The first soldier charged after me without glancing back at the others, and I used the blade at the end of my staff to take him out quickly. Right through his face, to be exact. If there was one thing I learned from watching our soldiers, it was that if nothing else works, the armor on the face is the weakest.

While I struggled to pull my staff out of his face as his body fell towards the ground and twisted the blade deep within his corpse, others began approaching. My companions were helping to protect me, but they seemed to be coming right for me.

I used my hand and created a shock spell that stunned them enough to give me time to force the blade out. Without my staff, I wasn't as powerful, but with it, I stood a chance against them.

Fire and lightning were my strongest elements, but with the help of Vivienne, I had learned to create a wall of ice to surround myself with. At least until they were able to break it down.

In order to aim the trebuchet quickly, that was what I had to do. It took a lot out of me, but with a few moments to recuperate, I would be just fine.

Turning the aiming wheel of the trebuchet was hard. It was pretty heavy, but I wasn't completely weak. Though I was no warrior, I still had enough strength to turn the wheel.

Getting it aimed just right took time, time the red Templar soldiers didn't plan to give me. I hadn't realized red lyrium had such profound effects on the Templars' bodies, but it was disturbing to see. Some had red lyrium growing out of them while others had a red haze lingering around their body—similar to how Varric and the Iron Bull looked in that horrible future Dorian and I had been sucked into.

And then the scariest ones . . . they looked like abominations, but they weren't. They were Templars who had taken so much red lyrium that it not only changed them, it grew out of them in disgusting and horrifying ways.

One of the horrors smashed through my ice wall without hesitation, and I had to take a few steps away from him to have a chance at fighting him. Using my strongest fire and lightning spells against him, he continued stepping for me. On fire as his body convulsed, he was able to power through it so he could kill me.

Red lyrium was a nightmare.

The only chance I had to save myself was by using the blade at the end of my staff, and it was still almost ineffective. It took stabbing through where his head was located three times before he finally fell. I wasn't even sure if it was because of the stabbing or if the magic had finally taken a toll on him.

Either way, I had to muster up enough energy to make a bigger ice wall this time, and I prayed it would be enough. All I had to do was get the trebuchet aimed, and the rest would fall into place.

When I heard the fighting cease around me, just moments before the trebuchet was in place, I felt a bit safer. None of us were safe, but I almost felt like I was. I wasn't so afraid, for the moment.

With the trebuchet aimed, I fired it towards the mountains. A rock engulfed in flames headed straight for the side of the mountain, and on impact, snow immediately began to slide. The army still marching over the mountain was swallowed up by the sudden avalanche. Those who had yet to get to the mountain were definitely slowed down, and I knew this was our chance for control.

Until a rather frightening looking dragon appeared . . . and then, I realized that we had no idea what we were truly up against.

The dragon took out the first trebuchet, killing any soldiers standing around it, and I knew better than to stand next to mine. Lowering the ice wall, I jumped as far as I could off of the platform, but it wasn't enough. The dragon shattered mine with a single blast of the strange red lightning that came from its mouth.

My ears were ringing. Everything hurt, but I was able to stand to my feet. Admittedly, I was a bit staggered, but with the help of Dorian, I was able to get settled on my feet enough to walk and speak.

The Iron Bull looked angry. "Oh, that's messed up!"

It wasn't the time for anger, however. With that beast around, we would all be dead if we didn't get to safety soon.

The Commander would have a plan. He always did.

"Everyone, to the gates!"

The soldiers around me followed my orders, and my companions did the same. We ran as fast as we could, but the dragon continued to soar above our heads. Growling and hissing as it did, it made sure we didn't forget that it was there.

I had never been more afraid in my life, but I used that fear to push me forward.

At the sight of Cullen ushering people inside the gates, my fear subsided, and I felt reassurance. Yes, this plan hadn't gone as it was supposed to, but we would come up with another. Everything would be alright.

The last of the soldiers ran in before me, so once we got inside, the gates could close.

The Commander looked relieved to see us as we rushed through the gates, and once we were inside, he and another soldier slammed the gates shut.

"We need everyone back to the Chantry!" he exclaimed, and he began rushing up the stairs. I was hesitant at the bottom, mostly because his relief changed so quickly into something more frightening . . . submission. "It's the only building that can hold against that beast! At this point, make them work for it."

All air in my lungs became useless, but there was no room for anymore. Choking on his words, something he didn't even notice as he ran to get others into the Chantry, I was afraid all over again.

Were we doomed? Was there no way out?

Dorian growled. "No! Let's get to the Chantry."

"I hear someone calling for help!" Varric exclaimed suddenly, and though I didn't hear it, I wasn't going to dare argue with him. "Come on!"

The four of us ran up the stairs, and fueled by adrenaline, I was able to shut the fear out and breathe again. There had to be another way, and if there wasn't, we were gonna make one hell of a last stand. We would go down in flames.

The first person I saw when ascending the stairs was the Templar, Lysette. She was surrounded by red Templars, fighting to the best of her ability, so I knew we had to help her. It was easy enough to take out the Templars surrounding her, but when the fighting settled, more cries for help could be heard.

I took off running towards the tavern, barely even glancing over my shoulder to tell Lysette where to go. "Get to the Chantry! You'll be safe there."

The Iron Bull, Varric, and Dorian were right on my tail. Together, we could save these people.

I saw Minaeve trapped underneath a burning wagon right next to some oil drums. It was only a matter of time before they exploded, but there were three people who needed help.

"Bull, help Adan!" I exclaimed, gesturing to the man trapped inside a burning building itself. "Varric and Dorian, help Flissa!"

And I went straight for Minaeve.

Together, we were able to pull those three out from danger just in time. The fire reached the oil drums and caused an explosion that took all three buildings in the area down. We were already running, though, as fast as we could with the injured anyways.

Buildings burning, red Templars destroying everything, I was lucky I found Seggrett when I did. He was trapped in some of the quarters that had caught fire, and I had to step back and let Bull break the door down to get him out. We managed just in time, as the roof caved in just moments after we got him out and to safety.

On the run to the Chantry, I noticed that Threnn was in a sticky situation herself. Surrounded by red Templars, there was no way she would make it alone.

Since I was the only one not helping a wounded, I knew I had to be that help.

"Get those four into the Chantry!" I exclaimed, looking back at my companions with as much determination and certainty as I could muster up. If I looked sure of myself, they were less likely to argue. "Tell the Commander we're all that's left, and we'll be there shortly."

Bull took Minaeve from Varric and gestured towards me. "Someone should help."

Varric almost smiled. "Bianca's ready."

One shot from Varric took out one of the Templars who seemed to have just been corrupted by the red lyrium. I used my staff to create a chain of lightning that shocked every one of them, giving Threnn and Varric opportunity to take out a few stunned enemies.

But the red Templar horrors were a feat all on their own, and there were two.

Varric started unloading as quickly as he could while Threnn focused everything she had on them. Fireball after fireball just wasn't enough from me. They were still fighting and thrashing, trying to kill us all.

Like the first time, however, wearing them down seemed to do the trick. While on fire, Varric was able to get enough bolts into the one, and Threnn was able to stab the other enough where they fell.

The three of us didn't hesitate to run towards the Chantry, where a couple of straggling soldiers and a few refugees were waiting by the closed doors. At the sound of heavy knocking, the doors opened from the inside.

Who I saw standing by the open door was surprising.

Cole stood next to a very badly wounded Chancellor Roderick, who was using what little strength he had left to beckon people into the last safe place in Haven. "Move! The Chantry is your shelter."

I stood at the back, making sure everyone was inside, before rushing through the doors myself. Chancellor Roderick lost the ability to stand on his own, but Cole was able to catch him before he hit the ground. Soldiers closed the doors and held them shut, but I focused my attention on the wounded Chancellor Roderick.

We weren't on the greatest of terms. He despised me with all of his being, and he did whatever he could to stand in our way.

Still, seeing him like this worried me. No one needed to die.

"He tried to stop a Templar," Cole told me as he helped him over to a seat. "The blade went deep. He's going to die."

Chancellor Roderick looked horrified, though I think he believed as much to be true. "What a charming boy."


Cullen couldn't believe this was happening. So many scared people sat in the Chantry, the place that would become their grave, and there was nothing he could do.

They had fought so hard to get here, and they thought they had a much larger fight ahead. But they didn't. It was all going to end here.

Seeing the Herald as she helped Chancellor Roderick to a chair was relieving, until Cullen remembered that they were all going to die . . . including her.

If there was one person he could get out of here, he would want it to be her.

And now he had to talk to her, tell her of their unavoidable death. He had to look into those beautiful eyes, into that beautiful heart, and tell her that she was going to die—that they all were going to die.

"Herald, our position is not good," Cullen said, jogging towards her and using every bit of willpower inside of him to keep himself in his Commander mindset. "That dragon stole back any time you might have earned us."

"I've seen an archdemon," Cole murmured. "I was in the Fade, but it looked like that."

"I don't care what it looks like," Cullen said with much more anger in his voice than he intended. Hearing that there was an archdemon outside of the Chantry, which none of them could destroy, only made him more certain of their inevitable doom. There truly was no hope for them, for her. "It's cut a path for their army. They'll kill everyone in Haven!"

"The Elder One doesn't care about the village," Cole said, and Cullen was confused. "He only wants the Herald."

Of course he does.

The one person Cullen was desperate to save was the one person this monster was after.

"Then let him have me!" she exclaimed, and Cullen's heart shattered. She was desperate, looking at Cole with wide, broken eyes. "If it will save these people, I'll give myself to him."

"It won't," Cole said. "He wants to kill you. No one else matters, but he'll crush them, kill them anyway. I don't like him."

Hearing him say this angered Cullen. "You don't like—" But he remembered that Cole, strange as this boy was, had tried to help. He was only trying to help. "Herald, there are no tactics to make this survivable. The only thing that slowed them was the avalanche. We could turn the remaining trebuchets, cause one last slide." And it would kill us all.

The Herald understood what Cullen was saying, but like she usually did, she didn't accept this as an only option. Anything that harmed others could never be an only option, not in her mind. "That can't be the only option! Causing another slide would kill everyone in Haven."

"We're dying," Cullen breathed, and it broke his heart to see the way she crumbled. Those beautiful eyes lost all light, instantly, and it killed him. "We can choose how. Many don't get that choice."

"No!" she exclaimed, and she looked towards Cole, hoping for another strange answer. "That can't be it!"

When she looked, she saw Cole and Chancellor Roderick looking at each other, then towards the back of the Chantry. Cole's eyes seemed to light up, and upon seeing the strange boy find hope, the Herald did, too.

"Yes, that," Cole whispered, and he looked towards the Herald. "Chancellor Roderick can help. He wants to say it before he dies."

Cullen's heart swelled in his chest at just the idea. There was a chance to save her? To save everyone?

"There is a path," the dying man shakily breathed out, and Cullen's attention instantly locked on the Chancellor. "You wouldn't know it unless you'd made the summer pilgrimage, as I have. The people can escape." The shaky man stood to his feet, clutching his stomach as he looked the Herald in the eyes. "She must have shown me—Andraste must have shown me so I could tell you."

The Herald almost smiled, despite how unlikely the circumstances were. A path of escape would mean a distraction, and Cullen knew the only distraction that would work . . . the only thing he had to save. It wasn't the first time she was used as bait, but he would make sure it was the last.

She would survive this.

"Cullen?"

Hearing her say his name, call him by his name . . . it warmed his heart and reminded him that he was the Commander of the Inquisition's army. He had a duty to save anyone and everyone here, and though that included her, he couldn't save only her.

But she called him by name . . . .

"That might work, if he shows us the path," Cullen said, and he took a step towards her, something she didn't mind. Actually, Cullen wondered if he saw her eyes light up a bit more, but it was probably a reflection of his own. Being near her . . . it was easy to forget everything else. "But what of your escape? You can't just sacrifice yourself."

"If that's what it takes."

Cullen reached out for her, grabbed ahold of her wrist before she could turn away. "No. You must surprise it and find a way. Sacrifice isn't an option."

"I am no longer required," she whispered, but she didn't have the willpower to pull her hand out of his grasps. She saw the way Cullen crumbled upon hearing what she said, but he couldn't believe what he was hearing. He didn't mean to show his pain, but it was so strong . . . how could she think that? "The Breach is sealed, so if sacrificing myself is the only way to save them, so be it."

"Find a way," Cullen breathed. "You must. There are still rifts that only you can close. We still need you. I still—I still think you can find a way. Don't make sacrifice your first option."

Tearing himself away from her wasn't easy, but it had to be done. Cullen knew the longer they talked, the less likely their escape became. So he turned away from her and looked to the soldiers standing close to him.

"Inquisition! Follow Chancellor Roderick through the Chantry. Move!"

Cullen briefly heard Chancellor Roderick say something to her, something nice for the first time since they had met, but he was focused on getting people out.

The quicker they got out, the more likely she was to come out too.

Cullen turned back towards the Herald and noticed her surprise as a few soldiers ran past her, out the Chantry doors and towards the nightmare that awaited outside. "They'll load the trebuchets. Keep the Elder One's attention until we're above the tree line. I'll signal when we're there. If we're to have a chance—if you are to have a chance—let that thing hear you."

Please . . . let it hear you.