Old Elven Secrets

Early the next day, Ennaly and Solas dressed for travel, like Briala requested. As they wanted to exit their room, they heard a knock on the door. Ennaly shot Solas a surprised look, who took his staff in hand as Ennaly went to open the door.

Walking in came an Elven woman dressed in a cloak and mask. She seemed completely unperturbed by the staff pointed at her direction as she entered and closed the door behind her. "I am Judy, Milady, Milord," she said as she put down a woven basket. The two honorifics were spoken with cynicism.

"How do we know we can trust you?" Ennaly asked.

The woman sighed. They couldn't quite see her full features, hidden by the mask she was wearing, but she appeared a few years younger than Ennaly. She threw back her cloak to show a simple dress. "I am unarmed, and I believe you both should be able to sense that I don't have any magic. And, if you'll allow me, I have this to give you." She took something from her pocket and handed it to Ennaly. It was a small wooden icon depicting a wolf standing in front of a tree, a direct reference to the story Briala mentioned at Halamshiral.

Ennaly handed it to Solas, who deemed the trinket amusing, judging from the small smirk at his lips. She turned back to the woman and nodded as if saying she believed her.

"Good," Judy continued. "I have cloaks and masks for you both to wear. It is quite common for servants to be out and around this early in the day. Nobody will bat an eye to the three of us."

"And our staffs?" Ennaly asked.

The woman gave a knowing smile as she took the cover of her basked. In it were small twigs, neatly ordered and knotted together at one side. "We can bind these around the tops."

Ennaly and Solas looked at each other. Both seemed to find the idea questionable at best.

Judy chuckled. "Both of you might be Elves, but you are no servants. You forget the very best and worst ability Elven servants have: we are invisible. We are merely part of the scenery, décor for those that act in their silly Game. With these disguises, people will just see servants sweeping the gardens in the early morning, cleaning away the fallen leaves and petals. They will not care enough to look twice, if you do not give them a reason."

Ennaly and Solas tied the simple masks in front of their faces, fastened the cloaks at their necks, and disguised their staffs to resemble brooms. Dressed as servants, they followed Judy out of their inn and through the streets of Val Royeaux. The woman was right. They were not the only servants going about their business. The streets were being swept, the public greenery was tended, servants bustled in and out of sideways, familiar with the best shortcuts, to fetch fresh bread and fruits for their employer's breakfast.

They used a small servant's gate to enter the Imperial Palace grounds. The gardens were beautiful with the colourful flowers in full bloom and dark green cypresses contrasting to the white marble of rows of statues. The Palace itself was further away behind a gilded fence, but that did not seem to be their destination. They turned towards an abandoned guest building that looked somewhat derelict. Judy went to the door and whispered some words, after which the door opened to let them all in.

Judy guided them through rooms with muslin-covered furniture and somewhat forlorn, sad looking paintings on the walls. Once, this must have been a beautiful guest house, but the glory had faded away. They found Briala in a room with another Elf, both dressed in travel leathers. Ennaly and Solas took off their cloaks and masks, and removed the twigs from their staffs.

"Good morning, Inquisitor, and... Her lover," Briala said, looking at Solas.

"Solas will be fine, Marquise," he replied to her.

"Good. Now let us drop the formalities beyond this point," Briala continued. "I would like you to meet Loranil. You have met Judy, of course."

Judy had left the meeting room to enter a nearby room and closed the door. Loranil, Ennaly was surprised to see, was a Dalish Elf, carrying Ghilan'nain's Vallaslin in an olive colour that complemented his hair nicely.

"Aneth ara," the man greeted. "An honour to meet the Inquisitor at last. It is a joy to see a Dalish reach such a position as yours. As a brother, please accept my sorrow for the loss of clan Lavellan. May Falon'Din guide your kin to their peace." It was common Elven prayer for those that had died.

"Thank you," Ennaly replied softly. "It seems the news travelled farther than I realized."

"You have my condolences, too," Briala added, before she shifted her posture to stand straight. "You might wonder why I called you here today. I have kept my eye on the Inquisition's movement and must congratulate you on the victory in the Western Approach. I've noticed your arrival in Val Royeaux. We have acquired information, not only on the regrettable death of your clan, but also on the movements of the foe you pursue. We know he is after some kind of Elven artifact. And I think we can all agree that none in this room wants him to succeed."

"How do you know all of this?" Ennaly asked in wonder.

Briala gave her an amused smile. "I am a spy. Do not ask me where my information comes from. I shall not answer that question. But even if I keep that information for myself, there are certain... resources that I feel could benefit us all. You might have heard rumours about me. I was seen in Val Firmin on the same day I was seen delivering food to the Elves in the Ghislain alienage. How would that even be possible?"

The question was rhetorical, and it was clear Briala only paused for dramatic effect before she wanted to continue, but Solas smiled. "Eluvians," he said. "Those must be the old Elven secrets you spoke of." Ennaly had heard of Eluvians before, too. Magic mirrors that allowed the ancient Elves to move around the world at an increased pace. Had Briala really managed to obtain the old artifacts Ennaly thought were long lost to history? She could feel the thrill of what this meant, the excitement of were Briala's story was going to go. She looked aside at Solas, who appeared as exciting as she felt.

Briala leaned her back against the table. "I can see you both are familiar with the idea. I shouldn't be surprised, since neither of you is a city Elf. Yes, the rumours are true and I have been using Eluvians to move around quickly."

"Could you have gone to the Free Marches?" Ennaly asked, her voice sharper than she intended at a sudden realization.

Briala peered at her. There was something apologetic about her gaze. "No. You might think that an Eluvian could have saved your clan. I am afraid the Eluvians I have accessed do not reach that far, or I haven't found those paths yet. I am able to travel around parts of Orlais, and I am still finding new pathways as we speak." She rose and straightened her back. "We are here today because I want to share this resource with the Inquisition, on certain conditions, of course. And as a thanks for the title you helped bestow upon me, I would like to demonstrate it. I know you are Dalish, and I know that the summer solstice is an important time of year for you. Loranil's clan would like to invite you for their celebrations."

Loranil gave a friendly nod towards Ennaly. She turned aside to look at Solas. Her eyes were large. She felt an expectant eagerness inside and saw the same reflected in Solas' grey eyes. She imagined that he couldn't quite care for the Dalish celebration, but she assumed that for him, the prospect of being able to experience an Eluvian was larger than her own. Weren't they one of the pinnacles of ancient Elven culture, and for him, who must have dreamed about it often, to get to experience it in real life... She grabbed his hand and squeezed it. He gave a squeeze back.

Judy returned, now also wearing travelling leathers. The absence of the mask and hood revealed dark hair pulled back in a low bun. "You didn't really think I was just a servant, did you?" she asked with a grin. Everyone was armed. Briala and Judy were both armed with a bow and daggers, Loranil with a sword, and Solas and Ennaly had their magic. Briala guided them all to the basement of the guesthouse, through a few sets of locked doors.

"Why all the secrecy of this place?" Ennaly asked. "You are nobility now, aren't you?"

Briala scoffed derisively as she put her keys away. "I might have a title and it helps a little bit, but it will be a long time before it will truly get accepted. This makes it easier, trust me. And I believe that yesterday, both of you were treated badly by a Human, too. Denied you a service and called you both knife-ear, but later, he grovelled at your feet." She looked at Solas. "I see it makes you angry, yet fear remains absent. Good."

"We all deserve to be treated with respect," Solas replied.

"And with these ancient Elven secrets, we have the means to claim it back," Briala said.

"You have certainly gained my respect by everything you have accomplished so far, Marquise. Organizing a rebellion while those in power are powerless against it. Impressive."

Briala regarded him. "Let us hope this rebellion ends better than the previous one."

"A sentiment I share." Solas almost seemed a little mournful again, before it faded away.

"Your Inquisition is some sort of rebellion as well," Briala continued, now looking at Ennaly. "Let us oppose the unworthy ones. Follow me."

The six of them found their way through several more corridors, locked doors, and stairs, before they entered their destination. The mirror was a thing of beauty. It was tall and barely fitted in the room, shaped like a pointed arch. The rim was golden. Visually, it looked like an old mirror, strange only in its size, the glass slightly tarnished. It reflected back their own image, but there was something otherworldly about it.

The true beauty, however, was how it felt. Ennaly, as a mage, was always able to sense magic. She could feel the aura of other mages, like they gave off a light she could observe with unseen eyes. Creatures with innate magic powers were the same, and Fade rifts themselves would blind the unseen eyes if it had relied on a true vision. The mirror gave off shimmers in the air around it, betraying its nature.

"I can feel it," Ennaly whispered out of reverence in what she was observing.

"So can I," Solas agreed, staring in awe at the Eluvian before them.

"I will ask you to stand back," Briala called over her shoulder as she alone stepped forwards. She must have done something, for the surface of the mirror changed colour and started to ripple, almost like water covered in a thin layer of oil. They could see something underneath the surface of iridescence that reflected from elsewhere – whatever elsewhere was. It seemed like a thunderstorm roared inside, or behind, the glass.

The magic in the air had increased enormously. It felt a little like the Fade rifts did, but the sensation of those felt as if they went against the laws of nature, while this Eluvian felt in tune with it, like a passageway that was meant to be, instead of an anomaly.

Judy and Loranil entered the mirror. It rippled at their touch like a stone thrown in a pond, but there was no resistance as their bodied slipped past. Briala gestured for Ennaly and Solas to pass through. They stepped closer together, and as they did, the storm that raged behind the rippling surface came to rest. The Eluvian was wide enough so they could pass shoulder to shoulder. They shared a look, grasped hands together, and stepped forwards.

It was a bit like passing through a waterfall, but instead of water raining down on them, it was magic. It reminded Ennaly of the time Solas Fade-stepped with her through the waterfall to find the little herb garden of Skyhold's Elven ruin, where he told her he loved her for the first time. This had the same effect of wonder of entering an unfamiliar world, and like the herb garden, it was unmistakably Elven.

It was beautiful. They found themselves on a large stone platform surrounded by colourful plants and trees. The Eluvian that they emerged from was situated on a platform flanked by statues, two Elves in an elegant pose, carved so beautifully there seemed to be a transparency to the way the cloth draped their figures. There were arches surrounding the platform, some of which were overgrown by climbing flowers. One of these arches allowed access to a stone path. When walking nearer, Ennaly realized the pathway led into the distance, but it fogged over, no destination in sight. Moreover, the pathway had no supports. The platform they were standing on was situated on a large floating rock, and below that, and surrounding them… Nothing.

"I think we all felt like that, the first time we entered this place," Loranil noted as he was looking at Ennaly's awe. "I certainly couldn't believe my eyes. What would happen, do you think, if we jump over the edge? Would we fall forever?"

"I can push you to find out, but I'm afraid you'll never be able to return the answer to us," Judy grinned.

Ennaly remembered the feeling of falling in Adamant fortress, tumbling through the air, before she opened the rift and entered the Fade in the flesh. "I wouldn't want to find out," she said.

The Anchor on her hand flared brightly. She sucked in breath trough her teeth.

"Are you alright?" Solas asked. He had wandered around the platform, but his face was oddly impassive. She'd expected him to be as impressed as she was. Or perhaps he just expressed his emotions differently.

"It doesn't hurt necessarily," she answered. "Or I'm just so used by the pain that I don't notice it anymore. It's uncomfortable, that's for sure."

He looked at her with worry. "It might act our more here since we are closer to Fade. Do not try and use it here, we do not know what will happen." For a moment, fear passed over his face.

"Should - should I be worried?" Ennaly asked upon seeing his expression.

"No," Solas said, the fear now hidden with a look of resolution. "I am here. I will not let anything happen to you. Warn me if you feel a change." He briefly wrapped an arm around her.

"Very sweet," Briala noted dryly. She had passed through the Eluvian too, and upon a word, or a gesture, or something from her, the rippling effect had faded away, leaving blue-grey glass behind her. "Let's go."

They started to follow the pathway. The edges of the road were etched with runes that lit up, and after they walked a little bit, the platform with the little garden was hidden from view. It appeared they were walking through a void.

"So this is really how the Elves used to travel?" Ennaly mused. "No true roads, just mirrors connecting an... in between world? This place isn't quite the waking words, but not quite the Fade either."

"It is constructed," Solas said. "The powers of the ancient Elves were grand indeed. What a wonder it is to experience it after all that time." He sounded excited, but mournful too. "It is deteriorating. I can feel it. Eventually this place will collapse upon itself. What as loss that would be."

"You know a lot," Briala noted.

"I have studied the Fade. We were there, physically, not too long ago. But this is as close as one could get without the power of the Anchor."

"Have you been here before?" Judy asked.

"Not quite like this," Solas replied, making Ennaly wonder if he could visit this place in his dreams too.

"It is not without dangers, however," Briala continued. "Cleaning this place has not quite been our priority. We will stumble upon bodies, and sometimes... Things find these bodies and inhabit them."

"Bodies?" Ennaly asked. Her Anchor was acting out again, and to hide the flaring from view, mostly because she did not want to worry Solas, she had put on a special glove. It was leather, the palm the glove double-layered with an insert of metal, ensuring no light would visually pierce through.

"Ancient Elves, trapped when the mirrors turned dormant. Mostly servants, or slaves, tending their masters. They all died together."

Solas turned his face to the side, away from them all. Ennaly could see that those words affected him greatly.

"Slaves?" Ennaly repeated, a little uneasy.

Briala scoffed. "You are Dalish, aren't you supposed to know more about the ancient Elves than a city Elf like me? My old mentor certainly knew a lot more than you."

Ennaly and Loranil locked gaze. He shrugged, indicated he didn't know much of it either. But she was a First, whatever knowledge was available, she should have learned. But her Keeper never mentioned anything about slaves before.

"It wasn't all fairytales like I thought when I was a girl," Briala continued. "If there are only Elves in the world, it means that all layers of society are filled with those Elves. Those in power often find ways to misuse it and there will always be someone who needs to sweep the floors."

"You'd think a sense of morality would prevent one from keeping slaves," Ennaly replied, but then remembered that even Dorian didn't use to oppose to slaves. If that was all you'd ever known, perhaps you didn't see the injustice in it? Now, that was injustice.

"Yet power often blinds," Briala said.

Ennaly tried to look at Solas, see if he had anything to say about any of this, but he kept his head averted, his gaze low, locked on the strips of runes along the border of the pathway. While they were walking, a second floating island had come into view, and on it stood another Eluvian, flanked by statues.

"Let's be careful when we cross this Eluvian," Briala warned. "Behind it is a central... Garden of sorts. It isn't always peaceful."

She requested them to step back again. Only Judy was clearly allowed to be near and know whatever it was Briala did to make the surface of the mirror awake. Slowly, they all stepped through, the sensation similar to the first time.

This time, they found themselves in a large plaza of sorts. A low white mist covered the ground. Emerging from the mist were dozens upon dozens of Eluvians, rising like forlorn headstones at an abandoned cemetery. Scattered throughout were large golden structures, almost tree-like at the top. Ennaly had seen structures like that before in old Elven temples. They must have held some power once. She could image them filled with orbs of light, the pavement of this plaza repaired and clean with richly dressed Elves congregating here, walking from mirror to mirror going about their business, pausing briefly to chat.

The image that came to mind was beautiful, for just a moment, before she imaged the slaves hiding in the corners, sweeping the pavements clean, not unlike she herself had posed, this very morning. The image almost twisted to how she envisioned Tevinter being.

The shot of pain in her hand came sudden and she wasn't quite able to hide it away like she'd been doing all this time. Solas, who had been looking around with a mournful, somewhat strangely guilt-ridden expression, turned his attention to her.

"I'm fine," she said quickly. What an easy lie to tell. "What - what brought you here, Loranil?" she asked her fellow Dalish Elf, trying to get Solas' attention away from herself.

"I was hunting one day," Loranil started. "I met Briala. I was always interested in seeing more of the world than my just my clan. My Keeper was apprehensive at first to let me leave, but he allowed it in the end. I sympathize with Briala's cause, and with the Inquisition's too. I have been wanting to meet you for a while now. It's time for us Dalish to be a little bit more involved in this world."

"I agree, but It's not always been easy," Ennaly answered. She turned to the young Elf. "And you, Judy?"

"I used to work in the palace, as a servant," she replied. "I knew Briala. She spotted me once... doing things I shouldn't be doing." She smirked. "She saw the potential."

"What did you do?" Ennaly asked in wonder.

The girl shrugged, but wore a broad grin on her face. "Sneaking around. I'm very good with locks."

"Handy," she grinned back. "I've found myself in front of locked doors on more than one occasion."

"Don't you have magic for that?" Judy asked.

Ennaly sighed. "Sadly, magic isn't the solution for everything. Not anymore, at least." She gestured around herself, at this remnant of a magic-constructed place, now more desolate than glorious.

"Look out!" Solas called suddenly, and several things happened all at once.

An arrow sped past her face, courtesy of Briala's bow. Solas had casted a barrier spell on all of them. With the surge of magic, the mist displaced around their feet, revealing what had before been hidden from view. Scattered around, where bodies of Elves – dead for Gods know how long – but they were stirring. And ahead of them, in the direction that Briala's arrow sped, loomed a large floating entity. It was grotesque, yet resembled an Elf, dressed in tattered robes with long gangly limbs moving around in a pattern, waking up the bodies scattered around them.

"An era'harel," Briala called, notching another arrow. "An arcane horror!"

"Shit," Judy called, readying her own bow. The sound of singing metal indicated Loranil had drawn his sword. Ennaly had her staff in hand, shooting lightning at the demon.

"Do we engage?" Loranil called, slashing down on a body at his feet.

"The Eluvian we need is nearby," Briala called, letting loose another arrow. "Let's hurry!"

They ran onwards, shooting spells and arrows behind them, Loranil at the front, hacking in on the rising bodies with his blade. They could feel the icy cold presence of the fiend closing in on them, and then suddenly, it appeared in front of them. Ennaly's well-timed barrier might have saved them all from becoming more Elven corpses as a beam of green volatile energy rushed towards them. They could almost feel the energy tugging at their souls, their essence, but instead of the life-sucking force, it was a mere whisper.

"Can I really not use my mark?" Ennaly called. Usually, when she called forth the power, she could easily disintegrate a foe like this.

"It might kill you!" Solas called back, and he called forth energy from the Fade, smashing it into the demon.

Ennaly used her lightning to clear the path in front of Briala. "Your rift magic works here!"

Solas twirled around to re-cast a barrier around Loranil. "Do not risk it!"

As the arcane horror moved away again, they had a temporary clean path in front of them. It wasn't too far before they saw another Eluvian doom before them.

"I need some time, cover me!" Briala called over her shoulder. Ennaly remained near her while the other three fought off the bodies stumbling towards them, at a faster pace than one might expect for corpses dead for hundreds of years.

Ennaly helped with shooting lightning from her place next to the Marquise. The brown-haired Elf held up her hand in front of the mirror, and muttered a few words.

"Fen'Harel enansal."

Ennaly was vaguely aware of being surprised by these specific words, and was also only partly aware of the mirror rippling blue-purple in activation as she heard a cry.

Judy had fallen down. They hadn't seen the body crawling nearing through the remnants of mist, slashing at her shin. Solas cast a barrier on her and Loranil jumped near to kill the body – can you kill something that isn't alive?

And only from her position could Ennaly see the arcane horror emerging, behind the three of them. It made a movement with its hands like it did before, when it called forth the green energy. Ennaly only had a split-second to make her decision. She pulled the glove off her left hand with her teeth and held up the Anchor towards the demon. She had done it many times before. She released the focus she held within in. She wouldn't let the demon kill them – not Solas, her love, nor the other two whom she only briefly knew. She couldn't, not if she had a chance of saving them.

Green volatile energy of her own sped towards the demon before it cast its spell and Ennaly cried, for the power felt like it was tearing through her very soul. The green orb that appeared above the demon pulled at it, and it couldn't resist it.

"Ennaly, no!" Solas called, the last word ringing through the now-silence as the demon disintegrated. Without the puppeteer to pull the strings, the bodies around them fell lifeless once more. They could rest again.

Ennaly too, fell to her knees. The anchor hurt and sparks erupted from her entire hand, almost to her wrist. Loranil supported Judy and Solas ran to Ennaly, but she crawled up herself. "Let's... let's get through," she uttered.

Briala had turned around in horror and waited for the others to step through the Eluvian first, before she stepped through herself. They were on a platform again similar as the first one with a pathway leading away to a void. Briala whispered to the mirror like she did before, the others all too distracted, but Ennaly thought she heard those same words again.

The Dread Wolf's blessing.

"Ennaly, that was reckless," Solas called as he wrapped her in his arms, pulling her close to him. "You could have died. This power... You were never meant to have this power. It might have killed you before, do not... do not tempt it."

"But you could have died," she said, pressed against his chest. "All three of you. I still live."

Solas parted to stare in her eyes. "I cannot bear the thought of losing you, vhenan."

She leaned over to kiss him. "Don't worry about me, I'm not going anywhere," she whispered, before she remembered there were three others around them.

Loranil had handed Judy a health potion, and the slash on her shin was knitting back together. Briala was observing Ennaly and Solas. Solas turned to help Judy with some healing magic, while Briala addressed Ennaly. "It seems I owe you two apologies. The first one for what I said when we met in Halamshiral." She had compared Ennaly and Solas to the Empress and herself. "And secondly, I did not expect a foe like this to cross our paths. I think it might be time to give the bodies of those poor Elves a proper send-off. I'll ensure we collect them and give them the proper rites. They should no longer be required to dance to their master's tunes."

Ennaly smiled at her. She was wondering if she had heard the passphrase, or whatever it was, correctly, and if so, why those were the words. Briala might be under the impression she hadn't heard in the chaos of the fight, and perhaps she should leave it like that, at least for now. "It seems we all turned out fine."

"Do you call that hand fine?" Briala remarked sharply, as they both observed the green light that surrounded her entire left hand.

"Alright, I'd be lying if I said I was fine," Ennaly sighed. "But let's get out of this place. Solas can help me with it later."

With Judy's leg healed, they all continued on, Solas keeping a close eye on Ennaly. This road was a little shorter than the first one and it wasn't long before they saw the platform with their last Eluvian emerging from the void.

They were all glad to be in the waking world again, in Dirthavaren. They took a short break where Solas took the time to calm down Ennaly's Anchor. He was still worried. Calming it down took longer than it ever had before, which wasn't necessarily surprising, since it had never acted out like this before either, engulfing her entire hand.

After half an hour they continued on their way again. Judy was chatting happily again, the pain in her leg had fully subsided, and they could start getting excited for what the rest of the day would bring. It was the summer solstice today, after all.

It was an hour before noon that they gazed at the Dalish camp in the distance, situated between tall trees and the strange rock formations that were scattered throughout the planes.

"Your clan is larger than my clan was," Ennaly noted to Loranil as they observed the aravels, the structures and the little dots of people.

"Oh, did I not mention it?" Loranil replied. "We have a clan visiting us. It's clan Nomaris, do you know them?"

Ennaly turned to look at Solas, a shocked expression on her face. Yes, she did know clan Nomaris. So did Solas. Anarel was the Keeper, and the last time they had seen each other, they had thrown spells back and forth.

"Damn," Ennaly said, feeling the dread enclose around her throat.

Author's Note: I had kind of been hinting at this in the chapters at the ball! I wanted to explore ways what an alliance between Briala and the Inquisitor can look like (she does mention what Inky could do with an army of Elven spies at their disposal, after all). And I think Loranil fits in here nicely!

And I want to give a shoutout to Judy! I always enjoy your little comments on the chapters, so I knew I wanted to name this little OC after you. Cheers to you!