Putting a stop to the Qunari’s Dragon’s Breath plot became much more urgent by the time we returned to the Winter Palace. While we had been searching for the Viddasala, Leliana had been using her still-intact spy network to do some checking, and it turns out the Exalted Council wasn’t the brilliantly named plan’s only target. Pretty much every leader in the southern part of Thedas was in danger of being detonated. If the Qunari managed to pull this off, it would leave a gaping hole in the leadership of the continent, allow them to invade much more easily, and eventually use the south as a foothold to take over the rest of the continent. So, we were trying to save the unique cultures and freedom of several countries, at least in the short term, this time. A bit of a step down from the whole world, but not a bad day’s work, all things considered. And, unfortunately for me, my glowy hand was getting worse and had started endangering me and anyone unlucky enough to be nearby. Of course, we couldn’t really stop to try and figure out why this was happening to me, what with the impending explosions and all. So, for the sake of most of the population of Thedas’ way of life, and my own well-being, we needed to stop this scheme as swiftly as possible. Fortunately, following Vid turned out to be quite simple, so, after a few quick errands, I gathered my crew and headed through the next eluvian. The Darvaarad turned out to be a fortress, and not even a ruined one for once. The first feature we noticed was that there were broken eluvians all over the place, meaning the Qunari had been at their research for some time. Also, in a tower, we found that they had been studying basically everything, from red lyrium to Astrariums and various other types of RaMOs. The key to opening an eluvian could be anything, from a password to knowledge, so the Qunari were learning everything they could to try and unlock more of the ancient network of magic mirrors. After opening a massive door that was equipped with a needlessly complicated lock, we smashed our way through the barracks until we found the linchpin to their Dragon’s Breath plan: a dragon.
A very angry, poisony dragon.
My reputation as a dragon slayer is well established by this point, but all the ones I’d killed across Ferelden and Orlais had been threats to the areas, and any residents of those areas, where they had made their homes. This one, however? This one had been trapped and effectively tortured for who knows how long so that its venom could be used to manufacture gaatlok for the Qunari. Even I wasn’t going to just kill the poor beast. So, I went against my flame-hurling nature and undid the fiery protections the Qunari had used to hold it, opened the gate, and let the big lizard have a bit of revenge on its captors on the way out. Then, it was time for another heart-to-heart with the Viddasala, who was prepared to drop another shattering revelation. This particular revelation didn’t shatter history, but it did shatter me a bit. She claimed that the agent of Fen’Harel that had caused all of this, that had left the wounded Qunari for us to find during the Exalted Council, and that had even given Corypheus the Orb of Destruction in the first place, was Solas. This one hit me as hard as anything. I had considered Solas a friend, even after he disappeared following our defeat of Corypheus, but this… I needed answers, there was only one elf who could give them to me, and he had an angry Vid and a horde of Qunari tracking him down. So, I went after them, not knowing what exactly I would do if and when I found my former companion.
If that book is strapped to her all the time, how much stronger must her left arm be than her right one?
We hurried along the only path available to us, through more eluvians and Qunari, as we tried to catch the Viddasala. My glowy hand was definitely trying to kill me at this point, and I had to keep discharging it, or it would build up magical energy to the point of, well, an uncontrollable explosion of green lightning. We ended up in a gorgeous valley that was home to a shrine to Fen’harel. Beyond that, I still have no idea where on Thedas we were. Waiting for us there was a massive Saarebas, which is what the mages of the Qun are called, and waves of rank and file Qunari soldiers. Before we could finish fighting them off, the big, magic, bull man decided he didn’t want to follow orders anymore, and just kind of took off. Not for very long, though, as we hadn’t advanced too much further into the shrine before he returned, except now he was completely out of control and summoning demons, including a bloody GAHLLTIST. Fortunately, after fighting off his new otherworldly allies and wearing him down, I was able to direct the energies of my glowy hand well enough to end him. After that, there was only one final step to take. The Viddasala was on the other side of the last eluvian we could find, and so was Solas. I took a minute to write all this down, obviously, and stepped through the portal alone, not knowing if I was ever going to come back.
Put that thing away, you’re gonna get us all killed!
One last time through the looking glass.
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