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Guilty Until Proven Innocent

It's not about whether you are innocent or guilty. It's about whether or not you can prove you're innocent. If you can't prove you're innocent, then you're considered guilty. It's been flipped: Now it's guilty until proven innocent. - Ronald Jones

As we trudged through the snow, soldiers accompanied us, keeping pace with the Seeker.

"Seeker, you ought to know, the magic used here is unlike any I have seen."

Liar.

Solas picked up his pace until he was even with the Seeker, "While the prisoner is a talented mage, I find it difficult to imagine that any mage has the power to rip the Veil."

"Noted," Cassandra dismissed him, before issuing orders to the soldiers, "Clear the roadblock ahead for other soldiers. We will circle the bank."

Varric kept pace with me, "You're Dalish right? Had a Dalish friend once, Daisy. Well, you'd probably know her better as Merrill, from the Sabrae clan?"

I gave him a look, "I don't know every Dalish elf."

"Oh," Varric gave a sheepish laugh, "So how did you come to join a mercenary group? Don't the Dalish stick with their clans?"

The questions were so incredibly personal, but still, it was Varric, "My clan fought against the Fifth Blight."

A series of emotions quickly crossed his face, "Oh. I know this means shit, but thank you, and I'm sorry for asking."

Silence fell as we crossed the river.

"Demons ahead!" Solas warned, and I cast a quick barrier spell over the party.

We made quick work of the wraiths and shades, until suddenly a cry for help sounded through the river.

I looked up.

Another cabin had just caught on fire, the fire having spread from the broken crates. A woman was trying to climb out the window but was trapped by fire on both sides.

Cassandra raced forward, and I followed her, dodging the sparks of fire. We came to a stop next to the burning crates, unable to find a way across.

"Help me, please! Help! Help!"

There was sufficient mana for one powerful Aguamenti, especially if I drew from the snow and river below me rather than directly from the Fade.

I waved my arms in a spiral in the direction of the river and finished by cupping my hands towards the fire.

Water sprayed like a geyser over the fire, strangling the blazing fire. The woman hopped down, "Thank you, thank you! May the Maker bless you!"

"We must keep moving." Solas reminded us, and we trudged back down, heading towards the stone staircase.

"So, you're from Ferelden then, if you fought in the Blight. But I hear a bit of Free Marcher in your accent."

Surprised, I turned to Varric, "You've got a good ear."

"And an enormous mouth." Cassandra interjected.

"And clever hands. It's all a part of my charm." Varric winked at me, and I couldn't hide the small smile that crept over my face.

"So, are you innocent?"

I froze, the small feeling of camaraderie that Varric had inspired vanishing completely.

Varric was interrogating me.

He'd noted my distance from Solas and Cassandra and set out to build a rapport with me, cataloguing all my reactions. And now, he was waiting, having built a behavioural baseline, for my reaction so that he could deliver his own little judgement.

I had never been good with deception. The Fade was different; my innate talent made hiding my emotions in my aura almost disturbingly easy, but spirits were not capable of reading facial expressions and hence I never felt the need to learn.

The only mask I ever wore was my professional one, a necessity for working with human clients.

A mask that I was already using.

"I don't remember what happened," which was the unfortunate truth.

"Yeah, that'll get you every time, should have spun a story. It's more believable and less likely to result in premature execution." His face was expressionless.

I had no friends here.

Agony seared through my hand and I stumbled again.

Cassandra steadied me, "Hold on, we haven't much further." We continued down the path and found a Greater Shade, Wraith and Lesser Shade sitting around a fire, chatting. I paused, taking in the peculiar situation.

"Demons!" Cassandra charged them, and the others followed her lead.

I stood still. That had been unprovoked and callous. They were attacking a group of people who had just been resting.

They returned, Solas passing me another calculating gaze. Cassandra frowned in reproach before gesturing towards another set of stairs, "The others should have gathered above, at the Forward Camp."

I nodded, then started climbing up. At the top, there was a tug on my left hand and I pressed forward, finally spotting a rift near large wooden gates.

"We must seal the rift, quickly!" Solas advanced forward, casting a barrier before freezing the closest Shade.

I didn't want to seal the rift. I felt invincible again. My mana was back to full, nearly overflowing but if I closed the Rift, all the mana that I'd accumulated would disappear in my attempt to seal it.

"They keep coming! Help us!" A soldier cried out from the watchtower.

I fade-stepped until I was under the Rift, feeling the Fade pour out of the Veil like water leaking from a cracked dam.

I thrust the entity towards the rift, feeling as if my hand was being rendered in two as the entity circled the tear, drawing my mana fitfully as it repaired the veil. There was a suction, like when you stuck your hands together to create a pseudo vacuum between them, before I pulled back, sealing it shut with a pop.

The entity receded.

I turned around to find the others still fighting three Shades and two Wraiths, Cassandra cornered by the Wraiths.

This time, there was considerably more mana left over from the sealing, and I fade-stepped, slashing one of the Wraiths in a wide swing before moving onto the next target.

A few moments later, Solas' voice rang through the clearing, "We are clear for the moment. Well done."

"Guards, open the gate! The rift is gone!"

The gates swung open to the bridge, supplies laid out haphazardly while a bonfire warmed a group of soldiers.

"Come," Cassandra ordered, before marching down the bridge, coming to a stop in front of a large tent, "Leliana!"

Leliana walked out with a Chantry priest, arguing viciously as she approached, "We must take the prisoner to the Temple, it's the only way to stop all this!"

"No! You've caused enough trouble!" The priest spotted our approach and glared, "Here they come, guards, restrain the prisoner! Take the mercenary group to Val Royeaux to face execution!"

The guards moved, but Leliana held out a restraining hand, "No, we cannot ignore the Breach! You are not in command here, Chancellor Roderick!"

Roderick seethed, "Haven't you all done enough?! You are all thugs, but thugs who supposedly serve the Chantry!"

"We serve the Most Holy, Chancellor, as you very well know." Leliana rebutted, crossing her hands.

"Justinia is dead! We must elect her replacement and obey her orders on the matter! You cannot do as you wish!"

Cassandra interceded, "I will not ignore the Breach!"

Suddenly, the words pierced me, "Wait, what do you mean the mercenary group?"

I had gotten so caught up in the immediacy of the Breach that I had completely forgotten about the fate of the mercenary group. Leliana's face hardened but it was Roderick who addressed me, "Exactly what I said! Your mercenary group had the perfect opportunity and motive to kill the Most Holy! The Divine should never have hired a group of malcontents to mediate in such a momentous occasion!"

"What?" I asked hoarsely, disbelief and horror grabbing my heart in a vice grip, "What possible motive could we have had to do this? Where are the others? What have you done to them?"

"A mercenary group full of apostates, malcontents, criminals and qunari, and you're asking me what motive they would have for killing the Divine? You jest, surely?" Roderick mocked, before despair clouded his features, "And the Divine had the heart to reach out to people like you. We told her it was foolish, and here we stand, proven right."

My hands started shaking, "Leliana, you can't, you don't seriously believe this bullshit, do you?" Her face remained impassive, "But Thranduil, you, you reached out," I gasped and started hyperventilating, what had they done to Thranduil, Kaari, Ellana, Eldric, everyone, where were they?! "We fought the Blight together. We, we came because you asked! Because the Divine asked! Why would we, ever, our reputation, our soldiers, we came because we wanted to help."

Leliana's gaze sharpened, "I didn't forget. Thranduil was the one who fought in the Blight, not you. And one of your mercenaries came forward and presented incriminating evidence."

"What?" My voice strained, "Evidence? What evidence?"

"Maxwell Trevelyan stepped forward and presented information about your leader and you."

My body flashed hot in rage, before a dangerous cold descended, "Maxwell. Maxwell told you this fiction?" I growled, my tone conveying exactly what I thought of him, "And in exchange, what did he ask for? Money? Safe passage? Or immunity from prosecution? Which was it?"

"Trevelyan is fighting at the front as we speak," Cassandra contradicted, a frown gracing her face.

"And this, this is exactly why we Dalish want nothing to do with shemlen scum!" I yelled, losing control completely, and a hand settled on my lower back, jolting me.

"This is not the time to lose control," Solas whispered, only for my ears, "Stay calm."

It was the worst thing he could have said to me. This was his fault. His fault.

I wrenched his arm away from me, "Don't. Touch. Me."

He backed away immediately.

Bury the rage. Think. Think!

"Call a retreat, Seeker. Our position here is helpless." Roderick spoke, completely ignoring my outburst.

"We must stop this before it's too late." Cassandra objected.

"How?" Roderick asked, despairing, "You won't survive long enough to reach the Temple, even with all your soldiers."

"But we must. The Temple is the quickest route."

"But not the safest," Leliana interceded, "Our forces can charge as a distraction while we go through the mountains."

"But squads have gone missing on that path."

Roderick slammed a hand down on the table, "Stop, before more lives are lost."

The Breach expanded and the mark on my hand sparked viciously, distracting everyone from their quarrel. Before their argument could continue, I stepped forward, "Release the surviving members of Valo-kas."

"No." Roderick objected emphatically.

"You don't have enough soldiers in the valley. If," I swallowed, my mind racing even as I spoke, "Even if you believe we are guilty, you need us. If you put us on the front lines, then you won't have to bother with an execution."

"Are you confessing your guilt?" Cassandra turned, startled.

"I can scream myself raw proclaiming my innocence, and you won't listen to me. Even though the perpetrator is obvious, you still want to execute me," I struggled to control my rage, "Because you don't want to take the second it'll take to think, to set aside your hate. Because a human noble saw an out and took it."

Leliana was the only one who took a moment to consider my words, "Obvious?"

Reckless rage and desperation overpowered all common sense, "It was Fen'Harel."

There was a sudden scraping behind me and the folly of my words caught up with me. My heart skipped a beat. He was at my back!

Stupid, prideful Erelani was going to be food for the Dread Wolf.

There was the sound of someone slapping their forehead and I turned to find Varric shaking his head, "I understand you're in a bad situation, but do you realize what you sound like?"

"What? Who is this Fen'Harel?" Cassandra pressed, moving forward, "Varric, who is she speaking of?"

"He's the Dalish equivalent of an evil god," Varric sighed, "Daisy used to take his name in vain a lot."

"The Dalish are known for their superstitions." A cold voice spoke up from behind me.

I placed a shaking hand to cover my face. I made a terrible mistake: not only do I now sound like a mad superstitious savage, but Fen'Harel was going to kill me.

Bury. Bury it all.

I had to take the exit they had given me, because while the Chantry was formidable, Fen'Harel was Fen'Harel. I couldn't throw accusations without proof.

"He was the god fabled to have erected the Veil, but yes, perhaps it wasn't him. But which people are famous for having tampered with the Veil before?"

"Are you suggesting it was Tevinter?" Varric was incredulous.

"And the alternative? I am Dalish, and our mercenaries are outcasts. Where could we have possibly attained the knowledge to do this? While we do have a handful of mages in our mercenary group, few of them are Circle trained. But Tevinter, it has the resources, the knowledge, motive and precedent."

"Then why do you have the mark instead of a Tevinter mage?" Leliana contradicted and my stomach sunk, because she was right. Why did I have the mark?

"I don't know. I don't know!" I grit my teeth, "But I want to close the Breach! I'm already fucking dying, so I'd rather die closing the Breach than have it swallow the world whole," I took a deep breath to calm myself, "And if even that means nothing, we still need every able-bodied soldier to charge the Temple. Release the Valo-kas mercenaries."

When silence befell the bridge, Roderick sputtered, "You can't seriously be considering this! What if they revolt and there is a repeat of the Conclave?!"

I couldn't antagonise them further, no matter how much I wanted to kill the Chantry bastard, "Leliana, please. How can you believe, Thranduil, of all people, Thranduil-,"

"Leliana, despite the prisoner's dubious nature, she does make a valid point. We do need every soldier we can get."

"I'll negotiate their terms with their commander," She exchanged a veiled glance with Roderick, who seemed to lose his objections to the arrangement, "It'll be smarter to charge the Temple directly then, especially if we have the mercenary group at the front lines."

My head spun in relief and I nearly collapsed against the railing. I gripped the rails, stoutly ignoring the others as much as they were ignoring me while I waited anxiously for my friends.

Please be alive. Please.

"Erelani, what the fuck!" Eldric's voice echoed across the bridge and my head shot up, finding a dozen of Valo-kas mercenaries, over a half whom were from Eldric's posse, tied up and moving in a line towards me.

Ellana turned her teary-eyed gaze to me and I spotted the bruises decorating her face, "Hahren."

Her desolate gaze had me moving before I was conscious of it and I ran a frantic hand over her, checking for any lasting bruises.

"Hahren, what happened?" I shook my head, indicating now wasn't a good time.

I moved over the others, running a cursory check over all of them. Eldric grabbed a hold of me, "Erelani, what the fuck happened?"

"Eldric, I need you to tell me, how much time passed between you giving me the report about Pulai and the explosion?"

"An hour? The explosion made everything, everything, shit. Erelani, did you have anything to do with this?"

"No! I don't even know what the fuck happened!" At Eldric's disbelieving gaze, I shook my head, "Where is Kaari? Where is Thranduil?"

Ellana tilted her head behind me. I turned and found Thranduil supporting Kaari as they stumbled across the bridge, Kaari's weight slowing both down considerably.

I fade-stepped across and caught Kaari when she recoiled in surprise, "What happened to you?"

"The explosion."

Guilt set in deep as I took in the extent of her injuries. Why hadn't I done more?

Because there was nothing else to be done.

When we rejoined the others, I found Solas and Varric reclined against the railing, watching the rest of us intently while Cassandra and Leliana mobilised the forces.

Thranduil straightened, "Our group is the main suspect for the events at the Conclave," He studiously ignored me as I tried to catch his gaze, looking everyone else in the eye, "The only mercy we've been given, is the ability to choose our death. We can either wither away in the prison, languishing for crimes we did not commit, or fight against demons and show them the true spirit of Valo-kas, that we protect all people regardless of race, origin and magical ability."

Everyone became subdued, but no one protested the implicit assumption.

I reached out to him "Thranduil-,"

Thranduil wrenched my arm away from him, "You destroyed everything."

I froze in the face of his cold fury, his eyes like flint. I panicked, "It wasn't me! It wasn't me!"

"I assigned you the Outer Quadrant, you had no business being at the Conclave. Why were you at there, Erelani?"

His quiet fury made my stomach drop in dismay, "It was Maxwell's fault! Eldric reported that Pulai had been dismissed because a Chantry aide was harassing him. I, I went to fight-,"

"Maxwell was not wrong. He was acting on my orders! If any conflicts were to arise between our mercenaries and Chantry workers, he was to dismiss the mercenary from his position and send them back to me!"

I balked, "You didn't mention….no, it doesn't matter! Maxwell framed us! He fabricated evidence to accuse you and I of this crime and acquitted himself!"

Thranduil's gaze sharpened, "Did you-,"

I grabbed his arms, cutting off his words, "It wasn't me. Why would I do this? Believe me, please, you have to believe me."

"What happened at the Conclave?"

"I don't remember," His disbelief was palpable, "I think, Thranduil, I was in the Fade."

"Sleeping, you mean?" He scoffed.

"No, physically. Something did happen but there's a noticeable gap in my memories. To steal my memories, there's some cover up going on," I held out my left hand, "The mark is over my inscription Thranduil. I wouldn't have tainted this, not for anything."

And it was only that that finally convinced him, because he knew how obsessively protective I was of that veilfire inscription. I had never allowed any experimentation on it, never allowed another to touch it, or even experience its memories.

What kind of person did Thranduil think I was, that an assertion of my innocence hadn't been enough? That only a sign of my selfishness convinced him of the truth?

"Be that as it may, there is no way we are going to survive this," Thranduil's gaze finally softened, "I'm glad that my last day will be spent with the people I love most."

He ruffled my hair before turning and pulling Ellana into his arms.

Fuck.

Bury. Bury it all.

Today was not going to be his last.

"I swear," my gaze swept over every Valo-kas mercenary still alive, "I will vindicate you, I will protect you. Today is not going to be your last, even if that means I must kill every demon, human, anything that stands in your way."

Thranduil sighed heavily.

We charged the Temple, Valo-kas heading the charge as we advanced.

Fade-step, stab. Fade-step, stab. Barrier. Stab. Stab.

Rift. Recharge. Heal. Seal. Barrier. Stab.

Energy potion. Stab. Stab. Fade-step. Stab.

Temple.

I gave zero shits about the mummified bodies burning, their mouths open in a silent scream.

They were dead. They were on their next great adventure, case in point, me.

And they had been humans. I didn't give a fuck about how much they had suffered before dying. They probably deserved it too.

My entourage did not share my dispassion.

Cassandra kept bemoaning the tragedy and I tuned her out.

What about the tragedy that occurs in Circles of Magis? In Tevinter? In Sehron?

The mistreatment of elves, the poor, the slaves, mages, even spirits?

And they were bemoaning the death of a few rich people who were responsible for most of the tragedies that occurred.

Fuck humans. Fuck shemlen scum.

"That is where you walked out of the Fade and our soldiers found you. They said a woman was in the rift behind you. No one knows who she was."

I glanced at the place where Cassandra had indicated and found nothing unique in the scenery of death and destruction.

"The Breach is a long way up." Varric interrupted, struck with terrified awe.

Thranduil placed a hand on my shoulder, "This is your chance to end this. Are you ready?"

"Where will you be?"

"Right beside you, as always." And despite everything, my heart constricted.

Kaari stepped up next to me, followed by Ellana, and Eldric.

"You can do this." And Kaari's genuine faith calmed my nerves.

Cassandra approached with Leliana and her soldiers, "We're all here. Leliana, your men need to take positions. Erelani, come."

"How am I going to do this?"

Solas approached and I reflexively stiffened, "This rift was the first and is the key. Seal it, and perhaps we seal the Breach."

As we climbed down, a bone chilling voice echoed through the temple.

"Now is the hour of our victory. Bring forth the sacrifice."

"What are we hearing?" Eldric looked spooked.

"At a guess: the person who created the Breach." Solas passed me a glance that I resolutely ignored.

"That isn't even the worst part," Varric's voice called from the back, "This shit around us is red lyrium. What the fuck is red lyrium doing here?"

"Magic could have drawn on lyrium beneath the temple, corrupted it…"

"It's evil. Don't touch it." Varric warned.

The five of us exchanged glances, and I whispered to them, relieved, "See, it wasn't me. Do you believe me now?"

Kaari shook her head with a smile, "I never thought you did it."

"Doesn't matter in the end, though, does it?" Thranduil said, then moved away to command the remainder of Valo-kas mercenaries.

"Someone, help me!"

"That is Divine Justinia's voice!"

There was a sudden mad rush as soldiers leaped the remaining gap to reach the source of the voice, Cassandra leading them.

As I reached the Rift, my hand sparked furiously, and suddenly ghostly images started playing.

Divine Justinia suspended in the air by red energy.

A dark black figure with glowing red eyes.

"Someone, help me!"

My ghostly image stumbled in and her face paled, "Fuck."

"Run! You have to warn the others!"

"An intruder! Slay the elf."

My ghostly image had started drawing a circle, when abruptly a white light flashed, making the images disappear.

I recognized the circling motion. It had been my exit strategy, my one foolproof plan in case I got caught in that exact situation.

What went wrong?!

Cassandra shook me, breaking through my thoughts, "You were there! Who attacked? And the Divine, is she…? Was this vision true? What are we seeing?"

"I don't remember!" Because any other response, now, was going to damn me and in proxy, damn Valo-kas.

Solas intervened, "These are echoes of the past. The Fade is bleeding into this place."

And he was right, because I felt rejuvenated. Invincible.

"This rift is not sealed, but it is closed… albeit temporarily. I believe with the mark, the rift can be opened and then sealed properly and safely. However, opening the rift will likely attract attention from the other side."

Cassandra turned to Thranduil, "That means demons. Stand ready!"

Thranduil nodded, signalling the others into position.

Solas stood close and my skin crawled, "Do you need instruction on how to open the Rift?"

My jaw locked and all I could manage was a shake of my head.

Just a Pride demon. This was going to be easy.

The heaviness that had been weighing my heart since awakening eased a little.

I could do this.

I stretched my left hand out, flinching as the entity came out. Instead of circling in, I forced it to circle out, destroying the fraying patches that had sealed the rift.

Two bright green lights shot out, an incredible wave of power resonating as they spawned.

And there, on the right, was the Pride demon.

I turned to the left and my world ended.

Desire.

What have you done.