Avisari hated being left behind, though she understood why. At the base of the mountain, she sat a bit away from the road, hidden from sight by a tree and the cover of darkness. Though she was a decent hunter, she could not match Gaelathan's prowess for stealth, and they both knew if she had approached the temple with him, they would have been caught.
The Dalish had sent them to spy on the Divine's conclave, but neither of them had expected it to be so packed. It was a massive event, of course, but how many important humans could they fit into one crumbling temple? Avisari shivered a bit, hugging her arms to her chest. The Frostbacks were frigid, and the wind was unforgiving, even in the shelter of the tree. She wished she could move around to warm her limbs, or start a fire, but with all of the mage and Templar camps around, she couldn't risk it.
Unknown to all except her Keeper, Avisari was an apostate herself. She had been born in an alienage in the Free Marches. Her mother worked as a servant in a noble house, and her father was a tailor. She didn't remember them terribly well; she had started showing the signs at the age of four. She was taken away shortly after.
The Circle in Starkhaven wasn't terrible, but it wasn't fantastic either. Avisari had quickly developed talents far beyond her peers, and was kept under close watch. She hated it there, but she knew better than to mess with the Templars. She saw what happened to mages who did.
So she stuck it out, developing her talents until she was sixteen, often in the night, where she wouldn't frighten the other apprentices with the force she wielded. One evening, she overheard a conversation between the Knight Commander and the First Enchanter. Long story short, they were going to kill her during her Harrowing, whether she defeated the demon or not. She was too powerful to let live, and they feared the Rite of Tranquility would be too much of an undertaking, and the First Enchanter actually agreed! The very thought of the memory made Avisari's blood boil.
Fortunately, that was the same night that Starkhaven's circle burned to the ground. Avisari managed to find her phylactery in the chaos, destroyed it, and fled. Of course, they chased her, but she was quick and she was clever. She escaped, fleeing to the Free Marches, where she met another apostate who taught her to limit her aura so others couldn't tell she was a mage. After a few years there, she crossed the Waking Sea, finding a Dalish Clan that welcomed her with open arms. There, she learned the art of battle with daggers, and she learned what family felt like. She told the Keeper what she was, only because she felt that he deserved to know. He kept her secret.
Now, Avisari was sitting at the base of the mountain, waiting for their best hunter and scout to come back down from the temple. All they were supposed to do was find out who all was in attendance and how the Conclave was going to end. Avisari, being more of a warrior than a hunter, was reasonably stealthy, but not enough to make it past all of these people. She also didn't want to risk being recognized.
Avisari looked up at the mountain, squinting as she saw an eerie green light flooding the temple. "What in the name of the Creators?" She stood, shaking snow off of her pants, and made her way closer, finding a boulder to stand behind. Her eyes widened as the temple exploded, the sky tore open, and a wave of power flooded over the valley. It knocked her back into the snow, and everything went black.
"Ma'esha'lin…" The whispers from the other side of the singing red doors reached her ears as she slumped against them. "Tel'erathe elvarel." She heard them often in her dreams. She didn't always know what they were saying, but when it was urgent, they got the point across. They were never wrong. "Fen'Harel theneras sal."*
Avisari woke to a rather rough hand applying a poultice to her arm. She winced, hissing softly through her teeth at the pain. "You're awake? Good." It was a gruff man's voice. "You got lucky. That boulder saved your life." She cracked open one eye to see a weathered man with a fuzzy brown beard standing over her. "My name is Adan," he commented, more focused on his work. "You're Dalish. You with the one who did all this? You part of that?"
Avisari blinked a few times, coughing a bit to clear her throat. She felt awful. "Did all what? What happened? I saw a green light, then…" Adan frowned. "The conclave bloody exploded, that's what. Your friend stepped out of the Fade, got this glowing mark on his hand. There's demons everywhere. We just found you a little while ago, all sorts of banged up. Mostly just surface wounds, and the magic of the explosion knocked your head about pretty hard. You should be fine now though. Old Adan's got you all fixed up."
"Gaelathen." Avisari sat up abruptly, bracing her hands on the wall as her head spun from sitting up so quickly. "Easy now," Adan slowly eased her back down. Avisari squeezed her eyes shut. "Where is he? My friend. Is he alright?" She opened her eyes again. "Mostly. They went into the valley not too long ago. Another elf, some apostate, thought that his mark might close the rifts. They went to test it. Sure beats being in chains, that's for sure."
"Chains?" Avisari struggled to sit up again. The world was gradually becoming clearer. "They put him in chains? Why?" Adan huffed. "They thought he did it, but I'm not so sure anymore, since he's trying to help. Will you be still?" Avisari put her bare feet on the floor, realizing she was in her underclothes. "Where are my clothes?"
"You're still very weak, you can't just go out and-"
"Please, I need to find him."
Adan crossed his arms. "Seeker Pentaghast is with him. He's not in any terrible danger, probably. You, on the other hand, will be, if you don't hold still. Give me another half hour and you'll be right as rain."
"Fine." Avisari laid back down slowly, allowing him to finish. He made her drink a foul-smelling liquid that cleared up her head. He gave her back her clothes and the two daggers she was found with. "There. Now take it easy, take any serious hits and you'll be right back here." She smiled at him. "Thank you, Adan." He waved her off, sending her on her way.
Avisari stepped outside, taken aback by the Breach. It pulsed, growing larger by the minute. She guessed that Gaelathen was headed in that direction. She jogged in that direction, following the boot prints in the snow. She was still very tired, but she had to reach Gaelathen. She came across the crumbled bridge, seeing more tracks in the snowy ice below. She picked her way down, following the winding trail up the mountain. She eventually came to the scene of a small battle, and some blocked gates. The footsteps went over a barrier and down the side of a hill into the ravine below. Avisari could hear voices ahead. One of them was familiar.
In her haste, Avisari tripped and tumbled down the hill, sliding to a stop face down on the ice. There was a brief moment of silence. She grunted and pushed herself up, shaking snow out of her cropped black curls. She looked up to see her dear friend, looking startled at first. A big grin spread across his face. "Avisari!" "Gaelathen!" She hugged him tightly. "Thank goodness you're alright. They said you were barely alive when they found you," he held her out at arm's length, looking her over. "Then again, neither was I."
"You!" A sword was drawn and pointed at Avisari. The woman wielding it looked formidable. "What are you doing here? Do you remember what happened at the temple? Were you a part of this?" Avisari blinked, putting her hands up to show they were empty, her daggers strapped to her back. "All I remember was the green light. I didn't have anything to do with this. We were just here to see how the conclave would turn out."
"I do not believe that threatening this woman will get us anywhere, Seeker." A smooth voice reached Avisari's ears. She looked over to see an elven mage with sharp, handsome features speaking to the Seeker. This must have been the elf Adan had mentioned "He's right," a dwarf with a crossbow chimed in. "We are in a hurry, and we need all hands on deck. I'm Varric." He introduced himself.
"My name is Solas," the elf spoke to her. "You are Avisari, correct? I hope those daggers are not just for decoration." Avisari snorted a bit, "trust me, they're not. And you?" She turned to the Seeker, who didn't seem too pleased. "Cassandra Pentaghast. Let's get moving, before I change my mind."
"Not too friendly, is she?" Avisari whispered to Gaelathen, walking beside him with the others. He chuckled softly, "no, but the circumstances do not allow for much leisure. I am sure she's merely stressed."
"And the others?"
"We just met them; I do not know yet. Solas showed me how to close the rifts to stop the demons from coming through. We shall see."
"What are you two whispering about?" Varric called out to them. Avisari looked over her shoulder with a smile. "There are demons pouring from the sky, Varric. I thought we might chat about how lovely the mountains look this time of year. Care to join?" A grin crossed the dwarf's face. Cassandra let out a disgusted scoff.
Avisari did get to show off her prowess in battle against the demons that blocked their way, though with the five of them, she felt almost bored. She liked a challenge, and though the demons were fearsome, they only came across small groups of them that went down easily. She wanted more.
They soon reached a bridge where a cleric was waiting for them. "Chain him! I want him prepared to face trial in Val Royeaux!" "Ignore that," Cassandra rolled her eyes. Avisari decided to let Gaelathen do the talking. He was much better at these sorts of things. She always ended up starting a fight.
Avisari wandered over to the railing, leaning on the cold stone and gazing up at the Breach, only half listening to the others arguing in the background. She was mesmerized by the swirling, pulsing green light. How could such a horrible thing be so beautiful?
"We will take the mountain pass," Gaelathen announced. "We all know what's at stake here. We need to work together." Avisari tore her gaze from the Breach and turned to face her friend. The cleric didn't seem too happy about the decision, but she doubted anything would make him happy.
They eventually made it to the temple, even rescuing some scouts along the way. Avisari got a chill as they walked among charred bodies, their last fearful cries frozen on their faces.
"This rift is closed," Solas's voice rang out, echoing in the quiet temple, "albeit temporarily. With the mark, we should be able to open it and close it permanently, though doing so will likely draw attention from the other side." Avisari felt a little giddy. "Think something big will come through?" Gaelathen rolled his eyes and pushed on her shoulder. "The hope is that we stop that from happening." She stuck her tongue out at him.
They picked their way down into the temple, passing the strange red lyrium sprouting from the temple walls. Varric was very unhappy about it being there. Avisari found it to be strangely familiar. She didn't like it one bit.
They reached the temple floor, ready to seal the rift, and hopefully the Breach above. "Are you ready?" Cassandra asked Gaelathen. "Ready as I'll ever be."
*My child (this version is closer to offspring rather than young one), you must not sleep longer. The Dread Wolf is awake again.
