The portal spat Solea out somewhere with a sturdy stone floor flooded with water that reflected the harsh red glare of the lanterns. More than that she couldn't tell as she lay gasping where she'd fallen onto all fours. Her stomach rolled and cramped in protest and every cell in her body ached with the wrongness of her unplanned magical journey. Whatever had happened was too unnatural for even her to handle.
She was still fighting the urge to vomit into the water that soaked her limbs when a strong arm tugged her to her feet.
"We've got company." A familiar voice cautioned, and only then did she realize she was not alone. Dorian had been pulled through the portal with her. More problematically, two men in full plate armor had run into the room, hesitating only a moment to exclaim in utter surprise before charging forward with swords drawn.
Dorian immediately released Solea to engage one of the guards. She stumbled slightly without his support; her previous nausea being replaced by a pounding headache. Her heart raced and she was uncomfortably conscious of every pulse of blood through her body; feeling the lure of the power in her veins just waiting to be summoned. A faint melody tickled at the back of her mind, just brushing at the edge of her hearing.
The second guard let out a fierce battle cry as he approached. Fighting the pain, Solea tried to neatly dodge the swing of his blade but was hindered by the water she stood in and fell backwards instead. Her back slammed into a rock solid, but surprisingly warm, wall and her body erupted in flames. Every cell was on fire, her blood raced in an inferno that spread the raging heat to her extremities. Despite the strict layering of clothes she wore to conceal her skin, every piece of her that was in contact with the wall at her back was in agony.
Solea screamed, throwing herself forward from the wall and collapsing into the water that offered no relief from the pain. The moment she broke contact with the wall, the pain lessened. She had a moment of relief before she was yanked up and restrained by metal arms. She'd completely forgotten about the guard that had been attacking her.
Disoriented, she thrashed wildly but her arms were pinned, and she couldn't escape. She was trapped, restrained against cold metal armor with the sharp musical hum of lyrium taunting her mind. All logical thought fled, and she panicked. Hysterical with the need to be free, Solea summoned her magic to her for the first time since the Conclave.
There was no finesse or control, only the all-consuming desire for freedom that had her lashing out blindly with her power. A wave of electric force exploded out from her body, bathing the room in blindingly white light. The arms trapping her were flung back so sharply that she heard the sharp crack of broken bones just before the man rocketed away from her, the force of her attack sending him slamming into the far wall. He slapped against the stone with a sickening smack and his body fell to the ground unmoving.
Falling to the floor, Solea crawled in a daze through the water away from the burning wall that had scorched her. She was desperate for safety and petrified that someone else would come to cage her once more. Her mind was running purely on base instinct, logic thrust aside as her adrenaline-fueled brain focused on survival above anything else. From birth, she'd been taught that her greatest defense was staying hidden, going unnoticed by all. It had been pounded into her head by both her parents. You disappeared the moment you enemy gave you the chance.
Clinging to this rule, Solea called upon the power in her blood, letting the lyrium-infused cells glow with power as she pulled the Fade around her to hide beneath it as one might hide behind a curtain. Suddenly, the niggling music that had taunted her grew louder, obnoxiously louder, until her ears ached, and her head pounded. It was a siren song of ethereal beauty that called to her, promising unlimited power if she just gave in.
Solea was bewildered by the increased noise and lost her hold on her power, flickering back into visibility. A tall figure in front of her yelped in surprise at her appearance and she flinched back, her hands wreathed in electricity as she raised them in defense. It only took a moment for her to recognize Dorian, wearing a face of complete bewilderment.
"I hope you're aware that you are glowing."
The comment was so unexpected that it startled a slightly hysterical laugh from Solea. No longer feeling threatened, she dismissed the electricity with a wave of her fingers. Calming down the rest of her was less simple. Her mind and body were severely off-kilter and she felt as if she'd been thrown through another portal. Closing her eyes, she took deep meditative breaths, practicing the calming techniques her father had taught her. It took nearly five minutes but finally she reigned in her power and when she was sure she was no longer glowing or crackling with lightning, she opened her eyes.
Dorian was leaning against the wall near her watching her in fascination. He looked thoughtful for a moment before saying, "No one ever told me you were a mage."
"Yes, well, no one is supposed to know." Trying to avoid more questions, she examined the room they had been sent to. Solea realized that it wasn't lit by red lanterns as she had thought but by the enormous crystal shards of red lyrium that erupted from the ground. One of which had been the 'wall' she'd slammed into. She vaguely remembered encountering the stuff at the Temple of Sacred Ashes, but she had been preoccupied by closing the Breach. Now, she was drawn forward, by more than just curiosity, and approached one of the crystals. Her blood pulsed with increased fervor the closer she got.
"What are you doing?" Dorian pushed off from the wall. "Do you think that's wise?"
Solea shushed him and reached out to touch the red lyrium. She could feel something calling to her, urging her to reach forward. The same haunting chorus was singing once more. Her hand made contact with the warm smooth surface and the fiery pain from before erupted. This time should could feel the red lyrium seeking entrance, looking for a weakness and slamming against her body like waves against the cliffs. It wanted in, and the sheer power behind it was staggering.
Abruptly, she was ripped backwards, and the pain stopped with the breaking of physical contact. Lungs heaving, she watched the blue lyrium glow fade from her veins and just for a moment, she swore the tips of her fingers glowed with a purplish tinge. Shaking the thought away, Solea turned to face a now concerned looking mage.
"Perhaps we shouldn't try to touch the strange red stuff again, hmm?" Dorian commented dryly.
"I guess not." Solea's mind raced with questions but for now she satisfied herself with the knowledge that she should avoid the stuff at all costs. She did her best to ignore the alluring melody still tickling the back of her brain and focused on Dorian's earlier comment. She had to convince him not to share her secret. She'd worked too hard to hide it.
"Please, Master Pavus, I'd be grateful if you'd keep my status as a mage a secret. It is not knowledge I'd like to get out. I've got enough problems to deal with without adding running from templars to the mix." She lifted her marked left hand as evidence, hoping to appeal to his empathy. Based on her assessment of the man, she didn't think threatening him to silence was the best method of persuasion, but she would do it if she had to.
Dorian hesitated only a moment before smiling reassuringly. "I have no desire to see a fellow mage put in chains. But you have to call me Dorian."
"Deal." They shook on it. "Now where exactly are we and how do we get back? It looks like we're still somewhere in the castle."
"Yes, it's probably not what Alexius intended. The rift must have moved us…to what? The closest confluence of arcane energy?" He walked around the room, paying extra attention to the area in where they'd emerged from the portal, as he thought aloud. Much of what he mumbled didn't make a ton of sense to Solea whose magical education had been more practical than theoretical.
"If we're still in the castle. It isn't…" Dorian exclaimed suddenly in triumph. "Of course! It's not simply where – it's when." He turned to Solea eagerly. "Alexius used the amulet as a focus. He moved us through time."
"We traveled through time?" Solea struggled to grasp the idea as questions flooded her mind. "Forwards or backwards? How far?" They had to get back as soon as possible.
"Those are excellent questions. We'll have to explore further to find out, won't we? Let's look around, see where the rift took us. Then we can figure out how to get back…if we can."
She shuddered at the very idea that they might be stuck in the past or the future. She would never get to apologize to her parents for running off without telling them. The last thing she'd done before slipping away in the night was accuse them both of not caring about Varric enough to look for him. She didn't want a fight to be the last memory she had of them.
She cast the thoughts aside, they would not help to find a solution to the problem. There was nothing to do now but move forward. Mustering herself, Solea led the way out of the room and into the network of stone tunnels that compromised the underground levels of the castle.
Red lyrium sprouted sporadically through the stone and Solea flinched away from them all in pain. Thankfully, Dorian only glanced at her in concern and did not voice the questions she was sure he had. Instead, he chose to comment on the dreadful, in his opinion, change in decoration compared to his previous foray in the castle.
Other than Dorian's sarcastic remarks, the hallways they wandered were silent. There was no sign of life anywhere. It made her uneasy and she instinctively stepped silently with her daggers held at the ready. Unfortunately, her mage companion did not possess the same predilection for stealth and every noisy step he made echoed off the cold stone blocks, making Solea wince.
One door opened to reveal a cavern over which a bridge of metal grates split into three directions, connecting to doors on the left and right while the path straight ahead had a drawbridge that was raised high, blocking that route. There was a Venatori standing guard at each of the two accessible doors who charged forwards so soon as Solea stepped into the room.
Solea raised her daggers but stood still, ready to let Dorian have a chance to attack them from a distance before she traded blades with them. She could feel him gathering magic for an attacked when a realization struck her. There was no reason to hold back anymore. Dorian already knew she was a mage. She was free to use every skill at her disposal to dispatch the two warriors who charged her.
A wicked grin split her face a moment before she slipped into the Fade and dashed forward. This time she was prepared for the increased volume from the singing red lyrium. Ignoring it, she exited the fade step just behind the first guard, her long hair whipping wildly as she spun around and slipped a dagger into the gap in his armor just beneath his helmet. She yanked the blade out and twirled to face the other Venatori, who ducked a fireball sent his way courtesy of Dorian.
Channeling electricity through her blades she used one dagger to turn aside the sword arcing towards her; crackling blue energy lept down the man's weapon as soon as it made contact with hers. The shock was just strong enough to paralyze him for the split second it took her to drive her other blade straight into his heart, the white-hot current lacing the blade making a mockery of the chainmail.
The battle was over in seconds, silence ringing out in the cavernous room once more. Blood pumping, Solea felt more at ease than she had in months. The freedom to let loose on her powers was alarmingly pleasurable and despite the situation, she felt like the stress and tension that had been weighing her down had disappeared. She realized that she needed to find a more extensive stress relief than firing arrows into the trees outside Haven. For now, they needed to find a way out of here.
"Have a preference?" She gestured to either of the accessible doors in the room.
Dorian gestured to the door whose frame had been pierced by a cluster of red lyrium crystals. "This one feels particularly inviting, don't you think?"
"Indeed." Solea smirked and then led the way through their chosen door, determined to discover when they were and how they could get back to the timeline they'd left.
