Chapter 5: Hold My Hand, I Can Hear The Ghosts Calling

And Shartan told her: "I cannot rest
While the People wait in darkness and fear."

-Canticle of Shartan

Abigail and Julius

"A word?" Solas asked as he hastily walked past the two Inquisitors. Following him outside the castle onto the mountainside, Julius and Abigail couldn't help but wonder what had made him suddenly wish to speak with them in private.

"Alright, enough. What's this about!" Julius finally stopped, they were well outside the castle and it was freezing and he was no longer in the mood for wandering.

"Very well, we should be far away enough from prying eyes and ears." Solas stated flatly, Abigail sensed he was slightly annoyed with her brother.

"The orb Corypheus carried, the orb he used to open the Breach, it is an elven artifact." Solas stated plainly, the weight of this truth hitting Abigail more clearly than her brother.

"Okay? How do you know that and why do I care?" Julius spoke before his mind could stop his mouth.

"I suppose you should care, Inquisitor, for what that knowledge means. Do you think the humans will take that news lightly? Do you suppose no innocents will be harmed once this comes to light?" Solas inquired back harshly.

"Solas, how do you know about this?" Abigail earnestly asked, catching the other two off guard.

"I have seen it in the Fade, of course. They are ancient objects, meant to be used as foci for magic power." Solas obliged.

"And how did Corypheus use it to open the Breach?" She pressed.

"I do not know. My knowledge of ancient Tevinter magic and blood magic is limited, at best." Solas conceded.

"Well, there you go. The elves will be safe because it was the darkspawn blood mage that actually caused the Breach. It would be stupid to blame the smith of a sword for all the deaths caused by it. You cannot blame a tool for the wielder's actions, and you definitely cannot blame the creator of the tool especially if it isn't being used for the intended purpose." Julius huffed, he hated when Solas scolded him, which was quite often since the elf tended to think before he spoke unlike Julius.

"Well, not all minds think as you do, I fear many will blame the elves for this." Solas countered, the logic was not quite solid enough for him.

"I won't let that happen. They can't blame the descendants for the forefathers being bastards who made something that a myth could turn into a weapon. This is all just a joke to even contemplate." Something seemed to have touched a nerve for Julius.

"At any rate. Thank you for telling us Solas, we will keep this knowledge to ourselves for now. I think we should focus more on Corypheus and his evils than who should be punished for it, because if it came down to it, wouldn't 'the hubris of man' be the real fault in all this?" Abigail suggested, calming the argument.

"Then I take my leave." Solas stated as he began to walk away.

"Wait! I've been meaning to ask you something, if you don't mind, that is..." Abigail started confidently, but then began to shy away.

"What is it you wish to know?" Solas inquired, he was not unreasonable, and he did value those who had an open mind to learn.

"Well, as a mage, I've always had vivid dreams of the Fade, but recently, I feel as if I am being shown things by the spirits of the Fade. I can see things, I'm not sure whether they are the past, or present, or what they are, but..." Abigail couldn't find the words to finish her thought, but now she had Solas very intrigued.

"Hey! Yeah! You told me we would discuss it further later!" Julius remembered the conversation he'd had in the dream with Solas.

"Well, it seems you both have a great attachment to the Fade due to your mark. I should think you might have more control over what the spirits show you since you are a mage, Abigail. I would advise you to tread carefully in your dreams, lest you should plunge too far into the Fade. But we can investigate this further tonight in the Fade itself. I can help you to focus and explore safely. Meet me back in the rotunda tonight, if you wish. Remember, spirits can help you only when you ask them to behave in their true nature, do not try to force a spirit against its will. " Solas warned, though he seemed genuinely pleased by the happenings.

"Yeah, yeah, what am I a mage now?" Julius scoffed.

"No, but you dream like one, even if it is at a novice level." Solas replied coldly.

"Hm, well, that does clear some things up. I will try to be careful, extra careful, that is." Abigail stated, then began to shuffle and shiver from the cold.

"I would advise you not tell the Templars you so generously recruited, they would likely frown upon the fact that a non-mage could convene with the spirits so easily." Solas advised Julius, who rolled his eyes that Solas was still angered by him recruiting the Templars.

"Have it your way. Come on, Abby. Let's get back inside." Julius dismissed and the three went their separate ways back inside the castle.

Josephine and Cullen

"No, no, no. Just pretend I'm not here! Nobody can know I'm here. I don't want to be dragged back to Denerim." Alistair swung his hand back and forth in front of him as he tried to convince Josephine.

"We can hardly just act like you are not here, my lord. Anyhow, you were seen by so many of our soldiers last night in the tavern, so I am told." She countered, she was highly unaccustomed to nobility who did not want special treatment.

"They didn't know who I was, c'mon. They probably just figured me for some Ferelden recruit who happened to know the Champion, that's all." Alistair insisted, and where it might have been true, Josephine was not convinced.

"Surely, you must know we cannot just pretend the king of Ferelden is not here? If we were to do that, then when it is discovered, it will look as though the Inquisition is in the practice of kidnapping rulers. We have enough trouble brewing within the Orlesian Empire to upset Ferelden as well. We cannot have the whole of the south erupt into chaos." Josephine eloquently countered, and honestly her point was entirely valid.

"Well, in that case, isn't it too late then?" Gaius slyly interjected as he and his brother walked in on the discussion with Cullen behind them.

"What do you mean?" Josephine inquired.

"Well, at this point, you've already got the king of Ferelden here and none of his people know about it. And all your people already know the Champion is here, but do we really want the world to know it was the Champion of Kirkwall who kidnapped the king of Ferelden for the Inquisition?" Gaius replied, his smirk growing.

"Wh- but that is not-" Josephine stammered, the implications of that now beginning to run through her head.

"Don't forget, the Inquisition's commander bloodied the king's face!" Liam added, and Josephine began to have a mild crisis in her head.

"Hey! Don't drag me into this!" Cullen uselessly protested.

"I- I suppose that would be an unfortunate thing..." Josephine began trying to find a way to diplomatically settle this matter, though that was becoming increasingly more difficult.

"Then, there isn't a problem if say, a Ferelden recruit came to join the Inquisition, right?" Gaius offered, shrugging his shoulders.

"There is a very big problem with that! Some of our recruits are from Denerim, some have been to the many events there guarding nobles and serving them. He will be recognized. This is a matter of whether we wait until the information is spread publicly by us, or spread through more subtle means without our direct knowledge. I simply cannot make statements saying otherwise when the real truth will be revealed anyway." Josephine was trying to get them to understand the point.

"Then he doesn't stay with or near the soldiers. Simple." Gaius refuted, duplicity was the Hawkes' game after all.

"We have visitors from Ferelden, nobles, Banns, an Arl on occasion, we cannot-" Josephine was starting to get exasperated and it was showing, which actually concerned Cullen slightly, she was never this flustered.

"Look, he can stay in our tower. He'll just be one of our distant cousins if anyone asks. Problems all solved. Don't worry about it." Liam stated, patting Josephine on the shoulder to comfort her.

"That does not solve this problem." She replied, slightly less than respectfully.

"Look, if we can convince an entire city state, no all of Thedas, that there is only one of us, we can keep it quiet that the King of Ferelden is here." Gaius stated, he was done arguing about this and it showed.

"Josephine, just trust them. There are many secrets they have all kept that Thedas doesn't know yet." Cullen interjected, he knew exactly how exhausting dealing with Hawke could be, and he knew also that there are some secrets that can be kept if you try hard enough.

"I- I leave it to you, Commander." Josephine finally relented, sighing as she turned to walk away towards her office.

"That's it, Cullen!" Liam hit Cullen on the back forcefully in a friendly gesture.

"Please, try not to break our Ambassador." Cullen grumbled, shifting his back from the hit, then he turned and left for his office.

"So, uh, hey, Cullen? Where are the Mabari kept around here?" Liam asked, following Cullen with the other two.

"They aren't kept anywhere." Cullen replied, not really thinking about it and then he suddenly realized his mistake.

"What?" Gaius questioned, he could scarcely believe what was being said.

"We don't keep them anywhere, we don't have any-" Cullen began to attempt to explain, but was cut off by Alistair and Liam.

"WHAT!? You don't have any Mabari!?" Alistair and Liam both exclaimed, causing Cullen to pinch the bridge of his nose while every person within eye sight was glancing over quickly at the outburst.

"Look, this isn't the Ferelden army, we can't just have Mabari wandering around among the Orlesians and nobility, someone will be attacked. And besides, we don't have a master trainer nor do we have- we just don't have any Mabari, okay?" Cullen explained, but he was met with unimpressed looks from his audience.

"So you asked, and everyone else over ruled you, eh?" Gaius hit the nail on the head.

"I- well, yes. There was great concern over offending the Orlesian nobility and making us seem like a joke." Cullen finally relented, he was still angered about it, as any decent Ferelden would be.

"Damn Orlesians. The only thing they are good for is cheese." Alistair begrudged shaking his head.

"Well, that explains some things, like why it was so easy to break in. A Mabari would've been on us immediately, but there aren't any here." Liam voiced aloud mostly to himself, but Cullen's eye twitched at hearing it.

"Yes, well, I need to get back to work." Cullen dismissed as he continued to walk to his office.

"Okay, we need to get him a Mabari." Liam stated, and the other two agreed.

"We've got plenty in Denerim, but getting one here would be impossible at this point. Plus, he really needs to be there at the birth so one can pick him. I don't think there are any litters coming up... what? I married a Highever girl!" Alistair defended, and the brothers nodded their heads in acceptance, pedigree and breeding are very important in Highever, as far as dogs or humans are concerned. The plot to get Cullen a Mabari was still unsolved, but the three proceeded into Cullen's office after him anyway, they would figure out logistics eventually.

"Why are you following me?" Cullen wearily asked, though he was almost sure he didn't want to know.

"We're here because we were given a message for you. Alistair followed for no apparent reason." Gaius replied giving Alistair a side eye.

"What message? From who?" Cullen inquired, now a bit concerned.

"Liam, if you would." Gaius suggested, holding his hand towards Cullen. At the suggestion, Liam walked over and wrapped Cullen up in a giant bear hug, which Cullen stiffened on receiving.

"Wha- Why in the Maker's name are you hugging me!?" Cullen demanded angrily.

"That was the message. Simple, right? You- know-who sent it. Said if we saw you, give you a hug." Gaius smirked, both he and Liam got a measure of satisfaction from making Cullen uncomfortable, but they had honestly received such a message.

"I got the same message, but only you guys are devoted enough to deliver it." Alistair laughed.

"Gave me a silver to deliver it." Gaius shrugged.

"Wow, you really will do just about anything for money..." Alistair shook his head in disbelief.

"Okay. Now let me go." Cullen spoke uncomfortably.

"Sir, here is the... uh..." a soldier burst into the office and then was extremely confused to see the Commander wrapped in a giant hug from the tall red haired man.

"That's our cue." Gaius said, saluting as he walked out the door followed by Alistair and Liam who were both laughing now.

"Uh... sir?" the soldier questioned.

"You don't want to know, trust me." Cullen warned as he held his hand out for the report the soldier held.

Julius and Josephine

Josephine sighed loudly as she sat at her desk, this was bound to end in failure and disgrace. It was a political nightmare, a scandalous one at that, and there was nothing she could do about it but wait.

"You look like you could use a day off." Julius stated from where he was leaning against the wall.

"Oh, Inquisitor, I did not hear you come in, my apologies." Josephine regained her composure now that she knew she was not alone.

"You wanna get some fresh air? Take a stroll with me around the castle?" Julius inquired, a confident smile on his face.

"Oh, no, I couldn't. But if you would like a formal tour, I can arrange it with our staff. Maybe you want to look over our improvements?" Josephine diplomatically replied, missing the real intent behind the suggestion.

"Oh, uh, no, that's okay, that's not really what I meant..." Julius started to stammer. How did she miss that?

"Oh, well then, can I help you with anything else?" Josephine asked tilting her head ever so slightly, the picture of beautiful ignorance.

"No, I guess not. I'll just leave you to your work..." Julius sighed as he gave up for now, he was going to have to rethink his strategy here, Josephine seemed oblivious to his advances, that or she was very adept at evading them, he needed to figure out which it was.

"Actually, would you mind entertaining a guest with me at dinner tonight?" Josephine asked, and it instantly brightened his mood back up.

"Of course, Lady Montilyet, it would be my pleasure." He suavely agreed, and Josephine blushed slightly at being addressed like so.

"I thank you. I shall see you at dinner then." She politely ended the conversation and resumed her writing. Julius walked out of her office with an extra spring in his step at having been invited to dinner by Josephine, he'd actually been so excited he hadn't even asked whom it was that they were entertaining that night.

Alistair and Leliana

"So, you really don't know?" Alistair sighed dejectedly as he sat down.

"Neither do you, it seems." Leliana observed, a concerned look on her face.

"I was hoping you were being paranoid and not writing me back the truth." Alistair smirked, but his eyes told the real story.

"You know, I wouldn't have kept her from you, I'd have delivered the letter myself if I knew where she was. I really don't know though. We thought it was related to Hawke, but we discovered that to be a grand coincidence." Leliana chided gently.

"Yeah, I already figured that out." Alistair agreed nodding his head slowly.

"You don't think that-" Leliana began, but she wasn't sure how to finish the sentence.

"No! No... Oh, Maker, I hope not." Alistair replied, shaking his head, seemingly trying to convince himself.

"I'm sure you're right. Orzammar would have told us if she had been sighted." Leliana consoled, rubbing Alistair's shoulder.

"I'm going to pretend that the only way there is through Orzammar." Alistair quipped, hanging his head.

"I do all the time." Leliana admitted.

"So, you haven't heard from-?" Alistair questioned but was cut off by Leliana.

"No." She hastily replied as she shook her head slightly as a sign to not speak on the subject further.

"It's been 5 months, where could she have gone?" Alistair asked, more to The Maker, and less to anyone present.

"Do you have any idea why she left?" Leliana asked tentatively, she wanted an answer, but didn't want to broach the subject too directly.

"Maker! I don't know, Leliana! I woke up one morning and she was gone! Nothing, not a note, a hint, nothing!" Alistair frustratedly shouted, throwing his hands in the air.

"Alistair." Leliana put a firm but gentle hand on his shoulder to try to calm him.

"Sweet Maker, Leliana, I don't know. Things... Things have been difficult since... since then. You know how she is, she just builds walls and nobody can... I don't know. I guess I just didn't expect her to leave..." Alistair spoke, his voice shaky as he hung his head into his hands.

"Oh, you dear boy." Leliana said as she wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

"(Dorian! Stop eavesdropping!)" Abigail chided in a faint whisper.

"(My dear Inquisitor! I would never!)" He feigned indignation.

"(Dorian!)" Abigail had a rather cute angry glare as she whispered harshly at him.

"(Okay then, but I didn't see you stop earlier.)" Dorian suggested under his breath as he wandered back to his chair. Abigail rolled her eyes as she sighed and left the library.

Cullen

"We need to shore up defenses, here and here. And we need more look-outs posted on these four sections of wall. I want double the amount of eyes on our walls, we need to be impervious to attack, from a large force or small." Cullen ordered his lieutenants, who listened and did as bid.

As they left Cullen continued to scour over reports from the field, but his mind remained focused on the discussion with Liam from earlier.

"Easy to break in, huh? I'd like to see him say that now. I won't fail to defend the Inquisition again." Cullen grumbled to himself. His pensive thoughts were interrupted by a faint voice carried on the wind.

"~...Carries their song, across the sands. Heed our words, hear our cry, the grey are sworn...~" The voice sang. Cullen couldn't help but be drawn to it, he knew that song, they sang it often in Kirkwall and they had sung it just after the Blight ended in Ferelden too. But who was singing it? He was compelled to find out.

Walking out onto the battlements, he noticed Abigail sitting on the half wall her legs hanging over the outside as she swung her head while singing.

"~Heed our words, hear our cry, our names recalled, we cannot die~" She continued to sing, oblivious that anyone could hear her or that they were paying attention.

Quietly Cullen approached her, he didn't want to startle her for fear she might fall over the wall, he also enjoyed hearing her sing, he hadn't heard it before.

"~When the darkness comes, and swallows light, heed our words, and we shall rise~" She concluded as Cullen had gotten right behind her.

"You've got a beautiful voice, Inquisitor." Cullen stated, grabbing her arms to steady her as she jumped from the sudden voice.

"Oh, no. I'm not that good. I'm sorry you heard that. I didn't think anyone could hear me up here, I'm sorry." Abigail tried to sound more embarrassed than terrified while she spoke to Cullen.

"Ballad of Ayesleigh, right? Sorry to have startled you, I didn't want you to fall over the wall." Cullen stated, as he helped her down.

"Ah, sorry. I didn't even think about that. I'm so dumb..." Abigail sighed, looking at her feet.

"Probably just me being paranoid. Don't concern yourself over it." Cullen said as he rubbed the back of his neck. Maker, he hadn't meant to make her feel bad and by Andraste she was not dumb.

"I- I won't do that again. I'm sorry." Abigail apologized quickly as she turned to leave.

"You don't need to apologize, I was only concerned for your safety. I'm sorry. Forgive me for bothering you, Inquisitor." Cullen looked down as he replied, he didn't know why she didn't like him, but she had always been distant since they'd been formally introduced. Maybe he was too curt and abrasive like Josephine said...?

"Cullen. Do you... do you hate mages?" Abigail asked, still turned away from him.

"Do I hate-? Maker, no! I mean, that's a complicated answer. There was a time after the Blight that I distrusted all mages, and that was unfair of me, Hawke helped me to see that. I- No. I do not hate mages." Cullen tried to answer truthfully. Did she think he hated her on principle? That would explain her distance.

"I see. Do you... Could mages ever be free?" Abigail asked, she tensed more with every question.

"Are they not now? Are you asking if I agree with how you brought the mages into the Inquisition? I already said my piece on that, but what is done is done, and the mages have been good allies, as have the Templars." Cullen spoke, staying true to his beliefs.

"... I see." Abigail whispered as she started to take a step away.

"Are you alright, Inquisitor? What is this all about, really?" Cullen asked as he instinctively grabbed her hand to stop her. She cringed as he grabbed her, stiffening her arm. Cullen relented, releasing his grasp on her hand. By the Maker, she hated him, but her reaction, was she afraid of him? Why?

"I- I apologize if I have ever done anything to offend or frighten you." Cullen said in a stoic monotone as he bowed and then turned, leaving. Abigail froze. That wasn't her intent. She bit her lip, then turned to face towards him, tears barely being contained.

"Cullen! I don't hate you! I- I don't know, I'm not good with talking like Julius, I can't speak, I'm not good at... I'm glad you don't hate mages!" She burst, still unable to express her feelings fully.

"I'm glad I haven't offended you then, Inquisitor." Cullen smiled back at her, and as she met his smile with her own, they both blushed profusely and then went their separate ways.

"I can't believe I actually talked to him like that!" Abigail whispered to herself excitedly as she began skipping along.

"I can't believe she smiled at me." Cullen thought to himself as he paused for a moment.

Julius and Josephine

The hours had slowly ticked away the whole day, but now he was on his way to the exquisite dining hall about to have dinner with the most beautiful woman in Thedas. He couldn't be happier, never mind there would be some boring noble to entertain while he was there, that couldn't dampen his spirits tonight, no matter who it was. He smiled as he opened the doors to the room, only for his eyes to see what awaited him there and his heart sank to his stomach in unforgotten horror.

"My lord Inquisitor, allow me to introduce Lady Mauvais De Femme of Val Royeaux, she will be dining with us tonight." Josephine introduced a slightly puzzled look on her face as she saw the color begin to drain from Julius' face.

"Oh, my dear Ambassador you did not tell me our dear Inquisitor Trevelyan was joining us. But I must confess, we are old acquaintances, are we not, dear boy? I am most delighted, I have not seen you since you were, was it 14, dear child?" Lady Mauvais spoke through her mask, the room seemed to get colder with every word.

"I was not yet 13." Julius stated, his eyes looking to the side as he spoke, his discomfort becoming more evident by the moment.

"Ah, yes, you were such a strapping young lad. I was most devastated to not receive word from you about your father's unfortunate passing. I had to light a candle for him in the Grand Cathedral nearly two weeks after, how barbaric!" The lady condemned.

"Shall we?" Josephine inquired, she wanted to move things along. She didn't know why Julius was uncomfortable, but she knew enough of The Game to know that the woman in their company was toying with the Inquisitor, she wasn't quite sure why. She also had no idea that the two had met previously, why hadn't he said anything? Lady Mauvais had considerable assets and would have been an invaluable ally. Josephine knew she'd have to play if she wanted to find out more.

"Ah, yes, let us not waste such finery." Lady Mauvais agreed as she began to sit at the table.

"Dear Inquisitor, you should sit next to me, darling. I so enjoy your company, don't you remember?" as the Lady spoke, Josephine saw Julius tense up, she could see he did not want to do as he was bid so she interceded for him.

"Oh, I do apologize, my lady, but our Inquisitor must sit on the other side close to the door in case he should be called away on important business. I am certain you understand." Josephine was a master of the dance of The Grand Game.

"Ah, yes, business before pleasure, your father used to say the same, as I recall, lord Inquisitor." The Lady commented, a thinly veiled stab at Julius, Josephine could see. Julius simply smiled and nodded slightly as he took his seat, still not looking at Lady Mauvais directly.

Dinner was rather uninteresting, the lady taking to talking with Josephine through it and not making veiled comments to Julius through the meal, though he was unusually quiet and taciturn.. Josephine wanted to end the night as quickly as possible as she saw the mounting tension in Julius, but every dance must be performed in step to the song, so the night continued as they sat in a lounge and discussed business, the Inquisition, and Orlais' Civil War.

"It is getting to be too late, I must retire now." The lady finally stated as she rose from her chair.

"Please escort the Lady Mauvais to her chamber." Josephine waved to an attendant as she too rose from her seat. Julius stood as well, in polite fashion, as the lady bid Josephine goodnight. She then walked over to Julius who stood stiff like a statue and hugged him much to Josephine's shock. Hugging was not a court appropriate gesture in Orlais, the kiss she gave Julius on the cheek was, but not the hug.

"Goodnight, my dearest." Lady Mauvais spoke as her hand traced down Julius' arm, he shuddered involuntarily as she did so, then she left with the attendant.

"I do not understand, what was wrong with Lady Mauvais tonight? She was rather... odd, do you agree?" Josephine inquired walking over to Julius, who was still pale and statuesque.

"She was very hostile, does your family have bad blood with-!?" Josephine began to inquire, but was surprised by Julius who embraced her in a hug and buried his face in her shoulder.

"Lord Trevelyan...?" Josephine inquired after a moment.

"Please, please, never invite her here again, Lady Montilyet." Julius managed to choke out, though she couldn't tell whether he was just upset or actually in tears.

"As you wish, Inquisitor." Josephine promised, her hands embracing him back. She had never seen this side of him before, he had appeared to be a scared child all night and she was now determined to figure out what the Lady Mauvais had done to Lord Trevelyan in his youth that made him so terrified of her.

"Are you alright, my lord?" Josephine asked after some more time passed as he continued to hug her, the length of the embrace was becoming awkward now.

"Just a moment more, please." Julius whispered, and Josephine nodded her head slightly in agreement, in truth she would have stood there like that all night had he asked.

"Forgive my conduct, Lady Montilyet. Now, I will take my leave." Julius stated coldly as though he were a completely different person. He turned and walked out the exit opposite where the lady had left.

After Julius left, Leliana stepped out of the shadows toward Josephine, giving a slightly incredulous look to Josephine as she spoke.

"My, my, embracing the Inquisitor, are we? How scandalous." Leliana teased Josephine, but she actually was slightly concerned about the whole affair.

"Leliana, what do your people know about Lady Mauvais de Femme?" Josephine inquired, ignoring the teasing.

"Not enough, it seems. We missed the connection she had with the Trevelyans, which means someone went through great pains to hide it from everyone. I will send my agents to uncover more. The question remains though, did Lord Trevelyan cover it up or did Lady Mauvais? You may not wish to know the answers to a secret such as this." Leliana replied, her tone serious now.

"I would appreciate you investigating it further. In fact, investigate everything surrounding the late Lord Trevelyan, his death, and his contacts so I get no more surprises when meeting with guests with our Inquisitors. But, please, do not mention any of this to anyone other than your agents, this matter should be handled delicately." Josephine was not one to actively spy on someone, but for this case, she would make an exception.

"Very well, I will get you reports soon." Leliana bowed her head slightly as she left towards the rookery to send out her orders.

Julius and Abigail

"We're all here now. Let's get this over with." Julius huffed as he entered the room. He was usually rather abrasive, but he seemed more so tonight, like he was upset for some reason. Maybe it was the conversation he'd had with them earlier? He and Solas got along okay, but they had their differences all the same. Abigail wasn't sure, but she wasn't close enough with her twin to ask him about it either, she thought.

"Yes, of course. We should begin, however, by drinking this." Solas spoke with very little emotion as he handed each of them a cup with a strange smelling liquid in it. Both Abigail and Julius looked at each other, then gulped it down.

"Ugh! What was that swill?" Julius exclaimed, gagging from the drink.

"A simple sleep potion." Solas replied dryly.

"You gave us a sleep potion!? Why would... you... do... tha..." Julius tried to argue, but passed out before he was finished.

Opening their eyes, they were back in Skyhold, only now they were at the gates, just the two of them, Abigail and Julius. They looked around for a moment before they heard the gate opening and Solas appear walking out through the opened gate.

"I gave you a sleeping potion so we could begin the exploration of the Fade here, at Skyhold. How else were you planning to start dreaming? Do not be alarmed, I put wards up so we shan't be disturbed." Solas remarked as he arrived, answering Julius' question from before.

"You could have explained a few more things first." Julius grumbled, he wasn't much for surprises.

"Why not explain them here where you could see with your own eyes what I am speaking of?" Solas inquired, his tone was always slightly dismissive as though he knew all the answers and wondered why everyone else did not.

"Where do we start? Or, um, how?" Abigail questioned, she was eager to learn more about dream walking and asking spirits for knowledge. That was forbidden in the Circle, all spirits were considered demons there and speaking to them was asking for the Templars to behead you. So this was a new adventure, and she couldn't wait to uncover more knowledge.

"First we will begin here, at Skyhold, and ask the spirits for knowledge of this place. It is very old, full of memory." Solas spoke, touching the stone walls, his voice had almost a hint of sadness to it.

"So what in the Maker's name do we do now? Whistle for a spirit?" Julius scoffed, his disgust for the endeavor showing. He didn't understand all this Fade bullshit, nor did he really care to, he just wanted answers on why he had weird dreams, but this was a lot of shit to get through for an answer.

"We will start with a fairly novice approach. Here, the stone. This masonry is old, feel it? Concentrate on the walls, focus your mind on them, this will call the more curious spirits that wish to help you discover more about the stones." Solas instructed, and Abigail hurried to do as he suggested while Julius seemed to roll his eyes and halfway attempt it.

Closing her eyes, Abigail touched the stone, her mind focused on feeling the stone, the coldness of it, whispers of words began to creep into her mind, fragments of thought.

"Ferelden...? It's Ferelden." She stated aloud, drawing a confused look from Julius, who then tried to double his own efforts, his mind focusing on Ferelden.

"Yes, good. The spirits have begun to speak to you. Listen, but do not ask, to ask for too much knowledge will attract desire or hunger demons to you, though the magic here should protect us." Solas warned, he was pleased with how quickly Abigail had been able to hear the whispers. Abigail continued her focus, a name came to her mind, and then a flood of knowledge, "Highever. The stones are from Highever. They were stolen, it was attacked. I want to see-" Abigail began to push her focus past the stones themselves, her thoughts pushed toward Highever and her hand began to spark with energy.

"No! Stop! You're pushing too far!" Solas warned trying to reach out to her, but he was too late, she disappeared into the vastness of the Fade.

"Ferelden. Ferelden. Stone in Ferelden. Stone Towers. Ferelden towers. Tower." Julius muttered trying to concentrate, he hadn't heard Solas call out to Abigail, nor did he hear him calling to him now. His hand too glowed with power and he also became lost to the Fade.

A/N: So, yeah, I'm gonna do a TON more Fade exploration with Solas, because, just a one shot of Solas going "Oh wow, you can explore the Fade even though you are a (fighter, rogue, dwarf, qunari, ect). wow, impressive. (We will never speak of this again or acknowledge it further.)" is lame. LAME! So, yeah, I'm going to jump off the abyss like Hawke and see where I land... (Hopefully not in a crumbled up pile of continuity errors and confusing twists, but hey, it could happen.) And yeah, I changed how long the Hero of Ferelden has been missing, you will see why... eventually... Oh! If you speak French, I am terribly sorry if I butchered your language. I just needed an Orlesian name, and well... It does kinda hit the nail on the head... Maybe it is too obvious, but we will just tell Frieda it is the right amount of obvious. (bonus points if you get THAT reference.) Anyhow... I'm going to try to focus more on the developing relationships among the companions soon, but it wont really be next chapter, just fyi. Also going to try to compile a list of ages, so people aren't confused by the ages anymore. Going to try to stay canon, but... I will jump off that bridge as necessary... Yeah, I do love a good cliffhanger. *evil laughter*

Enjoy the early update! (It won't happen next week, lol.)