"How are we going to get him into Skyhold without alerting Cullen or Leliana?" Dorian asked as they neared Skyhold.
"Honestly, I'm not entirely sure besides dressing him up as a refugee," the Inquisitor sighed.
"That won't be suspicious at all," Dorian said. She pressed a hand against her temple as she sighed again.
"I'm aware, Dorian. But I don't know what else to do. I've used some of my contacts to start gathering lyrium as quietly as possible, though I think Lelianna is getting suspicious," she grumbled.
"Great," he said.
"Look, I'm trying. I really do want to help and the things we need might be there by the time we get there but besides that-"
His hand on her shoulder stopped her.
"I know. I'm just… I'm not sure what will happen when we do this," he said.
"When? So you have decided?" she began and he looked away.
"Honestly, I think I decided before we left Redcliff," he said. The Inquisitor was quiet as she thought about this.
"Maybe we don't even need to enter Skyhold then. Maybe, if the materials are gathered outside," she began.
"No, not if Alexius and my father are involved. It'd be too easy for them to leave or harm you," Dorian cut in. She sighed.
"You're right of course," she said.
"I usually am. Just goes along with my wit and charm," he said. She smiled a little then looked up at the castle.
"It won't be long now," she muttered. Indeed, they arrived within the next hour. Dorian led his father to one of Skyhold's unused rooms to set up while the Inquisitor went to retrieve Alexius. Upon her arrival Halward carefully explained the ritual to them all.
"This is your last chance to remove yourself from this, Inquisitor," Alexius said as he looked over Halward's notes. She looked over at Dorian, standing while his father prepared him, then down at the floor.
"If this is what Dorian wants," she replied.
"It could put an end to the problems you are seeing. Or make them worse," Halward explained, apparently hearing her response.
"Great. That makes me oh so excited to leave it up to you," Dorian said.
"You don't have to do this," Halward insisted. Dorian sighed.
"No, the Inquisitor is right. As dangerous as it is I want to be who I was meant to. Not whatever you turned me into," he said. Halward hesitated but quickly made preparations.
"I truly thought I was doing what was best for you," he told Dorian as he carefully drew symbols in lyrium on Dorian's skin.
"It doesn't matter. You're not the man I thought you were and you never will be," Dorian said. Halward turned away, seeming a small and broken man to the Inquisitor. He helped Alexius prepare the rest of the lyrium before coming to the Inquisitor.
"This is the last chance," he began as he carefully bound the Inquisitor's marked arm.
"Just get on with it," she growled.
"I believe your mark could help the process if you can keep it activated during the ritual," Halward informed her. She glared at him, but willed her mark to activate. Halward sighed.
"For what it's worth, I am sorry," he said.
"Spare me," Dorian grumbled. Halward gazed at him sadly then turned to Alexius with a nod. They started the invocation. The Inquisitor watched in awe and horror as the magic seemed to surround Dorian. Then there was a sharp pain as Halward slit her wrist and her blood was added to the magic. After that it was impossible for her to be sure what was going on. She thought she saw Halward and Alexius add their blood but she couldn't be sure. It all swirled together in a vortex and she could only watch, as the magic seemed to affect Dorian. His screams clawed their way into her skull, the image of him hunched over with the lyrium blazing on his skin, the smell and color of the fade surrounding him, was burned into her brain. And yet she could not stop it.
She couldn't tell whether the ritual had lasted hours or days, her sense of time so distorted by the magic and pain. But finally the ritual came to an end. The magic seemed to implode, crashing into Dorian and then blasting away from him. She could feel that the connection to the Fade had been severed as Dorian stood there, before he started falling to the floor. The Inquisitor rushed forward to catch him before his head hit the ground.
"The ritual is complete. My mistake is undone," Halward said quietly. The Inquisitor looked up at him from where she held the unconscious Dorian. He knelt and carefully bandaged her arm before removing the cloth he had tied tightly around it. She felt the blood rush into her arm and was overcome by a wave of dizziness, very nearly falling unconscious herself.
"If he wakes, tell him I am sorry and that, when the time comes, I wish to make peace with him," Halward said quietly. Then he left and there was nothing the Inquisitor could do. Carefully she lay Dorian down before toppling over herself. To her surprise, Alexius caught her and lowered her to the floor. Then her vision went dark. Hours later she woke to shouts as someone pounded on the doors. For a moment she couldn't move. Then slowly she sat up and pulled the door open a crack. Cullen pulled up short, barely avoiding hitting her, while Cassandra lowered her sword behind him.
"Inquisitor, are you alright?" he asked. She could see the look on his face, of shock and disbelief. She tried to smile at him.
"Oh, I've never felt better. If you'll excuse me I'm going to stay here for a bit. Maybe have a nap," she replied.
"I'm sorry, but we had reports of screaming and," he started to say. She sighed and took a step back.
"Believe me, Cullen, I know. I promise I'll explain it to you… eventually. But right now… Right now I need some time," she said tiredly.
"Inquisitor," he began to protest but she was already shutting the door. She turned and sat next to Dorian, waiting for him to finally wake. It was hours later, and when she saw the look on his face she understood more than she wanted to.