That night, Claire got up the courage to find the Knight-Commander. She was nervous, messing with a Templar with so much experience, but she had told Anders she would at least explore the man's mind and it had been months since she had last seen her friend. She felt horrible about it, but she couldn't face him until she had done what he'd asked. She stopped by to check on Anders and saw he was dreaming, so she left him be. When she entered Greagoir's dream, she found herself in a temple of some sort, though very barren. Greagoir was kneeling before a statue of Andraste, deep in prayer, and Claire wasn't sure what to do. Who dreamed of just praying? She moved closer, curious, and lost the stealth that shielded her from dreamers.

"I can sense your presence, maleficar." His voice rang out, cold and clear in the empty room. "You think I became knight-commander for no reason?" He stood up and looked right at her, his eyes full of fire.

"Please, I'm not a blood mage, I was just curious about you..." She said.

"A spirit?" He asked, confused. "I am no mage, why would you concern yourself with me?"

"You're a lucid dreamer." She said. "You fascinated me, with so much dedication to your job. Yet I'm wondering why you treat mages as less than human. That is what they are, are they not?"

"There are safety precautions, lest one of your kind decides to make a mage its host." Greagoir said, his voice bitter and harsh. "I have seen what abominations can do, seen the havoc they have created."

"I am no demon!" She growled. "Do not compare me to them." He looked a little surprised, but nodded.

"Fine, then." He said. "What is the true reason for this conversation?"

"There is a mage who cries out in your tower, I can feel it so strongly." She said. "He has been locked away from other mortals, merely for wanting to be free. I cannot comprehend the logic in this." She figured if she was going to be thought a spirit, she might as well act it.

Greagoir sighed. "You mean Anders." He said. "Irving doesn't feel he's a threat, yet he flaunts the rules of the tower as if they are there for no reason! You must understand that he needs to learn there are consequences to breaking these rules. We cannot just let apostates go free. We have enough problems with blood mages as it is."

"I... suppose." She said. "Still, the cries in the tower are most distressing. I cannot begin to tell you how to run your world, but you should know this. I feel a great tension rising among the mages. It shapes the Fade, causes ripples, and the waves are growing."

"Are you saying there's going to be an uprising?" He asked.

"We cannot see the future." She said. "We can just see the clouds on the horizon building up and getting darker."

"And you feel this mage Anders is going to cause it?" The grim look on the knight-commander's face scared Claire. She was messing things up again and it might cost Anders his life.

"He is not the threat." She said. "Nor do I know who is. There are many angry voices. His despair is just the loudest, and I cannot figure out how to ease it."

"And you think I'm just going to let him go?" Greagoir glared at her. "The answer is no, and you can feel free to leave now. I'm done talking." He pulled out his sword and Claire decided that it would indeed be a good idea to leave.

She woke up, sweating and anxious, praying that she hadn't screwed anything up.

"Let me speak to the prisoner." Anders heard the knight-commander and it sent fear into his heart. Claire had said she'd do something, but what if she had messed up? He hadn't seen her in over two months and he'd been driven mad with worry... Maker only knew what had happened.

"Your tricks won't work on me, mage." Greagoir said. The door didn't open, not did he expect it to, but he could hope.

Anders had to clear his throat, his voice hoarse from not speaking. "I have no idea what you're talking about." He said.

"Don't lie to me!" Greagoir yelled. "You've attracted the attention of a spirit, calling it to aid you, but it won't work. You will continue to serve out your sentence, and if that spirit tries again, I will call for the Rite of Tranquility. I'm tempted to anyway, since you're attracting unwanted attention from the Fade. We cannot have a danger in this tower." Anders felt the blood freeze in his veins as he started panicking. Claire had failed then, and if she tried again... He had to find her, he couldn't wait for her to come to him.

"I really don't know what you're talking about!" Anders cried. "I haven't done anything!" He heard the knight-commander storm off and he was left to his loneliness once more, only with the threat of tranquility looming over his head.

The remainder of the day was more torturous for him than normal, unable to get the nightmare of losing himself out of his head. Claire had warned him, but he was so desperate to get out that he had ignored her, instead pressuring her when she was already under a lot of stress and was obviously depressed. He had brought this on himself. How could he have done that to her, anyway? He cared for her more than he had cared for anyone before even if she would never feel the same for him, and he had almost scared her off. Maybe he had.

By the time the small amount of sunlight had disappeared from the tiny window in his cell, he found he couldn't sleep at all. He was too anxious about finding Claire, and the fact that he couldn't sleep just added to it, making him worried that he wouldn't find her in time... By the time sunlight started showing through his window again, he slipped into a troubled sleep.

"No ser, just mumbled and paced the cell all night." Muffled voices cut through his sleep, his head throbbing. "Occasionally yelled and hit the wall."

"Interesting..." That was the knight-commander's voice. Anders sat up, adrenaline rushing through his body. Had Claire tried again? The sudden halt of conversation got him backed into a corner, feeling as if the door was going to burst open with a contingent of Templars on the other side ready to brand him, strip him of his humanity. He would rather be dead. He would not let them take him.

After about an hour of waiting for something to happen, he started to relax and began pacing the room, waiting for nighttime so he could try to sleep. He felt like he was going insane, his paranoia getting worse. He kept thinking about all the reasons Claire hadn't visited him in two months, wondering if he had scared her off again like he had two years prior. He didn't think he could handle losing her. It was bad enough worrying about what the magister was doing to her for those two years, now that she was back in Ferelden, infiltrating a Grey Warden base with potential knowledge of the future, he was constantly thinking of her, worrying about her.

As night fell, Anders was beyond exhausted. He laid down and closed his eyes, feeling a weight of depression settling in on him. Before long, he was in the Fade, looking for Claire. As he walked, something started tugging on him. He fought against the invisible hands, but to no avail, and he quickly found himself being dragged into a swirling vortex that dropped him down into a dark valley. He hit the ground hard, and as he got up trying to get his bearings, a bright green explosion lit up the sky and the shock wave knocked him back down. He watched in horror as the veil was torn open, ripping a hole in the sky, and in the light, he could see demons pouring out.

A family ran, terrified, past him as a strange demon pursued them. It shot a beam of ice at them, instantly killing them all and leaving only frozen statues that quickly shattered. Screams filled his ears and he looked desperately around for some way to escape the nightmare. As he turned, he saw Claire, glowing and staring at the tear in the sky, her face a picture of rage and despair, tears glistening on her pale skin. The wind was blowing her hair and battle mage robes about, making her look far too powerful and dangerous, and it was scaring Anders.

She raised her open left hand, elegant and gentle, then clenched her fist tight as if grabbing something and smashed her fist into the ground. The world exploded around him, chaos reigned amid the smoke and ash falling around him. He looked around, seeing that he was in a city. People were running past him, screaming, mages fighting Templars, and there, sitting on a box in the middle of it all, was someone who looked far too similar to himself. The man's hair was done in a half up ponytail and he was wearing a black outfit, a staff on his back, and his expression was that of someone who was done with living. Claire walked up behind him and touched his shoulder, jerking her hand back as the man fell to the ground, dead. She screamed and knelt beside him, tugging at him, begging him to be alive, to be all right. When he didn't move, she buried her face in his chest, sobbing.

Anders couldn't believe what he was seeing. What was this madness and was that really him? Was this how he was going to die? At least he would have Claire by his side... He walked up to her, his heart aching to comfort her, even if she was a dream. She jumped away from his touch, staring at him with wild eyes.

"How dare you take his form." She snarled, raising herself up as she gathered power around her, her eyes glowing with fire.

Anders stumbled backwards, hands up. "What do you mean?" He gasped. "It's just me, Anders! Claire please!" She looked ready to strike him down, she was so furious. "I swear to you it's just me!" She blinked at him, her expression softening, and then the fiery city disappeared, replaced with the raw Fade as she grasped him in a death grip.

"Where the hell were you last night?" She cried. "Why the fuck weren't you in the Fade? All the Knight-Commander was thinking about was you becoming tranquil and I couldn't find you, I couldn't find you! I searched... I thought I'd lost you, and it was all my fault!" He started chuckling as he wrapped his arms around her and squeezed.

"I thought you'd given up on me." He said. "Then the Knight-Commander came down, claiming I was attracting unwanted attention from the Fade and if you bothered him again, he would make me tranquil." He felt her stiffen. "You... did, didn't you. You went to see him again."

"I couldn't find you... I thought that if I could just find out if I had screwed up, see into his mind..." She hiccuped. "His mind is very protected against me, Anders. He knew I was there. He told me I was too late... and I kind of freaked out, pouring my emotions into the dream..."

"I am very sorry to bother you, but... I can't find him." She said, standing in front of Greagoir. She hadn't even bothered hiding from him. "I can't hear him. Please, please you didn't do anything to him because of me?"

"You're too late." He said. "What's done is done. We cannot have mages who attract such attention from the Fade in the tower, they pose a threat to all." She stared at the Knight-Commander in horror. She felt like her soul had been ripped in half and she had nothing to live for any longer as she was plunged into a darkness. She looked up and realized that she had lost control and was destroying Greagoir's dream with her despair. She bottled it up, sucking the darkness back into herself, and fell to the floor, screaming. Greagoir put a hand on her shoulder.

"You're no spirit, are you?" He asked. "Then what are you, if you are not a blood mage?"

She tried to calm herself to answer, but it came out choked. "A Dreamer." She said. "I-I'm somniari, in Tevinter... I know I'm dangerous, I try not to do anything bad, but I felt horrible for not even trying..."

"And look where it got you." He was cold and she felt like she deserved it. "People with your talents are no better than demons."

"So I'm not safe..." He said.

"No, you have to be safe, you can't be made tranquil, or die!" She said.

"Claire..." He stepped back and wiped her tears away. "I'll be fine. I always am."

"I don't believe you." She said.

"I know." He laughed softly, staring into her vibrant blue eyes. He wanted her, to hold her, to kiss her... "Has anyone ever told you how beautiful you are?" She jerked back, startled, and shook her head.

"Why would anyone tell me that?" She asked. "And I won't believe you, I think you're biased."

"Number one, because it's true. Although, I never have, have I?" He frowned, surprised that he wouldn't have flirted with her by this time. Just because she loved the ladies and all, didn't mean he couldn't flirt, did it?

She shook her head, smiling. "No, and that's all right with me." She said. He was confused by her tone, as if she wasn't all right with it. But she couldn't like him, could she? She had already said she viewed him as family.

"Well, you are." He said, winking at her, gauging her reaction. She became visibly upset and he felt even more bewildered, wondering if he'd misinterpreted her tone. "What, I can't pay you a compliment now and then?" He asked.

"It's not that, it's just..." She shrugged. "I'm still trying to get over thinking you were tranquil... I keep expecting you to turn into a demon, that you're not really here."

"I'm no demon, and I'm here now." He said softly.

"But now there's a threat over your head, and it's my fault." She said.

"You're forgetting who told you to do it." He said. "Do not think you deserve any of the blame. It's my stupid fault for wanting to be free from this blighted tower in the first place. Apparently escaping six times is just too much for them. You had nothing to do with that."

"I knew the risks, yet I did it anyway." She said. "So it is at least a little bit my fault." Why was she so insistent on blaming herself? He was feeling really irritated with her again and it made him want to laugh. One minute he wanted to kiss her, the next he wanted to smack her.

"Fine!" He said, exasperated. "If I get made tranquil, you can go wallow in your guilt, then. Will that make you happy?"

She smirked and crossed her arms. "You're cute when you're mad." She clamped her mouth shut, blushing and looking embarrassed. He gave her a sly look.

"Oh, you think I'm cute, do you?" He asked.

She shrugged and tried to look nonchalant, but she was still blushing. "Well, you know, like baby turtle cute, not kitten cute..." It sounded like she was trying to backpedal so Anders faked a pained look as he clutched his chest.

"Oh, ow, I've seen baby turtles!" He said. "Not cute."

"Says you." She laughed. "I think they're adorable."

"So what's the difference between baby turtle cute and kitten cute?" He asked.

"Ah, um, haha..." She was laughing and had turned a brilliant scarlet. "Baby turtles are cute to look at, but kittens you want to kiss and cuddle... Oh screw it, never mind, ignore what I said!" She sighed as his expression fell.

"Oh." He felt like that was a low blow, but she was never that good at saying the right thing.

"Anders, I'm sorry, that came out completely wrong." She said. "It was just something I remembered from back home that I always thought was funny."

"I suppose it is, if you're not on the receiving end of it." He pouted. He was still holding out hope that she really did think he was cute. It was something, perhaps not handsome or rugged, but still something.

"I sure know how to ruin the mood, don't I?" She smiled sadly. He shook his head and ran his hand down her cheek.

"The mood has been all over the place tonight." He said. "But it's still a whole lot better than it was when you dragged me into your nightmare! What was that, anyway?" She fidgeted nervously.

"Tell me what you saw..."

"I was dragged in just before the veil was ripped open from some massive green explosion." He said. "I saw demons falling from the sky, demons I have no name for, killing people... And then I was in that city and there was another explosion... That man, was that me?"

"I keep having nightmares about the future." She said. "Just certain events, and I can see other things, little events that tie in, and their different outcomes, but they all lead up to the same big events... there is no way to stop them from happening, and from what I've seen, it is necessary. It has to happen. No matter how much I want to change it."

"So I'm going to die like that?" He asked. She clenched her fist and turned away.

"I will save you." She said. Her voice had become cold and determined, and he wondered what else she saw in store for him. What kind of life did he have that he would lose the will to live?

"If you dreamed of that future, surely I don't become Tranquil, then." Anders said.

"I thought you didn't believe in my visions." She said.

He shrugged. "I don't know, I think I'm starting to. First Ostagar, then whatever those visions were... What was the veil tear?"

"I can't tell you." She said. "I can't tell you anything of the future. I can't risk it, but it will probably be years before they come to pass."

"Well, at least I'll have you by my side at the end." He said, trying to make light of the vision, but instead, her shoulders started shaking. "You don't know, do you?"

"There are too many variables." She was crying again and all he could think to do was wrap his arms around her, comforting her.

"Let's just see where the future takes us, then." He said. She took a deep breath and exhaled, calming herself down, the pressed herself against him, leaning her head back so her hair was tickling his face. Maker, she was torture, but he seemed to be a masochist, so he figured they made a good pair. He closed his eyes and leaned his head gently against hers, feeling the silky softness of her hair against his cheek, and he savored the moment, remembering everything he could.

They stood like that for a long time, neither one wanting to break the spell that had befallen them. When Anders finally opened his eyes, he saw they were standing at the edge of a small cliff overlooking a beautiful green valley speckled with little white flowers. There were horses grazing and he could hear the sound of a stream nearby, soothing and relaxing. If he really were to be made tranquil, out of everything else, he prayed he wouldn't lose this memory.

"This is... really nice." She murmured. "I wonder what happens if I fall asleep in the Fade..."

He chuckled. "With the dreams you have, I don't know that I would want to find out."

"Let's just stay like this forever." She said. "I wish I could protect you forever. If I can't find you again... I'll storm the tower." If anything, he was at least lucky she was such a good friend. He would take what he could get.