Hey again. I'm still very ill and struggle to get any writing done because of that, but I'm going to try and pick this up again. Not sure if I'll be able to keep it going, but I'm giving it a shot. Sorry for any mistakes.

Dragon Age: Revengeance

ACT II

Chapter 11

Solas was deep in conversation with one of his agents at a secret location within the Eluvian Crossroads, when Razikale abruptly appeared, hands on her hips and a sneer on her lips.

"If it isn't the Dread Bore," she said, not even bothering with the pleasantries. Solas nodded to his agent and sent the man away, before turning to confront the Tevinter Old God.

"Razikale. I heard that you had awakened. Tell me, were you as disappointed by the state of the world as I was, when I awoke not too long ago?"

"You mean because Tevinter is a shattered remnant of what it once was? Yes, it was a disappointment, but hardly a surprise. What else would I expect, given my empire was deprived of my leadership? At any rate they've certainly fared better than your people." She gave him a mock round of applause. "Bravo. You really did them proud. A race of slaves and nomads."

"I aim to fix my mistake."

Razikale glanced around at the Crossroads. "So I see. You're back to your old tricks again, playing the part of the great rebel leader. Working from the shadows." She then glared at him. "Except you never expected any of us to wake up, did you? You lulled us all to sleep, and thanks to that a little group that calls itself the Grey Wardens was able to murder most of my brothers. Was that part of your grand plan?"

"No," he admitted, his expression pained. "I never wanted that to happen. By the time I realised what they were doing, the damage was already done."

"The damage was done when you tricked us!" Razikale snapped. "You left us defenceless. And for what?" She gestured to indicate the world at large. "You brought both our empires to their knees, all in the name of revenge and freedom. Now you think you can just turn back the clock, undo everything. Well I'm here to warn you that we won't let that happen."

Solas frowned. "We?"

Razikale gave an enigmatic smile. "What, you thought you were the only clever one? Dumat anticipated your little betrayal. He came to me not long after I awoke."

"That's impossible. Dumat is dead."

She scoffed and began to pace. "So is Mythal, but that didn't stop her, did it? Is she listening? That little wisp of her, inside you?" Razikale gave a mocking little wave. "It must really grate, knowing that she's been plotting her revenge against her old pantheon for ... how long? Meanwhile Dumat has already corrupted them all with the Blight. If Mythal ever does get her revenge, it'll be meaningless. The Evanuris are too insane now to even notice, much less care. Or perhaps she intends to cure them before she kills them?"

Solas sighed and clasped his hands behind his back. "What do you want, Razikale?"

She stopped pacing and put her hands back upon her hips. "I want you to stay out of our way."

"And if I don't?"

"I know you're searching for June's weapon. The one they used on Mythal? Well I have my people looking for it as well. And when they find it, I'll be sure to finish it, so that if I have to turn it on you, dear Solas? There won't be anything left of you."

Solas smiled grimly. "Not if I find it first."

"Well then." Razikale smiled back. "May the best god win."

The Hero of Ferelden strolled up to the newly constructed Kirkwall Chantry, stopping only when a dead Templar landed directly in front of her. She poked his fresh corpse with her toe, wrinkling her nose as she did so.

"Never mind, you tried your best," she said. She looked back up and fixed her attention upon the cause of the commotion; a Red Lyrium Behemoth that was rampaging around, squashing all attempts to subdue it, and generally making a mess. Solona called out to it and waved. "Hey, Cullen! Here I am! Long time, huh?"

The gigantic mass of red crystals fixed a pair of glowing eyes upon her, and she liked to think that deep down there was enough of Cullen left inside there to recognise her. That would make what she was about to do so much more satisfying. The Behemoth roared (because of course it did) and charged at her. Solona executed a frost infused Fade Step, passing directly through the creature and reappearing behind it, causing some minor damage to the thing as she did so.

"Whoops! Over here! Hey, dumb dumb, I'm over here! Yoohoo!" She laughed as Cullen skidded to a stop and about turned. Solona beckoned for him to follow her into the Chantry. "Aww, you want to die? Of course you do. I'd want to die if I were as ugly as you are. Come on then, come and get it!"

She ran inside and dived out of the way as the Behemoth smashed through the Chantry doors in pursuit of her. As she got to her feet and brushed the splinters away, clerics screamed and ran for their lives. Solona reached over her shoulder and casually drew her greatsword, Vigilance.

"The Hero of Ferelden, saving the day too many times to count. Let's get on with it, then."

Cullen hurled a mass of crystal projectiles in her direction, which she swatted out of the air with her sword. He then charged at her again, howling in rage. Her magic coursing through her body, infusing her limbs with unnatural strength, Solona somersaulted over his head and landed behind him, lashing out with a biting blow that shattered one of the crystal growths on his back. He spun around and smacked her, and even though she blocked the blow the force of it nevertheless sent her flying into the oversized statue of Andraste.

"Ooof! Not bad!" She picked herself up and worked the kink in her neck. "You got me there. You'll have to do so much better than that, though."

The Cullen Behemoth slammed his fists into the ground, summoning a mass of crystals around her to trap her in place. Solona exploded into a cloud of bees, which swarmed up the steps and reformed back into her human form behind the statue. Taking a running jump, she landed a dropkick on the statue's back, channelling all of her magic into increasing the force of the blow. The entire statue cracked at the base and then toppled over, smashing itself apart on Cullen's crystal encrusted head.

"Hah hah, yes! Another point for me!" she declared brightly. "How you holding up, ya perv? Need a rest yet? Not as much fun when us mages fight back, now, is it? You prefer your victims helpless and soft. Damn, you are just so ugly. I mean I'm not into guys, but even if I was, I wouldn't want to be in the same room as you even if you were the last guy left in the world."

Cullen recovered from being stunned by having a giant statue of Andraste fall on him, and charged after her once again. Solona effortlessly dodged his clumsy, brutish attacks, and laughed as he proceeded to demolish the newly constructed Kirkwall Chantry.

"Aww, what's wrong?" she taunted after landing several more deep cuts with Vigilance. "Was my sword too fast for you?"

As much fun as it all was, Solona decided it was time to put the big smelly brute down for good. Cullen lunged at her in a mindless rage, and rather than dodge his attack this time, she surrounded herself in a cloak of magical Fade energy, becoming translucent and incorporeal. She darted forwards, phasing herself through the Behemoth, and cast off the veil of Fade energy whilst she was still inside him. The resulting blast telefragged him with such force that he exploded in a shower of crystallised chunks, which shot out in every direction and smashed through the walls, floor, ceiling, and support pillars.

"Another victory," she announced, striking a pose. "Was there ever any doubt?"

Her celebrations were cut short as the entire Chantry collapsed around her, having sustained too much structural damage to remain standing. Solona transformed herself into a cat and darted past the falling debris, narrowly escaping before the entire building imploded into a cloud of dust. She skidded to a stop outside and reverted to her human form in order to admire the damage.

"Tsk, to think they just finished that thing after Anders blew up the old one. I wish he was here to see this, I bet it'd put a smile on his face."

"I'm sure it would," said a voice. Solona turned to see who had spoken, and to her delight found that it was Fiona. She squealed and ran at the former Warden, throwing her arms around her in an over-enthusiastic embrace.

"Fiona! It's so good to see you!" Solona released her and wagged a disapproving finger. "Do you have any idea how long Avernus and I have been searching for you?"

Fiona frowned and gestured to indicate the elven features Solona now had. "You've changed. How...?"

She laughed. "Ah, funny story. Turns out I have some elf blood in me – maybe from my father, shhh, don't tell! - and ever since I began using my shapeshifting powers more, I started to look like this when I retook my normal form. Not sure what that's about, but hey, I don't mind."

Fiona squeezed her arm. "I heard about Weisshaupt. They say you've been declared a renegade by the other Grey Wardens."

"I may have said a few strong words to the First Warden after I heard about how badly you were treated. I may have also punched him in the face. But ... he's a jackass, so who cares? Now then, you and I are going to have a drink, and then you are going to tell me all about what you've been up to lately. Starting with why you never told Alistair you're his mother, seriously, do you have any idea what it took for me to find that out?!"

Behind them, the cloud of dust from the destroyed Chantry drifted out over Kirkwall. It did not however rain debris down on the harbour so hard that it effected the tides. Because that would just be silly.