An account of the immediate events following Ghilan'nain's death, in accordance to my Veilguard canon.
Featuring @cy-guy1518's Juno Thorne. Hah hah, remember how the last thing he properly said to Zea was blaming him for Elgar'nan taking Bellara? Yeah, just keep that in mind when reading this :))
"The Fade's still ripping open!"
It was Neve's voice, barely audible over the screaming rush of reality splitting open, that woke Lucanis up.
A sharp headache thrummed through his skull, and every muscle in his body roared in protest as he forced himself to roll onto his front and lift his head, bracing against the rushing wind and squinting against the light bursting from the lyrium dagger. His left wrist protested especially loud.
Just beyond the swirling vortex of Ghilan'nain's body, he could see a Juno-shaped figure stagger to his feet. Taash's horned form was struggling to get up from the floor, clutching at their stomach like they were injured. What he assumed to be Neve and Emmrich were already standing, braced against the onslaught. That meant it must be Davrin far at the back, clinging onto the sword he'd anchored into the ground.
"The dagger!" Emmrich's voice carried faintly from his thin silhouette. "Rook, you must break it's contact with Ghilan'nain!"
Rook was a few paces ahead of the rest of the group, struggling against the surge of magic to edge closer to the dead god.
Lucanis had to help him.
He pushed up onto shaky elbows, forced one arm forwards, and collapsed. Pain crashed through his body, radiating from his wrist. He couldn't move any further, even if he wanted to.
That was one hell of a death blow.
Rook was getting closer. Lucanis could only watch as he came into focus, face illuminated by the blue glow of magic. There was blood dripping from his nose and caked into his hair. Rook fell forwards onto his knees, overwhelmed by the sheer force of the wind, but still straining for the knife.
Lucanis' heart thundered in his ears as Rook's gloved fingers closed around the dagger. He watched his grip adjust, clenching over the golden handle, and then Rook pulled and-
The screaming stopped. The air went still. Embers and ash began to float slowly to the ground, drifting in the sudden calm. Ghilan'nain's body lay limp on the ground, soaked in puddle of Blight and blood, and there was no longer a dagger in her chest.
There was also no longer a Rook.
He had vanished.
Lucanis stared wide-eyed at the spot where his partner had once stood.
He didn't understand. Rook should be there.
Rook should be standing there, bloodied and bruised, but alive. Grinning even. Holding that damned dagger in his hand and smiling victorious over Ghilan'nain's body.
Where was he?
"Zea!!" Juno's scream split open the silence. "Zea! Zea!?"
Juno came scrambling over the debris, screeching to a hault just in front of Ghilan'nain. He whipped around and then around again, golden eyes blown wide as he searched for his brother.
"Zea?!" He cried, voice shaking.
Lucanis couldn't breathe.
Juno stilled. His shoulders shuddered as he stood there, staring horrified at the empty space in front him, the space where Rook should have been. He reached out and his fingers closed around nothing.
"Zea?" His whisper trembled through the air.
He stayed there, frozen, with his fist held out in front of him.
Lucanis ignored the scream of his muscles as he pushed to his feet. He came up on weak legs, lungs still stuck in his chest, as he struggled to so much as think. He looked down at Ghilan'nain's chest and the hole now carved within. Lyrium lingered on her flesh, glowing a bright blue against her grey blood.
A similar hole was scratching itself painfully into Lucanis' chest.
Where was Rook?
Spite stirred, hissing softly as he finally recovered from the blast. Lucanis ignored him.
"Where'd he go?" Taash croaked.
Lucanis glanced over to them. They were on their knees, hands pressed against a growing patch of red seeping through their armour. Their eyes met Lucanis and they looked afraid.
"Where'd he go?" They repeated.
Emmrich stepped forward, face ashen.
"I don't know, he-" His eyes widened. "The Fade tear… He must have been…"
Lucanis reached up and rubbed at his eyes. They felt like they were burning.
He staggered toward the others, gasping at the sudden pain rippling through his body. White hot agony burst through his skull and Spite screamed.
He knew this pain.
Someone was using blood magic. A lot of blood magic.
"Taash, you're hurt." Neve limped forwards, clasping a hand onto their shoulder.
"I'm fine-"
"Don't. We have to get you out of here, we can't lose anyone else-"
The air ripped open.
Lucanis cried out as he was thrown back to the floor, the impact jostling his wounds. Magic once again whipped around them as blinding light spilt from the jagged cut carving its way into the fabric of the Veil. Lucanis forced his head up, squinting against the light just in time to see a figure appear in the cut.
Rook?
The figure stepped calmly out of the Fade, raising up their hand, in which was clenched the lyrium dagger. They drew it across the sky, sealing up the hole behind them.
The light died away and an elf was left standing in its place.
This elf was tall, pale, and bald, clad in golden armour. He held himself with the stature of a leader and he looked out over the downed Veilguard with mournful eyes.
Lucanis didn't know who he was or where he'd come from, but he did know one thing; this wasn't Rook.
Neve gasped behind him.
"Solas…" She whispered.
So this was the Dread Wolf.
But where was Rook?
Juno was the first one back on his feet. He stumbled towards Solas — who watched him curiously — and grabbed the front of the man's breastplate yanking him forwards.
"Where the fuck is my brother?"
Solas didn't flinch. He didn't even looked scared. He just raised a single eyebrow.
"Ah. You must be Juno."
"Where's Zea!?" Juno yelled, shaking Solas by his collar.
Solas reached up, gripped Juno's wrist and in a flash of magic and light, sent him flying across the arena. He landed in a heap next to Davrin.
"I understand you must be confused." Solas' voice rang clearly through the air. "Do not be afraid; Rook is unharmed. But you should not expect to see him again."
The bottom dropped from Lucanis' stomach. Spite screamed wordlessly in his ears.
"What did you do to him?" Neve spat. She was standing up — when had she stood up?
Solas ignored her in favour of pacing around Ghilan'nain and staring down at her body.
"I must commend you. Not many can claim lethal victory over one of the Evanuris. You have done well, under his leadership."
"Where. Is. He." Juno was back on his feet, clutching his now-limp arm to his side.
Solas' eyes flickered over to him.
"You have fought well, all of you," He continued his speech unflinchingly, "But set this burden aside. I will take it from here."
"You fucking son of a bitch." Juno scooped up his hammer from the ground and began a slow approach. "Give him back."
Solas raised the lyrium dagger and levelled it with Juno's chest.
"My fight is not with you," He warned, "Stand down and leave this place victorious."
Like hell that was happening.
Lucanis pushed through his arms, ignoring the sharp ache in his wrist. He snatched his rapier off the floor next to him and drew his dagger from his belt. Around him, what was left of their team arose, gritting their teeth and readying their weapons, facing down the Dread Wolf with a final determination.
Solas gave a resigned sigh.
"Very well." He muttered.
Magic came to life around the blade and within his eyes. He hadn't even begun to move the dagger when thunder sounded above them and then the clouds turned red. Solas glanced up, terror flashing across his face.
"Mierda!" Lucanis swore at the heart-stopping realisation that this wasn't Solas' doing.
A head-splitting yell echoed over the entire island.
"Fen'Harel!" Elgar'nan's voice, clear and angry and loud, screamed at them from the sky, "You meddle again!"
"No!" Solas cried.
The clouds burst into flames. Solas swung his arm up, redirecting the magic he had intended for Juno towards the sky, creating a glowing blue barrier across the entirety of the arena. It solidified just in time to stop a rain of fire crashing down on them all.
"You meddle and now Ghilan'nain is dead! For this affront you shall all burn!" Elgar'nan roared.
The intensity of the onslaught doubled. Even through the barrier, Lucanis could feel the heat of the flames against his face.
"Go!" Solas yelled over his shoulder, "Get out of here, I will hold him back! There is no need for you to face Elgar'nan's wrath!"
Lucanis didn't need to be told twice.
He turned away from the Dread Wolf, grabbed Taash, slung their arm over his shoulder and began to run for the exit. Emmrich was already ahead of him, and he could hear Neve's thundering footsteps behind him. He glanced behind him to check the others — Davrin had a hold of a struggling Juno, yanking him away from Solas and towards safety — then continued his own flight out of there.
Taash was swearing in his ear, long and flithy, and their blood was soaking into his clothes, wet and hot. Spite wouldn't stop screaming and he hurt. His head pounded, he had surely sprained his wrist, and leaving the cover of Solas' barrier only served to worsen the searing heat raining down on them.
But what hurt worse of all, was that Rook was gone.
Elger'nan had taken Bellara. Harding was dead. And Rook was gone.
Simply vanished into thin air. There hadn't been a single trace of him left. There had just been Solas and his empty reassurance.
If he wasn't too preoccupied trying to escape the pillar of fire raining down on them, Lucanis would have collapsed.
The battered team limped hurriedly through the blazing rain and curdling Blight. None of the Antaam, or even the Darkspawn, tried to stop them, too preoccupied with their own mad dash for the water. Not many made it. Lucanis suspected that it's was only Neve's shaky umbrella of ice, thrown hastily over their heads, that saved them from becoming charred corpses.
By the time they reached the beach, half of the sand had already melted into glass. Somehow, their boat was still standing. It was smoking slightly and covered in ash, but Emmrich pushed it into the shallows and it didn't sink. A true miracle.
Lucanis dumped Taash over the side, and they groaned as they crumpled across the deck. He jumped in after them and pulled Emmrich aboard.
"Come on!" Neve yelled, waving on Davrin and Juno as they sprinted down the beach.
She vaulted into onto the ship as they hit the shoreline. Lucanis grabbed Davrin the moment he was close enough and dragged him aboard, dumping him in the boat to help Neve pull up Juno as Emmrich stumbled to his feet, raised his staff, and forced the ship to sail.
They were left panting and collapsed on the deck of the boat. It wasn't as crowded this time.
Emmrich stood down from the bow, grabbing Neve and dragging her upright.
"Get us to shore!" He ordered, then dropped to his knees beside Taash — they weren't looking good.
The green glow of Emmrich's healing magic filled the boat, contrasting the orange and purple hue cast by the fiery monolith of Tearstone island. Neve's icy blue magic added to the swirling colours as she summoned a biting wind to push them forwards and urged on the waves.
Lucanis glanced back to the ritual site. It was well and truly burning. If Solas could survive that, he had no idea.
Exhaustion hit him all at once. He went limp, sliding down the side of the boat, breathing hard as shivers began to rack his body. His eyes prickled and he shut them tight against the sudden wave of tears.
Rook.
Mierda, Rook.
He was gone. Bellara and Harding were gone too.
Ghilan'nain was dead, but Solas was free and Taash was injurred. Tearstone was burning behind them.
Rook was gone.
"We have to go back." Juno croaked. His voice sounded rough and quiet, like he'd inhaled a lot of smoke.
He stood up from where he was kneeling at the stern of the ship, and turned around on wobbily legs to stare at the others. He held something long and silver against his chest — Rook's staff. Lucanis hadn't even though about Rook's staff. Horror rippled through him at the idea of it being left behind.
"Impossible." Emmrich shook his head.
"We're going back for him." Juno demanded.
"We can't."
"I won't leave him-!"
"What would you have us do, Juno!?" Emmrich yelled, "Look behind you! The ritual site is surely destroyed, and with this kind of magic, Elgar'nan will level the island to glass before sunrise!"
Juno glanced over his shoulder.
Emmrich deflated with a sigh. He stood up, leaving Taash — who was now unconscious, but no longer quite so pale — and stepping calmly towards Juno.
"Even if we could go back, it would be futile," He said softly, "Any trace of Rook's disapearance will be destroyed by Elgar'nan's display."
Lucanis had never heard Emmrich spit out a word before. He didn't think he ever wanted to hear it again.
"But-" Juno had started to shake. "Bellara-"
Whatever he was going to say choked out into nothing.
Lucanis definitly never wanted to see that expression of grief on Emmrich's face ever again.
"Bellara may still be out there. If she is, then we will find her, Juno. We will."
Juno's knees gave out from under him. He folded to the deck as silent tears cut clear tracks through the blood and soot on his cheeks. He stared down at the staff in his hands and clutched it tight.
Lucanis rubbed at his face and wasn't surprised to find out that he too was crying. He pulled his legs up to his chest and hugged his knees. Spite tugged at his mind, demanding to know where everyone had gone and when they were coming back. Lucanis didn't know how to explain death to a demon. His wrist hurt.
Silence settled over the ship. They quietly sailed further and further from the burning disaster, approaching the distant smudge of Thedas' coastline without a word. At one point, Emmrich approached Davrin and healed the cut on his forehead that was bleeding into his eyes. Lucanis didn't think to ask him for help with his wrist.
After what must have been an age, the ship stilled as it sunk into the soft sand of the shallows.
Neve got off first, not looking back as she swept onto the beach. Emmrich roused Taash, and Davrin supported them as they made their groggy way off the boat and over the sand. Lucanis followed after them, taking the place next to Neve in the rag-tag circle they were forming. Emmrich arrived, then finally came Juno, who was still holding Rook's staff.
The team stared at each other.
"What now?" Davrin asked quietly. The question hung in the air between them for quite sometime.
Rook wasn't there to step forwards with a plan, and so eyes eventually fell on Juno. He looked up from Rook's staff and met their gazes without a flinch.
"We go back to the Lighthouse," Juno ordered. His voice was even, contrasting the grief in his eyes and the wetness of his cheeks. "We regroup. Then, we find them."
Junara as the sunrise in the morning: it’s calm, you can feel the coolness of the air get warm as the sun hits your skin, the time of day where people are still sleepy, prime cuddling hours when neither of you guys want to get up, but still romantic as fuck to watch on the balcony while Kara wears Junhongs pj shirt and they both sip on coffee
Ardae an Noon: middle of the afternoon, brightest hour of the day to match bright personalities, the time of day where your guys’ melanin can POP LIKE ITS GOLD, in the summer you hear children running around and yelling outside all the time at this hour, two of those children are probaby Jongdae and Arim, the time of day where everything is full of being playful and giggling with one another
Sesissoo as nighttime: its cold and dark so it’s a perfect excuse to show a little pda as a poly relationship, has the duality to be calm but also wild, calm like drinks by the lake and just chilling, or going out to party together downtown, the time of day where all the fun stories take place, if they were out on the town, they’d walk home down the dark side street holding hands, Isis in the middle with a Kyungsoo one one side and Sehun on the other as they giggle in their conversations
Junara: Alive, healthy, still everyone’s relationship goals, forever honeymoon stage, will probably never die because Kara is trapped in love emotions because Junhong doesn’t have smelly feet
Sesis: wavering, Isis is being THAT BITCH, she’s been too soft lately, Sehun is most likely Done with her shit, Sehun is also On Guard tho because Kyungsoo might take his shorty and team up against tall people with her
Jacksim: dead, Arim was the grim reaper and fucking killed this ship, bye Jackson, hello Jongdae, new ship was born, Ardae entered the world and its the cutest shit ever seen
Ardae: the cutest shit ever seen, probably in that New Relationship state where they might be shy about a few things, a Naruto Couple
-the kind of movie everyone loves and is an immediate go to
-not too sweet but sweet enough to get y'all cuddling
-they’re the type of movie that inspires new romantic date nights
-they both liked how the dinner in this one movie looked?? guess what, junara cooks the dinner together for a candle lit date night
-next time junara gets caught in the rain, junhong will kiss her just bc he was reminded of one of his favourite scenes
Jacksim
-a dramatic ass romcom that has you both laughing like an idiot but also crying
-all bc the couple gets together in the end even tho it was obvious af
-the kind of movie where the accidents that happen are so FUCKING ridiculous
-like how does that even happen
-they also relate to these kinds of romcoms the most bc I mean have you seen jackson and arim, they get extra af over //walking//
Sesis
-the oddball romance movies that have some weird and dark undertones
-you still like it for some reason tho???
-Like the kind of movies that are really dark in colors so you have to watch them in a dark room
-and everyone talks quiet af and have raspy voices
-it’s just one of those movies that make you feel really unsettled and you just don’t know why
-it’s also understandable af why sesis watches these kinds of movies bc sometimes they’ll stare at each other and you dont know if theyre gonna fight or fuck
I can be free of her, he said to. She was becoming hysterical. He had done everything correctly yet, and he would to come. She would be one of the last people to calm as ever. Yes, I know you are, said the gentleman Youre. Then he wrote frequently to Miriam, and visited the.
