Happy Friday everyone! Sorry this is coming out a few hours later than normal. I'm really sick and spent most of the day resting. Hopefully, this will all blow over soon. Enjoy the chapter!

Haven had fallen and so had its fabled Herald. Solas can still feel the echoes of the souls lost in the avalanches, whether they were Templars, mages, soldiers or civilians.

All was lost and Thedas was doomed to a world with a Tevinter Magister as its ruler. Without Ellana, even with the Breach sealed, rifts were rampant all over Thedas, the people needed a leader and she had been their beacon. Now, Haven lay dark, silent and the only noise made was of them all walking through the snow, mourning. Everyone in the Inquisition was inconsolable.

As much as Solas couldn't stand Sera, she was taking Ellana's loss the hardest. The two elves had been close friends through their various lighthearted pranking and sharing rather lewd tales with one another. Sera had been the last one off the battlefield, the last person to see Ellana alive, telling them all to run. Dorian was comforting her as best he could, but she just clung to the ironbark bow that Ellana had given to her as a lifeline as she sobbed messily into the Altus' robes. It had been something that Ellana had brought with her from her clan, but felt that it was better used in Sera's expert hands. She hadn't disappointed, Solas figured that the archer killed just as many Red Templars as Solas had with his magic earlier that night.

Ellana had changed everything and in a single moment everything was lost.

Every thought he had ever had about this veiled world changed with that one elven woman. She was what he wanted the people to become. Even though she wasn't connected to the fade in a classic sense, she wanted to understand it, even if it was just for her brother's sake. Ellana didn't want to live in the past, she wanted to learn about it and she sought Solas out to attempt to fill in the large gaps she didn't know about the People. It was something the Dalish he had encountered prior to her had shied away from.

None of that mattered now, she was dead and the Inquisition essentially ended. He'd need to slip away within a day or so and meet with his spies. Maybe they could go underground and find a way to salvage this mess.

Already, Cassandra and the Advisors were fighting. Leadership was always challenged when tragedy strikes, but none of them were actually making decisions, just fighting on where to go next.

It wasn't long before they all stopped for the evening. The snow was becoming impossible to walk though and the mages that sealed the Breach were all reaching their breaking point. Everyone's mana was spent and needed to rest. Solas himself was slowly building his power back up and wasn't necessarily as tired as he could have been, but would play the exhausted mage for the evening.

Solas sighed, placed a small ward around the bedroll he pulled out near the fire and closed his eyes, hoping that the fade would take him to a more welcoming place then these snow covered mountains.

Solas quickly found himself in the fade. In the echoes of a small moss covered ruin that he had originally found himself in after millennia of rest. It was a comfortable, yet depressing reminder of what happened during his slumber. The once proud structure he had fallen asleep in was crumbling around him, a wisp of its former glory.

He sighed, clearing his mind and moving himself away from this depressing line of thought, though for a moment he swore that he felt a tug on his consciousness. That someone was attempting to come into his dream.

No one disturbed the Dread Wolf's slumber.

What Solas didn't expect was a visitor. It was an elven man, dressed in robes that could have been worn any time between the modern age and ancient Arlathan. He was around Ellana's age by Solas' estimate. His grey eyes were flashing in anger as he stalked up to Solas, who could feel this man pushing at his natural barriers in his mindscape, as if trying to push him to waking up.

He noticed that the young elf had his hair braided in a similar manner to Ellana with vallaslin to Mythal along his cheeks. He honestly looked familiar, more like an ancient elf, than the ones of today, though Ellana was the same way. The two could be siblings. When Solas didn't greet or address him in anyway. He opened his mouth to speak and Solas was surprised when it came out in clear, crisp, elven.

"She's still out there! Ellana is freezing to death, calling for you all! Of all the times for me to wish she had a better connection to blasted fade."

Solas' eyes narrowed. Was this a demon playing a trick on him? What angle was this creature trying to get at?

"To what end are you here to tempt me?"

Realization dawned on the possible demon and he tugged at his hair, something he had seen Ellana do more than once while thinking over world shattering decisions. It wasn't something a demon would know to replicate. "I'm surprised that Ellana doesn't talk about me more for you not to recognize me. I'm her brother, Ven. She told me that she mentioned that we share dreams. My sister is still alive, Solas. She's close, but will not make it to your camp! Wake up!"

The mysterious brother, the dreamer Ellana had been speaking about for months. His name was Ven. Solas was no one to kick a gift horse in the mouth and forced himself into the waking world once more. He looked to the far hill where they had all come from Haven and saw the briefest of green flashes.

She was alive, but dying if her brother was correct.

The mage shot up from his bedroll and sprinted past the Commander and Seeker who followed him in his haste towards the hillside. Both Cassandra and the Commander would faster than he was, their strides out pacing him, but not by much. And just like her brother had said, there she was, lips blue, her wrist at an odd angel and her hair disheveled, but she was alive that was all that mattered.

The Commander quickly covered her in the fur he kept about his shoulders and scooped her out of the snow. Solas summoned some fire, much to the ire of both Cassandra and the Commander, but the ex-templar was more adept at hiding it. Solas didn't care how much his magic worried their human sensibilities, he was going to keep all four of them warm as they walked about to camp. He needed to bring some color back to Ellana before she started losing limbs to frostbite. He heard her mumble something incomprehensible, still slightly conscious. "Ellana, stay awake," Solas said, as they made their way to the camp.

Her slightly unfocused eyes peeked from behind nearly frozen lashes. "Took you long enough to find me," she mumbled before going slack in the Commander's arms.

Solas sat with her the rest of the evening healing her and warming her half frozen body back to appropriate temperatures. She hadn't lost any limbs or appendages, thankfully. He had retied her braid, making sure he kept it in the style she had been wearing it in battle. He left the pins in a neat pile next to her bed, surprisingly, most of them made it through the long trek from Haven.

Dorian was in the chair next to him, asleep and snoring quietly. The Tevinter mage had earned a bit of respect from Solas when he helped heal Ellana, even after all of the mana he'd spend closing the Breach, Dorian had still pushed himself by attempting to heal and warm his friend.

He decided to ignore the humans that had started arguing the moment they put Ellana down. Her advisors were talking about what to do next now that their figurehead was back, even if she was still barely alive. Maybe after all of this she wouldn't want to be leading these people. It honestly wouldn't surprise Solas, they put far too much responsibility on this poor young elf. No matter how mature she acted for them she was still only in her early twenties. She was but an infant to these war veterans like the Commander and Spymaster and hadn't been training for her positions since she was a child like Josephine and Cassandra. Ellana had trained to hunt for her clan and that was it from what she had shared with her inner circle.

It seemed now that their Herald was back it was all right to plan their next move about her future without her being present.

"They still fighting?" A quiet voice rasped from his left.

He turned his head to the cot and gave a small smile. "Yes, da'len, but don't worry about them tonight. You need your rest."

"You need to stop calling me da'len. 'M not a child," she slurred before dropping back off to sleep.

Not a child indeed.

A few hours of rest later and yet the leaders of the Inquisition were still arguing. Ellana was waking up again, he could see her injured frame shift in the dim firelight from across camp. She sat up slowly, Mother Giselle was next to her, speaking quietly and Ellana's brows furrowed and she began to scowl. Solas wondered what the Chantry mother had said to her.

Ellana looked away from the Mother Giselle and made eye contact with him, her demeanor lighting up when she saw him, something familiar and to an extent safe. It was a look that he didn't deserve. His failed plan had almost gotten her killed, again. Solas made a move to walk over to her. He could at least make sure that her injuries weren't festering.

Between him standing and grabbing his staff, the humans had started singing.

All of them.

At once.

It was an odd change of pace and while it certainly lightened the mood, was foreign to Solas. No doubt some Chantry dribble.

While it sounded nice, Ellana was sending Solas confused looks and he shrugged, he was just as lost as she was. So, he made his way over to her, regardless of the human's song and sat down next to her, staff in hand. He pooled his mana and checked over her injuries. Broken bones were mending, but they would be sore for at least two weeks and then she'd need to train to recover whatever muscle mass she lost before she would be allowed out of anyone's sight. She was going to go mad with her Inner Circle doting on her for the foreseeable future.

By the time he was done their song had ended and everyone's tempers seemed to have cooled. The Advisors had begun speaking quietly amongst themselves, sending glances at Ellana, but keeping their voices down.

"Any idea what they were singing about?"

"Chantry things, I'd assume. Sounds like their religious tripe," Ellana muttered, making sure that Mother Giselle didn't hear her. The woman looked far too proud of herself and no doubt Ellana didn't want to incur her wrath.

Solas chuckled. "I'm glad that after all their preaching and attempts at conversion you have stayed the same."

She rolled her eyes, grey eyes glinting mischievously. "I've been told that it is very difficult to get me to change my mind. My brother used to tell me that I was more stubborn than fade demons. Though, now that I've fought them, I don't think it was much of compliment."

"All things considered, I'm very glad that you're stubborn. It's a rather endearing trait."

She rolled her eyes and suppressed a yawn. "I live to please. How did you all find me?"

Solas had been dreading this question since he wasn't quite sure if what he had witnessed in the fade had been a dream or if Ellana's brother had really spoken to him, but she was waiting for an answer. He debated on lying to her, it was becoming more difficult for him to want to deceive her. She put so much faith in him and yet, she had his mark on her hand and his magic had caused the hole in the sky.

Now was not the time to lie. Ellana was injured and deserved better than that in this moment.

"Oddly enough, an angry elven man came into my dreams shouting at me that you were still alive."

Ellana snorted. "Ah, my dear brother found you? I thought that I had called out to him as I was going in and out of consciousness in the cold."

"You have a very devoted twin," he responded, his eyes drifting towards where, in the far distance, Skyhold would be located. Another truth he was going to need to reveal to her soon. If they were going to survive, the Inquisition was going to need a new base of operation.

Ellana tapped him on the shoulder, and gave him a slightly annoyed look. He followed her line of sight and saw Varric talking in hushed tones to some recruits and occasionally pointing to Ellana.

"I'm going to kill Varric."

"At least the rumors will be in your favor with him spinning them."

Her gaze fell back on her advisors, who were talking in urgent hushed tones. Ellana sighed, tugging at her her matted, bloodstained, hair agitatedly. She looked down at the pile of pin neatly sitting beside the cot, picked the one her brother made and stuck it back in her hair.

She was ready to be the savage Herald this world didn't deserve, but desperately needed.

"I suppose," she muttered, getting off the cot with a growl. She swayed slightly, Solas caught her arm, but she pulled out of his grasp with a shake of her head and hobbled over to her advisors.

She dismissed him with a wave behind her back.

Skyhold could wait till morning.

And we're almost to Skyhold! I'm so excited, I'm going to be bringing in everyone extremely sarcastic DA2 protagonist very soon. I have quite a bit packed into the next half of story. It's strange to think that this story nearly half way done. I have a lot of twists and turns to pack into the story now, so don't worry. =)

I put in a few more hints for what the big reveal is for Ellana. I wonder if anyone has seen it yet?

Anyway, thank you for everyone that favorited, followed and reviewed. I had a lovely reviews post something this morning (my time), hoping that they'd see new content soon, well I hope that I didn't disappoint. Keep up those reviews though! I love hear feedback, guesses, constructive criticism, ext.

As for some health updates, my eyes are getting better. As it turns out, I had some rather awful sinus pressure behind my eyes causes them to strain, blur and water. =/ I have a nasty cold now, so hopefully after this all clears up my vision issues will fix themselves. Did you know colds can make your ears itch? I didn't, colds suck, stay healthy. For all those in the path of the hurricanes hitting Florida and the South Eastern US, stay safe!

See you all next week,

Animerocker