It had been a few weeks since the Inquisition had become residents in Haven. Commander Cullen Rutherford stood outside near the training camp outside of Haven, looking up at the sky. The Herald was due to return with a new recruit, an ally the Hero of Ferelden spoke of in a letter. Someone from her clan, a Kala Sabrae, who was a mage, willing to help if they only asked. Cullen didn't like the idea of bringing in another mage; they had enough already since the Herald had chosen to side with the mages on closing the Breach. They were too unpredictable, too open to possession.

A roar in the sky forced him out of his thoughts as a beautiful and terrifying dragon- scales as blue as the sea- landed just outside of the training camp, near the lake.

"Maker's breath!" he said, drawing his sword and shield. "Sound the alarm!"

"Commander, wait!"

Cullen looked up to see the Herald sliding off the back of the dragon. "Herald? What is the meaning of this?"

The Herald smiled. "It's alright, she's a friend." She replied, coming up to him with the dragon not far behind her.

Cullen looked up at the dragon as she leaned her headed down and stared him in the eyes.

"This is your Commander?" the dragon asked, her voice an slight echo as she spoke with the magik she used.

"Yes, Kala. You remember him from your time in Kirkwall, do you not? He was the Knight-Captain, then Knight-Commander when Meredith died."

"Yes, I remember. The little Templar who saved Kirkwall after the Chantry was destroyed. I saw your Commander a few times when my cousin, Merrill, and I visited the Gallows to trade supplies." The dragon looked at the Herald for a moment. "Oh, Nina, you said Varric was here?"

Nina chuckled. "Yes, probably in the tavern. He likes to hang out there with a few of our new friends."

Cullen glanced over at the Herald, amazed at how unfazed she was by all this, and when he looked back he found the dragon to be gone and in her place a beautiful young elven woman, hair as blue as the icy glacial peaks and eyes as blue as the sea, wearing a teal and black gown that was comprised of a protective collar around her neck with straps that connected to the sleeves and the rest of her gown. She stared at him. "Maker's breath..."

The elven woman looked at him, as close to his face as the dragon had been. "Hello, Cullen. It is good to see you again."

Cullen nodded, recognizing her from her trade visits to the Gallows back in Kirkwall. She came several times a week.

She leaned back and put her hand forward. "I am Kala Sabrae, if you have forgotten over the years. I will be joining the Inquisition at the request of your Herald and my good friend, Adara."

Cullen blinked and shook her hand. "You speak of Adara, the Hero of Ferelden?"

Kala nodded. "Aye, she and I grew up together."

"Well, welcome to the Inquisition, Lady Sabrae."

Kala shook her head. "No, Commander. I am no noblewoman worthy or born to that kind of title. I am just Kala, a mage from the Dalish Clan, Sabrae. There is nothing special about me."

He looked at her. 'She's such a curious creature... Perhaps it wouldn't be a bad thing having another mage around... No, she's still just as likely to be possessed as any other mage...'

"Commander, if it wouldn't trouble you, might I have my hand back?"

Cullen looked down and realized he was still gripping her hand. "Oh, yes. Please forgive me." He let go of her hand and rubbed his neck, blushing. "Welcome, Kala. The Herald will take you to the Chantry, we have your room set up."

Kala bowed her head in a respectful manner and looked at Nina. "We should leave the Commander to his duties, Nina."

Nina smiled and nodded. "Right, come with me then Kala. I'll show you to your room. Cullen, meeting in the war room in one hour. I have some reports to go over with you."

Cullen nodded and watched as Kala and Nina walked towards the village, Kala's braided blue hair shining in the light.

"Commander, is that the Hero's cousin?" Rylen said, coming to him.

Cullen nodded. "Aye. That is Kala Sabrae. How is it that you know of her?"

Rylen shrugged. "I looked into her, just to be safe since she's another mage."

"What did you find?"

"She's the Hero's cousin, from Clan Sabrae, and a mage obviously. Beyond that, the clan is secretive like any other of the Dalish, but there is a rumor about Kala."

"Oh?"

"They say she was blessed by the Creators with the gift of the ancient dragon's magik. They say one day before she was born she was touched by the Creators. When she was born, her hair was blue as glacial ice and her eyes were blue as the seas. She is skilled in cold magik and shapeshifting magik, as we saw when she arrived. She's become known to the Dalish as the 'Dragoness'."

Cullen looked after her as she and Nina stopped by the gates to speak with a few of the Heralds companions. She stood out from everyone else there, but it wasn't just the blue hair. There was definitely something different about her.

"Ser?"

"You are dismissed, Rylen. I will leave you in charge for the rest of the day. I have a meeting with the Herald and some things to attend to myself."

Rylen saluted and nodded, leaving the Commander to himself.

Cullen watched as Kala looked back at him, dipping her head respectfully. He dipped his head in return, curious as to how she came to be in the Inquisition. 'Maker willing, it'll be worth finding her.'

"The Crossroads are cleared, but there is still some trouble nearby. There are bandits roaming near the Upper Lake, along the roads to Redcliffe Farms, and scavenging the Witch's Hunt apostate base." Nina said. "We were lucky to find Blackwall before we went to find Kala; we needed his skills to make it through to her."

Cullen listened to the Herald giving her report, reading through his own as he made note of things that may have been missed. He glanced up to answer a question and as he answered, he watched Kala going around the room- touching the stone walls, the spines of each book, and stopped to look out the window for a moment.

Satisfied with his answer, Nina went on to discuss something with Josephine. Turning to the war table's map of the Hinterlands, Cullen studied the map and noted each apostate and Templar campsite.

"That map is wrong."

Cullen looked to his right to see Kala standing next to him, looking down at the map. "Pardon?"

Kala looked up at him. "May I?" she asked, pointing to the war table's map.

Cullen gestured for her to go ahead and stood back as Kala made changes to the map, moving their pieces into new positions.

"Your markers for the apostates' and the Templars' campsites and bases are wrong. They are off by about three days. After the last big feud between the apostates and Templars, they packed up and moved their camps. These are the new locations. You also don't have the locations of the bandits' camp on her yet. They have grown in number, making camps here, here, here, and here." Kala explained, pointing to each location. "You should send scouts to verify the numbers, but I would estimate thirty or so bandits at each camp."

Cullen and the others stared at her. "How do you know all of this?" he asked.

Kala shrugged. "I live in the Hinterlands and I know them as well as I know magik. These bandits, apostates and Templars... They've put my home in danger and I made it a point to learn where each camp was so that I could avoid them or target them if they got too close to innocents."

Cullen watched her face, wondering if there was more. Before he could say anything, Leliana spoke up.

"At any rate, we have their new locations thanks to you, Kala. We can send our agents to clear them out and make sure the refugees and those caught in the crossfire are out of harm's way."

Kala nodded. "The Hinterlands are not just my home, they are home to many. If you have need of anything more, I would be more than obliged if it ensures their safety."

A knock came from the door and an agent of the Inquisition opened it, bowing. "Please forgive the interruption. There is someone here to see the Dragoness."

Kala stood straight. "Please, excuse me."

Cullen watched as she left the room and looked at the others.

"There is only one other person who could have known Kala Sabrae was here." Leliana said.

Cullen looked at her.

"If it is who I think it is, then we need to get out there to support her if things get out of hand."

Cullen nodded and hurried outside with the others where they found Kala arguing with a human- a Templar by the look of him. Cullen came to stand just behind Kala when the man looked up and grinned.

"Now the bitch has a little friend?"

"Marcus, never call me a bitch again." Kala said, looking from Cullen back to the man, Marcus.

Marcus shrugged and looked up at Cullen. "Right, who are you?"

"I am Cullen Rutherford, Commander of the Inquisition's forces." Cullen said, standing tall and proud of his title.

Marcus laughed. "Look at 'im, lads! Big and tough, are you?"

"Leave it, Marcus." Kala warned.

Marcus stopped laughing and grimaced down at her. "No, you leave it, Kala. You owe us after we protected you from that hunter."

Cullen looked at Kala. "Kala, what's this about?"

Kala looked at him, but lowered her eyes, looking ashamed of herself.

"She got caught in 'er pretty dragon form and caught the attention of a hunter lookin' to collect a hefty price for parts." Marcus said, laughing. "Me and my boys 'ere came to 'er rescue, took care of that hunter, and then she bolted. Not a word of thanks!"

Kala remained silent for a moment, then looked up at Marcus. "So that justifies you asking for a payment? I never hired you and I certainly could have handled that hunter myself. You're nothing but a bunch of thugs and bandits."

Marcus scoffed at that. "Doubtful. Now, it's time to pay up, love." He grabbed her arm.

"Let go of her." Cullen said, stepping in.

"Cullen, don't." Kala said, glancing up at him.

Cullen stopped. "Kala..."

"Look 'ere, boys! Kala got 'erself a lover! Sweet, ain't it?" Marcus laughed. "Perhaps 'e wouldn't mind us 'aving a bit of fun with 'er first?"

Cullen glared at him, his hand on the hilt of his sword. "You will not touch her." he said, drawing it as Marcus stopped laughing.

"Get 'im, boys!" Marcus ordered, his grip tightening on Kala's arm.

Kala felt the anger growing inside of her and felt the changes begin as she began the transformation. "You will not touch him." She didn't want to hold back against these savages.

Marcus looked down at her. "What was that?"

Kala glared up at him, her eyes slitted and horns starting to sprout on either side of her head. "You will not touch him!"

Cullen watched as Kala stomped her foot down hard on Marcus' and then punched him in the gut. She stood over Marcus and growled, but then his men grabbed her from behind and pulled her back. Leliana and the others jumped in on the men advancing towards them. They fended off the men as Cullen went to free Kala, but before he could reach her through the throng of bandits, he watched as Kala threw off the men holding her and finished transforming into her dragon form. As she reared up, roaring loudly, Cullen stood in awe as Kala's wings spread out behind her. He turned to strike down on of the bandits as he rushed him, then turned to see Kala smashing each of them men in her path or freezing them with a cold breath.

Marcus, drawing his twin daggers- each the length of his forearms, came up behind Cullen and poised to attack.

Cullen saw the shadow behind him and turned, raising his arm in defence as Marcus plunged the daggers towards him. He grimaced as the blades cut into his arm through his armor, then grunted as Marcus took his foot and jammed it into his chest, sending him flying across the courtyard.

Seeing Cullen land in a heap, Kala turned her attention to Marcus. She hurried over to Cullen and stood over him protectively.

Cullen looked up to see Kala standing over him protectively and watched as she growled at Marcus.

"You will not touch another of the Inquisition! You will leave here, or you die where you stand!" she growled, glaring at Marcus.

The Herald and the rest of the Inquisition stood in awe as the Dragoness stood over the Commander, protecting him.

Marcus dropped his daggers and stumbled back, falling flat on his ass. "Maker..! P-Please, no!"

Cullen stood, his hair lightly grazing against her scales, and he put a hand to her leg. "Kala."

Kala stopped when she felt a reassuring sensation run through her body, calming her. She looked down at Cullen as he looked up at her. Sighing, she returned to her elven form and looked at him. "Thank you." Glaring at Marcus, she grabbed used her magik to levitate the daggers he dropped. "You will leave here, Marcus, and never return. Is that clear?"

Marcus started to mumble, but stopped when Kala advanced towards him with his daggers aimed at him.

"Is that clear?"

Marcus nodded and squealed when Kala let the daggers drop, right in front of his crotch. "Y-Yes, ma'am!"

Kala stopped in front of him. "Then go and if I ever see you again, not even your Maker can save you from me."

Marcus scrambled to his feet, grabbing his daggers, and took off running.

Cullen winced as his arm throbbed, causing Kala to turn back to him and hurry over. "Kala, it's fine."

"No, you're bleeding and it's my fault. Let me heal you." she said, looking at him.

Cullen knew she was asking his permission and nodded. "Alright."

Kala hurried to heal his wound, or at least stop the bleeding, and smiled softly when she watched the wound close. "There we are."

Cullen flexed his hand, feeling that everything was normal. "Thank you." he said, looking up at her.

Kala offered her smile to him, but it quickly faded. 'This is my fault... I shouldn't let him or anyone else close... I can't risk this happening again...' She stepped back and bowed her head. "Please excuse me, I need to ensure my room is ready."

Cullen wanted to say something more, but she turned away and hurried into the Chantry.

Leliana came over and put a hand to his shoulder. "Do not worry about her. Kala just needs some time. She is proud of her magik and she is proud of her dragon form, but for it to put her in danger twice must have really upset her. From what Adara was telling me, Kala only uses that form when she or the people she cares about are in trouble. If that hunter saw her in that form, she must have been protecting the refugees. She does not trust lightly, Cullen, and for her to jump in and protect you like that is a very rare thing. You should be grateful, but give her time to collect herself."

Cullen nodded and watched as Leliana ordered her men to dispose of the bodies of Marcus' men. He looked down at his arm and touched the area where his wound had been. 'She's an excellent healer.' He glanced up at the sky and sighed. 'Maker, this will be a long battle... We'll need her.'