunder down on their victims. They would finish off these bas that dared to stand in the way of the Qun's certainty. These cannons would blow them to pieces and scatter them all across this valley, and their remains would become food for carrion.

In that moment where a person sees their death coming right at them, time seems to slow to a crawl. Rajmael had seen this before, when he was almost killed by Corypheus' Blighted dragon. And in that moment, a certain sense of clarity can be seen. There was no time to think, no time to command, or come up with a plan. Only action could save their lives. Rajmael couldn't deflect all these cannonballs at once with his sword. Without thinking, Rajmael did the only thing he could do to save their lives.

The Inquisitor focused his will through the Anchor in his hand, charging as much of the mark's destructive energy that was threatening to tear his being apart. Rajmael clenched his fist over the Anchor, barely containing its unstable power, and, just as the cannonballs were about to come down on all of them, Rajmael slammed his fist down on the ground and discharged all the pent-up energy of the Anchor. A large explosion erupted where Rajmael stood from the mark. It was so powerful it knocked the cannonballs right out of the air, but still sent most of them flying.

Rajmael landed at least six feet from where he stood. His ears ringing and his vision blurry, he was barely conscience from that explosion he caused, and couldn't even pick himself up. Rajmael was paralyzed with agonizing pain, and it looked like his left arm was barely holding together. The mark had now spread throughout almost his entire arm, making his flesh crack and sear with the Anchor's energy. Rajmael was in so much pain, he could barely stay awake.

"Fall back! Everyone, fall back!" Aedan shouted, trying to cover them.

"We need to take cover before they reload!" Hawke yelled, grabbing a hold of Varric and trying to help his friend up.

Cassandra and Ranier grabbed the Inquisitor and tried dragging him off to safety before the Qunari reloaded for another attack. They had to get him to safety, before the Qunari fired on them again.

Rajmael could hardly stay conscience, but he tried to resist his comrades' aid. They were taking him further away from the eluvian, further away from saving Eva. He had to get there, but he couldn't even stand on his own legs. He had to do something.

"Neirin...NEIRIN!" Rajmael cried out desperately in vain hope. If there were no gods to here his pleas, he called out to someone who might.

Back At The Winter Palace...

Cullen stood guard in the room they were housing that damned magic mirror in with the rest of the Inquisition soldiers. If, for whatever reason, the Inquisitor and the others fail, and the Qunari invaded, this was their only entrance into the Winter Palace. All Cullen and his men could do now was stand ready for anything, and pray that the Inquisitor would succeed.

The Commander heard a loud commotion happening just outside in the Winter gardens. People screaming in a panic, and clamoring as they ran away. The rumbling of what sounded like a stampede came thundering their way. Just what in Andraste's name was that? Were they under attack? How was that possible.

The door was sent flying off its hinges, and Cullen and his men drew their weapons, but were all shocked to see what was standing before them. It was an intruder with horns, but not the kind they were waiting for. It was the Inquisitor's mount, Neirin. The silver-white halla stamped it hooves and bellowed like a war horn; something had enraged him greatly.

Neirin charged towards the active eluvian at full gallop, and neither Cullen nor his soldier dared get in his hallas way, unless they wanted to be gored on the angry halla's powerful antlers. Neirin ran through the mirror, his angry cries echoing as he passed. Cullen and his men were left bewildered by what they just saw. What in the Maker's name was happening in those damned mirrors that a halla would go charging in there like it was off to war?

~XoXoXo~

The Arvaraad signaled to his men to prepare another volley. The first one should have ended the Inquisitor right then and there, but the mage was a tenacious enemy, and deflected their artillery with an explosion of his own. Nevertheless, even the Inquisitor couldn't pull off a miracle twice.

"Dorian, Vivienne, you must put up a barrier around us to shield us from their cannons!" Cassandra shouted, trying to pull Rajmael further away, but he was resisting her.

"Of course, Seeker." Vivienne obliged and used her staff to create a barrier around them.

"I should warn you, Cassandra, the odd of even both of us blocking all those cannonballs are very slim!" Dorian stated as he added his own power to Vivienne's barrier in an attempt to reinforce the shield, and hoped it would be enough.

The mages set up a protective barrier around them and their comrades, but it wasn't going to be enough, and the Arvaraad knew this. They were in perfect firing range of their cannons, and it would take much more than two sarebaas to stop all this firepower. The pitiful barrier they set up would be like paper trying to block a storm.

"Aim all artillery at the Inquisitor. If the others survive, we can finish them with our blades." The Arvaraad ordered.

The cannon operators did as they were commanded, and began adjusting their aim to bring all their fire down on the Inquisitor. Just when they were almost finished loading their next volley, the valley echoed with a trumpeting cry that threatened to split all their ears. Cassandra and the others looked back towards the valley entrance, and couldn't believe their eyes at what they saw. It was Rajmael's silver-white halla, Neirin.

"Neirin!" Rajmael called out to his animal companion with newfound vigor and raced towards him.

The halla galloped towards his elven comrade. Rajmael made an astounding leap and landed on Neirin's back. There was no more fearsome thing than an Arcane Warrior astride a halla, charging headlong into battle. It was a sight these Qunari wouldn't live long enough to respect.

"ENASALIN!" Rajmael cried out viciously, his sword drawn and aflame with veilfire, and his shimmering shield enveloped him and Neirin both. Elf and halla charged towards the Qunari at an impossible speed, all traces of Rajmael pain had been replaced with sheer determination to cut through his enemies.

"Aim for the Inquisitor! Kill him!" The Arvaraad ordered heatedly.

The Qunari artillerymen fire one of their cannons at the Inquisitor, with every confidence that their advanced piece of ordinance would render the defiant elf into minced meat. The cannonball passed through both the Inquisitor and his mount as though they were made out of air, that strange, shinny magic aura surrounding them somehow made them intangible. The Qunari adjusted their sights and fired another cannon, but the Inquisitor's halla leaped right out of the way, and kept charging closer.

"What are you waiting for? Slay the bas!" The Arvaraad shouted as the Inquisitor got closer and closer to the outcropping they were standing on.

Another cannon was fired, and again it went straight at the Inquisitor, but this time the halla didn't leap out of the way, nor did the cannonball magically pass through both of them. With his sword in hand, Rajmael deflected the massive ball of iron right out of the air the instant it was about to hit him. The cannonball flew right back at the Qunari, and landed right on top of them, destroying the cannon it came from and killing all the soldiers standing next to it.

Before the Qunari even had a chance to readjust the aim on their cannons, Neirin leaped up the side of the hill and landed right in the middle of their enemies position. Neirin bulled his way through the enemy soldiers, impaling them on his long antlers, and stomping them beneath his powerful hooves, while Rajmael cut their heads and limbs off from atop Neirin's back. Rajmael unleashed a powerful lightning attack at the Qunari's cannons with so much force the cannons spun in the opposite directions, and the sparks of lightning ignited their fuses. The artillerymen could only stand there helpless when their own cannons fired on them, and reduced them to wet chunks of meat that were sent flying all of the valley.

"He's only one! Attack! Kill him!" The Arvaraad shouted furiously. However, before the Qunari could swarm on the Inquisitor, several of them were killed by arrows shot from a certain effeminate crossbow held by a hairy-chested dwarf.

"Hey, don't forget about us, ya bastards!" Varric shouted and shot several more soldiers with his beloved crossbow.

With the Qunari so distracted by the Inquisitor attacking them all alone on his halla, they didn't notice the rest of them charging up this hill from their rear flank. With their cannons disabled, and their numbers already proven useless against their combined strength, the Qunari were quickly being wiped out. The warriors cut them down to pieces while the rogues clipped them at the flanks, and the mages pushed them back with their offensive spells.

The tide of battle had turned against them, and his men were being slaughtered. The Arvaraad had no choice but to call a retreat, and try to regroup with the rest of the Viddasala's forces. Before he could sound the horn to fall back, the Arvaraad was blasted to the ground by a bolt of lightning that burned his body and seared every nerve in him with mind-numbing pain. The Inquisitor towered over the paralyzed Qunari officer from on top of Neirin's back, and the Arvaraad could do nothing but stare right back up at him.

"You didn't think you were getting out of here alive, did you?" The Inquisitor asked rhetorically. He pulled back on Neirin's reigns, making the halla rear back on his hind legs, then he came back down with all his might. The Arvaraad watched in paralyzed silence as the silver-white halla crushed his head beneath his cloven hooves.

Neirin scrapped the bits of brain and skull stuck to his feet while the Rajmael's companions finished off what was left the Qunari here. With these soldiers dead, their path through this eluvian was clear.

"The way is clear, Inquisitor. Press forward!" Aedan urged Rajmael.

"Clear the path, we'll be right behind you." Hawke shouted.

"Go, my love. Protect Eva." Cassanda bade hopefully.

"Neirin, mahalani ar ama mir da'len" Rajmael beseeched to his faithful animal companion.

The Inquisitor gripped Neirin's reigns and charged towards the eluvian at full gallop. His sword drawn, and calling upon every ounce of magic and willpower he possessed, the two of them went through the mirror, and refused to let anything stand in their way.

"Oh, come on, guys. Let's go!" Iron Bull called excitedly. "This shit's starting to get good!"

"I didn't come all this way just to let the Inquisitor fight alone." Dorian stated.

"If I know anything about the Viddasala, the Inquisitor's going to need all the help he can get." Tallis insisted.

Everyone ran after the Inquisitor through the eluvian. After coming this far, after everything the Qunari have dared to do, they weren't going to let the Inquisitor put the stomp on these horn-headed terrorists by himself.

~XoXoXo~

Cassandra and the others emerged on the other side of the eluvian and found themselves standing on a long and ancient stone bridge towering over the valley and leading towards the ruined castle. The bridge had been broken, no longer reaching the castle ground, but there was another active eluvian at the end of it. All of them arrived just in time to see Rajmael and Neirin blaze their way across the bridge, trampling and beheading any Qunari soldier sorry enough to stand between him and the eluvian on the other side of the bridge.

Cassandra and her companions raced after Rajmael, stepping over the trail of dead bodies he left behind, and finishing off those who managed to get out of the Inquisitor's way. They were so close now. Close to catching up with the Viddasala, and stopping her madness. Close to saving Eva. And close to finally getting answers from Solas.

~XoXoXo~

Rajmael and Neirin emerged through the eluvian and found themselves standing within the outer courtyard of the Dread Wolf's castle. Like all the ancient ruins they have found through these mirrors, it was a majestic site to behold, even in its state of dilapidation. Never before in all his life in exploring ancient elven ruins had Rajmael ever seen so many images of Fen'heral, especially ones so magnificently made.

All the statues and images Rajmael had ever seen of the Dread Wolf were nightmarish visions of a dark god of misfortune, meant to remind the elves of what his deceit and malevolence cost their people. But what he discovered here, in these realms beyond the Fade and real world, Fen'heral was once a hero and champion of the oppressed and downtrodden people of the ancient empire, who were abused and neglected by Evanuris, the so-called gods of Elvhenan. The freed slaves and freedom fighters must have carved these statues to venerate the man who freed them and gave them to courage to dare stand up to their oppressors. How appropriate that all his images be shattered ruins, just like the entire elven race. For it was the Dread Wolf himself who destroyed the elven empire when he created the Veil between the waking and dreaming worlds. That was the truth Rajmael discovered here.

Rajmael and Neirin charged hard towards the courtyard where another squadron of soldiers was standing guard. The Inquisitor leaped off his halla's back and brought down a powerful bolt of lightning down on the Qunari as he landed. Neirin kept charging towards the enemy soldiers and crashed hard into them, their silverite armor was useless against the angry halla as he crushed their bodies and gored them on his antlers. Elf and halla fought in perfect unison with each other, not as pet and master, but as comrades, even brothers.

Another active eluvian stood on top of a balcony overlooking the courtyard. The Viddasala walked out from the mirror, with her giant sarebaas close behind her, like an obedient pet. And being held in the sarebaas massive hands, was Eva, still bound and chained, with the Qunari mage covering her mouth.

Viddasala couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the Inquisitor down in the courtyard slaughtering all her men down there, and felt a sense of anger she never felt before grip her. How could he have gotten this far? How could her men failed so utterly? The Inquisitor should have been killed years ago, but the South's ignorance allowed him to continue. It was time to end his interference once and for all.

The Viddasala grabbed one of the steel throwing javelins strapped to her back. The spearhead was laced with several of the deadliest poisons from the jungles of Seheron, even a scratch from this blade with cause death within minutes. It was a weapon guaranteed to kill whoever it hit.

The Inquisitor hadn't noticed her yet, he was too busy killing her men. This was the perfect moment, and the Viddasala seized it.

Eva struggled as hard and desperately as she could against this mage's freakish size and strength. She saw what the Viddasala was doing, and had to warn Rajmael. The cowardly bitch was going to lance him from behind. She had to warn him. Eva fought and wriggled her face free from behind the sarebaas' hand, and shouted out to him with all her might.

"RAJMAEL! LOOK OUT!"

But it was too late. The Viddasala had already thrown her poisoned javelin, and it was flying right at Rajmael's back. He turned around just as he heard Eva's voice cry out to him, but was too distracted looking for her to notice the weapon coming at him, and couldn't react in time. The javelin found its mark.

Cassandra and the others arrived just when a shrill cry rang out through the entire courtyard. The cry someone makes just as they die. They saw the Viddasala standing on a balcony with her sarebaas and Eva, who was crying uncontrollably against the sarebaas' grip. Cassandra felt her heart sink in her chest at what she saw. Rajmael, kneeling amongst the slain qunari around him, his face covered in blood. And laying before him, was the body of his beloved Neirin. The brave halla leapt in front of Rajmael, and took the javelin for him.

"Neirin...Please, no." Rajmael uttered, his voice cracked with pain.

His hands reached out to the wound where Neirin had been pierced by the javelin and tried to use his healing magic to save his life, but the Viddasala's poison had already set in. Neirin gave his life for Rajmael, and he couldn't save him.

How could Rajmael have let this happen? Neirin had been with Rajmael since he was a boy, and they had been through so much together that he never considered his life without his faithful halla. It was said that the halla were created by Ghila'nain to be the companions of the People, and if there was any proof of any kind of divinity at work in the world, it was found in the Dalish's relationship with these majestic animals.

After almost twenty years of companionship and adventures together, Rajmael could only watch as his trusted animal friend took his last breath, and the life leaving his eyes, then finally perish. Neirin was just as much Rajmael's brother as Nethras was, and to lose another member of his family to a religious zealot was enough to tear his heart to pieces. But Rajmael would not break into tears, nor fall to despair. He would not dishonor Neirin's sacrifice by being so weak. Neirin died a warrior's death, and Rajmael would best honor his fallen brother by completing his mission, and avenging Neirin's death.

Rajmael closed Neirin's eyes and kissed his face one last time. "Thank you, Neirin. You have fulfilled your duties with honor, and now you may rest. Please know that I will soon join you in the Beyond, and we can make the Great Journey together, my brother. Dareth shiral, lethallin."

The sorrow in Rajmael's eyes was soon replaced with unbridled rage. The Viddasala had harmed his family for the last time. Rajmael grasped the javelin that murdered Neirin, and pulled it out of his body, and with a furious war cry, threw the damned weapon back at the bitch who killed his friend and kidnapped his daughter.

The damned sarebaas caught the javelin in midair, just hairs in front of the Viddasala's face, and the bitch didn't even blink. The giant sarebaas snapped the poisoned javelin in his hand like it was a dried out twig.

"ARRRGH! YOU COWARDLY BITCH! COME DOWN HERE AND FACE ME!" Rajmael challenged furiously.

The Viddasala sniffed her nose at the Inquisitor, unimpressed with his emotional outburst. Losing his temper so thoroughly over the death of an animal was so shameful. Like seeing a child throwing a tantrum over a broken object. Still, his emotional imbalance made him weak, his mind was clouded. Now was the perfect time to end him. This time, however, she wouldn't leave anything to chance.

"Sarebaas! Meravas adim kata!" The Viddasala ordered her mage.

The giant sarebaas handed Eva over to his commander, and activated all the raw power he had been holding back. After all this time, being ordered to consume lyrium, and being unable to perform any task, the sarebaas would finally serve a purpose.

"Oh, shit, here comes the big one!" Ranier shouted.

"Everyone, be careful. I know this mage, and he's not going to make it easy on us!" Tallis warned. She knew Saraath would give this fight everything he had because it was the only way he could finally serve a function within the Qun. She felt guilty having to fight him, but knew that Saraath would want her to fight with everything she had, as well.

A field of raw magic energy surrounded the giant mage, and he came crashing down on the Inquisitor and his companions like a meteorite, and caused an explosion of raw energy when he landed. He conjured a sphere of pure energy in his massive claw and hurdled it towards the Inquisitor. Everyone but Hawke dove out of the magical attack's way, even Hawke. With his armor still damaged from his fight with Rajmael and Aedan, he dared not test his luck by trying to deflect such a powerful magic attack with his protective runes. The sphere flew past them and landed against a wall, melting it on contact.

"Watch out everyone! This guy's not fuckin' around!" Iron Bull shouted.

"Yeah? Neither are we." Aedan growled.

The Hero of Ferelden charged towards the towering mage and moved to cleave the Qunari open with his gruesome sword. The sarebaas conjured a powerful barrier just before Vigilance could strike him, making the sword bounce right off its surface. Saraath launched a stream of lightning bolts at the Hero, and sent him flying across the courtyard and landed into a wall. Everyone heard Aedan's bones crunch when he landed into that wall, and could almost smell his flesh burning.

"Andraste's ass!" Varric swore after seeing what this enormous mage just did to the Hero of Ferelden. He cocked Bianca's firing mechanism and took aim at the sarebaas. "Bet ya this asshole cant dodge an arrow."

"Or a bunch of 'em!" Sera added and knocked an arrow on her bowstring.

The two rogues fired as many arrows as they could at the sarebaas; with him being so large, hitting him should have been an easy target. But the arrows never even touched him. Before any of their projectiles could even pierce his flesh, the sarebaas clapped his hands together and created a blast of pure willpower that sent Sera and Varric's arrows flying right back at them. The two of them had to hit the ground to avoid being skewered by their own arrows.

Zevran stealthily snuck behind the towering Qunari mage and lunged on top of his back. The brazen elf plunged his daggers deeply into the sarebaas' chest, cursing in Antivan at the top of his lungs. Despite how deeply Zevran stabbed the horn-headed mage, the sarebaas didn't wasn't even tickled by his attack, like these stab wounds were nothing. Without even uttering a sound, the sarebaas emitted an aura of burning magic that forced Zevran to instantly jump off the towering oxeman before he was scorched.

"Enough of this!" Cassandra snarled.

The Seeker summoned her will and focused her power on the mage's magic, and summoned down a Holy Smite down on the sarebaas to cleanse the mana from his being and render him harmless. The Holy Smite came down on the Qunari like a ball of holy flame and burned away all traces of magic in the immediate vicinity. The Qunari responded by firing a torrent of lightning bolts at the Seeker. The attack came so fast, Cassandra barely had time to block it with her shield, and it was so powerful it knocked her back several feet.

How could this be? Cassandra's Holy Smite attack was enough to render ten Circle Mages helpless. Just how much lyrium did the Viddasala give this creature?

Ranier charged in with a shield-bash, aiming right at the mage's left knee, and used his mace to break the other. If Ranier could break this monstrous mage down, maybe they could gain the advantage. But nothing happened. Ranier busted both the sarebaas' kneecaps, heard them break under his shield and mace, yet, somehow this freak was still standing, like a pair of shattered kneecaps was nothing to him.

Saraath instantly healed both his injured legs with his magic, punched the human knight with his mammoth-sized hand, making a large dent in Ranier's shield, and sent him flying back almost six feet. Ranier felt like he just got smashed with a battering ram. What did they feed this monster?

Cole tried to help, to keep his friends from being hurt. The giant Qunari mage didn't want to kill, but at the same time, knew he had to. It was what he was meant for. Cole felt sorry for the sarebaas, but knew that the mage felt no regret, no remorse for killing, and Cole refused to let this mage harm his friends. The former Spirit of Compassion sealed his presence from the sarebaas. If he could land a well placed blow, Cole could kill the enemy before he harmed anyone else.

Cole dashed invisibly towards the sarebaas, his dagger clenched tightly in his fists, and aimed to bury one in the Qunari's heart and liver. Cole's blades were stopped mere hairs away from his targets. Somehow, the sarebaas saw through Cole's concealment ability, and stopped his attack before it even started. The sarebaas' immense hand grabbed Cole's entire head, and started squeezing down on him, with the intent to crush Cole's skull like an egg.

Dorian and Vivienne both attacked the Qunari mage with their fire and ice based attacks simultaneously, stopping forcing him to release Cole. Qunari were naturally weak against the cold, and burn wounds are notoriously difficult to heal. They had to distract him so their comrades could attack an opening in his defense. The sarebaas charged at both mages with the speed and force of a cannonball. He blasted Vivienne away with a powerful blast of energy from his claw, and grabbed Dorian by the neck with his free hand.

The Qunari people had been warring with the Imperium ever since they first arrived in Thedas. They're blatant and indulgent use of the corruption of magic had been a bane on all of history, and especially the Qunari. To be holding the neck of one of the Imperium's Magisters in his hand was enough to make Saraath take a moment out of the battle to enjoy watching this Vint die.

"Dorian!" Iron Bull shouted, worried about his lover and furious at the sarebaas for harming him.

The Iron Bull attacked from the giant sarebaas' flank, and swung his axe to bury it deep into the giant mage's ribs. The sarebaas caught the Iron Bull's weapon in his hand just beneath the axe's head. Using the axe as a conductor, the sarebaas charged thousands of volts of electricity to electrocute the former Ben-Hessrath agent. Iron Bull just gritted his teeth and held on to his weapon even tighter.

"Is that it? Come on, I've had worse shit than that done to me in bed!" Iron Bull shouted mockingly to the mage that towered over even him.

With the both the sarebaas' arms occupied, and being so focused on Iron Bull and Dorian, Saraath didn't notice what was coming at him from the side. A large chunk of a marble wall was sent flying at the sarebaas, and bashed him right in the head, sending the giant Qunari stumbling back in a daze, and damaged his control-collar. Iron Bull quickly grabbed Dorian and pulled him to safety. The chunk of marble was thrown by a certain tattooed warrior.

"That all you've got? Compared to an Archdemon, you're less than nothing, you ox-headed son of a bitch!" Aedan spat viciously.

Aedan was standing in front of the broken wall Saraath sent him flying into, some of his bones were mangled and sticking out of his body, causing him horrible pain but enhanced his Reaver powers. Aedan clenched the Vigilance in his fists, and threw the heavy greatsword at the sarebaas like it weighed nothing to him. The sword came flying so quickly, that Saraath barely managed to deflect it with a force push, but he didn't anticipate how quickly Aedan could move. Despite his injuries, Aedan made his move just seconds after the sarebaas deflected his sword, and attacked the sarebaas with his bare hands. His arms were surrounded in that demonic red aura, that gave them the appearance of draconic claws. Aedan viciously clawed at the sarebaas, ripping his armor, and damaging his control collar even further.

Saraath unleashed a stream of magical bolts of energy down on the blood-crazed Hero, searing his flesh and burned his body, but all that did was make Aedan even stronger. With his control collar damaged, Saraath's magic wasn't as limited as before, and increased the power of his attack, to keep the Hero away from. Aedan was getting closer, his injuries making him stronger, all he needed was one shot, and he could kill the sarebaas in one blow. Saraath refused to back down, to fail in his duty, and with his control collar not holding him back like before, he summoned even more of his magic down on the blood-crazed Hero.

Saraath increased his power so much, that he actually managed to send the Hero flying backwards into the wall, again. Saraath never knew he had such power. The control collar sparked uncontrollably, but it no longer caused him pain to use his magic. It was like he could finally breathe without hurting himself. Saraath was so distracted by the strange sensation of the control collar not completely binding him, that he didn't notice what was coming at him from the sides.

Tallis came in on his right, and plunged both her daggers deep into the mage's massive arm, while Hawke skewered the sarebaas from behind with the Celebrant. Their weapons went deep in the sarebaas body, piercing his muscles and going straight through his bones.

"I'm sorry, Saraath, but you know I've got to do what I set out to do, just as I know you have to do what you must. I know you understand." Tallis said regretfully.

Saraath passed a glancing look at his fellow Qunari, and for the briefest of moments, flashed her a look of true understanding in his eyes. In that moment, Tallis knew she didn't need to hold back or feel any guilt. Her choices brought her here, and Saraath was fulfilling his own purpose, and neither of them were going to back down. They had to fight with everything they had, and would have no regrets.

Hawke pushed the Celebrant deeper through the Qunari's back, and shoved the tip of his sword right through the mage's ribcage and out the front side. Any other enemy impaled by the Champion's sword would have died in screaming agony, but the sarebaas just grunted and growled like all the attack did was make him mad. An aura of unstable energy exploded around Saraath's body, and blasted both Tallis and Hawke away, leaving their weapons lodged in his body.

"Andraste on her pyre, this is getting frustrating. Tallis, any idea how we fight this thing?" Hawke asked irritated.

"He's never used this much power before, I don't think he even knew he had this kind of power with all the lyrium the Viddasala has been giving him, but he's burning through his mana at a fast rate." Tallis answered tactically. "If we turn up the heat on him, he'll burn through all that extra power and be left exhausted. Like a sugar rush."

Wasting no time, Saraath quickly pulled both of Tallis' daggers that were left in his arm, and pulled out the Champion's sword that was stuck through his body. The Celebrant must not have penetrated any vital organs, because the sarebaas barely made a sound as he pulled it out of him, and used his magic to seal and repair his wounds. Much to everyone's surprise, especially Viddasala's, was instead of leaving both of them unarmed, Saraath tossed the weapons he pulled out of himself back to their true owners.

"What's going on? Why's he doing this?" Hawke inquired, and very cautiously picked his sword off the ground.

"He's showing us respect." Tallis answered solemnly, picking up her bloodied daggers. "He wants us to fight at our best, so that he can fulfill his purpose to the best of his ability."

"I don't want his respect, I want his blood!" Rajmael shouted, utterly furious, Neirin's blood still on his face.

The enraged Arcane Warrior attacked the Qunari sarebaas with his sword blazing with veilfire. He dashed faster than the naked could see, with the bloody desire to plunge his sword into the sarebaas' heart. But the sarebaas caught the elven blade with his bare hands, for a second time. Rajmael ghosted away from the giant mage, pulling his sword away from the sarebaas' grip. The Inquisitor moved so fast that the sarebaas didn't notice the lightning Rajmael planted on his chest. The lightning rune exploded, blowing apart some of the sarebaas' armor, and sent him stumbling backwards. Saraath had never encountered the power of an Arcane Warrior before, and it caught him off guard. He would need to use all his newfound strength to combat this enemy.

Aedan got back up, his body was covered in burn wounds, and he started coughing out blood. The sarebaas had injured him more than expected. Aedan could feel his Reaver powers increasing with every injury he sustained, but with no other dead enemies around to feed off their entropic energies to heal himself, Aedan risked walking that line between life and death too closely. Now was not the time to take such risks, or unleash that much power. Not yet, at least.

Aedan quickly downed a powerful healing draught to mend his wounds, which decreased his power, then charged on to help the Inquisitor. All of them attacked the sarebaas simultaneously, giving no room to breathe, no room to counter-attack. They had to press on, kill the damned sarebaas quickly, give him no chance to even use his magic. Swords, axes, arrows, daggers, magic, anything everything they had in their arsenal, they used with all their might.

Saraath's body was quickly covered in so many wounds, a lesser creature would have been killed under the fury of so many heroes. Saraath created a large barrier of destructive magic surrounded by a vortex that repelled all incoming attacks that forced all of them back. He had never used so much mana before, never fought for this long, or exerted so much effort. It was...liberating.

Rajmael refused to be pushed back, not after everything this bastard put him through. He activated his Shimmering Shield, and bypassed the vortex and barrier the sarebaas had conjured to protect himself, and Rajmael found himself standing alone before the behemoth of a mage in the powerful force field, and that's just what he wanted. The Inquisitor looked up at the giant mage with pure rage boiling in his golden eyes, and the mark in his hand was burning like a bonfire. The Anchor had built up too much energy, and it needed to be unleashed. The sarebaas had created the perfect container for Rajmael to unleash the mark's energy.

"You. Touched. My. DAUGHTER!" Rajmael roared in such rage pure enough to match Aedan Cousland's wrath.

The Inquisitor slammed his marked fist onto the ground and unleashed all the destructive, unstable energy the Anchor had built up. The mark was becoming so erratic, and its power was becoming more and more unstable. An explosion of green energy erupted inside the force field, and caused it to explode from the inside out. Rajmael phased out of the explosion, his Shimmering Shield rendering him incorporeal, and unaffected by the blast. The sarebaas, on the other hand, was a different matter.

Saraath lowered his barrier at the last second, rather than be trapped inside it with the powerful explosion. The force of the blast was so great, it sent Saraath's enormous mass flying across the courtyard. His flesh was scorched, horns cracked, and his control collar was damaged even further, but he was still alive, still standing. The Inquisitor and all his allies stood ready to keep fighting, they would not relent. And for the first time in years, Saraath felt something he had completely forgotten: true sense of purpose.

Never in his life had Saraath been so exhausted, pushed to the limits, used so much of his power. He had gone further than the limits his control collar allowed, yet he felt he could do more, dig deeper, go further than he had ever gone before. The strength and power of these opponents was greater than the restriction his collar, and the Viddasala would allow. For the first time in his life, Saraath wanted to fight on, not because it was his role, or because he was ordered to, but because it made him feel alive. Like his life had value to himself. Saraath, finally found his choice to make.

The Viddasala watched in horror as her colossal mage grabbed the cracked collar locked around his neck, and ripped it off his body, unleashing all the limits the Qun placed on his magic. In so doing, Saraath severed all ties and boundries of the Qun.

"Sarebaas! Meravaas! Meravaas!" The Viddasala called out desperately. But her calls to duty were completely ignored, something the Viddasala found almost incomprehensible, and the sarebaas jumped out of the courtyard like an Orlesian firework, leaving his opponents and the Viddasala behind.

"It would seem that sarebaas is done following orders." Dorian observed with a sigh of relief.

"Lucky break there, yeah?" Sera commented.

"Why is he turning his on the Viddasala like this, Tallis? Hawke inquired curiously.

"I think he's decided to make his own choice, before he dies." Tallis answered solemnly, knowing her heart that exactly what Saraath wanted.

The Viddasala hissed and cursed angrily in Qunlat. Her most reliable weapon had abandoned her, but she refused to abandon her mission. "You will not leave here, Inquisitor! Antaam, ebrashok adim!"

The gates to the inner courtyard raised open, and more squadrons of the Viddasala's soldiers came pouring in. The Viddasala grabbed Eva and continued onward through the eluvian behind her.

"Where's your precious Qun now? Rajmael is going to crush your precious certainty, and leave you broken in the dust!" Eva yelled mockingly at her the Viddasala, resisting her captor as best she could, while being dragged through the mirror.

"I'm coming, Eva. Just hold on a little longer." Rajmael swore. He cringed terribly, his left arm causing him horrible pain. Using the anchor as a weapon was taking its toll on him. He could feel the mark spreading, like it wanted to tear itself off of Rajmael, and take his whole arm with it. He could feel his flesh cracking, and his bones felt like they were burning form the inside. But Rajmael did his best to push the pain out of his mind, and used as much of his healing magic as he could spare. He wouldn't stop until Eva was safe, and he still had one last mission to accomplish.

Rajmael looked back at Neirin one last time, and tried to not let his companion's death effect him. Rajmael would see Neirin again very soon, and they would make the Great Journey together, and see all his family in the Beyond. But not yet, Rajmael knew Neirin would be waiting for him.

Legions of Qunar soldier, the elite soldiers from the Antaam, came pouring into the courtyard. If they couldn't rely on the sarebaas to fulfill his role, they would have to kill the Inquisitor themselves. The will of the Qun must be fulfilled.

With the sarebaas gone, no magic mirror to jump through, and none of those damned spirit guardians who were protecting this place the last time they were here, the Inquisitor and his companions were left with a kind of enemy they were all familiar with: mere mortals, fanatical zealots. Even if they were the elite of the Antaam, mere mortal can be slain, and fanatical zealots must be crushed.

"ENASALIN!" Rajmael's war cry rang over the legion of Qunari soldiers and the orders and curses they snarled in their native tongue.

All of them charged headlong into the Qunari ranks without even a trace of fear or doubt in them. Their superior numbers didn't matter, their silverite weapons and armor didn't matter. These Qunari were nothing compared to what the rest of them had fought before. They were not darkspawn spreading the Blight. They were not Hakkonites powered by ice enchantments. They were not Red Templars fueled by Red Lyrium, or Venatori bloodmages. Compared to all that, these Qunari were just fanatics with horns, nothing else.

Aedan, Hawke and Iron Bull crashed into the Qunari ranks with such astounding force, it was difficult to believe it was caused by three men, and stopped the charging Qunari dead in their tracks.

Iron Bull came down upon his former brethren with power of a rockslide, trampling anyone sorry enough to stand in his way. He swung his axe left and right, cleaving any and every son of a bitch blocking their path. Many tried to gang up on him, but that just made them easier for Iron Bull to hit them. A few managed to dodge the powerful swings of Iron Bull's axe, and landed several cuts on him, but they didn't even tickle him.

"Is that it? Is that the best you've got? I went through Seheron, you little shits!" Iron Bull yelled dangerously, before knocking all three of their heads off.

The Qunari javelin-throwers hurled a wave of their weapons at the oncoming baas. Aedan just stood there, his guard lowered, and allowed himself to be impaled by the enemy spearheads. Instead of killing or injuring him, all the Qunari did was increase his Reaver powers. With that demonic aura surrounding him, and Vigilance in hand, Aedan rushed at the Qunari in a blood-drunk haze, shredding every enemy apart with his sword, and feeding on the entropic energies of their deaths and agony.

Cassandra and Ranier charged passed the Hero, the Champion, and the Bull, and smashed the Qunari infantrymen with their shields. They hit them with so much force, the entire rank was pushed back into the gateway. Cassandra and Ranier refused to let any of their enemy get passed them. Cassandra cut them down with her sword, and Ranier smashed them with his mace.

With just enough space between them and the enemy, Varric started firing those special arrows he was tinkering with, just for Bianca. The dwarf began firing his explosive arrows at the Qunari, forcing them back even further. Sera, never being one to stay out of a messy fight, grabbed one of those new vials she got, and tossed it in the air over the Qunari's horned heads. She shot the vial right out of the air with a fire arrow, and made it rain burning tar and shards of glass down on the Qunari. The two archers forced the Qunari back even further.

Cole, Zevran, and Tallis slipped through the flanks, silently and unseen, even amongst all this chaos, no one noticed the three of them. For Zevran and Tallis, it came from their elite training as world-class assassins. For Cole, his abilities from when he was a spirit still had use to him. The three rogues quickly began attacking the chinks the Qunari's armor while they were distracted by the others. With their daggers, they severed the tendons and opened the arteries that weren't protected by that fancy silverite armor. They moved so quickly and silently, that the Qunari didn't notice what had happened to them until they had already collapsed from blood loss or being hamstringed.

Using his abilities as a Necromancer, Dorian summoned as many spirits as he could to occupy the husks of the slain enemies laying on the ground. A sense of dread and horror overcame the Qunari soldiers when their own brethren rose from the ground and began attacking them. Their attacks did nothing against their newfound undead opponents, the Qunari were driven back even further. Using their disarray to her advantage, Vivienne stamped her staff to the ground, and conjured a field of ice-glyphs beneath the Qunari's feet. A field of spear-like icicles sprang up from the ground, impaling any Qunari standing over them. Their bodies were like butterflies pinned on thorns.

The Qunari's weapon's broke on Hawke's enchanted armor, leaving them open for the Champion to cut them down with the Celebrant. The Qunari's silverite armor did very little to protect them from Hawke's sword when it carved straight into them; they may as well have been wearing paper. The Champion gripped his sword as tightly as he could, and activated the powerful fire rune Sandal enchanted on the blade. Hawke raised his flaming sword high over his head, then brought it to the ground with all his might. The Celebrant sent a wave of fire cascading towards the Qunari, burning anyone in its path.

A path was opened, the Qunari ranks were broken. They could move forward, but there was still many more Qunari coming their way.

"Rajmael, the path is clear! Get to Eva, we'll hold the rest off as best we can." Cassandra beseeched her lover.

Rajmael dashed passed his comrades, through the path of dead men they cleared for him, and charged across a narrow bridge to the next courtyard, cutting down any Qunari who stood in his way. The others quickly followed after him.

Rajmael reached the adjacent courtyard. On the other side, was another eluvian, surrounded by a small army of Qunari soldiers. Rajmael's heart pounded inside his chest when he saw Eva being dragged towards the eluvian by the Viddasala. If they went through that mirror, there was no telling where that Qunari hag would take his daughter. Rajmael didn't come this far and lose Neirin just so his daughter could slip away from him again. Rajmael would take her back now.

"Eva!" Rajmael cried out to his daughter.

Eva heard the familiar voice of the man who became her father, and felt her spirit soar when she saw him running towards her through the sea of Qunari soldiers. "Rajmael!"

The Viddasala couldn't believe her own eyes. Even with the mark causing him horrible agony and slowly killing him, even after all the men she sent to finish the Inquisitor off, he was still coming after them. She could respect such strength of will and power of focus, but the Inquisitor's interference and meddling had cost her too much already, and earned the Viddasala anger.

Taking advantage of her captor's distraction, Eva quickly grabbed the dagger strapped the Viddasala's belt, and stabbed the fanatical kidnapper in the thigh as deeply as she could. The Viddasala grunted and hissed in pain, and unconsciously released Eva. Finally free from the Viddasala's grasp, Eva ran towards Rajmael as fast as she could, moving around the soldiers that stood between her and him.

"Antaam, vinek kathas! Kill the Inquisitor!" The Viddasala ordered while she pulled her own dagger out of her leg. There was no more time to waste, she had to complete her own mission. One that took precedence over the Inquisitor. She limped through the eluvin, ignoring the pain in her leg. The Inquisitor would die soon enough, all that mattered was reaching Solas.

The Viddasala's soldiers came stampeding towards the Inquisitor. Rajmael was too distracted by trying to reach Eva to even acknowledge all the Qunari coming at him, and just kept running towards his daughter. The Qunari didn't matter, his pain didn't matter. The only thing that mattered to Rajmael was Eva.

A volley of arrow came flying out of nowhere, and shot down several of the Qunari who were in the Inquisitor's way. Some of them exploded on impact. It was Varric, keeping the enemy of Rajmael's flank. Aedan, Hawke, and the rest of the Inquisitor's companions came charging through the gate, and provided Rajmael with covering fire and backup.

Varric and Sera fired as many of their arrows as they could down at the Qunari soldiers, to keep them away from both Rajmael and Eva. The warriors and rogues crashed against the enemy like a tidal wave breaking down a cliff, and halted the Qunari's advance. Dorian and Vivienne provided suppressive fire by unleashing spells of offensive fire and ice magic down on the enemy soldiers.

Time slowed to an absolute crawl while Rajmael ran as fast as he could to his adopted child. He was so close now. After so much hardship and bloodshed, Rajmael would have her back. Tears of utter joy filled Eva's eyes as she ran to her step-father. Never before had she been so happy to see his face, all traces of the anger and resentment she felt for him not that long ago were completely gone. All she could feel for him was true happiness, and realized just how much she loved him.

They were so close now, even as time dragged around them. Rajmael reached his arms out to Eva, to finally hold her again. He would finally be reunited with her.

"Rajmael!" Eva cried out joyfully, and leaped to his open arms.

Mere hairs away from reaching Rajmael's hands, a pained gasp escaped Eva's lips. She fell to the ground, limp and blood trailing from her body. Distracted by his own joy to hold Eva again, Rajmael failed to notice the enemy archer aiming his bow at him. When Eva leapt to Rajmael's arms, she took the arrow meant for him.

"NOOOO! EVA!" Rajmael screamed in such horror it carried over the battlefield. He rushed over to his daughter and scooped her up in arms. Rajmael felt his heart being ripped apart by jagged pieces of glass, when he felt her blood wetting his hands. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be happening!

The arrow pierced Eva near her heart, making her bleed badly. If Rajmael tried to use his healing magic to save her, he would more likely end up killing Eva himself. He tried to apply pressure around the wound to stop the bleeding, but it was futile. How could be happening? After everything he did to finally get her back, Rajmael was going to lose her. He swore to Nethras and Evanura he would protect their child, and he failed.

"R-Rajmael...?" Eva whimpered in pain, her beautiful green eyes filled with fright and tears.

Seeing the child he loved as his own daughter in such pain, so scared, and there was nothing he could do to help her, it awoke that thing in the back of Rajmael's mind. It screamed at him to be released, and this time, Rajmael listened to it. After everything he has suffered, everything his family, his people had suffered, these damned oxmen dared to take and harm the only person that gave his life meaning. Bloody tears of pure anguish and rage stained Rajmael's face, and he looked upon the battlefield of men who dared to hurt his daughter. He was going to kill them all.

A horrible scream erupted from Rajmael lips, unlike anything anyone had ever heard. It was unlike any pain Rajmael had ever suffered in all his years of agony and hardship. It wasn't the sound of a man in physical pain, no. It was the sound of a soul being ripped apart inside.

"AAAAAHHHHH! MELANA DIN'NAN! YOU BASTARDS!" Rajmael screamed with bloody tears streaming from his eyes.

Before anyone could react, or even comprehend what was happening, Rajmael unleashed all the unstable energy being held back by the mark. Like the explosion that destroyed the Conclave, it was brief, consumed everyone caught in its path, and destroyed everything it touched. The battlefield was reduced to a charred wasteland, the ruined building blasted apart, and all the Qunari were reduced to hollowed husks where they stood.

All the Inquisitor's comrades were taken aback by what just happened. They were being hard-pressed to hold the enemy soldier back, the Rajmael unleashed the power of the Anchor on them, burning everything in its path into a smoldering ruin. What caused him to unleash such rage?

Cassandra felt her heart shatter when she approached Rajmael, and saw him cradling the body of his daughter, dying in his arms. "Oh, no. Maker, please, have mercy."

Everyone gathered around Rajmael, but remained absolutely silent. All of them felt for Rajmael's loss, and wished they could have done something to help Eva. Tallis felt the most guilt, for she knew that this was all her fault. If she hadn't kidnapped Eva in the first place, none of this would have happened, and now that innocent child was dying, and her blood was on Tallis' hands. Never in all her life had Tallis wished that she wasn't Qunari, if only it meant this girl would be spared.

Painful tears stung Cassandra's eyes. After everything Rajmael suffered, he was forced to suffer the worse fate she could think: the loss of his child. How could this happen? Eva was a sweet, innocent child who had nothing to do with this senseless war the Qunari wanted to start. How could the Maker be so cruel? Hasn't Rajmael suffered enough?

A piece of Rajmael's soul began to wither away inside him as he held his dying daughter in his arms. He could feel her life slipping with every second, her time coming fast. Grief and shame consumed Rajmael, and how he wished that he had died instead of her.

Eva gasped and whimpered painfully, and reached her hands out to touch Rajmael's face. "R-Rajmael...I'm so sorry. I didn't mean what I said, I don't hate you. Can...you forgive me?"

"Oh, Eva, my sweet Da'vhenan, there's nothing to forgive." Rajmael said warmly. He tried to keep a strong face, but it was no use. He had no strength left. "You were angry, and it was my fault. I could never hate you."

Eva smiled at her step-father. She was so happy to make peace with him.

"Rajmael...I'm so cold..." Eva whispered weakly.

"Shh. It's alright, Eva. I promise, everything's going to be fine." Rajmael promised, holding her close to him. He was trying to convince himself more than Eva.

Eva hugged Rajmael close, trying vainly to warm herself in his arms. She tried to keep her eyes open, but it was so hard. "Rajmael...? I'm...so...tired..."

"No. No, Eva, please. Please, stay with me. You're all I have. I can't lose you, too." Rajmael cried, desperately trying to keep her with him.

"It's alright, Rajmael. I promise...I won't leave. I just...need to...rest." Eva whispered weakly, fighting to stay awake. "Will you be here when I wake up?"

Rajmael cradled Eva closely, his tears burning down his face. He held her the day she was born, now he was forced to hold her as life left her. "I promise Da'vhenan, I'll always be there for you. You will always have me."

Eva's eyes were getting so heavy. It was so hard to stay awake, and she was shivering uncontrollably in his arms. "Rajmael...? Would you...Would you sing the song I like? The one Mama sung to me?"

Rajmael tried to find his strength and sing to his beloved daughter, if only to make her comfortable. He wished so badly that he could take he place, and be the one to die right now. "Elgara vallas, da'len...Melava somniar...Mala tara aravas...Ara ma'desen melar..."

A painful sob cracked in Rajmael throat, and agonizing tears burned his face Eva's body finally went limp in his arms, and felt her last breath leave on his cheek. In that moment, Rajmael felt a piece of his soul die inside him, and wished so badly that he died with her. What meaning did his life have without her? He may as well just let the Anchor consume him.

"My love, I'm so sorry." Cassandra cried as she knelt beside Rajmael, and held him as comfortingly as she could. Her heart was absolutely broken for him. Cassandra loved Rajmael so much that his pain was her pain, and there was no greater agony than this. How she wished with all her heart for a miracle that would undo all this tragedy. If only the Maker could be so merciful.

"It...It's not your fault, Inquisitor. You're not the to blame for this." Ranier insisted fervently. It didn't take a genius to see the Inquisitor blamed himself for what happened to his daughter, but he was not responsible for this. "You're not the one who put her in harm's way."

"No, you're not. I am. I brought this on Eva." Tallis said bitterly, and knelt to the Inquisitor repentantly. Never before had she wished that she had never served the Qun. In her desire to remain loyal to the Qun, she cost an innocent girl her life. Tallis was guilty, and she knew it. "I'm sorry. I am so sorry..."

Aedan turned away from the tragedy unfolding before him. He already knew the pain of losing family, and as a parent, he knew there was no greater fear than to lose a child. If he had lost Kieran, Aedan knew he would never be whole again. He could not fathom the pain the Inquisitor was in now, and he didn't want to.

Cole lowered his hat over his face, tears streaming from his eyes like rivers. He could still feel the emotions and feelings of others, and all Cole could feel now was Rajmael's horrible pain. It was like someone tore out his heart, and left a deep, bleeding hole inside him that couldn't be healed. It was so painful, so horrible, that it couldn't be lived with. All Rajmael wanted now was for the pain to stop.

Varric tried to keep a strong façade, but it was useless. He was there when Hawke's mother died, and it tore his friend up inside. Varric saw the pain in Rajmael when he was forced to kill his own brother. Now, Rajmael had to watch his daughter die. The little Spitfire didn't deserve this, neither of them did. Andraste's ass, the world treated its heroes like utter shit.

Rajmael looked upon Eva's still body, and felt his heart shatter. Nethras and Evanura entrusted their daughter to him, and he couldn't protect her. Couldn't even save her from a damned stray arrow that was meant for him. This wasn't how it was meant to be. Rajmael was suppose to protect Eva. He wasn't meant to outlive her. He should have died so she could live. How could he have failed so miserably? No Arcane Warrior could live with such disgrace and shame.

Rajmael felt someone put their hand on his shoulder, and he looked up to see the Champion standing over him.

"Leave me, Hawke. All of you, please...just leave me..." Rajmael pleaded in defeat, ready to reside himself to just die.

"Inquisitor, please. Just wait." Hawke urged gently. The Champion knelt next to Rajmael, and respectfully pulled the arrow out of poor Eva's back.

Wait? Wait for what? What was left for him to wait for? Rajmael looked down upon Eva's body and wept at the sight of her lifeless face. Once, her eyes were so full of life and joy, but now they were closed, and all traces of her life were gone. But something was different. There was something alive here.

There was a necklace strapped to Eva that Rajmael didn't recognize. It was a smooth black stone with the image of a skyclad woman surrounded by birds. A strange magic began humming from the amulet, and then it cracked open like an egg being hatched. A bright burst of magic broke free from the stone in the shape of a sparrow, and fluttered over Eva's body.

"The Heart of the Lady...!" Aedan gasped in realization as he watched the bird of magic energy fly.

The magic sparrow flew down and rested on Eva's chest, and merged into her body. What strange magic was this? The strange magic caused Eva's body to glow with the same energy, then disappeared. What was all this meant to accomplish?

A faint gasp escaped Eva's lips, and her brilliant green fluttered open. All traces of her pain gone, her life restored. She opened her eyes and yawned, like she had woken from a pleasant sleep.

"Rajmael? I...I'm not tired anymore." Eva spoke softly. She looked at her adopted father with tears welling up in her beautiful green eyes. "I told you I wouldn't leave."

Wasting no words, Rajmael hugged Eva as close to him as he could, and for the first time he could remember, shed tears of true happiness. To have lost so much throughout his life, and to have lost Eva, then get her back, it was the most joyous think he ever felt. For once in miserable his life, he didn't fail to save someone he loved.

"Thank you, Champion." Rajmael wept in truest gratitude.

"Well done, Sergeant. Very well done." Aedan complimented genuinely. That necklace was the Heart of the Lady, an Avvar artifact that said to have been blessed of the Lady of The Skies herself. According to legend, it had the power to restore life to its wearer in the event of death. The Avvar shaman Siobahn gifted it to Aedan, and he bequeathed it to Hawke. And in turn, Hawke had given it to Eva.

Cassandra felt her heart erupt with a kind of relief and joy she had never known before. Her eyes filled with happy tears of her own at this sight of this miracle. After witnessing all the hardship and pain Rajmael had been through, all the loss he had suffered, Cassandra was so happy to see that the man she loved was spared the heartache of losing his daughter. After everything he had been through, Cassandra feared she would lose Rajmael, too. Sometimes, the Maker was kind, even to those who didn't believe in Him. What else could this be but a miracle?

"Can we go home now, please?" Eva cried, hugging Rajmael as close as she could.

Rajmael took a moment to hug her for a little while longer. After what just happened, he didn't have the heart to tell Eva that he would never see home again. Not with the mark killing him. "Yes, Da'vhenan. You're going home now."

"Aren't you coming with me?" Eva asked pleadingly.

"I wish I could, I truly do, but I still have to finish my mission, Eva." Rajmael answered sorrowfully. "Before I go, there is something beyond precious I must give you." Rajmael reached into his satchel, pulled out the tome he received from the Librarians in the Vir Dirthara, and presented it to Eva. "Eva, this tome, it's a codex of the entire Elvhen language, written and spoken. The secrets of our ancestors are inscribed in this book. Take it, study it, make it a part of who you are, and pass it on to the rest of the People. This is the legacy of our ancestors, and it's yours to inherit now."

Eva gently took the precious codex, and held it closely to her like the treasure it was. "I promise I'll make sure this reaches all our people."

Rajmael placed his hand on her cheek, and looked at her with the love and affection only a father could have. "You are the future of our people, Eva. You're everything that made your parents shine, and I can't think of a greater joy and honor than to have been your father, if only for a while. Cole, Zevran, take her back through the eluvians. Make sure she gets to the Winter Palace safely."

"I would honored to escort the young lady, Lord Inquisitor." Zevran said with charming humility.

"She's safe now. We'll make sure she stays safe." Cole promised.

Before the two rogues escorted the elven child away, Tallis approached both Rajmael and Eva. Her head was hanging low, and her face full of humility. "Eva, Inquisitor, I'm so sorry. All of this, everything you've been through, is my fault. I never should have gotten you involved. I...I'm so sorry."

"You drugged me, chained me to a wall, and you wanted to convert me to the Qun. Under most circumstances, I'd tell you to go jump of a bridge." Eva rebutted harshly, but not unfairly. "But, you did release me at no small risk to yourself, and you even turned against your brethren to help me. So I guess we can call it quits."

"Thanks. The actually means a lot to me." Tallis said with a grateful smile.

Eva hugged Rajmael, and he kissed her head one last time before Cole and Zevran escorted her back towards the mirrors. He never took his eyes off her until she was gone. Eva looked back one last time, and waved to her father, hoping beyond all hope that he would come home.

With Eva safe, Rajmael felt a sense of completion he had almost forgotten. He kept his promise to Evanura and Nethras, and thanks to the compassion of Garret Hawke, Eva was safe. Rajmael could now face his death without any shame. Rajmael's only regret was that he wouldn't get to witness Eva's life, and that she would grow up an orphan. He wished so badly that he had more time.

However, Rajmael still had one last matter to settle before he died and made the Great Journey. The Viddasala still had to be defeated, and her insane Dragon's Breath plan needed to be stopped. More importantly than that, Rajmael had to reach Solas. There were some answers Rajmael must have from his old friend before he dies.

Rajmael walked through the eluvian, and followed after the Viddasala, his mark burning with terrible agony. The Inquisitor knew that once he walked through this mirror, even if he reached Solas in time, his death was almost certain. But no matter what happened to him once this mission was completed, Rajmael knew Eva was safe, and he could take the Great Journey without shame or sorrow. That was a death worthy of an Arcane Warrior.

Language Codex:

Ataash Qunari!: Qunar war cry. Translates as "Glory for the Qunari!"

Vinek Kathas: Qunari order. Translates basically as "Kill them".

Herah katara, bas: Qunari phrase. Translates as "Time to die, foreigners".

Sarebaas: Qunari term of mage. Translates literally as "Dangerous Thing".

Marevas: Qunari term. Translates as "It must be" or "So shall it be".

Merevas adim kata: Qunari order. Possibly translates as "Your purpose is to kill them".

Antaam, vinek kathas: Translates basically as "Soldiers, go kill them".

Ar enaste ar'tu na'din: Elven threat. Translates as "I will enjoy killing you".

Melana din'nan: Elven threat. Translates as "It's time to die".

Dareth'shiral, Lethallin: Elven farewell. Literally translates as "Safe journey, my friend".

Neirin, mahalani ar ama mir da'len: Elven request. Translates as "Neirin, help me save my child".

Elgara vallas, da'len...Melava somniar...Mala tara aravas...Ara ma'desen melar...: Elven lyrics to the lullaby "Mir Da'len Somniar".

Da'vhenan: Elven term of affection. Translates as "Little Heart".

Author's Note:

Okay, first of all, sorry for misleading all of you.

I know in my previous chapter I said this would be the last chapter, but that is not the case.

Given the quality of this content, I felt it deserved to have a chapter of its own.

I know this chapter isn't as long as my previous one, but I believe in quality over quantity, and writing the details of this chapter wasn't easy.

Also, this being the Holiday Season, much of my personal time was taken up towards my family.

Coming up next is the conclusion of Ramael of Clan Lavellan.

And this time I mean it.

Hopefully, I'll get it done before the end of the year.