Disclaimer- I don't own any characters except for Parafron Lavallen. I also do not own any dialogue that is exact to the games themselves, which are purely used as to follow the Inquisition storyline.
Chapter 1- The One Percent
Ringing in her ears, haze, and the taste of blood in her mouth. Her hand... her left hand hurt so much. Why? What happened? Dark eyes flitted open, immediately scouring the environment as a lithe figure pushed herself to her feet. Pushing dark hair behind her pointed ears, Parafron observed a barren and strange landscape with a green and orange mist shrouding her surroundings- with a sense of something skittering around her. The elf turned slowly, blinking at the sight of a woman poised at the top of a craggy and narrow staircase. Parafron felt swamped, slow, but she trusted her intuition enough to follow the impulse to make her way to the bright figure. It was a painfully sluggish uphill trudge, but the physical exertion brought the elf to her senses step by step. At this time there was no logical reasoning to the march to the woman, but the objective alone was enough to power her up the steep pathway.
About halfway up, Parafron noticed a sharp movement in her peripheral vision- if the ringing would stop, she would have heard it as well. The elf spun, grasping for a weapon where there was none- why? Where did her knives and her blades go? Where did they go?! Parafron flinched violently at the sight of massive spiders crawling steadily up the stairs, giving a disgusted shriek as adrenaline surged through her body. The elf desperately scaled the stairs to the light woman, and even though she was moving as fast as she could it still felt all too slow. At one point she tripped, Parafron then resorting to climbing near on her hands and knees. The woman was reaching for her, the elf reaching back from too far away. Something nipped her heel, Parafron making a noise between a frightened yelp and a disgusted hiss as she leapt forward. Again, again she reached for the hand, straining her arm to the limit just to touch it.
Light, warm and brilliant, coursed around her body and swarmed her vision for a brief instant before she felt a falling sensation, landing with a thud onto the ground. The edges of her vision were starting to blacken in a forewarning of losing consciousness, and Parafron was almost content to let it take her- however, the elf, forever paranoid, fought with all her strength to keep herself awake. She heard footsteps- steady but wary and Parafron gave a snarl, struggling to pull herself to her feet. The elf was flat on her stomach, but she pushed off with her arms to raise her upper body, working to move her feet in a position so that she could stand. In the blur and sluggish movements, she could see a few humans or elves start to approach her, moving with more confidence with every show of Parafron's fatigued state. In the blur, she saw someone draw near, and in a moment of pure instinct caused by the still-lingering feeling of danger, she jumped forward, tackling the person to the ground and pressing her hands to their throat. The elf found a point of focus in the neck she grasped, and she held on to it like death.
I'll kill them, I'll live for just a little bit longer... I swear I will...
She was struggled violently against, but Parafron's grip was true and the elf focused her efforts in ending just this life, despite the vague acknowledgement of more people approaching. The elf felt like she was moving in a dream, each minute feeling more like years. But in a clear, crisp moment, Parafron's hand shot with unimaginable, searing pain and she released the throat that had previously anchored her to consciousness. Parafron fell to the ground next to the person she attacked, cradling her hand and curling up like a withering flower. Pain was all she knew in the next agonizing moments, and when someone grasped her arm, the elf started to lash out until something hit her head and the dark submerged her vision quicker than Parafron could fight back against.
Cassandra slammed the door open to the prison, Leliana and several soldiers in tow. The woman walked down the stairs like a storm, Leliana and the soldiers stepping lightly to keep up. The prison was lit by several torches, the soft firelight illuminating the dark and grimy place that Cassandra currently descended. Green light sparked down the hall, where the elf known as Parafron Lavellan awaited, chained to the floor. The Dalish elf seemed to just be awakening, probably at the sound of heavy plated footsteps. Leliana swept past Cassandra, the guards who held their swords drawn to Parafron sheathing their weaponry at their arrival. Cassandra paused at the entrance. The elf in front of her looked up at her, immediately locking her gray eyes with the Seeker's brown ones, and licked her lips. Cassandra had been advised not to get too close by Solas- but the warrior woman was not fazed simply because Parafron had near broken the neck of one of the soldiers.
The Seeker marched right up to the elf, her features being more distinguishable as she drew nearer. A round freckled face, the alternate June vallaslin- information also given by Solas- donning the Dalish's face. Parafron's wide eyes were sharpened by the tattoo, and in the dungeon's lighting she looked almost like a child- the impression further improved by the bulky mercenary armor. The rogue did not break eye contact, and it seemed a mask was carefully being constructed in her features, but Cassandra knew better than to let it form. Cassandra circled the elf like a wolf around prey, Leliana advancing on Parafron with the grace of a panther. The rogue only then seemed to note Leliana's presence, and the Seeker sensed the mask constructing with even more urgency than before.
The warrior leaned forward from behind Parafron, hissing in her ear,
"Tell me why we shouldn't kill you now. The Conclave is destroyed. Everyone who attended is dead... Except for you."
That seemed to capture the elf's attention, and her eyes flashed with a small emotion. Gratefulness? Confusion? Cassandra was unsure, but the staunch silence angered her. The warrior snatched Parafron's hand, and immediately the Seeker sensed that a significant boundary had been crossed. The elf's eyes, once chilled, blew open with a certain auger of malevolence- but Cassandra had enough malevolence of her own to match.
"Explain this."
Cassandra shoved Parafron's arm back to its owner, and as if on cue green light sparked from the hand. The elf drew the chained limb closer to herself, as if to discourage further physical contact.
"I can't."
Parafron's voice was also unexpected- it was young, with a certain bounce and sing-songiness to its tone. A slight accent. It further drove the comparison of a child deeper into Cassandra's mind, and as a result declawing Parafron one impression at a time. She was certain that the elf had something to do with the Breach- and she was desperate to find a solution.
"What do you mean you can't?" snarled the Seeker, Parafron quick with a reply.
"I don't know what it is, nor how it got there."
The voice, so respectful but with a mocking air just behind its tone, combined with such pretentiousness in the face of the slaughter of dozens of people nearly boiled Cassandra over. The warrior with Parafron's reaction to physical contact fresh in her mind, sought to cross that boundary once more and she leaped forward. Cassandra gripped the elf's small shoulders, shaking her and snarling,
"You're lying!"
The guards in the room, already uncomfortable with the tension, backed slightly at the expression on Parafron's face- it screwed into menace and promised a massive reckoning- but Cassandra did not let up. Leliana jumped in, putting a hand on Cassandra's arm and putting distance between the prisoner and her interrogator.
"We need her, Cassandra." Leliana reasoned carefully, glancing back at Lavellan. The elf's gaze warmed at Leliana's eye contact, along with a brief, controlled flash of understanding. Leliana's facial expression twisted into one of distaste, but she kept Cassandra at bay.
"I'm sorry. I don't understand." Parafron's voice, slightly unhinged at the beginning, cooled into collectedness. It was clear her statement was directed to Leliana, Cassandra giving a disgusted little noise at the back of her throat.
The spymaster, ever an opportunist, seized hold of Parafron's openness. The redhead stepped closer and pressed,
"Do you remember what happened? How it began?"
Cassandra stalked forward once more, intent on hearing the elf's response. Parafron pursed her lips, looking down, and then back up at Leliana. She made a point of disregarding Cassandra.
"I remember... running. Things... were chasing me. I think... a woman was there?"
Leliana pursued the cooperation with enthusiasm, questioning,
"A woman?"
Leliana's voice lifted slightly, and Parafron must have interpreted it as mocking as her eyes flitted slightly. Cassandra shifted- was it possible that she was wrong?
"She reached out to me... But then..."
The Dalish woman cocked her head slightly, looking downwards in thought. Cassandra had had enough- she turned and physically led Leliana to the exit before the spymaster could prod further. The warrior glanced back, saying,
"Go to the forward camp, Leliana. I will take her to the rift."
The two exchanged a look for a brief moment before Leliana nodded and crept away back out of the dungeon. Parafron looked after her, and visually expressed her disapproval at being left alone with Cassandra. The Seeker bent to the elf, removing the chains that kept her grounded. Parafron did not say a word, and Cassandra was more than content to lead her in silence to the rift.
Cassandra stepped back once she was finished, the accused locking eyes with her as she rose. As expected, the hunter stood with the grace of a feline- a common trait with such occupations. Cassandra was tempted to stay in front, to make a show of underestimating her. She took Parafron as prideful, but the warrior was not a fool. She knew that the elf would use any underhanded trick to escape, and the Seeker would be damned if she was going to let her go unpunished for her crimes. She motioned for Parafron to go in front, the rogue padding forward with measured reluctance.
After they reached the exit to the prison, Cassandra stepped ahead, pushing the door open. The crisp Haven air was refreshing, and out in the open she felt safer with her prisoner. Out here, she had the advantage, though an unwelcome voice pointed out that she must have felt disadvantaged with a detained, fatigued elf. Cassandra breathed, silenced such a voice, and turned to face Parafron.
The pale sun's lighting seemed to change all- the hunter's eyes, previously naive and wide looking, were darkened by their black rims and Parafron's sleep-deprived state. A scar on her lip, freckles, and dark hair trimmed her features into a more severe version of itself, and Parafron's dark glare revealed to Cassandra more than she would have liked to know. Their eyes did not stray for a long time. But when Parafron shifted her attention to the Breach, the moment melted away and she was back to looking like a young maid at a tavern.
The Seeker blinked, and cast her gaze to the green spiral in the mountains.
"We call it the Breach. 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."
Parafron and the Cassandra seemed to have cast away the tension in the presence of such a threat. The crackle of distant thunder and the scale of such a spectacle caused momentary awe, until Cassandra heard the rogue shift her weight, and ask,
"What kind of explosion was it?"
They met eyes once more, and the tension flew back- though not quite with the same ferocity. The elf was causing Cassandra to doubt that she was responsible for such a tragedy, damn her. Parafron was an easy subject to pin the massacre on, but Cassandra reminded herself that the easy suspect wasn't always the right one. The Seeker's voice was tough in her reply.
"We don't know. But unless we act, the Breach may swallow the world."
Parafron nodded in acknowledgement, quiet for a moment. Cassandra started to speak, but the Breach made the familiar moaning noise that signaled its expansion, and green light sparked from Parafron's left hand. Cassandra started as the rogue shot to the ground, Parafron clenching her teeth and cradling the source of light. The Seeker thought she heard a small hiss or a whimper. Cassandra leapt at the moment of weakness, kneeling down and gesturing to the Breach.
"Each time the Breach expands, the mark spreads. And it is killing you."
Parafron looked up, and in that moment Cassandra saw one fact in all its entirety- Parafron Lavellan did not wish to die. In fact, she held on to a fervent wish to keep living, to survive just one more moment, one more day. Her life was more important than anything any king could offer her, and as long as she had it, Parafron was invincible yet utterly breakable. She would kill, torture, manipulate, anything she had to do in order to maintain one simple code: Stay alive. Cassandra had found somewhere to grip hold of, and she mentally held it like a lifeline.
"It may be the key to stopping this, but there isn't much time."
Parafron, without missing a beat, replied,
"Will helping you save my life?"
"Yes. Or at the very least..."
Parafron's eyes flickered. Cassandra decided that while Parafron was a stark survivalist, she had no interest in short-term extensions of suffering. Decent quality or nothing. The warrior let the sentence hang on its own, and let the elf pause for a moment of decision.
"I'll help."
Cassandra's nodded, secretly pleased at not having to coerce the elf by force. She rose in tandem with Parafron, stepping to her side. Cassandra hovered her hand behind the rogue's back, and it was almost like a magnetic force compelled Parafron immediately to start walking forward. Cassandra was reminded of walking with Leliana- while Parafron's armor shifted and her hands made sound against the binds, the footfalls themselves were silent. They strode through the camp, soldiers and the people alike casting condemning looks in the elf's direction.
"They have decided your guilt. They need it. The people of Haven mourn our Most Holy, Divine Justinia-" Parafron cast her a look at the leak of emotion towards the name- "Head of The Chantry. The Conclave was hers. It was a chance for peace between Mages and Templars." The elf's lips curled in a slightly mocking smile. "She brought their leaders together. Now they are dead."
Before Cassandra knew, she was lamenting about Justinia and trying her hand at inspiration, as if to pep Parafron like she was a soldier fighting for a cause. The warrior had decided to cater to Parafron's motivational side, which she was fairly certain existed. More importantly, she did not want to have to be an enemy to what might be their savior. The elf gave no response.
"We lash out, like the sky. But we must think beyond ourselves. As she did. Until the Breach is sealed. Do keep in mind that you will be trialed."
Cassandra turned, met Parafron's expression- startlingly dark once more- and sliced her bonds. The ropes fell to the ground, making no noise as they hit the snowy bridge. The warrior spotted something shifting in the hunter's face, and ordered,
"You are to stay in front of me at all times, just follow the path- we need to test your Mark on something small. Do not turn around. You are to hang your arms at your sides. Do not go out of my sight, do not pick up any weapons. Violate any of these rules and I will be forced to detain or kill you. Do you understand?"
The elf gazed at her gloved hands, and then back at Cassandra.
"Yes."
"Good. Lets go."
"My name is Parafron."
"I know."
The wind picked up then, and the hunter's face was covered by waving strands of dark hair. She looked down as she tucked it a part behind her ear, and when she looked up her face was donned with a smile that bared her teeth. It transformed her expression, made a mix of the grimness in one light and the childishness in another. It was a strong mask that made her face unreadable and vague by giving it an all-too distinguishable mark. Cassandra knew then that Parafron's few moments of facial vulnerability were over.
She would not see that menacing, eerie smile and those similar to it leave Parafron Lavellan's conscious face for a very long time.
With her hands freed and her smile finally in place, Parafron finally felt at full functionality. Her apparent past with the Chantry after her arrival was a blurry mess, and as she walked in front of the woman named Cassandra she did a piece by piece recollection of the events leading up to it, careful not to cross her arms as she was accustomed to doing. Parafron ignored the wounded soldiers and the metallic scent of blood that she was used to, instead mulling over the situation she had gotten into. Cassandra was pushy and presumptuous, sickeningly honorable- Parafron had not doubt that they would butt heads more than once after this. Leliana, she preferred, as something in herself was shared with the elf. Maybe they could be friends if Cassandra didn't stand in the way.
She was a hunter. She was sent to spy- they must have concluded that she had the best "poker face", as the humans called it. They were right. The meeting had started... and then what? Parafron narrowed her eyes, her inability to remember those details infuriating her. Normally her memory was sharp enough, but she supposed that she must have had a concussion... then why remember the misted realm so vividly after being hit? Maybe she should escape and find out on her own.
Cassandra surely had her weapon drawn, but Parafron could hear where she was with every clink of the armor and every heavy footfall. Would it be so hard to turn, dodge a blade and knock her out? She figured yes- the warrior didn't seem to be one who was caught unprepared often. Besides, she couldn't solve the problem of the mark by herself- there had to be a mage in their company somewhere. However, playing the game of toying with a mage was not one Parafron was keen to play.
The elf looked up at sudden warmth on her face, blinking at the temporary wooden barriers and the patches of fire. Battle was not far from here. And yet that woman had the nerve to leave her unarmed?
Damn her to Fen'Harel.
Speaking of weapons, Parafron was especially unhappy with the loss of hers. Her life was poured into those blades- she still remembered the exact material and how much of it was given to her at a young age. She remembered every animal killed and skinned; her first human was an especially sacred, yet frowned upon, kill. It was purely self-defense, but apparently presenting the body to her father was not acceptable. She had learned how to be ambidextrous so that she didn't have to pick and choose between the two weapons, yet her utter refusal to kill any animal that was not part of a necessary hunt complicated things somewhat. Parafron stopped her daydream there, however, but internally promised herself she would go back and find them- even if they were nothing but molten metal by now.
Parafron stepped lightly around patches of fire, looking up distastefully at the green spiral in the sky. She felt something start to approach within herself, and the Breach crackled in tandem with her hand.
Damn it, I know whats coming.
A flash of white-hot pain drove her to her knees once more, keenly reminding her of the goal she had. Cassandra was approaching, and in the hunter's disgust at unauthorized physical contact she rose to her feet on her own. The elf made a point to turn her head slightly so that the warrior could see that she was still smiling.
She hoped it scared her, and Parafron said quietly,
"The pulses come faster now."
The rogue forced herself to walk once more, each step growing steadily easier as the pain faded to a dull ache, and then nothing. Cassandra's solemn voice spoke from behind her, and Parafron resisted the urge to face her. She liked to see someone's face when they spoke, to see the sincerity, emotions and the story behind each word. Not fulfilling such a preference annoyed her.
Many things annoyed her in this span of time.
"As the Breach grows in size, the rifts grow in number. They say you stepped out of one, you know."
Ah, yes.
"Yes. And then I strangled a soldier before someone hit me. Is that person still alive?"
"They are fine."
"Oh."
Parafron paused at the middle of a cobblestone bridge, and glanced up at the Breach. She once more turned her head to Cassandra slightly, giving her a glimpse of her smile. She decided to share a little something with dear Cassandra.
"I deeply wish that they had-"
Green fire blasted down, the bridge giving and Parafron was again, deeply wishing, that the Breach would let her finish her sentences. As she rolled down a mess of cobblestone onto ice, she wondered if that statement would have caused more trouble than this bridge was.
Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed, please don't be a lurker and leave a review! I have a lot of inspiration for this story, so I think it should be updated in a reasonable amount of time. This story will follow the Inquisition plot line, with a few side quests that I found important enough to contribute to the Inquisition and this story's plot line. Only this and maybe the next chapter will probably be the only ones with so much dialogue ripped from the game- but thank you for your patience while I work to separate from the linear first part of Inquisition. :)
