"So, now that Cassandra's out of earshot, are you holding up alright?" Varric looked up at the young elven woman. She had a few scars on her face, and he could make out another on her arm, peeking out from under the armor. "I mean, you go from being the most wanted criminal in Thedas to joining the armies of the faithful. Most people would have spread that out over more than one day."
"Too many died on that mountain for me to be wasting time." She fiddled a bit with the armor, resettling it on her shoulders.
"'Bad for morale' would be an understatement. I still can't believe anyone was in there and lived." He turned to stare at the fire.
"You're still here too." She sat down next to him.
"I like to think I'm as selfish and irresponsible as the next guy, but this..." If he hadn't dawdled, he'd have been one of the people in there. Cassandra and Leliana as well. "Thousands of people died on that mountain. I was almost one of them. And now there's a hole in the sky. Even I can't walk away and just leave that to sort itself out."
She leaned back a little to look up at the swirling breach. "Punching it didn't work. Guess we need to come up with something else."
He chuckled. "You might want to consider running at the first opportunity. I've written enough tragedies to recognize where this is going. Heroes are everywhere. I've seen that. But the hole in the sky? That's beyond heroes. We're going to need a miracle."
"Think we can find one in the tavern?" She glanced up at him.
Varric smiled. "Worth a try."
#
"The Chosen of Andraste, a blessed hero sent to save us all." Solas nodded at her approach.
"With my cape fluttering in the wind? Maybe riding a dragon?" Sulana smiled.
"I would have suggested a griffon, but sadly, they're extinct." He gave her an appraising look. "Joke as you will, posturing is necessary." He walked over to where he could observe the Breach. "I've journeyed deep into the Fade in ancient ruins and battlefields to see the dreams of lost civilizations. I've watched as hosts of spirits clash to reenact the bloody past in ancient wars both famous and forgotten." He turned back to her. "Every great war has its heroes. I'm just curious what kind you'll be."
"I'm still trying to figure out how I became the hero of this story." She shook her head. "You're the one who figured out how to make the mark work." Sulana glanced down at her hand. "What did you mean by ruins and battlefields?"
"Any building strong enough to withstand the rigors of time has a history. Every battlefield is steeped in death. Both attract spirits. They press against the Veil, weakening the barrier between our worlds. When I dream in such places, I go deep into the Fade. I can find memories no other living being has ever seen."
"Wow." She chuckled. "Qui's gonna want to..." She trailed off, looking over the camp. She'd asked around, but had yet to find anyone who had seen Vathran or Quiyala since the explosion. She'd even tried tracking down Quiyala's qunari friend, only to learn he'd died up at the temple.
"Qui?"
"I didn't come to the Conclave alone." She sighed. "Quiyala was my clan's First. I was going to say she'd want to talk to you, but I think she died when..." Her eyes went towards the Breach. "Going that far into the Fade? She'd find it fascinating." She sighed. "She wouldn't be wrong, either. Sounds extraordinary."
"Thank you. It's not a common field of study, for obvious reasons. Not so flashy as throwing fire or lightning." He smiled. "The thrill of finding remnants of a thousand-year-old dream? I would not trade it for anything." His eyes went back to the Breach. "I will stay then, at least until the Breach has been closed."
"Was that in doubt?" She raised an eyebrow.
"I am an apostate surrounded by Chantry forces in the middle of a mage rebellion. Cassandra has been accommodating, but you understand my caution."
"Well, let me know if anyone gives you any shit." She shrugged. "And needs their face punched in or something."
"Thank you." He nodded to her. "For now, let us hope either the mages or templars have the power to seal the Breach."
"Crossing fingers and eyes." She nodded and started to walk away.
"Sulana?" She turned back towards him. Solas nodded to her. "I am sorry, about your friend."
"Me too."
#
"Does it trouble you?"
Sulana looked at her hand, then up at Cassandra. "I haven't decided yet."
"What's important is that your mark is now stable, as is the Breach." Cassandra nodded. "You've given us time, and Solas believes a second attempt might succeed - provided the mark has more power. The same level of power used to open the Breach in the first place. That is not easy to come by."
"Great." Sulana shrugged. "Well, this should be fun."
Cassandra led her into a makeshift war room. She gestured at the man they'd encountered on the mountain. "You've met Commander Cullen, leader of the Inquisition's forces."
He nodded to her. "It was only for a moment on the field. I'm pleased you survived."
She stared. "The Cullen?" She shook her head. "From Varric's book?"
Cullen's face looked momentarily startled. "Well yes and..." He shook his head. "Emphatically no."
"Heh." Sulana grinned. "This really is going to be fun."
Cassandra made a frustrated noise as she tried to get the conversation back on track. "This is Lady Josephine Montilyet, our ambassador and chief diplomat."
The woman in the lovely silk dress inclined her head towards Sulana. "Andaran atish'an."
"You speak elven?" Sulana blinked.
Josephine gave her a slightly apologetic smile. "You just heard the entirety of it, I'm afraid."
A small amount of reluctance was visible as Cassandra turned towards the last person in the room. "And of course you know Sister Leliana."
"My position here involves a degree of..." Leliana nodded.
"She is our spymaster."
"Yes. Tactfully put, Cassandra."
"Wow." Sulana shook her head. "Wow." She repeated before looking around at them. "Um..." She shrugged. "I am really confused now as to what I am doing in a room with you four, cause..." She let out a small laugh. "Wow."
"I mentioned that your mark needs more power to close the Breach for good." Cassandra folded her arms.
"Which means we much approach the rebel mages for help." Leliana nodded.
"And I still disagree." Cullen shook his head. "The templars could serve just as well."
"We need power, Commander." Cassandra's voice had the tone of someone having an argument for the dozenth time. "Enough magic poured into that mark -"
"Might destroy us all. Templars could suppress the Breach, weaken it so -"
"Pure speculation." Leliana shook her head.
"I was a templar. I know what they're capable of." Cullen met her stare with one of his own.
Josephine quickly stepped in to sooth things. "Unfortunately, neither group will even speak to us yet. The Chantry has denounced the Inquisition." She turned her eyes to Sulana. "And you, specifically."
"Is it the ears or just a general kind of thing?" Sulana raised an eyebrow.
"Some are calling you - a Dalish elf - the 'Herald of Andraste'. That frightens the Chantry." Josephine nodded. "The remaining clerics have declared it blasphemy, and we heretics for harboring you."
Cassandra growled. "Chancellor Roderick's doing, no doubt."
"It limits our options." Josephine waved a pen as she spoke. "Approaching the mages or templars for help is currently out of the question."
"Just..." Sulana shook her head. "How am I the 'Herald of Andraste'?"
"People saw what you did at the temple, how you stopped the Breach from growing." Cassandra turned towards her. "They have also heard about the woman seen in the rift when we first found you. They believe that was Andraste."
"Even if we tried to stop that view from spreading -"
"Which we have not."
Leliana shot a glare at Cassandra. "The point is, everyone is talking about you."
"It's quite the title, isn't it?" Cullen sounded slightly amused. "How do you feel about that?"
"It's..." She shook her head. "A little unsettling."
"I'm sure the Chantry would agree." He smiled at her.
"People are desperate for a sigh of hope. For some, you're that sign." Leliana clasped her hands behind her back.
Josephine sighed. "And to others, a symbol of everything that's gone wrong."
"I suppose it was too much to ask for things to be easy. Or at least straightforward." Sulana shrugged. "Well, whoever did that to the sky needs their head kicked in. So what do you need me to do?"
A small smile came to Leliana's face. "A Chantry cleric by the name of Mother Giselle has asked to speak to you. She is not far, and knows those involved far better than I. Her assistance could be invaluable."
"I was hoping for more hitting, less talking." Sulana nodded. "I'll see what she has to say."
"You will find Mother Giselle tending to the wounded in the Hinterlands near Redcliffe." Leliana's lips twitched slightly.
"Look for other opportunities to expand the Inquisition's influence while you are there." Cullen rested his hands on the hilt of his sword.
"We need agents to extend our reach beyond this valley, and you're better suited than anyone to recruit them." Josephine shifted her writing board.
Cassandra nodded. "In the meantime, let's think of other options. I won't leave all this to the Herald."
#
Sulana hesitated a moment before matching her steps to Cassandra's. "Um..."
"Yes?" Cassandra raised an eyebrow.
"Will Mahariel be joining us at some point?" She raised an eyebrow hopefully, and then blinked when Cassandra's face fell. "What?"
"The news has not spread then." Cassandra sighed. "Brehan Mahariel was killed on a Warden mission nearly a month ago."
"I..." Sulana shook her head. "Shit. I'm sorry."
"As am I." Cassandra nodded. "He was a good friend."
#
Scout Harding meet them at the forward camp. "The Herald of Andraste. I've heard the stories. Everyone has. We know what you did at the Breach." The dwarven woman nodded to her. "It's odd for a Dalish elf to care what happens to anyone else, but you'll get no back talk here. That's a promise."
After a brief and slightly amusing exchange with Varric, Harding got down to business. "The situation's pretty dire." She gestured at a map. "We came to secure horses from Redcliffe's old horsemaster." She sighed. "I grew up here, and people always said that Dennet's herds were the strongest and fastest this side of the Frostbacks. But with the mage-templar fighting getting worse, we couldn't get to Dennet. Maker only knows if he's even still alive. Mother Giselle's at the crossroads helping refugees and the wounded. Our latest reports say that the war's spread there, too. Corporal Vale and our men are doing what they can to help protect the people, but they won't be able to hold out very long."
"Then I guess we better go back them up." Sulana nodded, resting a hand on the hilt of her sword.
"You best get going. No time to lose."
#
Solas and Cassandra both made token efforts to talk the mages and templars down. Sulana wasn't sure if both groups didn't hear, or just didn't care. She leaped over a wounded Inquisition soldier and brought her sword down on the templar attacking him before spinning and slamming her shield into a templar archer. Cassandra moved in next to her, taking the stunned archer down with a solid blow. With Solas's magic and Varric's crossbow backing them up, they dealt with the attackers readily.
Sulana cleaned her sword before putting it back in the scabbard, and took a look around. Solas moved to tend to the wounded, and people were starting to creep out of hiding places. It didn't take her long to locate Mother Giselle. The red and white robes did kind of stand out. She hung back a moment, watching the woman, and was pleasantly surprised to see that the woman appeared reasonable. With a shrug, she walked over.
It was clear Mother Giselle had made the decision to help even before they'd arrived. Sulana checked with Cassandra, and arranged for a couple soldiers to ensure Mother Giselle reached Haven safely. Then she started taking a look around the camp. The situation wasn't good.
"Food. Blankets. A healer. And an end to war." She glanced around at her companions. "That about cover it?"
"It would seem that way." Solas nodded.
"Well, we've got some hours yet until sunset." Sulana jerked her head towards the hills. "Guess we better get started."
#
"On the way to the Conclave, we were hunting. Vathran was normally a pretty good shot, but the deer switched directions and he missed by a couple inches. I was just starting to resign myself to another meal of dried rations when this lightning bolt hit the deer right out of the blue." Sulana made short work of butchering a ram while Solas did the same for another. "He jumps about twenty feet in the air, and we turn to see Qui there. She gives us this completely innocent look and says, 'huh. Strange weather patterns in Ferelden.'"
Varric chuckled. "Hawke tried to say the same thing about Kirkwall once, when he misjudged a spell and coated Aveline's armor with frost."
"She used the same line after I'd been messing with her and discovered all of my undergarments were just these frozen blocks of ice." She rose and went to the stream to wash her hands. "Getting into a prank war with a mage just never really ends well."
"That would depend entirely upon your viewpoint." Solas's lips twitched as he washed his own hands.
Sulana chuckled. "Says the mage." She shrugged. "I didn't learn, and messed with her again. She just gave this evil little smile, and I spend the next four days driving myself nuts trying to figure out how she'd retaliated that time." She felt a slight lump rise in her throat. "Turned out her vengeance was just amusing herself watching me poke my bedroll with a stick every night and sleeping with one eye open."
"That's..." Varric snickered. "Strangely brilliant."
"It..." Cassandra gave Sulana a sympathetic look. "Leliana may be able to determine what happened to them. It is possible they left, believing you dead."
"Can't think they would." Sulana sighed. "Vathran, maybe. But I can't see Qui leaving with that many wounded around. She'd have wanted to help." She straightened. "That should be enough meat to last them a while, especially if they know how to dry it. Let's get these last couple down to the camp, and see if we can't find a couple more caches."
#
Sulana sighed down at the corpses. "Well, I think that takes care of the problem templars." She shook her head. "Still some mage asshats though. Maybe we'll get lucky, and they'll see reason."
Cassandra glared at the dead templars before nodding. "It looked as though they were coming from another direction. They must have some sort of sign to signal each other."
"Qui could detect when a lot of magic was being used." Sulana glanced at Solas. "If we get you close enough, think you can point us in the right direction?"
"I will certainly try." He nodded to her.
Varric put Bianca back in her harness. "Well, let's get moving."
"Right." Sulana nodded. "World's not going to save itself."
#
The mages were clearly unprepared for a frontal assault, which as far as Sulana was concerned just proved they really were stupid. The smart ones, it seemed, were all holed up in Redcliffe. They stripped the camp of what few supplies it had, and headed back. She stopped at a strange statue. "There are a lot of these."
"Avvar totems." Solas pointed at the markings. "I believe these tell of Bright-Axe and the Lady of the Skies."
"You can read Avvar?" She raised an eyebrow at him.
"Avvar totems are not a written language as most would consider." He traced some of the etchings. "Rather they use pictographs that correspond with their oral traditions. These markings would indicate the withdrawal of the Avvar from the plains to the mountains."
"Huh." Sulana looked them over. "Maybe make a note of the spot so we can come back later?"
"Of course." He nodded to her.
#
"Have you considered practice dummies made out of aurum?" Sulana shook her head at where Cassandra was brutalizing the practice field.
"That would be nice." The seeker sighed, and stepped away. "Did I do the right thing?" She glanced at Sulana. "What I have set in motion here could destroy everything I have revered my whole life." She shifted, and prepared another onslaught. "One day, they may write about me as a traitor, a madwoman, a fool. And they may be right."
Sulana picked up one of the practice swords, and gestured to a sparring circle. Cassandra nodded and joined her. "Faith is meant to be a guide. Where is yours leading you?"
Cassandra sent a swing that she parried neatly. "I believe you are innocent. I believe more is going on here than we can see. And I believe no one else cares to do anything about it. They will stand in the fire and complain that it is hot."
"Yeah, that sounds like people." Sulana sent a feint in low, but Cassandra was fast enough to counter.
"But is this the Maker's will? I can only guess." Cassandra closed, forcing Sulana back a step.
"Someone once told me that when you sort through all the fancy words, the Maker's will is that we all try to do as much good as possible." Sulana shifted, dodging the attack and rotating to prevent Cassandra from getting her into a corner. "So whether I'm this 'Herald' or not, there are people who need help."
A genuine smile came to Cassandra's face, though she didn't let up on her attack. "I think you were sent to help us. I hope you were."
"And what happens now?" Sulana parried, and then moved from defense to offense.
"Now we deal with the Chantry's panic over you before they do even more harm." Cassandra actually looked pleased when Sulana forced her to retreat a few steps. "Then we close the Breach. We are the only ones who can. After that, we find out who is responsible for this chaos, and we end them." She shifted, parrying Sulana's next blow and lifting her sword before coming in underneath. Sulana rolled to the side to avoid what would have been a fatal strike on the battlefield, and came up with her sword still in hand. "And if there are consequences to be paid for what I have done, I pay them. I only pray the price is not too high."
"What choice was there?" Sulana brought her blade up, parrying Cassandra's next swing. "Only alternative I've seen anybody offer so far is stand there and wring their hands."
"My trainers always said, 'Cassandra, you are too brash. You must think before you act.'" Cassandra feinted. "I see what must be done, and I do it. I see no point in running around in circles like a dog chasing its tail." She stepped back, lowering her blade. "But I misjudged you in the beginning, did I not? I thought the answer was before me, clear as day. I cannot afford to be so careless again."
"To be fair, in your boots I'd have suspected me too." Sulana nodded.
"I was determined to have someone answer for what happened. Anyone." Cassandra smile, and gave her a bow to signal the end of the match. They put the practice swords away, and Cassandra started to walk back to the main camp. She stopped, and turned back to Sulana. "You've said you believe you're chosen. Does that mean..." She tilted her head. "You believe in the Maker?"
She knew what answer was expected of her, a Dalish elf, with vallaslin honoring Andruil, the huntress. And then she shrugged, and told the simple truth. "I believe He exists."
"You do? I'm surprised, but..." Cassandra looked pleased at her response. "I suppose it's comforting. Surely the Maker put us both on this path for a reason. Now it simply remains to see where it leads us."
#
"You want me..." Sulana stared. "To go to Val Royeaux and talk to the clerics?" She pointed at herself. "Me. In Val Royeaux. Talking to the leadership of the Chantry. I think that might cause more problems than it solves."
"I agree." Cullen nodded. "It just lends credence to the idea that we should care what the Chantry says."
There was some more arguing, and it appeared she was being volunteered for the job whether she really wanted it or not. Though Cassandra was fast to volunteer to come with her, at least.
#
After some consideration, Sulana put aside the armor the Inquisition had provided and picked up the gear she'd brought with her. The Dalish style armor was oddly comforting, as she put it on. Since the ears were going to be noticed, she might as well make it clear they were not something worthy of shame.
#
"We say this is a false prophet." The mother glared down at her. "The Maker would send no elf in our hour of need."
"And yet it was elves that put an end to the last two Blights." Sulana drew herself up proudly. "We came here in peace, simply to talk -" She gestured. "And this is what you do? I implore you: let us sit down together, to deal with the real threat."
"It's true." Cassandra nodded. "The Inquisition seeks only to end this madness before it is too late."
"It is already too late." The mother pointed at where armed and armored men were approaching. "The templars have returned to the Chantry. They will face this 'Inquisition,' and the people will be safe once more." The mother's smug face vanished when one of the newly arrived templars struck her in the back of the head, sending her to the ground.
One of the templars on the dais tried to step in, and the leader of those that had just arrived caught him. "Still yourself. She is beneath us."
Fury filled her, and for a moment she actually considered drawing her sword. "What's the meaning of this?"
"Her claim to 'authority' is an insult. Much like your own."
Cassandra tried to get the Lord Seeker to see reason, or at least talk, and he rebuffed her. Sulana shook her head, and looked at the men around him. Fully half of them looked ashamed or disturbed by what was happening. "Templars, one of your own commands the Inquisition's forces. Join us, as he did."
Lord Seeker Lucius scoffed. "A staunch and loyal member of the Order. So loyal, he abandoned them for a false Herald."
"But Lord Seeker..." The templar that had tried to step in earlier spoke up. "What if she really was sent by the Maker? What if -"
"You are called to a higher purpose. Do not question." The man that had struck the mother glared.
Lucius drew himself up to his full height. "I will make the Templar Order a power that stands along against the Void. We deserve recognition. Independence." He turned back to stare at Sulana. "You have shown me nothing, and the Inquisition..." He waved a hand. "Less than nothing. Templars. Val Royeaux is unworthy of our protection. We march."
She watched them walk away. Watched the ones who fell into step reluctantly. Watched the few who sent glances back over their shoulders. Then she shook her head. Varric came to stand next to her. "Charming fellow, isn't he?"
"Has Lord Seeker Lucius gone mad?"
"Everything else has." Sulana nodded. "Well, at least we have a better idea of what flavor of trouble we are in."
#
She checked on the mother before leaving. The woman would suffer no lasting physical damage from the blow. As for the rest, time would tell. At least one person in Val Royeaux was moved enough by what they had witnessed to offer help. She amended that to two as they gathered some red scarves, and then three as she received an invitation to some enchanter party.
Four she really didn't see coming. "If I might have a moment of your time?" An elf in mage robes stepped out of the shadows.
Cassandra blinked. "Grand Enchanter Fiona?"
"Leader of the mage rebellion." Solas gave her an odd look. "Is it not dangerous for you to be here?"
"I heard of this gathering, and I wanted to see the fabled Herald of Andraste with my own eyes." It didn't take long for Fiona to get to the point. She wanted the Inquisition to come to the mages for help. Sulana tried to bite down on her irritation. The mages didn't want to come to the Inquisition to help, they wanted the Inquisition to come and ask. She watched the woman walk away.
"Come." Cassandra shook her head. "Let us return to Haven."
#
"It's the Inquisition's Herald." Someone shouted before shooting an arrow at her.
She caught it on her shield. "Well, they know who I work for at least." Sulana grinned. She did rather feel like hitting someone, and here was a volunteer.
#
"Herald of Andraste. How much did you expend to discover me? It must have weakened the Inquisition immeasurably."
Sulana exchanged a glance with Varric, and he gave her a confused shrug. She returned it before looking back at the man. "I don't know who you are."
And it looked like that hurt his feelings. He was giving a rather melodramatic speech when someone killed his bodyguard. An elven woman drew back her bow. "Just say 'what'."
"What is the -" The man went down heavily as an arrow got him right between the eyes.
"Eww." The newcomer walked over to the corpse. "Squishy one, but you heard me, right? 'Just say "what"'. Rich tits always try for more than they deserve." She retrieved her arrow. "Blah blah blah. Obey me. Arrow in my face." She stood again. "So, you followed the notes well enough. Glad to see you're..." An annoyed look came over her face. "Aaaand, you're an elf. Well, hope you're not 'too elfy.' I mean, it's all good, innit? The important thing is: you glow. You're the Herald thingy?"
Sulana turned towards Varric. "I think we took a wrong turn at that last alley. This one's already full up on crazy." She shook her head and looked back at the newcomer. "Glowing is one of my many talents. What's going on?"
"No idea. I don't know this idiot from manners. My people just said the Inquisition should look at him."
"Right."
"Name's Sera." She pointed at some crates. "This is cover. Get round it." When Sulana raised an eyebrow, Sera shrugged. "For the reinforcements. Don't worry. Someone tipped me their equipment shed." She snickered. "They've got no breeches."
#
"Most people..." Sulana laughed softly. "Would have taken their weapons. Nice one." She nodded to Sera.
"So, Herald of Andraste. You're a strange one. I'd like to join."
"Then I'm going to require something at least vaguely resembling an explanation. Who are you people?"
"I'm not 'people', but I get what you want. It's like this. I sent you a note to look for hidden stuff by my friends. The Friends of Red Jenny. That's me. Well, I'm one. So is a fence in Montfort, some woman in Kirkwall. There were three in Starkhaven. Brothers or something. It's just a name, yeah? It lets little people, 'Friends,' be part of something while they stick it to nobles they hate. So here, in your face, I'm Sera. 'The Friends of Red Jenny' are sort of out there. I used them to help you. Plus arrows."
"Makes sense." Sulana nodded.
"It does?" Cassandra glanced at her. "How?"
"Arrows. You stick the pointed end in bad guys." Sulana shrugged, and turned back to Sera. "Alright, Sera, we can use you and your 'Friends'."
"Yes." Sera grinned. "Get in good before you're too big to like. That'll keep your breeches where they should be. Plus extra breeches, because I have all these..." She gestured at a sack. "You have merchants who buy that pish, yeah? Got to be worth something. Anyway, Haven. See you there, Herald. This will be grand."
#
Sulana tried not to laugh as the mage sent the marquis scurrying out with his tail between his legs. The man might have been better off if she'd stepped outside for a duel and just killed him.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Vivienne, First Enchanter of Montsimmard and Enchantress to the Imperial Court."
"You've got a way with words, Lady Vivienne." Sulana smiled. "That may have been the funniest thing I've seen all week."
"Ah, but I didn't invite you to the chateau for pleasantries. With Divine Justinia dead, the Chantry is in shambles. Only the Inquisition might restore sanity and order to our frightened people. As leader of the last loyal mages of Thedas, I feel it is only right that I lend my assistance to your cause."
Well, they did need mages. And this one saw the sense of things. "The Inquisition will be happy to have you, Lady Vivienne."
"Great things are beginning, my dear. I can promise you that."
