Someday the Dream Will End

The Chase

By: Memory of the Sky

A Note from the Author: The chapters are slowly being updated as I'm now taking more time and careful consideration when writing out these pages. I am learning to be more detailed in my writing so that I may bring you a world that I see in my own waking dreams. With that, I apologize for the state of the chapters following this (2-8) and I promise to make them readable.

She did not know who was chasing her. The Dalish elf was driven from her dreams of the Fade in the middle of the night. Aura Lavellan could see from the corner of her eye an obscure figure looming over her with his blade glinting in the moonlight. With a mere thought born from panic, large spikes of gleaming emerald and blue ice shot up from the ground encumbering the assailant in the blink of an eye. She shuddered, taking a few seconds to catch her breath when she realized her neck was just a few inches beneath the ice coated dagger.

The Elven mage wasted no time as she tossed her burgundy wool blankets off and rolled out of the other side of the bed landing quietly on the balls of her feet. Aura crouched down low, making all efforts to hush her breath that seemed too loud to her. She felt around for her clothing that was piled up at the foot of the bed. Dressing quickly while trying to still her trembling hands she kept her eyes fixated on the door to the room that was cracked open, she wondered when there would be more coming through to kill her, or if there were any other assassins on the other side. She slipped on a pair of soft faded brown leather Dalish foot-wraps and grabbed her staff.

Aura tossed the white jeweled rod out the only window to the room before leaping out of it herself. Outside she waited for a few moments and listened to the forest surrounding her small cottage creek and crack slightly in the cool breeze. She was able to pick up the sound of the nearby brook to the north babbling calmly. Still, the air felt oddly thick as if there were more than just herself and the frozen slayer trapped in her cottage.

Snap.

The sound of a breaking branch was enough to send her off in a run to the west towards the back of her cottage. She continued, hopping over the tiny garden fence, trampling on her carefully tended nursery and continued on into the thick of the woods where she hoped to lose them. Aura knew of a safe encampment miles away that belonged to a group known as The Aegis. The sound of thrashing branches and leaves must have alerted her stalkers to her presence for it was not too long before she could hear the sound of metal scraping with metal paired with the familiar sound of men breathing heavily through their helmets like a musical prelude to a battle that would eventually ensue. She cursed herself three times over for being too impatient in her frantic departure.

They were catching up to her, but being Dalish was a credit to her. Aura nimbly vaulted herself over rocks and upturned logs purposefully weaving a path directly into these objects while hoping to make the distance between herself and them greater. There was at least one that was able to keep up with her as far as she could tell, the others were seemingly falling behind. Despite wanting to look back, Aura kept her eyes ahead out of fear that the act would lag her momentum.

Solas had no intentions of revealing himself to her, his primary concern was keeping her safe from harm. He reminded himself of this over and over again even though his heart panged with a frustrating desire to call out to her. She probably assumed that the noise made by the thrashing plants as he ran after her was possibly one of the assassins. Keep running, do not look back, He prayed silently . The apostate looked briefly into the sky, the moon was at its highest for the night and provided a good source of light to illuminate their path.

Solas' attention was broken when an arrow whistled on its way past his ear and found a home in the trunk of a tree just a few meters ahead. He slid to a halt, dead foliage flying up in a spray and turned quickly while throwing his hand out and grasping at the air with a clawed gesture. At once, the forest ignited in tall smoking flames mirroring the rage burning in his chest. The flames engulfed a wide range from the direction they came from and heat flooded the area quickly. Solas stood for a second watching as the flames licked and swallowed every bit of vegetation in its raging path. When he turned back she was no longer within earshot. The sudden realization of having lost track of her sent him into a quick panic she was likely yards ahead at this point.

Fenedhis! Solas cursed himself, he could not stop chasing her just yet. He took off running in the direction that he had finally sensed her presence. He stopped short his eye-catching a faint glimmering substance brushed onto a broad leaf hanging from a wide bush that curtained his path. Reaching out, Solas touched it, unable to tell what the substance specifically was for he feared the worst. Solas brought his fingertips to his nose. Blood. Hers? Or her attackers? The panic began to boil against his insides, mixing itself with the anxiety dripping from his heart. It brewed a deadly concoction that began to poison his mind with terrifying thoughts.

Fueled by fear of what would become of her, Solas broke into a run again. This time pushing his limits to hurry and catch up with his beloved. Ma vhenan, please be safe, he found himself praying again. The woods seemed to stretch out forever, stealing away his patience with every moment spent in the darkness as closed in on her location. He soon heard indefinite shouts a little ways ahead bringing him to a quicker pace. The assaulters must have had more than the few he counted back at her cottage.

"DIE YOU FILTHY DALISH SCUM!"

"Garas vis ma gya!" her voice echoed sending a brief respite to the dread weighing in on his heart.

The sound of a helpless gurgled cry rang out from one of her attackers. He could hear magic tearing through the Veil at her silent command as she fought the assassins. The sound of a glass bottle popping from the inside out followed by a chilled mist spreading into the air resulted in another man's destitute cry for either being seized up or speared through by her deadly ice manipulation. Solas broke through the edge of the forest and found himself at in a small clearing, tall blades of brown overgrown grass whipped at his knees while he ran. Towards the middle of the clearing, he could see her in close combat with five assassins that were clad in dark armor, two of which had already been impaled by jagged spiked sheets of ice covered in their blood.

Aura spun in circles, her pearly white hair floating behind her while she deflected the swords of the remaining three melee with her staff. Before Solas could reach her a jet of green light exploded from her chest, engulfing her body and causing her attackers to flinch back and turn away. He could hear Aura cry out from inside of the pillar of light pushing his heart to race rapidly as he tried to understand just exactly what was happening. The light receded back into her in an instant, pushing her to her knees in a sort of daze while she dug her nails deep into her clothing. A familiar bright green flame lingered and burned over her left arm causing her to visibly shake and hiss in response to the magic burning against her. The attackers hesitated at first, they seemed mesmerized by the sudden development that Solas realized was none other than the Anchor.

A dual-wielding swordsman broke the trance and trained his weapons on her again while slowly striding forward. "RUN!" Solas shouted in a panic, garnering everyone's attention. He watched as Aura's head shot up, his eyes connecting with her familiar silvery golden pools in which he instantly felt like he was sinking. Aura's eyes shifted back and forth over his face with apprehension, she seemed too stunned to move. "RUN!" He urged her again, begging her to obey. She furrowed her brows, shaking her head clearly fighting against his wishes. The former Inquisitor gave a slight groan as the flames spread over her body and she finally managed to pick herself up and flee towards the other end of the clearing.

"Don't let her get away!" One of the assassins shouted. He broke from his group and charged at Solas.

The Apostate was quick, he slammed his staff into the ground sending out a wave of energy that struck the renegade down with a blast to the chest. A second one followed the movement of his predecessor and Solas moved within range to block his blade and then parried with a swift blow to the head followed by a quick slash from navel to nose using the knife attached at the end of his rod. When the swordsman fell, Solas quickly looked up to see Aura limping through a strained run near the other end of the clearing. The last of the assaulters was making his own broken hobbled advancement on the flame cloaked mage. She fell forward with a blood-curdling scream when an arrow was lodged into her right shoulder. The adrenaline pumping through Solas' veins came to a peak then, his vision blurring and his heart beating wildly like a drum in his ears when the finale melee came upon her with his raised sword.

Aura turned quickly, sensing her attacker draw upon her. She raised her staff, blocking the first of the blows before managing to bring herself off of her knees to fend off the offender. The melee moved in low for a second strike and the pale haired elf blocked too slow, taking the blade into her abdomen. The assassin yanked it from her stomach with a grunt of satisfaction as she dropped to her knees once again. The young Dalish mage quickly grabbed herself at her wound. She inhaled deeply for air, drowning in the sudden loss of blood pouring into her garments that dripped into thick puddles out into the grass. She quickly felt dizzy, her vision distorting while sound seemed to erase itself from existence. She was unable to concentrate on exactly where she was and her eyes desperately searched for anything to keep her tethered to this world. She found herself looking up to her killer, the final blow imminent. The attacker brought his sword down and she closed her eyes tightly, Solas' name escaping her lips as her final word in this world, but nothing came except the feeling of hot ash against her skin.

"Aura!" Solas cried out as he ran forward catching her before she could fall face forward.

He was too late, all of his efforts to save her from this ended in what he had feared the most. She was heavy in his arms, listless and unresponsive as he whispered her name through shuddering breaths. He turned her over in his arms with much care, cradling her as she took a few shallow breaths. The Anchor's flames were beginning to dwindle much akin to her own life force. He trembled when her eyes opened to look at him. Solas couldn't find the anger he had expected in their reunion, or sorrow that she might of had given the circumstances. Instead she was smiling weakly though her eyes that wavered under a thick film of water.

"Vhenan," her voice kept him losing all shred of hope he had.

"Tel'dirtha," Solas hushed her.

He frantically began to pour healing magic into her abdomen. A burning sensation welled up behind his eyes as he listened to her breath growing fainter with each draw. Soon his vision began to distort. Solas drew her in as close as possible him, afraid that if he loosened his grip at any given moment she would be lost forever. "Please," he whispered to her, he bowed his head over her and shut his eyes tightly. "Stay with me," Solas could not hold back the flood pushing against his lids any longer.

The tears leaked out, unstoppable as he blamed himself silently. She was dying and it was entirely his fault. He took the blame for everything, for leaving her, for not taking better care of her, and soon this world would be short one more precious gift thanks to him, again. Solas had to save her, he knew his sanity depended on it. He was shaking as he focused every bit of himself to keep her from entering the Fade permanently. When he finally opened his eyes the Anchor's flames had disappeared entirely, taking her consciousness with it.

"No," he swallowed hard. "No, no, no, no no…" he wasn't going to let her give in. Solas snapped the arrow at the back and tossed the feathered end aside. He pulled the exposed arrow out with ease and chucked it before picking her up. "Suledin ma vhenan!"

Sweat beaded across his brow and his eyes felt heavy, but he had done it. He had managed to repair the damage through magical means. The Apostate was no practiced healer, but the spirits he had consulted managed to calm him throughout the labored process and even lend their own hand in restoring Lavellan back to life. Now he was relaxed, watching her chest rise and fall at a relaxed pace. The sound of each steady breath she took brought him to a sort of inner peace he had not felt since their time spent together in the days of the Inquisition.

Solas sat back for a moment, rewarding himself further with just the carnal sight of her slender torso stripped down to her small clothes. This was the most he would ever get to see of her exposed flesh, that he was sure of. Even though he had propriety he still had hot blood coursing through his veins, it was okay if he could spare a look, right? He selfishly recorded each scar marred upon her flesh, wondering what story brought it to its existence. Solas' eyes fell upon a blackened scar on her left ribs, it was curved and well defined.

Curious, he leaned forward to get a better look. It was a little more intricate than a scar, the lines shaped into a delicate curve that brought his eyes up to the edge of her small clothes. Another one . He reached forward, his curiosity leashing him but he stopped just short in undoing the threads that came between him and the secrets beneath her last line of defense. Solas wouldn't dare, not without her explicit permission. Still, he had to see the rest of the pattern through and decided that he didn't have to take everything off.

He slipped a finger over the top of her undergarments pulling down slightly to observe an intricate mandala shaped much like a flowering sun etched upon her chest. The intricate curves outside of the pattern made a bit of sense to him then. He followed the loose pattern of sparse curves up the left side of her chest and over her shoulder. The next mystery was one he had noted when he had brought her to safety. The pattern trailed down her arm and ended at the inside of her elbow where a smaller mandala was etched into her flesh.

He ran his fingers down the smooth underside of her forearm, the final mystery coming to mind. Her arm was whole again. He thought for a moment, perhaps the mandala was something she had always bore, or perhaps it came after her days as Inquisitor? Another possibility was that it was a product of the Anchor re-manifesting itself within her. Suddenly he began to feel frustrated with the realization that he had not saved her from the Anchor three years ago.

"Solas," she caught him off guard.

The Apostate looked to her face expecting to find her awake. Instead, he found that she was merely speaking from her sleep. The frustration subsided as he repeated the sound of her voice in his head. She still thought about him, enough to bring her voice from the Fade and call his name. He was overwhelmed with joy and desired to hear his name on her lips again. Solas leaned forward, kissing her brow lightly in response to her affections, "Hamin ma vhenan, hamin," he whispered into her ear. When he stood he reached down to the foot of her cot and pulled a large bearskin over her small frame and then left her to rest.

When Solas emerged from the tent that was concealed beneath the roots of a great tree he felt the thinness of the veil rest against his skin. He had brought Aura here on purpose hoping that it would aid in her recovery. A woman adorned in deep purple leathers greeted him with a calm demeanor despite her face being hidden away by a carved wolf mask in the colors of black and gold. She gave Solas a slight bow before speaking, "Is she?" the woman's voice was slightly muffled.

"She will need more herbs if she is to stave off an infection, she rests easier now. I fear though that the outcome is still uncertain," Solas said stiffly, "Irena, could you...?"

The masked woman bowed quickly once more, "On it, in the meantime we've fetched fresh garments for you," she turned slightly and extended a hand to another individual standing a ways off beckoning him to approach.

"Sir," his voice also muffled behind his mask. He bowed and extended the neatly folded garments towards his master. Solas nodded in kind, giving a humble thanks before walking off into the darkness to a nearby river. As he washed Aura's blood from his hands he thought about what might happen when she woke up. Aura might have the strength enough to be angry with him, and secretly he dreaded the day he would finally have to face her. She had every right to be angry, or maybe he believed she deserved some shred of selfishness that would be her anger towards him.

After all she had given herself so selflessly into the service of all of Thedas. It was her indomitable will that he had placed himself directly in front of, when he set his plans in motion three years ago he decided that she was the only one he could really depend on should this plan fail too. Uncovering a plot to assassinate his beloved required his personal attention though. It was no secret that renegade ex-Templars and humans in high standing positions felt threatened by her presence. She was after all, the Herald of Andraste and a Dalish Elf who saved the world from ruin.

The world was slowly changing and Elves were becoming stronger. Those that sought to gain power would certainly try to make use of the former Inquisitor, and others would seek to end her life out of fear of the Elves raising her as an icon of power. He had decided to maintain his distance from her for these very reasons. People would soon come to learn the truth about him and soon they would use her as leverage against him. For now, he was unable to decide what would be the better outcome for her.

Solas' thoughts began to drift back upon the strange mandala markings he found on her body and the rift flames that had given her arm back. He found himself staring into his reflection that was rippling in the moonlight on the water's surface. He no longer felt calm or collected, "Curses," he slapped the surface of the water in anger.

It burned. Aura held her legs tightly to her chest. Her insides felt like they were slowly melting with each throbbing stab of pain. She cradled her head on her knees and rocked herself gently from side to side while humming an old Elven song that would ward away malevolent spirits. Except, it was not necessarily her voice producing the soothing melody, but the Fade mimicking what it knew of her. Her mouth was dry and it felt like someone had driven iron nails through each of her joints.

Her mind was weightless against a sea of heavy thoughts, unable to focus on any one particular thing. The Dalish girl had convinced herself that she followed a nightmare of Solas deep into the Fade and was now lost in a void section where not even she could dream her way out. In the belly of the darkness, the only source of light she had was a dim whisp she had conjured up. It's survival solely dependent on her dwindling ability to manipulate the Fade.

"Are you just going to sit there?" A distorted voice called out to her.

Aura did not move, she was weary of whoever was trying to communicate with her. Reaching out with her spirit she searched for a sign that whoever it was meant her no harm. Her eyes flicked up from her knees when it met her halfway, lending a warm caress to her tired spirit. It felt vibrant, yet humble, but still she doubted the validity. "Follow me," it urged her.

The lost mage hesitated, wondering if a demon had cleverly disguised itself just for a chance to bring her guard down. She felt the warmth radiate against her spirit again, pouring a little bit of hope into her thoughts. What other choice did she have? Waking up? It wasn't likely to happen. She knew in the waking world her body had undergone some sort of trauma that kept her from returning. Aura was sure she was struck down, but she couldn't quite recall how.

She willed the Fade to stop mimicking the Elven song once she noticed a hooded shadowy figure standing in the distance with an illuminated staff in hand. Aura tried to work out the details of the figure but her vision blurred.

"Your spirit is weak," the same voice from before came from it. "I can take you back to safety, where the veil is thin."

She opened her mouth to speak back but no words followed. Fearful of what else might fail her if she stayed she unraveled herself and crawled slowly onto her feet. Aura staggered when the pain began to claw violently at her insides. She grasped her abdomen to support herself but found no comfort in any movement as she made her way to the guide. He reached out for her with a distorted clawed hand, and she silently refused him permission to touch her.

The shrouded spirit took no offense and allowed her space. She followed him through the darkness for what seemed like hours until finally the cloaked figure spoke, "You've unknowingly strayed so far," he said and stopped. He turned to her, "I could carry you," he offered her his hand again. Aura shuddered away, taking a step back. "You are too weak to be in this place, the longer you linger from your body the more likely your spirit will remain here forever. Your body may die," he told her.

She swallowed the revelation hard, she wasn't ready to die yet. Her eyes brimmed over with tears as she forced herself to take a step closer to her guide. The Dalish girl extended her hand towards the spirit and it quickly reached out, sweeping her off of her feet into his arms.

"You are safe," He reassured her.

In the waking world Solas breathed a sigh of relief, he had arrived just in time. The Apostate had crossed into the Fade while awake to search for her lost spirit. He was proud of her for how careful she was with herself despite initially denying his assistance. Anyone or anything else would have found other uses for her body. He leaned against the cot, intertwining his fingers with hers and laid his head against her arm allowing himself to slip entirely into the Fade with her.

Though her lips did not move he could still hear her voice in the Fade, she pestered him with questions. Who he was, where he came from, why he was helping her. He gave vague answers, too afraid of how much it might upset her if she knew the truth right away. Eventually she gave into her weakened state, and allowed herself to lay her head against his chest. Holding her this close enticed him to speak words of endearment and break his silence on the truth of the matter. Solas bit his tongue though, and allowed her the rest she required. Eventually she would figure it out for herself, her cleverness was never short in supply.

The Fade began to finally twist to his will as she drifted into her slumber. He called upon the location where their physical bodies rested and soon the darkness began to recede, melting into dim morning light. Shadows carved themselves into ancient structures and monuments to the old Elven Pantheon began to emerge. Before long he was walking down a path laid with pastel colored stones to a courtyard where a large white tree stood with branches offering shade and protection. There he laid her beneath the pale tree and took a hesitant step back and stopped when he caught her opening her bright silvery eyes.

Lavellan took in a sudden sharp breath and hiked herself up on her elbows when the Anchor's flames erupted without warning. Solas dropped down to her side, pushing her to her back and quickly tore away at her tunic. The markings he had noted back in the waking world were alive and illuminated like a window to a raging fire beneath her flesh. It called to him, it ached for use and purpose once more but did not siphon at Aura's life like before. Aura writhed, twisting against the discomfort that the Anchor had brought her and though her voice was weak she cried out and held herself.

"Ma vhenan," Solas calmly called out to her. "Can you hear me?"

Startled by the sound of his actual voice she twisted to look at him. "Solas?" she rasped.

He nodded to her throwing his hood back and reached out for her, "Forgive me," he said and took her shaking body into his arms. He took her lips with his kissing her more deeply than the procedure required. Solas swallowed the excess power the Anchor was generating. He cringed slightly when he released her from his kiss, feeling the power burn all the way down echoing what Aura had felt when it tried to conquer her. It changed from how he remembered it, it felt a little more alive as it bubbled through his being and then finally dissipated.

Solas could not put his finger on it, nor would he bother to think on it now. She was calmed by his actions, and they were looking at one another in a wordless state of anticipation. He opened his mouth to speak, finding that he had too much to tell and none of the right words to say. "Rest ," the word burned his tongue when he cursed her mind to succumb to Fadeless dreams. She immediately lost consciousness cementing the guilt in his heart for taking such actions against her all for the sake of avoiding an inevitable conversation.

He swallowed the guilt hard as he carefully laid her back down to rest whispering countless ways to apologize to her, none of which he was truly satisfied with. The Apostate set the strongest wards possible around her keeping his treasure unknown to any malevolent spirits that may pass through and then finally laid himself in front of her to seek his own rest from both the Fade and the waking world. He reached out, brushing wisps of her pale hair from her face and felt at ease for a few fleeting moments. Silently he promised her retribution before willfully sending his own consciousness into a dreamless sleep.

Garas vis ma gya = Come if you dare

Ma vhenan / vhenan = My heart / Heart

Tel'Dirtha = Do not speak

Suledin = Endure