Blaire felt things slowing around them and looked up. They were in a strange place of green skies and floating islands. "Alice, are you alright?" She asked, looking down at the bloodied young woman, not caring about anything else.

Alice looked up and nodded. "I'm fine." She looked around and stepped back. "Where are we?"

Blaire shrugged, letting the barrier drop. "I don't know. I don't think I've ever seen or heard of a place like this."

Alice clutched Blaire's sleeve when a sudden screeching came from the distance. "What's that?"

"I don't know, but we should move."

Alice nodded and followed after Blaire, still clutching her sleeve as they hurried to find somewhere they could escape to.

The screeching was getting closer and Alice suddenly stopped. "Blaire, it's getting closer, but look over there. Is that a man?"

Blaire looked in the direction she pointed and squinted. "I think it is. Maybe he can help us?" She led her over to where the man was coming from and waved for him to stop.

"What in the Maker's name are you doing here?" the man asked.

"We were pulled into a portal from our world and this is where we ended up." Blaire explained. "Do you know where we are?"

The man nodded. "This place is called the 'Fade'. It's a place where the Veil is thin, demons and spirits reside, and dreamers can roam." He looked towards the screeching. "The spiders are coming, you need to run." He suddenly grabbed Blaire's hand and she felt a piercing hot jab of pain rushing into her palm.

"What the-" She began to protest, but he cut her off.

"I can't make it back to the physical world, but this power I have given you is too important to leave here. Whatever power it is, I have given to you to protect and to use to fix whatever damage has been caused by the magik at work here." The man said, looking fearful as the screeching became louder and small distant figures of spiders came into view, rushing towards them. "You need to run. There is a portal just up ahead and you must get through it." He looked at them for a moment. "Please, when you get back, ask for Sister Leliana. Tell her Jeremy Trevelyan says that he is sorry he couldn't keep his promise."

"Wait, what about you?" Blaire asked, looking at the spiders, then back at him. "Can't you deliver your message personally?"

Jeremy shook his head. "I have to make sure that you make it through that portal, but I cannot go through it myself. I am too weak to survive the journey back, but I have strength enough to stave off these demons to make sure that you make it back alive." He started heading towards the spiders, then looked back. "Go! And remember my message!" He took off running towards the spiders and Blaire watched as he threw fireballs and icy winds at them, recognizing it as something similar to elemental Kitan.

"Blaire, we have to get out of here!" Alice said, pulling her forward.

Blaire turned away, hoping that this strange man, this Jeremey Trevelyan's sacrifice was worth the risk and whatever power he had given to her. She took Alice's hand and they ran as fast as they could, coming up to a hill. Looking up they saw a white glowing light above them and looking down, they saw that Jeremy had lost and spiders were closing in on them quickly.

"Hurry, young strangers!" a voice called from the portal ahead.

Blaire looked up to see the glowing figure of a woman and grasped Alice's hand. "Don't let go, no matter what!"

Alice nodded and they ran up the hill, both reaching for the hands this strange woman offered them. They were pulled up and thrown through the white portal, landing hard on the ground as it closed behind them.

The two young woman groaned as they sat up and tried to get their bearings. Blaire tried to stand, but the pain in her hand was overwhelming and she felt herself passing out. Alice looked over at her friend and saw her losing consciousness.

"Blaire, stay with me!"

Blaire offered a small smile, erecting a barrier around them. "I'll protect you, I promise... I just need to sleep for a bit..." Blaire felt darkness take her and she closed her eyes.

Alice didn't know what to do. She had just found out her best friend was a Kitanra, then she was pulled into a strange portal, had to run for her life, and now was in a completely different world than what she had always known with her best friend unconscious beside her. "Gods, please help us..." she prayed, then looked up as a group of soldiers approached them. "Please, can you help us?"

The soldiers remained silent.

Alice didn't understand why and pressed on. "Please, my friend is unconscious and we're both injured. We need medical attention!"

Still the soldiers remained silent, only speaking when another joined them.

"Commander, these woman fell out of a rift, ser." one said.

The Commander, a tall gruff looking man, looked at the woman before them and noticed the barrier around them. "Are they mages?"

"We don't know, ser. But the one that's unconscious has a strange glowing, green mark on her hand."

The Commander approached the barrier, thinking it to be the simple magik of his world, and tried to use one of the Templar techniques he had learned to dispel the barrier. When the barrier recoiled and sent a shock through his gloved hand, he stepped back and looked down at the conscious woman. "What is your name, miss?"

"My name is Alice Hellington. This is my friend, Blaire Whitehall."

"Is your friend a mage?"

"What's a mage?"

The Commander looked at her, confused as she appeared to be. "Where are you from?"

"We hail from a land known as Graenia."

"I do not know this 'Graenia'." The Commander said.

"Where are we now?"

"You are in the ruins of the Temple of Sacred Ashes, near the village of Haven in the Frostback Mountains of Ferelden."

"I do not know this 'Ferelden'." Alice said, confused as much as the Commander was.

"How did you come to Ferelden?"

"We were pulled through a strange portal, glowing green, and thrown into a place of green skies and floating islands. The man we met there told us it was called the 'Fade'. Blaire said she had never seen or heard of anything like it. The man gave Blaire some kind of strange power and then told us to run, to get back to the physical world and keep the power he gave her safe."

"What power? What man?"

"I don't know what power it is, but the man said there was something called 'magik' at work and that this power could help somehow. He seemed to know little more than that, but he did ask us to give someone a message."

The Commander looked at her. "What message? To who?"

Alice looked at him. "He said to ask for someone named 'Sister Leliana'. The message was for her."

The Commander looked back at his men. "Send for Leliana at once." While one of his men ran off, he turned back to Alice. "Is there a way for you to lower that barrier?"

Alice shook her head. "I don't know Kitan. That would be Blaire who is making the barrier, Commander."

"This 'Kitan', what is it?"

"'Kitan' is the mystical energy that exists within Graenia. It draws on all forces around it and it is very rare to see anyone use it anymore. Too many wars and battles were waged, misusing Kitan for evil deeds. Now all people see Kitanri as are demon worshippers, curse bringers, and hex singers to put things mildly."

"And your friend, she is...?"

"Blaire is a Kitanra, a female user of Kitan. I didn't know myself until just an hour ago before all hell broke loose." Alice reached over and put her cloak over Blaire. "She saved my life, more than once."

The Commander looked at the young women before him. From what he could tell, Alice was still very young, black hair and golden eyes, a very petite figure with fair skin covered in welts, scrapes, cuts, and bruises. She looked like she had just been beaten. When he turned his attention to her friend, he noticed she had snow white hair and slightly tanned skin, covered in bruises and old welts nearly done healing. She glowed slightly with a soft golden light that matched the glow of the barrier despite the glowing green mark on her hand.

"Do you know what happened here?"

The Commander looked back at Alice and realized she was searching around for more answers, seeing the destruction around them. "That is what we are trying to figure out. You clearly don't know anything."

Alice sighed. "I am afraid we don't, Commander. My apologies."

"Commander Cullen!"

The Commander looked behind him as a red haired woman in purple garb came running up. "Leliana."

Leliana stopped and looked at the two young woman. "Who are they?"

"They are not responsible for what happened here, if that's what you're thinking." The Commander said. "They are injured and need medical attention, but we cannot get through the barrier."

Leliana looked at him. "We will ask Solas for help and bring healers to them. I was told they have a message for me?"

He nodded.

"What is this message you have for me and who is it from?" Leliana asked, stepping towards the barrier.

Alice looked at her, recalling the name and the message. "'Jeremy Trevelyan says that he is sorry he could not keep his promise.'"