Chapter 1

Flashes of green and brown whipped past Taliyah as she ran through the forest. She knew Daidrin was somewhere behind her. She could hear his footsteps quietly keeping pace as she ran wildly through the trees. Her lungs burned and her legs threatened to fail her at every pounding step. That, she decided, was her plan then. She would run until she couldn't, and if the distance didn't help…

Taliyah's legs gave no final warning when they gave out a few steps later. The world crashed to a halt, blurred swirls of colors jolting back into familiar shapes – branch, grass, soil, shrub. She squeezed her blues eyes shut, letting them adjust behind the black of her eyelids.

"Glad you finally decided to stop," Daidrin joked in his low, relaxed voice. "I was almost about to break a sweat."

Taliyah could hear him rustle uncomfortably when she didn't respond. She didn't want to laugh, she didn't want to ease the tension in her head, or accept kind platitudes. She wanted to die – no, she wanted to erase herself from existence, she wanted to have never been born in the first place.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He pressed as he inched closer.

With sudden clarity, Taliyah knew that if she didn't respond, the dwarf would rest a reassuring hand on her shoulder. The idea was more than she could bear. Comfort would annihilate her; send her into a darkness she didn't want to visit yet. The protest in her muscles didn't stop her from quickly standing. She stood straight, just a few inches taller than Daidrin, as her body begged for rest. The pain made her feel a sense of accomplishment.

"No. I want to set up camp and then I want to talk about what we'll do next." The words spilled out just as Daidrin's fingers brushed her cloak. He pulled them back nonchalantly and nodded.

"Good idea. Might want to pick a spot with fewer trees though, otherwise we'll risk setting the place on fire."

The clearing Taliyah and Daidrin settled on was only a few yards south. It's packed-down earth and ashy smell gave it the appearance of a popular way-point for many travelers. The sun was only beginning to think about its descent into the horizon when the pair sat near their roaring fire.

"I was thinking we might head into Ferelden. I hear the Arl of Redcliff has a soft spot for mages," Daidrin began has he sliced open the throat of the ram they had caught. It would have been better to hang the carcass and drain the beast more thoroughly, he knew, but his concern was with Taliyah, who needed to finally eat something.

"No. We're going to Orlais." There was a note of defiant strength in Taliyah's voice, a tone that had been familiar until a week ago, when the world sucked the sparkle out of the girl.

"Taliyah…" Daidrin sighed heavily.

"I want to know why. I want to know who ordered it. I want to know…" The edge in her voice died as she trailed off.

"You want to know if it was you," Daidrin finished quietly.

"It had to be me," she whispered. "That's why they went to Seele. That's why they…" Tears threatened her eyelids. Daring to make her feel everything she fought to ignore.

"Maybe Rivella didn't get to your phylactery in time. They may think you're just another fleeing mage." Taliyah was difficult to console at the best of times, but Daidrin could see immediately that rather than having no effect, his words served to make her angry.

"Yes. That must be it," she said harshly. "I'm just another mage. The Templars have no clue what I really am."

The dwarf waited patiently as Taliyah began to pace near the flames. He would have to let her deal with her emotions in her own way. He settled himself against a log they'd felled and lifted the bandage on his face. His eyes had been gone since before he met Taliyah five years ago, but the sockets would still itch now and then, tempting him to believe there was a bit of dust or errant eyelash floating about. He'd learned long ago that it was easier to play along and gently rub the empty sockets than to ignore the ghostly annoyance.

It wasn't until Daidrin had skinned the meat and propped it over the fire that Taliyah finally settled onto the log next to him. He could feel the restless energy still rolling off of her. Underneath though, he knew could her tiredness. Since the tower, she only slept when she absolutely had to, and even then just short, fitful naps.

"I can't go into hiding," she said after a few minutes had passed. "The Templars have my phylactery; they'll chase me down."

"They could just give up. Or, I've heard about mages bribing Templars." Daidrin knew her response even before she did. He didn't care that she would disagree, he just wanted to keep her talking, keep her grounded.

"They annulled the tower, Daid. They're not going to just give up or take some money to go away." She sounded almost reasonable again. Well, as close to reasonable as she ever was.

"Going to Orlais puts us at a disadvantage. That's their turf," he said.

"So then what do we do?" The frustration in her voice was back.

"The way I see it; we've got two goals." Daidrin stabbed a stubby finger upward. "First, get your phylactery from the Templars." Another finger shot up. "Second, find out what happened to Dairsmuid."

Taliyah considered Daidrin's assessment as he sniffed the air. The fire cracked wildly as he removed the meat. The smell of charred ram suddenly swirled around them, filling at Taliyah's nostrils and reminding her of the hunger she's been ignoring.

"So what? We attack every Templar we see?" She was excited at the prospect of striking back, of hurting the Templars and their families.

"Perhaps. Or we let them come to us," he replied. He continued before she could argue. "If there's a Templar with your phylactery, they'll catch up to us sooner or later. All we have to do is wait."

She nodded, taking a cautious bite from the meat Daidrin handed her. It was without seasoning, but still delicious.

"Any stranger we see, we approach cautiously. We don't attack until we're sure and we take our time if someone approaches us," he said as he chewed his meat. "We can't afford to walk into a trap."

Taliyah had never been the cautious type. She never thought out her actions, never considered consequences. In the five years since Daidrin had come to Dairsmuid Tower to train her, it was the one area in which she had made no progress. So when she signaled her agreement, he knew it wouldn't stick. He considered pressing the point further, making her understand that her life was at stake, but he knew from experience talking sense to Taliyah was like praying to the ancestors: It might make him feel better for a moment, but nothing would truly change.

"We'll let the Templars find us, but we keep heading toward Orlais," Taliyah said. The food had already done her some good. Her voice was calmer, with the slight tone of apprehension. If she would just get some sleep, Daidrin knew she'd start to feel like herself again.

"We'll have to let them catch us somewhere between here and the far border of Antiva – getting cornered in Nevarra would be just as bad as Orlais."

Taliyah said nothing in return. Instead, she stood and stretched. The folds of her cloak rustling in the dirt. Daidrin was surprised she hadn't discarded the garment when she'd abandoned her staff; he knew she wore her leathers underneath. Maybe the cloak offered a sort of protection that had nothing to do with the outside world.

"It's getting late," she said. "Get some sleep, Daid. I'll take first watch."

"Taliyah, you've taken 'first watch' every night since…and you've let me sleep through the night every time. You need sleep, not me."

The length of Taliyah's sigh told Daidrin that she was about to launch into her speech about things he wouldn't understand. He'd told her before that he knew about death and heartache, but she shrugged him off, muttering about dwarves not knowing how bad it could be. Daidrin had let the insult go. He knew humans could be dramatic.

"Have you ever had a memory stuck in your head? The kind that plays over and over and if you don't find something to distract you, you'll go mad?"

Daidrin stilled at her quiet words. He knew the feeling better than he wanted to admit. The two of them had never discussed the past beyond the surface. He knew that Taliyah had been more or less a prisoner in the tower for two years before they met, and that his presence in the tower was a compromise to get her to stop running away. Meanwhile, Taliyah knew only that Daidrin was from Orzammar, that he'd left everything – including his eyes – in the underground city and that he and Rivella were friends.

The heat from the campfire suddenly felt warmer as he considered his options. He could simply say yes, and let her continue. He could say no and observe her reaction. What he wanted to do though, was tell her the whole story. The injustice, the pain, the horror. He wanted to make her see that she wasn't alone. He opened his mouth to let the tale pour out of him when he realized the selfishness of it. This was about Taliyah and her grief, he wouldn't take that from her.

"Yes, I know the kind."

"Imagine that you're trapped in that memory. Watching it over and over, and you can't look away or distract yourself. All you can do is wait for it to stop on its own."

So this, Daidrin thought, was the fabled 'dreaming'. "What memory do you relive?"

"My father." Two words, but so much pain behind them.

"We weren't there for that," he said tonelessly.

"No, but I can imagine what it was like. I'm afraid, if I sleep, I'll see it over and over."

The fire popped loudly as Daidrin clenched and unclenched his fists. He would never admit it, but while Taliyah wanted so badly to find the person who ordered the Rite of Annullment on Dairsmuid, Daidrin wanted to see the entire Chantry burn for what it had done to her. It had made her lie. It had made her hide and cower and live a miserable half-life. Then it burned down her home, took her father and hunted her. He wanted to single-handedly slit the throat of every Chantry member, from the Revered Mother to the lowliest initiate. After a moment, he mastered himself and mock yawned.

"You're right, I'm too tired for first watch. I can barely keep my eyes open." The titter of giggles that escaped Taliyah's lips was more than enough to sooth Daidrin's rage as he laid on the ground. She loved it when he told eye jokes.

The snapping twig was hardly a sound at all, yet Taliyah's eyes opened wide at the sound. She cursed herself when she realized she'd fallen asleep, then stood and quickly completed the exercise Rivella had taught her to get rid of the double-vision. A vibration shook the earth just as Taliyah's world became a single, solid place. Quietly she slipped forward, but halted near her sleeping companion. He would want her to wake him, she knew. She wrestled against herself for a moment more before kneeling next to the dwarf. She wanted to handle this herself, but she also wanted Daidrin to see her handle it.

"Someone's coming," she whispered. "I'm going to slip behind him, you stay here." She didn't wait to see if Daidrin had heard her.

Either the person wandering dangerously close to their camp was a blundering idiot, or they wanted to be caught. Even Taliyah, who had the tracking skills of a senseless child – or so she'd been told – had no trouble following the noise and slipping behind the intruder. She crouched low, trying to get a glimpse of her quarry, but the dense treetops hid what little moonlight shown through the night's cloud cover.

It wasn't much longer before the man – Taliyah decided that the heavy, flat footfalls indicated a male – came to their camp. Oddly, he simply stood, as though waiting for something to happen. Taliyah cocked her head to the side and listened hard. But no, she heard no allies coming, only a smattering of animals enjoying the nightlife. This then, was her moment.

With a confidence laced with bravado, Taliyah darted toward the intruder. She crouched low and, just before she collided with him, struck the backs of his knees hard with her shin. The ground shook as he fell on hands and knees. Taliyah yanked on his hair with her right hand before he could regain balance and pulled him toward her. She held him close, her left hand – and the dagger it held – rested at his throat. She took a deep breath before saying the line she'd been practicing for years.

"Stay on your knees or we'll test my dagger's sharpness on your neck!"

The intruder still immediately, giving Taliyah a moment to take him in. He was not human as Taliyah first imagined, but Qunari. His horns protruded from his forehead, rose six inches and then curved toward the crown of his head. His long white hair fell around his bare chest and shoulders. Even on his knees, he came up to Taliyah's chin. His many muscles rippled in frustration as the girl barely half his height held him at bay.

"How long shall we stay like this?" His voice was deep and full of bored sarcasm.

A confused "What?" escaped Taliyah's lips before she had time to think.

"You're the one with the blade, shouldn't you ask me what I'm doing here or something?" The Qunari drew his words into one long, deep sigh.

Taliyah's excitement at having caught the Qunari was suddenly eclipsed by fear. She was in over her head, and if Daidrin wasn't awake, or if he'd died in his sleep or just become tired of her... She forced herself to take a breath and mask her words with a courage she didn't quite feel.

"Why have you come to my camp in the middle of the night?" She jabbed her dagger into his neck a little, for good measure.

"Ow! Must you press so hard?"

"It was for emphasis." She slowed her voice, allow her thick Rivaini accent to drag each word along. She jabbed again. "Well?"

"Quit poking me!" His body shuddered with annoyance. "I figured you'd be easy marks. Tie you down, steal your supplies and be on my way."

"Your plan has gone awry," she said triumphantly. Taliyah's mind raced as she considered how she might end this. She needed to somehow prove she was too much of a threat so he would walk away and leave them alone. She didn't know how. In all the times Daidrin had trained her for larger opponents, she had never taken it seriously. She never imagined a time when someone bigger than her might actually pose a threat. She knew there were more steps, ways she could secure or incapacitate him, but she couldn't recall any of the things Daid had said. Come to think of it, she wondered, where was Daid? Why hadn't he sprung to action?

The air raced from her lungs as she hit the ground. For a moment, there was nothing. Then, the smell of soil filled her nostrils as her chest fought to find a rhythm once again. The Qunari was suddenly above her, a knee on her back and her wrists clutched tightly in one giant fist.

"You stand like a novice," he said harshly. "Makes it easy to put you on the ground instead - obviously. Like I said, easy mark."

Panic clawed at Taliayh's throat, threatening a scream. She had allowed herself to lose her advantage, and now she was pinned. Helpless. At the mercy of someone else, as usual. Then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, the weight on her back was gone. She rolled to her side and looked toward the Qunari. He was on the ground again, with Daidrin calmly holding him in place. The Qunari caught Taliyah's eye with his left one and grinned unexpectedly.

"Your dwarf's much better at this. He's harder to knock over in the crouched position and his grip on my arm is tight, but not locked," he said approvingly. "The fingers on my eye are a nice touch."

"Keeps you from getting any ideas." Daidrin twitched the middle finger that rested on the Qunari's closed right eye.

Relief washed over Taliyah. Of course Daidrin hadn't left her. Of course he wasn't dead or bored. He was loyal. He would stay with her until she was gone. She chided herself for even thinking that he'd ever abandon her. She had an urge to confess her fears and to apologize for doubting him. But no, they still had the Qunari to deal with.

"Thanks, Daid," she said as she righted herself.

"Did he hurt you?"

"No, he just…" Taliyah felt her cheeks redden. He just beat her fairly because she was an amateur. She glared down at the massive man on the ground. "My stance was off because I was surprised anyone would be dumb enough to approach us…Let him up, he's not a match for us."

"Not a match for him, maybe," The Qunari's blue-gray skin rippled as he laughed heartily. He turned to face Daidrin and found himself suddenly stunned. "Wait – Dwarf – are you blind? I was taken down by a blind dwarf?"

"Vision isn't everything," Daidrin said mildly. He had never much cared how other's reacted to his blindness, but Taliyah often found herself angrily attacking anyone who so much as mentioned the faded green cloth he wore to cover the sockets.

"Enough. You have two choices: Either walk away now or let Daidrin put you down for good," Taliyah said a little too loudly.

The Qunari's expression became quickly crestfallen. Gathering his full height, he slowly turned, and walked toward the trees. "Have a splendid day."