This is the original version of Second Chance for Him. This story is NOT finished. The remastered version is ongoing.
It was raining demons. Cullen thought he had seen it all. He had lived through a mage rebellion. A Blight. A qunari invasion. Kirkwall. Even the mad Knight-Commander Meredith. But a hole in the sky that spit out demons? That was taking things way too far. Cullen cursed. Just what was it with him and dangerous, life-threatening events? His sword parried a blow from a shade, then sunk deep into its hide. His shield was held up, protecting him from the hot flames a rage demon was spewing at him. No matter how many demons he killed, more stepped up to fill their spots.
Cullen blocked, parried, stabbed, and sliced, his trained muscles no longer requiring conscious thought in battles. Everything was instinctive, all a blur as he threw himself deeper into the bloody battle. Suddenly, there were no demons to kill in sight. A brief respite, as the last of the demons withdrew to prepare for another wave. Cullen took a breath, his eyes scanning the battlefield. He was the Commander of the forces, and he had to lead his men properly, save as many lives as possible in this waking nightmare.
"Lieutenant, get the injured off the field and to safety. Anybody who has been fighting for over three hours is to step back as well. Go eat, rest, and come back. Those who are returning, take their place! The next wave is coming soon. Move!" Cullen barked out the order quickly. Maker, how long has it been since I've slept? Since I've eaten? How long has it been since the Conclave exploded? Cullen didn't know. He was running purely on adrenaline. His body would pay the price for overexertion later. For now, he was needed here. Cullen felt the Veil writhe, and called out. "Here comes the next wave! Men, form up!"
Then Cullen was back to fighting demons. Rage, despair, fear, and shades poured out into the world from the rift. Thank the Maker there were no desire demons running about. Cullen wasn't sure if he would have been able to keep his head about him with those creatures around. Then again, it was very unlikely people were desiring something other than rest at the moment. Demons reflected the state his men were in, and from the number of fear demons Cullen saw, he knew they were in trouble. Then, a revenant popped out, and drove all thoughts away from his mind.
Death was a certainty. His weary arms were slow, barely parrying the blows on time. His shoulders felt heavy from the blows he had taken with his shield. His feet were sluggish. He barely had the energy to keep his eyes open. And yet Cullen fought on. He would not run when there were demons to be killed. But the rift held endless supply of those horrid creatures, and he was but a mortal. He felt a fear demon's claw glancing off his armor. Cullen knew he wouldn't last long. Death was coming for him.
He felt the power pulling at the threads of the Fade, before he saw her. As he stepped on a shade to pull his sword free, he saw the Seeker moving besides him. She was a welcome sight, her battle prowess bolstering the men's spirit. And then the rift in the Fade shuddered, strained, and then snapped shut. Maker's breath, it was over. The rift was gone. Cullen limped back to Cassandra. "Seeker, you've found a way to seal the rifts!" Cullen hoped. I mean, this rift was gone, wasn't it?
Cassandra nodded at him, her expression worried. Cullen briefly wondered how tired he must look. How many hours has it been since he started fighting? How many days? "It seems that the prisoner has the ability to seal the rifts." Cassandra informed him. His eyes promptly moved to a small, slender woman standing beside the Seeker.
She was perhaps in her mid-thirties. Her hair was bright red, tangled up dreadfully. She was covered in filth, like the rest of them, but underneath the gore Cullen could see she was wearing expensive Enchanter robes. Her eyes were wide with fear, dark green-brown pupils peered at him. She was attractive. She didn't seem like a person capable of blowing up the Conclave. In fact, from the way he felt her pull at the Veil, she wasn't even that competent of a mage. Cullen shook his head. The Breach was the priority. If the mage could seal it, they would have time for questions later. Confirming with Cassandra that she would lead the mage to the Breach in an attempt to close it, Cullen pulled his men back from the field they had been fighting on. With the rift closed, they finally had a chance to take a proper rest. Cullen barked out orders, moving to help an injured man walk off the field. I wonder when I will have the time to get some blasted sleep, he thought idly.
Cullen felt the strange tear in the sky shudder as sickly green light flashed up into it, arching for a long while before snapping away. His templar senses told him that Veil around the Breach was more stabilized at least, but to his worries, it still remained. He shook his head, as he laid the injured soldier down in front of a healer. Cullen needed to get back to Haven to talk with Leliana and Cassandra. Focusing on putting one foot in front of another, he slowly made his way back. It would be a long time before he managed to get any rest.
"*~*"
"Commander? Commander!" The concerned voice finally snapped Cullen out of his daze. He found himself looking up into Leliana's worried bright eyes. Cullen attempted a smile. It came out more as a grimace. "I'm sorry, Leliana. What were you saying?" He took a swig from the water skin. The cool liquid wet his parched lips and his burning throat. He drank greedily, few drops running down his chin onto his armor. It had been so long.
"Commander, do you know how long you have been fighting for?" Leliana's soft voice finally cut through the haze. He shook his head. "I thought so. You've been fighting for two days without rest, Commander. If you continue, you will drop dead from fatigue." He blinked. Two days? No wonder his body felt so dreadful. "I was needed." He said simply. What else was there to be said?
"I know. And Commander, you are still needed. We have men and women that needs to be organized. People that must pull back into Haven in orderly fashion. Forces that need to be readied yet again at Haven." Cullen nodded, then moved to stand. He needed to be with his men, giving orders. Leliana put her hand on his shoulder, keeping him still. Maker, he was too weak to even protest against such small pressure.
"And if you were to die from fatigue, we would all be in heaps of trouble since no one here knows how to run an army other than you. So I suggest you go and rest, Commander." Cullen opened his mouth, trying to tell her his work wasn't done yet. A huge yawn interrupted him. Leliana's face softened. "If anything urgent arises, I promise I will wake you. Now, go sleep Cullen. You need it. And you are more of use when you aren't tripping over your own feet in exhaustion." Reluctantly, Cullen nodded. He was going to go find a bedroll to fall into, he really was going to.
Cullen fell asleep right on the rock he was sitting on.
"*~*"
He was shaken roughly awake all too soon. Cullen blinked to see a soldier, holding out a bit of dry bread for him. "Commander! Sister Leliana requests your presence." He nodded, taking the bread and biting into it. "Where is she?"
"Down by the forward camp, ser. Chancellor Roderick was present as well." Cullen reached for his water skin, only to realize it was gone. He searched around, but the soldier pushed a new one into his hand. "How long was I out for?" He drank. It felt wonderful.
"Just a few hours, Commander. Awaiting orders to pull back to the Haven, ser." And the person to give that order would be me, he thought. "Thank you. Dismissed." Cullen stood, feeling every inch of his body protesting against the movement, and made his way over to where Leliana and Cassandra waited for him.
"*~*"
His tired brain struggled to keep up with the information being poured into him. The Breach was stabilized for now. The prisoner had passed out from her attempt at closing it. No demons were popping up for now, so they were to regroup at Haven. Why was this annoying, useless man here? They still didn't know who their prisoner was. Solas thought she would eventually recover, and they could make another attempt to close the Breach. He sighed, and rubbed his temple. One battle at a time.
He swiftly organized for their forces to withdraw from the Temple. Leliana posted a few scouts to keep watch, but nobody wanted to remain at the Temple for any duration of time. Cullen grabbed a few more hours of sleep in his saddle during the ride to Haven. Then the never ending pile of work dug its claws into him once more. Reports of the injured and dead soldiers piled up on his desk. Cullen needed to get his men to the healers. Others needed a place to sleep. Soldiers needed new weapons after the battle. Requisition forms lined up endlessly. Then, he was dragged into the war room by Cassandra to discuss the second attempt at the Breach.
Maker's breath, did they truly think pouring more magic into the Mark would help? It could possibly cause another explosion! Kill them all, rip another hole in the sky. They didn't even know what the Mark was, or did, aside from the fact that it could close fade rifts.
"We could get templars to help us." He argued. "The entire Order was founded to fight unstable and dangerous magic. Solas theorized that the Mark didn't have enough power to close the Breach? Powering up the Mark needn't be the only way. Templars could use their ability, suppress the Breach. It would allow it to be closed with no need for huge amount of power that we have no control over."
The debate went on for hours, until they all agreed to one thing. Everyone needed a break, and they weren't going to come to consensus that night. He left the chantry, and made his way over to the tent. I could keel over and die from exhaustion right now, he thought. Thankfully, he would be too exhausted to dream tonight. Setting the sword on his desk – Maker, those reports must breed like rabbits when left by themselves. The heap had tripled in size – Cullen pulled off his boots and gauntlets. His tired fingers clumsily unclasped his breastplate slowly, then put it aside. Cullen then gave up. Without bothering to disrobe any further, he dropped onto his cot and fell into deep slumber.