Scout to the north. Be their guide.

Talyn did just that. With the help of her companions, Talyn had their people ready to leave for their new home at first light. Every man, woman, and child followed Talyn unquestioningly. Cold, hungry, and afraid, they all trusted Talyn to lead them to a safe place. A haven. As she led them north, what was left of the Inquisition marched on either side of the civilians, their wide hungry eyes alert for whatever danger could be lurking the in the frozen mountain peaks. Talyn told Leiliana to put her scouts to work, sending them in all directions to look for signs of Corypheus and whatever was left of his army. Talyn wouldn't let them be ambushed again.

She also sent the hunters with the scouts. If they came across any animal, no matter how big or small, they were to kill it, to feed her starving people.

Her people. It was strange for Talyn to say it, to even think it. But that is what they were. They were her people. Her family. The only memories Talyn had were of the people she had fought alongside the past few months. Even Cassandra, who originally wanted Talyn executed, was someone that Talyn would die for.

And she knew they would die for her in a heartbeat.

Talyn stayed far ahead of the group, looking for signs of the fortress Solas told her about. But if she saw the lone mountain cat or goat, she shot it down so others could be fed. Solas was never far behind her. She couldn't see him most of the time, but she felt his presence.

After a few days of trudging through knee deep snow, the harsh mountain let up on them. The sun was a little stronger, there was a little less snow. Talyn and her hunters found more and more prey, and the people grew stronger.

One night, Talyn was sitting alone at the council's campfire. Most people were sleeping, huddling together for warmth. But Talyn couldn't sleep. All she could think about was that beautiful red haired elf woman, the one that felt so familiar to her. The strong, powerful huntress that made Talyn feel so safe, for a short while.

Look what you made me do.

Who the hell was Talyn? What was her subconscious trying to tell her, what sort of evil monster was she?

"Well, look who it is. The elf who came back from the dead." Dorian sat down next to her.

"Hello Dorian."

"So. It looks like we'll be battling my master's "Elder One", hm?"

It seemed that way. "What do you know of this Corypheus?" She asked him.

Dorian shrugged. "Not much. He wants to restore Tevinter to it's former glory. He believes he's a true god, and he wants into the Black City. That's all I know. But…"

"But?"

"Judging from his appearance, I wouldn't be surprised that he wasn't one of the first darkspawn."

"An ancient Tevinter magister."

"Correct." Dorian seemed pleased that Talyn had caught on.

So, what Corypheus had been saying to her at the Battle of Haven could be true. He was a myth turned into flesh.

Talyn ran a hand through her hair. "How are we going to fight someone immortal?"

"Everything has a weakness. I thought Alexius was nearly undefeatable, until I saw your hands wrapped around his throat." Dorian reassured her.

"Right. Because that's so reassuring. Corypheus has a dragon and a demon army. Alexius is just a man."

"The avalanche wiped out most of his army." Dorian grinned. "What's ironic is that the avalanche was caused by his own dragon."

Dorian patted her shoulder. "Cheer up now, Herald. All is not lost."

She sighed. "How is Bull doing?"

Dorian's face grew solemn. He turned his eyes to the ground. "Bull was close to Skinner and Dalish. I suggest you give him space, Herald. When he's ready to talk, he'll find you."

And all Talyn wanted to do was comfort her friend.

"Alright, Dorian. Thank you for taking care of him."

Dorian smiled. "Of course."

Dorian left Talyn back to her thoughts.

Talyn was deep in the snow-covered trees. The sun that poked through the thick canopy of evergreens made the icicles hanging precariously off the branches sparkle, the snow glittered. The forest was quiet, peaceful. Most of the camp was still sleeping, miles away from where Talyn was.

She was running, her feet light on the snow-covered ground. She had left her sword in the camp, but she held her bow in her right hand, her eyes trained on her target that was a few hundred feet ahead of her.

The buck was huge, it's twisted white antlers long and thick with age. He was stripping the bark off of the trees with his antlers, trying to make a meager meal out of the harsh mountain environment. Talyn slowed, and dropped into a crouch, hidden from the buck's view. Slowly, she pulled an arrow from her quiver and knocked it into her bow.

The buck suffered a quick, painless death, the arrow going directly through it's eye.

Talyn worked quickly. She yanked the arrow out of his eye and hoisted it over her shoulder. He was heavy, but Talyn didn't want to ruin it's coat by dragging him. The halla's coat could be turned into clothing that one of the refugees could use.

But something in the distance caught her eye, just as she was about to turn around. She set the buck down and walked further into the forest.

Just a few feet from where the halla was standing, the forest abruptly stopped. Talyn wouldn't have been able to see it, had she not seen a glint in the distance. Like glass reflecting light. She stood at the edge of the cliff, looking out at the huge structure so close she felt like she could touch it.

It was a castle so tall it touched the sky. It was like it's own mountain, nothing but a bridge connecting it to the rest of the world. She could see the massive gate that led inside was broken down, a tower was collapsed.

Look to the north.

Excitement made her pulse beat faster.

She ran past the completely forgotten buck. She ran faster than she ever had, the trees nothing but a blur.

"I FOUND IT!" She shouted through the half asleep camp. People with bleary eyes sat up from their mats around the fires, watching Talyn run through the camp like a mad woman.

"Andraste's tits Talyn, what are you talking about?" Varric asked her as she passed by.

She looked back at him as she ran. "Hurry, pack your things!"

People started to scramble for their things, rolling their mats and preparing what few horses they had left. No one knew what Talyn was talking about, but they did what they were told anyways.

"What are you doing, Talyn?" A very disgruntled Cassandra asked, her short dark hair sticking straight up.

"Our home. I found it." Talyn told her.

She was immediately awake, smoothing down her hair and barking out orders.

Talyn went back ahead to look for the path that would lead them to their new home. She found a sloping pathway not far from her original spot on the cliff that would lead them down to the road. She cleared the path of debris from the forest, before returning to the camp to gather the others.

The afternoon sun was high in the sky when Talyn stood in front of the collapsed gate, watching the Inquisition soldiers clear a path. Talyn was overwhelmed with excitement, and pride. For weeks these people had been surviving the dangerous mountain, often succumbing to frostbite that not even the mages could heal, or slowly starving to death. But now, they had a chance to rebuild their lives. They had a chance to be happy, and safe, something that Talyn had taken away from them by merely being in Haven.

Had she not have been there, Corypheus wouldn't have burned the town, and the mountainside down. People wouldn't be dead because of her. Dalish and Skinner… they would still be alive if it wasn't for Talyn.

At least she had started to make up for what she had done.

Solas appeared by her side. She didn't hear him coming. With Talyn's superior hearing, she always knew when someone was approaching her, except for Solas. It was like he glided over the ground like a wraith. His calm demeanor was slightly marred by something in his silver eyes, but as usual, Talyn couldn't tell what it was.

"What is this place?" Talyn asked him, if only distract him from that look in his eyes.

Solas always seemed pleased whenever Talyn asked him a question. "In the common tongue, it is called Skyhold. But it's original name is Tarasyl'an Te'las."

That name triggered something inside Talyn. It felt familiar, as if she had heard it before.

Solas was watching her closely.

"The Place Where The Sky Was Held Back." Talyn said quietly.

He smiled, his eyes still trained on her. "Yes. I'm pleasantly surprised by your knowledge of the elvhen language. Through time, the elves have forgotten much of it."

Talyn responded without thinking. "Elvhenor ta' ma' lanalin av."

She frowned. She said Elvish is my mother tongue. But how would she know that about herself? She couldn't remember anything from her past. Why would she say something like that?

Unless…

"Ar eolasa." Solas responded.

I know.

How could he have known?

"Herald! We're in!" A soldier shouted to her.

Talyn took a deep breath to regain her composure. She looked at Solas with an excited smile and walked with him through the gate.

The people scrambled through the gate, falling to their knees and kissing the frosty ground. Talyn could already hear Cassandra giving out orders. Cut wood to repair the gate, gather wood for the blacksmith's fires. Cullen was already planning on how to defend Skyhold.

Talyn wanted to join them, to help. But something called to her, some unknown entity that had her walking through the castle grounds and up some stone steps. She already knew what part of the castle lay behind those doors.

A worn, moth eaten red rug led from the doors to a silver throne, it's arms and legs carved into wolf paws. The back of the chair was made into the face of a wolf, it's eternal snarl a threat to all that entered this room. There was rubble everywhere, and light poured in from a hole in the ceiling. There were no paintings to indicate who resided within these walls.

Talyn ran her hand over the stone wall as she walked. There were no paintings, but Talyn could almost picture what this room used to look like in it's glory days. The vision was blurry, as if she was looking through aged glass. But she could see the large chandeliers that used to hang from the ceiling. She could see the red rug, brand new with silver lining it.

She suddenly closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. Her head was pounding now.

She already knew to turn left when she approached the throne. The door was stuck, so she had to use her whole-body weight to get it to open. She went up the stairs slowly, taking her time. When she arrived in the master chambers, she could almost hear the crackling of the fire, but the stone fireplace hadn't held a flame in centuries. This room looked in better shape than the throne room. As if time hadn't touched it.

The bed was only made on one side, although the thick layer of dust showed that no one had slept in it for a while. The side of the bed that was neat had black imprints of what had once probably been flowers, but time had turned them to dust. Like everything else in this castle.

Why did she feel like she walked through this castle before? No one had been here in centuries, that much was obvious. And yet, she felt like once she had called this place home.

She couldn't be in this room anymore. Her headache was gradually getting worse. She fled the room, returning to the throne room.

She found Solas sitting in the silver throne, running his hands over the paws on the arms of it. He looked distant, as if he was remembering something from long ago. Upon her entering, Solas stood up.

"Follow me." He told her, without looking at her.

Talyn followed him curiously as he walked through another door that was invisible to the rest of the room.

This room was a nightmare. It looked as if a storm had swept through the room. Furniture was broken and thrown across the room. A mirror was shattered. Everything was covered in dust, just like the rest of the throne room.

But the mess of the room isn't what caught Talyn's eye. It was the large mural that took up the entire back wall. There were three long slashes in the painting, marring the faces of the people in the mural. The woman in the mural was tall, with pale hair and…

Blue lyrium markings coated her skin.

Talyn's pulse quickened.

Solas started at the end of the mural, where a black wolf and the woman faced each other The wolf was snarling, his glowing eyes full of anger. The woman was pointing an arrow at him. The background was black in this part, showing nothing but the two of them. He stared at it for a long while before he said anything.

"I have not seen one of these in a long time." He finally said, quietly.

"What is it?" Talyn asked, trying to cover her desperation with mere curiosity.

Solas looked at her, smiling at her question. "It is perhaps the only depiction of Fen'Harel as something other than a monster."

Fen'Harel. The throne was shaped in the form of a wolf.

"Was this.."

"No, this is not Fen'Harel's home. Probably someone who once worshipped him."

Talyn stood next to him, looking up at that first part of the mural.

"Tell me the story, Solas."

"Fen'Harel had many enemies. Many of them had tried to kill him, but none had succeeded. One of his greatest enemies decided to send someone else to carry out the task, the most dangerous elf in all of Elvhenan. She was a huntress of extraordinary skill. She hunted him, watched him, and waited patiently for the right moment to strike him down. Fen'Harel was caught by surprise when the huntress struck him."

He paused for a moment. Gathering his thoughts.

"She had him. She was the only one who had gotten close enough to accomplish the deed. She could have killed him, should have killed him. But when the two met each other's eyes, she hesitated."

He turned to the second part of the mural, where the wolf was now a man. His face had been scratched out, but Talyn already knew who he was. But the man in the painting was watching the huntress walk away into the darkness.

"Fen'Harel used that hesitation to his advantage. He was going to kill her. But for the first time in his life, Fen'Harel couldn't bring himself to finish her. So he let her go."

The third part of the mural had the woman in the arms of another faceless elf, but she was reaching out for Fen'Harel, who lurked in the shadows behind them, watching.

"But he could not stop thinking about her. He was impressed with her, awed by her. So he hunted her down, only to find that she was promised to his arch nemesis. That didn't stop him from approaching her. The huntress was devoted to her lover, but she could not resist Fen'Harel anymore than he could resist her."

The fourth part of the mural was Fen'Harel and the huntress standing in a dark forest, with moonlight illuminating them. They were in each other's arms.

She already knew what this meant. "They fell in love." She said quietly.

"Yes. But the huntress could not leave her lover. Fen'Harel's nemesis had gone mad, her mind twisted and cruel. If she had any idea that the huntress loved another, yet alone Fen'Harel, the huntress and all of Elvhenan would be in danger of her wrath."

The fifth part of the mural had the third figure, which Talyn now knew was a woman, holding a knife to the huntress's throat. All the faces were scratched out, but Talyn could see the blood dripping from the huntress's arms and the front of her clothes.

"But the huntress had no choice but to flee to her vhenan, after her betrothed snapped and almost killed her."

The sixth part of the mural was nothing but a land in flames, with emerald eyes staring at them from above.

Talyn remembered her dream. Of the meadow that was nothing but ash.

"The huntress' betrothed burned Elvhenan with her wrath. Innocents were tortured and murdered. With each kill her betrothed made, her betrothed blamed the huntress. Everything that she did was the huntress' fault."

'LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO!'

The voice in her head was so loud, so angry.

Talyn stumbled back, her hand on her forehead.

"Talyn?" Solas was immediately in front of her, his hands on her shoulders, steadying her.

She felt like she was going to vomit.

"I need to lie down." She whispered.

Solas lifted her in his arms.

The tips of her ears burned. "You don't need to carry me."

Solas ignored her.

She closed her eyes. She felt Solas walk up some steps, heard a whooshing sound and a crackling fire. She was set down in the most comfortable bed she had slept on in months.

She felt Solas sit on the bed and brush some hair from her face.

At this point, her head was pounding, the only thing she could really hear was her heart pounding in her ears. His voice was so distant, she wasn't sure that he had said anything.

"Rest, Talyn. You've always pushed yourself too hard."

Talyn fell asleep.