Author's Note: This story is written in conjunction with rantzilla92. We have made several changes to the original story of Inquisition. While the main lines and dialogue stay similar in the second chapter, we will veer off after the Breach is closed. Inquisition is owned by Bioware while we only own any new characters including Elanna and Eirlan Lavellan. Oh, as an afterthought, yes, I know I haven't explained what the twins look like. Yes, there is a reason for that. It will be explained in the next chapter.
Please read and review. If you have any suggestions for constructive criticism, we will take them into consideration. Thank you!
Chapter 1
The Breach
Elanna woke slowly, her senses dulled. Pain shot up her arm making her cry out. She opened her eyes, at first seeing nothing. As her vision cleared she found herself in a dark cell with two guards watching her. She was on her knees on the floor with her wrists shackled together.
"Get Lady Cassandra," one guard ordered. "One of the two is awake." The second guard nodded and left.
Elanna looked around her cell. Her brother was also on his knees next to her. His snores and bowed head told her of his status. Sighing she looked down at her hands. Her left glowed green and itched something fierce. Another pulse came making her nearly cry out from the pain. Eirlan also cried out. To Elanna's horror, the same glowing mark was on his right hand.
The pain drew Eirlan awake, gasping for breath. He looked around assessing his situation as the pain in his hand lessened. "Fenedhis lasa!" he cried out between clenched teeth. He tried to cradle his head in his hands only to blink in confusion after finding that his hands will not travel the short distance they had made thousands of times before. "Fen'harel's sweaty taint, what did I drink last night?" he quietly muttered to himself. After a few moments, he let out a slow chuckle. "Heh, at least Elanna's not here to see me like this. Here on an important mission for the clan, and I go and get drunk enough that humans put me in irons and stuff me into some dank, filthy hole." He mutters to himself oblivious of the object of his musings sitting right next to him.
Elanna rolled her eyes. Of course, her idiot brother would not think to look around. "Think again brother dear," she said sweetly startling him. "I'm right here listening to you snore and talk to yourself as usual."
Eirlan jerked his head towards her so fast she wondered if he gave himself whiplash. "E…Elanna?" he asked dismayed. "But I can't feel you. I can't feel your magic…" He stutters out words in a panic, his face paling and his eyes growing wide as saucers. "What happened?" he asked quietly. He closed his eyes in concentration. After a few moments, he opened his eyes confusion clear across his face as bright as his vallaslin. "Everything feels engulfed. Overwhelmed; like a candle before a bonfire."
"I'm not sure," Elanna replied. The door to the dungeon swung open admitting three figures. Elanna turned her attention to the newcomers, recognizing the guard who left. "But we may receive some answers."
The guards open the door to the cell, letting two women, one dressed in full armor the other hooded but with markings of the human Chantry, into their cell. Eirlan turned his head towards the women and plastered his best carefree smile on his face. "Ladies!" he called out as they continued to approach. "Now I know that I can get a little rowdy when I drink enough but don't you thin...!" His words abruptly cut off as the woman in armor lashed out at him, her gauntleted fist connecting with the side of his face knocking him to the floor.
"For the record, he deserved that," Elanna said sighing.
"Do you think that this is some kind of game?" She hollered down at him with fire behind her eyes. "The Conclave is destroyed! Everyone who attended is dead except for you two! And you think this is the time to tell jokes!"
"What?" Elanna asked stunned. "The Conclave is destroyed?" She looks back and forth between the woman in armor and her companion. She had to be lying. The Conclave could not have been destroyed. Had it? She would have seen that. Had she? Elanna could not remember anything. That did not bode well at all.
Eirlan gasped in pain on the floor. He could already feel a bruise growing from where she struck him. He pulled himself to his knees, wishing that he could rub his sore jaw. The pain was worth it. "And you think we are responsible for that?" he asked in shock.
The armored woman reached down and grabbed onto his wrist, yanking it up just as the mark on his hand flared brightly once more. "Explain this!" She demanded angrily.
"We can't!" Elanna exclaimed.
"What do you mean you can't?" The armored one demanded again. She released Eirlan, letting him fall on the floor with a grunt.
"We don't know what that is or how it got there," Elanna tried to explain.
The armored woman stalked over to Elanna, glaring down at her. "Your lying," she said simply and moved to strike her. Her companion grabbed her arm, stopping the blow from connecting with Elanna's face.
"We need them Cassandra," the hooded woman reminded her. When she knew Cassandra was slightly calmer, she let go of her arm and stepped back.
"Whatever it is you think we did, we are innocent," Eirlan implored looking between the two women.
The hooded woman turned toward him and asked, "Do you remember what happened? How this began?"
"I remember running..." Elanna answered. Both women looked to her as she continued. "Things were chasing us. And then...a woman..." Elanna trailed off, trying to remember. For the first time, her memory failed her. Pieces were missing.
"A woman?" The other woman asked. She shared a glance with Cassandra.
"She reached out to us. I can't remember any more..." Eirlan finished.
Cassandra sighed. "Get to the forward camp, Leliana." she ordered. "I will take them to the rift." Leliana nodded her assent. She left the dungeon, light coming in and fading as she closed the door behind her.
"What did happen?" Eirlan asked as he watched Leliana leave.
"It will be easier to show you," Cassandra said. She removed Elanna's manacles only to replace them with a thick rope tied around her wrists. She repeated the process with Eirlan and lead them both out of the dungeon. When they exited the darkness of the dungeon both elves are momentarily blinded by a bright green light in the sky. The amount of pure magic in the air caused Eirlan to fall to his knees as soon as they left the building.
"We call it the Breach." Cassandra explained. "It's a massive rift into the world of demons that grows larger with each passing hour. It's not the only such rift, just the largest. All were caused by the explosion at the Conclave."
"An explosion can cause that?" Elanna asked looking up at the massive green tear in the sky.
Eirlan finally managed to stand up straight and look up at the Breach. Cassandra answered, "This one did. Unless we act, the Breach may grow until it swallows the world."
"Well...shit." Eirlan managed to mutter out before the Breach grew, the marks on the elves hands glowing brightly. In unison, the Lavellan twins collapsed to their knees, gasping in pain.
Cassandra looked back at the twins, more specifically to the marks on their hands. "Each time the Breach expands your marks spread...and they are killing both of you," she explained. "They may be the key to stopping this but there isn't much time"
Both elves shared a quick glance. Elanna nodded before they both stood. "We understand," she said looking back at Cassandra who looked slightly surprised at the quick response.
"We will do whatever we can, no matter what it takes." Eirlan finished with determination meeting the warrior woman's gaze.
Cassandra lead the two bound elves through the town. The villagers scowled and glared at them with fear mixed with anger. She spoke to them over her shoulder, without looking at them. "They have decided your guilt. They need it. The people of Haven mourn our Most Holy, Divine Justinia, head of the Chantry. The Conclave was hers. It was a chance for peace between mages and templars. She brought their leaders together. Now, they are dead." They made their way to the edge of the town and soldiers opened the gates allowing the three of them to leave. "We lash out, like the sky. But we must think beyond ourselves, as she did. Until the breach is sealed." Cassandra finally turned back to the elves and pulled out a dagger. Eirlan tensed expecting the worst but Elanna just gazed coolly at Cassandra. "There will be a trial. I can promise you no more than that." She cut the binding around their wrists, freeing them.
The twins rubbed their wrists and Eirlan let out a breath he did not know he held. "Come, it's not far," Cassandra ordered. She sheathed her blade and began to walk away, leaving the twins to scramble to keep up with her fast pace.
"Where are you taking us?" Eirlan asked pulling up level with the human woman.
"Your marks must be tested on something smaller than the Breach," she replied and continued moving along the path that leading up the mountain.
"Sounds like fun," Elanna sarcastically replied. "Lead on." Cassandra grunted in response. The twins followed silently behind her sharing a look of unease.
Slowly the three of them came up to a long stone bridge covered with people, some wounded and sitting on crates, others wrapped in cloth likely to never move again. A small group of humans stood to one side of the bridge, listening to a member of the Chantry recite part of the Chant of Light to them. The three didn't stay in ear shot long enough to listen. They soon come to the far end of the bridge where Cassandra spoke up to the soldiers guarding it. "Open the gate!" she ordered. "We are headed into the valley." The doors opened slowly and the three continued their path up the mountain.
As they approached the top of the rise, the marks flared again bringing both siblings to their knees. Eirlan, distracted by all the dead they had passed on their way up, let out a short cry of pain before he managed to stifle it. "The pulses are coming faster now. The larger the Breach grows, the more rifts appear, the more demons we face." Cassandra noted as she helped both elves to their feet.
Elanna looked up at the hole in the sky. "How did we survive the blast?" she asked.
Cassandra looked troubled but slowly answered. "They said you… stepped out of a rift, then fell unconscious. They say a woman was in the rift behind you. No one knows who she was. Everything farther in the valley was laid waste, including the Temple of Sacred Ashes. I suppose you'll see soon enough."
Soon, they arrived at another bridge, on the far side a wagon with five soldiers using it as a barricade against whatever might come down from the mountain. As they made their way across, a burning stone flew from the Breach and smashed into the edge of the bridge, killing the soldiers, and causing the bridge to collapse, throwing the three of them down hard onto a frozen river below.
As they climbed to their feet, another ball of fire flew from the Breach hitting the ice not far away. Instead of breaking through the ice, a creature made from shadows rose from the point of impact and let out a bubbling, gurgling roar before moving towards them. 'A Shade demon,' Elanna thought to herself. 'Oh joy. Another complication we didn't need.'
"Stay behind me," Cassandra shouted. She drew her sword and readied her shield. She advanced on the creature, engaging it in a dance of blows and blocks. Soon, two more of the creatures rose and moved around the warrior heading for the unarmed elves marking them as easier prey.
Eirlan searched frantically for something to fight them off when he spotted a crate that had broken in the fall, spilling an assortment of weapons on the ground. He hastily rushed over and grabbed the hilt of the first sword he saw, a simple blade with no embellishments and has a few notches along its edge but otherwise well balanced and unremarkable. He turned to one of the approaching creatures and gives a quick horizontal swing which bites into its black twisted flesh causing it to hiss in agony. "I'm not going down without a fight you twisted freak. Now come and get some!" Eirlan called out before continuing to hack and slash at the creature, trying to overwhelm it with sheer ferocity rather than any form of finesse.
Elanna saw her brother grab the sword and found a staff next to it. She cast barrier spells around all three combatants then focused her attention on the demons. Fire and ice spells worked best against them. As Eirlans' demon blazed and screamed in agony she cast an ice spell slowing down Cassandras' foe. The third demon attacked her ignoring the plight of its kin. Elanna shocked him still with a lightning spell as Eirlan, finished with his demon, came to her rescue.
He grasped the hilt of his sword with both hands and charged in as best he could on the frozen river, spearing the last of the creatures through its torso. Having skipped most of his lessons on demons, Eirlan could not remember if they had any organs for his blade to pierce but knew this hurt it all the same. The force of his charge shoved the demon away from his sister but also caused the blade to be yanked from his hands. As he stood there awaiting the demons' retaliation, Cassandra came at it from the other side and smashed the edge of her shield into the creatures' thick neck, causing the creature to dissipate into a thick black fog. With nothing material to hold the blade, it clattered to the ice.
"It's over," Eirlan sighed, letting his shoulders relax and reached to reclaim his sword. He stopped once he saw Cassandra pointing her sword at the siblings.
"Stay where you are! And you drop the staff. Now!" she commanded, clearly not at all pleased by the two 'prisoners' arming themselves behind her back.
"Fine," Eirlan said throwing his hands into the air as Elanna dropped the staff. The wood clattered to the ground rolling away from them. "Have it your way. You get to fight and kill every demon between here and that thing," he pointed up at the Breach, "while the two of us who are perfectly capable of handling ourselves and may be the only way to fix that thing, are left to twiddle our thumbs and probably die when you get overwhelmed by demons."
Cassandra glared at him but before she could respond, Elanna chipped in with, "Demons were attacking us. What did you expect me to do?"
Cassandra sighed, defeated. "You're right. I cannot protect you and I cannot expect you both to be defenseless." She sheathed her sword, before continuing. "I should remember you agreed to come willingly."
Eirlan bent over and picked up his sword. He kept it out at the ready, mindful of the danger nearby. "Where are all of the soldiers?" He inquired. Looking around, he only saw corpses. Listening, he heard fighting, but nothing close by. The magic in his hand still overloaded his senses making it impossible to sense anything magically.
"At the forward camp, or fighting. We are on our own, for now," Cassandra answered as she started to move out again, this time at a stiff jog.
"Sounds like they have their hands full," Elanna commented. She kept her staff at the ready watching for any suspicious movements.
They travelled along the river and passed by several more corpses, before going up and cresting a small hill. Upon reaching the top they could see more of the demons below. "There! Watch out!" Cassandra warned, drawing her sword. "If we flank them we may gain an advantage."
Eirlan resisted rolling his eyes and swiftly moved around to the right while Cassandra moved to the left. They both drew the attention of the creatures, leaving Elanna free to cast unimpeded. Elanna saw her opening and cast spells left and right, first going after Eirlans' demon then Cassandras'. The magic slowed the demons down enough for the warriors to get in killing blows. They continued up the paths felling demons and watching green balls of fire fall from the Breach.
Up they went, over hills and staircases until they come to an area with some ruined buildings. "We're getting close to the rift. You can hear the fighting," Cassandra remarked.
"Who's fighting?" Eirlan asked trying to get more information out. He liked having an idea of what he was going to face.
"You'll see soon. We must help them," came her reply before she charged through the burning ruins. The twins followed behind, ready for the fight to come.
They jumped down from the wall, joining several other combatants against many shades. The warriors flew into the battle, distracting the shades away from a mage and an archer. Elanna cast her ice and fire spells, burning, and freezing the demons in turn with the other mage. Eirlan dealt the death blows to her frozen demon, shattering it beyond recognition.
"Quickly before more come through!" the mage yelled. Seeing two different green marks, he dropped his staff and grabbed Eirlan's and Elanna's glowing hands shoving both into the rift. Both of their hands in the rift made it close with a small pop, the area going quiet.
"What did you do?" Eirlan asked looking from his marked hand to the bald elf.
"I did nothing, the credit is yours." The mage answered standing straight and putting his hands behind his back.
"At least these are good for something," Elanna remarked, still looking down at her hand. She could still feel the spot where the other mage had grasped her wrist.
"Whatever magic opened the Breach in the sky also placed those marks upon your hands. I theorized the marks might be able to close the rifts that have opened in the Breach's wake…and it seems I was correct," he stated, speaking this time to the whole group.
"Meaning it could also close the Breach itself," Cassandra inquired looking hopeful.
"Possibly" was his curt reply. To the twins he said, "It seems you hold the key to our salvation."
"Good to know! Here I thought we'd be ass-deep in demons forever," the dwarf remarked with a surprisingly jovial tone. He executed a small bow to the twins. "Varric Tethras: rogue, storyteller, and occasionally unwelcome tagalong." He looked to Cassandra and winked. She scowled in response and made a grunt of disgust.
"Pleased to meet you Varric. I'm Elanna and this is my brother Eirlan." Elanna made the introductions before her brother could make the situation worse. The name of the dwarf registered in her, but with the magic of her hand not under control, her mind was still a mess.
"You may reconsider that stance, in time," the mage cautioned. He picked up his staff from the ground and attached it to his back.
"Aww," Varric replied in mock disappointment. "I'm sure we'll become great friends in the valley Solas."
Cassandra walked up to Varric, trying to intimidate the dwarf with her slightly more than average height. "Absolutely not," she protested. "Your help is appreciated, Varric, but..."
"Have you seen the valley lately Seeker?" Varric interrupted. "Your soldiers aren't in control anymore. You need me." Cassandra grunted in disgust again. She knew he was right, though she did not want to make the dwarf's head grow even more with smug satisfaction.
Eirlan inched closer to Varric from his spot behind Solas. "Is it bad that I find it cute when she makes that noise," Eirlan whispered to the dwarf who chuckled in response.
"Make sure the Seeker doesn't catch you saying that kid," he remarked good naturedly.
"My, name is Solas, if there are to be introductions," the mage butted in. He was not going to be upstaged by a dwarf. "I'm pleased to see you still live."
"He means 'I kept that mark from killing you while you slept'," Varric revealed to the astonishment of the twins.
"You know about the marks?" Elanna inquired. The type of magic flowing in her and her twin's arms was nothing she had felt before. At least, that she remembered feeling. She was amazed that this elf, who wore no clan markings, claimed to know about this powerful magic.
"Like you, Solas is an apostate," Cassandra informed.
"Technically, all mages are now apostates, Cassandra," Solas corrected. "My travels have allowed me to learn much of the Fade, far beyond the experience of any Circle mage." Eirlan rolled his eyes. He had seen and heard similar claims from those in the clans and the human villages. "I came to offer whatever help I can give with the Breach. If it is not closed, we are all doomed regardless of origin."
"And what will you do once this is all over?" Elanna asked. Unlike her brother, this elf slightly intrigued her. He seemed familiar to her for some reason.
"One hopes that those in power will remember who helped, and who did not," he explained. He looked to the Seeker and continued, "Cassandra, you should know. The magic involved here is unlike any I have ever seen. Both of your prisoners are mages, but even with their joint power, I find it difficult to believe that they could cause such destruction. Especially since their power is so imbalanced between them."
Eirlan suppressed a slight scowl as Varric pointed at him. "Your telling me 'HE' is a mage? I'm sorry Chuckles but he reminds me too much of Broody to see him as a mage." Eirlan eyed the dwarf, not sure if he meant that as a compliment or something else.
"Enough!" Cassandra interrupted. She wanted to get back to the task at hand. "For now, we must get to the forward camp, and quickly."
The now larger party headed off, going down the embankment. They went down a steep and narrow path, picking their way through the rubble, and fighting demons when they come across them.
When crossing a frozen lake Solas once more spoke up "You both are Dalish, but clearly away from the rest of your clan. Did they send you here?"
"And what do you know of the Dalish, Solas?" Eirlan inquired, unsure if he wanted to trust Solas. He couldn't sense anything about the mage, granted he couldn't sense anything magical except the power that made up the mark.
"I have wandered many roads in my time, and crossed paths with your people on more than one occasion," Solas answered.
"What do you mean by 'crossed paths'?" Elanna asked. She had met other clans during the Arlathvenn, and knew that some were a bit touchy with outsiders. Some clans outright kill those they do not know on sight. She had heard that was mostly with the Southern clans, not those in the Free Marches.
"I mean that I offered to share knowledge, only to be attacked for no greater reason than their superstition," Solas answered curtly. The memory made Solas irritated.
Varric shook his head and sighed. "Can't you elves just play nice for once?" he asked.
"Most likely not," Elanna replied. "Some clans are more open while others will attack on sight. It depends on the Keeper and the clan rules. It's hard enough getting them all together for a meet once a year without causing an incident."
The marks flared again, making the twins grunt in pain. "Shit, are you all right?" Varric asked.
"Oh, just peachy," Eirlan answered through gritted teeth. "Feels just like having a rusty dagger stabbed through my hand and twisted around. It downright tickles."
"Behave brother," Elanna scolded. Again, she took on the responsibility of the elder sibling. 'Oh joy', she thought to herself. To Varric she said, "Ignore my brother. He lets his mouth do his thinking for him."
"So... are you innocent?" Varric asked. They talked as the continued down the pathways, slipping and sliding on the ice.
"I don't know!" Eirlan exclaimed slightly exasperated. He ignored his sisters' warning look. "I woke up chained to the floor thinking I was suffering from the worse hangover of my life and then she," he points to Cassandra, "tries to knock my teeth out!"
"We truly don't remember what happened," Elanna calmly explained. She sent another glare to her brother, promising payback. He pointedly did not look her way, but he felt the heat from her gaze on the back of his head.
"That'll get you every time," Varric remarked. "Should have spun a story. It's more believable, And less prone to result in premature executions."
"That's what you would have done," Cassandra accused, knowing full well Varric had tried to do exactly that when she had previously interrogated him about the Champions' whereabouts.
Up and up they went, fighting more demons, and trying to keep from slipping on the snow and ice-covered paths. Soon they met yet another of the rifts in front of a closed gate.
"Another rift!" Cassandra exclaimed as the entire group drew their weapons. The demons fell quickly with the sword strikes from Eirlan and Cassandra, the spells flung by Solas and Elanna and the bolts Varric fired from Bianca. As the last demon fell the twins once more raised their hands sealing this one as well. Cassandra strode towards the gate, "The rift is gone! Open the gate!" she commanded and the soldiers hurried to follow her command.
"We are clear for the moment," Solas commented, once more returning his staff to his back.
"Whatever that thing on your hand is, it's useful." Varric remarked as the five of them walked through the gate into the camp beyond it.
"Hopefully it stays that way," Elanna muttered. She looked ahead, seeing the people on the bridge in various stages of healing, resting, or looking over maps. At the far end, she recognized Leliana arguing with a man in Chantry garb. Elanna sighed inwardly. If it was not one thing it was another. She knew that the people in the Chantry could be either the most gracious or the most bull-headed people to work with, depending on the situation. Given what she knew and saw, she was more inclined to bull-headed. 'Of all the times to not get along,' she thought to herself.
As the group approached Leliana, snips of the argument could be heard. "You, Cassandra, the Most Holy, haven't you all done enough already?" the clerk yelled out.
"You're not in command here!" Leliana challenged.
"Enough! I will not have it!" The clerk saw the group approaching and his expression changed from angry to commanding. "Ah here they come."
Leliana looked behind her. "You made it," she said, her voice betraying her relief at seeing Cassandra. "Chancellor Roderick, this is..."
"I know who they are!" the Chancellor interrupted. To Cassandra he ordered, "As Grand Chancellor of the Chantry, I hereby order you to take these criminals to Val Royeaux to face execution."
A small number of onlookers had gathered to watch the interactions between the new group and the self-proclaimed Grand Chancellor, but so far not even one of them began to move to follow out his orders.
"Order me?" Cassandra challenged. "You are a glorified clerk. A bureaucrat!"
"And you are a thug, but a thug who supposedly serves the Chantry!" he shot back, anger clear in his eyes.
Eirlan leaned toward his sister, quietly whispering, "He knows we can hear him, right?" She only shook her head in reply.
Leliana stepped forward trying to act as a voice of reason between the hot-headed two "We Serve the Most Holy, Chancellor, as you well know" She said.
"Justinia is dead!" he roared. "We must elect her replacement and obey Her orders on the matter!"
"So, none of you are actually in charge here?" Eirlan raised his voice, drawing their attention. "Well that's just great."
"You killed everyone who was in charge!" Rodrick hollered while pointing a finger at the elves. "You shouldn't even be here!"
"Isn't closing the Breach the more pressing issue at hand?" Elanna asked. Arguing was pointless She shot a glare to her brother. He only shrugged in response.
Chancellor Roderick sputtered in rage. "You brought this on us in the first place!" he screamed at her. To Cassandra he said slightly more calmly, "Call a retreat, Seeker. Our position here is hopeless."
Cassandra shook her head. "We can stop this before it's too late," she implored. As much as she despised politics, sometimes you had to talk things out first before beating the idiots over the head with a rock. Though, with the Chancellor, she might want to use a boulder.
"How?" Roderick barked. "You won't survive long enough to reach the temple, even with all your soldiers."
"Either way we must get to the temple," Cassandra argued. "Charging up would be the quickest route."
"But not the safest," Leliana chimed in. "Our forces can charge as a distraction while we go through the mountains."
"We lost contact with an entire squad on that path," Cassandra argued. "It's too risky."
"Listen to me. Abandon this now, before more lives are lost!" Rodrick implored but his words fell on deaf ears as the Breach grew once more. Both Lavellan's clutched their wrists and fell to their knees, crying out in pain.
Cassandra sighed and turned to look at them, "How do you think we should proceed?" she asked when they were both standing.
"Now you're asking what we think?" Eirlan asked incredulous.
"You have the mark," Solas pointed out. Eirlan resisted a retort he knew would get him smacked by his sister. What was the issue with the group pointing out the obvious?
"And you are the one we must keep alive. Since we cannot agree on our own..." Cassandra added before trailing off.
The twins share a look, but before Elanna could speak Eirlan turned back to the waiting group, spreading his arms out. "Why not both?" He asked, only to be met with blank stares.
Elanna resisted the urge to either smack her brother or her own forehead. "What my brother means is, we can split up and take both paths. Leliana, Solas and I can take the mountain pass and find her scouts while Eirlan, Varric, and Cassandra wait for a time and then charge forward with the soldiers," she explained. Different looks crossed among the group. Incredulous, disbelief, respect, being some of the few.
"Leliana, bring everyone left in the valley," Cassandra ordered. "We shall give you some time to make it up the mountain pass and then we shall charge up here." Leliana nodded, gathered her bow and quiver before sending runners off in different directions.
"On your head be the consequences Seeker," Chancellor Roderick warned as the group left to prepare. Cassandra glowered but ignored him, keeping her focus on the task at hand.
-On the Mountain Pass-
Elanna led the small crew up the ladders to the mountain pass. According to Cassandra, there was a tunnel ahead that would take them to the Temple. As they made their way up into the old mining complex, the crew was silent, each enveloped in their own thoughts.
Demons blocked their path on several areas. As Leliana, Solas, and Elanna stayed back, the soldier they came up with took the charge and fought. One demon broke off from the soldier making its way to Elanna. She dropped her staff and unsheathed the two daggers she had hidden in her sleeves. Taking a running leap at the demon, she drove her daggers into its neck, her momentum driving them both to the floor. She released her daggers from the demon, showering herself with blood before it disintegrated into smoke. Once the last demon was dead due to Leliana's arrow in its eye, they moved on, Elanna sheathing her daggers back into her sleeves.
"You are full of surprises," Solas remarked as she picked up her staff. "Most people only choose to specialize in one area of combat."
"My brother and I are not like most people," she pointed out.
"I suppose that is true," Solas agreed. "Perhaps when this is done, we can discuss more about your differences." Elanna nodded, not answering. She was thankful that she had turned away from the mage. He would have seen a small blush form on her cheeks.
Around the next turn in the mine, the crew found several corpses. Unlike the others, these were still freshly slain instead of decades old. "Are these your scouts Leliana?" Elanna asked.
Leliana nodded. "Not all of them though. The others must be here somewhere."
They continued, finding the door out of the mine shaft and into the snowy mountainside. They followed the path, their pace quickening when they heard battle.
"Lady Nightingale!" a scout called. They stood in an overlook near a rift.
"You're alive!" Leliana called as she fired arrow after arrow into the demons.
"Just barely," another scout commented. The party stayed silent as wave after wave of demons spawned through the rift.
Elanna fought her way to the rift, praying that her one mark alone could close it. She shoved her hand into the air under the rift, the mark connecting with it. Slowly, the rift closed with a pop after the final demons fell.
"It is good that both of the marks can be used separately," Solas remarked. "Though the sealing appears to be less powerful, it still will work effectively."
Leliana assisted one of the soldiers to his feet. "Thank the Maker you finally arrived Lady Nightingale. I don't think we could have help out much longer."
"Our prisoners decided to split up and take on both ways," Leliana explained.
The soldier looked to Elanna, stunned. "The prisoners? Then you...?" He trailed off at a loss for words.
"It was worth splitting up our forces since it meant that we could save you," Elanna explained.
"Then you have my sincere gratitude!" The soldier aided the other scouts back to the valley through the mine shaft. All of them thanking Elanna as they passed.
Leliana led the way to the Temple. As they passed through the different ruins, sounds of battle could be heard. Elanna rushed ahead, hoping her idiot brother was all right.
-With the Soldiers-
Eirlan, Cassandra and Varric slowly made their way towards the far end of the forward camp, checking their equipment along the way.
"I understand that splitting the party makes it more likely for at least one of you to get up to the temple, but what if it does take both of you to close the rift?" Varric asked while grabbing a handful crossbow of bolts to replenish his own supply. "I mean, what if we get up there and try closing the rift before your sister arrives and nothing. No creepy green light, no rift getting sealed, just more demons come tumbling out and we get killed?"
Eirlan faltered in his tracks and looked down at the green mark on his hand silently wondering if Varric might be right. "Well," he quipped, "then we all get to die before the hole in the sky kills everyone."
"Well...shit. couldn't you even try to reassure me? Like try saying 'There's no need to fear, I've got a secret power no one knows about that can help us' or some other stuff like that," Varric replied, making a very bad imitation of Eirlans' voice in the process.
"I do have a secret power, but I highly doubt it'll do us any good at this point," Eirlan shot back before going silent and continuing to the far gate. Both Varric and Cassandra stopped in their tracks to look at each other in confusion before following the elf, more questions floated through their minds but they reached the gate before either could voice them.
The party left the camp and headed up a snowy hill to where wreckage burned alongside injured Templars and mages. A green ball of fire fell, killing a soldier and sending his corpse sprawling in the snow.
"Is it too late to say I'd like to be taken to prison?" Eirlan glibly asked only to get a grunt of disgust from Cassandra beside him.
Soon they came upon a small group of soldiers, led by one with a feathery black collar and a red cloak, fighting against demons being spewed forth from another rift.
"How many rifts are there?" Varric asks in exasperation before firing a bolt straight into one of the demons.
"Too many. Now let's go!" Eirlan fired back before charging alongside Cassandra.
The soldiers, with the help of the three new arrivals, quickly put down the demons. Once the final one fell Eirlan tentatively walked towards the rift, switched his sword into his left hand, then raised the hand marred by the green mark. A beam of energy shot out from his hand, making contact with the rift. It closed with a pop, though it took little longer than when he closed the ones with Elanna.
"Oh, thank the Creators that worked," Eirlan quietly muttered to himself while the solders looked on in awe.
"Well let's hope it works on the big one too." Varric replied patting Eirlan on the back before joining Cassandra in front of the leader of the soldiers.
"Lady Cassandra, you managed to close the rift? Well done." the leader called out pulling a lion shaped helm from his head, revealing a blonde man with a small cut by his lips.
"Do not congratulate me Commander. This is the prisoners' doing." Cassandra corrected him, pointing to Eirlan behind her.
He looked at Eirlan warily before responding. "Is it? I hope they're right about you. We've lost a lot of good people getting you here."
"You're not the only one hoping that," Eirlan sighed while wondering how his sister faired on her route.
"We'll see soon enough, won't we?" the soldier replied, a stern look on his face. "The way to the temple should be clear, Leliana will try to meet you there with more soldiers."
"Then we had best move quickly," Cassandra told. "Give us time Commander."
"Maker watch over you. For all our sakes," he mumbled while helping an injured soldier off the field.
Elanna passed by the Templar as he left the warzone. The Templar stopped momentarily to gaze at the elf with the second glowing hand. He had heard that there were two prisoners, but not that both had the marks on their hands. 'Maker preserve me,' the Templar thought as he continued with the injured soldier. He had gotten a small whiff of her hair as she had passed. Even with all the fighting, sweat, and blood in the air, the smell of pure lavender was hard to ignore.
Eirlan looked up at the ruins on the top of the mountain to the Breach, mentally calculating the distance between him and it. 'How do they expect us to close that?' he wondered. 'I mean we don't exactly have wings.'. His thoughts were interrupted as he sensed danger closing in from behind. Turning around he began to reach for his sword only to be bowled over by his sister tackling him into the snow.
They landed in a heap, Eirlan grunting from impact, Elanna laughing fully. He was safe! They both knew that he had taken the more dangerous path.
Solas was taken aback by Elanna's open show of affection. Most Dalish he knew kept that either to a minimum or not at all in the company of outsiders. He was even more surprised when Eirlan recovered from his fall, wrapped Elanna in a full embrace, and swung her around in his arms. 'Most peculiar,' he thought to himself. 'Either they were not raised in a true Dalish clan or they are pure outsiders raised in either the city or alone. They should be watched carefuly.'
Eirlan released his sister gently on the ground. His smile and laughter clear that he did not care he had just been shoved into the ground.
"I think that's the first time you caught me off guard, asa'ma'lin," Eirlan said jovially with a large smile on his face. "I'm glad you are ok. You had me worried."
"I worried you?" Elanna chirped and smacked his shoulder. "You were the one barging through the front door isa'ma'lin, I was sneaking around the back."
Solas gently cleared his throat and the twins turned to the rest of the group their smiles disappearing and became serious once more. "The Temple of Sacred Ashes," he spoke while gesturing to the still smoldering ruins.
"What's left of it," Varric responded, looking back at the dreary sight.
"That is where you both walked out of the Fade and our soldiers found you." Cassandra explained, "They said a woman was in the rift behind you. No one knows who she was."
The reunited group walked towards the destroyed temple, the ground becoming more broken and scorched the closer they got. Smoldering and still burning corpses littered the ground before them. They entered what was left of the Temple and looked around warily for anything that might attack.
"The Breach is a long way up," Varric mentioned looking up from his position at the back of the party as Leliana approached them with more soldiers.
"Leliana, have your soldiers take up positions around the temple," Cassandra directed, Leliana nodded and moved off to give the orders to her men. Cassandra turned back to the twins and asked, "This is your chance to end this. Are you both ready?"
"I don't even know if we can get up to that thing," Eirlan said while craning his neck to look at the Breach again.
"No. This rift was the first and is the key. Seal it, and perhaps we seal the Breach," Solas corrected.
"Then let's find a way down," Cassandra ordered. She led the way forward motioning for the group to follow her. "And be careful." Elanna readied her staff. She sensed that the way ahead would be painful not just for her but for everyone gathered. As they started down the stairs, voices could be heard from everywhere and nowhere.
"Now is the hour of our victory. Bring forth the sacrifice." The group looked around the Temple for the voice.
Finding nothing, Cassandra grunted softly. "What are we hearing?" she asked.
"At a guess, the person who created the Breach," Solas explained.
Further down the stairs, the group also passed red stones growing out the walls. "You know this stuff is red lyrium, Seeker," Varric growled looking distrustfully at the red stones.
"I see it Varric," Cassandra dryly remarked, turning her head to give the dwarf a look.
"But what is it doing here?" the dwarf seethed, looking like he would rather be on the other side of Thedas from the stones, but that still probably wouldn't be far enough.
"Magic could have drawn on lyrium beneath the temple, corrupted it..." Solas postulated, but sounded just as unsure as everyone else.
"It's evil," Varric snarled. Eirlan approached the stones slowly, not knowing what to make of them. Slowly, he reached out to touch a piece but stopped when Varric continued. "Whatever you do don't touch it."
Elanna smacked her brother upside the head the moment he pulled his hand away from the red lyrium. "A blood red, glowing stone that the dwarf is uncomfortable with and your first reaction is to touch it!" She snapped. "How much of a moron are you?! VENURALAS TELAMDYS MA DELAVIR MASA FELASIL ISA'MA'LIN!" Eirlan cowered as his sister screamed at him, her voice echoing off the walls around them. When she finished the rest of the group was looking at the two of them with looks varying from disgust, confusion, and amusement.
After a few moments to compose themselves, they once more journeyed through the ruined temple till they heard the same voice from earlier. "Keep the sacrifice still."
"Someone, help me!" called out another voice, this one female and it was one Cassandra recognized.
"That is Divine Justinia's voice!" She called out in shock. Hurrying down some steps they approached another rift and the marks on the Lavellans' hands flared as the voices continued.
"Someone help me!" Justinias' voice once more called out.
"What's going on here?" The group was stunned. The new voice was Elanna's.
Cassandra turned to her. "That was your voice. Most Holy called out to you. But..." She was cut off by a flash of light and saw ghostly images of an older woman wearing very ornate chantry robes being suspended in the air by red energy wrapped around her arms, a large shadowy figure with glowing red eyes looming over her, and both twins entered the room.
"What's going on here?" Elanna demanded again.
"Run while you can! Warn them!" The divine demanded while the ghostly figure turned towards the twins.
"We have intruders. Slay the elves!" It commanded whoever else was in the room. But before anything else could be seen there was another brilliant flash of light and everything faded.
"You were there!" Cassandra accused getting into the twins' faces. "Who attacked? And the Divine, is she...? Was this vision true? What are we seeing?"
"We don't remember!" Eirlan snapped not backing down at all from the angry woman.
"These are echoes of what happened here." Solas explained trying to calm tensions. "The Fade bleeds into this place." He walked closer to the rift examining it. "This rift is not sealed, but it is closed... albeit temporarily. I believe with the marks, the rift can be opened and then sealed properly and safely. However, opening the rift will likely attract attention from the other side,"
"That means demons," Cassandra stated drawing her sword and walking away from the twins to ready herself. "Stand ready." The rest of the soldiers and archers that accompanied the group into the temple ready themselves for a fight.
Both Lavellans walked forward raising their glowing hands towards the rift. After a burst of light, the rift opened fully and a massive horned and spiked demon and roared loudly. Many of the archers and soldiers stepped back in fear at the sight of the monstrosity.
PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP
The pride demon roared and laughed, gaining strength from the open rift. Elanna hurled the first fire bolt, hitting it square in the face. The demon turned to her and drew out a lightning whip. Elanna dodge the attack, breaking the spell that held the warriors in fear. If she could face off a demon of that size than so could they!
The moment Elanna's spell hit the demon, Eirlan shook free of his hesitation. With his blade drawn he charged at the beast, diving to the side to avoid its lash. He got up quickly and moved around to flank it. His sword struck out at the back of the creatures' knees, as high up as the elf was comfortable swinging, only for it to barely pierce the demons thick hide. "Shit!" Eirlan cursed and continued striking at the demons' legs while the soldiers kept its attention up front. 'My sword is barely scratching this thing and I'm not good enough at attack spells to help the mages!' he lamented to himself.
The battle was a dance between the pride demon and the small army. As much damage as the demon took, he never went down. Elanna stepped back from the fighting, looking over the demon trying to find his weak point. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the rift glowing brighter than any of the other battles she had faced in the last day. She made her way toward the rift, dodging the demons' attacks. She raised her glowing left hand up to the rift, willing it to disrupt not close. The rift exploded outward, making the pride demon howl and fall to its knees.
"Now!" Cassandra ordered. The combatants renewed their attacks against the demon, fueled by its pain-filled screams. When the rift went back to its normal position, the demon stood, roaring in triumph. More demons, shades, formed around the pride demon, joining in the battle.
Upon standing, the pride demon turned while swinging one of its massive arms, trying to squash the annoying pests attacking it from behind, catching Eirlan and several others with the swing and knocking them aside as though they were children.
"Alright, now I'm mad," Eirlan muttered as he stood up. Seeing that he had some distance between him, the pride demon, and the newly arisen shades, he took his sword and held it in front of him for a few moments and focused his mana into the blade, quickly engulfing it with flames. With a shout he charged back into the fray hacking at any nearby demons with a fury few were able to match. He could feel his mana drain with each stroke of his sword but kept on pushing more of his magic into the sword.
Soon sweat dropped from his brow and his breath came quicker. The flames flickered and died, leaving the sword in his hand charred and warped. He dropped the now ruined blade and raised his right hand towards the rift, disrupting it as his sister had, before picking up a sword from a fallen soldier. He looked around, taking note of where he could help best despite his fatigue.
Eirlan moved around the outskirts of the fight, helping soldiers deal with shades. He soon found himself fighting alongside the Seeker as he had at the earlier rifts. Looking up they saw the pride demon gathering a large ball of lightning into its hands just as it launched it at the two of them
"Move away!" The Seeker shouted while raising her shield, hoping to protect herself from the ball of magic. Eirlan, instead, raised his hands towards the demon and willed a barrier in place around the two of them. The barrier erected faster than he thought possible, absorbing much of the attack but it still shattered and the two were thrown back by the force of the blast.
"Disrupt the rift!" Solas called out. Once she had an opening, Elanna did just as ordered. Again the pride demon fell. After several rounds, the demons all melded back into the rift. Eirlan and Elanna connected their marks to it, sealing the rift with a huge blast of energy. They were thrown back, knocked out cold, both from overuse of magic and the sheer force of the blast.
Solas rushed over to check on the twins with his magic. "They are stable for now but they need medical attention," Solas explained to Cassandra. She had come up behind him once she saw the twins fall.
"Gather the wounded," Cassandra ordered her men. "Get these two on a wagon and take them to Haven."
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