Elianna's heart was a hammer against her bruised ribs as she woke. Disjointed and fumbling, her pulse swooped through her chest, down to the ends of her fingers, her toes, then up, up, up, it climbed into her throat, her ears. A thunder she couldn't escape. Or was that her own breathing that whooshed out of her like a storm? In, out, in, out. A rush of panicked air she got no relief from.
"Shhh, da'len. You're okay. You're okay."
Was that sound outside or in her head? Soft, sweet and familiar. It washed over her like water. She felt the cushioned pads of fingertips brush across her face. Warm, gentle. It relaxed her somewhat.
Her eyes shot open. Dark blotches and streaks of light plagued her vision. A figure hovered above her, shadowed against the light behind. It took several blinks before the world started to correct itself. The warped image of her mamae leaned closer, attempting to calm her with bound hands.
Something lodged in her chest. Warm and stinging, it bloomed outwards. Elianna was caught between a gasp and a cry at the sight.
It wasn't a bad dream. She was still here. In this strange place, with the younger version of her mamae.
Was it all an illusion? Some heartless trick by some demon or mage? Or was it even worse than that? Had that hole not been an exit from the fade at all, but a tunnel through time?
No. That was a ridiculous thought. It shouldn't be possible.
Except Mamae and Uncle Dorian had already travelled through time. Twice. It was most definitely doable.
"Where–"
Elianna choked on the words as her body convulsed. Hot sparks of lightning carved a path through her left hand, down her arm, up her neck. Magic. Papae's magic. She could recognise the shape of it, the feel. But it had never cut through her like this. Why was Papae hurting her? A cry hummed between clenched teeth as she willed the pain away. Only when she no longer felt like a plucked raw nerve did she dare look down.
Her palm had been mutilated. A jagged hole pierced through the centre, but not to the otherside. It looked deep and endless and connected to something other than her body. Even settled it still emitted an otherworldly green glow. It bathed her face in its light.
Elianna blanched. She knew what this was. This magic.
It was the anchor. The mark mamae bore as she thwarted Corypheus' plans. She had been told countless stories about it. Had seen the artwork Papae had made of it. The mark that had seen mamae become the Herald of Andraste, the Inquisitor, the leader of an army.
Except Mamae did not have it. Elianna did.
So it was true then. She had gone back in time. She had gone back in time, and taken the mark meant for her mamae's hand.
Crawling panic clawed its way under her skin. A parasite invading. She could not draw enough air into her lungs before it was rushing out of her again. This could not be happening. Was she unravelling her own future just by being here? Would she fade from existence, here one moment gone in the other?
It was too much.
Too much.
Too much.
"Hey, hey, we will figure this out. I promise," her not yet mamae said softly. With bound hands and awkward movements she moved to gather her into an embrace.
"My name is Selene," she whispered into her hair. "What's yours da'len?"
"Elianna," she mumbled, leaning against her mamae–noSelene's–shoulder.
"That's a lovely name."
The world started to feel far away. Like a thick sheet of glass was blocking her from everything else. Her eyes were wide but her brain had stopped taking anything in. Soft murmurations above her head told her that Selene was still talking, still trying to soothe her with words and promises. Only she could not hear them.
Her disassociation was cut short by an angry Divine Victoria barging her way into the small space. Cassandra's dark armour, emblazoned with a large flaming eye was a lot more intimadating than her usual flowing white robes. She beheld Elianna like she was a stain on the bottom of her shoe. The skurge of all existence. The difference between her Cassandra and this version dragged her back into the present.
"Start talking, now!"
"About, what?"
Cassandra could not know about the time travel, surely? Nor about the blighted goddess on the lose? What was she asking about? Elianna's mind drew a blank. A suspiciously large blank that refused to fill.
"The Conclave!" Cassandra spat, looking at her like she was touched in the head. "What did you do? How did you get that mark?"
Oh shit!That'swhere I landed?
Pieces of memory floated down to her like ash in the wind. She snatched them up and tried to form a picture with the remnants.
A woman being held up by magic. The dark shadow of a monster in the corner, but no definite shape. A flash. An explosion. The raw power of entering the fadeagain. There was vague glimpses of demons and nightmares at her heels. Clawed hands tried to take something from her. Her mind. Her thoughts. A scream and a burst of crude furious magic that had the thing reeling. It did not get all that it wanted from her.
"There were people hurting an old lady," she said.
"Old lady?" Cassandra was taken off guard "The Divine? You saw people hurting the Divine? Who?"
Oh so that's who the woman was. Divine Justinia, the one before Cassandra.
"I can't remember. There's just shadows."
"Try harder!" Cassandra, leaned down to grab her. Thankfully, she chose to grip her uninjured shoulder but the pressure of her fingers still stung.
"Stop, you're hurting her," Selene said, trying to pull Elianna away.
At the same time, Leliana stepped into the light, dressed in recognisable robes. "Cassandra, we need her."
Need me for what?
The Spymaster's words were enough to sway Cassandra's hand. She stood back up with a huff.
"You are right. Leliana, go to the forward camp. I will take them to the rift."
Leliana nodded at Cassandra's order and slipped away.
"What's happening?" Elianna asked.
"It will be easier to show you," Cassandra said, leaning forward to unhook her manacles and then Selene's. A rope then replaced the metal cuffs. Not too tight but enough to chafe painfully against thin, sore skin. Elianna was hauled to her feet and only had a brief second to relish in her ability to stand without crippling pain, before she was being guided out.
She barely took in her surroundings. Concentrated on simply putting one foot in front of the other. Stone steps, then wooden planks, then hard packed earth. Light, blinding after so long in the dark, pierced her eyes and she had to blink back tears. She did not want to look up, but she knew she had too. She had to face the truth.
The breach was so much worse than she had imagined it. Tucked up in bed listening to Uncle Varric tell tales of the hole in the sky was an awful lot different than facing the reality. He made it sound smaller, more manageable. Something palatable for a ten year old to hear. But this.
It was wrong and ripped and seething. A vicious, swirling thing that looked set to devour the land whole. She was an ant, staring up at the end of the world. How had anyone fixed that? How could she? Hopelessness rose on a wave that tried to take her legs from under her.
Everything was happening. Too much. Too quick. She felt her mind slip behind a barrier once more. The world became distant. She barely felt herself being tugged away by the rope at her wrists. Barely heard Cassandra as she started explaining.
"We call it 'The Breach.' It's a massive rift into the world of demons that grows larger with each passing hour. It's not the only such rift. Just the largest. All were caused by the explosion at the Conclave."
"An explosion can do that?" Selene asked, staying close to Elianna's side.
Even without knowing her, Selene still acted like her mamae. It made her want to cry a little.
"This one did. Unless we act, the Breach may grow until it swallows the world."
The Breach surged with a bright light. At the same time the mark in her hand activated. Pain lanced up her arm and she cried out, holding her palm to her chest. Her other hand clung to it, nails biting into the skin. She kept her feet but it was a close thing.
Papae's magic was strong. Unstable. She did not have enough mana to hold it back. To stop it from hurting her. Her mind struggled to reconcile the familiar impression of her Papae's magic, with the pain it was causing. It made the experience so much worse. Tears had made tracks through the dust on her cheeks by the time it settled again.
"Your mark is linked with the Breach. Each time it expands, your mark spreads. It may be the key to stopping this, but there isn't much time."
Elianna floated along after Cassandra like a wraith. Her thoughts drifted further away. People scowled, shouted, screamed. They threw things, hurled abuse. Selene blocked most of it, covering Elianna's body with her own. She took almost none of it in. Just put one foot in front of another. Ropes were removed at some point, she barely took any notice. Maybe she would wake up soon. Yes, that would be nice. She would tell Mamae and Papae about her terrible nightmare and they would make it all better. She just had to wake up. That was all.
The present rushed back in as the ground disappeared below her feet. Elianna fell for what felt like the millionth time and she cursed her terrible luck. Her freshly healed ankle twisted as she landed, ripping a howl of pain from her lips.
Ice, wet and freezing, spread out below her. The cold seeped into her torn clothes and added to her misery. It wasn't until she was lying prostrate on a frozen river bed that she realised just how cold she was.
Her body armour was missing, she realised. It wasn't anything fancy, just something mamae had made for her to use when they went hunting. A simple bodice that allowed for movement while protecting all the important bits. She had thrown it on when she was too curious to remain still, not thinking she would actually need it.
Well, it turned out to be pretty useless in the end. The pulsing ache in her shoulder–that still cut through whatever healing had been done to it–was testament to that. But it was at least another layer of warmth. Now it was gone, leaving her in just a long sleeved shirt, that was completely saturated in dried blood, and her sweat soaked breast band underneath. The wind cut savagely through the thin material and sent her teeth chattering. Her leather leggings were still mostly intact and gave her legs some modicum of warmth at least. But her footwraps had been lost and there was only so much her elvhen resistance to cold could cope with.
Put those things together and you get quite a miserable, shivering picture.
Selene pulled her to stand. The movement tugged at the wound on her shoulder and Elianna bit down on her tongue so hard she tasted blood.
"Stay behind me!" Selene moved to stand in front of her. Shielding her.
What? Why?Oh!
They were not alone down here.
Malformed shapes twisted into something unnatural. Limbs too long. Body undefined. Floating three feet off the ground. Take your pick. Demons blocked the path ahead. All of them turned in their direction and charged with vicious ferocity.
Cassandra dove straight into the fray, shield up, sword high. She sliced into a shade, bearing the brunt of its attack with a snarl. But that left them to face the others. The undulating body of a rage demon inched closer, faster than she would expect for a creature of its size.
Selene dove to the side and Elianna cried out. Where was she going? Elianna could not handle this without her. She did not want to be alone.
But she wasn't leaving. Selene and spied a fallen crate. A bow rested on the top, with a quiver of arrows not too far away. Selene scooped up the weapon and was already firing before she was even fully upright. It landed, puncturing a burning hole in the side of the demon. She shifted with a dancers grace and moved to cover Elianna once more.
Mamae was good with a bow. But with her left arm still in play, Selene was amachine. Elianna was awestruck.
And distracted.
A wraith hit her from behind. Its ranged attack stung as it smacked her between the shoulder blades. The pain had her hissing through her teeth and wheeling around. A ball of something hot, but not quite fire, shot out of her hand. It was all her withered mana could produce right now. She launched it with a wordless growl. It sunk through the incorporeal wraith as if through smoke. The edges of its essence caught alight, spreading like a pyre until it consumed all of it. The creature dissipated into nothing, leaving only smoking embers behind where it had once been. Elianna felt exhausted rather than elated.
"Drop your ."
Selene held up her chin and adamantly refused. "Those demons attacked us! I was not just going to stand there twiddling my thumbs."
"You do not need to fight."
"Yes, I do," she said, eyes sliding to Elianna "Elianna needs more than a single sword protecting her right now. Do you not agree?"
If Elianna was in more control of her fried, tormented mind she might have protested. Any other day she would have yelled that she could look after herself just fine. Instead, words got trapped behind trembling teeth and all she could do was stare forwards.
Cassandra took one look at Elianna's wide, terrified eyes and relented. "You are right. We cannot afford for her to be defenceless. That mark is our only hope right now." she sighed. "I wish that children were not caught up in this mess, but that is not the world we are currently living in. Come on, we need to move."
Normally being called a child would set her teeth on edge, but right now that is what she felt like. A stupid, bumbling child, getting caught up in something she shouldn't. She needed an adult, please. Someone to fix everything before it all exploded again.
Cassandra led them up a steep set of stairs carved into the landscape. Selene's hand on her back was a comfort as she forced herself upwards. Hot plumes of her breath obscured her vision with each step. Her body wasn't ready for this kind of exercise yet. She felt like she was fighting against herself just to go forward.
"Come on, I've got you," Selene said.
"We're getting close to the rift. You can hear the fighting." Cassandra picked up the pace, shooting over the crest of the hill. "Quick, we must help them."
They followed along behind her straight in the fray of battle. Below them lay a ruin, lines of eroding stones where a house used to be. And above…
The air split and roiled. A churning hole straight into the land of dreaming. Her eyes slid over it, could not focus directly on the tear, as if they could not cope with the abominable wrongness. It spat out demons faster than the people below could cope. It was chaos. A disorder of magic, arrow and steel. She could barely make out the people fighting.
Selene dragged her bodily behind a crumbling pillar before a shot of plasma could land.
"Stay here. Take cover."
Elianna did not need any more instruction. In fact, she sank to her knees and covered her head with her hands.
Enough. Enough. Enough. Why couldn't it all be over? She wasn't built for this. She wasn't brave like Mamae had been. Wasn't strong like Papae. How could she solve anything when all she wanted to do was cry?
The noise of battle slowed around her. The unnatural shrieks of dying demons filled the air. Elianna, risked a peak above her hiding spot. Cassandra bashed her shield against a demon and it disintergrated into ash. A crossbow bolt hit another and that fell too. The shooter cheered from the side and Elianna was stunned to see Varric. His hair was no longer grey and the crowsfeet by his eyes were less pronounced. He almost looked like a different dwarf. Yet the sheer amount of chest hair on display meant it was definitely still him. Seeing Varric, another familiar face, was a relief, but it caused something in her chest to twist. An aching knot of sadness she had no way to untangle.
One of Selene's arrows dispatched the last demon and Elianna felt a presence behind her.
A strong, yet gentle, hand landed on her side and guided her to stand. Another reached for her left hand and held it aloft.
"Quickly, da'len, before more come through!"
Papae's magic wove through her fingers. A guide. An instruction. It mingled with the mark on her palm and sizzled to life. Energy tore from the mark and connected with the rift. A rope of power. A cosmic give and take. It sucked in the magic, greedy and desperate. It would be easy to get lost in the sensation, to be drawn up into it. But instinct had Elianna pulling the magic down, back into the anchor.
The sky wept, and wavered and then…sealed. With a burst of energy and a loud pop, the hole in the sky disappeared.
"Did I do that?" she said, moving her palm closer to inspect. It buzzed faintly beneath her skin. Maybe it was just her wishful thinking, but it did not seem as angry as before.
"You did. The credit is all yours, da'len," her Papae said, moving into view.
Seeing his face was so much worse than any of the others. This was not her Papae. Yet his face was near identical, unchanged by time as it was. There were no signs of aging or lines of vallaslin to differentiate between past and present. Only an invisible, intangible sensation of distance truly separated Solas from Papae. An unfamiliarity and detachment in his neutral face that Papae would never wear around her. But it was a small detail that could be overlooked with desperation.
If she did not know better, she would launch herself into his arms. It took a tremendous amount of effort not to do just that, anyway.
Elianna realised she was staring when Solas' eyebrows drew together in concern.
"At least I did something right," she mumbled, ducking her head. The last thing she needed was for him to think her barking mad.
"You did remarkably," he urged "Whatever magic opened the Breach in the sky also placed that mark upon your hand. I theorized the connection between the two might be enough to close the rifts that have opened in the Breach's wake – and it seems I was correct."
Solas settled into his instructor voice and Elianna grasped onto the usual comfort with frenzied hands. At least some things had not changed. Papae did always love a teaching moment. There had been more times than she could count when he had stopped them on a walk to impart a fact or a small piece of wisdom. He would go on all day if people let him.
Cassandra cut in before he could say more. "So it can also close the breach?"
"Quite possibly," he said, "It may be the key to ending all of this."
"Well that's a relief. For a second there I thought the world might actually end," Varric piped up.
Elianna's hands shook, clenching them tighter did little to stop the trembling. She did not want to be the key to anything. The world should not be on her shoulders. She would drop it or get crushed beneath it or break it further by accident.
"You will not be alone in this da'len," said Solas, noticing her wavering. At the same time, Selene arm came to rest across her shoulder. The warmth was a balm against the icy wind.
"Yeah me and Bianca here, have got your back, kid," said Varric, patting his crossbow.
A small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth despite herself. "Thank you, Bianca," she said towards the bow.
Varric laughed good heartedly, something like approval, sparking in his eyes. "Names Varric Tethras. Rogue, storyteller, and occasionally unwelcome tagalong." The wink in Cassandra's direction had the woman scowling.
"My name's Elianna. I know your stories," she said.
"A fan, huh? You've just gone up in my estimations, kid."
"I've only read a couple of them," she said, truthfully. Most of his stories had come straight from the source, with added details he kept from the public. She always cherished them, like it was a secret only she could know. "Mamae told me I wasn't allowed to read the rest until I got older."
"She might be right about some of my books," he said. Cassandra coughed under her breath, it went unnoticed by everyone else. "But I tell you what. We make it out of this mess, I'll tell you all the grizzly tales your mom never let you read, deal?"
"Deal." It felt good to smile, even if it only lasted a second.
"If we are making introductions, then my name is Solas," he said, placing a hand over his heart. "I am pleased to see you pulled through."
"What Chuckles means to say is 'I patched you back up and kept you alive while you slept'," Varric said.
Solas was the one that healed her injuries? Protecting her without even knowing who she was? She knew he had done the same for mamae. Would probably have done the same for anyone stupid enough to be branded with the anchor, but the idea that a version of her Papae was still looking after her despite everything made the urge to cry whorl up again. It made her 'thank you', stick in her throat.
Before the words could work their way out, Selene said, "Is that what he was doing? I thought he was just looking smug and magnanimous in the corner."
Elianna could feel the tension coming off Selene and frowned.
Solas' face dropped and a muscle in his jaw ticked. "I would not trust your limited knowledge of magic to understand the intricacies of spellwork,da'len. Perhaps you should leave it to the experts."
"Expert? Is that what you arehah'ren?"
What? What was happening?
Her parents-to-be were sniping at each other with poorly concealed loathing. Elianna had never heard such animosity in their voices. Especially not towards each other. They'd had arguments, of course, like any couple, but not like this. It was wrong. It tilted everything off balance and she scrambled for an explanation.
Mamae always claimed it was love at first sight, but Elianna thought that was a more romantisised version of the tale to tell around a cosy fire. In any case, she said that she was drawn to him very early on. Papae even said that he felt the whole world shift the first time she closed a rift.
Only she hadn't closed it.
Elianna had.
Was that all it took to make her parents hate each other? No shared threat of destruction and suddenly they could not stand each other. Elianna may have doomed herself to non-existence before she'd even woke.
"Can't you elves ever play nice?" Varric's voice broke through their bickering.
"Of course," Solas said. With one final look of consternation at Selene he turned to Cassandra. "While magic is involved here it is unlike any that I have seen. Elianna may be a mage, but I find it difficult to imagine any mage having such power."
Cassandra looked almost disappointed at the knowledge. "Understood. We must get moving to the forward camp."
Cassandra carved a path ahead, not checking behind to see if any of them were following. After a beat, the rest of them trailed behind her. Varric took the front while Solas dropped behind her. Selene stayed fixed at Elianna's side. She was immensely grateful for the solid hand at her back, as the snow covered path tilted downwards. With gravity on her side the steps were easier but the fear of slipping doubled.
Varric rested Bianca on his arm with practiced ease and turned to face them. He somehow managed to walk backwards without tripping.
"So, you guys are sisters?" he said.
Elianna's brow furrowed in open surprise. "What? No."
Why would he think that?
The hand at her back tightened. Elianna felt Selene go still and she got the sense she had done something wrong.
Cassandra slammed to a stop, her boots sliding on the ice. She wheeled around her mouth twisted into a furious snarl.
"Youlied?" Cassandra stormed forward, a promise of death in her eyes.
Selene flinched at the look and stepped back, holding her hands up placatingly.
"Fine, yes, I lied." Her voice was even but Elianna knew her well enough to detect a small waver. She was terrified of Cassandra. It felt wrong.
"What else are you lying about?" Cassandra grabbed the collar of Selene's tunic in a shaking fist.
"Nothing!" Selene yelled, rising to Cassandra's level before she thought better of it and lowered her voice "I was not going to leave her alone. Gods know humans see a pair of pointed ears and no longer see a child."
"We would not have hurt her!"
"How could I have known that?" Selene countered.
"Do you even know each other?" Solas appeared from behind, inserting himself into the argument.
Selene glared at him with unreserved anger. Then she sighed heavily down her nose and shook her head. "I found her injured at the conclave before it all went to shit."
Voices clashed once more. A clamour in the air.
Elianna slipped backwards. Away. Each shuffle of her feet had the wobbly quality of a dream. Alarm flared like a swarm of bees buzzing up her spine. This was wrong. Everything was wrong. Her breath sawed. Her chest burned. She wanted the fighting to stop. Wanted fall into the dark embrace of sleep. To escape it all.
"Uh seeker, she don't look too good."
The arguing ceased, but the pitch of it still shook and echoed in the air. Eyes turned to look at her and she shrunk further into herself.
"Breathe da'len," Solas' voice was calm, focused. He moved to stand in front of her, picking up one of her hands. He placed it flat against his chest. The rough spun tunic was warm under her frozen fingers. "In and out. Match your breaths to mine."
He breathed in exaggeratingly slowly and Elianna struggled to do the same. After a minute or so of copied breaths, Elianna felt like she could think again.
"Are you back with us?" he asked.
Elianna nodded, not trusting her voice yet.
Once he was certain she had her panic under control he let her go. The disappearing warmth felt like a loss. But then Selene was there, sliding into the gap Solas left, with a reassuring arm around her shoulders.
"We have wasted enough time already," Cassandra relented, giving up on the argument. "We move. Now."
oOo
There was another rift to close at the entrance to the forward camp. She didn't want to, but she did it anyway. Because she had to. She was the only one who could. The responsibility felt like a noose around her neck.
The magic was just as formidable the second time. A mighty shift of power she was barely equipped to handle. It took gritted teeth and an angry yank to get the thing to close. She could just about hear the yells of relief over the rush of blood in her ears. The humans guarding the gate hurried them into the camp.
Though camp was a strong word for what it was. A few workstations and a handful of soldiers. The boxes of supplies around them seemed to be running dangerously low. There was barely enough healing potions for their small group, never mind an army.
By the time they made it inside Elianna was shivering. Teeth-chattering, body shaking. The cold had taken root with the stubbornness of a weed. No amount of movement or arm rubbing from Selene would shift it.
"Shit, you're freezing da'len," Selene said. "Hold on."
Selene let her go, scanning their new surroundings. Elianna nearly cried out at the loss of heat.
Solas stared worriedly at her blue lips, a frown tugging at his own. With a twist of his hand, the air around her heated. She gasped and revelled in the sensation. It felt incredible. Like stepping into a warm bath. Though the sudden change made her skin itch.
Selene, oblivious to the spell turned towards a human soldier. "Oi, you."
He towered over her, made even larger by the breadth of his armour. The sight of her sent him glaring.
"What?"
"Give me your cloak."
"Fuck off, rabbit."
Selene's jaw tightened with restrained anger and she rose up onto her toes. "You are in full armour. You don't need that cloak, it's just decoration at this point."
"I won't–"
"Give her your cloak, soldier," Cassandra interjected with a look of disgust.
"But–"
She dismissed any objection he might have had by turning back around and stomping towards a group of people arguing at the end of the bridge.
The soldier gave Selene a look simmering with bitter hatred and yanked off his cloak. He tossed it on the ground at her feet. "Fucking knife ears."
Selene paid him no mind as she gathered the cloak up and settled it around Elianna's shoulders. The waxed cloth blocked the wind from seeping through Solas' spell. The extra layer of warmth was a blessing and Elianna tugged the fabric tighter. The cloak dragged on the floor behind her but she could not bring herself to care.
" You're not in command here!" Leliana's voice rang out across the camp.
"Enough! I will not have it!" A snivelling man shouted, getting in Leliana's face. At the sound of their approach he turned around. His face defined the word 'sneer'. "Ah here they are now."
"You made it." Leliana breathed a sigh of relief. "Chancellor Roderick, this—"
"I know who they are. As Grand Chancellor of the Chantry, I hereby order you to take these criminals to Val Royeaux to face execution." he cut in.
Who the hell did this 'Chancellor Roderick' guy think he was?
The reassuring presence of Selene and Solas at each shoulder gave her enough confidence to not back down under the Chancellor's challenge.
"You order no one, you glorified clerk!" Cassandra said through gritted teeth.
"And you supposedly serve the chantry but all I see is a thug!" Roderick did not back down.
"We serve the Most Holy, Chancellor, as you well know," said Leliana.
"And now she is dead. You serve no one. We must elect a new Divine and obey her orders."
Elianna watched the back and forth with a kind of detached resignation. The call of exhaustion started tugging at her once more. Heavy, demanding, hands, urging her to rest. To stop.
It was only once expectant eyes turned to face her did she realise she had blocked out another conversation.
"Ir abelas, what did you say?" she said, her voice sounded wrong to her ears. Distant.
"We asked you what path you wished to take. The quick route or the mountain path," Cassandra clarified.
The noose of responsibility tightened again. It felt like choking. Like Andruil's hands had never left her neck.
"I don't am I supposed to know?" The last part she said in panicked elvhen.
"If we take the temple path we can reach the breach quicker," Solas said, calm and even.
"But if we take the mountain path we won't be charging straight into danger and we might be able to save the soldiers up there," Selene countered, throwing Solas a dirty look over Elianna's head.
"The breach should be our priority. The longer we take squabbling, the worse it will become," he hit back.
Solas had a point, the Breach was the main concern. Yet at the same time, Mamae was the one who did this last time, and she had gotten out of it alive. It felt like tempting fate to try and change anything now. Not when she had already made such a mess of things.
That settled it, she would follow Selene's lead on this one.
"We take the mountain pass," she said, trying to sound confident but coming up empty.
A look of disappointment flashed across Solas' face but was quickly smothered into something more placatory.
"Ma nuvenin, da'len."As you wish.
oOo
"I've changed my mind," she said, staring up at the array of ice coated ladders reaching towards the sky.
"You made your bed, kid. Now lie in it," Varric said, swinging Bianca onto his back so his hands were free. He moved towards the ladder, willingly volunteering to go first. Snow danced down from above as he tested the strength of the rungs. Once he was satisfied he started his climb. Cassandra was not far behind him.
"You're not afraid of heights are you?" Selene asked, concern lacing her voice.
"No, its just…" She could feel herself flagging. Energy was being sapped out of her in great gulps. Her injuries were starting to throb again. Pain bleeding through the health potion Selene had urged her to drink. "It's a lot."
"I think we are in the homestretch now. Not much further. You can do this," Selene said, resting a warm hand against her cheek. "How about I go up first and Solas follow up after you. Between the two of us we will make sure you don't fall."
Elianna nodded, eyes suddenly misty.
"And if you slip, you can fall on Solas' face."
"Ma serranas, da'len," Solas huffed.
Elianna couldn't help the ghost of a laugh at his disgruntled expression.
True to her word Selene went first. She stopped a few rungs up and waited for Elianna to reach her. Elianna took a deep breath and reached for the first one. The rung was sodden and slippy beneath her white knuckle grip. Her ankle protested under her weight as she stepped up. Elianna clenched her teeth but persevered. She could handle it.
Only when she reached up with her right arm did she note another, more pressing, problem. Her shoulder refused to rotate properly. She could barely reach higher than her chest. Any further and her shoulderscreamed.
But she had to move.
Elianna reached for the next rung with stinging eyes and a cry lodged in her throat. She did that for the next one, and the next one. She nearly made it half way before it felt like somethingsnapped. A shock, like lightning, rippled through her arm and Elianna screamed. The arm fell limp and useless at her side. Her ankle twisted. Feet slipped on the wet ladder and met empty air. The fierce grip of her left hand was the only thing keeping her from plummeting. Should the breach choose to pulse right then, Elianna was dead.
"Elianna!" Selene reached down from above, banding fingers around her wrist. It was not enough, she felt herself slipping.
A different hand wrapped around her foot and pushed upwards. She struggled like a person drowning before she realised they were trying to help. The reassuring weight of a rung appeared beneath her toes and she let out a cry of relief. Selene let go once she knew she was safe and straightened back up.
"Can you move, da'len?" Solas said.
Elianna shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her entire right side was out of commission. Agony pulsed in a steady beat. She couldn't do it. She had escaped a mad goddess and got thrown through time and now she was going to get taken out by a damned ladder.
Why was life so cruel?
"I will not let you fall, da'len," his voice sounded closer.
Then she felt a warm, bolstering presence at her back. Solas had climbed up behind her. With one hand at her waist and the other on the rung above he guided her upwards.
"I've got you."
And he did.
One rung at a time, they climbed. Whenever she felt like she was going to slip, he was there, protecting her back.
'Thank you' did not feel adequate enough.
By the time they made it to the top, Elianna was wrung out and shaking. Her overworked muscles twitched in indignation at how much she was putting them through. Selene had to swing Elianna's arm over her shoulder to keep her upright. The potion she forced down her throat felt like a drop in the ocean. Hardly covering the pain anymore. She needed more than just a quick fix.
"You okay there kid. I heard you scream," Varric asked.
"Top of the world Varric," she said, words slurring.
"Shit, I think we need to get hurrying, seeker."
"Noted Varric," said Cassandra, pressing on into a cave system.
The dark spooky cave did not feel like the best idea, but once again she had no choice. Selene guided her in behind the rest of them. The sound of fighting hit her ears and Elianna gave a long suffering groan. Things were never simple.
Fortunately, her companions had the situation well in hand. The demons fell to their attacks with no need for help from her. She was happy to sit on the sidelines for this. At least until breathing no longer felt like a fight with fire.
That was until another rift appeared, like a shining beacon of all things wrong in the world. Elianna forced her body to move and connected with the magic. It burned. She was too tired for this. With a weary yank, the damn thing closed.
She heard vague words of thanks as if through water. People. Humans. They'd found the lost soldiers on the mountain. Some of them at least.
She had very much blocked out the images of the broken bodies they had passed. Or was trying very hard to.
"Quickly. We must get to the temple."
When would she get a break.
oOo
"What the fuck are you supposed to be?"
That was her voice. Words she could not remember uttering. And that was her image wobbling in the air like a mirage. Though it took a second to recognise herself beneath the blood and bruises. Is that what she looked like? No wonder they stared at her like she was seconds from breaking.
"Run while you can! Warn them!"
"Slay the elves!"
The illusion dissolved into nothing, leaving them staring up into the swirling depths of the breach.
"You were truthful, people were hurting the Divine," hurt clogged Cassandra's throat "But is she..? Did the Divine make it out? How can we be certain of what we saw?"
"Ir abelas, I don't know," said Elianna, it was hard to see the pain in Cassandra's eyes as hope fled.
"They are echoes of what happened here, Seeker Pentaghast. The fade bleeds into this place," Solas said.
His words held no comfort for the seeker. He pressed on anyway. "This rift is not sealed, but it is closed…albeit temporarily. I believe that 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."
"That means demons," Cassandra deduced.
"Elianna is in no state for a fight!" Selene said at her side.
"I concur," Solas said, agreeing with Selene for once. "She must get to higher ground. She should still be able to open the rift from up there."
After all the energy it took to getdowninto the temple, now she needed to go backup. Her legs shook just thinking about the climb.
"I'll go with her. I can shoot better from higher ground, anyway," said Selene.
Solas looked like he wanted to protest for whatever reason but conceded. "Go then, quickly."
Selene and a handful of soldiers steered them upwards into the remains of what could have been a balcony. Or a window. The walls were too shattered to be able to tell. Below, the rest rallied into position, moving to swarm around the unopened rift. They would hound it from all sides.
Standing was a distant dream so Selene slowly lowered her to the ground. She was half hidden behind the remnants of a wall. Enough to see the rift but also enough to duck behind once things got lairy. Selene moved over to a half wall, swinging her bow into her hands. An arrow was already nocked onto the string. She gave Elianna a fortified look.
"Whenever you're ready, da'len."
Well, here goes nothing.
Elianna held out her palm and flinched as her magic connected with the rift. This time was different. She didn't have to wrestle to contain the magic. It was the opposite. She had to let the magic of the anchor flow outwards, towards the rift. It lashed out with greedy, savage hands and lapped up the energy. With a burst of hot air, the rift opened, knocking everyone down with it.
In its wake, a pride demon stepped through.
"Get up!"
"Attack!"
The world turned to chaos. A clash of metal and magic. The people thrashed and screamed and wailed against the enormous threat.
Pride laughed at their attempts.
It was a cruel, mocking sound. Too similar to Andruil's. Suddenly she was back there, in the fade, Andruil's breath at her back. Her hands at her throat. How stupid of her to think she had gotten away.
Elianna covered her ears with a sob, rocking against the sound.
"Elianna, it's okay. It's okay," Selene's harried voice said between shots. She couldn't afford to look away from the battle, but she could use her words. "Look, we've got this. It's nearly down." another shot. "It's nearly over."
Elianna wanted to believe her words so badly, that she chanced another look.
Selene wasn't wrong. The pride demon had fallen to a knee. Its proud stance had faltered. Any barrier it had around itself vanished under the assault. One of Selene's arrows pierced an eye from a above. The demon bellowed in rage, thrashing at threats it could no longer see. It was all the opportunity needed for the soldiers to cut it down.
Pride dissolved into a screeching pile of ash.
But Elianna could not enjoy the victory. The sound of its death throes still rang heavy in the air, as Cassandra turned to shout up to her.
"Now! Seal the rift!"
Elianna raised a reluctant, shaking hand. It felt like surrender. Like everything had brought her here, but she would not live past this moment. The desire to refuse was there, tingling on her lips, telling her to run. But there was no point in running when she couldn't even stand. And she would not let the world end just because she was too scared to save it.
The mark connected.
Elianna screamed.
For better or for worse, she poured every last shred of energy she had left into the rift and yanked.
The cool, waiting, arms of darkness she fell into was almost a comfort.
