Salem

I re-entered the cavern, listening to Burrow's happy bark as he rejoined our companions. I heard fast footsteps and smelled elfroot.

Wynne.

"Salem?" she asked. "Are..."

Delirious with relief, I embraced the senior enchanter. "The Ashes are real, Wynne." I told her. "They are real, and I have them."

Wynne stepped out of the embrace. "Praise the Maker." she breathed. "Salem, are you all right? Your leg is covered in blood."

I shook my head. "It's true." I could not control my excitement, my validated faith, and newfound hope. "The myths and legends are true. The Ashes healed the gash in my thigh, left nothing but a scar. I am fine, Wynne, truly."

"Your eyes?" she moved on, both caring and businesslike. "Have you..."

"I thought it best to see to Morrigan's needs first." I anticipated her question. "My blindness is...something I have become accustomed to."

I could feel Wynne thinking. The others avoided us, sensing the unpleasantness of the conversation to come.

"How accustomed?" Wynne asked. "I seem to recall a warden who spoke every day of longing for her sight, a warden consistently frustrated with what she felt were her shortcomings. What changed, Salem?"

I turned my face away, pursing my lips. I knew the answer; I simply did not wish to voice it aloud.

Wynne sighed, longsuffering. "It is Leliana, is it not?"

"Yes." my words were clipped. "It is one thing to know I am alone, Wynne. It is another to see the absence...ever since I lost my sight, I've seen her in my dreams and nightmares. I'm...I'm afraid..."

"You are afraid that if you regain your sight, you will stop seeing her all together." Wynne finished my thoughts. "She was the last good thing you thought you possessed, and you are afraid she will vanish entirely."

I laughed, bitter. "I sound like a plaintive child."

"You sound like a woman who has had everything she holds dear stripped away by a cruel world." Wynne comforted me, laying a hand on my shoulder. "But you must move on from this. There is still much to do, Salem. You will not be alone. While you may not share as deep a connection with the rest of us, we are still beside you in this fight. Please, do not disregard that."

"I do not, Wynne, I swear." I implored, trying to make her see this through my sightless eyes. "I value each and every one of you."

So much so that I am still breathing. But you will not know of that. None of you will. I cannot risk your belief in me.

"Thank you, Salem." Wynne patted my shoulder. "Let us tend to Morrigan, shall we?"

The senior enchanter took me by the elbow and led me towards the fire.

"How is she?" I asked.

"Not well." Wynne answered. "Even my spells have not been able to fully repair the damage. She is conscious, but still in a great deal of pain, and she cannot risk moving whatsoever. I am curious to see how these Ashes work. Are you certain..."

I exposed the tear in my pants, showing Wynne the scar.

"This looks old." she ran her fingers along my skin. "As though you had worn it for years."

"It was a gaping wound not a candlemark ago." I told her. "I am certain, Wynne."

"I refuse." Morrigan's voice met my ears, weak. "I will not be slathered in the ashes of a fictional savior."

"You have no choice." I informed her, reaching into my pouch and removing a pinch of the Ashes. Wynne handed me a cup of water and I mixed the Ashes into it. "I need you at full strength."

"Renewed...and invigorated...are we, warden?" Morrigan attempted her usual disdain, but it was broken by a hoarse cough and a low groan. "Ready...to slay...the rest...of the world's dragons?"

"I will do what I must." I held the cup to her lips.

The stubborn witch turned her face away and I frowned. I did not have time for this. I pinched her nose between my fingers. She gasped for air and I poured the water into her mouth, then pressed upwards on her chin, sealing her lips and forcing her to swallow.

"You bitch!" she shouted when I let her breathe. "How dare you!?"

I moved my hands as she launched herself upwards and struck me across the face. I fell back and laughed.

"Feeling better, Morrigan?" I asked, rubbing my stinging cheek.

"I..." shock entered her tone, "...I feel fine. No weakness, no pain...this is marvelous. What in hell?"

I smiled at her disbelief. "Does it matter?" I asked.

"I suppose it does not. 'Tis a marvelous discovery though. I am certain you intend to capitlize on this?" Morrigan asked.

I felt all eyes turn to me, questioning where we would go from here. "No." I said. "I will give Genitivi leave to spread the word. Ferelden needs healing. Thedas needs healing. We all need hope. I am not going to hide this away and use it for personal gain."

"Altruistic fool." Morrigan used her affectionate, derisive term for me. "Think of what you could do, Salem, the power you could wield. To cure any malady, heal any wound..."

"It is not my place." I remembered the fires of purification, how they had judged me and nearly destroyed me.

The power of the Ashes did not belong to its discoverer. They belonged to the world Andraste had perished while trying to save. They belonged to the ultimately worthy.

"I can think of none worthier." Zevran added his opinion. "It could be useful, Salem."

"She has already made her decision in this matter." Sten spoke, authoritative. "It is not for us to judge."

"He's right." Wynne agreed with the qunari. She pressed a cup into my hand. "It is time, Salem. You know this as well as I. You can no longer delay the inevitable."

I mixed the ashes with water once more, lifted it to my lips, and drank. Please, I begged with the silence of my thoughts, do not let this take what little I have left of her away from me.

Clean, pure light rushed through my body. Pain speared through my right side before fading. The area was no longer numb. I placed my hand against the skin, feeling the stitches Leliana had left there disintegrate and new scars form. Bruises faded and my exhaustion lifted.

"Salem," Wynne's voice, soft, "it is time, child."

I'm afraid. I opened my eyes. They burned as light filtered into them, as colors appeared and objects took shape. Darkness receded and my head began to ache as my lost sense was restored.

"Well?" Morrigan arched an elegant brow. Except for the state of her clothing, the witch looked none the worse for wear.

"I can...see." I looked around, at all of their faces, into all of their eyes. All but one.

My heart hurt, as I had known it would, at the concrete, irrefutable evidence of her absence. I almost wish I had remained blind, I thought for a brief moment. I love you, Leliana. I wanted the first thing I gazed upon to be your beautiful blue eyes. I had pictured it all...a loving look, a rapturous kiss...but these things are not to be mine. I am unworthy, in more ways than one.

Wynne knelt beside me and squeezed my hand. "Are you well, Salem?" she asked.

"In body." I replied, unable to say more. "And for now, that is all that matters. If we are all able to travel, we should get back to the others and start for Redcliffe. We have wasted enough time as it stands."

"I emphatically agree." Morrigan lifted her satchel and twirled her staff.

The others busied themselves with preparations; it was not long before we were ready to leave. I left my armor behind in the cavern. It was too damaged to salvage.

As are my clothes, I grinned. Little more than rags now. What would my mother say, could she see me in such a state?

I looked at my companions and set my mouth in a firm line. Once more to assume the mantle of leader. Burrow came to my side and rested his paw on my foot. I looked down at him, smiling.

"Ready, boy?" I asked and he yipped. I inhaled deep, sighed, and gave the order. "Move out."