Two months later...
Tori walked the streets of Haven, going about her usual duties. They had just returned from a good number of missions and her companions were growing weary. When they needed to rest, she would take some men from the Inquisition forces with her and complete her missions that way. She did everything she could to stay busy, and when she wasn't she would visit Amantheon's tomb and sit there for hours. She hardly ate, hardly slept, and she had been sick to her stomach more times than she could count. She hadn't told anyone, but Varric had seen her a few times and was always there to help her out.
One day, a letter came from Magister Alexius asking Tori to come to Redcliffe alone to further discuss the negotiations. As she stood in the war room, listening to her advisors bicker about how to go about the letter and request that was clearly a trap, Tori made a decision.
"I'm going."
The room grew silent and everyone looked at her.
"I'm going to Recliffe and we're getting back the mages." Tori said, looking down at the map of Redcliffe that had been pulled out. "Leliana is right about the secret passage. Teagan told us about it when we retook the castle during the Blight. We can send some of our agents in through the tunnels that lead into the dungeon, Leliana can lead them through the castle, and we can take our Alexius' men. Meanwhile, I will act as a distraction so that they can slip in unseen. Alexius wants me that badly, he can have me."
"Herald, it is too risky." Cullen said, looking at her.
"This is the best shot we have, Commander." Tori said, looking at him. "This magister needs to be dealt with, we need to get the mages back, and we need to take back Redcliffe for Arl Teagan. I'm going and that's final. I don't care how many times you object."
Cullen sighed, then looked up as the door opened and a strange man came into the room.
"You'll need me." The man said.
Tori looked up at him. "Dorian, good to see you again."
Dorian smiled, but he noticed something very different about Tori. Hoping to find out later, he began explaining that he had information that could help them deal with Alexius.
With no further objections from anyone, they began their plan of attack using Tori and Leliana's knowledge of the castle and Dorian's knowledge of Alexius and his magik.
Once the meeting was concluded, Tori paid a visit to Amantheon's tomb. She had taken to making it a daily routine at the very least, sometimes coming two or three times a day.
She stood in front of the memorial stone and read the inscription as she had a hundred times.
"'Here lies Amantheon the Magnificent, dragon companion to the Herald of Andraste, the Beast Tamer, and the Dragon Rider: Tori Evermoore. May he rest in peace at the Maker's side and forever spread his wings in the Golden City. May he watch over us as we fight to preserve our world.'"
Tori looked up as Dorian came up next to her.
"So he's gone then." Dorian said. He had never met the dragon, but he had heard the stories. "I hope he was as great as the stories tell."
Tori looked back at the stone. "He was more than that..." She said. She looked down into her hand, the few scales that had come loose when they put him in the tomb glistening with a dark green sheen. "He was everything to me..."
Dorian noticed the scales. "May I see those?" He asked, unsure if she would even oblige him.
Tori looked at him, confused, but she handed him the scales. "That's all I have left of him, besides memories and this tomb."
Dorian took some silver coins from his pouch and placed them in his hand with the scales. He closed his hand and focused his magik on the material within his palm. When he finished, he opened his palm and revealed to Tori a set of earrings and a matching necklace, each bearing Amantheon's scales. "It isn't much, but here." He handed the jewellery to Tori. "I drew on the power of your bond and managed to seal a bit of the magik that lingered from Amantheon's magik within the scales. Now he can protect you even from beyond the grave."
Tori looked up at him, her eyes wide and tears brimming. "Dorian, I don't know what to say..." She looked down at the jewellery and touched it lovingly. "Thank you... From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much..."
Dorian put an arm around her shoulder. "For what it's worth, you are a better person for having known Amantheon as well and as long as you did. No one else in the world, in the history of the world, can say they tamed a dragon and were best friends with it. That is a bond that will transcend time, sweetheart. He will forever live on in the memories of all."
Tori felt the tears slip down her cheeks, the first she had shed since Amantheon had died. She looked up at the memorial stone and stepped forward, clutching her hand shut around the jewellery as she pressed her forehead to the stone. "Theon, I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, I'm sorry couldn't save you. But I will always treasure the life we shared together. I will always treasure our friendship, our bond, each time we took to the sky." She kissed the stone and stepped back. "I will always love you, Theon. Maker protect you and guide you, my dear friend."
Dorian waited until Tori joined him and they walked back to the village together.
"Thank you, Dorian." Tori said, looking up at him. "You have no idea what this means to me."
Dorian smiled and reached up to wipe away a tear. "Anything for you, sweetheart. Now, go get some rest, we've got a big day ahead of us."
Tori smiled and left Dorian in the main hall of the Chantry as she headed towards her room. Once she reached her room, she stood in front of her mirror, rearranging her earrings so that the studs were in her third holes, the small hoops that Alistair had given her, and the scale dangle earrings Dorian had made for her rested along her ear lobes. She fastened the chain around her neck and touched the scale pendant lovingly as it came to a rest just below the pendant Cullen gave her. Her finger ran over the scale a few times before it grew warm and Tori started to see strange images appearing in her head. She saw herself from a new perspective and she knew immediately as the images progressed from beginning to end that she was seeing Amantheon's memories. When his last memory popped into her mind, Fenris had come down the hall as he headed for his room. He stopped when he saw that Tori's door was open and he looked inside to find her standing in front of her mirror.
"Tori?" He asked, but got no answer so he walked up to her and gently put a hand on her shoulder. "Tori?" He asked again, this time getting a response.
Tori heard Fenris call her name and she turned to look at him. "F-Fenris...?"
"Tori, what's wrong?" He asked, then noticed the scale pendant as her hand fell limply to her side.
Tori didn't realize how much she was crying when she spoke with a shaky voice. "D-Dorian, he... I s-saw T-Theon's memories... He was s-so happy when he died..." Her tears came crashing down and she couldn't hold back anymore.
Fenris held her in his arms as she cried, trying to comfort her. "Shh... it's alright..." He rubbed her back and led her to her bed, sitting down and pulling her into his lap.
Tori let him pull her into his lap as he sat back on her bed and she settled into his arms, finding comfort as she cried her eyes out. She wasn't sure how long she had cried for, but she had cried herself into exhaustion.
Fenris sat with her, rubbing her back and her arms as he tried to comfort her. He hadn't seen her grieve once since Amantheon died, though he had just assumed she was dealing with it differently than he expected. He had kept his distance, but seeing her break down like this told him she had been holding it in. After awhile, Tori had cried herself to sleep and he held her in his arms as she slept. Night soon fell and he grew tired as well. He closed his eyes and held Tori closer to him, falling asleep quickly.
As he came to the door of his room not longer after, Cullen saw Tori's door open and looked to see that Fenris was sitting on her bed asleep with Tori passed out in his arms. His heart ached seeing them together like that, but when he noticed the tear stains on her cheeks Cullen knew that Tori had been crying and Fenris had comforted her. He stepped into her room and grabbed a blanket, covering them both. He closed her door behind him and went into his room to get ready for bed. As he lay in bed though, not only did he worry about Tori's safety going to Redcliffe, he also decided to keep his distance from Tori. She had been through a lot lately and having put her under so much pressure to choose between he and Fenris made him feel guilty. It wasn't fair to her and he was being selfish. While he loved her dearly, Cullen decided that if Tori wanted to be with him he would wait for her to come to him, but if she never did then he had his answer.
