A/N: Alright. After this chapter we're caught up to what I've written. I was going to try to write and keep ahead, but it is way to confusing. Thank you to those who have left a review and liked or favorited this fic! And just as a warning, some changes to canon here. That's not unexpected, right?
The Wrath Of Heaven
Leliana stood, arguing with Chancellor Roderick. The man was insufferable. He insisted they fall back, await Val Royeaux's naming of a new Divine, and then follow her direction on the matter. It was preposterous!
"We do not have time for such an action!" she huffed, frowning up at him from under her cowl of office. "Do you not see the hole in sky? Do you not see it expanding every hour we delay?"
"I see it perfectly clearly," Roderick said.
It was just he and she at the table, as well her two mabari hounds. She would not be arguing with him in this manner if others could hear them. She could not afford to publicize the fact that she was deaf. But Roderick knew, and though he remained insufferable, he also remained understanding, showing her his face as he spoke so she would know what he said.
"Chancellor Roderick, how can you-"
His head swiveled around. She cut herself off, looking for what had stolen his attention. Walking toward them were Cassandra, the elven apostate Solas, Varric… and the Dalish prisoner. The elf now had a bow in her hand, a quiver of arrows on her back, and a knife at her hip. Clearly Cassandra felt she was trustworthy. Or perhaps the Right Hand was merely confident she could put the elf down should she try to run?
The most striking thing about her, however, was that suddenly all her hair was missing. What had happened?
Leliana did not have time to contemplate further, however, as Cassandra and Roderick were already arguing. She could not tell what Roderick was saying, but Cassandra's face was as clear as day. "You?! Order me?! You are a glorified clerk! A bureaucrat!" She said those last words as though they were absolutely putrid.
Leliana came around the side of the table so she could see Roderick's lips.
"… who supposedly serves the Chantry!"
"We serve the Most Holy, Chancellor," Leliana cut in, "as you well know."
"Justinia is dead!" The words cut into her like a knife. Leliana glared as Roderick continued. "We must elect a replacement and follow her orders!"
"This again!" Leliana rolled her eyes, turning to Cassandra. "Does it work? Have you sealed any rifts?"
Cassandra nodded. "Yes. She has done so twice now. It is… she is exactly what we need."
"She is not what we need!" Roderick exclaimed, his expression showing just how agitated he had become. "She killed everyone we need!" Cassandra moved closer. Leliana did not miss how the Seeker put her own body between the Chancellor and the elf. Interesting…
"Call a retreat, Seeker," the Chancellor said, his expression now just… incredibly sad. "Our position here is hopeless. Save what lives we can, please."
Cassandra was as stoic as ever. So sure in herself. She would hate the comparison, but it reminded Leliana so strongly of her own love. Oh, Solona, where have you gone? Why did your communications stop? "We can stop this here, now, before it is too late," the Seeker said. "We need only get to the temple. The prisoner can close the rifts, Chancellor. This will save the most lives!"
"Abandon this, Seeker," the Chancellor pleaded once more. "More lives-"
A bright flare of green surrounded them. The elf grimaced, shuddering, her left hand flaring to life and trembling around her bow. Cassandra moved toward her, but the elf held up her other hand, brown eyes riveted upon the mark, responding so to the Breach in the sky.
"We must get to the temple." Leliana echoed Cassandra's words. "We must try to close the Breach. The world will perish if we do not." Her eyes snapped to Cassandra's. "If you go through the mountains, you can slip in while our soldiers draw the demons' attention in the valley."
The Seeker frowned slightly. "We lost communication with a company on that path, Leliana. Something is obviously not right through there."
"They were up there when the explosion happened, Cassandra. I am sure that is why we have not heard from them."
Cassandra opened her mouth to speak, but the elven archer stepped forward, hand muted once more, and spoke. "What are the other options?"
Cassandra sighed. "Our only other option is to storm with the soldiers. It would mean front-line fighting. But it is more direct and therefore the quickest path."
"But not the safest," the elf said decisively. "I have no skill in battle like you. Varric and Solas both fight from afar. We would do no good fighting through a battlefield, if the goal is to get me close to the Breach. We need to move around the main fighting."
Leliana nodded. "You are right. Quite the tactician, for someone who does not battle," she added, eyebrow raised.
The elf shrugged. "It is not so different from hunting. You cannot charge a bear with a knife. You must get the right angle. It takes time. Only when you strike can you be swift and strong. The rest is stealth, stalking, and a whole lot of waiting."
Leliana smiled softly. The elf didn't know it, but she was describing an assassination quite well. "Indeed. So you will go through the mountain. I will gather my people and we will charge with Cullen's soldiers through the main entrance, distract our foe. Be as swift as you can – we do not have many people left."
The elf caught her eyes and nodded once before turning to Cassandra. Leliana turned, ignoring Roderick and whatever he might have to say. He was not in charge here. Nobody was in charge here. It was complete and utter chaos and somehow they had to close the giant gaping tear through to the Fade without any direction whatsoever.
Solona, if you were but here. I know this is a problem you would have some insight on.
Shaking her head of the thought, Leliana passed through the gate, the mabari hounds following at her heels without needing to be called. Wallowing in self-pity over her missing lover would accomplish nothing.
They made it through the mountains with little trouble. It was as the deaf one with the war hounds had said: those dead at Zanneth's feet along the trail must have fallen to the initial explosion that created the Breach. At least it was likely a quick death.
That was always a mercy.
If those she came here with were indeed dead… Zanneth could hardly stand to think of it. But if it were true, she hoped they met their end quickly and painlessly from the blast. How else could it have happened?
Zanneth's stomach rumbled in hunger, diverting her dark thoughts. It had been days since she'd eaten anything, and she was currently pushing herself beyond her endurance. On top of that, it seemed that interacting with these rifts took a great deal of energy from her. And her reserve was almost nonexistent to begin with.
Zanneth's attention was recalled by Cassandra. A gloved and gauntleted hand was held out in front of the elf, and in it was a small satchel. Zanneth took it, looking up at Cassandra with her brows raised in question.
"I can hear your stomach rumbling. I realized you have been unconscious and have not eaten anything. You hardly have any fat reserves on you. You must be famished. So eat a few bites. It will help." The human paused, furrowing her brows. "But only a little, lest the activity after going so long without food make you vomit."
Opening the satchel, Zanneth found some nuts and dried fruit.
"Thank you," she murmured, pouring out a small handful and handing the satchel back. Cassandra took it wordlessly.
"I would never have guessed you were a mother hen," Varric said derisively.
There is something between this shem and the dwarf. He said he is a prisoner. But Cassandra does not chain him, and he bears his personal weapon.
She allows you a weapon and no longer chains you, either.
What manner of captivity is this? Is she so sure she can take us down if we decide to run?
"If you would kindly not remark on the kind of person I am, Varric, I would appreciate it."
The dwarf chuckled. "Right. Because you've absolutely given me any reason to listen to your requests, Seeker."
Seeker? What is a seeker? She said she was some Hand of this Divine? This is a very strange world. Grandmother did not speak of these things.
And why is Varric so dismissive of this shem's requests? I thought dwarves and humans generally got on well? What happened between these individuals?
The human did not say anything further. She merely grunted, clearly disgusted, and kept walking through the snow, scowl firmly in place.
Shaking her head, Zanneth continued right alongside the human. These people she traveled with were… very different from what she was used to.
Cassandra's brows furrowed as she watched Zanneth. The elf looked around, eyes searching, searching, examining everything save the giant rift before her. Her expression fell subtly, and her eyes finally came to rest on Cassandra.
"Have we a plan?" she asked. She seemed… sad. Resigned. To what has she resigned herself?
Cassandra shrugged. "We must close this rift. It is the largest, the first, the key to the Breach."
"You say we. You mean me."
Cassandra frowned. "Yes, of course. But you are not alone. You have all those here to help you, to keep whatever demons that rift might spit out at bay."
The elf's features softened almost imperceptibly. "This is true." Her brown eyes left the Seeker's face, finally taking in the vast rift before her. The elf's face was impassive as she studied the giant portal into the Fade that pulsated and undulated with a green light that nearly made Cassandra's stomach turn if she stared too long. What quality was it that made the light of a rift horrifying, and the light that washed over them when it was closed healing and warm? Was it merely her own perception, her feelings in her own heart? Or did some quality of the Fade change?
If only that blasted arcane warrior were here. She knows these things of the Fade, knows how it can affect the physical world. She spends half her time walking the Fade, draws her power from the Fade. What mission did the Divine send her upon? Was it wise for neither of them to tell either myself or Leliana?
Cassandra shook her head free of the thoughts. She should not doubt Most Holy like that. It was merely habit. The Seeker never stopped thinking. She constantly turned things over, seeking the truth of truths. It was rare that some objective Truth did not exist, though it was also rare to actually arrive at it.
So what was the truth of this small young woman before her, staring deep into the rift she must close? Did she destroy the Conclave, the Divine? Did she kill all those people? Was one small elf truly capable of so much destruction?
You are better than judging her, positively or negatively, by her race, Cassandra. What would Most Holy say?
Zanneth had been looking at the landscape hopefully just now. What had she been looking for? Her eyes had roved over the bodies of the dead like she might find her salvation - or perhaps her greatest fear - among them. Had she not come to the Conclave alone? Was the elf hoping to find something, or someone, here among the wreckage of the Temple of Sacred Ashes?
"If I seal this rift, it will close the Breach?" The elf's voice jarred Cassandra from her thoughts.
It was Solas who answered her. "I do not know. I do not know if you possess enough power alone to do this thing. But you must try. This rift should act as the key. If it does not close the Breach, it should at least stop it from expanding. Then we can breathe, and plan."
Zanneth's eyes narrowed. "That is not what I asked. Do not tell me what I must do." Her eyes strayed to Cassandra, to Leliana with her men and her dogs, to the Breach up in the sky, and back to Solas. "All any of you do is tell me what I must do. I am your prisoner, and your savior?" She scoffed. "Pick one, and stay consistent." Without anything further, the elf gripped her bow more tightly and began walking the perimeter, presumably looking for a way down so she could get close to the rift.
Cassandra frowned. Something had altered the elf's mood. She had been almost warm after the Seeker had offered her food. Now this. It was puzzling. "Come," she said to the others. "We must still complete this task."
As they walked, Varric pointed out the red lyrium all around. Had it been there all along? Was the Temple of Sacred Ashes built on a hot bed of red lyrium? Or had it showed up with the Breach? Was it linked to the Breach in some way? Or perhaps to one who caused the Breach?
Her thoughts were derailed when a deep, distorted voice echoed around them all.
NOW IS THE HOUR OF OUR VICTORY
BRING FORTH THE SACRIFICE
"What are we hearing?!" Cassandra asked. It was frightening. She had not had so much experience with the Fade in her whole life as she had had in the last two days.
"At a guess?" Solas began, gazing up into the rift. "The person who created the Breach."
KEEP THE SACRIFICE STILL
"Okay. That's creepy," Varric commented. "Creepy as shit."
"Cease your prattle, Varric," Cassandra snapped. The voice was deeply disturbing. "What are we hearing, Solas?"
"Echoes of what happened here, distorted by the Fade," the apostate replied. Cassandra did not miss how Zanneth stayed quiet, but her large eyes remained ever vigilant. Even now, the elf was the consummate huntress, silently stalking and taking in as much information as she could before action was taken.
Cassandra found herself admiring that.
SOMEONE! HELP ME!
"That… that is Most Holy's voice!" Cassandra shouted, looking around wildly for its source. But all she found was the pulsing rift high above.
What's going on here?
Zanneth stopped dead in her tracks. Cassandra had to skip to the side to avoid ramming into her. Her suspicion flared to life, and she turned on the elf, hand on the young woman's elbow, gripping hard. "That was your voice! You were here! With Divine Justinia! What happened?!"
The elf's face was white as a sheet underneath her vallaslin, now a deep, blood-red in comparison. Her large eyes met Cassandra's in fear. "I… I don't know!" she shouted, panicked. "I don't remember!"
RUN WHILE YOU CAN! WARN THEM!
Cassandra whirled, looking up to the rift once more. "She called to you for help?"
WE HAVE INTRUDERS
SLAY THE ELVES
"Cassandra, we must close the rift!" Leliana called. Leliana could of course not hear what was happening around them; would have no idea why they had all suddenly halted.
She was about to try to explain to Leliana when another voice, this one male, interrupted her.
Emma lath, what's-
The words were cut off in a grunt of pain, followed by a shriek in Zanneth's voice. It echoed around them, and very quickly Cassandra realized that the scream emanated both from the Fade and from the elf herself. Looking to the prisoner's face, the Seeker saw unadulterated rage and grief outlined there, and then she had her hand raised, crackling and sizzling with energy. Before anyone could prepare, the rift was fully open, exploding outward with enough force to throw them all to their feet.
It was a lucky thing they were all thrown back, for where Cassandra and Zanneth had stood, a monstrous demon now towered over them. A voice in the back of the Seeker's head informed her it was likely a pride demon – they often took on this shape in the physical world. Rolling to her feet, Cassandra pulled both swords from their scabbards upon her back, undeterred by the monster's size. She had been fighting blood mages and abominations since she was a young woman. She had not shied away in fear since the day she lost Anthony.
The monster reared, turning in response to the cry that fell from Cassandra's lips. Arrows flew from all directions at the beast, some catching and sticking, others bouncing off and falling harmlessly to the ground. Cassandra was not worried about being struck by accident; Leliana's and Cullen's people had been trained well and would not be aiming low enough to do her any harm. If you could not be sure you would not hit an ally, you did not fire. That was the long and short of it.
Cassandra's first several blows met only the demon's hard armor, sparking off as though she were hitting metal. Her last one was successful, however, biting deep into the monster's foot. It jerked, shrieked, and then Cassandra was flying, sword wrenched from her grip as the demon swiped her away from itself.
She hit the ground hard, but training-born instinct saved her head, and she rolled to her feet almost as soon as she landed, holding her remaining sword before her. She was battered, would be bruised for weeks, but she was unbroken and still able to fight. Taking in the lay of the battlefield, the Seeker could see that the demon was now focused on Solas, who she could see kept up constant incantation, spell after spell hitting the demon. He was fast, though, and kept from the monster's grasp, leading it in a merry chase around the blast site.
Varric stood near a wall, a somewhat manic look on his face as he took aim and shot a powerful bolt. It flew true, driving into the demon's neck with a thud Cassandra herself almost felt.
Leliana was up on the walls with the other archers, firing flaming arrows at the demon with a longbow that was as tall as she was, yard-long shafts her projectile of choice.
Zanneth. Where is the she?!
The Seeker cast about, finding Zanneth sprawled upon the ground, the body of a dead soldier pinning her. Cassandra bolted to her side, reaching and pulling the dead woman off of the elf. Holding out her hand, she had Zanneth upon her feet in moments, thrusting her bow at her after rescuing it from the ground.
"Stay with me!" she shouted.
No one ever told you how loud battle was. The din of the battlefield – the cries of the dying, the clash of weapons, the constant sound of armor moving, of rock shifting – grew overpowering very quickly. It was why horns and drums were used to communicate retreat: a shout could barely be heard by someone standing right next to you, let alone across the field of battle.
"How can we defeat that thing?!" the elf shouted back. Her eyes were very large. This was likely her first true battle. A hunter did not engage in battle, in a fight. A hunter stalked her prey and brought her bounty home to feed the hungry.
Cassandra shook her head. "Leave that to the others! You must focus on the rift! If you don't seal it, then we will just have to keep fighting more demons! Exhaustion will overtake us!" She was breathing hard now. Shouting while high on adrenaline stole her breath from her more than she would have thought. "If it stays open, there will be more demons!"
The elf nodded, her features hardening, her grip noticeably tightening around her bow. Cassandra nodded back. "Stay with me! I will get you close enough to the rift! You know what to do?"
The elf nodded again, her gaze meeting Cassandra's cinnamon eyes with such intensity that the Seeker could barely stand under the scrutiny. Turning, the Right Hand to Divine Beatrix and Divine Justinia raised her sword before her, scanning the battlefield for a route to take.
The demon was marching after Solas again. It gave her the perfect opening. She began to trot forward, holding her sword in one hand. Almost as an afterthought, she stooped, grabbing up her other sword, which had likely been pulled and tossed away by the demon. Now, fully armed once more, Cassandra felt more in control, less naked, and it was with a fierce determination that she headed straight for the rift, trusting that the elf followed behind her.
Skidding to a halt, Cassandra turned, pleased to see that Zanneth only trailed her by a few paces. Gesturing, the warrior encouraged the elf on, closer to the rift and behind the protection Cassandra and her swords offered. A boom sounded almost immediately. Its cadence was familiar now, the sound of the elf's mark interacting with a rift.
This small young woman does not hesitate a single moment. How is she so resilient, after all that has befallen her?
The demon's attention was immediately pulled to Zanneth. Perhaps it draws its energy from the Fade. To cut off its source is to kill it. That was certainly how it worked with abominations: if you killed the host, the spirit had no more foothold in this world and it would be destroyed. The demon was not close, but its stride was mighty, and it would only take moments for the creature to get close enough for it to strike. Cassandra would not let it.
With a cry she surged forward, swords brought to bear. Several soldiers wielding swords and shields ran after the beast, trying to distract it. Cassandra met it head-on, lashing out against its leg with both swords.
But it was as if they were not there. Cassandra and her fellow soldiers were no more bothersome than gnats to the monster now that its attention was upon the elf with the mark. The demon batted at them, and Cassandra found herself on the ground once more. She would need to start carrying a shield with her in addition to her swords. Her weapons simply did not do enough to protect her, or to damage her foe. Not against something so large.
The Seeker's heart leapt into her throat as she looked upon Zanneth. The demon was nearly upon her! It would surely destroy this young woman, their only hope!
As she watched, helpless to do anything, Cassandra saw the demon reach with one of its mighty hands, stretching out to crush the elf. Just as it was upon the young woman, though, the rift let forth another cacophonous boom. A great green pulse shot upward, hitting the Breach before expanding outward from it through the sky. At the same moment, the demon burst in its own explosion of warm, gentle light as had the rift. They were all showered in the light, somehow feeling better, more rejuvenated for it.
And amidst it all was Zanneth. She stood like a beacon of power, hand upraised, awash in warm light for a timeless moment. Even small as she was, even bald as she was, the elf still commanded the field. Everyone looked upon her, admiration and respect in their eyes. It was, quite possibly, the first time an elf had managed to do so to a group made almost exclusively of humans.
She had saved them.
Zanneth had saved them all.
She must have been exhausted, however, because when she began to lower her hand, the timeless moment now over, her eyes seeking, what Cassandra did not know… she crumpled.
"Zanneth!"
Cassandra was on her feet in less than a moment, sheathing her swords as she hurried forward. She knelt by the elf, unsure of what she would find. Was Zanneth dead? Grievously injured?
Good. Thank the Maker, she is only unconscious. Standing with the elf in her arms, marveling at how little the woman weighed, Cassandra turned, finding the eyes of all who followed them upon the pair.
A shout went up, its source unknowable. "She saved us! Andraste pushed her out of the Fade and she saved us! She is Andraste's Herald!"
"Herald of Andraste!" began to be chanted, and Cassandra could not help the smile pulling at her lips. It is true, she thought, looking down upon the face of this young woman. She is precisely what we needed, precisely when we needed it. She rose to the challenge, and she saved us all.
The Breach was not closed, it was true. It still hovered high above them, sickening to look upon, for it defied all laws of the physical world. But something had happened. Something good. Cassandra was sure of it. And this elf, this Herald of Andraste, yet lived. They had what they needed most: time. Time to rest, time to plan, time to simply breathe for a moment.
Allowing the victorious chanting to go on unhindered, Cassandra began the long trek from the Temple to Haven, thanking the Maker with each step for sending them this epic miracle, in such an unexpected and diminutive form.