Maxwell and his honour guard along with Solas, Varric, and Cassandra accompanied him to the Hinterlands. Varric chattered away, with apparently the intent of driving Cassandra insane, with some occasional help from Solas.

"So here we are, elf, cleaning up another human mess."

"What would the Inquisition do without our stabilising influence, Master Tethras?"

"I assume they'd just start burning things."

"That does sound like most humans I know."

Cassandra glared at them. "If you gentlemen are quite finished?"

"Now, now, don't get touchy." Varric held up his hands. "We're just here to lend you simple humans our help."

"Before you cause everything to explode."

"Again."

Ellana giggled and Cassandra narrowed her eyes at her. She did had to admit that this was all starting to sound like a fictional tale in a book and she began to wonder if the Hero of Ferelden ever felt like this during his travels with his company.

Cassandra was taken in stride across the land but Varric wasn't quite as thrilled to be out walking across the land. Actually, when he wasn't pestering Cassandra, he was complaining about the hills.

Ellana found Solas a bit away from the others at the camp. He sat on a fallen log, watching the stars. He nodded when he saw her, and gestured for her to sit next to him. "Closing the Breach is our primary goal, but I hope we might also discover what was used to create it. Any artefact of such power is dangerous. The destruction of the Conclave proves that much."

"You don't think whatever created the explosion was destroyed in the blast?" she asked raising an eyebrow at him.

"You and the others survived, did you not?" He gave her an appraising look. "The artefact that created the Breach is unlike anything seen in this age. I will not believe it destroyed until I see the shattered fragments with my own eyes."

Ellana could only imagine what kind of power and artefact that had to have if was able to rip a hole in the sky. The better question was it an accident or was it intended and what happened to the person who tried to sacrifice the Divine. "We would do well to try to recover whatever created the Breach."

"Leliana's people have scoured the area near the blast and found nothing. Whatever the artefact was, it is no longer there." He shifted slightly, and then looked over at her. "In any case, did you need me for anything?"

"What do you know about the Fade?"

"A great deal, from my wanderings. There are few hard facts, but I can share what I have learned."

There were a million questions she wanted to ask. She tried to narrow it down to the most pressing. "I'd like to know more about the Breach."

"Simply put, it is a tear in the Veil between this world and the Fade, allowing spirits to enter the world physically. Small tears occur naturally when magic weakens the veil or when spirits cluster at an area that has seen many deaths." He used the butt of his staff to make patterns in the dirt as he spoke. "But Maxwell's mark allows him to exert some control over the Breach. That means it was created deliberately."

Ellana looked at Maxwell, who was sitting next to Cassandra. The Keeper of the clan had taught her about the Veil, but it would be nice to hear an outsider's view. "I'd like to know more about the Veil."

"Circle mages call it a barrier between this world and the Fade. But according to my studies in ancient elven lore, that is a vast oversimplification. Without it…" He set aside the staff and gestured, sketching the air as he spoke. "Imagine if spirits entered freely, if the Fade was not a place one went but a state of nature like the wind."

Parts of the Fade were beautiful beyond words. "It sounds like it would be wonderful."

"And dangerous, but…" He smiled at her. "Yes. A world where imagination defines reality, where spirits are as common as trees or grass. Instead, spirits are strange and fearful, and the Fade is a terrifying world touched only by mages and dreamers." He tilted his head at her. "I am glad I am not alone in seeing the beauty of such a world, along with the obvious peril."

"I'd like to know more about demons."

"You Dalish says that demons hate the natural world and seek to bring their chaos and destruction to the living." He spread his hands. "But such simplistic labels misconstrue their motivations and, in so doing, do all a great disservice. Spirits wish to join the living, and a demon is that wish gone wrong."

She drew her knees to her chest and rested her chin on them. "Is there a way to coexist? To live with them, if not in peace, at least without such active confrontation?"

He shook his head. "Not in the world we know today. The Veil creates a barrier that makes such true understanding most unlikely." He smiled. "But the question is a good one, and it matters that you thought to ask."

"We should probably get some sleep. Still a lot to do."

The scout that met them was a young, freckle-faced dwarven woman with a cheerful smile. "The Herald of Andraste and his honour guard. I've heard the stories. Everyone has. We know what you did at the Breach. It's honour to meet you, my lord and the same goes for your honour guard." She held out a hand. "Inquisition Scout Harding, at your service." Maxwell accepted the hand. "I—all of us here—we'll do whatever we can to help."

"Harding huh?" Varric tilted his head at her. "Ever been to Kirkwall's Hightown?"

"I can't say I have," said Harding giving him a confused look. "Why?"

"You'd be Harding in… oh, never mind."

Cassandra made a disgusted noise. Maxwell shook his head and smiled before turning his attention back to Harding. "I'm starting to worry about these 'stories' that everyone's heard."

"Oh, there's nothing to worry about." Harding shrugged and grinned. "They only say you're the last great hope for Thedas."

Maxwell stood there staring at him for several seconds before she could make him voice work. "Oh. Wonderful."

"The Hinterlands are as good a place as any to start fixing things," she said gesturing at the soldiers. "We came to secure horses from Redcliffe's old horsemaster." A trace of sadness entered Harding's voice. "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 said 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. You best get going. No time to lose."

They found Inquisition soldiers protecting refugees caught in the middle of a pitched battle between a group of mages and a group of templars. Despite attempts by Cassandra and Solas to make the various sides stand down, they were promptly attacked. It was clear that they didn't care who they hurt as long as they get to each other.

There were wounded. Ellana and Solas did what they could with a healing spell as they knew. Adaar and Erdic stood guard with Cassandra and Varric in case they were attacked again. He found Mother Giselle tending to wounded with the aid of other mages.

"There are mages here who can help your wounds," she said calmly. "Lie still."

The soldier looked at the mages with pure fear in his eyes. "Don't… let them touch me, Mother. Their magic…"

"Turn to noble purpose, their magic is surely no evil than your blade."

"But…"

"Hush, dear boy. Allow them to ease your suffering."

Maxwell decided to make his presence known. "Mother Giselle?"

The kindly-faced woman nodded, and gestured for Maxwell to approach. "I am. And you must be the one they're calling the Herald of Andraste."

"Not through any choice of mine."

Mother Giselle chuckled. "We seldom have much say in our fate, I'm sad to say."

"So you agree with them?"

"I don't presume to know the Maker's intentions, for any of us. But I did not ask you to come simply to debate with me."

"Then why am I here?"

Mother Giselle led him up the hill. "I know of the Chantry's denouncement, and I'm familiar with those behind it. I won't lie to you: some of them are grandstanding, hoping to increase their chances of becoming the new Divine. Some are simply terrified. So many good people, senselessly taken from us…"

"What happened was horrible," he said closing his eyes.

"Fear makes us desperate, but hopefully not beyond reason. Go to them. Convince the remaining clerics you are no demon to be feared." Mother Giselle was watching him, though her face remained kind. "They have heard only frightful tales of you. Give them something else to believe."

Maxwell raised an eyebrow. "You want me to appeal to them?"

"If I thought you were incapable, I wouldn't suggest it."

"Will they even listen?"

"Let me put it this way: you needn't convince them all. You just need some of them to doubt." Giselle gestured with her hands as though she was comparing weights. "Their power is their unified voice. Take that from them, and you receive the time you need."

He hate to admit it but it made sense. "It's good of you to do this."

"I honestly don't know if you've been touched by fate or sent to help us… but I hope." Mother Giselle's gaze went out over the refugees. It rested on an old man and woman. The old man carried a small rucksack, and the woman carried a child too young to be able to walk. "Hope is what we need now. The people will listen to your rallying call, as they will listen to no other. You could build the Inquisition into a force that will deliver us…" She looked back to Maxwell. "Or destroy us. I will go to Haven and provide Sister Leliana the names of those in the Chantry who would be amenable to a gathering. It is not much, but I will do whatever I can."

Maxwell swallowed. "We'll see what we can do here for now."

Cassandra pointed at a hilltop. "Corporal Vale is coordinating the Inquisition's efforts in the area. We should speak with him."

Maxwell nodded, and headed in that direction. Corporal Vale impressed him. He hadn't been there long, but he'd identified the problems and put someone on each of them. Food and shelter were the primary concerns, but something would need to be done about the mages and templars still fighting in the valley. The rebels and the order had washed their hands of those remaining, but the refugees couldn't do the same. He promised the corporal that he'd keep an eye out for an available healer.

It was fortunate that he had done hunting before with his brothers. Excursions into the wood to hunt a boar or some other trophy. He wondered what they would think if they could see him now, hunting rams through the hills with a Dalish mage, a Carta dwarf and a Qunari mercenary.

"I'm sure some of the refugees will know how to dress the hides," said Maxwell as he rolled one up and stuck it into the bag.

"We should look for those caches as well," said Solas washing his hands in the small stream before rising.

"We can do that while we try to find out where the templars and mages are holed up," said Maxwell turning a slow circle as he looked around the valley. "The mages leave signs for each other, but I'm not sure how the templars find each other."

"There are many old forts and ruins around the area." Cassandra picked up one of the bundles they'd made. "They will most likely be in one of those."

They found a cache, and learned that the templars apparently couldn't tell the difference between a mage staff and a shovel. Or maybe they just didn't care about the difference between a mage staff and a shovel. Twice the templars attacked them, despite Cassandra's armour still bearing the sigil of the seekers. A small band of mages and sell-swords also attacked despite the staff in both Ellana and Solas' hands.

A scout reported that an elven scout was missing. They found the elven scout being attacked by templars. Maxwell started to walk away, and noticed the dead mage. And the picnic. He slowly turned to raise an eyebrow at the scout.

The young woman confessed to having been spending time with the mage. Varric immediately seized on the opportunity to recruit the scout to other duties, pointing out that if she could get into an apostate's pants in the middle of a war, she could likely talk anyone into anything. Maxwell smiled. No doubt Varric would recognize such a talent.

He closed a rift for a group of cultists, and sent them to spread word of the Inquisition. Erdic just shook his head and muttered the word 'humans' as if it was a grave insult.

He pointed out the first of the signs. From there, they found another, and then another, until they succeeded in locating the camp of the rebel rebellion. Taken by surprise, they put up less of a fight than she would have expected.

"With luck, perhaps we can also track down the renegade templars," said Cassandra

"They looked to be coming from the opposite direction, when we followed the mage signs," said Maxwell bending to examine the tracks.

"Clearly they are more focused on fighting mages then covering their tracks," said Adaar shaking ahead. "If we head back to that burned out part of the valley, we could track them back."

"Sounds like a plan," said Maxwell.

Corporal Vale was pleased to hear of their success. Soldiers were dispatched to retrieve the caches and whatever could be recovered from the camps of the renegades.

"We should head back to Haven," said Cassandra adjusting her scabbard. "Mother Giselle will be reporting to Leliana."