The Wrath of Heaven 3: At the First Rift
A green rift pulses in the center of the area, and Andras feels ripples of pain in his mark.
Andras and Cassandra dive into the fray, separating to engage where they are most needed. Andras slips below the guard of one shade, already greatly battered by the soldiers fighting it, to plunge his daggers into what he presumes is the monster's neck. It dissipates back to the earth.
The soldiers pick new targets.
While Cassandra is engaged with another shade, he spies more of the wraith-like creatures on the edges of their fray.
He grunts as he makes a dash to the creature. It senses him, and turns an icy blast toward him. He digs his heel into the ground to dodge, but misses a patch of ice and slips into the blast. As he falls, he twists, turning the momentum into a roll. Damn, that blast has him chilled to the bones.
He flexes his wrists as he follows through, this time finding purchase to jump and leap at his target. With the distance closed, the wraith falls easily.
He looks back to the rest of the skirmish. There's still two mostly beaten shades left, and he sprints back into the fight. One receives a well-placed bolt to the head, courtesy of the stocky man with the crossbow, and melts back to the earth. One to go.
The last is engaged with Cassandra, and he slips in behind it. A deft slash of his daggers to its throat and it joins the other.
A slender man with a bald head and rather pointy ears hurries to his side. "Quickly, before more come through!"
The man grabs Andras' wrist and, before he can protest, holds it up to the rift. Energy, the same brilliant sickly green that colors the rift, leaps from the mark on his hand and connects with the rift. He can feel the connection in his soul, like a part of his own will. He wills the rift to close, and it does.
"What did you do?" Andras asks the man, disconcerted.
He humbly replies, "I did nothing. The credit is yours."
"You mean the mark, this?" Andras asks, holding up his left, crackling hand. It no longer stings so bad now that the rift is sealed.
The man nods. "Whatever magic opened the Breach in the sky also placed that mark upon your hand. I theorized the mark might be able to close the rifts that have opened in the Breach's wake," he smiles, "– and it seems I was correct."
"Meaning it could also close the Breach itself," Cassandra adds.
The man casts a look to Cassandra. "Possibly," he says, before turning his attention back to Andras. "It seems you hold the key to our salvation," he remarks with some amusement.
"Good to know! Here I thought we'd be ass-deep in demons forever," says the stout man with the crossbow. He turns to Andras, and with lighthearted pomp, introduces himself. "Varric Tethras: rogue, storyteller, and occasionally unwelcome tag-along," he says, casting a quick wink at Cassandra. Her scowl deepens.
"Are you with the Chantry, or…?"
The slender man chuckles. "Was that a serious question?"
Varric replies in good humor. "Technically I'm a prisoner, just like you."
"I brought you here to tell your story to the Divine," Cassandra says to Varric. "Clearly that is no longer necessary."
"Yet, here I am," he retorts. "Lucky for you, considering current events."
"That's a nice crossbow you have there," Andras adds. He's seen it in action. Varric used it like it was practically a part of him, every shot steady and true.
"Ah, isn't she? Bianca and I have been through a lot together."
"Bianca?"
"Of course. And she'll be great company in the valley."
"Absolutely not," Cassandra cuts in. "Your help is appreciated, Varric, but…"
"Have you been in the valley lately, Seeker?" Varric counters. "Your soldiers aren't in control anymore. You need me."
Cassandra shakes her head, her scowl back at home on her face.
The slender man chooses this point to speak again. "My name is Solas, if there are to be introductions. I'm pleased to see you still live."
"He means, 'I kept that mark from killing you while you slept,'" Varric adds.
Andras turns back to Solas. "You know about all this?"
"Solas is an apostate, well-versed in such matters," Cassandra explains.
"Technically, all mages are now apostates, Cassandra," Solas adds. "My travels have allowed me to learn much of the Fade, far beyond the experience of any Circle mage. I came to offer whatever help I can give with the Breach. If it is not closed, we are all doomed regardless of origin."
Mages, apostates, circles and fades. The place just seems to get stranger and stranger. What did he wake up into?
"If you don't mind my asking, how did you keep the mark from killing me?"
"Healing magic and minor wards, but I fear your mark is now past the point where those can help you."
"Oh." Well, guess the mark is stuck there.
"Cassandra," Solas says, "you should know: the magic involved here is unlike any I have ever seen. Your prisoner is no mage. Indeed, I find it difficult to imagine any mage having such power."
"Understood. We must get to the forward camp quickly," she replies.
Varric smirks. "Well, Bianca's excited!"
Cassandra takes the vanguard. "This way, down the bank. The road ahead is blocked."
"We must move quickly," Solas says from the rear.
Together, the little band moves on for the forward camp, making their way over rubble.
AN: Heading off on a Pilgrimage. Enjoy an update!