disclaimer: The Dragon Age fanbase will be familiar to the explanations given in the story but I try to make it understandable for newcomers as well. Hope it helps.
Above the fighting was a green...thing. A rift, Mehenion knew. A rift was a tear in the veil, the boundary that kept the worlds of demons and humans apart. However some creatures were skilled enough to break through this boundary.
All humanoid creatures from Thedas, except for the dwarves, had mages amongst them who could dream and converse with the fade. Although this brought great risk. Most mages were therefore, kept together in circles and guarded by templars. Because Maker knew that if you traveled to the fade, the afterlife, you could take unwelcome company back.
Demons could not usually take physical form in Thedas, so they had to possess a vessel. It was not unlike in his own world: Earth. Some people there too had powers to contact spirits from the veil. We call them "psychics."
Most mages were kept in these "circles" in Thedas. They were told to be there for the mages protection and to learn how to cope with their magic gifts, and to protect them from possession. However the circles were famed to be more prisons than schools, and they were made as protection for the non-magic folk, rather than for the mages themselves.
However some Elves, Elves who long ago refused to live as subservient creatures in the city ghetto's, were called Dalish. They lived in the Dales, in clans. Apart from some, many Dalish clans did not like to be in contact with humans and sometimes were outright aggressive to them. Each clan had one keeper, who was a mage, and usually one of two more than 3 mages could be in a clan and interchanging mages was a practice. The mages were trained by the keepers themselves.
A Dalish elf was easily recognised by the tattoos on their head, that represented their service to one of the Elvhen Gods. They called this practice "bloodwriting" and the tattoo that resulted from it "Vallaslin." The Dalish elves worked hard to preserve every bit of old Elven knowledge and culture they had and could get, however misguided.
That at least was the lore that Mehenion had actively remembered from playing the game and watching hours worth of videos about the game. So far however, everything seemed to match up and he would learn that the extent to which this world and the gameworld matched up was...uncanny.
By the time they arrived, the fight was almost over. Mehenion could get a few blasts in, but it was Varric firing the last shot. "Quickly! Before more come through!" But before Mehenion could react, Solas grabbed for his left hand and pointed the mark at the rift. Again, the mark and the rift reacted to each other. This time however, instead of just giving him unbearable pain, it made the rift go away.
"I...How…" Mehenion frowned. He looked at Solas. "I did nothing, the credit is yours." He said. "Whatever magic opened the breach in the sky, also placed that mark upon your hand." Solas explained. "I theorised the mark might be able to close the rifts that have opened in the breach's wake. And it seems I was correct."
Cassandra intersected: "Meaning it could also close the breach itself.." The two elves looked at each other confused. Solas looked at Cassandra. She shrugged. "Somehow he doesn't seem to understand or hear anything of what I say." Varric put it through the test.
"Good to know. And here I thought we'd be ass deep in demons forever. The boy looked his direction. "He's not deaf, at least."Varric said, before he began his introduction. "Varric Tethras, rogue, storyteller, and occasionally unwelcome tagalong." He winked at Cassandra when he said that. It was clear. Those two didn't seem to like each other. Or at least Cassandra didn't like the dwarf.
Varric sized him up. "Does he have a name?" He asked. "Mehenion." The boy said. He nodded and made an awkward little bow. He didn't know how to say "pleased to meet you" yet, so that was all he could do.
"My name is Solas, if there need to be introductions. I'm pleased to see you still live." He too now sized the boy up.
"He means he kept that mark from killing you while you slept." Varric said. He sighed. "Let's just go." "Absolutely not! You're help is appreciated Varric but…" Cassandra started. "Have you been in the valley lately seeker? Your soldiers aren't in control anymore. You need me." Varric interupted her. Mehenion looked back and forth.
Solas started to explain something to Cassandra. He told her that the mark that Mehenion bore, the mark that helped him close the rift, was very unusual, and even more so the control over said mark, even for a mage. Mehenion wasn't really listening as he didn't understand anything about it yet, anyway. And now he was being very interested in Varric's crossbow. "Yeah, Bianca and I go way back." Varric explained.
Solas was, just like Mehenion an elf. Although, the comparison stopped with both of them having pointy ears. Where Mehenion knew little of the world except for this faint knowledge, Solas knew loads about this world and the fade as well. Solas was an elf with a closely shaved head, so close shaved he seemed bald. He wore a light coloured sweater and a long necklace with some creatures cheekbone. When Mehenion had looked down, he noticed that Solas didn't wear any shoes but chose to bind his feet with wraps instead.
Varric almost looked like the entire opposite. He was a dwarf, reaching as high as his chest. He wore a long leather jacket and a red doublet like vest that he had wide open. And it looked as if every hair that Solas seemed to lack, could be found on Varric's chest. What dwarves lacked in height, they made up for in width. Especially males were wider and more muscular than humans and almost twice as wide as an Elf like Mehenion. On his back, Varric wore a crossbow with double arms who he christened "Bianca". Varric had blond hair and a nose that was broken at least once. His neck was decorated with a chain and a round pendant and his ears had earrings.
Varric took it upon himself to teach Mehenion some basic words, even though Cassandra told him not to bother because he was most likely to die. Even Solas seemed to share her sentiment. "You don't know that. He survived whatever happened at the temple of Sacred Ashes, so he might be a lot more hardy than he looks." Someone had to remain optimistic among this bunch of pessimists after all.
Soon Mehenion already knew the words for "yes", "no", "thank you" and how the races were called here. He also tried to teach him other things like short verbs. "Walk", "talk", "run", "fight." He accompanied all those words with small gestures, like a two finger puppet walking on his other hand.
Cassandra smiled as she heard the elf mumble under his breath. Solas took note of the simple but seemingly effect approach Varric took upon learning the boy his language. "How do you manage to teach him so well, Varric?" He asked. "As a merchant I often come across different people, and surprisingly, not all of them speak the common tongue. So sometimes I have to resort to these small signs to make myself clear." He explained.
"And ofcourse, if he doesn't know the language, how is he ever going to read the latest chapter of "Hard in Hightown?" This last statement got an "Ugh" from Cassandra, but Mehenion seemed to laugh. "What are you laughing at, elf?" She asked him. Mehenion looked at Varric for a translation. Then he imitated her. "Ugh." This time it was Solas who laughed. Cassandra tried to suppress another "ugh." She just hoped to get to the forward camp quickly.
"What is he doing?" Varric asked when he saw Mehenion fight. "He doesn't fight like any mage I know." Mehenion in the meanwhile was finding out more ways of how he could kill shades. A large blast of fire shot out of his bare hands, setting the shade ablaze. Then he unceremoniously rammed the tail end through the creatures body. Mehenions hands crackled with electricity as he made his way to the next demon. He used his staff to channel the energy out his hands and into the creature.
"Maker help him…"Cassandra sighed. But Mehenion got the hang of it soon enough and the shades started to fall in droves and he started to get the knack of closing rifts. He also always seemed to be half a mile ahead of his group. "Do you even know where you're going?" Varric asked. "You know the way?" The boy nodded and pointed to the breach. Varric snorted.
Mehenion moved his hair behind his ears and stopped for a moment. Somehow this still felt like a weird dream, but his pointy ears were really there. He smiled. He then noticed the group looking at him. He waved their worries away and went on ahead again. "Talk later…" He uttered. Solas had the question on his lips. The boy was Dalish, clearly away from his clan. But what brought him here? The question had burned in him ever since he was sent away to the rift after caring for the guy. He wondered how lost and out of place the boy felt. And most of all, he wondered why the boy kept looking at him in this strange way. What did he know?
Chancellor Rodrick was a middle aged man with a sour expression on his face. He was dressed in a long robe. Chantry Robes, Mehenion knew. "Ah..Here they come." The chancellor said. Leliana tried to introduce Mehenion, but the chancellor wouldn't hear any of it.
"I know who he is." He barked out some orders. "Order me? You are a glorified clerk! A bureaucrat." Cassandra snarled back.
"And you are ...hey! Where do you think you're going!" The Chancellor was distracted by Mehenion, who clearly didn't have time for any of it and just wanted to get on with it. The elf snarled and glared at the chancellor, his left fist clenched. "No time." The mark in his hand glowed dangerously and he pushed the chancellor aside.
He knew this line. He knew they were going to fight over which way to go and let it depend on him. But the less time he had with the chancellor, the better. "That behavior might get you killed, son." Varric warned as they too went past. Leliana followed them.
"Wait, where are you going?" She asked. "Apparently our prisoner knows the way." Cassandra scathed. "Head to the valley and gather as much people as you can." She asked Leliana. But Mehenion had no single clue where he was going exactly. This part was of a cutscene and they showed them trudging through the snow to get to the rift where Cullen was.
He frowned. He wanted to take the shortest route, but how did he make that clear to the rest of the group. Somehow he got them to understand and now looked at Cassandra to take the lead. The woman sighed and rolled her eyes.
The boy shivered as they went through the snow. He shivered ostentatiously as he looked at Solas' bare feet. How is he not cold? He thought. The elf smiled at him, then showed him the soles of his feet. Years of walking barefoot had grown a decent layer of calluses that now acted as a sole. Mehenion smiled and nodded.
When they finally arrived at the temple, or the ruin that was left of it, they were greeted by wounded soldiers and another rift to close. As soon as it was done, another man rushed towards them. He congratulated Cassandra for the work on the rift. "Do not congratulate me, commander. This is the prisoners doing." She looked at Mehenion, who looked startled.
"I hope they're right about you. We lost a lot of people getting you here." The commander said, then looked at Cassandra again. "Not the most talkative person, is he?" He asked her. "Well, he actually doesn't understand a word of what you said. No one knows why." She explained. "He has picked up a few words here and there. He will learn many more as soon as this is over." He promised. "If he survives.." Cassandra retorted. Varric looked at her. "Aah seeker, ever the optimist." Cassandra rolled her eyes.
The stench was harder to bear now, as they moved forward into the ruin and passed the scorched bodies. They died in agony, the pain still etched into their faces. Their company only stopped because they heard the sound of retching behind them.
Mehenion looked even more pale than he already was, and hunched over, leaning against one of the walls. Below him lay a puddle of whatever was left in his stomach. The boy wiped his mouth with his sleeve and moved forward, his face contorted into a snarl. His snarl turned to a gasp however when he saw the breach. Up close it looked even more menacing and dangerous than from afar.
"The breach is a long way up." Varric said, also in awe. Leliana followed up on them. "Thank the maker. You're here." Cassandra started issuing orders. This….meant business. She now addressed him. "This is your chance to end this. Are you ready?" Mehenion looked up, swallowed, then resolutely nodded...
And again he wanted to take the short route first. That meant jumping straight over the balustrade, apparently. But Cassandra wasn't going to get him killed now that they were so close. "No." She shook her head clearly in front of him, then pointed the way.
"This rift was the first, and it is the key." Solas now explained. "If we seal it, perhaps we seal the breach." "You know this stuff is red lyrium, seeker." Varric said, looking at the red spires. "I see it varric." There was no need telling Cassandra, nor Solas to tell them not to touch it. But he had to pull Mehenion back again as he seemed eager to touch it. He saw the mischievous grin on the elf's face. He warned him again for good measure. "Not good. Ok? Ok." He sighed. He understood why Cassandra had this frown on her face now. This boy was like an infant.
"Keep the sacrifice still." A disembodied voice left the boy totally bewildered and looking around him in shock. Then another voice spoke, this time a woman. "Someone. Help me!" "That is divine Justinia's voice!" Cassandra said. They came closer to the rift now. Again the same voice, crying for help. Mehenion lifted his hand, where the mark started glowing again. "What's going on in here." That was his voice but a disembodied voice screamed as well. It sounded further away.
"That was your voice. Most Holy called out to you, but.." Cassandra said. Above them, a big dark shape formed, with two red eyes, in front of it, what could only be their divine. "What's going on?" His voice sounded much further away. "Run while you can! Warn them!" Her voice cried out. "We have an intruder." It was a male voice. "Slay the elf." Wait, What? With a flash of light the vision disappeared.
Cassandra fired a barrage of questions onto him. "You were there! Who attacked? And the divine, is she…? Was this vision true? What are we seeing?" But the only thing the boy could say was: "I..I..I…"
"Echoes of what happened here. The fade bleeds into this place." Luckily Solas was there to explain. "This rift is not sealed, but it is closed, albeit temporarily. I believe that with the mark, the rift can be opened and then sealed properly and safely. But doing so, most likely attracts attention from the other side." "That means demons! Stand Ready!" The soldiers stood ready, Archers nocked and drew their bows, waiting in tension for what was to come.
On her sign, Mehenion lifted his hand let the mark do its magic. And just as Solas told it would, it worked. The rift opened itself and shot out a green spark. It materialised itself into a huge monster. And it was huge. If you saw it on your screen, it was big. But if you saw it for real, it looked unbeatable. Mehenion let out a shrill scream. He had to resist every fiber in his body to not seek coverage behind Cassandra or Solas. It looked like a demon was meant to look: long horns, skin like hardened lava, a beastly grimace and tall as a building.
"We must strip it's defenses! Wear it down!" Cassandra ordered. Wait a minute...Whenever he tried to disrupt the rifts earlier, the monsters seemed in pain. Mehenion ran and searched for a safe place, close enough so the mark would connect. He lifted his arm and started to work on the rift. But this rift was much larger than the ones they had worked on before. But it worked. As soon as the rift was disrupted, the demon sunk to his knees. As fast as he could, he started to blast magic at the creature as well.
But as soon as the rift regained its strength, other demons started pouring out as well. "Help me. Keep them away!" He yelled while he tried to work on the rift again. The shades tried to attack him. Slowly Mehenion leaned down. "Let's do this Neanderthal style." He mumbled to himself, while he picked up a rock and started bashing the shade's skull in, doing his best to avoid its claws. Blood, or whatever it was, splattered over his face.
But now at least he could concentrate on the mark. The little ones were fairly easy, But the big one took a lot of work...and it was sapping his strength. That, or it could be the red lyrium crystals that grew even here. But the demon, pride, it was called, was now also starting to fail. One more time should do it. "Now! Seal the rift! Do it!" Cassandra yelled. Now was the time to give it his all...just a little more… With a blast, the rift imploded. He heard the people around him cheer, but then everything went black.
He didn't recognise anything when he woke. He was in a wooden cabin of sorts. He looked around. He was laying on a soft bed, with soft blankets and fluffy cushions. They changed his clothes. He was now wearing a form fitting beige suit. He looked towards the sound of the door.
Another elf came in, holding a crate. "Oh!" She seemed shocked by the fact that he was awake. "I didn't know you were awake. I swear!" Why did she sound like he was going to beat her? He could only frown. That seemed to set her into a fright even more. The elf fell to her knees and bowed. "I beg your forgiveness, and your blessing. I am but a humble servant.
"You're back in Haven, my Lord." She explained. "They say you saved us. The breach stopped growing, just like the mark on your hand." This was becoming ridiculous. He wasn't going to hurt her or anything.. He couldn't understand half of what she said. He just looked at her sheepishly. "It's all everyone talked about for the last three days."
What happened for God's sake? He looked at her, feeling helpless. "Oh..I am terribly sorry." She said, and bowed again. "I forgot you do not speak our language." She picked herself up again. "I'm certain Lady Cassandra would want to know you've wakened. She said "at once." The elf tried to explain. Mehenion frowned, then nodded. "Where..?" He asked. "In the chantry. With the lord chancellor. At once, she said." The elf ran away. Mehenion worried about her. What made her so skittish? And how was she so skinny?
He got out of bed, but immediately felt lightheaded and had to sit down again. He waited till he had found his strength again and slowly, carefully rose up. He looked at himself. The suit made him look thin, really thin, almost as thin as she was. There was no mirror to check himself in. He looked around. At the table next to his bed stood an instrument. A lute. Softly he let his fingers glide over the strings. He decided to go look for Cassandra, since he couldn't play the instrument anyway.
He saw a letter on another desk. "Huh?" He couldn't make anything out of it. "Great. Now I need to learn how to read as well…" He moaned. He braced his eyes against the light, then looked up. That thing was still there… He couldn't completely close the breach. Once he looked around, he saw that what seemed like the whole village, was there to greet him. They whispered about him and it made him nervous.
"That's him. That's the Herald of Andraste." Someone whispered. People were whispering about him. God knew what they said. They weren't throwing rotten tomatoes at him yet, so it wasn't that bad, most likely. He looked to where the chantry might be. Most likely it would be the biggest building. And soon enough he found it. Mehenion stepped in. She wasn't here. Was she perhaps down? Where he came from before they went to defeat that...thing?" But the more to the back he walked, the louder the voices. They were behind that door. They were talking about him too. He decided to eavesdrop before he walked in.
"I do not believe that." Cassandra's voice said. The Chancellor was with her. "That is not for you to decide. Your duty is to serve the chantry." "My duty is to serve the principles on which the chantry was founded, chancellor. As is yours." Mehenion took a deep breath and opened the door.
As soon as he walked in, the chancellor wanted him chained. Cassandra, as always, was there to save him. "Disregard that. And leave us." Apparently her words held more weight, since the guards obeyed her immediately. "Uuuuh…" He started."I will explain later."Cassandra reassured him, before she and Leliana started to debate again about the breach.
The whole conversation went completely over his head, but he did see irritation in their eyes. He just kept looking back to forth and startled when Cassandra slammed a book on the table.
"You know what this is, Chancellor." She glared at him. "A writ from the divine, granting us the authority to act." Mehenion recognised the symbol on the book. He followed Cassandra as she started making her way towards the chancellor, seemingly threatening him. Mehenion let a sigh of relief when the man was gone and he was not alone in it.
He looked at the book, then felt the pressure of the two women looking at him. "Huh?" Cassandra frowned. "Pay attention, elf." She growled. "We need you for this. You have the mark. We cannot do this without you." She said, as simple as possible. Then she put out her hands, asking for a handshake. He nodded, then shook her hand and nodded again. There was no turning back now.