Chapter Text
Green. Green is the color of new life. In spring everything brown turns green to show that it is alive. The green of the season spawns more colors as the new buds soon turn into a rainbow of flowers. Green is supposed to be beautiful, but this green was wrong. It was sickly and striking. It burned the skin and stung the eyes. Cecelia was looking right at the bright flash of green when it happened. She had gone outside the Temple for a breath of fresh air. As she took a step toward the doors to make her way back inside bright light started to shine through the Temple windows. She paused and looked directly through one of the windows to try and find the source. Everything went deathly silent for a split second before the world exploded in blinding green light. The Temple walls shattered in front of her as the explosion shook the mountain top. She didn’t even have time to scream as the shock wave sent her body flying through the air like a rag doll. The impact of her limp body on the rocky, snow-covered ground knocked her out and she faded into unconsciousness.
She roused to her body trying to suck in weak shaky breaths. The air smelled of sulfur and tingled with magic. Her lungs burned and it felt as if her throat was almost closed. The air was cold and the ground was wet and frigid around her yet she was hot. Her body felt as if it were on fire, every part of her burned with a dull pain. She could hear almost nothing over the ringing in her ears that were throbbing in pain. She finally blinked open her eyes but the world was dark. She was surrounded by pitch-black nothingness. She couldn’t see a single glimmer of light anywhere. She tried to move but her sore bruised body protested in loud shouts of pain that coursed through her. She gave up and relaxed back onto the ground. She closed her eyes and focused on simply breathing.
She didn’t know how long it had been as she had slipped back into unconsciousness before she was stirred by shouts. She couldn’t tell if they were close by or far away because her ears were still ringing and all of the sounds around her were dampened because of it. She tried to focus on the noises she was hearing. As far as she could tell it was still dark. She needed help and if they couldn’t see her she didn’t know how they were going to find her. She couldn't cry out and she was in too much pain to move. All she could do was continue to lie where she was on the ground and hope they stumbled over her. She waited and waited for help but no one came. She knew people were still around her as she could still hear shouting. Finally, the shouting got a little bit louder. To the point where she could start to make out some of what was being said.
“They’re all dead…” a voice was saying.
“...Find anyone besides…” someone else answered. It sounded like at least two men talking.
“...all burnt…” was the reply.
Cecelia strained her ears to try and hear more.
“Did you check…”
“No sir, but…”
“... keep looking…”
That was as much of the conversation as she could hear. At least it sounded like they were looking for survivors. Survivors of whatever had happened to her. All she could remember was a blinding green light. She tried to look around again, to find any source of light but there was nothing. She didn't know how they were searching without torches in the oppressive darkness.
“Sir!”
Cecelia nearly jumped at the sudden voice. The first thing she had heard clearly since the explosion.
“There’s someone over here!”
The owner of the voice was shouting from close by. Celia opened her eyes and looked toward the voice but still saw nothing.
“She looks to be alive sir, hurt but alive.”
The man started talking quieter, the person he was talking to must have come closer. A gentle touch soon had Cecelia jumping and letting out a whimper of pain.
“You’ll be alright, we’ll get you out of here.” A voice said, even closer this time. “Gather up everyone else, we’ll hold the line here until we can find some way to stem the flow of demons. I’ll take this woman and pass her off to the healers to care for. I’m sure Cassandra will want to talk to her once she’s able.” Strong arms pried their way under her limp body and lifted her with ease off of the ground. “She’s very warm…”
“It looks as though she’s been burned, sir. Obviously not as bad as the others, but still.” How could they tell she had been burned in the dark?
“Thank you Rylen, finish up here and then go reinforce the men at the rift.”
“Aye, sir,”
She felt cool air begin to brush over her and knew they were moving. Whoever was carrying her had a frigid chest, probably because it was covered by what felt like a metal breastplate. She could tell they were wearing gloves too. She could feel the material covering their fingers where they dug into her bare skin. Most of her clothes had been burned off by the explosion, she knew that only because she could clearly feel the freezing mountain air against her skin. Yet her skin felt hot.
Whoever was carrying her slipped which caused them to squeeze her in their arms. Cecelia cried out in pain as their strong hands dug even harder into her burned skin. They fumbled for a second before catching their balance and pausing. The hands that held her released their strong hold and she was shifted in their arms before they began to walk again. She still had no idea how everyone seemed to be functioning in the dark. What had happened to the two moons of Thedas? It was so dark she couldn’t even tell if her eyes were open or closed anymore.
After a while, new sounds began to assault her ears. It sounded like they were coming up on a camp that was bustling with tons of people. Heavy footsteps that crunched through the snow, metal clanging against metal, shouting, screams, all of the sounds were jumbling together to make one loud grating song in her ears. Her head was throbbing in pain and she moved in the arms that carried her to press her ear against the cool metal clad chest next to her head.
“Commander!”
The person carrying her stopped. She assumed he must be the Commander the person was yelling to.
“Cassandra,” the chest under her ear rumbled.
“Who is this?” A familiar woman’s voice replied.
“A survivor, we found her-“
“A survivor?! Of the conclave?!” The woman’s voice became louder and angry. “Bring her to the prison immediately, we’ll need to interrogate her along with the other one.”
“Cassandra-“
“Did she apparently fall out of the Fade as well?”
“We-“
“Never mind,” Her voice became a low growl. “She’s lucky I don’t kill her for what she's done. ”
“Cassandra!” The Commander shouted. “She needs to see a healer first before anything else. She’s badly injured.”
“It serves her right for what she’s done. No healer, she goes straight to the prison.”
“You’re letting Solas take care of the other woman.”
“That’s different,” she snapped back. “The other prisoner has the mark on her hand, Solas thinks it could be our only way of closing the breach. So we need her alive, no matter how guilty she is and how much I think she should pay for her crimes. This one looks to be normal, nothing is glowing. If she dies then justice is done and we still have the other one to interrogate.”
“What if she’s innocent?” The Commander countered.
“Innocent?” Cassandra sneered, “The Temple of Sacred Ashes has been destroyed, the Divine is dead along with tens of other people and the sky has a hole in it! Someone is responsible Commander, and she is one of only two survivors.”
“But why would she or the other prisoner do this to themselves? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Madmen rarely make sense Commander.”
“Nonetheless Cassandra she is injured and I am bringing her to the healers. You can’t kill her for her crimes if she’s already dead.”
Cecelia’s leg brushed past something as the Commander began to walk again. The noise of the camp still surrounded her as they moved through it. Eventually, she could tell she had been brought into a tent as the air was a bit warmer. Wherever she had been brought however was filled with screams of pain and smelled of blood and burnt flesh. She wrinkled her nose at the smell and shifted in the Commander’s arms.
“Healer!”
“Commander Cullen, how can I- oh, put her here.”
Celia was gently laid out on a cot and she soon felt hands all over her as the healer stripped her of her burnt clothes and covered her with a blanket.
“We’ll take good care of her Commander.” The healer said still with her hands on Cecelia.
“I’m posting a guard at the door just in case.” She felt the cold air from the rise and fall of the tent flap brush over her as he left.
After that Cecelia was in and out of consciousness as the healers worked on her. She was forced to drink healing potions which tasted bitter and made her feel warm inside. She was wiped off and reclothed. Her head wound was cleaned up and bandaged. When they were done with her she felt much better. Her skin no longer burned, her ears weren’t ringing anymore and her head was throbbing much less. At one point her eyes were pried open against her will but she didn’t see anything, which still confused her. She had just started to fall asleep when she heard the rustle of fabric and felt frigid air seep into the tent. It made her shiver and sink even further beneath her blankets.
“Maker Commander, you look terrible. Come sit here so I can-“
“No thank you, healer, I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine, you’re covered in blood and clutching your side.”
“I didn’t come here for me, I came to check on the young woman I brought in earlier.”
“Oh, yes she’s right over here.” Their footsteps grew louder as they walked towards her cot.
“How is she doing?”
“Better, we gave her some healing potions and cleaned her up. But there’s one thing that hasn’t improved. Look at this.”
Once again Cecelia felt one of her eyes being pried open, she let it happen, curious as to what the healer was doing.
“Maker’s breath….” The Commander whispered. “That… that can't be normal.”
“No, I know mages can have uniquely colored eyes but she’s no mage and the color of her eyes now matches the breach. It’s almost as if the magic seared them. We’ve tried potions, slaves and even magic but nothing has reversed it. I doubt her vision survived this but we won’t know for sure until she wakes up.”
Cecelia sucked in a shaky breath and whimpered. She already knew the answer to that question.
“Is she awake?” The Commander asked in surprise.
“I-I don’t know, I didn’t think so.” The healer answered with shock in her voice. “Can you hear us?” She had obviously leaned in as her voice was closer now.
Cecelia nodded and slowly blinked open her eyes. “Dark,” she whispered up into the nothingness.
“What did she say?” The Commander asked.
“Dark,” the healer repeated.