Hey, guys! It hasn't quite been a week yet, but it's close enough for me. I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Dragon Age.

Chapter Two: Confusion

Waking up, she realized she was in chains and surrounded by people pointing swords at her and another woman. As she sat up, there was a sharp pain in her back and she realized she had a pounding headache. What happened? She looked closer at the woman beside her. She had blonde hair surrounding a pretty face and…pointed ears?

She returned her attention to the people with weapons. "Where am I?" She asked. "Why am I chained? I haven't done anything." She was shaking. It was freezing in there. The room was damp and cold and looked much like a dungeon. Everyone dressed in old age clothes. Or armor? Yet, here she was dressed in a short blue dress that she wore to her sister's birthday party, which is now covered in dirt and grim. She was so confused right now. What happened to the creatures that were chasing her.

"You shouldn't waste your breathe, shem, they won't tell you anyth-ahh!" The woman's hand suddenly glowed green as she cried in agony.

Irina jumped and moved away slightly, she couldn't move very far, though. The woman looked to be in pain. "Um, are you okay?" She asked while keeping her distance.

"Leave me alone." The woman growled at her.

Irina was going to say something else when a door opened and two more women entered the room. One, with short dark hair and carrying a sword and a shield, made her way over to Irina and the woman with the pointy ears and walked around them as if she was trying to size them up or intimidate them. The other, who was wearing a hooded cloak, stood in front of them, leaning against a wooden column as if preparing to watch the show.

When the woman with black hair spoke, her accent sounded almost French. "Give me one reason why we shouldn't kill you now. Both of you." Irina looked to the woman with the pointed ears, she didn't say anything. "The conclave is destroyed, everyone who attended is dead. Except for you two." The woman beside her still didn't say anything, so Irina did.

"I don't know what you're talking about. What do you mean everyone's dead?" She reached for the other woman's hand and picked it up roughly.

"Explain this." She commanded of them while holding it in the air.

"I can't." Was the woman's simple response. The black haired woman looked at Irina.

Irina's heart was beating so fast now. This woman had a freaking sword for crying out loud. She could kill her if she wanted. "I-I don't know." She was worried that if she said the wrong thing, she may do just that.

"What do you mean you can't?" The woman with the accent was getting agitated.

"I don't know what that is, or how it got there." Pointy-ears told her. "The shem clearly doesn't know either."

"I-I don't." Irina stuttered.

"You're lying!" The woman shouted as she forcefully grabbed the pointy-eared woman by the shoulders.

The other woman jumped in then. Pulling her back she said, "We need them, Cassandra." Her accent was the same as Cassandra's. So, her name was Cassandra, Irina thought. Need to remember that.

"What are you gonna do?" Irina asked with a shaky voice. She wasn't sure if it was from the cold or fear. Maybe both?

"Do you remember what happened? How this began?" The woman in the hood questioned.

Irina started shaking her head and was about to speak, when the other chained woman spoke. "I remember running. Things were chasing me and then…a woman?"

"A woman?" She crossed her arms.

"She reached out to me, but then…"

Cassandra must have had enough, because she moved in front of the hooded woman. "Go to the forward camp, Leliana. I will take them to the rift." Rift?

As Leliana left, Cassandra removed the chains that were connected to the floors but left them in the ropes that bound their hands.

"What is a rift?" Irina inquired.

"It will be easier to show you." Turning around, she left us to follow after her.

Irina let the other woman go first, and followed behind her. She was happy to be on her feet, maybe the blood flow will warm her up some now. When they made it to the door, both prisoners had to cover their eyes. They must have been in there a while because the sun was blinding. When Irina uncovered her eyes, she saw why she was so cold, it was snowing. What the hell? She has never seen so much snow before, she was from Florida. It doesn't snow in Florida.

Rubbing her arms to try and gain back some warmth, she scanned some of the buildings. "Where are we?"

Cassandra answered. "We are in Haven, but that does not matter now. What matters is that." She pointed to the sky.

Holding back her shivers, she looked at what Cassandra was talking about. There, in the sky, was a giant green hole. Wait. Wasn't that bigger?

"Why is it so much smaller?" Irina asked.

Cassandra looked at her with a confused expression. "We call it 'the breach'. It's a massive rift into the world of demons and it gets larger with each passing hour. It is not the only such rift, but it is the largest. All was caused by the explosion at the Conclave."

"An explosion can cause that?" The other prisoner asked.

"This one did. Unless we act, the breach may grow until it swallows the world."

"But wasn't it-," Irina was going to say bigger but she was interrupted by a cry of pain from beside her. The other woman's hand had started glowing again. This time Irina didn't back away, she kneeled beside her, and touched her shoulder, trying to provide as much comfort as she could with ropes tied around her wrist. However, when she touched her, her hand began to glow a bright yellow color. She jerked her hand away and the glowing was gone. Neither of the women seemed to notice. She wasn't sure she wanted them to. Not with how they were reacting to the other woman's green, glowing hand.

"Each time the breach expands, your mark spreads, and it is killing you. It may be the key to stopping this, but there isn't much time." Cassandra explained.

After the shock wore off, Irina looked up at Cassandra. "I don't understand. It was much bigger before."

"That is not possible. It has only gotten larger. Not smaller."

Irina saw no point in arguing right now. "How can we help?"

"The mark. It may be able to close them. You don't seem to have one though."

She glanced down at her hand again.

"You think we were responsible for this? You think I would do this to myself?" The other woman questioned.

"Not intentionally. Something clearly went wrong."

"And if we're not responsible?"

"Someone is. And the two of you are our only suspects." Irina didn't know why she was a suspect, all she did was wake up in a dungeon. "If either of you want to prove your innocence, this is the way."

"So, we don't really have a choice about this, do we?" Irina stood up straight, staring at the other woman. That was kind of selfish to say. If she could close that thing, she would gladly help. She will help now.

Irina caught Cassandra's gaze. "I don't have a mark, but I will do what I can."

Cassandra gave her a small smile and looked at the other woman, "None of us has a choice."

She roughly picked up the woman and grabbed both of them by their arms. As they are led down the small gravel road, people turn glare at them.

"They have decided your guilt. They need it." The other woman was glaring back at them. Not Irina, she understands. She watched her family die. She watched them get torn apart by…demons. That's what Cassandra said, wasn't it? She didn't blame them for hating her even though she had nothing to do with any of this. They didn't know that. "The people of Haven mourn our most Holy, Divine Justinia, head of the Chantry. The Conclave was hers. It was a chance for peace between the mages and Templars." Irina had no idea what any of that stuff was, but seeing as Cassandra didn't let her continue asking questions about where she was earlier, she decided that she better hold off any more questions until later. "She brought their leaders together, and now they are dead. We lash out, like the sky, but we must think beyond ourselves, as she did. Until the Breach is sealed." She reached for the dagger that was in her belt, and cut them loose. "There will be a trial, I can promise no more. Come it is not far."

"Where are you taking us?" The woman asked viciously.

"We must test your mark on something smaller than the Breach." She grabbed what looked to be a blanket off of one of many tables they passed and handed it to Irina. Irina took it and held it out to get a better look. It was a cloak.

"Thank you," Irina sighed with relief. She didn't know how much longer she could stand the cold. Though it wouldn't keep her completely warm, it would do for now. She wrapped it around her shoulders and they took off down the bridge that they had stopped on.

At the end of the bridge were two double doors. Cassandra yelled for the soldiers to open them and led the others through.

They were walking as fast as they could, passing barricades and more soldiers. The farther up the mountain they went, the more lost Irina felt. She didn't recognize anything. She knew that she was being way to calm for this. But she was probably better off here than where she was before all of this. Cornered in an alleyway with nowhere left to run.

She pulled the cloak tighter around her body. She was going to freeze before she got to where ever they were going. They were only walking for about two minutes. To distract herself from the cold, she decided she should try and get to know the woman with the pointy ears better. After all, she was the first person she saw when she woke up and she doesn't even know her name.

"I'm Irina." She introduced and held out her hand. The woman looked at her funny so she quickly put it down. "May I ask your name?"

"Why do you care? I'm an elf. A Dalish elf at that." Now it was Irina's turn to look at her funny.

"An elf?" Is that why her ears were pointy. She has got to be joking, elves aren't real, right?

"Yes, an elf. What else would I be? Or would you prefer the term knife-ear?" she glared threateningly at Irina.

Whatever, she will find out the truth later. "Oh…n-no. I would still like to know your name, though." Irina gave her as polite a smile as she could with how cold she was.

The 'elf' eyed her for a moment. "Ellana." She simply answered and turned her attention back to the road ahead.

Irina didn't want to test the waters any further with her so she simply stated her own name and looked to Cassandra instead. "Is it possible for you to tell me where we are exactly?"

She scrunched her eyes a little. "I told you we are in Haven."

"Yes, but where is that exactly?"

"The Frostback Mountains. Where else would it be?" She looked confused now.

Irina stopped in her tracks. "I'm sorry. I don't know where that is." It was all finally starting to kick in. She was lost and surrounded by people who walked around the open with swords and shields and bows. Of course, she was glad to be out of the predicament she was in before, being trapped in the alley, but the more she saw, the more she wishes she were back there. At least there she knew where she was.

"I have never heard of that place before. I'm from Florida. I was at a birthday party when this stupid hole appeared in the sky and it was bigger. It was spread across the entire sky." She said all of this really fast, hoping that someone might be able to explain things to her. She was starting to hyperventilate.

Cassandra and Ellana stopped in front of her. Ellana sneered at her. "Florida?"

"Wh-," Cassandra stopped her.

"Look I don't know who you are or where you're from, but right now, we have business to attend to." She paused. "Calm down, and we will address any problems you may have later." She turned on her heel and continued walking up the mountain.

Irina just nodded and followed her, remaining quiet the rest of the way.

After another couple of minutes, they reached another bridge. As they were crossing, Irina felt the concrete below her feet begin to crumble. The next thing she knows, she is on the ground below and her back in even more pain. The entire bridge was gone. She looked up to see a hand. It was Cassandra, offering help. She took her hand and when she stood up the 'Breach' threw a demon into the frozen lake.

"Stay behind me!" Cassandra commanded while pulling out her sword and running towards the demon.

Irina and Ellana stand back and watch as Cassandra expertly fights the demon. Irina is amazed at how Cassandra seemed to know exactly where the demon was going to strike next. She had never seen a fight like this except for on teleivision. Just then, two more demons were thrown into the lake directly in front of her and Ellana.

They backed away slowly, unsure of what to do. Out of the corner of her eye, Irina could see Ellana run for something. When she turned to see, see saw Ellana with two daggers in her hand. Where did she get those? Irina thought. Ellana started fighting one of the demons. The other demon was ignoring the others and heading straight for Irina.

"Grab a weapon and fight!" Ellana screamed at her.

Irina looked where Ellana got her own weapons and saw that there were plenty more scattered on the ground. It must have been a crate full. Irina looked back at the demon and just stood there. She has never used a weapon before, how can they expect her to fight a demon with one.

"I can't fight like that!" The demon was edging its way closer and Irina was starting to freak out. It now had its claws raised ready to strike her. She closed her eyes and lifted her hands to shield herself. As she did this, she could feel a slight burning and tingling sensation in her palms. Just as she opened her eyes a ball of lightning flew from her hand and into the demon. She jumped back and screamed as the demon thrashed trying to escape the pain. Within seconds, the demon falls to the ground in nothing but a pile of ash.

She looked at her hands. "What the hell was that!?" She could definitely say that she wasn't cold anymore.

Ellana and Cassandra had killed the demons that they were fighting. Ellana stood in front of Irina. "You're a mage?"

"A what?" She was still staring at her hand.

Cassandra marched over and held her sword up to the other two women. "Drop your weapon. Now." She told Ellana. She looked at Irina. "You. Put your hands down."

Irina listened right away but Ellana wasn't as compliant. "I need this weapon."

"You're right," she said, sheathing her own sword. "You look surprised. Did you not know you were a mage?" She asked Irina with her eyebrows furrowed.

"I-I don't know. I didn't mean to do that. I didn't know I could do that. What's a mage?"

"Don't lie to me." Cassandra stepped closer until she was directly in her face. "I will not tolerate misused magic."

"Misused? I didn't know that I could do that." Irina argued.

"That is not possible." Irina didn't know what else to say, she had never done that before.

"I'm not lying." That was the only argument she could come up with. Cassandra watched her for a second, probably trying to determine if she was telling the truth or not.

"If you really didn't know, then you need to be careful. Keep your hands down. We will have a talk the first chance we get." She started walking away and turned around at the edge of the lake. "I should remember that neither of you tried to run." The other two continued to follow her.

Farther up the mountain, they could hear fighting.

"We're getting closer to a rift." Cassandra mentioned.

"Who's fighting?" Ellana asked her.

"You'll see soon. We must help them." Cassandra stopped Irina when the fighting became visible. "You should stay here until it is clear."

Irina nodded and watched as they jumped into the fight. She stood back and watched as the other two helped the soldiers below fight off the horde of demons that were coming from the rift. As she observed the fighting, she remembered when it all started. She had felt the explosion. It shook the entire city. She remembered running out of her sister's party, with her sister holding on to her arm, and police and demons were everywhere. The police were trying to shoot all of them but the demons were coming out too fast for them to keep up.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when another 'elf' grabbed Ellana's arm and held it up to the rift. "Quickly, before more come through."

Irina made her way over to them and stood behind Ellana as she spoke to the other man.

"What did you do?" Ellana questioned with shocked look on her face.

"I did nothing. The credit is yours." He answered referring to her mark.

"You mean this?" She inspected her hand.

"Whatever magic opened the Breach in the sky also placed that mark upon your hand. I theorized the mark might be able to close the rifts that have opened in the Breach's wake—it seems I was correct."

Cassandra moved closer. "Meaning it could also close the Breach itself."

"Possibly. It seems you hold the key to our salvation."

"Good to know! Here I thought we'd be ass-deep in demons forever." They all turned towards the voice. About ten feet in front of Irina stood a short man wearing a shirt that showed off his crap load of chest hair.

"Varric Tethras: rogue, storyteller, and occasionally unwelcome tagalong." Then, he winked at Cassandra. Irina guessed that Cassandra didn't approve of him very much.

"Irina. Nice to meet you, Varric."

"Ellana. Nice crossbow." Oh. She's pleasant with him.

"Ah, isn't she? Bianca and I have been through a lot together."

"You named your crossbow Bianca?" Irina chuckled.

"Of course. And she'll be great company in the valley." So he was going with them.

"Absolutely not. Your help is appreciated, Varric, but…" Cassandra rejected.

"Have you been in the valley lately, Seeker? Your soldiers aren't in control anymore. You need me." Cassandra made a disgusted scoff and turned away from him. Yep, Irina thought, definitely some tension there.

Then, the other elf…man…whatever he is, appeared beside Irina. "My name is Solas, if there are to be introductions. I am pleased to see you still live."

"He means, 'I kept that mark from killing you while you slept,' and," he looked at Irina, "'I kept you from bleeding and freezing to death while you slept'."

"Bleeding to Death?"

Varric cleared it up for her. "Yeah, you had a nasty burn on your back and your head was banged up pretty bad as well."

"Oh, then I should say thank you. Although, it would have been nice to have something else to wear after I woke up."

"What were you thinking coming to the mountains dressed like that anyways?" Varric asked her.

"Well, it wasn't exactly my choice. I have no idea how I got here."

"Really, now? I'm sensing a story here." He said with a maniac grin.

Solas intercepted anything else that was going to be said. "Never mind any of that now. You can thank me if we manage to close the Breach without killing your friend here in the process."

"She is not my friend." Ellana felt the need to make that known. She was no friend to humans.

"Right. Cassandra, you should know: the magic involved here is unlike any I have seen. One of your prisoners is a mage but I doubt she had any part in this. Indeed, I find it difficult to find any mage having such power." There is that word again, Irina thought. Mage.

Cassandra glanced at the prisoners, then back to Solas. "Understood. We must get to the forward camp quickly.

"Well, Bianca's excited!" Varric exclaimed as he followed Cassandra.

Irina stayed in the back while they fought their way through more demons and another rift before they finally, reached another gate.

They entered and made their way to Leliana, who was standing with a man in robes close to the end of the walkway.

"Ah, here they come." He announced as they got closer.

Leliana looked relieved. "You made it. Chancellor Roderick, this is-"

"I know who she is." Referring to Cassandra. "As Grand Chancellor of the Chantry, I hereby order you to take these criminals to Val Royeaux to face execution."

This must have made Cassandra angry, because she quickly became defensive. "'Order me'? You are a glorified clerk. A bureaucrat!"

"And you are a thug, but a thug who supposedly serves the Chantry!"

This time Leliana argued. "We serve the Most Holy, Chancellor, as you well know." She corrected him.

"Justinia is dead!" He yelled. "We must elect a replacement, and obey her orders on the matter!"

Irina jumped as Ellana forced herself in the conversation. "Don't talk as if I'm not here!"

"Neither of you should even be here!" He pointed at both of them. He turned his attention back on Cassandra. "Call the retreat, Seeker. Our position here is hopeless."

Cassandra leaned on the table that was between her and Roderick. "We can stop this before it's too late."

"How? You won't survive long enough to reach the temple, even with all your soldiers."

"We must get to the temple. It's the quickest route."

"But not the safest. Our forces can charge as a distraction while we go through the mountains." Leliana suggested. Irina thought that plan was better. But they won't want her opinion.

"We lost contact with an entire squad on that path. It's too risky."

Roderick made another attempt to stop them. "Listen to me. Abandon this now before more lives are lost!" If they don't do this even more people will be lost, Irina thought.

No sooner had she finished that thought when the ground beneath them shook. The Breach had grown bigger and now, Ellana's hand was glowing again.

Cassandra to her. "How do you think we should proceed?" She was asking her. Apparently, Ellana thought that to be weird also.

"Now you're asking me what I think?" Ellana said so harshly that Irina flinched a little even though it was not directed at her.

"You have the mark." Solas said.

"And you are the one we must keep alive. Since we cannot agree on our own…" Cassandra explained.

Ellana took a moment to think it through. Just when it seemed like she was going to answer, she looked at Irina, who was standing by her side waiting. "What do you suggest?" Ellana asked Irina while shifting around uncomfortably. She must have had a hard time with that. Irina had half a mind to tell her it was her decision and refuse to help, but she was not like that. She was too innocent to be rude to anyone. Even if they are rude to her.

"I think that we should take the mountain path. The faster we get this done, the faster the fighting ends."

"Right. Of course. You heard her." Ellana told them.

Cassandra did not approve of this decision but she accepted it and turned around to face Leliana. "Leliana, bring everyone left in the valley. Everyone."

As they walked towards the mountain path, Roderick put in a final word. "On your head be the consequences, Seeker." Irina glanced back at him and sneered. She doesn't sneer much but that was rude.

They were walking along the mountain path when they saw another rift and some soldiers still fighting. Irina once again had to stay behind as the other left to fight.

When the rift was sealed, Irina made her way to the group.

"Sealed as before. You are becoming quite proficient at this." Solas was saying to Ellana as Irina joined them.

"Let's hope it works on the big one." Varric mentioned.

Irina was helping a soldier up as Cassandra helped the lieutenant.

"Thank the maker you finally arrived, Lady Cassandra. I don't think we could have held out much longer."

"Thank the prisoner, Lieutenant," she gestured to Irina. "She insisted we come this way."

"The prisoner? Then you…?"

Irina gave her a small smile. "I was hoping that maybe someone was still alive up here. It was worth the trouble."

"Then you have my sincere gratitude." She said. Then she saluted her in a way that Irina has never seen before.

"The way into the valley is clear for the moment. Go, while you still can." Cassandra commanded her.

"The path ahead seems to be clear of demons as well." Solas informed them.

"Let's hurry before that changes."

They hurried to their destination.

Solas announced it as the Temple of Sacred Ashes. This must have been where the explosion took place. Everything looked like it had been burned. There was ash everywhere.

"This is where you both walked out of the fade and our soldiers found you." Cassandra told Ellana and Irina. "They say that a woman was in the rift behind you, but no one knows who she was."

Irina gagged at the sight of the charred bodies that seemed to flood the area. She and Ellana were alive, yet all these people were dead. How? When Irina could tear her gaze away from the bodies, she looked up and immediately had a flashback. They were now facing the biggest rift yet. She guessed it was the main one connected to the Breach. It looked exactly like the one that blocked Irina's path back in her home town.

"The Breach is a long way up." Varric stated the obvious.

"You're here. Thank the Maker." It was Leliana. She and more soldiers had come up behind us.

"Leliana, have your men take up positions around the temple." Cassandra moved in front of Ellana. "This is your chance to end this. Are you ready?"

"I am. I don't know how you expect me to reach that, though." Ellana responded.

Solas wasn't having her negativity. "This rift was the first. And it is the Key. Seal it, and perhaps we seal the Breach."

"Then let's find a way down. And be careful." Cassandra sighed. She pulled a dagger out from behind her back and held it out to Irina. Irina looked at it questioningly then at Cassandra. "There will be a fight. There is nowhere for you to stand out of this one. If you truly did not know you were a mage, then you need something to protect yourself with."

"But…I don't know how to use it."

"Just find a way to protect yourself." Cassandra said as Irina slowly grabbed the hilt of the dagger. Irina had never killed anything before save for maybe a fly or a cockroach and that demon that she accidently killed.

Irina stayed at the top of the steps with a few soldiers as the rest made their way to the rift. She could see them talking once they reached it but she could not hear them until Cassandra gave the order for everyone to get ready to fight.

This was it. Ellana was going to close the rift. As she lifts the mark towards the rift to close it, she is thrown to the ground by a humongous demon that jumped out of the Breach followed by many smaller ones.

The archers beside Irina started firing at any demon they had a shot at while Irina stood there gripping Cassandra's dagger tight enough that her wrist was starting to hurt. She kept telling herself that she will be able to kill one if it made its way to her but she wasn't so sure. She was watching the fight closely. Everyone was fighting with all of their strength. The bigger demon was steadily wiping people out one by one. She saw Ellana run up behind the bigger demon with her daggers at the ready. Just before she reached the demon though, it swung its thick arms back to swing at another soldier and Ellana was thrown into a wall. The demon must have noticed that it hit something behind it because it turned towards Ellana. It held its position until it saw Ellana move. She was trying to stand back up but she had a major cut in her leg.

Irina was watching from the top of the stairs as Ellana tried to drag her body to reach her daggers. The demon was above her before she knew it. Irina's grip on the dagger weakened as she felt the tingling in her hands again. She looked at her hands and saw the sparks. Dropping the dagger, she pointed her hands at the demon and this time, a string of lightning flew from her hand to the demon. The chain was never ending. Then, as the demon fell, she lowered her hands and the lightning stopped. She looked back where the demon fell, and saw Ellana starring at her. When Ellana noticed Irina looking back at her, she nodded her head in thanks. Irina nodded back.

Ellana, being under the rift, lifted her own hand to close the rift. It took so much out of her, that she was knocked out almost instantly.