Rhys has spent the larger part of the day wandering Skyhold. He can feel something pulling him, calling out to him, but he’s yet to figure out what exactly it is. It only drives his curiosity further, which in turn is making him a little afraid of what he might find. He’s not certain just how thin the veil is, here, not to mention whether or not that mark on the Inquisitor makes it more likely for demons to prowl.
He finally finds himself in the gardens, and feels that strange pull in full force. There’s got to be something here, but why doesn’t anyone around him seem disturbed or curious? He hasn’t seen any other mages wandering with such a look of curiosity or determination, so why him?
As he makes his way through the awkwardly placed potted herbs and trees until he was greeted with his answer. It's so much different from what he’d expected to find, though he had no idea what he’d thought he’d discover. His eyes widen, his mouth opening silently for a moment before he can find the words.
Well, one word in particular.
The young man sits in soft grass and wild flowerbeds behind a tree, hidden from view of anyone in the main section of the gardens. He looks up from where he’d previously been weaving flowers together, his look of surprise mirroring the enchanter’s.
Rhys notices a few things about him that are strangely different. The first notable thing is the hat. It's an object he’d never seen the man wear before, though it seems rather fitting for one who was always so eager to hide from the world. He’s gained two new and deadly-looking daggers, and it seems he’s finally found clothing that isn’t merely a tattered tunic and dirt-caked trousers. He’s wearing proper casual clothing, if still a bit worn. The kind perfectly fitting for a man sitting among flowers.
“Cole, I— Does... Does anyone even know you’re here? This place could be dangerous, Cole, there are so many templars, why are you—”
“They know,” Cole gently sets the crown of delicate flowers beside him and stands, removing the hat obscuring his features. It’s strangely relieving for Rhys to see him without it, as if confirming that it's really him. “I... I’m here to help.”
Rhys watches as Cole chews his lip, searching for something to say, but he isn’t given the chance. Rhys pulls him into a hug so quickly that it makes him jolt. Thankfully, he returns the embrace. He grasps at Rhys’s robes, hiding his face in his shoulder.
“I thought you were dead, or you'd returned to the Fade, or... I don’t know. I can’t believe you’re really here! How did you even get here?” He finally lets go, holding Cole’s shoulders as if he’s afraid he might run or disappear. They lock eyes and Rhys can see pinpricks of tears.
“I thought... I thought you’d be angry with me, or you’d forget me— I thought it would be better if you both forgot me, I told the Inquisitor not to try and find you. But he did and you’re alive and I... I’m glad.”
Rhys swallows the lump in his throat, smiling wearily. “I had a feeling. I wasn’t certain, but some part of me knew it was you. Always trying to protect me when I didn’t need it, but this time I did,” His breath hitches for a moment. “And I’m so glad. I’m so glad they found us. But I’m still not certain how you came to be here, or how you convinced them to let you stay.”
Rhys has met Vivienne. They had a curt conversation before Rhys promptly decided to avoid her. He can’t imagine she was thrilled to know someone like Cole is among them.
“There was a man. It wanted the power he wielded, waging war on the world and watching it burn. He was so hollow inside... He was angry the Inquisitor took his mages. I heard it in the templars, the red growing in their minds. I had to help. They didn’t know what I was, but he let me stay.” There’s relief in his tone as he explains. “E-everyone was frightened of me at first. Some still are... but I think I have friends now. They can... They can see me now.”
“They can see you? And you’re alright with this? How did you manage it?”
“It scared me, at first. I can’t make people forget, anymore...” He trails off, and Rhys feels like there might be more to it than that, but he resists the urge to pry. “There was a Cole in the White Spire. Broken and beaten and forgotten, begging for anyone to remember him. I reached out, then through, then found him... But I couldn’t help.”
Rhys blinks, a realization hitting him like a blow to the head. Cole isn’t finished, though. He’d hate to interrupt, especially if it means learning more about his friend. He has a feeling, a suspicion that he might finally understand what Cole is.
“Solas called me Compassion, but more. More fixed, fastened to what’s real. I won’t fade away anymore, and I won’t hurt anyone else. If I do, they’ll kill me. It’s better that way.”
“You won’t,” Rhys states adamantly, squeezing Cole’s shoulder. “The moment I told you what you were doing was wrong, I saw a change in your eyes... I could tell you already felt guilty for doing it, I just... Couldn’t help you. I’m so sorry, Cole.”
Cole, to his surprise, smiles. “No. You helped me. You broke it. The curse, crushing and collapsing what I am. I learned. I learned because of you, because of Evangeline, even because of...” The smile fades.
“Lambert,” Rhys frowns, releasing Cole from his grip. “He’s dead, now. He can’t hurt you anymore.”
There’s worry in Rhys’s eyes when Cole’s features turn dark. Another suspicion weighs heavily in his heart, and he waits a moment for the inevitable while his friend considers his words.
“I know. I killed him...” He pulls back, holding his arms. “He was going to hurt the mages, he wanted to crush them, contain them, cut them out of the world like a disease.”
There it was. The weight of the man’s actions, the terror it brought down on the world. “Oh, Cole...”
“They said it was an assassin, a mage, someone from the tower. You knew it was me,” Cole locks eyes with him. Cold, piercing, worrying eyes. “It was wrong but right, relieving but wracking. I’m sorry— I made everything worse for you. I-I just wanted to help, I’m sorry...”
“No, Cole,” Rhys interjects, reaching out once more for his friend. “It was bound to happen at some point. The timing of all of it was what made everything worse. If the attack on Kirkwall hadn’t been so recent, breaking from the Chantry wouldn’t have been seen as such an act of war. The mages from the Spire who chose to fight... I’m sad to say that it was my doing. Maker, I didn’t think they’d take it that far.”
“But you’re alive. Alive and helping to heal it,” Cole smiles again, if only slightly, and moves to sit back down among the flowers. Rhys sighs and follows suit, looking around his little corner of quiet. “You didn’t make them kill people. You always want to help. I think that’s why you could see me.”
Cole nods, plucking a new flower from the ground to resume his weaving. Rhys slides a hand through his hair and takes a deep breath, trying to let it all sink in. It almost feels like a dream when he thinks about it, but it's too real not to be. The scenery is just real enough, not instilled with that odd shimmer of the Fade. He’s wide awake.
Perhaps it’s time to change the subject...
“Are you happy here, Cole?”
“Yes. I can help here, and they help me learn. I... forget to do things real people do, sometimes, but I write them down and it helps.” He smiles again, deftly braiding intricate patterns of flowers between his fingers.
“What real people do..? I’m sorry, I’m still not quite sure how this is happening. You said you’re more... Tethered? To here, to this side of the Fade?”
“Oh- The Inquisitor and Varric,” He looks up from the flowers, his smile showing that slight gap between his teeth. Rhys had noticed it before, but now it feels so... Human. “They helped me find the templar who killed me— Who killed Cole. I was angry. I wanted to kill him back, but Varric said we needed to remember. So... We did. Now everyone can see me, they can remember me.”
“So, what you’re saying, is... You’re human now?”
“No? And yes,” He hums. “I’m just... More.”
This is a lot. This is a lot of new information that Rhys wasn’t prepared for. He rubs over his face and looks up at the sky. It’s so surreal, so strange to see his friend again... But, at the same time, it’s such a relief.
“Just more...” Rhys sighs, finally feeling lighter. “I think I can understand that.”
“I’m glad you found me,” Cole says, offering out the flowers to Rhys.
“I’m glad I found you, too.”
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