Lavellan stared outside at the rapidly darkening horizon. "Why now?
"A surprise attack. Apparently, Corypheus was not willing to wait any longer to confront you, or he has someone on the inside and thought to make a move during a moment of weakness," Leliana answered as she leaned over Lavellan to shake Cullen awake.
"Huh?" Cullen sat up and rubbed his eyes, his body tensing with alarm once he noticed his fellow advisors.
"Corypheus has created another tear. He's here, in the valley. Lavellan must stop it," Leliana repeated for his sake.
He stood up and shook his head vigorously. "That's madness! The troops have not returned yet."
"Look out the window," Josephine spoke up. Their attention turned to the balcony, where green swirled in the sky.
"The breach must be closed, or all will be lost," Leliana addressed Cullen.
"But…" Cullen was at a loss. He glanced at the soundly asleep baby and Lavellan. "She just gave birth, for fuck's sake."
Cullen's curse, strange to hear from him, reverberated throughout the room. "Be that as it may, it doesn't change the fact that she must face him now. This isn't Haven, there's no escape, and the world is at stake," replied Leliana.
"What about June?" whispered Lavellan.
"A nurse will see to her, and the midwife will ensure she is well cared for until your return," Josephine answered, giving her best attempt to assuage Lavellan's fears.
"My return," Lavellan repeated faintly. She felt as if she were trapped in slowly hardening amber. She had just spent the last couple of days in labor, given birth to her newborn daughter, and mere hours later would be facing a magister who fashioned himself as a god. The absurdity and cruelty of her position should have led her to hysterics, laughter spilling forth without reason. Instead, Lavellan was detached. "Cullen, you'll look after June?"
"I'm joining you on the battlefield," Cullen said fiercely. He was a fool if he expected no argument.
"Absolutely not. You are the Commander of our forces. You will oversee the troops from the fort," Lavellan replied sternly. His stormy expression pulled at her heart. "Should we fail, I prefer not to leave our daughter an orphan."
Leliana and Josephine had been following their conversation with patience. At last, Cullen frowned and agreed, merely saying, "Let us prepare then."
Leliana and Josephine swept out of Lavellan's quarters with a brief glance at the Inquisition's newest member, Cullen hot on their heels. Lavellan was only alone for a moment, as in swarmed the midwife and healers. As if in a trance, Lavellan stood at her bedside with the intention of getting dressed, but didn't know where to start. Luckily, the other women were there to help. Off went her gown. They had brought the leggings and tunic she had been wearing earlier. Embarrassed but past the point of caring, Lavellan watched as they dressed her. She was still bleeding, but there was nothing that could be done about that. There was also the matter of the dull but persistent cramping that plagued her, and her tender chest that she now bound tightly. Time, not elfroot, could alleviate those aches, but she was all out of it.
The other women eased boots on Lavellan's feet, working silently. They were solemn with no hushed whispers. It was unspoken that Lavellan could possibly hemorrhage out there on the battlefield.
Cullen returned, carrying her armor, shield, and sword, and the others hurried out. Cullen and Lavellan did not speak as he latched her plate on. She had to wear the armor she wore while pregnant, as her stomach was only slightly smaller than it was before the birth. Leather buckles tightened across empty flesh. Lavellan's tears rained down on her metal chestplate and would not abate.
Months ago, they had been in the same position. Her Cullen had been radiating quiet confidence and hope, even though they faced an uncertain, decisive end to fixing the future. She had felt a sense of dread but had fought against it, molded it into determination. Here Cullen was hollowed out, his face drawn with bloodshot eyes. He seemed reluctant to touch her. Lavellan was beyond dread. She was resigned to her fate.
Cullen held out the shield he had gifted her, but Lavellan did not accept it. "Get my long sword, please," she commanded, though she was unable to stop her voice from cracking.
He frowned. She fully expected a rebuttal, but he departed without a word. In Cullen's absence, Lavellan took the opportunity to stand over her daughter in her bassinet.
"Hi, my darling," she greeted June even though she was slumbering. Lavellan hated to awaken her, but this might be her only chance. She lifted June up into her arms, careful to pad her armored arms with blankets to create a soft cocoon for her. Lavellan removed her right glove with her teeth and used a finger to gently trace her daughter's face, committing the cherubic visage to memory. June woke up, eyes barely fluttering open. There was so much Lavellan wanted to say, but June wouldn't understand or remember anyway. She settled for, "I love you so much. Always."
Heavy footsteps signaled Cullen's return. She pressed a kiss to the soft skin of June's forehead, soaking in the newborn smell of her in between sniffles. Lavellan started to lower her back into her bassinet, but June gave a shrill cry, so instead she traded June for her sword with Cullen.
It had been a while since she last grasped her favorite longsword, and the weight was foreign in her hands, but there was also a comfort in it. Lavellan had fought with this type of weapon for years, and if this was to be her last battle, it would be with a longsword. She would strike down Corypheus and make Thedas a safer place for her child, even if it meant being unshielded, even if it meant her life.
Lavellan slid her sword home into the sheath that hung from her waist. She fidgeted to stall her departure, but there was no escaping destiny. "I should figure out who's going with me," she said aloud, mostly to herself.
Cullen nodded, and his focus was drawn to their daughter, quiet and content in his arms. Surely a nurse would be stepping in shortly to carry her away to safety, but seeing the two of them together then made her feel at home for the first time since the sky had been torn asunder at the Conclave. It was excruciatingly bittersweet to part so soon.
Cullen glanced up at Lavellan. "I…," he wavered. "You're coming back."
It sounded more like a question, his sentence tipping upward at the end. Lavellan didn't possess the mental fortitude to soothe over Cullen's worry with empty promises, as she shared his same emotions. "I love you," she rasped, shooting for a smile, but her lips trembled.
"And I, you," he managed, similarly grim.
The midwife strolled in, a woman on a mission, easing June from Cullen's grasp. Dorian appeared in the doorframe, his face softening at his first glance of June. A shadow soon fell upon him, however. "Time to gather your squad?"
Lavellan gave Cullen a brief kiss and left without turning back. If she allowed herself to embrace Cullen or look again at the daughter she barely knew, she might never reach the battlefield.
The main hall was in chaos. Inquisition personnel moved around each other, hurrying to prepare for whatever may come. Dorian led her to the entrance, where her companions were lined up and waiting for her. Most wore mournful expressions. She did not need pity, only those who could do the job, and do it well. She called out Iron Bull, Sera, and Vivienne, and the others murmured amongst themselves. Dorian immediately protested, but she shut him down. "Look after them?" she asked, and his mouth slowly shut, and no further explanation was required.
"Lethallan, I would ask if I could join?" Solas addressed Lavellan.
She contemplated denying his request, but she had spent a lot of time in the field with Solas, and they worked together well. "Fine. You can swap with Vivienne."
It was then time to say goodbye, as the sky turned to a deep charcoal gray. Lavellan hugged those who would not be accompanying her, and her advisors gathered round as well to watch. She should have stringed together some inspiring speech, but she was hardly motivated. Lavellan could hardly look at any of them. Iron Bull, Solas, Sera, and Lavellan departed for the Valley of the Sacred Ashes, where Corypheus awaited.
They found Corypheus below the tear, with dead Inquisition soldiers strewn at his feet.
"I knew you would come," he sneered, red light emanating from his disfigured flesh.
Lavellan snarled back a retort, but found herself falling. The ground broke to pieces and levitated. Corypheus raised the ruins of the temple into the air as Lavellan and her companions scrambled to find purchase, leaving behind everyone on the valley floor below. At last, their ascent was halted, leaving the temple floating in midair. Of course, a delusional wannabe god would choose such a setting for their confrontation. He began a brief monologue, and Lavellan did not engage with his ranting, only to tell him, "I am not a god. Neither are you, and you are going to die here today."
Though Corypheus had brought no red templars or Venatori, his red lyrium dragon settled on the archway behind his master and roared. Morrigan in dragon form swooped down to knock the red lyrium dragon off his perch. Lavellan watched in awe as the dragons tangled, praying for Morrigan to emerge victorious. She could not watch for long, as Corypheus struck.
Lavellan was rusty. Her sword was strange to maneuver, but everything began to come back to her. She had grown up playing with swords by herself in the forest, practicing rigorously each day to improve her form, so that one day she may confront evil and win like the heroes in the stories she read. This was the culmination of those childhood dreams and her time with the Inquisition, both present and future. Her mind grew blank; her only focus was the enemy in front of her.
Sera sent arrows flying as fast as Lavellan had ever seen her go. Iron Bull was bloodthirsty, taunting and charging headfirst. Solas, her dear friend, was at her side, a spell ready whenever a blast came her way; his face was contorted with effort and loathing. Corypheus teleported frequently, pausing to summon shades. He moved further into the ruins, as if he were fleeing. Lavellan and her companions did not relent, following closely behind, matching his attacks with their own, the shades a mere annoyance.
Alas, the red lyrium dragon reappeared, roaring once again as he landed directly in front of Lavellan. Maybe it would have scared the average soldier, but Lavellan found beauty in dragons and had fought them out of necessity before. Morrigan had done them a favor by weakening it, and Lavellan would finish the fight. She ran to the dragon, ignoring its breath and snaking tail. She hacked and slashed at the dragon's legs, staying underneath him at all times with Iron Bull. Solas and Sera attacked from afar, careful to dodge the dragon's retaliations. It wasn't long before the creature was listless, and Lavellan slid out from underneath the belly of the beast. Before the dragon could render one last attack, Lavellan raised her blade and sent it slamming down on the dragon's thin neck, killing it.
They had defeated the red lyrium dragon, and all that was left was Corypheus. This small victory gave Lavellan a second wind. She chased after Corypheus as they reached the top level of the platform. There was nowhere else to go.
On occasion, Lavellan would be struck by magic, but it was as if it bounced right off of her. Her only purpose was to strike down Corypheus, and only death itself would cause her to falter. She knew her teammates were not as impervious. Sera was hanging on by a thread, nearly always the first to be injured in a fight. Iron Bull was still thrashing, but his stamina could only last so long. An outward pulse sent Lavellan and Solas sprawling, and Solas put his weight on his staff in order to rise. Lavellan growled and rushed at Corypheus, landing a blow to his midsection, but he was able to toss her aside. Before she could get back on her feet completely, Corypheus threw the orb at her, knocking her down again. He fought to control the orb with his magic, as red flames danced around. Lavellan used the distraction to rise and draw upon the energy of the Anchor, holding the green-hued magic in her palm. When Corypheus turned to face her, she managed to pull the orb to the Anchor, stealing it from Corypheus. Without it, he sunk to the ground, deflated. Lavellan thrust her hand above her head, and the combined might of the orb and Anchor shot a burst of magic into the sky, closing the breach.
The orb rolled to the floor and no longer glowed. Rocks began falling from above, but Lavellan paid them no heed. She stalked toward Corypheus. "I told you this would end now."
Corypheus could only groan as she hit him with the Anchor. He was encased with bright green light, and when it dissipated, he was gone, once and for all. There was little time for a victory celebration, as the rocks started to rain down faster. The ruins of the temple were going to fall out of the sky. Lavellan stumbled and slid across the face of the platform as it precariously tilted downward, her fingers slipping as they struggled to grab ahold of anything.
The temple landed on the surface of the valley from which it had come. The impact slammed Lavellan's head forward onto a rock, dazing her. Wobbly, she pulled herself up and touched her forehead, where a lump was already starting to form. She wiped a trickle of blood that fell from her brow. Next she gazed upward, seeing no breach above her. Lavellan smiled at that and exhaled with relief. When she lowered her head again, she almost collapsed. Vertigo and dizziness from what may be a concussion, she thought. The adrenaline was already leaving her system, and all of those forgotten aches and pains were making themselves known again. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears.
Rubble was everywhere, and Lavellan did not immediately spot her companions, until Solas wandered into her view, searching for something on the ground. He crouched down and held the discarded orb, now broken into halves. "Solas?"
"The orb," he responded with reverence and despair, not lifting his eyes from it.
"I'm sorry?" she replied, the corners of her mouth turning down. Corypheus was defeated. Lavellan was aware Solas had researched the orb, but if it was lost, it did not matter; that monster was dead, and she would trade nothing for it.
"It wasn't supposed to be this way," he sighed. Lavellan could not recall seeing him so pained before.
"Solas, what is this about-"
Cassandra was shouting something from nearby, her voice causing Lavellan to pause. She went to walk down the stairs in the direction the sound came from, but she lost her balance and ended up on her hands and knees, her kneecaps stinging from the sudden contact.
"Solas?" she called out, but he was stepping away from her, away from the stairs. Solas was fading into the blurred edges of her sight. He was leaving her. "It was always about the orb, wasn't it?" she shouted at his retreating figure.
He stopped for a second, his words barely audible. "I'm sorry."
Solas wasn't that far away, she realized. It was getting harder for her to see or hear clearly. "May the Dread Wolf never hear your steps," she whispered with thinly veiled disdain. He had never truly been her friend; she was merely a pawn in his search for power, for whatever reasons he held close to his chest.
Solas froze as if struck. Lavellan wanted to say more, but she was panting with effort. Her body gave out, and she curled up on her side. She squeezed her eyelids shut and opened them, hoping it would clear her vision. No such luck, as things were becoming blurrier. She panicked, wanting to get up, but the effort required seemed impossible to generate. Instead, she honed in on her breathing, until she heard Iron Bull. "Boss?" he said tentatively, rolling her onto her back.
Lavellan could barely discern his shape above her. She attempted to push back against the drowsiness that started to overtake her, willing herself to stay awake. She was lifted up, her head lolling limply without her control, and then she was lost.