The group was soon joined by a large amount of armed men as they all charged up the mountain toward the temple. Renna fought with all she had. She was determined to prove that she was not the cause of this. When they were inside the temple, a group of soldiers fought. One, obviously their leader, wore a set of furs over his armor. Renna ran her eyes over him, and her mouth went dry. He was incredibly attractive. She shook her head.
"Now is not the time, Renna." she thought to herself. However, she had a hard time looking away from the man with short, curly blonde hair. His face was hard and chiseled, and his eyes were a deep hazel.
"Lady Cassandra, you managed to close the rift? Well done." he called. Cassandra shook her head.
"Do not congratulate me, Commander. It was the prisoner's doing." she pointed out. The Commander's attention shifted to her, and she felt rooted to the spot. She thought his eyes widened slightly, and she suddenly had an image of his rough hands gliding over her body.
"Stop it!" she thought urgently. She could feel the blush in her cheeks and she hoped he just thought she was cold.
"Is it? I hope they're right about you. We've lost a lot of people getting you here." he said, his voice like honey. She nodded.
"I'll do my best, Commander." she promised.
"Cullen." he said before turning back to his soldiers.
"Cullen." she breathed, watching him walk away.
"We can see you staring at his ass, kid." Varric muttered out of the side of his mouth. Renna was certain her face was as red as her hair, but she said nothing and wandered toward their destination. She heard Varric laugh behind her, but the sound died as they saw the massive rift before them. They heard voices calling out from it.
"Someone, help me!" an Orlesian voice cried. Renna stopped. Something about all the sounds seemed familiar.
"What's going on here?" her own voice called from the rift. She blinked. She couldn't remember it, yet somehow it was herself saying the words.
"That was your voice! Most Holy called out to you, but..." Cassandra breathed. Renna stared at the rift, trying to remember something, anything. Suddenly, a vision appeared before them. It was broken, unfinished, but she saw herself running into a room, where the Divine was being held by unknown means. A shadowy, dark creature stood before her.
"Run while you can! Warn them!" the Divine cried. The shadow creature turned toward her.
"We have an intruder." it growled. "Slay the girl." The vision vanished with those words, and Renna continued to stare in confusion.
"You were there! Who attacked the Divine? Is she...? Was this vision true? What are we seeing?" Cassandra cried. Renna shook her head.
"I have no idea. I can't remember a thing!" she assured her.
"Echoes of what happened here. The Fade bleeds into this place." Solas commented. "This rift isn't sealed, but it is closed, albeit temporarily. I believe that with the mark, it can be reopened so that we can seal it properly." he added. Renna lifted her hand without question and felt it connect to the rift. It tore open with a screeching sound, and demons began flooding out. Renna gasped as a massive, horned creature crawled out of the tear.
"A pride demon? Well, shit." Varric said. Renna couldn't have agreed more.
"The rift! Attack the rift!" Solas shouted at her. She looked up at the jagged, crystalline mass that floated before them. Unsure of what exactly she was supposed to be doing, Renna raised her hand as she had before. The connection was immediate, and she could feel the torn up edges like she was holding a tapestry in her hands. She set to work on unraveling it, hoping that the others would keep the demons off her for a time. Sweat began forming on her forehead after a while: This rift was significantly larger than any of the others had been. Finally, she yanked on the last thread, and the rift had a small sort of explosion that crashed through the demons. All of them stumbled, and some of them fell to their knees in pain. Renna turned from the rift and launched herself at some of the smaller demons. She picked them off before running over to assist in fighting the pride demon that was attacking her companions. They had it nearly defeated, and with her assistance they managed to take down the massive creature.
"Seal the rift!" Cassandra shouted as the demon's essence faded back into the tear. Renna turned and raised her hand once more, expecting the familiar feeling of holding a tapestry. This time, however, when she made the connection with the rift, she was not in control. She cried out as the magic of the tear flowed into her. She could feel her own heart beginning to pulsate with the tear, faster and faster until she started losing her breath. A sound filled her ears, and she realized that she was screaming, even though she didn't have the air to do so. Finally, with a tight, squeezing sensation, the rift released her. As she collapsed to the ground, she saw that it was closing. She saw the rift fold in on itself with a loud explosion as she faded from consciousness.
Renna moaned softly as she woke, afraid to open her eyes. Wherever she was, it was far too soft and warm to be another prison cell. She started to wonder if she was dead. She furrowed her brow and gasped in pain.
"Definitely not dead." she murmured, opening her eyes to reveal a small, cozy cottage. She lifted her hand and touched the wound on her head with a wince. Someone had stitched it up and placed a bandage over it, but it still hurt. She sat up and placed her feet on the floor before studying the room. It was small, with one bed, a dresser, and a desk. She was unused to such quaint accommodations, but she really liked it. The door opened and she turned to see an elven woman enter the room. The woman gasped and dropped the box that she was carrying.
"Oh! I didn't know you were awake, I-I swear!" she whimpered. Renna raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"Don't worry about it. I only-" she began. She was interrupted by the woman dropping to her knees and bowing before her.
"I beg your forgiveness, and your blessing. I am but a humble servant!" she cried. Renna jumped to her feet, swaying slightly due to her wounds.
"There's no need to put your face in the dirt." she replied uncomfortably. The woman lifted her head, but still refused to look her in the eye.
"You're back in Haven, my lady. They say you've saved us! The Breach stopped growing, just like the mark on your hand!" she exclaimed excitedly. Renna looked down at her palm, where the mark was now just a shiny green oval below her pinkie finger. "It's all anyone has talked about for the last three days!" Renna realized that she wasn't being treated with fear, she was being treated with awe. The girl was gazing at her with a sense of hero-worship.
"Then...the danger is over?" she asked. The elf shrugged.
"The Breach is still in the sky, but that's what they say!" she said. For the first time, the girl met her eyes. She quickly blushed and turned away, however.
"There's really no need to-" Renna began.
"I'm certain Lady Cassandra would want to know you've wakened. She said 'At once.'!" the girl cried, visibly trembling.
"Where is she?" Renna asked. The elf quivered.
"In the chantry, with the Lord Chancellor. 'At once,' she said!" she squeaked before dashing out of the door and slamming it behind her. Renna sat down on the bed and put her head in her hands. She was afraid to go outside if that is how people would react to her. She didn't want to be a hero.
"Nobody wants to be a hero, little squirrel. They're always forced into it." Grandfather said.
"You can't force a Trevelyan! If they were forced into it, why would they be such great heroes?" Renna asked. Grandfather laughed softly and ruffled her hair.
"Because a great hero isn't afraid to accept the responsibility of being a great hero." he said fondly.
Renna felt tears filling her eyes. Her memory of her grandfather was a painful reminder that he was dead alongside everyone else who had been in the chantry. She laid back down on the bed and sobbed, feeling like someone had set a building on top of her heart.
Renna had been raised by her grandfather. She was an oddity among noble families, as she was the fourth child. Most nobles had two children: an heir and a spare. Those that had three usually sent the third one off to the chantry as a sort of donation. In Renna's family, they had already had their heir, their spare, and their chantry donation by the time she came along. Being an unplanned accident, her parents had not really known what to do with her, so her grandfather requested to take over her care. She still lived with her parents and siblings, and she loved them very much, but she spent her days having adventures with grandfather. He taught her everything about being the head of a noble household, even though it was highly unlikely that she ever would need the knowledge. He taught her governance, military strategy, history, everything that her older brother and sister were learning, but unlike them, he taught her that being noble is more than just holding a title. It means caring about your people, and defending them with everything you have. He once told her that she was the most noble of his grandchildren, even though she might never hold the title. Losing her grandfather was a devastating blow, and she felt lost without his guidance. There was a sudden knock on the door.
"Who is it?" she asked, her voice thick.
"I have a message: Lady Cassandra wishes for you to come to the Chantry as soon as you can." an unfamiliar voice said through the door. Renna nodded, then remembered that they couldn't see her.
"I'll be there soon." she replied, trying to sound pleasant. She rubbed at her eyes and took a deep breath. She would be strong for her grandfather. She would be a hero if they needed her to.