I woke up suddenly. A shudder ran through my body, though this one was warm and comforting unlike most I experienced. I turned to see Solas sitting across from me, staring.

I simply eyed him back, "You would know, how is it I managed to enter the fade through my dreams though I'm not a mage?"

The bald elf stood slowly, "It was a surprise for me as well. You may be more than you've always thought you were. Though some might consider you an idiot for welcoming a spirit into your body after only knowing her for less than a week."

I perked a silver brow, "Are you one of those people?"

"I believe you may be too trustworthy but that is all."

I grinned as he walked passed me, and started to follow. "Is that part of my character a bad thing?"

"Yes and no."

My emerald eyes sparkled as we began to walk again, "So why do you think I was able to enter the fade and pass through the veil?"

The ground began to slope and our trek up the mountain grew more treacherous. Solas thought for a long while about his answer. "I can think of a few reasons. One; you're a mage and haven't come into your power, or perhaps like your memories you are suppressing them out of fear and pain. The second would be that you're possessed, though we know that only happened recently."

"So what is the third option?" I questioned.

Solas turned his head to look directly, "Perhaps you are like our ancestors. I've heard stories, that the Ancient Elves could walk between this world and the fade with ease."

Despite his convincing words I could see something in Solas' eyes. It made me feel as though he knew something more than what he was telling. My chest ached, yearning to know more. But I merely pressed my lips together and continued to walk up the steep path. There was a pain in Solas, as though he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. I didn't have the heart to ask what it was. Somehow I got the feeling that I would never find out anyways.

The mountains grew more and more difficult as we made our way up and through them. The winds howled and nipped at our flesh, using every chance to knock us down. Then there was the snow, it would break for a few hours at a time. But usually we would be beaten with it, unable to see in any direction. Somehow my companion still managed to continue as though he was being guided onward by some invisible force.

We discovered our fair share of darkspawn though we managed to avoid all of them, with the exception of a single raiding party. I was thankful to have Solas with me when they found us finding shelter in a small mountain cavern. Without him there I doubt I'd have had the courage to fight such horrors.

There were quite a few, at least eight. I'm sure 3 would have been more than enough of a fight for someone who had forgotten how to use a weapon. Solas having no magical power didn't help either, nor did the fact that his condition had worsened even more.

I took out the first two who entered the cave, wasting five of my arrows. Clearly my skills were rusty, that or I'd never had any to begin with.

By the time I killed the second, a third much larger monstrosity closed in on me. His blade came down towards my head. I barely managed to get my own weapon up in time to block. As the others drew closer, one of them going after Solas, I gritted my teeth. I dropped my stronger arm, and reached for an arrow. As my first arm weakened, unable to hold the creatures blade back, I rammed the arrow upwards from under his chin. A warrior's cry escaped my lips and I bared my teeth. I could hear her, the spirit, screaming, no… howling along inside me. With this I let go, something surged through me and I could feel change.

I did not fully understand what had occurred until I woke up close to the fire. Solas had a rag and was cleaning my face off. He'd melted some snow and used that as water. A pile of dead darkspawn sat in the corner of the cavern. I finished cleaning myself up on my own and walked over to inspect. There wasn't a single scratch on myself or my companion. The darkspawn however had not been so fortunate. Their bodies were in ruins, many had limbs torn off. Others had been clawed, their throats ripped out. Blood ran down through the pile of bodies to the floor of the cave. I gagged, covering my mouth, the smell of their blood was horrible, as was the sight of the dead.

However my horror did not hide the fact that I knew what, no who had done this. There had been no other way. I closed my eyes, a " Thank you" bounced around my mind, I was sure she hear it.

It wasn't long before Solas and I continued on our journey. Blood from the fight had seeped in and stained my clothes. There was no way to be rid of the rancid smell that darkspawn blood created, it was obvious that I'd have to be rid of the clothing as soon as our journey was over.

As we walked, headed to our unknown destination I started to find peace with the wind and the brutal snow. I felt stronger and it seemed easier to stand against these destructive forces. Over the next few days the snow and wind slowed. Our path lead us down towards a valley. Two large cliff walls surrounded our entrance. This is where Solas stopped.

He turned to me as a ray of sunlight snuck through the heavy clouds. The valley was still a ways off but I could see it, if just barely. "It would seem that this is where our paths divide."

I perked a brow in his direction, "But we're in the middle of nowhere."

Solas let out a little scoff, "Nowhere could have once been somewhere."

I pouted, it seemed that he desired to be cryptic as per usual. Letting out a loud and heavy sigh I found no need to argue. Though I could feel the sadness tugging at my chest. "Thank you."

"What for?" He questioned.

I smiled warmly, "For saving my life and for being the first friend that I can remember."

The bald elf approached me, removing something from his neck. He offered it to me, "The world isn't as it should be. I'm sorry I could not do more for you."

"It's not as if you made the world this way," I laughed gently in response.

There was a look almost like guilt in his eyes, "Yes, I suppose you're right. This is for you, it is a way to remember me by."

I blinked at the gift. It was a necklace with a pendant shaped like the head of a wolf. "I … thank you Solas. But I have nothing to offer you in return."

He nodded, "I desire nothing from you Nahra, only that you live a long and happy life and that you fight for our people."

"Those are two things I can do." I responded with a smile, though deep down I feared that I would be unable to do either.

As if to reassure me Solas pulled me into his arms in a warm embrace, " I promise things will not always be this way. I will make the world right again."

His words confused me and continued to be cryptic. However I thanked my companion, and then hung his gift from my neck. After a brief farewell he continued on towards the far off Valley and I headed back in the direction we had come from.

My heart sunk at the loss of my companion, though it was inevitable. Over the next few days on my way back, despite having the spirit within me I grew more and more lonely. I encountered a few more darkspawn on my way back to the forest, many of which I ended up using for target practice. My aim gradually became better thanks to the 'volunteers'. By the time I got back to my destination I found myself cleaning up the forest's edge daily.

Days continued into weeks and weeks to months. I became an expert on finding and killing the darkspawn. As soon as they stepped inside the spirits domain she knew and so did I. I'd separate the creatures from their parties and pick them off one by one. My fear of the monsters dimmed and I grew accustomed to my lonely life. It wasn't so bad since the spirit inside me allowed me to speak with the animals. Well I wouldn't call it speaking, there was no verbal communication. It was more like I could feel their emotions.

I don't remember how long it had been and I don't remember when exactly it happened. But one day when the sun was shining so brightly it burned my eyes I found myself heading to the edge of the forest. There I discovered the darkspawn I'd been searching for; out of the cover of the trees in the open. A large group of them had attacked a wagon. I could hear the human's screaming as I lurked in the shadow of the trees. There were only five darkspawn, an easy task now that I'd sharpened my skills. However by the time I'd made up my mind I watched in horror as the leader plummeted his sword into the gut of the last survivor.

My grip on my bow tightened and I took aim. First a single arrow through the right eye of the farthest creature. I began to move as the first arrow flew, grabbing a second then a third. By the time my fourth arrow took down its mark the leader was on me. His blade raised and I dropped my bow, reaching for the weapon at my waist. There would be no way to draw and block in time so I ducked to the side as I drew my own weapon. In a quick motion I swung the blade upwards. It sent his blade and attached hand flying towards the ground. The rancid smell of darkspawn blood seeped into the air as blood sprayed from what remained of his limb. The monsters eyes widened in horror as I took a second turn to remove it's head from the rest of its body.

As the grotesque limb that I suppose one could call a head flew threw the air my body relaxed. I sauntered around the site after the head made its landing. After finding a piece of cloth to use in to clean my blade I began to investigate what the dead men had been hauling. I found a few crates of cloth and raw materials. My curiosity caused me to sort through, trying to determine what I could use and what I should take. The sound of shuffling and an odd screech caused me to jump. I whirled around. My eyes glanced towards the large box that sat in the middle of the path. I slowly moved towards it but jumped back once more as another screeched escaped it. The crate jolted and I soon realized that there was something inside.

I moved quickly to steal a sword from one of the dead darkspawn and pried the lid open. There shivering in the container was a creature my eyes had never seen before. It was the size of a fawn with the beak and wings of an eagle. It also had the claws and tail of a lion. Our eyes met and I could feel his pain and fear. He was a child ripped from his home meant to be sold on a market as a rare creature. Most likely he'd been removed from his nest while his parents had been away hunting. My chest began to ache, he could feel it too, how much we had in common.

I reached in gently and scooped the griffin up into my arms. He continued to stare into my emerald eyes as I glanced around to make sure there was no further danger. I brought the creature and some of the other supplies back to my home, some old ruins hidden under ground. The griffin was so young it was obvious that he did not know where home was, though he had a few precious memories of it. Animals have no need for names but I still found myself giving him one; Tamris.

Unable to return him home Tamris became my newest friend and companion. He grew quickly and I found myself throwing him into the air as a way to help him learn how to fly. Once he could, and as he grew stronger we began doing our darkspawn patrols via the sky. Our first attempt at flying together was miserable and we both ended up grounded for a few days. However after a few more failures we learned from our mistakes and made it into the sky. Our trust in one another grew with each passing day thanks to these trials.

I enjoyed the hours we'd spend in the sky every day, as did Tamris. Being in the sky made us feel free, the horrors of our past could not haunt us up here.