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Raena placed a hand on his back, resolute and also… terrified. She felt Solas’s shoulders arch in a deep breath as he steadied himself. A bright green glow enveloped them as they left the physical world far behind them.
Raena blinked her eyes against the sudden brightness. She felt the ground gain less holding on her, despite still being under her boots. As the white glow dissipated, her pale blue eyes adjusted to the mist and stillness now surrounding them. The Fade. Through the Veil. A place she had only dipped her toe in before.
She was surrounded by tall, crumbling ruins and dry earth, pieces of rubble and debris hovering in the sky like scattered clouds. The air was dark, oppressive and devoid of colour.
“We’re here,” Solas breathed, his voice quiet and somber, “Back in the prison of my own design.”
Raena turned to him, to the voice she had never heard him use before. After seeing Mythal before him moments ago, he had looked like a devastated and frightened boy. It seems he had not quite recovered from the shock.
Her hand was still on his back and she moved her prosthetic one near his stomach, to hold him. She could feel the quiver in his breath, the trembling of his muscles.
“Why, Vhenan?” he whispered, brokenly, “Why did you…”
Raena's heart ached at the pain in Solas's voice. She pulled him closer, resting her forehead against his shoulder.
"You know why," she murmured, her voice thick with emotion. "I already told you. You are my world."
The Fade seemed to respond to their presence, the air shimmering with ethereal wisps that danced around them like curious spirits. Raena could feel the raw power of this place, the ancient magic that thrummed through every particle of the misty air.
Solas turned in her arms, his deep violet eyes searching her face with a mixture of wonder and sorrow. "You don't understand the weight of what I've done," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "The destruction I've caused, the lives I've ruined..."
Raena cupped his face with her hands, both flesh and prosthetic.
"You know that I understand more than you think," Raena said softly, her eyes never leaving his. "I've seen the consequences of your actions, felt the pain of our people. But I've also seen your remorse, your desire to make things right."
A distant rumble echoed through the Fade, causing the floating debris to shudder. Solas tensed, his eyes darting around warily before settling back on Raena.
"This place... it's not safe for you," he murmured, his brow furrowed with concern. "The spirits here, they're restless, angry. They remember the world before the Veil."
Raena stood her ground, her grip on Solas tightening. "This place is where I belong. At your side."
A sad smile flickered across Solas's mouth. He reached up, tracing a caress around her face. She was again before the man she had fallen for. Tender, encompassing love. Like she was the most important person in the world.
“How I’ve missed you,” he stated.
Raena's thumb brushed across his cheekbone, wiping away a tear he hadn't realised had fallen. He would never have to miss her again.
Her hand came away smeared with blood. The results of his life and death fight were clear on Solas’s face. Raena surveyed the bruises, the cuts, especially a particularly vicious slash across his right eye.
Solas noticed her attention and delicately touched the top of his cheekbone, wincing as he did so.
“I generally heal quickly. Though it seems wounds from Archdemons are particularly… stubborn," Solas finished, his voice trailing off as he gazed into the distance.
Raena's brow furrowed with concern. She gently guided Solas to a nearby fallen pillar, urging him to sit. As they settled on the cold stone, the air around them seemed to ripple, memories and emotions flickering like shadowy reflections in a disturbed pond.
"Let me help," Raena murmured, her hands already glowing with a soft, healing light. She hovered her fingers over the worst of his wounds, channeling her magic into his battered flesh.
Solas closed his eyes, leaning into her touch. "Your magic... it's different here," he observed, his voice tinged with regret. "I’m sorry, Vhenan. It cannot help me now. Not with this.”
Raena nodded, concentrating on knitting together the torn skin above his eye. "It must.”
But as usual, he was right. When her hand came away from his face, the wounds were as livid as before. Solas looked at her, his face apologetic yet warm.
Raena sighed. “I guess we do this the old fashioned way.”
Raena got to work, her years of adventuring coming back to aid her. Solas helped to build a fire, though his movements were slow and pained. With some salvaging and scavenging later, Raena had cobbler together a little pot of water set to boil. Solas sat on the pillar again, his breathing heavier than was normal. It alarmed her but she kept it to herself.
“Let’s get that armour off you, I need to see,” Raena’s tone left no room for debate.
Solas nodded weakly, his fingers fumbling with the clasps of his ornate elven armor. Raena gently brushed his hands aside, carefully unfastening the intricate bindings. As each piece fell away, she couldn't suppress a gasp at the extent of his injuries.
Beneath the armor, Solas's torso was a canvas of bruises and lacerations. A particularly nasty gash ran under his ribs, still oozing blood. Raena's heart clenched at the sight, her fingers hovering uncertainly over the worst of the wounds.
"Oh, Solas," she breathed, her voice catching. She couldn’t help it. It looked bad enough to kill a mortal. He had clearly come out the other side of being mauled, bitten and chewed.
Solas attempted a wry smile, but it came out as more of a grimace. "Truthfully, I have endured worse.”
“No need to be the big man, now,” Raena admonished him softly, even as her eyes glistened with unshed tears, “It doesn’t make it any better.”
She reached for the pot of now-boiling water, taking it off of the fire. She tore a strip from her own tunic, dipping it into the hot liquid.
As she began to clean his wounds, Solas hissed in pain, his muscles tensing under her touch. Raena worked methodically, her movements gentle yet purposeful.
"You know," she said softly, her eyes focused on her work, "I've dreamed of this moment. Of being here with you, in the Fade. But I never imagined it would be like this."
Solas watched her, his eyes filled with a mixture of love and sorrow. "And how did you imagine it, Vhenan?"
Raena paused, a sad smile playing on her lips. "I imagined us exploring ancient memories, you showing me the wonders of this place. I imagined us happy, free from the burdens of the world we left behind."
The air around them shimmered, as if responding to her words. Faint images flickered at the edges of their vision - fleeting glimpses of joyous moments that could have been. Raena and Solas walking hand in hand through shimmering forests, marveling at impossible architecture, sharing quiet moments of intimacy amidst the swirling mists of the Fade.
Solas reached out, his fingers intertwining with hers. "I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice thick with regret. "I wish I could have given you that."
Raena squeezed his hand, her eyes meeting his. “None of that matters."
She resumed cleaning his wounds, her touch gentle but firm. As she worked, Solas began to speak, his voice low and measured.
"There's so much I need to tell you, Vhenan. About the world as it was, about the mistakes I've made...”
Raena paused in her ministrations, her eyes meeting Solas's with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension. "I'm listening," she said softly, encouraging him to continue.
Solas took a deep breath, wincing slightly as the movement pulled at his injuries. "In the time of Arlathan, before the Veil, the world was... different. Magic flowed freely, shaping reality itself. The Evanuris, we... I... we were not gods, but powerful mages who used our abilities to subjugate and control."
His voice grew heavy with remorse as he continued, "I created the Veil to stop them, to free the people from their tyranny. But in doing so, I destroyed so much of what made our world beautiful."
Raena listened intently, her hands still working to clean and bind his wounds. The weight of his words hung in the silence. Of course, much of this was already known to her. They had discussed it years ago. But she knew that Solas, the man who was her heart, had longed for this. Just to talk, to let go, to have her be able to hear him with no lies between them. Not anymore.
Raena nodded slowly, her hands steady as she finished bandaging the particularly deep gash on Solas's side. "I understand," she said softly, her voice filled with compassion. "The burden you've carried all these years... it must have been unbearable."
Solas closed his eyes, his face a mask of pain - both physical and emotional. "It was. And yet, it pales in comparison to the suffering I've caused. Our people, stripped of their immortality, their connection to the Fade... all because of my actions."
Raena set aside the bloodied cloth and gently cupped Solas's face in her hands, forcing him to meet her gaze. "You did what you thought was right," she said firmly. "You couldn't have known the full consequences."
A bitter laugh escaped Solas's lips. "Couldn't I? I, who prided myself on my wisdom and foresight? No. I knew there would be consequences. I just... I never imagined they would be so devastating."
Raena's heart ached at the self-loathing in his voice. She leaned forward, pressing her forehead against his. The air around them seemed to pulse with energy, responding to their emotions. Wisps of memory danced at the edges of their vision - fleeting images of ancient elves, of battles long past, of a world teeming with magic and wonder.
Solas drew in a shaky breath, his hands coming up to rest on Raena's waist. "I don't deserve your forgiveness," he whispered, his voice thick with emotion. "I don't deserve you."
Raena pulled back slightly, her eyes blazing with a fierce determination. "It's not about deserving, Solas. It's about love. And I love you, all of you - your mistakes, your regrets, your hopes. Everything."
She traced the lines of his face with her fingers, feeling the tension slowly ebb from his muscles. "We can't change the past, but we can shape the future. Together."
Solas looked at her with a mixture of awe and disbelief, as if he couldn't quite comprehend the depth of her devotion. The Fade around them seemed to respond to their emotions, the air shimmering with motes of golden light.
"Together," Solas repeated, the word a promise and a prayer. He leaned forward, capturing Raena's lips in a tender kiss.
Once he leaned away, something on the ground caught his attention. Raena turned to look, noticing nothing more than a patch of new grass growing around the fallen pillar they sat upon.
Solas seemed awestruck, staring at the ground, then his eyes darted to trace the wisps swirling around them.
“What is it?” Raena asked.
Solas chuckled then, low but very genuine.
“Nothing’s ever grown here before. No trees, no flowers… not even grass,” he said, voice soft with wonder, “It’s never felt so alive here. You were right, Vhenan. More than you could possibly know. This place would not, could not, be terrible… if you were with me.”