Cearbhail:

So, I'm going to be throwing a lot at you this chapter. The fight with the demon did not go expected (my fingers dictated that) and was a lot shorter than I planned on. So... I combined it with the following chapter. So, two chapters for one! It's 12 pages long. Enjoy that.

"We need to get everyone moving, now! Form up ranks, take positions! Archers, prepare first volley! Fire!" Cassandra cried from right beside me.

I readied my daggers, looking up at the massive hulking… thing. The massive blunder of spines, spikes, scales, claws, teeth, nails. And eyes… like six of them. Oh gods… it's like a massive tank spider. What the fuck? What am I supposed to do to fight something like that? I'm used to shooting deer in the blind… and then falling down on top of them from tree branches after hours of quiet sneaking around! I'm not… I'm can't… I'm hyperventilating! I can't fight something like this!

"Snoooo-kiiii-ki-ki." An unrealistically deep gravely growl poured from an unlikely source, the massive rift demon standing right in front of me, pierced the sky. As it did so, lightning sprung from its body, crashing into the ground around it. I stood there like an idiot as lightning crashed along the ground, a massive beam-whip flying up to me.

"Move, you idiot!" Cassandra shoved me to the side, knocking me to the ground, taking the full attack of the lightning beam-whip with her shield. She growled through her clenched teeth as she pushed against the whip, holding her ground, actually throwing the whip off her shield, rolling underneath it, and began charging up to the demon, to attack it head on.

I started to stand up, help Cassandra take the fight to the… whatever it was. As I rolled to my feet, I was welcomed to a slap in the chest with one of the lightning whips. A full course of lightning surged through me, instantly picking me off my feet and throwing me across the field. I hit the ground hard, my breath exploding out of my lungs. I rolled for a few seconds, finally coming to a stop. My limbs seemed paralyzed, barely able to move. Great… guess I'm stuck here for a few seconds while my body reboots.

I continued to lay on the ground for a few minutes. I'm not sure what's even going on anymore. I'm on my back; my head is spinning; my whole body throbbing in pain. I'm staring up at the giant green skyline, the many floating landmasses seemingly suspended in the sky. Everything was blurry, everything was spinning; and I'm pretty sure I was not even conscious. I'm slowly drifting in and out of what I'm guessing is battle sleep. You know… the sleep you try to have when you're on the brink of war with another tribe, but you know that you still need to tend to normal functions like sleeping. It's a conscious sleep, one where your senses are always alert, ready for any sound that comes into your ears. It's like that, only… I'm awake the whole time.

I felt a hand plant on my shoulder. "Kid, you ok?" Varric said, squatting down next to me. I didn't even hear him come over to me. Man… he's silent.

I nodded. "No… not at all." I don't know why I was nodding, I think it was the hit of lightning I took just a few seconds ago messed up my nervous response system, or something like that. Or was it minutes? Evanuris, I have no idea anymore.

Varric glanced over to the giant monster that was plowing through our teammates. "Oh, fu-" He reached down, grabbing me by my shoulders, pulling me with him as he ran, diving. Right where I was laying was now covered by a massive lightning whip. The massive tank of a demon was wildly waving his giant lightning whip around, hitting whatever he could. What on in the Fade was that thing?

"Record Keeper, it's me, Solas!" Solas screamed out, raising a bubble shield of magic around himself as the lightning whip landed over top of him. His bubble shield seemed to form just in time, keeping him safe as the lightning coiled over top of him. "This is not your purpose! Snap out of it!"

"Snooo…. Kiii!" The demon cried, slashing out with the whip again, catching several soldiers charging up to it.

I watched as several archers started pelting the demon with their arrows. The demon barely even reacted, glancing up at the archers. Solas glanced back at the archers, waving to them. "No! You'll only make her angry! She's a nice spirit… just give her-"

Solas was interrupted as the demon stuck its hand out, blasting the archers with a massive ball of exploding lightning. The archers cried out, diving out of the way as the entire wall exploded. I could see blood and guts littering the sky, raining down on top of us, severed limbs landing all around us. Jeez! I haven't seen this much blood since my trip to Kirkwall last year.

"Tel'bora Dirth!" Solas screamed, which seemed to catch the demon's attention. "You need to calm down! Ma sahlin nadas hamin! Ir Solas! Ma falon!"

The demon started calming down, glancing at Solas with its… six blinking eyes. Eww… just thinking about it was like staring at a massive spider troll thing…and I don't like thinking about it. I glanced at Varric, who was still holding my shoulders, preparing to drag us off if the creature started attacking again. "Varric… what is that?"

He glanced at me. "What? The Pride Demon? You've never seen one before? You must never go to Kirkwall… they're very common these days." Oh right… the Kirkwall Circle incident. I remember vaguely seeing these things tearing down the tower. What a weird day to actually stop by a town to see how humans were doing without our guidance. And we never went back.

Varric looked back at me. "So… do you know what squinty is saying?"

I nodded. "Yeah… Solas is pleading with … To not lose Knowledge, man that's a weird name. Solas wants her to be calm… and it seems to be working." Was Solas actually talking down a demon? That's… that's kind of impressive. If he can pull this off, we could save ourselves from an unnecessary conflict.

"Soldiers, the demon is distracted!" Cassandra screamed. Right at she said that, I saw her suddenly appear at the demon's face, slapping it with her sword, drawing a nice line right through its face. "Quick, while it's calm and complacent… kill it!"

"No!" Solas screamed, but it was too late. Arrows and spears were launched into the demon, hitting it hard enough that it staggered back, protecting its scarred face. The demon glanced regretfully at Solas, as if apologizing to him, but then its eyes narrowed and it bellowed out a loud screech, lightning surging out of it as it turned to Cassandra.

"This is not good." Varric said as he started pulling me up. "Whatever squinty was up to was ruined by our prestigious joy killer. Well… looks like we're going to die unless we do something." He looked down at me. "Any ideas?"

I looked for my two daggers, seeing them lying in the dirt that was pulverized by the Pride Demon.

"Snooookiiii!" The demon screamed, launching lightning all around us. Several soldiers were pulsing as the lightning consumed them. They exploded.

"Um… kill it with fire?" It's a demon after all. And it was killing people. That's not a good thing. That's a very bad thing. And bad things need to die.

Varric nodded. "Sounds about right." He readied his crossbow. "Well, let's get on with killing this thing."

"No!" Solas screamed. "Listen to me." He glowered over to me. "If you use your mark on the rift… it will explode, causing a small disturbance. It will weaken her… and in that time, I can change her back! You have to trust me!"

"This is no time to be taking any chances!" Cassandra screamed through her shield. "We need to work together; take this demon down! If even one person holds back… we'll all die!"

"Don't listen to her!" Solas screamed back. "We'll keep her distracted, you disrupt the rift!"

"Don't listen to him. We need your help killing this beast."

"Don't listen to her! Help me."

"No, help me!"

Oh, Evanuris, I hate branching decisions. No matter who I choose, someone is going to hate me, and the other is going to love me. So… which one did I like more? The non-Dalish snarky elf guy who happens to have a perfect face and magick (which I really want to learn), or the evil cutthroat bitch that kidnapped me, tortured me, and then told me I'm going to close a breach to the underworld and to show her thanks will send me to my death? Huh… such a hard decision. On one hand… woman that wants me dead. On the other… non-Dalish guy.

"No, how about this." Varric pitched in. "We run. They die… we're free. The end."

That… that was a very appealing idea for me. Ditch the whole shit storm altogether.

"What?" Cassandra said over her shoulder. "I couldn't hear you, Varric. It sounded like you were abandoning on your next big hit: The Chronicles of the Breach."

Varric paused. "Shit… she knew the exact button to push." He glanced at me. "Sorry, kid. Guess we're staying."

I looked over to Solas, and then over to Cassandra. Which one to choose? Which one to support? Which one would I rather not be bitched back to by afterwards? I looked over to the demon… and I kind of… well… I don't care for demons. I also don't care for being blown up by one either. So…

I ran for the rift, which I heard Cassandra screaming, "Oh you little-". She was cut off as lightning crashed down around her, forcing her to throw her shield up. "Ok, everyone. Defend yourselves. Let's see if we can overpower it while our esteemed protagonist gets us all killed."

Fuck you too, Cassandra. I raced over the severed exploded limbs of all the soldiers and archers that died while we ran from the pride demon, racing over to the house-sized green vortex boxy energy rift thingy. Once I got close enough, I kind of felt the rift pull me in, like it had its own gravity. I pushed my left hand out, which was throbbing with its own gravity. The green beam of unity snaked out of my hand, snatching the rift with the green tentacles of hentai pleasure, reaching deep inside it as it grabbed ahold of the release. I heard the rift moan as I began to pull and as I did, I felt the rift explode. The rift pulled me in deeper before it suddenly exploded, throwing me off my feet, slamming me and almost everyone around me with green Fade ectoplasm that tasted heavily of fear and regret.

The shockwave that came from the rift explosion threw the pride demon to its knees, weakened by the closing of the gate to its world. Cassandra and her fellow soldiers were thrown off their feet by the same aftershock explosion, leaving only Solas standing on his feet. He gently walked up to the kneeling demon, placing his hand on the demon's head. He whispered silent words to the demon and it started to glow. The hard scaly shell started to dissipate, revealing a cloudy energy woman with glowing eyes.

I've never seen a spirit before. I mean… sure, we have our sacred resting grounds where we lay our dead. We sometimes see their spirits lingering, but a physical spirit from the Fade… that was something else entirely. It didn't look human or elvhen. It looked like its own being, floating with a midsection: no legs at all. A sort of mist seemed to make up its lower body, its arm long and lanky like any elf, but its face and chest full like a human's. It had a blue misty complexion, a face full of emotion, one that was reflected in the very body of the spirit. I could feel the spirit's presence on our plane, like it felt like it belonged. I could almost see myself standing up and meeting the spirit, talking to it. I wanted to know what it has seen… how this world looked through their eyes.

As I sat there, eyeing the spirit, I saw her and Solas share a moment. She touched Solas' face gently, as if speaking kind words to him. The two shared a small kiss before she started to vanish. Solas held her hands gently and they stared longingly at each other as the spirit dissipated. "Goodbye, Elgaras."

"Dareth Shiral, ma emma sa'lath." She replied back before disappearing altogether.

Solas glanced at the empty spot that used to be the spirit. His eyes were deep, definitely thinking of all the times he had with his old friend, whoever she was. He stayed like that for a few seconds before glancing at me. Solas nodded, looking at me as if for the first time. "Serannas, mir felas'falon."

Felas'falon? I'm his… slow friend? I'm not sure if that's an insult on my intelligence or a somewhat endearing term for a growing friendship that is being hard-fought. He's non-Dalish, so I'm guessing an insult. No… then he would have called me elvhen'alas. So… endearing compliment? Hopefully? Did I even want that? Friends with a non-Dalish twit? Honestly, I just wanted to go home. I want to climb into my aravel, close my eyes, drink some wine, and pass the fuck out. But before I can do any of that, I have to deal with what remains of this Breach. If I don't close it, this stupid thing in my left hand is going to kill me either way.

I glanced up at the rift that was now slowly dissipating. Without the demon here to keep it suspended, the rift was slowly beginning to collapse on itself. And as the last bit of rift finally imploded, restoring the air around us to a normal state, the giant tunnel of green energy leading up to the Breach was suddenly closing, hitting the massive Breach. The energy cyclone leading up to the Breach quickly started breaking apart, moving like its own lightning bolt. Once it hit the very top of the Breach, there was a resounding implosion leading to another shockwave through the sky. I could see the incoming shockwave and attempted to move someplace safe. I was surrounded by bloody limbs and general gory entrails. And dull round rocks just jutted enough out of the ground that if I was to suddenly be slammed against them, I would lose all consciousness. It would not be a good idea to be standing here when a massive force would soon collide with my face.

I tried to move but my left hand exploded in pain, throwing my already alarmed mind into a frenzy as my vision blackened. I guess the force that hit the Breach was affecting my mark as well. And it was hitting me hard. In my delirious state, I was slammed hard by the incoming shockwave, slamming me against the jutted rocks, just hard enough that I couldn't fight the inevitable passing out. The last thing I heard was a sickening smack as I hit the nearest smooth bulgy rock with the soft part of my skull. Well… fenedhis.

…

The soft feeling of a mattress… I think. Never slept on one before. Whatever I'm sleeping on, it's soft, warm, makes a squeaky sound when I bounce my butt on it. I like it, whatever it is. Warm blankets pulled up to my neck, hugging me in a nice warm embrace. The room was chilled, just enough that I was reminded of home.

As I started coming to, my body fought waking up. It really did. I was in a warm soft bed… comforted from the rest of life by the protection of my anti-social life sheets and bedding. This was my safe place, and I never wanted to leave it. I wonder… could I just forget the past few days and just… stay here in the bed until I die? Let Cassandra kill me in this bed. I would have it no other way.

Wait…

Oh… fuck. That's right!

I snapped my eyes open, throwing myself up. I was indeed in a room, a small housing place all by itself. There was a fireplace in the corner of the room, a small stoked fire warming the room. I could hear the crackling of the firewood, a fresh one just recently added. The entire room was empty, I was the only person in this room. I'm alive so… I guess I'm safe for right now. I pushed the sheets away, revealing me without my clothes. My chest and stomach were wrapped in a tight bandage, and I could see blood splotches where I took that sword wound from earlier. I guess that opened up when I hit the ground, or was that a new one? Why didn't they just shove a health potion in my mouth to avoid this whole bandage scene?

I struggled to push myself out of the bed, my wound giving me little comfort as I pushed myself up. I could see some simple clothes waiting for me folded up on the nightstand. I reached out for the clothes. There was a simple button-up silk dress shirt, way classier than anything I would normally wear, and a pair of journeying pants. Ok… I'm cool with the pants. The shirt though… I'll probably have to get a new one eventually. I put the clothes on, surprising at how well they fit me.

I heard the door push open. I looked to the door to see an elf about my size walk in, carrying what looked like a basket of elf root and bandage cloth. She was about the same build and size as me, had no visible vallasin adorning her face, making her an incorrect human elf, and as soon as she locked eyes with me, her face blushed over. She dropped her basket. "Oh… you're awake."

I turned to face her. "Yes, I am. Care to tell me what's going on? What happened to the Breach?"

Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she dramatically fell to her knees, splaying her hands out in front of her like she was worshiping a god or something like that. Or maybe a golden halla. "I'm sorry, milady. I meant no disrespect. I'm but a humble servant girl."

"Wha-?"

"Please feel free to punish me to your heart's content." She continued, stuttering, her face turning bright red as she continued pleading with me.

My eyes deadpanned. "Yeah… no. We're going to skip over this part." I limped away from her. "Just… tell me what's going on."

The girl kept her face at the ground, smiling. "You've been out for three days, milady. I've been taking care of you. Treating your wounds." Well, that's nice of her. Still non-Dalish though. She probably healed me wrong.

"What happened to the Breach?" Please tell me it's gone. I glanced at my left hand, which had a small glow to it… but it didn't hurt. It was like a quiet pulsing… but not hurtful anymore.

"It's stopped growing, milady. Just like the mark on your hand. Solas said it's safe now. You're no longer in danger of dying from it." Well, good. Now, I can be killed by the shems that believed I caused the Breach in the first place. What a great tradeoff. I save their lives; I get blamed; they kill me; and they live happily ever after. Just like every human story ever.

"Lady Cassandra wants to see you immediately, milady. She told me, send you to the chantry… it's urgent. You must go, immediately. That's what she said." The elf girl started backing out of the room, still on her hands and knees. "Please take care, milady. To the chantry… that's what she said." She backed herself out of the room, leaving me more confused than anything else. What the heck was going on? Obviously… I'm wearing that girl's clothes, and I'm guessing she was the one that's been dressing my wounds. So, she's a healer? And she bowed to me like I was an elvhen god. Well, I am Dalish so... I guess I am to someone like her.

I walked over to the door, the one the girl backed out of. When I pushed it open, I could see a horde of people waiting outside it. People were looking at me, scanning me up and down. I'm really glad I decided to put on pants before walking to the door. Were they all here to see my execution? Then again… why bother stitching me up and giving me fancy enough clothes that would serve no use on a dead elf? Or any elf for that matter?

Remember how I said inan was about reading eyes? Well, as I stood there in the doorway, I was doing the very thing with everyone forming around the house I was sleeping in. Guards were lined up around the horde of people. No weapons were unsheathed. Everyone was just… watching me. Their eyes were filled with wonder, hope… inspiration. Indigestion in one of the guy's eyes, and… arousal in some dwarf's? Um… eww. I'm totally not in to dwarves. Or anyone really. I miss Elgarlen.

"Is that her?" Some woman whispered to another person. "The Herald of Andraste?" Um… who? Andraste? Never heard of him.

I started carefully making my way through the crowd, looking at everyone as I slowly started making my way through the town. Guards were motioning me towards the castle, pointing the way for me to travel. I could see that the gate was sealed up tight, guarded as well. Well… I guess there's no point in trying to run. The guards standing everywhere would only catch me. As I looked to the gates, two guards walked in front of the gates, crossing their arms as they glared at me. Two guards formed up behind me, execution march style. Great… I know exactly where this is heading.

I tried my best to stand as straight up as possible; I'm wearing a really nice silk shirt after all. Might as well try to look as regal as possible, as innocent as possible, as I march to my probable death. No doubt this is where I was heading. I mean… why else would everyone be outside waiting for me? Why else would the gate be locked? Why else would Cassandra be waiting for me? Why else would there be guards escorting me to the chantry?

I started walking on, and as I was, people were whispering around me, asking each other if I was 'the one'. Yeah… I'm the one. The one about to die. The march up to the chantry was humiliating. I had humans looking at me with their small and fearful eyes. I say small and fearful because most elves have larger, wider eyes. Humans say what I have are bug eyes. I don't get it, it's not like they're compounded or anything like that. And their ears… so… round and not pointy. How do they function? I want to touch them, caress their roundness. Are they soft? I really want to know. Maybe Cassandra or Leliana will let me touch theirs.

I was brought back to the present as I found myself tripping on the staircase leading up to the chantry. I was so caught staring at this guy's round ears that he covered his ears and shanked away in shame. Huh… weird.

I turned back to the chantry, clearing my throat as I walked up the stairs. The entire village followed behind me, watching me enter the chantry. I paused by the door, looking at the guards. They gestured me to open the door, to willingly push myself to my death, I guess. Fucking hate humans. Even with their perfectly round ears and button noses… and small squinty eyes. And actual body definition.

I pushed the doors open, forcing myself to clear my mind of all images of Cassandra leaping out at me with her sword, striking my beautiful silken shirt. Why did they give me such a beautiful shirt if it was just going to be ruined? Oh no… were they planning on disrobing me before publicly executing me? Flogging? OH crap, this was worse than I thought. They were letting me experience pleasant clothing for perhaps the last time in my life before publicly destroying me! I couldn't let this happen.

I stopped at the door, my hand still resting on it. I didn't want to go through with this. I glanced up at the mountain we ventured up to. The giant Breach was still there, still… hovering in the skyline. It didn't look as menacing as it did last time, just a large rotating portal to the underworld floating in our skyline is all. If it weren't for the whole… spewing death and destruction, it would be a beautiful thing. And to be honest… without that large beam leading up to it, I didn't see all that death and destruction from earlier. Maybe it's…. normal? I have no idea if normal even qualifies anymore.

"Just go in already!" A guard screamed.

My face flushed over. I didn't turn back to glare at the human, but I did push myself into the chantry. There was no waiting Cassandra, no waiting guard unit to grapple me to the ground, drag me to the headsman block. Nothing like that. Just… an empty reception hall.

Standing there like an idiot, I wasn't paying attention to the closing door behind me. When the door slammed shut, I nearly jumped out of my silken shirt. I snapped around, seeing the door shut behind me... and I continued to stand there. Our heroine, ladies and gentlemen. Standing in an empty hallway, scared by a shutting door… on the verge on an execution. Surely this could not get any weirder.

"mumble, mumble, something, mumble, mumble." I heard someone mumbling on the other side of a door further into the chantry. I quietly and effectively did my rogue sneaking thing. I started carefully walking through the chantry, keeping an eye out for anyone who might jump out and kill me. If it wasn't for the fact that Cassandra wanted to see me so badly, I would have felt a little safer, but it was exactly the fact that Cassandra wanted to see me that I was worried.

I drew closer to the door, and those mumbles started to take new form. "You were there, you saw it. She managed to stabilize the Breach." Leliana said with some certainty.

"That proves nothing; in fact, it only proves that she is the reason for the Breach's existence. She can control it, open and close rifts as she sees fit, walk through the Fade, and even when it's demanded of her… she can't close the very thing that will destroy our world? No, she's guilty; I see it no other way." That was the priest guy that wanted to send me to jail. I never really focused on him, but he was at that forward camp with Leliana. He made a move to put me in chains, and send me to Val Royeaux to be executed by the Chantry. I think his name was Roderick; he was the Head Chancellor of the Chantry or something like that.

I decided it was now or never. I knocked on the door, saying, "Um… you wanted to see me?"

The door flew open, Cassandra on the other side. "You're awake!" She looked me up and down. "You look better than expected. You took quite the hit."

Chancellor Roderick pointed his stubby finger at me. "Chain her! I want her ready for the trip back to Val Royeaux!"

Two guards started to react, reaching for their weapons. I knew it! I walked right to my fucking death!

"Disregard that." Cassandra said with a sigh. And just like that, the guards stopped reaching for their swords. "And leave us." The guards bowed to Cassandra, turned for the door, and walked right behind me, closing the door behind them. Um… I'm confused now.

Chancellor Roderick looked just as confused. "You dare ignore an order from-"

Cassandra gave Roderick a wicked glance. "The Breach is stable… but it is still a treat." Oh… I guess that makes me still valuable then. "I will not ignore it." So, they literally can't kill me until that Breach is gone, otherwise they lose their ace. In more ways than one!

"Well, I closed that rift, like I was told to so…" I shrugged. "Not my fault it's still up there. Last I checked, I've been out cold for the past… what, three days?"

Cassandra nodded. "That much is true."

Chancellor Roderick crossed his arms. "The Breach remains… and so does that mark. If we destroy your mark, it should destroy the Breach. They've been connected this entire time."

"The only way to do that is to kill her." Solas called from the doorway, leaning against the door frame.

"Which is why she needs to be executed." Chancellor nodded.

Solas shook his head. "This theory of yours… 'destroy the mark, destroy the Breach' is unfounded, untested, and to be blunt… stupid. You would risk destroying the one person in the whole world that has a connection to the Breach. Destroying the mark could have catastrophic results; it could cause the Breach to explode, becoming unstable again… it might encompass the whole world… teleport us all to the Fade. It might close, like you suspect, but that's a 30 against 70 on those chances. My money would be on the Breach becoming unstable, encompassing the world… and killing us all." He looked at me, nodding. "No, I feel that our little friend here is the only one that can save our planet now."

Chancellor Roderick rubbed the back of his head. "Andraste, save us."

"We do have other matters as well." Leliana said. "The Breach is stable for now, but… someone did create it. It might not have been Ellana like we thought, but someone was responsible for the explosion at the Conclave… as well as the murder of the Most Divine Justinia. We need to follow up on whatever reports we can get; find who's responsible… and kill them."

Cassandra nodded. "That is true. Something does not feel right about this. Who would benefit from destroying the Conclave?"

Leliana shrugged. "I do not know, but they had to be at the Conclave as guests. Perhaps they had allies in the Conclave. And it was someone the Most Divine did not suspect. Perhaps they died at the Conclave… or have allies who yet draw breath? An ally of hers perhaps?" She glared at Chancellor Roderick.

Chancellor Roderick pointed at himself. "I… You think I'm a suspect?"

Leliana was barely containing her fangs. "You… and many others."

He pointed to me. "But not her? Not the one that walked out of the Fade? Not the one that lived through the explosion?"

Cassandra slammed her fist on the table. "We went over this already! I was at the temple! I saw the visions! I saw Divine Justinia call out to her for help!"

"So, the Divine called out to her… are we just going to ignore the mark on her hand? Where did that come from? How did she get it? Is it supposed to be a coincidence?"

I was getting so tired of everyone talking about me like I wasn't even here. Right as I was about to say something, Cassandra shook her head. "Not coincidence… providence. The Maker sent her to us in our time of need, wielding what she needs to help us close the Breach. It's the only thing that makes sense." Oh right… religious person. Of course she'd think this was the work of her god. Oh well… I would think it was from June or something so… I guess it holds up.

I held up my hands. "Wait, wait. You think… I'm what now?"

"The Harold of Andraste." Leliana stated. "People saw you walk out of the Fade, a woman behind you. And you've managed to stop the Breach's advancement with a mark on your hand. To the people… you've become a symbol. A message from Andraste. You're here to save us… and that's what the people will rally behind."

"Rally behind?" Both Roderick and I said at the same time, in the same tone of disbelief.

Cassandra turned around, reaching for a large dusty book on the table behind her. She picked it up, turned back around, and slammed it hard against the table we were all gathered around. She pointed at the book, staring at Chancellor Roderick. "You know what this is?" He stared at it for a few seconds, and Cassandra continued like he answered. "From the Divine. Granting us the authority to act. As of this moment… not anywhere sooner than this… certainly not back in Kirkwall, I declare the Inquisition reborn!"

Cassandra started walking over to Chancellor Roderick, who was now backing away from her. I watched as Cassandra pushed out her chest, poking her fingers at him, forcing him to back away from her as she advanced at him. "We will close the Breach; we will find all those responsible; and we will restore order! With… or without your approval."

Roderick stood there for a few seconds, looking around at us. His eyes settled on mine, and I saw a lot of malice behind them. He was not happy with me at all. He finally jerked his head away from Cassandra, backing away from her and heading for the door.

When he was gone, Leliana walked over to the book. "The Divine's directive? Restore the Inquisition of old… restore order out of chaos?" She looked over to Cassandra. "With what army? We aren't ready. We have no leader, no numbers… and no Chantry support."

Cassandra nodded. "It does not matter. We must act." She glanced at me. "With you at our side."

"Me? Why me?" Like I even had to ask. And Cassandra certainly didn't feel like spelling out the obvious. "Well, ok, I know why. My mark. But… still why?"

Cassandra's hard eyes softened for a second. "I will admit… when I first met you, I was a bit harsh. You have to understand my reasons though. Surely, you understand the circumstances? You were the only lead we had, and the only survivor. You had a thing that matched the Breach… and until recently, we believed you might have been the cause of the Divine's death. The visions have shown me your innocence. Your mark is proof of providence. The Maker walks with you, even if you don't believe in him."

I was about to combat that, but Solas was already walking into the room, adding his own voice. "And whether you want to believe it or not… the Breach will likely become unstable as time progresses. And your mark will also begin to grow. Until you can no longer bear its weight… and you will die. Not to mention many in the chantry still believe you are the killer of the Divine. A target. If you leave Haven, you might be hunted. Your clan extinguished."

Cassandra nodded. "So, join us. If you stay here with us, we can protect you. We can work together to build an army, find a way to close the Breach once and for all, and find out how to remove that mark of yours."

So… this was my option then? I guess it made sense. I would have Cassandra's help in getting rid of this thing. And I wasn't going to be killed today. That's a really good thing. Eh, why not? I stuck out my hand. "Well, I certainly did not expect this when I woke up this morning."

Leliana shook her head. "Neither did I."

Cassandra smiled. "Welcome to the Inquisition, Ellana. Seeing how you were residing in Reinan's house, we can give you a bed in the chantry or… we could move a small cot into her house, and you could room with her."

"Reinan… was she the elf that was treating my wounds?"

Cassandra nodded. "Yes. She's an apostate."

"She's been training under me." Solas said from beside me. "She helped me heal your wounds."

Just thinking about how badly my side hurts… I'm guessing she's not that good.

"You should continue staying with her until we can get you healed at any rate." Solas continued. "And… well, I wanted to wait to say this, but… while you were out, Reinan and I noticed something. Your mark has a connection to the Fade." Ok… "And that connection to the Fade has… awoken some abilities in you. We've contained it for now, but while you were sleeping, you may have started a fire in your bed."

Oh… oh. Oh, this is going somewhere entirely different.

"You have become a mage." Oh… I can't believe this is actually happening. I'm a mage now? "And, if you do not train, you might become a danger to yourself and anyone around you. So, I talked it over with Cassandra."

"You will begin training with Solas immediately." Cassandra replied. "This is not a request."

Um… I really do not know what to think of this. I'm thrilled but at the same time… no.. no, I'm just really excited. I have to appear calm though. "So… when do we begin?" My voice nearly broke, cracking slightly. I managed to keep my feet on the ground though, my arms folded behind my back, my hands clasped together to keep me from throwing them up to the ceiling in delight.

He motioned me to follow him. "Right now. We have a week to train while Cassandra and Leliana start getting their Inquisition ready." My hands want so badly to reach for the sky, declare my excitement. Must... be... sullen...

Leliana nodded. "We will be busy recruiting some people to help us. In the meantime, you should train with Reinan and Solas. If you need other support, there are a few other apostates here in town that might be willing to help you train." More mages?! So hard... containing... sullenness...

Cassandra glared at me. "And try to keep the magick under control. I don't care much for this plan of Solas, but he is right. You will become a threat if you are not trained, and I'd rather have you become a mage than kill yourself as your magick grows."

Well… now I'm scared. Fuck. She took a good thing, and then threw it in my face. "Um… I have a request."

Cassandra's eyebrows snapped up. "What?"

"I have my own teacher. From my clan. My keeper." If he came down here, then… that'd be great. Learn Dalish magick. Not… Solas magick. Even though what I've seen from him is amazing. At least I'll be able to learn Dalish magick as well as Solas' magick. This might be a good thing. Well-rounded magick I can bring back to the clan. I'll be like a hero!

"It will take time, but I will contact your clan with your request." Leliana replied. "In the meantime, you should train with Solas. Time is of the essence."

I looked over to Solas. "Ok then. I'm ready."

He smirked, nodding. "I'm glad you so willingly accepted. I thought I might have to force you, you being an intolerant Dalish girl and all. I never intended for this to happen, but… I am glad. You seem… excited by this development. Most people treat magick like a curse… yet, you seem very willing to accept it."

"It's been my dream for a long time." One my brother got to live.

Solas smirked. "Well, let's make your dream come true. Meet me outside Haven. There's a nice waterfall right outside." … A what now? "We'll start our training with a six hour meditation in the freezing waterfall." Ah… "Followed by drinking a special herbal mixture that will force your body to convulse in the most unpleasant way possible." Ah-huh. "Followed by a series of tenuous drills meant for breaking down your body until you're just a soul." Great. "And then we'll finish with you cleaning the horse stables." Why?

Fenedhis lasa.

Cearbhail:

I won't be including any translation this chapter, because I pretty much covered it through interaction. I'm sure if you're curious, you can always ask, or look it up yourself. Reinan will become a more prominent character in this story, as will some of the scouts, other mages. I did not like how they would show a character and then... never interact with them. Things will be different for this story. And... I'm sure you know where this is going with Ellana contacting her clan in needing of a tutor in magick. Hehehe...