Conclave
My skirts brushed the tiled floor as I hurried from the main room. I fanned my flushed face, trying to hide it from the occasional person I passed. A group of Qunari mercenaries walked past me, faces dead serious and a predatory stance to their bodies. I tried not to stare as the giant ox men walked past, but it was hard not to.
"Go to the study", Uncle Jeremy had said. "Find the papers and hide them on you. Bring them back to me. I'll deal with it, darling".
I had to act as though I was not feeling well just to get the men to leave me alone. "Excuse me, gentlemen, I am not feeling too well. I just need to get some air."
Walking down the long corridor, I tried to act as though I was lost, even though I knew exactly where every room was. Just like we'd planned.
"Someone, help me!" called a voice from the room I just passed.
I stumbled and looked back at the room. Taking a few cautious steps forward, I placed my hand on the door knob.
"Keep the sacrifice still!" a deep, commanding voice uttered.
I turned the handle and opened the door, stepping and looking in.
The next thing I knew, my world flashed white.
I pushed myself up from the hard rocky ground. My head pounded and my body ached all over. Everything was so dark around me, only flashes of green cut through the murky, thick air. I struggled to my feet and stood, glancing around. Behind me, giant spiders appeared from nowhere and chased after me. I sprinted, dark curls flying around my face as I climbed the rocky face up the hill. At the top, a woman had her hand outstretched towards me.
I propelled myself upwards and caught her hand.
"She is awakening. Bring her to the Chantry." A Nevarran female ordered. Even semi-conscious I could still tell the difference between accents.
I was hefted out of wherever I was laying and carried around. The few times I opened my eyes I was only met with blurry bits of white. Snow, I assumed. The people carrying me dropped my body and I slumped to the ground, falling unconscious again.
Chains rattled. My hand hurt, everything hurt. The green glow was back, along with the Nevarran woman.
I cracked open my eyes and looked around. A dark cell, four guardsmen and two women. Not just any women it seemed though. Before me, Seeker Cassandra Pentaghast and Right Hand of the Divine stood. The Left Hand of the Divine, Leliana, stood in the partial shadows, observing.
"Tell me why we shouldn't kill you now? The Conclave is destroyed. Everyone who attended is dead. Except you." She leaned right down to my face and sneered.
"You think I did it?" I squeaked out, more than a little intimidated by this woman.
She roughly grabbed my shackled wrists and yanked them up, pulling my smaller body with her.
"Explain this." She said as my left hand flared green. I gasped as it did, because it was quite painful. She dropped my hand and I stared at it in wonder.
"I-I can't." I stuttered as I flexed my hand.
"What do you mean you can't?" Cassandra yelled.
"I don't know what it is, or how it got there!" I yelled back, fuming.
"You're lying!" She grabbed me by the front of my shirt and pulled me up so we were face to face.
Leliana stepped in a put a hand on her shoulder, pulling Cassandra away, "We need her Cassandra."
I dropped back down and winced as my knees collided with the hard ground. Cassandra and Leliana looked back at me wearily as I sat back on my knees. Now, I was fuming.
"You have no right to treat me like this. I am Alys Trevelyan, daughter of Bann Samuel Trevelyan and fiancée to Cyril de Montfort, a member of the Council of Heralds. I demand you release me and explain what is going on." I commanded in the strongest voice I could muster.
"Do you remember what happened? How this began?" Leliana asked me, ignoring my demands.
I frowned, "No. I don't know how I got here or what happened at the Conclave. One minute I was leaving the main hall, the next you were here yelling at me. I have a few sketchy memories, like running from, things, which were chasing me. Then…a woman?"
"A woman?" Leliana repeated.
I scrunched my face up and tried to remember, "She reached out to me, but then…" I sighed.
They studied me. Leliana nodded her head to Cassandra and before walking out she said, "I will meet you at the forward camp. Take her to the rift and explain."
Cassandra walked over and bent down before me, unlocking my shackles but then tying my hands in chord. I studied the knot she tied and smirked internally.
Pulling me up, I asked her, "What did happen?"
She shook her head, "It will be easier to show you."
I scrunched my eyes as the light was a little too bright for me when we walked out. A small settlement had been made and people were milling around leisurely. In the sky, clouds swirled around a huge, green hole. I stood there, mouth agape, as I saw it for the first time.
"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." Cassandra explained.
"I didn't know explosions could to that." I remarked quietly.
She smirked slightly, "This one did. Unless we act, the Breach may grow until it swallows the world."
The Breach crackled and the sky flashed with green. The mark on my hand also flared and I screamed in pain as it did, falling to my knees and clutching it to my chest. Cassandra leant down before me and put a hand on my shoulder.
"Each time the Breach expands, your mark spreads…and it is killing you. It may be the key to stopping this, but there isn't much time." She said softly.
I inhaled sharply through my nose and flexed my hand. The tingling in it felt like little sharp pinpricks stabbing my skin constantly and I exhaled with a wobbly voice.
"What could I even do with this thing?" I asked incredulously.
"Close the Breach. Whether that's possible is something we shall discover shortly. It is our only chance however, and yours." Cassandra answered.
I scowled at her, "Will I live through this if I help you?"
She looked down regretfully before answering, "We have no way of knowing."
She helped me to my feet and pushed me along through the camp. People stood around me, staring at me with a mix of hate, rage and sorrow in their eyes. They barely even whispered their accusations as I passed them.
"She is a child." Someone scoffed
"Filthy nobles." Someone spat at me.
"Hope she gets the chop in Val Royeaux."
"Reckon they'll let me have a go at her before they kill her? She only deserves it."
I shuddered at the comments.
"They have decided your guilt. They need it. The people of Haven mourn our Most Holy, Divine Justinia, and 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. We lash out, like the sky, but we must think beyond ourselves as she did. Until the Breach is sealed." Cassandra said.
We went through another set of gates and she turned on me. Pulling out a small knife, she cut the cord on my hands. Won't have to undo it now.
"There will be a trial. I can promise no more. Come, it is not far." She started walking ahead of me.
"Where are you taking me?" I called to her.
She ignored me and kept walking. I followed after her, trying to keep up. The clothes I wore did not fit properly, so I was a little messy. Leather pants had been tied up around my waist with cord several times just to keep them up. They had also been rolled and tucked into the size too big boots I wore. My shirt was huge and heavy, and the breastplate was too small and dented. Apart from the one leather glove I wore, I had no other protection. And my hair was a mess.
"Your mark needs to be tested on something smaller than the Breach." She told me as we walked up a path in the mountain.
Outside, soldiers stood guarding the entrance to Haven. Fires burned on stacks of wood to keep them warm in the snow. I shivered slightly as we walked.
A group of soldiers jogged past us and one muttered, "Maker, It's the end of the world."
I looked back at him, shocked, and shook my head, continuing.
Further along, my mark flared again. I dropped to my knees in again and yelled out. Jots of pain shot up my arm and I struggled with them as Cassandra tried to talk me. I looked up at her through hooded eyes and focused on her.
"It's okay, it's okay. Calm down. The pulses are coming faster now." She soothed.
She helped me up and we continued on. As I stared at the mark I wondered out loud, "How did I survive the blast?"
"They say 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 to waste, including the Temple of Sacred Ashes. I-" A huge piece of glowing green something fell from the sky and smashed into the bridge we were crossing. It rippled and fell apart, taking Cassandra and I with it.
We fell down the debris and I grunted and cried out as the stone cut into me. Rolling over, I pushed myself up as another green thing fell out of the sky. Two…demons? Yes, demons. Two demons seemed to build up from it. They shrieked and moved our way. I panicked and looked around me for a weapon as Casandra engaged one of the demons. A crate that had fallen down from the bridge was overturned with a few weapons spilling out. I ran over and picked up two daggers.
Twirling them in my hands, I grinned at the demons.
"Come and get me, ugly." I teased.
It lunged at me and I dodged under it, dragging my blades through its skin. I then plunged my blades into its back and dug them around. The demon screamed and tried to turn to face me. I pulled the blades out and dodged as it spun, stabbing it multiple times as I jumped around the attack. Eventually, it fell dead. Across from where I stood on the ice, Cassandra plunged her blade into a demon and it died, shrivelling up on the ground.
I walked over to her, "There. That was fun."
She held her blade up, pointing it at me, "Drop your weapons. Now."
I raised my eyebrow at her and stood taller, "No. I need this. Especially if there are going to be more demons."
She sighed and sheathed her sword and shield, "You're right. I cannot protect you, and I cannot expect you to be defenceless," she turned around, "your life is threatened enough as it is."
I nodded at her and grinned, "And I'm good at killing things too." I giggled and walked ahead of her.
"Maker's breath." She sighed.
I giggled even more.
"Varric Tethras? The Varric Tethras? Oh, Maker, I may faint. Quick Cassandra, I need some snow on my face. Maker's blood it's actually you." I rambled as I stared at my favourite author ever.
Hey laughed and nodded, "Yes, it is the one and only. At your service." He bowed to me and I nearly passed out.
"Varric, I believe you're going to make the poor girl faint." Solas, the elven mage, commented.
"I just can't believe I am actually meeting you. This just made my day so much better!" I laughed with Varric.
"I'm sure we'll all become great friends down in the valley." Varric waggled his eyebrows at me and I choked.
"No. Absolutely not. You're help is appreciated Varric but…" Cassandra said firmly.
"Come on Seeker. You're soldiers aren't in control anymore. You need me." He pushed.
Cassandra only sighed, rolled her eyes and walked away. Solas trailed after her and I looked back at Varric.
"Well, Bianca's excited!" He laughed and followed, leaving me following them completely awestruck and dumbfounded.