Disclaimer: I do hereby disclaim all rights and responsibilities for the characters in his weird little side-project. Neither franchise, Dragon Age nor Fallout, is responsible for this nonsense.

Author's note: This is an AU where the Sole Survivor is summoned to be the Herald. Some tweaks: they're a wastelander instead of a vault dweller, and thus didn't have that main quest, with changes implied. Some adjustments to DA lore to allow for the bringing in of such an outsider. I want to explore how someone from Fallout would react to Ferelden, as it were. Constructive criticism welcome.

Chapter One: A Hole in the Sky

It was red, red with blood. The ground was covered in bodies both ghoul and human, or human-like, and Dayo ran. She ran as fast as she could, knowing there were huge spiders after her, bigger than mutant hounds. The sky above raged. She stumbled to get out of the rad storm, her weapons gone, lost, useless, or left behind.

She had nothing, so she ran.

Someone was reaching out to her, a floating figure like a brightly glowing ghoul, but even as she outstretched her fingers the scenery around her tore away. Soon, the hand did as well, and she was left alone, and the world went dark…

The girl looked lost. Kneeling on the floor, hands bound and head bowed, she did not look like a threat. And yet she may yet prove to be an enemy of all Thedas.

They moment they'd gotten word that she had regained consciousness, Cassandra made her way over, questions rattling around in her brain. She swung the doors inwards and headed straight to the prisoner, Leliana close behind. The girl was staring at her hands, not having quite noticed their entrance. As Cassandra watched, a glowing green light flared up, and the girl cried out softly, wincing at the surprise. They'd had plenty of time to study it the tear of light into her palm, to study her. It was as much a part of her as the skin around it.

As Cassandra's solid steps drew near, she looked up, hunching her shoulders defensively. The guards put away their swords, and Cassandra drew up short, regarding this person at her feet.

They compared each other for a long moment. Cassandra, in full metal and leather, looking down with her naturally stern expression, sword ready at her hip. And this outsider… Her skin might be sun-kissed under the dirt, and her hair was cut short, a hint of red in blonde, matted by dust and falling long over her left eye. She looked well-traveled, and lean, the result of more than a few days deficit on food. She was young, but Cassandra could see hardness behind her eyes. There was an edge to her. This information didn't settle well, and it didn't explain why she was here.

And her clothes… a stained white shirt, of fine material. Blue pants made of a sort of fabric that felt soft, but tough. The metalwork to close the front… Leliana had not been able to place a stitch of what she wore to anywhere in the known lands. And both pieces of clothing were patched up all over, like the wearer was trying to squeeze another year out of them.

There was more than that to this mystery. The marked hand… and the things she'd been carrying.

The stranger actually spoke up first. "...ad victoriam," she said, eyes flicking to the giant Inquisition symbol on her chest. A greeting, but was said with such hesitance that it took the lilt of a question. She looked very confused.

"Who are you?" Cassandra demanded.

"I… my name is Dayo." More hesitation. Her eyes followed every one of Cassandra's movements. Cassandra saw more wariness than fear. Dayo didn't know what to expect.

"You are under arrest and will be tried for murder," Cassandra said. Ah, there was the fear. "The conclave was destroyed, and you are the sole survivor."

"What? Conclave? Okay, wait, murder is… I wasn't at a conclave! Last I remember it, I was out in the Commonwealth, heading west to Sanctuary!"

"The… what? How dare you make light of this with gibberish!" Cassandra snapped, stepping forward and grabbing the marked hand, lifting Dayo to her feet in the next moment. Dayo's wide-eyed expression lit up with the sickly green light. "Explain this!"

"No clue, compadre!" Dayo said, fingers flexing. "I was hoping you could tell me!"

"You're lying!" Cassandra released the hand, only to grab both of Dayo's shoulders forcefully.

Leliana walked into the circle of light. For the first time, Dayo's eyes locked on her, confusion bleeding into defensiveness. "Cassandra, wait," Leliana said, resting her hand on her shoulder. Regardless of how this turned out, they may need this stranger, and Cassandra backed off. Leliana addressed Dayo, watching her closely for her reactions. "Do you remember what happened? How it began?"

"How what began?" Dayo said, hands clenched into tight fists. Even through her fingers, green streamed out, and Dayo looked thoughtful. "I… Maybe I remember something, but it's like a dream. I think I remember a lady… a Glowing One. She was reaching out to me. I think she may have saved me from the things chasing me…?" She shook her head. "That's it. Everything else is simply… fear."

Cassandra exchanged curious glances with Leliana. "None of what you say makes sense," she snapped, some of the heat gone. There were two options here, as far as she was concerned. Either this girl was lying or telling the truth. If Dayo was lying, then this was already taking too much time trying to find out what really happened.

The thing was, her gut was telling her this was sincere. And if she was telling the truth, then they needed to act. They were losing time down here now that Dayo was awake.

"You will need to come outside with us," Cassandra said, stepping forward to take hold of Dayo's upper arm and guide her from the room, her free hand on her sword hilt just in case. It would save time to simply show her.

As they walked her out of the prison where she'd been kept, Dayo looked around at Haven's chantry. She was trying to be subtle, but it was like she saw everything for the first time. Cassandra had been hoping for answers, but with the way Dayo acted, she felt like they'd get nothing satisfactory anytime soon. In advance of the group, the large double doors were thrown open, and they marched her outside.

"What… the hell." Cassandra felt herself supporting more weight as Dayo's knees buckled a little, holding her easily as she took in the Breach above them. It crackled with green energy, a tear into the Fade that spewed monsters for miles around. Clouds whirled around it in a swirling, slow-moving vortex. Out in the courtyard, as many people were watching the Breach as were looking at Dayo.

"What the hell is that? It's lifting rocks the size of trucks! No, no… they gotta be bigger. I could fit factories on those!" Dayo said, trying to back up and bumping right into Cassandra, who didn't move an inch. Her voice pitched up as she spoke, green eyes wide. "Why is nobody evacuating? You're all gonna get rad poisoning!"

With every word, Cassandra felt her frustration grow. "It is a Breach," Leliana said. "The explosion at the conclave tore a hole into the Fade, and demons from that place are pouring in. There is word of smaller breaches popping up all over Thedas. You were found nearby, the only survivor; the soldiers say there was a woman standing over you."

"It is growing." With Cassandra's words, the Breach suddenly gave off a flash of energy. As it had before, Dayo's mark flared up as well, and the girl cried out and fell to her knees with pain. Cassandra sank to a knee beside her. She couldn't help the passionate words that came next, trying to convince their possible enemy to do what was right. "That mark and the Breach are connected. You may be the key to fixing all this, to saving us all. And yourself." As the Breach flexed its power, the mark grew.

Dayo seemed fixed on the Breach, with its swirling green energy, and swallowed hard. "I don't know if we should be going near there," she said. "Could make us real sick. Like… skin falling off." Her hand rubbed the bare skin of her wrist.

Cassandra raised her eyebrow, watching Dayo weighing her options. "We have many people getting close to this thing, and nobody's skin's fallen off just yet. Are you coming with me peacefully, or not?"

She could feel the Spymaster at her back, probably trying to read body language. Dayo stopped looking at the Breach, now really studying her surroundings, taking in the snow, the forest, all the people starting to gather around. Cassandra never seen someone look so far out of her element as she did watching her.

Dayo stood and then turned to Cassandra, a new expression on her face: hard determination. "Yeah, I'm coming with. Something weird is going on. If this'll do anything, I'll do it." Their eyes met for a long moment, and to her surprise, Cassandra was the one to look away first.

"I will head for the forward camp," Leliana said. With a nod from Cassandra, she took her leave.

Cassandra walked Dayo through the throngs of people. They stared, angry, most of the people around now watching their two-person procession. "So, I get any protection for doing this willingly?" Dayo murmured nervously.

"We are still mourning Divine Justinia. Her death is making them seek someone to blame," Cassandra said, her voice carrying the weight of her passion.

"No shit. Guess I'm the bullseye today. You said the conclave was destroyed," Dayo said, and Cassandra nodded, narrowing her eyes. "What is that?" How could she interpret that question? Was she not there, having walked from the Fade into the ruins of the conclave? Did she not know which conclave she'd attended? Or did she not understand what a conclave even was?

"It was her meeting to address the civil war between mages and templars."

Cassandra watched as Dayo squinted. "Mages?" she asked.

"They rebelled recently, against the templars..."

"We'll unpack that later. Wizards, yeah? With spells and shit? Or is this a cult thing."

Cassandra stopped short. "Do you mean to tell me you don't know what magic is?" she snapped, irritated at the banal question.

Dayo jumped, looking guiltily cautious at the tone. "N-no! I mean, I know, yes. What magic is, pfffttthhh." Dayo waved her hand, making that weird sound of forced bemusement again for good measure. "And they have it. Okay." She looked up at the rift in the sky. "Okay." They lingered there, the air heavy, before Cassandra reached out. Dayo flinched. She seemed surprised as Cassandra instead stepped forward to undo Dayo's bonds. Dayo rubbed her wrist again, her fingers lingering on the pale patch on her forearm, and Cassandra thought back to the odd device safe in its chest. There would be time for that later.

Together they hurried to the large double doors, which were again thrown open at their approach. "Good service," Dayo commented. As they walked, she kept glancing furtively around them. Why did this girl remind her so much of a lost duckling? She even walked like she wasn't used to snow, apparent by her clothing and the goosebumps on her arm. Cassandra considered turning back.

They headed past soldiers, but at the first dead body, Dayo stiffened up. Her steps got heavier, with a bit more grim resolve. "You said I survived the big bang," Dayo said, breaking the silence. "How?"

Their steps rang out in the cold air as they crossed a stone bridge. "Soldiers reported you stepping out of a rift, like this one. You passed out immediately. They… they say a woman was with you, but they were unable to identify her before she vanished."

As Cassandra spoke her last words, the rift above opened up, spewing green flames. "Fuck!" Cassandra heard Dayo yell from behind her. She saw one beam of green fire collide with the bridge, and the stones underfoot crumbled inwards like toy bricks. Cassandra stuck her landing as the bridge collapsed whereas Dayo rolled with a grunt, ending up on her ass, lucky to have escaped broken bones. They watched as another spewing green column of wispy magic slammed into the ice nearby, sending out waves of magic smoke.

Coiling from the smoke, two shade demons emerged, and Cassandra charged. They hissed and began a slow slide across the glassy ice, and Cassandra noted its claws, like wicked scythes. Behind her, she heard Dayo yell, but she couldn't stop her charge now. She spun, dealing a blow across the middle of the closest shade with a cry of challenge, cutting along its side. The other one reached out and slashed across her chest, and her armor turned it aside easily. She buried her blade in the area that was most likely its face, ripping up, narrowly dodging another slice before following suit with the other.

As she'd seen before, the demons first fell, then dissolved into nothingness, only a few small pieces clinging to this plane. Cassandra spun to see Dayo kneeling. She looked paler, but was clinging to the hilt of a sword as a wraith faded away under her. "Th-the fuck was this?" she gasped, panting slightly, standing, her hold on the sword amateurish at best.

Cassandra didn't think, just ran up, holding her own sword out in challenge. Ready for a fight. Dayo didn't even bother to raise her's as Cassandra approached, confused and shaken. "Drop. Your. Weapon," Cassandra ordered.

Without hesitation, Dayo did so. It clattered dully to the cold ice under their feet. Dayo raised her hands peacefully, and the obedience made Cassandra pause. Big time.

"Those were, uh… demons, right?" Dayo asked, more interested in eyeballing the bits left behind than looking at Cassandra's steel.

Cassandra turned on her heel, sheathing her weapon. "...in a sense. And. Pick up the sword."

"Huh?"

"I changed my mind. You were right to use it and you will need it from here on out. I alone cannot protect you." Cassandra was already running away. "You volunteered your help. I should remember that." She felt instead of saw Dayo let go a breath of relief as the two ran without a word along the path.

It was only moment before they came upon their first rift and the two people still fighting beneath it.

Cassandra was used to these rifts; small tears mirroring the Breach that seemed to cause them. She immediately charged into the fray, knocking a demon down and away from a very short man with a crossbow. Dayo tried to stay away from the rift itself but attempted to do the same with the other demon, slicing away at its side. The demon spun and slashed with a hideous cry. Dayo was only saved as an elven mage cast a shield around her, rendering its attacks useless. She dove effortlessly away, needing no more encouragement to avoid the line of fire and focus her effort to distract the shade. There she could be truly useful, drawing the shades away and running around to slice at their flank as the mage fired his attacks. That was much more effective, if still very clumsy, and Dayo held her own until the other two could help take it down.

Above them the rift flared, and Cassandra looked at it fearfully until the elf strode towards Dayo. He grabbed her hand and lifted it towards the rift. It glowed brighter, a glowing green tendril snaking out and connecting her with the tear in the sky. And just like that, it imploded. She winced and yanked back her hand, taking several large steps back.

"The fuck you do?" she asked, flexing her fingers. "Wait, the fuck I do?"

"Your mark is the same magic as the breach in the sky," Solas said. "It can close the rifts. And possibly the Breach."

Cassandra looked to the sky. "She could hold the key to whatever this is."

"Good talk, guys," the much shorter companion said. He strode forward, looking Dayo over as she did him. "I'm Varric. I'm a dashing miscreant with a penchant for storytelling. Not that everybody likes that aspect of myself." Dayo briefly followed his stare to Cassandra, and with the both of them looking at her, she couldn't help but defensively hold her head higher. "And the quiet one is Solas."

"You… uh. Never mind." Dayo tore her gaze from Solas back to Cassandra. Solas continued to look Dayo over, curiously. "Well, hi. I'm Dayo. Nice to meet you guys, I suppose."

"Solas is the one who kept you alive," Varric mentioned. "Kept an eye on that mark."

"Oh. Well, thanks, my dude." Dayo nodded to Solas. "Should we move on?"

"Hold up, kiddo," Varric said, raising his hand to halt her in her tracks. "You carry that sword like a baby with a club. What the hell you think you're trying to do, beat the demons with the blunt side?"

Dayo blushed. "Well. That was the plan, with the sharp bits thrown in for extra bleedy piercing damage." When Varric raised an eyebrow in an incredulous look, Dayo immediately started to defend herself. "Hey, it's not like I have a choice! I don't know how to use this thing. It was just the first weapon I could find."

"This is true," Cassandra said, feeling the need to interject. "We did not have much time as we headed up the mountain. This sword was what we found on the way, and I did not think to arm her before we left." The memory of Cassandra yelling for Dayo to drop her weapon went unmentioned.

"Well, here," Varric said, temporarily stowing Bianca away so he could unsheath two long daggers, capable of doing some damage. "Try these on for size. If you like them, you can borrow them for the trip up."

Dayo set aside her sword, reaching out for the daggers and swinging them with more ease than the sword. "And Chuckles, can she borrow the vest-thing you're wearing? She's shivering."

"Certainly." Solas began shucking his robe.

Dayo relaxed a little around Varric, which Cassandra supposed was his brand of magic. She moved her arms in a circle, handling the blades. "This is like machetes. I can do a bit of this type of melee." She took the vest and donned it, sighing into the warmth.

Cassandra and the dwarf exchanged glances. "Right, then. The forward camp should be right ahead," Varric said.

Dayo ran ahead, and Cassandra followed, just as eager to rejoin a larger group. Safety in numbers, and all that. Which helped, as they quickly came upon another rift and had to set about closing that one as well. Cassandra felt as though this was simply applying a bandage to a severed limb, but the fact that it worked gave her hope.

"So what's your story, Smalls?" Varric asked after their second bout with demons. Dayo had successfully sealed the rift on her own this time with minimal prompting. He'd been right, Dayo did a lot better with the daggers. It was interesting watching her, constantly moving out of trouble after swiping fluidly.

Dayo ignored the fact that Varric had the nerve to call her Smalls. "My story? I fall asleep next to a bush, then wake up here. Isn't but nothing in between." Cassandra glanced at Dayo, who was using her shirt to wipe sweat off her brow. She had scars on her belly, and Cassandra looked quickly away too late for her brain to not analyze them. Lots of entry wounds, maybe from arrows, though they seemed too round, and a slash continuing up to her sternum, plus a burn on her hip… Who was this woman?

"The old amnesia bit? Make up something interesting and maybe they'll let you go," Varric said.

"That is something you would do," Cassandra snapped. Varric never had to try hard to get her ire up. If it wasn't for Bianca and the danger in their trek, she wouldn't be allowing him to tag along.

Cassandra breathed easier when the gates of the forward camp opened in front of them, this zone still safe for now. Dayo followed closely behind Cassandra, and as they pulled up to a yelling Lord Chancellor, she couldn't help but look over to see the determined look on her face and how she studied the sky.

"Welcome," Leliana barely got out.

"Arrest her! You must try her for execution immediately!" the Lord Chancellor sputtered.

"Don't think that you have the power to order me around," Cassandra growled. "Move aside. We must get to the temple."

"You… you won't survive, Lady Cassandra."

"We definitely won't survive if we don't do something," Dayo interrupted at that point, stepping forward. "I may not make it to any trial you have planned, but we have to try to fix this." She opened her mouth as if to say more, but at that moment the rift pulsed a sharp wave of bright energy. Dayo choked back a cry, flinching as her hand flared with an audible crackle.

"We can take an alternate route through the mountains, with the soldiers serving as a distraction here," Leliana said. "Or, we charge." And somehow, she was looking at Dayo for an answer. Cassandra was, as well. The moment hung, quiet.

Dayo looked tired. "We charge," she said. "Distraction for what? That tear's spitting out demons indiscriminately. We've been fighting localized pockets so far with a fairly random spread. We shouldn't split the party at this point, and my gut is saying that it'll be an equally hard fight either way. Let's get this over with."

There was another quiet over the group, a bit of… surprise? It was not a bad bit of reasoning, and even though Varric grumbled, he did not fight it. "May the Maker have mercy on your souls," the Lord Chancellor murmured, and was ignored. Orders were given, and they headed out.

It was not long before they faced another rift, but the soldiers at their side helped. Numbers overwhelmed the demons with few casualties on their side. A blonde man walked up to them once the rift was sealed. "My thanks, Lady Cassandra. Without you helping, this may not be going as well."

"Dayo is the one who chose this route," Cassandra said. Dayo gave him a double thumbs-up and was met with a very confused expression. "Buy us time, Commander Cullen. We must reach the Breach."

"Yes, right away," he said, turning to Dayo. "I hope they're right. That you can help."

"Same." Dayo shrugged. "I like not being dead." He snorted at that, and turned to lead the soldiers in an effort to keep them off their trail. They made it quickly to the temple. Their pace slowed over the scorched land, not really losing the sense of urgency, but… it was hard to rush past still burning corpses. "I was pulled out of… the Fade here?" she asked, just loud enough to get over the energetic thrum of the nearby Breach.

"You stepped out, a mysterious lady at your back," Cassandra confirmed again. Another conundrum, wrapped in enigma and hidden in riddles.

They turned the corner and spotted the Breach. It was huge, hovering in a canyon-like depression most likely caused by the explosion. "How the hell am I to get to it," Dayo asked in a daze.

"We'll figure it out. Let's get to the base of the canyon."

"Seeker, you see the red lyrium too, right?"

"Noted, Varric." The jagged, intimidating crystals grew around the sight of the explosion, like a strange kind of rot. "Let's go." Cassandra led the charge down the stairs.

The air got thicker as they went, ripples that almost seemed to affect time itself. Suddenly, deep words rang out around them.

"Now is the hour of our victory."

"What…?" The group skittered to the side of the path, searching for the source.

"This could be the voice of the man who created the Breach," Solas replied to Cassandra, staff in position, and as they ran, it continued.

"Bring forth the sacrifice."

"Help me!"

A new voice. "That's the Divine!" Cassandra blurted out in shock. The party's steps slowed for a half-beat.

"Help! Someone!"

"Keep the sacrifice still. Bring forth now the one pulled from hell itself, untouched by magic."

"What's… what's going on?"

A third voice now, groggy, groaning, and a little like… "That's me," Dayo gasped besides Cassandra, the mark on her palm a pulsing beacon. The air here was even thicker, and the voices at once distant and too loud.

They reached ground zero of the explosion, the Breach directly overhead, and around them a ghostly scene took shape. The thick air around them rippled more, and though it was like looking through murky water, Cassandra knew what she was seeing: the Divine hanging magical shackles and Dayo kneeling on the ground, one hand clutching her head. Below her, the floor glowed green. The real Dayo backed up, face as shocked as all of them when Cassandra looked incredulously at her.

"Run! Run while you still can, child!"

The illusion Dayo staggered up to her feet at the words of the Divine as a dark figure approached. "That must be the one who caused this," Solas remarked, gaze intense. "This appears to be echoes from the Rift." As they watched, Dayo's last-minute attempt to bolt was stopped by the dark shadows reaching out and grabbing her forearm. One slice of his claws, and illusory blood dripped on the floor as fake Dayo cried out. He'd cut her right where her mark now lay, and as he held the ball to catch her blood it began glowing a bitter green.

"Your blood... and her death." There was movement around the Divine, shadowy figures stepping forward.

Then illusion Dayo pulled a small metallic object from her side and pointed it. There was a flash of light and a loud explosion, and suddenly a large hole was torn in the shadow. It reeled, Dayo's palm glowing green as she jerked away and reached out to grab the Divine.

"Kill her!"

Out of nowhere, there was a large explosion.

The the vision ended.

"What happened next?" Cassandra cried out, turning to Dayo. "You were there!"

"I don't remember any of that," Dayo said quietly, brows furrowed as she stared at where the demonic person had been. "Uhhhhh, Solas. What do I do?"

"This Breach acts like a broken bone," Solas said. "Not set quite right. We have to break it open, and reseal it."

"And when we break it open?" Dayo asked.

"Be ready to fight."

Cassandra felt only a little safer with a small army at her back as Dayo approached the Breach to follow instructions. A long tendril of green snaked between Dayo's hand and the abomination in the sky, and within moments, it all seemed to burst open. Something impossibly huge was spat out, sailing over the group and landing hard on the ground before standing.

"Well… damn. That's one big Deathclaw," Dayo breathed. Then she dodged to the side as the being immediately turned towards her and fired out some sort of energy, as if sensing she was connected somehow.

Arrows filled the air as they attacked. Solas ran to Dayo's side to defend her, and she raised up a hand to pull her daggers from her back to do the same. For one odd moment, another tendril connected her and the rift before breaking.

"That magic… it could help weaken it somehow," Cassandra heard Solas say. "Get somewhere out of the way and try it again. Reach out for that connection."

Dayo nodded and ran. Cassandra's attacks against this thing didn't seem to do much, but Dayo pressed to the pillar and raised her hand, so keeping the demon distracted was her main job. The connection between her and the Rift thrummed audibly, becoming louder and louder until with a large pop the Rift flashed. The wave of energy went through the demon and brought it to its knees.

It was vulnerable. "Now!" Cassandra yelled, focusing their fire more intensely, now able to truly hurt it.

All too quickly, the demon stood and summoned lightning from its hands. Two electric whips sailed out, sweeping over the rock and slamming into the rock wall of their small canyon. She heard Dayo's cry as she was hit, Cassandra getting caught as well and landing hard on her back. God, she was wearing armor and had the breath solidly knocked out of her; how did Dayo fare? Cassandra forced herself to sit up and look over.

Though battered and bleeding, Dayo clenched her fists and forced herself to her elbows, then her knees. Lifting her head, Cassandra saw the determined look through the blood dribbling down her face from a cut. The guards kept the demon off of them for now, giving both the time to get to their feet. Then Dayo began to climb the wall of rock she'd landed near. Cassandra looked up and saw a ledge Dayo was bee-lining for and gripped her sword, determined to keep the demon off of Dayo's ass. The stranger was their only hope.

She only glanced over once during her part in the fight, just in time to witness Dayo climbing upon the ledge and opening another connection. The demon saw it too, though, and began to charge directly at the rock wall, knocking aside any soldiers in its way.

A small furrow appeared between Dayo's brows, and just as the demon was close enough, she charged forward, hand still up and connected to the rift. Cassandra cried out the moment she realized Dayo's intentions. Dayo leapt off the edge and sailed through the air before landing hard on the demon's head, a dagger burying deep into its neck. As it staggered, time froze, and the rift above burst open. The demon was felled, and Dayo jumped down, landing in a roll. The pride demon dissolved away, defeated. Her borrowed dagger clattered to the ground.

Ah. Now Cassandra could recognize Dayo's special look when she was about to do something immensely stupid.

"Seal the rift! Now!" Solas cried out, and Cassandra noticed that the hard, jagged Breach had become more fluid, more pliable, and as Dayo raised her hand the connection was almost instantaneous. She cried out, straining with the effort, and the world hung on edge with her.

The rift flashed once as the seal was formed.

And before anybody could celebrate, Dayo tilted forward and collapsed to the ground, unconscious where she stood.