Dragon Age
"The Relic"

Chapter Fourteen: Solas

Solas had always been more comfortable in the Fade, life was simpler…things were easier; it was the blind ignorance of others that demonized it. There was nothing to fear in the Fade, there was nothing to fear with the spirits that inhabited it. Going in with an open mind, free of prejudice and misconceptions ensured that most encounters with Spirits ended without someone getting possessed. Solas had awoken to a world where people had no idea what the Fade really was, what spirits and demons were, and have very little understanding of magic itself. It was truly horrifying.

Wandering in the Fade, Solas could see his former fortress in all its old glory, not the Tevinter outpost that was built on top of it and ruined by time, no, his fortress. The Empire had leveled it and built an outpost in its place, forever sealing the main entrance in their haste. While the top was completely destroyed the underground of the old fortress was largely intact, this was where he'd slumbered for so long. Protected by wards and shrouds hiding it from prying eyes and unwanted visitors, Tevinter may have destroyed the fortress proper but they had no idea what lay beneath.

This was home, in the western Free Marches, his former glorious fortress stood, reduced to an unrecognizable ruin. Standing in its place was an abhorred Tevinter outpost. He didn't like it and swore that once the veil was sundered he'd take great pleasure in pulling that outpost down brick by brick. It was built on the blood of his people. The more he dreamt there the more he couldn't wait to acquire enough power to rip the waking world apart. He'd witnessed the last stand of his glorious fortress a few times; the Elves sought refuge from Tevinter here, it provided sanctuary, until Tevinter turned an army onto it. In the end…as good as his old fortress was it fell to Tevinter, most of the Elves slaughtered, the rest sold into slavery. The Empire didn't tear it down right away; it stood for a time longer before it was torn down. He was amused by one dream that centered on the Tevinter garrison left to hold it after the massacre. The decision to level the fortress came when the soldiers couldn't handle the fact that it was haunted. The veil was apparently thin here and still they have had no idea that he was sleeping underneath.

He cracked his eyes open at the sound of someone calling his name, a soft female voice with a Fereldan accent. It wasn't the person he wanted waking him from his dreams but he pushed that painful thought from his mind and focused. In any case, he recognized the voice and sat up looking her up and down. She looked a far cry different from the last time he saw her, she looked tired, hungry, pale, basically exhausted. Her name was Piper, a Fereldan Dalish Elf that served as one of his many eyes and ears. Petite, blonde, with two daggers on her back, and a burn on the right side of her face, when she came to him she had Elgar'nan's vallaslin…he'd happily removed that. He got to his feet and eyed her critically, if she was back that meant her mission was complete. "Piper," he greeted and let the moment overtake him, "did you get it?"

The Elf looked away from his piercing eyes and shook her head quietly. "No," she replied and Solas felt the frustration welling in him like a storm, "but I did find it," she finished and he blinked. "The Wardens got there first, two groups, and we were hampered by the same Inquisition unit from Antiva. We killed the first group of Wardens but their mage erected a barrier that I couldn't break. I was outnumbered with the second group, they had a very powerful mage and a warrior the likes of which I had never seen," she went on and Solas was silent allowing her to finish her report, the girl was so tired. "A Warden named Nathaniel Howe took the Relic with him to the surface…I couldn't follow without detection."

The frustration had calmed to a simmer, at least the damn thing was found and brought to the surface. He'd spent years and years looking for it…even more years before that researching it in archives that he destroyed. He used what he could in the shattered library to piece together clues about an empire that was even before the time of his own people. That was a really long time ago. Now, it was in the hands of the Wardens…Nathaniel Howe, Warden-Constable of Fereldan and second most powerful Warden south of the Anderfels, if he had it that meant that the Relic was in Vigil's Keep, Amaranthine's Warden fortress. Great…that's just great.

"Get some food and rest, Piper, you've done well," he said with a kind smile and caring tone. The people who followed him were not slaves, conscripts, or even hired help…they were Elves who wanted a better life than servitude, abuse, and neglect. He offered them shelter and protected them all with the steadfast promise of restoring the People. They believed him a God, he was Fen'Harel, not the trickster or the savage the Dalish tales likened him. He was a protector and a rebel leader.


Nathaniel had returned to Vigil's Keep wanting to do nothing but sleep, the Calling, however, had other ideas…he couldn't get more than two hours of sleep at a time because of the noise in his head and the nightmares. Velanna helped, her presence was enough for him but he still didn't get much rest. It was still a mystery as to what Nathaniel did to capture the prickly Elf's heart. Velanna's attitude hadn't changed much, she was still snappy to anyone she didn't trust and she could count on one hand all those she did trust. Lydia had asked what made Nathaniel so special since Velanna was still extremely distrustful of humans, she replied with the same thing she'd always said, that Nathaniel was the only human she'd ever met who had a genuinely kind heart.

Nathaniel was private, the Wardens knew that, but that didn't stop the fraternity-like ribbing that came on every time he came back from a long trip and wasn't seen for nearly a day. Newer Wardens assumed he was sleeping but anyone close to him knew he didn't sleep much as of late, so that only left one activity. His blushing and Velanna's angry face was enough to confirm it but it was all in good fun. Nathaniel's sense of humor was limited but he could blush with the best of them.


As soon as Nathaniel got back he went straight to his wife, if the Keep wasn't under attack or on fire the briefing of what had taken place while he was gone could wait until morning. He needed his wife and his own bed. Khrys gave him her hospitality; bed, bath, and food but it wasn't the same. Now that he was rested, sort of, he attended his regular business. A few ravens from Weisshaupt came in which concerned him to some point. Nothing from Lydia yet, he didn't know how he felt about that though. One way or another his boss was going to figure out Duncan's bold faced lie and her next stop was going to be him, he just didn't know if she'd warn him first.

"Warden-Constable Howe!" Nathaniel heard bellow from a very familiar voice.

"Apparently not," his face cringed; he really wasn't looking forward to this. He'd been dreading the consequences of letting Duncan come along even after recognizing his bogus letter. He hoped Lydia wouldn't kill him for it. "My Queen," he greeted turning toward her and gave her a bow, something he really never did. He also didn't usually address her as Queen. She was Warden-Commander or on occasion Lydia.

Lydia saw right through him. "Oh save it, Howe," she hissed storming toward him and he grimaced. "Please tell me that you, of all people, didn't buy my son's bogus letter in my handwriting? You know my handwriting better than my husband does."

Nathaniel sighed, lying would be inadvisable, and he just said what was on his mind. "In his defense…he was very convincing," he answered and nearly laughed to the look on her face.

"In all the time I've known you, you wait 'til now to crack a joke?" she spat and he actually chuckled. "Nathaniel," she warned and he held up his hands.

"Lydia, look, the kid is eager…if he's gonna rule in your footsteps one day he needs some experience," he said and she gave him a bit of a glare. "He did fantastic in the Deep Roads, Lydia."

She had mixed feelings about that statement, knowing Duncan was shaping up to be a great leader or warrior made her proud…it also pissed her off. "He should not be in the Deep Roads, he is too important to lose to Darkspawn," she replied and Nathaniel sighed allowing a little frustration to show through. He didn't need children…he had this; he got stuck in the middle of when Duncan used him as a pick.

"Lydia, he can't sit sequestered his whole life…Fereldan has a nasty habit of having its Kings lead armies into battles," he argued and she cocked her head at him, when Nathaniel spoke he usually had a point. He did have a point, a good one. Duncan was young but he had the potential to be a great ruler.

He had a point and the Queen fell silent with a sigh. "How did he do?"

"Fantastic," he said proudly. "He fights well and he keeps his cool," he explained. "Made some interesting discoveries though,"

"Such as?"

Nathaniel leaned back on the table. "He can sense the Darkspawn…even before Himmel, Dinah, or I could."

Lydia's brow furrowed, that was interesting but then the rest of his words hit her. "Himmel? Himmel, was with you? Are you joking?"

He held up his right hand knowing he was going to get this reaction. "That's...that's a whole other story I'll tell you later," he answered. "He also had something new happen…Anders' boy, Malcolm, he deduced that when Duncan is exposed to Darkspawn blood he goes into some sort of berserker mode…I saw him cut through over a dozen Darkspawn in under a minute and that included an Emissary."

Lydia's motherly panic started all over again, anytime anyone said anything about exposure to darkspawn blood she defaulted to panic however irrational it was in Duncan's case. On everyone else it meant the taint and then death, but with Duncan it was different, he already had the taint. "Exposure?"

"Malcolm said he killed an Alpha up close and got doused in blood, got it in his eyes, his mouth, all over his face. I don't pretend to know exactly what happened I just know that Duncan fought like I've never seen a warrior fight," he explained and Lydia was put at ease but she'd seen Duncan when he returned and he seemed none the worse for ware, if something went wrong Alistair would send a message. There were a few other questions nagging at her so she'd circle back to this one later. "Interesting," she thought a moment and then moved on. "Now why was Himmel there?" Nathaniel knew that was coming and chuckled quietly and he went into the whole story.


Amaranthine was misty with a bit of chill in the air, Solas enjoyed the weather. Despite the mist, the moon was full and occasionally poking through the clouds. It was a beautiful night, Solas preferred the forests but the coastal setting of misty, chilly, and wet he actually enjoyed. As much as he loved nights like this he also couldn't help but think of the one person he'd hurt the most. Khrys also loved nights like this though she preferred the snow, a little less so after trudging around in it for hours after Haven, but she loved the snow. He could remember everything about his favorite night with her and it didn't help that this reminded him of it. Misty and cool night on the Storm Coast, it was a private moment together and completely innocent…that was why he loved it so much.

Solas shook his head in a physical, if not meaningless effort, to shake the memory from his head. He needed to focus instead of circling back around to the woman he still loved more than anything else. Returning to the task at hand he crested the ridge and looked out at the old fortress. Vigil's Keep was a sight…the Avvar fortress had stood the test of time and now it belonged to the Fereldan Wardens, a gift from King Alistair as a reward for their service during the Blight, Solas scoffed at that, the Wardens shouldered a good portion of the blame for what happened with Corypheus but Solas wasn't so vain as to let them have all the blame…after all it was he who'd given the Orb to Corypheus. They enabled Corypheus to escape his prison. Tessa Hawke, Anders, and her Warden brother didn't help much either. The Wardens became Corypheus' minions, no better than the Templars that became his army.

It wasn't going to be easy to get inside but it was the middle of the night. Nathaniel was one of the few Wardens that he still had a measure of respect for, he was quiet, direct, and honest but he also kept his head. With all the squabbling and finger pointing as to who's fault Corypheus was going on in the Fade Nathaniel remained level-headed, even with Anders fanning as much of the flame as he possibly could with the demon rattling around in his head. As he looked over the Keep from a distance he knew Nathaniel would be there, it was his Keep except when the Warden-Commander was there then command reverted to her. He'd heard a great deal about the Warden Queen but had never actually met her, he knew she was a blood mage and he wasn't sure if she was there or not, if she was he knew enough to be wary given her reputation.


Nathaniel had enough of tossing and turning and staring at the ceiling, he laid flat and growled resigning himself to the fact that he was fully awake. There was a constant noise in his head that seemed to get louder when he was trying to sleep; when he did sleep he was plagued with nightmares that were worse than any that he'd ever had. He'd learned to run on about 2 hours of sleep lately, which was all he could manage without being woken by voices and nightmares of darkspawn. He growled in frustration loud enough to disturb Velanna next to him.

"Are you okay?" she asked groggily rolling over to rest her head on his chest.

As good as he was going to be so he lied. "I can't sleep," he answered quietly and had to get up and move. "I'm sorry," he kissed the back of her hand and got up sitting on the edge of the bed.

"The Calling?" she asked as he sighed heavily, he was tired…very tired.

"Yeah…" he replied and slouched for a moment. "It's getting worse," he added and then stood thinking about pacing then leaned down kissing her gently. "Go back to sleep…I'm going to walk around."

Vigil's Keep was very quiet this time of night but the more he moved around the more he sensed that something wasn't right. He felt a strange unease in his Keep. Nathaniel collected his bow and decided to walk patrol until he figured out what was bugging him. "Brandon," he greeted, his usual watch commander, "how is it tonight?"

The young Warden shrugged, it wasn't unusual to see Nathaniel prowling around in the middle of the night. "Same as usual, Ser, quiet."

Nathaniel couldn't help the feeling. "Something's not right…" he said, "tighten the patrol, quietly."

"Yes, Sir," he replied and Nathaniel followed his gut trying to figure out what was so wrong with the Keep tonight.


Lydia followed her normal routine, it followed her wherever she went whether she be at the Palace, Vigil's Keep, Highever, it didn't matter…in the middle of the night her stomach growled and forced her to pillage the kitchen. Damn the Warden appetite, at least at the Palace she usually had company when she rummaged through the pantry; usually it was Duncan foraging for a midnight snack too.

The Keep's kitchen was always stocked, full to the brim with everything the Warden appetite could want. The cooks always made extra bread so it could be devoured throughout the day and there was always plenty of cheeses, nuts, fruit, cookies, pies, vegetables…if you liked to cook working in a Warden Keep was a dream come true. Lydia was convinced that Vigil's Keep had the best cooks out of all the places she wound up staying, they made the best bread and that was the first thing she went after.

She missed Alistair; the longest they'd been apart was when she was in Weisshaupt for nearly a year. Coincidently, that's when the world nearly came to an end with Corypheus at the helm. While she was gone, Alistair successfully kept Fereldan in one piece with the help of the Inquisition. She was still angry with Duncan but had to applaud his initiative. She chewed him up and spat him back out for lying and putting himself in serious danger. Alistair was angry beyond belief but laughed himself purple when Lydia ranted about all the ways she was going to kill her best friend for being stupid enough to believe the lie.


Solas didn't like executing people, he wasn't cold blooded and heartless, he cared deeply and that was precisely the reason he was doing what he was doing, so he gave the Wardens in his way a clean death, a quick snap of the neck. Quick and quiet. This was the second Warden he'd killed so far but it was out of necessity, he couldn't get past them without being seen so he killed them quietly. Leaving bodies behind meant he had limited time before someone found them so he had to move quickly.

He slipped through the door on the far side of the Keep; he guessed he'd be coming in either by the servants' quarters or the kitchens. He preferred to do this quietly, didn't want to hurt anyone he didn't need to and that included the staff. If he encountered the Wardens that was another matter but innocent people just working in the Keep he preferred not to harm. The Fereldan and Orlesian Wardens were commanded by Queen Lydia, and she'd already stuck a thorn in his plans on several occasions, some of her ranks had mysteriously disappeared over the years and questioned by him so he knew she'd ordered him captured or killed…whichever came easier. He slowly entered and the lingering aroma of food wafted to his nose, the remains of a fire were dwindling in the hearth, dried herbs hung from the ceiling, he still smelled stew and bread…his stomach growled.

He plucked a grape off the sprig in the bowl at the end of the table and kept walking. He passed through the door further into the keep and into a room with more food in it. He scoffed quietly in amusement; he thought Skyhold's kitchens were bursting with food; it had nothing on a Warden Keep. He enjoyed the smell and came into a room with another large table in it…and a Warden. A woman, small but fit, with long red hair tied back in a loose pony tail. By the look of her she'd come for a midnight snack since she had only loose fitting clothing and no armor on. She saw him also and stood up straight with a look that could only be described as exceedingly suspicious. She clearly knew that he was not supposed to be there and her description fit the one person he didn't want to find this evening.

He expected to see a few people, he avoided those he could but gave those he couldn't a nice clean death. Now he was staring across at someone he'd never met but knew by reputation, the auburn haired Queen of Fereldan. She was actually quite beautiful, he'd never had eyes for humans but he recognized beauty when he saw it. At the core of this experienced Grey Warden was a Circle Mage who was so adept with her skills she effectively kept her craft as a blood mage hidden right under the Circle's nose for years. She was also a formidable arcane warrior, this human blood mage had the ancient elven art, and part of him bristled at that. By her appearance she wasn't armed with anything but a knife. A knife was all a Blood Mage needed so he had to be careful about any combat.

Lydia froze solid before the Elf. She never even heard anyone enter the kitchen; he was as quiet as a Chantry mouse. She didn't recognize him and he wasn't dressed as a Warden, he was a mage the wolf staff on his back was a give way, and he had blue and creamy tan robes with a wicked looking blade on his left gauntlet…she didn't like him; he was dangerous despite the kind face. She had a suspicion of who this was and she really hoped that she was wrong. This was Solas, Fen'Harel, or as she had come to refer to him, the Arlathan Mage. She had never met Solas; he'd always evaded her in the Deep Roads and left long before Lydia met the Inquisitor. Now she was seeing him for the first time. He was tall for an Elf and she judged he was about Duncan's height and he was almost exactly as Khrys had described him, right down to the scar on his forehead. If she didn't know any better he looked sophisticated and kind, but his dangerous prowl contradicted that. His eyes narrowed at her, a chilling expression of a man who was at his wits end, for 15 years he'd pursued his mission and for 15 years Thedas rebelled and denied him.

"You must me Solas," she said but the ancient mages' expression did not change. He instead gave her a critical eye, judging her appearance and trying to put it all together with the rumors of her power abilities. Lydia kept her cool; Solas inside the Keep was by no stretch of imagination a good thing.

"Warden Queen," he replied bowing slightly with a proper tone. He'd been lucky in evading her in the past; he wasn't in a rush to find out just how talented a blood mage and arcane warrior she was. "I must say it is a delight to finally meet you."

Lydia's brow furrowed at him but she didn't make any sudden moves, he was ready for that. She'd been warned about how powerful the Arlathan Mage was. Solas was, hands down, the most powerful mage in existence right now. He had the power to turn beings to stone with a single thought…she didn't like that idea since no one had an adequate defense against it and Maker only knew what else he could do. If he hadn't done it to her already that meant there was something she had that he wanted. She didn't like the thought of that either. Why was he here? Why take the time to talk to her when he had the ability to just kill anyone in his way? "She warned me you were charming…in a dangerous condescending sort of way," she commented and found no reaction from him. "What do you want? If you're looking for Skyhold you are lost."

Solas actually chuckled slightly at her sarcasm. The Queen had a charm to her, he'd heard the rumors that she had a witty humor, as odd as it sounded…he liked her already. "I come for the Relic."

Lydia frowned and lifted and eyebrow. "The what?"

His head cocked slightly at her response. "Do not play the fool, My Lady, I know Nathaniel Howe has returned from the Deep Roads with and ancient foreign relic," he said and began to slowing move closer in a relaxed but confident sort of way. "I want that relic."

Lydia felt threatened, very threatened, but didn't react, not yet; he'd be stupid not to be prepared for something. She was running scenarios over and over in her head trying to figure out a way she might get the upper hand on him and raise the alarm in the Keep before he dropped the hammer on her. "And you expect me to give it to you just because you ask?"

Again, Solas allowed a half smile to her humor. "Because if you don't this entire Keep will die," he promised in a tone that was downright unsettling. His words were no idle threat, ordinarily she'd take a one man threat like that and laugh but he had turned dozens of Qunari, Qunari, to stone so she was pretty sure that he could do exactly what he promised. "Give me the Relic, My Lady."

Lydia didn't respond well to threats, even ones that she'd do better heeding; she took one step toward him in an act of defiance. "No," she growled and struck first hitting him with a Curse of Torment. Solas grunted at the sting of the spell hitting him right in the face, the spell didn't have too much of an impact on him but it was enough to disorient him with haunting memories from his past. He heard the screaming when he created the veil killing thousands in the process, heard Khrys' painful cries as he left her with a disintegrating arm, anything that he held close to him that he could have held in regret hit him all at once. He pushed the memory from his head and sent a lightning bolt to the Queen in response but she deflected it easily with some kind of arcane barrier

Lydia drew her knife and cut her left hand in a single fluid motion, Solas saw the effect on the blood causing the small amount to spray and defy gravity. The blood swirled and Lydia practically threw it at him, still disoriented a little from the curse he didn't get out of the way quick enough. Solas felt the magic bind to him and sap his energy. He hadn't felt the power of blood magic in a long time, and this was powerful, Lydia had rendered him to his knees with one spell. He heard her seethe as she sustained the spell, and grimaced feeling the toll it was taking on him. She was good, better than he ever would have thought, he had to admit that but he wasn't to be outdone. She may have been good with her craft but he had knowledge of magic no one in Thedas had even heard of. Solas summoned his ancient power and released a pulse of magic that shook the room in a noticeable vibration. The table moved a few feet as its contents shook and a few items clattered to the floor causing a hell of a ruckus. When the burst hit Lydia it knocked her flat on her ass causing the back of her head to crack on the stone floor.

Lydia was dazed from the hit and heard a high pitched noise for a few moments as she brought the world back into focus. He shook the forbidden magic off with an irritated huff. "You're better than I anticipated, My Lady," he complimented and moved toward her, next thing she saw was him standing over her. "Now give me the relic."

"Not a chance," she replied and stabbed him in the thigh with her knife. Solas cursed with a yelp and Lydia was on her feet. She yanked him toward her pressing her left hand to the right side of his face. "Get out of my Keep," she snarled as Solas felt the burn of the blood magic, she'd burn his brain from the inside out if she had to. She wasn't expecting to control him but she was certainly going to try to sap his life away to subdue him or kill him. In response to her magic he put his right hand on her chest and released his lightening. It was a battle of willpower, whose will would supersede the others. Solas managed to overcome the blood magic she was attempting by blocking her out and Lydia was forced to her knees slowly with a stifled cry. Her magic wasn't working anymore she couldn't even use his blood to bolster her weakening health…she was forced to submit.

"The relic, Commander," he demanded as she felt nothing but pain. She refused to scream and Solas let up before he killed her. If anyone aside from Nathaniel knew where the Relic was it was the Warden-Commander…he needed her alive, if she wouldn't tell him willingly he'd force it out of her. "The relic, Commander, or everyone in this Keep will die until I find it," he threatened finally removing the knife in his thigh letting it clatter to the floor as he moved around behind her.

Her nerves were burning, he was the strongest mage she'd ever come across, she'd never felt lightening magic like that but it felt like he was holding back. She couldn't imagine how it would have felt if he went full throttle. She'd never had someone resist her blood magic like that before; he shut her out like he slammed a door in her face. "You can kill us all…you'll never find it…" she hissed as Solas took a handful of hair and yanked her head back into his waist, "because it's not here."

That did not please him; the agent that reported back to him said that the relic had been taken by Nathaniel back to the Keep. She was either lying or his information was bad. The Queen would never willingly tell him, that much he could figure out so he decided to use her tricks against her. The red aura of blood magic emanated from his right hand as he placed it over her temple. "Where is it?" he barked as the magic struggled.

She felt the attempt to control her mind and felt it fail. "Fuck you," she snapped back squeaking as she yanked her hair harder and tried again.

Blood mages were notoriously hard to manipulate, the very nature of the specialization made them nearly immune to mind control. Weaker ones were easier but still difficult and for a blood mage of Lydia's caliber, one that had been practicing it her whole life and hadn't fallen to temptation, it was going to be impossible. "Where is it?" this time the demand was a frustrated growl but still the Queen resisted.

"Over my dead body," Lydia hissed defiantly.

Solas smirked with a snort. "That can be arranged, Highness," he replied. His smooth tone did nothing for Lydia. He switched practices to an art he hadn't used in over a thousand years, his hand flashed with orange light. It was a feeling Lydia had never felt before, magic that she'd never encountered. She felt his hand press to her temple and it felt like he shoved a knife in her eye. "Where is it?" Solas barked. She shrieked in pain and went rigid but nothing more, the ancient magic paralyzed her as he bypassed mind control and manipulation and invaded her mind directly. She continued to resist him; damn blood mages and spirit healers had extremely strong minds. "I will break you, Woman," he promised as she resisted him, but she wasn't sure if he spoke it or thought it. He continued to search, kicking his way through her mind. He saw Nathaniel, noticed a written report but didn't see the Relic, there was nothing he could find in her mind. Perhaps she was truthful, it wasn't in Vigil's Keep…but if not there then where was it? Granted this wasn't his favorite type of magic to use, it had major drawbacks and he needed to be at his full strength to even conjure it, and he was pretty rusty with it but if what he wanted wasn't able to be seen then the Relic wasn't in her memory even through her fighting him every step of the way he couldn't find it. When he thought of the Relic and asked the question her mind took him to Nathaniel…Nathaniel was who he needed.

The presence of another drew his attention and he looked up in front of him recognizing the man. He asked and Nathaniel appeared…that wasn't how the magic worked but it still amused him.

"You…" Nathaniel growled, he knew Solas all too well, they met for the first time in Crestwood, argued about who was to blame for the Divine's death while trapped physically in the Fade. While they didn't always agree Solas didn't have anything against Nathaniel, he was a good and loyal man who did his duty. That being said, Nathaniel had no compunctions about killing the Elven god and Solas knew that.

Solas swiftly hauled the paralyzed Queen to her feet by her hair using her as a shield and pulling her close to him with his left hand after he'd detangled it from the mop of hair his right hand remain locked in place on her right temple. "Nathaniel," he greeted.

Nathaniel drew to full on his bow. "Step away," he ordered but that wasn't something Solas was going to do.

"Where is the Relic, Nathaniel?" he asked but the Warden did not respond. "Tell me or she dies." He added.

Lydia was enthralled in some kind of magic and it didn't even seem like she knew he was there, she never looked at him. She seemed…paralyzed. Nathaniel focused on Solas, Lydia would be fine. "You kill her and you die next," Nathaniel countered his tone firm and blunt. It was odd that he mentioned the Relic; obviously the Inquisitor was dead on about what her former lover was searching for.

Solas believed the rogue's words; he'd kill him or die trying. Deciding he wasn't going to get what he wanted from Lydia he released her and she collapsed face down into the stone. Nathaniel's reflexes still made Solas jealous as he loosed the arrow the second he let Lydia go. It missed, but barely, as Solas moved making it graze his right cheek.

Nathaniel had fought mages before, quite a few times in fact and side stepped Solas' fade step. Solas engaged in the rare hand to hand combat, he couldn't kill Nathaniel so he had to subdue him the old fashion way. The older Warden was nimble and knew how to fight with the bow in close quarters; he landed a hit to the Elf's chin with the limb but Solas countered. His right hand crackled with magic but Nathaniel swatted it away and Solas responded by stabbing his bladed gauntlet into Nathaniel's chest.

Nathaniel felt the blade pierce his armor and his body, he'd been through all manner of combat and had been stabbed many times but this was different, this actually felt terminal. The mage had stabbed him in the heart. Solas' left hand sported the same magic he'd used on Lydia and touched Nathaniel's right temple entering his mind with greater ease than the Queen's. Nathaniel had a generous amount of willpower that he demonstrated at Adamant as he resisted the fake Calling but it was no match for the mage wielding ancient magic. His mind was chaos, he was hearing the Calling…poor bastard. Nathaniel was paralyzed like Lydia but he felt the blade still in his chest and thought he had screamed but all that came out was a gasp. He saw Solas' focused expression and it was burned into his mind, the face of the man that killed him.

Solas tore through his mind seeing the Deep Roads, dead Elves that were once his agents, the Inquisition crew that had dogged his people for months…they were dead…good riddance…he may have known them but they'd foiled his plans one too many times for him to care, a Warden in red armor, a mage he didn't know but looked familiar, and the Relic…the oddly shaped item with the strange triple helix symbol of the ancient kingdom it came from. Next he saw Skyhold; Dorian, Cullen, the mage he didn't know, and…Khrys…his long lost love. "Vhenan," he breathed but it was only heard in Nathaniel's mind. Solas put himself back on course after the momentary lapse and saw the exchange. The Relic was in Skyhold…the Queen was telling the truth. He ripped his knife from the Warden and gently lowered him to the ground. "I'm sorry, Nathaniel," he said quietly as blood pooled quickly under the Warden.

He had nothing against Nathaniel and was marginally sorry to have to kill him but part of Solas saw this as a mercy. He was hearing the Calling…he was a dead Warden anyway. He turned his attention to the Queen face down on the stone, still paralyzed from the effects of his mind magic. He knew the effects of the magic; she was aware of what was happening and would soon fall unconscious. She wasn't a threat to him. The Queen fought well and he enjoyed her charm, in the minutes they'd met he decided that he liked her, he could kill her now but there would be no sport, justice, or cause for it. Someone would be along soon and he'd rather not be there when they did so he left.

He needed to find a way into Skyhold but first he needed to find a way out of Vigil's Keep. He'd made an enemy of the Wardens this evening, which he understood would make things infinitely more difficult, but he was one step closer to finding the Relic so in the end it was worth it. There were no foci from his kingdom left to drop the Veil so he was looking outside his kingdom, the Relic was perfect. Powerful enough to do what he wanted but dangerous on an apocalyptic scale. The danger didn't matter, he had to complete his mission, he wasn't going to let the last 15 years, the heart-wrenching pain of losing Khrys and the life he could have had with her, be for nothing.