It's been a long time since Dorian has let himself hope for more or believe that he's a better and worthier man than most others think. Leas is determined to change that.

Isleatias joins his people and finds his place among them.

The Inquisitor is a somniari. A rather idealistic somniari who loves the shadow of a world he lives in and wants only peace between the humans and elves. Solas can't decide whether he's just made his newest best friend or his worst enemy. Tracks the course of Leas Lavellan and Solas' friendship through DA:I, on the basis of their being dreamer mages.

Shortly after Isleatias discovers his magic at last, Tyril awakens to hear him crying in the night, for what he has lost and what he never had the chance to be until now.

Dorian never expected the Exalted Council to be easy. But news of his father's death, an impending Qunari invasion, and the rapid deterioration of Leas' Anchor and health, among other things, make it a far greater disaster than he ever could have imagined. In the end, all he can do is trust to the promise Leas has made him—but even that may not be enough.

Meeting Inquisitor Ameridan forces Leas to consider what his place in history will be after he's gone. Dorian, meanwhile, is more worried about the fact that Leas got thrown off two cliffs by a Hakkonite bruiser—and that, as a dreamer, he'll be in screaming agony when he meets the Avvar dragon.

The Anchor chooses to flare up at the worst of times.

At the Warden's funeral, Zevran muses on the love that he lost as quickly as he gained it.

Dorian has more than a passing fancy with Leas' vivid blue eyes—and with Leas himself, not that he realises it. A pity he only does realise it in the aftermath of the Well of Sorrows, when one of the consequences of Leas' decision immediately comes to pass and Dorian must at the same time deal with his fear, anger, and insecurity.

Dorian has more than a few concerns about how the incredibly naïve, wears-his-heart-on-his-sleeve-at-all-times Leas will do at the Winter Palace—and about the fact that part of the man's method for charming the Imperial Court seems to involve dancing with other men.

The last week before the departure of the Initiative, Tamara Ryder wanders the Citadel and Puerto Rico and remembers what she has lost, and what she will be forced to lose when she leaves on a journey she never wanted to go on.

Leas makes a habit of getting up at ridiculous hours and working all day, every day. Dorian has objections.

Wandering the land that should have been their homeland is not a particularly easy experience for Leas or his brother.

After Sanctuary, Shepard crumbles into pieces. Kaidan tries to help him, but instead learns a piece of news that makes the atrocity deeply personal for Shepard and bears witness to the indomitable captain finally coming close to giving up.

In which Dorian kisses Leas, agrees to get closer to him, and meets his family. Not necessarily in that order, and in far quicker succession than he would have liked.

Or, the one in which Varric is confronted with the fact that ignoring letters from a useful ally is not how one goes about doing politics, nor is turning said ally into a villain in his book, neglecting to inform him of certain important events, and treating him with uncalled-for derision and contempt any way to treat the man who Hawke once called his best friend.

The realisation of Felix's death fully sinks in when the party is in Crestwood. Leas does his best to help Dorian through it.

Dorian isn't expecting the so-called Herald to Andraste to be so vain. Or confident. Or charming. Or so compassionate and sympathetic to a man who tried to erase him from time.

When Leas' attempt to tell his very traditionally Dalish brother about their relationship ends in a terrible argument between the pair, Dorian is forced to deal with the emotional fallout and grapple with his own, seemingly confirmed, insecurities.

Several weeks after the Qunari invasion of Kirkwall, Fenris confronts Caissene Hawke regarding her decision to give Isabela to the Arishok.

Dorian and an uncharacteristically distressed Inquisitor Lavellan discuss the aftermath of the Battle of Denerim and read a letter from the late Hero of Ferelden's father.

Carver's death in the flight from Lothering was a pity, and it was a pity his sister had none to spare. And for Leandra, perhaps, it was also a pity that her daughter would not so easily take the blame.

A sacrifice at Redcliffe results in an explosive confrontation between Alistair and the young, angry Warden Tabris.

The fight against Danarius in the Hanged Man does not go entirely the way Fenris had hoped it would. Or, what happens when a magister actually bothers to use all of the spells at his disposal.

Shepard teaches Garrus how to say her name.

After leaving Orzammar, Alistair tries to comfort the Warden regarding the broodmother, then to make sense of her when she displays almost no reaction to what she saw at all. Turns out it's not easy falling for a woman who takes everything as completely in stride as this one does.

Fergus and Saorla find a fatally injured Thomas Howe in the wake of another darkspawn attack, a few short months after the Fall of Highever. Together, the three grieve all that they have lost.

"This had not been what he had wanted out of his marriage. But what had he expected when he married a templar? Without the Inquisition, it had finally occurred to him, there was nothing they had in common anymore."

In which the consequences of Liara giving Shepard's body to Cerberus run deep, Shepard takes her to task for her selfishness, and the fact that she didn't bother to tell anyone about what she had done does not go overlooked.

Fenris is starting to remember an important figure from his childhood, a man who gave everything for him. Artur helps him make sense of it.

For the first time, Fenris feels like he has a future. For once, Hawke feels happy. Now, if only they can get through another day without somebody coming to question where Hawke's disappeared to.

Somewhere in the Korcari Wilds, a stroke of luck and a happy coincidence bring a very-much-alive Fergus back into his sister's life. It would be a happier reunion if she did not have to explain what happened to the rest of their family, but Rhiannon will take what she can get, for while there is life, there is still hope.

Once, Gamlen had two nephews. Now, he has one. Once, Carver had a brother. Now, he has nothing.

The Inquisition has a new guest. He's slated to be a most useful tool to them, but the Inquisitor has more than a few concerns about his state of being. As ever, she shares them with Cullen.

One would think that choosing whether to seek the help of the mages or the templars would be an easy choice for a templar, but things aren't so simple when that templar doubts the Order so strongly and wants to help the mages. In the end, all it comes down to is the hole in the sky.

Templars and ex-templars aren't exactly in the habit of sharing their lyrium kits. But with the woman who they're calling the Herald of Andraste having lost hers in the explosion at the Conclave, Cullen finds that he has to do exactly that. In the process, he learns that much more about she who is supposedly bound to save them all.

Or, the one in which Artur is not impressed with what Anders has to say about Fenris and leaps to his defence in a much more aggressive manner than in the game.

Someway or another, Fenris' past always ends up catching up with him.

In the wake of Leandra's death, the party go to the Hawke estate to attempt to comfort Artur. They wind up getting a lot more than they bargained for.

After his resurrection, Shepard emails his family to let them know he's alive. They don't react as well as he would like. Later, Garrus comes to lend the shoulder to cry on that his friend desperately needs.

Garrus finds Shepard in the ruins of the Citadel.

In which Kelly Chambers' naïveté about Cerberus angers the sole survivor of Akuze something fierce, none of the organisation's atrocities is forgotten, and a great deal of butt-chewing ensues.

After the events on Tuchanka, Benjamin asks Adrien Victus to put a name on the Normandy's memorial wall. Garrus watches the Primarch's veneer begin to break.

Twenty-nine years before the events of Skyrim, Gallus approaches Mercer with an offer.

All the Dark Brotherhood's victims were found. Not all were mourned. But they were found, and even the ones who did not mourn the dead were left to pick up the pieces of the murdering guild's rampage.

Working on a war hammer at the Skyforge, several months after Kodlak's death, Farkas examines himself, and questions his treatment by the other Companions and the methods he uses to cope with it. He's supposedly a simple man, but things aren't as simple as he tells everyone—and himself. He can either keep running from the truth, or he can learn to face it, and change things.

Months after evading Karliah, Brynjolf, and the Dragonborn, and escaping from Skyrim, Mercer Frey comes to Solstheim for a bit of treasure hunting. Well, 'a bit of treasure hunting' may be putting it too lightly. Mercer is, after all, seeking the treasure of Haknir Death-Brand. But Mercer has done this before. And with the Skeleton Key? There's nothing he can't do.

Murdering Gaius Maro was a necessary step in the Dark Brotherhood's plan. But it was also their biggest mistake. Commander Decimus Maro was the ultimate target of that stage of the plan. But because of his son's murder, he was also their greatest adversary. And none of them knew it. But he would have his vengeance, one way or another.