In Search of a Wolf - The Elves of Fen'Harel Book 1 (Dragon Age)

Bonus Chapter 4

Hello everyone! I'm back! After a few lovely recent comments and messages, I've decided to write a few more bonus chapters from Solas's perspective.

Also, has everyone watched the teaser trailer for DA4? I'm so excited!

Redcliffe village sat comfortably in the Western Hills of Ferelden, on the shore of Lake Calenhad. The cliffs towering above had a distinct reddish hue that gave the village its name. It was a prosperous place, positioned between Orlais and Orzammar and as such was a centre for foreign trade. Merchants shipping dwarves goods thronged there, as well as fishermen.

A path led into the hills above the village and across a bridge to an island where the sprawling Castle Redcliffe stood.

It was far older than the village. The Castle had guarded the main passage between Orlais and the Frostback Mountains since the days of the ancient Alamarri. It was a fortress, Ferelden's first and last line of defence for a land attack.

Solas planned to walk right in.

He was so angry that he barely knew what he was doing. After leaving Skyhold he had travelled there on foot, not even utilising his network of eluvians. The walk, he had hoped, would clear his mind, but instead had given more time to brood.

He kept seeing her face.

Laisa...frail and frightened on the ground, blood dripping from her shoulder, the dark shadow of a bruise on her face. He wanted to find the man who had done it, this Lord Joffrey and choke the life from his arrogant body.

He was doing it because the man was an elf hater, he justified to himself. He was doing it for his people.

Her eyes...so filled with defeat and acceptance of the abuse. Her grief stricken smile when she saw her family in the Fade. It twisted his heart in a way he had never expected. It was all he saw as he crossed the Hinterlands, dodging bandits and creatures with ease, never faltering, except to stop and rest just once.

The Castle seemed so normal again after Alexius's barbaric schemes and attempted enslavement of the apostate mages. King Alastair had sent troops to reclaim the town after the Inquisitor had destroyed the Venatori there and Arl Teagan Guerrin reclaimed it.

He was rarely there however. Solas had heard talk in the village however, that suggested the man was back, though perhaps only briefly. Arl Teagan disliked the Inquisition. He did not like their unchecked power, their large military presence, right on Ferelden's border.

Lord Joffrey of Val Royeux was staying there that night, and the next. He had an agreement with Lavellan, but that would be coming to an end, Solas thought grimly.

"All these bloody Orlesians." A guard said. Solas, wreathed in magic, walked through the open gate unseen.

"Prancing about in their silks and their masks." The other said in amusement. "That Lord is the worst of them. One of the maids told me he'd changed his clothes three times before dinner."

Solas strode past, staff in hand. The air was brisk and chilled. The guards were cold, alone in the dead of night.

His path through the castle was unhindered. No one saw him. His magic had returned with vigour. It was a simple enough thing to walk invisibly. He was a god among these men, he thought with wry amusement. It was not something he had ever truly sought, but a destiny that seemed inescapable.

Did the gods have gods? He wondered idly. Was he ever truly free to make his choice or was every  moment the machinations of fate?

He opened the door to the man's bedroom. The lord was sleeping, his mask removed to reveal a pale, pointed face, with heavy eyelids.

So this was him. Lord Joffrey.

A dark rage coursed through Solas's veins. It was unlike him. He prided himself on his control. He would make measured decisions, guided by logic, cool logic, not emotion. He'd done enough harm by acting on his emotions.

Maybe he should leave it. This was too obvious, too risky. Diranni and his other lieutenants would not approve. The man stirred.

He gasped at the sight of the elf in his room. "Who are you? What are you doing in my room, servant? Answer me, knife ear!" He demanded imperiously.

"I came on behalf of a young friend of mine." Solas said softly. "An elf like me, who you struck in the courtyard of Skyhold."

The man looked blank, which incensed Solas more. "Oh." Realisation crossed his features. "Pretty little thing." A lascivious smile spread across his face. In his arrogance, he didn't even notice the menace in Solas's step. "Yes, I intended to take her to my room, to have her, to enjoy her..." He laughed. "She had such a temper. It would have been a pleasure to break it. Perhaps on my next visit."

"How dare you!" Solas snapped. "You disrespect a woman far beyond you in beauty, in spirit, in all things. You hurt her, you frightened her." With each word, his fury grew, an inferno of darkness, the need to kill, to destroy overtaking him.

He laughed, "She's only an elf, little more than an animal."

Solas laid down his staff, his hands trembling. "You forget yourself. You forget that the man standing over you is also an elf." He withdrew a knife.

"You wouldn't...you wouldn't dare!" The man blustered. "If I scream, there will be a whole army upon you."

"Then I shan't give you time to scream." Solas moved, fast as thought, his knife cutting through the tender flesh of the man's throat before he had a chance to utter a sound. Blood spurred in all directions, leaking and bursting in a bright fountain.

He died slowly, choking and spluttering in his own blood. Solas watched in silence, feeling a sense of vindictive satisfaction.

He was dead. Solas stood in the grave-like silence of the room, staring down at the bloody corpse with the gash across his neck. He had avenged the insult to Laisa. That was enough, surely? He could go back to Orlais.

But somehow, it still wasn't enough. Her grieving face appeared before his eyes again. He recalled the touch of his hand against her cheek.

It wasn't enough.