Hello! Thank you for reading my second chapter! For all those people who read it between the 07/12/15 and the 09/12/15, apologies to the giant mess this was in. I fixed it up, hopefully so everything is A ok now!
I really want to say I love all of the people that have taken the time to read this story (it probably looks like mashed potatoes without the delicious taste) and I especially love WolFang1011 for the bewtiful review you sent (It made me feel like a pwincess :3) and KelseyHeart for favouriting and following this, you's two's really made me feel awesome!
Aside from that, enjoy this chapter!
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With a screech of pain, the shade quickly fell from the iron sword, more or less beaten to death by the blunt edges and fended off with a cracking wooden board that snapped with every blow. With the last one dead, Sehira felt her shoulders relax and her heart stop racing. Snow blown by the winter breeze washed against her leather boots, soaking through the weak hide and becoming squishy with every step taken. She couldn't be bothered cursing about it, her normal armour was probably burnt to a crisp from the explosion. At least she had something to wear, instead of finding some chainmail too short.
"So, you're a Tal-Vashoth?"
Sehira snapped her head up from her feet, forgetting it wasn't just Cassandra with her now. Looking back to Varric, she saw a satisfied grin on his face. Like he already knew the answer.
"Vashoth. No fault on your part, everyone makes the assumption." A small smile — very small smile — entered her face for a second. "My parents were though."
"Ahh. That does explain the accent. Are you —"
"Fereldan? Yes. Sort of. And I can tell you all about my lovely personal life right after we stop the world from falling apart, yes?"
Silence followed in a less than awkward fashion, no one willing to input much to the conversation. Sehira knew how she sounded, but right now in the blasted snow and in the middle of demon infested lands she couldn't care less for such manners.
The demons in question were now apparently gone, finished when they left the snow encrusted stone and jumped into the crater that once was the Temple of Sacred Ashes. Charred corpses littered the blackened ground like red stones upon a path, and the ever present scent of flesh turning to brittle flakes sent Sehira's senses in disarray. Varric, Cassandra and Solas seemed to have similar reactions, probably thinking the same thing; what the hell could have caused something like this, and why would they want to?
"This is were we found you." Cassandra quietly said.
Sehira took in a shuddering breath at the thought of waking up in the middle of this. It was already haunting to see it clear minded, she didn't even want to think how it would look with delirious thoughts.
"By the Maker." Sehira turned back to look at the seeker with hopeless eyes. "There truly was no one else with me when I came through? Not a single soul?"
Cassandra gave a small shake, letting Sehira take the absolute and probable truth in as much silence as possible. Bruche was dead. Nayrie was dead. Most, if not all, of her company was dead. Every possession she has ever owned besides the clothes on her back was burnt up. She failed the one job she was given and failed it to a fashion where she could have ended the world and not even have known. If defeat wasn't already shoved down her throat enough over the years, then this really does the job.
She sighed at the depression in her mind and at the waste of life in front of her. They didn't need another show of the damage caused, or to be reminded the possible culprit is standing beside them.
"Come on, we can give our prayers once we return in safety."
Moving further into the blackened ruins, a feeling of unease settled like the smell of the air turning foul before lightning strikes. Sehira knew the others felt it too, it would be quite impossible not to unless you were a drooling idiot. Heat began stirring even though a blizzard was storming the Frostbacks, the dark pillars of stone curling around them had glowing veins singed into the cracks, even the 'rift' hanging above seemed more menacing than before, snarling and spitting green blasts of magic all around the mountain. Or maybe it was because the mark was beginning to get really painful really quickly.
Rubbing at the thing slightly soothed the sharp pins, although the very sight of it again made Sehira's stomach drop. Now she was connected to it, what ever the hell it is. Something that caused so much death and destruction now had its grip on her and scarred her just like any infested cut that would never heal. And of course it had to be fucking magic no one could understand. Might as well have gaatlok strapped to the hand with a long fuze.
Twisting and turning through the maze of rock, red stone soon shoved in the path. A hiss from behind made her step back from the glowing red mess, not ready to get close to it from the sound of that warning. Turning back, Varric was the one with the disgusted look, one of surprised hatred mixed together.
"What is it, Varric?" Sehira questioned.
Varric gave a short grunt, not taking his eyes off the red stuff, like it would grow legs and scamper away. From the haunted look, he probably believed that it could.
"Red Lyrium." He grumbled in reply. "Seeker, what's it doing here?"
"I… I do not know, Varric." Worry edged Cassandra's stoic response, the tension not bothering to hide in her expression. Solas however held curiosity in his gaze, not afraid of how those beside him reacted to the lyrium. He still had the sense not to touch the stuff however, just opting to study it from afar.
"Red Lyrium?" What's got them so scared about a bunch of lyrium? "Care to explain, Varric?"
Before Varric got a word out, Cassandra beat him to it, with a, "we don't have time for this right now" calmly spoken out, the only satisfaction Sehira got from the question. She knew Cassandra still didn't trust her, but the seeker did have some sense in her intrusion. They were running on short time, and the longer they dallied about, the more soldiers got skewered by a set of claws or crushed by a toppled building.
Varric sent an apologetic look her way, but didn't say anything after that, probably not willing to get even more under the nerves of Cassandra than he already was. Sehira couldn't blame him. That woman had an explosive temper.
The friendly banter between the two of them was cute in its way but obviously getting tense under the current disaster, not that it was probably any better before the Conclave. They reminded Sehira of Bruche and Nayrie, how they—
Don't think about them. Don't.
Sehira passed the 'red lyrium' as carefully as she could while trying to not get anywhere near it. The slight buzzing and unnatural smell was enough motivation for her. She saw Varric cringe as he passed with as much space as he could without climbing a discarded boulder, while Cassandra and Solas just kept their distance, ignoring the slab of red. Shivers went up her spine as she turned heel towards the spiralling rift up ahead, with heat lingering on her back even after a solid minute of walking away.
Even though the lyrium was out of sight, the unease in the crater doubled for Sehira. The glowing veins in the rocks and the heat of the area felt suffocating from the intensity, with charcoal overwhelming her nose. However the best part is how the mark and its reactions were getting more and more unsettling with the pain and pressure forming in her skull. Sehira gave a quick shake of the head to clear whatever was happening and left it at that, ignoring anything extra popping out.
The walk to Leliana's group was the same as before the encounter with the red stuff, just not in thought. The lyrium, no matter what it really was, had something to do with this and that feeling Sehira got just from passing didn't give much hope with the entire situation. Sure, before it was a pretty bleak disaster with little to nothing in answers, but now actually knowing something like that red stuff was connected really put Sehira's hairs on end.
Less than a minute later a cowl of purple and iron greaves came into sight, holding an intricate bow with a matching quiver and an unmistakable air of leadership over her people around her. They were nearly upon the Breach and the rift that dangled below, close enough to feel some pressure from the magic being held . Cassandra called out to Leliana when approaching, drawing the archer away from her charges.
"Good to see you made it. My scouts made it back though the mountains, yelling praise for a certain Qunari that drove the demons back." Leliana said in her accented voice, turning with thanks to Sehira.
She stiffened at the gratitude, the memory twisted with the rift they sealed when up in the mountains. The demons were horrible but fine, the scouts were injured but fine, everything was bad but fine. But the rift…
She raised her hand, buzzing, prickling sensations, a glowing tightrope between the rift and woman. Yips and shouts, the scout captain's words ringing in the background. Then a hand clasps around her mark. The tugging, an invisible arm gripping her bones, dragging her to the twisted place, the Fade. Her heart exploded, eyes bulged…
And then it closed, the green glow gone, her boots once scraping the snow finally stood still, shaking uncontrollably. Solas meets her eyes, a look, worry or nonchalance? Neither? But he knows, he will always know…
She tore the memory away and gave a slight nod with a small smile to Leliana, not bothering to use her voice when nothing would have come out. Thankfully she accepts just that, turning to Cassandra for the plan of action. Solas is the one that spoke up, stating they just need to open the thing by the ground, re-seal it and the Breach should be gone, along with the rifts nearby. It may also bring some demon interested in the commotion they will make, just to make this bloody 'sealing the breach' thing even harder.
But what other choice did they have? If her hand wasn't so magicy, Sehira would have began stabbing the rifts for a reaction. With Solas' plan — of opening the damn thing and then just closing it back up — ready for action, they left Leliana to set up their positions of support in case something nasty was waiting on the other side, and began moving through the narrow passages to the rift.
"Now is the hour of our victory."
Sehira jumped at the sudden voice booming above, instinct bringing her hand to the sheath on her hip. Looking up showed nothing but empty space, and from the looks of Cassandra's shock, Varric's surprise and Solas' concern, Sehira knew that just wasn't in her head.
"What the hell was that?" Sehira nearly shouted.
"Could that be the person responsible for all of this?"
"I don't know, Cassandra. I don't even know what that was."
"Memories." Solas chimed in. "The Fade bleeds into this place."
Even though the voice was apparently gone, Sehira kept her hand to her hilt, more for comfort than anything else. The glowing rocks have been more bright and frequent and the pressure she felt from atop the cliff face has only grown to the point of a small buzzing inside her head and a heavy weight against her shoulders. No more 'red lyrium' stuff came popping up, to the huge sigh of relief from Varric, but that didn't soothe Sehira's feeling to the ruins.
"Bring forth the sacrifice." The deep voice again. "Someone, help me!"
Sehira's head snapped up from the cry of aguish, the raw terror of the woman's voice staying with her as it echoed through the ruins. Cassandra gave a strangled rasp only a second later.
"That's Divine Justinia's voice!"
"There is still hope, she could be alright." Sehira said
"It may be a small chance." Solas responded.
Sehira gave Solas a glare at the raw answer, to which he just shrugged and gave her a look, as if to say 'you know I'm right'. Sehira sighed at that but didn't continue any further.
They finally reached the Leliana and her support, already across the edges of the crater and above the ledge Sehira was standing by, and the pressure that lingered by Sehira's head now felt like her mind was being pressed together by boulders. She felt more blood trickle from her already bloodied nose, gaining the attention of Solas and his ever curious gaze. She quickly wiped it away and left the matter forgotten, instead focusing on the big glowing mass in front of her.
It was even more imposing up close. The luminous background that was just behind her an hour ago now looked like it could swallow her whole, the crystal edges like jagged teeth scraping against each other as it snapped and yowled. The unease didn't settle well in Sehira's stomach with the empty feeling tempting her to chuck up whatever she ate in the last day.
Well, now or never I guess.
Sehira raised her palm to the green teeth and looked back to Leliana for her people to be ready. All the archers by the sidelines had an arrow strung by their rough bowstring, while the few warriors hid behind Cassandra and their shields with a dull sword or mace. Leliana led the archers with a pinpoint aim and strength underneath the buckles and gloves she wore, giving a slight nod covered in a fearless look. Varric and Solas shifted to flanking points by the Breach, Varric readying Bianca with a sharp click and Solas weaving a humming barrier around himself.
Taking that as the go ahead, Sehira began unravelling the rift.
Trying to forget the last rift.
Keeping her hand as steady as possible.
Scrunching her feet in place to stop from being dragged into the Fade, with demons and them and…
"What's going on here?"
She gasped, or more choked, when she heard that voice. Her voice. Her own voice, coming from the Breach. She looked up to see an entire scene playing out, a shadowed figure with red, glowing eyes lumbering over something that resembled Divine Justinia. The Divine was up from the ground, struggling against some sort of invisible grip on her arms. Another figure stood a distance away, walking towards them with a cleaner leather coat than Sehira wore now.
No cuts on her dark lips or cheeks, no blood smudging her nose. Her dreadlocks were tied up neatly with a simple leather band instead of the mess they were in now. But worst of all, her hand was clean. There wasn't a glowing scar that pumped her veins full of magic and Maker knows what. She held back a small sob at the last detail.
"What's going on here?" It said again.
"Run while you can! Warn them!"
The mimic's face twisted into surprise and fear at the Divine. The shadow snapped his head to the mimic, the red eyes turning to slits.
"We have an intruder." It lifted a clawed finger to a shocked Sehira. "Slay the Qunari."
Sehira's mind reeled when the figures faded to the wind, trying to dig through her mind to just remember what happened next, but looking to the Breach she felt the grip of magic leave her hand as it lost its strength, knowing she needed to stay on task. All her focus went into holding herself back in place and pulling the Breach open, like a tear in fabric, she ignored Cassandra's questioning words and instead readied herself to move away from whatever jumped out.
She gave a sudden pull to finish the job…
And a strike of lighting blew her back from the Breach's opening.
Sehira's boots skid across the snow and soot, sliding back from the Pride Demon that began crawling out with a gurgled roar. The exposed head was the only thing fully through the opening, leaving the archers a clean shot for a precious few seconds before the arm finished its entrance.
"Now!" Leliana yelled against the Pride Demon's snarls.
The taut bow strings twanged in the air and two arrows left the demon blind on a certain angle. The yowls of pain filled the entire ruin as the demon tore the arrows out with little care. A chunky mess of black liquid ran down from its eyes and into its gaping jaw as its legs came stomping through, the Breach slivering closed behind it. Some late arrows flew by, but they didn't get very deep into its bulky arm as it shielded its face against the onslaught.
A whip of lighting suddenly grew into the demon's claws and it racked through the archers at the lower points of the ruins, leaving some scorched corpses and others flying over the side with the warriors. It gave a horrid parody of a laugh at the twitching bodies before turning its attention to Sehira and the others in its crater.
Sehira lifted her new sword from its sheath and ran forward to its legs, hearing Cassandra follow close by with the warriors meekly running along. The archers fled to the growing shadows with arrows shooting through the blackness, avoiding Sehira with scant inches.
"Come on! Come and get me!"
The demon gave a grunt as it slashed its whip across the battlefield. Sehira deflected the shot out of the way as she jabbed her sword into its thigh with all of her strength, tearing through boney skin and staining her face with black fluids. A swipe from the side knocked her down as Cassandra got her own stab into the exposed flesh.
The demon roared as it thrashed wildly around its foot to throw Cassandra off the weak spot, getting a long slash across her arm and the sound of a small crack around the torso before she began moving. The men behind her tried stabbing for the other leg, but their lack of skill at dodging a demon's claws was evident as they were shot back as soon as they came into range.
Sehira jumped back into the fray, going for the other leg as Cassandra twisted and weaved to avoid any broken bones. Every lash against the demon just bounced off with little damage done, nothing like the strike she gave before when all of her strength was still apparent. Licks of fire leapt past her shoulder and scorched a swinging arm while crossbow bolts split the skin easier than normal, digging themselves into the cracking armour.
"Solas, go for the legs! Varric, the eyes!"
Sehira took another strike of electricity on her shield as tingles shook her arm, launching back as the demon reached for a second hit. A small squishing sound forced the arm back with a harsh screech. When she looked, Sehira found a tiny prick of a bolt lodged in one of the eyes and heard a whoop of triumph from Varric. Another random thrash came from the demon as it tossed Cassandra and most of the support across the snow to the other side of the crater, missing the already downed Sehira.
A savage cry came from her as she dove straight through the remaining men and right into the flame-coated, thick leg. She could feel the snaps and crunches when the dull sword pierced the skin, the vibrations of the howls that rose from the demon's throat. Pulling the sword further across, Sehira tore through the limb and prayed the weak blade squealing under the force would stand after this attack.
The boney flesh split apart with a fountain of wet, crunchy 'blood' that soaked through Sehira's armour and scalp, the weight of the liquid like oil and poison against her skin that spoke nothing of the smell.
It fell with little grace, nearly squashing Varric as he inched his way closer and instead landed on a very sharp looking boulder by the torn rift. The leg was bleeding profusely as it stained the ground, but the bloody thing was still swinging its arm and whip anywhere it could, even if nothing but herself was in range.
Before the demon could stand, Sehira avoided the whip and jumped up on its scaled back, sliding her shield to a clip on her back. It tried to shake her off but she held tight while practically climbing up the damn bastard as it began to get on its shaky and destroyed legs. The shakiness gave Sehira a sly smirk, knowing that it won't be walking for any time soon as it barely kept itself straight from the limp it garnered.
Sehira saw Cassandra and the warriors make a move on the legs again, letting the demon have a distraction while she tried to get herself stable. The wobbling really wasn't helpful for her stomach either. Gripping a spike by its head, Sehira gripped the sword and prepared to strike.
By its shoulders, Sehira made a jab for its head. The sword didn't get very far as the blade rebounded to its front with little more than a chip on the bone. That drew the demon's attention as its massive claw came crashing down on its 'occupied' shoulder. She twirled to the other side using its neck as a grip while getting a large cut down her spine through the weak fabric and iron she wore. She gritted her teeth against the pain and instead gave a wild swing to the back of the neck, putting both arms to the blow.
The sword slid through some of the skin with surprising ease, getting finger deep into it as more black blood slid down to the hilt and through Sehira's gloves. She yanked it out as another sharp hand came across its shoulder. Shouts and gasps came from below as she went back to the other side and shot the sword through.
From the exclamations of some soldier and a cheer from Varric, the blade went the entire way. Sehira could also tell from the yowl of agony and the desperate throat clawing from the demon. She tried to pull it out, but had to jump away from another attack. Still holding on to the sword, Sehira leapt to its back while tearing through half its neck, much like the leg before it.
To Sehira's adrenaline filled mind, everything went silent in those last few seconds. Time slowed and the fighting stopped as the only opponent on the battlefield was brought down. The demon's head wobbled slightly as it tried to right itself, but gravity won in the end as it flopped forward to its chest with small snarls still coming from its mouth. The black ooze Sehira had so accompanied herself with made a grand return, spewing from the near stump of a neck all over its shoulders.
Sehira tried to jump off before the demon fell to the ground but her boots slipped on the way down. She gave a yelp as she dropped unceremoniously, banging her rear end on the hard, sludge filled stone. Nothing but her pride broken, she scrambled away from the demon before it crushed her. The large thump behind her and the loss of the snarls that came from the demon set her shoulders down with relief.
The bastard is down.
Sehira slowly got herself off the ground, checking for any other injuries besides a dozen scratches and a maybe broken finger. Minor bleeding by the back, leather and iron damaged in back area, mild pain in the left foot, right knuckle broken. Other than that she was lucky to be standing after that fight with the equipment available.
With everything cared for, Sehira walked over to see to the others' wounds, and to the dead. Cassandra seemed okay other than a few scorch marks against her armour and a tender touch she kept with her leg and ribs. Varric and Solas were fine, only adorning a few shallow scratches because of their distance away from the demon and Solas's barrier that sprung up at times. Leliana was without a doubt a crafty one, with no sign of any physical battle being upon her. But she held a troubled look for the others that weren't so lucky as herself, a look all to familiar.
The archers and warriors were another matter. The men and women up top took some loses from the first whiplash and a few lighting strikes, but the worst wounds weren't lethal for any of them. The warriors had taken the most hits and the least deaths. Some couldn't take a blow to the head and lay scattered around the area, while others just dropped from blood loss in the centre. Breaks and lashes were common enough to be a problem and some wounds will be lethal without treatment.
She knew she couldn't do much for them, not without some supplies. She left that problem to Cassandra — already forming a concentrated frown on wrapping a bandage to one man's eye and torso — and instead moved back towards the Breach. Sehira didn't want to deal with it again, the grip and the feeling of entrapment, but she could feel the wishful eyes on her back, the similar gaze of hope from Solas and interest from Varric. Better yet, she was stronger than this. The damn Breach wouldn't send her running now, not after climbing up a fucking Pride Demon and taking the head.
Sehira stretched out her arm, shaking out the muscles.
She positioned her feet and legs into a clean patch of stone, away from the puddles of demon blood and soot covered snow.
She flexed her hand and wriggled the joint, pointing the mark to the Breach and feeling the magic connect like ropes tying together.
...
The grip was lighting fast, snatching away the calm Sehira gathered in those few seconds. A gasp rung from her throat as the magic pulled away her arm through the air. It jerked and spasmed, shocking the nerves and numbing the shoulder and began to drag slightly, enough for Sehira to notice. She tugged her arm back with her spare hand, the invisible rope coming back in her favour. A far stronger tug made her teeth grind in pain and her feet slip closer.
She wasn't winning with this rift, the hold she had on the rope slippery and and her strength was waning fast. Her feet dragged slowly through the snow and to the sick green glow of the Breach. It wavered and snapped, closing and opening like a door in a storm and much more deadly to an approaching hand. Sehira darted her eyes around for any help from her allies and slowed her erratic breathing, calming her heart that felt as if it had crawled out of her chest.
Pain sprouted from the pulling, the shoulder joints feeling as if they were being smashed and torn apart. Muscles bulged, tendons pulsed and cold sweat formed on her Sehira's brow, the pain increasing to the point of agony. She was sure her arm was slowly being dislocated as metal and leather scraped against the snow and stone while once again soaking in discarded black blood.
Sehira felt shakes rack her legs, unable to stop the grunts of pain or her face scrunching up against the cracking shoulder or her teeth pressing together so hard they hurt. She focused on her own strength and blocked most of everything out. Sound became distant and shouting voices became mumbles as Sehira's ears pricked up to the crackles of magic. Her hand gripped the green rope once again and pulled with everything she had, the shuffling sound of feet stopping for a moment and Sehira's eyes slivering open to see the Breach snarling and frothing its green glow, fighting to stay alive.
Stay shut you fucking thing!
Sehira roared as she heaved the weight, feeling a break in her shoulder and the waves of agony that followed a second late. As the hissing stopped and the light faded Sehira felt the ties being cut, the little connections between her mark and the Breach fade away and the adrenaline that had built up quickly drained away to a drip of energy.
Her mind disconnected and her body fell faster than the drop of a hat, the pain of landing on her injured and most likely dislocated arm numbed against the massive ache of everything on her body. It was almost comforting, if she wasn't alive there would be peace and serenity, but the cloud of numbing agony and feeling of dread still hung heavy on her.
Blackness soon engulfed the silhouettes crouching down, but not before a final thought wormed its way into Sehira's mind.
If they still think I'm guilty after this, heads will be rolling.
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That's the end, what did you think? If you liked it, please just say something, or even if you didn't like it just say anything to make my life in isolation from society seem like a good choice. As a last note, have a fantastic day wherever and whoever you are, and may you always have bacon on your side!
