Sisters of Tevinter

The Breach

      The air was frigid. Jor shivered. Thunder rumbled, though the winter sky was bright and clear. 

        "Look," Cassandra said grimly. Jor raised her aching head.

        The sky was torn asunder. A massive, bright doldrum of ethereal green light gathered swirling dark clouds around itself over the ridge of snowcapped mountains ahead. Jor gaped, her stomach scraped hollow, her knees trembling so much she almost fell on her ass. 

          "We call it The Breach." 

          "Looks fun," Jor squeaked, giving a weak, vacant smile as she stared at the roiling mass of magic. How does it work? A tear in the Veil? What could have gathered so much magic and mana to break the curtain? Does the temperature effect the cloud cover? Why is that a question? She swallowed and shook her head, glancing at Cassandra. "What do you know so far?" 

            The Seeker smiled wryly. "Not much. But fun is the least of our worries. Hold on to your jokes, scholar. You will need them." 

             "Heh." Jor shook her head, numbed. "Alright. Alright. What now then? Don't you have.. experts for this sort of thing?" 

            "We would if we could get close. But as you can imagine... it is no easy task approaching the Veil." 

             Jor shook her head once more. "Do you-" 

             "Ser! Urgent news!" A scout, their cloak drenched in blood, ran panting up to Cassandra. "The troops- the rift-" 

              Cassandra's gaze hardened, her hand fell to her sword. "Show me." 

             The scout about-faced, vaulting over a low wall of stone to the icy road below. Cassandra drew a key from her belt and snapped open Jor's shackles. "Come." It was not a request. The Seeker unslung her shield from her shoulders and leapt after the scout. 

              Dumbstruck, Jor could only stumble after them, sliding down the frosted cobblestones and skidding on the gravel road. "Rift?" she called after the Seeker. People were shouting, running in all directions around them, arming themselves. 

            "The closest rift originated from the Breach, close to the temple. It's unstable- If we can get there and aid-"

             They came to another low wall and a line of stone stairs over a frozen lake. Green light flickered, a seam of it split the air. As if birthed from a grotesque cocoon, horrors sprang to life around it. 

              Creatures in ragged robes clawed forward through the air, gliding across the ice, shrieking madly. The twang of bowstrings and the low hum of magic resonated through the snowy clearing, people were moving at the edge of Jor's vision- 

               She didn't have time to look or even think as one of the robed demons lunged for Cassandra. The Seeker gave a fearsome roar and slashed with her broadsword. Another, different horror appeared from the shadows of sparse trees, shimmering a ghastly emerald color. Some kind of ghostly spirit, and it raised its shimmering arms to blast an orb of hostile light at the battling Seeker. 

                All Jor could put together, all she could visualize, imagine- I have to do something. Her mind quailed in response to these terrifying threats, her blood sang in her veins. Her gaze snapped to an abandoned supply crate at the edge of the ice. Two glimmering, rusty dirks lay forgotten in the snow. 

                Unbidden, her legs were moving. She lunged for the blades, just as some terrible rag creature made a dash for her. She skidded on the ice and scooped up the blades, ducking low and driving the beaten steel up into the emaciated ribcage of the demon. 

                It burst into dust and green smoke with a bloodcurdling scream.  Agony burned up Jor's arm as the mark on her palm exploded in light. The rift in the air swelled and rumbled in response. Jor gritted her teeth and sprang for Cassandra, who was fighting for her life between three of the haggard ghouls. She dove into the fray, catching one of the demons from behind and driving her blades into its foul thin arms. Cassandra shield bashed the creature, sending it reeling headlong back into the rift from whence it came. 

                 A heavy crossbow bolt narrowly missed Jor, the wooden shaft left searing heat across the tip of her nose as it caught a demon right between its hollow eyes. It fell without a sound. 

                A cold hand grabbed Jor's wrist and nearly pulled her arm from its socket as it thrust her palm towards the rift. "Quickly! Before more come through!" 

                Panic had seized the young scholar's heart until those words were called. Her mind was flooded with soft calm. Her gaze found the rippling light of the tear in the Veil, her fingers flexed. The glow from her throbbing palm branched out in an arc of emerald lightning, striking the rift at its heart. The hand that guided her own drew her arm back, another hand found her shoulder and shepherded her into a gentle step backwards. With a sound like the snapping of bones and a brilliant flash- the rift was gone. 

                Her heart pounding and her mind foggy, Jor shook her head, panting. "Wh- what did you do?"

                "I did nothing." The hands released her carefully. Jor turned. A pale elf smiled wearily at her, setting his staff against the ice at his side. "The credit is yours." 

                  "Sure, sure, we all deserve a trophy. Here I thought we'd be ass deep in demons forever." A dwarf in a red coat stumped over, hoisting a grand, heavy wooden crossbow over his stocky shoulder. He grinned. "Alright there, Seeker?" 

                  Cassandra scoffed and slung her shield across her back. "I live."

                   "Wonderful." The dwarf rubbed his stubbled neck. "A joy." 

                   Jor could barely manage to shift her eyes away from the elf in the winter sun. She'd never spoken to an elf before, much less been complimented by one. He seemed remarkably serene despite the situation at hand. Her painful history between Tevinter and the elves sprang unwelcome to her mind. 

                     "Hello? You with the glowy hand? Maker's breath, Seeker, I think you broke her." The dwarf grinned at Cassandra. 

                    Cassandra rolled her eyes. The elf smiled. "Give her a moment." 

                      "I- uh, sorry. What exactly happened?" Jor rubbed her aching wrist, glancing around at the strangers that stood before her. 

                     "You closed the rift," the elf said pleasantly, as if it were obvious. "That mark on your hand the Veil seem to be connected." 

                     "Seem to be. So this whole charade with me was speculation?" Jor laughed incredulously. 

                   "More of an... educated guess." The dwarf clapped the scholar on the back. "Buck up, kid. It worked." 

                     "Oh, yippee." Jor sighed and rubbed her temples. "Nice shot by the way. Who are you?" 

                      The dwarf grinned, pleased. "Varric Tethras. Merchant, rogue, storyteller- and unwelcome tagalong." He winked at Cassandra, who simply groaned and began trudging down the path. 

                     The elf smiled. "If greetings are in order, I am Solas. I am pleased to see you still live."

                      "We've met?" Jor glanced at him curiously.

                      "He means, 'I kept that thing from killing you while you slept'," Varric said, beginning to follow the Seeker. 

                      Jor's eyes widened. "I- Thank you." 

                     Solas nodded and slung his staff across his slim shoulders. "You are welcome." 

                      Stunned, but feeling slightly less alone, the scholar could only follow as the strange band picked their way along the road. It began to incline slowly, up farther into the Frostback Mountains as pine growth grew denser.