They were almost ready for the Breach. The moment everyone got back to Haven, the mages started to prepare for the tiring ordeal they were about to go through. The others on the council were more relieved that the Breach issue was about to be resolved, rather than the fact that Talyn had led them all into Redcliffe without so much as letting everyone know they were alright.
When they had received Alexius' invitation, they had grown worried. Apparently, Cullen was going to lead the Inquisition's full forces through the Hinterlands in search of them. That's why they had sent Leiliana.
The tavern smelled of smoke and blood. Somewhere there was a fiddle being played, but it's melodic music was drowned out by the roaring laughter of drunk soldiers. All around Talyn they were laughing, slapping each other on the back, telling war stories. She was sitting with Iron Bull and his Chargers in a corner of the room, where they were teaching her how to play Wicked Grace. It was not going well.
She furrowed her eyebrows as once again she lost. Krem was chuckling as he swept up the cards and shuffled them again.
"This game is stupid." Talyn huffed.
"You only think that because you suck at it." Skinner told her rather bluntly.
Everyone started laughing when Talyn threw an empty mug at the city elf. She neatly dodged it.
Grim stood next to Talyn and grunted. The man never smiled. It unnerved Talyn.
She stood up. "All yours Grim."
She decided she needed some fresh air. So, she weaved through the crowd towards the less used exit out of the tavern. Soldiers whooped and cheered as Talyn passed. Someone shoved a mug in her hand. She grinned at them and chugged the contents of the mug. She passed on the empty cup to someone else and finally managed to sneak out through the backdoor of the tavern.
Ever since Redcliffe, Talyn had given up on stopping everyone from revering her as a hero. As their Herald. Not because she actually believed she was the Herald of a god that was not her own, but because it was a hopeless cause. So she let them cheer and praise her.
Even though she didn't deserve it.
Talyn started walking through the dark, mostly empty streets of Haven. It was late, so everyone was either in bed or at the tavern. It was snowing again; the little snowflakes were melting in her hair. And even though she wasn't wearing a cloak, she didn't feel the cold. Not as a normal person should.
There was something dark and evil inside of Talyn. She felt it when she almost choked the life from Alexius. She heard that small voice, telling her to end him, to show to everyone else what happened when they crossed her. That darkness terrified Talyn. She didn't so much as use her bow to hunt for the entire duration of their trip back to Haven because of it.
She needed to know who she was, before the Conclave. Now it wasn't just curiosity that drove her. It was desperation. Because she felt like she was good. That she was on the side of warm sunshine and summer breezes. But when she had Alexius by his throat, when her rage was so strong she was literally on fire, the icy touch of darkness, death, and decay had been opened up to her. The side of Talyn that was buried with her memories had emerged.
And only Solas was able to bring her back from that. Only Solas had been able to draw her away from the source of her bloodlust, to bring her back from that darkness.
That also scared her. Because in that moment, she knew that Solas had a part of her heart that no one else was able to touch.
She ran into someone.
Solas steadied her before she could fall on her ass.
"Distracted, are we?" Solas smiled at her.
Talyn's face was red. "I was just thinking." She started to walk away from him.
But he walked beside her. "I was thinking as well."
"What were you thinking about?"
Solas shook his head, a small smile still on his face. "I will tell you when you tell me."
And because Solas' silver eyes always found a way to hypnotize Talyn, she couldn't help herself.
"When I had Alexius' life in my hands, there was a part of me that was telling me to kill him. And I liked that part of me. I let it consume me. If you didn't stop me, I would have snapped his neck."
She kept talking, her eyes on the ground now as they walked. "The fact that I even had that in me, and the fact that I had so easily given into it, means that I'm not... good, Solas."
Solas abruptly stopped, and grabbed her wrist, spinning Talyn around to face him. He stared at Talyn intensely, his eyes burning with passion.
"You are not evil." He said in a low voice. "You are light, Talyn. And everyone else is dark. You bring out the sun and chase away the terrors of night."
Her heart started hammering in her chest. "But I-"
Solas cut her off. "You had just come back from a future where everyone you cared about died. Your response was completely logical."
Talyn ran her free hand through her hair. "But-"
Solas caught her other hand and held both of hers tightly. "You have nothing to fear, Talyn."
Talyn looked down at their joined hands, then back up at Solas' face. "That day… my hands were on fire. They burned Alexius, and Dorian. But… they didn't burn you."
Solas' face was unreadable, as usual. But he answered, "no, they did not."
Solas abruptly looked up at the ebony and emerald sky. "It is late. Tomorrow will require much energy, for both of us."
Talyn looked up at the sky as well. "You're right."
But she wasn't quite ready to leave Solas' side just yet. She felt disappointed. He walked her to her little home, and they stopped to say their goodbyes in front of her door, where icicles hung dangerously from the roof.
Solas smiled at her again. She would never understand how Solas could smile, and still keep his thoughts from showing on his face.
"Goodnight Talyn." He turned to leave.
"Solas?" Talyn said.
He faced her again. "Yes?"
"What were you thinking about?"
Pain flashed across his features briefly. "About a time long before this one."
He turned and left.
They were back at the Temple of Sacred Ashes. The sky was dark and ominous, and the wind howled through the broken pillars of what was once a magnificent temple. There seemed to be more shards of red lyrium than there had been the last time Talyn had come here. They seemed to be growing like trees. The rebel mages of Redcliffe were all wearing the same dark blue robes, each with their staves in front of them, the jewels on each one glowing faintly in reaction to the Breach above them. An Inquisition soldier stood between each mage, their swords drawn, and their faces set in deadly determination.
"Demons may appear." Solas had warned them, which was why Talyn was standing in the middle of the ruins, her own sword drawn. She requested that no one else be below on the ground with her. Whatever happened, she needed to take care of it herself. Everyone was furious with her decision. Cassandra had slapped her across the face, thinking that would bring some sense into her. Eventually they came around, when Solas had said that it was probably a good idea that Talyn be by herself. No one would know what would happen in the process of closing the Breach, and Talyn would be the safest, since she had the mark.
Her marked hand was burning, the pain shooting up her arm, making it impossible for her to use her bow. It was because of the nearness of the Breach, the cause of her mark. Talyn hoped that with the closing of the Breach, her mark, and the pain associated with it, would disappear as well.
Solas was standing with the other mages, standing out amongst the dark blue. Although everyone was watching her, she could feel his gaze.
Fiona was barking commands from somewhere within the ring of mages. Talyn could feel the Breach awaken, could feel it's life force coursing through her bones, like it was a living, breathing being instead of a portal to another world. She felt her own blood awaken in response, her body tingling with pent up energy, her marked hand burning. Her body started to glow, her markings started to swirl, the light pulsing like a heartbeat.
She looked up at the dark sky broken by emeralds, her breath being swept out of her body like she was in the middle of a windstorm. Her left hand was pulling her, so she didn't fight it. She let it rise in the air, the mark calling the Breach, begging to go home.
The jewels on the staves of each mage started to glow brighter, and light shot from the staves into the sky. Talyn could feel the life of each mage, each soldier in the area. It was like they were suddenly one being, one entity.
Talyn started to gasp for air. But she held on. She held on more dearly than she had held onto future Solas, pouring every ounce of energy into staying upright, staying conscious.
There was a crack, like a bolt of lightning, and shades crawled from beneath the ground, their hunger for human life oozing out of every pour of their being.
"Talyn!" She heard Cassandra frantically shout from above.
Talyn whirled around and cut down the demons that had risen in response to their portal being closed.
The wind was blowing harder now, pulling Talyn's hair out of its braid and making it fly this way and that. A rage demon clamped its fiery hands on Talyn's arm, singing her armor. She brought her blade down on the demon's wrists and shook the severed hands off before it could burn through her ebony armor. The demon's screeches were cut off when its head was cut from its shoulders.
A crack of thunder boomed above them as the sky turned black, the clouds spinning around the Breach like a whirlpool. Green light illuminated Talyn, turning her skin a sickly shade of pale. There were sparks coming from the mark.
More demons were appearing faster than Talyn could cut them down, each one hell bent on protecting the Breach. They were even starting to make their way to the mages. The Inquisition soldiers fled the mage's sides to kill the demons before they could reach them.
She felt someone at her back. When she turned, she saw Solas fighting off the demons beside her, the light turning his skin the same shade of sickly pale.
Panic set in. "What the hell are you doing?!" Talyn screamed above the roaring thunder and vicious wind.
Solas didn't respond, but she felt the tingling sensation of a shield being formed around her.
So Talyn pushed even harder through her pain, her loss of breath. It wasn't just her now that she had to protect, it was him.
There was a ringing now, like a musical note.
"Now Talyn!" Solas shouted.
She already knew what he meant. Talyn lifted her hand in the air once more and called the Breach.
White hot pain was all Talyn felt before the world turned black.
"Talyn?! Talyn?!" Someone was frantically shaking her.
Talyn coughed and opened her eyes. Then immediately shut them. It was too bright.
"She's alive!" She identified the voice as Fiona.
"Thank the Maker!" Cried Cassandra.
Someone lifted her in their arms. She felt something stab her side. It felt like bone.
"It's over, Talyn." That soft, gentle voice that was all too familiar to Talyn said in her ear. "We did it. The Breach is closed."
Talyn let sleep take her again.
She woke up in her bed, with a low fire crackling softly. Over the sound of the popping wood Talyn could hear laughter and music. The moonlight filtered through her window, illuminating the dust particles in the air.
She looked down at her hand, and saw the mark shimmering faintly. Disappointment fell over her like a dark cloud.
Her head ached, her muscles were sore, but aside from that Talyn felt fine. Normal, except for her disappointment. Her mark hadn't disappeared, and she hadn't regained her memories in the closing of the Breach. But she knew it was closed. She couldn't feel its presence in her veins, couldn't hear it's heartbeat echoing in the back of her mind.
She got out of bed, slowly, wincing as her sore muscles protested. She quickly pulled on her armor. She couldn't walk around in anything else. It was like her armor was a part of her, like her second skin. She put her knives where they were supposed to go and headed out into the town that was alive with the sound of celebrations.
She looked up at the sky and saw thousands of stars glittering like jewels against a black canvas. There was no more emerald cloud.
She grinned.
She made her way down to the tavern that was overflowing with people. Along the way, people laughed and cheered when they saw Talyn, hugging her tightly and jumping around like children. Their elation was contagious. Talyn found herself grinning, her heartbeat quickening with excitement.
She pushed passed the crowds and shoved her way into the tavern. Iron Bull was the first to spot her.
"Someone get the Herald of Andraste a beer!" He shouted.
At his words, the tavern turned quiet, and everyone turned to look at Talyn.
She felt her face growing warmer with each second the silence lasted.
Then the entire tavern shook with the roar of cheers that erupted in that tiny space. Talyn was lifted by Krem and Stitches, and she sat on their shoulders as they paraded her around the tavern. Every single person in that room started to chant, their voices rattling the very ceiling, "Herald! Herald! Herald!"
Talyn was laughing, her face beet red. But her heart soared. They had done it. It was over. The world was safe now, safe from being swallowed whole by the Fade.
She saw in the far corner of the tavern a lone elf with silver eyes. He smiled and lifted his mug in cheers.
Talyn grinned back at him.
Everything was going to be alright.
Until there was a deep, booming sound. Like thunder that echoed through the mountains, a song of terror and nightmares. Talyn's sharp ears was the first to hear it above the roar of the crowd. She immediately fixated her eyes on the ceiling, becoming stiff, her hand gripping her mug so tightly her knuckles turned white.
Everyone else grew quiet as the second boom sounded, making the hairs on the back of Talyn's neck stand up.
Somewhere deep inside of her, a resemblance of a memory stirred, stretching it's long forgotten legs.
She knew that sound.
Talyn hopped off of Krem and Stitches shoulders, her mug of beer clattering to the ground and splashing a few pairs of boots.
"GET TO SHELTER!" Talyn screamed above what she now knew was a roar that was becoming louder. She started to shove past the men and women in the tavern. "RUN TO THE CHANTRY!"
Iron Bull met Talyn's wide eyes.
"DRAGOOOON!" He boomed.
Everyone started to scream and shout. Inquisition soldiers quickly scrambled for their weapons, children were nearly trampled as everyone tried to shove their way out of the narrow exit from the tavern.
Talyn looked for Solas, but he had disappeared into the crowd. So Talyn scrambled onto a table near a window and rammed her elbow into the glass. She jumped through the shattered window. People fought to get out through the window behind her.
As she ran up to her cabin, she shouted for everyone to run for the chantry. She saw Leiliana and Dorian do the same.
Talyn kicked in her door, and grabbed her sword, quiver and bow. But when she ran back outside, there was a sight so horrifying it made her stop in her tracks. It made her blood freeze in her veins.
From her vantage point on the hill, Talyn saw an army of angry molten faces and black daggers of poison. She saw creatures with red crystals sticking out of them, carrying torches with fire so red it truly looked like it was bleeding.
An actual tear ran down her face. Their little sanctuary had no chance against a demon army and a dragon.
The wind kicked up, and she heard the sound of flapping wings. Talyn nearly dropped her bow in her scramble to cover her ears as her very bones rattled. A huge, black shadow filled the sky and blocked the stars, its wings spread out so wide it covered the entire moon. A bright, burning column of fire burst from the inky black monster.
Talyn raced to the gate to Haven, praying to each of her gods that the gates were shut. Cassandra, Solas, Cullen, Josephine, and Leiliana were already at the gates.
"Our scouts report a massive army, the bulk of it on the other side of the mountain." Cullen reported.
"Under what banner?" Josephine asked.
Everyone just looked at each other, the silence turning to dread as the realization that they did not know who this enemy was sank in.
Someone banged on the gates. "I want to help!" A young boy's voice came through.
Talyn looked at the others in alarm.
"I can't come in unless you open the gate! I want to help!"
On an impulse, Talyn unlatched the gate and shoved it open, ignoring the shouts telling her to stop.
A young man stumbled through, and Talyn quickly shut the gate.
"Who are you?" She demanded.
He looked about eighteen. He wore a wide brimmed hat that covered most of his face. But when he looked up at Talyn, she saw a pair of the most gentle, deep blue eyes she had ever seen. But they were wide with terror.
"I am Cole. I came to help you! To warn you!" The boy said. "There are bad people coming! They want to hurt you." He stammered, his eyes glazing over.. "You probably already know."
"What is this?!" Talyn demanded, grabbing the boy by the shoulders and making him focus. "What's going on?"
Cole's face grew somber, and in a solemn voice that sounded far older than he was, he said, "the Templars are coming to kill you."
"Templars?!" Cullen growled, stomping over to Cole. The boy flinched and jerked away from him. "Is this the Order's response to our talks with the mages? Attacking Haven!"
Cole looked frightened. "The Red Templars went to the Elder One." His eyes went straight to Talyn.
Talyn was so still her heart was barely beating.
"You know him?" Cole grew frantic. "He knows you. You took his mages!" He pointed to a hill in the distance.
"There."
Talyn saw a monster. He was tall, and ghastly, on his head grew crystals the wrapped around it, like some kind of helmet. On his face was so much rage, and black hatred.
Talyn met the other's horrified eyes, her heartbeat racing with barely concealed panic.
"He's very angry that you took his mages." Cole went on. "So he took the Templars."
"Cullen! Give me a plan!" Talyn barked at him.
Cullen had deadly determination on his face, his voice was stone. "Haven is no fortress. If we are to win, we must control the battle. Get out there and hit that force. Use everything you can."
"Our main concern right now is getting everyone to safety." Talyn's mind was crystal clear. There was so much adrenaline in her body that her limbs were shaking with energy. She was terrified, but it was her terror that made her think so clearly.
She looked to Cassandra. "You have to start getting everyone to the Chantry. It's the sturdiest building in the whole town." And the only one made purely out of stone.
"Yes, Herald." Cassandra started to run.
Talyn looked up at the sky. The dragon wasn't doing anything, just circling the moon. She looked to Solas. "Grab as many mages as you can and ward the Chantry. We have to keep that dragon from baking us for as long as we can."
He nodded once and grabbed two mages by the arms, taking them with him.
She turned to Cullen. "Are you ready?"
Cullen unsheathed his sword and held it in the air, facing the Inquisition soldiers that had gathered around the gate, each one with their swords drawn, their faces pale with fear.
"Inquisition! You have sanction to engage the enemy. Be quick, he will not make it easy!" He pointed his sword at the gate. Two men shoved it open. "Follow the Herald!"
Talyn slung her bow across her back and unsheathed her sword. Talyn shouted a war cry and ran through the gate, a chorus of shouts echoing behind her. They ran down the mountain path, straight for the catapults that waited for them.
Men climbed onto the catapults and immediately went to work on loading it. Talyn attacked the demons and "red" Templars that tried to kill those who were working on the catapults. Cole had named them perfectly, the red Templars. Shards of what looked to be red lyrium sprouted from them like fungus in the forest. There was a red haze about them, like when Talyn had traveled a year into the future and saw her friends poisoned with red lyrium.
There were stronger than normal men. She saw Iron Bull swinging his massive sword, easily cutting down the enemy. Dorian, who she hadn't seen since they arrived in Haven, was also fighting alongside the Qunari, the fire from his staff illuminating that mountain path, making the blood-spattered snow sparkle like rubies and diamonds.
Skinner weaved through the battlefield, her deadly daggers moving too fast for the eye to see. Dalish was attacking from above, her "bow" shooting lightning.
Talyn saw a shade moving sluggishly towards Dalish. The elf didn't even notice.
Talyn sheathed her sword and pulled out her bow, knocking an arrow in and shooting the shade that would have killed the mage.
"HERALD!" Someone shouted.
Talyn turned just in time to see a red Templar bringing his sword down on Talyn. She barely dodged the sword. She felt her cheek sting. She pulled one of her daggers from her boot and shoved it in the Templar's neck. Blood spurted from the wound, splashing across Talyn's face. She ripped the dagger out of his neck and unsheathed her sword, attacking with both the dagger and the sword.
The catapults were intact, but they were still losing the battle. They were simply too overwhelmed. There were thousands of the demon army, and just a few hundred of the Inquisition. Their forces crashed down on them like tidal waves, taking out more and more of their people with each one.
Dalish was still high above them. There was a man, with red shards sticking out of him, right behind her.
"DALISH!" Talyn shouted.
It was too late though. Talyn barely had her bow in her hands before the man plunged a dagger in the elf's back.
Time moved slowly as Talyn watched in horror as the life fled Dalish's eyes and her body tumble off of the cliff.
She watched Skinner's head roll over the snow, a red Templar wielding a battleaxe grinning wickedly above her corpse that was gushing blood.
"NO!" She screamed, hot tears rolling down her blood-stained cheeks. She could hear the Chargers shouting as well.
She watched Iron Bull charge at the demons, not even bothering with his sword anymore. She watched him bash a red templars skull in with just his bare hands, grief and pain and rage pouring from him.
"Herald, we have to retreat!" Cullen shouted over the song of war.
Talyn barely heard him. Just like in the Redcliffe castle, her rage and anguish consumed her. Her markings glowed more brightly as she moved like a tiny whirlwind, her anger so potent that she sliced through the red Templar's armor like it was nothing more than cloth.
"TALYN!" Cullen barely blocked her blow as he dashed in front of her. Talyn held her sword there, breathing hard, her face set in a growl. Cullen looked at her wide terrified, worried eyes.
It took Talyn a moment for her to realize that Cullen was not the enemy. She took a step back and put down her sword.
"We have to retreat! There are too many!" He told her.
Her rage had dimmed enough for her to come to her senses. She nodded.
"RETREAT!" She shouted, running back up the mountain path.
The masses started to follow her as everyone started shouting for everyone else to retreat. The demon army followed them. They all ran back through the gates to Haven, and when they were all in they shut the gate.
They only had a few minutes before they were at the gates. It looked like Cassandra got the others in the Chantry though.
"Bar the gates!" Talyn ordered.
Men started to scramble for the thick pieces of wood that were used to go over the gates.
"Talyn…" Iron Bull's voice was thick with emotion.
"I know, Bull." Talyn said, tears in her own voice. "I know."
The dragon roared, it's voice freezing Talyn's heart.
"We need to get to the Chantry!" Cullen told her. "It's the only building that'll hold against that… beast!"
So they started to run up the hill to the Chantry.
A bright flame lit up the sky, hitting some of the houses. It's heat so intense the thick blanket of snow surrounding the area instantly melted.
She heard the screams of those who got caught in the flame.
"Help! Help!" Someone screamed. Talyn saw a little girl frantically screaming, her mother lying under a large, burning piece of wood. She wasn't moving.
Talyn grabbed the child.
"No! You have to help my mommy!" She cried.
"I can't sweetie, I'm sorry."
She, and what was left of the Inquisition, shoved their way into the Chantry.
"Lilly!" Someone cried, running towards Talyn, who was still holding the little girl. She handed Lilly off to her relative and went straight for her council.
But then she stopped when she saw Cole passing her, helping Chancellor Roderick walk. The older man was holding a hand to his abdomen, his robes stained red.
"He tried to stop a Templar." Cole explained with eerie calm when he saw her gaze. "The blade went right through him. He's going to die."
"What a charming boy." Roderick managed to spit sarcastically through his grunts of pain.
"Herald!" Cullen ran up to her. "Our position isn't good. We don't know when that dragon is going to strike again. It'll kill everyone in Haven!"
"The Elder One doesn't care about the villagers." Cole said, his clear blue eyes on Talyn. "He just wants her."
"If it'll save these people, he can have me!"
And Talyn meant it too. If giving herself up to this Elder One would save all of these lives, she would do it. She would do anything to prevent more death.
"It won't work." Cole said. "He wants to kill you, everyone else doesn't matter. But he'll kill them anyways. He'll crush them."
"There…" Roderick coughed. "I…"
Cole tilted his head, his eyes unfocusing. Then he looked to a door.
"Yes, that-" He said to no one in particular.
Then he looked back at Cullen and Talyn. "Chancellor Roderick can help. He wants to say it before he dies."
Talyn was going to have to question her sanity on letting this strange boy in when this was all over. She knelt next to the cot that he was lying on.
"What is it, Chancellor?" She asked gently as he wheezed.
"There is a path. You wouldn't know it-" he coughed, "you wouldn't know it unless you made the pilgrimage, as I have." He struggled to sit up, his voice growing stronger. "Andraste showed it to me. She must have showed it to me, so I could tell you. Maybe… maybe you are the Herald."
"No, Roderick. I'm just an elf. But I appreciate the apology." Talyn said gently.
She stood up and faced Cullen.
"Will it work?" She asked.
"Yes, it would. But even if we escape the army, there's still the problem with that damn dragon!" Cullen growled in frustration. "It could kill us in a moment's notice."
Talyn looked around the room. At all of the dirt smudged faces with tear tracks, the hopelessness she saw in each pair of eyes that met her own. If they didn't leave the Chantry now, the demon army was going to break through those gates and slaughter them all.
She saw Iron Bull sitting with Stitches, who was patching up the Qunari, his face expressionless. She saw Solas walking around the room, healing those he could.
She saw Cassandra running around the Chantry helping to bar the doors and board up the windows.
In her mind's eye, she saw Dalish's smiling face as she tried to tell Talyn that her staff was a bow. She heard her telling her all the stories of their people that Talyn had forgotten. She saw Skinner laughing as Krem taught Talyn how to play Wicked Grace.
Talyn slung her bow across her back. "The Elder One wants me. So he'll get me."
"What, Talyn? Are you insane?" Cullen asked her.
"I can keep that dragon, and that army, distracted long enough for you to get everyone safely away from Haven."
"No." Solas appeared from nowhere, his voice panicked. "You can't, Talyn. He will kill you."
Talyn gave him her best fake reassuring smile she could. "No he won't, Solas. How many times should I have died by now? I'll be fine."
"Let me come with you, then."
"No."
"Talyn, you can't go alone!" Cullen also protested.
Talyn started walking towards the exit. The room was quiet, except for those who whispered soft prayers for Talyn, their voices solemn and thick with tears as they realized what Talyn was about to do.
"May the Maker protect you."
That was what they whispered to Talyn.
When she reached the door, Talyn turned to look at her friends one more time. Varric, Dorian, Leiliana, Cassandra, and Iron Bull all stared back with pride burning in their eyes.
Varric walked up to Talyn. "Well, Firefly. Good luck. Try not to die."
"Make them bleed." Iron Bull said to her, his voice little more than a growl.
"We'll need more than a few minutes." Cassandra told her. She seemed to be one of the only ones who wasn't protesting Talyn's decision.
"I'll give you all the time in the world." Talyn reassured her. "I'll blast that fucking dragon out of the sky if that's what it takes."
Talyn couldn't bring herself to say anything else to them. Couldn't make her voice form words. She just listened to them. Then, without looking at Solas once, Talyn turned around and walked out the door into the cold, burning village.
She heard the booming of something heavy being shoved against the gates. The dragon roared above her. All Talyn could see outside the wall of Haven was an ocean of bleeding fires and doom.
She ran to the wall opposite of where the army was, and jumped, grabbing hold of two of the columns of wood and hoisting herself up and over it. She ran through the deep snow to the tallest hill that was far from Haven, but very much visible to the tall monstrous figure presiding over the siege.
She grabbed her bow and aimed an arrow at the Elder One. She let the arrow loose. As she had predicted, the arrow bounced off of his magic shield. But it got his attention. His hideously deformed head whipped around in the direction of Talyn, his eyes burning with the hatred of a thousand worlds.
"ELDER ONE!" Talyn shouted, letting loose another arrow in his direction. He dodged it.
"COME AND GET ME!"
The dragon above them roared. The Elder One barked orders to his army, and they abandoned the gates, running towards Talyn instead.
Talyn started to run. She ran towards the white capped trees sloping gently up the mountainside. The darkness sheltered her, her black armor for once becoming useful as she darted through the trees, fighting to stay ahead of the thousands that wanted her dead.
The higher Talyn ran up the snowy mountainside, the harder it was to breathe. The icy air stabbed at her throat and froze her lungs, and her sore body burned with the effort it took her. The one thing that kept her going was her friends, her people, who were now on their way safely out of the town.
She heard the dragon's roar, so loud it shook the mountainside. She heard a crack of what sounded like thunder, and then the sky was ablaze. Talyn felt intense heat behind her, and then the trees started to pop and groan. The air started to grow thick with smoke. Talyn pushed herself to go faster.
She cleared the trees and found herself to be on a cliff, high above Haven. The forest was burning, the embers rising high in the sky. The dragon was circling the forest, letting loose it's flames every so often, as if hoping to catch Talyn in the blaze.
Talyn grabbed her bow and aimed an arrow at the beast.
It bounced off of its inky black scales. Its massive head whipped around to her direction, snarling like a wolf, it's fangs twice as long as Talyn was. It roared, and a blast of blood red fire came hurtling right at her.
She managed to get out of the way just in time, landing in the snow on her stomach while the fire hit the mountain and melted the snow with its intense heat. A wall of steam went up in the air, making it impossible for Talyn to see anything. Then, she saw him. The tall, monstrous shape of the "Elder One" walking out of the mist.
Talyn went to get back on her feet, but she was blown back by an invisible force.
"Enough!" His voice was deep and oily, and it made Talyn shiver like a thousand snakes was sliding up her body. He was so thin, his ribs were poking out from underneath his deformed skin, his shoulders bulging with black stone that seemed to be growing from him. "Your days of toying with forces you do not understand are over, Pretender."
"What are you?!" Talyn demanded. The whooshing of the dragon's wings above their head was so loud that she had to shout over it.
The Elder One scoffed. "Mortals, always asking questions they are too weak to understand."
"I am not weak." Talyn spat at him.
"Mortal or not, you are still weak."
Before Talyn had a chance to defend herself, she found that she was hanging in the air, one his dry, skeletal hands wrapped around her neck. She made choking sounds as she fought for her. She clawed at his fingers, swung her legs to try to kick him.
"Know me, know what you have pretended to be."
He brought her closer to him so that Talyn could smell the decay on his breath and could see the evil in his blood red eyes. "Exalt the Elder One, the will that is Corypheus."
He dropped her, and Talyn gasped for air, clutching her throat that was throbbing with pain. She fought to get to her feet.
"You will kneel."
Talyn shook her head. "Never!" She shouted, which threw her into a coughing fit.
Corypheus pulled out an ebony orb that familiar symbols wrapped around it's surface. "I will get what I want, either way. I am here to take back what you have stolen from me, the Anchor which you have so misused."
The orb started to glow.
"The process for removing it begins now."
Talyn cried out in pain and clutched her left hand. It felt exactly like when she had first woken up so long ago. Her legs trembled with the strength it took to keep her upright, black dots darted in and out of her vision.
"It's your fault." Corypheus spoke above her cries. "You interrupted a ritual years in the planning when you appeared in that temple. And instead of dying, you have stolen its purpose. I do not know how it is that you were able to materialize out of air in that room, or how you were able to survive the process. But that thing that marks you as Touched, Blessed, the thing you that fling at rifts like a toy, I crafted to assault the very heavens."
With a flick of his wrist, he had Talyn on the ground, face first in the snow. The agony was so unbearable, Talyn couldn't move. She couldn't do anything but stay doubled over as whatever device Corypheus was using sucked out her soul.
"And you used it to destroy my work!" He shouted, the sound like a million glass shards in her ears. "The gall!"
"W-What is this thing meant to do?!" Talyn managed to shout back.
"It brings certainty where there is uncertainty. For you, the certainty that I will always come for it."
Corypheus reached down and grabbed her by the wrist, lifting her up in the air again. He spoke while he stared at it. "I once breached the Fade in the name of another, to serve the Old Gods of the Empire in person. I found only chaos and corruption, and dead whispers. For a thousand years I was left confused, but no more. I have gathered the will to enter under no name but my own. I will save the Empire and this blighted world."
He leaned forward so that he could whisper in her ear. "Beg that I succeed, for I searched for the throne of the gods, and found it was empty!"
A crack of lightning jolted through Talyn's body, making her cry out again. She was thrown against the rock wall of the mountain.
"The Anchor is permanent. You have spoiled it with your stumbling." He spoke with disgust. "Now I must find a new way to take the Throne. But so be it. I will do whatever it takes to give this world the God it requires."
Then he walked back into the mist, and the beast that had been circling them in the sky hovered in the air, it's scaly mouth pulled back to show its large ivory teeth. The booming sound of it's roar made Talyn's ears sting.
Talyn snarled back at the beast, The sound as familiar as her own heartbeat. She reached behind her to pull out an arrow from her quiver. Her bow was too far away to dive for, and her arm was still shaking to the point where she couldn't even have used it anyways.
The dragon and Talyn both stared the other down.
Talyn thought back to Dalish, and Skinner, and that little girl whose mother would never sing her to sleep again. She thought of her friends, of future Solas bleeding to death in Talyn's arms.
The dragon roared and flapped its massive wings, diving straight towards Talyn.
It angered Talyn. So much rage at the pain and suffering she had to witness made her markings start to glow, made her hands to catch that strange blue fire.
It was all because of this Corypheus, and his fucking dragon.
Talyn sprinted towards the edge of the cliff, shouting a war cry. She pushed off the edge and jumped into the empty air. The dragon's head rose above her, smoke curling from it's nostrils. The dragon's roar was deafening. But Talyn roared right back as she brought her sword on it's head.
But there was a loud BOOM! Talyn was shoved back by the force of it, and so was the dragon. The dragon spun out of control and slammed into the mountainside.
Talyn hit a rock wall, hitting the back of her head and falling to the ground.
The ground started to rumble, and the rocks clattering together like a tragic lullaby. The mountain groaned.
Talyn saw a giant wall of white rolling towards her.
Avalanche.
For some reason, Talyn held her breath as the snow hit her.