One foot, in front of the other. One foot...front of the...other.

I thought in my mind between breaths, how could it be so damn cold? I shivered violently as Cassandra and I made our way up the hill.

"We're almost to the forward camp. Leliana should be there waiting for us." Cassandra was my stoic guide. She was curt with me, barely hiding distaste.

"Good...I need a rest." I was exhausted, confused, and on the brink of a mental brake down. But I wouldn't let myself cry in front of Cassandra, she wouldn't understand.

"No. No rests, after we meet up with Leliana we must plow forward and find a way to the Temple," She pushed forward when I leaned over with my hands on my knees, forcing me to run to keep up with her.

This world feels so realistic, the sights, the smells, the way the cold crisp air feels on my skin. I started to think, what if this world, this place I'm in is actually real? But that would be ridiculous. Green holes don't just open in the sky. If this place is real...then...No. I didn't want to think about it. This is all a dream, and none of it is real.

We were crossing a bridge with a few soldiers on look-out on it, when suddenly a flash of green light escaped the Breach and came at the bridge like a fatal flaming comet.

"Watch out!" Cassandra yelled out over the chaos.

The bridge crumbled under the impact and the soldiers were instantly burned alive. We fell with the bridge and fortunately awoke unharmed. The same could not be said for the soldiers, whose bodies laid across the frozen lake from my own body. Their bodies were still smoldering, and their ashes remained intact; displaying their final moment of agony.

I gagged at the smell, and was horrified at the sight. I felt tears stain my eyes and smoke burn them. Those men...they all had lives...and possibly families. They all had lived up to this same point as I had. They had as many memories if not more than I had.

Cassandra pulled me up with one arm, "Brace yourself, you will be seeing a lot of death from now on."

It seemed like the horrors weren't done with us yet. A smaller blast hit the frozen lake, revealing two dark shaded creatures. They slithered towards us, with hunchbacks and one glowing purple eye.

Then they split, one headed for me and two for Cassandra. I screamed and scrambled backwards, until I hit a crate that had fallen from the bridge. The crate had been smashed, and its contents spilled from it. The creature was almost upon me.

Panicked I grabbed the nearest object to me, a long blunt branch. Great, I thought. I swung the branch as hard as I could at the creature, somehow successfully knocking it back, if only for a second. It was enough time for me to get back on my feet. I held the polished branch with two hands defensively.

The creature came at me again, I ran screaming and flailing the branch, when a sudden burst of energy welded up inside of me. I could feel the energy moving throughout my body it moved up my arms and in the branch. I stared, transfixed at the sight. The branch started to glow with energies I didn't understand. The creature slinked towards me, the motion made me jump. The branch fired off and the energy shot out of it. It was headed straight for the creature. The creature was enveloped in a purple light, it wailed horrible sounds that made me shudder. It melted to the ground in a pool of a black substance. I didn't move, didn't make a sound until I was sure it was dead.

Cassandra ran up behind me and grabbed my collar, "You're a mage?!" She spat.

"Wh-wha...I don't think so..." I was so confused and disoriented.

"Then what in the Maker's name was that?!" She was furious, "Drop it, mage. Drop your staff."

Immediately complying I dropped the "staff". Cassandra looked at my frightened form and her face softened, "No, I can't expect to be able to protect you. Keep it."

I didn't understand the significance, but I picked up the staff once more and held it to me as though I was hanging on for dear life.

Dream. Dream. Dream.

Cassandra lead me through the valley and eventually we stumbled upon a "rift" as she called it. To me it was a nightmare pouring machine. We fought, she fought while I barely dodged fatal hits. There were to others there. A very strange man, elf, who was bald and wore plain garb with a giant tooth as a necklace. And a dwarf with a chest full of hair and an intricate crossbow. They helped us fight against the demons, and all the while the elf was staring intently at me.

Exhausted to the point of passing out, we had finally killed all the demons. Just when I thought we were done the elf runs up to me and grabs my left hand, "Hurry! Use your mark now!" He lifts up my hand to the sky and the most excruciating pain invaded my being. My eyes went up, others seeing only the whites of my eyes. My throat was on fire, burning me, and I realized I was screaming, yet I could hear nothing.

The feeling left just as quickly as it came. Leaving me collapsed in the elf's arms, "She's exhausted Seeker." The deep voice! I recognized it. Now it felt welcoming and warm. Refuge.

"Not yet. We still need to meet up with Leliana and decide our plan from there. Do what you can, and keep her conscious. And Solas..." He looked up, "Thank you." Cassandra said softly. He looked surprised but smiled none the less.

He looked down at me surveying the damage, "She needs to rest...I can give her a few potions that should bring her energy back up, but we can't do that while moving." Cassandra raised an eyebrow implying she wanted to know what he was asking. "I will stay here with her and meet you and Varric at the camp shortly."

Cassandra sighed, "Very well. But do not delay too long, the Breach is pouring demons in our world as we speak."

"Well well." The dwarf spoke up, "And here I thought we'd be ass deep in demons forever." He winked at me and traveled with Cassandra to the camp. I could hear their distant voices bickering.

I looked up to lock eyes with the elf, "Solas..."

"Correct." He said, lifting me up and setting me down gently on a fallen pillar, "And you are?" I had the strangest feeling he already knew.

"Snow. My name is Snow." I answered hesitantly.

"Snow. Do you know where you are? Or anything that is happening?" Solas asked me.'

My eyes widened, did he have answers? "No! Please, if you know anything tell me. I...I don't remember anything. I barely remember my name!"

"Shhshhh..." He placed a calm hand on my forehead, I felt relaxed and safe. "You're in Thedas. Under standard circumstances it isn't this chaotic, but here we have a place called the Fade which houses spirits and demons and a number of magical creatures. That green hole in the sky is a tear in the veil, a barrier between the Fade and here. We need you to seal that tear, then you can rest."

Resting wasn't good enough for me, "Can I go home?"

"I don't know." He said quietly, looking down, knowing I had a disappointed melancholy expression.

I felt as though he understood me, like I didn't have to explain myself. And that was wonderful, especially in the state I was in.

We sat there for a good while as I cried all my emotions out on his shoulder. This stranger strangely felt familiar. An unknown connection we shared pierced my heart, calmed my mind, and dried my tears. I was ready.