The earth shook beneath my feet as a crushing red wave seared across the sky, obliterating any last chance of compromise, of peace, with the force of one thousand suns. As all of Thedas froze, as if suspended in time for a single moment, I turned to the man I once loved, shining bright with Vengeance, his deep brown eyes now glowing blue with wild, unchecked power.

He said nothing, but lifted a single hand to my cheek, tenderly brushing away the mixture of dirt and tears that stained my visage. When had I started crying?

"I did this for you… for us…"

His voice sounded weary with effort, and I felt his eyes burning into my soul as they searched my face for approval. Fighting fresh tears I opened my mouth, but the multitude of questions bubbling up inside of me found no voice.

Drawing me to him, he cupped my face in his hands. "I had no choice! The Templars, they would have… The thought of losing you…" His voice caught with desperation and his brow furrowed with anger.

"I couldn't let that happen," He whispered softly.

The words pierced my heart like a hail of arrows as they left his mouth, and the wooden staff I grasped suddenly felt as if it was made of lead. Such a heavy burden…

I closed my eyes and suddenly felt as if my world was crashing down around me, the force of it bringing me to my knees. My mind raced, frantically trying to make sense of it all, of anything. Where had I gone wrong? So much death, so much loss… was it all for nothing? Trying to survive, to find my place in a hostile world, at what point had peace and the possibility of a normal life slipped from my fingers? Did I ever have a chance?

I gasped, a sob racking my frame. But the sudden sound of steel and stench of magic shook me from my reverie, and I opened my eyes to face the ashes of the life I had struggled to create as strong hands helped me back to my feet.

"Fight with me," He pulled me close, despite the din of battle growing ever closer. His entire being positively buzzed with energy. I reached out to tuck a few runaway strands of his golden hair back behind his ear, an old habit of mine from simpler times, and for a brief moment the luminescent blue anger faded and the man I had fallen in love with all those years ago returned.

"Please… this is who I am now. You, this cause, it's all I have."

Memories once pushed away by heartbreak came flooding back. Nights spent in that dark, dirty clinic, promises whispered in the night. I would drown us in blood to keep you safe.

My heart throbbed and my brain screamed, at odds with each other once more in a final confrontation, but the crash of war was suddenly upon us and I silenced that nagging doubt that had always plagued my hopes and dreams one last time. He was right of course, and as he stepped forward between me and the rapidly approaching Templar forces, that foreign power blazing with renewed vigor, I realized that we had been lost to fate from the very beginning. From the very moment I had stepped foot into Darktown. To Kirkwall even.

The air was thick with death and fire rained from the sky as Vengeance was unleashed upon the Templar army, and I stepped forward to his side, facing destiny at last.

There can be no half measures.