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He pulled his blade free of the Venatori mage's body and turned to take on the next one when the ground rumbled beneath his feet. It felt like the entire city was shaking. He glanced up in time to see the body of Elgar'nan's archdemon falling heavily against the Archon's palace. The other Wardens around him had turned their gazes skyward too, a shock running through them all as the blight song dimmed briefly in their heads.
Illario could see some of the Venatori edging away from the barracks the Veilguard's allies were defending. His eyes narrowed and he gripped Greta's arm and nodded towards the Venatori who were trying to slip away.
"Right," Greta nodded, magic twisting in her hands as she sent a blast of ice towards them. The flash of white caught the attention of Rook's friend, Taash, and the qunari took a running leap, bringing their axes down hard on two of the Venatori. Illario slipped around the Qunari and the fallen enemies to overtake another Venatori who was trying to flee.
Some minutes later, the city shook again with the force of Elgar'nan's death. A flash of red tore across the sky, and they all saw Elgar'nan and his archdemon vanish into the tear like water swirling down a drain.
The song in his head quieted. Illario frowned, stilling. Was it..No, the blight song was still there, but it was far quieter now, quieter than it had been since the day he'd undergone the joining.
"They did it!" Greta cried as she stared up towards the Archon's Palace.
Taash's eyes were looking towards the palace as well, their expression speculative before the glanced at Greta and Illario, "Well?" they demanded.
"The Blight song's quieted," Illario told them. "It's still there...but it's just a whisper now."
"Huh," they glanced skyward again.
Hours later, after the Veilguard had descended from the blight tendril and confirmed that the Evanuris were defeated, the Blight was over, and the Veil was safe, Illario found himself wandering around the Divine's manor, watching overs as the celebrated.
He'd seen his cousin and Neve Gallus embrace from a distance as Teia toasted to them and to Rook and the rest of the Veilguard. Viago's glare in his direction was enough to warn Illario off approaching any of them.
"Fuck, Ashur, you're alive," he heard a voice murmur in tones of wonder as he passed a hallway on his way back towards the courtyard where most of the Wardens had gathered.
"Tarquin, I'm sorry," the tremble in the second man's voice, thick with emotion and love, made Illario's heart clench. He'd never had anyone speak that way to him, and he felt an irrational surge of jealousy.
"Tarquin, Ashur are you..oh, sorry!" Rook's voice sounded relieved.
"Well, Mercar?" the first voice, Tarquin's, asked in a tone just shy of being harsh.
There was a pause, then Rook said, "There's no more blight. You're free of it, Ashur."
"Thank you, Rook," Ashur's voice sounded kinder than Tarquin's.
"Well, I'll leave you two to it," Rook replied awkwardly.
As she came barreling out of the hall she almost ran into Illario and would have fallen over if he hadn't caught her.
"Oh, Illario!" she blinked as she stood there, his arm around her. "Thanks."
"You're welcome," he arched a brow at her. "Where's the hero of the hour running off too?"
"Just checking on everyone," Rook told him.
He regarded her critically. He could see the strain in her posture and the exhaustion in her expression. "Have you even stopped for more than a few seconds since you killed Elgar'nan?" he asked. "We're victorious, we won. Surely you can take a few minutes to sit down."
"Too many people to check on," Rook protested.
Illario snorted. "Come on. You and I are going to find the Wardens and get drunk on that absolutely horrible shit they pass off as liquor. And then you're going to sleep."
Rook looked for a moment like she wanted to protest.
"Rook, give yourself a break for once," he urged her in a low voice.
She sighed and let herself lean more heavily against him, her exhaustion beginning to get the best of her. "Yeah, okay."
Feeling oddly light, Illario kept his arm around her and guided her towards the other Wardens. Let them celebrate the victory tonight, there'd be enough time for the rest tomorrow.
Davrin found Rook and Illario drinking with the other Wardens, passing various bottles of bad liquor between them. They were sitting on a wall, listening to the other Wardens sing tavern songs or tell stories of encounters they’d had over the years. It reminded him of most Warden celebrations he’d been to.
Davrin remembered Illario fighting with the other Wardens as they took on the Colossus and later darkspawn and Venatori. Of all of the Veilguard, the elven Warden had been the least skeptical of Rook’s decision to conscript Illario.
Assan squawked happily as he trotted over to Rook and thrust his head into her lap, demanding scratches. The former Shadow Dragon laughed and reached out one hand to scratch the griffon behind the ear. “You were wonderful today, Assan,” she told him.
The griffon purred, then opened his large blue eyes and looked imploringly at Illario and chirped, who looked down at the griffon in surprise. Gingerly, Illario reached a hand out and scratched Assan behind his other ear, causing the griffon to begin purring again.
“Well, maybe there is some hope for you, Illario,” Davrin chuckled as he sat on Rook’s other side. “Assan’s usually a pretty good judge of character.”
Illario lifted a brow, a rueful smile briefly flickering over his face. “I believe my cousin and Ms Gallus would not agree with that assessment,” he told the elven Warden.
“I think you and I already have this conversation,” Davrin shrugged. “Lucanis and Neve are my friends, and they aren’t wrong to mistrust you. But what I saw today? It’s a good start on using the second chance the Wardens gave you. Just make sure you keep it up.”
Illario inclined his head, and looked down at Rook who’d placed her head on his shoulder and looked like she was about to fall asleep. He snorted and gestured to Rook, placing an arm around her so she wouldn’t fall over. “I have to keep it up, someone has to make sure this one doesn’t run herself into the ground.”
Davrin laughed. “Good luck with that, I’ve been trying to do that since I met her.”
“Hmm?” Rook blinked sleepily. “I’m right here you know.”
“And you’re falling asleep on my shoulder,” Illario informed her.
“Haven’t really slept since before Tearstone,” she murmured. “Couldn’t sleep before this, wasn’t sure if it was real or not.”
Davrin exchanged a look with Illario and Illario sighed. “Perhaps you should take her back to that Lighthouse she’s spoken of,” the former Crow suggested.
Davrin nodded and stood. “Come on, Rook, let’s get you home.”
“I guess,” Rook murmured. “I’ll see you later, Illario?” she asked.
Something almost akin to longing flickered over Illario’s expression as he met Rook’s gaze. “Yes, Rook. After you’ve had a full night’s sleep, I’ll meet you in Lavendale.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” Rook told him, reluctantly pushing herself to her feet. It had been warm and comfortable next to him, with her head on his shoulder.
Davrin gave Illario a nod of approval, then guided Rook away. Assan squawked, bumped Illario’s knee with his head, and then followed the two other Wardens.
Illario found himself watching after them long after they’d vanished from sight, missing the warmth of Rook beside him.