Regina slept soundly and comfortably that morning, until she heard footsteps nearby. She snuggled deeper into Cullen, nuzzling his chest, his strong arms warm and protective.

"Maker, it's too early," Regina groaned. "I can't, not right now."

"Something tells me that messenger is for you," Cullen replied.

Regina growled as she opened her eyes, sat up, and reluctantly rose from bed, which caused Cullen to chuckle softly. The Inquisitor shivered in the chilly early morning air and she dressed as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, Cullen pulled the blankets further up his body.

"Andraste, it's too damned early for this," she grumbled.

"I will keep the cot warm while you are away," he muttered before rolling over.

"You'd better," Regina remarked.

She reached over and pecked Cullen on the cheek before she wrapped her cloak around her shoulders. She reached the tent flap where Lee, the soldier from the previous evening, stood with a messenger raven on his left shoulder.

He seems nervous, she thought as she watched his anxious expression.

"Two responses arrived for the commander," Lee said by way of explanation.

Regina extended her arm and the messenger raven moved onto her arm. "I will take it from here, soldier."

"Thank you, Inquisitor," Lee said.

The messenger bird settled on Regina's arm, and she noticed the three pieces of paper attached to a string tied around the bird's leg.

"Go ahead and get yourself something to eat, soldier," Regina instructed.

"Yes, ser," Lee replied. He saluted Regina and she returned the gesture before Lee turned and walked toward the mess tent.

She closed the tent flap and out of the corner of her eye, saw Cullen turn to face her.

"What is it?" he asked groggily.

"Both of your messages have returned," Regina replied as she walked toward the cage. She stopped, grabbed the three pieces of string, and carefully removed them from the raven's leg.

"Time to get up then," Cullen admitted with a sigh.

Begrudgingly, he sat up and dressed while Regina opened the cage and the raven moved from her arm to the perch.

"Duty calls," Regina said as she closed the cage door.


Once Cullen finished styling his hair, he trudged toward Regina.

Maker's Breath, even with her hair disheveled, she's still beautiful, he thought with a tired smile.

"Seeker Pentaghast, Dorian, and The Iron Bull his Chargers can be here soon," Regina said, as she extended the letters to him.

Cullen gratefully took them and read through them. Once he was done, he grabbed his notebook from beneath the bed, refolded the letters, and placed them inside the notepad

"Well, that's good," he said, doing his best to stifle a yawn. "We should begin planning the battle."

Hopefully, we have time to plan this before the Venatori execute their plan, thought Cullen.

"Would you like something to eat, first?" Regina inquired with a caring expression.

"I do not know if we will have time," he answered. He walked back to his cot, bent down, and removed his notebook from beneath it. He then opened up to a page where he'd left a map of Orlais. "We have no idea what the Venatori are planning and it would be best to strategize sooner rather than later."

"Why don't I grab us something to eat while you get started?" Regina suggested.

Just as Cullen opened his mouth, his stomach grumbled.

"I think that would be best."

Regina nodded, leaned forward, and pecked him on the cheek again. "I'll be back."

As she left to acquire food, Cullen sat on his cot and searched for the Map of Orlais. Once he found it, he opened the map and studied it thoroughly.

"The Venatori are located somewhere over here," said Cullen, as he pointed to a section of the map labeled 'The Tirashan.' "Which means we'll have no cover but hopefully, having Seeker Pentaghast, Dorian, The Iron Bull, and his Chargers will give us some advantage."

"What is our plan, Commander?" Regina asked.

"My plan was this; I would lead the soldiers against the Venatori while the Chargers could serve as an additional distraction while you, Seeker Pentaghast, Dorian, and The Iron Bull would take care of their stockpile of lyrium."

"Our fight will take place on Urthemiel Plateau," Regina said as she too ate her stew. "Which means we won't have any cover."

"Correct," he said.

Just then, the tent flap opened and Lee entered once more.

"Commander, Inquisitor, we've just received reports from our scouts that the Venatori are on their way," said Lee.

"Do we know how many?" Regina asked, as she hurriedly put her bowl and tankard on Cullen's cot and grabbed her staff.

"All of them, Your Worship," Lee answered.

Maker's Breath, I hate that I already know what she's thinking, Cullen thought.

"Inquisitor, we must wait—" he began just as Inquisitor Trevelyan raced out of the tent. Cullen sighed and with a mildly concerned expression, focused on Lee. "Prepare the rest of the men to fight and meet me near the edge of camp."

"Yes, ser," Lee said, as he brought his fist to his chest and saluted Cullen.

Sweet Andraste, please let the Inquisitor not get too far over her head before we arrive, thought Cullen in silent prayer.

He placed his mug and bowl on his cot beside Regina's, grabbed his sheath, placed it on his belt, and rushed out of his tent.


Despite the wet ground, Regina ran through and past the Inquisition camp. She heard the sound of footsteps as the sky began to darken again.

I don't care how many of you there are, I will never stop until you're all dead or defeated, Regina thought.

Adrenaline filled her system as her legs carried her as fast as humanly possible. As her boots pounded the forest floor, she finally spotted ten Venatori soldiers and mages. They noticed her as she grew closer and a predatory grin lit up Regina's face.

"Take this, you bastards," she shouted, lifting her staff into the air.

Electricity arced from the top of her staff and the Venatori cried as she slammed the bottom of her staff onto the ground.


A few minutes later, Cullen led the Inquisition soldiers toward the forest. The wind whipped the trees as Cullen removed his sword from its sheath.

"Stay sharp, men; we do not know what these Venatori have planned for their excess lyrium," he said, casting a glance at his troops over his shoulder.

"Yes, ser," the soldiers echoed.

Cullen then picked up his pace as he and his soldiers resumed marching.

Maker's Breath woman, I wish you wouldn't run headlong into danger, he thought.

Adrenaline coursed through his veins as he practically ran into the forest. Just then, he spotted a plume of flame heading toward them.

"Everyone, get out of the way," he shouted.

Cullen and the Inquisition soldiers swerved out of the way or otherwise did their best to avoid the fireball. Cullen saw the brown and red clad Venatori mage first, and he took a swing at the mage. The Venatori avoided the blow and Cullen set his jaw as he kicked the mage's knee, which sent his opponent sliding back. With all his might, Cullen followed up by slicing the mage's head clean off.

"May you find peace with the Maker," he said, as both head and body landed on the muddy ground. "Be wary, there are more."

With his sword raised, Cullen led the Inquisition soldiers into battle. His heart threatened to burst from his chest as he scanned the rows of trees. When he spotted a trail of ice shooting toward him, he rolled out of the way.

"Maker's Breath," he murmured.

Cullen stood up, lifted his sword, and led his troops toward the Venatori mages fighting Inquisitor Trevelyan.

Thank the Maker she's still alive, thought Cullen in silent prayer.

He rushed toward the Inquisitor, and in doing so, kicked a Venatori mage away from Regina.

"Maker's Breath, woman, I wish you would have waited for me," Cullen said, as he sidestepped a lightning bolt.

"I'm sorry, I know," Regina said. "I have an idea, but you may want to back up."

"Sweet Andraste, please be careful," Cullen yelled in return.

As fire appeared at the top of Regina's staff, one of the Venatori raised their staff and began casting a spell. Cullen opened his mouth to warn the Inquisitor but wasn't quick enough to prevent a giant green portal from opening near Regina and himself.

"Shit!" Regina swore at the same the same time Cullen said, "Andraste's Mercy!"

The green portal swallowed Regina and Cullen.


Lee led the other Inquisition soldiers into battle with his sword raised in the air.

"Keep fighting, men, we have to make sure the Commander and Inquisitor return home," he shouted. "For the Inquisition!"

"For the Inquisition," his fellow soldiers cried in reply.

Lee slashed at a nearby Venatori mage and interrupted his opponent's spell. He swiftly ran the mage through with his sword, and the Venatori grew limp against the blade. Lee pushed the corpse off of his word and he set his jaw as it began to rain.

It doesn't matter how many obstacles there are, we will defeat these bastards, he thought.

As the Inquisition soldiers pressed the Venatori mages, the mages stopped fighting and turned and fled.

"That's enough, men," Lee said. He lowered his sword and turned to his fellow soldiers. "Does anyone know what happened to the Commander or Inquisitor?" When the others shared blank looks and shook their heads, Lee sighed. "All right, then we need to return to camp and regroup."

He then sheathed his sword and began the long march back to camp. Reluctantly, the other soldiers followed him.

I promise to the Maker and Andraste, that we will find you, Commander Cullen, and Inquisitor Trevelyan, thought Lee. And we will bring you home.


Hello there, Fellow Readers! I apologize as I know it's been a while since I last updated, but I've been quite busy with personal things and other projects. Regardless, is anyone else as excited for the next Dragon Age game as I am? If so, feel free to leave a comment about what aspect interests you most below.

As usual, thank you very much to AirHippo for beta-reading this story and hopefully, I'll see you all again real soon!