Thanks for the reviews, as always! I definitely enjoy writing Sera (I enjoy writing many of them). I wish it were easier to fit all the little pieces of characters I love in that I want. Not that I won't keep trying (*cough* Fenris)
In this episode, Theo flips out a little, and Ash and co. awaken in the weird dream sequence that is the Fade. The main plot advances!
Theo was experiencing the strangest disconnect he'd had in a long while. He had watched Ash disappear over the edge of the imploding bridge, and yet she could not have. She couldn't be gone. He'd just gotten here, and now she falls to her doom? Because of a clumsy dragon?
White noise buzzed in his ears as he started to rush from the fortress to the remains of the bridge. He could only hear the pounding of his heart. Something pulled on his arm and he was spun back around to fall to his knees. He was caught. He tried to tear his arm away and keep moving. He had to see if he could still save her.
The something on his arm took hold of his shoulder and shook him so hard his teeth clanked together. Some rhythmic sound echoed against the curtain of white noise. He brought his hands up, gathered a ball of electricity, and slammed them down onto the arms holding him. The electric jolt made the grip go slack. He broke free again and scrambled to rise. A weight smashed him back down to the ground, blasting the air from his lungs. He was pulled backward and put into a grip of iron that immobilized his shoulders and neck. The same rhythmic sounds echoed next to his ear. No… Not echoes. Words being repeated.
"Calm, Theolan! Calm down! It's Cassandra, damn you," the Seeker's hold on him was like iron. "Stop fighting!"
He stopped, but was tense in her arms with his legs half pushing against the ground and his fingers coiled into her gauntleted wrists.
"Cassandra…" he was breathing deep and fast from the struggle, "let me go."
"You cannot go to the precipice," she demanded as she helped him to his feet. "It is unstable."
"I have to help my sister," he maintained.
"She's not there," Cole was standing behind the Seeker.
"What? Where is she?" she turned. The moment Cassandra loosened her grip on Theolan, he bolted for the fortress. She cursed and ran after him. They sprinted down the stairs and to the courtyard where battles still raged from demons coming through the open rift left by the Warden ritual. Theo encased himself in ice and burst past a foe to hasten toward his goal, leaving the Seeker further behind. He leapt over chunks of masonry and finally reached the rubble from the collapsed bridge.
He scanned for any sign of Ash, of anyone. He raised his hands and directed magical energy through them. The energy hefted a massive chunk of rock, one after the other, tossing each to the side. He grunted from exertion. A headache sparked and started to pound with each boulder he moved.
Movement to his right drew his eye. Cassandra was pulling at another piece of rubble nearby. She scowled at him. He smiled back.
"I said she's not there," Cole walked up behind them.
"It seems the spirit is correct," the Seeker tossed aside another chunk. She looked at Theo. "There is no one here."
The elf exhaled heavily as he released a boulder from his magic and let it tumble noisily down the pile. He shook his head in confusion.
"But… she has to be somewhere."
"I saw her fall through the green," Cole continued. Theo looked sharply at him.
"Into the… do you mean the Fade rift?" he clenched his fists and looked around. "Where is Solas?"
"He… also fell," the rogue seemed sheepish.
"What?"
"They are all gone," Cassandra straightened and adjusted her sword belt. "The Inquisitor. Solas. Sera. Blackwall. Hawke and Stroud."
Theo ran his hand over his hair, smoothing it back away from his face. The sounds of battle were distant, but constant. He looked to the Seeker, who was watching his internal debate with a wary expression.
"I can't just wait here. What if she is trapped?" the idea made his stomach ache. Cassandra reached out and put a gauntleted hand on his.
"You are new to this, but trust me. The Inquisitor has a way of defying the odds," she was unexpectedly reassuring.
"I am not good at waiting," he retorted. His eyes fell to the scorch marks on her gauntlet. A fuzzy memory floated back of casting an electric charge at whatever was holding him earlier. He looked up sharply into her face. She raised an eyebrow at his sudden shock.
"I hurt you earlier. I am sorry for that," he reached out and grasped the tarnished gauntlet. Cassandra snorted in both amusement and surprise.
"You were not yourself."
"Still," he shook his head. He gave her a small smile. "I usually only hurt with intention."
"Perhaps more than I needed to know," she remarked dryly. She looked back over her shoulder. "We should help them. The demons still come."
"Go, then," Theo turned from the destruction. "I'm going to find Dorian and see what he can figure out about this Fade."
The pressure changed around Ash once she fell through the portal. The colors around her turned a strange collection of grey-green. She lost her breath and watched helpless as she continued to fall, then suddenly slow, upside down, until she was motionless a foot from the ground.
"What…" she began, reaching out to touch a rock with her finger. As soon as she made contact, all her weight came back to her and she flopped down hard. "Ouch…" She stared up into the strange miscolored sky. Chunks of the earth floated above and to the side of her. She couldn't tell which way was up. Ash sat up quickly and looked around. Unnatural pools of moss green liquid gathered sporadically under gray cliffs and stone outcroppings. She gritted her teeth against the ache in her legs and stood.
"Ash…"
The elf turned and saw Solas climbing to his feet behind her.
"Solas!" she reached out and took his hand. He squeezed her fingers as he looked around himself in awe.
"This is fascinating," he breathed. "Not exactly the area I would have chosen, of course. But to physically walk within the Fade…"
"So that's what this is?" she snorted in disbelief. He glanced sideways at her.
"Do you still not remember? From when you were here before?"
"I… No. I can't," she admitted. She looked around. "Are we the only ones here?"
"I don't know. I don't think so," Solas mused. A rift like the one that used to be above Haven swirled in the distant sky before them.
"We'll just have to start looking," her hand fell from his as she walked forward. He watched her boldly stride forward and a smile tugged at his lips.
They walked for a short while. The world around them was confusing at best. Dark glittery columns of rock rose into the sky into another 'ground,' so that Ash wasn't certain if she should be standing where she was or above her. Likewise, isolated streams of water fell upward… or downward? Veilfire lanterns peppered the landscape, casting their eerie chartreuse glow around them. Alien red plants grew from the edges of the grey-green water, like spindleweed.
"I don't understand the logic of landscape here," Ash said in a perturbed voice. She stopped at a flat stone that jutted vertically. An ornate table set with food and drink stood atop it, part of a forgotten room that looked like it had plunged into the Fade and stayed frozen. The table was set with meats and fish, and on two separate plates, bleach white skulls.
"It's unexpectedly beautiful, is it not?" Solas stopped next to her.
"Beautiful and weird," she agreed dubiously, then shot him a grin. "My favorite kind." He chuckled lightly. They continued a few more paces as the ground sloped down and opened wide to an expanse of small pools and rock outcroppings. Stone stairs rose to a new area in the distance. Ash thought she saw the green light of demons flitting around in the distance.
"How strange that we should end up here together," the elven mage mused.
"Hopefully not alone. I doubt we were the only ones to not escape that falling bridge," she said ruefully.
"If so, I'm sure they are here somewhere," Solas continued. "But if I must be stuck here with someone, there is no one else I would have chosen."
Ash stopped walking. She looked sideways at the mage. He was gazing at her and gave her a small smile when she turned his way, then continued to explore the world around him. She lowered her eyes to the ground and huffed a quiet laugh.
"Do you know, you're probably right. It's the Fade, after all."
Sudden sounds of battle snapped their attention toward the distant stairs. Ash's eyes narrowed.
"Come on!" she started into a sprint with Solas close behind.
Relieved laughter bubbled up her throat at the sight of Sera loosing an arrow as she leapt back from a group of demons and onto the stairs behind her. Stroud, Hawke, and Blackwall were engaged in melee below her. The group had encountered a few floating green demons and felled them just as the pair of elves reached them. Stroud was sheathing his sword when he saw Ash and Solas approach.
"Inquisitor! We thought you must be here somewhere," he greeted her. The Warden whirled around as Stroud spoke. His battle-weary expression melted into relief.
He closed the space between them in a few long strides and grabbed Ash in his arms. She gasped with surprise, then laughed and embraced him in return.
"I saw you fall," he murmured into her hair. "When we didn't find you, I wasn't sure if you had made it."
"I see we're beyond not trying to keep our… whatever it is, us, secret," she quipped.
"Secrets be damned." He lifted her off her feet and kissed her fiercely. Hawke raised an eyebrow and muttered something about privacy. Stroud looked uncertainly from Sera, who was distracted with feverishly staring at the world around her, and Solas, who was leaning against his staff and frowning down at his hands.
The Warden finally set Ash down, but he held possessively to her hands. Her cheeks were flushed. She cleared her throat and tried to sound assertive.
"Well, then, at least we've all found ourselves in one piece."
"One piece in the frigging Fade," Sera added. Her voice was strained with anxiety.
"Either way, I'm glad you're here," Hawke walked over and reached out to grasp Ash's hand. Blackwall reluctantly released her. "This place isn't as I remember the Fade, though. What about you? Anything you recall?"
"Nothing to speak of," she shook her head. "I haven't been able to remember anything from that day at the Conclave."
"Well, it's already clear we're not safe here," the Champion frowned. "That huge demon was right on the other side of the rift Erimond was using, and there could be others."
"Shitballs, fuck, shit," Sera ranted to herself. "Crap, Fade, shit, arse, demons, crap!" Solas furrowed his brow at her.
"Really?"
"We've been searching for the place where the main hall from our world might be," Stroud told the Inquisitor. "There is still a rift there. We might be able to escape through it."
"Better than staying here," Ash nodded. "Who knows what's lurking around?"
"Yes, please. Let's get the hell out of this hole," Sera agreed.
"Careful, child. Hostile emotions only draw the demons more quickly," Solas chided her. She made a strained sound.
"Why would you say that?!"
"It is only a warning," he shrugged. "I would guess that the demon who controls this area is extremely powerful. Some variety of fear. I suggest we all remain wary of its manipulations and prepare for what is certain to be a fascinating experience."
Sera looked at him like he had vomited on her. Ash hid her smirk from the archer and patted Solas on the back.
"Come on, then. I imagine while we dally here, they're still fighting back at Adamant," Ash adjusted her armor. Blackwall was still looking at her, reveling in her survival. She smiled at him and jerked her head toward the stairs. "Shall we?"
The group traveled through the strange upside-down land, felling demons when they appeared, keeping as quiet as they could otherwise. Oddities continued to pop up, of strange scenes plucked from someone's life, with stories and mysteries that piqued Ash's interest. With each secret she found, she glanced at Solas, and he back at her. It reminded her of every story he had shared with her of his forays into the Fade. But something was sinister about this experience. Ornate columns holding up nothing grew out of stone outcroppings with inhuman faces carved into them. They walked through what seemed like slices of a castle that abruptly ended and began with no rhyme or reason. There was no ceiling to any room, yet no certain sky above them. Sera put it succinctly when she demanded at the horizon to figure out which way was up. Of course, it didn't oblige.
Ash led them up another set of wide stairs. She could see curved fingers of stone curling inward and reaching to the sky, from which a strange light burned, like an orange sun hiding behind dark clouds. Her hand flew to her axe handle as a figure appeared before them. It took the form of an elderly woman clad in the long white, red, and gold robes of the Divine. Ash's eyes widened. The woman stood as if waiting for her, and smiled.
"By the maker, could that be…" Stroud's voice was reverent.
"I greet you, Warden. And you, Champion," the Divine said softly.
"Divine Justinia?" Ash spoke the name without truly believing what she was seeing. The woman continued to smile bemusedly. "Okay, I'm confused now."
"Now?" Sera asked.
"Back at Haven I saw… I thought I saw… How can you be here?" the Inquisitor fumbled.
"She's not," Stroud said firmly, sadly. "I fear we face a spirit… or a demon." The woman who could be the Divine spoke.
"You think my survival impossible, yet you are here alive too," she said in her quiet, clear voice. "In truth, explaining my existence would take time we do not have."
Hawke raised a hand as if she were in a classroom.
"Eh, surely you can understand our concerns and explain what you are?" she pressed. The Divine, or the spirit, clasped her hands in front of her.
"I am here to help you," she said. "You do not remember what happened at the Temple of Sacred Ashes, Inquisitor."
"What of it?" Ash felt sheepish to admit it to the woman. It was creepy that she would know even that much of Ashiril. The spectre of the Divine nodded.
"The memories you have lost were taken 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. The false Calling that terrified the Wardens into making such grave mistakes? Its work."
"Frigging great," Sera cursed under her breath.
"I would gladly avenge the insult this Nightmare dealt my brethren," Stroud's voice shook.
"You will have your chance, brave Warden. I am here to help you. Inquisitor, when you entered the Fade at Haven, this demon took a part of you. Your memories. And you must recover them before you move on."
Ash looked at her companions.
"Well… that's seems reasonable enough. Where do I start?"
The wizened figure inclined her head in a nod and gestured slowly to the area ahead of them. Floating green demons flitted about, each guarding a shimmering orb.
"They guard your memories. And so, you must reclaim them."
"Ah. I do love a target," Ash unhinged her axe. She motioned her companions onward. "Come on, then."
They defeated the guardians easily enough. The Inquisitor was not fully convinced they were true guards so much as demons that happened to be drawn to the orbs like a hapless insect to a light. With each piece, Ash recovered a fragment of memory, until she stood reflecting on the entirety of that fateful day from months before.
She could see not just her own memory, but also the Divine's. She saw Divine Justinia held aloft, arms outstretched in the magical shackles of surrounding Grey Wardens. She watched as the towering form of Corypheus approached with his orb, glowing green with some alien power. The orb Solas had said was of elven origin. Ash watched in the memory as she barged through the door, looking more intimidating than she remembered feeling. She almost laughed. She had been horrified to open that door to what seemed like a cult ritual, replete with a dozen armored cultists and one freakishly terrifying leader.
Divine Justinia didn't hesitate. Ash saw again in the memory as the Divine slapped the glowing green orb from Corypheus' hand. She watched herself race toward the bouncing object, watched the Venatori's grotesque eyes widen in anger and fear, saw her hand make contact with the orb…
The scene burst into white nothingness and Ash jolted out of the memory. She recounted the scene to her companions.
"So, your mark did not come from Andraste," Stroud frowned. "It came from the orb Corypheus used in his ritual."
"He meant to use it to enter the Fade. He meant to become a God himself," the Divine explained. "But you disrupted that plan."
Ash snorted with laughter.
"I knew it. This was all just happenstance," she shook her head. "I'm not the Herald. I never was. Alright, so now I've got that. What next?"
The Divine smiled eerily and motioned to a cavern ahead.
"The lair of the Nightmare awaits. You must make haste, though. For now, it knows you are here."