I had read poems and epics during my time in private schools… Some mentioned the "Din of Battle" and how it can resonate and undulate.

But I had never read those expecting to experience it myself.

Throwing my hands up to cast a shield against a volley of flaming arrows soaring through the sky. The shield protects the people around me as the arrows crack and shatter against the glasslike undulating surface.

I see the Inquisitor striding along near the siege equipment as it travels along towards the grand, weathered gates. As it gets there the Wardens along the walls hurl rocks, bricks, and boulders over the edge down at the troops escorting and swinging the battering ram.

Flaming projectiles rain down from the sky after being launched by the trebuchets on the cliffs. The push back on the ground is almost non-existent. They know they have the advantage by simply waiting for us to try getting in.

"Hey! You're going in with Inquisitor Lavellan as well right?" I turn to see Arry approaching me, "I wanted to talk with you before but… I don't know what to say. Because I meant what I said, but I guess I could've—"

"Honestly, it's okay. I'd like to talk too, but it should wait until we are done playing extras in a Lord of the Rings style fortress siege? I'm not upset at you over it anyway…" Okay… I'm maybe a little upset, but I can understand how what she said about the life I've have in fact made for myself here.

We march forward together to the Inquisitor, Cullen's squad, and the squad maneuvering the battering ram to the gates. I look to the sides watching the ladders swing upwards towards the battlements where the Wardens are ready for them.

The battering ram is swung backwards, then pushed forwards crashing into the ancient gate, already the wood splinters some and the metal warps.

Backwards…

Then crash! A crack between the doors of the gate is forced open.

Fueled by the change the troops swing it back again and shout as they launch it forwards, crashing through the gate making a gap large enough for three men to get through and then a battle starts. I march towards the mutilated gate and step through to join the battle. A handful of Wardens fights against the Inquisition troops who went through first, and a couple of demons are also a part of the fray.

I take a breath as the demons come into view. With the Rifts the demons feel different than these. These demons feel more… Tethered to this place, where demons from Rifts feel looser—less solid— in comparison. It must be the results of this ritual that the magister has the Wardens doing…

The fighting ends as the last of the demons shriek before melting into the ground. Then Cullen marches into the entrance of the fortress.

"All right, Inquisitor. You have your way through. Best make use of it." Cullen stops in front of the Inquisitor as I step closer to them both, "We'll keep the main host of demons occupied for as long as we can."

The Inquisitor keeps her back straight as she responds, "I'll be fine, I have reliable help. Just keep the men safe." She makes the plea sound like an order, but I know that all she wants out of this is to bring light to what is happening to the Wardens. To what Corypheus and the Venatori are doing.

Cullen's hard war-expression softens a hair, "We'll do what we have to, Inquisitor." He nods behind us, "Warden Stroud will guard your back. Hawke is with our soldiers on the battlements. He's assisting them until you arrive."

The shriek of a demon draws our attention to the battlements above us. An Inquisition soldier falls screaming to the ground from where a demon looks over the edge of the battlements and roars before moving on. The Inquisitor was right when she said this would be a bloody fight.

"There's too much resistance on the walls. Our men on the ladders can't get a foothold." Cullen realizes, "If you can clear out the enemies on the battlements, we'll cover your advance."

A part of me marvels at how quickly he was able to make the decision to ask us to help clear the way for the troops; I had still been thinking about the poor soul who fell to their death. But I suppose that's why he is the commander of the armies and not me.

Cullen looks over to me and in a soft voice says, "Don't take any unnecessary risks."

"You too, Cullen. Stay alert."

Cullen nods before heading back out to the main force to keep the demons preoccupied and make our advance smoother.

"Oooo." Arry whispers as she walks by me, which earns her a punch in the arm before the two of us, the Inquisitor, and Warden Stroud together move through an arch into the next available route.

We fight our way through the fortress, taking turns and stairs and more turns. We clear the battlements to make way for the troops, slaying dozens of Wardens along the way, and more demons. Keeping with her desires for her own troops the Inquisitor quickly stands down to allow a squad of Warden warriors to simply fall back to safety when they gave up fighting. But now we've just gone through a door into a courtyard, where on a balcony overlooking the space stands who I would assume to be this Warden-Commander Clarel and a sleazy-looking, greaseball of a man grinning sinisterly who could only be this Magister Erimond; who according to the reports was the one that Stroud tracked from the Western Approach to this location.

As we come into the space we watch Clarel slit the throat of another elderly looking Warden.

Then we catch Erimond's eyes, and he shouts to the Wardens who fill the courtyard, "Stop them! We must complete the ritual!"

Arry whips out her daggers and gets ready but the Inquisitor signals for us to stand down for a moment. I keep back, but I also keep a ready hand near my sword.

The Inquisitor steps forward, "Clarel, if you complete that ritual, you're doing exactly what Erimond wants." She pleads over the crowd of Wardens.

Erimond steps forward in turn, "What, fighting the Blight? Keeping the world safe from darkspawn? Who wouldn't want that?" Watching as he speaks I see his eyes scan our group, "And yes, the ritual requires blood sacrifice. Hate me for that if you must, but do not hate the Wardens for doing their duty."

"He is ready to die on this hill, I think…" Arry whispers to me as her eyes survey the Wardens looking between us and their Commander. I nod in response, not wanting to take my eyes off of the Wardens before us.

"We make the sacrifices no one else will. Our warriors die proudly for a world that will never thank them." Clarel passionately speaks out for herself as Erimond grins again, knowing he has thoroughly fooled the Warden-Commander into believing that this is to save the world from the darkspawn in a world where all the Wardens are supposedly being called to their deaths.

Stroud steps around to the Inquisitor's side, "And then your Tevinter ally binds the mages to Corypheus!" The crowd before us gazes at Stroud with the recognition of someone they know.

"Corypheus? But he's dead." Clarel's face warps into one of fear.

We watch as Erimond steps over a whispers to his Warden puppet, looking over at us as he speaks. Clarel rubs her forehead, the whole space anticipating what will become of the battle of words between the Inquisitor and the current hand of Corypheus before us.

Her hand drops and her face goes hard, "Bring it through." She orders clearly to the Warden mages. Erimond's grin returns as he sneers over at us in his victory, but he doesn't know the Inquisitor very well at all if he thinks this will make her give up.

The mages in the lower area of the battered courtyard pour magic into the shimmering that indicates a weakness in the Veil and a large Rift is formed in the middle of the courtyard. Beyond the wavering edges of the Rift I spot something impossibly huge shift on the other side.

The Wardens prepare for a fight with us and Arry spins her blades, I draw my swords and ready myself for what is sure to be a grueling fight with how outnumbered we are.

Hawke goes in front of us, "Please, I have seen more than my share of blood magic! It is never worth the cost!"

"I trained half of you myself! Do not make me kill you to stop this madness!" Stroud shouts to the hesitating Wardens.

"Listen to me! I have no quarrel with the Wardens! I have spared those I could! I don't want to kill you, but you're being used… And some of you know it, don't you?" The Inquisitor looks through the crowd of Wardens as they shuffle around a little.

"The mages who've done the ritual? They're not right. They were my friends, but now they're like puppets on a string." One of the Wardens looks around between us and his fellows.

"You cannot let fear sway your mind, Warden Chernoff!" Clarel shouts over the tense group.

A huff from Hawke before he looks up, "He's not afraid you are." He almost growls out, "You're afraid that you ordered all these brave men and women to die for nothing."

"I honour your bravery, my brothers and sisters. But this is not the way." Stroud speaks directly to the Wardens before us again, "You have been tricked."

In a turn of the tide, the Wardens all turn to their Commander above. She looks over them all, her previously strong expression fading, before turning to Erimond.

No longer making an effort to whisper he speaks plainly to her in his lies, "Clarel, we have come so far. You're the only one who can do this."

"Perhaps we could test the truth of these claims, to avoid more bloodshed." In a moment of what she used to be comes through and she speaks of ending the pointless violence. I spot Solas, Varric, and Blackwall enter the courtyard from the other side.

And in that moment, Erimond's face darkens, "Or perhaps I should bring in a more reliable ally." He turns from Clarel towards us, towards the Inquisitor, "My Master thought you might come here, Inquisitor! He sent me this to welcome you!" The slimy mage strikes his staff on the ground three times each strike issuing a shower of red sparks on the ground.

Then a piercing roar shatters the sky around us, followed by the ominous sound of large flapping wings. We watch as a dragon soars towards us, we all dive to avoid the red shattering of crystals it breathes down at us as it swoops over us and back around to land on one of the crumbling towers.

The sound of electrical magic draws my attention back to Clarel and Erimond. Erimond now lying on the ground twitching on his side. Clarel then launches an attack at the dragon which flies up and blasts the red crystal at her. Erimond recovers and takes off away from the courtyard as the dragon flies off. Clarel starts after him but stops and looks at the Wardens waiting for her command.

"Help the Inquisitor!" She shouts before racing after Erimond.

Battle erupts again as demons begin to emerge from the rift in front of us. Except this time, the Wardens join in the battle against the demons, rather than along side them. The fight with the terrors doesn't last long but the pride demon and its area of effect attacks make for more a delay than the Inquisitor wants and immediately as it falls, she races up the stairs. I race after along with Lashes and Hawke, as well as Stroud and Solas.

We run past parapets, and battlements, we destroy demons upon demons along the way, all the while the monstrous dragon swoops around and blasts heaps of red lyrium at us.

As we run sprint up some stairs I hear some shouting, we follow the Inquisitor around a corner to see Clarel marching down a shattered bridge towards a recoiling Erimond. She blasts him to the ground and comes around his back so that we are at his front blocking the way out and she is right behind him preventing him from doing whatever escape he meant for the end of the bridge.

Clarel shouts but I can't make out the words as we make a stand, ready for him to try escaping past us. We also begin to walk forward to meet the pair on the bridge.

"—to yourself, you stupid bitch." I only hear the last of what Erimond seethes at the imposing figure of Clarel. "All I did was dangle a little power before your eyes. And you couldn't wait to get your hands bloody!" Erimond cradles his midsection from the ground.

Even from this distance I can see the hatred in her eyes as she unleashes a wicked swath of lightning, blasting Erimond easily fifteen feet closer to us. He groans and convulses from the electrical power surely coursing through his body. Clarel marches strong towards him sneering in disgust at his convulsing form.

"You could have served a new god." Erimond weakly attempts to insult her choice.

"I will never serve the Blight." Clarel responds forcefully the disgust only growing plainer on her face.

We begin to close the distance towards them when the dragon they called an Archdemon lands behind Clarel and chomps down taking her entirely in its mouth before launching off again. The dragon lands on a tower behind us where we had come from before it whips its head around flailing Clarel before spitting her out onto the ground between us and it.

It snarls at us before it steps down from the tower.

Right now I really wish that Flemeth had taught me how to turn into a dragon…

Our group begins to back up, but I look back at the crumbling edge of the decrepit bridge.

But I still need to do something! I notice Clarel trying to crawl toward us bleeding in a way that can only spell her death. The dragon makes each step deliberate as if it knows we have nowhere to go. I hear Clarel's voice, but I can't hear the words past the thrumming in my ears as the dragon closes on us and steps over Clarel, it knows her fate is sealed just as we all do.

The dragon pulls itself back getting ready to pounce at us and just as it moves a blinding flash of lightning causes the dragon to tumble sideways.

We all dive to the sides as the dragon skids past us and over the edge of the bridge.

It careens over the jagged edge of the bridge, its grasping claws failing to slow it enough, and for a moment I feel relief.

Until I hear an unnerving crack before the bridge begins to rumble and quake.

I turn to look at the edge only to see it begin to fall away into the abyss below. We all scramble up, I grab Lashes and then Solas and with the Inquisitor, Hawke, and Stroud we begin to run towards the stable keep of Adamant.

Barely keeping myself upright as the bridge heaves itself apart we move forward.

Then my gut sinks as I see a large crack too far ahead begin to give away to gravity. The bridge collapses around us and then the flat piece beneath my feet slips away as we are left to fall freely into the canyon below.

The wind rushing around us I spot Arry. I reach out towards her, if I can at least reach her I can turn into an eagle and minimize injury at the very least.

Reaching out to her I can hear nothing past the air rushing around my face. My eyes watering as the wind blasts me, I squint reaching for Arry's hand.

Then a blinding flash forces me to close my eyes.

The unexpected sensation of being on a rollercoaster comes over me before everything stops. Then the wind is knocked out of me as I land. Also unexpected since I fully expected landing to near on obliterate me.

I open my eyes to find myself staring into an eerily familiar sickly yellow and green sky.

Groaning comes to my ears as I sit up to see Asleatia getting up, I also spot Arry and Solas not too far from me. But what is truly jarring is seeing Stroud and Hawke on a rock feature. Sideways and upside-down respectively.

"Where are we?" Stroud asks as he gazes around before noticing that the Inquisitor is oriented differently than him, "We were falling." He then brings his gaze to Hawke opposite of the Inquisitor.

"If this is the afterlife, the Chantry owes me an apology. This looks nothing like the Maker's bosom." Hawke quips.

Arry walks over and helps me up as Solas takes a few steps forward, "No, this is the Fade."

Shit.

The one place I was hoping I wouldn't have to go to until it was time to go home… And even then I admit that I had been hoping to bypass it entirely.

We all turn to face Solas, likely since we all know him to be the chief walking-encyclopedia on the Fade.

He turns back to us a moment, "The Inquisitor opened a rift. We came through… and survived." His gaze turns back to the unnatural sky, "I never thought I would find myself here physically… Look." I follow his gaze to a cropping of black spire-looking formations, "The Black City, almost close enough to touch."

I don't think it's anything I want to touch.

"This must be very exciting for you, Solas. Any advice you have on what exactly's going on would be wonderful." Asleatia remarks with a touch of impatient humour.

As if the question bounced off of him Solas ponders, "What spirit commands this place? I have never seen anywhere like it."

"That doesn't sound good coming from the resident Fade-wanderer." I comment.

"Soph… Isn't this…?" Arry comes closer to me.

"Yes. The place we wound up after the explosion…" I whisper back to her. "But so far as I'm aware, besides the people Corypheus claims to be a part of and the Inquisitor herself, nobody is believed to have been here physically.

"—haps it's because we are here physically, instead of just dreaming." Hawke finishes, I missed the first part whispering to Arry, but can guess easily enough what was said, "The stories say that you walked out of the Fade at Haven. Was it like this?"

"I don't know." She strides past Solas looking upwards, "I still can't remember what happened the last time I did this."

"Well, whatever happened at Haven, we can't assume we're safe now." Hawke says grimly, "That huge demon was right on the other side of that rift Erimond was using, and there could be others."

"Remember last time?" Arry whispers harshly to me.

"The hoard of spider things? Of course… I don't think I've forgotten a single moment of last time…" I whisper back.

"—main hall. Can we escape the same way?" Stroud asks about escaping, and that draws my attention quickly.

I like the sound of escaping this.

The Inquisitor looks towards the dark rift swirling in the sky of ochre and olive, "It beats waiting around for demons to find us, right?" She nods her head in the direction she is looking, "There. Let's go."

We begin at a steady but deliberate pace, often checking for footing before continuing. We come across a couple small groups of demons, but they are mostly wisps and lesser terrors, so our sizable group handles them easily.

Asleatia had asked Solas if he had any advice to offer… He only said that 'The Fade is shaped by intent and emotion.' Then he oh-so-helpfully explained that he wouldn't care to come here because it is likely a very strong demon rules this area. And remembering the monstrosity of a demon that we had seen through the Rift; I don't like the sound of it. And better yet, he added that it is likely 'some variety of fear.'

Yay. Because I'm not afraid of anything. Nope… Not a single thing.

He also mentioned to be wary of its machinations.

Oh… And that this is sure to be… Fascinating.

I beg to differ.

Every sound as we travel has my head turning, because every few steps there are sounds from farther away than us.

Pebbles shifting under weight.

Hissing just around the other side of that rock.

A shaky breath, just behind my ear.

If this is the same area we were in before, then we are deeper. Or maybe before my pain had been dulling any fear. Adrenaline would have been thick then… But now… Not as much.

We march up some stairs, but as the forefront of our group consisting of the Inquisitor, Hawke, and Stroud reach the top they all slow down to a stop. Cautiously the rest of us approach the top to see a woman in resplendent Chantry clothes, and a hat taller than any of the other Chantry folks I had seen.

"By the Maker, could that be…?" Stroud takes a couple of hesitant steps forward.

"I greet you, Warden. And you, Champion." The woman speaks with touch of a Fren— an Orlesian accent.

"Divine Justinia." Asleatia breathes as she takes in the appearance of the woman before us.

"As in the Divine who died at the Conclave?" Arry whispers to me and I shrug.

"From the little I remember of what happened at Haven, I thought you were dead." She remarks, and I spot Solas nodding a little.

"I fear the Divine is indeed dead. It is likely we face a spirit… or a demon." Stroud says confidently.

"You think my survival impossible, yet here you stand alive in the Fade yourselves." She sounds so serene in this place that is heavy with fear, "In truth, proving my existence either way would require time we do not have."

"Really? How hard is it to answer one question? I'm a human, and you are…?" Hawke quips at the woman.

"I am here to help you." She starts saying to Hawke but turns to Asleatia, "You do not remember what happened at the Temple of Sacred Ashes, Inquisitor."

Ever the quick minded, Asleatia says exactly what I was thinking, "The real Divine would have no way of knowing that I'd been made Inquisitor."

"I know because I have examined memories like yours, stolen by the demon that serves Corypheus. It is the Nightmare you forget upon waking. It feeds off memories of fear and darkness, growing fat upon the terror." She paces before us a little as she explains, but my mind rings at the words…

The Nightmare… That is what the glowing spirit had called what had tried to get Arry and I when we first landed here after the explosion in the apartment. A glance at her says she recognizes the name as well.

"I would gladly avenge the insult this Nightmare dealt my brethren." Stroud growls.

"You will have your chance, Warden. This place of darkness is its lair." The Divine-spirit-demon responds with kindness.

"Corypheus seems to have a lot of demons at his disposal. How does he command so many?" Asleatia asks the Divine I glance around trying to find the sources of certain sounds but also trying to keep myself in the conversation so that I don't get left in the dark because of my own inattention… With moderate success.

"I know not how he commands his army of demons. His power may come from the Blight itself. But the Nightmare serves willingly, for Corypheus has brought much terror to this world. He was one of the magisters who unleashed the First Blight upon the world, was he not?" Her face grows grim, "Every child's cry as the Archdemon circles, every dwarf's whimper in the Deep Roads… The Nightmare has fed well."

"Can you help us get out of the Fade?" Asleatia brings us back to the chief issue.

"That is why I found you. When you entered the Fade at Haven the demon took a part of you. Before you do anything else, you must recover it. These are your memories, Inquisitor." The Divine gestures and some wraiths appear immobile at first but soon noticing us and attacking.

The wraiths don't put up much fight, and before long the Inquisitor recovers the glowing orbs left behind. Each single one recovered reveals a part of something, and once she collects them all a vision enters my mind.

In the vision is a being I can only assume is Corypheus, his voice imposing and strong, in it the Divine is held captive by what look to be enchanted Warden mages. The Divine pleads with the Wardens, but her pleas fall on deaf ears, ears controlled by the monstrous looking man holding a sphere in his hand as he calls the Divine a sacrifice. Then it looks as though he is drawing something from the Divine.

Then the Inquisitor arrives on the scene, though she would have just been a Dalish spy attending the events of the Conclave at the time.

Next, with a look of defiance, the Divine frees her arm and swings it to smack the orb from Corypheus' hand sending it careening towards Asleatia. As she grasps the orb a flash overtakes everything, and the vision ends.

As my eyes readjust to the Fade everyone is shaking their heads and barely holding themselves upright.

"So your mark did not come from Andraste. It came from the orb Corypheus used in his ritual." Stroud who had been holding himself up by keeping his hands on his knees straightens up.

"Corypheus intended to rip open the Veil, use the Anchor to enter the Fade, and throw open the doors of the Black City. Not for the Old Gods but for himself." She turns to Asleatia, "When you disrupted his plan, the orb bestowed the Anchor upon you instead."

"I never thought Andraste did this. I did this myself, through my actions. No Maker required." Asleatia says and I glance at the faces of those around, both Hawke and Stroud seem confused, but Solas almost looks proud of her. This is something she had voiced to me once on the way here. But she had often avoided saying the doubt around others in the Inquisition out of concern that it would lessen the Inquisition in their eyes.

"And now you may be certain. You cannot escape the lair of the Nightmare until you regain all that it took from you. You have recovered some of yourself, but now it knows you are here." The Divine warns, and with the warning I feel my entire body tense at the thought of it now hunting us through his domain, "You must make haste. I will prepare the way ahead." Then without so much as a flash, she vanishes leaving the Inquisitor looking at nothing until she turn to face Hawke.

My mind turns to everything that happened the last time we were here… And how the warm golden light of that spirit had shown us the way to a rift out of the Fade. A rift that led Arry and I to Thedas, rather than home. It makes me want to feel apprehensive of the woman who had been there, looking like the Divine who had tried to levy peace between the mages and templars only to be sacrificed to Corypheus' ritual to crack open the Fade.

My thoughts ensnare me until raised voices draw me from my mind as Hawke growls, "Oh, I intend to."

I look between Hawke and Stroud, evidently I missed something, judging by the sudden resentment between them…

"Was that really the Divine? I never even saw her before…" I ask in attempt to distract from the obvious tension.

"I do not know. We have survived thus far. Perhaps she did as well." Stroud answers, "She seems interested in helping us. That much is clear."

"And what of the demon she mentioned? This Nightmare sounds dangerous." Hawke adds.

"Personally? I think that whatever this Nightmare is, it's the more important problem." Lashes agrees with Hawke's statement.

"She said it steals people memories… The ones most tied with fear… If she's right we'll probably find more answers as we moved forward." I counter to get us moving, and we do begin a steady pace forward the loose ground making it hard to keep my footing.

"Fear is a very old, very strong feeling. It predates loves, pride, compassion… every emotion save perhaps desire. Be wary." Solas warns again, "The Nightmare will do anything in its power to weaken our resolve."

Because mine is so strong to begin with…

"After what it did to my fellow Wardens, I pray we find some way to strike it down." Stroud says lowly, anger tinges his voice.

Every minute we stay here grinds on my senses, the smell burns my nose, the light tricks my eyes, the sounds fill the space around us…

"Ah, we have a visitor." A voice booming from everything addresses us, a voice that sounds like many all at the same time, but with one voice that sticks out… A voice that drains all other thoughts from my mind. A voice that even after all this time brings memories of cold metal around my wrists and searing lines drawn by a dagger.

Dorian Falis.

But that can't be right… Arry said that he was killed by Bull… He is dead…

A hand on my back causes me to jump, I turn to see Arry standing there. Her touch draws me back to reality… That man is dead. What I'm hearing is just the Nightmare using his voice to bring fear to my mind. Weakening my resolve…

"You think that pain will make you stronger? What fool filled your mind with such drivel?" A group of demons emerge from the landscape and begin to attack as the Nightmare speaks, "The only one who grows stronger from your fear is me. But you are a guest here in my home, so by all means, let me return what you have forgotten." The Nightmare says it with certainty that this will make Asleatia weaker… He doesn't know her very well.

As a group we dispatch the Nightmare's demons, before cautiously looking around again.

"Get fucked. This Nightmare isn't nearly as scary as I thought it would be!" Arry sheathes her daggers and pulls the greatsword from its sheath. "I've seen scarier creepypastas." The group just turns to give Arry a strange look, while Asleatia just grins a little and chuckles.

"These are but minor servants of the Nightmare." Solas announces in opposition to Arry's enthusiasm.

"Oh, Jesus Christ." I watch as Arry's expression goes from a fake smile to genuine irritation, "Just let me have this, okay?"

We move along, the odd group of demons attempting to stall us along the way. I hear the sound of a child whimpering before it screams causing me to nearly jump out of my skin.

A hand on my shoulder has me whip around, "You seem especially empathetic to the fears resting here, take care to not let them dwell in your mind. They are fears of events and terrors that have passed, you need not react to them." Solas gives my shoulder a squeeze and I nod at him.

"Thanks… I guess I really just dislike the Fade… Even when its just me dreaming. And this area is turning out to be a real example as to why."

"Keep your goal in mind, the Fade will shape itself to your intents. But it will also shape itself based on your emotions so keep strong."

"You obviously have more faith in my mental fortitude than I do."

Solas gives a small smile, "I believe you have exactly what you need to make it through this."

"As much as I like to disagree with this guy, he's right S-Gaelea. You got this." Arry pats my other shoulder.

Asleatia picks up a paper from a burning corpse.

"This is not familiar to me…" Solas comments, then the corpse erupts into a towering demon of rage. The battle is quickly over, but the heat of the rage demon lingers causing me to feel tired quicker than the other demons and the fatigue lasts longer.

"Perhaps I should be afraid, facing the most powerful members of the Inquisition." The Nightmare chuckles darkly, the way that Falis often would when I tried to defy him…

"Weak. You are so laughably weak, Arryn Eliza Mauntelle. You could not save him, and now you hide behind a counterfeit name, denying everything you trulyare. A coward. A weakling. A pathetic little girl who couldn't save the one she called her 'brother.'"

Arry only breathes a harsh huff, but her knuckles turn white as she tightens the grip on her greatsword. As I go over to her I catch that she is chanting under her breath, "Wear it like armour and it can't hurt you, wear it like armour and it can't hurt you…"

She jolts a little as I put a hand on her shoulder, "You got this." I say firmly, returning what she only just said to me. I try to sound stronger than I feel.

We turn to leave the dead end, but a fresh hoard of demons emerges from all around us, and we are forced to battle them to continue. Once we dispatch the demons we continue, most of us panting but still holding on fairly well as we move back down the stairs.

"Dirth ma, harellan. Ma banal enasalin. Mar solas ena mar din." The voice booms in what sounds like elven, obviously directed at Solas. But… This time it is almost as if the meaning flows through my mind, not like with the Dalish… Something about a lesson, or learning? And did he call Solas 'trickster?' Then… No victory? Your pride… Is…? No. Will be. Your death.

"Banal nadas." The meaning I feel there, feels like 'shut up.' But how did I know that? Is it because we're in the Fade? I learnt a little Dalish, but it was mostly just polite greetings and food names.

This Nightmare is truly relentless. With every breath he speaks in Falis' voice, my chest shudders a difficult breath and he is targeting the individual fears and regrets of our party.

We continue along, silent and preparing as we walk.

"Did you think you mattered, Hawke? Did you think anything you ever did mattered? You couldn't even save your city. How could you expect to strike down a god? You're a failure, and your family died knowing it." Another hoard of demons emerges to fight as the Nightmare hurls another barb sentence meant to disarm Hawke of his will to keep going.

"Well, that's going to grow tiresome quickly." Hawke grumbles as we finish off the demons.

"Those were little fears, tiny manifestations spawned from the Nightmare itself." Solas says referring to the smaller demons we just fought.

"And of course they look like giant spiders." Hawke states.

"I hate giant spiders…" Asleatia agrees.

"I saw whole swarms of dozens of kinds of spiders and bugs… Not just giant spiders…" I shiver from the image; I was happy to play the range-attacking mage this round.

"Remember, we walk in the Fade. Demons of fear shape their appearance to unnerve each of us." Solas informs us.

"Well… Isn't that comforting?" Arry jokes.

Coming around the next bend, we spot the Divine waiting for us.

"The Nightmare is closer now. It knows you seek escape. With each moment, it grows stronger."

More of the wraiths and other demons appear, and just as before the wraiths leave glowing orbs of memories for the Inquisitor to retrieve.

As she collects the last one a vision begins in a flash of light.

We see the Inquisitor climbing a near vertical staircase with the Fearlings close behind her.

"This is the Breach back in Haven. That's how we… how I escaped." I hear Asleatia say.

A flash of the Divine reaching out to Asleatia, shouting that the demons are closing in on her. Then the pair racing to the shifting shape of a rift. The Divine screams and Asleatia turns to see her being taken by the demons. Asleatia tries to pull the Divine back to her, to the rift, but the Divine lets her go, telling her to escape. Asleatia shrinks away from the demons still coming up the ridge before she dives into the rift.

We all come back to our sense as Asleatia wipes a small tear off her cheek, "It was you." The Divine before turns to fully face our Inquisitor, "They thought it was Andraste sending me from the Fade, but it was the Divine behind me. And then you…" The sadness from the memory flits across Asleatia's face, "She died."

The Divine smiles sadly, "Yes."

Somber looks colour the faces around me as it is settled that the Divine truly perished that day when the Breach was created. Something that had been in hopeful dispute has been proven for good.

"So this creature is simply a spirit." Stroud resigns.

"You don't say." Hawke bites out at him.

"I am sorry if I disappoint you." She says to Hawke, and he sports a look of regret for a moment.

Then the figure of the Divine begins to glowing, blinding for a moment before she leaves herself as a shining figure of golden warm light. Just the same as the figure who had helped Arry and me out of the Fade the first time.

"Are you… The same one as before?" I ask before I think better of it, Arry just elbows my side.

"No. Though there are few of us." She answers, her voice remaining a mirror of the Divine's.

"Are you… Her? Did you linger here to help me, instead of passing on?" Asleatia asks.

"If that is the story you wish to tell, it is not a bad one." The shining figure answer cryptically, not saying whether Asleatia was right or not.

"What we do know is that the mortal Divine perished at the temple," he turns to Stroud, "thanks to the Grey Wardens."

Stroud turns to face Hawke, the irritation plain on his face, "As I said, the Grey Wardens responsible for that crime were under the control of Corypheus. We can discuss this further once we return to Adamant."

"Assuming that the Wardens and their demon army didn't destroy the Inquisition while we were gone."

"How dare you judge us! You tore Kirkwall apart and started the mage rebellion!"

Hawke aggressively steps towards Stroud holding out a rigid finger pointing at him, "To protect innocent mages, not madmen drunk on blood magic! But you'd ignore that, because you can't imagine a world without the Wardens… even if that's what we need!"

Solas crosses his arms, "Agreed. The Wardens may once have served a greater good, but they are far too dangerous now."

I look over to Asleatia and she sighs before walking over to them, "This debate can wait until we're out of danger."

"Inquisitor…" Hawke resigns.

The shrieks of the Fearlings fills the area, "The Nightmare has found us." The Divine says before disappearing in a flash.

The Inquisitor turns to face the Fearlings, then Stroud and Hawke join her from behind, putting their debate to rest, for now.

"Form up!" Stroud shouts, to us.

"I'm with you." Hawke responds, and we start the fight to push forward.

More battling and more exhaustion, each leg of this race seems longer and harder than the last. We haven't taken any moments to breathe because each moment lost is a moment that could be the deciding factor of loss or victory, especially on the outside. And that weight only makes this all the more exhausting.

"Warden Stroud. How must it feel to devote yourself to the Wardens, only to watch them fall? Or, worse, to know that you were responsible for their destruction? When the next Blight comes, will they curse your name?" The Nightmare's voice echoes its jeers around us, baring any fear we each might have.

I watch Stroud grit his teeth and clench his fist, "With the Maker's blessing, we will end this wretched beast."

After a few moments of walking in silence the Nightmare chooses to target me.

"Sophi'Gaelea Mythalen, daughter of the proud and powerful Mythalen family, but disowned and lost too far from home with no way back." The harrowing voice chuckles, "Every bit as naïve as your parents knew you to be. Every bit as helpless as you know you are. You will never achieve your goal. You don't belong here and will never get back there."

The last words echo through my mind and my heart. The former are words I know to be true; the latter are words I don't want to be true.

I don't belong…

And I will never get home…

A hand on my shoulder causes me to jump, but then I see Arry's face. She smiles the same way she did the first time she helped me confront my parents after they disowned me. A reassuring smile that she always used when she didn't want to use words.

Around the next few bends groups of demons and deep stalkers attacks us. Then the next turn reveals the shimmering spirit that had taken Divine Justinia's form holding her hands up at a pulsing green ward meant to trap us in this place.

"Do you think you can fight me? I am your every fear come to life!" The jarring voice booms around us as we approach the ward and a group of Fearlings appear, "I am the Veiled hand of Corypheus himself! The demon army you fear? I command it. They are bound all through me!" The voice haughtily announces as we battle the Fearlings.

The calming voice of the spirit rings into the air, "Ah, so if we banish you, we banish the demons?" Her voice becoming an anchor for me to keep my head in the battle, "Thank you, Every Fear Come to Life."

Just as the last of the Fearlings are banished the Nightmare roars out his frustration at being goaded by the spirit. Then the green ward disappears, and I feel my mind lighten a little, I wonder whether the wards create that feeling of terror simply to keep us away from them… It is an effective tactic, for anyone lesser than the Inquisitor, the Champion, and Warden Stroud I suspect they would get trapped due to the feeling.

I'm pretty sure I wouldn't make it if the rest weren't all here. I would become lost in my fear and desperation.

We take a route leading upwards and I marvel at rock structures floating over the open area just down a cliff from us. We weave around rocks jutting out from the ground as the path levels out. Only to have our path interrupted by not one… But two pride demons. The group splits to fight them, Solas covering one group from the back, and I take to covering the other.

The two groups lead the demons away from each other so that the demons at least can't help each other. Arry slashing at it with her greatsword in lithe, powerful sweeps and Asleatia using her spirit sword against the demon.

I spot Solas fire off a boulder of spirit energy at the other pride demon. Carefully watching as he hurls another; I make a sloppy copy of his attack and heave it at the one I'm fighting. It crashes across the demon's face causing it to stagger backwards before finding its footing and turning a piercing glare towards me. It takes lumbering steps towards me, Arry attempts to draw its ire back to her without success and I match its steps by moving backwards.

The demon raises its hand gathering electrical energy, then it brings its hand up and whips it out towards me.

I hastily throw up a shield but prepare to be thrown backwards a little from the momentum the whip.

I wish I had more experience fighting pride demons! I would've seen that coming and could've prepared better.

The power of the electrical whip showers sparks over my shield and I feel myself get thrown off my feet and careen backwards. I can feel the electricity pulse through my arms leaving a numb sensation behind. I shut my eyes to stop the bright light from the electricity from blinding me.

Except that instead of a harsh landing on the rocky ground I feel nothing as I open my eyes to find that I've been thrown off the edge of the cliff we had been walking along side. I hear Arry's voice cry out as the sight of the rest of my group fighting rises past my vision. Before I can react and turn myself I feel the lurch as the non-gravity of the Fade slow me and plop me right onto the ground.

I roll onto my side to lift myself up but turn myself over right into a puddle of mystery water. Grumbling I stand up and gaze upwards where I can see flashes of light as the others continue to fight the pride demons.

I stretch my hands out trying to dispel the numbness from the electrical attack.

Then I notice how disturbingly close I was to being skewered by the horn on the nose of a dragon statue whose feet are right next to where I landed. If I had been a little closer I would've certainly died.

I gaze around to try finding a quick way up, but the cliff walls a too jagged to climb; I'll need to find another way.

"SOPHI!" The shout from above brings my eyes to Arry with her hands on the edge of the cliff.

"I'm here!" I shout back up to her, "And I'm okay!" As I answer the others come to the cliff's edge as well.

"We'll come to you! Don't go far!" Asleatia shouts down to me before they all disappear from the edge and suddenly the atmosphere of this place feels much more oppressive than a few seconds ago when I could still see them.

The looming structures floating haphazardly around.

The unsettling mist that flows over the marshy area.

Shadows that flit just at the edge of my vision no matter where I'm looking.

Ash floating in the sky from fires that burn in the nightmares of survivors.

The trickle of water, a splash around the other side of that towering rock.

A distant shriek echoing everywhere, the sound reverberating off of the rocks all around me.

The whimper of a child, a strangled gasp next to me…

Then a sound that is all too familiar, and yet so far in my memory that I almost pushed it from my mind as a trick of this place, until I hear it again. The blare of a car's horn. Maybe.

I follow where it might have come from. Looking ahead I can see that the marshiness of this area gives away to an eerie lake ahead, and behind a rock not far from me, I notice a pulsing green light. Focusing on what I heard, I hear even more. The clamour of rush hour traffic, a jet overhead, the sirens from an emergency vehicle… Sounds that, in my worst nightmares, I would never have heard again.

Even by his own words, the Nightmare had said—no, had promised— that I would never get home.

I slowly come around the corner of the rock, first I notice an empty long boat in the water not too far from the shore, and an abandoned rowboat closer.

But then… Right there… Only a few steps away is a Rift. I stare at the wavering shape edges of the Rift, and I can feel it, hear it clearer, almost see it…

I reach my hand towards it.

Past these torn edges of the Veil…

That's home.