I wrote this out of boredom, and it ended up being three chapters long, this being the first. It's not my best, but I hope you get some fun out of reading it. I'll update daily.

They had gone into the cave seeking the word wall, and artifacts to take back to Thedas to examine. A rented cart waited outside for the group to return while they explored the cave, shivering as the ice coated the walls. Even further in, while the ice receded away from the mouth of the cave, it was still frigid. Dorian was the most vocal about his discomfort, cursing the fact he had ever stepped foot in this Maker-forsaken country. The only thing they had going for them was the spiced wine, in his mind.

Cassandra coughed and cut down cobwebs, a pile of draugr behind them. "Why in the world did they not cremate them?"

"We don't usually have to," Vidar grunted as he hoisted ancient armor off one of the draugr, "we don't have demons or spirits here to possess them."

"The draugr you see here were cursed for their allegiance to their dragon masters. They committed atrocities in life, and this was the price." Tanya added. Sera shuddered.

"So...they're undead, but the person who they were is still there. Not moving on. That's just..." She made a whining noise. "That's just wrong."

Vivienne wrinkled her nose. "Punishment for them is danger for us. This seems hardly an appropriate manner to punish them. Wretched things."

Solas shrugged. "I don't know," he said bitterly, "forced into such a state only to sleep and awaken to find the world a drastically different place forever certainly seems like a cruel punishment to me."

Bull wasn't paying attention as they entered the Hall of Stories, whistling as he took in the faded stone. "Damn fine architecture, considering it's thousands of years old. Look at these murals; they should be faded by now. Maybe magic?"

As the others went to investigate the walls, Serana, Tanya, and Vidar headed to the puzzle door. Serana held up the dragon claw and read off the combination to Tanya, who moved the rings into the appropriate positions. The vampire handed off the claw to the Dragonborn, who fitted in the claws and turned it. The door creaked and dust came off in clouds as it lowered into the ground.

The Inquisitor held her breath and moved forward, waving away any debris in the air. Squinting, she peered forward and waved a hand. The others followed her lead, and a few hallways and doors later, they found themselves in the main hall holding the Word Wall. Bats fluttered off of the ceiling at the light, and particles of dust in the air were visible as their torches were held up.

The walls were still solid and strong, and a single black coffin waited at the other end by the word wall. Tanya could feel it calling to her, even from that distance. She bristled and began walking forth. "Brace yourselves," she warned, "there's certainly a draugr in that casket that will attack as soon as I learn from the Word Wall."

The mages cast several mines around the sleeping draugr. Dawn in particular smiled deviously as she cast a powerful fire mine, knowing it would explode in a glorious eruption. The rogues trained their weapons towards the casket. The warriors held their weapons out, ready for the fight.

Tanya approached the wall. A word came to life and surrounded her; she allowed it and closed her eyes as the new word burned into her mind, clear as day. The mage breathed in and smiled as she reached for her staff, ready to fight the draugr waiting for them.

As expected, the top of the black stone casket popped off, and a heavily armored draugr pulled himself out, glowing eyes on the Dragonborn. He reached for a heavy greatsword at his back and set foot on the ground below; anyone close enough jumped back as the mines were set off. The resounding boom left their ears ringing, and when the dust settled and they looked up, they saw the draugr still standing. His armor had been broken off, and a leg was coming loose from its socket, but he was still up.

"Fus...Ro Dah!" he Shouted at the Dragonborn, who yelped and slammed against the word wall, wincing. She silently thanked Akatosh for making her Dragonborn; had she not been, the impact of the Shout's energy and the wall could have killed her. Snarling, she pulled herself up, staff burning with fire. It was a Draugr Death Overlord.

Great. "Careful!" she yelled, bolting away as the undead monster tried to swing at her with the greatsword. "He's a draugr death overlord! His Shouts get you, you could die!"

"Aav dilon!" it shrieked in outrage. The mages switched to fire spells and barrier casts repeatedly while the warriors danced around the creature, swinging their weapons and dodging wide strikes as the draugr spun around. The rogues, save for Cole, kept at a distance. After ten solid minutes of whittling away its health, Sera let out an angry cry.

"It's not fucking dying! Why isn't it dying?!"

"It's a draugr deathlord!" Tanya shouted back. "They take forever to kill! We're actually making really good time!" She inhaled deeply, ready to Shout. The warriors scurried out of the way of the shout as Tanya held it in, and as soon as they were out of reach..."Yol Toor Shul!"

A gout of fire came from her mouth, and the draugr screeched as the flames burned him away. The loose leg fell off, the last tendons burning, and he fell down, screeching out in pain and outrage. It growled, seeming to realize that it had no chance of surviving the encounter. The draugr's head reared back, readying itself for one last Shout. Tanya knew immediately its intentions and used one word of Whirlwind Sprint to carry herself out of the way.

Unfortunately, there were still others behind her; Dorian, Vivienne, and Sera were in the line of the draugr's Unrelenting Force Shout. The Inquisitor's eyes darted between them and the hard stone wall behind them, where the Shout would throw them. Her heart raced, and she panicked, charging forward, pulsing with magic. Fade Step and a spell to cause force, not unlike the Unrelenting Force shout, but weaker.

Using what force she had, she shoved them aside, causing the three of them to fall back and on their rears. The moment they looked up, they saw the Shout hit Dawn. She flew like a ragdoll across the room and crashed into the back wall, hard. She let out a cry of pain and crumpled to the ground, dazed and disoriented from the pain.

"Inquisitor!" all of the others screamed in unison, save for the downed woman. Vidar growled and slammed into the draugr with his shield, and Cassandra finished him off by stabbing him in the throat. The draugr gurgled before its eyes stopped glowing and it went limp, permanently. Bull beheaded the creature to ensure it would not rise, and with no further wait, the entire party scrambled to the Inquisitor's side.

Dorian fell to his knees, shaking Dawn as she looked up at him bleakly. "Dawn? Dawn, can you hear me? Can you see me? Where does it hurt?" He shook her shoulder, white in the face with terror. "Please, please, talk to me, say something!"

"I'm so sorry!" Sera yelled, tears springing from her eyes, hovering over her. "Don't die! Don't...don't be a hero and die on me! Dawn? Dawnly, get up! Get up!"

The Inquisitor moaned and blinked slowly, wincing in pain. Vivienne shoved Dorian aside and inspected the woman, just as worried as the others, and barely holding it together. She looked in her mouth and winced at the sight of blood. She pulled back the armor around her back and saw black and blue, and bones that could be seen through the skin in positions they should never be in. The enchantress inhaled sharply. "She's very badly injured. We have no time to waste; we need to get her to the College of Winterhold. Someone has to be able to help there."

Bull grimaced. "Several of her ribs are broken. She looks like she might have flail chest."

"If she punctures a lung, it's over." Cassandra agreed. The seeker was kneeling over the herald, shaking. "We'd never have enough time to reach the mages."

"Her breath's shallow," Vivienne murmured, feeling her own heart begin to stop. She turned to Tanya in a hurry. "You! You need you use your Fast Travel spell. It's our only-" She stopped as Dawn coughed up blood, shuddering. The mage, even in her disoriented state, looked incredibly pained as she spat up the blood.

"I can't, not all of you," Tanya whimpered, "I can only carry myself and one other person when I fast travel, and I'm not strong enough to carry her!"

"You have to try! Use your magic!" Blackwall snapped. He looked down to the Inquisitor and shook his head. "No...no, no-"

"The mages may not be able to save her," Serana interrupted, stepping forward, "she's hurt. I can smell her blood...but the Herald cannot die, not yet, while there's rifts in your world. There's..." She exhaled sharply. "There's one way to ensure she lives."

Everyone recoiled at the suggestion, staring at her in horror, save for Cole. Cole nodded slowly. "Yes," he agreed, "she can't die. You can save her."

"No," Cassandra blurted, shaking her head, "no, you can't... she can't..."

"She will die if she does not turn her, and we're running out of time." Solas snapped. "This is unfortunate, yes, but better a vampire than dead. We cannot lose her!"

Tanya stepped forward, huffing. Dorian, Cassandra, and Varric already knew what she was going to say, and already a look of defeat hit their faces.

"There...is a cure for vampirism. Serana could turn her and then we could cure her." Eyes turned on the Dragonborn for explanation. Tanya's voice almost caught in her throat. "I-I was infected not too long ago, and they took me to a mage named Falion, in Morthal. He did a ritual that cured me of vampirism, and...she promised not to tell anyone. We have to do this."

Vivienne looked between Dawn and Serana, mortified. "How can you be certain that vampirism will save her? How can it-"

"Not just vampirism," Serana interrupted, "Vampire Lord vampirism. My blood is more powerful than a normal vampire's. I can save her. Do you have any other suggestions? Do you want your friend to die?"

A moment of silence fell upon the group until Dawn coughed up more blood, wheezing short, pained breaths. Silently, Vivienne and Sera stood and stepped away from Dawn, looking to Serana. Dorian moved aside, still clutching his friend's unmarked hand. Cassandra breathed in deeply and exhaled, nodding.

"Do it."

Eyes fell upon the vampire as she stepped forward and knelt down to the Inquisitor, her fangs seeming to lengthen. "I'm sorry," she murmured to the herald, "I'll try to make this as painless as I can."

"I'm here," Dorian added, squeezing her hand, "it's going to be alright. I'm sorry...this is all my fault." He paused as Serana leaned over her neck.

"Yeah," Sera agreed shakily, "we're here for you, Herald. I'll...I'll still be your friend, even if you're fangy."

"We'll get through this, darling," Vivienne muttered, "no one will have to know about this. You sacrificed yourself for me, and I'll do everything in my power to right this."

Serana's fangs sank into the Inquisitor's neck. Briefly, Dawn gasped and her eyes shot open. Then they closed as she fell unconscious unceremoniously, head rolling back. Serana sniffed her and stood up. "The blood's taking her, fast; it won't be long. She's lucky she's unconscious...vampire transformations are not easy."

"It's already not easy," Sera whined, "it's probably not much worse than what she was already suffering."

Bull grunted. "The boss is strong. She'll get through this..." They all silenced as, miraculously, the bones began to mend, moving under the skin; the black and blue was fading into a snow white. Dorian ran a hand up her arm and sighed.

"She's already turning ice cold. You're right; she's turning fast."

Cassandra sighed as Vidar picked the woman up. "Will she be of any danger to us? As a new vampire?" the seeker asked apprehensively.

Serana shrugged. "Fledgling vampire lords have more self-control than normal vampires, but it all depends on the vampire's own willpower and self-control."

"She's strong," Cole murmured, "she won't hurt us. She wouldn't. She'd rather die than cause hurt."

"Nevertheless, I'll stay with her in the cart we brought for loot. You can ride ahead of us; before we go, though, I think I should go hunting. She's going to be thirsty when she wakes up." She pulled an empty blood potion bottle from her pack. The others blanched at the sight of it, but no one protested. Varric shrugged.

"Better some woodland animal than one of us."

Vidar gasped as Dawn twitched and convulsed briefly, wincing in her sleep. Her fingers twitched, and the mark flared. Cole frowned. "Even in her sleep, it hurts."

Cassandra turned to Tanya. "Please use your spell to get to the advisors. They need to know what's happened, and that the Inquisitor is getting the cure. Do you have-"

"I have them." Serana interrupted. Tanya nodded and used her spell, popping out of sight.

By the time they got outside, night had just finally fallen, the sun barely having dipped into the horizon. Dorian laid out a blanket in the cart, and Vidar laid the Inquisitor on the blanket, who continued to twitch, and even thrash, every so often. She moaned in her sleep, sounding pained. It particularly stung Dorian, Sera, and Vivienne to hear. Sera huffed and looked over the side of the cart, down at the Inquisitor.

"We're right sorry. Please stop hurting."

Vidar's eyes widened slightly, and he stepped away from the cart, shaking his head. Serana finally turned back to the Inquisitor and waited a moment. The Inquisitor began whimpering pathetically, writhing in agony as the curse spread through her system, reaching her heart. Sera reached out to her and didn't breathe for a moment as the Inquisitor reached for her hand and held on tight. The elf exhaled. "We're here, Dawnly. We're here. Please..."

She began to stop writhing; she stopped movement altogether briefly, which drew the panicked looks of the others. Sera gasped as her hand went limp and would have fallen out of her grip if the rogue wasn't holding on so tightly. Serana held a hand up to the others, moved in, and inspected her. After checking her pulse, breath, injuries, and eyes, she sniffed the air and exhaled.

"The transformation's done. She likely will be unconscious for the next few hours, but she's a vampire now." she confirmed.

"Already?" Solas murmured, looking down at the Inquisitor. "That was...well. I hope she takes it as well as she can when she awakens."

"She's in for a horrid shock, my dear," Vivienne scoffed, "I would be shocked if she could take this well in any way, shape, or form." After a few more moments, and reluctant looks back, the others headed for their horses. They had no time to waste if they wanted to reach Morthal by sunrise. Sera, Vivienne, and Dorian stopped and came back to look over their friend as Serana hurried off to kill a creature for its blood.

Cole came back as well, and they silently looked upon their leader. Sera shuddered. "Feels like one of those carriages they put dead people in. But...but she's not dead. Not really. She's gonna be all living soon, anyways."

"That's right, Sera, darling," Vivienne agreed, "she's not dead, and never was at any point in time. And anyone who claims otherwise or talks about this to anyone is a fool."

"Yes, let's keep this under wraps. No one needs to know about this." Dorian added. He reached in and put a hand on her forehead. He frowned as the Inquisitor flinched at his touch, forehead wrinkling in her sleep. "Vishante kaffas, she's freezing. Poor woman..."

Serana darted back, potion jar in hand, which was filled to the brim with crimson blood. Cole sighed. "The elk...she died so she could live."