Cassandra shooed the healer aside and sat down at the edge of Rush's bed. She gently took one of her hands in her own, "Our soldiers found you near the rift - they say you've… walked out of one of them. Do you know what happened?"

Rush lifted her head with great effort, and looked down at her hand. The one Cassandra was holding oh so carefully.

It glowed green.

Her eyes widened in horror, "What… What the hell is that?!"

Cassandra sighed. "We don't know. We thought you might have an idea."

But Rush only shook her head, "I… I don't…" Her head hurt just trying to think about it, "Spiders. Spiders were chasing me. And then, there was a woman. I think."

Cassandra looked at her for a moment without saying a word, then nodded in understanding and stood up. "Can you stand? We are needed at the forward camp."

"Camp? What's going on?" Rush rose from the bed, shaking all over from exertion.

Cassandra hesitated, but then only sighed, "You will see soon enough. It's… easier to show you."

-rushing-ahead-rushing-ahead-rushing-ahead-

"I hear fighting ahead!" Rush called out, blood pumping through her veins from the last skirmishes. Against demons, no less.

"Quickly! We must help them!" Cassandra shouted and picked up her pace.

"Help who?" Rush did her best to keep up with the Seeker.

Cassandra didn't bother to reply and ran up the mountain path to join the fray. Before the fighters came into view, though, the sounds of fighting died off. What was going on? That's when Rush heard the voice she didn't expect to hear at this place.

"All right, people, take a break. We have some time before we can expect another wave of nasties." The voice was met with answering groans and grunts and the clangs of weapons as they fell to the ground.

Rush grinned and jumped down from the ledge to join the group standing near the strange glowing green crystal that… hung in the sky? Must be one of those rifts Cassandra mentioned earlier. She turned back to the people resting around it and greeted, "Why, hello, Cadash, I didn't expect to see you here," she grinned at the man.

Cadash lifted his head and his beard shook as he laughed at seeing her, "A phrase I hear all too often, my dear. But of course I'm here! The weirdest thing to happen this century? I've got to be right in the middle of it." He rested his hands on his knees. Rivulets of sweat ran down his forehead into his beard. "And how are you holding up, Rush?"

"Oh, not bad. I just survived a blast that leveled a mountaintop, and now my hand has a glowing green hole in the middle of it. Perfectly fine otherwise, though."

"…Shit, girl. Your luck is as bad as mine!" The dwarf grinned at her, while his bodyguard, Adaar, muttered darkly under her breath, 'I don't get paid enough for this,' her glares sharper than the sword at her side. Lavellan just chuckled from his position on the ground, his staff lying next to him.

Before anyone could continue, however, an elf Rush didn't recognize stepped up to her. "Speaking of glowing green hands, let's see if this will work," he grabbed her hand and stuck it out in the direction of the rift.

Rush felt the foreign power wake up inside her. The… thing on her hand shot out a green beam that connected to the crystal in the sky. She felt the connection flow through her entire body, and somehow knew she could use it, manipulate it the way she wanted. Once she concentrated on it, she could almost hear it ask, 'Open or Close?'. Her eyes narrowed and she concentrated on closing, repairing the sky to how it used to be.

A loud pop of displaced air, some strange green embers and an energy backlash that made her took a step back, and the sky was healed. Almost. At closer inspection, she realized that the veil around where the rift used to be was now… weaker. Weaker, but stable. Good enough for her, for the moment.

She turned back towards the elf. "What did you do?"

He smiled at her and leaned against his staff. A mage then. "I did nothing. The credit is yours."

Rush looked down at her still softly glowing green hand. "I did that? …Huh." Then she clutched her hand into a fist. "So we can close the rifts, then."

"Good to know. Here I thought we'd be ass deep in demons forever," Varric said as he slung Bianca over his back. He strutted up to her and grinned at her roguishly, "Glad to see you survived."

She nodded to him with a smile of her own, but turned back to the elf.

He smiled again, "My name is Solas, and I will be your guide to all things Fade-related. I'm pleased to see you yet live."

'Sassy,' she thought. 'I like that.'

"He means, 'I kept that mark from killing you while you slept'." Varric added helpfully.

"You know much about the Fade, then?" she cocked her head in curiosity.

"I do. My journeys have allowed me to gain insight far beyond the knowledge of any Circle mage."

Strange. He seemed very confident with his skills. Too confident. Confidence like this didn't come from travelling on one's own - it had to be validated by others for him to truly believe in what he said. She wondered how many Circle mages he met to make that comparison.

"Solas is an apostate," Cassandra interrupted and Rush could hear the note of disapproval in her voice.

"Oh? He's not employed by your organization?" Rush couldn't help but ask. "Here I thought you'd only allow trusted people near the injured…"

Solas closed the mouth he opened to defend himself, leaned back against his staff cocked his hear in curiosity and watched her defend him… and all mages' rights.

Cassandra seemed briefly wrong-footed by her interruption, but quickly gathered her dignity. "He has offered his help, but no, he does not have a contract with us."

Her eyebrow rose, "So he's employed, you just don't pay him, then?" Maybe it was not the smartest thing to do, provoking the Right Hand of the Divine and a powerful Seeker in the middle of a crisis, but she couldn't help herself. Despite all the recent improvements, people's opinions didn't change that fast. She was determined to call the Seeker's attention to any wasteful, disparaging remarks made of mages who didn't earn them. Especially if the Seeker was the one who made them.

How else will people change their minds, if no one commented on their bigoted opinions?

"Anyways, we'd better move. There's still the Breach to close, after all." Rush commented dryly and watched as all the people lifted themselves off the ground, gathered their weapons and moved to follow her. She sighed internally. Looked like it was up to her to lead them, then.

The entire party made it down the steep, half-burned mountain path, exploring any burned buildings and hidden spots for more demons to kill. Wouldn't do to leave those behind, after all.

"So, what happened up there, anyway?" Varric asked idly when they dispatched another group of shades.

"I don't know. I remember how I walked up the path to join the Conclave… then some green lights, flashes of pain and huge spiders, watching some woman reach down to help me… but nothing more." Rush replied, uneasy at the holes in her memory. Something was missing, and she didn't know what. She was afraid to so much as suspect it was a demon at work. That… would be really unfortunate. And scary. Definitely scary.

"You don't know, then? Huh." Varric hurried up after her. "And you just told us that. I almost thought you'd spin a story."

"That's what you would have done," the disapproval in Cassandra's voice was clear as day.

"Well, it's fine as it is, anyways," Varic soothed the Seeker's quickly fraying temper. "At least no one threatened her with a premature execution."

Cassandra only scoffed. "Of course not. Trevelyan is here on my personal invitation as one of the de facto leaders of the new Mage Integration program. Besides, she said she wished to help the Divine, and I believe her. Whatever happened, it was the work of some maleficar and not her fault."

"I… thank you, Seeker." Rush muttered and bowed her head. It was… great, to hear the famous Cassandra Pentaghast herself defend her and her character. "I'm glad you're willing to vouch for me."

"Don't mention it," Cassandra turned away as well with a soft blush on her cheeks.

The group made short work of all the enemies they crossed. Rush thought with a mental smirk, that if Bull decided to hire Cadash and his people, or any of the others here, they would never need an army. No enemy could stand against them.

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Chancelor Roderick lifted his head from his makeshift 'office'. "Ah, Trevelyan. Finally awake I see."

Roderick stationed himself right at the front lines. Rush never saw him as a very courageous man or one capable of fighting, yet here he was, in the middle of a war zone, as close to the fighting as was possible without picking up a sword to involve himself directly. She did have to fight her way through two fade rifts spitting out demons just to get here…

Whatever people said about the man, he at least took his job seriously.

She smiled wryly, then met the calculating gaze of the hooded red-head and felt shivers go down her spine. For some reason, she had the feeling that being friendly with the Chancellor didn't endear her to this woman.

"Good to see you again, Chancellor. I only wish it was under better circumstances."

Roderick placed his hands on the table with a weary sigh. "Me as well." Then he turned to Cassandra. "Call a retreat, Seeker. Our position here is hopeless." His eyes briefly skipped to the line of bodies at the other end of the bridge.

Cassandra wouldn't be deterred. "We can stop this before it's too late."

Roderick only grew more despondent. "How? You won't survive long enough to reach the Temple, even with all your soldiers."

Rush chose that moment to step in. "Chancellor, we've already fought through demons on our way here without any great difficulties. It seems that this… mark on my hand can actually close the rifts permanently. We have a chance to close the Breach. But we have to do it now. If we wait, it may expand to be too big for anyone to handle." She smiled at the man, "Have hope, Chancellor. Maker willing, we will close it for good before it does any more damage."

Roderick only shook his head, "The resistance is too great. The direct path to the temple is overrun by demons."

In that moment, the red-head spoke, "Maybe the other one isn't. Our forces can charge as a distraction while we go through the mountains."

Cassandra didn't agree. "We lost contact with an entire squad on that path. It's too risky."

The Breach chose that moment to expand a little bit further. The mark on Rush's hand flared bright green and she hissed in pain. All heads turned to look at her.

Cassandra turned to her. "How do you think we should proceed?"

Rush was a bit surprised that these people would allow her to make that choice, but didn't protest. She had an idea while the others argued, and simply waited for the right moment to propose it. "We should split up. Our party has too many people, and we're tripping over each other in combat." She looked over her party. Seven people - not enough for two parties of four as she was used to, but it will have to do. "I'll go the direct route with you, Solas and Varric, while Cadash, Adaar and Lavellan will take care of… whatever it is that blocks the mountain path. We shall meet at the temple, and face the Breach together. This has to be dealt with. Immediately."

Cassandra nodded her agreement and turned to the hooded red-head. "Leliana, bring everyone left in the valley. Everyone."

Leliana nodded and left to gather the soldiers. Seeker Cassandra turned and marched towards the Breach.

Chancellor Roderick didn't lift his head from his table, but as Rush passed him by, she heard him say his personal version of friendly goodbyes, "Maker watch over his foolish children…"

Rush bit her lip to prevent herself from smiling at the crabby old man's drama. Then she put Roderick and the Chantry politics out of her mind and concentrated on the green hole in the sky.

It was time to close the Breach.

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Several days and one attempt to seal the Breach later, in the Haven War Room

"That does not change my opinion. The Chantry cannot support some upstart military organization, not without a Divine to declare an exalted march!" Roderick put his hands down on the table, trying to appear intimidating. The rest of the people around the table didn't look very impressed.

Rush saw Cassandra take a deep breath, probably about to say something very rude and jumped in before the other woman could start. "Please, Lord Chancellor, the Breach threatens us all. We need to find a way to close it for good."

"And find those responsible," Cassandra added and slammed down a book with the Chantry sigil on the cover. This one seemed a bit different than the rest in their little library, though. "We will restart the Inquisition of old, as was our beloved Divine's wish, and we will deal with this madness that swept over our world."

Roderick just threw his hands up in exasperation, "How do you intend to do that, pray tell?"

Luckily, Rush had an answer prepared. "The Breach is obviously magical, and probably the work of a very powerful maleficar… or maybe a group of them. We will start by checking out these Venatori, the Tevinter cult that goes around kidnapping and murdering Tranquil mages."

The Chancellor narrowed his eyes at the obvious 'hint'. He looked around the table, from one face to the next, meeting all their eyes. Then he rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Oh, very well." Before they could celebrate, though, he added in a salty voice only a lifetime of bitterness could produce, "The Chantry still can't support you. Not openly, not financially. I will make sure the clerics don't fight you too hard… but that is all I can do for you."

None of the people around seemed too pleased, but neither did they add a word. They understood that this was the best deal they could get. If Rush wasn't around, they probably wouldn't even get this much.

Roderick turned on his heel and left the room.

"That went well," Rush commented dryly, staring at the door Roderick closed behind him.

-rushing-ahead-rushing-ahead-rushing-ahead-

Cullen rested his hand on the hilt of his sword. "So, where shall we start?"

Josephine lifted her head from the papers. "Mother Giselle requests that the Herald comes to meet with her at the Crossroads in Hinterlands. She says she has important information regarding the most outspoken Chantry clerics and advice on how to deal with them."

"How do we know this isn't some trap?" Rush crossed her arms over her chest. She has met Mother Giselle briefly before, and she did seem a pleasant enough woman, but… these were dangerous times. Both physically and politically.

Leliana crossed her hands behind her back, "My scouts report that she rarely visits Val Royeaux, and doesn't involve herself in politics aside from what is necessary. In fact, she spends most of her time helping the refugees by offering aid and healing. This offer seems to be a true one."

"And I will go with the Herald." Cassandra added in a voice that brooked no argument. "No one will attack you while you are accompanied by the Right Hand of the Divine," she nodded to Rush.

"I believe it is a good idea. The herald should go and meet with Mother Giselle in Hinterlands. We need all the support we can get, especially from the Chantry. It would help no one to have us declared heretics." Josephine inclined her head gracefully towards Rush, "I hope you can persuade Mother Giselle to join us here at Haven, Lady Trevelyan. Official help of a Chantry Mother would be immensely helpful in gaining further allies to our cause."

Rush sighed and scratched the back of her head. "All right then, I will talk to her and try to get her to join us. But…" Her eyes turned hard as she pierced all the Inquisition leaders with an intense look, "…I want you to do a favor for me as well."

Josephine blinked in surprise. This was the first time Rush has made any demands of anyone in the Inquisition, as the diplomat was no doubt well aware. "What favor might that be?"

"I want you to contact my company leader, The Iron Bull of Bull's Chargers. I have already postponed contacting him for too long, as there were more pressing matters to attend to," 'and because I didn't know if I'll survive them,' she added in her mind. "He needs to know that I'm alive and well."

Josephine opened her mouth to reply but surprisingly, Spymaster Leliana jumped in to interrupt, "That will not be necessary."

Rush narrowed his eyes at her. What was her problem? Was she against Rush for some reason? Because she knew and actually kind of liked the Chancellor, despite the fact he was a bitter old bastard? That was no reason to refuse to help her with such a trivial thing, for Andraste's sake! "Why not? It's not like the Inquisition can't afford to send a single letter."

"Of course not," Leliana nodded. "But I believe the situation will resolve itself once you go to the Hinterlands to meet with Mother Giselle."

Rush narrowed her eyes further but decided not to fight the Spymaster on this one. If the situation didn't 'resolve itself' by the time she met with this Mother Giselle, she will simply take matters into her own hands. And good luck to Leliana's scouts trying to find her, when Rush was half-way across Orlais to see her lover, Cassandra at her side or not.

'We shall see,' Rush nodded to them silently and turned to go and prepare herself for the journey to Hinterlands.