Lost Enigmas in the Dust
When Khotal saw the Rift, it almost made him swallow his tongue; a twisting mass of black sludge, verdant green crystals, billowing smoke, all coiled together like too much reality forced into one space. He'd barely registered Cassandra yelling for him.
"We must help them seal it!" She called, and charged forwards, to where a melee was playing out.
There, beneath the rift, amidst the rubble of what was once a tower, soldiers of the Chantry were fighting against a group of demons; shades and Wraiths, glowing green wisps of energy in the shape of a man, firing blasts of sheer Fade magic from afar.
Khotal watched as one of them was split in two by a thick crossbow bolt, and he followed the path of the bolt back to where- a dwarf stood. Short, stocky, as all dwarves were, his heavy coat and tunic were left undone, even in the cold, to bear the broad, hairy chest beneath. He was, distinctly enough, completely beardless, though, with only a hint of ginger stubble cladding his jaw.
That, however, didn't grab his attention- what did, was the massive crossbow with two pairs of limbs stretching out in an 'X' shape. Khotal watched in awe as several more bolts rotated up and into its nock, firing one after the other.
He could only stare for a moment, though, before a shade rushed towards him- larger, and more heavily armored than the rest. It swiped out wide, catching him across the chest and drawing deep enough for blood to spurt across its flesh, hissing in satisfaction. He snarled, and lashed out with the haft of his hammer, cracking it across the... head, wasn't the right word, he didn't think, but he cracked it anyways, sending it slithering back from the impact.
Khotal pirouetted with the room he'd been given, massive head of his hammer swinging out wide to smash where the creature's ribs may have been; and cleanly ripped the shade in twain, its two halves falling lifelessly to begin dissipating into smoke.
He looked up as another of the fighters- a mage- an elven mage, dressed in tattered cloths, his head devoid of hair and features sharp and lean, swung out wide with his staff of knotted wood, a flurry of bolts of ice flying loose to clatter against the last of the wraiths, its form returning back to the rift it had crawled free from.
The elf's eyes locked onto Khotal, and bare feet wrapped in cloth skidded across the stone with a surprising quickness, grasping onto the qunari's wrist and pulling him with an even more surprising strength towards the rift- and as soon as they neared it, he thrust Khotal's marked hand into the mass of green and black and death.
The Mark reacted.
To Khotal, it felt like it was reaching out, pulling him towards the rift, and yet, sealing it shut at the same time- like taking reality as a needle and sewing the wound in reality closed. And as suddenly as the sensation began, it ended, and the rift imploded in on itself, sucking away in a small burst of energy.
And there was nothing left.
Khotal stared with wide eyes at where the rift had been, then down to his hand.
"H... how?" He asked with bated breath, looking up to the mage.
Who simply shrugged, grasping his staff with both hands and leaning on it slightly. "I did nothing; the credit is all yours?"
"I- this thing, did that?"
"So, it seems."
"So..." Khotal's gaze slowly rose towards the Breach. "So, it could close that?"
The mage followed his attention, and gave a slight nod. "Perhaps. But introductions are in order- I am Solas. I am glad to see you yet live."
"He means, 'I kept that mark from killing you while you slept," The dwarf called over with a snort, beginning towards them. He let out a whistle as he reached the duo, looking up to Khotal with a laugh. "Boy, you are a big one! I've seen some qunari and damn you must be Arishok size!"
"And this is Varric." Solas said with that utterly polite tone, gesturing to the beardless dwarf.
"And this is Bianca," Varric hummed, pointing to the crossbow holstered on his back. "Youngest son of House Tethras, at your service; as well as storyteller, rogue, champion... and sometimes, an unwelcome tagalong." The last one was pointed towards Cassandra, cleaning demon filth from her blade.
She said nothing- simply scoffed with a sneer as dirty as any she had given Khotal, turning away. Her gaze turned to Khotal and she crossed her arms. "If we're done here, we need to reach the forward camp, and ensure Leliana made it. If there are so many demons out here, I fear for her safety."
"She's resourceful, Seeker," Varric said lightly, looping his hands in his belt. "We'll see her in no time."
Cassandra's gaze was withering- though the dwarf didn't seem to flinch, only grinning wider. "You are not coming."
"Have you seen the valley lately, Pentaghast? Your men are ass deep in demons out there- you need me."
Cassandra held her gaze for another few moments, almost desperately wishing for it to work... before surrendering, turning away and beginning down a side path back towards the river. "Come then. The way ahead is blocked, but I know a different way to the forward camp."
Khotal's mind drifted as they marched forwards, unerringly- sometimes in awkward silence, as Varric sniped something coyly at the Seeker, or Solas gave a quiet remark about the demons or the Breach, and other times in combat, as they fought through wave after wave of demons, falling in comets of green, or rising from pools of energy and sludge.
He thought of the Breach, hanging above his head and so damn close now, he could feel his Mark buzzing with energy, a silent thread pulling between it and the hole in the sky that had killed the Divine and hundreds of others.
Khotal wasn't supposed to be wrapped up in this- he was a mercenary, dammit. He didn't come to the Conclave to kill anyone, or become part of stopping the end of the world. He was there to watch some nobles and keep the mages and templars from tearing each other apart.
He couldn't help but wonder if maybe he was involved in the incident in some way. Maybe it was his fault, and he just couldn't remember.
Then, he remembered the elf, who had supposedly disappeared after they had fallen through a rift back into reality. Was she alive? What had happened to her? With all of the chaos and bloodshed around them- corpses along their path, houses burning to the ground, and frozen forests little more than ash floating on the wind- he couldn't help but fear the worse.
His hammer crashed through another wraith, scattering it to the wind as well, in some small modicum of retribution, and his gaze turned to the rift hanging above them, that inexorable pull drawing him in once again. This time, he didn't need Solas though, and raised his Mark high, forcing his will through his limb and out towards it.
A beam of brilliant green shot from Khotal's hand, magic coursing through it in a way he had never felt before, and as it connected with the rift, he felt it closing again, sucking away until- he ripped his hand free, and the rift disappeared into dust and nothingness once again.
"The rift is clear!" Cassandra called out, her attention turning to the massive double doors across from them. "Open the gate!"
Slowly, those great doors yawned wide, revealing the great bridge heading down the road; as they approached, Khotal could see dozens of people patrolling it, surrounding supply caches, weapons, food and drink for the soldiers and civilians still on the river. The quartet continued onwards, strolling down, soldiers bowing their heads in greeting to them, until their attentions turned to a small quarters of command, and the two individuals arguing around it.
"It does not matter, Nightingale!"
"Of course it does, Chancellor; this could be our one shot at stopping the Breach, and-"
"-Ah, and here they come!"
Leliana turned towards them with a look of relief, hands folding behind her back- the Chancellor standing behind the table, glaring through withered eyes and an age-lined face, however, Khotal didn't recognize.
And nor did he immediately like.
"Chancellor Roderick," Cassandra muttered, like his name was a curse. "Leliana, I'm glad to see you've made it. We must get Khotal down to-"
"-'Khotal'?" Roderick hissed, glaring at her. "This prisoner must have nothing done but be clasped back in chains and taken straight to Val Royeaux for trial and execution!"
"Execution? Only the Divine may give that order, and you are not her."
"And you are but an upjumped thug, but one I thought was loyal to the Chantry! This was not-"
"-Did it work, Solas?" Leliana asked, cutting him off and garnering a look of disgust from him. "The Mark?"
Solas tipped his head, but said nothing else, looking distinctly uncomfortable by the entire interaction.
"Good," Leliana nodded. "Cassandra, we must go now. The Chancellor here feels we must pull our forces back-"
"-As they are drowning," he muttered. "We must retreat, try the prisoners, and come forth with a new plan."
"We are getting him to the Breach," Cassandra snapped. "Whether you approve or not, Chancellor. That is how we stop this."
The old gentryman narrowed his eyes at the sharp remark. "Even if he isn't guilty, you will not make it a hundred yards through the valley- not even our soldiers have managed to push the demons back."
"But there is a mountain path," Leliana hummed. "It is more out of the way, but we will avoid the main bulk of the demons."
Cassandra shook her head. "We've already lost a scouting party on that path, I won't risk him dying up there as well. It will be safer to meet up with the vanguard and push through."
Leliana stared at her for a beat, then turned that avian-like stare towards Khotal. "And what do you think? It is your Mark after all, you are the one who has to survive to reach the Breach."
Khotal was silent for a moment, his mind racing to catch up with the events at hand. "...Me? I'm- I'm still your prisoner, I don't think-"
"-You are no more our prisoner than the elf is, at this moment," Cassandra cut in. "And Leliana is right, it is you who must make it there."
Khotal stared down at her, taking a deep breath in. He looked down to his hand, to his so-called Mark; he needed to make it to the Breach. And hell take him, he was a soldier- if he was going to die, he would do it on the front line.
"March with the soldiers," he said sternly, forcing the words out- giving orders wasn't his strong suit. "If we're going to make it, we need to make it quickly."
Cassandra nodded in approval. "Very well. We shall head out immediately. Leliana, will you-"
"-I will meet you at the Temple," she said lightly. "Maker watch over you."
"And you as well." Khotal muttered back while Cassandra spoke it more forcefully.
Roderick watched as they began to go their separate ways, the quartet beginning down the bridge while Leliana turned to retrieve a bow and quiver of arrows. "On your heads be the consequences, Hands." He muttered darkly, turning back down to the report papers in front of him.
Khotal could only growl in response, and Cassandra smirked at that as they continued their steadfast march.
Khotal heard the fighting before they saw it; coming down the final trail over a hill, the ruins of the Temple of Sacred Ashes surrounding them, the Breach hanging overhead like the end of the world. Steel met inky blackness, screams of mortal pain and demonic screeching echoing against the burnt stone and mountains high. As they crested the stairs and down to the battlefield, Khotal was met with a tide of mortality against the darkness of the Fade, the melee thick and seemingly never-ending-
As, on the other side, a rift hung in the air, spitting demons angrily, and hungrily, glaring across at Khotal as if daring him to tread into the fight.
Khotal didn't back down from a challenge.
"We need to get to the rift!" He roared, and leapt down the ledge into the fray.
Khotal didn't like making decisions; he didn't like having to stop holes in the Veil from destroying reality; he didn't like the weight of the world pushing down on him.
What Khotal did like was fighting, and as he trudged forwards, hammer at the ready, he threw himself into the battle without hesitation; a quick swing, a leaping tap with the metal pommel, a vicious blow to finish it. Demon after demon fell in his wake, soldiers gathering around him as the momentum slowly shifted, each step bringing him closer and closer to that damnable green hole to nothingness.
A greater Shade swung at him with both claws, viciously sharp limbs looking to pierce his hide as his attention was averted elsewhere- a wall of steel and fur stopped it before it could, however, and the warrior in front of him drove it off with a bash of his steel-plate, before a perfectly swung blade carved it in two.
The warrior turned- dressed in brilliant platemail, a long red coat over it with thick fur lining the collar, light brown eyes stared from the inside of a lion's jaw, the heavy helmet protecting him from the black sludge dissipating from his armor.
He nodded, and Khotal returned it, before they continued forwards, rallying the soldiers behind them, Solas' spells whirring past his ears with shocks of electricity, or gouts of flame- the tingle of a protective barrier electric on his skin- and Varric's bolts whizzed into the demons charging forwards, dozens of missiles launched in mere moments.
Finally, with one last herculean swing of his hammer, Khotal reached the rift, and raised his hand high, looking to close it as the rest- but this time, something looked back at him from the darkness within.
Two long, spindly hands reached through, grabbing hold of the hole in reality to stretch it open, and the thing that leapt through was a nightmare of long limbs, and rotting green flesh, another following suit immediately after.
Khotal moved to crack his hammer down on one; but it raised its empty-socketed gaze to meet his own before he could, and suddenly a cold sweat formed on his brow, every hair on his body standing on end and- and-
And he was suddenly nine again. His mother was in the kitchen, brewing stew for dinner. His father was out in the fields, working on getting through the autumn harvest as quick as he could- their landlords were never willing to give an inch when it came to them.
And then the men came, and there was fire and screaming and-
"KHOTAL!" Cassandra's voice roared, and Khotal was suddenly back in the Frostback Mountains, standing beneath the end of existence.
And he was furious- roaring, he brought the hammer down, crushing the Terror demon's head beneath the maul, as Cassandra and the armored man worked on dicing the other to shreds.
Khotal stared down at the dissipating demon, huffing in fury and fear, eyes wide and a feral sense of self-preservation overtaking him.
"It is alright," Solas said, suddenly beside him. "It has conjured your fear, but that fear does not control you. You must control it."
Control it. Right. Easier said than done, friend.
But Khotal forced himself to breathe, forced the tension and manic anger and terror to fade, swallowed it back down where it belonged; then, he raised his hand and his eyes, focusing back on the rift and willing every ounce of his rage into it.
This time, when he jerked his hand back, he imagined the entire Fade collapsing, and above them, the Breach seemed to jerk with the motion, flickering with green lightning.
Good. He hoped that it hurt, somehow.
The soldiers cheered around him as the rift vanished, bloodied hands patting onto his shoulders and back as he huffed through the Terror demon's spell.
"This must be him." The lion-helmeted man said as he stepped forwards.
"Khotal Adaar." Khotal said with a nod, extending a hand.
The knight sheathed his sword, then pulled his helmet from his head, bearing short cut blonde hair and a strong jaw, lined with scruff of too many days unshaven. "Commander Cullen Rutherford," he greeted, then shook the outstretched hand. His gaze rose to the Breach above. "Will it work?"
"Maker, I hope so."
Cullen snorted at that, before turning to Cassandra. "The way ahead should be clear; we've held them here as long as we could. The Temple is just down the path. I'll reinforce our position here and make sure nothing else arrives to reach you," he looked back to Khotal with the sullen seriousness of a soldier that had seen too many battles. "Maker watch over you- for all our sakes."
The soldiers exchanged one more set of nods, before Cullen called out to the rest of the warriors, drawing them together and beginning to march back towards the forward camp, barking orders as he went.
Khotal fell into a pile of dust, boots kicking up a small cloud, and it was only as the scent of it reached his nose, did he realize that it wasn't dust- it was ash. As he rose, he cast his gaze around and it was all ash.
He had just been here- just stood in this hall, watched the politicians work. Now, it was a sea of gray ash and smoldering embers- but worst of all were the people.
Desiccated corpses lined the ground, falling to their knees or raising their hands to the sky, burnt alive and frozen in time the ways that they had died.
Khotal had seen many dead people in his days, but this... this was too much.
Cassandra leapt down to come even with him, Solas and Varric a step behind. She stared passed one of the corpses, and sighed, pointing.
"That is where you and the elf fell through the rift and our soldiers found you. No one is sure where she has gone, nor who the woman behind you was."
"I..." Khotal shook his head, as his mind raced through all the dark thoughts again. "Let's just get this fucking thing closed."
"You said it, Horns," Varric said quietly, looking unnerved by the devastation that surrounded them. "Let's go... before some creepy shit happens."
Khotal huffed in agreement, then started forwards, heading towards the remaining archways left standing, descending down the uneven and blast-torn stairs down, and down, further and further, as the smell of sulfur and rot increased, and the air began to thrum with an overabundance of magic.
When they rounded the corner, they saw it- the Breach at its core. A towering gout of green energy arched from the ground and the largest rift Khotal had seen, arcing high into the air until it spilled out into the great, demon-belching hole in the sky.
Leliana turned from her position standing at the railing, and a dozen soldiers armed with bows and swords and whatever else they could find stirred as the quartet entered the Temple proper. She nodded. "Good, you've made it."
Cassandra reached out and clasped hands with her. "Is this it?"
"The Breach." Solas confirmed.
Khotal stared up at it, swallowing any trepidation still left in his throat. "Find a way to get me up there and I'll close the damned thing."
The elf shook his head, gesturing to the rift dominating the courtyard below. "This rift is the first; I believe, if we close this, it will close the Breach as well."
Khotal grunted. "I can do that. Come on." He turned, and began to descend the stairs again, picking his way through destroyed rubble and pillars of black energy, physical remnants of the Fade pulled into their reality.
But as he rounded one such pillar, he came face to face with the singing red glass reflecting himself back with perfect shine.
"Holy shit," Varric whispered, and Khotal watched in the reflection as he nearly dropped Bianca to the ground. "Do you know what that is?"
Red lyrium.
Of course, he knew what red lyrium was- anyone in the Free Marches in the days after the rebellion knew red lyrium, knew it was a corruption of lyrium, knew that it had driven Kirkwall's Knight Commander insane, and drove her to the lengths that began the Mage Rebellion years ago now.
Anyone who knew better knew her story.
But as Khotal stared at it, it... sang to him; a soothing tone, lilting and light and- and it was a song his mother had sung. That was enough to shake him from his reverie, and he snarled, stepping passed it.
"How the hell did it get here?" Varric asked, to anyone who had an answer.
"There is a lyrium deposit beneath the mountain," Cassandra offered as they picked their way past more and more of the glimmering red outcroppings. "Perhaps the explosion drew it out of the earth and corrupted it."
"Whatever did it, no one touch it- that shit is too evil to have up here."
Khotal couldn't help but silently disagree, but as the thought passed through his mind, a voice echoed around them-
"HELP!" A woman cried, her accent deep and Orlesian. "SOMEONE HELP ME!"
Cassandra stuttered to a stop, and Khotal looked back to see her eyes widen. "...That was the voice of the Most Holy." She whispered, and turned her gaze to the rift, where the voice was coming from.
"What's going on here?" Khotal heard his own voice this time, echoing and wavering like a fuzzy memory from the rift.
The Seeker was on him quickly, then, one hand grasping onto his bicep and staring up at him with entreating eyes. "So you were there! What happened? What happened to Justinia?"
He frowned at that, and pushed hard at his own sub-conscious, begging himself to recall the events, or even when he had said that- when had he even gotten close to her? He-
"We have an intruder." This voice was new, and deep, wavering with irritation like one might give a bothersome fly.
Then an explosion sounded, loud enough to pop Khotal's eardrums, and everyone stopped to grasp onto their ears, wincing in pain.
That, he realized, must have been the explosion that caused the Breach.
Maker... Maker, make it all make sense.
The soldiers stepped towards the rift, all staring up at it, as if waiting for more, but...
There was nothing. Silence was their only answer.
"I have many questions..." Cassandra said quietly, stepping up to Khotal.
"So do I." He whispered back.
Solas was between them then, nodding up at it. "It is closed, at the moment, and must be reopened to be destroyed completely- steel yourself, however. I'm not sure what could come through a rift of this size and strength."
Khotal nodded, and took a step back, glaring up at it with a sneer. This... this fucking thing had turned his life upside down. Maker knew how many of his comrades had died in the explosion.
Maker knew how he was going to survive an execution after this.
But for the moment- he could closed the damnable thing, and get his revenge that way. He thrust his hand upwards, this time willing it to widen, to unravel, as if it had been closed wrong; too many places connecting to places they shouldn't, like his first time trying to sew up his leathers. He jerked, and forced it to tear open again.
The demon that fell through was nearly instantaneous; towering thrice Khotal's size, with pale grey scales that looked as durable as steel, six glowing purple eyes and horns curling up from his head, it turned to him first and let out a deep, rumbling laugh, electricity sparking between its hands.
"PRIDE DEMON!" Solas called. "GET BACK!"
It raised its hands high and brought them crashing down, two long, crackling whips of lightning lashing out before it. Those that could get away did, and Solas was quick to throw down a barrier for himself and Varric as they were stuck in the path-
But one of the whips fell on Khotal, and Khotal alone, and he turned to brace his shoulder against the worst of it, feeling the massive whip wrap around his arm and shoulder and neck and chest, carving through one of his horns like it was nothing. And he roared, in fury, and agony, and he was quick to pull his hammer free, swinging it out wide as he did, its great hammerhead ripping into its knee and sending it down to a kneeling position, a growl escaping its throat.
That was all it took for mayhem to explode around Khotal, as the gathered warriors leapt into action, raining down a flurry of arrows to rip through the weak links of its hide, Cassandra and the other warriors leaping forwards to stab swords into its chest and hips and thighs and whatever they could reach- a flurry of magical bolts launched from Solas' staff, impacting against its face with an explosion of ice, sealing some of its eyes shut and drawing its gaze back to the fray.
It let out a rumble of anger as it rose back to its feet, forming another whip and lashing out at some of the warriors- the soldiers carved through, blood splattering across the stone and snow. It turned back to Khotal, almost as if sensing the Mark placed on his palm, and went to swing yet another whip-
Cassandra was in front of him before it could impact, however, and her shield was raised high, boots dug into the earth to absorb the impact, the lightning coursing through her protection and through her body; she just grit her teeth through the pain, and growled, and Khotal wasn't going to let her defense be taken advantage of.
He was quick to dash around her, hammer coming down at the extended wrist of the demon, its wrist snapping satisfactorily from the impact. It grunted, and rose back to its feet, its hand dangling, and with its other clawed limb, it lashed out to backhand Khotal, sending him flying away, ribs crunching from the blow. He landed in a roll, wincing in pain and forcing himself to breath, left on one knee, his body screaming in pain.
Solas was to his side quickly, dropping a fresh barrier down on him, and Varric flanked them, aiming his bolts for its remaining eyes. "Just die already, ugly!"
It seemed to take personal offense to that, and raised a sparkling hand, a ball of electricity forming within, and aimed it at the trio, preparing some kind of blast.
Khotal's attention, though, was on the shattered tower behind it, as something scurried along its roof, coming slowly into view of the green light of the rift- and it was her.
The elven mage leapt with a shout, driving the bladed pommel of her staff down into the back of its neck. The Pride demon began to swing wildly while doing that low rumble, trying desperately to reach back and pry the hanging elf loose- but she held fast, and braced her feet against its back, and let go with one hand, placing it flat against the beast's hide.
"Lasa adahl su nar masa!" She screamed, and suddenly a rune lit up across its grey flesh- and ignited. Flame scoured the entirety of the demon's back, blowing her off of it and across the ashy ground, but encapsulating the beast in burning red fire. It lashed out wildly for a moment, twirling to put out the blazing hot ignition, then came to a still, its momentum continuing its spin as it fell limply. Its charred black hide collapsed as it hit the ground, its hollowed-out shell beginning to dissipate into the Fade as it lay, dead.
The elven woman groaned in pain, rolling slightly, but seemingly unconscious.
Solas dashed across the ash towards her, and nodded to Khotal as his hands alit with magic. "I will see to her, but you must seal that rift, and quickly!"
The qunari grit his teeth, and pushed his way through the pain, his ribs screaming and the still smoking wound of the lightning whip demanding every fiber of his will to keep moving- but he kept moving anyways, dragging himself closer to the rift with each pained step.
Cassandra was to his side suddenly, grasping onto his arm and helping to hold him up as he trudged forwards. The duo locked eyes, and shared a nod, before he turned his attention back to the Breach.
He snarled, forcing the exhaustion to the back of his mind, and raised his arm with some effort, reaching out to make the connection