Ellana Lavellan was a prisoner. She was not certain how, exactly, she had gotten herself into this position, but the shackles on her wrists and the cold, damp feeling to the air told her that she had somehow landed herself in a dungeon without having to open her eyes. She inconspicuously opened one eye a tiny bit, allowing the bright gray-green color of her iris to barely show. A dark stone floor was beneath her knees, and surrounding her were four large men, their blades pointed at her throat. Whatever she had done must have been terrible indeed. She was going to continue her study of the room when a sharp pain flashed in her hand. She cried out, both eyes shooting open as a green glow emitted from her palm. She hadn't felt pain like that since..."No." she told herself. "Best not think of that."
The door flew open at her cry, bringing in a pair of women who were as different as night and day. The first was a tall, broad-shouldered woman whose straight, imposing posture screamed warrior. She had very short black hair with a braided crown, stern hazel eyes, and a scar down her left cheek. Based on her facial expression, she wanted to hit Ellana for whatever she had done, or possibly kill her. The second woman had an equally stern expression, but she was no warrior. She was smaller, and fair-skinned, with red hair that fell to her chin. Pretty, for a shemlen. However, her icy blue eyes told Ellana that she was the harder of the two women.
"Tell me why we shouldn't kill you?" the first woman asked in an accent she couldn't place as they paced around her. Ellana glowered at her. She had done nothing!
Leliana watched as Cassandra glared down at the elven woman. Justinia, the Divine, was dead, and this woman must be to blame. The elf glared right back. Did she have no remorse? Leliana watched her thoughtfully from the corner. The prisoner looked young, little more than a child, really. She had large, steely, gray-green eyes and a small, straight nose. Her pretty, full lips were pulled back into a fierce grimace. Her vallaslin was in the design of a tree, and was partially covered up by a curtain of raven hair that just brushed her shoulders. Hatred was etched clearly across her face as Cassandra questioned her.
"The Conclave is destroyed. Everyone who attended is dead. Except for you." Leliana shook her head slightly. Cassandra's voice had broken many times in her speech. She was letting her emotion get the best of her. She wrinkled her nose. If there had been a way to leave Cassandra out of it, Leliana would have questioned the prisoner herself.
"You think I did this?" the elf raged in the soft, lilting accent that all Dalish elves had. Her expression was both furious and incredulous. It also gave Leliana pause. She knew when someone was lying, and, even though this woman was the only suspect, she began to doubt that she did this.
"Explain this!" Cassandra growled, grabbing the woman's wrist and gesturing to the mark that matched the giant hole in the sky. The elf continued to glare at Cassandra, even as the mark flashed and sparked. Solas had said that such reactions would be agonizingly painful to her, but she showed no sign of it.
"I can't." she said through gritted teeth. Cassandra looked about to explode.
"What do you mean you can't!? You're lying!" the woman roared, moving in to attack. Leliana quickly grabbed her wrist.
"We need her, Cassandra." she said calmly. Cassandra breathed for a moment before nodding. The elf turned her gray-green eyes on Leliana.
"Whatever you think I did, I'm innocent." she spat. A small part of Leliana felt guilty for contributing to this woman's hatred of her people, but she needed to know what happened.
"Do you remember what happened? How this began?" she asked. The elf furrowed her brow.
"I remember...running. Things were chasing me, and then...a woman?" she muttered.
"A woman?" Leliana asked in surprise. Based on the stories she had heard, this elf was telling the truth.
"She reached out to me, but then..." she shook her head. They would get no more answers.
"Go to the forward camp, Leliana. I will take her to the rift." Cassandra said. Leliana looked at the elf one last time before turning out of the room. They would get to the bottom of this.
"Where are you taking me?" the elf snapped. Cassandra furrowed her brow and continued to lead her to the exit. The girl had proven to be difficult, but somehow, in her heart, Cassandra knew that she hadn't caused this. She shoved the doors open and was not surprised when the girl gaped up at the sky. She, herself couldn't bear to look at it, but she forced her eyes up to see the massive chasm in the air. It was as if the fabric of the very world had torn.
"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." she said, trying not to wince. Leliana had been correct: the minute she had laid eyes on the girl, her rage had taken over. Her grief at the loss of Justinia had enveloped her, and it had all been directed at the small elven girl. She had cooled down since then, but it was just another thing to add to her list of failures. She glanced back at the elf, who was still staring at the Breach.
"An explosion can do that?" she asked suddenly, seeming to forget, for the moment, that she hated humans.
"This one did. Unless we act, the Breach may grow until it swallows the world." she explained. At that moment, the Breach pulsed distantly, and the mark on the girl's hand lit up like a wildfire. She gasped in surprise as she fell to her knees. Cassandra was impressed. Solas had likened the pain of such a reaction to something worse than being burned alive, but this girl took it as if it were a mere inconvenience. There was a strength in her that was somehow inspiring. She crouched down beside her, ignoring the anger in her gray-green eyes. "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." The girl frowned.
"You say it may be the key: to doing what?" she hissed.
"To closing the Breach. Whether that's possible is something we should discover shortly. It is our only chance, however. And yours." the Seeker replied. Dark eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"You still think I did this?" she scoffed. "To myself?" she added with a bitter laugh. Cassandra bit the inside of her cheek. She wanted to say no, but couldn't. Not yet.
"Not intentionally. Something clearly went wrong." she denied. The elf rolled her eyes.
"And if I'm not responsible?" she asked drily.
"Someone is. And you are our only suspect. You wish to prove your innocence? This is the only way." Cassandra said firmly.
"So I don't really have a choice about this?" the girl spat. Cassandra frowned. She wasn't doing a very good job of clearing her name.
"None of us has a choice." she growled back as she heaved the girl to her feet. She found herself glancing down at the elf. How could someone so young get involved in something so disastrous? Why would her Keeper send her here to spy? Why not someone older, someone more seasoned?
Leliana had, of course, told Cassandra everything she had dug up on the girl. Her name was Ellana Lavellan, and she came as a representative of a Dalish clan that resided in the Free Marches. "Representative" of course meant "spy", but according to Leliana, she had not tried too hard to remain unseen. The Left Hand of the Divine had been impressed by the Keeper's initiative. Generally the Dalish had no interest in human politics, but this Keeper Deshanna was obviously keenly aware that the Conclave would have an effect on everyone, including her people. Ellana was an adult, based on the presence of her vallaslin, but Cassandra could not imagine that she was more than eighteen years old. Beyond her place of origin and her purpose for being at the Conclave, they had found nothing more. Ellana was scowling at the people around them. To be fair, they were glaring at her as well.
"They have decided your guilt. They need it. The people of Haven mourn our Most Holy, Divine Justinia, 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." she explained. She looked down at Ellana again. "We lash out like the sky, but we must think beyond ourselves, as she did, until the Breach is sealed." there was a tiny flash of recognition in Ellana's eyes before the hate replaced it. Cassandra drew a small knife and unbound her wrists. "There will be a trial. I can promise no more. Come, it is not far." she added.
"Where are you taking me?" Ellana asked again. They walked out of the gates of Haven and turned toward the mountain.
"Your mark must be tested on something smaller than the Breach." she replied before trudging up the mountain. Hopefully, Solas' plan for the girl would work out. They couldn't afford it not to.