They traveled for most of the day, and eventually, Claire learned their names were Daric and Kara. The majority of the trip they spent being regaled by the male Templar's stories of how he hunted apostates and as Claire feared, tortured them. Her fear was growing stronger, that they would not let her make it to the tower, and she had no way to communicate with Anders. They kept them apart, and that night, Daric stayed next to Claire while Kara stayed beside Anders, and all the mage could do was look at Claire with pity in his eyes.

Without her helmet on, Claire could see Kara was actually quite pretty with dark brown hair tied up in a bun and blue eyes that felt like they were piercing her soul. Kara kept glaring at her charges, daring them to even speak. Ser Daric had sandy blond hair cut short and a goatee, and was probably in his thirties, plenty of time to bring in many apostates. She shuddered to think of what he did to the mages in the tower.

After Claire had finally fallen asleep, she found Anders' dream and 'woke' him into the Fade. He looked at her in surprise as he tried to get his bearings.

"What did you just do?" He asked.

"I interrupted your dream." She said. "I'm sorry, I just... I had to talk to you. I don't think Ser Daric is going to let me make it to the tower. Have you seen how he looks at me? The way he talks about torturing mages... Anders, I'm afraid, I'm so afraid."

"I wish I knew what to say..." She grabbed him and started sobbing into his chest. "Hey, it's not so bad..." He wrapped his arms around her. "I'll be right beside you."

The following day, Claire had no desire to say anything, or look at anything but the road, and had no desire to eat, though the Templars all but forced her to.

"We can't have you passing out on us before we get to the tower." Kara said, shoving the food at Claire. Daric seemed even more irritated with her than normal, and kept tripping her and poking her. Around midday, he pulled out his dagger and started playing with it next to her, catching it in the light and shining it in her face. She tried her best to ignore it, but then he got really close to her, making her stumble.

"Run, or I swear I will stab your boyfriend." The Templar's words chilled her, and she knew it was either her, or Anders, and she couldn't let Anders die. He probably wouldn't forgive her, but she didn't have a choice. She ran, straight into the forest. It was hard enough trying to run with her arms shackled, but the forest floor was covered in sticks and rocks that kept tripping her up. The tree branches and bushes tugged at her dress, tearing it and cutting her.

The inevitable happened, and she felt the blast of energy that stole her breath and mana, knocking her to the ground where her head hit a rock, making her disoriented. Daric rolled her over and she started crying out, struggling, but just like the dream she'd had so long ago, she was powerless against this Templar as well. He held her hands above her head as he knelt down, pinning her legs.

"We do not allow maleficar to live." He snarled.

"I'm not! I swear!" She sobbed.

"You're no normal mage, I can feel the energy coming from you. You're Wilder scum, there's no telling what bad habits you picked up." He ran his dagger along her neck and down her chest. "I don't have time to have fun, Ser Kara doesn't like me taking long, but you look like you would have been a lot of fun." He cut her dress further down, exposing more of her chest and she shut her eyes, not wanting to see his sadistic face.

"You're no ordinary mage." He got close to her face. "What are you?"

"Somniari, ser." She sounded so pitiful and it made her cringe. "A Dreamer." She heard a sharp intake of breath and she opened her eyes in surprise as his hand holding her arms clenched. There was actual fear in his eyes, and a hatred of such an intensity she could feel it burning into her soul.

"You are no better than a demon." He hissed. "You shouldn't exist, your kind was wiped out ages ago!" He shoved his knife into her chest, and she screamed in pain, kicking her legs. "Stop moving or I'll make it worse." She was having trouble breathing and he seemed to be enjoying her pain. Dark spots began appearing in her vision and she felt herself falling backwards. Was that really how it was going to end?

Anders stared in horror as Claire bolted for the forest. He had caught what the Templar had said and he knew what game they were playing, and there he was, powerless to stop it. Seeing her get hit by the Templar's attack, seeing Daric throw her to the ground and pulling out the dagger... Anders felt his heart stop.

"What's he doing?" He blurted out.

"He's doing what should have been done when we first ran into her back at Denerim." Kara said, her voice flat and unfeeling. The dagger plunged down and they heard Claire scream as Daric seemed to struggle with her, then silence. She had to get up, she couldn't be dead, she was just a kid. The Templar was still holding his dagger as he walked back towards Anders, blood dripping off the blade, and he smacked Anders with the pommel.

"You keep your bloody mouth shut or you join her." He hissed, but Anders wasn't paying attention. Claire had failed, and it had cost her her life, and he couldn't stop looking at her, hoping she would get back up. Hoping it was a ruse.

"She's dead, kid." Daric said, his voice sounding tired. "Get used to it. That's what happens when you run and fight back."

"You told her to run!" Anders said, his voice cracking.

"You probably misheard." Daric's tone turned dangerous as he growled at Anders. The young apostate glanced back one last time, but her body hadn't moved.

"Ser Daric only did what was necessary." Kara said. "We cannot allow such a dangerous apostate to live."

"She was just a girl." Anders said, despair creeping into his voice.

"She still should have known better." Daric said. Anders bit the inside of his cheek to keep from saying anything else, tasting the metallic flavor of his blood fill his mouth. He would escape one day, and he would find his phylactery and be free from the torture of the Templars. One day, he would rain fire upon them all and make them pay.

Claire was surprised when she woke up and immediately began healing herself. He had somehow missed vital organs and while it hurt badly and she was faint from the blood loss, it wasn't so bad that she couldn't heal herself eventually. She was still lying there as the sun went down, and that night, she went into the Fade to find Anders. It was strange, seeing him there. He was just staring at the Black City, his shoulders slumped.

"Anders..." She said.

He turned and looked at her with such a look of anguish. "They say the dead walk the Fade." He said. "I never really believed it..."

"I'm not dead." She said. "I'm still where they left me, though. I'm trying to heal myself, but it's difficult. The wound is deep. It's taking a lot just to be here, but I had to see you, I had to let you know." He hurried over to her and embraced her, crying.

"Thank the Maker, I'm so grateful you're alive." He said. "I don't know what I would do if you... I saw you... I watched you..."

"I'm trying my best to hold on, Anders." She rested her head on his shoulder. "I'll continue on to Tevinter, like I'd planned. I don't know how well I'll be able to visit from there, but I will try. I know we haven't known each other for very long, but I find myself attached to you. I've never had a friend like this before."

"It gives me a bit of hope just knowing you've escaped them. Just stay safe, yes?"

"Same goes for you too."

By morning, Claire had healed herself enough that she could continue on her journey, wishing she had a spare change of clothing. Her plan to get on a ship to get to the Free Marches wasn't going to work very well if she was covered in blood, and she wasn't sure she could fly on her own. Then she remember she didn't even have money, so the best she could hope for would be to perch as a bird on the ship. She headed for Amaranthine, since they had a good port that was certain to have a ship going to the Free Marches. Testing her falcon wings, she began flying.

Claire flew high above the clouds, thinking that maybe she could just fly over to Kirkwall. If she remembered correctly, it didn't look that far to fly, especially if she gained enough height and coasted down. Then she would just need to fly north and maybe a little west to get to Tevinter. It would be a good test to find out how long she could hold out flying. Looking down, she saw a few breaks in the clouds and could see farmland below her. Angling west a bit, she spotted a castle near the coast and decided it would be a good place to rest.

Lighting on a wall near where the soldiers were practicing, she noticed a young girl pointing at her, tugging at a man's sleeve.

"Look, Fergus, a hawk!" She exclaimed.

"It is indeed, Elissa, but not one of ours." The Couslands, and they had had a daughter... Would she grow up and live on to become the Hero of Ferelden, or would she die a gruesome death at the hands of a traitor in nine years?

"It's watching me." The girl said.

"That's because it probably wants to eat you for dinner!" Fergus said, grabbing Elissa and tickling her as she shrieked. Claire flew off, deciding that she would need to find food somehow and it wasn't going to be there. Heading north-west, she just flew, not really paying attention to anything. She was getting used to being hungry and it wasn't bothering her so much, just a discomfort that she would take care of, eventually. The pain, on the other hand, was wearing on her.

By the time she got to the Amaranthine port, she was exhausted and in pain, noticing that she'd aggravated her wounds so that it stained her feathers red. Using her heightened senses, she listened for the call for Kirkwall. There had to be a ship leaving eventually, but perhaps they wouldn't leave until morning. She sat on a sign and preened a bit while she rested, watching all the dock workers as they loaded and unloaded crates.

Some time after midday, she heard a call for Kirkwall. She watched the ship, and just as they were shoving off, she flew onto the crow's nest, which was unoccupied for the moment. If it got occupied, she'd just have to deal with it. Perched up at the top of the ship made her more queasy than she'd expected, so when a sailor did make it up, he was able to pick her up without much trouble.

"What do we have here?" He asked, looking her over. "You're injured, you poor thing. Well, I can just stick you in my coat, keep you safe for now." She struggled a little, but it was a lot nicer in his coat than in the cold wind. What a way to travel! She laughed to herself, wanting to tell Anders. After a while, another man came up and relieved the first man of his shift, and she was taken down to the deck.

"Oy, what you got there?" Another sailor looked at the falcon that was Claire, who was peeking out from under the lapel.

"Shh, don't tell the captain." The first said. "It's an injured bird, falcon of some sort. Don't know how he got up there, but he's been right happy in my coat. Thought I'd get him a bit of food."

"You softy, you, you're gonna get in trouble." The other said. "I reckon you should stow that bird away somewhere safe so you can do your job." Claire's man mumbled something and moved away, taking her down below deck. Wherever he was taking her, she was getting worried she wouldn't be able to escape very easily. She needed to be able to get out in Kirkwall!

"Shh, easy there, bird, you'll be safe down here." He murmured, not understanding the reason for her panic. A cage! She saw the bars getting closer as he carefully put her in it, and in her frustration, she beat her wings against the bars, even though she knew she couldn't break them. She'd have to become a mouse.

"I'll grab you some food, just stay right there, eh?" Claire puffed her feathers out, wondering if he was going to try to keep her. He came back shortly with some sort of raw meat, which she gladly took, with how hungry she was. She would have to wait until they were docked and escape in the confusion. In the meantime, she would just have to bide her time. After the man was called back to work, she was left alone for the remainder of the trip. She slept most of it, then woke when she heard the call to port.

She waited for someone to come down to where she was, but all she could hear were boots stomping around outside the room and above it. She looked around for an exit, and figured she could squeeze under the door as a mouse, but it would be dangerous with all the people around. She waited for things to quiet down a bit, then slipped out as a mouse, sticking to the shadows until she could safely become a falcon again, then took to the skies. As she spied the man who had helped her, she felt like she should do something nice for him, but wasn't sure what she could do.

She followed him along until he was in a fairly solitary area, then landed on his shoulder. He looked pleasantly surprised to see her. She then took him into the Fade and learned his name was Frederick and he had family back in Ferelden, near Amaranthine. She kept him out of it so he didn't know what was going on, but left him with a message.

"I will one day repay you when I am able." She said. "Thank you for your kindness, ser." She 'woke' him back up and he stared at her in bewilderment before she flew away.