The pain throbs in his chest, deep and pulsing.

It felt like someone had their hand inside his rib cage and was squeezing his organs either gently or as hard as they can. His back was pressed against a large trunk of a tree, his shield strapped tightly to his good arm, blocking the onslaught of magical blasts. His jaw ached from clenching through the pain. When it wanes he can move, when it returns he can only hold still and breathe, breathe slow and deep until it has passed. There's no blood anywhere but he was sure that there was something internally wrong.

A rogue blast knocks him out and away from the tree that held him up moment ago. Try as he would, he couldn't find himself rising from the ground. Even as his comrades' voices rang out, felt the thundering steps of feet under his ear. His eyes closed once and he struggled to open them. When he did, his breath caught. In the distance, he watched his friends, his allies, battling, his eyes glided over a few feet, mending and protecting. He caught sight of his lieutenant kneeling over a fallen body, face raised upwards and though he was far, he could feel the pained scream yet heard nothing but the chaos of battle.

His hand, bare from losing his shield again, no doubt from the blast, dug into the dirt and clenched.

This wasn't how this was supposed to go, he thought with a tense shake of his head.. This wasn't what he wanted. He pushed himself from the dirt, maybe a few centimeters, his arms shaking with the strain before he collapsed into the dirt again.

Maker.

He wanted the fights to be over.

Wanted to be sitting in the sun with his friends, his family. Laughing and teasing with them. Wanted to fix what he had been so selfish to not see with the love of his life.

They had come so far. They had earned the right.

They had all been through so much.

Overcome so many trails.

He wanted to rest. Hadn't he earned even a small reprieve?

His eyes closed, and slowly, he slipped into the beckoning darkness.

~Several Years Earlier ~

Opening his eyes, he let out a long calming breath as he peered out the window. Hands at his back, he watched as both Templars and mages walk towards the temple. They seemed to go on for forever. The sight did nothing to ease his underlying apprehension. This Conclave was called to end the war between the two parties.

For Peace.

He and his men stood at the center of it, to keep it. He let out an amused snort. No one more than he himself had been more surprised when the Valo-Kas had been hired to be here. Even his company had voiced their opinions of him being in a Temple, ones that still had him laughing to himself.

Now that he thought about it, where were they? He frowned and looked away from the window. The room he stood in was spacious, and faintly he could hear the clamouring of voiced down below. The mages and Templars would be kept separate, unless they wandered to far from their designated rooms, but even then, they wouldn't act out in accordance to the peace.

So why did he feel like this?

His nerves were frayed to the quick. In his building anxiety he constructed elaborate rationalizations for why everything would turn out all right, but still the nagging voice in the back of his mind spoke of nothing but… doom ahead. He shook his head and took another breath, slowly letting it out. He needed to stay focused. He needed to-

He turned his head to the sound of a door opening into the room he currently occupied and found himself surprised.

"Lady Divine." He bowed his head to the woman of the hour. "I wasn't expecting to see you so early into the evening, Ma'am." He admitted, straightening.

"Oh, my apologies. I didn't know you were in here." She looked up to him and gave a welcoming smile. The white cloak she wore moved with every step, like her feet were always kicking the material away so she could walk. It almost made him smile. Then there was the large… hat she wore. Easily several sizes bigger than her own head, but, he wasn't here to judge the outfits of Divines. "If I were to be honest, I just needed a moment to get away from all of the.. noise." She admitted with a small laugh.

"If you should wish, Lady Divine, I will leave you to your-." He paused when she he waved his words away.

"Please. Justinia is fine. I would appreciate if we could simply talk a while." She motioned to the opposite side of the room where a door leading to another hallway lead.

"If you should so wish, Ma'am." It would keep his mind off the foreboding that slightly nagged at him. He approached her, bowed slightly and offered his arm. She smiled gently and looped her arm over his. She didn't fear him like most humans seemed too. Turning from the windows, he began walking them into one of the corridors that lead away from the oncoming sights of mages and Templars.

"Tell me, Mr. Adaar, what did you do, before all this?" She asked, gently gesturing to the stone all around them. "Before you and your men were hired to keep the peace?"

"Well, I was in charge of mercenaries storming the headquarters of the bandits we were told to dispatch. With my men, we caught them by surprise. It was over before the horns even blew." He explained and felt a small twinge of pride when her eyes widened.

"Well. That's.. reassuring. I appreciate what it is you and your men are doing here." She spoke quietly as they walked through the doors and into the hallway. "Though I have not met them, I am sure they are quite good at keeping things in order." She implied and he nodded.

"Each one of them I personally asked to keep by my side. A few offered," he rolled his eyes in memory "some were reluctant. But there are none better." He spoke easily, his voice ringing with pride. "Have you met them?" He asked as they turned a corner, heading nowhere in specific, but each step drew them farther and farther into the Temple.

"I was wondering if you could tell me about them?" She asked politely, making him bow his head a little for his horns to clear the doorway.

"If it pleases you, Justinia." He answered and pondered a second. "Though, if you have the time, I could introduce you to some of them, that might help if you have any… concerns about my men." He offered and caught her slight widening of eyes.

"I didn't mean to insinuate that I- I mean to say that-"

"I understand, ma'am." He soothed. "Not everyone is as… open minded as you are. Never been introduced to a Divine before. And I think you handled it well." He felt his lips tilt upwards in a slight smile.

"Is this you admitting my 'thought you would be taller' comment was a little humorous?" She asked and he felt his smile spread.

"It was refreshing." He admitted and turned down another hall.

"Well.. Thank you." He patted her hand and walked on. "You were telling me about your men." She carried on; her steps light compared to his.

"Let's see," he hummed in thought. "My men, are not the norm. But I will admit, neither was I several years ago." He explained when she sent him a puzzled look. "I wasn't always like this."

"Tall?" Justinia teased and had him chuckling. This woman was amusing.

"No, ma'am. I used to be.. My sister would say timid." He admitted, not ashamed. He had changed much in his years, and was proud to show his growth.

"You have family?" She asked interested.

"I do. Well," he dragged a nail down his temple in an absent scratch. "I like to think of my men as my extended family, but I have a blood sister." He explained, wondering what she was up to at the moment. No doubt admiring some type of stonework or piece of art. Like a deformed vase. He inwardly smirked at the idea. 'I should check in on her soon.'

"So, your men changed you?" She asked, gaining his attention again. He nodded and turned them to another doorway.

"In their own way, or so my sister tells me. If you needed something done, Adaar was at the top of the list. And that, caused me to travel a lot. And through my years, my travels, I met some of the best in their field. I did my job, and ended up recruiting some of them. Though I had my struggles, my team helped make me into the man I am today. We've won many a battle together." He admitted, his voice sounding prideful even to his own ears. "Even my lieutenant should be poking around here somewhere, waiting to report in." He glanced down to the Divine when she hummed, a pleasant smile gracing her face.

"I look forward to meeting them." She replied as they continued to walk down the halls. The halls were to.. baren for his liking. But all the other guards were off on patrols, 2 of his own included. But everything seemed too quite in these halls.

"What has you looking so tense?" She asks drawing him back to the present and he internally felt a twinge of irritation. His emotions should have been held closer. Better concealed. Shit.

"It's just all the commotion brewing, I suppose. Sets everyone's nerves on edge. Don't fear Di-Justinia," he corrected quickly when her hand tightened just slightly on his arm. "All will be well. Pay me no mind." He bowed his head slightly. "I should be concerned for you." He reminded and saw the way her face settled into a form of neutral observation.

"Maker willing, this war will end, and all will be just. Of that I am sure." His men would like her, in their own way, and soon, he found himself guiding them to the barracks.

"Have you spoken to the or I should say, your advisors?" He asked and made a mental note to speak to his head lookout who no doubt was lingering on the towers.

"Amidst all the greetings I had with mages and Templars alike, no. I was able to slip away before I was pulled to deeply in." She supplied as they walk into another room. "But if no one has seen them, then that means they have no doubt been held up." She mentions offhandedly.

"Meetings." He half scoffed. "The air feels like it will be mere moments before a large brawl begins. I've seen and felt it before." Maybe that was also why he felt uneasy.

"There is always a chance. But thankfully you are here to help us right things." She patted his hand again. "If there is to be peace, it cannot be accomplished through threats and demands. The lives of many more than just the mages are at stake." She replied with a stronger voice. The crows-feet and the lines that ran from her nose to her thinning lips became more pronounced.

"Well, I am pleased with your way of thinking." He admitted.

"Even if you were not raised in such ways?" She inquired gently.

"No," he admitted a little stiffly. "my parents were raised under the Qun, but they didn't teach my sister and I such ways. We're are… aware of it though." She pondered what he had said as they reached a set of doors. The faint sound of thumping inside had him internally groan. And the muffled voices that lay within…

"Your men I take it?" The woman inquired, casting a glance to him making him nod and lift a hand towards the door only for his vision to darken in the corners making him stagger.

"What…their… names?" She asked, her voice wobbling, fading as his vision darkened as her voice drifted away completely. No. This wasn't right. Something was wrong. Closing his eyes, he mentally tried to focus on something.

Anything.

Taking a deep breath, he coughed a little and opened them, only to find himself nowhere in the temple.

There was a lack of light that had him staggered for a moment. It was the kind of darkness that could throw a mind into free-fall if only one more sense were to be removed. Or more like.. A heavily fogged cavern? After his yes adjusted a little, he could make out the bed of jagged rocks that surrounded him. Groaning, he lifted a hand over the base of one of his horns. For some reason his head, hurt like a sonofa bitch. Blinking several times, he turned his head to scan the area.

"Alright." He coughed at the fog, swiping away at it's taste invading his mouth. "Alright. Dark, foggy cave. But.. Where am I? And how did I?" His voice trailed as the dark peeled away as he turned around and stood still. There, resting atop a stone staircase was a beacon of warm bright light. His eyes burned slightly, making him lift a hand to block it's visual assault. Taking a few steps towards it, it seemed to take shape. He frowned as he walked towards it, his hand still upraised to block it's piercing glow. Strange. Until the light, he hadn't even realized the chill in the smoke/fog like air.

Descending downwards as carefully as he could manage, his eyes moved around behind his hands protection. He felt slight relief when he found himself nearing the bottom of the staircase when a sound had a chill running up his spine.

"Shit." Glancing quickly left and right then behind him, he felt a sickening fear choke him. Spiders. Ones way to large for him to be comfortable with scurried in swarms towards him, making him run in the opposite direction, tripping on a step as he started the climb. Looking back, he let out a panicked breath as they drew near. Their damn eyes were so large in fact that he could see their eight eyes shining like blackened pin heads and hear their mandibles click. "Fuck those things! Nope." Half crawling up the stairs, he nears the blinding figure, it's body feminine and holding out a hand for him. He holds out his hand and strains to grab. And then; his world was spun, tossed, dropped flipped more ways than he could count.

And the flashes. Some blinding, some to dark to see, even if he wanted to pause.

Each held a glimpse of a vision of.. something.. someone, it made his head hurt trying to look at them. Faces, voices, familiar and yet, the harder he tried to focus, he felt it pulling away, emptying him like a large wave pulling the shore into it's bottomless depths. It tore and shredded him in so many ways that he could barley comprehend when in a final blinding flash, he found himself hitting solid, cold ground.

He took a breath, felt his stomach turn and resisted the urge to vomit. He felt like had fallen for... days. His legs couldn't keep him standing. They buckled under his weight, dropping him to his knees. His eyes blurred; the lids heavy. Faintly he could hear footsteps, smell the remnants of a fire and feel the bite of the cool winds.

Then there was nothing.

Completely. Nothing.

AN:

Hello and welcome to my new story for one of my favourite games Dragon Age Inquisition!

This is just to test the waters!

Let me know what you guys think. It's gonna be a long slow burn, but trust me, I've got plenty in stores for you guys!

Stay Tuned!

-IMME