Hello! I really hope everyone is enjoying this far. I've been having a lot of fun writing it. I do have a number of chapters written already so as it stands at the moment, I will be posting quite frequently. Reviews are most helpful so if you have any kind of constructive criticism, I'm all too happy to hear it.

Onward!

Ellie let our a muffled curse when the frigid temperature of the Frostbacks touched her skin. Why they decided to hold this monumental meeting in the middle of the mountains was beyond her. A few feet ahead of her front door, a guard stood posted, fully clad in heavy armor. She sent a respectful nod in his direction, which he returned. Why they needed to post a guard outside her quarters she didn't know; she was more than capable of protecting herself. But, a little extra caution couldn't hurt, she supposed.

Her footsteps were light, trying to avoid making a crunching sound in the snow and gravel as she made her way through the township, using her skills to slip into what shadows she could to get to her destination with little notice. The reason simply being she didn't need anyone else fussing over this hour. Or this day. She finally ascended a few stairs to reach where she had intended to go, catching sight of the hairless elf whom she was seeking. She felt she owed him gratitude after allegedly keeping her alive before her mark was stabilized. But there was more she wanted to glean from a conversation with him.

While Solas' theories to what the breach was and how her mark affected it proved to be useful when they journeyed up the mountain pass to the Temple, and even though his demeanour had thus far been calm and peaceful, she couldn't help but feel that this non-circle Mage with his, so far accurate, theories being present when all of this transpired was a little convenient. Of course, people thought it wasn't coincidental for Ellie to be there either, the sole survivor of the Conclave. She at least knew why she was at least attending the Conclave. But she didn't know anything about Solas other than that he was an apostate. Yet he seemed to know a great deal about what was happening. He shrugged it off as educated guesses up in the mountain pass. But Ellie was almost positive there was more to it than that.

Mages, apostate or not, never truly bothered her on a individual scale. Despite what may have tied her to the Templars, she felt that not all mages were inherently evil. They just had the misfortune of being more susceptible to becoming evil.

It's not what you are, it's what you do, the words of wisdom echoed through her head.

She caught the eyes of the elf as she approached him outside the apothecary, his lean frame standing tall. As she approached she became aware of just how striking his features were, all sharp angles and distinct lines. All except for his shockingly supple-looking lips. Ellie felt guilty for wanting to jump to such harsh conclusions about him, but her instincts were rarely ever wrong.

He tipped his head to acknowledge her presence, "The Chosen of Andraste, a blessed hero sent to save us all."

Ellie couldn't help but assume there was an underlying bite in his words. Luckily, she was fluent in the language of sarcasm and condescendence. She did grow up amongst nobility, after all. "Sounds rather dashing, doesn't it? Riding in on a shining steed."

The elf made an innocent comment about riding in on a griffon, to which she quirked her brow. At least he kept his remarks interesting. He proceeded to relate to her how he'd studied ancient ruins and the Fade, piquing her curiosity. "Every Great War has its heroes. I'm just curious what kind you'll be."

She ignored the backhanded remark and questioned him on his studies, though she was at a loss to how someone could willingly sleep among ancient ruins steeped memories of death and betrayal. She was too old to believe in ghost stories but she'd rather steer clear of sharing a bed with demons.

"I will stay then," the Mage concluded, "At least until the breach is sealed."

Ellie tilted her head slightly in question, "Was that in doubt?"

While she understood that he was an apostate surrounded by people who would rather clip his wings, she bet that for sure he'd want to stay, if only to sate his intrigue in the mysterious breach. She had been skeptical that he would be here for anything other than selfish reasons. The cynic in her always won out. But as long as he fought on their side, she would not dismiss him for his motives. At least, not for now.

But that didn't mean she wasn't going to keep digging. As she approached the subject of the rift again, he noted that whatever created it was an artifact he was keenly interested in. Even if his words were non-committal, she had a hunch he was more invested in his 'theory' than he wanted to let on.

"You don't think whatever created the Breach was destroyed in the blast?"

Solas gave her a look, "I will not believe it was destroyed until I see the shattered fragments with my own eyes."

And there we have it, folks, mused Ellie as she fought the urge to gloat, knowing all to well that denial usually only happened when someone was emotionally involved. But she felt the need to stir the pot one more time, "Whatever the artifact was or wherever it is now is not a priority at the moment."

He cleared his throat subtly, "Yes of course, the main priority is sealing the breach. Besides, it's a moot point. Leliana and her men have scoured the source of the blast and found no trace of the artifact."

So, he had already taken the initiative to have it found. Interesting.

"Well, Solas, I'm sure if it's still as in tact as you claim, it will turn up eventually. I did actually stop by to thank you for your help of keeping me alive while this mark was still spreading. It won't be forgotten," Ellie changed the subject with earnest. She was genuinely happy to be alive after all. "I'll talk with you later."

As they bid adieu, she regarded his eyes for split second. The windows to the soul. She had always sworn you could tell the most about a person by their eyes. And as she walked away, she was disappointed to not be able to read his clearly. It could have been a sign that three days of being knocked unconscious had made her rusty. But the thought of not being able to discern the underlying truth in his eyes at all worried her. She had gotten her answers about his motive. But she was certain there was more to it than that. That was seldom a good thing.

Ellie shivered involuntarily. Whether it was from the brisk climate or her train of thought, she didn't know. She wandered back down the steps toward a series of tents that were pitched, hoping to find a certain dwarf she had met along the mountain pass as well. Varric had done the opposite of give her bad vibes. In fact, in the short time she fought alongside him, she felt something of a kindred spirit in the fellow rogue.

And that chest hair! she mused, almost giggling at the thought.

He smiled a friendly grin at the Herald as she approached, standing up from the crouched position he had in front of the fire. "So now that Cassandra's out of earshot, are you holding up alright? I mean you go from being the most wanted criminal in Thedas to joining the armies of the faithful. Most people spread that out over more than one day," the archer teased.

"I'm just happy to still be standing here in one piece," Ellie admitted with a smile. It was half true at least.

"And I'm surprised you survived Cassandra's rage," he offered with a short chuckle. But then his expression turned a little more grim, "For days now, we've been staring at the Breach, watching demons and Maker-knows-what fall out of it. 'Bad for morale' would be an understatement. I still can't believe anyone was in there and lived."

Ellie ran a hand through her hair with a sigh, "Honestly, I can't believe it either. I wish I knew what happened. Why I had to be the only to make it out of there," she cast her gaze downward at the ground. She felt guilty for being the only survivor. Maker knows there was someone more worthy there than her to be saved. "It's not fair. Not to those who didn't make it," her voice held sorrow.

Varric seemed to sense there was more to the story than she was letting on, "What did bring you to the Conclave anyways?"

Her eyes snapped to his. She still wasn't too sure she wanted to divulge that yet or not. When it came to trusting people with her personal issues or thoughts, Ellie was beyond timid. Sure, her and Varric had hit it off already. But Ellie knew about the dwarf's writing hobby and she wasn't entirely sure she wanted this to be a topic for one of his novels. Time would have to tell with how trustworthy he could be in that regard. In the meantime, the art of telling half-truths was one Ellie was too fond of. "I… Was trying to get in touch with someone there. How I ended up in the centre of everything, I have no clue."

Apparently noticing her discomfort at the subject, he didn't push it further, much to Ellie's relief. Instead he offered condolences, to which she thanked him and he changed the topic, explaining why he decided to stay, even though the Seeker and him weren't exactly best friends.

"Whatever this Breach is," Ellie started, "It must be sealed. All I can hope is that this thing," she gestures to her hand, "Can assist with that. If not, I don't know what will happen."

Varric offered her a half smile, "I would suggest running at the first opportunity. I've written enough tragedies to know where this is headed." He looked up at her, and her grey eyes met his in understanding. Everyone knew the road ahead looked grim. But if they had even the faintest chance of stopping it, they needed to try. "Look," the dwarf's voice shook her from her thoughts, "If you're up to it, stop by here later and I'll save you a drink. The world might be going to shit, but we might as well not let good whiskey go to waste."

Ellie laughed, "After all of this, Maker knows I deserve a drink! I'll see you later Varric," she turned toward the gates, blowing a kiss in his direction as she was descended the stone staircase. She could here him chortling as she walked away.

If there was one thing she wanted to accomplish before the sun began to set, it was making her rounds to have real, one on one conversations with her new-found comrades. She barely knew them as it stood, but if they were to work together cohesively, despite normally working alone, she knew she needed to make an effort to change that. It's not like she was just another number in the ranks. Ellie was given a true purpose and responsibility to this movement. She might as well make what she could out of it.

With Solas and Varric out of the way, her next stop would be where the training grounds were. She didn't need a map to find them, just had to follow her ears out of the city walls.

She could guess that the Commander would be there and she mentally prepared herself for talking to him. The wooden gates creaked closed as she exited the Haven township, immediately spotting the curly blonde hair shining above a glorious, fur-lined duster. She absentmindedly wondered how soft it felt.

The duster, Ellie, not his hair… She reminded herself.

His back was to her as she approached him, steadily watching his recruits practice. "You there, that's a shield in your hand, block with it! If this man was your enemy, you'd be dead!" He growled at one of the soldiers, then turned to his lieutenant to give further instructions for their training.

It wasn't until she was standing right beside him that he noticed her presence. His golden orbs widened slightly at the realization, but quickly recovered, "We've received a number of recruits," he informed her, getting right to business, "Locals from Haven and some pilgrims. None made quite the entrance you did."

She noticed this the amusement in his tone as a smirk made its way across his scarred lip. "At least I got everyone's attention," she countered with her own playful tone, flicking her eyes to his. It was one of the first time he met her gaze and held it, making her stomach flutter ever so slightly.

His coy expression never faltered, "That you did."

Andraste's fat ass, that didn't help, she lamented to herself as the flirty banter, which she did not expect when she went to talk to him, caused her more delight than she wanted it to.

But as swiftly it began, Cullen returned to the original topic of discussion, "I was recruited to the Inquisition in Kirkwall myself," he began relating as he walked towards the other end of the grounds. Ellie followed, matching the man's lively pace. "I was there during the Mage uprising," he continued as one of his seconds handed him a report, evidently needing the scrawl of his name. Ellie remotely noticed the Commander was left-handed. "I saw firsthand the devastation it caused. Cassandra sought a solution. When she offered me a position, I left the Templars to join her cause. Now it seems we face something far worse." The Commander turned to face the woman.

"You mean with the Conclave being destroyed and the giant hole in the sky?" She let out a short, humorless laugh, and then looked down at her feet. Out of guilt or nerves, she wasn't sure. "Everything's a mess," she conceded quietly.

"You don't still feel you're the cause?" He asked in genuine concern.

The uneasy look she gave him spoke for her. "We will find out who or what did actually cause this, Lady Trevelyan," she held back a wince at the formal use of her name but did not correct him before he carried on, "Which is why, among other things, we're needed. The Chantry lost control of both the mages and the Templars. Now they argue over a new Divine while the Breach remains. The Inquisition could act when the Chantry cannot," the fervor building in the former Templars voice, "Our followers would be part of that. There's so much we could…" He stopped his sentence short, shaking his head, becoming self-aware to his own vehemence. "Forgive me, I doubt you came her for a lecture."

Ellie couldn't help but be charmed, the Commander's enthusiasm being a rather endearing quality. "No, but if you have one prepared, I'd love to hear it," she teased flirtatiously. Perhaps more forward on her part, but he didn't seem put off.

A soft chuckle escaped his lips, "Another time perhaps."

Her silver eyes locked with his amber ones, offering no other words, just simply a smile.

He held her gaze for a few seconds before breaking it shyly. He cleared his throat, grasping form something to say and Ellie could almost swear his face was turning a lovely shade of pink.

The Commander of the Inquisition? Blush? Absurd!

"There's still a lot of work ahead," he finally said. His attention was turned as one of his inferiors approached him for something. She did her best to hide the unsolicited disappointed feeling because of it. "As I was saying," he commented wryly, his smirk returning to his face.

She twisted her body so her back was to him as she made to leave, but not before craning her neck back to him one last time, "Oh, and Commander?" His focus instantly shifted back to her at her voice's use of his title, "Please call me Ellie. Lady Trevelyan is my mother." She winked at him and started sauntering back to Haven, remembering to swing her hips just a little as she walked onward, not looking back. If she had, she would have clearly seen the wide eyes of the Commander follow her figure closely, his mouth slightly ajar in both disbelief and awe, and a rosy flush of colour his face.