WARNING: This story is a retelling of the main story line from the decisions I made, and a history built from my previous decisions. There will be added scenes from personal ideas, and many dialogue changes. The Inquisitor's name is your own decision, and her first name will not be mentioned throughout the story (there is a slim chance this will change) but her appearance will be mentioned. With keeping those in mind, please enjoy.
Running. That was one of the few things she remembered from the gap of time that went missing from her memory. Things were chasing her, there was a bright light, and then she remembered hitting the ground and falling unconscious. After that, there was nothing. She could not recall how, nor why, she was in prison. Nor did she know how she had gotten the glowing mark on her hand.
Lady Trevelyan looked down to her hand, slowly stretching out her fingers from the clenched ball they had formed. The mark was still there, moving in it's small crevasse. It was not all a bad dream like she had hoped. Worse yet, it stung, and seemed to be making noises, as if it was crackling wood in a fire. She could not help but flinch when it seemed to react to her, as if knowing she was questioning it.
Lady Trevelyan lifted her head when the door to the cells swung open, hitting the wall violently. Two women, one dressed in armor, the other in dark cloth and leather, stepped into the room. The one with orange-red-hair and purple hood seemed to eye Lady Trevelyan cautiously, taking no more than a few steps forward before stopping, as the other stepped past her and rounded Lady Trevelyan. Lady Trevelyan could feel the piercing glare on her back.
"Tell me why we shouldn't kill you now," the armored one spoke with a snarl. "The Conclave had been destroyed. Everyone who attended is dead." The woman stopped in front of Lady Trevelyan, and pointed a finger. "Except for you."
Lady Trevelyan stared for a moment, processing what had just been said to her. However, no matter how much she thought about it, she did not understand. Were they accusing her?
"And you think I'm responsible?" Lady Trevelyan asked.
The raven-haired woman grabbed Lady Trevelyan's hand, not pleased with the response, and yanked it up, flashing the glowing mark.
"Explain this," she demanded. She shoved Lady Trevelyan's hand away, allowing it to drop back into the woman's lap with the other shackled to it.
"I can't."
"What do you mean you can't?" She sounded angrier this time.
"I don't know what that is, or how it got there."
The dark-haired woman grabbed Lady Trevelyan by the collar, practically pulling the shackled woman off the ground. "You're lying!"
The other woman nearby made her presence known, and pulled her companion away from Lady Trevelyan.
"We still need her, Cassandra," she said calmly.
Cassandra wasn't pleased with her comrade's interruption, but stood back as she turned to Lady Trevelyan next. Cassandra did nothing to stop the woman from her questioning.
"Do you remember what happened?" the one in the hood asked next, less demandingly than her friend. "How this began?"
"No," Lady Trevelyan said, looking down to her lap. She wished she could tell them something, but there was nothing she could say that would let them believe her. So she spoke honestly. "I don't remember anything."
Before the woman could continue her questioning further, Cassandra pulled her back, gently pushing her to the door.
"Go to the forward-camp, Leliana," Cassandra said. "I will take her to the rift."
Leliana nodded her head and left.
Cassandra turned around, kneeling down in front of Lady Trevelyan, pulling out a pair of keys. She unlocked the chain keeping the shackles close to the ground.
"What did happen?" Lady Trevelyan asked, looking up to her captor with sincerity in her green-eyes.
Cassandra's eyes soften for a moment, as if finally realizing that the person in their custody honestly did not know anything. But that look disappeared as she pulled Lady Trevelyan to her feet.
"It would be easier to show you," she said, her words gentle despite her harsh actions.
Cassandra led Lady Trevelyan out of the cells. At first, she winced at the sudden bright light of the outside world, but when her eyes adjusted, she saw something she didn't expect: a large pillar of green light, leading to a hole in the sky.
"We call it the Breach," Cassandra explained, looking out to the distance. "It's a large rift leading to the world of demons. It's not the only such rift, just the largest."
Lady Trevelyan took a step forward. She could not believe her eyes. This must have all been a dream, one screwed up dream. But the aching pain she felt in her hand, making her cry out and drop to her knees when the Breach pulsed, was no dream. This was reality. Her reality.
Cassandra turned around when hearing the noble cry, rushing over to see if the woman was alright. She knelt in front of her, seeing the pain had subsided for the time being, leaving Lady Trevelyan winded.
"Every time the rift spreads," Cassandra said, gaining the noble's attention, "your mark spreads. And it is killing you." Cassandra took a breath, looking to the ground for a moment before meeting the woman's eyes again. "If we don't act, it may swallow the entire world. Your mark may be the key to stopping this, but there isn't much time."
Lady Trevelyan knew nothing being told to her wasn't a lie. But if what Cassandra told her was true, then she didn't have time to sit there trying to process everything. She needed to decide. Lady Trevelyan briefly turned her gaze to the Breach before looking back to Cassandra again with a calm exterior. "I don't have much choice in the matter. I'll help in any way I can."
Cassandra seemed relieved by the answer, as if the idea of dragging the noble along forcefully was something she did not wish to do. But if it had been deemed necessary she would have. Cassandra pulled Lady Trevelyan to her feet, and led her forward through the small camp, passing people who gave nothing but judging glares.
"They have all decided your guilt," Cassandra explained when seeing the noble's questioning glances. "They need it. The people of Haven have lost much, and now we have lost our Divine. The Conclave was a chance of peace, and now even that is gone."
Lady Trevelyan said nothing, understanding the circumstances. She, a mage of all things, was alive and the Divine was not. Anyone would have assumed she was at fault.
The two women walked out of the gates, stepping onto a bridge, before Cassandra pulled Lady Trevelyan to a halt. She pulled out a knife and cut the noble's bindings.
"There will be a trial," Cassandra said, putting her knife away, "I can promise no more."
Lady Trevelyan rubbed her wrists. "Where are you taking me?"
"Your mark must be tested on something smaller than the breach," the warrior answered, briefly looking back over her shoulder. "Come. This way."
Lady Trevelyan looked up to the hole in the sky, and followed Cassandra to the gates. She shouted for the guards to open the gate, and they did, allowing the two to continue making their way up the snow covered trail, passing bodies and debris along the way. Lady Trevelyan stopped when another pulse from the Breach sent her to her knees. The spreading of the mark still hurt her considerably, but she was beginning to get used to it. Pain like this was nothing she couldn't endure for a time.
Cassandra was quick to help the noble to her feet, dusting her off.
"The pulses are coming much faster now," the warrior said, putting a reassuring hand on the noble's shoulder. "We must hurry. The larger the breach, the more demons we face."
Lady Trevelyan took a deep breath, and nodded, flexing her hand as they moved forward. Though she had not asked, Cassandra still answered the question that Lady Trevelyan was undoubtedly asking herself.
"They say...you stepped out of a rift," Cassandra spoke, looking back over her shoulder to Lady Trevelyan, "then you fell unconscious. They say a woman was in the rift behind you, but no one knows who." Cassandra looked forward again, leading the noble across another bridge with soldiers just on the other side. "Everything further in the valley was laid to waste, including the Temple of Sacred Ashes." Cassandra raised her head, stopping in her tracks. Before she could warn Lady Trevelyan, or the soldiers in front of her, a large rock hit the bridge, destroying it, and made them fall down to the ice below.
Cassandra jumped to her feet, pulling out her sword and shield. Two demons appeared from the ground and headed towards the Seeker and noble.
"Stay behind me!" Cassandra yelled as she charged forward.
Lady Trevelyan knew she could not just sit back and do nothing. She looked around for something to use. A staff laid nearby, one she quickly grabbed as a demon turned its attention to her. She flung the staff, freezing the monster as it reached for her, and hit it with the end of the staff, shattering it to pieces.
Cassandra pulled her blade out of the demon she fought and turned to Lady Trevelyan, pointing the blade at her next.
"Drop the staff!" she demanded. She obviously did not trust the noble with any sort of weapon, even though she must have known that Mages did not need staffs to cast magic. But Lady Trevelyan wanted no further trouble. If she refused to put the staff down she would be showing Cassandra that she could not be trusted, and that would only dig herself a deeper hole.
"Fine," Lady Trevelyan said, slowly bringing the staff to the ground. "Have it your way."
Cassandra sighed, lowering her head. "Wait." Lady Trevelyan froze, staff nearly to the ground. "You will need it." Cassandra put her blade away, looking to Lady Trevelyan apologetically. "You do not need a staff, but you should have one. I cannot protect you." Cassandra turned her back to the noble, taking some steps forward before turning again. "I will remember you came willingly..."
Lady Trevelyan could not help but scoff. She was far from 'willing'.
The trek further up the mountain was far from an easy one. The demons falling from the Breach continued to impede their progress forward towards the smaller rift. But their fighting was far from over as they got closer to the destination.
"We're getting close," Cassandra said as she hurriedly ran up the stone steps. "You can hear the fighting!"
"Who's fighting?" Lady Trevelyan asked, trying her best to keep up with the warrior.
"You'll see."
A few more steps and they had reached the top. A rift was in view with demons surrounding soldiers. The soldiers tried to keep the demons at bay, but were fighting a losing battle. The only people in the group that seemed to stand a decent chance was the elven mage and dwarven rogue.
"We must help!" Cassandra said to Lady Trevelyan. She charged forward, not hesitating for a second to help, and not bothering to wait for Lady Trevelyan's reply.
Lady Trevelyan followed, but not far. She stood back, keeping a good distance between her and the enemies. She froze and burned the demons before either an arrow shot through them, shattering them, or Cassandra slashed them down. When the demons were gone, Lady Trevelyan thought she finally had a moment to breath, but she was wrong.
"Seal it before more come through!" the elven mage shouted at her, quickly grabbing her hand and thrusting it towards the tear in the air. Lady Trevelyan did not know how, but the mark sealed the rift easily, as if sewing the sky back together. A force shoved her hand away, nearly toppling her over, but the tear was gone.
Lady Trevelyan looked to her palm briefly, watching the mark move on her skin in a dim glow. She raised her head, giving the mage beside her a questioning look.
"How did you do that?" Lady Trevelyan asked.
"I did nothing," the elf said with a smile, putting his staff by his side. "The credit is yours."
"You mean this?" Lady Trevelyan motioned to her hand, indicating the mark.
"Whatever made the Breach also made the mark on your hand."
"Meaning," Cassandra spoke up, glancing to Lady Trevelyan's hand, "it could also close the Breach."
"Possibly," the elf replied with a smile. He bowed his head to Lady Trevelyan, a small chuckle hidden in his voice. "It seems you hold the key to our salvation."
"Great," the dwarf chimed in, finally getting a chance to put himself in the conversation. "Glad to see we won't be ass-deep in demons forever." Lady Trevelyan turned her head to the dwarf, earning herself a smile. "Varric Tethras, at your service. Rogue, storyteller, and, occasionally, unwelcome-tag-along." The dwarf glanced over to the Seeker, giving her a teasing wink, one at with she scowled at.
Lady Trevelyan looked down at the dwarf for a moment. Unlike most dwarves she had run into in her travels, Varric tended to lack the copious amounts of facial hair, but this might have been because most of it was on his chest. He also lacked the bitter nature most dwarves seemed to have whenever she met them. He was surely unique, and so was his crossbow.
"That's...a nice crossbow," Lady Trevelyan said, unsure of what she should say.
"Isn't she?" Varric replied, grinning as he looked back. "Bianca and I have been through a lot together."
Lady Trevelyan stifled an amused laugh. "You named your crossbow 'Bianca'?"
"Of course," Varric said. "And she'll be great help in the valley."
"Absolutely not," Cassandra finally snapped, stepping past Lady Trevelyan. She loomed over Varric, trying to be intimidating, but the dwarf continued to smile. "Your help is appreciated, Varric, but-"
"Have you seen what's been happening lately, Seeker?" Varric countered. "You're soldiers aren't in control anymore. You need me."
Cassandra opened her mouth, but no reply came out. She knew, deep down, he was right. She gave a disgruntled snarl, turning her back to the dwarf. Lady Trevelyan could not help but think it might have been a good idea to have the dwarf on her side if he could deal with Cassandra so easily.
"If they're are to be introductions," the elf spoke up, "I am Solas." He smiled at Lady Trevelyan. "I am pleased to see you yet live."
Lady Trevelyan scowled, confused.
"He means," Varric tittered, "'I kept that mark from killing you while you slept'."
Lady Trevelyan looked back to Solas, bowing her head in appreciation. "Then I suppose I should thank you."
"You can thank me if we manage to close the Breach without killing you," Solas said, holding up a hand. His smile turned to a frown as he looked to Cassandra. "Seeker, I'm afraid that these rifts are beyond anything I've seen before. Though your prisoner is a mage, I doubt any mage would be able to conjure this."
Cassandra nodded her head. "Understood." She looked to Lady Trevelyan. "We must continue to the forward camp." Cassandra walked off with Solas, leaving the Trevelyan with Varric.
"Well," Varric said with a shrug, looking up to Lady Trevelyan, "Bianca's excited."
Lady Trevelyan could not help but show an amused grin as she followed the party to the forward-camp.
The small group was not traveling for long before silence had fallen between them. A rather uncomfortable silence. Between the fighting demons and finding their way up the hill, there was not much time for talking. However, Varric begged to differ.
"So," Varric said cheerfully, earning a small look from the Trevelyan beside him, "you're from the Free Marches?"
"Oh?" Lady Trevelyan replied, lifting a curious eyebrow. Was this supposed to be an interrogation? she wondered.
Varric pointed to his mouth. "Accent." He held out an urging hand. "I'm from Kirkwall, and you're from...further east?"
Lady Trevelyan scoffed as she switched her staff to her right hand. "That's quite the ear you have. I'm impressed."
"I'm all kinds of impressive."
Cassandra gave a noticeable disgusted grumble at Varric's reply, earning another laugh from Lady Trevelyan. But her amusement did not last as the mark on her hand suddenly jolted to life. It hurt as the Breach pulsed again, and she knew it had spread even further upon looking at it. The longer they dallied here, the worst it would get, until it consumed her. And the thought of a mysterious mark consuming her was not something she looked forward to.
"Shit, you okay?" Varric asked.
The Trevelyan gave the dwarf a weary smile. "I'll be fine, I think..."
Varric nodded his head, and silence fell again; until... "So, are you innocent?"
Lady Trevelyan knew it was just a matter of time before that question was asked, and she answered honestly. "I don't remember what happened."
Varric laughed. "That'll get you every time. Should have spun a story."
"That's what you would have done," Cassandra snarled with a sideways glare.
"It's more believable," Varric reasoned with the Trevelyan, ignoring the Seeker's comment. "And doesn't lead to premature execution."
"I feel as though it wouldn't have mattered either way," Lady Trevelyan said. This earned her own special glare from Seeker Cassandra.