Hi everyone! After a long wait, I've finished this chapter. Thanks for everyone who has favourited, followed or reviewed recently. I hope you enjoy this!

Just a warning, this chapter contains mild descriptions of animal butchery which might upset some people.

Again, Bioware owns all the characters and dialogue apart from the ones that I've made up.

Eira woke up in a panic the next day as her shoulder was shaken.

"Aahh! What in Oblivion?!" she yelled in shock in Marian's face.

"Relax, it's just me; your breath stinks of beer by the way..." Marian stood up. "I let you sleep in after last night. Get what you need together; I don't know how long this trip will be. We'll meet up with the others as soon as you're ready."

Marian left the room, as Eira scratched her head at what just happened. 'OK, so last night I kept drinking at the bar. It must have been the early morning when I got back, it was so overcast I couldn't tell... I hope I didn't disturb anyone...'

'Well, it's best if I take everything with me on this trip. I've got some good stuff with me; I don't want it to be pawned off.'

Marian and Bethany were waiting outside when the bang of the door told them that Eira was ready. Turning, they saw that Eira had decided to take her full backpack with her.

"Isn't that heavy?" asked Bethany.

"No, not really. I've had heavier," Eira replied. "I've got everything I think I might need. Who's coming with us?"

"Varric's definitely coming - it's his and his brother's expedition after all; Anders is going too," Marian paused as she remembered the brief argument she had with him over the Deep Roads. He eventually agreed that it would be best if he came as long as someone could look after the clinic for him. Marian continued, "Fenris is coming as well - he's a good warrior and Aveline is busy with her duties."

"So... two rogues, one healer and a warrior? It's a good combination. I notice that you didn't mention Bethany in your list."

"Sister's making me stay behind..." Bethany muttered.

"To be honest, I don't want to go to the Deep Roads either. You can run the clinic for Anders, and if I don't come back..." Marian hesitated.

"Alright, you've made your point," Bethany sighed. "I guess you're right. Well... Goodbye Sister..." Bethany held out her hand.

Marian stared at it for a moment, then reached over and hugged Bethany tightly.

"Farewell Bethany, don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

Marian walked off towards Hightown with Eira following waving behind her to Bethany.

"There you are Hawke! I was beginning to worry," Varric greeted as they met in the Marketplace.

"Worry? You? Never!" Marian smirked and rubbed her hands together. "Are we ready to go?"

"We've just got to talk to Bartrand, then we'll be off," Varric said as he and Marian walked towards another dwarf with plaits in his beard. Eira followed at a distance, listening to their conversation.

"Varric! Where did you get off to? And what are you planning?" A gruff voice said to the storyteller.

Varric simply smirked, "Bartrand! So suspicious! I have, in fact, brought us our future partner!" Varric indicated to Marian who smiled slightly at Bartrand.

Bartrand was surprised by this announcement, "What? Partner!" Bartrand glared at Hawke for a moment. "You stupid, nug-humping dirt-farmer! Why did you go promising something like that?"

"Because if we don't get this expedition moving, Brother, then we won't have any profits to argue about, will we?" Varric slowly replied as if talking to an idiot.

"Hmph," Bartrand sniffed. "Maybe you have a point."

Marian, sarcastically said in an aside to her group, "There's so much love here. It's very comforting."

Bartrand again glared at Hawke before saying, "What I'd love is the coin to back up my brother's confidence. How about it, human?"

Marian confirmed with the dwarf that it was a full share of the profits she would get before replying, "I do have your coin, in fact" while handing over a purse clinking with gold.

"You're joking..." Bartrand's eyes widened, obviously not expecting a single bronze bit from her.

Varric again smirked at his brother's surprise, "What did I tell you, Bartrand? Not bad for a human."

Bartrand gave a quick look to Varric before looking back at Hawke, "All right, partner. Full share of the profit between you, me and Varric. Now we just need a decent entrance into the Deep Roads."

Marian reached into her bag, pulling out a few scrolls. "These might be just what we need."

The dwarf looked at the scrolls, before saying in astonishment, "What's this? Three... four entrances into the Deep Roads, all in the Free Marches? Where did you get these?"

At this Anders smirked and muttered, "A wizard did it..." causing Eira to have to stifle a laugh.

"Well, colour me outstanded. We just pick the most promising one, and go!"

Hawke smiled and rolled her eyes at this as Bartrand continued, "Time to wrap up any business you have in the city, my friend. We'll be gone for several weeks at least. Let me know when as soon as you're ready, and then we'll head out."

"One more thing, Brother..." Varric said, indicating to Eira to step forward. "I've found another hireling who I think will be useful. Any objections to taking her?"

"Who's paying for her?" Bartrand asked, still in a happy mood.

"I am, out of my own pocket no less. It seems she brought her own supplies as well," replied Varric.

"It's fine then," Bartrand said as he walked off.

Eira walked over to Varric and Hawke, "A very rapid change from stranger to best friend from him..."

"That's Bartrand all the way. Give him what he wants, and he's your friend to you," Varric replied before turning to Hawke. "Is there anything you need to do before we go?"

"I've already said my goodbyes. It's now or never."

"Right, let's get to it then!"

Later in the day, everyone on the expedition was standing around the dwarven statues listening to Bartrand give a speech.

"We've chosen one of the hidden entrances. The Deep Roads there will be nice and virginal, ready for a good deflowering. Hah!" Bartrand shouted to the crowd.

Eira had to stick her fist in her mouth to stop the laughter escaping as Varric muttered to Hawke, "Now there's an interesting image."

Bartrand continued, "It'll take a week for us to get down to the depth we need, and there are bound to be leftover darkspawn from the Blight. Big risks, big rewards."

Eira stopped listening to the dwarf's speech at this point; it was all things that she had heard before in Skyrim. There was never any reward without a bit of risk. She followed Hawke and her group when the talk was over.

"Been a long time coming, eh, Brother?" Varric said to Bartrand when they left the Marketplace.

"That it has," Bartrand replied and grandly gestured. "The Deep Roads await!"

After a long days walk, Marian and her group collapsed with exhaustion at the campsite.

"Whew! I never expected to walk this far on the first day... over rough terrain as well!" Marian panted.

Varric muttered, "I hate nature..."

Fenris just sat on the nearest rock, picking out small stones from his feet silently.

Only Eira seemed unfazed by the days' non-stop journey; she stood looking bemusedly at her companions.

"What's the fuss about? It's hot, but it hasn't been too bad travelling today."

Anders stood up, leaning on his staff. "It's not hot! It's quite cool today; and what do you mean by 'Not too bad'? What's it like in your homeland then?"

Pausing, Eira considered her answer before replying. "It mostly depends on where you are, but where I lived there were mostly blizzards; it's very cold throughout the year in general. Also, most towns and villages were at least a day's journey apart; and you can't get carts up the rough roads when it's snowy. You get used to it eventually, but compared to that, travelling today has been rather easy."

Marian and Varric stared at her.

"How does anything survive there?" asked Marian.

"With a great deal of effort," Eira shortly replied, removing her backpack and searching through it. "It's a place where you need resilience to live, and a large amount of patience."

"And people choose to live there?" said Varric.

"People don't like to move from where they come from. Skyrim is a tough place, but it's absolutely beautiful in an untamed kind of way." Eira said as she pulled out her bow and quiver from her pack.

"If you get a fire going, I'll see if I can hunt anything for supper," she said, walking off into the woodlands. "We can talk more later."

The group stared at the half-elf, as she went away into the shadows of the forest.

"Anders? Do you have enough energy for a fire spell?" asked Hawke.

Eira felt exhilarated as she walked gently past the trees. Hunting was a favourite activity of hers, even more so since she had the Beast Blood. It was one of the skills that her father taught her a long time ago.

He was a Forester in the Imperial Legion in his youth, and had to live on his own in the forests around the provinces for long periods of time. 'You don't spend time in places like that without gaining some respect for the land, my girl,' He used to say to a wide-eyed young Eira, 'Look after the land, and it will provide food, water and everything you need in plenty. Disrespect it, and it can kill you just as easily as anybody with a sword can.' It was a warning that Eira took very seriously when she was travelling. She was very close to her father; they used to spend days hunting together in the mountains of Bruma, before returning home dirty and scratched, but smiling proudly at their hard earned kills.

Suddenly, Eira's ears pricked up at the sound of hooves on the forest floor. Crouching down, she softly walked towards the noise with her bow at the ready. She peered into a clearing, and saw what had to be one of the most exquisite animals she had ever seen.

It was a kind of stag, but much bigger than the ones in Skyrim. Its coat was white, with large ornate antlers coming out of it's head. It turned and looked at Eira with it's large dark eyes before skipping off into the shadows. Eira considered following it, then decided against it. 'It's best to leave animals like that alone. To kill something which brings that much beauty? That is just needlessly cruel' she thought to herself before turning around and heading back where she came from, following the scent of another animal on the wind.

Marian Hawke looked up quickly from the campfire when she heard footsteps approaching her. Eira was walking towards the fire with a dead stag over her shoulders.

"That was quick. You were only gone for three-quarters of an hour," remarked Hawke.

"I hunt a lot at home, so I've had plenty of practice," Eira replied as she hoisted the stag off her and onto the ground. Kneeling down next to the deer, she took a dagger from her belt and cut into the animal's belly. "Where's everyone else?" she asked.

"Fenris has gone to wash up in a stream. Anders is seeing if any of Bartrand's hirelings need any healing, and Varric has gone to have a quick word with his brother," Hawke replied. "They should be back soon..."

Eira listened while she quickly gutted the deer. Removing the organs, she took them some distance away and set them alight with a quick flame spell until they were ashes. After watching the flames briefly, she returned to the deer.

"Do you mind if I ask you some questions?" Hawke said.

"Not at all," Eira replied as she began to skin the animal.

"What exactly is a 'Nightblade'?"

"It's a fighting style. We mostly fight using stealth techniques, but we use magic when the circumstance requires it."

"No circumstance should necessitate the use of magic," growled Fenris as he emerged from the forest and walked to the campfire.

"What if your opponent has a weakness to a particular element? What if you are bleeding heavily, or your armour is weak?" Eira swiftly countered, not looking up from her work. "Magic is useful in those situations, especially if you are outnumbered."

"That's true," another voice said. Anders had just returned. "So, how does magic work in your world?"

"We have five schools of magic; six if you count enchanting. They are freely taught to anybody who wants to learn; most people study enough to know how to heal minor wounds or light a fire."

"What are these schools?" Hawke asked.

"Alteration, which is the manipulation of the physical world. Illusion, the manipulation of emotions. Destruction, that's pretty self-explanatory. Restoration, that affects life forces; and Conjuration, the summoning of arcane beings."

"Demons you mean?" Fenris sharply asked, hands twitching towards his blade on the ground.

"Not 'demons', daedra is the proper term. Personally, I have some moral objections to that school; and I was never any good at it anyway, so I don't practice it without a big reason."

"'Moral objections'? In what way?" Anders asked cautiously.

Eira paused to wipe her bloody hands on a rag. "Conjuration also includes necromancy - the raising of the dead. I've fought a lot of necromancers while travelling; generally they are stuck up, lazy idiots who think that being able to cast spells gives them the right to be lord of all things," Eira spat on the ground in disgust. "Also, those spirits that they bind to the corpses? They are still able to feel what's going on. I've had spirits thanking me after I've killed them for a second time; they've actually apologised for trying to kill me... That kind of thing disturbs you." She mentally shuddered.

"What about these 'day-dra' of yours?" asked Hawke.

"The daedra that people summon have the same sentience as animals mostly. They think by instinct, and their instinct is to attack what's fighting them. The tricky part about conjuration is knowing how much to control them mentally. Too much, and they are useless in a fight without you constantly watching over every move; too little, they'll go berserk, kill you and anybody else who happens to be in their way. If people want to learn conjuration, they have to be taught under supervision initially, until they learn the basics."

"From who? A Templar?" Anders enquired.

"Usually from a court mage, or a registered magic tutor. I've never even heard of a Templar before coming here. What are they?"

"They are soldiers, ordained by the Chantry to watch over mages for any signs of demonic influence and hunt down apostates," seeing Eira's confused expression, Hawke elaborated. "Apostates are mages who are not part of the Circle of Magi. Anders, Merrill and Bethany are all apostates in the eyes of the Chantry; I'm essentially Bethany's personal templar - without the bigotry that seems to be in the job description of course."

"Odd; an apostate in my homeland is someone who completely rejects the concept of a Divine. Nobody really discriminates an apostate for that however; what people believe is their own business. The only people that come close to your description of a templar is our Vigil of Stendarr. They are an order of battlemages dedicated to wiping out Daedra and other 'abominations' in the name of the Divine of Mercy."

"What kind of abominations are you speaking of?" asked Hawke.

"Vampires, werewolves, witches," looking up, Eira saw that her looks of confusion earlier were reflected in the faces around her. "I should explain: a Vampire is someone who has been infected with undeath, and they need to drink blood to sustain their strength. A werewolf is someone who can change into a wolf shape and needs to hunt down people to maintain their form," 'Otherwise known as me!', Eira thought to herself. She continued, "Witches generally are mages who are batshit crazy for magic - and I'm talking about trading their humanity for more power, murdering people for use in rituals, that kind of thing."

"So, they are maleficarum. You don't tolerate them either then?" Fenris asked.

"No. People like that are too dangerous to be left alone. The Vigilant don't like them because they often deal with Daedra for their own ends. They'll attack anyone pretty much on sight anyway."

"What about Illusion?" Varric emerged from his hiding place where he was listening to the conversation with interest.

"Illusion is useful at times, what it does is it changes someone's perception of the world. It can make the bravest warrior run away crying for their mother, or make the calmest person furious for no reason. On the positive side, it can give your allies a morale boost, and make an enemy not see or hear you until they cannot ignore you."

By now, Eira had finished skinning the deer and had already jointed it ready for roasting over the fire. The furs were in a pile next to Eira, along with the antlers to use in alchemy.

"Shall we continue this after we've eaten? The venison is ready..."

It was getting dark by the time Hawke and her companions had finished eating. Marian looked up into the sky; she hadn't seen the stars since leaving Lothering, Kirkwall has just too smoggy to see anything higher than the rooftops. She remarked on this to the others, "The stars look beautiful tonight..."

Everyone around her looked up in contemplation; then a sharp yelp sounded through the camp. Eira was staring in shock and fear at the sky.

"The moon... WHERE'S THE OTHER MOON?!"

"What are you talking about?" Varric worriedly said. "There is only one moon, there always has been one."

"There's two at home! Masser and Secunda. I see Secunda, but where is Masser?"

Hawke and the others looked uneasily at each other. Was Eira's world this different from theirs?

"By the Divines and Daedra..." Eira whispered mostly to herself. "I never thought I would see anything like this..."

"Daedra? I thought you said they were like animals?" Anders said having overheard.

"Most of them; not all of them. There's a hierarchy of power with daedra. At the top of the power hierarchy, are the Daedric Princes - the gods of change. They are fully sentient, and often interfere with mortal lives according to their whim."

"You can't be serious..." Fenris muttered. "More demons..."

"I am serious. I know that they exist and they have a great deal of power, but they have a different sense of morality to mortals. To them, mortals are the ants scurrying under their feet; and like people they can choose to ignore the ants or burn them. They can't be considered good or evil, same as the Divines," Eira explained as she stood up from the ground.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine, it's just a bit of shock to see something that I thought would never change," she walked to the perimeter of the camp. "I'll take first watch, get some rest."

Thanks for reading everyone! I'm afraid I'll be busy over the next few weeks, so I might be slow in updating. Still, please review this chapter, let me know what you think!