It had been hours.

The archdemon had disappeared hours ago and yet there was still no sign of the Inquisitor or of the party that was with her.

The Commander and his men reached the courtyard and they were helping keep the demons coming from the rift there at bay.

Cullen refused to believe that any of them were dead; she couldn't have died here, not after what she survived before. His chest started to feel hollow at the thought.

He didn't want to think about it.

The platoon of Templars that followed behind his men reached the courtyard and the demons now didn't stand a chance.

Cullen felt uneasy as he stared at the rift. They had just defeated the previous wave of demons and Solas was now working on setting up barriers to keep more at bay.

The uneasy feeling came from the rift itself. Thanks to the lyrium that remained in his body, he could sense something on the other side of the rift; something big.

"You feel it too, don't you?"

Cullen looked to see Trevelyan walking up to him.

"Yes, I do."

They didn't have time to contemplate it because more demons started to pour from the rift. Thankfully, Solas' barriers were enough to give the soldiers time to regroup.

Cullen sliced his way through a rage demon and Gavin backed him up and Silenced the area around the demon, sucking away any energy it still had.

The two men turned toward the next demon and they stared in shock as it collapsed with a screech and faded away into nothing.

Cullen looked toward the rift and saw Cassandra stumble out from it, followed by Dorian, Varric, and Iron Bull.

The Commander raced over to the Seeker and the others. "Where's the Inquisitor?"

Cassandra stared at him in confusion before her eyes widened and she looked behind her. "She was right behind me, I swear!"

Cullen's heart dropped. No, not when she was so close. No, no, no...

Marian Hawke suddenly leapt out of the rift. The mage was coughing up blood and she was clutching at her side with an armored hand.

"Shit! Hawke!" Varric cursed, racing forward to help his friend.

Then, everything slowed down as if they were in a dream as Tessa herself walked calmly out of the green light. She raised her hand and Cullen could feel the surge of energy shift around him as she closed the rift.

The courtyard grew quiet for a few moments before victory cries started to ring out throughout the soldiers.

Cullen could only focus on the woman standing in the middle of the courtyard.

She was alive, thank the Maker. Cullen didn't realize how frightened he truly was until he saw her standing there.

But, there was a tightness about her that wasn't like her at all. She stared at the remaining Grey Wardens angrily.

Hawke started to speak. "She was right, with the Nightmare Demon gone…" The Champion shook her head. "Corypheus lost his demon army."

One of his lieutenants raced forward. "Inquisitor, the archdemon flew away as soon as you disappeared. The Venatori magister is unconscious but alive. Cullen thought you might wish to deal with him yourself. As for the Wardens, those who weren't corrupted helped fight against the demons."

Tessa somehow found him right away in the crowd and she nodded at him. He nodded back.

A Grey Warden officer raced forward. "Inquisitor, we seek to right Clarel's tragic mistake." The officer looked around. "Where is Stroud?"

Tessa took a deep breath before declaring, "Warden Stroud died striking a blow against the servant of the Blight."

He knew she sounded confident and mournful to everyone else, but Cullen could see how her hands were trembling and the tightness around her eyes only increased. Something was wrong.

"We will honor his sacrifice and remember how he exemplified the ideals of the Grey Wardens." Her small speech continued until a decision had to be made.

In the end, the Wardens were conscripted into the Inquisition. She gave Cassandra and some other Templar officers permission to create ways to check on the Wardens and keep them in line.

Cullen watched as she stepped down from the fountain and started to walk away, ignoring anything anyone had to say.

Something was definitely wrong.


Tessa couldn't stand it. They were badgering her with questions and she couldn't breathe.

She escaped to an empty part of the fortress. Leaning back against the wall, she slowly slid down until she was sitting on the ground.

Biting her lip, she tried to control the sobs that wanted to escape.

The Fade was horrible, the memories were horrific, and the things the Nightmare Demon's lackeys turned into were terrifying.

She saw everything from spiders, worms, undead versions of her friends and family, and him; the man that almost ruined her life when she was 16. He kept appearing among the demons, shouting those horrible things at her and Tessa couldn't take it.

It was satisfying to defeat the demons that took that shape, but at the same time she wanted to just sit down and cry.

And what bothered her most was seeing everyone's fears in the strange cemetery they had to walk through. She saw everyone's names and their worst nightmares below them.

And then her name appeared and she could feel the blood drain from her face when she read 'Inquisitor' beneath her name.

The weight of everything that just happened was threatening to crush her and she didn't know if she would survive if the weight became too great.

She started when she heard heavy footsteps approaching, but the rattle of the armor was familiar.

Oh Maker, no. He can't see her like this. She wished he would just turn around and leave her alone.

Cullen, unfortunately, didn't leave her alone and he stood in front of her. "What happened?" he asked quietly.

She stared up at him, wondering what to think. She had tried to act victorious and motivating in front of everyone, yet he noticed. He was covered in ash, dirt, and who knows what else and she knew she was in the same state. He held out a hand and she shook her head. "I just need a moment."

Instead of saying anything, he stepped over and slid down next to her, his various pieces of armor and leather rattling and creaking as he did so. "Alright."

This man was something else; he seemed to know exactly what she needed. She didn't need words or anything else at the moment; she just needed peace and quiet. They just sat there, not saying a word.

He didn't even say anything when silent tears started to trail down her dirty cheeks.

She finally spoke after they sat there for what seemed like years. "I just ordered a man to die."

He didn't say anything and that allowed her to continue. "The large monster came after us in the Fade. Marian wanted to stay behind and cover us and Stroud argued with her. Neither of them would leave and we had to get out. So I shoved her through the rift and then Stroud shoved me."

She took a shuddering breath and hugged her knees to her chest. "I'm a horrible person. I can't do this," she squeaked out, barely getting the words past the growing lump in her throat.

The effort of holding back her sobs was causing her chest to heave and she buried her face in her knees. How could she do this? She was sick of people dying around her and she couldn't face that the rest of her life. How was she supposed to help save Thedas if people kept dying to make that happen?

The nightmare was right, her greatest fear was who she was, not what she faced.

A heavy weight rested on her shoulders and she leaned into the touch. Cullen pulled her to his side and she started to silently sob. She could feel him shaking as well and she knew it wasn't because he was crying.

Aren't we a sight? she thought cynically, I'm crying because of a stupid demon and he's going through withdrawal. Some leader I am.

"It's not your fault. You can't control everything," he whispered.

Tessa's heart clenched and she knew he was right, but that didn't make it feel better.