Once Upon A Dream

by Neteri Draconis

I have lived a long time. Longer than anyone else should have to live. I have known many great and wonderful things, and many great and wonderful people. And I have mourned them all as they passed and I stayed. Such was the way of my world. But even that was not to endure. My world has changed. It began with the Breach, which led me to the elf with the ageless eyes. Eyes like mine.

2. Chapter 2

I do not own Dragon Age or any of the characters.

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Chapter 1

"Hahren, I must ask a favor of you."

"Oh?" I did not look up from the forge. I drew my arm back and brought it down hard. The hammer clanged against the silver metal, slowly, but surely, shaping it into the form I wanted.

"There is to be a meeting of the leaders of the Templars and Mage rebels. An opportunity for peace talks," she began slowly.

I quirked an eyebrow and shook my head to shift a strand of long blonde hair out of my eyes, which were still focused on my forging. She shifted impatiently behind me as I continued hammering the metal into the shape of a blade. Once the heat had left the metal, I place the blade back into the burning coals and turned to face Deshanna.

"Such a meeting would be pointless," I said finally, stretching my sore arms. "There are no negotiations in a rebellion. One side loses, and one side wins. Winner takes all, and loser looses everything. We both know this."

Deshanna's wizened face crinkled even further as frown lines appeared. "This time it is different."

"It always is." I pulled out the glowing red blade and placed it on the anvil, and I began to pound it again. "What's this favor about, da'len? You have yet to explain yourself."

"We need someone inside the Conclave. Someone who will report everything to us, not just what the Chantry approves. Whatever is decided there will affect the whole world, including us," Deshanna explained.

I nodded absently. "Logical. Send your First, Ellana. The poor child needs to get out and see the world beyond our camp. She will learn much about the shemlen there. As a future Keeper, she will need to."

"I was hoping you would be the one to go."

My eyebrows shot into my hairline, and I placed the blade back in the coals. I turned back to Deshanna, who was staring up at me expectantly.

"Trying to get rid of me, I see?" I teased. "Come now, why me? Ellana is a much better choice."

"Ellana has many merits, this is true. She is young and intelligent, but inexperienced," Deshanna agreed. "However, you possess eternal youth and wisdom, and you know the shemlen's world better than any of us. There is no one I trust more with this matter."

I opened my mouth to protest, but I could not think of any reason not to do as she asked. Despite my being at home with the clan, I was growing depressed, and Deshanna and I both knew it. There's nothing quite as lonely as watching those you love grow and evolve around you, while you stay the same. It's a special kind of hell. Truth be told, I was dying for a change. Anything, really.

"Very well, da'len. I'll do as you ask," I replied finally. "Try not to lead the clan into a dragon's nest while I'm away."

Pain. Pain was the first thing I felt as the fog lifted from my mind. My body ached, as though I'd been slammed into a wall. A painful throb resided at the base of my skull, and a dull ache situated behind my eyes as I forced my heavy eyelids to open. My magic reached out to assess my injuries.

Concussion. Bruising along the back and side. No broken bones. No cuts or scrapes. No internal bleeding. Wait. What. Is. That?

My eyelids finally cooperated and dragged themselves open. It was dim where I sat, but I could see just fine. There was a sharp intake of breath only a few feet away from me, and I glanced up to see myself surrounded by armed and armored shemlen, all nervously pointing swords at me. My mind snapped to attention, and I attempted to move but something cold and hard held me in place. I looked down. Chains.

My lips curled at the sight, but my mind raced with questions. Where was I? What had happened? No answers presented themselves.

Then, suddenly, something within my left hand shattered, and green light burst from my palm. I gasped, completely taken aback by the sudden rush of pain and magic that burned across my hand with a frightening intensity. I gritted my teeth against the unpleasant sensation. As if on cue, the door before me slammed open, and two shemlen women strode into the room. Both of them wore the sunburst symbols of the Chantry upon their clothes.

Oh wonderful. Andrastians.

A woman with sharp, unforgiving features, harsh brown eyes, and short black hair headed straight for me, while the hooded woman with red hair lingered behind, eying me with suspicion. Neither of them made any effort to conceal the anger that bubbled underneath their hard expressions. For a moment, I thought that the dark-haired woman was going to reach out to strangle me, but she moved behind me with deliberately calm footsteps. My ears twitched as I strained to hear her every move behind me.

"Tell me why we shouldn't kill you now." The words came out almost like a hiss through clenched teeth. "The Conclave is destroyed. Everyone who attended is dead. Except for you."

I stopped breathing as shock poured into me. I could not have spoken even if I had wanted to. My mind raced again, trying desperately to find an explanation for what was happening, but all that came to me was a flash of green, a horde of giant spiders, and an aged woman screaming at me to run. My brows knit together in confusion. What had happened?

The dark-haired woman snatched up my left hand in her own gauntleted grip. "Explain this." The magic in my palm flared bright green again, but the pain was significantly less than before. On reflex, I yanked my hand out of her grip and met her fiery gaze.

"I can't." I glared up at her, not bothering to disguise the defiance in my eyes. This angered the shemlen.

"What do you mean, you can't?!"

"I don't know what that is," I replied truthfully. "Or how it got there."

The dark-haired shemlen snarled and grasped my throat. "You're lying!"

I was less than a second away from casting a mind blast, but before I went through with it, the red-haired shemlen grabbed the other and pulled her off me. She advanced on her, forcing the dark-haired one to back several paces away from me. The redhead was smaller than the other, but somehow was able to keep her back.

"We need her, Cassandra," she chided the dark-haired shemlen, Cassandra. Then, she turned to me.

I narrowed my eyes at the display. "As fascinating as I find our conversation, I think it's about time someone tells me what the hell is going on."

"Do you remember what happened? How this began?" the redhead asked. Her manner was much less forceful than Cassandra's, but still firm and straight to the point. I shot Cassandra a suspicious glare before replying:

"I remember… running. Things were chasing me. There was a woman."

"A woman?" the redhead gasped, taken aback.

I nodded, trying to concentrate on the fuzzy memory. Perhaps if I told them what I knew, they would let me go sooner. Or they would lock me up, maybe even try to kill me. As if they could.

"She reached out to me, but then…" I trailed off. There was nothing. Whatever else had happened after, or even before, was gone without a trace. A frustrated sneer formed on my face, and I huffed at my lack of memory.

The shemlen, Cassandra, stepped in front of the redhead and said, softly, "Go to the forward camp, Leliana. I will take her to the rift."

Leliana shot a glance at me, then nodded and turned to leave. I watched carefully as Cassandra made her way over to me. She did not seem angry anymore, just tired. Yet that did not mean that she wouldn't try to attack again. This shemlen seemed to have quite a… volatile nature.

Cassandra knelt before me and removed the shackles, but did not cut the rope that bound my wrists together. The other shemlen guards sheathed their swords and stepped back. I eyed her carefully, noting for the first time the various scars that marred her olive skin. This woman was a warrior, a fighter.

"What did happen?" I asked after a moment of silence as she unlocked the shackles.

She grasped my arm and helped pulled me to my feet. A flash of uncertainty appeared in her eyes before quickly disappearing, and her jaw tightened. This shemlen, this warrior with the fiery temper, was afraid. What had the power to do that?

"It… would be easier to show you." Cassandra turned and strode through the open door, obviously expecting me to follow.

My eyes slowly adjusted to the sudden change in brightness. There was a pulse of unbearably bright light somewhere above us in the sky, and I was forced to shield my eyes for a moment to allow them to adjust. Once they had, I turned to see what the shemlen, Cassandra and Leliana, had been talking about. My jaw dropped.

I had seen many things in the thousands of years that I'd lived. But this… I had never seen anything like this before. When I was a child, there had been no Veil. No separation between the worlds of dreams and reality. I remembered those times vaguely, as though looking through a foggy glass. But those times were long gone.

On occasion throughout the years, I would happen upon a place where the Veil was thin, and I could almost see past the barrier and into the green world of the Fade, the land of the spirits. But this was not a faded Veil, it was a torn one. My heart sped in my chest, whether it was from fear or excitement I could not tell. I knew of only one person who had the power to do such a thing, and he had disappeared long ago.

"We call it "The Breach." It's a massive rift into the world of demons that grows larger with each passing hour," Cassandra began to explain. "It's not the only such rift. Just the largest. All were caused by the explosion at the Conclave."

I tore my eyes away from the Breach to stare in horror and fascination at Cassandra. "An explosion can do that?"

"This one did," she nodded solemnly. "Unless we act now, the Breach may grow until it swallows the world."

Another pulse of green came from the Breach up in the sky, and the thing on my hand flared to life, this time with a vengeance. I clenched my teeth to stifle the groan of pain that threatened to spill out, but I could not stop myself from hunching over into the snow. Creators, but it hurt!

Cassandra knelt before me and met my pain-filled gaze. "Each time the Breach expands, your mark spreads. And it is killing you. It may be the key to stopping this, but there isn't much time."

The key to stopping this?

"What do you mean, 'the key to stopping this'? I don't understand," I asked through gritted teeth.

"Closing the Breach," she said simply. "Whether that's possible is something we shall discover for ourselves. It is our only chance however. And yours."

My expression morphed into one of utter contempt and disgust. I wanted to scream at this shemlen for her foolishness. What was she thinking?!

"You cannot possibly believe that I did this! What sort of fool do you take me for, that I would do this to myself?!"

Cassandra pursed her lips. "It was obviously not intentional. Something clearly went wrong."

"And if I'm not responsible, shemlen?" The insult fell from my lips automatically, and I did not feel the slightest bit sorry for it. From her unchanging expression, she probably didn't even know what I said.

"Someone clearly is, and you are our only suspect," she said. "You wish to prove your innocence? This is the only way."

I stared at her for a moment before letting out a bark of laughter. Cassandra flinched slightly, surprised at the strange sound. I shook my head, grinning to myself over the absurdity of my situation. The burning pain in my hand was subsiding, and I pulled myself to my feet. Cassandra joined me, and by the way her wide eyes flickered over me, she had just noticed that I was taller than her.

My grin died as I opened my mouth to speak. "Well? What do you need me to do?"

Her eyebrows arched in surprise. She searched my face, disbelieving. The shemlen must have thought that I would say no, or something similar. How typical.

"Then…" Cassandra began, trailing off as she stared up at me.

I scoffed. "Do I look like I have anything better to do, shemlen? I might as well help."

Cassandra nodded, then reached out to grasp my arm and pull me forward, through the camp. As we walked through, the shems all looked up from their work and stared wide-eyed at me. Some sneered, some just looked on impassively, and a few openly gaped at me, fear written all across their faces. One particularly young shem shouted something incoherent at me and threw a ball of dung. It didn't hit either of us, but it angered Cassandra enough for her to turn her fiery gaze upon the boy. He shrank back into the shadow of his tent immediately. I almost smirked.

"They have decided your guilt. They need it," she explained. I rolled my eyes. Once again, how typical of them. "The people of Haven mourn our most Holy, Divine Justinia, Head of the Chantry. The Conclave was hers. It was a chance for peace between mages and templars. She brought their leaders together. Now, they are dead."

A mournful sigh escaped her. I eyed the enormous sunburst symbol on her armor, and realized for the first time that she must have known the deceased Divine personally. It was no wonder that she was so volatile.

"We lash out, like the sky. But we must think beyond ourselves, as she did. Until the Breach is sealed."

I quirked an eyebrow at her. "And then what happens to me, exactly?"

We reached a bridge and paused. Cassandra pulled out dagger from her belt, and in one slice, the ropes on my wrists fell away. Instinctually, I rubbed the areas where the rope had been just a bit too tight. I flexed my fingers. Freedom.

"There will be a trial. I can promise no more," she said solemnly. "Come, it's not far. Your mark must be tested on something smaller than the Breach."

My eyes narrowed, but I followed nonetheless. How the mark on my hand was supposed to be able to seal a tear in the Veil was beyond me. I knew no more than the shemlen, and this frustrated me. I've prided myself on knowing more than them, to be a first-hand witness to events and customs that they could only guess blindly at. This… I was in the dark with this, and I did not like it one bit.

We made our way up the path at a brisk pace. My muscles were a bit sore, from what exactly I had no idea. But I managed to keep pace with Cassandra's long, swift strides.

A pair of shemlen men came running down the hill and sped past us, faces pale and eyes wide in terror. One of them screamed that it was the end of the world as they passed, and I chuckled to myself. Cassandra glanced sharply at me, no doubt wondering if I was mad. I shook my head. Every disaster was "the end of the world" for the humans. After two thousand years of hearing that phrase repeated time and time again, it had become more like an inside joke than anything else.

I was just about to quell my grin when my mark exploded again. Pain burned in my hand and shot up my forearm. Caught by surprise, I cried out in pain and collapsed on the frozen path. My expression crumpled, jaw clenching to keep from screaming, and I cradled my arm to my body as though it were an injured puppy.

Cassandra appeared before me, pulling me back to my feet. She must've noticed the pain written across my face, because her eyes softened and she awkwardly patted my shoulder in a semi-reassuring manner. I imagined that being comforting wasn't her strong suite. I nodded gratefully, nevertheless. At least she was trying. Not many shems tried to be kind to an elf.

"The pulses are coming faster now."

"Really?" I said between clenched teeth. "I had no idea."

The look that Cassandra shot me was not impressed by my sarcasm, but she did not comment on it. Instead she silently held her hand against my back, making sure that I did not fall over again. When she saw that I could walk steadily again, she took her hand away.

We began to cross another bride, but just as we were almost across, the whole structure crumbled. The ground beneath my feet disappeared, and I found myself falling. I rapidly tumbled the short distance to the ground underneath, and I hissed sharply as my sore side slammed against hard ice. There was a loud crash up ahead, and I looked up to see a shade appear out of nowhere in the center of the frozen lake. I groaned and got to my feet.

Cassandra raced past me, sword in hand. "Stay behind me!" she commanded. Her blade flashed in the sunlight as she went toe to toe with the shade before her.

The ice before me bubbled and glowed green. I groaned and whirled around, searching for a weapon to use against the Fade creature that was no doubt about to form right by my feet. My lips pursed when I caught sight of a mages staff, and I ignored it. I hated using staffs.

The shade appeared, much like the last one before it, and, with a furious roar, it charged. Reflexively, I threw up my barriers and summoned a powerful bolt of lightning. It stretched out from my fingertips in an instant, catching the shade in its middle with a sound like the cracking of a whip. The shade twitched and spasmed as electricity travelled up and down its body, burning as it went. Then, with a guttural groan, it collapsed to the icy floor and vanished in a puff of smoke.

I glanced over to see Cassandra yank her sword from a shade's middle as it fell and disappeared. Her eyes fell upon the magic swirling around my hands and she advanced with a growl.

"Cease your casting! Now!"

I raised my eyebrows and forced myself not to roll my eyes. I was seconds away from protesting, but then I decided not to. The shem wanted to feel safe, and I could play along for the moment, provided we weren't attacked again.

"Fine." The currents of electricity vanished from my hands, and I immediately missed their presence.

Cassandra sighed suddenly. "Wait."

I paused, brows furrowing.

"It is wrong of me to expect you to be defenseless. Take the staff. You will need it. I cannot protect you at all times." She sheathed her sword and gave me a discerning stare. "I should remember that you agreed to come willingly."

"How kind of you to remember," I retorted. I strode past Cassandra towards the body and knelt by it, patting it down for weapons, potions, money, anything useful really. "Not that I don't appreciate the gesture, but I will pass on the staff."

"What are you doing?"

"Doing what all elves do," I replied with a nonchalant shrug.

"And what's that?"

Unable to resist, I turned to her with a wicked smirk. "Stealing, of course."

The curiosity melted off her face, and she let out a loud noise of disgust, sneering slightly. Cassandra crossed her arms and scowled down at me.

"We do not have time for foolishness, elf," she growled.

Elvhen, I corrected her mentally, and I continued on searching the corpse. A moment later, I uncovered a handful of vials of health and lyrium potions, a sword and templar shield, a nicely made dagger, and a coin purse full of silvers and a couple sovereigns. Perfect.

With my newfound loot, I strapped the dagger to my belt, ignored the shield and shield, and trotted over to rejoin Cassandra where she stood scowling at an icicle, obviously annoyed at me ignoring her. I ignored her chilly glare and handed her a couple of health potions, grinning cheekily.

"There's always a little time for searching for more health potions," I said, then I turned to head down our new path, not bothering to look back at Cassandra.

"I suppose you are right," she relented after a moment of silence.

"Always the tone of surprise with you shemlen," I snorted, shaking my head.

"Why chose to forego a staff?"

I paused to let Cassandra catch up. I shrugged and tapped the dagger at my side, not really willing to explain myself. My fighting style was… odd, at best. After a while, I had given up explaining myself to everyone who'd asked. They never seemed to understand that my casting was abominable with a staff, rather than with my bare hands.

The next group of spirits and shades we came across were easily dispatched. Cassandra gave a shout of surprise when she saw me in the fray with a dagger in one hand and a spell in the other, but she chose not to comment on it when she saw that I was holding my own against the creatures.

As we progressed down our path, closer and closer towards the giant Breach in the sky, more and more shades, and even a few demons, appeared. The damned things were everywhere. It was getting a little ridiculous. Beside me, Cassandra was beginning to tire. Her movements were growing slower and less refined as we kept down the path. I could hardly blame her. I know I would have dropped of exhaustion by this point if I were a warrior like her, but my strength was founded on my magic and will, not my muscles. And my magic and will were much harder to exhaust.

Eventually, we came upon a strange pair fighting the demons and shades that were pouring out of a much smaller, but no less threatening, rift. The elven mage and the dwarven archer were doing an admirable job of holding them back, but they were beginning to lose ground against the creatures. Cassandra and I threw ourselves into the fight. I headed for the mage, who appeared to be on the point of being overrun as all the shades converged on him at once. If the elven mage was surprised by my sudden appearance and assistance, he gave no sign of it and continued to cast.

Within minutes, the ruins were clear of enemies, but the rift remained. A strong, long-fingered hand grasped my wrist.

"Quickly! Before more come through!"

And then my hand was being thrust skyward. Magic and energy exploded from the mark on my hand and leapt out to connect to the rift, but this time it didn't hurt. It felt good, as though the magic being released from the mark was poison being drawn from a wound.

There was a loud crack, like that of a whip, and the rift was gone. I stared, disbelieving, at where the tear in the Veil had been only moments ago. Then I turned to the elven mage who had just released my wrist.

He looked so… ordinary. Yet not at all. It was almost a paradox. The elf was completely bald, which only served to accentuate the cutting angles that made up his face. He was pale, as though he had not seen the sun in years, and there was a light dusting of freckles across his prominent cheekbones and straight nose. His face was striking, that was for certain, and I wasn't entirely certain if it was a 'good' striking.

"Wha-" my voice cracked. I cleared my throat before continuing weakly, cheeks burning. "What was that?"

The bald elf smiled gently, as though he understood that I was disoriented. His gaze, however, was sharp and searching. He eyed me as though I were a puzzle he was missing a piece to. If I had not been on the receiving end of such a look from countless others in the past, I would have missed it entirely.

"That was you," he stated, smirking.

My eyes flickered over to the mark on my palm. The magic spewing from it had died down to a faint glow, and the pain was gone.

"Suuure," I drawled, deliberately side-eying the elf with suspicion. "And how exactly did I do that? I didn't do anything."

"When I studied your mark, I theorized that the mark would close the rifts in the Breach's wake. And it seems I was correct." Theorized? He did not have the look of a scholar, much less a Chantry one. His woolen, fur-trimmed clothes were rough and well-worn, and they gave him the appearance of some sort of simple woodsman. Not likely someone who would be theorizing the proper uses of obscure magic. But then again, I'd been wrong before.

Cassandra stepped in. "Meaning it could also close the Breach itself."

The elf's lips pressed together slightly. "Possibly." He then turned to me. "It seems you hold the key to our salvation."

I fought the urge to allow my eyebrows to shoot up into my hairline. Me? A savior? Not likely. I was no one's savior.

"Good to know!" came an oddly cheerful voice from behind me. "Here I thought we'd be ass-deep in demons forever."

I spun around. My eyes landed on empty air, and I was confused until I shifted my gaze downward slightly. I fought the urge to smack myself in the head, but I did not want to aggravate my concussion. That would have only made my temporarily slow wits even worse.

"Varric Tethras, rogue, storyteller, and, occasionally, unwelcome tagalong," the dwarf said, holstering a magnificent crossbow as he sauntered over to us. At the end of his introduction, he winked mischievously at Cassandra, who growled at him. I rolled my eyes.

"That's quite the resume," I replied with a faint grin. "Right now, we could use a rogue, if you're up to it. Storytelling might prove useful later when we're not fighting for our lives, though. The name is Halia, by the way."

Varric was about to reply when Cassandra cut him off. "Absolutely not! Varric's help has been appreciated, but-"

"Have you been in the valley lately, Seeker?" he chuckled. "You're soldiers aren't in control anymore. The kid's right. You need me."

KID?! I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from cackling like a madwoman. If only he knew the irony.

Cassandra let out a disgusted huff, and stalked off a few feet further down the path. It was in that moment that the elven mage inched closer to me, and I noticed just how tall he was. He stood at least three inches above my own height, a feat of which only a couple of elves throughout my two thousand years could boast, since the Fall at least. Among my people, I was a giant, nearly reaching the shemlen's idolized six foot height. It was a fact of which I was proud of, a sign of who I truly was and where I really came from. And yet, this elven mage was still taller.

Again, the question pressed itself to the forefront of my mind, but I had no idea how to give it a proper voice in that moment. Who was he?

"My name is Solas, if there are to be introductions," he stated with a pleasant smile. "I am pleased to see you still live."

Varric coughed behind me. "He means, 'I kept that mark from killing you while you slept.'"

I turned to Solas, interest more than piqued. Names were pretty, but too often meaningless. Who was he, really?

"Aneth ara, lethallin," I greeted with a friendly smile. "You seem to know a great deal about the mark. Where did you learn about it?"

My greeting caught Solas completely off guard. His sharp, blue eyes widened momentarily before zeroing in on me with great interest. A slight smile tugged at his lips, and he opened his mouth to respond. Cassandra decided to take that moment to cut in.

"Solas is an apostate. Well-versed in such matters."

I glared at her. "I am an apostate, and I know nothing about this. It's not like we apostates have annual meetings where we discuss our magical findings."

Solas chuckled. It was a soft, and oddly endearing sound that tickled at my oldest faded memories. Despite myself, my lips curled upwards into an involuntary smile.

"My travels have allowed me learn much of the Fade, more so than any Circle mage. I could offer much at these meetings, as I'm sure you could. The art of fighting with both a blade and magic at once is rare indeed." There was a teasing edge to his voice that made my eyes narrow slightly. He was mocking me. My smile grew. Whoever this Solas was, he was likely just as much a sarcastic little shit as I was.

I snorted in response. "You must be new at the whole apostate thing. At least I know not to say 'Circle mage' in the same sentence as my abilities. Theirs are abominable. It's alright though." I reached out and lightly patted his shoulder. "You'll learn."

If Solas was bothered by my mocking, he was masterful in his ability not to show it. Instead, his lips twitched, as though trying to hide a grin, and his eyes glittered in amusement.

"I shall keep that in mind."

There came a disgusted huff from behind me. I was beginning to wonder if that was the only expression that Cassandra could make, besides the occasional growl.

"If you two are quite finished," she ground out.

I blinked. "Oh, yes! Almost forgot. Hole in the sky. Very bad. We should get back to that."

"You forgot?!" Cassandra sputtered, flabbergasted. She had yet to realize that I wasn't serious. "Are you mad?! We are in the middle of a war!"

"Are we?" I mused, cocking my head and squinting up at the Breach as though I was trying to contemplate it. "Are you sure it's just not another regular Tuesday? Because it feels just like a Tuesday."

Varric burst out laughing. "For what it's worth, prisoner, I like you."

"You'd be the only one to say that today, so thank you," I replied with a smile.

"No more dawdling. We must move now." Cassandra's voice was firm and her tone brooked no argument, not that any of us had any to offer.

The four of us set off down the path. It seemed for a while that the journey would be made in silence. We came across more shades and wisps. They were easily taken care of, especially since we were four instead of two. For a while, it seemed that we would be making good time, but the mark on my hand had other ideas.

A particularly nasty pulse from the Breach caught me off guard, and I stumbled. Searing pain shot up my arm. I hissed sharply, but I caught myself and did not fall. A gloved hand touched my elbow.

"Shit. You alright there, kid?" The worry was evident in Varric's voice, and it surprised me. He did not even know me.

I did my best to ignore the pain in my hand, and I shot him a reassuring grin and a nod. The mark was still glowing, so he must have known that it was still paining me. His dark eyes flickered to the still-glowing mark, and his lips pressed together to form an expression that was both frustrated and sad. I patted his shoulder with my good hand and started walking again, ignoring the pain as best as I could. If I could survive two thousand years in this chaotic world, I could survive this damned mark.

"You are Dalish," Solas spoke when we managed to find a stretch of path that wasn't crawling with shades and demons. "But you are clearly away from the rest of your clan. Did they send you here?"

He was observant, I had to admit. No one else seemed to have noticed or cared, not that it mattered all that much. The world as they knew it was ending. There was no real reason for them to care yet, all things considered.

"Little gets past you," I remarked casually. "What do you know of the Dalish?"

"I have wandered many roads in my time. And crossed paths with your people on more than one occasion." Solas's tone was stiffer, and more vague than it had been a moment before. I frowned slightly.

"I take it that these crossing of paths did not involve tea and cakes, yes?" I eyed him carefully. Annoyance flashed over his face and was gone a moment later.

"Such peaceful interactions are impossible to obtain when the other party attacks for no greater reason than superstition," he replied smoothly.

I hummed to myself. "It's the wolf pelt, probably. Next time you 'cross paths' with the Dalish, don't wear so many furs. Most clans don't like it. No doubt they thought you would bring Fen'harel's wrath upon them if they were nice to you."

"I shall bear that in mind." Solas had yet to lose the stiffness in his voice. "Though I doubt they will be so willing to hear the knowledge I have to share, regardless. Their superstitions do not appear to allow room for it."

A laugh bubbled up and out of my mouth. The mark flared as another pulse came from the Breach ahead, cutting my amusement short as I struggled to hold in a scream. Varric rested his hand on my elbow, reassuringly. I shook my head as the pain died down.

"You have never been inside a Chantry then," I replied finally, through my teeth. "They're much worse when it comes to superstitions. Don't even get me started on the Circles. My people's fears can be foolish at times, but at least theirs did not start a goddamned war."

Cassandra muttered under her breath, but she did not say anything aloud. As part of the Chantry, no doubt she would disagree with me simply on principal.

"A fair point," Solas conceded after a moment.

"It's a miracle!" Varric exclaimed. "Two elves who agree on something!"

I grinned, but kept walking. My hand was beginning to throb, almost as though I had broken a bone, but I knew that was not the case. I clutched my hand to my side and waited for the pain to subside again.

Before too long, we came upon another rift. I chose not to draw my sword, and I focused all my will into casting. My left hand was in no condition to hold a weapon, and my right was not nearly as coordinated as the other. After centuries of long, hard practice, I had mastered many of the old elvhen methods of casting spells without a focus or a staff. It was simply easier for me. If I could not feel my magic between my fingertips, instead of channeling through a staff, then I almost always stumbled in casting any sort of complicated spell.

I remained behind with Solas as we cast. He caught sight of my unusual casting and raised a speculative eyebrow, but he made no comment. As a modern elf, no doubt he was unfamiliar with my methods. If he was confused, he gave no sign of it as I moved my arms and hands through the intricate patterns needed for each complex spell. My body vibrated and glowed as lightning danced harmlessly across the surface of my skin. Each bolt I flung at the creatures fanned the fire that was building in my magical core. Once it had reached its peak, I slammed my right fist into the stone tiles below my feet.

Purple lightning extended out across the ground in a flash. They sped harmlessly past my companions and struck the demons and shades all at once. Their twisted bodies went rigid and arched backwards as electricity burned through their corrupted flesh. They flailed like marionettes in a macabre dance, and, after a moment, they went still and collapsed to the ground, turning to shadow as they fell.

I let out a shaky breath, and my shoulders hunched slightly. That had taken more out of me than I had expected. Someone, I could not tell who, shouted that I use the mark. I shook my head to clear the fog in my mind, and I lifted my marked hand up to the rift. Just like the other rift from before, this one closed with a loud snap.

"Sealed as before," said Solas, a little out of breath from the fight. "You are becoming quite proficient at this."

Varric shouldered his crossbow. "Let's hope it works on the big one."

I bent over and rested my hands on my knees, already tired. That spell should not have used up that much of my mana, but it did. Something must have happened to me beforehand that drained my mana significantly. Something which I could not remember.

"We should keep moving," said Cassandra. "We're almost there."

Fortunately, she was right. The gates at the forward camp lay up ahead, and, in a matter of minutes, we reached the large wooden doors. The guards who had been watching our fight not so long ago immediately opened the gate for us. They openly gawked at me as though I were a golden goose. I ignored their stares. Years and years of practice had taught me not to be bothered by them.

We strode into the camp, and I immediately headed for the supply chest. The man guarding it gave me a suspicious one over before letting me rummage through the chest. A few moments later, I had stocked up on all the necessary potions and bandages. I quickly downed a lyrium potion and sighed in relief as my exhaustion melted away. I grasped another lyrium potion and held it out to Solas, who was healing a large gash on Cassandra's arm. He blinked at me in surprise, but he took it from me anyway with a grateful nod.

After we had collected ourselves, Cassandra led us further into the camp to a small table where the red-haired shemlen, Leliana, and another shemlen man in chantry robes stood. At our approach, the man looked up and a sneer came over his face as his eyes landed on me, or, more specifically, my marked hand.

"Ah, here they come."

"Chancellor Roderick, this is-" Leliana was cut off by the man in the chantry robes.

"I know who she is," he drawled, eyes glittering with malice.

You really don't, I wanted to say, but instead I smiled benignly. "Since you seem to know me so well, I'd offer you some tea and cakes. Although, as you can guess, I'm all out."

"Be serious for once, prisoner!" Cassandra snapped.

"I'm glad you can find humor in these circumstances. Circumstances which you created!" the grand chancellor growled. "As Grand Chancellor of the Chantry, I hereby order you to take this prisoner to Val Royeaux to face execution."

My body went very still. Immediately, I began to pull on the well of magic that I had only just replenished with the lyrium. I noticed Solas glancing over at me with a look that resembled alarm. As another mage, no doubt he could feel the power that was building inside me. Briefly, I wondered if he would help me escape, or if he would try to stop me. Either way it wouldn't matter. I would not stay to be executed.

Cassandra bristled. "Order me?! You are a glorified clerk. A bureaucrat!"

"And you are a thug!" the man hissed. "But a thug that supposedly serves the Chantry!"

"We serve the Most Holy. As you well know," Leliana broke in, her eyes saddened.

Chancellor Roderick scoffed. "Justinia is dead! We must elect a replacement and obey her orders on the matter."

"Wait," I cut in suddenly, "are you saying that no one is actually in charge? The three of you are just throwing around commands in the hopes that one of them sticks?"

"You killed everyone who was in charge!" Chancellor Roderick's face had turned a nasty shade of purple. I raised an eyebrow at his accusation, but said nothing. These people already thought me guilty. Speaking up would only waste my breath. "Call a retreat, Seeker. Our position here is hopeless."

"No," Cassandra shook her head. "We can still stop this before it's too late."

"How? You won't survive long enough to make it to the temple, even with all of your soldiers," the Chancellor argued tiredly.

"We must get to the temple, Chancellor," Cassandra persisted. "It's the quickest route."

"But not the safest," said Leliana. "Our forces can charge as a distraction while we go through the mountains."

"We lost contact with an entire squad on that path!" she disagreed. "It's too risky."

"Listen to me," the Chancellor broke in. "Abandon this now before more lives are lost."

I watched passively as the three argued amongst themselves, each proposing ideas that were polar opposites of each other. It was laughable how they did not realize that they were getting nowhere. Each side believed strongly in their proposals, and no one was in charge to decide amongst them. I had come to the realization that this debate could go on for hours, when there was another pulse from the Breach.

Pain lanced up and down my arm, but it was not as bad as it had been before. I pursed my lips and glared unhappily at the green magic that burst from my hand as though it had a life of its own. Who knows, perhaps it was alive.

As soon as the pulse died down, I looked up to see that everyone was staring me.

"How do you think we should proceed?" I blinked owlishly at Cassandra, not really believing what I was hearing.

"You're not serious, are you?" I glanced around. No one cracked a smile. No one was joking. "I'm a nobody. Not to mention, I'm your prisoner. Why ask me?"

"You have the mark," Solas pointed out.

I frowned at him. "That's hardly a good reason for me to decide their fate, lethallin. Especially since I'm currently waiting for them to decide my fate."

"You are also the one we must keep alive," Cassandra stated simply. Her expression turned slightly sour. "Since we cannot agree on our own…"

"You want me to be the tie-breaker," I finished. She hesitated but nodded after a moment.

I fell silent, shaking my head to myself in amazement. How did this happen? Even among the Dalish, I was not the Keeper, nor did I have any desire to be. I gave advice and watched from the sidelines, only getting involved when I had to. I was no leader.

Locking away those traitorous thoughts and forcing myself to focus, I eyed the mountain that Leliana was referring to, and then my gaze fell upon the field where shades and demons roamed, no doubt confused by the new reality that they found themselves in. Not unlike myself.

My lips pursed and my jaw set. "We charge, then. There's little point in sending men to die while we take the 'safe' route. We were able enough to make it here. We are able enough to make it to your temple."

Cassandra's expression softened momentarily before it hardened with resolve. She turned to Leliana and told her to bring the rest of the soldiers.

"On your head be the consequences, Seeker," the Grand Chancellor sneered as we passed him. None of us looked back to reply to him.

I rubbed the mark on my hand, frowning. My gaze was drawn back to the Breach up in the sky as we trudged up the snowy path. Soldiers rushed past us at all sides, but I paid them little heed. My focus was elsewhere.

Whatever had caused the tear in the Veil was old, and it was elvhen. I could feel the magic that poured from it tickle at my skin as we moved ever closer. There was something familiar about it. Something that tugged at me from inside. I paused, brows furrowing even more as I closed my eyes and reached out with my magic towards the tendrils of power that leaked from the Breach.

The moment I touched it, my eyes flew open in shock. Once again, my heart began to race, whether it was from fear or excitement it was impossible to tell. In that moment, the two emotions were one. I recognized that magic. It was him.

A hand touched my shoulder, startling me. It was Solas. I stared at him, wide-eyed and anxious. He gazed down at me, more curious than concerned.

"Are you well?"

I nodded mutely. I did not trust myself to speak. My voice would shake if I did. I forced my feet to move. The world was a blur to me as we continued walking. My chest began to feel tight, and I fought to keep my breathing steady as my mind repeated one thought over and over and over:

The Dread Wolf is here.

---

A/N: That took longer than expected. Sorry about that! With the release of Trespasser, I had to make a few changes so that everything will work better with the canon.

Anyway, I hope you guys like Halia. She was a lot of fun to write. Please leave me a review and let me know what you all think! I really appreciate feedback. Special thanks to Queen of Time and Space and Jewels 941 for reviewing the prologue! I honestly didn't expect any response because it was so short, so I was pleasantly surprised. Thank you!

Enjoy! :)