A day after Veira encountered Nico, the weather began to change. After ten more days, winter was creeping up upon Ferelden, the wind chilling deeper than before and the daylight growing shorter. It had been the middle of summer when Veira left the Circle, the time seeming to drag on longer than that. Ferelden winters were usually very cold, with at least a month of heavy snowfall and then icy rainfall for the rest. The change in weather made it necessary to stock up on heavy materials for clothing and blankets. Even Wynne took up her knitting once more, even though she was still busy with everything else. She even made Veira and Zevran ear cozies after both elves sneezed for a good solid day because of the cold, the Antivan particularly vocal about his frozen ears. Veira didn't blame him. Both him and Sten both came from warm places, after all.

Since Haven was somewhere in the Frostback mountains, Veira was introduced to snow from the ground. Sure, she probably experienced snow as a child before the Circle, but she couldn't recall any specific memories. Despite everything else going on, Veira found it in her to be giddy about the snow. She carefully stepped into the white ground, her ears twitching at the crunching sound it made. She lifted one foot out of the snow as it began to go numb from the cold.

There was a chuckle behind her. "How does it feel to experience snow from the ground up, my dear?" Zevran asked, leaning in closer to her with his hands behind his back.

"Amazing," Veira gushed. "It's beautiful and so quiet! Every sound is muted, except when you step on it." She shivered slightly, kicking a bit of white. "And it's very cold!"

Zevran barked a laugh. "This coming from the woman who conjures blizzards out of thin air, who handles raw ice in her fingers!"

She grinned at him. "That's different!"

"Yes, yes, playtime is over, children," the irritated voice of Morrigan said, "let us move on."

Poor Morrigan was in charge of scouting for Haven, which was proving to be a difficult task. Obviously the villagers did not want to be found, as there were little to no signs of life in the mountains except for animals. And since the best way to cover the most ground was in bird form, Morrigan braved the icy winds and snowfall more directly than anyone else. It made flying much more perilous. That night was incredibly terrible to set up camp, as the occasional harsh winds threatened to blow away their tents.

Veira made several fortified campfires around camp, hoping to encourage some more heat. Luckily by then the wind had died down and gave her an opportunity to make some much needed hot tea. Once she settled as the teapot began to boil, she wrapped herself in heavy fur skins and held her hands in front of the middle campfire. She noticed however that Sten did not join her this time, in fact he had not joined her for tea in quite some time. Not since Nico.

She eyed his silhouette sitting at another campfire. He must be angry with her, she reasoned, for all the times she focused on something personal, rather than the Blight. Perhaps it was because Sten was a seasoned warrior that the thought of him being disappointed in her made her worry so much. He had fought as a soldier before, something that Veira was now no matter how one looked at the Wardens, and he had much more experience at war than her. She looked up to him in that way, and wanted his approval when it came to such.

She felt it wouldn't be prudent to seek him out just yet. Sten was many things, a person who values his alone time was one of them. Actually, the one who sought out her attention this night was Leliana, who was also sporting heavy furs and whose nose had gone red from cold. "May I sit with you?" she asked, her face rather serious.

"Of course," Veira replied, "would you like some tea?"

Leliana sat beside her, nodding. She hesitated to say anything as Veira handed her a cup full of steaming liquid, but eventually, she spoke. "I haven't been entirely honest with you, Veira. For that I apologize. But ever since...since Nico left, after what we talked about, I feel like we shouldn't have any more secrets between us. At least, in the subject of our history."

"That sounds fair," Veira smiled, stirring her tea. "I'm listening."

"Remember what Zevran said back at Redcliffe?" Leliana asked, shaking her head. "Well...he was right. I was a bard. And...many times they work as spies. I was no different. I played the game and did very well for myself. Not to be boastful, of course."

"You shot down a dragon back in those ruins," Veira laughed, "you of all people are allowed to boast."

The redhead giggled. "Thank you." Her smile faded as she continued. "But I wasn't honest with you when you asked why I left Orlais. The truth is I was being hunted. And when I arrived at Lothering...I just did not want to leave."

"Who was hunting you?" Veira asked, alarmed.

"Orlesian authorities," Leliana replied gravely. "I was framed. By someone I thought I could trust. Her name is Marjolene, my mentor and friend...and more."

"What happened?"

"I found out she had been trading secrets to potential enemies," Leliana said, her eyes sad, "Orlesian secrets, to Nevarra, Tevinter...a treasonous act that would surely have gotten her killed. That's why I worried. That's why I-I tried to help. She brushed off my concern, but I only found out until it was too late that she had altered the documents to look like it had been written by my hand."

Veira's eyes widened. "So, then you were-"

"They eventually captured me," she shuddered. "They did...terrible things to make me confess the crime. And by the end, all that was waiting for me was a painful death." She sighed, wiping at her eyes quickly. "At least my skills were useful for something. I managed to escape my prison, then never looked back."

Unable to say anything right away, Veira put down her cup and reached for Leliana's hand, squeezing it tightly. No wonder she didn't want to talk about this for so long. Though it made the elf very happy that Leliana trusted her with this, just as she trusted Leliana with the entire story of her family. "Thank you," Veira said finally, "for being so honest with me. I want you to know you are a treasured friend, Leliana, and I'm so happy you are here."

Leliana's face went red, and it wasn't from the cold. Her watery smile almost reached her ears, and she leaned her head against Veira's. "Lothering protected my person, while the Chantry saved my soul. But you, my dear friend, gave me a new purpose. I should be thanking you."

The two sat like that for quite some time, until a snowfall hurried them to bed.

The next morning there was a fresh three more inches of snow, and Veira marvelled at the untouched sight of it closeup. They started bright and early, earlier than usual, which for poor Sandal was a bit difficult. For both him and Bodahn, the snow made moving the cart much harder, even if Bodahn insisted they were fine.

"Nonsense," Bodahn said cheerfully, to Veira's concern over the two dwarves, "me and my boy have faced snow before, and we can continue to do so. Though I'm sure Sandal wouldn't mind using his enchanting abilities soon!"

Sandal looked brightly from his father to Veira. "Enchantment?" he asked excitedly.

She smiled at him. "Oh, I'm sorry Sandal. I promise I'll either find or buy some magical runes for you to use soon." He bobbed his head up and down, grinning at the promise.

"But still, the road ahead will be very dangerous, I can feel it," Veira said, "so I need you two to stay close, okay?"

Bodahn chuckled. "So it's like every other day. No complaint's here!"

The trek forward was taking them up, weaving through mountain terrain that seemed like endless rock and snow. If there was a village, how deep into the mountain was it? How far was she willing to go to find it? Though perhaps that was not what her mind should have been preoccupied with, but rather a much closer, taller problem.

Morrigan, who had been scouting above, swooped down and transformed back into a human. "I have not yet seen proof of civilization," she informed Veira, "however, there is still enough ahead that could possibly hold a village. 'Tis still a question of worth. Do you wish to continue?"

Veira nodded, her cheeks red and frozen from the slow climb up. "We've made it this far, we should at least try to finish it."

That was when she heard a loud thump! behind her, Sten thrusting his heavy greatsword into the snow to stand alone.

"Interesting strategy," Sten began, his face calm but hints in his voice told her he was anything but, "tell me, are we going to continue north until it becomes south and attack the archdemon from behind?"

She was unsure how to answer him, weighing her options. He was angry, that much she was certain. Though she felt excuses would only make him angrier. She chose humour instead. "It will never see it coming."

Sten crossed his arms, his glare deepening. "Truly. It would surprise me if my enemy countered by running away like a coward and climbing a mountain."

Veira sighed in frustration, irritated by the 'coward' bit. "You know why we're here, Sten."

"And it fails to answer important questions. How will this help the Arl? Our goal is the Archdemon, and yet we are heading away from it. Better yet, how will the ashes of a dead woman help?"

"Trust me Sten, if there wasn't a chance that it is helpful, we wouldn't-"

When Sten reached for his sword, she stopped speaking. He took it out of the snow, but he did not return it to its holster. Her breathing then became much more strained. "I will not follow you in your shadow as you run from battle," he growled, "prove to me that you are capable of leading. If you cannot, I will take over."

"Hey," Alistair yelled, "back off! What gives you the right to-"

"This does not concern you, a Warden that refuses to lead when it is his duty to do so," Sten spat back. His furious gaze returned to the short elf. "Defend yourself!"

Veira could only blink in the time it took for Sten to charge at her. Stumbling backwards, she barely dodged the greatsword raging towards her head, the shockwave from the impact sent waves of snow in two directions. Her mind was fuzzy from the shock that one of her companions was attacking her with such ferocity, a companion that had been with her from almost the very start. The terrifying fury the Qunari revelled in when he fought shook her bones, now understanding, truly understanding, the fear that his opponents felt when his massive body twisted and that sword came hurling towards them.

She realized, with a shuddering horror, that Sten was trying to kill her.

Sten did not relent in his attacks, catching Veira off guard with a strong kick to her ankle, tripping her up as she fell ungracefully into the snow. She yelled as she rolled out of the path of the greatsword, getting covered in chilly white powder. She used a weaker ice spell to throw the snow towards Sten to at least blind him momentarily, a heat in her stomach beginning to boil the longer the fight lasted.

She knelt there in the snow motionless, her thoughts scrambling to make sense of this. She was scared that someone she cared for was trying to hurt her in such a final way. But she was also incredibly, undeniably, pissed right off. It surprised her really, she felt that she would have broken down because of it instead. But no, there was a fire in her raging over the way Sten dismissed her, doubted her. She was angry that after everything they had been through, Sten would still do this to her.

Veira waved away the companions that rushed in to help her. "Don't," she screamed at them, "this is our fight!" There was no way she would accept help right now. She wanted to beat Sten with everything she had, her merit alone.

When Sten recovered from the temporary blindness from the snow, he gave a stern nod to her after refusing help. A look that said she had honour after all. She nodded back, gritting her teeth and grabbing her staff. Come on, fight me.

Sten roared a battle cry, and the true fight began.

Slabs of rocks coated Veira's body as Sten charged at her, a mixture of ice and lightning crackling at her fingertips. She sent shards of ice aimed at his chest, predicting his quick reflexes and ridiculous fast swings that broke the shards without so much as touching him. But that wasn't her attack, it was a distraction. She sent the lightning through the snow, aiming for his feet. The lightning snaked up his legs and through his body, making the giant arch his back and grit his teeth in pain. But that wasn't enough to bring him down, of course. This was Sten after all. Just as she gained the upper hand, he snatched it away.

He was so much faster than what was rightly fair. Even though his muscles obviously ached, his bull rush towards her was unhindered, and the mage was left unprepared for his assault. She leap out of the way of his sword crashing down, but Sten had since learned where she usually dodged to. He quickly caught the furs on her front before she could get away, Veira letting out a strangled gurgle before he brought his hardened head down and bashed into her nose, his other hand taking the hilt of his sword and jamming it into her abdomen. Veira howled in pain, or at least she tried; what came out instead was a silent choked scream. The rock armour had prevented her bones from shattering outright, but the force Sten used was still enough to severely weaken her. In a flash of panic desperate to get him away, she grabbed a part of her armour with her magic and launched it harshly into Sten's stomach. The force knocked him back, letting go of the now bleeding mage and landing into the snow once more.

Veira clutched her bleeding nose, again with the damned nose, and doubled over, fighting the stars in her eyes and struggling to breathe. She noticed a trickle of blood running down Sten's chin from his mouth, letting her know that she at least had gotten him good with her last attack. But then, so did he.

She had to end it soon. One wrong dazed move would mean the end of her.

She caught a glance at the rest behind her as Sten began to rise again. Most watched with bated breath, Leliana entwining her fingers in prayer. Morrigan's expression was curious, there was no obvious worry in her features, but Veira saw the black painted nails on her right hand slightly touch the wood of her staff.

Veira closed her eyes, slowly catching her breathing one small inhale at a time. After a few, she could take a deep breath, a calm overcoming her. She was able to stand slowly, her legs still shaky and threatening to buckle. But she wouldn't let them. She could do this.

She couldn't hear the loud steps of Sten sprinting towards her. She didn't need to. This time, she did not barrel out of the way. She raised her staff quickly, strong lightning crackling throughout it, extending past the edge of the branch like a whip. She brought it down with as much force as she could, and the lightning whip connected to the shoulder of the giant and spread. Her heart twinged at the agonized roar that Sten made, but she couldn't end it there. She knew him and his fighting intimately, especially now. She had to immobilize him.

And she had the supplies to do so all around her.

She targeted the snow below him as he was brought down to a knee. She lifted it all, wrapping it around the Qunari and made it solidify, trapping Sten in a giant block of ice. He gritted his teeth and hissed as his neck strained, but the ice held. Veira walked, or rather stumbled over to him, raising her staff to ready a final attack. But she hesitated. And hesitated. Until-

"Enough," Sten conceded, his eyes closing, "I cannot defeat you. I was wrong."

Veira took a long shuddering breath, and lowered her staff. Her breathing was heavy, as suddenly her body remembered that Sten had shoved a heavy metal object into a delicate place. But it was over.

Sten gazed up at her, for once he was not above her eye level. His face was stoic, as if prepared for what she would do next. "What now?"

That was a good question. Sten had just tried to kill her, there was no question or excuse about that. She wasn't sure if that was something that could heal over time. It wasn't like Zevran's case, whose assassination attempt was nothing personal and was the extension of someone else's hand. Sten had chosen this.

But she couldn't help but see Sten's side as well. This was a difficult task ahead of them, one that was not a guarantee, and Veira knew it. And what else did Sten have, now? He couldn't return home because he didn't have his weapon, his soul as far as he was concerned, and even if he broke down and returned anyway, he would be killed by his own people. This, the Blight, was all that he had. Of course he wanted to see it through, as efficiently as possible. Any wasted time was wasted life for him. Maybe he was not only angry, but afraid. As difficult as it was to picture the Qunari afraid, it would be scary to have the only thing in one's life that meant anything to be swept away by the whims of someone that was completely different from you, whose motives were unknown and seemed wasteful. They both didn't always understand each other, and now it showed.

But that didn't mean she had to forgive him.

"Just get back in line, Sten," Veira said shortly, turning to Wynne. "Patch him up. We're moving out soon."

"But-!" Alistair complained, "he almost killed you-"

"I need soldiers," Veira interrupted, "especially good ones."

With the snap of her fingers, the ice capturing Sten disappeared. He stood up slowly, regarding her with his regular, stoney eyes. "Understood."

As Veira began to heal herself, Morrigan pointed to the ground around Sten and Wynne, now bare due to Veira's spell. "I believe we have found our clue, warden."

The elf blinked as she followed the path of Morrigan's finger. Buried in the damp grass sat a weathered necklace, the first sign human civilization in the mountains thus far. Veira laughed shakily, rubbing her forehead with her fingertips. "Looks like you might have helped us find Haven after all, Sten."

The Qunari only snorted.