A/N: Yes! Ariel Wild, THAT is the reaction I so wanted to see! Thank you for making my day. You are amazing! So, I've realized that I haven't really said how old Mina and Hawke are. Just to clarify, Mina is now 25. She was 21 when she left Kirkwall. Hawke is 5 years older than she is, so he's now 30. Holy poop. My sweetheart is getting older. Anyhow~ ;D You sure you know who's gonna end up being the Quizzy? Oh hush and sit in your snarky snark-corner. ;P
As expected, hundreds of Mages and Templars showed up. Angry. Already arguing. It was honestly the most stupid arguments Mina had ever heard. Well, mostly. The Templars claimed that they were unappreciated and deserved vacation time. The Mages whined about how they never got to keep pets, or some such trivial matters. The biggest arguments were about Mages being able to see their families, or the Templars being more trusting towards them on the one side. On the other it was, Mages needed to be confined because demons were attracted to them, and how Templars never got a break from their duties, so why should Mages get to leave the Circle for leisure?
Of course, Mina hadn't a clue who was in charge of either faction. It would've been pure chaos if it weren't for the presence of the Divine and her two advisors. The black-haired woman stood up and called out to everyone irritably. She almost looked like a testy High Dragon waiting for her prey to get into sight. However, if the one shouting was the dragon, the redhead with the hood was the teeth, claws, and fire. She was smiling and watching everyone like she had the upper hand on everyone in the room. It made Mina squirm like she was harboring some dark secret.
Da'len. Can you hear me? You need to get out of there now!
Fen'Harel's voice called to her out of nowhere. It startled her because she wasn't asleep. At least, she didn't think she was. She tried to change the scene with her mind like she did in the fade, but nothing happened. Definitely not a dream.
Right before everyone started to quiet down, Mina slipped out, hopefully unnoticed. She wanted to figure out what was going on. Of course, she had to gather information for the Keeper, but she could question the Dwarf and that weird noble guy later. The voice she heard instilled a feeling of absolute dread in the pit of her stomach. She knew the Dread Wolf to be a kind spirit, so it wasn't that it was him talking to her. It was that he would reach so far out of the fade to try and warn her about something.
"Mina of Clan Lavellan? What are you doing here?" It was Adaar's voice.
Mina shook herself from her thoughts and noticed she'd wandered into a long hallway. She had no idea where she was… "Oh, um. Sorry. I just think something's off. I have this really bad feeling. I'm sure your company has it all under control, but…"
Adaar studied Mina for a moment before shrugging, "I am not offended. You look like something is clearly bothering you. I've known Elves to have a great sense of intuition. We'll find what's causing you such unrest."
Mina smiled sheepishly and murmured her thanks. Even if she couldn't exactly tell the Qunari that the Elven Trickster God was warning her about something, she was happy that Adaar believed her.
They had checked almost all of the rooms that were on either side of the hallway when the building began to shake. An eerie, low, groaning sound resonated from the walls. Then, everything began crashing down around them.
"Lavellan, run!" yelled Adaar right before a giant cobble landed on her. Mina knew the Qunari woman was dead instantly. The rubble was twice as big as she had been… Mina's body moved on its own as her brain struggled to catch up and process what was going on. At some point, Mina blacked out. The last thing she remembered was running… then she was on the ground. So tired. She had to get away from those terrible faces. The faces of the children back on earth that she left. Mina was so tired. She couldn't keep running.
She let go. Into the blackness.
She dreamt in flashes. A voice called out to her to stay and not give in. Searing pain scorched its way through her left hand. A warm, liquidy feeling swept through her. She recognized it as healing magic. It was different than Anders' which felt like a big hug. It was a bit different than Keeper Deshanna's, which felt more like being cleaned with water that was almost too hot. The healing magic felt almost like her father's. It was more calming and patient. It was willing to coax your body into mending itself rather than just forcing it back together. The relaxing warmth came less and less, and more and more she felt the raw ache of her body. It was as if she'd just completely left it for the fade and was now returning to it.
What Mina opened her eyes to was less than welcoming. She was in a cold dungeon in shackles. There were guards glaring at her for some reason and she heard shouting from beyond the large wooden doors. Not a promising start. Had she been captured by the ones responsible for killing Adaar and causing all that destruction at the Conclave?
She seemed to be totally wrong when the two women that had stood beside the Divine came crashing through the doors. Well… the one in the battle armor came crashing through. The one in the hood aggressively, but quietly walked in beside her. The louder, more rugged woman circled Mina like a shark. What in the fuck was going on?!
"Tell me why we shouldn't kill you now!" barked the soldier woman, "The Conclave is destroyed. Everyone who attended is dead. Except for you."
Mina's eyes widened in horror. She'd never thought that the damage would be that bad! It clicked in her mind what was happening.
"You think I'm responsible." It wasn't a question. Mina knew for a fact that's why they had her in chains. Why else? You wouldn't put an ally in a prison cell. Just as you wouldn't put a sick person out in the cold.
The dragon woman grabbed Mina's left wrist and jerked it up, "Explain this."
"I… can't," Mina said honestly. She didn't know what the painful green glowing thing on her hand was. She'd never had it before!
Mina's answer seemed to irritate the woman further, "What do you mean you can't?!"
"I don't know what that is or how it got there!" Mina was almost shouting, her temper almost getting the better of her. She was telling them all she could, and still, it was doing no good.
She lunged at Mina, holding her by the collar, "YOU'RE LYING!" Mina wanted to punch this bitch as hard as she could. If her hands were free, she probably would have. In her mind, she readied a burst of sound to give the yelling dumbass a headache. It was a good thing the redhead stepped in.
"We need her, Cassandra."
Cassandra was it? Mina stored that name into the back of her mind for future reference. If she had a future. If she could just get a message to Varric or Izzy, she'd be good to go.
Cassandra glared at her a moment. Mina remained silent and returned the glare. Two could play at the asshole game. It was a game Mina had become very good at.
The other woman kept talking, "Do you remember what happened? How this began?"
Mina took a second to think; very few images came to mind. Mostly running.
"I remember running, mostly… Something was chasing me…," she began. There was something more. Something she couldn't quite get into focus. "And... a woman?"
"A woman?"
"She reached out to me, but then, she was gone."
Cassandra herded the redhead out, hand on the hilt of her sword, "Go to the forward camp, Leliana. I will take her to the rift."
Leliana nodded and left without further questions. They seemed like equals at first, but Cassandra seemed more used to giving orders. The whole situation was terrible and confusing.
Mina was unshackled by Cassandra and lead out into the bright light of say. Snow was everywhere. Winter in the mountains already. Lovely. She recognized the little cluster of huts as Haven, but only just barely. It was much more run down than she'd seen it. How long was she out? It was then that she saw that same green light from her hand. Only, this was much bigger, and in the sky. It looked like a hole that was sucking things in and spitting them out all at the same time. It circled at the center and trashed about like a hurricane. Whatever it was terrified Mina. She wondered if that's what her wolf was trying to warn her about. Too late…
"What did happen?" Mina asked.
Cassandra sighed and kept walking, "It will be easier to show you up close… We call it 'the Breach'. It is a massive rift into the world of demons that grows larger with each passing hour. We've seen that it's not the only such rift. Just the largest. All were caused by the explosion at the Conclave."
"An explosion can do that?"
"This one did. Unless we act, the Breach may grow until it swallows the world."
As if to emphasize Cassandra's point, a pulse came from the Breach, knocking things over and causing a great gust of wind. It also caused Mina's right hand to shoot fire through her whole arm. She fell to her knees in agony. It was much worse than when Anders had impaled her. Something she had thought impossible. Mina let out a stifled scream and doubled over, putting pressure on her hand, hoping that would dull it a bit. Not a chance. Cassandra knelt down, "Each time the Breach expands, so does your mark… And it is killing you. It may be the key to stopping all of this, but there isn't much time."
Mina caught her breath and looked into the warrior's pale green eyes, "I understand… I will do my best to help you. Whatever I can give. Whatever it takes. Though, I don't see why you still think I'm guilty. No one would be dumb enough to do this to themselves."
Mina swore she almost saw the scowl replaced by a ghost of a smile, "I don't think they would have done it on purpose. Something clearly went wrong." With that, Cassandra helped Mina up and walked her through town. A most grim parade. They all glared at Mina, killing her with their eyes. Cassandra seemed to notice how Mina looked around desperately.
"They have decided your guilt. They need it. The people pf Haven mourn our Most Holy, Divine Justinia, head of the Chantry. The Conclave was hers. It was a chance for peace between Mages and Templars… But you know this. I believe you met Her; Divine Justinia."
"Yes. I was the strange Dalish Elf who came barging in and introduced herself to the Divine."
"Something Most Holy was very intrigued by. We lash out like the sky. But we must think beyond ourselves as she did. At least, until the Breach is sealed."
Mina enjoyed Cassandra's passion for fixing whatever the hell was going on. However, it seemed that the warrior wanted something to punch. One couldn't simply punch the sky. Their walk was quiet until they crossed a bridge. The Breach spat something out at them and caused the bridge to collapse. Two shades appeared before them. Mina was defenseless. Cassandra was fighting with one, but the other was coming straight for Mina. She looked around franticly, not wanting to use her magic around Cassandra just yet, and found an axe. It wasn't something she usually used, but it would work. The Elf threw it as hard as she could and was rewarded with a squishy crunching sound. It had embedded itself in the spirit's abdomen. That didn't quite stop it.
Underneath where the axe had been laying were some daggers. Mina took two of them, charged them with lightning magic and slashed at the roaring creature. It went down without much more of a fight. Unfortunately, Cassandra had seen Mina use the lightning magic and was pointing her sword directly at the mage. Wonderful. What was next? A dragon that only ate Elves?
"Put your weapons down," demanded Cassandra.
"Ok," Mina said dropping them on the ice they'd landed on and kicking them away, "But do you really think I need a blade to have a weapon?"
She didn't like the response and let out a snort, sheathing her sword, "I suppose not. I should remember you came willingly. That, and I can't protect you from everything." She lowered her sword and motioned for Mina to pick the daggers back up.
Mina smirked and armed herself once again. "Thank you. I think it'll be way more productive if we both are armed. Just in case."
They trekked on, not talking much, fighting a few more demons here and there as they fell you of the Breach. Mina wondered where they were going and what was waiting for them. A sea of demons? A giant demon that was impossible to kill? An Archdemon? Or… Maker forbid, all of the above? As if sensing Mina's questions, Cassandra stopped and looked back at the Elf.
"We are almost at the forward camp. I think I hear fighting! We must hurry; they need us!"
Mina ran after the grumpy swordswoman and shouted, "Who's 'they'?" She received no answer. Just a smaller rift spewing demons. Giving no thought to what was around her, she weaved a short song to disorient the demons and started hacking at one of the shades with her, now fiery, daggers. The battle was a short one, but the Rift remained. Her hand was throbbing with magical energy. Was that the way to close it? Before she could decide what to do, a bald male Elf grabbed her left arm and thrust it at the green glowing mass. She felt the energies collide and burn through her body. It was painful. Very painful. But! It seemed to be working! The Rift was getting smaller! And then it imploded. Gone.
Mina stared at him suspiciously, "What did you do?"
"I did nothing. The credit is yours," said the Elf man.
Mina squeezed her hand shut and opened it again, staring at the green gash, "At least it's good for something…"
"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. It seems, I was correct." He smiled softly at Mina as if he'd known her for a while. Mina narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to question him.
Cassandra cut her off, "So the mark could also close the Breach?"
"In theory, yes," the Elf answered her, turning his gaze from Mina for a moment, as if trying to decide if he wanted to avoid her or not, "It seems you hold the key to our salvation."
A new, very familiar voice joined their conversation, "Good to know. Here I thought we'd be ass deep in demons forever." It was Varric fucking Tethras! Of all the people she might see, he was not the one she'd have guessed.