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Chapter 3

"Drop your weapon." Cassandra said, "Now!"

Mia growled in frustration, "A demon attacked me. What was I supposed to do, let it slay me because you don't like me with a weapon in my hand? Let me remind you that if I wanted to do you harm, I would have done it while you were still fighting." Not to mention she didn't need this stupid staff.

Cassandra didn't waver. She said, "You don't need to fight. I'm here; it is my job to keep you safe."

Mia sighed now, already wanting to move on from this conversation. She said, "Can you guarantee this won't happen again?"

Cassandra stood her ground for a minute before seeming to come to a decision. She sheathed her weapon, saying, "Fine, keep the staff. I can't guarantee we won't run into anymore demons and you can't be defenseless." She turned, and started walking down the path. Before Mia could follow, she turned back and said, "I'll remember that you didn't try to run while I was fighting."

Mia smiled wryly, "Not that I would have gotten far, of course."

For this first time since she had met her, Cassandra gave a small chuckle, "No, of course not."

They made their way down, Cassandra giving her healing potions. She wanted to tell her to go ahead and keep them, but decided to take them. She did not know what they would face, and she did not need to waste her magic healing herself.

She found out the rest of the soldiers were either at the forward camp, or fighting near the breach. They took out of couple more groups of demons before she remembered something about the rifts. She had seen the rifts before, but they had been a weapon the Elder One had used frequently. The rift spirits were not as powerful as they were in the future. Those nasty little spirits could split a man in two if he wasn't fast enough.

Cassandra warned her they were getting close to an actual rift, not just one those exploding messes. She could hear fighting in the distance. The sounds didn't seem to be counting in their favor. She had to help them.

Thankfully, Cassandra seemed to be on the same page as she pumped her legs faster. They ran into the fight, taking down two demons before the things could gang up on someone. She felt a splash behind here, and turned to see a demon had been struck down by a dwarf with a crossbow.

A bald elf grabbed her hand shouting, "Quickly, before more come through!"

He thrust her hand out towards the rift, and a green light shot out of her palm. It collided with the rift, the feeling of a power struggle coursing through her before the rift disappeared.

She looked at the bald elf, and said, "What did you do?"

The elf gestured to her, "I did nothing. The credit is yours."

She studied her hand before replying, "My mark did this, how?"

He said, "Whatever magic opened the breach in the sky, also put that mark on your hand. I theorized the mark might be able to close the rifts that have appeared in the Breach's wake. It seems I was correct."

Cassandra came to stand next to her. She said, "Which means it could also close the Breach itself." She looked a little bit too hopeful. Mia didn't blame her. She wasn't even from this time, and she already wanted the blasted thing gone. Too many people were dying.

"Possibly," The elf said, "It seems you hold the key to our salvation."

His gaze was a little too perceptive, as if he knew more than he let on. She had read about elves, their race having gone extinct only ten years after the Elder One came into power. She had read in countless journals about their magic and knowledge. It had been powerful. She didn't want to be under his scrutiny. It felt as if he knew she wasn't from this time.

She was happy when the dwarf spoke up, temporarily distracting everyone. He said, "What a relief. I thought we'd be ass deep in demons forever." He walked up to her. "Varric Tethras, rouge, storyteller, and occasionally unwelcome tag-along." He looked at Cassandra as he said this.

The look she gave him… Mia just had to ask. She said, "You're with the Chantry?"

The elf laughed, "Was that a serious question?"

Varric smiled, "Technically I'm a prisoner, just like you."

Cassandra seemed to fume inside. She said, "I brought you here to tell your story to the Divine. Clearly, that is no longer necessary."

Varric shrugged, "Yet, here I am. It's lucky for you, Seeker, considering current events."

Mia liked him, he reminded her of Garret. Garret was a whole lot more sarcastic, but she saw a little bit of him in Varric. She said, "It's a pleasure to meet you." He seemed to be taken aback by her friendly smile, but she ignored his expression and turned to Cassandra. "I closed the rift. What happens next?"

Cassandra said, "Now, we go to meet Leliana."

"What a great idea!" Varric said, his tone taking on a faked excited quality.

Cassandra faced him. She said, "Absolutely not. Your help is appreciated Varric, but..."

Varric said, "Have you been in the valley lately, Seeker? Your soldiers aren't in control anymore. You need me." He smiled as he said that. Mia had a feeling those two had a complicated history behind them.

Cassandra just glared and grunted before turning away. The bald elf smiled at her. He said, "My name is Solas if there are to be introductions. I am pleased to see you still live."

Varric said, "He means, I kept that mark from killing you while you slept."

Mia inclined her head, "You seem to know a great deal about it all."

Cassandra said, "Solas is an apostate, well versed in such matters."

Solas said, "Technically, all mages are apostates now, Cassandra" He turned to her. "My travels have allowed me to learn much of the fade; far beyond the experience of any circle mage. I came to offer any help I can give concerning the Breach. If it is not closed, we are all doomed, regardless of origin."

Mia knew there was more to this elf than meets the eye. She could feel his magic, strong and ancient. It was like he was not exactly from this time either. She didn't want to expose him though. Whatever his intentions, they seemed to be about helping the people and not the Elder One. She said, "That's commendable. What will you do once this is over?"

He said, "Hope those in power will remember who helped, and who did not." He turned to Cassandra. "Cassandra, you should know, the magic here is unlike any I've seen. Your prisoner is powerful, I'll give her that, but I can't imagine any mage having this kind of power."

He was lying, she could feel it. He did know something about this, yet he didn't want the others to know. Why? Cassandra nodded her head, saying, "Understood. We must get to the forward camp quickly."

They took off, Varric making some quip about someone named Bianca. She had a feeling it was his crossbow. Joshua had a bow he used as a back up to his magic. He adored that thing like he would a lover. She had a feeling Varric was the same way.

They encountered more demons. Mia tamped down on her magic. These demons were not as strong as the monsters her time had to face. The Elder One must have made them stronger over time.

Varric started to question her about her origins. She didn't want to give up too much, but she did reveal that she was a Trevelyan. She didn't use the Theirin last name, because as far as she was concerned there was only one Theirin right now and any children he had would not be her age. In fact, around this time is when she's sure her many times great grandfather was conceived.

Her mark started to hurt a lot more as they made their way to the forward camp. Cassandra reassured her that they didn't have much farther to go, but the pain was making it feel like lifetimes were going by. Varric asked her if she was innocent, and she wanted to say yes. She almost did say yes, but she ended up telling him she didn't remember what happened. No one was going to believe her until they had some sort of proof, and until she regained her memories, she wouldn't know where to even start getting that proof.

Varric took the answer well, telling her she should have just made up a story. Cassandra scoffed, and told him that's what he would do. In which made Varric comment on how it saves him from premature execution. She would have laughed if the pain had let her. It was starting to burn, like her hand was being scorched from the inside out.

They made it to the forward camp after facing more demons. Cassandra had been worried about Leliana; especially when another rift had appeared. Mia had gotten the sense that Leliana was a resourceful woman. She would have made it just fine.

That soon proved true as they walked up to a man in robes. Leliana was beside him, and she looked annoyed. They were arguing, the man gesturing wildly. She was relieved to see them, but that relief didn't last long. He called himself the Grand Chancellor, and wanted her taken for execution. They argued on who they served, and she was starting to wonder who was actually in charge.

When she asked, he raged, "You killed everyone that was in charge!" He turned to Cassandra, "Call a retreat, Seeker. Our position here is hopeless."

Cassandra shook her head and said, "We can stop this before it is too late."

The Chancellor held up his hands, "How? You won't survive long enough to reach the temple, even with all your soldiers."

Cassandra said, "We must get to the temple with the quickest route."

Leliana said, "It's not the safest. Our forces can charge as a distracting, while we go through the mountains."

Cassandra shook her head, "We lost contact with an entire squad in those mountains, too risky."

The Chancellor said, "Listen to me. Abandon this now, before more lives are lost."

After he said that, the breach pulsed, and her mark flared. She gripped her wrist to control the pain. The Chancellor looked at her in horror, and judgement. She was really starting not to like him. Then Cassandra decided Mia was the one who was going to decide what they should do.

Mia knew what she wanted to do. If they took the mountain path, no doubt countless lives would be lost. That didn't sit well with her. She had always been in the front lines, even when her parents had wanted her safe. She was a soldier whether they had liked that or not. She would have the same attitude here.

She chose to charge.

AN: Here is Chapter 3. The final DLC for Dragon Age: Inquisition has come out, and it's really good. Now that there will be no more DLC content coming out for this game, I can start really investing in this story. I wanted all the DLC to come out, so that I don't do something that will be later explained in a DLC. Like Solas -.- That man...

I hope you guys enjoy. Still a lot of game content, but I'll be changing that soon.