Time flew by for Claire, and she'd lost track of how many mages she'd helped rescue, and how many tranquil she'd cured, all while still trying to keep it quiet. The tranquil were harder to get without raising suspicions, and the rumor in the Gallows was that someone was kidnapping them for blood mage rituals. What Claire was really doing was taking them to a hidden away castle in the Planasene forest, which, while still close to Kirkwall, was fairly unbothered by travelers. She kept protections on the place in order to prevent others from seeking it out, essentially hiding it from the world, but she was still afraid they'd be found out, so she kept looking for a safer place for them.

Before she knew it, Hawke was coming in to bother Anders about another job, one that caught her attention. She glanced at Fenris as Hawke started talking to Anders, and wondered what his path would be. It was obvious he was attached to Hawke, but he wouldn't really do anything about it for years yet.

"What's the job now?" Anders asked.

"Well, you remember that Templar, Emeric, from a few years back?" Hawke asked. "His investigation into the missing women is still going on, and Aveline needs me to talk to him because he's ruffling a few feathers. I was wondering if you might want to help."

"What missing women?" Claire asked, even though she knew. How could she forget that quest? She hadn't expected it to come up so soon, and she wondered if she could do anything to save Hawke's mother. Was her death really necessary? But she had no idea how to find her after she was taken, or Quentin, without using blood magic herself. If she could even find Quentin and kill him before Leandra could be taken...

"There's been a few women who have gone missing over the years, and Emeric thinks there's a single culprit." Hawke said. "However, he's been unable to pin him down. The most we found three years ago was a finger and a ring..."

"Anders, we should go." She said. He gave her an odd look, but nodded.

"All right, let's go to the Gallows then and see what Emeric has to say for himself." Hawke said. Claire knew Hawke wouldn't turn her in, and neither would Fenris since he never even tried to turn Anders in, as Hawke wouldn't allow it, and she thought they might be getting to him on the mage issue. However, going to the Gallows with those who supported the Templars was still unnerving to her.

The Gallows were as oppressive as ever, with the tranquil standing around selling their bloody wares, as Anders had said. She may have been a slave in Tevinter, but she'd had more freedom and privacy than the mages in the Gallows. She barely paid attention to Emeric as he asked Hawke to go to Gascard's mansion in Hightown, and instead found herself staring at Cullen. She hadn't seen him since the tower in Ferelden, but she could still remember how he felt about mages at this time in his life, and it wasn't something she wanted to think about. He caught sight of her and narrowed his eyes, but then Hawke walked away and started talking, so she quickly followed.

"All right, so we'll go to Gascard's tonight, see if we can't find any information." Hawke sighed, then looked at Claire carefully. "Or... perhaps we won't have to. Claire, it would be easy for someone like yourself to gather the information needed, surely."

"Fine, I suppose I'll meet you at the Hanged Man when I'm done tonight?" She asked. Hawke grinned, while Fenris glanced between them, confused. Claire was surprised he stayed silent, as did Anders.

"You don't have any idea how grateful I am you came around." Hawke said. She couldn't help but think he'd have a different opinion once the whole thing was over.

"Be careful, love." Anders said before she was to set out. "You don't know what you're up against."

"I have an idea." She said. "A man who kidnaps and murders women? He's not to be trusted at all, and is probably dealing with some nasty type of magic, maybe even a demon. I'm going to take every precaution I can."

"I still worry." He kissed her lightly and she smiled.

"I appreciate it, Anders." She said. "I love you, and I will come back to you."

Gascard was in his room with Alessa, the woman he'd kidnapped, just as Claire suspected, and before she made herself known, she debated on how to do it. Kill him and make up some story? She could still remember some of it, especially as she looked at him. He didn't even know where Quentin was, from what she could remember, so she didn't need anything from him. Finally deciding on what to do, she put Alessa to sleep, making it look like she fainted from fright, and then appeared in front of Gascard.

"Good evening, messere." Claire said, letting herself glow a bit. "I see somebody wants to play with demons and blood magic..."

"Who are you?" Gascard asked, stepping back, his fear plain on his face. "Did Quentin send you? What do you want?"

"I want you." She said, stepping closer, feeling the rush of power at having a cowering mage in front of her. She could see how power could corrupt, it was very tempting to play with the man for a bit before killing him. "A mage, such as yourself... letting your talents fall to waste..." He lashed out at her with a spell that she easily blocked, making his face pale even more.

"You're not... you're not a demon, you can't be human, what are you?" He stammered.

"I am your worst nightmare." She hissed, using Fade energy to knock him to the side. It wasn't enough to kill him, but he was stunned for a moment. "Tell me about Quentin, and I'll go easy on you."

"I don't know what you want me to say!" Gascard cried, getting up. He tried to run to the door, but he hit a barrier she'd put up.

"You're his, what? Apprentice?"

"I was!" Gascard cried. "In Starkhaven! But he refused to teach me his magic."

"You mean his necromancy." Claire snapped. "That's all you care about, isn't it? And you're going to use this poor woman to find him?" There was a possibility of using her as bait, that Quentin would take her first, and then Leandra, and if Claire was watching Alessa, she could take care of Quentin before he even got near Leandra... Did poor Hawke really have to go through losing his mother as well?

"Like you're one to talk, look at you!" Gascard started getting a little more confident, but he was still shaking. "Probably made a deal with a demon!"

She started laughing. "I have no need for demons!" She grinned. "I am worse than a demon, so that even they fear me." She was suddenly beside him, and grabbed his head, taking him into the Fade to get all the information she could from him.

"Was it a good idea to send Claire there alone?" Anders asked, pacing around in Varric's room while they waited for her. "What if something happened to her?"

"Maker, Anders, you're giving me anxiety just looking at you." Hawke said. "I'm sure she'll be fine, she's a smart woman who I'm sure by now has learned to be cautious."

"Anders, sit down, have a drink, relax." Varric said.

"I do not understand why it had to be her to go." Fenris grumbled from the doorway. He kept looking towards the entrance, waiting for her to walk in, and Anders didn't feel like telling him she probably wouldn't come that way.

"She has unique abilities and experience." Anders said. "She'll be able to get information we otherwise would have missed." Fenris just glanced at him suspiciously and went back to watching the door.

"Why do I feel like she hasn't even told me half of her abilities?" Varric asked.

"I am perhaps the only one in this room who she's told the most to, and even then, I question how much I actually know." Anders said.

"You're not convincing me very well of her mortality." Hawke said.

Fenris turned sharply and stared at Hawke. "What do you mean? What is she?"

"Maker only knows." Varric said.

"I swear, the more I hear about her, the more she seems like a Dalish god." Hawke griped.

"Are you still going on about that?" Claire sighed as she stepped from the shadows near the bed. "I told you, I'm human."

"You say that, but you just came from nothing." Fenris said, eyeing her suspiciously. "How can you have such powers without a demon?"

"Because I was born special, apparently." Claire snapped. "Anyway, Gascard is not the one taking the women, though he was a blood mage and had a woman there he was going to use to track down his former master, Quentin, with. I took her to the Chantry after I ended Gascard's miserable life, but I don't know how safe she is if Quentin already targeted her."

"I'm glad you made it out in one piece." Anders said.

"He was no match for me." Claire laughed. "I left his body next to the vials of blood so they'll know what he was, and made it look like a demon killed him."

"And I suppose such a thing was easy for you to do?" Fenris said, a growl to his tone. Anders knew how he felt about mages and couldn't forget his reaction at realizing Claire had been in Tevinter, so he stepped over to Claire.

"It wasn't the easiest." She said, glaring at the elf. "I'm not a demon, Fenris, nor am I a danger, except to those who cross me."

"Claire..." Anders murmured. As much as he didn't like Fenris, he didn't feel like dealing with a confrontation there at that moment.

"Anyway, I'm tired, and if you don't mind, I'm going to take my husband back to the clinic now." Claire said.

"Thank you for your help." Hawke said. "I'll let you know if we find anything else."

"You're welcome, I hope we can catch him soon." Claire said. "Take care, Varric, I'll try to come back soon."

"Any time, Seer." Claire took hold of Anders and teleported them both back to their room, where she latched onto him tightly.

"Are you all right?" He asked quietly.

"Quentin is a madman, Anders." She said. "He deals in necromancy... I fear what he's doing with those women he's kidnapped, or what he's already done."

"We'll find him, don't worry."

"Even his own apprentice didn't know where he was." She said. "I can't just find someone like that..."

"We will, and then we can both sleep better at night, knowing he's gone."

"Thank you, Anders." She said. "Thank you for being here with me. I don't know where I'd be without you."

"You probably wouldn't have gotten stabbed by the Templar, for one." He said, making her laugh. "Come on, it's late, we should get to bed." She kissed him, pressing herself against him and he hugged her tighter.

"The bed is more fun." She murmured as she started moving him to it. He smiled at her with his eyes half closed.

"But only if you're there." He said.

"I'm not going anywhere..."

"Help... help me..." Claire stared in horror at the bloodied woman reaching her hand out, begging Claire for help. It was Leandra, there was no way it couldn't be, and a dark shadow stood nearby. Why was she there? And why couldn't she do anything? It felt so real, but she was paralyzed.

"She is mine..." He said. "My wife..." Anger boiled inside Claire and she tried to lash out, but demons began to surround her, clawing at her. Screaming, she flailed.

"Claire!" Her eyes shot open and she saw Anders staring at her, terrified. "Claire, what's wrong? Are you all right?"

"I... I... I don't know." Claire took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "I saw Quentin, and... I saw Hawke's mother. We need to find Hawke, we need to talk to him. I think his mother may be a target." Without a word, Anders nodded and got up, helping Claire up, and they got dressed. Claire glanced outside, and realized the light was wrong, and that it was too dark.

"What time is it?" She gasped. "How long was I asleep for?"

"Most of the day." Anders said quietly. "You'd worked yourself hard, I figured you needed it. After you fell asleep at the desk, I thought something might have been wrong and tried to heal you, but you were just drained."

"No... no, it's too late." Claire grabbed Anders' hand and was about to teleport when Hawke burst in.

"Please, you have to help me!" Hawke cried, his eyes red already. Fenris was right behind him. "He took my mother."

"Oh Hawke, no." Anders' voice caught and Claire felt like she was going to break down. She'd wanted to avoid it, but perhaps Anders was right, maybe fate wasn't something she could so easily change.

"Do you know where?" She asked, but Hawke shook his head. "Give me a second, I'll see what I can do." Where was she going to take them? How could she just teleport them somewhere without having any idea where she was going? She quickly closed her eyes and went into the Fade for some sort of hint. She could feel a spirit nearby disturbed by something and went over to see what it was.

"Do you feel it?" The spirit asked. "A voice, crying out, pain... it cuts through the Fade because of the magic."

"Show me?" Claire asked. The spirit pointed to a pool of water, and so Claire put her head in, keeping her eyes open. To her amazement, she could see Quentin as he finished working on Leandra. "Thank you." Claire told the spirit when she lifted her head.

"Will you help her?" The spirit asked. "I feel it in you, compassion, you can't sit by, do nothing, while others suffer."

"That's my hope." Claire said. "I just hope I'm not too late." She then went back to the others.

"Did you see anything?" Hawke asked.

Claire stood up, unable to tell him. "Take my hands. This is going to be a difficult fight." Nervously, Hawke took her hand, while Anders took the other, and Fenris cautiously took Hawke's. Taking another deep breath, Claire teleported them all to Quentin, and then fell to the ground, exhausted. It had taken more out of her than she'd expected.

"Claire, are you all right?" Anders knelt beside her, while Hawke started walking forward.

"I'll be fine, but Hawke won't. Stay with him." Anders nodded and got up, following Fenris and Hawke. Claire downed a bottle of lyrium and stood up.

"I was wondering when you'd show up." Quentin said, his voice more annoying than Claire had remembered. "Leandra was so sure you'd come for her."

"You bastard! I'm going to kill you!" Hawke's hands went for his daggers, but he didn't pull them out.

"I was afraid you might say that." Quentin said. "You will never understand my purpose. Your mother was chosen because she was special, and now she is part of something... greater."

"Spare me the demented rambling. Where is she?"

"She's here." Quentin began moving around the woman in the chair. "She's waiting for you. I have done the impossible. I have touched the face of the Maker and lived. Do you know what the strongest force in the universe is? Love. I pieced her together from memory. I found her eyes, her skin, her delicate fingers. And at last, her face... oh, this beautiful face. I've searched far and wide to find you again, beloved, and no force on this earth will part us." Leandra stood up and turned to face Hawke. And then, Quentin summoned up a horde of demons.

Claire did her best to fight, using her sword more than her magic. She knew Hawke needed to be the one to kill Quentin, to make the bastard pay for what he did, but she could at least help take out the demons. If only there had been a way to have saved Leandra... While she fought, she began wondering if it was really was possible to change things. Every time she'd actually tried, it had failed; were things so set in stone that it was impossible? She couldn't recall any specific quests for the time period outside of the Gallows incident and Feynriel, except for the Qunari. What would happen if she delivered the Tome of Koslun herself? Would the city be spared?

She was distracted from her thoughts as Hawke killed Quentin and ran to his mother. Her heart was breaking just watching it, remembering all too well her own mother's death, along with her father, and then the Wardens, and watching the other mages getting tortured and killed by the rogue Templars. She'd not dealt with the pain, she'd just shoved it to the side, refusing to think about it as there was always something more important to deal with, and that had been a mistake. It all came crashing down on her.

She needed to leave, she needed to get out, she was panicking and crying too hard to think. Warm arms wrapped around her and she collapsed into them, sobbing, unable to stop thinking about everyone who'd died.

"It's not your fault, Claire." Anders murmured. "You did everything you could. You can't save everyone." She tried to get herself under control, knowing it wouldn't help Hawke any, so she shoved the emotions to the side again and nodded. She wasn't going to be able to last much longer, she couldn't hold it at bay, she needed to leave.

"Hawke... do you... do you want me to take you anywhere?" She asked.

"Just take me home, please." Hawke's voice was quiet and hoarse, and she was sure he was barely holding on himself. He gripped his mother's body and Fenris wrapped his arm around Hawke's shoulders, so Claire took Fenris' hand and Anders', teleporting them to Hawke's estate.

"What happened?" Hawke asked, staring at Claire lying on the floor. Anders carefully picked her up, not wanting to think about the long walk back to Darktown.

"She's drained herself too much." Anders said. "I'll take her back to the clinic. Will you be all right?"

"I think so, in time." Hawke said.

"I am here if you need me." Fenris said, and Hawke looked relieved as he nodded. Anders wasn't sure what was going on between the two of them, but he was glad Hawke had someone with him. The man was too on edge all the time anyway, he could only hide so much behind his mask.

"Take care, and let me know if anything changes. I won't be far."

"Thank you, Anders, and tell Claire I appreciate her trying her best to help... she shouldn't blame herself."

"I'll let her know." Anders said, then left. He knew, as he walked through the dark city, that she would blame herself, just as she had with everything else, even with Karl, despite never having cured a tranquil before Trevor and having gotten the idea from hearing about what happened with Karl. Part of him knew he was a cause of it, back when he accused her of not doing anything with her abilities. He'd been young and foolish then, and full of a different kind of anger, a more rash anger. Now, his anger was focused and he had a goal.

Claire was part of that goal, and Justice reveled in her willingness to help, but he hated how long things were taking. Hiding mages away wasn't enough, the Circle still stood, the Templars were still being allowed to abuse their charges, and even more mages were being made tranquil, even past their Harrowing. Justice knew, from Anders' memories, what was going to happen, but it wasn't happening soon enough. Anders was adamant he continue trying peaceful approaches, he had to show them that mages weren't dangerous, that they could be trusted.

Over the years of knowing Hawke, Anders felt himself start to drift apart from Justice. Where before, he said their thoughts were one, there seemed to be a divide the further they went, and there were moments where he felt like he blacked out with no recollection of what he'd done. If Claire ever noticed, she never said anything, but perhaps it was because she didn't want to worry him. He was afraid he'd hurt her, but he kept his fears to himself, knowing she'd never leave him. Of all the people, she knew him better than he probably knew himself. She knew what his path was, and where he'd end up. He'd seen the flaming city...

Somehow, he made it to the clinic without any problems, and went into the back, setting Claire on the bed. She'd never drained herself like that before, and he had to admit he was a little worried, though he knew she'd be fine. She always was. She was stronger than she gave herself credit for, even emotionally. He'd seen others go through less and become broken from it, while she was still pushing on ahead. He leaned over and kissed her, always amazed that they, two mages, could be husband and wife, and he would cherish her forever.