Finding Home (Completed)

Chapter XLVIII

His head was spinning, she had not only given him the memories she'd lived, but also bits of what her foresight had shown her. He'd fled, like a lowly coward, too afraid to face his own mistakes, hiding in the depths of the arbor wilds. He was angry, angry that the magics of a tevinter magister had fooled him, never mind the fact that it was literally a page from his own book.....he should have see it! And now, he was left with no choice, abandon his mission, or follow the path she had shown him. He paced about aimlessly, grumbling to himself, waging an internal battle and longing for his absent heart. Mythals shrine looked much the same as it had, save the fact that it was far more weathered and the vines were running astray. He ran his hand over his face, shaking his head in defeat as he approached the shrine and called to her.

She appeared in a cloud of smoke, clad in her dramatic armour, her hair wrapped with strips of leather to give the appearance of spiralled horns. "I knew you would come. You should not have given your orb to Corypheus, Dread Wolf." she said mournfully, lifting her head to catch his eye. He looked to her with anguish, slowly moving to stand before her, "I was too weak to unlock it after my slumber. The failure was mine, I should pay the price, but the people, they need me." he replied, guilt closing in on his senses. She took his face in her hands, pressing her forehead to his, "I am so sorry." he whispered, "I am sorry as well, old friend." she replied softly as she let go.

His face lit with magic as her soul left her, drawing it within himself so that he make replenish his weakened pool of power. He knelt down on one knee, lowering her lifeless body as it turned to stone, his eyes becoming cloudy like the storm that raged in his heart. He stayed there for a time, cradling the last form his first creation would ever know as an entity of her own, now swallowed by his darkness, further feeding the plague within him. He laid her gently in the plush grass, pushing himself to his feet and weaving a spell. The roots protruded from the ground, snaking around her body and pulling it back to the earth from whence it came. A single tear rolled down his cheek, a shred of the light within him baring itself for her sake, a testament that it yet remained.

He could feel her power coursing in his veins and he called upon, shifting his form and taking to the skies. Now he must assess the damage, measure the strength of his enemy, and if he knew Lotheriel at all, it would be astronomical. He was unsurprised when he found Vir'revas shut to him, her wards woven of ancient magics, the likes he'd have thought her incapable of in a dirrerent time and place. But now, with the power that stirred within her, he couldn't help the pride he felt in his creation, he would need to be more clever if he stood a chance against her. He shifted his form, walking the boundaries she had erected to deny his entry, quietly contemplating his next move. "Fen'Harel." a voice pulled him from his thoughts, "Wisdom." he replied warmly, pleased to see his old friend, she'd been the voice of reason throughout his long life and they memory of her death had deeply disturbed him.

"You have made a difficult choice, will you see it through?" she wondered, watching as a furrow appeared in his brow. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "I have no choice, I must set things right." he replied, his shoulders sagging slightly. "You always have a choice, old friend. It is up to you to make the right one." she stated, wavering slightly, a small sign of distress. "My heart does not understand, I have spent millennia simply waiting for this time to come, so that I may undo my mistakes. She does not comprehend that those mistakes reach farther than just the veil." he defended, pulling an echoey laugh from the spirit. "It is not my nature to judge you Fen'Harel, but remember that all choices have consequences and know that yours may not be what you had hoped for." she replied warmly, flickering before she vanished, leaving him alone with his thoughts once more.

He turned, walking to the edge of the mountain, peering over at the great distance below him as he decided where he would venture next. A sad smile tugged at his lips, she had taken his temple, he knew for certain she had also taken Tarasyl'an Te'las, so he decided on Mythal's temple and once again took flight. He'd not had the experience of shifting into anything other his wolf form and the feeling of soaring through the skies was invigorating, though his guilt took hold once more as his feet once again touched solid ground. The memories would not leave him, ever smile, every touch, every kiss.... He'd dismissed her against his better judgement, he'd loved her so, there had been something so unique about her, a rare and marvellous spirit.