Fen'Harel





Background
Fen'Harel (pronounced fenn-HARR-ell) is also known as the Dread Wolf, He Who Hunts Alone, Lord of Tricksters, The Great Wolf , Roamer of the Beyond and Bringer of Nightmares. He was known as kin to both the Creators and the Forgotten Ones. His supposed betrayal of both clans of gods by sealing them away in their respective realms, never again to interact with the mortal world, is sometimes used to explain why the elven gods--particularly the benevolent Creators--did not intervene to prevent the fall of Arlathan. Indeed, Fen'Harel has allegedly never been fond of the elven people and is said to have spent centuries in a far corner of the earth after his great deception, hugging himself and giggling madly in glee.

The Betrayal
The deceit of Fen'Harel itself--known as the Great Betrayal--is sometimes described as a truce suggested by the Dread Wolf, and other times as a hunt by the Creators and Forgotten Ones in the Heavens and the Abyss, respectively, for a blade Fen'Harel promised would stop a war. It may even have been a bid by Fen'Harel to rule the Fade--or even Elvhenan itself--without the interference of the other elven gods.

Relationship with mortals
"When did I say that I would save you?"

- Fen'Harel

Dalish elves generally consider Fen'Harel an evil god. In the past, however, the Dread Wolf was called upon by elves for aid and advice in various matters...but always with a price. In spite of this, offerings of thanks were often given for Fen'Harel's help as he did follow through on promises of aid, if in an unorthodox manner. Since the fall of Arlathan, however, this practice has understandably fallen out of favor as a rule. In the modern day, statues of Fen'Harel are set facing away from any Dalish camp, as a reminder that the Dalish must always be wary, or else to protect against evil spirits. Furthermore, Keepers wear rings of sylvanwood depicting Fen'Harel's betrayal of the elven gods as a reminder of their duty to protect their clan from him. Despite this wariness, Fen'Harel is reputed by the Dalish to continue to interact with elves, sporting with them or dispensing dark knowledge at his whim. He is also said to gleefully patrol the Fade, feasting on the souls of the dead. In spite of Fen’Harel’s reputation, however, he has been known to be invoked by Dalish elves to express dismay at unexpected events ("By the Dread Wolf!"), to demand the annihilation of an enemy (“Dread Wolf take you!”), when all seems lost, and as a wary farewell (“May the Dread Wolf never hear your steps”).

Fen'Harel is mentioned as well in the uncommon text The Emergent Compendium One Dalish Mage, Felassan did not hold with the common Dalish wariness of the Dread Wolf, and in fact knows a great deal about him, even going so far to take his name from one tale of Fen'Harel's "mercies".

The courser and the wolf

 * "You know what the Dalish say to their dogs? “Take the Dread Wolf by the ear if he comes.""


 * "Long ago, a clan lived on the Silent Plains. It was a terrible, lonely place where the sun was forbidden to shine. Their Keeper had a coursing hound. They had run down deer and hares and wolves together when they were young. But they had grown old together, Keeper and hound, and now only dozed before the campfire, dreaming of hunts."


 * "But then the Dread Wolf came, for the Keeper was wise and kind—the things Fen’Harel hates above all else. At night, he tried to steal into the Keeper’s dreams, to twist his mind and turn him against the People. But even in dreams, the courser guarded his master. He caught the Dread Wolf’s scent and gave chase across the Fade."


 * "Fen’Harel tried to shake his pursuer, but the hound ran as coursers can only run in their dreams. Even the wind couldn’t have fled that hound. He ran the Dread Wolf down and grabbed him by the tail! Fen’Harel howled, so loud that the Veil shook and even the stars scattered in fear. But the hound wouldn’t let go."


 * "Neither hound nor Wolf gave in. Finally, Fen’Harel bit off his own tail to escape, and away he fled. Ever since, the Dread Wolf thinks twice about playing his tricks when dogs are on guard."


 * —Merrill, First of the Sabrae Clan

The slow arrow

 * The god Fen'Harel was asked by a village to kill a great beast. He came to the beast at dawn, and saw its strength, and knew it would slay him if he fought it. So instead, he shot an arrow up into the sky. The villagers asked Fen'Harel how he would save them, and he said to them, 'When did I say that I would save you?' And he left, and the great beast came into the village that night and killed the warriors, and the women, and the elders. It came to the children and opened its great maw, but then the arrow that Fen'Harel had loosed fell from the sky into the great beast's mouth, and killed it. The children of the village wept for their parents and elders, but still they made an offering to Fen'Harel of thanks, for he had done what the villagers had asked. He had killed the beast, with his cunning, and a slow arrow that the beast never noticed.


 * --Felassan, to Briala

The noble and the Dread Wolf

 * Felassan: "There was a young noble in fair Arlathan, and it happened that the elven king lost one of his two daughters to a serpent's bite. At the ceremony to commemorate her life, the young noble saw an elven lady so fair and perfect that his heart broke--but by the laws of ancient Arlathan, he was forbidden to speak with her during the ceremony, and he did not learn who she was, so he could not ask her family to court her. The young noble prayed to the gods that he might meet the elven lady again. He prayed to Mythal for love, and Dirthamen for the secret of the elven lady's name, and to Andruil for luck in the hunt for this woman. And finally, he made an offering to Fen'Harel...and the Dread Wolf was the only one who answered. In a dream that night, he told the noble what he needed to do to see his heart's love again. Do you know what he said?"


 * Briala: "Kill the king's other daughter."

Fen'Harel and the tree

 * "In the story, Fen'Harel was captured by the hunting goddess, Andruil. He had angered her by hunting the halla without her blessing, and she tied him to a tree and declared that he would have to serve in her bed for a year and a day to pay her back. But as she made camp that night, the dark god Anaris found them, and Anaris swore that he would kill Fen'Harel for crimes against the Forgotten Ones. Andruil and Anaris decided that they would duel for the right to claim Fen'Harel.


 * He called out to Anaris during the fight and told him of a flaw in Andruil's armor just above the hip, and Anaris stabbed Andruil in the side, and she fell. Then Fen'Harel told Anaris that he owed the Dread Wolf for the victory and ought to get his freedom. Anaris was so affronted by Fen'Harel's audacity that he turned and shouted insults at the prisoner, and so he did not see Andruil, injured but alive, rise behind him and attack with her great bow. Anaris fell with a golden arrow in his back, badly injured, and while both gods slumbered to heal their wounds, Fen'Harel chewed through his ropes and escaped."


 * --Felassan, to Briala

Trivia

 * Dalish elves sometimes practice a savage game with human prisoners called "Fen'Harel's Teeth," wherein a prisoner's clothes are taken and their hands lashed together. The prisoner is given hard leather leggings with small nails driven into them to cause pain, and given a hundred-count head start before the clan gives chase.