Summary: When two strange figures fell out of the breach, only one had a mark to save Thedas. The other, well she had been at the wrong place at the worst time. But there was something about this woman that felt off, and Cassandra isn't sure what it is.
For your reference:
"Speech"
'Thoughts'
~"Other Language"~
"Demon Speak"
(Chapter 1- The Story Begins)
"Any news on who our prisoners are?" A tall, slightly intimidating woman asked one of the higher ranking scouts.
"For the Qunari we figured out that she has to be part of a mercenary group, but the other … Well, we haven't found anything on her. It's like she just appeared out of thin air." The scout replied.
"What do you mean? There must be some trace of her somewhere." The woman ground out between clenched teeth. Her dark hair reflecting faintly in the torchlight, the slight sway of her armor distracted the scout as she behead the intricately drawn insignia famous to the Seekers.
"Be calm, Cassandra, it's been three days. After the blast, my scouts haven't had the time to comb over the ruins yet." The sudden arrival made the second woman scout jump in surprise before stuttering out a response. A purple cowl obscured most of the woman's face, but a slight tinge of red peaked out of the cowl.
"S-sister N-nightingale! I was not expecting you to be here." The scout was picking at her armor, trying desperately to make herself presentable, though there wasn't much to fix Cassandra noted.
"At ease, though I would like to speak to Seeker Cassandra if you would." The Sister spoke quietly; the friendly look on her face did nothing to ease the scout's apprehension. Instead, she practically bolted out of the room the second she heard the dismissal.
"Must you terrify the scouts, Leliana? The poor thing might have a heart attack." Cassandra admonished slightly.
Leliana laughed quietly before responding, "She'd have a bigger one if she noticed the way you were looking at her."
Cassandra groaned, "I fear you are mistaken, I have stated this repeatedly, and I have no interest in the female gender."
Leliana laughed once more before becoming serious. "As much as I would love to argue with you, the guards have reported the Qunari waking up."
Cassandra perked up at this, relief overtook the veteran warrior as she strode out the room. "Finally we can have our answers."
Leliana caught the warrior before she was able to leave the room, however. "Cassandra, only the Qunari woke up, the other … if it wasn't for signs of her breathing, I would have thought her to be dead."
Cassandra shook her head, "We must have hope, and even if the second never wakes up we only need the Qunari either way."
Leliana shook her head, "That may be true, but we still need to know who she is. Why she was at the conclave, maybe she knows what actually happened."
"We have yet to interrogate the first, what makes you so sure the Qunari doesn't know anything," Cassandra asked, tired of waiting.
"... You have a point, no reason to wait then. Let's get our answers."
The door to the dungeon swung open with a loud crash as Cassandra stormed into the room with Leliana trailing behind her. The Qunari jumped, eyes swiveling to focus on the approaching woman. Cassandra's eyes took in the hulking woman; the Qunari was fairly pale skinned, with dark, almost metallic hair. The clothes they had given to both prisoners were a tad small on her, and her sea-green eyes glared daggers at the seeker and the spymaster.
Cassandra took the lead, her frustration and restlessness catching up to her, and in a fit of anger, she spat at the Qunari.
"Tell me why we shouldn't kill you now. The conclave is destroyed. Everyone who attended is dead. Except for you two. "
To her frustration, the Qunari's eyebrows furrowed slightly but stayed silent. Cassandra spared a glance to the other prisoner in the room. It was a young red-haired woman sprawled out on the floor; she appeared to be in her early twenties.
From the way she was lying down it was obvious the guards had not cared to move her into a more comfortable position, she lay as though she was just thrown onto the ground, before being harshly cuffed to the floor. Cassandra felt a small amount of pity for the redhead, but she quickly squashed it down, turning to refocus on the dark-haired Qunari.
"Explain this." Cassandra forced the green mark into the Qunari's face. Her thoughts on the other prisoner momentarily forgotten.
"I'm not sure what you want from me. I've only woken up to find I'm a prisoner. I have no clue what you are talking about!" The Qunari yelled the last part of her sentence. The two women glared at each other until Leliana stepped in.
"That's enough! What is your name, Qunari, and why were you at the conclave?" Leliana demanded.
"I am Zaira; I am part of the Storm Wolves mercenary company. The Divine requested us to help keep the peace between the mages and Templars. I remember having a hard time sleeping, so I took a walk to clear my head. … then there's this blank space before I saw these things chasing me, I saw that girl next to me and dragged her with me, we were running, then … a woman? Made of light? I'm not sure."
Cassandra snorted angrily, just her luck, their main suspect didn't have a clue to what happened. Unless … "You're lying!" Cassandra roared just as the door to the dungeon swung open once more, this time with a thunderous crash.
For the first time since they found the two, the redhead prisoner moved, well she jumped up only to be dragged down by her chains. There was a flicker of motion from behind her, but before Cassandra could take a closer look the commanding tone of the Chancellor sounded out from behind her.
"There it is. Take her immediately; beasts like her must be disposed of accordingly." The Chancellor spat.
Leliana stiffened in rage, the word beast not agreeing with her, not one bit. "What is the meaning of this, Chancellor Roderick?" She spoke, her voice low, but there was no mistaking the tone. This was as angry as Leliana got with a person, and Cassandra couldn't blame her.
"That beast must die! Her kind is nothing but evil soulless killers." Roderick roared, the two guards spared a glance at Leliana before nodding, and that set Cassandra off.
"How dare you! We will not murder a woman who may be innocent, no matter what she looks like." Cassandra roared. The first of the guards took a few steps back and the second turned tail and ran away from the seeker's fury. Roderick however, stood his ground his eyes wide in confusion.
"What? Can you not see what she truly is? I demand you hand the prisoner to me so I may deal with her accordingly."
Cassandra had enough, shoving the guard out of the way; she grabbed the Chancellor by the arm before practically throwing him out of the room.
"Don't you dare utter such words in front of me again! The color of one's hair means nothing." Cassandra roared as she slammed the door in the shocked Chancellor face.
Meanwhile, the red-haired prisoner, jumped once again at the loud voices, holding back a wince the woman glanced to her binds before they clattered to the ground. As she stood Leliana's eyes caught sight of the shaking woman.
The woman made a move to attack, but before she even moved a bright flash of light flooded the room blinding everyone. When it died down Cassandra noted a faint line of the line connecting her to the redhead. The redhead's eye met hers and Cassandra quickly pushed the thought out her mind. Staring at crystal blue eyes she barked out an order as she moved to draw her sword and shield.
"Freeze prisoner, submit and no harm will come to you," Cassandra called, she expected quite a few scenarios, but as the prisoner growled harshly in the back of her throat, Cassandra certainly didn't expect the prisoner to sit down with her arms held out as though expecting to be bound once more.
Cassandra almost dropped her shield at this turn of events, and even Leliana looked to be faintly shocked. It was, however, Leliana who managed to regain her composure first, schooling her face back into the neutral slate that most were well acquainted with. She quickly stepped forward binding the woman's arms with rope and stepping back. Cassandra took a moment to look at the woman, to really look at her.
Bright red hair, tinged with black at the ends framed an oval face; crystal blue eyes stared back at Cassandra. The woman was slim, lean, her frame built much like a rogue's though her posture was strong, yet unassuming. The prisoner was short, probably half a foot shorter than her. A scar running down her forehead, pierced through her eyebrow stopping just above her right eye. Cassandra could see a few faint marks on her arms and legs, likely to be more scars.
Cassandra forcefully stopped herself from staring, before stepping towards the woman, stopping when she saw the woman flinch slightly.
"Who are you and what was that light we saw?" Cassandra asked, keeping her voice low to avoid spooking the woman.
The woman made to respond, but when she did it wasn't the common tongue Cassandra had been expecting, instead the rapid and slightly harsh sounds didn't sound familiar to any language she knew. At her confused expression the woman stopped before trying again switching to a second language, then a third, and finally on the fourth try Cassandra could finally decipher the language she was speaking.
~"My name is Aya; my clan was approached by a woman of the name Justinia. She bade the clan elders to reveal ourselves. She offered us protection, where is she? I saw her just as we escaped the monsters."~
Nevarran, the one tongue only Cassandra knew, how fortunate.
~"Justinia is dead, she died in the conclave. I would explain more, but for the sake of my companions, do you know the common tongue?"~
The woman appeared to be shocked as she hesitated, before nodding.
"My apologies, this is very confusing, but I could have sworn you said Justinia was dead." The wom- Aya said, the words slow as though she were weighing each word.
It was then Zaira spoke once more. "The Divine is dead? How did this come to be?"
Cassandra turned to look at Leliana, after a moment they both nodded. "It would be easier to show you."
It took a moment to mobilize each of the prisoners, but after a moment Leliana took her leave to meet up with her scouts at the halfway point. As Leliana dashed off, Cassandra slowly walked both women out of the chantry. Opening the heavy door, both prisoners went to shield their eyes from the harsh glare of the Breach.
"We call it the Breach, it's a massive rift into the world of demons and it grows larger with each passing hour."
It then did the Breach crackle with a sickly glow and Zaira fell to her knees in pain. Aya let out a pained cry stumbling forward into the warrior.
"T-that's not natural. That thing is wrong." Aya stuttered, crystal blue eyes sharp with pain and fear.
Cassandra helped to right the woman before moving to the Qunari. "This isn't the only rift, but it is the largest and it will continue to grow until it swallows the entire world."
Aya flinched at the last part, while Zaira just stared up at the breach. "Each time the Breach grows, the mark on you grows larger, and it's slowly killing you. Your mark may be the key to stopping this madness."
Zaira glanced down to her palm before nodding, "If there's a way for me to help, then I will."
Aya hesitated for a moment, "Will you be going?" The question confused the seeker for a moment before she responded. "Of course, I must help the troops."
Aya nodded, "Then it's my duty to help you." Once again Cassandra couldn't help but feel confused. 'What does she mean?'
"Let us not wait then, I would rather not experience another flare if you will," Zaira spoke up for once, drawing the seeker from her musings. Aya nodded in agreement, and for a second Cassandra swore she saw Aya's hair shift slightly as though it were being pressed down.
The seeker rubbed her eyes slightly; she really needed to get some sleep.
"Alright, we need to go to the forward camp first. Stay with me and do not attempt to run." Cassandra commanded, and so both women nodded, trailing behind the seeker with their arms still bound together.
It was only when they reached the village did Aya and Zaira notice the dark mood settled upon the town. Villagers glared as they passed, children ran away hiding in between the legs of adults and teenagers threw snow or twigs, only stopping when the seeker fixed them with a look that could bring down the mightiest of warriors.
Cassandra could feel the confusion rolling off both women, and so before they could ask she decided to explain.
"The people have decided your guilt, they need it. They mourn the most holy, Divine Justinia, head of the Chantry. The conclave was hers; it was a chance for peace between the mages and Templars, though she did mention she had another reason. She brought the leaders of each faction together, and now they are gone."
She paused as they walked passing a small outpost before continuing. "We lash out, like the sky, but we must think beyond ourselves, as she did, she would not wish for us to fight among ourselves over speculation and rumor until the breach is sealed."
Standing on a bridge near the town of Haven, Cassandra turned drawing an ornate dagger and cutting through each of their binds. As she did, she promised one thing to both women, "There will be a trial, I can promise no more than that."
Aya laughed harshly, as she rubbed her wrists, "You might as well kill us now seeker, we may not live to see such a trial."
Cassandra looked away, "That may be, but for now let us focus on the task ahead. It is not far."
Zaira chose this time to ask a question on both prisoners' minds. "Where are you taking us?"
Cassandra turned away sheathing her dagger, "The mark must be tested on something smaller than the breach. "
As the trio passed by a group of soldiers, Aya could hear the barely whispered prayers and chants as they walked. Zaira paid them no mind, but the smallest bit of fear welled up in both women. They shared a glance, strengthening each other before they moved to catch up with Cassandra.
Their shared predicament made both smile at each other just before Cassandra ordered the gate to open. As they headed down to the valley in silence, they only made it part of the way before the Breach flared out once more, Zaira this time remained to stand, but Aya collapsed into the snow with a smothered curse and startled yelp.
Cassandra moved to help the redhead, "The pulses are coming faster, and we don't have much time."
Aya cursed again before standing up on her own and pushing past Cassandra, "Then what are we waiting for, the sooner that thing is closed the better."
Zaira nodded as they started moving towards the valley and Cassandra trailed behind them slightly, reeling in confusion. These two women were suspected of opening the Breach and yet here they were more eager than anyone to seal it. For the rest of the trip, Aya and Zaira made some small talk trying to get to know each other.
"So you were never part of the Qun and that's why your eyes are not red like theirs but soft sea green?" Aya asked happily, it was quite the change from the quiet sulking woman Cassandra had seen so far.
"Well that's a rather specific and lengthy description, but basically yes you have it." Zaira smiled at the redhead.
Aya laughed, the sound seeming to echo between the rocks, "The clan would have loved you, as it is I'm sure the other rogues with me will be dying to meet you." Aya paused for a moment before turning to address Cassandra, "Speaking of my clan, where are they? They know better than to take orders from anyone other than their commander."
Cassandra hesitated at the innocence in her question; the answer was going to destroy that childish hope of hers. "... There were no survivors."
It took a moment for the words to register in both prisoners heads. Zaira was the first to speak, "Then how did we survive?"
Cassandra shook her head, "They say you stepped out of a rift, that there was a woman behind you."
Zaira went quietly with a contemplative look on her face, but Aya shook her head. "No, that's impossible; those were the best warriors and mages in the clan. They were my responsibility as ranking commander. That was almost three-fourths of my clan!" Aya screamed. The woman slowly sank to her knees, tears streaming down her face.
Cassandra just watched as the girl cried, a third pulse forcing a loud wail from Aya, and she turned a heated glare towards the Breach. "They were my responsibility … I failed them. … I didn't deserve their trust."
Zaira knelt next to the distraught woman whispering something to her, Cassandra grew slightly suspicious bracing herself for anything to come, but as a wind tore at the trio Aya stood with a harsh gleam in her eye.
"I might not deserve my rank, but I can make sure I avenge them." Aya turned towards Cassandra, "I realized I never fully answered your question, this seems like no better time, they do correlate. That light we all saw, that was a life bond. They are rare and we don't know much about them other than they form when one person saves a member of the clan. For the rest of my life, I will be bound to your order until you release me, or I die. To ignore such a bond would bring dishonor to my clan and to my rank and since my clan is pretty much gone I swear myself to your cause, whatever it maybe. "
Cassandra took a slight step back reeling from the information she was just given. This girl was just sobbing a moment ago, the sudden mood changes were getting quite confusing.
Zaira nodded, "As touching as this is, I just want to be rid of this damn thing already,"
Aya nodded, picking up the pace leading and them through the valley, a few minutes passed in silence as they neared a bridge a short distance from the forward camp. It was as they were crossing the bridge, a flash of green did engulf the stone bridge. With a loud crash, the bridge fell apart taking the three women with it.
It was some miracle that nothing hit the women, or landed atop them. As they rolled to stop at the bottom of the ravine, it seemed like their luck had finally run out. A bubbling mass swirled a few feet in front of them, without missing a beat Cassandra jumped up as a demon formed right in front of their eyes.
"Stay behind me," Cassandra called as she strode forward to meet its claws with a block from her shield using the action to swing her sword in an underhand blow slashing through the demon's flesh.
Aya was transfixed as she watched the woman move, she completely missed the second form rising in front of her, and it was almost too late when she did finally take notice. The demon stood above her, its clawed hands ready to swing down on her to end her existence.
As it began its swing a gleaming double-handed broadsword split the demon in half from head to toe. "Careful, you need to pay more attention to your surroundings." Zaira admonished with a small smile as she hoisted the sword on her shoulder.
"How is it you managed to find a sword that suited you perfectly in all this chaos?" Aya asked as she stood up scanning the rubble for a weapon on her own. Zaira shrugged as she turned to assist the seeker in her own battle, while Aya finally found a pair of well-worn daggers hiding under a large rock.
Pulling the daggers free, she frowned at the balance of the daggers, "Someone didn't balance these properly." Aya groaned, but a quick scan showed no other weapon for her to use. Shrugging Aya took a second to adjust to the poorly balanced dagger, before flicking her arm out in front of her. The dagger flew through the air catching the demon by the throat, distracting it long enough for Cassandra to land the final blow on it.
Smiling at the victory, Aya went to congratulate Zaira and Cassandra when Cassandra turned on them holding her sword at their throats. "Drop your weapons," She commanded.
Aya winced as she dropped her remaining dagger, glancing at Zaira, Zaira glared back at the Seeker.
"If you're going to drag us around a demon infested valley, you need to trust us." Zaira spat at the seeker.
"Give me one reason why I should trust you," to Cassandra's surprise it was Aya who responded this time.
"Because it's our lives on the line, what better reason do you have?" Aya called out trying to stay neutral, but failing miserably.
Cassandra glanced between the two of them, Zaira with her sword still on her shoulder and Aya who was now kneeling on the ice with her hands behind her head. Cassandra sighed acknowledging the point.
"You are right, I can't protect two of you and I cannot have you walking around defenseless."
Zaira nodded in agreement turning to pick up the massive sheath of the broad sword before strapping it to her back. Aya, however, moved to pick up both daggers making no move towards its sheaths.
"Hey Aya, aren't you going to keep those daggers?" Zaira asked as she watched Aya pick up the second dagger and walk away. "Nope, these things are so old and unbalanced they'd do more harm than good. The moment I find a better pair these will go right out the window."
Zaira shrugged, "Alright then, I'll keep an eye out for you."
Aya smiled, shoving the dagger through a belt loop in her weathered trousers. "Thanks!"
Cassandra rolled her eyes at the quaint little scene, these two women were going to give her a headache with all these mood changes. "Here," Cassandra called throwing them a few vials each, "These are healing potions. Never know when you might need one."
Both women nodded continuing their little talk while Cassandra shook her head. Zaira seemed to recognize the area and was currently leading them through it, it was a few minutes afterward they found another group of demon barring their way,
"If we flank them we might be able to take them by surprise." Zaira paid this comment no heed as she charged towards the demons, but Aya smirked before disappearing in a cloud of purple smoke. 'Ah, so she's a rogue.' Cassandra watched as Aya appeared for a moment to land a devastating blow on a demon before disappearing once more. 'And a skilled on at that it seems.'
Without further hesitation, Cassandra bellowed out a war cry drawing the demon's attention to her and charged at the remaining demon. "Finally joining in on the fun, huh Seeker?" Zaira laughed as she beheaded a lesser demon with a single stroke of her sword.
"Oh you know her type; they just can't let others have any fun." Aya laughed appearing behind Cassandra. Instead of disappearing this time, she blocked a clawed arm from behind her.
The demons didn't stand a chance past this point; Aya was a whirlwind of blades, sometimes throwing a dagger, before retrieving it or leaping off a rock for an overhead attack. Cassandra was transfixed, the crystal eyed rogue was moving at speeds even Leliana would be hard pressed to match.
Her senses seemed too unnaturally in tune with her surroundings, as Aya often ducked or dodged attacks from behind her, or sensing an opening in the others guard and lashing out with frightening speed. In no time at all the demons were gone leaving bubbling masses on the ice as they slowly faded away.
Cassandra watched as Zaira and Aya high fived laughing the whole way. Was it just her or was something off about Aya. There was no way this woman could move so fast for so long.
"Hey, Cassandra! We have to hurry; we still need to make it to the forward camp." Aya called, snapping Cassandra from her musings once more. The seeker nodded taking the front of the group and leading them through the valley once more.
"So, Zaira, where were you born?" Aya asked faintly from behind Cassandra.
"A small city just outside the Qun's reach. Though why would you want to know?" Zaira responded.
"Well, you can learn a lot about people the way they were raised. I can think of several examples, but they need far too much time to explain."
There was a hum of agreement before the two women behind Cassandra fell quiet. The silence stretched over two more skirmishes, each over as quickly as they had begun. Though Cassandra noted Aya seemed to become more sullen as she faced each demon, while Zaira took joy in destroying the hulking masses of rotting flesh.
They had been so engrossed into their little walk, that when the first sounds of combat reached their ears, they were quite harshly shocked out of their reprieve from reality. "We must help them," Cassandra called already sprinting towards the fighting.
"Help who?" Zaira called.
"You'll see," With that the trio jumped over the small wall separating them from the fighting.
Chaos would be an apt term to describe the scene in front of them, the neon light of magic being cast, the harsh thud of a crossbow, and the few shrieks of metal on unholy flesh. Cassandra was the first to move, blocking a young recruit from the claws of a lesser demon.
Zaira and Aya were not far behind, Zaira falling into a lull of combat barely dodging or blocking instead of chopping off limbs before they made contact with her body. The Qunari was a force to be dealt with on the battlefield, and Aya was no slouch either.
The red head moved as though she owned the battlefield, using any and everything to her advantage, ducking behind crumbling walls, leaping off of fences and sometimes rolling over the back of an enemy, never staying still for more than a second.
It was during one of these moves did she end up being cornered near the rift, as one of the shades leaped forward, Aya had rolled to the right, avoiding the attack, but straying too close to the rift.
A pained howl escaped the rogue, her muscles seizing, and she rolled to a stop right under the breach unable to get up. The demons could hardly believe their luck, several going so far to stop their attack on the others before massing on the prone woman.
"Aya! Move!," Zaira screamed, her marked hand reaching out to stop the demons. It had the intended effect, just not in a way anyone expected. A green tendril emitted from the mark latching onto the breach, it held for a moment before there was a loud boom and the rift winked out of existence, caving in on itself.
The demons cried out in rage turning towards the Qunari as they started to weaken visibly, a few crossbow bolts and flashes of magic later and soon there was no trace of demons ever existing in the first place.
Zaira fell to her knees panting harshly, and Aya began to stir once more. Cassandra ran over to the downed woman to help her up, as an elf and a dwarf went to assist the Qunari.
Zaira waved away any attempts, managing to get to her feet on her own, but Aya was a different matter. The already pale woman was whiter than a sheet and shivering in the cold. Aya went to push herself, but her arms gave out sending her back towards the ground.
When Cassandra did reach the woman, Aya had managed to pull herself into a semi-sitting position.
"That is something I would not like to repeat," Aya mumbled Cassandra let a small smile grace her lips, before shaking it off and pulling the woman up to her feet.
"What happened?" Cassandra asked, "You were just fine until that final roll."
Aya glared at the area the rift had been, "I'm not sure … but I have a few theori-"
"You mean the mark." Zaira voice boomed in the small clearing.
"Whatever magic opened the Breach left that mark on your hand. I theorized that the two must be related and that perhaps the mark could seal the Breach. Apparently, I was not off in my calculations." The elf explained as both Aya and Cassandra walked closer, well, shuffled in Aya's case.
"So you mean to say the mark can seal the Breach," Cassandra interjected.
"Hopefully. You seem to be the key to our continued survival. Though your friend here seems to be more of a liability." The elf directed the last part of the sentence at the shivering redhead.
Aya growled, "I did more than you, hiding away from the real battlefield, Fade stalker."
Cassandra could feel the tension beginning to build between the two.
"Good to hear, here I thought we'd be ass deep in demons forever." The dwarf spoke, effectively breaking the two from their silent battle of wills.
"Varric Tethras: rogue, storyteller and occasional unwelcome tagalong." The dwarf finished off with a bow, drawing a laugh from Zaira.
"So I closed the rift. What now?" Zaira asked, her eyes locking with Cassandra.
"Now we meet up with Leliana at the forward camp. Let's hope she beat Roderick there." Cassandra explained.
"What a great idea," Varric exclaimed.
"Oh no you're not coming with us," Cassandra glared at the dwarf as they began to argue. The seeker made a strangled noise in the back of her throat before turning and storming off, Aya's eyes twinkled with laughter as she turned to follow the warrior.
"My name is Solas if there are to be introductions, I'm pleased to see you still live." The elf introduced.
"Oh yeah, that's not stalkery at all," Aya commented as she searched for the bodies for any daggers, before giving up with a frustrated look.
Solas ignored the comment as Varric went to clarify. "He means to say, he stopped the mark from killing you in your sleep."
Zaira raised an eyebrow, "So, what will you do when this over?" she asked.
Aya snorted, mumbling something under her breath, Zaira glanced at Aya before turning back to Solas. "One would hope those in power would remember those who have helped and those who have not."
Solas turned to Cassandra, "You should know, seeker, the magic here is unlike any I have ever seen and our friend here is not a mage. I doubt even that pup had anything to do with it."
"Watch your words, Stalker, I am no pup. I earned my tails and rank through my own measure," Aya spat at Solas.
"That may be, but not even your clan can hope to replicate the magic here," Solas replied, narrowing his eyes at Aya.
"Enough!" Cassandra roared, "You make a point, Solas, but refrain from fighting like children. We must hurry to the forward camp."
Cassandra led Aya away forcefully, "Well Bianca's excited." Varric laughed.
The group, made their way through the ruins, jumping over a wooden wall down a small path near a frozen river. They hadn't been walking for more than a minute before Solas called out, "Demons ahead."
"Glad you have me now, Seeker?" Varric laughed as he unloaded a bolt right into a wraith.
Aya shivered, "Less talking more fighting. I hate the cold," before she threw herself into combat, this time she was a lot more thoughtful of her surroundings, ducking magic and sidestepping bolts that came far too close.
Once again Cassandra couldn't help but sense something about this rogue that just didn't feel right. She shrugged the feeling off charging into the fray swinging her sword, her motions were quick and accurate, no move was wasted, no energy used needlessly. Soon she found herself back to back with Aya.
With a grin, Aya lunged forward catching a Wraith on her daggers, before flipping a dagger in her hand to block an attack at Cassandra's exposed back. The two women moved in sync, as though they had done this a million times and the demons around them were soon reduced to nothing but husks of flesh quickly being turned to ash.
A few nods were exchanged, but otherwise, the group was quiet as they climbed a set of stairs out of the valley. However as they neared the top Varric spoke, "So, Zaira, you know what caused this?"
There was a slight pause as Zaira and Aya looked at each other. "We … we aren't sure, I can't remember anything."
Varric sighed, "See that'll get you nothing. You should have spun a story. It's more believable."
Cassandra snorted, "That's what you would have done." Varric waved away the barb, "I will not answer that, I'm sure this must be rather confusing for these two."
Aya laughed harshly, the sound making Zaira and Cassandra wince. 'Great here comes another mood swing.' Cassandra thought.
"You have no idea, but enough. I believe I can hear fighting ahead." Aya spoke, the wariness in her tone plain as day.
Zaira raised an eyebrow, "But how? I can't hear a thing."
Aya shrugged, running up the steps, "Just hurry," she said.
The group took off after her, and after a moment even Cassandra could hear the cries of battle. 'How in the world?' Cassandra thought.
There was a small Fade Rift just outside the doors of the camp. Aya was fighting against a few demons, but every once in awhile she'd throw a glance at the rift obviously unwilling to get any closer.
Solas and Varric instantly began firing at the demons, bringing relief to several soldiers and allowing them to regroup. Zaira charged in trying to get closer to the rift so she could put an early end to this, while Cassandra went to assist the struggling redhead.
It took a moment, but soon the demons began to wise up on the redhead, during one of her glances a greater shade took the advantage. With a feint to the right, the Shade slammed its claws into Aya's hands, leaving deep gouges and forcing Aya to drop her daggers.
Before the demon could strike again, Cassandra rammed into it with her shield. The shade was sent to the ground, an overhead slash made sure it wouldn't get back up.
There was a second boom, and suddenly the demons began to lose strength, slowly fading away, hastened by the attacks of those around.
"My, you really are a liability, it would seem," Solas remarked. Aya growled at the mage, making a move to attack before Cassandra stepped between them.
"Enough, do not antagonize her, Solas." Cassandra commanded, before turning on Aya, "And you must be more careful. There will be a time where no one will save you."
Aya snorted, "As if, if those damned demons would die like they were supposed to then this would have never happened. Give me mages, archers, even other warriors, they'll drop down dead like they're supposed to, not these infernal creatures. "
Zaira only shook her head in amusement, pulling the shorter woman into a one armed hug. "Still be careful. I can't have the only person I like dying on me."
Aya grumbled for a few seconds as Cassandra called for the gates to open.
"Either way, we're clear for the moment. Well done." Cassandra said as she strode past soldiers.
"Whatever that mark is, it's bloody useful," Varric exclaimed
A voice from in front of them silenced any further discussion. "Praise the maker, they made it."
Leliana came into view near a table laden with maps and plans. Behind her stood a familiar face, "So the creature lives. Seeker, what is the meaning of this. I order you to hand over this animal!"
Aya glared at the Chancellor as Cassandra responded. "Order me? You're a glorified clerk. A bureaucrat."
"And you are a thug, one that supposedly works for the chantry, however." Roderick spat.
"We take our orders from the Divine, not you, Roderick." Leliana interrupted.
"The Divine is dead. We must deal out justice to those who did it." Roderick roared. Cassandra and Leliana both turned to face him, while Solas and Varric both took the time to make themselves scarce. However, it was Zaira who spoke next.
"Do not refer to us as though we are not here." her voice boomed.
"You shouldn't even be here," Roderick exclaimed loudly.
"Enough, Chancellor , you have grievances with me for reasons unknown, but as long as the Breach remains a threat you will have to deal with me," Aya spoke, she was by far the calmest left to deal with the disgruntled councilor.
Sadly this wasn't the reaction he wanted from the crystal eyed rogue. With a furious roar, he lunged at the woman, tackling them both to the ground. "You are a monster! You and your entire kind." He yelled as he rained down blows on the rogue.
By the time Cassandra had dragged the Chancellor off of Aya, the poor woman's face was already starting to bruise. "You ignorant, self-conceited fool. We have a bigger issue than your grievance with this clan." Aya roared at the Chancellor . Were it not for Cassandra barring her path, the rogue would have drawn her daggers to gut the Chancellor .
"Enough, Chancellor Roderick, you have no authority over us. As such you will be escorted back to Haven until the Breach has been dealt with." Leliana ordered as she did so she waved over two of her scouts to drag away the Chancellor .
As Roderick was dragged past Aya, the rogue let out a feral snarl. Several soldiers around them took a step back in surprise. With a satisfied snort, Aya went to sit on the side of the bridge rubbing snow over her sore and bruised face shivering all the while.
Cassandra groans, "We need to get to the temple, if we charge with the soldiers we can make it."
"But it's not the safest way, we can have our troops march as a distraction while you take the mountain path," Leliana commented.
"Which one is less prone to result in premature hyperthermia," Aya commented from her spot. Cassandra and Leliana brushed the comment off looking to Zaira expectantly.
"Wait, you're asking for my opinion. Wasn't I a prisoner just a moment ago?" Zaira asked in confusion.
"Don't question it, woman, just see if you can get them to feed us. I'm not sure about you but I'm starved."
"Will you shut up already! We'll go with the soldiers, I'm not going to let more people die because I couldn't hold my ground." Zaira decided, "And damn it I do want some food now."
Aya laughed as Leliana looked between the two, " Are they alway like this?" she asked.
"Unfortunately." Cassandra sighed, "Mobilize the troops. I'll deal with these two."
Leliana nodded as she started barking out orders, this was going to be a long fight.
The fight up the mountain was long and hard fought, there were several close calls, and no one was unscathed as they reached the final rift, just outside the temple.
"Just how many more demons are we going to fight?" Aya called, the redhead was shivering violently in the cold wind. Her face was still heavily bruised, and she had a range of cuts and scrapes all over her body.
"Just a little more, past this rift is the entrance to the temple," Cassandra yelled over the din of combat.
Zaira laughed as she swung the hefty broadsword, "You're missing out on all the fun, Aya! Come on join the fight."
"You and your bloodthirst. At least you can't be thrown around like me. Did you see what that shade did a moment ago.' Aya commented as she rejoined the battle.
"Oh, that was glorious! You flew!" Zaira laughed as she completed her spin beheading a lesser shade.
"Will you stop talking and close that damned rift already." A male soldier called out.
"Killjoy!" Aya yelled as she ducked under a clawed arm, using her vantage point to gut the creature in front of her.
Zaira laughed even louder as she finally got close enough to close the rift. Once more the rift disappeared and soon afterward the demons all lay in puddles of flesh.
"What is the meaning of this! You are on a battlefield, not a playground." A blonde man in armor stormed up to the two women. "You could have killed us all." He yelled.
"Who's mister stick up his ass," Aya mock whispered, giggling at the man's offended expression.
"Enough, Aya, this is Cullen. Cullen, these are the prisoners, just ignore them." Cassandra cut in smoothly. "I expect the way ahead should be clear?'"
Cullen glared at the redhead, nodding his head as he did so. "Brilliant, perhaps we can finally end this," Cassandra said, either not noticing the building tension or choosing to ignore it.
Aya nodded happily, brushing past Cullen easily. "About time!"
Zaira paused for a moment glaring at Cullen slightly before she turned to follow Cassandra and Aya into the temple.
"Take up positions, we don't know what to expect," Cassandra ordered, the soldiers smoothly began to encircle the Breach. As they did a booming voice echoed from the breach.
"Prepare the sacrifice." The shadows around the breach began to take form. A dark figure stood above an echo of the Divine.
"What is this?" Cassandra asked.
"The fade bleeds here, it seems that the event has left an echo here," Solas explained as he watched the shadows dance around.
"Someone help me!" Justina's voiced echoed in the ruins. Cassandra led the group down from the entrance. Red lyrium was everywhere and Varric was not happy with this. Aya and Cassandra, though paid him no heed as their eyes were focused on the Breach, albeit for different reasons.
"What's going on here?" Zaira's voice emitted from the Breach and Cassandra rounded on the tall Qunari
"You were there! You know what happened!" she yelled, as Zaira opened her mouth to reply a second voice cut across.
"Justinia? What is wrong?"
Aya gaped at the Breach, "But wait, I don't remember this. How-" Aya mumbled.
"Help, he must not get away with this," Justinia yelled, only to be cut off by a pained cry.
"Kill the intruders." The voice ordered and suddenly the shadows faded away leaving nothing but silence.
Zaira was the first to break the silence, "I think on behalf of Aya and me, we can safely say we have no memory of what happened."
No one else spoke, instead, they reached the base of the rift before Cassandra finally broke the terse silence.
"We can investigate later, you are innocent it seems. For now, just seal the Breach."
Zaira nodded, a quick glance at Aya showed the woman to be sweating profusely despite her claims of 'freezing ass cold'. Aya didn't seem to notice, her eyes trained on the Breach, watching it as though it may move.
"Be ready, closing this might bring some unwanted attention from the other side," Solas called out.
Zaira grumbled under her breath, "When is it ever easy."
With that, Zaira raised her arm exposing the mark to the breach, a tendril of light connecting the two. With a thunderous crash, a monstrous demon materialized in front of them.
"Pride demon," screamed a soldier. The demon laughed flinging out its arms smashing into a few unfortunate soldiers. "How nice it is to walk amongst the humans."
Leliana's jaw dropped, "It speaks!" Aya nodded her head in grim acceptance.
"Such puny insects. Let's get this over with, no? I wish to roam this land, and you wish to trap me within the Fade. Seems we are at an impasse." The demon commented, in a sudden move it create two lighting whips and swinging them at a shell-shocked Leliana.
The woman was barely successful in throwing herself to the side, "Attack." The spymaster screamed, drawing her own weapons and raining down arrows upon the demon.
Thus the soldiers snapped out of their awe and charged forward to hack at the beast's legs. Zaira was the first to notice the ineffectiveness of their attacks. As the pride demon flung several soldiers into a wall, she reached out towards the Breach in hopes to close it before any more lives could be taken.
It didn't have the intended effect. Instead of disappearing from view the Breach exploded in a rain of shards each aimed toward the demon. The demon was driven to its knees and Aya took the chance to leap off a rocky outcrop to slash at the demon's face.
The blow landed and Aya rolled to safety as a furious roar shook the earth. "You insolent insect. I will destroy you for this insult."
"I'd like to see you try," Aya yelled back at it over the crashing of swords. The demon did not take to this lightly, blindly lashing out at the a twist of fate, the whip headed straight for Cassandra. The warrior, still hacking away at the beast's leg didn't see the danger until it was too late to move.
Just before the whip made contact Cassandra was shoved out of the way, and instead Aya was flung back. Cassandra rolled slightly as she watched Aya crashing into a wall.
"Aya!" Several voices yelled, none louder than the seekers. Guilt flooded the seeker as she moved to stand, watching as the redhead crumbled like a piece of paper and the demon got to its feet to finish the job.
"Pesky fox, join your clan in the realm of the beyond." The demon spoke as it stomped towards her, shrugging off attacks from all sides.
Cassandra's eyes widened, Aya wasn't moving. Maker, it didn't look like she was breathing either, but a wave of rage washed over the warrior as she charged at the demon. With a mighty swing, the seeker managed to cut through the thick armor of the beast.
At the same time, Zaira cried out, reaching up to the breach to seal it once and for all. There was a flash of light once more, and when it faded Zaira lay near the center of the temple, hardly breathing.
"They saved us." a man spoke, breaking the sudden quiet. "They must have been sent by the Maker." Recruits and veterans alike all nodded.
Cassandra, however, was not paying attention. The seeker ran to the downed redhead, turning over the still body, Cassandra winced at how cold the skin felt as she searched for any sign of life.
A moment passed, then a second, and a third, when finally there, Aya's chest rose slightly. She was breathing. Relief flooded the warrior, hefting Aya up into her arms, Cassandra barked out orders. "This is no time to celebrate. We must get them to the village."
The soldier nodded, three men already volunteering to carry the Qunari down the mountain. With a pace unlike any other, the soldiers cleared out of the temple, each muttering about the 'Herald of Andraste' and the 'Redhaired Angel'.
Cassandra only shifted the rogue closer to her as they walked down the mountain, her mind occupied by thoughts of the crystal eyed rogue.
From behind her, Leliana watched the seeker practically run down the mountain with the unconscious woman in her arms. The spymaster's eyes narrowed slightly before a faint smile appeared on her lips.
"This is going to be interesting."
AN (Dark): Holy crap I'm done. First I'd like to thank Imoshen, she's my amazing beta. Archer, who was a great help in finding the proper dialogue and is my current source of Dragon age knowledge. Shaded, a dear friend who admittedly left the job of betaing to Imo, but still he was great moral support ;p
Second, this was a monster to write, (I know i should be finishing my other stories, but I couldn't help myself) 3 days, 8k works, and about 24 pages long.
Third, you can find everyone listed here under my favorite authors. Check them out we each have our own stories out. (Even if shaded is slowly ripping my heart out with each chapter.) I believe only Imo has yet to post anything, but we'll get her there.
Lastly, have a great day, and tune in next time.
Archer: cue shameless self advertising. This story will be getting developed via Inquisition streams on my twitch account archer1eyedwriter.
If you miss the streams where Dark and I discuss how to progress, find the videos on YouTube at archer1eye. Besides that, hope you enjoy Dark's story. She did a splendid job thus far.