UNEDITED

Notice: Hey, guys, I urge you to check out a co-fan-fiction I have been working on with a friend of mine. It's being posted on her page because it's her Inquisitor. Mine is in there as well, but he's not as obvious as an Inquisitor as hers. The Story is titled: Blood of the People and is being posted by HerenyaHope. I also urge you guys to check out her solo fan-fic: His Homecoming.

Blood of the People is a three book series she and I have been working on for a while now. We're still editing and posting book 1 even as we work on book 3. Soon, another story, playing off that series we've been writing will be posted on my fan-fiction account.

I hope to see some of you guys taking an interest in that series as well!

Silence.

Falon'Din was used to silence within the main temple, but not this silence. His servants moved around him, finishing helping him into the heavy formal wear. Even the normal sounds of them moving around him, seemed all too silent. It wasn't a physical silence, rather one he which he had created upon himself.

The robes were fine, woven from the best silks in the world and died to the pale greens Falon'Din preferred. Gold wrapped around his neck and came to down as v just passed his chest. Normally, he would have gone bare chested to intimidate those lesser elven he met with. These robes were made for a meeting with those of equal rank to himself. The gold silk rimmed the hem of the robes and the long sleeves. More gold covered his fingers, capping the very tips before turning to bands. Heavy gold also was placed on his arms just over the robes to show some of his muscle.

The final touches were a heavy, green cape and a beautiful mask. The shoulders of the cape were made from pure gold as well. The golden mask mimicked the blood writing his slaves and sentinels wore as well as a half skull of an elven.

Once the mask had been placed, he flicked his wrist in dismissal of the servants.

They bowed from the space, leaving Falon'Din completely alone.

Silence.

Falon'Din looked into the mirror and his golden mask. Smooth skin framed his golden-yellow eyes. His long, black hair was done in a loose fish braid. The elegance of the clothes, the beauty of it them showed the power and wealth his temples had gathered over the centuries.

But they weren't just his temples. While he had temples dedicated solely to him, even those still had some homiage to his-to Dirthamen. The main temples he had always shared with his brother.

Falon'Din closed his eyes.

Not his brother. He had to remind himself of this fact. After all, they weren't even pure twins. Dirth, his precious little brother – not brother, shared only the same mother as Falon'Din. Their father was different. Dirth's father was-he was Fen'Harel. The traitor within their family. This in turn made Dirthamen a traitor. He wasn't Falon'Din's precious brother, rather he was a bastard.

Falon'Din opened his eyes a slit. For a heartbeat he wondered where the image of his brother had gone. The normal shadow he saw in the mirror behind him.

Pain stabbed at Falon'Din's heart as the memory sank in. His eyes burned. Dirth wasn't there.

Falon'Din turned from the mirror and strode from the room. He was greeted by his honor guard of sentinels. They bowed low, seeming fewer as out of habit they lined only one side of the hall.

"What are you doing?" Falon'Din snapped. "Line both sides!" he demanded.

The back half leapt to attention and moved to mirror the others across the hall. "Forgive us, Lord Falon'Din," they spoke as one. All of them bowed even lower. "It won't happen again."

"It had better not," Falon'Din growled. He tried to force his voice to be the same harsh, angry level his father always showed when speaking to his sentinels. Lesser begins as his father called all other elven.

He started through the line of his sentinels. Each step pulled at his heart. His words echoed in his ears even as the missing sound of light footfalls rang through him harsher than any blade piercing flesh. His very shadow felt as if it had been ripped from his body.

Dirthamen.

Falon'Din forced his features to remain straight under his mask. Dirthamen was an insect. He was the bastard child of Mythal, not Falon'Din's precious little brother. Yet, while Falon'Din had gained all the wealth, all the temples and followers, half of him now felt as if it were missing.

The eluvian came into view, placed on a dais such that it was still the center of attention, yet, low enough Dirthamen would never have problems mounting the rise. Falon'Din's heart twisted as he remembered that conversation with his brother and the pushing to keep this one eluvian low, sacrificing some appearance to keep up the farce his brother, his precious brother was healthy.

No.

Falon'Din shoved aside all thoughts of Dirthamen. He couldn't view Dirthamen as his brother. He was an insect, something which marked Falon'Din's mother's betrayal of his father. Dirthamen didn't have a right to exist in this world!

The feeling of magic wrapping around Falon'Din was enough to drive all thoughts of Dirthamen from him. The paths between the eluvians had been cleared by his sentinels, allowing for him to travel without the eyes of lesser elven on him.

The trip through the Crossroads was short. He stepped through the eluvian to a beautiful room deep within the Arlathan. The chamber was round with nine chairs of gold lining the wall. They were spread just far enough apart to draw the eye to each chair in turn, but not so far to make conversation between the nine of them impossible.

One other already stood within the chambers. His long, golden robes appeared almost akin to flame. Golden-blond hair fell down his back melding into the gleaming robes. His stance was noble, commanding, familiar.

"Father," Falon'Din whispered the title. He stopped just in the chambers, eyes locked on his father. The one who had truly uncovering the truth of Dirthamen's tainted birth

Elgar'nan turned towards Falon'Din. Amber eyes burned as if flame in the light of the grand room. His features were sharp and stern. Many who had seen Elgar'nan and Solas standing side by side said they shared the same facial structure. But Elgar'nan's nose was sharp and narrow, eyebrows thin and stern. His lips where thin and pulled into a perpetual scowl. Really the only feature which Falon'Din's uncle shared with his older twin was the cleft chin. A feature shared between all of Elgar'nan's children as well.

"Falon'Din," Elgar'nan's voice was soft as snapping embers. "Come forth, my son." Elgar'nan lifted one armored hand. The gold of the armor glittered with the movement and drew Falon'Din's eye down his father's robed arm to the golden armor plating on his chest. It was light armor, such as the armor the sentinels wore, but filled with far more wealth. Armor crafted for their father by Falon'Din's younger brother June.

Falon'Din moved towards his father with cation and a glimmer of admiration. Elgar'nan was the very panicle of power and wealth. His appearance made all tremble and fall to bended knee before him. Falon'Din longed for such to happen with his followers. To inspire such a loyalty none would ever think of betraying him.

"Father," Falon'Din spoke his relation with Elgar'nan and bowed his head to his father. "I-I tried to kill the insect, father, but he escaped." His mouth went dry at the words. His heart twisted with grief over referring to his brother as an "insect" even if he was one.

He dropped his gaze to the glittering seal under foot. A reminder of a time the nine of them had stood shoulder to shoulder. When days were dark and bleak. His heart ached with longing for this simpler days. When he and his brother had been together. When all of them had been a real family.

Elgar'nan growled. "Why am I only now hearing of this, Falon'Din?" His father's breath was warm against exposed flesh of Falon'Din's face.

"I believed I knew where he was going," Falon'Din explained. "I tried to track him down to finish the job and take his power like you wanted, but the wolf," he spat his uncle's title, "was just as confused as Mythal was on hearing the insect wasn't with me."

"So he didn't run to his true father."

Falon'Din looked at Elgar'nan so fast pain lanced through neck. "What?" the question logged in his throat and felt as if it was pulled from him in his utter shock. Fen'Harel, Solas, he was-he was Dirth's real father.

"No matter, the insect is still a traitor. We will treat him as such to the others, understood, my son?" Elgar'nan's hand was heavy on Falon'Din's shoulder.

"Yes-yes, father," Falon'Din choked on the words.

"Good." His father's hand slid from his shoulder. Elgar'nan turned and moved several paces away to stand in the center of the Abyss's seal, arms behind his back. "While you're not taking the insect's powers is a setback, we will forge ahead. Your younger siblings have been informed of this treachery already as well as the insect's death. We will keep it as such. This is the very last meeting eight of us meet in peace." His amber eyes flashed as he turned back to Falon'Din. "No more shall we put up with Mythal's antics or Solas's little rebellions among the slaves. It's time to remove them both."

Excitement boiled within Falon'Din. He straightened, looking his father in the eye. "And then the People will fall under only the six true gods," he finished, "as you planned, father."

Elgar'nan flicked his wrist.

Falon'Din moved back from him towards one of the nine points on the seal. This meeting, this family reunion was for something they had done since the seal on the Abyss had first been created.

When Falon'Din stopped, a small click sounded in the very heart of the room. It took at least three to activate the trapdoor of the Foci. He looked a few chairs to his left to see his father had taken his place as well, standing in his noble way to wait for the others to appear.

The last meeting of the eight of them. Falon'Din took a deep, calming breath. The last one had been nearly thirty centuries of the years ago. Not long after they had made first contact with the dwarves. It had been the last time the People had viewed them as rulers instead of gods. While Solas had been present then as well, he hadn't spoken with them or looked towards Falon'Din or Dirth.

A figure stepped from the eluvian. It was June. His robes, placed over his own set of armor, were more technical. He wore a simple, yet elegant long purple shirt and a long, green coat over it. The wealth was seen in the enchantments lining his belt. His hair was pulled back from his face. He looked so much like their father it was sometimes hard to tell the difference between June and Elgar'nan. But his hair was lighter in the color and he had an enchantment placed on his forehead which made his once amber eyes, an icy blue.

He stopped a place from Falon'Din where he had would have stood beside Dirthamen. June didn't comment on the missing presences of Dirthamen, rather looked towards the center of the room. He was a pace back from the activation glyph, as he waited for more to arrive.

"Father." June gave Elgar'nan an elegant if not cocky bow. "Falon'Din," his voice was a little harsher as he turned his gaze on Falon'Din. "If this weren't a meeting to gather in peace, I would have war for your costing me that lyrium mine."

Falon'Din scowled from under this mask. "It wasn't yours to begin with, June," Falon'Din retorted.

"Nor, yours, Falon."

Falon'Din growled. "It's Falon'Din!" he snarled at his little brother. Falon had been Falon'Din's childhood name. He hated it now, especially when June called him by that name. Or really when any of his younger siblings did.

"My, aren't we touchy today," June gave a small smile. "Though, I am not the one who had a twin backstab me. I suppose your mood is quite understandable, brother."

"Tch." Falon'Din looked away from June. He didn't have to put up with this nonsense from the second youngest of the nine.

While he and June had speaking another had arrived. She wore a dress embroidered with flame and healing herbs. The dress was a rich aquamarine, the embroidery done in gold and silver. The wealth within the silks and gown showed the People's love for Sylaise, the Hearthkeeper as they called her.

Sylaise, like Falon'Din, had inherited their mother's golden-yellow gaze. Her eyes were softer with a hint of amber deep within them. Her golden-blond hair was pulled into in a tight weaving around her head, holding an interlocking, golden crown which looked as a plant. Her gloves were done in the same design as her dress.

As far as women went, Falon'Din supposed he could see why many men fawned over his sister. But he, personally, didn't see it.

"I see I arrived before mother and Andruil," Sylaise spoke in soft, loving tones. A tone which was deceitful to her power. She was gentle when the situation demanded it and in public, but Falon'Din knew all too well the sting of his sister's powers.

"Andruil will no doubt arrive with Ghilan'nain," June said with a warm smile towards Sylaise. "You look as radiant as ever, Sylaise."

Falon'Din suppressed the urge to gag. It was wrong what June held for Sylaise. They were brother and sister.

Falon'Din's heart flickered with unease. His mind flashed to Dirthamen as he thought of the feelings of his younger siblings. He took a deep breath. Dirthamen was an insect, not his brother, not anything.

Sylaise ignored June and continued passed him. "My dear brother, Falon'Din." Her hand touched his chest as she leaned into him. "Your heart seems to ache all the more than usual." Her gloved hand touched his chin as her warm breath touched the bare skin of his cheeks.

"I don't need your pity, Sylaise," Falon'Din growled. Her wrenched her hand from his chin. "Crawl back to your place by June, sister."

"So be it, Falon'Din." She turned from him, voice fleshed with venom towards his reaction. "A lovely day to see you again, father." Sylaise moved around the edge of the seal to where Elgar'nan stood. She bowed low to him.

"Sylaise." Elgar'nan gave the slightest incline of his head to her.

"I hope our temples remain enjoying the peace between us, father."

Their father looked down upon her, eyes burning in the light. This was his only response to her proposed peace.

A child trickled through Falon'Din's body. His gaze snapped to the eluvian once more. The newcomer was dressed in dark armor. Hints of the madness of the Abyss leaked from the form fitting gear. It wasn't a rich outfit nor one to see at such gatherings. Nothing could be seen of this new arrivals features. A black bow was strapped to her back and the armor clicked softly with each step she took.

Andruil.

Falon'Din hand to suppress another shudder. She had long since forgotten all but the need for the hunt. All but the desire to bath her bow and daggers in the blood of all she came across.

"Andruil!" Elgar'nan left his place. "Remove your bow from these chambers!"

Andruil paused and turned her shadowed gaze on Elgar'nan. For a long moment they locked gazes before she turned and moved back through the eluvian. A heartbeat later she returned without her bow.

There were no words uttered from her as she moved to place and stopped upon the glyph.

Once, long ago, Andruil had looked as the shadow of her twin sister Sylaise. With hair as dark as the night and eyes of ember light, she had commanded the loyalty and respect of the people. She had taught them the love she held for the land and all creatures upon it. No longer. The hunt for the shadow ones had corrupted her. She had ventured within the Abyss unprotected too many times, spent longer there than even Solas had in the final efforts to seal away the darkness of the cursed place.

The armor she wore had been crafted with care by June, using the tainted materials from the Abyss itself. All in the attempt to keep some of their sister's sanity. Even to this day, Falon'Din was uncertain the armor had done as June had intended. There was nothing of the Andruil Falon'Din had known when they'd been younger. No light in her eyes or joy or even the attempts to tease their uncle. Only darkness and bloodlust remained.

Another had followed Andruil's reentrance into the grand chambers. She, like Sylaise, wore finery which was breathtaking to many a man. Her white dress dragged out behind her, Shoulders bare before the sleeves fell passed her hands. Her hair was just as white as the dress. Antlers were woven into her hair and gold wound around her waist. Her skin was several shades darker than everyone else who stood in the room.

This was Ghilan'nain. Though none but the family now remembered, she was Andruil's only child. The daughter of a lesser elf and Andruil, Ghilan'nain had her earned her place among them by "purging" herself of the lesser blood of her father as well as creating the halla through the same means she had used to "purify" herself. All her words, not his own.

Ghilan'nain wordlessly took her place between her mother and where Mythal would stand upon her arrival.

Sylaise moved to her own place between Andruil and June.

A shiver unease raced through Falon'Din. This was the first time all of them had gathered like this in over thirty centuries. Well, all but three of them.

"Good, those I wished to speak with arrived early." Elgar'nan paced around them, hands behind his back and gaze flashing as he looked at each in turn. "We all know of the taint stirring among us."

Andruil snarled.

"Not you," Elgar'nan snapped. "I speak of Mythal."

Falon'Din stiffened. What did their mother, or grandmother in Ghilan'nain's case, have to do with this? Beside Elgar'nan, Mythal was the one all of them feared to cross. It was her actions which had quealed infighting among them. The wars which had raged between them all of them at one point or another. All of this had been stopped by her. There was times even Elgar'nan had bowed to her will.

"What about mother?" June asked, his hand on his chin in thought.

"She has sided with my pathetic brother from the last time," Elgar'nan stated as he stopped near his place.

Andruil growled under her breath. There was bitterness in the growl which pointed to her having not forgotten the time their mother had briefly trapped her.

"For too long the both of them have been given too much free rein. It's high time we put an end to their antics once and for all."

"This is a time of peace, father," Sylaise pointed out. "For the next few years the People will be celebrating the renewal of the seal on the Abyss. We have a truce."

"And thus it is the perfect time to strike." Elgar'nan turned his fiery gaze on Sylaise. "Fen'Harel has ignored the precursors to our time of peace and so has Mythal. She acts against us as surely as he does.

"The people need us to remain stable, to guide and protect them through all aspects of life. From a blessing of birth," – he bowed his head towards Sylaise – "to their very passage into uthenera." He turned his burning gaze to Falon'Din. "We keep their way of life, their prospects of the future and thus need what the wolf and dragon deny us."

Sylaise bowed her head. She didn't speak out though her eyes showed she was uncertain.

June looked towards her and then towards their father. "I won't deny Uncle Solas has gotten in the way of us gaining more than one lyrium mind since we awoke a pillar by mistake, but, still, this seems," he cut off at a look from Elgar'nan. "Fen'Harel has also been stealing our labor force," he conceded.

Dread started to settle in Falon'Din's gut. He looked to where Dirthamen would have been for a heartbeat. The only one who would have spoken out, who would have known the truth of the future wasn't here to deny Elgar'nan's words. Insect or not, had this been their father's plan all along?

No. That was ridicules.

Falon'Din returned his attention to their father. Elgar'nan only spoke of what was for the best for the People. They did rely on all nine of them for everything. Every aspect of life was given to the People by them.

"We guided the People from the darkness of slavery into the light of a new age," Elgar'nan continued. "We will continue to guide them into a perfect future. One without fears or needs. The six of us who remain, who know the truth, will be the guiding light!"

The others bowed their heads in agreement.

Nothing more needed to be spoken. Elgar'nan returned to his place.

Not long after, Mythal appeared through the eluvian. She wore a beautiful, dark dress which mirrored the night. She strode towards her place on the right side of Elgar'nan.

Falon'Din found himself holding his breath. His heart hurt with a fear Solas wouldn't appear. He was the only one who could enact the final stage of the seals renewal. If he didn't come then, then the seal would break in less than a five hundred years.

A small breath eased from Falon'Din when Solas stepped through the eluvian. He wasn't dressed in any finery, rather in his normal armor. The ends of the robes tattered from centuries of use and a new fur wrapped over his left shoulder. He didn't have any weapons on him as the truce instructed. Even still there was an unease in his sharp, pale gaze as he strode around the seal to his place beside Falon'Din and Elgar'nan.

No one moved onto the glyph who were already standing upon it. Solas had stopped just behind his own. His gaze moved from his brother to the one empty place beside Falon'Din. His seed-shaped eyes narrowed.

"Where is Dirthamen?" he asked, tone cool.

No one replied.

Solas's eyes narrowed further. "Without Dirthamen the renewal will decay and weaken too quickly."

"We're aware, Fen'Harel!" Elgar'nan snapped. "But he is no longer with us."

Falon'Din glared at Solas. It was his fault Dirthamen wasn't Falon'Din's full brother. His fault Dirthamen was born an insect instead of the precious brother Falon'Din had thought he had.

His hand balled into a fist. Pain and rage stabbed deep into his heart. No matter how long it took him he would find a way to end his so called uncle for good.

Solas scowled as he turned to look at his brother. There was a hint of rage in his stance. "Interesting he should vanish on today of all days," Solas stated, tone even. Without another word, he stepped onto his glyph.

The others moved not a breath later.

Gears groaned as a door one the floor moved. A foci moved into the air.

Solas lifted his hand, eyes giving off a faint, familiar green light that tented the sky and world. Raw magic shot from his hand to the Foci.

Falon'Din felt his own eyes burn as he unleashed spells to aid in the strengthening the seal. The others did the same. All lifted their dominate hand and unleashed their power into the Foci.

White light filled the room. A beam shot from the foci. It shot into the seal and into the sky. It moved out from the room into the sky, renewing the barriers around the Abyss proper.

In this moment, Falon'Din felt his heart flicker with unease. None of them knew Solas's magic well enough to mimic this. If they killed his uncle and mother, what parts of the seal would weaken? Would the shadow return to the world and taint its people once more?

Falon'Din forced himself to not think on this. His uncle deserved whatever fate his father saw for him. Falon'Din wouldn't forget or forgive his uncle's role in tearing Dirthamen from him. Never! No matter what he would drown his uncle in the pain he felt and in the rage he now knew towards the man.

(Author's Note: I am so sorry about not updating this story in a long time. I will hopefully be able to update more often.

On the chapter, for a long time now, I've been debating if I wanted this chapter to be told by Falon'Din or not. I had a little taste of Falon'Din's personality built for another story I am working on, and thought, "what was he thinking after betraying his brother? A brother we know is closer to him than anything else in the world." That's what inspired this chapter and the decision to add a third point of view character to this book.

I want to say, while Dirthamen has always been my favorite of the elven pantheon, Falon'Din and Mythal were always tied as second. No matter how I write Falon'Din, I do adore him and his role in the DA universe.

Also, while in Evening Visitor my Inquisitor is Theria, it has changed twice since then who my Inquisitor is. Theria was from the idea that Felassan was a sentinel of Fen'Harel in the original Final Hour, Alaula (my second take) is still one of the choices I do a play through of as and is related to this story, but she's honestly not my favorite to play as, Mahvir is. No, not the Mahvir of this story. Rather the Mahvir who appears in the first chapter of Blood of the People, the story I am writing with HerenyaHope. Anyway, if you guys continue on with this series (as I write it) as well as the shared story with Herenya you will see who this Mahvir really is very quickly.)