XVII: From the Mountains' Ashes
Beyond the consuming blackness, Kassandra felt a pain so overwhelming that it bordered on the edge of numbness. She struggled to determine whether she was barely alive after the mountain fell on Haven or the tumble from her last-ditch effort to stop Corypheus finally delivered her to the Fade. She couldn't distinguish if she was even breathing as the crushing pain originated from her chest, the pressure threatening to cave in any moment. Then, the cold began to seep in between the pain and invaded her down to her bones. How long she hovered in a state of impaired consciousness was lost on her as mere moments drew out to the length of eternities. Eventually, her eyes fluttered open and dealt with the bleary, blurry hue cast over the world around her. Lying on the rocky ground, Kassandra allowed her vision to trickle back into clarity while she surveyed her surroundings. The cave was mostly dark, save for the bluish glow of the ice coating the walls, and quite damp to where it impaired her ability to breath… or was that the cracked rib and various injuries sustained from her spat with Corypheus, a name which pierced her soul with fear.
Shifting her body around was enough to make several points of pain flare up, and Kassandra knew to get back onto her feet was out of the question for the moment. She fumbled around blindly and managed to pull out an unbroken healing potion Adan made special before the second march on the Breach. Kassandra hissed when she noticed that she earned a cut on the back of her hand, likely from sifting through and brushing up against a shard of broken glass. Fighting with the cork sealing back her salvation, Kassandra mumbled a few unsavory curses and managed to wiggle it open. She lifted her head off the ground. She brought the potion to the edge of her lips, trickling the liquid down her throat and suppressing several coughs as the substance burned down her throat. She closed her eyes and slumped back, waiting for the potion to take effect. A slight warmth that Kassandra could only compare to the brush of sunlight trickling down from the sky as she rode horseback through the fields beside her family's estate back in Ostwick pulsed through her and slowly, the injuries she collected in her fight to save Haven began to mend. By the time the warmth dissipated, most of the injuries were completely healed. While she didn't feel completely restored, Kassandra knew she was treated enough to function and fight if she should have to. She had no clue where she was or even how she survived the avalanche, except to acknowledge that Andraste's hand guided her through danger, and her lady demanded a higher purpose from her life.
Rolling onto her side with a muted groan of pain, Kassandra winced and rocked up to a seated position. From there, she could finally muster the strength to stand, ignoring the rush of dizziness slamming into her head. She focused on the path ahead of her, and the faint dripping sound anchored her back into the real world.
She was alive, she made it.
Kassandra began walking toward the bridge, taking her time while she acclimated to her injuries. She limped toward the bridge and entered a rocky tunnel, careful to avoid tripping on the uneven terrain. If she was cautious, Kassandra assumed she would be alright.
That was until she spotted a light up ahead. All seemed to be turning for the better until a green twinkle exploded into power. Kassandra's eyes frightenedly enlarged when she turned the corner in the damp cave and nearly ran into some demons of the Fade, who hissed and growled at her. Although some of them didn't have eyes, Kassandra felt their attention fixated on her hand, and she knew they must have been drawn to her mark. With her right hand, she reached to her hip where her scabbard should be and felt nothing there. She cursed when she realized she lost her sword in the aftermath of Haven falling on her and Corypheus; she was virtually defenseless. She staggered back from the shades slithering uncomfortably closer to her. She cried out in pain, not from her various injuries associated with her fall but her mark. She swallowed at how the mark pulsed, and she could see the sickly green energy of the Fade trickling through her visible veins. Another ripple of pain caused Kassandra to keel over and release a bloodcurdling scream that spooked the demons. They continued to edge closer to their intended prey, and Kassandra threw her hands out in front of her, screaming once more when an unprompted blast of energy arced from her fingertips. The recoil tossed her backward at least a foot, and she staggered onto her knees to watch the explosion transform into a rift. Horrified, Kassandra witnessed the demons wail and vanish into the rift before it sealed shut without her so much as moving. She trembled from the evaporation of adrenaline and the biting chill of the Fereldan winter combined while struggling to piece together her next move.
"I need to get to the camp and let them know I survived," Kassandra mumbled through her addled state of mind due to the pain. Numbness sloshed around in her body—murky and disorienting. Gathering whatever strength she still possessed after her encounter with Corypheus, Kassandra stumbled through the empty cave. The color drained from her face when she stepped through the mouth of the cave and found herself faced with a roaring blizzard standing between her and the others. She steeled herself with a sharp, pointed exhale and a determined glare as she stepped out of the protection of the cave and into the blizzard's embrace.
She would make it through or die trying; the Inquisition needed her.
Kassandra gasped aloud when the wind and snow slammed against her with the force of a battle nug stampede. Her teeth chattered, and she knew her possibly torn, and damp clothing would be little protection, and she lost some of her armor in the scuffle and subsequent fall. The shivering began immediately when Kassandra stepped through the snow to where she could hardly hear the wind howl or her boots crunching over the chattering of her teeth. Kassandra stumbled past a burnt wagon, and she hoped that meant she walked the right path. She passed by an empty piece of equipment, which was cold to the touch when she brushed by it.
After an unmeasurable set of time on the road, the distant cry of wolves sent Kassandra into a panic, forcing her to move marginally faster than before. Her footfalls came faster as she slipped in the direction of the snowcapped trees, watching with some horror as the sturdy trunks violently swayed under the blizzard's forceful wind. Walking through the trees, Kassandra's head snapped around a couple of times and vague confusion registered. Didn't she pass that tree already? Was she lost, going in circles while the blizzard worsened?
"For she who trusts in the Maker, fire is her water. As a moth sees light and goes toward flame, she should see fire and go towards Light. The Veil holds no uncertainty for her, and she will know no fear of death…" Kassandra recited through a full-body shiver when a particularly forceful gust of blizzard rammed against her, knocking her off her feet and sent her toppling into the snow. Kassandra bit back a muffled cry when her whole body wailed in agony, and some of her open wounds tainted the fresh snow in fickle drops of scarlet. The harsh voice in the back of her mind doubtingly persuaded that she should give in and resign herself to be with the Maker, where pain no longer plagued her. She thought about those possibly waiting for her at the forward camp of Varric and Cassandra and Josephine and Cullen. Would they mourn her? Kassandra lifted her head up as tears steadily rolled down her frost-bitten cheeks, but her heart lurched when she caught sight of a black, blurry object through the snowfall. Squinting, Kassandra recognized it as another load of discarded equipment which signaled the Inquisition was nearby, and she was jolted by a sudden burst of strength. She crawled a few paces through the snow before she managed to regain her footing. Turning her head to the sky, Kassandra silently praised the Maker for a renewal of hope within her weary soul. She ambled over to the equipment while continuing her recitation of the Chant of Light, her way of keeping her mind off the pain assaulting her whole body. "…For the Maker shall be her beacon and her shield, her foundation, and her sword." Kassandra gasped out as she made it to the pile of discarded equipment and noticed the still live embers surrounding her. That meant these fires were fairly recent, and the Inquisition was within her reach; Kassandra was nearly safe. Wrapping her arms around her torso to mitigate the shivering, Kassandra boldly faced the final, horrid throes of the storm, and she set her jaw before marching on.
"O Maker, hear my cry! Guide me through the blackest nights. Steel my heart against the temptations of the wicked. Make me to rest in the warmest places. O Creator, see me kneel! For I walk only where you would bid me, stand only in places you have blessed, sing only the words you place in my throat. My Maker, know my heart! Take from me a life of sorrow. Lift me from a world of pain. Judge me worthy of your endless pride. My Creator, judge me whole! Find me well within your grace. Touch me with fire that I be cleansed. Tell me I have sung to your approval. O Maker, hear my cry! Seat me by your side in death. Make me one within your glory and let the world once more see your favor. For you are the fire at the heart of the world and comfort is only yours to give." Kassandra whispered as she blinked away the black spots in her eyes. Despite her words slurring together in the same way as a drunkard stumbling from a tavern, Kassandra perfectly recited a verse from Transfigurations that she recalled from her earliest childhood memory. She hardly realized she made it through the blizzard from how hard she trembled. Her movements were jerky, instinctual as she moved one lurch of her body at a time. She stumbled past the second piece of equipment left behind but did not stop for it, continuing her march for she would not stop until she found the Inquisition. Crystallized frost invaded her skin and eyelashes in splotches of red irritation, and her clothes were bloody and torn, which Kassandra paid notice to for the first time. The ends of her breaths faded off, and Kassandra crumpled onto her knees.
"There! It's her!" Cullen's voice bellowed, and Kassandra's head blearily lifted at the sound. Her heart raced in her ears so loud that she could hardly make out what Seeker Pentaghast replied. Her eyes settled on Cullen, who must have sprinted ahead of the search party. Cullen gasped something out she couldn't hear at all and raced toward her.
"Cullen…" Kassandra weakly stated while she reached out for him before the world violently turned, and she collapsed into the snow, blackness overcoming her.