Chapter 5

The Fae Sisters and the Herald

Up to 9 chapters minus flashbacks had been written, hence why they're being churned out very quickly for you readers. I will be a little slower for certain chapters that did not have flashbacks written at the time, like this one. After chapter 9 is uploaded, i will have to start fully writing again of the whole plot so please bear with me and be patient, thank you.

I put in a lot of thought about all the flashbacks and how far back in the timelines they are in both the Tera and Dragon Age worlds. We are currently going that time flow is a one-to-one ratio between both worlds. The Tera world never properly established an exact timeline except dating when the Argon war finally ended. I used that as my cornerstone and went back from there.

So the current year for Arborea is 279 VC (VC stands for when Velika City was established)

The Amani was originally an ex-friend and thus I changed them up to be an original one. The owner of Reina Rose and Kei are also no longer in contact with me but I will still use their characters as homage.

Quen's discussion with Cassandra about deities is how I personally interpret deities, being a pagan myself. I wished there was a more positive option there instead of sounding rude and hostile towards her. I love Cassandra so much and sort of wanted to romance her, but Dorian was my main endgame when I played the game for the first time.

Also, the ages of Elins are totally a head canon for me, as Tera never had much proper lore for Elins, so I took tons of liberty in it.

The flashback here is the updated starting area for when you started playing the game, the Stepstone Isle. While in conjunction with the rest of the Tera storyline, it felt so out of place and never used again; I felt it suited Erune's humble beginnings in the game more than starting in the original starter island. Erune was never meant to be a soldier like her sisters.

As I will not cover the backstory of the Island of Dawn expedition in a full flashback, it is not truly needed. Much of Tera's storyline is not needed to be known and will be summarized in the flashbacks themselves.

Once this whole story is done, I may take all the flashback sequences and put them in chronological order for everyone to read. The reason for having all the flashbacks out of order is the purpose of introducing certain new characters but leaving out the key moments that happen until certain chapters.

Btw, for any readers, the AO3 version of this story has some pictures including screenshots so you can get an idea of the scenes that are happening and what the girls and Quen look like. Images in some of the earlier chapters will be added as I go.

My art style is very anime and I suppose I designed my characters to all look anime-like. I hope that's alright. Even with such an art style, I do hope the story is interesting enough. I also added songs cause I felt they do play a very important role for my characters.

Arborea. The Stepstone Isle. 275 VC. Four years ago.

Erune shielded her eyes from the sun as she stepped off the boat at the island pier to take in the sight of the Tiaran tree. From the boat coming over, it appeared the very tree itself took up much of the island. Now up close, she could see that there were large pockets in the tree that made up the rest of the isolated land in the sea.

As she walked over to her family friend, she tried to keep the heavy sea breeze from blowing her hair in her face. Finnoe hummed aloud as she marked down in her notebook before waving towards Erune. "I must have a meeting with my colleagues first to discuss matters. If you want, you can explore the village - just leave your bags here, and they'll be brought to the lodgings for you and me."

It was typical for Finnoe to be like that, caught up in her work, forgetting about those close to her. Erune clutched at her breast as she walked up the hill to the village, taking deep breaths to herself.

This time was different. She was older now. She knew how to take care of herself this time. And she was just a volunteer, not a patient for the Mysterium. It was different now.

Finally, shaking her head and standing up straight, she took in the village that was built beside one of the tree pockets, the trunk of the tree acting as part of a canopy to provide some shade for the occupants. In different parts of the town, there were Mysterium scholars with various sorts of equipment. One of the things Erune noticed was that any glassware containing any liquid, much of it, was fluorescent green. She was curious as to what it was, but she honestly didn't want to get too close to the scholars to ask. Mysterium people were still very intimidating for the young Elin (Finnoe the exception). Perhaps she would ask Finnoe about the strange glowing viscous contents later.

Finally finishing her tour of the village, Erune found that one part of the village led out to a field of flowers and grass, the view of the ocean before her. Smiling to herself, she walked through the tall stalks of green, fingers caressing against the grass. As another windy sea breeze blew around her, she closed her eyes to enjoy the sounds of the ocean and the wind in the grass.

Her cat ears twitched as she heard the sounds of a child crying. Looking to her left, she saw a young girl in a red dress, hunched over and sobbing. Beside her was an elven girl dressed in pastel purple and white, trying to comfort the human girl. Behind them, a human and Amani boy were arguing while a Popori kid was trying to mediate things between them both.

"I told you it was a stupid idea to take the bear!" The Amani admonished the human, to which the other boy shrugged uncomfortably.

"It was just gonna be a joke!"

"Guys, stop fighting!"

Erune came over to the two girls, letting the boys argue it out. "What's wrong?" She asked.

The brunette human girl continued to cry, trying to wipe her tears with her hands. "My Zu-zu…"

Seeing Erune tilt her head in confusion, the blonde-haired elf girl spoke up to the Elin. "Zu-zu is her toy bear." She pointed with a gloved hand to the side, where a stuffed bear lay torn in the grass, its stuffing pouring out of the rips in the fabric.

As Erune picked up the destroyed toy, the Popori child waddled up to her. "Pilt was just playing around and stole Anya's toy to play a joke with Jerdan, but they accidentally ripped it." Waddling over to the human named Anya, he put a paw on her knee to rub in reassurance.

Jerdan and Pilt came over to the four, both crossing their arms and looking nervous as they saw Erune. Despite her being the same height as them, they knew Elins like her were older than them, generally adults. And adults could be strict. Erune could see it on their faces, being scared of getting in trouble.

Turning the toy over in her hands, she examined the damage done. The thread at the seams has been broken along the head and one of the arms. While she did not have a sewing kit on hand at the moment, she remembered a skill Princess Rida had taught her. Moving past the group of children, she looked around at the bushes, finding one of them having thick sharp thorns the length of her pinky. Breaking off two, she used one to poke a hole into the other. The children, minus Anya, who was still sniffling, watched as Erune began to gather long, thin blades of fresh grass.

Finally gathering enough, Erune came back and sat down before the children, this time finally catching Anya's attention. The girl continued to hiccup through tears but kept her focus on the Elin with her toy.

Threading the grass through the thorn, Erune then delicately poked the makeshift needle into the plush bear's fabric, starting to sew. As her fingers carefully guided the grass thread through, she started to hum to a tune to herself, loud enough for all the children to hear. Bit by bit, the rips in the toy began to close up.

Once it was finished, she snapped the remaining grass thread off with the thorn needle and examined the toy. While it wasn't spun thread, her careful work ended up being a decent job. She held out the toy for Anya as she got to her feet. "Here you are. Zu-zu is better now."

Anya's eyes brightened at the sight. "Zu-zu!" Gently taking her toy bear from the Elin, she hugged the plush close.

Jerdan and Pilt sighed in relief, though quickly stiffened as the elf girl put her hands on her hips and frowned at the boys. "We're sorry, Anya…for breaking Zu-zu…" Pilt said with some guilt, Jerdan voicing his apologies too.

Anya looked at the two and nodded. "Thank you…for apologizing…please don't take Zu-zu like that again, please." To which the boys grumbled in response, but both nodded. Once she was satisfied with her friends' apologies, she turned back to Erune. "Thank you for fixing him. Who are you?"

Erune blinked for a moment. "O–oh! I'm Erune. Nice to meet you!"

Whatever the other children were doing, they all paused as they heard the Elin's name. Five sets of eyes stared back at Erune with heavy curiosity, making the Elin suddenly nervous of the strange attention.

"Erune?" Anya said, her eyes getting big while she smiled happily. "So it's you!"

"M–me?" The Elin was very confused.

"Yes! The Sight! The Sight from the Gods has mentioned you so often to us! Only your name and that you'd be a friend…but it's so wonderful to finally meet you!"

Present Day

Allemantheia, the desert city of the High Elves. Golden pillars supported the white marble buildings that towered high, with an intricate architecture that was crafted both by hand and by magic. The streets and buildings were raised high above water, with winged elven statues lining the walkways instead of flowers or any other kind of vegetation to give it a nature feel, a sign of the High Elves who abandoned the ways of nature long ago when their God abandoned them. Mostly the rich and wealthy lived here, those who were often very haughty and reserved in their manners and politics. Despite all of this, it was an oasis in the middle of the desert, a beacon of light from the dry, dry heat. The magnificent, pristine, and grand city also housed the main headquarters of the Mysterium scholars.

The Mysterium had a main quarter library filled with thousands of books for research. categorized by arcane magic, natural history, anatomy, fauna studies among many others. Here, apprentice scholars were often seen, either studying or collecting piles of texts for their mentors. Other parts of the research facility had different laboratory sections, one of which featured tests on creating autonomous machines powered by magic while another had a group of scientists weaving runes of light into the air, creating illusions for their student's studies.

Due to the current conflicts involving the Breach, a new facility had to be opened up for the scholars to report their findings on the quarantined rifts.

Some higher-ranked scholars and mentors had their individual private offices where they could conduct their own private research for new inventions and the like.

Finnoe looked up from her desk as an Amani entered her small office branch. "Hello, Karashvran." She resumed her writing. "What brings you here?"

The large, scaly man crossed his arms. "News from Velika Federation Headquarters. Eirai's report got through."

Finnoe's quill stopped moving.

"Seir has also assigned you and me to the Stepstone Isle to monitor the Rift near the Tiaran Tree. It is larger than some of the others, which brings great concern for the Gifted Children."

The Elin scholar paused in her report to continue later. Standing up and gathering her papers, she then walked past him, documents under one arm. "Come then." She remarked sternly. "We cannot keep the pegasi transports waiting."

xoxoxo

Erune balanced the food tray in her arms as she used her foot to knock on the cabin door. Quen opened the door, completely without a shirt.

"Oh! Did I come at a bad time?" Erune flustered.

"No, it's fine." The elf chuckled, letting the Elin in.

As Erune walked into the room and placed the tray down, she looked back at Quen. She had never seen him shirtless before. Normally, she would courteously look away. However, this time she had good reason to stare. Quen's dark bluish-green markings did not limit to just his face. The tattoos stretched down his neck, branching out to his shoulders and down his chest. To Erune, they were mesmerizing.

"What are those, if I may ask?" She inquired, taking a small sweet roll from the tray and nibbling on it.

"This? This is my Vallaslin."

"Vahl-lahs-sleen?" Erune tried her best to pronounce the word.

"Blood writing. Each symbol represents one of my Creators, or Gods." His hand followed the lines on his face. "This represents June, the God of the craft of weaponry." He then turned to show his back. "The tree here is for the Mythal, Goddess of Protection." Quen then proceeded to show the rest of his markings and explained to Erune which Gods they corresponded to: Elgar'nan, the God of vengeance, Falon'Din, the guide to the departed to the Beyond, Dirthamen, the keeper of secrets and knowledge, Andruil, the Goddess of the hunt, Sylaise, the Goddess of all domestic arts, and Ghilan'nain, the one the elves called the mother of the Halla.

"They're beautiful." Erune whispered. She wanted to reach out her hand to trace some of them.

Quen smiled. "We Dalish receive the Vallaslin when we come of age. It's a rite of passage for us." He puffed his chest out with pride. "It's what identifies us as Dalish today in this world."

The Elin nodded in understanding. She had heard about the history of Quen's people from Solas. They used to be a proud and rich society, similar to the High Elves from her world. But something terrible happened to their people. It was said that one of the elvhen Creators, Fen'Harel, the Dread Wolf, betrayed the other Creators, destroying the once great elvhen city called Arlathan. Soon after, they were then enslaved by the Tevinter Imperium, their mortal bodies forced to become mortal. After Andraste's movement to free the slaves, some tried to recover their lost history, living in small pockets of nomadic clans in the wilderness-Quen was from one of these clans.

"Thank you. For sharing it with me." Erune sat down in one of the chairs at the table. Quen nodded back.

He moved over to the dresser where his new armor was laid out for him. Cassandra had recommended that he wear more presentable armor if he was to be seen as the Herald of Andraste by the people. While Quen really didn't want to be revered by a faith he did not practice, he did like the fact he got new clothes. The ones his friend had given him when they went to the Conclave were standard issue and simply made for easy traveling. The new set was upgraded with a light half-breastplate and allowed more freedom of movement for combat.

After putting on his shirt, he sat on the bed to fit on his new boots. It felt strange wearing such thick leather shoes when his calloused feet were more used to touching the ground directly. During the cold seasons, his clan would simply wrap their feet. Not that Dalish elves usually had need to wear shoes; having their feet against the ground allowed them to feel closer to the earth itself.

"You missed lunch, by the way." Erune gestured to the food. "Varric asked me to bring you something to eat."

Quen winced, feeling guilty for skipping out on another meal. "Sorry… I've just… had a lot on my mind. Even with you there to help lessen the Mark, I still have a lot of restless nights," he finished tying the ends of his bracers and sat down to join her. Looking at the tray, he saw it was goat stew with tea and a biscuit.

Solas and Eirai had informed the others of their observations with Erune and Quen's Mark. The young Elin then decided to stay by the elf's side as much as possible to avoid having the green scar on his palm go haywire again. Her siblings (sans Zyllian-but the Reaper was just being overprotective in general) did not mind her moving her belongings into Quen's cabin. Although they had added a makeshift bed for her in the room, Quen often found the Elin in his bed, snuggled up like a little kitten by his side. He didn't mind though. Quen was used to sleeping in the same bed with his little sister and, occasionally, the children of his clan when their parents were away. As for the Elin, it was a natural instinct for her since Elins liked to sleep in groups. It helped establish a bond amongst them.

"Do you…want to talk about it?" The Elin asked, noting the hint of dark circles under Quen's eyes.

"It's...it's just some silly dreams that mean nothing." The elf quickly took a few spoonfuls of the stew. As he looked back at Erune, he saw her expression sink - she knew that he didn't want to talk about it.

He decided to change the subject. "How're your sisters today?"

Erune perked up, a slight smile on her face, as she was relieved to have him talk to her. "Eirai's been working with Commander Cullen on training the troops. Some of the new recruits seemed to be skeptical because of her rabbit ears." She paused to giggle. "They don't realize she used to be an army general. Sir Cullen was quite impressed with my older sister being able to knock more than a few of the soldiers off their feet during her demonstrations. As for Eruno, she's been sparring with Lady Cassandra."

"Glad to know that those two are getting along now." Quen chuckled.

"Eruno may be a little rambunctious and acts before she thinks, but she means well." She sighed. "I just wish she would calm down sometimes. We've almost gotten into trouble many times in the past because of her." The two then sat in an awkward silence for a moment while Quen ate his food. Erune wrung her hands in her lap before finally speaking up. "How is it for you? Being considered a 'Chosen One'?"

"It's... unusual... I've always been used to being looked down upon by most shem-I mean humans. I was just another warrior for my people. Now I'm being put on a pedestal by the people of Haven. I'd hate to see what it'll be like outside the village, since word of my 'miracle moment' seems to have spread." Quen sighed. "I'm not used to this praise."

"Neither am I…" Erune muttered.

"What do you mean?"

Erune's hands clasped together tightly as she bit her bottom lip. "From my world... Eruno and I have been labeled as the Chosen Ones by the Federation, and my older siblings are hailed as our Guardians.

"It all started when I was accidentally dragged into an incident perpetrated by a traitor amongst the Federation. Eirai, Eruno, and I were then enlisted as special agents…because I had seen the traitor's face..."

Quen was curious as to why the Elin didn't mention Zyllian's name, but decided not to interrupt.

"After much work and investigation, the man and his schemes were dealt with. I thought it was all over and I would no longer have to work for them anymore…" She paused, taking in a deep breath. "I was wrong…

"Researchers found tablets inscribed with a prophecy from the Goddess of Fate from long before the Divine War. The prophecy had one name written, but the last letter of the name was too smudged. Even so, the name was either Erune or Eruno. And it was definitive proof of one of us being Chosen. We confronted Mystel, the Goddess of Fate, whose name was supposed to be in the prophecy, but she said her powers were weakened by the war and thus could not give us an answer.

"Because Eruno or my name is in a prophecy, people have decided that it must be both us and that the missing letter is a sign that maybe it's supposed to be two names; to go both ways." Her shoulders were still tense. "In the end, my sister and I have been hailed as the Chosen Ones." She looked aside. "It's been a few years and I'm still not used to it. People rely so much on the both of us..."

"And it's a heavy burden for you…And now with the issue of the Breach with you and your sisters here..." Quen finished for her. Erune nodded. He reached his hand out to her. "Well, I'm glad you are here, and I'll do my best to support you. So neither of us is alone in handling this chaos."

The Elin smiled gently, touching his hand. "Thank you."

xoxoxo

A few hours later, Quen was walking around Haven, having just finished talking to Varric before heading off the blacksmith to sharpen his weapons. Leliana immediately took Quen aside behind the outside of the Chantry. "It's been almost a decade." She said. Quen looked away; he didn't want to bring up such old memories. "When did you leave that clan?"

"A year after the Blight ended." Quen answered in a low voice. "My little sister turned out to be a mage." He curled his lip in disgust. "They finally had a perfect reason to send us away." Lifting his head back at the Spymaster, he smirked grimly. "Clan Lavellan was more welcoming to the two of us. They had no qualms about our pasts. They needed a new First. Having another warrior was a good addition to their community. That is all."

"Quen..." Concern was in her eyes. She remembered him being only just a boy when she was with the Grey Wardens during the Fifth Blight. The fresh wounds on his face had become faint scars over time.

Even though it had occurred a long time ago and he had grown, she still couldn't help but feel sympathetic.

"I don't want to talk about it anymore." He turned away. "You were there. It happened. End of story." As he left, he added one last bit. "My parents are still dead, and so is Zathrian. Nothing has changed, and I don't need your pity."

xoxoxo

THWACK!

Zyllian's scythe blades sunk deep into the bark of the tree, sending bits of bark and snow splintering off into the cold winter air. With a hard jerk of her arms, she pulled the blades back to the handles with the chains.

Quen watched the Elin from a safe distance before approaching, after she had paused in her practice with her bizarre, but unique blades. Zyllian turned to face him then, her face still covered with the steel mask. "What do you want?" She grunted. Even when she wasn't wearing her full armor, she still had her face covered most of the time. When she ate or drank, it was done in seclusion from the rest of everyone else.

"You said you're a Reaper, right?"

"What of it?"

"Kind of specific, gristly name."

The Elin crossed her arms and glared. "Considering you're an Assassin yourself, I hardly think you should call me out on what I do."

"True." Zyllian had spoken the truth; Quen was an Assassin. He had killed others before. "I'm just curious about your skill. I have never seen a weapon like that before." He gestured to her scythes.

Looking at them for a moment, she chuckled with a husky voice. "Heh. You'd be surprised at the technology from my world. Yours is primitive in comparison." The laugh was harsh and mocking. "My sisters and I have been downgraded here."

Quen had been told about the Willpower that the Elins used. Most likely, any future battles with those girls would not be as eye-widening as the battle at the Breach, as they had to conserve their use of their magical abilities.

How will Erune fare, given her fighting mainly relies on such magical skills? She is the most frail-looking of the bunch. Maybe Solas or one of the other mages could help train the young Elin on how to fend for herself when her magic is depleted.

"You still haven't answered my question." Zyllian's voice drew him out of his thoughts. "Why are you here?"

"Well," Quen leaned against one of the trees in the vicinity, crossing his arms as the snow crunched under the soles of his boots. "Seeing as we are going to be working together, I just want to know more about you. Best to know about one's allies, who I am working with and such." The elf had already taken time to talk to the others; he decided to start with the most reclusive of the Fae sisters.

The Reaper was silent, watching him. It was unnerving that she didn't want to answer, her slit-like pupils following his every movement. Just as Quen was about to ask again, she spoke. "Zyllian Fae. That's all."

Quen blinked. "Just your name? Nothing else?"

Zyllian quickly moved past him, her boots almost silent against the snow as she glanced at his way for only a moment. "I don't want to talk about it." With that, she left.

Quen looked back at the deep grooves in the tree from the Reaper's blades.

She reminded him so much of himself, shutting out his past. In some ways, he related to her harshness. He was just like that with Leliana: he didn't want to talk about his past either.

At least the other Elins seemed friendlier than Zyllian.

xoxoxo

During dinner time, Eruno slurped down the soup loudly in front of Quen, the sound carrying out throughout the tavern. Quen laughed softly. "Enjoying your meal?" He asked.

"Yup!" The squirrel Elin lowered her bowl while she licked her lips. "I heard once in one culture from my world that slurping is encouraged to show your appreciation of the food!"

Quen let out another chuckle in the tavern. "You remind me of my little sister."

"Hehe." Eruno grinned back. "At least you aren't like my older sisters. They are both super serious and keep telling me to chill." She had dragged out the word 'super,' in an annoyed and irritated tone like an impatient child; then she began to move the spoon in her bowl absentmindedly. "Truth be told, I'm only 16 by Elin years." She then leaned in across the table to whisper to Quen. "Don't tell the old man though. I just like the idea of him treating me like an adult instead of a child."

The elf nodded. "I don't mind. My sister is like you and that's fine. Having some kind of cheerful energy is nice, especially in dark times."

Eruno's eyes widened as she beamed back at the elf. "I'm glad someone understands! Most people like my sis, Zyllian, are deep, meaningful, broody people! Even Varric called one of his friends Broody, in his book about the Champion of Kirkwall!" She leaned back in her chair, balancing the spoon on her nose. "The world needs more spark and life. Not just religious belief, but true appreciation about the simplest and silly things!"

Quen agreed with the young Elin. It was also nice to be reminded of his little sister. Such innocence was something this world needed.

xoxoxo

After dinner, Quen went to the barracks outside of Haven where some of the Inquisition soldiers continued to train, less now as the night sky began to rise. Cassandra was one of the few who remained, practicing her sword swings, occasionally hitting the wooden dummy. The elf noticed the woman's brow wrinkled in frustration as her swordplay became more aggressive, catching herself when her vexation made her movements sloppy.

"Everything alright?"

Cassandra broke her stance and let out a mournful sigh. "Did I do the right thing?" Quen kept silent, so the woman continued. "The Inquisition. The alliance with those... Elins... Is the world ready for such a change?"

"The Breach was an unexpected event. You did what you had to do." Quen replied, crossing his arms. "10 years of unresolved conflicted between Mages and Templars... The fact that the Divine was planning to intervene with re-establishing with the Inquisition even before the Conclave... clearly she had known the current methods weren't working.

"As much as the Dalish avoid much conflict with the main society, these affect all of us. It has reached the point that sitting back and letting things resolve themselves has not worked. We had to take action." Quen reasoned.

"I don't know what other option you or Leliana would have taken, but at this moment, you Divine's decision seems to be reasonable with our limited choices.

"Your people are in disarray, with your Chantry in shambles. The Inquisition is a way to stabilize order. Even though I am Dalish, this affects us all.

"As for the Fae sisters from another world, they appear to help us at the moment." He then looked at the green scar on his hand, the green veins slightly pulsing. "If it wasn't for Erune, I might have died. She saved my life, once from the wound from one of the demons and when I attempted to close the Breach."

"Solas informed me of how her healing magic seems to be the only thing that is able to lessen the Mark's pain." Cassandra thoughtfully mused. "Perhaps it is fate that she came as a saving grace for you." She paused, shaking her head while chuckling. "Thank you Quen, for your views about the Inquisition.

"Yes, order needs to be brought back to my people, and I am grateful that you are willing to help, despite being Dalish." Smiling, she sheathed her sword and started to head back to Haven. Passing by Quen, she turned to face him. "You said you didn't want to be called the Herald of Andraste because of your faith, correct?"

"I believe in the elvhen Gods, yes."

"What about the Maker? Does your faith have one more?"

"He's how you interpret your God."

Cassandra looked puzzled. "Why yes, but what does that have to do with…?" She didn't finish her sentence, utterly confused.

Quen deliberated his words. "My father... he once taught my sister and me that if there is some mystical deity force out there, that each religion is just their own personal interpretation.

"What you see as one being and call the Maker, we Dalish see as multiple beings and call them the Creators. This applies to the other religions as well. It's how we interpret our beliefs."

The warrior woman was stunned by the elf's reasoning. "But what about being called the Herald of Andraste?" She quickly asked.

"I just don't see myself as a messiah or a Herald. It's what some want to label me, but I don't think of myself as that." I'm just a nobody elf. He thought to himself. "I can't change people's beliefs. Such is the similar stigma of being called a 'knife-ear' cultist elf." He shrugged.

The Herald of Andraste, Knife-Ear. Just another label that he didn't want to be called, but the masses seemed to insist on that way. He couldn't change their opinions, nor did he, according to these views. It was something he was used to at this point.

"I see... Thank you for your time," Cassandra continued on her way.

xoxoxo

A few days later, Josephine arrived in the snowy town of Haven. She was contacted by Leliana to be the political advisor for the Inquisition. Leliana's letter informed her of the Herald of Andraste and the four Elins.

As Josephine entered the Chantry's library, the sight before her was completely different from what she was expecting.

Countless shelves had been emptied, many of the books now standing in tall stacks. While much of the room was well lit, one of the corners held a small candle, giving off an eerie glow in that corner.

A short woman with magenta hair and white rabbit ears was sitting on the floor by one of the book stacks, flipping through the pages of the current tome she was reading at a rapid rate. From the unsettling atmosphere of the corner of the room, a masked face illuminated by the dim candlelight was another woman with white hair and red bat-wing horns, her sharp eyes glancing up at Josephine. Standing on a box was a girl with blue hair and black cat ears. Holding a pile of books in one hand, she stood on her tippy toes to reach a higher part of the shelf. Finally, there was a green-haired girl with squirrel ears and a big fluffy brown tail appearing to physically climb the bookshelves themselves like a little cockroach.

Josephine stood there in the doorway, her mouth agape.

"Um…" a voice behind her began. The woman jumped back, slamming against the door. She had her hand to her chest in surprise. The elf looked back at her, confused. "Are you alright?" He asked, cocking his head.

"Oh! My apologies! You scared me!" Josephine gasped out, her heart beating against her chest. As she turned her head to look into the room, she found all four animal ear women staring back at her. She turned back to the elf, standing upright and brushing herself off. "You must be the Herald, I presume?"

"Please, just Quen is fine." Quen scratched the back of his head, embarrassed by the title.

"Ah yes, Quen Lavellan," The Antivan woman straightened her posture. "Greetings, I am Josephine Montilyet. Andaran atish'an."

"You speak elven?" Quen was surprised.

"You just heard the entirety of it, I'm afraid." She looked away, slightly ashamed by her confession.

Quen smiled. "It's fine. Your pronunciation was very good."

Josephine flushed at his appraisal. She then turned her attention to the women in the library. "And you must be the Elins who are called the Fae Sisters."

Eirai had stood up from her sitting place, having scolded Eruno to come down from the furniture. As she stepped toward the Antivan noble, she bowed. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Montilyet."

The dark-haired woman eyed her ears and motioned to them. "Are those... real?"

"Yes." The Elin said light-heartedly, wriggling the fluffy appendages to make a point.

"Um... forgive me if this sounds strange, but... may I touch them?"

Eirai looked back at the woman, amused. Many had stared at her and her siblings' animal appendages but were too afraid to ask such a request. "Go ahead." She obliged.

As Josephine gently pinched to rub the soft rabbit ears, her eyes lit up in fascination as she noted that they felt just like a normal rabbit's ear. Quen leaned back against the door, chuckling to himself as he watched the dark-skinned woman's eyes continue to sparkle with delight as she politely asked the rest of the Elins for permission to feel their ears and tails as well.

xoxoxo

Over almost an hour later, Cullen found them; Josephine was scritching Eruno's tiny squirrel ears, the young Elin's bushy tail flicking in delight. Her eyes were closed in complete bliss from the petting. The Commander began awkwardly coughing to grab their attention. "I see you have met Quen and the Fae Sisters. Cassandra, Leliana, and I would like to talk with you now, Josephine."

As Josephine left the others, Eruno leaned back, a lazy grin on her face. "That was the best ear massage I've ever had…" She looked at Zyllian. "You totally missed out, sis." Zyllian ignored Eruno and got up to put her book away before leaving the room. Eirai shook her head and decided to put back the stack of novels she had finished reading on the shelves, Quen joining to help her.

xoxoxo

Zyllian sat atop one of the surrounding walls of Haven, one of her legs tucked close to her chest. Her steel mask lay on the stone beside her. As she watched the sunset, she felt a little more at ease from her taunting past. Instead of letting old memories continue to bother her, she focused on the now.

Being in Haven for a few days, she had been able to categorize the new scents of the people of this new world. Each smell had a particularly unique combination of scents. Humans from this world were different from those from Arborea, as well as their elves.

Quen had some familiar scent, but she presumed it was from the Mark on his hand which linked to her world.

What puzzled her most was Solas… Quen and even the elves in the village of Haven had a distinct smell. But Solas's scent, something was off about it.

She heard the sound of footsteps approaching in the snow. Her nose wrinkled as she smelled the suspicious elf mage approach her. Solas had his arms crossed as he looked up at the Elin Reaper.

"What do you want?" Zyllian grunted, looking back down at him.

"It is a curious thing," Solas surmised, observing the Elin closely. "Your people were once Spirits of Nature. And now they are contained in physical form. I can tell from your siblings... but you…" He could see Zyllian's eyes narrow at him. "You are... different…"

Zyllian let out a low chuckle. "I'd say the same about you."

Solas was intrigued by her comment. "Oh? Whatever do you mean?"

The Elin, fast on her feet, used the power of the shadows to step in front of him. "What kind of elf has the underlying scent of a wolf?" She glared, lifting her head to look up at him.

"What makes you think that? What about you? Whose aura is shrouded in shadow?"

Zyllian snarled, snapping her steel mask back on. "You know nothing about me." She shoved past him. "You best watch your back, because I'll be keeping an eye on you…"

xoxoxo

Leliana invited Quen and the Elins into the main room of the Chantry. As they entered, there was a map of Fereldan and Orlais spread out across the table. Josephine held a clipboard in her arm and a quill in her other hand to take notes.

"We would have started this sooner," Cassandra began. "But it took some time to gather information before we could make any decisions. The first thing we must address as the Inquisition is the Breach."

Leliana looked at Quen and Erune. "We obviously need more power to close it. I would suggest getting help from the rebel mages."

"I disagree." Cullen interjected. "Too much magic could be dangerous. The Templars could serve just as well by weakening the Breach. Having been one myself, I know what they are capable of."

"Either way, neither party is willing to talk to us right now," Josephine added. "Which leads to our other issue we must address: being officially recognized by the Chantry. As of now, they have denounced the Inquisition-and you, specifically."

"They still think I'm guilty?" Quen sighed. There was always something, wasn't there? He thought

"The Herald of Andraste appears, and the presence of the Fae Sisters frightens them. The remaining clerics call it all blasphemy and us all heretics for harboring the five of you."

"The Senile Old Man's doing, no doubt." Eruno surmised.

"If we are officially acknowledged, we will be able to gain more support, and the mages and Templars may be willing to talk with us. As of now, though, our options are limited." Josephine concluded.

"There is one thing you can do," Leliana responded. "There is a Chantry cleric by the name of Mother Giselle. She has requested to speak with you and the Fae Sisters.

"She is currently in the Hinterlands near Redcliffe, not far from us. She is there helping the refugees from the fighting between Templar and Mage rebels. Her assistance could be invaluable to us."

Quen nodded. "I'll go talk to her." As long as they had at least one head cleric backing them up, hopefully others would follow.

"There is also another task we would like you to undertake if you could," Cullen added. "The Inquisition is in need of horses for faster transport. Horsemaster Dennet lives in the Hinterlands. If it's not too much trouble, please talk to him."

"Should be easy enough." Eruno grinned, making a two-finger salute to the advisors.

xoxoxo

Quen, Cassandra, Varric, Solas, and all four of the Elins left Haven together on foot. During the first night of the journey off to the Hinterlands, the Fae Sisters all slept together in the same tent while Quen shared the other tent with Cassandra, Varric, and Solas. The next morning, Quen woke to Erune curled up by his side, having snuck in the middle of the night while she was half-asleep. After that, Cassandra moved over to join the rest of the Fae Sisters the following night.

She mentioned the first time she slept with the Elins how much the three girls liked to snuggle together in one big warm pile, to which Eruno jokingly offered to have Cassandra join them in their cuddle pile. Cassandra made only a disgusted noise as her response.

Along to way, they would occasionally stop to close off small Rifts. With Erune's help, Quen was able to successfully close them without the consequence of him blacking out soon after. Solas continued to take notes from afar as he watched the young Elin hold Quen's left hand as the Mark was used to seal the Rift closed.

Even with Erune's assistance, it was still quite a toll on Quen, especially when the green rips were larger than others. The effort of closing them always left beads of sweat rolling down his brow, drawing looks of concern from Erune. Quen grimaced and patted her on the head for reassurance.

By the time they arrived at the Inquisition scout checkpoint in the Hinterlands, it was nightfall. The group set up camp, planning to head down to the village at the Crossroads in the morning to meet with Mother Giselle.

Away from the campsite, as Quen gathered the sprigs of elfroot and laid out the leaves on the ground, he heard light footsteps approaching. Lifting his head, he saw Erune with two cups of steaming tea in each hand.

The elf silently took the mug from the young Elin with a nod. He moved to make space for Erune to sit down and snuggle up by his side. It was a familiar feeling for him, as he used to do this often with his parents, and then his little sister would do with him.

For Erune, she did not know why she wanted to be close to the elf. Perhaps it was because her presence helped ease the pain from the Mark. Whatever the case, she felt a warmth, familiar, and safe feeling from this man. It was a silent connection between these two. Neither of them knew why, nor did they talk about it, but it felt just right.

"It's interesting," Erune finally opened her mouth, "that although my sisters and I are from a different world, the stars here look very similar to the ones at home." She reached up to point out a few constellations she had recognized.

Smiling, Quen joined in and taught the Elin his own elvhen constellations. "Perhaps our skies are connected." He concluded.

"Perhaps." Erune mused. "Though your sun and moon differ from mine." She then began to draw in the dirt what looked to be a simple version of a pupil of an eye. "From my world, this is what our moon and sun look like. Here, they are plain, round orbs.

"Legends say ours looked plain before, but when the former Elin Goddess, Elinu, passed from our world, her husband, the elven God, Karas, cast away the light from our world in anger. Their son, Balder, sacrificed both of his eyes to bring back the light."

"Karas and Elinu…?" Quen repeated the two names.

"After Elinu's passing, the moon Goddess, Seren, took over in the creation of my race." Erune added. She leaned back to sip her tea. "Still, my sisters and I invoke Elinu's name to honor her."

"We Dalish do that too."

Erune looked back at him and smiled gently.

When Quen's parents died, he had been overwhelmed with rage to the point of having destructive consequences. It hurt many people. Such similarity to Karas

Erune leaned into the elf's side, letting out a sigh.

When the sun arose, Erune was still asleep while the others ate breakfast around the cooling embers of the campfire. Varric noticed Eirai quickly put down her bowl of porridge to grab her bag. A small light flashed under the flap.

Eirai withdrew the messenger tube, whose runes were lit up. She opened it and shook out a rolled up parchment. Unraveling the letter, her eyes quickly scanned the report, a smile slowly coming upon her lips.

"Good news?" Varric smirked.

"Yes." Eirai hummed. "As you can see, my report went through. My colleagues have reported that a few of the Rifts they were keeping an eye on are closed."

"What about the Breach?" Cassandra asked.

"Like here, it has stopped growing. Not fully sealed, but at least its growth has been halted."

Solas looked at Quen and smiled. "It appears the Mark is successfully closing the Rifts in both worlds like we had hoped for."

Quen let out a sigh of relief. "Hopefully, when we close the Breach for good here, it should close there too. First things first, though, is meeting with Mother Giselle to get her assistance to be able to talk to the Rebel Mages or Templars."

Varric stood up, stretching his arms and back. "Well, we should get going then. Who's gonna wake up Blueberry, by the way? Her grub's gone cold."

"Don't wake her." Zyllian cautioned. Her mask was already back on her face after she had finished eating. "She's in the Dream."

"The Dream?" Quen inquired, but the Reaper had already walked away to pack up her belongings in the tent.

"It's like your Fade," Eruno answered. "We get our magic and Willpower from the Dream and most magic users are able to enter the Dream when they sleep."

"We Elins are an exception, though." Eirai added. "Just like dwarves, we cannot enter the Dream when we sleep. Those Elins who can are often considered special because most of them are able to communicate with our Gods in the spiritual world."

"Lil' sis is different, though." The squirrel Elin leaned back, her hands behind her head. "She can enter the Dream when she sleeps, but the Gods do not speak to her. Instead, she can only interact with those who also are conscious there."

Solas then spoke up. "Fascinating. Both of our spiritual worlds seem to have much in common.

"You know... with all these stories and explanations you gals keep telling us, I could write a whole book just about you four." Varric chuckled; the dwarf was joined in by Solas and Quen while Cassandra made a disgusted noise.

"I've read some of your books, Varric," Quen said. "I think you'd be able to write a good novel about the Fae Sisters, if you wanted to."

Cassandra quickly turned to Quen, surprised. "Apologies, Quen, but you know how to read?"

Quen took no offense to her question. Dalish elves were often looked down upon anyway since a majority were illiterate in Common. Those who were educated in reading were usually the Keeper and their First for trading purposes specifically.

"When my little sister, Riella, became First to clan Lavellan, I helped study alongside her as she had many difficulties learning on her own. She and I would read Varric's novels together that our Keeper had obtained during one of our trades with humans."

"Well shucks Frosty," the dwarf was amused. "I'm flattered."

"Riella loved it when I would read to her..." Quen frowned. "When I left the clan to go to the Conclave, I had to leave her behind. I wonder if my people know that I'm alright..."

Things then got awkwardly quiet. The others had been so caught up in forming the Inquisition and allying with the Elins that they had forgotten about Quen before he became the Herald. Of course, he had a life before the Conclave, a family. Even Quen himself had been so distracted after the many weeks that he felt a sense of guilt for not mentioning his sister earlier.

Cassandra decided to break the silence. "We can send your clan a letter if you wish."

Quen looked back at the Lady Seeker. "Thank you Cassandra. I really appreciate it."

xoxoxo

The Terror demon slinked around the large circular center of the tree. As its long, spindly arms and legs moved, the sickly green sunken skeletal head looked up at the five crystal walled containers. Multiple tubes embedded in the tree's bark connected to the metal bases of the capsule. The demon came closer, inspecting the contents of one of the capsules. A young human girl was suspended inside, fast asleep.

Lifting one of its long, bony fingers, the Fade demon touched the wall of the capsule. The creature could feel a familiar aura radiating from the sleeping child...one that the corrupted spirit had not felt in a millennium.

A low, raspy ghoulish voice murmured from its throat as it remembered the name of a woman from long ago. "An-"

Karashvran rushed in with his greatsword, severing a limb from the demon. Unbalanced, the Terror demon fell over, letting out a screech as it fell to the floor.

An armored thrall suddenly pummeled into the monster, knocking it down before raising its club and bashing the creature's head in. The demon's body dispersed into green mist. Finnoe followed into the clearing soon after, dismissing her thrall, the Amani standing up to huff at the Mystic. "That was my kill." He grunted.

"You can have your chance another time." The Elin rolled her eyes. As she stepped into the center of the area, she held her scepter up and began to focus her magic carefully. A circular ward made of light purple appeared under her feet and began to grow until it covered the entire ground of the clearing. "There. That should hold those demons off from here for now."

The Amani looked around at the capsules. In each one was a different sleeping child. A Popori, a female elf, an Amani boy, a human boy, and the human girl. "So these are the Gifted Children?"

"Yes. The sap from the Tiaran Tree had enhanced their abilities in the Dream." Finnoe examined the containers to make sure they were still functioning properly. "I brought Erune here a few years ago to see if the sap would also help her gift to Dream." She was then satisfied with her inspections. "The containers here were made by the Mysterium Order to help monitor the children's dreams."

Karashvran crossed his arms. "I had heard about the Argon attack on this island a while back."

Finnoe put her hand on the capsule containing the human girl and let out a sad sigh. "We were too late to stop them when they kidnapped the children. When Erune was forced to take on the enemy here alone, Anya and the other children merged their souls with the tree itself to help Erune in the fight." She then frowned. "An unfortunate sacrifice. Any attempts to free them now would damage the tree."

"Well, I hope your wards hold up for now. The Rift here is reported to be getting slightly larger every day…"

"We can only hope that our friends will close this one soon then…"