Woops, accidently uploaded the wrong chapter. My bad!


The Ranger set up a fire and they bundled Rion up in a blanket to keep him warm. It took hours before Pala returned with not only a healer but the Inquisitor herself. Solas walked over to the downed mage and placed his hand on the man's exposed wound. When his hand left, the wound was healed but the elven mage sighed.

"He's lost some amount of blood but he's out of harm's way….," Solas trailed off and reached out suddenly to the gauntlet that held a hilt of a sword. He touched it then withdrew his hand away with a thoughtful look.

"What is it?" Jez came up behind the mage, concerned for Rion but at the same time curious.

"Your man is a strange one. His magic is unlike anything I've felt and he wields a weapon made for only one," the elf said.

"He found more than that if you noticed. His armor too and the ring and amulet," Jez pointed out.

Solas picked up Rion's hand and saw the ring then the amulet caught his attention. "Only the heir to his power could wield this weapon," the elf murmured and then sat back.

"He said he found a pair of decaying skeletons, one in a chair and one in a bed," she said as she brushed the hair out of Rion's closed eyes.

"He what?" The elf stared at Jez in surprise. Then Solas looked away, his gaze distant.

Solas himself was remembering the man that once wielded the spirit blade and the wife that was by his side. Arathran and Ganlima. He shook his head with a sigh. "It is fitting the man that found this…" he gestured to the items.

"Why?" Belinda came up to them and offered a mug to the two of them.

Solas sighed. "Arathran was a gifted mage much like your man," he began, nodding to Rion. "He was the first of the Arcane Warriors, the father you could say. His wife wielded daggers like an extension of her arms. Ganlima was one of the first Guardians of the Temple of Mythal. It's chief guardian." He was also one of the ones that helped create the orbs but Solas didn't say anything about that.

"I see what you mean," Jez said. They all lifted their heads at the sound of a dragon's roar and she frowned. "Damn it, another one."

Bull laughed and gave his own roar and that was answered by the distant dragon.

"We should drain the lake. The mayor did say the dam controls were through the fort," Cassandra said as she approached. She gave Rion a glance, her brows furrowed up a moment as she too cast a glance in the direction of the roar.

Jez sighed and nodded. "Watch over him?"

Belinda nodded. "Rest assured m'lady Inquisitor, we all will. They are already starting to set up a permanent base here in the fort."

A caw of a crow had them all look up and one of the scouts lifted her arm up to let the bird settle. She took the paper from the crow's case and let the bird settle on a rail. The scout looked at it a moment before turning to walk up to them.

"M'lady, Sister Nightingale sends her regards and has a contingent ready to settle here to help the survivors. Shant be more than a week before they arrive. The current contingent will man the fort in the meantime," she said and bowed her fist over her heart.

"Thank you," Jez said and then got to her feet after giving Rion another look. "Let's go see about those controls now."

"If you need information, m'lady. My name is Charter. I am Sister Liliana's eyes and ears here. I am waiting on a scout to return and we should have more for you then."

Jez nodded. "Again, thank you."

Bull came up and pointed one horn in the direction of an open door. "There's a ladder down in that room. The smell of fetid water comes from it. I will bet a mug of the Herald's Rest's finest that is where the controls are."

Jez nodded and then made sure her daggers were secure. "Come on then. Let's go see about draining a lake."

The group of four entered the room and Bull lead them over to the first ladder. He sliped down it and they followed to find another ladder awaiting them. They went down that and found a set of stairs that lead down into the water. It lapped at Jez's calves as she started to walk through it. A hiss of sound ahead made her step into the shadows just as a pure white spider dropped down into the water and made its way towards them. The chittering past it told her more awaited them.

Bull and Cassandra came up, the Seeker with her shield and Bull with a huge hammer that the Silent Sister had given to them when they first reached the Fort. It wasn't long before all the spiders were dead, leaving Jez to shudder at the eight legged creatures.

"Fucking figures it'd be spiders," she grumbled and wiped the ichor off her daggers.

Bull snorted in amusement. "At least they are not dragons."

Jez rolled her eyes. "Dragons are less… icky," she said with a grimace.

The followed the cavern out to a bared gate. When they went through they realized that this wasn't the right way to the dam. It didn't take them long to return while Jez teased Bull about his mistake and left the Qunari rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Sorry Boss. I was sure that was the way," Bull said.

"Shit, Bull. You are no longer allowed to point the way," Jez teased with a laugh. Stopping she sighed. "Let's eat before we search around more."

"Sounds good to me," Bull said and walked off with a shake of his head. Jez watched him a moment then turned to find Cassandra there with a look on her face.

"What?" She crossed her arms across her chest.

"I think you are not thinking clearly with this mage of yours," the Seeker said, her voice harsh as normal.

Jez didn't answer as she went over to the cooking pot and was handed a trencher with a slab of cooked beef. She nodded to the scout and then turned to find a space to sit away from the rest. Cassandra followed her after receiving her own meal. She ate a few bites while trying to think. Before she knew, the silence had grown long enough for her to finish her meal and then she stared at the fire.

"You ever feel like someone is watching over you? Someone there to protect you? Someone that has only their thoughts for you?" She clasped her hands together without looking at the Seeker.

Cassandra shrugged. "Men are beasts with thoughts that speak ill will."

Jez snorted in amusement a moment then tilted her head to catch the Seeker out of the corner of her eye. "The first time I saw him I had no clue whom he was. There was this mabari there at his back and he looked quite alone. The first time he spoke, something focused on him wholly Cassandra. I escaped and tried to find him but he was very solitary. It was only the chance comment of a guard that let me know he kept sneaking off to the forest every day."

She looked away from the Seeker again and down to her hands. "That first time I met him, he did something to the mark that made its glow disappear. He did that without asking and asked nothing of me in return. You cannot tell me that isn't one of the few selfless things you've heard of."

She looked up to meet the blond woman's gaze. "He's asked nothing of me since then that I haven't wanted to give him. Hell I've wanted to give him more but he won't let me. They say he's solitary yet I have never seen any indication of that and you can't tell me he's come out of that self-exile because of me. He's saved my life more than twice and yet asks nothing for himself. And think of the trek to Skyhold. Can you truly say there's not someone there that everyone can look up to. He fed us with no complaints. He made sure everyone was warm as they could be. And on top of it all he's a Maker's damned mage."

Jez shook her head slowly as she rubed her hands together a moment. "It's a travesty. And it's the Chantry's fault for it too. That is one man who rules only over himself. If you think a mage would rule over us, the only way that could happen through all the fear mongering the Chantry has don't is just as he's doing now. He gives all of himself without a complaint to everyone else but himself. Much like Andraste did for us all. It shames me."

Cassandra listened to Jez and as she spoke the Seeker's head lowered more and more till she hung her head much like Jez did. She swallowed a moment then sighed. "I know. I knew and yet still… I am sorry Jezika. I allowed the past to color this. You… you are right."

Jez shrugged. "It doesn't matter as long as you can clearly see now. If you think Andraste helped me, think of what happened to him. He was dead, his body still living but nothing was there because of his skull injury. You can't tell me it's not a miracle he survived that and still lives."


The darkness was all around Ryan again and he lifted his hand up only for green flames to lick at it. A golden glow seeped closer to him from the distance and he turned around to see a fire born version of Wrath there sitting next to a throne like chair. He sat down and the chair seemed to light up with a golden green color.

Another throne suddenly lit up with a blindly golden light and suddenly there was something there. Ryan leaned back into his chair as if trying to get away a moment before a ethereal voice floated through the darkness.

"Be at peace otherworlder," the voice said, faintly feminine in nature.

That got his attention and he relaxed just a little as Wrath came up and leaned against his leg. He stroked her head and she nudged him with her nose. Then he blinked and glanced up. "Otherworlder?"

The figure started to change a bit, showing more of the shape of a woman sitting there. "Yes but terrible pain was the price and it was decided that it should be forgotten."

"Why?" He didn't understand at all.

The figure gave a brief smile, it reminded him of his mother and that made him smile a moment before that faded away. His mother? How did he even remember that? The figure nodded as if knowing his thoughts and he sighed.

"Be at peace. It was better that you forgot the horrors that you once saw. We judged you to be the right one to… guard our chosen one's back," the woman said, choosing her words carefully. "It has been far too long that our children have forgotten the true meaning of my words. We searched all of creation and beyond for someone like you, someone that begat the true meaning of selflessness. It has taken thousands of years to find someone like you. And your past made it all more apparent that innately your nature prevents you from being anything less than what you are."

Ryan frowned a bit, trying to think of any words. "What do you mean guard your chosen one's back?"

The figure laughed, a soft sound, which eased his mind. "I guessed you would see that. Our Herald was chosen because of her own nature, a woman who has seen the corruption, who has never been ungiving. Someone that sees everything around her and does not let things cloud her mind. She was once one of our children, a woman given to the Light. She was also one of the few who's inner bravery would make her stubborn enough to not give up."

Ryan nodded thoughtfully. "Jez is everything that the Chantry should be."

The woman nodded softly. "Indeed Guardian." The woman looked away her eyes grew distant. "It didn't start out like this. We only wanted peace between everyone. We wanted the fear to end and His words to remind us that we are all the same. Jealousy corrupted the meaning and lead to this greatest mistake. If only the foolish…," she shook her head and turned her focus back on Ryan.

"You mean like what happened to the Dalish, the elves. And what happened to the mages…?"

She nodded. "Magic was meant to serve not rule over. Greed took away freely given gifts."

Ryan nodded, not quite understanding but at the same time he could guess. His hand rubbed Wrath's broad head. "You made me sound like the one perfect being that could bring your will back to the fold," he offered.

The figure gave a bright smile. "Just so. By leading as you have, you have shown those few mages still left that they can be more than just a monster. And because of that you show the Templars that they have no fear of you loosing yourself to the abominations of the Fade. It has given them time to think about how they have treated mages and many of them realize now they are the roots of the problem."

Ryan shook his head. "It is a learned behavior on their parts. Does not a son beat his wife if he saw his own father do the same? If they are not told it is wrong, how do they know?"

She gave another laugh. "You hit hard Guardian but the truth is there in your words." She then tilted her head slightly as if listening then nodded. "He has allowed me to tell you more. It was no mere accident that sent that demon your way before you awoke. He had to sacrifice his own to bring you in and it was a hard decision on His part. Just as he had to allow my own sacrifice to happen."

Ryan finally understood with those words who this was before him. "What else will you allow me to know?"

She smiled softly again. "Just that the world you left was a cold one. His words had long ago lost meaning if they ever had any there. You were a soul so bright in a world so dark it was hard to not find you. We put you in a right body, a shell, a host waiting for your soul. The man who you once were had already lost hope through his own past and had already faded by the time of the demon's attack. Truly you are a Maker's made miracle Ryan. We renewed your life and put you in the direct path of our Herald because she needs you at her side."

He frowned a bit but nodded, fingers caressing Wrath's muzzle. "So I was someone else before I was this mage who had almost died." It was a statement more than a question.

She nodded. "Yes. I regret removing you from all you knew but such a bright soul was dying there that cold and dark night. I had to act without His acceptance." She bowed her head. "And then a soul of Compassion found you in the dark and gave shape, finding the horror and trying to help you. It is because of that simple thing that we interfered more." She nodded to Wrath who rumbled softly.

Ryan looked down at the dog. "Always knew there was something special about you." The mabari whined and pawed at him before leaning comfortably against his leg.

She sighed. "The Elven have no clue what was unleased with the explosion but we foresaw this long ago. Regretfully the Wardens were not strong enough to keep it. To keep the Tresspasser locked up. He made a mistake that day and has looked for a way to fix it since. Time has come to fix the mistake that the Maker made. You and she are those corrections. The Herald and Guardian. We gifted you with power over the fade above all else, power that could control what Fen'Harel had mistakenly unleashed."

Ryan grimaced. "You make me sound like a hero."

A chuckle came from her. "You are one. In this world and in your own world wether you knew it or not. If you had not stopped that man his spree of death would have numbered in the hundreds."

At those words Ryan remembered blood and remembered a scruffy man who brandished a weapon at him and who he beat unconscious. He stiffened in his seat then, remembering the body covered in blood on the floor, remembered that someone he loved more than anything else had died. His hands covered his face as he felt tears flow and a warm touch rested on his shoulder.

"That night your light faded from the bright beacon it had been," she whispered softly in his ear. "It was too late for her for us to change but we knew that something had been found that was miraculous in itself. So plans were put into motion and to finally bring peace back to our most beloved world. She did not suffer one moment, believe me. We granted her peace for your sake. Just as we granted peace for you by bringing you here."

Those words made him feel as if something had finally let go deep inside himself. Something released itself and he felt lighter for it. She knelt before him and took his hands in hers. "We gave you power we knew you would not abuse and that power will follow your bloodlines into the future. We beg that you help us, that you help our Herald and our world."

He nodded slowly and took a shuddering breath. "You do not have to beg me for anything, you know that."

She smiled again. "Ah but we do. Because of what we have done to you, stripping you of your own world and placing you elsewhere. Forgive us for that."

He squeezed her hands gently. "You might not have meant it but she is something special and I can see that. She is my heart now. From the first moment whether you or anyone knew about it. I might have lost something but I did gain something greater."

Her hand rested over his then. "Then our choice has been correct." Her head bowed to him as she released his hands. Then she stood up. "Your gifts for magics in our world, you are even more powerful than that corrupted mage who calls himself Coryephus. He has no idea whom he has tangled with. Guard our Herald well Ryan. She needs it as much as she needs you."

He stood up, feeling as if something had been given to him. Wraith stood next to him as both thrones disappeared. In the dark his body suddenly came alight with a golden glow and what he wore changed from the elven arcane warrior armor to something silvery and scaled, light. That light flowed down his body, changing everything except for the sword hilt. Now his armor was of scales like a dragon yet he could tell it was silverite and something else because of the darker more blue metals that covered his elbows and arm.

She laughed. "A gift freely given to keep you safe. Make his gaze always watch over you Ryan."

He nodded. "Make he watch over us all m'lady," he said and bowed to her. That's when everything went dark quickly and then he opened his eyes to be blinded by light.


Cassandra stood up with Jez and sighed. "I admit it is rather strange that he did survive having his skull shattered. But one can not call that luck at all."

Jez wanted to see Rion before she left for the dam controls. A scout had mentioned the path that lead to the great damn behind the fort and she wanted to get this done and over with. She walked in his direction in the alcove where he was protected from the weather.

"Just so. Someone or something helped him. I've talked to the agents. They all say he's changed where it counts." She was going to say something else but a bright light had the two of them turning towards where it came from.

"What the-," Cassandra bit off her words as the could both see clearly what was happening.

Rion laid there, his head resting on a bed roll and golden light rippled along his body. It got so bright no one could look at it and when it faded he was covered in silverite scale and a darker blue metal. She took a step back at that and then glanced at the dumbfounded look that Cassandra gave her and Rion.

"That…," Jez said and trailed off as she moved quickly over to him. She had caught the slight movements Rion made.

By the time they arrived his eyes had opened with a grimace. "Someone…. Lights," he muttered, arm covering his eyes.

Jez laughed as she dropped to her knees next to him and leaned over, blocking the sun that had appeared through the clouds. It outlined to two in a glow no one had ever seen before. It haloed the two and everyone took a step back, going to one knee before them. She glanced around and blinked before poking him. "Figures."

Ryan smiled up at her and then tangled his fingers in her hair and pulled her head down, kissing her with a chuckle. "I have it on good… word that I am your Guardian," he murmured against her ear before letting go.

She helped him sit up as he groaned, his hand pressing a moment to his side before he suddenly relaxed as the pain left. She was just happy to see him awake and not dead. "Well I can say that you most likely will be very apparent out on a battlefield now, my love."

He smiled at her then looked down at the scaled mail covering his arms and chest. "It certainly does make me a target."

She touched the scales along his upper arm, finding them warm to the touch. Then she leaned closer to him, whispering in his ear. "When we get back to Skyhold I am going to keep you in bed for a while."

Everyone saw him flush bright red and Bull laughed at the shock on his face, guessing what Jez had told him. "Get a room Boss!" The Qunari shouted out and that made Jez duck her head in embarrassment.

Ryan turned to Bull with a smirk. "What? Jealous I was able to get the Herald in my bed? I know you've made some attempts before bullman," he teased.

Bull's jaw dropped a moment and he sputtered which left Cassandra laughing at him a moment. "Ok, you got me." He sighed and shrugged unrepentantly.

That made Ryan grin briefly. "Besides she is my Boss too. I have to do what she says, yes?"

That made Jez turn a deeper shade of red and Bull roared with laughter as he saw the shocked look on Jez's face. "The two of you," she finally said and got up with a shake of her head. "For that I should make you sleep on the cold floor."

Ryan rose up to his feet stiffly and then smirked. "And then you would have no one to warm your bed for you."

She sputtered and then threw up her hands into the air. "I don't think I am winning today," she said with a grunt.

Ryan just smiled and tugged her closer, holding her tight. "Nope, but I will let you win occasionally." He pulled back slightly and looked over her face, into those stormy eyes she had. "It suffices to say that I have a task I was given."

She just nodded as she looked into his darker eyes, the green reminding her of Hawke's but they were family now. "You mentioned a Guardian."

He nodded. "Your Champion."

Jez blinked a moment before realizing what that meant. "I… see. This puts a whole new prospective on things."

"It will be sorted out eventually. Nothing has changed Luv." Ryan let her go and smiled. "People still need help around here and if I champion your cause that means I should help them as best as I can."

The scouts around heard the words spoken and one in particular had a message already tied to a crow's leg and turned to send it off. Sister Nightingale would have word by nightfall of the events that had happened and word would spread of the Herald's Champion from Denerim to Val Royale within two weeks' time.