It All Falls Down
How readily the others were willing to believe what happened in Redcliffe with Alexius and time magic surprised Numina. Though I suppose a hole in the sky tends to make even the craziest things possible. But that is all anyone could do, though. Believe. They didn't understand. Only Dorian could, and they had both agreed that dwelling on it wouldn't benefit either of them.
But Numina couldn't stop dwelling on it. It was a nightmare that she had lived through and that continued to plague her thoughts. Occasionally she would have to do a double take when she saw one of her friends, seeing red eyes or a red haze hanging about them. It felt like she was going crazy.
Numina wasn't sleeping. She would meditate, entering a tranquil state that would give her some rest. After coming back to Haven and reporting on what had happened Redcliffe, documenting all that she could remember in case there was an important detail that could help later, she made the mistake of falling asleep.
The Fade was a cruel place if you let it be, and her fear and anguish twisted it away from what she wanted. That night she saw them again. Her friends, dying as red lyrium slowly killed them, turning them into monsters. She would watch them getting cut down by demons as the Breach covered the world, shattering the Veil. And she would hear them, begging, asking why she hadn't been able to save them. Numina would hear Arleth begging for the pain to end. Children would be screaming in pain. Mothers and wives would be weeping over bodies of loved ones. Warriors would be doing whatever they could to save innocents, dying valiantly, believing that someone would rise up and end the horror. And all the while, the world was colored in green and red as it overtook everyone. Then, Numina would see the world barren, burned to nothingness by shadow and viridescence and crimson. As bodies lay decomposing on the ground and demons roamed supreme with a corrupted emerald sky above them, she would hear his voice.
It was not twisted or warped or echoed as it had been in Redcliffe. It was soft and harsh. "I said you could change things. Even the future. I was not wrong. You failed. You failed all of us."
Then she would see him. Solas. He would stand amongst the barren scenery, scorched by corruption and darkness. He would appear normal, a frown on his face, disappointment in his he would change. His irises would turn scarlet, a red fog lingering around his head. Disappointment would change to pain. His frown, a grimace as he suffered. A demon would appear. Tall and spindly, covered in green vines, the same one that had dragged Solas through the doors at Redcliffe.
Numina would try shouting or screaming a warning, but she could not form words or any other sound. She would try and reach for him, but she could not move.
The demon would smile at her, before its hand would rip through Solas' back through his chest. He would cough and choke on his blood before the demon let him fall to the ground, a pool darkened blood forming around him.
"No!" Numina yelled waking up from the nightmare. She had dozed off while reading a book, the fresh candle now reduced to a tiny stub. She threw the book across the room angrily, hating herself for falling asleep, for allowing the dream to take control of the Fade rather than controlling it herself.
She then let out a loud sigh. It wasn't something she could solve. The nightmares would come unbidden no matter what she tried, no matter how angry or tired she became. Numina resigned to her fate of restless nights.
Rising to her feet, Numina returned the book she had thrown to the shelf and grabbed a cloak draped across a chair and walked out of her room. The night air was chilly, gripping her breath and making it visible. It came in steady bursts with her breathing. Bundling herself in her cloak to keep out some of the cold, Numina walked out of Haven, making her way to the frozen lake.
There was nothing but beautiful silence. It froze the air like the chill that was dominion in Haven, her feet making the only sound as it crunched lightly when she put her weight on new areas of the snow. Puffs of chilled smoke followed her with each breath she took. The lake was before her, an expanse of ice that glistened in the moonlight, tiny particles of translucent crystals combining in snow and ice to form a shimmering mosaic.
And there she stood, shrouded in darkness. She faced the lake and the moon, the light outlining her slender form in a divine silhouette. Her long, flowing hair reflecting the moonlight as easily as the snow did, glowing dimly like the stars. She looked small and beautiful, fragile in a world of crumbling ice and windswept snow. That is what Solas saw and thought of her as he approached.
"Trouble sleeping?" he asked coming to stand beside her. She had been too lost in thought to have heard him coming, but she was not startled by his presence.
"Yes," Numina sighed. "There is… a lot on my mind."
"I'm not surprised. Though you should not worry. I have no doubt that you will succeed in closing the Breach tomorrow."
Numina was slightly disappointed that is what Solas thought was troubling her. He was often able to see through masks and barriers others put up to get to the heart of the issue. Of course he would assume the looming task of closing the Breach is on my mind. He is no mind reader, and it is the pressing issue. She plastered on a fake smile, "One can only hope."
"That is not why you are out here though." Solas added, a statement rather than a question.
"No…" she admitted. "Why are you out here, Solas? Shouldn't you be looking for memories?"
He allowed her the slight deviation of topic. "Truthfully, I have found almost all there is to see in the Fade of this area. And you woke me up."
Numina frowned. She was almost certain she had made little to no noise at all while walking through Haven. Unless… "My...dream," she mused. "It woke you."
Solas nodded. "It is not often that another person's dream can shake the Fade as violently as yours did."
"I apologize, Solas," Numina said earnestly. "I did not mean to wake you."
"It is no fault of yours," he replied, brushing off her apology. "I am curious as to what troubles you though."
She let out a deep exhale. "The future," she said.
"What you saw in Redcliffe."
"Yes." Numina paused for a moment before continuing. "What I saw, what I experienced...no words, written or spoken could accurately explain how horrible it was…" She stopped once more, regaining her composure. Simply thinking about sent her shivering with the memory of the fear she had. "I have never been so afraid in my life Solas. Not now when I face the Breach once more. Not when I faced the Breach before, nervous and confused as to what was going on… I have never felt such immense fear." She bowed her head, slightly ashamed of her weakness. "And that is not even taking into account what was in that future," she whispered. "The death and suffering…"
"Ir abelas, lethallan. I did not know to think of how it had affected you," Solas apologized. "But you survived. You came back. And now you can change that future, prevent it from happening."
His words rang of something similar she had heard before. Without really thinking about it, she retrieved the handkerchief she had tucked in her left sleeve, having made it a habit to keep it on her. She pulled it out, cupping it lightly in her hand. The pure white cloth, like silk but softer, glowed faintly in the moonlight. Her thumb lightly traced the wolf's frame embroidered into the cloth. "'You are constantly changing things. Even the future,'" she echoed softly. "I know you are right, but… I watched you die…" her words caught in her throat. "I have come to care for you Solas. You are someone I consider a friend, having put up with my many questions." She tried to smile, to make light of what she had said, but failed at doing so. "You were suffering, resigned to your fate of dying slowly, painfully... And then I had to watch you die for me…" She had to stop once more for a moment, regain some composure. "I failed you Solas...you and the others."
"You didn't fail me," he said, his heart twisting with her words and anguish. "I am right here."
"Yes. But you were also there, suffering as the red lyrium slowly killed you. You were there when the demon-"
He reached out and grabbed her arm firmly, gently, turning her towards him and interrupting her before she could finish. "I am right here," he said softly.
Numina looked into his eyes. The grey storms were now gentle, silver clouds. He was tall for an elf, taller than those she met amongst the Dalish clans. She had to look up to meet his eyes. And though he was an apostate, he did not carry himself in a way that you would expect. He stood with a pride uncharacteristic with his background. He knew who he was, and he did not let the opinions of others bend him. It was one of the many things she admired about him.
She nodded. "You are here."
It was the closest he had ever been to her without tending to an injury of some sort, and it was not unwelcomed. Numina was not lying when she admitting to caring for him. His presence always brought her peace and she enjoyed their long conversations about some random topic. They were highlights, something to look forward to. He was something she looked forward to.
"Yes," he said, letting his hand slide down her arm softly before falling back to his side. "And I can do more than watch recreations of memories. I can feel and enter the dreams of others as well, though I do not do so without permission." He gave her a soft hint of a smile. "If your nightmare plagues you again, I can help you stop it and keep it from haunting you once more. If you allow me to."
"You can do that?" Numina asked.
"Yes," he nodded. "All you have to do is call for me from your dream, and I will come."
She could not help but smile. That he was willing to help her in such a way… "Ma serannas, Solas," she said. "Ma melava halani." You have helped me. He gave her a small smile, amused that she had chosen to speak in elvish and secretly relishing that she had done so correctly. "Would you mind keeping me company?" She asked.
"Not at all," he hummed.
Silence overtook the frozen landscape once more. The two of them did not speak, they lost themselves to their own thoughts. Numina dwelling on Redcliffe once more, trying to come to terms with it; and Solas, on what Numina had told him.
I have come to care for you Solas. The way she had said it, small, a whisper, but no less musical than she usually sounded. Did he dare admit that he found himself caring for her as well? Did he dare mention that when he heard her screams and her anguish radiating in the Fade that it took all of his will not to rush in and save her from the nightmare? Did he tell that he saw the keepsake she had taken out for comfort and that he knew it was his?
No. It will be kinder if I distance myself. It was something he repeated often, though with each time he found less and less value in the words, instead placing that value in the words Numina said, listening to her soothing, melodic voice.
He glanced over at Numina, allowing himself a secreted smile. The moonlight sent her long hair shining faintly like the stars flickering in the night sky. Her fair skin adding to her radiance. In that moment he was able to forget everything. In that moment he was able to admit something to himself, if not yet to her. I have come to care for you Numina.
~~.O.~~
Though Numina did not feel fear, that did not lessen the nervousness that sent her heart flickering in chaotic beats. Cassandra and Solas walked on either side of her as they marched towards the Temple of Sacred Ashes. Or what's left of it. Though she had friends by her side, it did not decrease the uneasiness that haunted her thoughts. I will close the Breach. She continued to tell herself over and over again.
The strongest of the mages followed behind them, keeping calculated distance. They were retracing the same path Numina, Cassandra, Solas, and Varric had taken once inside the ruins, walking down to the lower level where the rift connected to the breach lingered. It was partially sealed, just enough for it to remain vulnerable and dormant.
As Numina approached it, her mark began to spark to life, vibrant green light pouring from it. Solas and Cassandra remained by her side, the mages took position on the upper levels, brandishing their staves, ready to help. With a nod from Numina, Cassandra and Solas turned, walking backwards a few paces,taking charge of the mages.
Numina walked forward slowly, the mark on her hand growing angrier.
"Mages!" Cassandra addressed them.
"Focus past the Herald," Solas called, instructing them. "Let her will draw from you."
The rift finally responded to Numina and her mark, expanding with green, miasmic trendles that pushed her away. She fought her way forward, her mark flickering brighter, its unknown magic extending further across her arm. That is when she felt it: immense energy swarming around her as the mages channeled their will towards her. The mark on her hand drew from it, hungry for power. She reached for the rift, strength pouring into her as the mark began draining its energy. Channels connected her mark to the rift. What had once been a struggle been two opposing forces, a losing battle on her part, was now different. Instead of the rift pulling her strength from the mark, she felt strength flowing through her from the mages and the rift. Numina was going to succeed.
There was an explosive pulse from the rift, its dying throes, before a white light encased the area. Numina's connection to the rift was suddenly severed, a final wave of green exploded from the rift, knocking her and the others down.
Numina's hand burned with the raw energy she had gained from the rift and had absorbed from the mages. Her whole body felt tingly, and she did not trust herself to stand just yet. She kneeled on the ground, breathing heavily, trying to remain in control of the power that now surged within her.
Groans of discomfort came from the mages and soldiers that were in the ruins, and Cassandra and Solas rushed to see what had become of Numina, worried more for her than themselves. They found her kneeling, a circle of green flame surrounding here. She gracefully rose to her feet, turning to the others. Clenching her left hand closed, the mark stopped glowing and the flames died out.
"You did it!" Cassandra said, her words echoing loudly.
Cheering roared thunderously through the silenced were waved in the air, people were hugging eachother. Numina looked around, unbelieving that she had accomplished the impossible. She had sealed the Breach.
Her gaze found Solas, who offered her grin, bowing his head respectfully to her. Numina returned his bow with a smile, and let go of breath she had been holding this entire time. She then began to chuckle, part of it being the adrenaline, the other part being relief. I did it! I sealed the Breach! It's over. It's finally over…
~~.O.~~
Myrth was in the air. There was upbeat music, drinking, laughter, and dancing all at once. People would laugh, then they would drink, then they would dance. Numina could not help but smile, watching them celebrating: The Iron Bull and his Chargers were manning the casks, drinking more than they poured for others; Varric sat with Blackwall by the largest of the fires, Varric telling stories with elaborate embellishments; Dorian stood beside them, smirk plastered on his face; Vivienne was standing with Josephine, no doubt talking fashion or politics; Leliana was nowhere to be found, though that was normal for the spymaster; Cullen was standing with some of his soldiers, all of them laughing enthusiastically about something; Sera was skulking around the casks, trying to pull one over on people that were unsuspecting; and Solas stood a little ways away from the festivities, enjoying them, but at a distance; it was the same thing Numina was doing.
She looked to the sky. There were clouds, tinged with a faint, lingering green tinge to them, swirling where the Breach once was, a hole in the cloud cover, but the sky was sealed. Things were as they should be, and Numina had a faint hope that she would finally be able to relax, maybe even return to her clan once things were settled down, the excitement finally gone.
Cassandra approached Numina, "Solas confirmed that the heavens are scarred but calm. The Breach is sealed. There are reports of lingering rifts, and many questions still remain, but this was a victory." She stood beside, Numina but turned to her for a moment. "This was your victory, and word of your heroism has spread."
"You know how many people were involved, yourself included," Numina said, brushing off Cassandra's praise. "Luck put me at the center." Mostly bad luck at that.
"A strange kind of luck," Cassandra added, agreeing with Numina's internal monologue. "I'm not sure if we need more or less. But you're right. This was a victory of alliance. One of the few in recent memory."
Despite herself and her humility, Numina was smiling. It was a victory of alliance, but she was the one that had brought it all together. She allowed herself that small surge of pride.
But her smile was short lived. Bells began clamoring, silencing the merry crowd. Soldiers began running in panic and confusion. "Forces approaching," Cullen roared. "To arms!"
"What the…? We must get to the gates!" Cassandra exclaimed.
Her companions, her friends, looked to Numina. "Solas, Bull, with me. The rest of you, protect the others and get them to safety."
Solas and Iron Bull left to retrieve their weapons and armor as Cassandra and Numina approached the gates.
"Cullen?" Cassandra asked for an explanation.
"One watchguard reporting. It's a massive force, the bulk over the mountain."
Josephine and Leliana approached. "Under what banner?" the lady ambassador asked.
"None."
"None?"
Explosions began rattling the door as something was thrown violently against the gates. Light flickered and flashed from underneath the door. "I can't come in unless you open," came a young and distraught before really thinking about it, Numina rushed down the stairs, and with the help of an Inquisition soldier, she opened the gate for the mysterious voice.
Bodies of Venatori soldiers littered the ground, and one of the bigger soldiers wielding an axe began to walk towards the gates. But not for very long. Something struck from behind, killing him. As his body slid to the ground, Numina was able to see who it was. It was a young man in well-worn clothes and a large hat that hid his features. Despite the distraught that had been in his voice earlier, he looked relatively calm.
Numina with Cullen at her heels ran forward to asses who this young man was and what they could do to beat this army.
"I'm Cole," the young man said as they approached, distraught tone edging his words. "I came to warn you. To help. People are coming to hurt you. You probably already know…" The way he spoke was weird to Numina, almost childish.
"What is this?" Numina asked, not attempting to interpret Cole's words. "What's going on?"
"The Templars come to kill you," Cole said, eerily calm, a complete foil to the despair that had given his words a hard edge.
Cullen surged forward at that, sword in hand. "Templars!?" Cole shrank back, afraid he might be attacked, dropping into a defensive stance. "Is this the Order's response to our talks with the mages? Attacking blindly?" He did not believe it.
"The Red Templars went to the Elder One." Numina's heart dropped into darkness. Cole turned to her. "You know him? He knows you. You took his mages." He pointed to one of the hills in the distance. "There."
A man stood there, silver armor gleaming in the moonlight, red lyrium glowing on its own. But that is not who drew Numina's full attention. Beside him, from smoke, appeared a creature, much larger than any sentient being in Thedas. It was twisted corrupted. Evil.
"I know that man…" Cullen said. "But this Elder One…"
"He's very angry that you took his mages," Cole finished.
Numina nodded. "Cullen! Give me a plan! Anything!"
"Haven is no fortress," he explained. "If we are to withstand this monster, we must control the battle."
"The trebuchets."
Cullen nodded. "Get out there and hit that force. Use everything you've got."
Solas, Cassandra, and The Iron Bull came to her side, all brandishing their weapons, ready for war. Cole turned back to Numina. "What should I do?" his voice sounding innocent once more.
"You came to help. So, help," she said. "Aid the soldiers where you can, but focus helping those that can't fight."
"Yes," he nodded, then he was gone. No puff of smoke, no disappearing into the shadows, just gone. It was a bit startling, but Numina did not have time to be confused about what just happened. There was an army knocking at Haven's door, and she had to answer.
"Mages!" Cullen roared. "You- you have sanction to engage them! This is Samson. He will not make it easy." He faced his men. "Inquisition! With the Herald! For your lives! For all of us!" He rallied them. Thier shouts and cries roared across the frozen tundra.
That is when the first of the Red Templars began appearing, attacking. Control the battle, she reminded herself. That is why they focused on protecting the trebuchets. They stood fast, defending against wave after wave of monsters, for that is what had become of the Templars. They were twisted. Some remained relatively human, red lyrium sprouting from their armor in patches, but human in form. Others, the hunters, looked like abominations, though where their arms had been, crystalline corrupted lyrium had taken hold, and they used its sharp edges as a weapon. And then there were those that were abominations in every sense, red lyrium claws making them deadlier. I thought I had seen all red lyrium could do in Redcliffe...I was wrong…
Inquisition soldiers were finally able to get a proper foothold at the trebuchet Numina and her companions had been holding. As they fired one more time, they implored Numina to move to the other one, which was no longer firing. Running across the battlefield, they soon found out why. The Red Templars had overran the soldiers that had been holding it.
They attacked, Cassandra and Iron Bull slicing through the enemy with powerful strokes and sharp blades; Solas and Numina from afar, neither of them missing a mark with magic or arrows. It was bloody, but so far none of them had sustained any injuries that were beyond superficial.
Numina had Cassandra man the crank on the trebuchet, standing on the platform with her, covering her in case any of the Red Templars managed to slip past The Iron Bull or Solas. All of her arrows nearly spent, the trebuchet finally fired.
Unfortunately they had not seen if it was aiming towards the approaching army or not. The sights were off, and the projectile soared towards the mountain instead of the army. But it worked to their advantage. It struck the mountain, and a horde of charging snow raced down the slope, plowing over the bulk of the army. Cries and screams reached their ears faintly as they saw torches carried suddenly extinguished. They had taken control of the battle.
Cheers erupted from behind them from the soldiers. They had just struck a mighty blow against the enemy.
An earsplitting roar shattered their illusion of control, however. It was a roar that Numina recognized, that she hoped never to hear again. A dragon dived from the sky, it was corrupted, flesh and scales hanging off of it as though it was actively decaying. From its jaws, flames leapt. Cassandra and Numina were barely able to throw themselves off the trebuchet before it was engulfed in fire. Several seconds after the fire took hold, it exploding, knocking Numina and Cassandra to the ground.
The creature let out another roar as Solas helped Numina to her feet; and Bull, Cassandra. "Everyone, to the gates!" Numina yelled to the remaining soldiers that had survived the dragon's initial attack. "Solas, keep an eye on that thing! Do not lose sight of it!"
Soldier ran, panic and fear spurring them on faster than they thought they could go. Numina and her companions lingered behind them, though. They fought off red lyrium templars to help the Inquisition's retreat behind Haven's stone walls.
"It's coming back!" Solas shouted.
"Run!" Numina called. She and her companions bolted for the gates. Up ahead they could see the blacksmith trying to break into his shed. "Bull!" Without having to explain what she wanted him to do, The Iron Bull picked up speed and rammed into the door, shattering it into splinters. Numina and her companions stopped for him and the blacksmith, taking out a few enclosing Templars as he escaped.
Another roar from the dragon sliced through the air. Numina and the others shrank to the ground, making themselves small as the dragon flew above them, its wing beats shaking the air and ground below it. They had made it to the gates, but that did not mean much in the way of safety. The walls would not keep out a dragon, and it would only keep out the red templars for a short time, if they did at all.
"Move it, move it!" Cullen shouted as he ushered more people and soldiers in. Once her companions had made it through, Numina helped Cullen shut the gates. "We need everyone back to the Chantry! It's the only thing that might hold against...that beast!" He turned to Numina, a haunted expression on his face. "At this point...just make them work for it."
Numina nodded. She knew that there was little chance of them getting out of here alive. She looked to her companions. "Maintain some distance and look for any survivors that haven't made it to the Chantry."
The red lyrium somehow gave the Templars the ability to launch themselves over the walls. They didn't even need to try for the gate. Numina was running low on arrows, so she relied on Bull, Cassandra, and Solas to cover her while she helped the survivors get away from the Templars and head for the Chantry. So far, she had dropped and run into burning buildings to save Seggrit and Flissa. Up ahead she heard screams for help. Adan and Minaeve were both wounded, and fire was approaching explosive crates.
Numina wasn't sure why, but she called for help. "Cole! Help Adan!" And he appeared out of thin air and rushed to help. She didn't have time to be confused by what had just happened, instead she half helped, half dragged Minaeve away. The crates exploded, but they were all fine. Numina was able to hand Minaeve off to Blackwall, who had thankfully been nearby.
Finally she and her companions made their way to the Chantry for themselves, but before they could get to safety, Threnn called for their aid as a group of Templar hunters appeared from the treeline. There was no hesitation in them as they rushed to Threnn's side.
Numina spent the last of her arrows, not realizing it until a Red Templar was all but on top of her. She raised her bow to block his attack, but his strike carried through, shattering her weapon into splinters. The force of his attack sent her stumbling backwards a few steps, but she quickly recovered, grabbing her daggers and sinking them into his neck. And there they remained, she could not pull them out. Her daggers had become lodged in the red lyrium, and it would not give them back.
"That is the last of the survivors," Bull roared as Threnn ran to the Chantry ahead of them.
"Fenedhis!" Numina spat, abandoning her daggers and broken bow, lamenting their loss.
The Chantry doors were opened as they approached. Chancellor Roderick stood, bent over as he favored his left side, blood trickling through his fingers. Soldiers rushed through the doors ahead of them. "Move! Keep going! The Chantry is your shelter!" he shouted through bits of coughing.
Cassandra, Iron Bull, and Solas ran into the Chantry ahead of Numina as she let them. Once she crossed the threshold, the doors were sealed and Chancellor Roderick collapsed onto Cole. Cole seemed to have been expecting it though, catching him and holding him with a strength his body did not look capable of.
"He tried to stop a Templar," Cole explained as he helped the chancellor over to a nearby chair. "The blade went deep. He's going to die."
"What a charming boy," Roderick chuckled, coughing in the middle of his words.
Cullen approached. "Herald! Our position is not good. That dragon stole back any time you might have earned us." He sounded how Numina felt: frustrated and tired.
"I've seen an Archdemon," Cole interrupted. "I was in the Fade, but it looked like that."
"I don't care what it looks like!" Cullen snapped, stress and despair taking hold. "It has cut a path for that army. They'll kill everyone in Haven!"
"The Elder One doesn't care about the village. He only wants the Herald," Cole supplied.
"If it will save these people, then he can have me," Numina said determinedly. She didn't notice Solas moving to cut into the conversation, to keep her from following through with what she was saying. She didn't see The Iron Bull, place a hand on Solas' shoulder, holding him back with a nod of his head. Now is not the time to be selfish.
Cole shook his head. "It won't. He wants to kill you. No one else matters, but he'll crush them, kill them anyway. I don't like him."
"You don't like-?" Cullen sighed, giving up on the matter. "Herald, there are no tactics to make this survivable. The only thing that slowed the Templars was the avalanche. We could turn the remaining trebuchets, cause one last slide."
Numina knew what that meant. Instead of despair and hopelessness, however, she felt oddly calm. Am I ready to die? she asked herself, already knowing the answer. No one ever truly wanted to die, but Numina had already accepted her fate when the Templar army had arrived. "We're overrun. Hitting the enemy would mean burying ourselves."
"We're dying," Cullen admitted, "but we can decide how. Many don't get that choice."
She felt numb. Even when Chancellor Roderick remembered a passageway that lead out of the Chantry and into the mountain, Numina's thoughts were her own. They drifted back to her clan and her family. She saw their faces, smiling.
"...There is a mountain path. The people can escape."
"If that thing is here for me, I'll make him fight for it." A hard edge graced her words, fueled by her resolve. "Cullen, can you and your people get them out safely?"
"Yes, but when the mountain falls? What about you?" Numina met Cullen's eyes and he saw her determination...and her resignation. "Perhaps You will surprise it, find a way..." His sentence drifted, though. He did not believe it, and it was too much to hope for.
Numina turned to her comrades, they had all remained in the Chantry hall, waiting for her. "I know that this a lot I will be asking for," she started, "but will any of you stand with me?"
Without hesitation, "I will stand with you," Solas said, stepping forward with staff in hand.
"As will I," Blackwall said immediately after Solas, walking forward as well. "What kind of Warden would I be if I did not face this 'Archdemon' with the Herald of Andraste?"
"And I wouldn't be much of a frontline bodyguard if I did not follow you into this battle," Iron Bull joked grimly. "I stand with you."
She nodded her thanks to each of them before addressing the others. "The rest of you, help everyone get out safely." They all nodded respectively before leaving, helping the injured and weak. Numina turned back to Cullen. "I need to borrow your sword."
"It is yours," he said, unsheathing it from his hilt and flipping it end over end so that he had ahold of it by the blade, offering Numina the hilt. "The soldiers by the door will load the trebuchet. Keep the Elder One's attention until we're above the treeline."
It was a beautifully balanced sword. She grasped it with her right hand, and with her left, she pulled the amulet that always hung around her neck. It was a mirror shard with Elvish glyphs carved into it. Once it was removed, she felt a flood of mana and power rush through her.
"Like a candle it was snubbed, but now it rages. Power." Cole said softly as he passed her, aiding Chancellor Roderick.
Numina tossed the amulet to Cullen. "I will be back for that," she said.
"I will keep it safe for you." He turned to leave, but then paused. "If we are to have a chance- if you are to have a chance- let that thing hear you."
Two soldiers were positions by the doors. Before she gave them the signal to open the door, she looked back at those who might be walking to their deaths with her. "When I tell you to run," she said sternly, "you run. You will not hesitate. You will not argue. And above all, you will not look back." Numina made a point to look each of them in the eyes with her hardened gaze. "Swear this to me by name."
"I swear, Numina."
"As do I, Numina."
There was a slight hesitation. "I swear...Numina."
That satisfied her. They may survive this. "Open the doors."
The door swung wide, revealing many templars just beyond. Numina raised her left hand and an inferno rushed through the door, smothering them in a sinister blanket of flames. She had cleared a path out of the Chantry, and she had plenty more magic where that came from.
"Let's make some noise!" Bull roared fiercely, charging through the doors, aiming for the nearest red templar. Blackwall and Numina followed behind him while Solas maintained a short distance, taking out ranged attackers and offering support.
It was a beautiful and deadly dance for Numina. Backhand, forehand, feint, lunge, slash, thrust, dodge. Repeat. And her magic flourished in these conditions, no longer smothered and hidden away. Her spells were no longer stifled by the amulet of concealment she had used to hide her gift of destruction for so long. When she danced out of the way of a blow, flames would erupt from where she had been and engulf her attacker. When she needed to block a strike and could not raise her sword quick enough, she would encase her arm in ice, deflecting the blow with her frozen armor. This was also handy when she would punch an attacker if the were too close quarters for her to get a proper swing from her sword. When she would kick, lightning would be infused with the blow, increasing the force and damage. Lightning would also strike the battlefield frequently, killing enemies instantaneously.
Numina fought as fiercely as the seasoned warriors by her side. And she was just as skilled as them as well. Though she was more dangerous than they were. All her attacks were infused with magic brought to life by her immeasurable strength of will. She rivaled the strongest mages in Thedas.
As she danced, sword in hand, blood spilling, and magic swirling, her skill was only outmatched by the grace she wielded it with. It was beautiful to watch, the other could see it, but it equally as terrifying. For her enemies.
Solas was the one to aim the remaining trebuchet for the mountain behind Haven. Numina and the warriors fought off red templar after red templar. They found that the more grotesque and disfigured the former templar was, the stronger and tougher to kill it was. This was proven to be true with a towering monster made almost entirely of red lyrium. It was brittle like all things were when frozen as Numina's magic also proved, allowing Blackwall and The Iron Bull to smash it to pieces.
The trebuchet was now aiming at its target and all there was left to do was fire it. They were waiting for Cullen's signal when the dragon's earthshaking roar sounded once more. It was doubling back, heading directly for Numina and her companions.
"Run! Move!" Numina all but screamed, praying that they would keep their word. And they did. Though Iron Bull had to shove Solas to get him to finally move.
Numina ran as well, but not until her companions had gotten a decent distance away, making herself the weakest link and the better target for the dragon. Flames exploded in front of her, cutting her off. The dragon circled the trebuchet once before landing in front of Numina, ignoring her friends, much to her relief.
The creature roared and growled, stalking forward towards her. It reared its head as if to attack when a loud, gravelly voice roared from behind. "Enough!" The dragon stopped, lowering its head as if to bow in obedience.
Numina turned sharply, looking for the owner of the voice. It was that thing that had been standing on the hill earlier, overlooking its army. It was more disfigured than it had looked before, red lyrium also outlining his disgusting and corrupted form. She tightened her grip on Cullen's sword. Fen'Harel give me strength and courage, she prayed as she took up a defensive stance, though it would do her little good.
"Pretender. You toy with forces beyond your ken. No more."
"You'll get nothing from me!" Numina bellowed. "Least of all obedience like that which your pathetic lizard gives you!" A hiss came from behind her, but she did not turn to look at its source.
The thing laughed maliciously. "I wonder if your ancestors said the same thing before the Imperium enslaved them." It growled. "I will take whatever I desire because I am beyond you. Know me, know what you have pretended to be: Exalt the Elder One. The will that is Corypheus! You will kneel."
"Only to drive my sword through your chest when I make sure you are dead!" Numina snarled.
"You will resist. You will always resist. It matters not." Corypheus withdrew an orb, ancient in appearance. It began to glow red. "I am here for the Anchor. The process of removing it begins now."
Pain shot through Numina's body from the mark on her hand. She screamed at the pain and collapsed to the ground, but she refused to be on her knees and she refused to let go of her sword. With the green, red began to crowd around her mark, trying to pull it from her hand.
"It is your fault, 'Herald.' You interrupted a ritual years in the planning, and instead of dying, you stole its purpose." The pain increased as the pulling from the magic he was using doubled in strength. "I do not know how you survived ,but what marks you as 'touched,' what you flail at rifts, I crafted to assault the very heavens." Numina screamed again. The pain was unlike any she had felt before. And it was no longer contained to her hand, it was unbearable pain she felt throughout her entire body. "And you used the Anchor to undo my work! The gall!"
"What is this thing meant to do!?" she gasped.
"It is meant to bring certainty where there is none. For you, the certainty that I would always come for it." He strode forward angrily, grabbing Numina roughly by the arm that had the Anchor. He hauled her up, lifting her into the air so she was eye level; and while she still had her sword in her hand, she did not have the strength to strike at him with it. "I once breached the Fade in the name of another, to serve the Old Gods of the empire in person. I found only chaos and corruption. Dead whispers. For a thousand years I was confused. No more. I have gathered the will to return under no name but my own, to champion withered Tevinter and correct this blighted world. Beg that I succeed, for I have seen the throne of the gods, and it was empty!" With his last word spewed with venom, he threw Numina.
"Ah!" She smacked against the trebuchet, head cracking loudly. Numina nearly lost consciousness, but managed to stay awake. She rose to her feet, shaking from dizziness.
"The Anchor is permanent." He hissed. "You have spoiled it with your stumbling." Corypheus and his dragon began to approach. "So be it. I will begin again, find another way to give the world the nation- and god- it requires." Numina looked passed him, and her eyes saw what she had been waiting for: a small flicker, signal, of hope. "And you. I will not suffer even an unknowing rival. You must die."
Breathing heavily, Numina straightened herself out, looking her enemy in his eyes. She leveled her sword at him and smiled sadly, knowingly at him and then laughed. "You expect me to fight, but that's not why I kept you talking. Enjoy your victory! Here's your prize!" The last sentences she shouted as loudly as she could before kicking the release on the trebuchet.
The balance dropped and the rock flew through the air, heading for the mountain. Like fools, Corypheus and his dragon watched its trajectory. Numina on the other hand began sprinting. The crash of the rock against the side of the mountain was thunderous, and the roar of snow and debris falling was even louder.
In anger, the dragon roared before it whisked Corypheus away, safely avoiding the avalanche.
Numina had no such escape however. There was a drop before her and she leapt.
Pain resonated from the back of her head, snow whisked around her, and everything went black.
Far away, safely away from the avalanche, the rest of the Inquisition had stopped. Numina's voice had carried far enough for them to hear. Enjoy your victory! Here's your prize! When the mountain came falling down on top of Haven there were some soft cheers. Most everyone remained silent, though, offering prayers. The avalanche did not only destroy the red templar army.
It had fallen down on everything.
~~.O.~~
She could not see anything. It was darker than darkness. Nothing. She could not hear anything. It was more silent than silence. Nothing. She could not feel anything, not even the pressure of something beneath her body. Nothing. For the second time in the past month she wondered "Am I dead?"
Then there was a light. It was far away but it kept growing. It was moving closer to her. She heard soft breathing, like an animal panting. She felt warm fur pressed against her body. Numina was finally able to look and she saw a white wolf, the one from her dream months ago. The one with the silverite eyes.
The wolf looked at her, eyes holding her gaze. It cocked it's head to one side. A voice then rang out through the air. A voice she did not recognize but somehow felt familiar.
"Wake up!"
Numina gasped as she woke up, coughing at the dryness of her throat. The cold biting her skin shocked the weariness out of her, bringing tingling pain on her limbs. She leaned forward, sitting up.
It was an old mining shaft, mostly taken over by ice. Debris from a time when it was once used were scattered across the ground. The nervousness she felt with her new surrounding drifted as the memory of what happened resurfaced.
I can't believe I survived, she thought, smiling at her apparent incredible luck. That is when the pain in her leg began to surface.
She had not noticed it before, and now that her body had time to catch up with her being awake and aware, Numina became intimately aware of the wound she had received from her fall. A giant wooden splinter, part of the rubble around her, went through her leg. Had she not been in pain, she would have been thankful it hadn't hit any major arteries or muscles. However, all that was running through her mind were strings of curses as the pain continued to increase.
Numina removed the scarf that hung around her neck, thankful that the blacksmith had included it with the new armor he made for her. Draping it across her leg by the wound, she carefully took hold of the wood protruding from her leg. On three… she told herself. One… she pulled hard, crying out at the pain. Hastily she began to wind the scarf around her leg, whimpering when she had to tie it tightly.
Her breaths came out raggedly. She gave herself some time to recover, before attempting to stand on her feet. There would be some limping and a lot of pain, but she could walk. She retrieved Cullen's sword which was thankfully intact and began to make her way down the tunnel, hoping that it was not caved in or sealed with ice.
There was no way for her to tell how long she was walking. To her, it felt like hours, but that could have been because there was nothing else in that cave. The only sounds that she would hear would be her own, staggered footsteps as she continued on.
"Finally!" she breathed when she saw light ahead of her. There was a larger room in the mine shaft, and then the exit. Numina was about to relax when two demons appeared.
Despair.
Their shrill screams echoed throughout the mining shaft, bouncing of the walls. They wore the ice that froze the land, becoming the ice that gripped the soul and spirit when times were tough. Numina had her sword, but with her injuries and diminishing strength, she would not be able to fight them off.
The mark on her hand flared angrily. It had strength still lingering in it. Numina raised her hand, the mark glowing green, and she pulled on the energy stored in it, activating it. A rift appeared. It radiated with blinding, corrupted light. But instead of summoning more demons, bringing them across the veil, it was dragging the demons of despair back to the Fade. They screamed loudly, digging their icy claws into the ground, trying to hold themselves in this world; but the rift was too strong for them. Once both of the demons were gone, the rift sealed.
Numina looked at her hand. Well, that's useful. The mark on her hand, the Anchor as Corypheus had called, went back to being dormant, and Numina did not have time to ponder what had just happened. She had to keep moving, no matter how slow she went. Her only hope of surviving was to find the survivors of the Inquisition. Otherwise she would freeze to death.
A storm raged outside the mouth of the cave. It was a blizzard with added ferocity thanks to the loose snow that had come down from the mountain. Numina hesitated, already feeling as though she was frozen to her very center, but she had no choice. She stepped out into the tempest of ice, heading for the mountains she could only faintly make out in the swirling mass of white.
It would not have been so bad were it not for the wind. What was already fierce bit harder against her skin, burning it with the frigid heat. It would not have been so bad if Numina had been able to walk a normal pace, but the injury to her leg forced her to walk with a limp; meaning she would be out in the abrasive cold longer than she could hope to anticipate.
But she walked on.
The wind did not cease. It would pull her this way and that way, throwing her off balance, tumbling into the snow with gusts that battered her about, a small ship in a white, frothing sea.
But she walked on.
Her fingers, arms, face, legs, and feet burned from the cold once they had grown numb, causing her to shiver uncontrollably. She would try and heat up her fingers with her breath, but that ended up only making things worse as her body cried for warmth.
But she walked on.
When the wind finally died and the snow ended its barrage of freezing arrows, when the night sky finally lit the world around her, it revealed how far she still had to go. A vast stretch of smooth white landscape with not a footprint or imperfection stretched before her. It did not reveal the secret as to whether or not the Inquisition had gone this way.
But she walked on.
When weariness began to take hold, when she began to stumble over her own feet, when she was all but dragging her injured leg through the snow, when she felt like letting the wolves take her; she nearly dropped Cullen's sword, leaving behind unnecessary weight. Despair began to cling to her heart.
She finally stopped.
I'm going to die out here, she realized. Numina decided that she was not ready to die. She had been earlier, but that was to save all the innocent people in Haven and the friends that she had made. Now, as she stumbled through the snow falling down more than she actually moved forward, she wanted to live. One more hill. Make it over just one more hill.
Numina trudged forward, feet refusing to rise above the snow level. Her legs refused to move at times, and she would pitch forward, stumbling over her own momentum. Weariness seeped into her muscles and bones deeper than the cold did. Every inch of her felt heavy. It added to the difficulty of walking up an incline.
She was almost there. She could see the crest of the hill. A few more rough steps and she was there. Exhausted and battered, Numina could not move any more other than to fall to her knees.
Unconsciousness meant a break from the cold, and she welcomed the fall into darkness as she collapsed into the snow.
~~.O.~~
Solas was the first one to see her as she appeared above the hill. He had insisted on continuing the search for her even though the others had given up. He, Blackwall, and The Iron Bull refused to give up on her. They all owed her that much.
He watched Numina fall forward into the snow, collapsing limply. Instinctually, he cried out in elvish, torn between relief and worry, before shouting "There she is!" Solas had raced up the hill to her, the others close behind him.
She was freezing. As Solas' hand brushed against her fair skin, it bit with a chill in the way ice would. Numina needed warmth. Quickly, Solas wrapped his arms around her and lifted her out of the snow. In his arms, she felt frail, fragile, like the thinnest piece of glass.
He carried her back to the camp as quickly as the snow would allow him, doing his best not to jostle her too much. The Iron Bull blazed a trail through the snow and through the survivors in the camp as they gathered around to see the return of their hero and savior. Their Herald. Blackwall walked beside Solas, he carried the sword Numina had kept with her, Cullen's sword.
Relief swarmed through Solas as he felt Numina shift slighting in his grasp. She was alive. Hope returned to him. His heart lightened. It would take time for her to recover, but Solas vowed to stay by her side until she was well again.
Leaving her behind had been one of the more difficult things he had done. His heart had screamed against it, but he knew he could not break his word. Then when he was all but certain she had died for him, for them, it was more painful than a part of him thought it should be.
But Numina was alive. She had not fallen. And he would not let her go.
~~.O.~~
Author's Note:
Hooray! I got through this chapter faster than I expected. :)
I hope you are all enjoying the story so far. Please let me know if you have any suggestions or critiques, I appreciate both.
And thank you for reading. More will come soon, I promise.