Archive of Our Own

On Dalish Funerals
[found on a table in Emmrich’s room in the Lighthouse after a visit to Dock Town]

A note from Rook, attached to a worn scroll yellowed with age:

Professor,

Overheard you discussing Dalish funerals with Bellara when I was speaking with Rana at the Wall of Light. I remembered a scroll that the Veil Jumpers unearthed that had sat in storage waiting to be catalogued correctly. I’m no translator, but my ancient elven is half-decent and I happen to have an interest in and personal connection to Falon’Din.

Dalish funerals vary from clan to clan, the way the Dalish themselves vary from clan to clan. A nomadic lifestyle and ages of persecution will do that. The one constant that I can find is invoking the blessing of Falon’Din, the god of death. In stories told by countless Keepers, Falon’Din walked where the People could not. Where once he guided elders in uthenera (a prolonged slumber practised by ancient elves. Legends speak of it, but no one quite knows exactly how it is achieved or if it’s even still possible, mortal as we are now. There are theories I would happily discuss if you are interested), he now carries mortal souls across the Veil in death. It is unclear what exactly this meant, considering what we now know of the Veil causing the banishment of the old gods.

Or the Evanuris, I guess. Assuming he was one too, a mage rather than a god. How did he walk in the Beyond? Or is that a misrepresentation of something else? We may never know.

At any rate, the Dalish took to burying their dead with an oaken staff to guide their way and a cedar branch to ward off the ravens of Dirthamen (his twin brother, I assume you have a passing familiarity with the elven pantheon and the legend of how he vowed to never again be parted from Falon’Din?). This practice seems to hold true between clans, though I have heard of other traditions involving overcoming challenges and letting go in a more physical sense.

The scroll contains an eleven prayer for the dead, among other funerary practices. The version I am most familiar with is below.

"O Falon'Din
Lethanavir–Friend to the Dead
Guide my feet, calm my soul,
Lead me to my rest."

P.S. Don’t tell Bellara where you got it from. I’m in enough trouble with Strife as it is.

⤛♢⤜

Emmrich: Note to Rook on Falon’Din

A note left next to an open book on the library table:

Rook,

Thank you for the information on Dalish funerals and the discussion regarding uthenera. I must admit, when I asked dear Bellara, I had not given much thought to the wider implications, how the knowledge of the gods being, well, not gods in the traditional sense, has shaken another hallmark of the life the Dalish have known for so long. To know those traditions held for so long may not be the shining beacon they once were and to be left with the question of keeping to them or letting them rest? I do not envy the difficulty of your elders in guiding your people through these tumultuous times.

I apologise if this is an uncomfortable observation and will not be offended if you do not wish to answer but I must ask: You say you have an interest in Falon’Din, am I correct in the observation that the vallaslin—the blood writing tattoos according to my reading—you carry is in patronage to him?

I do also apologise for Manfred’s inspection of it the other evening. As a wisp born of curiosity, he has not quite grasped the concept of personal boundaries. We are working on it.

Please do call me Emmrich. Professor is quite unnecessary, my dear.

⤛♢⤜

On Vallaslin

A series of sketches copying elven murals found in Arlathan, each labelled and annotated:

Elgar’nan: God of Vengeance — freed by Solas
Mythal: the Great Protector — assumed dead
Falon’Din: Friend of the Dead
Dirthamen: Keeper of Secrets
Andruil: Goddess of the Hunt
Sylaise: the Hearthkeeper
June: God of the Craft
Ghilan’nain: Mother of the Halla — freed by Solas
Fen’Harel: The Dread Wolf — Solas

Five blights, five archdemons, five ‘gods’. And two archdemons roaming free. What happened to Mythal’s?

A new page records the start of an old Dalish rhyme, sketches of a six-eyed wolf, a tear in the Veil, a half-completed Varric, and the Lighthouse astrolabe:

Beware, beware, of he who is not there, who whispers in the night
Beware, beware, of he who dares, who slips through in plain sight
For he will come, and then you will be done
The Dread Wolf takes—

Another new page, filled with writing:

In hindsight, the fact that Fen’Harel—Solas, I should call him by his name—is the only god without vallaslin in his name should have been an indication that something didn’t add up. Even the Forgotten Ones have vallaslin, though you would be hard-pressed to find a Keeper willing to speak of it and fewer still who could recognise them on sight.

What does it mean, now that we know the gods are tyrants and this is nothing more than a way to mark what they see as theirs? Do I set aside the comfort the teachings of Falon’Din brought me in my darkest of days? Do we as a People acknowledge the failings? How do we begin to move on past this?

I don’t know.

Rylian was always better at this than me. He always knew what to say, how to make our challenges seem less. How to be encouraging without being false. He was a leader, and a partner. A part of my soul. I would have followed him without question, wherever he wanted to go.

What kind of leader will I be, when all this is said and done?

I hope it is one he would be proud of.

—From Rook’s journal

⤛♢⤜

Library Books

A note tacked up next to the seemingly enchanted log recording books borrowed from the Lighthouse library:

• The Visitation: A Folk Tale [borrowed by Bellara returned]
• The Complete Randy Dowager Collection [borrowed by Lucanis returned]
• Notes on the Eluvians [borrowed by Bellara]
• Traditional Dwarven Folk Songs [borrowed by Harding]
• Games of Chancers [borrowed by Neve]
• Rel Viran Angabelldahl [borrowed by Rook]
• The Violet Haze vol.3 [borrowed by Bellara returned]
• The Litany of the Dead [borrowed by Emmrich]

Is this your work, Emmrich? I can't discern the enchantment used to make it function. —Neve

Alas, it is not. It’s a beautiful piece of spellcraft, but it defies standard practice, at least in Nevarran Circles. —Emmrich

It’s similar to some enchantments we see in Arlathan. I've not seen one so intact before! Normally they are so degraded we have to guess at the purposes. —Bellara

I’ll ask the Caretaker. —Rook

Ask them for more dragon books while you're at it. —Taash

Actually, please ask how the books in the library appear. These can’t all be from Solas’ collection, some are incredibly old while others are new. And I always seem to be able to find exactly what I’m looking for, in a language I can read. —Neve

Anything else while I’m at it? —Rook

Dragon. Books. —Taash

⤛♢⤜

Inquisitor Lavellan
[obtained after completing Shades of the Blight]

The Inquisitor is different from what I expected. From Lace’s stories, I was expecting someone taller. There was an edge to her, a sharp focus that reminded me of Solas, but without the double meaning that coats his words.

From her, everything was genuine.

It’s easy to see how she commanded the Inquisition. When she speaks, she expects to be listened to, to have her words heeded. I wonder if she was always that way or if this was something she learned. I wish we had more time. If Morrigan is to be believed, then Inquisitor Lavellan is all that is keeping southern Thedas together.

One more worry to be piled onto the list.

It has to be a problem for later. I have to trust that she has it under control with Commander Cullen. He’s almost as infamous as she is, with what he managed to wrangle together. The pair of them is a force to be reckoned with.

Her insight into Solas is welcome, she seems to understand him more than either Lace or Morrigan does. Varric confirmed that out of all the members of the Inquisition, Lavellan and Solas had a unique bond. She was the one he truly called a friend.

Added later, in different coloured ink:

Ran into Bellara and Davrin. Apparently, the stories are true—the Inquisitor is the one who first learned of Solas’ identity, confirmed by some boon of Mythal, though they disagreed on exactly what that was. Some mention of a Well, and the name Abelas which just means ‘sorrow’. I vaguely remember it causing a stir with the Dalish, but I wasn't in a good place back then. Must send a note to Irelin to ask Morrigan for more details.

—From Rook’s journal.

⤛♢⤜

On Tea
[obtained after completing Coffee with the Crows]

A note stuck up on the drinks buffet in the kitchen:

Rook, I took the liberty of updating the selection of available teas in the Lighthouse. If they were anything like the coffee beans I found on arrival, they were not fit for consumption. I have labelled the jars. —Lucanis

A handwritten label attached to different-sized jars containing various loose leaf tea:

• Ferelden breakfast
• Jasmine and elfroot
• Antivan afternoon blend (De Riva special)
• Tevinter rose and blueberry
• Lotus and embrium
• Nevarran green
• Strife’s special brew

An extra note is stuck to Strife's special brew:

What is in that, it smells of licorice and something spicy? Whatever it is, it's guaranteed to clear your sinuses. Strife said this is Rook’s favourite? If it is, I am questioning his sanity.

⤛♢⤜

A Lament for the Fallen
[obtained after completing The Siege of Weisshaupt]

I can still see their bodies. Can still hear the screams as the Wardens were consumed by fire and blight. I’ve spent years with the Inquisition, I was there when Commander Cullen and the Inquisitor took Adamant, and yet this was unlike anything I had seen. The Blight was everywhere, those boils blocking paths and making progress difficult. Evka and Antoine, they sounded confident but you could see it in the way they would look at each other.

This scares them.

Rook says it’s normal. That everyone is affected in different ways. He was his usual self when he said it, but there was a tightness around his eyes. He also said if anyone walked away from Weisshaupt and didn’t feel something, then that is when he would start to worry.

We can do this, right? Before, when it was just Solas, just our friend, it felt like we might achieve something. Now, without Varric? Facing two gods?

It seems impossible. My magic is nothing compared to what Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain can wield. How am I meant to stop them with a rock? Or with arrows?

At least one is mortal. That’s what I should focus on. Like Rook said, one step at a time, whatever it takes.

—From Harding’s journal

⤛♢⤜

Mortalitasi and the Mourn Watch
[found on the dresser in Rook’s room after a visit to the Rivain Coast]

A note from Emmrich, placed on top of a thick, leather-bound book:

Rook, when we spoke of Mortalitasi previously, I understood your interest to be of the passing kind, the way one hears of something foreign and unusual and asks to be courteous. I see now I was mistaken. Your interest was more personal, as a fellow practitioner of the necromantic arts, and as such you deserve a more thorough answer.

I have left a copy of Kravertin’s Brief History of Nevarra, the Mortalitasi, and the Mourn Watch. It delves into our distant past and chronicles the development of the Mortalitasi order and the founding of the Watch. I will admit that it is the driest of their work. Please do visit if you'd prefer a conversation instead. Nothing quite beats hearing from the subjects themselves and I have a number of skulls with first-hand accounts available for a little corpse whispering. —Emmrich.

⤛♢⤜

A Response to a Letter Dated Six Months Ago

A half-drafted letter that has never been sent:

Irelin,

It is good to hear from you. Life with Varric has been a change. Too many cities, not enough forests, but we’re making progress. Not sure much of it would make a good story, but I can do my best.

Strife should have given up months ago.
Strife still holding a grudge?
Strife can argue all he likes, at least Corwin, Elio, Tist, Jahel, and Vorth are alive to hear it. Once, he would have done the same, or do I misremember the tale of his escape from Qunari? Myrion would have something to say about it, I’m sure.

He can gripe all he wants when I see him next, I’m used to it.

We’re heading to Minrathous soon. Varric has a contact—Neve Gallus. She’s apparently the best at tracking those who don’t want to be found, and she’s on to something. Maybe it will be the answer we need, maybe not, but it’s worth following the thread.

If you’re near Qar’lan, check in on my ma for me?
I haven’t told ma where I am, can you keep an eye out

I’ve enclosed a copy of—

The letter cuts off, the rest of the page stained in blood.

⤛♢⤜

Necromancy 101
[found on the table in Rook’s room after a visit to Blackthorn Manor]

A note left on a stack of worn but cared-for books bound in brown and green cloth:

Rook, after your questions on the finer points of necromancy, I took the liberty of detouring to the Necropolis to pick up some primers you might be interested in. These are my own copies from when I was a student, please do let me know what concepts are familiar and where they lose you. It will help in understanding what training you have had. I understand methods can vary between Dalish clans and do not wish to make undue or unfounded assumptions.

You have fine mastery of the necrotic energies and unique skills in directing them in ways I have rarely seen in all my years of teaching. I would be delighted to assist in refining your technique. —Emmrich

⤛♢⤜

On Tea, Part Two
[found next to a collection of empty cups and a still-warm pot of tea]

A torn page from a journal filled with observations in Rook’s handwriting:

• Bellara: Refused to try, quote “I watched Strife make it once, you don't want to know what that process is. I don't know how Rook stands it.”
• Harding: Made a stoic attempt at drinking the whole cup. Gave up halfway through and immediately needed to eat something to get the taste out.
• Lucanis: Took one mouthful and made a face that would make you think someone had kicked puppies or something. Maybe I should check that there is no contract out on my life.
• Spite: It. Tastes. Like. Fire. Unknown where or when Spite has tasted fire. Lucanis just shrugged and agreed.
• Taash: Didn’t see what the fuss was about. That earned a fist bump.
• Varric: Shook his head at us all and smiled fondly before heading back to bed with an “I'm too old for this shit, you kids have fun.”
• Emmrich: Tried to exempt himself with the excuse of already consuming his evening beverage. Davrin countered that time is meaningless in the Fade and his usual teapot is still on the shelf. Drank, begrudgingly, and once he finished coughing stated that “this tea could wake the dead”.
• Davrin: Pulled a face, then went back for a second tasting and said that he could see the appeal.
• Neve: Raised one eyebrow and downed the whole thing, face impassive except for the slight twitch of an eyebrow.

A detailed sketch of the crew around the table takes up the rest of the page, each member of the team clear except for a blur next to Harding, as if not able to be fully seen.

⤛♢⤜

Recording Stone

Part of a conversation captured by an artifact recovered from Arlathan Forest:

Rook: I think it’s working? Though I am not sure exactly what it does.

Emmrich: Something is happening, it is causing a slight, hmm, almost a ripple in the Fade. It feels similar in nature to my corpse whispering, but it’s not connecting with a soul. How fascinating.

Rook: I should have taken notes, I didn’t expect it to actually work. Bellara and Irelin will want to know—

Emmrich: Oh, I have been following as best I could, I will share my observations later. Were you working by instinct?

Rook: Mostly? I don’t really work with artifacts much beyond recovery but this one made more sense than usual. Maybe it’s Solas’ dagger, it seems to have an affinity with wards and other objects, maybe it helped unpick some of it without me realising.

Emmrich: Remarkable!

Rook: Did you want to see it? Here—

Emmrich: No, I mean you, my dear. What remarkable skill.

Rook: Oh.

[A pause, the sound of something small being set down can be heard.]

Rook: I read your textbooks. I understood some of it, but the rest…

Emmrich: Yes?

Rook: I don’t want to offend you.

Emmrich: Rook, I have been teaching for the better part of thirty years, trust me, I have heard it all.

Rook: Do the Circles make it overcomplicated on purpose or is this a Nevarran thing? Or a Mourn Watch thing? Oh, is the Mourn Watch even part of a Circle? I don’t know how that works.

Emmrich: Overcomplicated? What do you mean by overcomplicated? The magical theory underpinning necromancy is a vast field that requires years of dedicated study—

Rook: See.

Emmrich: Ah. [A pause]. I am not—I am merely trying to… oh. Can you please explain what you mean?

Rook: It’s just, the very nature of magic and mages is that it is naturally occurring. You can no more guarantee a child will be a mage as you can guarantee they won’t be. When magic isn’t suppressed or seen as feared, a child grows up and is guided in learning how that magic works with them. At least in my Dalish clan. Sure, it is less precise than the Circles, and I concede that with enchantments and rituals, the theory and understanding the bigger picture are important because there are more ways it can go wrong. But base elemental magic and by extension necromancy that injures or heals? Those forces come from the world around us. It is as natural as breathing to have magic, the challenge comes from learning how to focus and have control over your mana. This is what the Keepers focus on first, and then comes understanding how to balance mana and power to not draw too much of one or the other. The shape it takes may change but it's all the same at the core.

Emmrich: I… well, yes, when you put it like that. Please give me a moment to come to terms with how thoroughly you’ve cut through centuries worth of debates and dissertations.

Rook: I’m sorry.

Emmrich: Don’t be. It is—oh, what I would give to see you in an academic setting, challenging these long-held assumptions. How would you approach grounding autotelic bonds? Cortana’s Theorem? Seeing you cast, it is utterly unlike the ways I know and yet I cannot call it anything other than incredibly effective. Oh how I yearn to discover where your limit is, how much more you could do with a little more refinement.

Rook: Oh. Is… is that a good thing?

Emmrich: Darling, it is a beautiful, wondrous thing. You are remarkable.

[A long pause, and the sound of bangles clinking together can be heard followed by a sharp inhalation of breath that is cut off.]

Emmrich: We will talk more of this. I need to bring you to my next luncheon with Myrna, she will have a field day. But for now, I would like to observe your casting, if that’s all right. May I take notes?

Rook: How could I refuse?

⤛♢⤜

Neve’s Case Notes
[obtained after a visit to Treviso with Neve, Emmrich, and Rook]

There’s something up with Emmrich and Rook. They're subtle about it, but when you're someone used to noticing things, you notice. Harding agrees, though Bellara isn't convinced.

• Rook always glances at Emmrich when he enters a room, it's where his eyes go first
• Emmrich watches Rook when he thinks the latter isn't paying attention
• Those lessons he has been giving Rook involve far more hands-on contact than I remember there being in a classroom
• If a chair is available next to Emmrich at dinner, Rook will take it
• Emmrich gifted Rook a Mourn Watch mageknife. I asked Myrna, and they don't just give those out freely to anyone
• Most of the recent pages in Rook’s journal feature sketches of Emmrich

I think someone is falling. They both are. Do I need to go on?

—From Neve’s notebook

⤛♢⤜

Flowers
[found on Emmrich’s desk after completing Arrangements]

A hand-written card attached to a vase of Shroud’s Kiss, blue creepvine, and moon blossoms:

I enjoyed our time in the Memorial Gardens, and hope you know that I meant what I said about caring for you. Greatly. I also wanted to bring you a little piece of home. —Rook

⤛♢⤜

A Stiff Left Wrist

So much is on Rook’s shoulders. So much that I am not even sure he is aware of carrying. To be so young and to act so decisively?

I do not know if I would have been capable of the same at thirty-five. The pressure and the weight of the eyes watching…

And yet, Rook acts as if he is unaware of it. As if he doesn’t know that his decisions shape the future of Thedas and that one wrong step could doom us all. He strides forward with his shoulders back and his head high, assisting all calls of aid even when he is pushing himself beyond his physical limits. As if the aches and pains of a body can be pushed aside by sheer force of will.

He is massaging his left wrist more than usual after that run-in with the Antaam in Treviso. A strain of the transverse carpal ligament potentially? Or the flexor carpi ulnaris? It is hard to diagnose if he will not let me look at it properly and insists he’s fine.

I must give him a moment to breathe. He is more dear to me than he knows. If he cannot put down this burden, then I shall step with him. Carry what I can.

—From Emmrich’s diary.

⤛♢⤜

Observations on the Necromancer
[found on the edge of the couch in Rook’s room, a pencil, a single glove, and a collection of gold and emerald rings lie on the open pages]

A series of sketches of Emmrich, focusing initially on his profile before moving to details of his shirt, his staff, and then a detailed drawing of his hands holding open a book. Each sketch is more refined, drawn less from memory and as if the subject is being directly observed. The last sketch is unfinished.

⤛♢⤜

A Shopping List, updated
[found stuck to the wall next to the kitchen]

I am heading to Treviso in the next few days to stock up. Any requests? —Lucanis

• Refill of Ferelden breakfast tea please! (Harding)
• I have a craving for ajapsandali if you can find some eggplant. (Neve)
• Blood lotus, spindleweed, embrium, amrita vein, and greens, lots of greens. (Taash)
• Spices. As many as you can get. We’re almost out of all of them. (Bellara)
• A selection of fruit, please, especially pineapple. Oh, and almonds, for Manfred. (Emmrich)
• More chocolate, not fussed on type. Additionally, if you’re going past that little bakery that does the filled pastries? The ones with cinnamon sugar. (Rook)
• Strife’s special blend. Rook’s almost out. (Davrin)

The last line is crossed out with a note scrawled next to it:

Haha, very funny. I’m feeding Assan the good truffles and you can’t stop me. —Rook.

⤛♢⤜

Poetry

A note from Neve, attached to a crimson envelope with a softly pulsing cerulean blue sigil alight in the centre:

Rook, this was hard to track down, but I had someone who owed me a favour who knew someone’s brother. As promised, two tickets to a reading of Naidia Ulpius’ work, among other poets. It should be right up Emmrich’s alley, based on the other books I’ve smuggled to him. It’s in Minrathous tomorrow evening, in a small theatre off Vivazzi Plaza. Should be easy enough to find. One of the Shadow Dragons can point you in the right direction if needed.

Don't worry about Fred, I’ll check in on him. You two have fun. —Neve

⤛♢⤜

From Strife, on The Freed Dalish
[obtained after completing The Blood of Arlathan]

Rook,

The Dalish rescued from the Arlathan crater are recovering well. Thank you for your assistance in freeing them, and to your team.

And Solas. It seems at least some of the stories regarding him were true.

You’re doing well.

You’ve stepped up and are making impressive progress. Varric was right, squirrelly thinking is what will get us through this. Irelin has decoded some of the texts we recovered as part of the mission, but we’re having a hard time making sense of some of it. I’ve included a copy for Bellara and Neve, if you wouldn’t mind sharing it with them.

Keep me updated.

—Strife

A response, waiting to be collected by the Caretaker:

Strife,

Thanks for the update, glad to hear the Dalish are well. It was harrowing, and I don’t think I can fully explain what it was like to have them in my head. We owe Solas thanks. He did beyond what I thought him initially capable of.

This got Elgar’nan’s attention. Be careful in Arlathan, double the teams if they need to be sent out. I know, me calling for caution? You can roll your eyes at me when I see you next.

I understand why you were angry at me. I still think I made the right call, but I have come to learn that sometimes patience is the better option. Don’t let it go to your head.

—Rook.

P.S. Did you tell Lucanis that your special blend was my favourite tea? If so, why?

The why is underlined multiple times.

⤛♢⤜

Taash: Recovered Junk That Might Be Valuable to Dalish

The Hand Right and The Hand Left
Found: Burnt Village after slaying the Fangscorcher
Weird creepy hand statues that look to be part of something bigger. Found in a bunch of dragon hoard gold, no idea where she found them originally. Check with Rook.

• Not worth anything. We’ve found so many of these weird hand statues. They are as common as a paperweight at this point. —Rook

Arcane Astrolabe
Found: Under crates near the Fangscorcher
Looks like a mini version of the giant orb thing spinning in the Lighthouse. Emmrich called it some fancy word, astro-lobe or something. He said there was some lingering magic in it. Figured the Dalish would want it.

• We do, thank you. Astrolabe is the term. I’ll get it to Irelin to store in the Archive. —Bellara

Old Scrolls and Textiles
Found: Shadowy Grove in Arlathan
These were unearthed near that abandoned camp we found when tracking the lost Veil Jumpers. Looks like they left in a hurry and these fell out of a bag or something. Assume the text is elven, can’t read a word of it. Check with Rook.

• It is elven, a collection of old songs or poetry. I’ll pass it on to Elio, he will know more than me. —Rook

Arlathan Curio
Found: Looted from the bodies of Venatori we took down in the Crossroads
Red, crystal things. Kinda like the power crystals I’ve seen Rook and Bellara use but different? They feel the same though, weird. Set aside for Rook.

• They are a power crystal of sorts, used for a different type of enchantment. Strife will be happy to have more. —Rook

Veil-Attuned Talisman
Found: Smashed a crate in Dock Town and a stack of these fell out
I know they are from Arlathan, they have that weird geometric triangle thing that isn’t attached but somehow still floats near it, or at least a replica of it.

• They look genuine to me, these resonate with the Veil when you focus on them. Our mages can use them to find the edge of bubbles for a stable entry and exit point. —Rook
• May I borrow one? It will be returned in due time. I’m curious as to how they work. —Emmrich
• Go for it. Easy to spare one. —Rook

Ocularum Pedestal
Found: Broken and in pieces near the Arlathan Crater
Something about this is just creepy. There was a skull near it, should have grabbed it for Emmrich to look at but I really didn’t want to touch it. Check with Rook.

• I know what this is. If the skull is gone, that is for the best. Destroy it if possible. —Rook

⤛♢⤜

On Tea, part three

A note in Rook’s handwriting on a new jar of tea:

This is actually my favourite tea, a blend of prophet's laurel, rashvine, and arbor leaves made by one of our crafters. I recommend adding a dash of honey. It’s also nice cold over ice.

An additional comment in Lucanis’ hand:

You know no one believes you at this point.

⤛♢⤜

Honouring the Future
[obtained after completing The Forest of Spirits]

A slightly crumpled note tucked into a pocket full of carefully folded and stored notes, all in the same precise hand:

I have spent the evening with Bellara talking of Cyrian and his funeral. It was good of you and Strife to honour his sacrifice. Bellara is stronger than she knows, she will be okay.

I know you have worried if setting the Nadas Dirthalen free was the right choice. I cannot answer that for you, for either of you, but stepping forward into a future that the Dalish choose for themselves? That is what you have given them.

Do not carry this weight unnecessarily, my love.

Yours eternal, Emmrich.

⤛♢⤜

To Live

A detailed sketch of a handsome male Dalish elf, approximately nineteen years old. His dark, curly hair is up in a scruffy bun with a hair stick through it keeping it in place. Vallaslin of Andruil sweeps across his brows, a quiver of arrows above one shoulder. The portrait has been added to, over many years, layers of detail lovingly rendered.

I told Emmrich of Rylian.

After seeing Bellara lose Cyrian again, seeing Taash lose their mother, and seeing Emmrich grapple with his own choices of which path to follow—his heart or his head—it only felt fitting. And I wanted to.

There are so few who know about him now. So few left who remember the life he lived. If I don’t talk about him, then it is like he never lived at all.

Emmrich understands what it is to lose someone, to honour that part of you that will always belong to someone else while still being here in the present, still choosing to be with someone now. That this relationship is unique and its own, that there isn’t competition. I am Emmrich’s, as much as I was Rylian’s. It was a relief to say it out loud, as if a weight that I had been unconsciously holding lifted the moment he took my hand between his own and stayed.

The closer we get towards the end, the more I am aware of just how fragile this all is. How one wrong move can mean the end. Has already meant the end for some. They didn’t get a future.

I am going to fight to get mine. Whatever it takes, we will walk away from this. Not just me, or Emmrich, or my friends and comrades, but everyone in Thedas. North, and South. For Inquisitor Lavellan and Commander Cullen and their child. For Lace’s ma, the Crows in Treviso, for Minrathous and Orzammar. For the Veil Jumpers.

Emmasalin var suledin evanura.
Telanadas. Sulevin ghilana hanin. Vir enasalin.

—From Rook’s journal

⤛♢⤜

A Careful Mending

A carefully wrapped parcel bound in string, with a page torn from a journal tucked into the front:

Rook,

I have assisted Manfred in repairs to Rylian’s cloak. I have some further suggestions on enchantments that can help preserve it for longer that I can discuss with you. I hope it continues to bring comfort.

Thank you for trusting me with this, and with what he was to you. He would be proud, as I am proud. —Emmrich.

⤛♢⤜

Dalish Flatbread

A note left on the kitchen table next to a bowl with the remnants of a sticky dough, and a chopping board with a collection of parsley, mint, and bulgar:

What is traditional Dalish food? I asked Bellara, and she mentioned salad, but surely there is more than that? I want to make something from your home as thanks for everything you have done for us. —Lucanis

A response is below, scrawled in Rook’s hand:

It isn’t necessary, but I also know it’s pointless to argue with you and also you are a very good cook. I won’t turn up my nose at some comforts of home.

It tends to be simple fare when out in Arlathan. Flatbread, supplemented by whatever vegetables we can get our hands on. If we’re lucky, we’ll have fresh meat to cook in spices and drizzled with a tabbouleh sauce made from parsley, tomatoes, mint, onion, bulgar, olive oil, and lemon juice. For the bread, equal parts yoghurt and flour, knead until it forms a ball, split into even portions and roll out. Cook on each side for a minute and done. —Rook

INGREDIENTS

• ⅓ cup oil
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• Salt and pepper to season
• ¼ cup fine bulgur wheat
• 3 bunches fresh curly parsley, finely chopped
• 2 tomatoes, finely chopped
• 2 green onions, finely chopped
• ¼ cup fresh mint, finely chopped

METHOD

• Whisk the oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a large bowl until well combined
• Stir in the bulgur and let the grains soak up the dressing until they absorb most of the moisture, 20-30 minutes
• Add parsley, tomatoes, green onions, and mint to one side of the bowl with the bulgur, but don’t mix yet
• When the bulgur has absorbed most of the lemon-oil mixture, stir everything together until well combined

⤛♢⤜

Honouring the Past
[obtained after completing The Profane and the Lost]

A note from Neve, left on Davrin’s workbench:

Davrin,

I’ve included a list of potential publishers that might be interested in your monster manual. The Tevinter ones will attempt to lowball your offer, let me know if you meet with any of them and I’ll be your backup. The ones in Antiva City will be fairer, and normally I would say you would get the most from those in Orlais but that was before. They have asked that a chapter on the griffons be included, they have apparently stirred up quite the interest now that the news is out. —Neve

Added to the bottom, curling up the side to fit:

Strife is also interested. He can’t help with publishing—there aren’t many printing presses in Arlathan, surprisingly—but he can help with any additional info. I can make some sketch copies if you want his input? —Rook

Flipped and written on the back:

Wait there’s actually interest in it? How do they know about the griffons already? Evka and Antoine have barely got them settled! I— this is why I joined the Wardens, everything is so much easier when nobody cares about you as long as you’re there when it matters. —Davrin

⤛♢⤜

Lost
[obtained after completing Isle of the Gods]

A series of technical sketches depicting the Dread Wolf’s dagger, accompanied by arcane enchantment runes and annotated by multiple hands:

This one doesn’t look right, there are extra conduit runes that I don’t think are necessary. We can bypass the standard flow here, compensate over here. —Bellara

Cartelli’s Conundrum? It would need its own power source. —Emmrich

I don’t know that theory but it seems similar to something I’ve seen on other elven artefacts. We have spare crystals and I can get more from Strife. —Bellara

None of it will matter if we can’t find a way of safely working with lyrium. —Emmrich

I’m working on it. I’m in touch with Stalgard and Dagna, an old contact from the Inquisition. —Harding

Focus on what we can do, this has promise. Teia has offered the Crows’ blacksmith to help with the metal elements. I’ll take a copy of this to Treviso tomorrow. —Lucanis

A more defined blueprint with finalised enchantment shorthand listed in the margins:

It lacks the enchantments of the original, but in every other way, it is a perfect replica. I tried. There is an element to the Dread Wolf’s dagger that I suspect can only be achieved without the Veil, or a method of enchanting that is lost to us. Maybe with enough time, with the luxury of a direct study of the original, it might have been unlocked.

We do not have time.

—From Emmrich’s diary

⤛♢⤜

Observing the Fade

Sleeping does not come easy, even if I recognise that it is necessary. What use is all my study of the Fade if I cannot locate the one soul we desperately need? After Tearstone and Elgar’nan’s successful ritual, it is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Where once anomalies in the Fade were rare occurrences or minor vibrations in what was a predictable field of resonance, now it is like the final movement in a discordant opera. There is no rhyme or reason, no way to tell what is a simple wisp passing through or a tear freeing an angry spirit. In all my years, it has never been this much of a challenge. It can be felt even here, protected as we are in the Lighthouse.

Even the Grand Necropolis is suffering. Wards are thinning and the Watchers are finding their days busy in ways they have not been before.

I must find him.

I must. I— no. I will not let myself entertain the possibility. He defies the odds. He always has. This time will be no different.

—From Emmrich’s diary

⤛♢⤜

Thoughts on Falon’Din

O Falon'Din
Lethanavir–Friend to the Dead
Guide my feet, calm my soul,
Lead me to my rest.

These words have been with me since I returned.

I told Emmrich the truth. Stuck in the Fade prison, I wasn’t afraid of dying. I had made peace with the thought that I would one day pass Beyond. That dying meant I would see Rylian again.

It has been sixteen years since he stepped where I could not follow. Sixteen years of feeling the echo of him in everything, of unexpectedly brushing a raw edge and crumbling, until with time the pain slowly eased. Until I made sense of it through Falon’Din, found peace with how easily necromancy clung to my fingers, helped others with their grief so they did not have to feel so alone.

It never stops hurting, but it mellows. The heart softens, and it can find desire again, can find itself wanting for something more. Fleeting and brief but alive. Maybe that’s why Strife’s ire all those months ago stung so much. I was trying to spare others the pain I knew too well.

I did not expect to find connection here. I did not expect to find a home, a place where the rough parts of me were accepted. I did not expect to find him.

I was afraid that I would not see him again, that our last words would be fraught and he would blame himself. He is my rest, the calming of my soul. He has carried me in ways I am only beginning to understand. Maybe it was all leading here. Lethanavir. Rylian would want me to be happy, and I am.

Ar lath ma, vhenan. Ar lath ma, Emmrich.

— From Rook’s journal.

⤛♢⤜

On Fallen Friends
[found hung against the Dalish display in the centre of the Lighthouse along with an oaken staff and a cedar branch lying across the table]

Three detailed sketches, the edges carefully torn from a larger journal:

Davrin, leaning back in his winged chair, his eyes closed as he smiles softly. One hand is holding an indistinct, small wooden figure, while the other is hanging down off the side.

Assan, curled up at the bottom of a chair with his head up and back, Davrin’s fingers scrunched in his feathers. As if a second part of a larger image, the two work in tandem.

Varric, feet up on a wooden table, arms crossed with a grin on his face as he teaches an unseen subject how to play Wicked Grace.