Chapter 2 - Something Familiar
A severe headache woke her from sleep. She felt pain in her arms. Both of her legs hurt. She couldn't name a part of herself that wasn't hurting. The ground beneath her body was cold and rough. It reeked of stagnant water and old blood. With an enormous effort, she lifted her head. Outstretching her arms to steady herself, she couldn't. Looking down, she saw the thick shackles that bound her wrist together. While struggling to her knees, she noticed that she wasn't alone. There was a crackling sound followed by a green glow that emanated from her palm. Hot searing pain erupted from it. She barely had time to process what was happening when they came crashing through the door. She was tall, armoured and angry. Her black hair was kept short to her head. Her skin was tanned and scarred.
"Tell me why we shouldn't kill you now. The Conclave is destroyed. Everyone who attended is dead. Except for you."
"You think I'm responsible" Ellana looked at her. Shock, anger and confusion painted her face as you look up at the raven-haired woman.
"Explain this!" Her hand gripped Ellana's wrist, the mark on her palm crackled again sending another wave of pain coursing through her body.
"I can't." The elf spoke through gritted teeth, the pain radiating from her palms more intense this time.
"What do you mean you can't?"
"I don't know what that is or how it got there," Ellana growled back, anger twisting her otherwise serene features.
"You're lying!" The human grabbed her violently by the scruff of her robe. She squeezed the fabric cutting off her airway. Ellana clawed at her hand, her nails failing against the armoured gauntlet.
"We need them, Cassandra." The second woman spoke. Her voice was gentle compared to the other female's harsh accent. Without warning, Ellana was dropped and clattered to the ground in a heap. She groaned, her hand rubbing the red mark around her throat as she got to her knees again.
"Whatever you think I did, I'm innocent" She was exhausted.
"Do you remember what happened? How this began?" The other woman knelt, she was pale. Her features were delicate and beautiful. She wore a hood but under that Ellana could see a mane of red hair
"I remember running. Things were chasing me, and then… a woman, I think?"
"A woman?"
"She reached out to me, but then…"
"Go to the forward camp, Leliana. I will take them to the rift." Cassandra interrupted. The other woman nodded, leaving the two of them alone save for the guards.
"What happened here?" Ellana looks up at Cassandra, her expression calmer, less fiery now.
"It will be easier to show you." Grabbing the metal that bound her hands together Cassandra unlocked Ellana's wrist and helped her to her feet. The elf felt shaky, she was dizzy but she was sure that was more due to the repeated trauma to her head than anything else.
Ellana followed Cassandra out of the bowels of the fortress. She walked into daylight. Bright, brilliant light shined on her face. The sudden change made her eyes sting. Turning the dull pounding in her head into a sharp stabbing. It was then she saw it. A bright green scar in the sky, its size incalculable.
"We call it "The Breach." It's a massive rift into the world of demons that grows larger with each passing hour. It's not the only one of its kind. Just the largest. All were caused by the explosion at the Conclave."
"An explosion can do that?" Ellana was half asking Casandra and half herself. Even all the magicks that she knew couldn't do something like this.
"This one did. Unless we act, the Breach may grow until it swallows the world." The Breach shuddered, splitting the sky again. Ellana screamed as she fell to her knees. Her hand balled into a fist at her chest. The pain was indescribable. It was white-hot, resonating through every part of her. It felt like it was trying to tear her to pieces.
"Each time the Breach expands, your mark spreads… and it is killing you. It may be the key to stopping this, but there isn't much time." Her face twisted in pain she looks at Cassandra. She takes a deep breath.
"I understand." The Seeker looked at her, surprised by her compliance. "I'll do what I can. Whatever it takes. Will I live through it?"
"We have no way of knowing."
Mamae, lasa ghilan The words were a silent plea. She appreciated her honesty. Though Ellana would've preferred her to lie. Cassandra offered the woman a hand, and she accepted it despite her body protesting.
Solas slammed his staff on the stone beneath his feet. The energy snaked over the floor to the demon before him. Freezing it in place. Varric had already drawn Bianca, her powerful bolts flying through the air penetrating the cursed creature and shattering it.
"Thank you Varric," He was a tad out of breath, they had been at this for longer than he hoped, but they needed to stop the flood from reaching the fortress.
"They are coming, right?" Varric's normal hopeful demeanour did seem a tad more desperate than normal.
"
"We're getting close to the rift. You can hear the fighting." Over the chaos, Solas heard Cassandra's commanding voice.
"Who's fighting?" joined that of the Seeker, it sounded like a song.
"You'll understand. We must help them." He turns his attention to where he heard them approaching from. Seeing the pair jump down from the bridge to join the fray. It was the first time he had seen her since they found her. Since he nursed her back from the brink of death. Her frame was slight. Deep red hair tumbled down her back in loose curls. It reminded him of autumn leaves. Her eyes were sapphires set in the alabaster of her skin. She was beautiful. Everything was a near mirror image of her. Why was fate so cruel? He couldn't help but be transfixed. She was formidable in battle, her magic was a thing to behold. Powerful and destructive a force of nature. With their help, the group made light work of the creatures. As Varric dealt with the last of them Solas crossed the short distance between him and the Dalish, placing his staff on his back as he did so.
"Quickly, before more come through!" He gently took her wrist and pointed her hand towards the crack in the sky.
There was pain. More pain than she expected. Then a beam of light sprung forth from the mark, colliding with the Rift. The sound of crystal cracking filled the area as the gateway collapsed in on itself. The man let her wrist slip from his grasp. Ellana looked down at her palm, rubbing it with her thumb.
"What did you do?"
"I did nothing. The credit is yours." She allowed her eyes to study his features. He was tall. He was taller than Arrel and far taller than she was, with broad shoulders, unlike your typical elf. He was difficult to read. As if carved from stone, his face was expressionless. She couldn't deny he was handsome, it was his eyes that fascinated her most. They looked ancient, world-weary, and sad. He caught her looking at him, darted her eyes down. Feeling the heat rising to her face as she blushed. The weight of his attention fell on her. Solas couldn't help but find some amusement in her reaction. Seeing blood rush to her cheeks, he held back a grin.
Ellana couldn't think of anything else to say except, "At least I'm useful for something."
"Whatever magic opened the Breach in the sky also placed that mark upon your hand. I theorized the mark might be able to close the rifts that have opened in the aftermath of the Breach, and it seems I was correct"
"Meaning it could also close the Breach itself." Ellana had almost forgotten that the others were there but she was thankful for Cassandra's interjection. If only to take some of the attention off her.
"Possibly." Solas shrugged at Cassandra's question. He turned back to Ellana. "It seems you hold the key to our salvation, Lethallan." Ellana found herself falling under his scrutiny again. There was something about him. He reminded her of a song, one where you could remember the tune but never the words.
"Fantastic! Here I thought we'd be ass-deep in demons forever." The gruff voice once again broke his concentration. It seemed to be becoming a habit of his whether he knew he was doing it or not. "Varric Tethras: rogue, storyteller, and occasionally unwelcome tagalong."
"My name is Solas if there is a need for introductions. I'm pleased to see you still live." He was being sincere. He spent three sleepless nights by her side feeling just as helpless as he had back then. Regardless of the origins of the Mark, it was never intended for mortals. Ultimately her survival came down to her strength of will alone.
"He means, 'I kept that mark from killing you while you slept"
"Ma serannas, I am Ellana" There was an innocence in her voice that pulled at his heart.
"Thank me if we manage to close the Breach without killing you in the process" He dismissed her, turning his attention back to the Seeker. "Cassandra, you should know: the magic involved here is unlike any I have ever seen." He gestured a hand towards Ellana. "She may be a mage, but I find it difficult to imagine any mage having such power." Ellana watched as Cassandra's expression soured. Ellana knew that they needed someone to blame. It made sense after all. She was an elven mage. An apostate. Of course, she was the obvious scapegoat. Her appreciation for Sola's efforts was heartfelt, but her guilt had already been decided.
"Understood. We must get to the forward camp quickly."
The party departed and faced some opposition, but it was not overwhelming. The majority of them were demons, abominations and other veil creatures. Eventually, there was a break in the fighting and Ellana found Solas walking by her side. Cassandra and Varric walked ahead of them.
"You are Dalish, but away from the rest of your clan. Did they send you here?" She was a tad surprised by his question.
"What do you know about the Dalish?"
"I have wandered many roads in my time and crossed paths with your people on more than one occasion" He emphasized "your people". Ellana, perplexed, stopped in her tracks in front of her.
"We are both of the same people, Solas"
"The Dalish I met felt… differently on the subject." Solas's mood had already been soured by the events of the morning. He didn't intend to continue the conversation. He stepped around her, quickening his pace. Ellana began to take a step forward, her mark growing again, she hissed in pain. He returned to her wrapping his strong fingers around her delicate wrist studying the glowing green scar. "Cassandra! We must hurry before the mark consumes her!"
They hurried. Faster now. Ellana winched in agony as the mark scorched into her flesh. It was reverberating up her arm. Coming in pulses like waves. The closer they got to forward camp the ruin that we creatures had wrought became evident. A thick stench of blood and death from soldiers and civilians filled the air around her.
"I hope that Leliana made it through all this." For the first time since meeting her, Ellana heard something other than anger in Cassandra's voice.
"She is resourceful, Seeker," Varrico's voice was soothing. "She'll be fine."
They battled through more hoards of demons, Ellana using the mark to close another Rift on the way as they approached the gate to the camp.
"Chancellor Rodderick we must prepare the soldiers!"
"I will do no such thing!"
"We must get the prisoner to the Temple of Sacred Ashes! It is our only chance!" Leliana protested.
"You have caused enough trouble!" He snapped back. There was something that Ellana found deeply unpleasant about this man. The pair stopped as she and Cassandra approached. "Ah, here they come,"
"Thank the Marker you made it. Chancellor Rodderick, this is.."
"I know who they are!" His face was red as he interrupted her. The Dalish could see the muscle above the woman's eye twitch under her hood. Just like Arrel, she thought. "Seeker Pentaghast, as Grand Chancellor of the Chantry, I hereby order you to take this criminal to Val Royeaux to face execution"
"You order me? You are nothing more than a glorified clerk!"
"And you are a thug, but a thug that serves the Chantry!" Cassandra's hand twisted around the hilt of her sword, grabbing it tightly. Leliana saw the danger and stood between them.
"We all serve the Most Holy. Chancellor, as you well know." Leliana stopped shouting to defuse the situation.
"Justinia is dead! We must elect a replacement, and obey her orders on the matter!" This was pointless. The Breach swelled again, Ellana grabbed her hand and bit down on her lip. The bitter taste of blood filled her mouth. She was losing her patience.
"I apologize for interrupting, as I am sure this is all very critical, however, there is the matter of the giant hole in the sky?" Her tone was sarcastic. Solas smiled. That defiance, just like you.
"You brought this on us in the first place!" His voice spat venom in her direction. "No, call a retreat, Seeker. Our position here is hopeless."
"No, we can stop this before it's too late." Cassandra let go of her sword. "We must get to the temple. It's the quickest route."
"But not the safest. Our forces can charge as a distraction while we go through the mountains." Leliana added. Cassandra paused thinking about the option that she had been presented.
"No Leliana. We lost contact with an entire squad on that path. It is too risky."
"Listen to me. Abandon this now before more lives are lost!" The man shouted over the pair of them. Cassandra ignored the Chancellor's protest and turned to Ellana.
"How do you think we should proceed?"
The female was sure that they had forgotten that she was there so was surprised to see Cassandra looking at her.
"You're asking me?" Her eyebrow raised.
"Well you have the Mark," Solas, who had chosen to stay out of this, finally spoke.
"And you are the one we must keep alive. Since we cannot agree on our own…"
"I need to be the one that does," Ellana rubbed her forehead and sighed. "We will take the mountain path. I want this over quickly and with few losses possible."
"On your head be the consequences, Seeker," Rodderick growled before he stormed off, Cassandra watched him walk away her eyes shooting daggers into his back.
"Well then, onwards!" The dwarf seemed far too pleased about the prospects of a horrible death but his levity was welcome.
Ellana took the mountain path, through mines that twisted like a labyrinth, finding both friend and foe alike before she reached the Temple. As she approached, she saw the utter destruction that had taken place. It was a miracle that she survived at all let alone with the few injuries that she had sustained.
"This is the.."
"Temple of Sacred Ashes, yes," Solas's voice was soft. She didn't notice he had joined her, she was too transfixed on the scene before her. Bodies were everywhere, they looked like dolls that had been tossed by a child having a tantrum. Large chunks of rock had crushed some, others impaled by shards of red crystal. "I am told this is where they found you."
"How did I even survive?" she asked him. She wasn't expecting an answer. Varric approached her standing on the other side of her, she felt him pat her back.
"Best not dwell on that now, Red. You still have that to deal with," Varric pointed to the sky. The Breach appeared huge from a distance, but from this close, it seemed colossal.
"I suppose you have a plan to get me up there?" Ellana shielded her eyes as she looked up.
Now is the hour of our victory. Bring forth the sacrifice. Ellana held her head, as the disembodied voice echoed around them. It felt like it was trying to break her skull apart. Keep the sacrifice still. It boomed again, another wave of pain assaulted her senses.
"Solas, what is happening, who is that?" Cassandra asked. Drawing her weapon she scanned the area looking for its source.
"I am not sure Seeker, as to who that is I can only guess it is the one that created the Breach,"
Someone help me! Ellana fell to her knees screaming clutching her hand. Varric held her shoulders not sure what else to do.
"That is Divine Justinia's voice!" The woman cried. The area was enclosed in green light as the Fade encased them. Cassandra, Varric and Solas watched as the events that led them to find Ellana played out around them. As it dissipated, it flashed a light close to blinding. Ellana felt the pressure in her head left.
"You okay, Red?" Varric had a genuine worry in his voice as she stood. She nodded. Cassandra bounded toward her, grabbing her shirt by the fabric at Ellana's chest. "Cassandra, what are you doing!"
"You were there! Who attacked? And the Divine is she…? Was this vision true? What are we seeing?" The woman shook her, demanding answers that she didn't have.
"How many times do I need to tell you, Cassandra? I don't remember!" Cassandra could see the rage burning in the Dalish's eyes. Solas turned his head when he heard Ellana's raised voice. He snarled silently when he saw Cassandra's hands on her. Crossing the distance between them in moments placing a hand on Cassandra's arm she dropped the mage. Solas looked at Ellana. His concern was unspoken, for the first time his face gave him away. Ellana nodded letting him know she was unharmed.
"This rift is not sealed, but it is closed… albeit temporarily. The rift can be opened with the mark, and then properly sealed. However, opening the rift will likely attract attention from the other side."
"That means demons," Cassandra tells the troops as they march to their positions. Solas walks to Ellana, placing his hands on her shoulders and turning her to face him. His touch made her chest itch.
"You can do this Lethallan."
As the Rifts opened, two large hands erupted from the Fade one grabbing at each edge of the portal as it started to drag itself free. Its huge horned head is the first to break through followed by the rest of it.
"Fenedhis..." Ellana cursed when she saw the creature fully emerge from the Rift. It roared swinging one of its mighty arms catching her. The force knocked her from her feet, sending her sliding across the ground, her back sliced by the debris that was shattered over the floor. Cassandra was upon it, her mighty greatsword slashing into the trunk of its body. Varric unleashed a volley of blots from Bianca, from the safety of his cover. Ellana scrambled to her feet sprinting towards a half-standing pillar. She focused her magic on her staff channelling it through the wood, watching the shards of ice that she created bounce off the creature's hide.
"Lethallan, keep your attention on the Rift, I will provide as much cover for you as I can!" Solas shouted from the other side of the room. Ellana nodded. She leapt over the column and let her swift feet carry her to the centre of the room. The demon looked directly at her focusing all of its eyes on her. It roared again bringing both of its hands together forming a fist above its head. It pulled them back, ready to crush her. A bolt of lightning struck the side of its head. It stopped turning its attention to Solas, allowing her to make a break for the Rift. Her hand reaches out to crack in reality. She tapped into that strange well within herself and focused all her energy on it. The beam of green lightning-like energy erupted from her, crashing into the portal. The two opposing forces fought each other. She pushed harder, a cry of determination escaped her as she forced her hand closed. The Rift stuttered, then exploded. A shockwave vaporised the demon and sent her freefalling through the air. Her body hit the floor. In the distance, she could see celebrating. Varric was shouting something, her name she thought, but it was like she was hearing it through a wall. She felt arms under her body, pulling her up and then weightlessness as if she was being carried.
"Son era da'len" The voice was soft, it made her melt. For a second she saw that masked face before slipping away. Solas scooped her up into his arms as delicately as if she were a broken bird. He placed a finger on her cheek pushing aside a strain of hair.
"Is she ok, Chuckles?" Varric approached him from behind, Solas turned Ellana draped in his arms.
"She isn't badly hurt. This would have been an exhausting undertaking. She needs rest." He walked away from the rest of them, making he was back towards Haven, his little bird safely in his arm. When he was confident he was alone her brought her closer to him planting the softest of kisses on her forehead.
Translation:
Mamae, lasa ghilan - Mother, guide me.
Ma serannas - Thank you
Son era da'len - Sleep well, little one.