A Place Out of Time - Part One

Love that Binds the Soul

Solas and Rowan stepped out of the Eluvian and what she beheld was one of the most beautiful gardens she had ever seen. She hadn't known what to expect, where he had directed the Eluvian to take them, but this? She marveled at the untamed beauty of it all.

They had stepped out onto a stone platform that led down into a small pond. On the place where they stood was an elegant looking stone bench. Either they had spent more time in the Fade than she realized or wherever the Eluvian had taken them was early morning because the sun reflected off the waters casting hues of gold.

They were at the far end of a circular enclosure, similar to the one at the Temple of Mythal, but the grounds were almost overgrown with flowers of various types growing wild everywhere. She could make out a few, but there were so many it was hard to make out them all. There were roses of all colors, the sweet scent of jasmine and lilacs filled the air, baby's breath and daisies grew wild, and the grass was a plush and deep emerald green. The gentle lapping of the pond could be heard along with the song of the morning birds. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the gardens layout, the flowers grew wherever they wished it appeared, yet it still held some semblance of care as if a gardener tended to these lovelies with tenderness and love. It was spectacular to behold. Rowan could only look around, eyes wide at the sheer beauty of it all. She had never seen anything of its like before.

As she looked around she happened to notice that off to one side in the distance was a lone tree. A Rowan tree. Her namesake. No other trees were present in the garden save that one. It puzzled her. She turned to Solas, eyes wide with wonder. "This place is remarkable!" she exclaimed. "Where are we?"

"You recall The Well of Sorrows? This is a similar place. This is the Garden of Love," he stated. "Often the Elves would come here asking for love to be brought into their lives, they held ceremonies of marital bindings, or would meet here to declare their love for one another. Lovers would steal kisses by the pond under the moonlight." For the first time since their reunion a genuine smile crossed his face.

"No Evanuris governs this Garden any longer for She is no more. Now there is no God, no Goddess," he continued. He felt it necessary to omit the fact that Mythal Herself had once been viewed also as the Goddess of love, but no more. If she had never heard the tales then now was not the time to dredge them up. "It no longer needs one," he continued, "and the people never felt it necessary to give name another. Its growth is now reflected by and in turn responding to the old Magics and emotions that have long seeped into its soil from a time long forgotten. It is both fed by and reflected by the desires of those who come here. It's existence is purely symbiotic in nature now."

He turned to her, "This is what I wanted to show you."

"I don't understand though, why here?" she asked him.

"I often found myself coming here after the fall of Corypheus," he explained. "It was almost in complete ruins. The chaos that almost destroyed the world had, for a time, dashed all hopes of love from so many that once made this place flourish. Elves stopped coming, leaves had begun to wither and fall off of bushes, flowers wilted in the sun, the grass brown as if parched, and the waters all but dried up. Yet, in time, the Garden began to grow again, blossoming, as love found its way back into the hearts of people everywhere and the Elves returned. All of this after the fall of Corypheus. As you had saved the world so had you saved this place." Again he smiled at her.

"I wanted to show you a place of beauty you helped save. More importantly, since our time together is limited, I would prefer that we were somewhere more... enjoyable. Instead of the Fade I believed here was a more suitable and pleasing location to share our time together."

"What about that tree?" she asked him. "The Rowan tree, it's the only tree here and that doesn't make sense. Unless..." it dawned on her as she gazed at him. Of course! A tree named after her... He had placed it here.