The blast of the attack knocked everyone back and Fiera felt a painful stinging on her cheek. Those thrown back quickly got to their feet as Varric sarcastically asked who ordered the end of the world.

"Everyone to the gates!" Fiera ordered and led the way back to the gates.

They tried to keep to the walls, but as they came upon the forge, the forge master's assistant was kicking and trying to smash the crates blocking the door to the hut.

"Blasted shoulder!" the assistant said, then saw Fiera. "Herald, help me open the door!"

Fiera and the others quickly crushed the crates and opened the door. The forge master ran out, a few supplies in his arms.

"Good one!" he said, thanking her. "Just grabbing essentials. Won't die for the forge!"

"Move! Get to the gates!" she ordered and led them to the gates.

Already, the soldiers were flooding in through the gates. Cullen ushered everyone inside. "Move it, move it!" he ordered.

Once everyone was inside, Cullen helped slam the gate doors shut and bar it. He started to head up the stairs, but stopped when he saw Fiera's cheek.

"Are you hurt?" he asked, reaching up to wipe the blood away that had trickled down her cheek from the cut she received during the dragon's first attack.

Fiera winced and nodded, placing a hand on his. "I'm fine, Cullen. It's just a scratch." She tried to smile reassuringly and noticed how worried Cullen looked for her safety.

"Good, I'm glad to hear it." He said, smiling a bit. Then smiled quickly vanished as the dragon's roar echoed through the valley. "We need everyone back to the Chantry!" he ordered, leading Fiera and the others up the stairs. "It's the only building that might hold against… that beast!" He looked back at Fiera for a moment. "At this point… just make them work for it."

Fiera followed Cullen to the Chantry, the others close behind her as well as a few stragglers. The soldiers inside heard them coming and quickly opened the doors. Chancellor Roderick limped towards the door with Dorian beside him.

"Move! Keep going!" he said, grasping his side. "The Chantry is your shelter!"

Once everyone was inside, the soldiers quickly closed the doors. Fiera turned to see the Chancellor falling, but Dorian caught him and steadied him.

"Brave man." He said, looking at Fiera. "He stood against a Venatori."

"Roderick, you fool. They could have killed you!" Fiera said, hurrying to help him.

"Briefly. I am no Templar." Roderick said. "But, Herald, I could not stand by and do nothing."

Fiera managed a small smile. "At least you are alive. That is what matters." She didn't care much for the man, much of the issues with the Chantry being his fault, but she would not disregard the importance of one's life.

Dorian insisted that he had the Chancellor and when Fiera stepped away, Cullen ran over to her.

"Herald! Our position is not good. That dragon stole back any time you might have earned us." He said, coming to a stop in front of her. "There has been no communication, no demands. Only advance after advance."

"There's no bargaining with the mages, either. This Elder One takes what it wants." Dorian said, kneeling beside the Chancellor as he sat in a chair nearby, his breathing heavy. "From what I gathered in Redcliffe, it marched all of this way to take your Herald."

"I don't care what it wants, Dorian, just tell me: how do I stop it?" Fiera said.

"Trust me. That is not information I would keep to myself." Dorian said. "And such a promising start with the landslide." He added, chuckling. "If only trebuchets remained an option."

"They are, if we turn the last of them to the mountains above us." Cullen said, turning to Fiera.

"Cullen, we're overrun and to hit the enemy, we'd bury Haven. Is that really going to be an option with everyone still here?" Fiera asked him.

"This is not survivable now. The only choice left is how spitefully we end this." Cullen replied, stepping closer to her. "Herald, I-"

"That's not acceptable. I didn't race here only to have you drop rocks on my head." Dorian said.

"Should we submit? Let him kill us?" Cullen asked, feeling defeated.

"Dying is typically a last resort, not first! For a Templar, you think like a blood mage!"

"Stop it, both of you!" Fiera ordered. "We can't afford bickering like this right now."

"But, Herald, there is no way out. We are trapped here like rats with that thing out there. It's only a matter of time before the Chantry is taken and there is no chance we can survive the night if that were to happen!" Cullen said, looking at her.

Fiera smacked him across the face, the force of it leaving his cheek bright red and echoing through the halls of the Chantry. "I can't believe what I am hearing!" she said. "Why are you so willing to throw away the lives of these people? Your life? After what we have accomplished? After what we have built?"

Cullen put a hand to his cheek and looked at her. She had tears brimming her eyes and looked as if anything would set them loose. He started to say something, anything, to her but he looked away, unable to find the words.

"Cullen, look at me." Fiera said.

Cullen looked at her as the tears slipped from her eyes. "Herald?"

Fiera came up in front of him, just inches away, and looked at him. "You have to fight. We will not submit to that monster, nor will we go down without a fight. We are not giving up here and we are not letting ourselves die here tonight. There has to be a way that we can all get out of here alive. We've lost too many good people already; we can't lose anymore."

Cullen searched her eyes, seeing the desire to fight and to survive burning intensely. He reached up and wiped the tears away. "Fie, don't cry. I'm sorry." He said quietly, cupping her cheek in his hand for a moment. "You're right, please forgive me. The situation is just so dire, I cannot think of a way we can survive this."

"There is a path." Chancellor Roderick said, wearily. "You wouldn't know it was there unless you'd made the summer pilgrimage. As I have. The people can escape."

Fiera looked at him. "Chancellor?"

"She must have shown me." The Chancellor said, struggling to stand. Fiera helped him up and he continued. "Andraste must have shown me so I could… tell you."

"What are you on about, Roderick?" Fiera asked.

"It was whim that I walked the path. I never meant to start; it was overgrown. Now, with so many of the Conclave dead, to be the only one who remembers… I don't know, Herald." The Chancellor said. "If this simple memory can save us, this could be more than mere accident. You could be more."

"Cullen, could this work?" Fiera asked.

"Possibly. If he shows us the path. But what of your escape?" Cullen said, looking at her worriedly.

Fiera couldn't think of an answer and looked away.

"Perhaps you can surprise the Elder One." Dorian said.

Cullen turned and walked over to the soldiers. "Inquisition! Follow Chancellor Roderick through the Chantry! Move!" he ordered.

Fiera watched as the soldiers and villagers got ready to move and Dorian helped the Chancellor as he tried to move forward.

"Herald… If you are meant for this, if the Inquisition is meant for this, I pray for you." The Chancellor said.

"Thank you, Chancellor. Lead them safely out of here." Fiera said and watched Dorian leave with the others.

A few soldiers ran passed her and outside as Cullen came back over to her. "They'll load the trebuchets. Keep the Elder One's attention until we're above the tree line."

"Be careful, Cullen. Keep them safe." Fiera said.

"If we are to have a chance- if you are to have a chance- let that thing hear you." Cullen replied. "I will keep them safe, I promise."

Fiera started to move towards the doors, but she turned back to Cullen and hugged him. "Thank you, Cullen. For everything you have done for the Inquisition, for me."

Cullen was taken aback, but he hugged her back. As he pulled her in closer, he surprised by her sweet scent. She smelled of peaches and elfroot. When she pulled back, Fiera looked at him and touched his cheek lightly.

"If I don't make it back to the others- to you- then I just want you to know that I have enjoyed your company. Please, take care of them. Take care of yourself." Fiera said, then kissed his cheek and turned, running out of the Chantry with her bow drawn.

Cullen stood there dumbfounded, staring after her even after the soldiers still remaining closed the doors. When the soldiers caught his attention again, urging him to hurry and join the others, Cullen nodded and followed them. He touched his cheek and glanced back one more time and hoped with every fiber of his being that Fiera Lavellan would come back safely.