((This title is taken from Auden's A Summer night, which I encountered in Britten's Spring symphony. It was one out of two options what this will be called. The other is going to be a chapter heading.

Speaking of which, this chapter heading is a line from the song Pearls of Light by Within Temptation.))

Chapter 1
After the Cold Darkness

Dorian was shaking, and the roaring fire by which he was cowering couldn't chase the cold away. He was alone among a large group of people. They didn't want him, didn't want to talk to him, not even to look at him. He was alone, and he was slowly shifting from dread to grief. No-one could have survived the avalanche.

'He's tough, Sparkler.'

Dorian looked at the dwarf that had managed to sneak up on him. 'I know. But … Maker. He's gone through too much already.'

'How much do you know?'

'More than you.'

'I … was with Hawke when he gave him to Danarius.' The dwarf swallowed. 'I hardly every understood why Hawke did what he did but that was … incredible. I thought Fenris would kill him or die fighting for his freedom. But instead he just … walked to his master like a beaten dog.'

'Danarius was a monster. He nearly destroyed him.'

'Yes, and Hawke must have expected that. Fenris … wasn't too delighted that I'm with the Inquisition at first. I reminded him of one of the most horrible days in his life.'

'When I met Fenris he was bruised, half starved, and his spirit broken,' Dorian said sharply. 'He should have killed Hawke.'

'Maybe. But when I met him again now, he was proud, a lot less angry than I've ever seen him, and calm. Not just looking it, but radiating it. He's more balanced than before, and that's your doing, I believe. In Kirkwall, he'd have hated you without bothering to get to know you. But now he doesn't. What did you do?'

Dorian shook his head. 'That's his tale to tell, if he wants to.' He wouldn't say, 'if he's still alive'. He had to be. 'Let's just say that my family, close friends, and I sent Fenris after Danarius, who was about to spy on your Chantry. He was supposed to point him out to your authorities, or to kill him. Up to him, really. We all know what happened next.'

'You're worried about him, aren't you?'

Dorian swallowed. 'Yes. Very much. Aren't you?'

Varric sighed. 'I am. Although officially, I'm very confident that he'll be all right. I don't want him to die like this. He deserves better.'

'He deserves to be happy, but I don't know if he'll ever be able to. I … what's that?' Perhaps the dense snow was playing tricks on his mind or his eyes, but he was sure he'd seen something moving in the night. So, it seemed, had Cullen. He moved into the shifting mass of white, and after a moment of hesitation Dorian didn't just follow but hurried past him.

He saw the Herald fighting to keep going. The moment they saw each other, the green eyes closed and the elf, looking pale and dead on his feet, collapsed to his knees, the last of his strength gone. Before Cullen could do so, Dorian had gathered the figure in his arms and carried him to the camp like a child.