Chapter 44 = = People Come and Go So Quickly Around Here.

RL,

Please assure Le Crapaud that instructions will be given to our honorable knight and that he will not be taking his territory.

~Your Lady

My Lady,

With pleasure!

~RL

RL,

As an added gift, once the meetings have finished – the coffer shall be presented to Le Crapaud by La Reine

~Your Lady

Emmalynn placed the last note on the desk. "Ali, that must be why Celine's note to you was so oddly worded. She was instructing you to put on a crown, just not a crown of office."

"Instructions I did not need, I might add." He grinned at his betrothed.

"I didn't realize that the Empress took notice of me," Emmalynn said.

"The 'Devine debt' may mean putting the Divine in Celine's debt - that may explain Dorothea's presence, and the Divine's writ," Anora observed. "Celine finds out that the Grand Duke is trying to destabilize Ferelden; in response Celine does a favor for the Duke of Lydes by trying to have Cailan marry Monette – that had to be the falling out between Eamon and Cailan the year before Ostagar."

"Leliana would have some insight on this. It sounds like Celine had more than one plot going on." Alistair said.

"She is known for that." Anora nodded

There was a knock on the door. The queen called, "Yes?"

Her Chamberlain entered. "Your Majesty, Arl Eamon Guerin is here. Shall I send him in?"

"Yes, please do." Anora had a gleam in her eyes that did not bode well for the Arl.

Alistair and Emmalynn were standing when Eamon walked in. Alistair bowed and Emma curtsied towards the Arl. "Your Grace,' Emmalynn added.

Eamon, trying to hide his surprise at seeing Alistair and Emmalynn, nodded to the couple and bowed to the Queen. "Your Majesty."

"Please, let us all sit down," Anora offered with a disarming smile.

He spoke directly to the Queen, almost as if Emmalynn and Alistair were not in the room. "What may I do for you, Your Majesty?" Eamon asked.

Alistair recognized the Arl's tone. He has chosen the role of Elder Statesman.

"Actually, I have something to give you." She pulled the cloth from the coffer.

Eamon completely failed to hide his shock at seeing the familiar coffer, nor could he hide the sweat beading on his brow as he wondered how much the queen knew.

"Consider this a gift."

"Um…ah…Thank you, Your Majesty, it is a lovely coffer."

"It is not a gift from me."

"It isn't?"

She handed him the parchments. "These were taped to the bottom of the coffer; they will identify your benefactor."

He was about to put them in his breast pocket when Anora said, "No, Eamon. Please read them now because I do not want them out of my possession."

Alistair and Emmalynn looked at the Queen. Emma said, "Shall we give you and the Arl some privacy, your Majesty?"

"No need."

It took Eamon little time to read the notes, but they watched as his expression went from confusion to anger tinged with trepidation. He handed the letters back to the Queen.

"Arl Eamon. Your behavior during these past two years has bordered on treason. You tried to have my husband put me aside, and then when he died you tried to push Alistair to take his place. You have consistently acted in your best interests, not those of Ferelden. That you have not been turned into a toad shows the remarkable restraint of Ferelden's mages."

"Your Majesty, I assure you that my concern has always been for Ferelden!"

"How does Ferelden benefit by belonging to Orlais…again? You blamed my father for starting a civil war so he could take the crown. As misguided as he was, his actions were always about Ferelden's interests, not his own. We are getting ready for war, and you need to lead your men into battle – as do the other Arls and banns. Dismissed."

Eamon bowed low. "Your Majesty." He turned and left.

Anora shook her head. "Le Crapaud…it fits." She looked at Alistair and Emma. "I am not done with Eamon, though I am going to wait until the Archdemon is defeated."

~oOOo~

After seeing the Queen, Alistair and Emma went back to the mage encampment. Worn out by the frenetic pace of the days long Landsmeet, Alistair and Emma made an early night of it. Emma fell asleep as soon as her head hit her pillow.

She woke up in Hope's Fadescape: the rolling hills of Starkhaven carpeted in blue-green grass, the cloudless blue sky and the comfortable warmth was as it had always been. But Emmalynn noticed two differences. One was the cool breeze that rippled through the grass was missing, and the second difference wasn't a thing, it was a person.

"Morrigan?"

Upon hearing Emmalynn's voice, Morrigan whirled around and a bolt of lightning shot from the top of her ebony staff and arched towards Emmalynn, who was able to put up a barrier in time. The barrier absorbed the electricity but not all of the physical impact and Emma briefly staggered.

"You are not a demon, then," Morrigan stated calmly.

Emma dropped the barrier. "No it's just me. Why are you here?"

"You did not bring me here?"

"No."

"What is this place?"

"Hope's Fadescape, save for the lack of its typical breeze."

"Sorry, this was an unexpected meeting," Hope said as the light breeze returned. "Hello Morrigan."

"Ah, one of those responsible for the scourge of the Andrastian religion and the enslavement of mages. I cannot say that I am pleased to meet you."

"I did not start the Andrastian religion, nor do I agree with many of its tenants, but that is an argument for later." Hope stepped aside to reveal a woman with white hair arranged to appear as horns. The white hair and the lines of her face were those of a much older woman, yet her body, while not that of a maiden, was certainly not one of a crone.

"Mother?"

"Flemeth?" Rana had told her that Flemeth was Morrigan's mother. Emmalynn knew the tales of Flemeth, but the woman with whom she was sharing this Fadescape was enormously powerful in a way that was more like Hope and less like a mortal mage.

"I've been hoping to meet you, healer, but my Morrigan never arranged an introduction."

"Unless I'm very wrong, you already know who I am. How would you prefer to be addressed, Asha'bellanar?"

"Flemeth will do, Emmalynn."

Morrigan's frown was almost scowl. "Mother, why are you here?"

"I was invited.

Hope interjected, "Time is short, and I need to get straight to the point of why I wanted you all here: Flemeth and Morrigan, avoid Urthemiel, Razikale, and Lusacan. You will not get what you seek – they are old, but they are not gods. They were ancient spirits forced into the bodies of high dragons, forced to become souls, and then banished to underground prisons. You must know that, Flemeth – you usurped their original demesne."

"Be careful, of what you say," Flemeth warned, her eyes briefly flicking to Morrigan then back to Hope.

Hope looked from Flemeth to Morrigan, then back to Flemeth and shook her head. "Flemeth, you underestimate the cleverness of others."

"We shall see." Flemeth sounded skeptical.

Hope looked irked, but continued, "These ancient spirit-souls are of such purity that once the darkspawn contaminate them, their demonic opposites become pure taint-fueled evil. If you continue on this path, the result will be catastrophic. Please, you must sense that much?"

"I see mother is not the only one who speaks in riddles," Morrigan said softly to Emmalynn.

Emmalynn nodded ruefully.

"It would seem they are locked in a battle of wills," Morrigan observed.

"Who will blink first?" Emma whispered to Morrigan

It was Flemeth. "Justinia, I knew that Emmalynn had a powerful ally in you. You certainly do not disappoint." Flemeth turned to her daughter. "Morrigan, do not perform the ritual."

"What?"

"You heard me."

"Mother, I have come all this way, done all you asked me to do, and now I am to just drop it?"

"Yes, you must. I cannot explain why."

"Cannot or will not?"

Flemeth smiled. "It matters little. Bend, dear girl, and you'll be less likely to break in the winds of change."

"And be willing to have you possess my body like some vessel?'"

"I am not your enemy, my daughter. A soul cannot be forced on the unwilling." She waited to see the spark of understanding on Morrigan's face before turning to Emmalynn again. "Healer, your gift is great, use it well." With that Flemeth was gone.

Emma looked at Morrigan. "I take it your primary reason for being with the wardens has been eliminated?"

"T'would seem so."

"Stay with the wardens, Morrigan? They need you. We need you. Can you and I talk in the morning? Come to my tent?"

Morrigan thought about it, then nodded. "Yes, I will see you in the morning." Then she turned to Justinia,. "May I leave?"

"You were always free to leave. You stayed because you wanted to."

"I suppose 'tis true." Morrigan nodded to Emmalynn. "I will see you tomorrow." She left the Fade.

Once it was just Hope and Emmalynn, Emmalynn looked upset.

"What upsets you child?"

"These spirits were forced into being souls and then were forced into the shape of a high dragon. Its untainted soul must want freedom from the malevolence of its existence and a way to end to the aching emptiness of being alone. If we can send it into the Fade without killing the Warden, it will also be free of guilt."

Hope reached out and tucked an errant curl behind Emmalynn's ear. "Teagan is a lucky man to gain you as a daughter. Now, you need rest. Sleep."

Emmalynn woke with a start, sitting up trying to get her wits about her. Alistair stirred next to her, his voice saying her name felt like an intimate caress. "Emma?"

She lay back down, putting her head on his shoulder as his arms wrapped around her, his warmth and strength helping to calm her. "I had an odd meeting with Hope."

"Is everything alright?"

"I think so. But I won't find out tonight, Hope told me I needed to rest."

Alistair pulled her close, "She's not wrong. It's been a tumultuous few days."

"I love you, Ali."

"I love you, too."

~oOOo~

Alistair and Emma had breakfast before he left to meet with Aedan and the Dwarven army, which arrived during the Landsmeet. Shortly after he left Morrigan arrived at Emmalynn's tent. Flown in through the flap. Emmalynn had tea waiting.

The women sat down and Emmalynn said, "If you want me to, I promise to keep this between us."

"There is no need to for you to be sworn to secrecy. I trust you not to use this information for ill. Besides, I shan't have you hiding things from people on my account."

"Fair enough. Tea?"

Morrigan gave a rather regal nod of her head as she accepted mug of tea.

"What was your and your mother's plan?"

"I do like how you get to the point. The night before the battle I was to lay with a warden who was recently tainted – at the time it would have been Aedan or Surana, but it could also be Jowan. From that union a child would be conceived, and it would bear the taint. When the Archdemon dies, its soul would be drawn to the newly forming child. The child would have absorbed the soul without peril and would be born with the soul of an old god."

"Why do that?"

"Some things should be preserved."

"Is that what Flemeth told you?"

"Yes, she also taught me the ritual."

"You accused her of wanting to possess you?"

"Yes, though it seems that was an idle threat."

Emma looked troubled. "The Archdemon is drawn by the taint and you believe that the taint in the child would be a stronger pull than that of the Grey Warden who killed it, or even a darkspawn?"

Morrigan nodded.

"The child would have a soul of its own as well?"

Morrigan nodded. "'Tis clear you carry doubts."

"Once it dies, the archdemon's soul is free of the taint, is that your understanding?"

"Yes, yours as well."

Emmalynn nodded. "The soul is drawn to the child via the taint and the child retains its own soul?"

"Yes. Although I do say I find this repetitive questioning rather odd. You have never seemed to be a simpleton."

"Morrigan, if the soul enters a tainted embryo, then how does the archdemon's soul remain untainted?"

Morrigan frowned and answered, "'Tis part of the ritual."

"Is it? To me the ritual seems more about ensuring conception."

Morrigan thought about it for a bit, clearly going over the ritual in her mind. She sighed. "I believe you are correct. There is nothing specifically in the ritual that makes the taint behave any differently."

"You also mentioned that the child could absorb the soul without harm."

"The soul of the child is little more than a spirit, it has no experiences or memories."

"Then it is not a soul, Morrigan, in which case the archdemon will try to transform it into a dragon, killing you in the process. That is what happens when a warden dies killing the archdemon.

"But if the child does have a soul it that would mean that two souls can exist in the same body at the same time." Morrigan looked perplexed.

"Yes, they can. There is no paradox. The warden's body dies because the archdemon, having been re-tainted by the warden, tries to transform into a dragon, but because the warden's soul fixes its form, it cannot transform. The warden dies but both souls—now taint-free–are sent into the Fade. Neither soul is destroyed."

"How does Mother not know this?"

"I'm quite sure she knows there is no paradox, otherwise she would never have suggested the ritual. I think she is wrong or is not telling the truth about the embryo being tainted."

"Not tainted?"

"As a healer I can tell you that the taint destroys the ability of a male warden to have children because it changes the male's…uh…contribution. Any tainted contribution will be rejected by the body of female non-warden, preventing conception or causing an early miscarriage. That is why you need to lay with a new warden, less of their contribution will be damaged allowing the conception ritual to work."

"Then if not the taint, what would draw the soul to the child?"

"I think it's drawn by the absolute purity of the new soul. I spoke with Hope after you left the Fade. Unlike a god, I believe the untainted soul ultimately seeks freedom from the malevolence of the taint."

"If that's true why doesn't it simply seek out an untainted person?"

"Remember what your mother said–a soul cannot be forced on the unwilling. Anyone who isn't a darkspawn or a grey warden would be unwilling."

Morrigan paused thoughtfully, then ventured, "However, the child I would conceive provides what neither a Warden nor Darkspawn can – freedom from evil. The child provides a third choice, and no Warden need die. All the more reason to perform the ritual."

Emmalynn shook her head. "It needs the freedom that only the Fade or the beyond can ensure. On this side of the veil, being inside a child, it would leave it vulnerable to the depredations of maleficar–real ones."

"Several Tevinter cults come to mind," Morrigan responded. "Perhaps that is behind Hope's warning to Mother."

"I would agree." Emmalynn leaned forward earnestly. "Morrigan, please stay with us as we fight the archdemon."

Morrigan nodded. "I shan't perform the ritual and I will stay to help with the Archdemon, especially as I know you must have something up your sleeve to save the warden who makes the kill."

"I do and I will tell you about it once I get the Wardens to agree."

"For a Circle mage you are amazingly well-informed and far more open-minded than many Andrastians."

"Thank you, Morrigan, that means a lot coming from you."

~oOOo~

Morrigan left only a candle mark before Emmalynn heard, "M, you in there?"

My people come and go so quickly around here. "Yes, Rana–" She stopped, watching Rana enter the tent. Arching an eyebrow, she said, "Please, do come in."

"Sorry. M, Aedan and Riordan are heading here."

"Let me guess. Aedan told Riordan about my ideas about killing the Archdemon, and now they are coming here so I can convince Riordan that the paradox is tripe and I have a way out?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Thanks for the warning. I guess lunch will have to wait."

Within the next few candle marks Riordan and Aedan arrived. Riordan looked like he had a full head of steam. "I understand that you have been told of Warden secrets and believe that we do not understand something we've been fighting for twelve hundred years."

"Actually, 800 years, as four hundred of those have been blight free. Please have a seat."

He sat. "Before you continue, I choose the long version this time."

"Riordan, you made a joke," Rana said with a smirk.

The senior warden ignored him, keeping his gaze on the young healer.

"Fair enough. Let me explain what really happens when the Archdemon dies. When the soul of the Archdemon enters a warden's body, it becomes tainted again and attempts to transform into a dragon and live on. A futile attempt because the warden has a soul and therefore fixes its mortal form.

"It is this attempted transformation that kills the body of the warden. Because the Archdemon's soul is tied to the fate of the warden's soul, when the warden's body dies both of their souls are sent to the Fade. There is no paradox."

"Is that all? This is all an academic exercise because the warden is still dead, yes?"

"First, sacrificing one life is bad enough without thinking your very essence will be destroyed. In any event, I have a way that can save the life of the warden who strikes down the archdemon."

"I'm listening." Riordan crossed his arms, his body language and his tone indicated otherwise.

"Did you know a mage's soul can be sent into the fade then return?"

Riordan sputtered. "That is how the Magisters started this whole mess!"

"No, Warden. The Magisters physically entered the fade, in flesh and blood. I am talking about the soul."

Riordan opened his mouth to speak, but then just closed it.

Emmalynn sat back and frowned at the senior warden. "Given your lack of awareness of that much are you ready to actually listen to me?"

He nodded in resignation.

"A mage's soul can be sent into the fade and can return to their body so long as the body lives. To do so takes lyrium and a few mages. Similarly, both the warden-mage's soul and the soul of the archdemon, Urthemiel in this case, can be sent into the fade. Once Urthemiel crosses the veil, he cannot go back to the Grey Warden's body – or any other body. The mage-warden, however, can return."

"If this possible the Wardens would have figured that out by now."

Surana interjected. "Really? Weisshaupt has spent the last 400 years trying to rule the Anderfels and apparently maintain this fiction of sacrificing one's very soul to slay the Archdemon. I might also add, all while offering exactly no help to fight this Blight!"

Emmalynn spoke softly, knowing that would help calm Rana. "Riordan, I know what I'm talking about. I'm a scholar on the subject of souls and spirits. I have a guardian spirit, I am a spirit medium, and a spirit healer. I have a rare combination of skills that are arguably not part of warden's rank-and-file. If you have a reasoned argument or evidence otherwise, by all means tell me. But please do not dismiss it out of hand simply because the wardens haven't done it."

"At least not that we know of," Rana grumped.

Riordan looked at Aedan, who had been quiet. "You are the Warden Commander, what do you think of this?"

"I learned many months ago to trust Emmalynn. I may be Warden Commander, but you have been a warden longer than I have. I cannot command you to trust her judgment."

Emmalynn explained to Riordan the plan, Nematon, and the rune given to her by Justinia.

Once she was finished, she sat back, Riordan needs process all he'd been told and beliefs he's been forced to confront. "I need to check in with Knight-Commander Greagoir; the templars just arrived last night. Please use my tent as long as you need to. If you need to find me, send Rana or Jowan to get me." She looked at Aedan, who gave a slight nod of agreement.

Emmalynn was five feet from her tent when her vision started to narrow and she felt dizzy.

"Eating would be a good idea." She heard Alis, her assistant, say.

Still feeling woozy, Emma said. "If I can make it to the mess tent."

"Go back to your tent, I'll bring you something."

"I can't – there's a meeting going on."

Alis gently took Emma by the elbow, giving her some rejuvenating energy to combat the dizziness, and walked her back into her tent.

Alis looked at Surana but spoke to all of them. "Out. The First Enchanter is pregnant, dizzy and in need of food, something I'm sure she was going to get before you all showed up unannounced for an unscheduled meeting."

Alis gestured for Emmalynn to sit.

"Right, sorry. Let's go." Aedan said. "We can discuss this elsewhere."

"M, you going to be okay?" Surana looked anxiously at the healer.

"Yes, I just need to eat."

Her Assistant followed the others out of the tent, although it looked more like she was herding them. She turned back to Emma with a smug smile. "I'll be back with lunch."

"Thank you, Alis."

Lunch arrived with a message from the Knight-Commander that said, "Sleep. We will meet after you've rested."

"I will fetch the Knight Commander after you've rested," Alis said. "Eat."

Alis stayed until Emma was done, then she pointed to the bedroll. Emma was about to argue when she felt a wave of exhaustion so strong, she was barely able to get to her bedroll before falling asleep.

Alis put a note on Emmalynn's tent flap:

Sleeping First Enchanter.
If you enter or otherwise disturb her rest
I will find you and it won't be pretty
Alis

~oOOo~

AN: Credit to the Wizard of Oz for the title. BioWare owns all.

A million thanks to my Beta ElyssaCousland and to all those who are following this story!