Wow! Phew. Okay. Welcome Readers to my little pet project that has been on my mind ever since I played Inquisition. It's the first long piece of writing I've ever done so the pacing might be a little all over the place, but I welcome any and all criticism!
I should warn you now: I am a slow ass writer. The absolute worst. I sit and stare at sentences and wonder if it truly looks right. Fortunately, I have a couple chapters prepared beforehand so, hopefully, the wait won't piss anyone off too much.
Also, this is a slow, slow, slow burn. I hope to really flesh out my headcanons for each character and really demonstrate how they all help and change each other. So, ah, I guess this really is going to be a long story. Haha.
It began, not when the elf who was a hunter accepted the mission knowing she'd likely never see her clan again. Not when she made the journey from her homeland to places unknown. Not even when she arrived at the peace talks between mages and Templars, warily wandering the edges of the temple.
Instead, it began when she stumbled out of the realm of dreams. When flickering green made its mark on the palm of her hand. When she found herself surrounded by soldiers.
It began with death and destruction and the murder of the Divine.
It began with a hole in the sky.
Chapter One: All That Existed Was Silence
When first she woke, all Heliwyr Lavellan could feel was pain. It permeated her body, sinking into the pores of her skin. She struggled to make sense of it. Thus, Heliwyr pushed the pain back into the recesses of her mind. Hands bound and shoulders slumped, she sought to regain some semblance of control.
Slowly, Heliwyr observed her surroundings. A prison, four guards with their swords out, flickering torches... Above all that, though, was the green mark on her left hand. It sent shivers of pain up her arm and Heliwyr frowned at its presence. Bits and pieces of what caused it flitted about her head, but she could make no real sense of it. Thus, she resolved to first deal with her current situation.
The metal bar around her wrists would have to go. Shifting, Heliwyr found a good position to quickly remove it, if necessary. Then she eyed the four guards and noted the armor they were wearing. The neck would be easiest, she thought. They were clearly nervous so a quick snap would be all it took to incapacitate them.
But, it would be best to first learn more of the situation. They clearly weren't looking to kill her yet. That meant they still needed something from her. Information? The mark on her hand? Knowing what they wanted would make it simpler to deal with them.
A door slammed open and two of the most recognizable women in the world (though, there were many women in power these days) walked in. One, was identifiable at a glance. A short crop of black hair, square jaw, and a scar along the cheek meant one was the right hand of the divine. Cassandra. The other was not so easy until the light hit her face under the hood she wore. Chin length auburn hair and cold eyes. This was Nightingale. Leliana.
Leliana hung back as Cassandra took charge. Heliwyr quickly caught on to their tactics when Cassandra leaned down to her ear. Good guard, bad guard. Interrogation techniques to confuse prisoners and lower their guard. So it was to be like this.
"Tell me why we shouldn't kill you now." Cassandra paced around her, dark hair shifting slightly. Her eyes were bloodshot and deep bags drew attention to her weariness. "The Conclave has been destroyed," she spat, voice hoarse with emotion. "Everyone who attended is dead."
It dawned on Heliwyr just what they thought.
"Except for you." The statement was pointed, accusatory. Heliwyr frowned up at them and shifted to a crouched position. The guards glanced at each other warily.
Heliwyr moved her ears forward to catch more noise and bared her teeth slightly. Her keeper would shake her head at this display but it was useful for intimidating unknowing humans. Indeed, a couple of them took steps back, but the two women remained stoic. "You think I did it." It was a statement, not a question.
Cassandra grabbed at the elf's wrist to bring it up. "Explain this," she growled. As if on cue the mark flared up, sending green sparks everywhere. Heliwyr flinched and bit her lip against the pain. She brought her head forward to cover her moment of weakness with her mess of red hair.
When the pain passed Heliwyr looked back up into Cassandra's eyes and drew back her hand. "I can't." There was no tiptoeing around it. Better to be upfront.
Anger passed through the Seeker's eyes, anger and desperation. "What do you mean you can't?" Her right hand twitched around the hilt of her sword. The tension in the room increased twofold as the guards shifted nervously. It was clear Cassandra was prone to outbursts of these kinds.
Heliwyr didn't move her gaze, no hint of even flinching. Her lips pulled down as she narrowed her eyes. "I can't," she growled. "I don't know what that is or how it got there." She flicked her red eyes between them to gauge their reactions.
It was immediate. Cassandra lunged forward to yank Heliwyr's scarf causing her to struggle for breath. The Seeker's mouth twisted in a snarl as she shook her prisoner. "You're lying!" But just as Heliwyr was about to retaliate Leliana intervened.
Leliana grabbed Cassandra's arm and gently took her away. She spoke softly, perhaps forgetting about elven hearing, and Heliwyr's suspicions were confirmed. They needed her. Watching carefully as Cassandra took deep breaths, Heliwyr slowly relaxed. If this was the case then it would do her well to go along with them. At least to make the entire process faster.
The two women moved back to where their prisoner knelt. This time, it was not Cassandra who spoke. Leliana allowed some light to make its way under her hood as she regarded the elf. Her face twisted into a small, secret smile before returning to its usual blank state.
"Do you remember what happened? How it all began?" She murmured softly, a hint of command tracing the ends of her words.
A knot formed in Heliwyr's eyebrows. If she was being honest, and that was the current plan, then she remembered next to nothing of what she had experienced. Still, she decided to give something of a reply. "I don't remember enough to be useful. I remember being chased, lots of eyes following me, too many eyes." She laughed. "You know that feeling you get when you're being watched? I felt like that but a hundredfold. Like a pressure on my shoulders, pinning me down. After that… I remember a woman."
That caught their attention. Leliana's steel grey eyes narrowed in interest. "A woman?"
Reaching out in her mind Heliwyr tried to grab more of the memory but it slipped out of her grasp. Like water from her fingers. Only the barest of visions showed themselves. She spoke as they arrived. "Definitely a woman, though I can't make her out. She's too bright for me. I think she reached out to me but…" It all faded away.
Their shoulders sank and Heliwyr briefly wondered what they had been hoping for. Then, Cassandra turned to her companion and nodded. Speaking sternly, she told Leliana to get to the forward camp first. Then, she turned back to the elf. The smallest of sighs escaped her before she knelt down to deal with the bar of metal trapping Heliwyr's hands.
Heliwyr frowned. While she had done her best to inform them, they had not been forthcoming with any information of their own. This would not be put up with and she casually chatted in hopes of gleaning something. "So, lots of people dead. Definitely not good but…" she gave a meaningful look at Cassandra. "What did happen?"
A huff was her reply. The human grabbed Heliwyr's wrists to bind them with rope. She gestured at the door and they stood. All the guards sheathed their swords, while they were still wary they respected Cassandra's orders. Finally, Cassandra offered a few words. "It would be better to show you."
They wandered to the front of the chantry and Heliwyr wondered why a chantry would even have an extensive prison beneath it. While she had not heard much of the humans' places of worship, she had figured it to be a sanctuary of peace. Heliwyr watched as guards, glaring at her beneath their helmets, opened the chantry doors for her and Cassandra.
Outside was chaos. Men and women hugged each other with weary, tearful eyes. Some called out, condemning Heliwyr for all that happened. Buildings were broken, rubble spilled everywhere.
But all of this was ignored in Heliwyr's eyes.
Instead she gazed upon the hole in the sky. It's power thrummed through her, soaking into her bones. Vestiges of magic raced through her veins and she had never felt more alive. Green poured out. It crashed into mountains and distant forests. Heliwyr inhaled deeply.
Behind her Cassandra whispered. "We call it the Breach. It is a massive rift into the world of demons and it grows larger with each passing hour."
It began with the end of the world.
So that's it for now! I promised a slow fanfic and I really think this chapter proves just how slow this dumb story will be. And no Solas in my Solasmance fic, why would I have him, that's ridiculous.
TTFN
-Ginger