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In order to know your enemy, you must become your enemy.

- Chris Bradford, The Way of the Dragon

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the spirit of the white wolf roamed the featureless landscape with no knowledge of time, obeying its nascent instinct to avoid those who sought it out, no direction or destination in mind other than to always and forever wander the endless expanse around it without care, thought, or even awareness beyond the ever-present, all-consuming moment that it had always, always lived within

the spirit of the white wolf went where it willed, uncaring of the other denizens of this strange realm, until it arrived at a city, where a nascent sense of curiosity pushed it through the gates, looking about for someone it was vaguely surprised to find absent from the entrance halls of the great palace that soared in the a that did not truly exist

the spirit of the white wolf explored the city first and then the palace further, wandering the long halls of pillars and pondering the black and tainted nature of the place, struggling to remember why this state of things felt so wrong, an odd memory of gold lingering

and the spirit found a throne, occupied by a shrunken wisp of a figure that slowly turned its wizened head to look at his visitor, sadness in his eyes

and the spirit felt the overwhelming presence of Darkness and trembled

and the spirit awoke

Tallathian gasped as she suddenly remembered, her hands going to her throat as she bent over double and struggled to hold on to herself as the sensation of life and memory and being flooded her with the power of the entire Tree. Only when the last twinge, the last echo, had passed through her did she dare take a shaky breath and straighten, trying to comprehend the scene before her.

She knew she was in the Golden City - she recognized the walls and the pillars, even the sconces which protruded from them - and yet nothing was golden. All in sight was covered with an inky blackness, and around her the keening of the taint rang, marking Geldauran's supremacy in this, the realm of another God. Shuddering, she took advantage of some aspects of the Beyond and pulled her 'body' away from touching anything, not wishing even one more second of contact with the hideous taint that was his primary weapon.

Her eyes returned to the sad, lonely figure on his throne. There were black-grimed skeletons around him, shemlen in nature, and she sensed that the source of the taint could be traced to them. Edging closer to one of them, she recognized the blaze of a Tevene Dreamer on the tattered robes, and grimaced as she also felt a very faint spark of true life within as well. "So," she murmured, "your Gods told you to walk the Halls of the Golden City, and you never questioned it?" A bubble of laughter awoke within as she saw the subtlety of the betrayal the Darkness had visited on his hapless pawns. "Ah, Geldauran used you - and your 'Old Gods' - as he used the Elvhen: for his own ends alone." A hand reached up to work at her forehead, massaging away the imaginary pain. "A pity to see the Ancient Ones reduced to mere pawns at the head of the armies of the Darkness... But then, there is always a price to pay when dealing with him."

Gaze moving to the throne, she saw the shadow of what the People called the Focus flinch back from her, his shriveled features only vaguely familiar. "He cannot get rid of you completely, no," she mused quietly, "but he can lessen you and corrupt your influence on the world. And no one will even know it was he who unleashed this." She regarded the being the shemlen knew as the Maker for a long moment, then turned from him. Aiding him would not bring her closer to her true goal, though the entainting of the City was yet another factor to consider in her long-term plans.

The true enemy yet remained.

The words would not leave her mind. As she flashed into the shape of a bird for speed and flew through the darkened City, she pondered what the next step should be.

Time has passed in Thedas. I need to learn how much. She had no feel for its passage here in the Beyond. Yet with her body still wrapped in her spells of preservation, she could not return to Thedas without aid. So... a mortal host. I require an anchor in Thedas with a need of their own for a powerful ally from the Beyond. One vulnerable enough to be susceptible to suggestion and strong enough to be heard even here...

Bursting from the gates of the City, she hovered in place for a moment, blinking as she realized that the City was now far removed from the rest of the Beyond. Odd. When did that happen? With a mental shrug, she dove to the nearest 'land', settling on its surface in a form familiar enough to manipulate easily, and dissimilar enough from her own true appearance that none would recognize her. The nature of the Beyond made it simple to hide thus, to disguise herself by pretending to simply be just a native of the Beyond.

So it was that for another timeless space she wandered, learning what she could of the events that followed Arlathan's destruction both through inference and through occasional interrogation of those spirits who had gone to Thedas and returned. She investigated how the taint had affected the Beyond, which the shemlen now called the Fade, and also found to her dismay that the thin line between the two realms, the 'Veil', was even thinner now than it had been in her time.

She grew in knowledge and power, no longer held back by the strictures of flesh, and explored avenues of magic she would never have allowed herself to master while still in Arlathan. The habits of the mortal realm slowly fell away, though some were remarkably stubborn to fade. She never stopped turning expectantly to the false horizon, waiting for a wolf to appear, every time a certain sound reminded her of the pad of a paw or a howl sent to a moon. In those moments, all she wanted to do was give up. Still, she persevered. All she had left was her purpose, her reason to continue existing. Neither time nor happiness were important: only the enemy mattered.

And then, finally, opportunity called.

A siren cry for aid, powerful enough to bespeak vast talent in magic and unfocused enough to indicate that training was, perhaps, lacking. Taking advantage of the fact her power remained greater than the other denizens of the Beyond so as to be the first to attend to this particular seeker, she found the source and reached out, touching a mind that rang with desperate need.

I will aid you, if you will have me.

She felt the other mind shiver, then respond with an inchoate but overwhelming affirmative. Uncaring of what she needed to help the summoner with, she followed that acquiescence, pulling it around her to give her the final fillip of power she needed to exit the Beyond and pour instantly into the body in Thedas that awaited her.

She found herself looking through another's eyes, surrounded by a group of shemlen males. A thousand sensations flooded her at once, of scent and sight and sound: the smell of standing water, the vision of green trees overgrown with moss, the laughter of the shemlen as they closed in for the kill. One of them brandished his sword and took a menacing step forward as she regarded him calmly, pulling her attention from the ecstasy of being corporeal once more.. What do you desire? she asked her still unknown host.

Their deaths.

Feeling a grin stretch across their shared mouths, she complied - in her own preferred way. Pulling magic directly from the Beyond, she felt herself swell and shift into a form she had been anxious to use ever since Arlathan's end: the very totem animal of those who had destroyed Elvhenan. The pain of the change quickly receded as she swelled even further, reaching forward with her now enormous maw and seizing the torso of the man who had threatened her, tossing her head back and forth to cause him immense pain before throwing her head back and releasing him to fly - for a few seconds, anyway.

The shouts of terror at the sudden appearance of a High Dragon were sweet indeed, and the fight that followed was short and brutal. She took her leisure hunting down the cowards who fled, her new host enjoying their fear as much as Tallathian enjoyed the power she drew from their blood.

Still, eventually all the shemlen were dead, the energy of their blood taken and funneled in preparation of the spell to come, and she allowed the body to return to its own shape once more after landing near a large, still body of water. Kneeling at the edge, she leaned over the water, curious as to what she would find reflected back to her.

Interesting. Her host was an astonishingly beautiful shemlen woman, young even by their standards. Taking a moment to tuck an errant strand of hair behind the odd round ear, she addressed her host, knowing no living being was close enough to see the apparently odd behavior of a young woman talking to her image in a lake. "What is your name, child?" she asked quietly, releasing the hoarded magic in a careful weave that surrounded her ethereal core and bound it. She had no wish to destroy the poor creature, but now that she had returned to Thedas, she had no intention of returning to the Beyond - whether this woman desired her continued presence or not.

Flemeth, mistress.

"Flemeth." Tasting the name, she shrugged, then stood and regarded the land around them. It was wild, free and bursting with life: precisely what she needed after the endless and sterile Beyond.

And what may I call you, mistress?

Tallathian's lips curved into a smile. "You may call me... Asha'bellanar." Subtly she probed her new host, seeking knowledge. "The anger within you still burns." Her mind sifted through memories that were not hers, and she smiled. "Some of those responsible for the bard's death yet live, I see." Revenge... this is a motive I understand well. "Shall we attend to this paltry oversight?" And ensure I have complete control over you while doing so?

The woman inside gave up her admittedly feeble struggling against Tallathian's hold on her and growled, Yes!

Shifting once more into her new form, she took to the air and journeyed to the castle where even now a Lord was being laid to rest, killed by a rogue witch's powers. Even as she flew, however, her mind began devising how to attract Geldauran's attention without betraying her true intent. He must think me dead. In this case, the truth will help my cause, if I imply it was Fen'Harel that exiled me to the Beyond and I had to wait for the correct circumstances to return to Thedas. Most of that is true, anyway.

Once they arrived at the castle, she drew herself up to hover above, letting Flemeth enjoy the sight of the people running and screaming like so many ants on the ground at the sight of her new body. As for Geldauran... it will be simple to convince him to let me resume my service to him. After all, he can't know that I betrayed him, since I can say with absolute truth that I did not. Arlathan fell, even if I arranged its demise for my purposes rather than his. I will gain his confidence once more, and then I will begin my work anew.

For it was not his death which she sought, but revenge.

She wanted him weakened, isolated, hurting and as lost and empty as she had been after his machinations. She didn't want him to be destroyed until he had suffered everything he had done to her. She knew no mortal could destroy a God outright - they had a way of regenerating, particularly if they were prepared for their weakening - and thus she had to be very, very subtle indeed. All his plans, she would alter; his forces, she would divide and weaken; his goals, she would sabotage while working towards them. She would be the constant, invisible thorn in his side, and also the one sent to search for that thorn if ever he perceived it. She would be a servant unparalleled, the love of his existence, and then, when his final 'victory' was nigh, she would betray him.

She might not be able to destroy a God, but she could make sure that when the final blow landed, he would not want to survive .

The enemy yet remained... but he would not remain forever.

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I wanted to take another opportunity and thank all of you who read this story. I invite you to leave a final review or send me a PM with your overall thoughts on the story.

Again, thank you all for making this journey with me!