Chapter 1
A stabbing pain in her left hand sent tingles up her forearm, yanking her from unconsciousness. Low angry voices pricked at her ears.
“I thought you said she’d be awake, Adan.” A female voice spat.
“I said she might be soon, Seeker,” came the exasperated reply.
Emma kept her eyes close as she took stock of her body. Her knees rested on a cold stone floor, hands in shackles. She cracked her lids, seeing soldiers around her, their swords drawn. There are two human woman across the room conversing, a man disappearing through the door. One had her head covered, wearing a long, armored vestment. The other's hair is close cropped, decked in a silver breastplate.
The pain in her hand intensifies, sharp and sudden, drawing a cry from her. The women’s attention snap to her. Breastplate stalks towards her.
“Tell me why we shouldn’t kill you now.” Breastplate, the seeker, demands. “The Conclave was destroyed. Everyone who attended was dead. Except for you.”
Emma’s mind raced. She was just walking in the hall. How did she get here?
The Seeker leaned down and grabs her wrist, showing Emma her own hand. “Explain this,” she growls. The bright green light flared, shooting pain back down her arm.
“I can’t!” Emma cried.
The Seeker dropped her hand to grab at Emma's collar, “What do you mean you can’t?”
The woman in the vestments rushed over and pulled the Seeker off, “We need her, Cassandra.”
“I don’t. . .” Emma searched their faces. “What do you mean dead?”
The woman who rescued her turned back and approached. “Do you remember what happened? How this began?”
“I. . .” Emma combed her memories. “I was running?” The two women glanced at each other, her questioning tone causing confusion. “Some thing, things? Were chasing me.” Adrenaline spiked through her, heart racing. “They almost caught me, but there was a . . . a woman?”
“A woman?” The woman in vestments breathed.
Emma nodded. “She reached out to me, but then. . .” Her hand flared and she flinched in pain, barely biting back a cry.
The Seeker, Cassandra, put a hand on the other woman and guided her to the door. “Go to the forward camp, Leliana. I will take her to the rift.” Leliana nodded and took her leave.
“What did happen?” Emma asked.
Cassandra, who's temperament lacked its previous fury, returned to her side. “It will be easier to show you.”
* * *
Emma's wrists were still bound with rope as Cassandra lead her through the simple Chantry. Pews had been pushed aside, sisters and circle mages talked in hushed whispers. Small nods were passed between them and the commanding woman. Her shoulders were back, hand resting on the hilt of her sword. A lone braid wrapped around the top of head, a gentle crown countering the roughness of the Seeker's scarred face.
A solider opened the door as they neared, the light blinding.
“Over there.” Cassandra’s voice was quiet as she gestured towards the mountains.
A swirling emerald mass, the color matching the mark on her hand, greeted Emma. Her heart picked up speed, “What is that?”
“We call it ‘The Breach.’” The seeker pulled Emma forward. “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?”
“This one did. Unless we act, the Breach may grow until it swallows the world.”
A flash, a spark across the Breach, and Emma dropped to knees. A scream ripped from her as the light in her hand flashed.
Cassandra crouched next to her. “Each time the Breach expands, your mark spreads… and it is killing you. It may be the key to stopping this, but there isn’t much time.”
“How can it be a key? A key to what?” she couldn’t hide her whimper.
“To closing Breach. Whether that’s possible is something we shall discover shortly.” Another flash, another flare, another scream. “It's our only chance, however. And yours.”
Emma gasped for air, pulling the icy wind into her lungs. “Fine.”
“Then. . .?”
“I’ll help however I can. Take me where you need too.” Cassandra gave her a grim smile as she helped Emma to her feet.
* * *
The path from the Chantry was lined with tents, cabins, and humans. So many humans. One or two elves dotted throughout, but she was markedly alone. The throng of people glared at her, some spitting in her direction others making the movements to ward off evil.
Cassandra’s voice was stern but surprisingly apologetic, “They have decided your guilt. They need it. The people of Haven mourn our Most Holy, Divine Justinia, head of the Chantry. The conclave was hers. It was a chance for peace between mages and templars. She brought their leaders together. Now they are dead.”
As they descended a second set of steps, two soldiers rushed ahead to push open the wooden doors within the stone gate of the curtain wall. Cassandra gave them thanks as they passed. A frozen lake stretched before them reflecting the glow from the Breach. “We lash out, like the sky. But we must think beyond ourselves, as she did. Until the Breach is sealed.” She stopped, turning towards Emma with a dagger in hand. “There will be a trial. I can promise no more.” She expertly removes the rope bindings. “Come. It is not far.”
“What’s not?” Emma asked, rubbing where the rope had been.
“Your mark must be tested on something smaller than the breach.” Cassandra guided her up a gravel path, passing by a smithy and stable, reaching another gate that leads to a stone bridge. “Open the gate! We are heading into the valley!” Cassandra called out to the soldiers manning the opposite end.
Emma took in the numerous soldiers. Some wounded, some merely resting.
Many wrapped shrouds.
* * *
The seeker and her captive continued up another path, passing wooden barricades, flaming wagons, and corpse upon corpse. Another spark and a green bolt struck the ground. With a rumble and flash, Emma's hand flared driving her to her knees again. Cassandra was there, a soothing hand on her back, helping her to her feet.
“The pulses are coming faster now. The larger the breach grows, the more rifts appear, the more demons we face.” The seeker says.
“Demons?” It was the second time Cassandra said the word, but the first time it registered. She looked back to the swirl of the Breach, “How did I survive that?”
Cassandra gave her more details, pushing them forward. “They said you… stepped out of a rift, then fell unconscious. They say a woman was in the rift behind you. No one knows who she was. Everything farther in the valley was laid waste, including the Temple of Sacred Ashes.” They reached a second bridge. “I suppose you’ll see soon enough.”
Cassandra nodded to the soldiers. A streak of bright green from the Breach drove into the bridge, shattering the stone and flinging them to the frozen river below.
Cassandra was the first up. “Stay behind me!” she shouted, moving further ahead than she realized.
Gaining her bearings, Emma looked around. Another projectile of green crashed before her. “That is definitely not a rock,” she croaked as a shade unfurled. In need of a better way to defend herself, she dove for a staff that survived the blast, firing unfocused ice at the creature from her palm.
The staff wasn't anything to write home about, but it served her purpose. She let loose a ring of lightening, Cassandra's quarry getting caught in the crossfire. The shade lashed out with its talons, ripping through the uniform as Emma ducked away. The end of a sword appeared through the creature's chest, its unnerving shriek cut short at Cassandra's blow.
“I think we got them,” Emma panted, her hands braced on her knees.
“Drop your weapon. Now,” snarled the Seeker.
She couldn’t stop her eyes from rolling as she chucked the staff to the ground, sending it skittering across the ice. “Have it your way. Would you like to rebind my wrists while you’re at it?” offering up her hands.
Cassandra’s lips pursed at her prisoner's brazenness. A slight sigh and she walked over to the staff, picking it up and trying to hand it back to the mage. “I cannot protect you, and I cannot expect you to be defenseless.” Emma’s brow raised, not trusting the implied truce. “I should remember that you agreed to come willingly,” Cassandra's tone again apologetic, offering up the staff to the mage. As Emma carefully grasped the wood, the Seeker handed her a small pouch, glass clinking within. “Take these as well. Maker knows what we will face.”
Emma took the pouch and glanced inside to see four glass bottles that contained a swirling, grayish liquid. She uttered her thanks for the Philters of Renewal and tied the pouch to her belt. “Where are the rest of your soldiers?” she asked.
“At the forward camp, or fighting. We are on our own, for now.”
“Fantastic,” She muttered. A huff of a laugh from Cassandra and they matched pace, the frozen river guiding their way. A fallen tree forced them to surmount a small hill. They spied several shades stalking below. A bright green strike hit the land behind, a wraith appearing from the rubble. “They’re falling from the Breach?!” Emma whispered.
“Yes. Let’s keep going.” Cassandra said, her sword and shield at the ready. Emma gestured for her to lead.
* * *
Thanks to a poor, passing halla drawing the attention of temperamental creatures, Cassandra and Emma skirted the fighting. They beelined for a stone staircase embedded within the hillside.
“We’re getting close to the rift,” Cassandra said, as they down philters. “You can hear the fighting.”
“Who’s?” for indeed Emma heard the shouts, the clang of metal and wood.
“You’ll see.” They crested the top, Cassandra aiming to the right side. “Quickly. We must help them!” She took off towards the bridge, a bright tear in the sky above it, four figures engaged in heated combat.
Cassandra slipped into the fighting with little effort, Emma on her heels. Sparks fly as another mage, tall and practiced, kept a demon off a dwarf, who rounded and fired a crossbow at a wraith making it’s way towards a soldier.
Emma halted to send an ice bolt over the Seeker’s shoulder, taking out a second wraith. In the same movement, she spun and knocked another in the gut as it appeared at her side.
“DOWN!” a voice called in her direction. She dropped to her stomach as three rapid fire bolts whizzed over her head. The wraith stumbled backwards as she's back up, sending a blast of fire into its chest. The creature collapsed as she ran closer to the heart of the fight.
A rage demon had emerged and barreled straight for the Seeker. Two shocks of cold hit it in rapid secession, one from each mage. The chill caused the firey creature to momentarily freeze.
“CASS, YOUR SHIELD!” Emma shouted over the cacophony. Cassandra followed her advice, bashing the creature in the torso, a bolt of ice slicing through its skull instantly after. The soldiers joined at Cassandra’s side, the demon fell swiftly with their aid.
“Quickly,” a voice shouted next to her, “Before more come through!”
Emma didn’t have time to look before her arm was grabbed, palm thrust at the rift above them. A sharpness shot through her, crackling magic connecting her hand to the sky. She looked to see who wielded her. His profile showed off his pointed ear. The mage's eyes met hers, a moment spanning into eternity as her breath caught.
The pain down her arm spiked, pulling her stare from the mage and training on the tear in the sky. She gritted her teeth, biting back her cry as the heat intensified. A crack echoed around them. The feeling pulling through her arm eased as a quiet settled. The mage released her, pleased with the result.
“What did you do?” she breathed, clutching her hand to her chest working to massage the dimming pain.
“I did nothing,” he said. “The credit is yours.”
If she was anything, she was skeptical. “You mean this thing,” she gently waved her marked hand.
He shrugged. “Whatever magic opened the Breach in the sky also placed that mark upon your hand. I theorized the mark might be able to close the rifts that have opened in the Breach’s wake—and it seems I was correct.”
Cassandra came to stand near them. “Meaning it could close the Breach itself.”
“Possibly,” he addressed the woman. His gaze shifted back to Emma, “It seems you hold the key to our salvation.”
She was about to argue, when a voice reverberated behind her, “Good to know! Here I thought we’d be ass-deep in demons forever.” The dwarf stepped forward, slinging his crossbow on his back. “Varric Tethras: rogue, storyteller, and occasionally,” he sent a wink Cassandra's way, “unwelcome tag-along.” The scowl she gave made Emma realize that, while a prisoner, she was not actually on the Seeker’s shit list.
“Are you with the Chantry?” she asked to Varric. His roguish smile and deep v-necked shirt suggested otherwise, but she'd been surprised before.
A chuckle from the handsome mage next to her, “Was that a serious question?” He was leaning on his staff, eyes studying her. She rolled hers half-heartedly in return, a small shake of her head. She heard a quiet chuff in response.
“Technically I’m a prisoner, just like you,” Varric made a quick note of the two with a grin.
“I brought you here to tell your story to the Divine,” Cassandra grumbled. “Clearly that is no longer necessary.”
“Yet, here I am. Lucky for you, considering current events.” He spun around, his arms wide. A low disgusted grunt escaped the Seeker.
Emma let out a laugh at the bickering couple. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” giving a playful bow to Varric.
“You may reconsider that stance, in time.” The mage muttered.
“Aww.” Varric clutched at his chest, “I’m sure we’ll become great friends in the valley, Chuckles.”
Emma shot a confused look to the mage and mouthed “Chuckles?”
“No. Absolutely not,” Cassandra’s tone drew her attention. “Your help was appreciated, Varric, but…”
Their voices faded as the mage leaned in, his breath warm on her ear, “My name is Solas, if there are to be introductions.” He stepped around her, his voice still low but jovial. “I’m pleased to see you still live.”
“He means,” Varric called over, argument seemingly forgotten, “‘I kept that mark from killing you while you slept.’”
She looked at the mage, Solas, with some surprise. “You seem to know a great deal about,” she waved her hand around.
Cassandra approached the two elves, “Like you, Solas is an apostate.”
Irritation passed over his features, “Technically, all mages are now apostates, Cassandra.” He directed his attention to Emma, “My travels have allowed me to learn much of the Fade, far beyond the experience of any Circle mage. I came to offer whatever help I can give with the Breach. If it is not closed, we are all doomed regardless of origin.”
“And what will you do once this is all over?” her curiosity overpowering her manners.
A slight surprise flitted across his brow, “One hopes that those in power will remember who helped, and who did not.” He turned fully to the seeker, “Cassandra, you should know: the magic involved here is unlike any I have ever seen. Your prisoner is a mage, but I find it difficult to imagine any mage having such power.”
She nodded, “Understood. We must get to the forward camp quickly. This way, down the bank. The road ahead is blocked.” She moved quickly away from then, not checking to see if they followed.
“Well, Bianca’s excited!” Varric shrugged as he followed their fearless leader.
Solas gestured for her to go, “We must move quickly.”
“Thank you, by the way.” She said as she passed.
“Thank me if we manage to close the Breach without killing you in the process.”
“Joy-kill.” She muttered, his quiet laugh sounding behind her.