A/N: TRIGGER WARNING! Consider this fair warning there are references to themes that the reader may find disturbing. Consider yourself warned. I will try to post warnings at the beginnings of chapters that deal with heavy subject matter. Thank you.

Also, I apologize, my updates will be sporadic for a while, I have some personal stuff going on and there is nothing I can do to prevent this, so, I apologize. Thanks y'all. Enjoy, and look out for those twists! Damn.

Chapter 6: We Are The Lost People Standing At The End Of The Night

Mighty of arm and warmest of heart,
Rendered to dust. Bitter is sorrow,
Ate raw and often, poison that weakens and does not kill.

-Canticle of Andraste

Dorian and Solas

"What do you mean you lost them!?" Dorian shouted at the elf.

"I came back to request your assistance, not your consternation. And please, let us not shout and alert the Templars, shall we?" Solas coldly replied in hushed tones. He disliked working with the Tevinter, but he required assistance and none of the Circle mages would be of use, especially not Vivienne.

"Well, if what you told me when you asked for my help earlier is true, we may not have much choice but to involve them." Dorian spat back, hushed as well. He did not like his "darling girl" being lost in the Fade, especially not after Solas had told him the Inquisitors were both especially tied to it, attraction to the Fade meant greater attraction to demons and possession as well, this he knew.

"Looking for them in the Fade will be almost hopeless unless we have some tether, something linked to them to bring them back... I have heard of using blood magic to bring people out of the Fade, though I do not know the practice myself." Solas explained, trying to formulate a plan to bring the two back.

"Can't they come back on their own? How long can we afford to wait to see?" Dorian huffed, Solas had no idea the issues he was about to cause with this little experiment.

"They are both humans-" Solas began.

"I know that! How long can we keep this quiet?" Dorian was very frustrated as he cut Solas off, he knew the situation was dire, he just was not sure exactly how much time they had.

"They are humans, but from what I have observed, they seem to be in a deep sleep-like state unable to be awoken by normal measures. The ancient elves referred to it as Uthenera, or the eternal dream. I know a human could not survive it, modern elves cannot, which is why it is now linked with death by the Dalish." Solas attempted to make Dorian understand the strangeness and direness of the situation.

"I would ask how you know this, but your answer will be woefully uninformative jargon about a Fade spirit telling you, so I will instead say this, you had best pray to the Maker that they awaken soon. I will exhaust the pitiful resources of the library to attempt to come to a solution myself, I suggest you utilize everything in your power to try to find them." Dorian concluded as he went to go get any research from the library that had any vague mention of escaping the Fade, he'd have handed a blood mage a medal at that point if it would get the Inquisitors back.

Abigail

The cold stone turned to warm, then hot as she opened her eyes. She was in a castle, though it was no longer Skyhold, and it was aflame. She could hear the shouts of soldiers along with the din of a battering ram plunging into the gates of the castle. She tried to find any identifying mark of the castle, anything to tell her where the spirits were showing her. Finally, she came upon a shield, fallen along with its bloodied owner on the ground. The shield bore a crest, two laurels in a circular pattern over a blue background. She was sure Josephine would be able to tell her who that crest belonged to. Looking up, she saw a few figures rush into the doorway before her, and somehow, she knew they were important, so she followed. The room they had entered was the kitchen, there were three bodies lying in pools of their own blood inside, two elves, and one old human woman. When she looked at the old woman, she briefly saw a flash of a figure of a small crimson haired girl sitting in the lap of the woman as the woman told a tale of some sort, but soon the brief memory faded back to the gruesome scene.

"Listen... you must... pup..." She heard a man's voice saying something from the room still before her, and she moved inside to see a man dragging away a screaming crimson haired girl away from a severely wounded man and a woman kneeling beside him.

"No, I won't leave you! Mother! Father! I'll kill anyone who enters here! I'll save you!" the girl screamed as she clawed and struggled against the tall bearded man.

"We love you, our darling girl. You make us both so proud." The injured man and woman tearfully called to her, and closed their eyes as the bearded man knocked the girl unconscious and carried her out a secret hatch in the floor, a giant dog followed behind them. Abigail was overcome by the raw emotion she felt, she could feel the despair, tears pouring down her face as she watched the scene play out. She closed her eyes and pressed her mind to pursue the girl. She didn't want to linger in a place too full of raw emotion, demons would haunt this part of the Fade before long.

Julius

"...a tower?" Julius mumbled to himself as he opened his eyes to see a tower in a lake. He stood at the precipice of a boat dock, and looking to his side, he saw a boat, so he did as any intrepid adventurer would, he took the boat and paddled toward the tower in the lake. As he paddled along, a brief flash of a memory overtook him, a crimson haired girl sat in a boat similar to his, along with a bearded man, a boy with red hair and a huge dog. The girl looked sinister while the boy had a hopeful look on his face, the bearded man had a stoic look on his face, while the dog panted happily. The hopeful boy reached out his arm and hugged the crimson haired girl to his side in a friendly gesture. Her face distorted from an evil look to a piteously sad one, openly weeping, ugly gasps and wails escaping her hoarse throat as she shuddered from crying.

"You looked like you needed a hug. Go ahead, let it all out. We won't tell anyone, will we, Duncan?" The boy remarked as he smiled back to the bearded man. And just like that, the memory disappeared and he was sitting alone in the lake once more. So on he continued, toward the tower.

Dorian

Dorian was flying through books, scouring the pages for knowledge, while Solas sat in a meditative position desperately trying to reach out to the Inquisitors in the Fade. Dorian looked up hastily as he heard the outer door open, his eyes widening as he saw Cullen walk in.

"What- what's going on in here?" Cullen questioned, his brow furrowing as he looked around at the disheveled books and the three unconscious people lying in the rotunda.

"Oh, just a small experiment, nothing to worry about." Dorian tried to deflect serious inquiry.

"What do you mean an experiment? Why is Julius here?" Cullen growled, he could see that something was amiss. If it had been only mages, he might have believed Dorian, but why was a non-mage here?

"Oh, we were just testing his connection to the Fade. He agreed to the test." Dorian explained but it was painfully obvious he was hiding something now.

"What's this? A sleeping potion?" Cullen asked as he picked up one of the cups on Solas' table and smelled the contents.

"Well, of course, we can't conduct an experiment on dreams without sleep." Dorian scoffed, he was worried how much longer he could distract Cullen. If Cullen figured out that they had lost the Inquisitors in the Fade and that meant that either or both Inquisitors could become possessed at any point, well, Dorian wasn't sure what the exact reaction would be, but he knew it wouldn't be good.

"Listen, Tevinter, you had best give me some real answers." Cullen warned as he grabbed Dorian's shirt in a threatening manner.

"It is as I have told you, a small experiment, nothing more." Dorian suggested, holding his hands out to the side in a non-threatening manner.

"Fenedhis lasa! I still cannot find them!" Solas cursed under his breath as he awoke.

"Can't find who?" Cullen inquired gruffly, still holding Dorian's shirt while he looked over at the elf. Dorian glared and made faces at Solas which was enough to convey that they were on the brink of Cullen doing something rash.

"Oh, no one, just a few friendly spirits I was trying to contact. I thought they might interest the Inquisitor, she had requested my help in contacting spirits with her." Solas covered, which would have been a fine cover for almost anyone else, but not Cullen.

"You want her to talk to demons now!? Is that what is happening here!? You're risking the Inquisitor by having her commune with demons!?" Cullen was outraged by this point.

"No, dear Commander, spirits. They are harmless unless-" Dorian tried to calm him, but was cut off.

"Unless they offer you something and you take it! Don't even lecture me about demons, Dorian!" Cullen snapped, then realized that still didn't explain why Julius was there, he was no mage, he had no connection to the Fade, unless... the Anchor!

"Maker's breath, you didn't just risk her, did you!?" Cullen exclaimed, sudden realization hitting him. "And they're the ones that are lost! How are they lost!?"

"No, as I said-" Solas began, but was cut off by Dorian.

"There's hardly any point in lying now, is there! Yes, we lost them. The experiment was a simple one, but their marks interfered, they disappeared into the Fade. We're trying to bring them back now before the Templars figure it out and destroy them both as abominations! So if you don't mind, I have work to do." Dorian huffed as he wrenched his shirt back from Cullen. Cullen stood in disbelief for a moment, his eyes hollow with retained terror before he finally regained his senses.

"How can I help?" Cullen asked, a question neither Solas nor Dorian were expecting to hear.

"Well, you were a Templar, you've been to a harrowing, act like it. Wait and watch." Dorian stated caustically, Cullen wouldn't have been much use attempting to translate ancient texts or magical jargon.

"Can we move them?" Cullen asked after a moment of thought, the rotunda was hardly secluded and there was a risk of imminent discovery by other members of the Inquisition, who may not have as much faith in an elven apostate and a Tevinter mage to have the best interests of the Inquisitors in mind. Dorian looked to Solas for an answer, and Solas thought for a moment before he responded.

Abigail

Opening her eyes again, she saw a familiar place. She was back in Denerim, back at the palace, though she couldn't understand why at first. Upon looking about the room, she saw a grand portrait of King Alistair standing beside a woman with crimson hair seated next to him, and then she realized that the woman was the girl from before, only older.

"Is she the Hero of Ferelden? The queen?" Abigail thought to herself as she looked at the painting. She was a beautiful woman, with crimson hair and deep brown eyes, her cheek bones well defined and her nose perfectly complemented her brow, both fragile and petite. Her face was beautiful, but cold. Abigail's thoughts were interrupted by the sudden bursting open of the double doors that lead into the room. Alistair stormed through the doors, then unceremoniously plopped down onto the wooden bench that sat next to the window. And leaning forward, his elbows on his knees, he covered his face with his hands.

Eventually he managed to whisper, "Maker, why? Why her...? Why this again...?"

"My lord, the queen wishes to speak with you. ….my condolences on your loss, sire." The elven maid bowed as she left, her voice shaky at the last part.

Alistair continued to sit in the darkness, his hands still over his face, though Abigail could see the evidence of tears dripping to the ground. She reached her hand out towards him, even though she knew it was a dream of the Fade, she wanted to comfort him.

"My liege? Are you in here?" a voice called out, Abigail didn't recognize the voice, nor the dark haired man who said it as he appeared in the doorway.

"I'm here..." Alistair lamely replied, still in the same position as before.

"I hear my sister wishes to see you. Take your time." The man said.

"Fergus, what do I say to her? To Zephyr? What words do I have that will make this better...?" Alistair questioned, as he looked up at the other man.

"I shouldn't be here, this is a private moment. I'm intruding." Abigail thought to herself, she did not want to invade Alistair's privacy.

"There are no words that make this better, only time. I know all too well the pain of losing a child, but count your fortune you still have your wife." The other man spoke, walking over and looking out the window into the moonlight while he placed a hand on Alistair's shoulder.

"I- you... you're right, I'm a fool. You would... I just don't know what to say, or what to do, and those eyes, every time I see those beautiful eyes... it all comes back, all the pain, everything. I don't know if I can look at her, Fergus, it hurts so much right now." Alistair hung his head again as he vented.

"No, no, I shouldn't be here. Go back, go back, go back, go back!" Abigail frantically chanted, as she tried to escape by exiting the room, once outside however, she saw the crumpled form of a woman, sitting just beyond the door, her hands clasped to her mouth as tears streamed down her face. It was the crimson haired woman, it was Zephyr. She had been over-hearing the conversation.

"I'm sorry I failed again..." Zephyr whispered, then she stood and crept down the hallway wiping her eyes, she did not overhear the rest of the conversation.

"Be strong, my friend, she needs her husband." The other man urged as he patted Alistair's shoulder.

"She doesn't need me... She never has... She'd be better off not being with me, then maybe... I can't make this better. There's so much... I just want her to be happy." Alistair was trying to reign in his emotions now. Even though the pain here was very similar to the burning castle, it stabbed more harshly, more painfully, like a fresh wound. Abigail felt the distinct chill in the air, a demon lurked here. A demon of despair. Abigail scanned around her as the friendly spirits near her disappeared and fled from the demon that approached. The demon appeared, suddenly, with its back to Abigail's back, the icy chill it brought sent shivers down her spine. This demon was larger than the normal variety Abigail observed as she glanced back toward it. It was hunched over, sniveling and moaning, and didn't seem to notice Abigail was there. The demon stiffened quickly, a haunting voice echoing from it, "Give... me... your... tears!"

Abigail jumped back, releasing a volley of electrical energy in her wake.

"You... cannot... defeat... me! Be swallowed... in despair!" the demon shrieked, unleashing a freezing maelstrom. Abigail countered, with a hastily cast barrier spell.

"I see it... The Circle... the Templar... Ser Skelm... I see your torment... I see your pain... Let it embrace you... Give in..." The demon howled, its words weakening the barrier as it grew in strength, the ice beginning to crack the magic.

"No! Don't say that name!" Abigail cried as she put her hands over her ears. Why? Why did it have to be a despair demon!?

"I can see what he did... I see your despair... Let it take you... Let the ice flow through your veins... Become one with it..." The demon taunted.

"No! I won't!" Abigail whispered feebly as she tried to concentrate on keeping her barrier up. The demon knew her weakness. It knew about her past. She shook her head and clenched her eyes shut. She didn't want to see this, didn't want to hear it, didn't want to think about it. Just as her barrier shattered, she saw a warm light. The light showed her a familiar face with a scarred half smile on it.

"Begone Hope! You have no power over her!" The demon hissed angrily, attacking the warm spirit. The demon then turned its attention back to her, intent on destroying her, but Abigail had been saved. Reaching for the warmth, she pulled, her marked hand glowing as flames engulfed everything around her. Violently the demon shrieked as it burned, but with a confident smile, Abigail stated,

"The future holds despair no longer, I am free from you and your ilk!"

Julius

As he arrived at the tower, he could see Templars running straight for him, but passing through him as though he was a ghost, they chasing onward after a mage. It was a blond haired man who was swimming rapidly across the lake now, outpacing the Templars in their heavy armor.

"Why hasn't he been made Tranquil!?" a familiar Templar questioned, his voice gruff and unforgiving.

"The order has not yet been given, remember your place. Now, cross the lake and bring him back here!" An older Templar rebuked firmly.

Who was the mage? Julius blinked and he was in another location now, a coastal city from the smell and the sea breeze. He turned to see shadows moving into a dark alley, beyond him, and quickly he pursued. Turning the corner, he saw the two Hawke brothers with the blond mage from before between them, they were talking to two hooded figures.

"Oh, Anders, what happened to you?" one of the unknown figures spoke, a woman, as she hugged the blond mage. Julius moved closer and around the two unknown figures so he could see their faces. It was the crimson haired girl from before in the boat, though she was older, standing with her was King Alistair, who he finally recognized as the blond man from his first strange dream in the cave, in fact, they had both been there! She was the red haired woman with the dual longswords from that vision! Why did he see them then? Just who was she? Her face seemed familiar, like he had seen it in a portrait or such...

"He can't stay in the Free Marches." Gaius stated levelly.

"Well, we can't keep him in Ferelden!" Alistair rebutted quickly.

"Anders, let me talk to him." the woman stated, ignoring the argument between Alistair and the Hawkes.

"I- I can't, he's not... I can't control..." Anders, the blond mage, looked away as he stammered his excuses.

"Anders." The woman spoke, a strength in her voice, as she pulled his face to look her in the eyes.

"Are you sure that's a good idea, dearest?" Alistair questioned, now more concerned for the woman than the previous argument.

Anders closed his eyes, and then opening them, they were filled with a glowing blue light.

"Who dares seek me!?" the booming voice was not Anders', though it came from his body, one could easily see he was possessed by something.

"Justice! Oh, I'm so sorry for everything!" the woman exclaimed, hugging Anders' body again.

"Warden Commander?" the voice replied, then the spirit disappeared back into its host, the magical energy dissipating.

"We will take care of them." The woman stated confidently.

"He blew up a Chantry! Killed a Revered Mother! He can't stay in Ferelden! We can't risk another war with Orlais right now!" Alistair tried to convince the woman.

"Alistair." She replied firmly as she met Alistair's eyes.

"Looks like it's settled then." Liam stated, confident the woman would win the disagreement, and he was correct.

"We'd best go now too. If you need us, tell Varric, he knows how to contact us." Gaius suggested, as he stepped back into the shadows and disappeared from sight.

"So, Anders went to Ferelden after the uprising started? What happened to him after that then? Where is he now?" Julius questioned to himself, he knew Anders was the mage who had destroyed the Kirkwall Chantry.

"Far beyond to Tevinter, Soldier's Peak, the depths of the Frostback Mountains, and still more." a voice replied in answer to his question.

"Now where to?" Julius asked, hoping the spirit with him would guide him further.

"Gallows." the voice replied and Julius pushed deeper into the darkness to discover more.

Abigail

"Understand." an ethereal voice whispered in her ear kindly, and she opened her eyes to see she was still in the Palace, though now she was in what she guessed to be the royal chamber. She could see Alistair in the bed, he was in a deep sleep with his silken covers tossed all about. The sight brought a faint smile to her face. Zephyr, queen of Ferelden, walked in and sat next to him on the bed, she was dressed in plain leather armor and a long cloak. Bending over, she kissed Alistair's forehead, before whispering, "I'm sorry, I have to go, for you, for me, for us both. I won't fail again." And Zephyr stood, placing a note on the bedside table, then turning, she walked past where Abigail stood and out through the door, shutting it behind her. The wind from the shutting door carried the small note through the room, until it landed underneath the cabinet on the far side of the room. Abigail stared intently at the fallen letter, it drew all her focus. The light around the note changed, and she could somehow tell that hours had passed since it had fallen, she could hear frantic footsteps and murmurs from the hallway, but still she concentrated on the paper, something in her told her it was of utter importance. Suddenly, a broom caught the note, a maid swept it out from under its hiding place. The maid picked it up, and not reading it, opened the cabinet and placed it in a drawer inside. Abigail waited as she saw several revolutions of the sun and moon take place, she wasn't sure how much time had passed, but she sensed it had been days, perhaps months. Finally the door opened again to the darkened room. It was Alistair, followed by Liam and herself, it was strange to watch her own past play out. She remembered now, following behind to this room, Alistair opened the cabinet on the far side and drew out a long cloak from it, but he did not open the drawer with the paper.

"Be good, Brisket." Alistair said as he patted a sleeping old Mabari on the head, the dog opened one eye as he did so and a faint wag of the dog's tail indicated that the dog had paid attention. And out the three of them left, off to Skyhold they traveled. Alistair, he never found it. He never saw Zephyr's note... Abigail stretched out her hand to open the drawer, to read it, but as she drew closer, she paused. It wasn't for her to know.

"He never saw the letter... I'm going to go back now." Abigail spoke with confidence and certainty. She closed her eyes once more, she could hear someone calling her back.

Julius

From the darkness he stepped, onto the cold hard stone. Grim statues depicting slaves and slavers lined the path he followed. He could hear muffled screams and the sound of armor and weapons clashing as he proceeded into a corridor. Faint torches lit narrow hallways and he could feel an air of discomfort in how closely the walls enclosed him. Looking out ahead, he saw a faint light guiding him further inside, so he hurried to follow it. The screaming stopped as well as the sounds of clashing arms, now muffled voices filled the air, and though he couldn't make out the words, he got the distinct impression that there were two voices, one trying to calm the other. He heard steps approaching rapidly behind him, so he picked up his own pace to run. Entering a large room, he saw a group of mages huddled behind someone who wore the robes of a First Enchanter of a Circle. Was he Orsino from Varric's book? Across from the enchanter was a group of 4 people, one was Gaius Hawke, another Anders, an elf girl was with them as was a human girl. The human girl bore a strong resemblance to Hawke. Hawke turned toward the door as he heard the doors open, Liam and a few more of their friends had arrived, Varric among them. Just then, Julius felt his ability to move stop, he was frozen, forced to stay and watch the scene play out.

"Quentin's research was too dangerous, too evil, so I put it aside..." The elven enchanter spoke, his voice filled with sinister hatred.

"Quentin!?" Gaius yelled as he turned again to look at Orsino, the name meant something, though Julius knew not what.

"If Meredith wants blood magic, we'll give her blood magic. Maker help us all." the elf spat as he took a dagger and slit open his wrist. The blood flowed forth, and the magic swirled around him, drawing in the bodies of the dead mages around him first, then the Circle mages nearby who were still living began to fall and be drawn in, so terrible was the spell. The human girl with Hawke, she held her hand to her head as blood dripped out her nose, ears, and eyes, her last words echoed out, "Brothers..."

Julius cringed. That was Hawke's sister? But Varric's book had said she'd died in Ferelden!? He tried to will himself to leave or even move, but he could not.

"Bethany-!" Gaius shouted with horror struck eyes. He watched unable to prevent it as her form crumpled and was absorbed into the monstrous form of fleshy abomination the elven enchanter had conjured.

"No!" Liam bellowed, running the length of the room in a few strides. He didn't even draw his ax, he punched the creature with his armored fist, sending the creature stumbling backward from the blow. Gaius drew out both his daggers, spun them around, and then in one deft move charged toward the flailing horror. Leaping, he stabbed both daggers to the hilt into its chest, sending it crashing backwards once more. At being injured, the monster spewed forth blood, creating a magical shield and preventing the companions from joining the battle. The creature squealed and flailed at being injured, it caught both brothers with tentacles made of the entrails of its victims.

"Hawke!" The elf girl screamed as she saw Gaius drop one of his daggers, his arm hanging limply to the side as he was held aloft by one of the tentacles piercing through his shoulder.

"Fuck you." Liam spat as he ripped out the tentacle which had pinned him through his abdomen to the ground.

"Liam." Gaius coughed. He looked over at his brother, who slowly stood and reached for his great ax.

"Do it." Liam glared as he stated it. Gaius smirked as he stabbed his dagger through his own injured shoulder, the blood that now poured forth glowed an eerie red. Liam tensed his muscles as the magic of the blood seemed to flood to him, opening his eyes, they too glowed the same red.

"Blood magic!? Hawke is a mage!?" Julius exclaimed aloud, though no one he saw could hear him.

Liam's ax was surrounded in a sinister magic as he swung it sideways through the abomination, severing it in half. But it was not over, the rotten head of the creature formed grotesque legs of its own and began to scurry around the room. It's speed was too great for the wounded Liam, who was swinging his ax in blind rage now. Gaius had fallen to the ground once the body was destroyed, and now he fumbled to stand, blood gushing from his self-inflicted wound.

"Orsino... You bastard... Should've known not to... mess with... Hawke blood..." Gaius spat blood as he spoke. Wiping his own blood across his nose, Gaius used one more blood magic spell. Julius couldn't be sure exactly what happened, but the abomination stopped suddenly, writhing and contorting in pain. As soon as it stopped, Liam cleaved it into thousands of pieces with his ax, continuing long after it was dead. The barrier dissipated as soon as the abomination was dead, and as soon as it was, Gaius fell to the ground, unable to stand from his wounds. The elf girl ran over to Gaius as soon as he fell and the magic barrier faded, as did most all the other companions.

"Heal him, stupid mage!" Their angry elf companion ordered Anders as the guardswoman turned to face the door.

"Hawke." Varric said as he approached Liam. Liam still seemed like man possessed, he gripped his ax handle until his hand bled, then lifted it above his head and slammed it into the ground, breaking in two the ancient stone tile that covered the floor.

"Oh, Bethany... I... Ir abelas, ma vhenan." the elf girl cried holding onto Gaius, who sat as Anders healed his wounds. Gaius' face held a cold indifference on it, while Liam's face clearly burned with rage as he repeatedly slammed his ax into the ground.

"The Templars are coming." the guardswoman called back. Liam slammed his ax down again, ignoring her and making the crater he was creating larger. Varric's eyes assumed their usual look of masked grief as he watched Liam continue to take out his rage on the poor floor.

"Enough. Liam." Gaius spoke coldly as he stood, brushing the two attending to him away.

"I know!" Liam yelled back, hoisting his ax back to its place.

"One of you, burn this." Gaius ordered the two mages next to him as he pointed to the mass of flesh and bones and blood that once was every Circle mage in the room with them. The elf girl stood and whispered something in elven, but Julius could not hear it, then she lit the room on fire.

"Now what, Hawke?" A scantily clad, but very busty woman inquired, holding a dagger in her hand.

"Let's end this." Gaius stated, heading out toward the hallway followed by his brother and everyone else.

"What now!? Why can't I leave now!?" Julius shouted aloud. It had been forever it seemed since the scene had played out and the Hawkes and their companions had left, but still he couldn't move.

"You will never leave." a haunting voice echoed in his head. A demon! But where was it? And what kind? Julius willed himself to look around, and as he did he noticed rib-like claws surrounding him, crushing him. He couldn't move because he had already been trapped by the demon!

"Ah, fear. Fear drives men to madness, men to despair, and men to desperation. Fear is all powerful and all consuming. You know of what I speak. I already hold your heart. I already see your frail tears cried into the darkness. You know me." The demon spoke, digging its claws deeper into Julius. He winced from the pain, and attempted to struggle free.

"Do not resist. Your existence feeds me, you cannot overcome me, mortal." The demon hissed, clawing Julius until he released a pained scream.

"Remember this pain? You surely do-" The demon gloated but was interrupted by a flash of green light.

"Julius, Come back!" A voice called out through the darkness.

Abigail and Cullen

She awoke to the brightness of daylight streaming in through the windows. They were in a different room now, not the rotunda, was it Julius' room? She winced from the light, and tried to pull her hand back, but something had caught it.

"Abi- Inquisitor!" Cullen exclaimed, releasing her hand.

"Dear girl, you've come back!" Dorian exclaimed, slamming shut the book he had been searching through.

"Was I lost?" Abigail questioned, as she moved to sit up, Cullen backing away to give her room.

"You didn't realize?" Solas inquired.

"No, I- I saw some strange things, some terrible things... Alistair! I need to tell him!" Abigail rubbed her head as she sat, then remembering the unread letter, she jumped to her feet, only to feel faint and fall into Cullen's arms as he caught her.

"Calm down and save your strength, you've been out for a while now..." Dorian suggested as Cullen helped her back to sit on the bed. He didn't want to say it'd been a few days since the incident.

"Out for a while? Ah! Where's Julius!?" Abigail suddenly realized she hadn't seen him yet.

"He is... still dreaming." Solas said rather flatly as he stood aside to reveal Julius still lying on the couch, deep in slumber.

"When will he wake up?" Abigail questioned.

"He is lost, we do not know when or if he will find his way back." Solas admitted plainly.

"Hearing how you found your way back might help us discover a way to bring him back." Dorian suggested.

"I... I heard a voice call my name..." Abigail began, and Cullen blushed standing behind her as Dorian leveled his gaze at the ex-Templar. Dorian was now sure there was something there between them, something more than respect.

"I know what to do! I can bring him back!" Abigail suddenly burst, startling everyone in the room as she jumped up and rushed to her brother's side. Putting her marked hand on the side of his face, she focused, saying, "Julius, come back!"

Her hand glowed brightly and then faded, Julius gasping awake, horror in his eyes.

"Wha- Where!?" Julius exclaimed, jumping up and spinning to the side.

"We're back at Skyhold, the real one." Abigail explained.

"Fuck." Julius cursed, he held his head in his hands.

"Thank the Maker you're both safe!" Cullen exclaimed then breathed a sigh of relief.

"Are you okay? What did you see?" Abigail questioned Julius, he looked very shaken.

"I... I saw Anders." Julius only told half the truth of what he saw.

"Wait, Anders? As in, the Anders? The mage?" Cullen questioned, he of course was the only one who knew the name off the top of his head.

"Yes. Hawke brought him to Ferelden after the explosion." Julius explained, relieved there would be no other questions as to what he saw, though he couldn't make eye contact with Cullen yet.

"Ferelden. That makes sense, in a way. I'm surprised we didn't think of that sooner." Cullen huffed under his breath, Anders' connection to the queen was a factor even Leliana had overlooked.

"What did you see, dear girl?" Dorian asked, after having observed that she had not said anything besides needing to tell King Alistair something.

"I, uh, I saw a burning castle... The heraldry of the castle was two laurels in a circular pattern over blue." Abigail didn't want to divulge all that she had seen, it wasn't her place to say some of those things.

"Two laurels over blue? You can't be... " Cullen looked shocked as he questioned it.

"It's a Ferelden heraldry, but which noble house does it belong to?" Julius puzzled, his memory of Ferelden heraldry failing him for a moment.

"The heraldry of Highever? You saw the burning of Cousland Castle!? That was just before the Blight, that is the event that was the catalyst for how Lady Cousland became a Grey Warden, and eventually Queen of Ferelden..." Cullen continued his thought, maybe all that Solas said about a Fade spirit telling him of things wasn't all bullshit.

"It seems you were able to seek out a great deal of information in the Fade." Solas seemed pleased by the unintended results.

"Yes, and now that I know how to pull Julius back, I can show him how to use the Anchor to pull me back for next time!" Abigail joyously exclaimed, which drew a very stern face from Cullen.

"No. You will not test this experiment out again." Cullen refuted, waving his hand downward dramatically.

"If we only go one at a time then it would be safe." Abigail defended.

"No. Exploring the Fade and talking to demons is never safe, especially not now. The Veil is thin, the risk of becoming an abomination is too great! We almost lost you both! Thank the Maker we didn't!" Cullen countered, his tone harsh.

"Abigail, I agree with the Commander, I think these explorations are best shelved for now." Julius stepped in, he was not keen on all he had seen, but he did know the value of the knowledge they could potentially gain. He also knew, however, there would never be any convincing Cullen, so best to agree with him and carry out the dreaming in secret.

"But there is so much we could learn, Julius! Maybe we could even remember what happened at The Temple of Sacred Ashes and what happened to The Divine!" Abigail pleaded, but her efforts fell on deaf ears.

"At what cost would you risk that knowledge!?" Cullen inquired aggressively.

"What risk? I know better than to be possessed! I can-" Abigail countered, Dorian held his hand up to try to intercede, he could see this was not going to end well.

"No mage is ever safe from possession! It is a threat you all possess!" Cullen shot back before he had thought over his words completely.

Abigail just shook her head slightly as he said it, tears welling in her eyes, she turned and ran from the room.

"I'll go after her." Dorian stated as he left.

"Maker's breath..." Cullen cursed, as he turned and held both hands behind his head, then threw them to his sides in an exasperated manner, he then stormed off to his office.

"Solas, we will continue this later, but next time, we need better preparation." Julius stated, and Solas raised his eyebrow at the Inquisitor's duplicity.

"So it seems." Solas agreed, he was eager, also apprehensive, to see how far into the Fade the twins could get, especially here.

Josephine and Leliana

"It seems the Inquisitors are feeling better." Josephine remarked as she observed Abigail walking along the walls with Dorian.

"Oh? Then maybe we can ask them the real reason for their sudden illness." Leliana commented, as she went through her reports in the rookery.

"You don't think the Commander was lying to us, do you?" Josephine inquired, her eyebrow raised.

"Surely you don't believe he was telling the truth?" Leliana responded, giving Josephine a glance.

"Well, no. Not entirely. I do believe they were ill, but I cannot say that I believed it to be bad food." Josephine relented.

"Of course. I'm just curious as to why the Commander thought it best to work in secret with Solas and Dorian on something, and why he would hide it from us." Leliana replied.

"I am sure I do not want to know how you know about him working with those two. And I am almost certain I do not want to know the reason why he was either." Josephine admitted.

"Well, would you like to know about the information you requested? That is why you are here, correct?" Leliana stated, she knew it was.

"Yes. What have you found?" Josephine didn't try to mince words.

"It seems the Lady Mauvais traveled to the Trevelyan estate quite often, though under the guise of Lady Faussete'. It appears she began to visit when Julius was around 8, and multiple times a year. Which, oddly, is just after the time Abigail was sent to the Ostwick Circle, in fact, she first appeared roughly 4 months after that. I wonder about the correlation there... I also wonder about the correlation between that and Adan's previous findings... " Leliana questioned, the last part mostly to herself.

"Intriguing, but it does not offer any solid facts. Do you know what she was doing during her visits?" Josephine was now more curious, as was Leliana.

"Not yet, but I have sent agents to inquire further. Hopefully some information can be gathered from the servants at the estate." Leliana confirmed.

Abigail

"Dorian, how would you go about telling someone something, even though you aren't supposed to know about it?" Abigail inquired, they were out on the ramparts, him leaning against the half wall, her sitting on the half wall swinging her legs back and forth over it.

"Well now, that is a question! What juicy gossip do you have?" Dorian smirked, but grew more serious as Abigail hung her head, she was sincere.

"I saw a letter, I didn't see what it said, but in the Fade, I saw a letter, it was for King Alistair, from the Queen, but it got lost and hidden away, he never got to see it. I feel like it might be important." Abigail continued, trying not to give too much personal information away.

"Ah, that would be a conundrum. Especially given what we overheard recently." Dorian agreed, stroking his mustache, then he continued, "What if you had Leliana send an agent to pick up the letter? Then it could be delivered to him here, no?"

"But, wouldn't the agent read it?" Abigail asked, though she knew the answer already.

"Most likely. But who is to say someone hasn't already?" Dorian suggested.

"They haven't. I feel it." Abigail stated, putting her hand over her heart.

"You know, I can't say I completely disagree with the Commander. There was a time where it seemed like we wouldn't be able to pull you back, in fact had he not been there, we may not have." Dorian changed the subject, he was worried how much her journey in the Fade had affected her or would continue to.

"What did he do? How did he help call me back?" Abigail was puzzled now.

"That isn't for me to say, you have to ask him yourself. His office is in that tower, in case you forgot." Dorian teased, waving his hands, then pointing down the ramparts toward Cullen's tower.

"I know that's his office, Dorian." Abigail huffed.

"Oh, my dear girl, do you now?" Dorian taunted evilly. Abigail shook her head in response to Dorian's antics, but smiled just the same. Dorian waved as he wandered back to his post inside the library, his work here was done. Abigail walked slowly up to the door to Cullen's office, her hand clenched into a fist, she held it up, trying to work up the courage to knock on the door. Her mind relayed the argument from earlier, only now her head was filled with all the words she should have said in response. She wanted to scream that mages should be free, make him understand that she was perfectly capable of controlling her own mind, that she wouldn't become an abomination. That men with too much power posed a greater danger than mages. He didn't understand that she was more at risk in the Circle than she was here! Here she was free, she didn't want to escape, to give up, to give in. She wondered why her tears fell so swiftly now. Why did it matter if one man in the Inquisition didn't agree with her or understand her? Why did his opinion matter so much? She stood, frozen, crying bitter tears of anger, until finally, she turned and began to walk away.

Cullen opened his door in time to see Abigail open the door to the rotunda and walk inside. He bit his lip as he thought about how much he wished he hadn't put his foot in his mouth earlier. He saw it, even though she turned and ran quickly, he saw the look of betrayal she had on her face, the tears that streamed down from her eyes, he saw it all.

"You got into a fight with the Canary, eh, Curly?" Varric asked as he approached Cullen, who had paused in his tracks.

"Uh, who?" Cullen inquired, quite dumbfound, Varric's nicknames still confused him on occasion.

"The Canary, Abigail." Varric reiterated and he pointed back with his thumb.

"Why do you ask?" Cullen became suddenly defensive, which Varric knew meant he had definitely gotten into an argument with her.

"Just curious who made the Canary cry is all..." Varric remarked, watching Cullen's face grow hollow with self-loathing, Varric was excellent at interrogating without asking a question.

"Anyhow, I came to get you for Hawke. He got contact from his Warden friend. He's in Crestwood, they're forming up plans in the war room to go there now." Varric concluded. Varric was going to have to sort out what this business was between Curly and the Canary, Liam had told him there was something there, and shit, but he didn't seem wrong.