Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Age
Theron woke to sore legs, an aching hand, and the nagging suspicion that he had forgotten something important. Before he could think more of how he had gotten to be in such a predicament, pain flared in his left hand; a pain he had not felt since his hospitable stay at Fort Drakon at Loghain's insistence.
His cry alerted the guards that he was awake and he could hear swords being drawn. He opened his eyes and glared at the shackles. How dare they imprison him! Suddenly, pieces came rushing back: the Conclave, the explosion, and him being chased. "Zev," he muttered. Zevran was supposed to meet him at the Conclave, if he had been caught in the blast…
The door flew open and in walked Leliana with a woman he recognized as the Right Hand of the Divine, Seeker Cassandra Pentagast. He was grateful to see Leliana right up until Cassandra grabbed him by the front of his borrowed armour.
"Tell me why we shouldn't kill you now. The Conclave is destroyed. Everyone who attended is dead. Everyone except for you," she threw him back to the ground in an attempt to intimidate him; this woman had a lot to learn.
He glanced over at Leliana who returned his look with a hard stare. No help there then, he thought. "Mara gara banal o em (you get nothing from me)," he hissed.
Cassandra grabbed him by his left wrist and lifted, "Explain this."
The Mark flared and he cried out; that one was worse than the last! "Lasa em dara (let me go)!" He ordered and the Seeker got a first-hand lesson on just how flexible elves could be. Theron twisted at a seemingly impossible angle and kicked the woman in the head.
The Seeker, in her surprise, dropped Theron who landed and rolled out of the way of a descending sword. "Stop!" She commanded and marched towards the elf with murder in her eyes.
Leliana grabbed her by the arm, "We need him, Cassandra."
"Nura ma banafelas (may you rot)," he growled as he righted himself into a crouching position.
"You remember how this all began?" Leliana asked, but he knew it was a rhetorical question. So he glared at the woman he had thought his friend.
"Go to the forward camp, Leliana," Cassandra instructed as she took a deep breath, "I will take him to the Rift."
"Tel'din dirtha aron ar te'elan hartha (Do not speak like I cannot hear)!" He hissed.
Leliana nodded and Cassandra pulled a key from her armour and unlocked his shackles on to ties his hands with rope. (This makes little sense. Are you saying that she unlocked his shackles and tied his hands with rope?) "Where are you taking me?!" He demanded.
"Now you speak Common," Cassandra growled.
"Felasil Shemlen (Idiot human)," he snarked.
The Seeker sighed irritably, "It would be easier to show you." She reached to grab him, but stopped when she saw the look in his eyes. She offered a hand to help him up that he swatted aside and stood up on his own. She turned and led him out of the building he still recognized from over a decade ago.
Theron stepped out and stared in awe and horror at the Breach, "By the Dread Wolf!"
"We call it 'the Breach'. It's a massive Rift into the world of demons that grows larger with each passing hour," Cassandra explained, "It's not the only such Rift. Just the largest. All were caused by the explosion at the Conclave." She walked over to him, "Unless we act, the Breach may until it swallows the world." The Breach flared and so did Theron's mark, causing him to fall to the ground in pain. He pulled his hand close and curled around it. "Each time the Breach expands, your Mark spreads…and it is killing you," she continued.
Survived the taint, Darkspawn, the Archdemon, and talking Darkspawn only to be killed by my own hand, he thought bitterly.
"It may be the key to stopping this, but there isn't much time," she finished.
"You still think I did this. To myself!" He accused.
"Not intentionally. Something clearly went wrong," she answered.
Yeah, I took an interest in the outside world he thought. "And if I'm not the one responsible," he questioned.
"Someone is and you are our only suspect," Cassandra replied, "You wish to prove your innocence? This is the only way."
"I doubt there is anything I can do to prove my innocence to any of you Shems. You are determined to have me pay." He accused, "Fine. It seems I am doomed either way. Let us close this Breah and hope it kills me before your Shem 'justice' does."
Cassandra nodded and helped him to his feet, walking him passed angry people who didn't even know they owed their lives to him. "They have decided your guilt, they need it," she began, "The people of Haven mourn our Most Holy, Divine Justinia, head of the Chantry. The Conclave was hers."
They walked up the mountain path he recognized from his first trip to the Temple of Sacred Ashes. "It was a chance for peace between the Mages and Templars," she continued, "She brought their leaders together. Now they are dead. We lash out like the sky. But we must think beyond ourselves. As she did." They walked through the gates and Cassandra stopped on the bridge, pulling out a dagger. She reached for the rope but with some shifting, Theron slid his hands right out. "How?" She stared at the fallen rope, baffled.
"You don't tie too many elves, do you?" He asked, but both knew it wasn't a question.
They started walking again. "There will be a trial; I can promise no more. Come, it is not far," she spoke as she walked. He followed closely as she led him, but he knew the way without her help. "Your Mark must be tested on something smaller than the Breach."
The two continued on passed people running toward Haven screaming it was the end of the world when the Mark expanded and sent Theron to his knees in a cry of pain. Cassandra was quick to return to his side and aided him in getting to his feet; she ignored that he had leaned against her to remain upright. "The pulses are coming faster now," she stated like he couldn't tell on his own.
"How did I survive the blast?" He asked as they started moving again, he didn't like this woman but he wanted to know.
"They say you stepped out of the rift and fell unconscious. They say a woman was in the rift behind you but no one knows who she was," she explained, "everything farther in the valley was laid waste, including the Temple of Sacred Ashes. I supposed you'll see soon enough."
The two were halfway across the bridge when a blast from the Breach shattered it and sent them sprawling onto the frozen river below. Not far off a Shade clawed its way out of the ground.
Cassandra drew her sword, "Stay behind me!" She rushed to fight the demon. Theron was content to watch when another demon began clawing its way out. The elf glanced back for a weapon and saw a bow, not as good at his old one was, but it would do. He grabbed the bow and quiver and made short work of the demon.
Cassandra nearly tripped over her feet in shock when an arrow lodged itself in the demon's head, ending it; she thought at first it was Leliana, but turned and saw the prisoner poking at the remains of a demon with the tip of a bow.
"It's over," he stated as he finished his examination of the corpse.
Cassandra marched over and pointed her sword at him. "Drop your weapon! Now!" She ordered.
Theron glared at her with a look that almost made her think she was talking to a superior officer and not an elven prisoner with a bow. "No," he countered and gripped the bow tight.
The Seeker scowled, "That was not a suggestion."
"Good because that wasn't optional," he replied venomously, "you are dragging me quite possibly to my death, to Mythal knows where, to do Syliase knows what, and expect me to follow happily unarmed as we fight demons." The elf slung the bow over his shoulder, "I will not go anywhere unarmed, and especially with someone who thinks I blew up a bunch of people with no greater evidence than 'I happened to survive the blast' and would shed no tears if a judge called for my head."
Cassandra sighed and sheathed her blade, "You are right. I cannot protect you, and I cannot expect you to remain defenseless," the two began walking, "Your life is threatened enough as it is."
It took some time, but the two eventually made it onto the path. In the distance, fighting could be heard. "There, in the distance, you can hear the fighting," Cassandra informed, either ignoring or forgetting elves had better hearing than humans. Theron ignored her and ran passed, drawing his bow as he went.
He came to a scene of an elf and a dwarf fighting demons falling out of the rift. Theron swore he recognized the dwarf from a story Zevran had told him, but he pushed it out, thinking about Zev and how he was likely dead was too much. He needed to deal the problem now before he let his grief take him.
A few well-placed arrows and the demons were gone, the other elf grabbed his hand and thrust it at the Rift, "Quickly, before more come through!"
Theron could feel something in the Rift reaching for him, on instinct he reached for it and pulled and the Rift closed. He looked over at the other elf, "What did you do?"
"I didn't nothing, the credit is yours," the other responded.
The archer stared at his hand as he listened to the trees around them; they spoke of the bald elf and his ancient magic; trees always remembered. "At least this is good for something," he grumbled.
"Whatever magic opened the Breach in the sky also placed that mark upon your hand," the elf continued, "I theorized the Mark might be able to close the Rifts that have opened in the Breach's wake and it seems I was correct."
Cassandra walked over, "Meaning it could also close the Breach itself."
"Possibly," the elf nodded, "it seems you hold the key to our salvation."
Theron studied the bald elf, listening and trying to find out why he felt homesick when he was near this man. "Good to know!" The Dwarf interrupted his thoughts, "And here I thought we'd be ass-deep in demons forever." He walked over to Theron. "Varric Tethras; rogue, storyteller, and occasionally unwelcome tagalong," he winked at Cassandra who made a disgusted noise.
"Are you with the Chantry, or…?" Theron asked. The dwarf reminded him of Burkel from Orzammar for some reason.
The other elf chuckled, "Is that a serious question?"
"Technically I'm a prisoner, just like you," he answered.
"I brought you here to tell your story to the Divine. Clearly that is no longer necessary," the Seeker argued.
"Yet here I am, lucky for you, considering current events," he replied with a grin.
Theron nodded, "Pleased to meet you."
The other elf chuckled again, "You may reconsider that stance in time."
"Aw, I'm sure we'll all be great friends in the Valley, Chuckles," Varric laughed.
"My name is Solas, if there are to be introductions. I am pleased to see you still live," the other elf introduced.
"He means 'I kept that mark from killing you as you slept'," Varric helpfully translated; Theron liked him already.
"I didn't know, ma serrannas (Thank you" lit." My thanks)," Theron thanked.
"Ra dea de den banal (It was nothing)," Solas smiled. Theron nearly broke out into a grin; he never thought to find someone who spoke Elvish here! Solas turned to the Seeker, "Cassandra, you should know; the magic here is unlike any I have ever seen. Your prisoner is no mage. Indeed, I find it difficult to imagine any mage having such power."
Cassandra sighed and nodded, "Understood."
Sure she believes THAT elf when he says I'm innocent but not me, he mentally complained.
"We must get to the forward camp," she ordered.
Varric got a good look at the side of the Seeker's head and noticed the big bruise forming, "You didn't have that earlier."
Before Cassandra could reply, Theron answered, "The Seeker learned just far an Elven foot can reach."
Solas bit back a snort but Varric didn't bother, "You kicked the Seeker in the head?"
Theron shrugged and gave the woman a sidelong look, "I told her to let me go."
Cassandra marched ahead of them, "Quickly."
Varric began walking, "Well, Bianca is excited!"
"Av'ahn'su'vi'in Durgen'lin (Curious dwarf)," Theron commented, "is bor'assan emen a melin (His bow has a name)?"
"Vin (yes)," Solas nodded, "ma dirashen ash sal'in (You kicked her in the head)?"
Theron laughed and nodded, "vin."
The four continued on, fighting demons along the way with Varric trying to guess his clan. Thankfully the Dwarf didn't notice how he tensed when he mentioned Merrill. "Come on, Stretch, you have to give me a hint here," Varric whined.
Theron laughed, "'Stretch'?"
"Yeah, the Seeker is a pretty tall woman, you would have to stretch to kick her in the head," the Dwarf explained.
The elf laughed louder, "Fair enough. Fine, my clan is in the Free Marches."
"Really, you don't sound like a Free Marcher, underneath that accent all you Dalish have, you almost sound Fereldan," the storyteller conversed.
Theron shook his head, "No more hints, you get it on your own or not at all."
"You Elves never play fair," Varric mock grumbled and changed the topic, "so, are you innocent?"
"I don't see myself blowing up a building with a bunch of people in it, but I don't remember," he answered and Cassandra couldn't help but notice how much more friendly he was with the other two than he was with her.
"That'll get you every time. You should've spun a story," Varric smiled
"That's what YOU would have done," the Seeker growled.
"It's more believable and less likely to result in premature execution," the Dwarf replied.
"Fine, Fen'Harel blew up the Conclave," Theron shrugged.
"You believe in the Elven Creators," Solas stated.
"To a point, I suppose, but that was a running joke between myself and another Dalish elf in response to all the Shems saying 'it is the Marker's plan.' Both of us have seen too much to blindly believe in those stories," Theron answered.
"The Maker has a hand in everything," Cassandra argued.
"Yes, and Fen'Harel actually blew up the Temple of Sacred Ashes," the hunter rolled his eyes. The Seeker grumbled, but said nothing as she approached the gate.
They walked over to the bridge and could hear Leliana arguing. The Chancellor looked up from the table to glare at Theron. "I order you to imprison this elf and prepare him for trial," the man ordered.
Theron glared back at him and once more Cassandra got the feeling she was looking at a superior officer rather than an elf. "Ma elana esay, Shemlen (You can try, human)," he challenged.
"Hey, Chuckles, what did he say?" Varric asked.
"He dared the Chancellor to try," Solas answered.
Cassandra ignored them all, not wanting to see what the fiery prisoner would do if backed into a corner. "Order me?! You are a clerk, a bureaucrat."
"And you are thug, but a thug who supposedly serves the Chantry," the man fired back.
"We serve the Most Holy, Chancellor, as you well know," Leliana interrupted.
"Justinia is dead! We must elect a replacement and obey her orders on the matter," he argued.
"So no one is in charge," Theron stated.
"And whose fault is that?!" He snarled and turned to Cassandra, "Call a retreat, Seeker. Our situation here is hopeless."
The Seeker shook her head, "I do not believe that."
"What you 'believe' doesn't matter," the Chancellor snapped.
"We have to try," Leliana argued. The Chancellor threw up his hands in frustration and looked at the map on the table.
"We can take the route through the Temple, it is the fastest," Cassandra suggested.
"But not the safest. Our forces can charge as a distraction while you take the mountain path," Leliana offered.
"We lost contact with an entire squad on that mountain," the Seeker argued and turned to Theron, "what do you think?"
"Now you're asking me for my opinion?" Theron asked incredulously.
"You are the one we must keep alive," Leliana informed.
"Yes, so a judge can call for my head later," he hissed, letting his hurt at Leliana's actions earlier colour his response. He closed his eyes and forced himself to calm down. "No one gets left behind, we take the mountain path. Work together; we all know what's at stake."
Varric nodded his approval and Cassandra frowned as the elf ignored her. "Leliana, gather everyone from the Valley, everyone," the Seeker ordered.
"On your head be the consequences, Seeker," the Chancellor snarked as the woman walked passed.
The four headed through the mountain with Solas and Varric bickering about whether a Breach in the fade could cause the Conclave explosion. The group was close to where contact with the scouts had been lost and both Elves could head fighting. "Closing the Breach should be out top priority," Solas suggested.
"I'm leaving that decision to Stretch," Varric replied.
"We will not leave anyone behind," Theron stated in a way that Cassandra could easily believe that he had led forces before. He drew his bow and started running, "they're close!" He loosed an arrow and all could hear the squall of a demon.
The fight didn't last long and the remainder of the squad turned gratefully to the Seeker. "It's a good thing you came when you did, Seeker Cassandra, I don't think we could have held them off much longer."
"Don't thank me, it was the prisoner who insisted we come this way," she replied.
"The prisoner?" The scout asked and turned to the elf.
"We stand together or fall separately," Theron stated, "Go; the way behind us is clear for the moment." The scouts nodded and ran down the path they came