They soon found themselves in another ancient elven ruin, but as they made their way through Maxwell felt power surging through into his hand and he tried desperately to suppress it.
"It's going to…" He quickly turned to the others. "Everyone back!"
Energy burst from him. His friends didn't quite get clear in time. Erdic collided into Varric, Ellana and Vivienne were knocked off their feet, Thom landed on Iron Bull, Cole slammed into Adaar and Dorian landed on Sera. Cassandra rolled to her feet and immediately came to Maxwell's side.
Maxwell let Cassandra pick him up. The energy was still burning, still rising. He was using all his willpower to prevent it from pulsing again.
"If it keeps up like this it will kill you," said Cassandra looking deeply concerned. "Solas must help as he did in Haven."
"That would be Solas the agent of Fen'Harel," Iron Bull grunted. "I knew there was something off about him."
Viddasala saw them. "You are dead, Inquisitor! Your soul is dust!"
She then entered into the eluvian they try to follow her but then a massive saarebas landed in front of them blocking their path.
"I've never sensed so much magic power from one person before," said Ellana as she raised her staff.
"His magic must being enhanced to by lyrium," said Erdic.
The saarebas then placed a barrier around the eluvian, preventing them from entering. Seconds later he jumped into the air and landed a good feet away from them. Somehow he managed to summon and demons that headed straight towards them.
Adaar and Iron Bull engaged the demons while Ellana, Dorian and Vivienne channelled their spells into their staffs and fired a massive pulse at him. However, he then some kind of vortex that all them all in and seconds later there were phone back by a massive pulse.
Erdic, Cassandra and Thom were the only ones that weren't knocked backwards thanks to their shields. Erdic then charged and managed to plunge his sword right into the saarebas arm, but then he grabbed him and tossed aside like a rag doll.
Cole snap behind him and then stabbed him in the back while Varric and Sera fired arrows and bolts into his chest. However, no matter how many times they stab them or blasted him he wouldn't fall.
"Nothing's hurting him!" Varric yelled at Maxwell. "Use your mark!"
Maxwell then gathered all the strength into his hand and the pulse not everyone backwards and killed the saarebas.
"Come on!" Maxwell yelled as they made their way to the eluvian.
The moment Maxwell his guard stepped through the mirror. It immediately went dark behind them. Ellana touched it, but it did not respond. The others could not follow.
Adaar turned and gasped. They quickly turned and saw several stone Qunari, frozen in the act of battle, dotted the landscape.
A voice drifted through the air. "Ebasit kata. Itwa-ost." The language was unfamiliar. But the voice they knew. Solas.
"Maraas kata!" said the voice of Viddasala.
They quickly ran knowing that their friend was in trouble.
"Your forces have failed. Leave now, and tell the Qunari to trouble me no further." Solas seemed completely unconcerned by the armed Viddasala standing only a few feet from him. Ellana gestured at the man she loved. He was wearing armour. Armor styled similarly to what Abelas had worn. He turned his back on Viddasala.
Viddasala made a disgusted noise and hefted her spear. Before any of them could cry out a warning, the Viddasala petrified in place. "Solas," said Maxwell.
He turned towards them just as fire shot up from Maxwell's hand once more. He cried out as Adaar bent down over to him. Something flashed in Solas' eyes, and then Maxwell's hand went numb. He walked towards them. "That should give us more time." He tilted his head at them. "I suspect you have questions."
"The Qunari were trying to kill you. I wanted to get here first," said Maxwell.
"I know. They sought an agent of Fen'Harel." He clasped his hands behind his back. "I am no one's agent but my own. I fear the truth is much simpler, and much worse, than the Qunari believe."
Ellana felt a chill down her spine and she looked at the others whose faces were that of horror. "You're Fen'Harel," she stared.
"I was Solas first. 'Fen'Harel' came later…" He shrugged. "An insult I took as a badge of pride. The Dread Wolf inspired hope in my friends and fear in my enemies…" His eyes met Maxwell. "Not unlike 'Inquisitor', I suppose. You also know the burden of a title that all but replaces your name."
He then turned to Ellana with the sadness in his eyes. "And now you know. What is the old Dalish curse? 'Made the Dread Wolf take you?'"
Ellana felt everyone's eyes on her as a tear ran down her cheek. "And so he did."
"I did not," Solas assured. "I would not lay with you under false pretenses."
Ellana looked at him with fury and her eyes. "But you lied to me. I loved you. Did you really think I would understand?"
Solas looked at his feet. "Ir abelas, vhenan."
Maxwell then took a step forward. "The Dalish legends about the 'evil trickster god' are wrong. We saw the truth in the Crossroads."
"You saw another story, written in desperation to give me more credit than I ever deserved."
"You were a hero, Solas," said Maxwell.
Ellana still looked angry. "Tel'abelas. If you care, give us the truth."
"I sought to set my people free from slavery to would-be gods. I broke the chains of all who wished to join me. The false gods called me Fen'Harel, and when they finally went too far, I formed the Veil and banished them forever. Thus I freed the elven people and, in so doing, destroyed their world."
Ellana just shook her head. "You love the Fade. Why would you create the Veil to hide it all away?"
"Because every alternative was worse."
"Meaning?" Adaar asked.
"Had I not created the Veil, the Evanuris would have destroyed the entire world."
Maxwell slowly nodded. "You banished the false gods—you didn't kill them?"
"You met Mythal, did you not? The first of my people do not die so easily. The Evanuris are banished forever, paying the ultimate price for their misdeeds."
"You said the elven gods went too far. What did they do that made you move against them?" Adaar asked.
"They killed Mythal." His laughter was bitter. "A crime for which an eternity of torment is the only fitting punishment."
Adaar frowned. "I thought Mythal was one of the Evanuris."
"She was the best of them. She cared for her people. She protected them. She was a voice of reason. And in their lust for power, they killed her."
"How did creating the Veil destroy the world?" Erdic frowned.
Solas looked at them his face for sadness. "You saw the remains of Vir Dirthara. The library was intrinsically tied to the Fade, and the Veil destroyed it. There were countless other marvels, all dependent on the presence of the Fade, all destroyed." He then looked to Ellana. "Your legends are half-right. We were immortal. It was not the arrival of humans that caused them to begin aging. It was me. The Veil took everything from the elves, even themselves." He turned away again, staring out over the ruins of the city below them.
"The Evanuris were elven mages?" Ellana frowned. "How did they become gods?"
"Slowly," Solas sighed. "It started with a war. War breeds fear. Fear breeds a desire for simplicity. Good and evil. Right and wrong. Chains of command. After the war ended. Generally speaking respected elders, then kings, and finally gods. The Evanuris."
Maxwell stepped to his side. "That's the past. What about the future?"
"I lay in dark and dreaming sleep while countless wars and ages passed. I woke still weak a year before I joined you. My people fell for what I did to strike the Evanuris down, but still some hope remains for restoration. I will save the elven people, even if it means this world must die."
Ellana was completely speechless and Maxwell walked up to him. "Solas, whatever you want, this world dying is not the answer."
Solas turned away from them as he spoke. "Not a good answer, no. Sometimes terrible choices are all that remain. It is my fight. You should be more concerned about the Inquisition. You're Inquisition." He then turned to face all of them. "In stopping the Dragon's Breath, you have prevented an invasion by Qunari forces. With luck, they will return their focus to Tevinter. That should give you a few years of relative peace."
"The Qunari said the Inquisition was unknowingly working for agents of Fen'Harel," said Adaar crossing her arms.
"I gave no orders."
She narrowed her eyes. "You led us to Skyhold."
"Corypheus should have died unlocking my orb. When he survived, my plans were thrown into chaos. When you survived, I saw the Inquisition as the best hope this world had of stopping him. And you needed a home. Hence, Skyhold."
Erdic shook his head. "You gave your orb to Corypheus?"
"Not directly. My agents allowed the Venatori to locate it. The orb had built up magical energy while I lay unconscious for a millennia. I was not powerful enough to open it. The plan was for Corypheus to unlock it, and for the resulting explosion to kill him. Then I would claim the orb. I did not foresee a Tevinter Magister having learned the secret of effective immortality."
"What would have happened if Corypheus had died and you'd recovered your orb?" Adaar asked firmly.
"I would have entered the Fade, using the mark you now bear. Then I would have torn down the Veil. As this world burned in the raw chaos, I would have restored the world of my time…" He looked down. "The world of the elves."
"If you destroyed the Veil, wouldn't the false gods be freed?" said Ellana.
"I had plans."
Ellana felt her heart breaking in two all over again. "I never thought of you as someone who would do that, Solas."
He looked away from her. "Thank you." He shook his hand. "You must understand. I awoke in a world where the Veil had blocked most people's conscious connection to the Fade. It was like walking through a world of Tranquil."
Adaar glared. "We aren't even people to you?"
"Not at first." He met their eyes. "You four showed me that I was wrong…" He sighed. "Again. That does not make what must come next any easier."
Erdic crosses arms grumbled. "For whatever it's worth, thanks for the castle."
"For whatever it's worth, you used it well."
"What's wrong with the Inquisition?" Maxwell asked.
"You created a powerful organisation, and now it suffers the inevitable fate of such: betrayal and corruption," said Solas sadly.
"It's not that simple," said Adaar.
"You know how I discovered the Qunari plot? The plot I disrupted by leading them to your doorstep?" Solas enquired. "The Qunari spies in the Inquisition tripped over my spies in the Inquisition. The elven guard who led you to the Qunari body, who intercepted the servant with the gaatlok barrel? Mine."
"Why bother disrupt the Qunari plot, if you're going to destroy the world regardless?" Erdic demanded.
"The four of you have shown me that there is value in this world," said Solas. "I take no joy what must do. Until that day comes, I would see the recovering from the Breach free of the Qun."
"Why?" Adaar asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Because I am not a monster. If they were must die, I'd rather they die in comfort. In any event, it is done."
"I guess we owe you for that one, too," said Maxwell.
"I hope to give your people some final piece."
Ellana just looked at the massive eluvian that was behind Solas. "You control the eluvains now?"
"Yes," Solas nodded. "You remember Briala from Halamshiral? For a time, she control part of the labyrinth. One of my agents was supposed to take it from her, but he did not succeed. I had to override the magic personally. The Qunari stumbled upon this section independently. With them gone, the eluvains are now mine."
Ellana found herself fighting the tears in her eyes.
Maxwell then took a step forward and looked down at his marked hand. "There's still the matter of the Anchor. It's getting worse," he said.
He looked away from him. "Yes. I'm sorry. And we are almost out of time." Pain shot up his hand again, and he fell to his knees. Erdic and Adaar rushed over to help him and Solas bent down in front of him. "The mark will eventually kill you. Drawing you here gave me the chance to save you… At least for now."
Maxwell looked into the face of his old friend. "You don't need to destroy this world. I'll prove it to you."
Solas stood. "I would treasure the chance to be wrong once again, my friend." He held out his hand. "Take my hand."
He put his marked hand in his. Numbness spread through his palm as his hand began to petrify and slowly fade away. As it vanished, he bowed to her. "Live well, while time remains."
Ellana then blocked his path as tears rolled down her face. "Solas, var lath vir suledin."
Tears fell onto Solas' cheeks as well. "I wish it could, vhenan." He then took a step forward. "My love…"
Ellana didn't try and stop him and soon the two of them kissed, but five seconds later they broke apart. He looked at her. "I will never forget you."
Ellana was so heartbroken that she didn't try and stop it as he entered into the large eluvain and vanished to parts unknown.
Maxwell and the guard were making their way to the Exalted Council and they could hear voices from inside the chamber.
"Agreed something must be done, but we can't lose the Inquisition now," said Duke Cyril's voice. "We stand at the brink of war with the Qunari."
"Yes, because this 'Solas' provokes them in the first place!" Arl Teagan pointed out.
"The Inquisition did not cause this threat," said Josephine firmly. "We inform the summit of the danger—"
"The danger posed by Qunari spies inside your organisation!" Arl Teagan reminded.
"Without our organisation, you would not be alive to complain," said Leliana.
Arl Teagan sighed. "No one has forgotten what you have done. But Corypheus is two years dead."
"If the Inquisition is to continue, it must do so as a legitimate organisation, not a glorified mercenary band," said Duke Cyril.
Silence fell when Maxwell and the guard entered into the chambers. Everyone's eyes were upon Maxwell, who was now missing an arm.
Josephine turned towards her. "Inquisitor?"
Maxwell outstretched his remaining hand, holding the writ.
"You all know what this is. A writ from Divine Justinia authorising the formation of the Inquisition. We pledged to close the Breach, find those responsible, and restore order. With or without anyone's approval."
Cassandra just nodded proudly as he spoke.
"I'm proud to say we accomplished that goal. We will honour the sacrifices of those who gave their lives in defence of what we stood for…" He held the writ above his head. "And still stand for. Because our work is not done. Where we led in war, we will now serve in peace. The Inquisition will act as Divine Victoria's personal honour guard. Answering directly to her, we will transition from a military force into a peacekeeping organisation. My own adventuring days may be done, but the Inquisition—and its mission—will continue."
Silence then fell as Maxwell and his guard left the chambers.
They soon joined their companions and advisers outside as they looked up into the scarred sky that overlooked the land. Varric handed a book to Cassandra and one by one they all went their separate ways ready to do good in the world.
The only ones remaining now were Maxwell, his guard, Evelyn, Cullen, Cassandra and Iron Bull. As they began their preparations for war that would shake the very foundations of their world.
