AN: This is Chapter One of 'Empty Mirror'. I plan on breaking events into multiple shorter chapters instead of one huge chapter due to being easier to edit/ proof read, etc. Anyways I hope you enjoy.
Warnings: Spoilers for Dragon Age Inquisition, Language, Protentional Triggers, Mild Gore, and Protentional OOC.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, save for Ma'rel.
Chapter One - Shattered
Life was something of a cruel prank to himself. That was the first thing he thought as he regained consciousness. A prolonged game that he was forced to partake in as it threw its arrows and stones at his body and mind. A joke that had lost its appeal so long ago, taunting him with false promises and lies.
As he opened his amber eyes, wincing slightly at the pain that made itself known to him, he blinked and looked around him. He was in some kind stone dungeon, lit fires from the surrounding torches illuminating the armored guards that circled around his seated form, swords drawn to him.
As much as he wanted to silently glare at them in return though, he fragile focus was turned elsewhere as he felt a jolt of burning pain erupted from his hand, adding to the ghost of dull pain that throbbed in his legs. Grunting slightly, he raised his shackled and bound hands up and glanced at them in curiosity. Much to his amazement, his left hand bore what looked like a tear in the middle of his palm, glowing and crackling with green energy as similarly smaller tendrils were woven into the rest of the limb. They almost reminded him of spider webs, sown into the limb, weaving up and around his paler blue brands that littered his body.
As he continued to regain his senses, he couldn't help but feel like something was off. Almost like something other than the current predicament that he was finding himself in. But what?
He trailed his eyes wearily around him, quickly scanning the stone room for the source of his unease. There was nothing out of the norm, well nothing that couldn't be expected considering. So instead he glanced down at his body.
He was on his knees, his pants torn and frayed in various spots with dried blood in some patches, his exposed skin showing small lacerations and burns. His coat, the very one he had stolen off a corpse on his way to the temple was in no better state. While it had been worse for wear when he obtained it, it was now falling apart on him, bits of his torso showing through the fabric. He guessed he should be glad that it held together despite it all. His scarf wouldn't-.
He paused and scanned over his body before letting out a shaking sigh. It was missing, much to his disdain, and he didn't know where to begin to look for it. He knew logically that the chances of ever finding it, let alone getting the chance to find them was slim to none. He just couldn't help but be silently disappointed. It was all he had left of his life before. A small reminder of what he had lost years ago.
While he was lost in his own musings and critical analysis of his plight, he failed to hear the door that was situated in front of him open. He didn't notice as the guards around him slowly relaxed and left following the footsteps of two new people. While his ears had picked up the sounds, he didn't truly comprehend it until he felt a tight from the back of his jacket, choking him slightly as the aggressor yanked his body up.
Frantically, his amber eyes shot to what his mind perceived to be a threat, and quickly assessed his opponent. It was hard to make out every little detail from the glow of the torches around him, but he could make out enough to get a fair assessment.
The figure was a female, human from what he could tell, with tanned skin and short dark hair. He could also make out a nasty scar that ran from her left cheek down to the woman's chin.
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now?" She asked, the anger in her voice matching the rage that was festering in her dark eyes, as she released her grip on him. Ma'rel hit the ground and gasped for air subconsciously. He wished he could strangle her in return for that but also knew that it would be a moot point in his current predicament.
As the oxygen returned to his brain after a few heartbeats, he finally was finally able to comprehend the question that he was asked by the angry woman.
Returning his gaze to his hand that crackled slightly for a moment, he snorted softly to himself. He shook his head before returning to match the woman's glare, remaining definitely quiet to her question. He knew from previous experience that questions such as this were redundant. From what he had learned, it was a way to intimidate whoever was being asked, a fear tactic.
Unfortunately for her though, fear was the last thing he was feeling right now. No, instead of fear, he found himself feeling more annoyed and inconvenienced at most.
At his silent defiance, she scoffed at grabbed him again, this time by his bound hands. He was pulled up again, the glow of his hand illuminating her face.
"Explain this." She demanded harshly as she yanked his body up roughly before letting him dangle in that awkward half crouch.
"I can't. Sorry to disappoint." He hissed, finally accepting that silence wouldn't serve him in any beneficial way. His voice was hoarse, and his throat felt raw, reminding him almost of someone who was deprived of water. However, instead of complaining about it, he instead bit his tongue. No, he rather chose to use that moment to observe the woman's posture, a habit he picked up over his life in order to determine friend and foe.
How one would carry themselves and how they spoke gave more information than most would think. While her body was bent slightly from holding his, thus compromising her posture, the sharp and assertive tone in her voice gave him a basic picture of how she was. The woman, from their short interaction and his brief analysis, was one who demanded complete control of a situation. One who expected immediate respect from any and everyone who crossed her path.
Scoffing again she released her hold on his shackles at his lack of answer and he fell once again to the ground, dazing him slightly.
Following that, she began to rant, and in his mind, lecture him on what had happened at The Temple of Sacred Ashes. Apparently there had been an unexplainable explosion, killing everyone in attendance, including the current Divine herself, Justinia. Meanwhile, the temple itself had been leveled and the middle was a large tear in the sky.
While the breach, as they were calling it, slowly expended, rifts started popping up all around Thedas. From these rifts, where the veil, or boundary between the living and the Fade, was weakened, demons were pouring out in the hundreds.
Ma'rel listened to the woman, watching as she paced in her anger. He was no fool where she was leading to with her kind recap of events. Only a very dense person could miss the accusation in her voice. He could practically feel the weight of the guilt she was attempting to push onto his shoulders. After all, an unexplained explosion with only one survivor, an elf by all accounts, well it was only to be expected that he was the guilty party.
"Tragic as your little peace rally ended, I don't remember a damned thing." He said, sarcasm lacing his raspy voice as he spoke, effectively interrupting the pacing woman.
She paused at his words and narrowed her gaze before stalking towards him, unsheathing her sword from her waist. As she neared him, he instinctively tensed in anticipation for the incoming blow.
"Cassandra, no!" Before the strike came another woman rushed from out of the corner of his eye and intercepted who he presumed to be 'Cassandra'. He briefly wondered when the newcomer had come in, pondering and failing to recall her entering with his interrogator. However, he presumed that matter didn't matter at the current moment.
Cassandra protested to the woman, Leliana as her name turned out to be, that she wouldn't have done anything. The woman seemed to not believe that and went on to explain why the albino was needed. The mark on his hand had the potential to close the rifts that we're popping up uncontrollably around Thedas, and more importantly the Breach itself. He snorted softly to himself at his designated role but said nothing in response. No, he knew that any protest on his part would fall to deaf ears. That being said, he instead took this time to study his 'rescuer'.
From what he could tell from the illumination of the fires around him, the woman was pale skinned. He could see strands of what he guessed was red hair, but it was mostly obscured by a light purple hood. The hood itself seemed to be attached to the left side of her armor. Other than that, though, from what he could see, it was standard steel armor in his opinion and nothing worth noting.
After some back and forth between the two women about his fate, Leliana walked back out of his makeshift cell. While he was hardly paying attention to the exchange, he did catch Cassandra ordering her to meet them at the Forward Camp, situated closer to the rift.
As the redhead disappeared, closing the door behind her, he was slightly startled when Cassandra herself rushed forward again and knelt down before him. He could only watch, slightly stunned as she unlocked the shackles to his wrists and helped him to his feet.
After a moment of stumbling, his limbs surprisingly weaker than he remembered, he was able to find his footing and stood firm. He naturally slouched to an angle but even then, he couldn't help but amusingly note that he was a good few inches taller than his jailor.
"C'mon." She muttered, placing one of her hands on his shoulder before moving him towards the door. He complied and followed her lead, flinching and turning his head as the doors opened, blinding him with the sudden increase in light.
As he stepped outside, he listened to the door close behind him and took a deep breath. The air out here was coated in with the scent of stale blood and ashes but was still far better than the stale air of his cell.
When his eyes finally adjusted to the lightning after a few moments, he was able to take in his surroundings.
He was standing on some concrete pathway with the snow-covered landscape surrounding the small encampment. As he turned his gaze to the greyish blue sky, he almost recoiled in shock.
There in the middle of the cloud covered sky was a large green tear with shades of yellow and black swirling around it. To say it was large would've been an understatement. While he was no expert on judging the sizes of such things, he knew that it could at least cover the size of a small town easily. That assessment was why he was wondering why they were worried about it expanding. From his brief scan of it, he could see it was mostly stable.
'Leave it to shems to overreact.' he thought bitterly.
As he was about to open his mouth to Cassandra and voice his snide thoughts, there was a moment of pause when the breach cracked to life suddenly with a burst of raw energy, he was startled with the surge of pain coursing through his veins.
He collapsed to the ground, his scream if anguish causing Cassandra to release her hold in surprise. The corner of his eye caught his own hand sparking with energy, and he turned his gaze to it. To his surprise and horror, he could see the webbed strands of green inching further and further up his arm through his torn sleeves as the pulsing died down and the pain subsided.
"This is why we need your help," Cassandra said as she helped him back to his feet, "the mark on your hand, it spreads every time the breach expands, and it is killing you."
"I wouldn't be that lucky," He muttered under his breath before speaking slightly louder, "I didn't sign up to help you shems with your hole in the sky."
"None of us asked for this," she snapped back, tugging him forward again. Rolling his eyes, the elf allowed himself to be led.
As the two walked through the makeshift encampment, Ma'rel couldn't help but take note of the surroundings. As he was led, he could see refugees and soldiers pause in what they were doing to stare at him. He could see the anger and disdain that blazed in their eyes. He could hear the soft whispering jeers directed to him as well as the scoffs of disgust.
"In their minds, they have already cemented your guilt," Cassandra said as she continued to lead them forward, ignoring the small mass of people forming behind them, "they want you executed for the destruction of the temple as well as Divine Justinia's death."
"So much for a fair trial, when's my sentence boss?" He asked, unable to completely mask the excitement in his voice, as they walked through a large wooden gate that two guards had been stationed at.
She didn't respond as they made it to the other side, the gate closing with a loud bang. He flinched and when he reopened his eyes, he noticed that Cassandra was now standing before him, watching him silently, her face expressionless.
"You will go on trial elf, innocent or not, you should've never been there, but first…" she trailed off and pulled out a small dagger from her side sheathe. He stood firm as she closed the short distance between them and sliced the ropes that still bound his hands before backing up again and sheathing her weapon.
As he subconsciously rubbed his wrists, she continued her previous thought, "first, whether or not you like it, that mark is the only chance we have to close the Breach."
"Not my problem Cassandra," He sneered, the malice not quite reaching his amber eyes. His anger was not at her, nor was it at the humans if he was honest, rather just the situation in general.
"What is your problem then? Don't you care if that hole in the sky destroys the world? What about your friends and family?" She growled, her short fuse igniting at the sight of a small smirk on his scarred face.
"To answer those in order; you are my problem, why care for a pointless fight, and lastly, what of them?" He replied with a shrug.
The short haired woman stared at the albino for a moment. From what he could see of her mixed emotions, she was attempting to process what he had said. He doubted that his animosity towards her was what triggered her. No, that was probably mild compared to what she must have experienced.
It was, without a shadow of doubt, his complete disregard to the cataclysm they all faced. He knew the reason why his apathy was met with such a reaction and didn't blame her by any means. It was a natural response to such 'selfishness' as they put it.
However, this had no effect on changing his mind. While he could give her props for the attempt on pulling on his heartstrings, it still didn't change his mind. He just didn't give a shit whether or not the world ended, as harsh as it sounded.
However, he thought, pausing as he glanced at her still stunned face, maybe there could be some kind of compromise. He knew that saving the world essentially was not what he wanted to do, that was still the truth. But he also knew that his... unexpected survival was going to cause him issues in the long run. Execution didn't sound like a plausible outcome for him knowing his luck. That being said, he would most likely be released back to his clan and the fate he would suffer there would far worse than any death he could experience.
"How about this," he finally said, coming to an internal consensus with himself. Cassandra's facial expression hardened at his sudden words but said nothing, allowing him to continue. "I will help your lot with your little hole in the sky problem if you do something in return for me."
"And how exactly are you in a position to demand something from me or anyone right now?"
"I'm not but it is better than us both standing here until the world ends don't you think?"
She thought for a moment before giving a defeated sigh and nodding, "fine. What do you want?"
Turning his gaze back out towards the landscape, he glanced curiously at the Breach for a moment in silence before speaking once more.
"In exchange for helping, I want protection, no questions asked." He finished, extending his hand out, the one not marked from the unstable breach.
"I- fine deal." She said, extending her hand as well and grasping it hesitantly. He gave the woman a ghost of a smile and shook hers before letting go and returning it to his side.
He could see the confusion on her face at the deal they just made. He could practically hear all the questions burning on the tip of her tongue, but yet she said nothing. He was thankful for that. Questions were not going to get either of them anywhere right now and would only serve to waste time that neither of them had. So instead the silence and unspoken words were much appreciated.
As he shifted slightly in place, he sighed to himself. He knew that there was a chance that she wouldn't hold her end of the bargain. In fact, he had little doubt that she would go back into her word last minute, shems were good for that, but he knew he had little choice in the matter.
For now, he would reluctantly jump through whatever hoops they wished of him to, with mild complaint on his part. Then whenever the end came along with the inevitable betrayal from her empty words, he would deal with it then. But that was neither here nor now. Right now he was to play the role of their little willing hero.
"Lead the way," he said as he looked back up at her, not realizing he had let his gaze lower to the ground. Cassandra tensed subtly, startled slightly but nodded nonetheless.
"There will still be a trial, but after that I cannot promise nothing more..." she trailed off and shook her head, "let's just get to the Forward Camp and plan our next action for now."
He said nothing in response, deciding to not comment on the aspect of a trial. Instead he just nodded, content to allow her to lead, and motioned for her to do as such.
The woman turned heel, rolling her eyes slightly, and started to walk off. He just chuckled bitterly to himself and quietly followed.
As they walked through another set of large wooden gates, he found himself frowning slightly. His marked hand found its way to his bare neck and a wave of subdued grief washed over him for a brief moment.
It didn't last long though, as he quickly gritted his teeth and he clenched his fist to his side. What was done was done and he couldn't change it at all.
With another sigh, he shook his head and moved a stray strand of his white hair out of his eyes before picking up his pace to catch up with the woman.
Well you reached the end, welcome. There may be a slight delay in the next chapter considering some real life stuff that came up yesterday but shouldn't be a major delay (I say as I upload this story after what 5 years?)
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and like always criticism is welcome.
-Xana