Through the Shadows is Bellara’s final companion quest inDragon Age: The Veilguard. You follow Bellara through the Arlathan Forest in an attempt to stop Anaris’ ritual that endangers the entire region. The quest also concludes the storyline of Bellara’s brother, Cyrian. You must have completed Blood of Arlathan and spoken to Bellara during Hummingbird’s Lament to unlock this quest.

This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about completing Through the Shadows, finding all the collectibles along the way and banishing Anaris from this world once and for all.

The location of Through the Shadows quest on the Arlathan Forest map in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

Find The Ritual Site

Begin by heading to thenorthwest sectionof theArlathan Forest. There is aFast Travel beaconnearby, which you can unlock during theMagic of the Ancientsquest. Speak with Bellara to learn that the ritual has already started. Yourdialogue choicehasno implicationhere, so choose whatever suits Rook’s personality the most. Continue along the only path you can take,cross the bridge, andup a small hill.

Before heading up the stairstoward the objective marker, search thearea on the left(with a large crystal in the middle) to collect aMemento, aCodex Entry, and aGrenade Belt.

Rook and Bellara looking at the large crystal in the Ancient Ruins that must be destroyed to delay Anarais' ritual in Through the Shadows quest.

Activate The Bridge

Go up the stairs to come acrossa puzzle involving crystal beamsthat must beredirected toward the main door. To solve the puzzle,redirect the beamdirectlyabove the northern door. This allows you toreach the second beam.Point it at the main doorbefore jumping down. Nowredirect the first beam toward the main doorto build a bridge leading to the next area.

Delay The Ritual

Cross the bridgeto reach a new area witha large crystal in the center. Speak with Bellara to learn that the crystal is amplifying the magic andmust be destroyedto delay the ritual. To do this,activate the mechanismon the farthest platform,destroy three amplifiersin the area, andfend off Anaris’ minions. You will need to do thisa total of three timesto open the path. Here is a complete list of enemies you will face in this area, alongside their weaknesses:

Lightning

Necrotic

The area can get pretty overwhelming in a short span of time. This is whywe recommend using Bellara’s Time-Slow skillto reposition yourself when in a pinch.

While facing the crystal from the entrance,head to your right(after crossing the walkway in the middle) tointeract with the Spiteful Aura. This willcreate a temporary pathwith aCodex Entryat the end of it.

Building a temporary path using Lyrium Dagger to collect a Codex Entry in Through the Shadows quest.

When you are ready, jump into the hole tofind a chestwith ashortbow for Harding. Continue to follow the path whiledefeating the Voltaic Shades hurling magic boltsat you from a distance. Once you are at the end,enter the portalto reach the barrier puzzle.

How To Solve The Barrier Puzzle

To remove the barrier, you will need toredirect five crystal beamstowards different anchors. It may appear a bit complicated, but it isa fairly simple puzzleto solve. Here is how you can do it:

Past the barrier, you willfind a chestcontainingMedium Armor for Bellara.

How To Defeat Anaris

Continue to follow the path to reach Anaris. The first thing that you will notice is that he isprotected by a barrier. To destroy the barrier, you will need tobreak three crystals(behind the pillars)using any ranged attack. While you are working on these crystals,Greater ShadesandVoltaic Shadeswill continue to spawn in the area. We recommenddealing with them as a priorityto give yourself some breathing room. Once you have cleared the room,break the last crystaltostart the DPS phase.

Anaris isweak against Lightningandstrong against Fire. Whenever you seered circles on the ground, move away from the area toavoid falling meteors. He can alsochannel a frost beamthat deals a good amount of damage. You shouldtry to use the pillarsin the area as cover. Continue to dish out damage until he is immune.

Rook looking at the removed barrier in Through the Shadows quest. It requires you to redirect five Beam Generators at different Energy Nodes.

Repeat the same thing for the second phase:kill the Shadesin the area,break all three crystalsto remove the barrier, anddamage Anaris. During this phase, the boss willleave explosions whenever he teleports. At around 33 percent HP, he will become immune for the last time.

During the third phase,frost beams will begin to spinaround Anaris, making it difficult to break the crystals. Again,deal with the Shadesbefore working on the crystals. In this phase, he will also cast frost wavesin your direction. They have a lot of travel-time, so it should not be hard to avoid them. Try torely on your crowd-controlas much as possible.Freeze,time-slow, etc. areincredibly powerfulagainst him.

Anaris at the end of Through the Shadows quest threatening Rook and Bellara.

Rewards And What To Do With The Archive Spirit

Defeat him to complete Through the Shadows, and get2,500 XP,400 Gold,100 Veil Jumpers Strength, as well asa Keepsake forBellara.

Also, do not forget toreturn to Bellara at The Lighthouseto decide thefate of the Archive Spirit. Here is everything you need to know:

Using the Skills Menu in Dragon Age: The Veilguard to determine Anaris' weaknesses.

Free The Spirit

She acquires theChain Lightningskill, which boosts Shocked effects as well as her weapon damage. Aside from this, she also getsReborn Leathersarmor that increases Detonation damage.

Keep It

She gets theLingering Strikeskill, which allows her to easilyspread Weakened and Shockedailments. She also acquires theArchivist’s Mailarmor that furtherboosts Sundered Detonationsandvulnerability caused by Electric damage.

Anaris summoning the roaming Frost Beams during his third phase in Through the Shadows quest.

Reward Screen showing the completion of Through the Shadows quest in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.