An icy mist surrounded her. The ache in her joints made her feel as though she had been waltzing through the cold night for hours, at least. Her bare feet were quickly becoming numb to the sensation. Her nails collected moss from the stony ground beneath them as she wiggled her toes—just to reassure herself that they were still attached. A shiver ran through her whole body violently. The goosebumps that formed on her naked arms were so intense they were almost painful.
Why am I out here?
There was a distant sound of waves angrily crashing upon rocks, a near-constant shriek of the wind whipping by her. The air around her felt charged. As if the environment were expecting something terrible to happen at any moment. She vainly wished Killian were with her, but she knew in the very depth of her soul that she was completely alone in this place. The feeling of vast empty space around her was unsettling but the obvious isolation was utterly disturbing.
What am I doing?
When she slowly brought her gaze up, she realized this mist to be nothing more than a wholly natural, moonlit fog that stretched throughout this forest clearing…but how did she get here?
Where in the actual void even is 'here'?
Her rational thoughts started coming back to her. She must have been in the woods near Haven…right? Where else would she be? Theirinfall…when did she leave? How did she leave? The realization that she seemed to have lost time did nothing to calm her frightened mind. She tried hard to focus her thoughts. She had to make sense of this, she had to remember.
That monster…
The Lord Seeker…or what was left of him. Her hand reflexively shot up to her neck, feeling the indents where he gripped her with those damned claws. That evil stare of his was burned into her memory. In fact, it was, unfortunately, the last thing she clearly remembered…She was either dead or in the fade…or both, honestly. The fade wasn't totally foreign to her, but she had always tried to stick to the most familiar places. She was keenly aware that she wasn't skilled enough to face most of the dangers lurking around the dark corners beyond the veil. Her mother used to help her navigate her way around her dreams as a kid…but then the Archdemon took her. Now there was no one left to teach her, to hold her hand and guide her. Just another bitter reminder of how alone she truly was.
The mark suddenly flared violently, forcing its green light to reflect off the mist. She stared down at it strangely. If it hadn't had been so bright, she wouldn't have noticed it at all. A flare like that had typically been followed closely by extreme pain. But she felt nothing. She watched as it flared twice more and then began to rapidly spread apart in vicious tendrils. In a matter of seconds, it had engulfed her entire arm. She clawed at her chest in vain, hoping to stop it somehow. Even then she felt no pain, but she just knew it was trying to consume her.
She was so panicked she hadn't noticed it at first, but she was slowly becoming aware of the sounds now coming out of the forest. It was the chanting. Pure dread shot right through her. Indistinct figures began to appear around her in the mist. Each of them surrounded by an angry, red glow.
No sound came from her no matter how loud she tried to scream. She felt frozen in place. As if the bitter wind had solidified her legs. Hopelessness fell over her like a weighted blanket.
Steel your heart.
The voice was startling but oddly comforting, given the circumstance. She whipped her head around towards it. She felt like she should have recognized that golden figure, like she'd seen her before…
The chanting suddenly became louder, the figures moved closer. The green fissures in her skin changed to that corrupted red in the blink of an eye. The hopelessness was compounded with despair. It got heavier and heavier with every shaky breath she took.
Answer the injustice. Burn them all.
The figures descended upon her frantically. But the voice compelled her through the fear, simultaneously coaching her and encouraging her. Blue flames erupted from her hands as she threw them up defensively. The figures dissipated one by one, the mist growing thinner with each vanquished foe. Soon the mist faded completely. The forest clearing quickly became illuminated by the rising sun.
The icy feeling melted away. Her immobility vanished. The missing memories of the time she lost flooded back. The mark suddenly showed no signs of being tampered with in the first place. Her mind began to swim with questions, trying to make sense of it all. It was all too much…no, this was just insane. No way any of that happened. No way any of that was real…right?
A sudden, intense feeling of falling overcame her. The mossy stones beneath her bare feet were replaced with nothingness. The air left her lungs momentarily, only to be forced right back in when she hit the ground. No…not the ground…a mattress? Her mattress? She breathlessly studied her new surroundings, feeling utterly stupid when she recognized her bedroom. She was just in her apartment, safe and sound in Haven. No big bad monsters, or creepy foggy forest. It was just a nightmare.
Everything was exactly where it should have been. Despite it still being dark, it felt totally warm and welcoming. Skepticism was still lingering in her mind though. She conjured a ball of light to illuminate the room properly for a moment, just to ensure everything was as it seemed. It was only when she checked every object and corner for anything irregular that she calmed herself down slowly.
She slumped back against her headboard, leaving the ball of light hovering near her ceiling. Absently, she ran her fingers up to her neck, trying to reassure herself of her own overreaction. But when she brushed over the indents from the Lord Seeker's claws, all those lovely reassurances flew right out the window. It was real…
"Fuck." She muttered aloud, partially just to prove that she could speak again. She let out a relieved sigh, musing about how good it felt to hear her own voice. Her mind began replaying what happened at Theirinfall…she could barely believe it. Knowing that she was clearly possessed momentarily was so unsettling, she only vaguely registered that she probably would have been a swooning mess otherwise. It would have totally been the wrong setting to be tripping over herself in front of a really misguided crush, but she was certain she would have managed it somehow.
Thank the Maker for small miracles, right?
She tried hard to focus her thoughts logically, mostly to keep herself from spiraling into a self-depreciating mood. It happened. It was…weird, to say the least. But it worked? Maybe that was all that mattered. She was safe, she was fine. Just a dumb nightmare…and a really crazy day… She turned her hand over, examining the mark and wondering if she should just get used to it now. The nightmares were probably going to be a nightly problem now. At least they weren't about that bastard anymore. She was suddenly immensely grateful for the view from her window. When her traumatic nightmares plagued her in the alienage, she'd wake up and see the Arl's maker-forsaken estate looming over them all. Which, of course, did absolutely nothing to calm her down. But now, she overlooked the town of Haven. Her new home. Her fresh start.
As she looked around her empty room again, she couldn't help but wish her brother were there with her. Killian's presence always served to put her mind at ease. If anything bad happened, he'd deal with it—however he had to. He was always the strong one, always the reliable one. Maker, what she wouldn't give to find him now. After all this time in prison, he deserved to find his own fresh start too…assuming he was even still alive…
She nearly jumped out of her skin when her phone suddenly went off. The screen brightly lit up the room like the light of dawn itself, somehow dwarfing the ball of light she still had hanging by the ceiling. She angrily snatched the offending device from her side table, having half a mind to chuck the thing out the window.
The screen unlocked swiftly as she brought it up to her face. She rolled her eyes at it. Of course, it would be all to happy to work properly when she didn't want it to. It pulled up the message that triggered the notification.
Lady Stabs-A-Lot: Meet me in the War Room
Skylar glared at the message. She flicked her eyes up to the clock in the corner. It was still hours before sunrise. No way she was getting out of bed to go trudging across Haven in the middle of the night. Leliana may have put the fear of the nightingale in everyone else, but Skylar still remembered the naïve, aspiring priestess who used to follow her mother around like her protégé. Before she could formulate a snarky refusal, a muted chime altered her that she'd received another message.
Lady Stabs-A-Lot: Now
This was ridiculous. If the world was ending, again, she wouldn't be sending a text message. How did Leliana even know she was awake anyway? Skylar switched the phone on silent mode and dropped it unceremoniously onto her side table again. She hadn't even grabbed onto her blanket again before yet another message popped up. The notification chimed again despite it being set to silent mode. Skylar absently wondered if this was what the void felt like.
Lady Stabs-A-Lot: It'd be a shame if something happened to that Xbox
Her eyes snapped over to the direction of her entertainment center in her living room. She brought the ball of light to hover over it so she could verify that it was in fact safe in it's proper place. Skylar's hand shot over to the phone, her fingers rapidly pounding against her screen in anger.
Snowball: Be a shame to re-arrange your face…
Lady Stabs-A-Lot: You have 10 minutes
Snowball: Ginger bitch
Lady Stabs-A-Lot: 9.5...️
Skylar let out a defeated grunt as she threw the covers off of her. If this turned out to be something political or fashion related, she might actually have to light her on fire. She trudged over to her closet, digging through the hangers looking for her favorite shirt. But the damned thing was nowhere to be found. She silently cursed herself for being so disorganized until she realized she'd been wearing it at Theirinfall…she'd torn off the sleeve, the thing must have been in tatters…but why wasn't she still wearing it…and who in the fuck put her in pajamas?!
Snowball: Did you fucking undress me?!
Lady Stabs-A-Lot: Irrelevant
Snowball: Irrelevant, my ass!
Lady Stabs-A-Lot: You have no ass
Lady Stabs-A-Lot: 7...
Lady Stabs-A-Lot: 6...
Snowball: I hate you.