Holly stood at the edge of the camp the Inquisition had set up, looking over the path they had all walked to escape Haven. It had been a few hours, and they still had yet to see any sign of Graham. Her worry was palpable, and she knew it. Everyone seemed so much more antsy when she was near them. Mother Giselle had even asked her to stop tending to the injured, so she moved herself to the path for both their sanity and her own.

"He's still alive."

"Maker!" she shouted, and jerked away from the voice. She looked over her shoulder to see Cole standing behind her. Some snow had collected on his almost comically large hat, but he didn't seem to mind. She placed a hand over her heart, "Andraste's... don't sneak up on me like that."

"Sorry," he said. He seemed to shrink away slightly at her words, which was odd since he didn't seem to mind her initial outburst.

She sighed, "It's alright. Anyway, what did you say?"

"He's still alive," he repeated plainly.

She furrowed her brows, "Who?"

"Graham."

"Well, I appreciate the reassurance."

"No, he is alive."

Before she could respond he was just gone. There weren't even any footprints to be found, except in the exact spot he had been standing. She shook her head. She had other things to worry about. The moment she turned back to the paths she heard the sounds of footsteps approaching her. She turned to see Cullen, not Cole, walking up to her this time.

"You should come back to the camp," he said.

She shook his head, "Someone needs to keep an eye out for Graham. What if he can't quite make it here by himself?"

"We have soldiers who can do that."

"Soldiers that need rest in case Corypheus finds us."

"And you don't need rest?"

She scoffed, "Like you're one to talk. Besides, We both know I won't be able to get any meaningful rest until I know Graham is safe."

"You're making people worried standing over here like this."

"Then perhaps I should go looking for him."

"Absolutely not."

"I don't recall you being in charge of me. As far as I'm concerned, since we still don't have an Inquisitor, no one is in charge of me."

"You'll freeze to death," he tried to argue.

She held out her hand, palm up, and conjured a small ball of fire, "I will be fine. If you're worried about me freezing to death, then Graham definitely will if no one goes after him."

"What if he needs to be carried back? You can't carry him, and warm him."

"It's better than nothing!"

"You're not giving up on this, are you?"

"What if it was one of your siblings?" she demanded.

That seemed to get through to him. He scratched the back of his neck, and looked back towards the camp. He sighed, "Let me find someone to go with you before you run off at least."

She crossed her arms across her chest, "Fine."

She turned back to the path. There was still no sign of Graham. No dark figure in the distance, or glint of gold armor. About five minutes passed before she heard footsteps approaching her again. She turned to see Cullen followed by who she believed was Knight-Captain Rylen. She had seen him a few times, but they had yet to be formally introduced.

"Holly, this is Knight-Captain Rylen, I don't believe you two have been introduced yet," Cullen said, "he was unscathed during the battle, so don't think about trying to send him back."

She scowled at Cullen, "I wasn't going to." She turned to Rylen, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"You as well, Enchanter."

"Please don't stay out too long. I don't think any of us want to deal with Leliana or Josephine's wrath."

"We'll be back by morning. I know we won't be able to discuss anything in a meaningful way until we are rested, and Graham is back," Holly said.

"I'll let the other's know then. Maker be with you," Cullen said as he left.

"Ready?" she asked Rylen.

"As long as you are."

"I am," she said, and started making her way back down the path.

They were quiet for the first few moments of their trek, nothing but the sound of their boots in the snow, the howling of the wind, and the distant noises of the camp could be heard. Holly was grateful that it wasn't snowing. The lack of clouds made it easier to see, and they'd be able to spot the glint of Graham's armor from at least a mile away.

When the silence finally got to Holly, she asked, "So, while I'm sure you're grateful for the decision now, why did you join the Inquisition and not the other templars?"

"I could ask you the same about the mages."

"True, but I feel like it's pretty obvious that my brother is why I'm here. The biggest reason at least."

"Yes, but you weren't with them before the conclave."

"I know we both know all too well that there are people on both sides who are taking advantage of the chaos to hurt innocent people. Someone had to heal the wounded, and offer protection. I figured it would be me if no one else was going to step up."

"Sounds a lot like why I joined the Inquisition. I left Starkhaven to help out in Kirkwall. When the Chantry showed up to look for Hawke, and to recruit Cullen, I joined. When the house is on fire, I'm the one who fetches the water bucket while the others stand around smiting the ashes for heresy."

"That… is a very good metaphor."

He shot her a smile, "Thanks."

They continued to walk in a more companionable silence. She was unsurprised that he had a similar attitude to her own. The Inquisition was built on that mindset. So many of the others had joined for that exact reason.

They walked until they reached the halfway point between the camp and Haven. The snow had buried most of the tracks, which made her glad that she came back. She conjured a ball of light, and set it on the top of her staff, so that it could act as a beacon. Snow started to fall again as they stood there. She pulled up her hood to keep the snow out of her hair.

Just as worry started to prickle at her again, she saw movement in the distance. She grabbed Rylen's shoulder, and pointed at the movement. He rested his hand on the hilt of his sword, as he narrowed his eyes at the horizon. As the body drew closer, Holly could see an obvious limp and that it was struggling to drag itself through the snow. Then, she saw the distinctive glint of gold armor, and she took off down the hill.

"GRAHAM!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, "GRAHAM!"

Rylen quickly surpassed her, almost tripping as he ran towards Graham who had stopped walking. Graham fell to his knees when they were about twenty feet away from him, and Rylen got to his side just before he could fall face first into the snow. He threw Graham's right arm over his shoulders, uttering quiet reassurances that he would be alright.

"Oh blessed Andraste, thank the Maker you're alive!" Holly exclaimed as she got to his side. She quickly looked him over. He had no bruises or cuts on his neck or face, but that meant nothing. He was obviously favoring one leg over the other, which concerned her. She pressed a hand to the side of his face. He recoiled from the touch at first. He felt as cold as ice. She stood at his left side, and threw that arm over her shoulders. She conjured a small flame and held it close enough to his chest to warm him.

He looked at her, head lolling slightly, "Holly… are you okay? Is everyone okay?"

"I am. I was part of the last group to leave. We haven't seen any sign of the templars or that beast. You saved us."

He nodded, and looked forward, "Good. Good."

It took them a bit to drag Graham back to the camp, longer than it took them to get to him in the first place. Luckily, Cullen had had soldiers posted at the entrance of the camp. The soldiers first moved to put their hands on their swords, but when they recognised Graham, Holly, and Rylen, they shouted something back into the camp before running to help them.

"Enchantress Holly! Ser Rylen! Is he okay?" One of them asked.

"I'm alive," Graham groaned.

"Can one of you make sure there is space for him in one of the tents, and can the other come here and take his arm?" Holly asked.

"Yes, Enchantress," they said in unison. One took her place at Graham's side. The other ran back to the camp, and as he did Cullen and Cassandra came running towards them.

"Thank the Maker!" Cassandra shouted.

"Is he alright? Do you need any help?" Cullen asked.

"He will be if we can get him to a warmer place. I think he might have some fractured bones, and may be getting close to being hypothermic. I'll need blankets from your cots since you're not using them right now. If there are any of the enchanted blankets not being used, and I mean that, I'll need one of those as well."

They both nodded, and ran back into the camp. Holly led Rylen and the soldier into the camp. All of the villagers stood to the side either watching them with concern or looking at Leliana with terrified looks. Leliana was standing next to a large tent in the center of the camp, motioning them over to her.

Holly led them to the tent, and held one of the flaps open while Leliana held open the other. She quickly followed them in, ordering them to lay Graham on the raised cot. While the wood wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world, it was warmer than a bedroll on the frozen ground.

"Graham," she said as calmly as possible, "Are your clothes wet? Did snow get under your armor?"

"No," he mumbled.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

She turned to Leliana, Rylen, the soldier, and Josephine and Mother Giselle who had just arrived. She gestured to the soldier, "You can go get some rest, thank you."

He nodded and left.

She gestured to the rest of them, "Help me get his armor off. Keep his coat, gloves, and boots on, they'll help keep him warm. You," she tapped Graham, "stay still."

They moved wordlessly as she began undoing the lacing on his chest piece. With four extra sets of hands, they had his armor off in less than a minute. Rylen gathered the armor, and set them neatly in the corner. Cassandra and Cullen arrived shortly with the blankets.

Holly grabbed them, and looked at Mother Giselle, "You have experience in this, yes?"

"I do."

"Good," she looked at everyone else, "Thank you for your help, but I need you all to leave now. Mother Giselle and I can take care of the rest."

"Tell us if you need anything," Leliana said before she left.

Holly handed Mother Giselle the blankets, and stood at Graham's side. She forced herself to calm down, to ignore all the stress and worry of that night, to focus on the things she could physically feel. It took her a few moments to enter a meditative state, but she managed. Once she was there she felt the gentle pull of the healing magic. It felt like her hands were guided by some invisible force. She assumed it was a spirit of compassion.

Her hands began to glow gently. The light vacillated between a calm shade of blue, and a warm shade of blue. Some of the tenseness in Graham's body disappeared as any wounds he had healed. The gentle lull of the spell eased him into sleep. She stumbled, and caught herself on the edge of the cot as the magic faded. The calm felt a lot like falling asleep, and then the magic always drained her to the point where she needed rest.

"Are you alright?" Mother Giselle asked.

"I'm fine," Holly waved her off.

The Mother was silent for a moment before she asked, "His wounds are healed, correct?"

"Yes."

"Then I can take care of him. Your magic stabilized him. The blankets will be enough."

"I appreciate the concern, but I'm fine."

"Nonsense. Get some rest. You saved the person who saved us all. If you must insist on working, there are others who need it more."

Holly looked at Graham. The color of his skin already looked more normal. His chest rose and fell gently. He was going to be okay.

Holly found Graham still wearing a cloak talking to Solas at the edge of the camp. He had passed out halfway back to the camp, and had been bombarded the moment he woke up. She had no idea what Graham and Solas were talking about as she approached. Solas noticed her, and finished up the conversation.

"He's alright," he said quietly as he passed her. It was the most reassuring thing she had heard in the last few hours.

"Hey," she said, gently grabbing Graham's arm, "How are you doing?"

He looked better. He was fully awake, and looked less like he was on death's door. He still appeared tired, but she would've been concerned if he didn't. There was a little bit of stress on his face, but there was relief too.

"You mean other than incredibly uncomfortable? Please tell me you were not part of the singing."

She couldn't help but smile. He was joking, which was an excellent sign.

"I wasn't. I was a little busy tending to the wounded."

"You know that I'm not exactly one to shy away from attention, but Maker…" he groaned.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that."

"At least I'm okay physically. I feel a little sore, but I think that's normal when you survive an avalanche."

"It's certainly better than average. What was Solas talking to you about?"

"New information mostly. Some even made me feel a little better. He told me about the orb that Corypheus had. It's elven, and he's worried what will happen when people learn that. As far as I know, him and I, and now you, are the only ones who know it's true origin, so I say we continue to let people think it's Tevinter."

"Agreed."

"That's not all though," he held up his hand, "and this is the good part. He said he knows of a place near here for us to go to. The kind of place the Inquisition should have been stationed at in the first place."

"Really?" she exclaimed.

"Yes. He gave me a general direction, but said he'll go into more detail in the morning when everyone is a little more rested. It's called Skyhold."

"Has he told Leliana and the others?"

"I dunno, but I doubt he'll mind if you do. Besides, they could use an update about yours truly. I want to be alone for a bit. The crowd was… overwhelming."

"I understand. Do you want me to have anyone posted to keep people from bothering you?"

A look of guilt appeared on his face, "Yes. You, Josephine, Leliana, Cassandra, and the others can be allowed through. I want to avoid everyone else."

"Okay," she nodded, and squeezed his arm before she left him to be alone with his thoughts. She found two soldiers who seemed to neither be resting or busy with anything important, and sent them Graham's way. She found Cassandra, Cullen, Josephine, and Leliana standing around the table they had laid the map out on. They seemed calmer than they had been before Graham woke up. She hadn't been part of their arguments as she was too busy patching up the villagers. She would've told them to just shut up and get some rest otherwise.

"How is he?" Cassandra asked the moment she saw Holly.

"Uncomfortable, but he'll be okay. Did Solas happen to talk to you?"

"Uh, no?" Cullen said.

"He told Graham some information, and it's good news. He knows of a place that we can go to called Skyhold, and he is going to give Graham proper directions in the morning."

"Thank the Maker," Cullen said.

"That is good news, but there is still something that must be decided on," Cassandra said.

Holly gave her a confused look, and only looked more confused when she noticed that everyone else seemed to know what she was talking about.

"What we need more than a place for the Inquisition to take root, is someone to lead it. We need an Inquisitor, an official one," Cassandra explained, "but there has been someone already leading it in all but name. Your brother. We won't appoint him until we are settled, but there is no one that I think is better suited."

"Oh," was all Holly could manage at first. She had forgotten about their lack of an official Inquisitor ever since their first trip to Redcliffe, because Cassandra was right, Graham had been leading them in all but name. She knew he was uncomfortable with how the crowd reacted, but he seemed more than comfortable giving orders, and meeting with officials. He hated the Herald title, but didn't bat an eye at being called 'Ser.' He was their best option, and she thought he would be more comfortable with the title of Inquisitor rather than Herald. She hoped she was right.

"As the Official Enchantress of the Inquisition you will be part of his advisory counsel, second in rank only to him. We want this to be a unanimous decision," Leliana said.

Holly cleared her throat, "I agree that he's the best decision. I don't know who else would even be appointed, at least not before the various courts try to butt in, and I don't need to tell you that he is better suited than any random nobleman could recommend. I will admit, as his sister and a healer, I worry about how it will affect him, but I think he will be grateful for any chance to avoid being called the Herald of Andraste. You have my vote."

"Then it looks like we will have a new Inquisitor once we get to this Skyhold," Leliana said.