The riverbank eventually became too steep to climb, so they waded through the waist-deep water to the other side, where the occasional ruined cottage was the only interruption in a landscape otherwise ruled solely by nature. The halla pawed at the ground for objects of interest, and chased each other up and down the plains.

Var Bellanaris was once part of what must have been a much larger complex, with several lone walls still standing nearby. Two giant stone harts loomed over the entrance, giving the party a landmark to guide them.

"The hart, that's Andruil's, symbol of the hunt," Sisi announced proudly.

"Comte Guillaume shot a hart once," Henri grumbled. "They're bloody loud is what they are."

Ellethir let the others take the lead, slowing down to walk beside Fae. "Can I ask you an odd question?" she asked.

"Sure."

"I've realised I've never asked you. Do you believe in our gods?"

Fae thought about it. "I suppose. Stories that last this long have to come from somewhere, right?"

"But you come from the city of Denerim, do you also believe in the Maker? Andraste, the Chantry?"

She expected Fae to say no, as she believed in the Creators, but Fae hesitated again. "I mean, historically speaking, Andraste was a real person. And again, the stories have to come from somewhere, but… I don't know. What were apparently Andraste's ashes cured a mundane man trapped in the Fade. Arl Eamon- well, you know, you've read the tale of the Hero of Ferelden."

"I have."

"Whether they were divine or enchanted, I couldn't say. And, even though Varric left me out of the book for my sake, I was there too, at the temple. And I met some ghosts. Well, actually, Neria and the others left me to be minded by Brother Genitivi, and I followed them after a while when I got bored," Fae explained, a little guiltily. "The point is, I met spirits who claimed they were people who knew Andraste. Knowing what I know about spirits now, they might have been spirits who watched her life closely, and took the forms they did to re-enact what they had seen. So, if they were to be believed, I know that she was loved. Very much. Everything else, I don't know."

"Neither do I," Ellethir admitted. "My loyalty is to our Creators, of course, and what we saw in the physical Fade answered some questions for me, but it created others."

"To tell you the truth, I wrote everything down too, like Cassandra did, to try and make sense of it, but really what I have is a list of questions to ask Brother Genitivi if I ever see him again."

Someone screamed, and everyone drew their weapons.

"Was that a halla or a person?" Varric exclaimed, nocking another bolt.

Sisi came tearing out of a ruined house nearby, with Claude hot on her heels. "It's a dead body, we found another dead body!" she squealed.

"Exactly, they're dead! They can't hurt you!" Claude shouted after her.

"We were attacked by dead people this morning, Claude!" she snapped back.

"Hold on, just…" Ellethir took a deep breath, trying to get Sisi to calm down. "Show us, Sisi."

Sisi brought them to the ruined house, which was little more than a pile of rubble with three walls left to call it as such. Lying face-down on the rubble were the charred remains of a person. "That could be anyone, right? What are the odds that this is Valorin?"

"There are signs of a summoning circle here," Solas pointed to a few half-burned candles which lay strewn around the corpse. "Most likely whatever came through has sought out the Rift in Var Bellanaris, in an attempt to return to the Fade."

Varric nudged bits of bricks and glass out of the way, unearthing a small singed book. "Looks too small for a villager's Canticles," he noted, bending down to pick it up. He dusted it off and shook out the rest of the chalky dust encased in the binding, then opened it to read. "Odds are pretty high," he confirmed, passing the book to Ellethir.

She read it too, and closed it carefully. "At least we can bring this back to his sister, this and the talisman he was looking for."

"What about the body?" Sisi pointed. "We should bring him back, too, shouldn't we?"

"We can't let her see him like this, Sisi," Claude put his arm around her shoulders.

"We could bury him in Val Bellanaris, couldn't we?" Fae suggested. "That's probably where they would bury him themselves, right? And then they could have a funeral. Or at least his sister could visit him?"

"But how can we move him without, you know…?"

"I believe I can help with that," Solas knelt down and pulled a rolled-up blanket from his pack.

Solas, Claude, Henri and Sisi each held a corner while Ellethir gently moved Valorin's remains onto the stretched-out blanket. Fae took the lead with Ellethir, scouting ahead as the group moved to the entrance of Var Bellanaris.

A droplet slid down Fae's cheek, and she brushed it away automatically, looking up at the greying sky above for signs of rain. She held her hand out, but no further droplets came. Another slid down her other cheek, and she wiped that away too, confused.

"Fae!" Ellethir took her hands. "What's wrong? Did you see something?"

Fae's confusion grew at Ellethir's worrying. "No, I didn't see anything. Is it raining?"

"You're crying, Fae."

Fae blinked at her, and right on cue, more tears fell. "Oh! I don't know why— I'm fine, really."

"As I said before, the Veil is thin around sites such as these," Solas said sagely. "Your sensitivity to the memories here must be affecting you somehow, even though you have yet to see any of them. Curious."

"It's annoying, not curious," Fae huffed, wiping more tears away with her sleeve. "I'm not a lab rat, Solas, don't talk at me like I'm one."

"My apologies," Solas bowed his head, apparently sincere. Fae just shrugged him off, so he tried switching tack. "If Sera were here, she would say the Veil feels wibbly."

It worked. The corners of Fae's lips twitched like she was holding back a smile. "She would, wouldn't she?"

Ellethir caught movement in her peripheral vision and quickly put a finger to her lips, nodding with her head towards the first demons spotted. The others placed Valorin down, and took points around the Fade rift in the centre of the site. They hid amongst the tall burial mounds, each fitted with stone tablets naming those buried within, and waited for Ellethir's signal to strike.

The demons wandering around the site swarmed to them at the first sounds of combat, giving them a harder time than they expected as more and more appeared. Claude slipped down one of the mounds and twisted his ankle, while Ellethir caught a talon to the shoulder from a particularly vicious shade. Fae exhausted herself maintaining an arcane shield to prevent Ellethir from further injury, while calling down bolt after bolt of lightning. Solas set the remaining despair demons alight, and everyone with free hands used them to cover their ears as the demons shrieked.

"You're welcome, Valorin," Fae said wearily when it was over, leading the others to retrieve the makeshift stretcher while Solas tended to Ellethir's shoulder.

They brought him into the burial grounds proper, looking for somewhere to dig that would be the least likely to interfere with the gravesites already present. They chose a spot near the back, where a small shrine to Falon'din stood, and there were no burial mounds yet established. They had no shovel, so Ellethir did her best to magically separate the packed dirt ground to create a hole deep enough for burial.

Then she lowered herself in despite her companions' protests, and summoned tree roots to take hold of Valorin's stretcher and carefully lower him down. She used the rest of the blanket to cover him, and then wrapped her arm around the tree roots to pull herself back up and out of the new grave. Everyone helped push the dirt back in, and Sisi brought some of the fallen bricks from the old shrine to mark the site, so that his clan could find him when they were ready.

The mood of the group as they made their way back to the Dalish camp was sombre, subdued. Even the halla stopped to observe the group as they passed, and then Fae noticed something.

"Ellethir," she whispered, not wanting to spook the halla that watched them. "Are all halla white? And kind of small, like the ones we've seen?"

"Yes?" Ellethir whispered back, puzzled by the question. "There used to be black halla as well, and they were much larger than the halla are now, but I've never seen one. I couldn't tell you if they still exist or not. Why do you ask?"

"Because there's a really big one over there that looks a little yellow. Is it sick?"

Ellethir followed her gaze to where Fae was looking. "Mythal'enaste, that's a golden halla," She gasped. "Hanal'ghilan."

"So, it's not sick?"

"She's supposed to come to the People in times of great need, but I always assumed it was just another story about how halla used to be."

"Well, we're about to give the clan some really bad news, on top of everything they've been through lately. Do you think she'd come to you if you called?"

"I'm not sure. I could try, but I'm not a herder."

"What are you two whispering about?" Varric asked. Sure enough, the sound of his voice was enough to send most of the gathered halla skittering away, but the one with a slight yellow sheen to its fur that towered over the others remained, its focus fixed on them.

"Shh!"

"What? Ohh…"

Ellethir took a tentative step forward.

"Wait!" Sisi whispered. "What happens if she doesn't like us?"

"She'll tell me with her horns," Ellethir said, not breaking eye-contact with the halla. "Or run me down. She looks like she could pull a whole fleet of aravels."

"Are you sure this is safe?"

"No." Ellethir took another few steps forward, and bowed, showing the halla the crown of her head.

The halla stepped forward, and bowed back, straightening its forelegs for a moment. Then it trotted towards them, but stopped, still a few feet away. Ellethir took a few steps back, and the halla took another few steps forward.

Sisi gasped. "She's following us!"

"Hush, Sisi," Claude whispered.

"This is amazing," she mouthed to Fae, who looked as shocked as Varric did.

They continued on like that all the way to the Dalish camp; taking a few steps forward, allowing the golden halla to catch up, and then taking a few more. It doubled the time it took to return, but it was worth it to see the looks on the faces of Clan Enasa to see a creature of legend stroll into their camp and promptly make herself at home in the cave, as if she had always been a part of their herd.

Keeper Hawen, however, looked less than thrilled to see them. "I had our hunters observe your entrance to Var Bellanaris," he said sternly. "And you put an old man's heart at ease for removing the demons from that place. And yet I have also been informed that you buried someone in the grounds, against my wishes to leave that place undisturbed."

Ellethir bowed her head. "Ir abelas, hahren, we did what we believed was for the best, and we can explain. We'd like Valorin's sister to hear it, too, if you'll permit it."

Hawen closed his eyes, his mouth sealing into a thin line. "…I believe I understand, da'len. I will fetch her."

He returned with a young woman, one of the herders who were entranced by the arrival of Hanal'ghilan.

"Emalien, these are our guests, agents of the Inquisition, and the First of Clan Lavellan, Ellethir," Hawen introduced her, and she nodded to them. "Aneth ara, guests. What's this about?"

"It's about your brother, Valorin," Ellethir said, handing her the singed journal. "I'm sorry, but we found him."

"What…what do you mean sorry?" Emalien asked, panic rising in her voice as she looked back and forth between Ellethir and Hawen. "Where is he? No, he's not…?"

"We found this with him," Ellethir gestured to the book in Emalien's hands.

"With him? Where is he, why didn't you bring him back?" Tears filled the woman's eyes.

"We buried him in Var Bellanaris, to let him rest. He was brave, trying to reclaim a relic of the Dalish."

Emalien laughed a little through her tears. "You're only saying that to console me, sister, but he was brave. Brave, and clever, and I knew that, we all knew that. We love him, but he thought… when he wasn't named First, he thought…" she buried her face in her hands.

"I'm sorry, Emalien," Hawen embraced her. "I should have been more careful with the boy's heart."

Sisi tapped on Fae's shoulder, wordlessly handing her Lindiranae's talisman. Fae held it out to Hawen. "We went to Sylaise's temple, and I saw something. We believe this was what Valorin was looking for. Lindiranae's talisman. She was one of the Emerald Knights. It was with her."

Hawen accepted the talisman gingerly, one arm still wrapped around Emalien as she cried. "We know well who she was. We are her descendants. She was Lindiranae of Clan Enasa, before she pledged her life to the Emerald Knights. This means a great deal to us, and we thank you, da'len, although there is nothing more precious to us than our children."

"I would trade any number of ancient talismans to have our Valorin back," Emalien said softly, tears still falling. "But we will go to Var Bellanaris before we leave, and I will show this to him."

"Night is falling fast. Stay and eat with us, Inquisition," Hawen offered, and the weary party gratefully accepted.

Most of the clan sat by small campfires set up close to the river, safely away from the aravels, with hunters patrolling the other side of the river for signs of trouble, while a few brought their meals back with them to their posts, like the herders who wanted to keep observing the newest member of the herd.

Another woman approached Ellethir to ask if the Inquisition would also help them restock on crucial supplies, and Fae went looking for a quiet place to sit and think.

She thought she'd found one, behind an aravel, but there was already a young man crouched there. He stood up quickly when he saw her, a scowl plastered on his face. Fae nodded by way of apology and began to walk away, but the man followed after her.

"You're not Orlesian."

"Clearly," Fae agreed tiredly. "You can see my face and everything."

"But you're not one of the People."

Fae shrugged. "If you say so."

"We don't need any more help from the likes of you."

"Glad to hear it. By all means, go and let your Keeper know."

"I can't believe we even let you into our camp," he snapped. "The gift of magic is wasted on elves like you."

Fae kept walking. "Oh? We both count as elves, again?"

"What would you know about being an elf besides your ears?"

Fae reached a dead end at one of the cliff walls and finally turned to face her new stalker. "If I told you some of the things I know you'd never sleep again, lethallin," she scowled back. "If you want me out of your way, I suggest you stop. Following. Me."

The man's hand twitched, as if he were about to draw a weapon, but instead he scoffed, spat on the ground, and marched away.

Fae sat down with a grunt, having claimed the solitude she was looking for, but after a while Sisi located her all the same, followed by Ellethir.

Sisi sat down right beside the Seer. "What are you doing here all by your lonesome?" she giggled. "Were you trying to peek inside the aravel? I've always wondered what they look like on the inside."

"If you ask nicely, they might show you tomorrow," Ellethir smiled wryly. "But you might be disappointed. It's mainly where people sleep, and keep their things."

"I think they're beautiful."

"I never said they weren't, but I would certainly recommend telling their owners that, if you want to see inside."

"This is exactly how I imagined Dalish life," Sisi sighed happily. "Henri and Claude kept telling me they're awful and would rather shoot you than talk to you, but they're nice. And Seer—Fae, won't tell me anything even though she's met two other clans, and she's half Dalish."

"Most clans aren't as… open, as Clan Enasa, and Clan Lavellan, at least from what I've been told," Ellethir admitted.

Fae rested her head back on the wall behind her. "I've had…mixed reactions, sure."

"Didn't you ever want to go back, rather than be in a mage tower?" Sisi pressed.

Fae didn't even know how to begin answering that. "Uh…"

"I'm sorry, I'm being too nosy," Sisi waved her hands. "And you're from Denerim's alienage anyway. I was born in the Montsimmard alienage, but then my brother arranged a job for me at Comte Guillaume's estate, and…"

Fae didn't even remember falling asleep, but she woke up with a surprised start to find a bedroll underneath her and a blanket draped over her. And she was lying near the entrance to the cave now, not an aravel. She sat up and stretched, admiring the purple streaks in the sunrise. Behind her, Emalien was asleep sitting up by the cave wall, with Hanal'ghilan resting her head in the woman's lap, also sound asleep.

Fae turned back around to see a new young man sitting next to her. "Maker—! Can I help you?"

"Sorry!" he whispered. "I'm Loranil. I'm going to join the Inquisition, and I saw you were awake so I thought I'd introduce myself."

"I'm Fae. Will your Keeper let you?"

"Yes! It took some convincing, but he likes that you all went out of your way to help us. The Inquisition is going to bring us emergency supplies, too."

"Oh… good. Loranil?"

"Yes?"

"I'm going to go back to sleep now, and, uh, welcome to the Inquisition."

"Thank you!"

Someone nearby grumbled, and Loranil dodged a flying boot.