Chapter Text
"Raise, mortal." A mysterious voice echoed in his mind.
"Your last actions were unnecessary, but they further proved your strength and power to me." The voice echoed again. It was female, sounding motherly and... even divine.
"It is not your destiny to die here." The voice said, "I have chosen a different one for you."
"You shall become my new champion, Dovahkiin."
With the shout of thunder, Vardall Amell wakes up, panting and confused. The rain poured down on his back, washing away his wounds and giving him a little sense of comfort, something he appreciated.
But something hovered over his mind. Something confused him: How was he still alive?
He vividly recalls the arrow piercing his body. The poison on it burning his flesh as it spread even more through his veins. His vision became increasingly blurred until he fell to the ground and was left to die.
His tainted blood made him resist the poison, perhaps? Or maybe the poison was weak or not enough to be lethal? He honestly didn't know and didn't care about that moment. Regardless of why the poison didn't kill Vardall, it still left him extremely weak.
Vardall tried to move, but his whole body ached because of both the poison and the arrow deep within his flesh, who slashed his body on the slightest moves. Even breathing was hard. Knowing he couldn't walk, Vardall tried to crawl, using the very little strength he had.
He tried, but he was running out of strength. His tiredness was increasing, and he felt he would not be able to stand it for long. Getting completely exhausted, Vardall collapsed to the ground again; only his heavy breathing could be heard aside from the heavy rain.
But beyond the rain or his grunts of pain, Vardall heard another noise - he heard footsteps approaching him. He tried to look up, thinking she might have come back to finish the job. Yet, all he could feel was the person just standing there, watching him die. Vardall didn't know who or what it was, but suddenly he felt himself being lifted and carefully carried away. That was the last thing he felt before passing out.
______________________________
Vardall was welcomed back to the awake world by the warm glow of a bonfire next to him. It was very welcoming compared to the cold he was feeling. Another thing that caught his attention was the quite pleasant scent of food being prepared in a cauldron over the fire. Venison stew with potatoes, carrots am red cabbage. His favorite.
Vardal, still perplexed but feeling a little better, tries to get up and realizes he isn't wearing his Grey Warden armor, and his greatsword, the Starfang, has also vanished. He was now wearing some simple, but comfortable clothes.
Finally sitting up, the Arcane Warrior was startled to realize where he was.
The Nest?
The Mother's old lair, The Nest. It was still exactly the way he remembered it. What did that mean? Why had they brought him here again? Vardall felt even more confused when. Looking back at where he fought The Mother months ago, he notices a strange structure emitting some magical energy.
"Fear not. Approach the mirror." The voice that made Vardall wake up whispered again in his mind, telling him to approach the strange structure. Overcome with curiosity, Vardall gets up and approaches it cautiously.
As he got closer, Vardall recognized the structure - it was an eluvian. He remembers reading about the Eluvians in the Circle of Magi library when he was still an apprentice. The Eluvians were ancient elven artifacts of great power, and few still existed in one piece throughout Thedas. But Vardall was even more surprised not only to find an entire Eluvian but to find an active one. He knew about the enormous difficulties that existed in activating such artifacts, often involving demons and blood magic. Vardall sensed the Eluvian pulse through powerful and ancient magic. It was a truly magnificent structure, and Vardall felt almost mesmerized by it.
"Move forward." The voice echoed in Vardall's mind again. This could all be a ruse, some Fade demon attempting to dupe him. He should have backed off and gotten out of there, but he couldn't. Something inside him told him to continue, and like a moth drawn to a flame, Vardall approached the Eluvian.
He was now facing the mirror, feeling its magical energy much more strongly. Vardall touched the eluvian surface, gently running his hand across it. Vardall's act made the Eluvian react, creating a trail where his hand passed, similar to when you throw a rock into a lake. It was gentle and even soothing to Vardall.
"Cross the Eluvian..." The voice whispered again to Vardall. This was strange, but something inside Vardall felt that he could trust it. So with that, and having nothing more to lose, Vardall then closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and stepped into the Eluvian.
By doing so, he was sealing the fate of two worlds.