4: Faith

Cullen let out a deep sigh as the final demon in the area fell to the steel of his sword. He let his shoulders drop for a moment and stood, shield low at his side, as he worked to get his breathing under control. His entire body ached. His shoulders especially.

When Cassandra told him a rift was in front of the ruins of the Conclave, he had taken it upon himself to stand guard along with a band of men. It felt like the least he could do considering the circumstances, but in fact, it was the most he could do. Besides staving off demons, he was useless at the moment.

To his side a young soldier fell to his knees with a huff. He was covered in his own blood and black slime. Cullen shoved his sword into the frozen ground and offered out his hand.

"What's your name?" He asked, his voice stern. The man straightened his shoulders as much as he could and looked him in the eye warily.

"My…my name is Jim, sir. I'm a scout, but I wanted to help here." He replied shakily. Cullen eyed the man quickly and immediately felt pity for him, he knew the look of a new recruit. Jim's shoulders were slumped, the sword hung from his hand limply, his face was plastered in sweat, and his uniform was sloppy.

"You should know to never fall to the ground in battle, Jim." Cullen instructed, "If you are caught off guard, your death will be a quick one. We can't tell when another bout of demons will be spit out from this thing."

Jim nodded in understanding as he wiped sweat from his brow with a shaky hand. Cullen hoped he truly did understand, too many young men were lost on the battlefield simply because they were green. He gave him a wary glance, and turned his attention back to the Breach that sat in the sky. The boy with the mark came to his mind and he prayed to the Maker that he would lead them to some answers. He was their last hope at solving this disaster.

Aiden had awoken to find himself, once again, on the ground. His heart had thumped forcefully in his chest, the fear that had driven him earlier still alive, but there were no spiders, or eerie mist here. Only soldiers who bore an unfamiliar crest upon their chest and two women who seemed to think he had caused the ruin of the world.

He had been confused, terrified really. He wanted to ask why they were holding him captive, where he was, where his sister was? Ela would never leave him, he knew, and the thought of her being incapable of coming to his rescue scared him. He wanted to beg and plead for answers, but he didn't. If they were Templars, nothing would matter. He would be killed soon enough.

Thankfully for him, they weren't. They were part of the Inquisition, an ancient order apparently. The Seeker Cassandra had bid him to help close the Breach. Surprising himself, he agreed. He wasn't entirely sure where he found the courage, but it was too late to retract his agreement.

As they began the trek back up the mountain, he stared at the green mark left on his hand. Every so often it crackled viscously, sending turrets of pain down his arm and forcing him to bite back his screams. He stared at it his mind racing, thinking of everything that had happened, of all the unanswered questions he had.

The pain, however, made it hard to think. He did his best to practice his breathing just as his sister had taught him.

'In and out. In and out.' He repeated it over and over in his head, letting it drive out the concerning thoughts and minimize his focus on the pain.

The trek back up the mountain was exhausting. Besides the ever-present demons, his feet felt frozen, and his hand continued to pulse in time with the Breach. The soldiers that had accompanied them were doing their best to keep him safe. One of them had fallen to a shade back at the first rift they crossed, where they met Solas and Varric.

The elf, Solas, had shown him how to close the Rifts. The process was painful at first, but it passed quickly enough. The mage then proceeded to ask him a barrage of questions; questions that he found hard to answer. The older mage reminded him of the uptight tutors that Ela used to hire to teach him to write. All work and no fun.

The dwarf with the crossbow, Varric, was much more entertaining. Within a few moments of meeting, he had managed to irritate the Seeker Cassandra into silence. Varric didn't ask him too many questions either, just his name and if he was okay. He and the Seeker didn't seem to get along though, but she let him tag along and he was thankful for the pleasant company.

They had encountered their fair share of demons on their way to the Conclave. During battles he was ushered to the back with Varric and a stout soldier with a bow. He waited patiently until the area was clear before rushing back into the formation the Seeker had taught him. She would be in front, followed by two soldiers, then him, then Solas, Varric, and the archer behind him.

The journey was, mostly, a silent one. The fighting was wearing on them. Their short respite at the Forward Camp was needed, but he felt they had been back on the move much too soon; though, he was happy to be away from the Chancellor. He looked down at the snow and tried to step where the Seeker stepped and spare his feet from the bitter bite of the snow.

The sound of fighting grew louder as they marched onward. The sound of fighting before had bothered him, but now, it was expected. He fell back behind the others as they cleared more ruins and another Rift came into view.

Around him, they readied their weapons and charged forward to join the fray. He stayed back, as told, and watched for an opportunity to close the Rift. The Seeker had been extremely clear in her instructions. He was to only try and close it when there were no more enemies. No sooner, and no later.

They made short work of the remaining enemies. Aiden watched as a man in a maroon cloak struck down the last shade. Quickly, he made his way forward and threw his arm toward the Rift. It connected with a thin green tendril, hissed and crackled, but then, instead of imploding as the others, another wave of demons was spit out. A green long-limbed demon landed in front of him, threw its head back, and unleashed a bloodcurdling screech.

"Get him out of there!" The Seeker ordered.

"MOVE BOY!"

Aiden stared with wide eyes at the demon in front of him as a toxic looking mist pooled from its feet. His mind screamed at him to turn and run, but his feet felt as if they were part of the ground, and the drum of his heart seemed to be the only thing he could feel. The demon leapt into the air and tunneled its way into the ground, disappearing from view.

"Stay out of the mist!" Someone yelled close behind him. He felt a large hand grab at the collar of his shirt and let it yank him back away from the advancing mist. The maroon clad man and the Seeker appeared at his side, a scowl on both their faces. The person holding his collar continued to drag him backwards and he found himself watching with bated breath as they charged fearlessly toward danger. Just like his sister would have.

'I can't do this. I'm not Ela, I'll never be like Ela.' Aiden thought to himself. 'I'll never be like any of them.' He watched as the two warriors engaged the tall demon without a second thought, they moved quickly, swung their swords almost effortlessly, and eventually the demon fell to their steel. Without stopping to catch their breath, they turned to engage the few remaining enemies.

The hand on his collar loosened and he pulled away quickly, angry at himself for being unable to move. Ela would have been furious at him. She would have reminded him that had he not been saved, he would be dead.

'And now she's dead.' He thought bitterly.

"Kid, close the blasted thing!" Varric yelled from the side. Aiden snapped from his thoughts and turned to see that they had won. He raced forward and closed the Rift, enduring the pain with little more than a grunt. It was getting easier to close them at least.

"Sealed as before." Solas stated, moving to his side. "You are becoming quite proficient at this."

"Let's hope it works on the big one." Varric added.

Aiden sent a quick prayer to the Maker that it would.

"Lady Cassandra, you managed to close the Rift. Well done." The man said walking towards the them.

"Do not congratulate me, Commander. This is the boy's doing." She responded, looking at Aiden.

"Is it?" The Commander asked absently. He looked at him hard, his eyebrows drawing together like he was trying to remember something and Aiden fidgeted under his gaze. "Well, I hope they're right about you. We lost a lot of people getting you here."

Aiden nodded; he knew many had died. "I hope I can be of help." He confessed, trying to avoid eye contact with him.

"I think we all do." The Commander replied. He finally turned back to the Seeker, and Aiden had to restrain himself from releasing an audible sigh. He turned to look once more at the Breach, when something caught his eye. The bright glint of chainmail.

Near a half-destroyed stone pillar, a lone Qunari stood. His arms were crossed and his crimson eyes were locked on him. Aiden's immediate instinct was to call out to him, but the look Kata wore warned him against it. If there was one thing he did know, it was when to talk, and when to stay quiet. Aiden's mind swirled with questions and new found hope grew inside of him. If Kata was alive, there was a chance his sister was too. He grinned at the thought, then quickly changed his expression when he saw Kata's stare turn to a glare.

The Seeker began to head onward and he followed suit doing his best not to stare at the Qunari. He wanted desperately to go to him and ask where Ela was. Where everyone else in the Bloody Suns was. He resisted the urge though; Kata must have had good reason for not coming to him.

They jumped down a ledge into what felt like another world. His stomach dropped at the sight. The ground was charred black and remains of people, who hours earlier were alive, littered the area. They stood where they had been when the cataclysm had happened, their bodies frozen in their dying pose. They walked through the area carefully, everything smelled of sulfur and charred flesh and his nose curled at the onslaught.

Had he not known that the Temple once stood there, he would have never guessed that it was, in fact, the Temple they stood in.

Leliana appeared from around a corner and spoke with the Seeker hurriedly. While they devised a plan, he stared up at the Breach. It seemed to overtake the entire sky and he couldn't seem to shake the sense of dread that crept up his back.

The group made their way down and the Rift at the bottom crackled and snapped. Then an apparition of Divine appeared and a voice that seemed to shake the very stones spoke. The hairs on the back of his neck pricked up, but he pushed it down and followed the Seeker. When his own voice echoed among the rubble, he nearly fell on his hands and knees. He couldn't remember anything he was hearing. Aiden did his best to compose himself.

"Keep away from this red lyrium, kid." Varric hissed tightening his grip on his crossbow. "Stuff's evil."

The Seeker mumbled her agreement and helped him down the last of the rubble. The Rift sat a few meters in the air, cracking and shifting angrily, the trail from its tip leading up to the Breach above.

Solas moved to his side. "Are you ready?"

Aiden nodded slowly his eyes never leaving the green mass.

"We will be right beside you," the Seeker said drawing her sword. "Trust in us to protect you and we will trust in you to close this thing."

Aiden looked up at the Breach, sent one last prayer to the Maker and threw his hand skyward. It connected and the familiar pain seared through his arm. Tendrils of green light shot out in every direction, blinding him. A wave of heat hit him and he backpedaled as soon as he felt the Mark disconnect.

A ferocious roar came from his right and he turned to see, to his horror, a pride demon laughing.