Chapter Text
Oziha hadn't woken to the feeling of heavy shackles around her wrists since she has escaped her Avaraad, ten years ago. Immediately, she panicked. With a strangled gasp, her eyes flew open. The room - or, rather, cell - she was in was dimly lit; four human guards in full armor flanked her, their swords pointed directly at her neck. When they noticed she had awoken, one of them signaled another guard at the wall opposite her, who then retreated outside through a large, wooden door.
Oziha's heart raced and she pulled at the metal encasing her wrists. She started breathing heavily, eyes darting around the room. The four guards seemed to notice her distress and adjusted the grip on their weapons. Oziha managed to stumble to her knees, terrified, and opened her mouth to speak, when suddenly, a green light flashed. Pain like she had never experienced before shot through her hand. This was nothing like having her lips sewn; it was as if she was being stabbed, but the sensation shocked down her entire arm, as if she had been electrocuted. Oziha cried out, cradling her hand to her chest, and curled in on herself.
Just then, the large wooden door swung back open. The Qunari looked up, still crouching low, at the women who had entered her cell. One had short, hair as dark as Oziha's own bedraggled mohawk and a grisly scar down her cheek, while the other had slightly longer red hair concealed by a purple hood.
The woman in the purple hood looked furious as she approached Oziha. The Nevarran woman began circling her slowly. "Tell me why we shouldn't kill you now," she said in a thick Nevarran accent.
"Where am I?" Oziha growled, trying not to appear as scared as she was. She couldn't being chained up again. She wouldn't. And if these people thought they could keep her this way, they were wrong.
"I will be asking the questions," The Nevarran hissed. "The conclave is destroyed. Everyone who attended is dead. Except for you."
The conclave. Oziha vaguely remembered attending the conclave, but she couldn't remember much. A flash of green, terror, pain, bits and pieces… "What do you mean it's destroyed?" she asked. "What happened? What - What's going on?!"
The Nevarran suddenly lurched forward and grabbed Oziha's wrist. "Why don't you tell us?" she exclaimed. There was a mark, faint but present, on her palm that she hadn't noticed before. In a green flash, pain ripped through her hand again. Oziha yanked her wrist out of the woman's grip.
"I-I can't," she said, staring down at the mark on her hand.
"What do you mean you can't?" the Nevarran shouted.
"I don’t know what that is!" Oziha cried. "What any of this is! I don't know what the fuck is going on!"
The Nevarran suddenly rounded on Oziha and grabbed her by the front of her tunic. "You're lying!" she shouted.
The woman in purple suddenly pulled the Nevarran woman away as the Qunari shook. "We need her, Cassandra," the other woman said, her accent thick and Orlesian.
Oziha curled into herself again. "Let me go," she said. " J-just - I-I don't - Just let me go! Please! I haven't done anything."
The Orlesian woman approached Oziha slowly. "Do you remember what happened?" she asked calmly. "How this began?"
"No," Oziha said, trying to calm herself down so she could think clearly. "I remember… I remember there was this green flash, a-and I was… running. Things were chasing me, th-they were horrible, and then… there was a woman?"
The Orlesian crossed her arms. "A woman?" she prompted.
"She… she reached out to me," Oziha continued, "but then…" She couldn't remember. What else had happened?
The Nevarran woman, Cassandra, seemed to take this as an acceptable answer and turned to the Orlesian. "Go to the forward camp, Leliana. I will take her to the rift."
Oziha's heart jolted at the thought of being taken anywhere, but she swallowed her nerves and tried to remain calm. But for the life of her, she couldn't stop shaking. The chains rattled against the stone floor.
"The rift?" she said.
Cassandra knelt down in front of the Qunari and produced a key from her pocket. She quickly unlocked the manacles and rose. Oziha immediately did the same, letting out a shaky breath as she rubbed her wrists.
"It," Cassandra sighed as she rebound Oziha's wrists with rope, "it will be easier to show you."
Cassandra led Oziha out of the cell into the bright of the outside, pausing as the Qunari woman ducked to fit her horns through the doorway. She had escaped her Avaraad before they had been cut, thankfully, but still bore scars of her escape. Snow fell lightly from the sky, marred by a giant green tear that seemed to swallow the mountain beneath it. Oziha couldn't look away, amazed.
"We call it the breach," Cassandra continued. "It's a massive rift into the Fade that grows larger with each passing hour. It's not the only rift, just the largest. All were caused by the explosion at the conclave."
"So an explosion ripped the sky apart?" Oziha asked.
"This one did. And unless we act, the Breach may grow until it swallows the world."
Oziha swallowed hard. "And that's… what you think I did?" she asked.
Cassandra didn't answer. The rift suddenly pulsed, flashing green, and the mark on Oziha's hand flared again. With a gasp, she dropped to her knees.
Cassandra dropped to one knee in front of her. "Each time the Breach expands, your mark spreads," she explained, "and it is killing you."
Oziha laughed bitterly, clenching her hand as the pain began to fade. "Of course it is," she gasped.
"That mark may be the key to stopping this," Cassandra continued, "but there isn't much time."
Oziha stared into Cassandra's eyes, scared but determined. "What do I do?" she asked. "How do we stop it?"
Cassandra stood and hauled the Qunari to her feet. "We may have a way," she said. "Come."
Cassandra led Oziha through the camp, past humans and elves in both civilian clothes and armor. Almost every one stared at her with some measure of fear or contempt. She refused to meet any of their eyes and kept walking.
"Everyone thinks I did this," she said.
"Yes," Cassandra replied.
Oziha scoffed. "The Qunari shows up, the sky explodes - Of course they think I did this."
Oziha chewed her bottom lip, wincing at the dull pain that tugging at her scars created. Ever since she had been freed and those threads had come out, Oziha had experienced what Shokrakar had called phantom pain. She could forget about it normally, but she had developed several nervous habits over the years that provoked the damaged nerves.
"They need someone to blame," Cassandra explained. "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 templars and mages."
"I remember that much," Oziha said. "And now they're all dead?"
"Everyone but you." Cassandra stopped at a stone gate manned by two soldiers. With a nod, they opened the wooden door. "We lash out, like the sky, but we must think beyond ourselves. As she did." Cassandra stopped in front of Oziha. "Until the breach is closed."
Cassandra pulled a dagger out of her pocket and Oziha took a step back. Cassandra held her other hand up in surrender before slowly taking Oziha's hand and cutting the rope binding her wrists. Oziha let her hands fall to her sides.
"There will be a trial," Cassandra said. "I can promise no more."
Oziha nodded. "For what it's worth," she said softly, "thank you. And thank you for not keeping me chained."
Cassandra nodded and kept walking, occasionally glancing at the people praying. "Come," she said, "it is not far."
Oziha followed closely behind, wary but attentive. "Where are you taking me?" she asked.
"Your mark must be tested on something smaller than the Breach," Cassandra explained. "There is another rift not far from here."
The guards at the other end of the bridge opened the heavy wooden door and for a minute, Oziha felt like she could breathe again. She couldn't help it; she started running. For a moment she panicked, hoping Cassandra wouldn’t' see this as the Qunari's way of trying to escape, but a glance behind her found Cassandra running with her.
The Breach pulsed again, flaring the mark. Oziha gasped and tripped, collapsing to her knees. She craddled her hand to her chest again, this time more out of embarrassment than pain. Cassandra helped her to her feet anyway.
"Sorry," Oziha said.
"The pulses are coming faster now," Cassandra explained. "The larger the Breach grows, the more rifts appear, the more demons we face." Oziha nodded and they kept running.
"So how did I survive the blast?" the Qunari asked. "I mean, you said yourself, it was an explosion. And everyone else is dead. How come I'm… not?"
"They say you… stepped out of a rift. Then fell unconscious."
Oziha slowed as they approached another bridge. "I was inside that thing?!" she exclaimed.
"It appears so," Cassandra replied as another set of guards opened another wooden door. "They say a woman was in the rift behind you, but… no one knows who she was."
That woman must have been who Oziha had been running with, but she couldn’t for the life of her remember anything else. The Breach pulsed again suddenly, flaring the mark and sending a demon hurdling at the bridge. Oziha jumped out of the way just in time as the bridge collapsed and sent her, Cassandra, and a few terrified soldiers tumbling to the ice below.
Oziha's horns cracked against the ice and she immediately jumped up. The impact sent vibrations through her horns to her skull that had her shaking her head to focus. And when she finally did regain focus, her eyes landed on a staff resting with a pile of other weapons from a crate destroyed by the explosion.
Oziha jumped to her feet and grabbed the staff. She twirled it over her head and slammed it down onto the ice, just in time to see two Shades come hurdling towards the ground. Cassandra had already leapt into battle.
"Stay behind me!" Cassandra shouted.
"Fuck that," Oziha growled, charging. She swung her staff again and felt her magic thrum just underneath her skin. Every hair in her dark mohawk stood on end as her hands and the staff itself became electrically charged. With a roar, Oziha focused her magic into the staff and sent a bolt of lightning streaking at one of the demons.
As Cassandra ran the demon she was fighting through with her sword, Oziha cried out in victory. "It's over," she said, smiling over to Cassandra. But Cassandra had her sword aimed at Oziha.
Immediately, Oziha brought her staff back up. Cassandra took another step forward. "Drop your weapon," she growled, "now!"
"You want me to help you close that thing?" Oziha exclaimed, gesturing at the Breach. "You're going to have to let me use my weapon. You had to have realized I'm a mage by now, right?" When Cassandra didn't move, Oziha sighed. "Come on."
"Give me one good reason why I should trust you," Cassandra said.
"I helped you just then," Oziha replied. "I could've easily sent that bolt at you, staff or not, but I didn't. Besides that, I'm apparently dying. Please, just trust me. Like you said, until we close the Breach, right?"
Cassandra hesitated for a moment before sheathing her sword. "You're right," she sighed. "I cannot protect you, and I cannot expect you to be defenseless." Cassandra turned away for a moment before adding, "I should remember you agreed to come willingly."
Oziha sighed in relief. "Thank you."
Nearly half a dozen demons later, Oziha and Cassandra had made their way back onto their original path. Oziha could hear more demons close by, as well as the sounds of fighting.
"There!" Cassandra cried out, pointing with her sword. A huge, glowing green tear floated above the ground, demons spilling from it. Oziha hesitated for only a moment before summoning her magic and jumping into the fray. Two Shades surged towards her in a blast of ice, but Oziha planted her feet, ignited her staff, and let the flames take the brunt of the attack. She sent a fireball hurdling towards the demons with a roar and while they was distracted, leapt forward and slashed each with the blade of her staff.
As the fighting died down, a bald elf ran at Oziha and grabbed her wrist. "Quickly," he said before Oziha had time to react, "before more come through!"
The elf thrust Oziha's hand at the rift and both the mark and the rift itself glowed. Oziha's hand flared pain for only a second before pressure numbed it out and pulled her hand towards the rift. Panicked, Oziha tried to pull back with all of her strength until finally, like a bowstring, the hold on her arm snapped and she fell back. With a shudder, the rift flashed green and disappeared.
Oziha stared at amazement at where the rift had been and realized after a moment that the elf had let her hand go. In fact, he looked rather pleased as he stared up at her and suddenly, Oziha realized everyone was staring at her. Swallowing thickly, she looked down at her hand and then nervously at the elf.
"What did you do?" she asked.
"I did nothing," the elf replied. "The credit is yours."
Oziha clenched her hand and stared back at where the rift had been. "I… did that?" she said. "H-how?"
"Whatever magic opened the breach in the sky placed that mark upon your hand," the elf explained. "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."
"Meaning it could also close the Breach itself," Cassandra guessed.
"Possibly," the elf said.
Oziha scoffed. "So you did it and just used my arm, you mean."
"On the contrary," the elf said. "That was all you. It seems you hold the key to our salvation."
"Salvation?" Oziha said. "You're putting your salvation in the hands of a Qunari mage, you do realize?"
"Good to know," a gravelly voice from behind Oziha said. Despite herself, she jumped and whirled around, only to have to look down at the blond Dwarf heaving a huge, intricate crossbow over his shoulder behind her. She hadn't even realized he was there. "Least we have someone. Here I thought we'd be ass-deep in demons forever."
Oziha chuckled. "I wouldn't speak too soon."
The Dwarf laughed as well and strode over casually. "Varric Tethras," he introduced, "rogue, storyteller, and occasional unwelcome tagalong." He winked at Cassandra and she choked in disgust.
Oziha blinked, unsure of what to say. "Um, Oziha," she choked out. "I'm - I'm Oziha. Qunari. Not really sure what the fuck is going on anymore. Um… Nice crossbow?"
Varric laughed. "Ah, isn't she?" he said. "Bianca and I have been through a lot together."
Oziha choked. "You named your crossbow Bianca?"
"Of course!" Varric exclaimed. "You've never named something of yours before?"
"I mean, my horns maybe," Oziha admitted.
"Oh?"
Oziha blushed. "Lefty and Righty. The left one's Righty and the right one's Lefty."
Varric laughed loudly. "Well! They'll all be great company in the valley."
Cassandra surged forward. "Absolutely not!" she exclaimed. "Your help is appreciated, but - "
"Have you been in the valley lately, Seeker?" Varric asked, stepping towards her as well. "Your soldiers aren't in control anymore. You need me."
Cassandra said nothing but stared Varric down. Oziha cleared her throat. "I mean," she began, "at this point, if you're entrusting me to save you all, we may need all the help we can get."
Varric cracked a grin and Cassandra groaned.
The bald elf approached Oziha again. "My name is Solas," he said, "if there are to be introductions. I am pleased to see you still live."
"He means, 'I kept that mark from killing you while you slept'," Varric explained. Oziha felt a jolt go through her at the thought of someone with her while she slept. She hadn't thought about it before and now that she was face-to-face with the man who apparently tended to her, she began to shake.
"Y-you," Oziha said shakily, then cleared her throat, "you know a lot about this stuff?"
"Like you," Cassandra explained, "Solas is an apostate."
"Technically, all mages are now apostates, Cassandra," Solas said. "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."
"Fair enough," Oziha said. "Thank you for… keeping me alive, I guess."
"Thank me if we manage to close the Breach without killing you in the process," Solas replied, but nodded nonetheless. "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."
"It's definitely new to me," Oziha agreed.
Cassandra looked at both mages and nodded. "Understood. We must get to the forward camp quickly."
Cassandra and Solas started off, but Oziha just watched them for a moment. Varric slid up beside her, startling her again just slightly, and chuckled. "Well," he said, "Bianca's excited."
Oziha huffed. "That makes one of us. You can't tell me you're not freaking out right now."
"When you've seen the things I have," Varric laughed, "you learn to just take this shit as it happens."
Before Oziha could reply, Solas cried out, "Demons ahead!"
Another wave of Shades down, Varric strode next to Oziha and studied her. Oziha grew nervous under his gaze. "What?" she said.
"We had Qunari in Kirkwall," Varric began. "A whole boatload of them. They were your typical cheerless sort. Then they tried to take over the city and kill everyone. But I’m guessing you don’t actually follow the Qun, do you? You’re Tal-Vashoth."
"You bet your ass I am," Oziha said. "I remember hearing about the Arishok being killed - by the, um, what do they call him, the Champion? Couldn't stop smiling."
Varric's eyes narrowed in amusement. "Oh?"
Oziha grumbled. "I-I… used to follow the Qun," she said softly. "Or, I mean, I was born into it. But, of course," she gestured to her scarred lips, "mage."
"Ah," Varric sighed. "Shit."
"Yeah."
Varric cleared his throat awkwardly as they approached a snow-covered set of stone stairs. "So," he started, clearly happy to change the subject, "are you innocent?"
Oziha barked out a laugh. "Honestly, I have no clue. I don't remember anything."
"That’ll get you every time," Varric said. "Should have spun a story."
"That’s what you would have done," Cassandra said.
"It’s more believable," Varric defended, "and less prone to result in premature execution."
"Or hasty hero promotion," Oziha added.
"Another rift up ahead," Solas said. Oziha nodded and readied her staff.
When the demons were disposed of and the rift was closed, Cassandra led Oziha, Solas, and Varric to the forward camp. Two soldiers opened the gate and Oziha noticed Cassandra breathe a sigh of relief at the sight of Leliana. She was arguing with a man in a white and red robe, and at the sight of the Qunari, Leliana jabbed her finger onto a spot on the map on the table in front of her.
"Enough!" the man shouted. "I will not have it!"
Leliana finally noticed Cassandra and Oziha and smiled. "You made it," she said, relief evident in her voice, "Chancellor Roderick, this is - "
The man, Chancellor Roderick, pushed past Leliana. "I know who she is. As Grand Chancellor of the Chantry, I hereby order you to take this criminal to Val Royeaux to face execution."
Oziha's heart leapt to her throat. "Wait, what?!" She exclaimed, gripping her staff tightly. But before she could say more, Cassandra stepped right up into Roderick's face.
"'Order me'?" she exclaimed. "You are a glorified clerk. A bureaucrat!"
"And you are a thug," Roderick shot back, "but a thug who supposedly serves the Chantry!"
Leliana intervened. "We serve the Most Holy, Chancellor, as you well know."
"Justinia is dead!" Roderick shouted. "We must elect her replacement, and obey her orders on the matter."
"Excuse me!" Oziha shouted. "I am standing right here! I thought our main focus was closing the Breach!"
Roderick stormed up to Oziha. "You brought this on us in the first place!" he roared.
"I have done nothing!" Oziha roared back.
Roderick scoffed, but turned away. "Call the retreat, Seeker," he said. "Our position here is hopeless."
"We can still stop this," Oziha cut in. "We've been beating back the demons this far. And the mark on my hand has been working, hasn't it?"
As if on cue, the Breach pulsed and Oziha's mark flared.
"How do you think we should proceed?" Cassandra asked.
Oziha blanched. "Y-you're asking me?"
"You have the mark," Solas reminded her.
"And you are the one we must keep alive. Since we cannot decide on our own…"
Oziha bit her lip, wincing at the dull pain, and nodded. "We've been coming straight, and it's been working," she decided. "I say we charge with the soldiers."
Oziha had just sealed another rift when a human with blond hair and an impressive set of armor fashioned like a lion's mane approached her.
"You managed to close the rift?" he asked. "Well done."
Oziha felt heat race to her face and she could only nod. This man, whoever he was, was very attractive, she had to admit, down to the small scar running vertically down the right side of his lip.
"Th-thanks," Oziha managed.
"I hope they’re right about you," the man continued. "We’ve lost a lot of people getting you here."
Oziha swallowed her nerves and nodded. "I hope they're right too."
Cullen nodded. "We'll soon find out. The way to the temple should be clear. Leliana will try to meet you there.”
"Then we’d best move quickly," Cassandra said. "Give us time, Commander."
"Maker watch over you," Cullen said, "for all our sakes.”
As they approached the Temple of Sacred Ashes, Oziha's heart began to race. The Breach was huge, angry looking, and pulsing quicker now. Below it, ripped into the air, was another rift significantly larger than the others but smaller than the Breach itself.
Cassandra stood next to Oziha, glaring at the Breach. "This is your chance to end this," she said. "Are you ready?"
Oziha swallowed hard, her mouth dry. "No," she said softly. "But I'm going to have to be." She turned to Solas. "What do I do?"
"This rift was the first and is the key," Solas explained. "Seal it, and perhaps we seal the Breach."
Oziha nodded. "I know I can do that, at least. Let's go."
Oziha followed the path of debris and partially intact pieces of building, the others right behind her. Varric seemed stunned and horrified at the glowing red rocks lining the debris. A voice, deep and foreboding, rang out across the temple.
"Now is the hour of our victory. Bring forth the sacrifice."
"If I had to guess," Solas said, "we are hearing the person who created the Breach.”
"Keep the sacrifice still," the voice rang out again.
Another voice, that of an older woman, suddenly cried out, "Someone help me!"
Cassandra gasped. "That is Divine Justinia’s voice!" she exclaimed.
"What’s going on here?" a third voice said.
Oziha stopped. That was - "That was my voice," Oziha said.
"Most holy called out to you," Cassandra said, also in amazement. "But - "
The Breach pulsed again and a white light enveloped the temple. Oziha shielded her eyes and when she looked again, she found herself watching as she, another Oziha, translucent but there, ran towards the Divine, suspended in midair by some kind of glowing red magic.
"What’s going on here?" the other Oziha said again.
"Run while you can!" the Divine cried out. "Warn them!"
"We have an intruder," the dark voice said. "Slay the Qunari."
As quickly as it had appeared, the vision was gone. Cassandra was in front of Oziha in an instant.
"You were there!" she yelled. "Who attacked? And the Divine, is she…? Was this vision true? What are we seeing?"
Oziha took a step back. "I-I guess! I don't know! I don’t remember!"
"Echoes of what happened here," Solas explained. "The Fade bleeds into this place. 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."
Oziha stared in horror. "So we have to open it to close it?" she asked.
"Precisely."
Oziha looked down at the mark on her hand as it began to pulse again. "Let's do this," she said, and opened the rift just as she had closed all the others.
Immediately, a thunderous roar rang out. The ground shook as an enormous Pride demon poured out of the Fade. "Oh fuck," Oziha breathed, and then chaos erupted.
The Pride demon roared again and surged forward. Leliana, Bianca, and the other archers fired off arrow after arrow, and Cullen, Cassandra and their forces charged forward. Solas hung back, hurling balls of ice at the demon in rapid succession.
Oziha charged forward and called lightning to her hands. She charged her staff and with a forceful swipe of her staff, channeled it straight at the demon's head. It roared and swiped, whipping at the ground with lightning of his own. Oziha gasped and dove out of the way just before the whip could hit her. Her staff clattered away from her.
"No lightning then," she yelled to herself. She clenched her fists and felt her fire warm its way up her arms. Her hands caught fire and she launched a massive fireball towards the demon. While it burned and roared, distracted also by the others' attacks, Oziha ran for her staff. She raised the weapon, spinning it over her head, and slammed it back down to the ground, sending another huge ball of fire the demon's way.
The Pride demon stumbled, roaring again, and went down on one knee. "Quickly!" Oziha heard Cassandra yell above the fighting. "The demon is vulnerable! Seal the rift!"
Oziha rushed forward and, with a roar, thrust her hand towards the rift. The mark sprung to life and pulled towards the tear, building pressure in the Qunari's arm unlike that of any of the other rifts. It lifted her off of her feet, pulling closer and closer towards the rift, and Oziha screamed with the pressure. She pulled back as hard as she could with her whole body, even in midair. Finally, when Oziha thought she couldn't take the pressure anymore, the connection snapped, and the rift closed.
The temple was silent as Oziha crumbled back to the ground. Every muscle in her body screamed from the sudden snapback of pressure. Faintly, Oziha was aware that someone was calling her name, but her whole body hurt too much to think. So when darkness pushed at the edge of her vision, she let it in, and collapsed.