Shartan was sitting back in the shadows of the tavern with the seeker by his side enjoying the whiskey he had found in the hitherlands when the alarms rang out, Shartan and Cassandra were on their feet and out the door before the first bell tone had faded and the inner circle was only a single step behind them.
"Is it too much to ask that we get a day before the world decides to kick us in the head!" Shartan grumbled as they ran for the gates.
"Cheer up prongs they could be here to throw a party!" Varric called.
"The day something like that happens Varric is the day I forgive the false gods for killing my soulmate!" he barked as they approached the gates.
The commander was already there and shortly after a spirit boy arrived at their door with a warning that was a bit late, a glance at the mountain top stopped Shartan cold.
"How the fuck is that bastard still alive! I buried him under a mountain!" Shartan cursed as a creature from his past stood looking down on them, before anyone could respond to his outburst the army descended on them.
Cassandra's twin blades flashed in the fire light as another red Templar fell with a scream, glancing around she saw that the inner circle was holding its own while Varric and Sera helped aim the trebuchet. Shartan was wrapped in armor made from stone as he wove through the battle field killing as many red Templars as his sword could reach. Cassandra knew that the group could not keep this pace up much longer, the dragon had destroyed any chance of them winning this fight but they could still get away if they could hold out a little longer!
Just as the last of the wave fell the dwarf called out. "It's ready!" at that moment the dragon swooped down blasting the area with fire.
"Everyone to the chantry now!" Shartan cried and the group ran Cassandra with the iron bull and blackwall leading the charge to clear the way.
They got into the chantry and she spun to help close the doors when she saw that Shartan was not there! "Where is Shartan!?" She cried and the others looked around in panic.
"Enough he will be fine, nothing can kill him right now! Even if they do manage to wound him fatally his powers will return enough that he will survive, we however will not so we must leave now!" Solas snapped and the group looked at her.
"He is right come on, we must have faith that the maker will return him to us!" She said as the group began to move through the chantry, with a last glance she entered the tunnel praying for her soulmate's safety.
Shartan watched as the inner circle ran for the chantry, smirking he turned and slowly walked back to the trebuchet to wait for the fool who was sure to come. The false arch-demon landed with an earth-shattering thud and from under its wing walked out the creature now know as the Elder One, Shartan just continued smirking as the creature walked towards him.
"Enough! Pretender you toy with forces beyond your ken no more!" Corypheus snarled.
"Really? I happen to know these forces a lot better than you do, as I seem to recall you and your foolish priest brothers begging me a simple elf for my help?" Shartan mocked and enjoying the look of shock and confusion pass over the creature's face.
"Enough, the mark is mine and you interrupted a ritual year in the making!" With that proclamation Corypheus thrust the orb at Shartan.
Shartan felt the orb try to rip the mark from his hand, however what that foolish creature forgot he was dealing with the one who first show him how to pierce the veil. A simple twist of his power and instead of the mark being ripped off he started to pull the power of the orb away and into his mark, by the time Corypheus noticed what he was doing and snapped the flow of power off the orb had been drained of most of its power.
"Thank you for giving me more power, now prepare to die!" Shartan said as he gathered the power of the mark and began to weave a spell that had not seen the light of day since before the fall of the elven empire.
Sadly before he could cast it Corypheus fled using his dragon and shot the mountain in attempt to bury Shartan in an avalanche, Cursing Shartan changed the weave of the spell to shift it into a true fade step and vanished in a pulse of black magics.
Cassandra watched from the mountain top as the dragon shot the mountain and flew off, Cassandra had felt a strange sensation only a few moments before the dragon took wing. She wondered just what Shartan had done to frighten the creature so badly that it would bury its own army to get away, Solas started laughing as the mages and Sera all shivered as one.
"So the creature was foolish enough to try and take the anchor!" Solas said still laughing, Cassandra wondered what was so funny.
"Care to let us in on the joke here chuckles, as our herald was just buried alive so I am not seeing the joke." Varric said scowling and Cassandra agreed glaring at the elf.
"There is no chance that Shartan was buried as the creature tried to take the anchor giving Shartan the chance to steal some of it's power, the shiver in the fade was someone casting a spell that is older than human history!" Solas said, seeing the look of confusion he continued. "That means that Shartan now has access to even more of his powers as the anchor would let him cast spell he normally would not be able to." Cassandra was about to ask what spell was cast when the world began to warp around them.
"Fenny as always your magic really is the best at controlling the veil, well if we don't count Dirthamen anyways!" Shartan said as he stepped out of nowhere, he literally had walked out of thin air into the center of the inner circle.
"Ah it feels good to fade step after so long!" Shartan said stretching, Cassandra ran up and slapped him before pulling him in to a deep passion filled kiss.
"You ever pull something like that again and I will beat your ass from here to the free marches!" she growled with tears in her eyes, she had been afraid she might have lost him.
[I am sorry my sweet halla, I will never leave your side no matter what. You have found me countless times so I would claw my way back from anywhere to stand by your side!] He swore and he dropped to his knee.
"I know this in not the best time to ask but, Cassandra Pentaghast will you marry me!" He asked as he pulled out a ring that was made of magically strengthened obsidian and ivory, shaped like a black hart and a white halla dancing around each other.
"Yes, my lord!" Cassandra said and Josie squealed reminding the pair that they were not alone. Shartan and Solas left with the advisors to discuss their next move apparently, they knew of a castle nearby to use.
"Congrats Seeker, I mean that, just remember that feeling when Hawke gets here." The dwarf said as he walked away and it took a moment for the words to sink in for the seeker, as soon as they did she was after him to get an answer.