After Elden had collapse, all Dorian could do was hold him until he finally quieted. He knew Elden had been insecure in his abilities and his position as Inquisitor, feeling useless and fearing he wasn't the right man for the job, but the Inquisition had been succeeding lately. Not that that mattered, though. This misstep seemed to have verified all of his fears, outweighing any good he'd ever done.
When Elden began to tremble, likely from the cold, he knew he had to move him. Elden was so weak, Dorian and Varric ended up half carrying him back to his tent. Dorian didn't know what to say, what to do, angry at the world for breaking Elden down so much, but also angry at himself for being so useless in helping him. For not realizing sooner the terrible strain he'd been under this entire time, for not doing something about it. For leaving him to suffer alone.
Elden was disoriented and half frozen by the time Dorian urged him to lay down, wrapping him in blankets. Elden kept apologizing over and over again. Dorian tried to reassure and soothe, but no doubt he was doing a poor job of it. He could stay at least, watch over him and make sure he slept as peacefully as possible. It was a good thing he planned to stay because Elden was clinging to his shirt so tightly he couldn't move if he wanted.
Elden was growing worse at an alarming rate and Dorian had no idea what to do. He glanced up at Varric as if he wasn't as at a loss as he was. He had nothing but a shrug for Dorian, but then Elden flinched, curling in on himself, trying to cover his ears, and they both looked back down at him in alarm.
"Elden?" Dorian called gently, placing his hand over the one curled tightly in his robes.
"I can't, it won't stop, it never stops," Elden said and there was so much pain and desperation in his voice.
"What? What won't stop?"
"I know I'm hopeless, I know I don't deserve any of this, please just leave me alone," Elden pleaded, but it didn't seem like he was addressing them.
"What are you talking about?" Dorian asked, brushing his fingers against Elden's cheek and Elden looked at him as if he hadn't realized he was there.
"She's so loud," Elden said, pressing against him, hiding his face.
"You said something about the Venatori earlier," Varric chimed in. "Are you still hearing her?"
"She keeps showing me my brother, my parents- I tried to ignore it, I thought it was a dream, but I can't tell what's real anymore. It's all just all so loud. Does she still have me? Was escaping ever even an option? I know I'm worthless, please just stop!"
"Shh, Elden," Dorian said, brushing his fingers through his hair. "You're not, and you're not alone. We'll find a way to get rid of her."
He covered Elden's eyes, focusing his magic and easing him to sleep. It wasn't a spell he used often. There were other spells he prefered on the battlefield and it didn't exactly leave one feeling rested so there wasn't much use for it in the bedroom. Right now, however, Dorian didn't know what else to do. How else could he allow Elden to escape his tormentor? There was no spell at work here, nothing Dorian could sense that could be doing this to him and he was out of ideas. Slowly Elden gave in to slumber, his hold on Dorian's robes growing limp and slipping free as he finally slept. Dorian sighed.
"We need to get off this mountain."
Varric nodded agreement. "That's for sure."
Even after Vivienne had worked her magic on his reopened wound, Elden's breathing was too quick and he was fever hot to the touch, sweating more than anyone had any right to on a frozen mountainside. Dorian settled in beside him, just the two of them now, taking a cloth Vivenne must have left here to wipe his face and hopefully cool him. He felt empty and tired, at a complete loss, just hoping to make Elden comfortable until they had any idea what to do.
He felt a burning hatred for those who had captured him, for this Venatori that had tortured Elden, made him believe that his own death would have been the more ideal outcome for everyone involved. He hated that she had taken away what should have been a huge source of pride for Elden. He had done so much for the Inquisition, yes, but for all of them as well, lead them to so many victories, and now she had him convinced that he was a failure, that he had done nothing worthwhile. But Drian's rage was useless, of course. There was nothing he could do until they could figure out what was happening to him.
Suddenly Elden flinched violently, jerking awake, eyes wide in panic as he tried to scramble to his feet. Dorian sat up in alarm, trying to gently but firmly get him to lie down again. It disturbed Dorian how easy it was. Elden had become so weak.
"Shh, Inquisitor, you're fine, you're safe," he said as soothingly as he could.
Thankfully Elden finally seemed to see him, to register his words. He still looked panicked, but at least he wasn't trying to get up any longer.
"Dorian," he said urgently. "Dorian, they're coming, we have to- we can't stay here, we need to get out of here."
"It was just a dream, a- Trevelyan," he cursed himself for almost calling him amatus again, but he couldn't dwell on that right now. Reassuring Elden was the only thing that mattered.
"No, you don't understand," he said pleadingly, looking pale and shaken and Dorian's heart broke for him. "She's coming, she knows where we are and she's sending an army of demons after us."
"It'll be fine," Dorian said, hoping he sounded more convincing than he felt. "We have scouts keeping watch, they can't sneak up on us here. What if she's using you to try to drive us out of our hiding spot?"
"I- I don't- What do we do then?" he asked, at a loss.
"You simply need to rest. I'll inform Cassandra and the others. Just promise me you won't try to get up?"
Elden eventually slept again, but he was restless, tossing and turning in his sleep. It was aggravating, having to simply sit and watch him suffer. Dorian did what he could to reassure Elden whenever he would wake, but the terror never truly seemed to leave him. He was so sure they could be attacked at any moment and honestly Dorian couldn't help but share his fears.
Elden was in agony, every step towards consciousness only intensifying it. There was a burning pain in the pit of his stomach, it felt like he had been set on fire on the inside. He groaned, curling in on himself, somehow feeling too hot and too cold at the same time. He opened his eyes, trying to take stalk of where he was. He recognized the tent, the snow still flying heavily outside as his memory slowly returned to him. Movement caught his attention and he turned to look directly into the face of a despair demon.
It loomed over him, but for some reason didn't attack. It simply watched him, and this close Elden could see rows of sharp teeth under the hood. It hissed something, a clawed hand extending out to him and that was enough to jolt Elden back to what was happening, what this mean.
"Where's-" he said, panic mounting as he flinched away from the demon. "Where is everyone? What have you done to them?"
The thing hissed again, grabbing his shoulder and Elden mustered whatever strength he had left in him to shove it away, to scramble towards the exit of the tent, screaming Dorian's name. Had they been attacked? Had the demons taken everyone by surprise, slaughtered everyone? He felt numb with terror, and futility as well, knowing he'd never make it. And even if he could get away, he'd be no use to his friends. He could barely stand, how could he possibly hold a sword and fight back?
Clawed hands wrapped around him from behind, dragging him back and it was all he could do not to sob. Not at his own impending fate, but that of his friends, knowing this had all happened because of him. There was that voice again, reminding him that there was no escape, that this attempt had cost him the lives of his friends. She would take him apart bit by bit, until death would be a mercy. This is what he deserved. He should have died long ago, then at least Dorian and the others might have been spared.
He was much too weak, his struggling pointless, but there was still one thing he could do, one way he might be able to strike back before there was nothing left of him. For his friends.
Dorian had no idea what was happening. One moment Elden had been staring around as he slowly regained consciousness, eyes glassy and unfocussed. Then, suddenly, he flinched away.
"Where is everyone? What have you done to them?"
He cried out Dorian's name as if he wasn't sitting there beside him, scrambling out of the tent, and Dorian was all too aware that he could easily strain himself further, tear his stitches again and risk bleeding out. He moved forward and wrapped his arms around Elden and hauled him back. Elden cried out Dorian's name again and the desperation there broke Dorian's heart. He ended up with Elden practically in a headlock in his lap.
"Elden, you're fine, it's-"
But then Elden managed to free his left hand, raising it into the air. With a horrible crack, the green energy of the anchor shot out, ripping through the tent, tearing into the cliffside beyond. Snow and debris showered down around them and Dorian wrenched him to the side, trying to shield him with his own body as he threw a barrier up around them both. He could feel a jolt as stones hit his shield and glanced aside, tearing a few holes in the tent, but at least neither of them were harmed. There was a commotion in the camp, panicked shouts as everyone tried to assess what was happening, if they were under attack.
Dorian had a good enough grip and Elden's struggling was so weak that he released one hand, bringing it up to cover his eyes. He tried to soothe him with quiet words as he released his magic, slowly letting sleep overcome him, but his words seemed to have no effect. At least his magic did. As Elden finally went limp in his arms, Dorian sighed. Cassandra ran, calling out to them, and Dorian raised a hand gesturing to her that it was fine now. Well, as fine as things could be given the situation.
How had all of this gone so spectacularly wrong? Whatever this was, what if he lost Elden to it? He'd been tormented and abused and Dorian hadn't been able to stop it. Would he fail to save him even now as well? He ran his fingers through Elden's hair feeling more hopeless and terrified than he'd ever been.
