A/N: A couple things should be known before we start with the story. First, this chapter will a lot longer than the following chapters. I just really wanted to get the prologue out of the way. Second, this story will have the main character paired with a harem of three, so if this bothers you, then stop reading right now.

A/N: Please, remember to review with any comments, question, concerns, or constructive criticism that you might have.

Chapter 1:

Just a Routine Mission

"They're coming out of the fucking ground!" was a shout in a cave in a desert. Which desert and which country it was in doesn't matter, but what matters is that the soldiers of the squad of Army rangers in the cave were being torn to shreds by strange creatures. The creatures were tall and humanoid and had a habit of disappearing into the ground before bursting out underneath the soldiers and tearing them to shreds.

"Fall back!" one of the soldiers ordered.

"To where!? They've blocked the exit!" another shouted.

"Shit!" the first soldier, Corporal Wayne Clark, cursed. This was supposed to a drive-by mission. They'd just finished another mission and were ordered to investigate some strange animal attacks occurring in a nearby village. They eventually tracked the animal attacks to a cave and before too long, they found themselves under attack from the creatures. Sergeant Jack Stars was the first to be killed, leaving them without a leader until Corporal Clark stepped up to lead the quickly dwindling squad. The squad's marksman was the second to fall to the creatures, their ear-shattering shrieks stunning him long enough for them to disembowel him.

Clark fired his M4 Carbine at them, killing the two standing over the marksman's corpse, the two turning to ash before grabbing the fallen Barrett M107 and slung it over his shoulder. Clark quickly ordered them to set C4 at key points of the cave tunnel, but they were forced to do so under fire and suffered numerous losses. By that point, there were only three soldiers left, including Corporal Clark. The three remaining soldiers tried to make their way to the entrance, grabbing their deceased allies' ammo on the way, and killing more of the creatures, but the entrance was blocked by a new type of creature. It was bigger than the other creatures with electricity sparking in its claws. It created a whip of lightning and used it to cut one of the soldiers in half.

"Shit, we can't take that thing down!" Clark shouted as he fired at the creature while moving back into the cave, his shots doing little damage against its armor.

The creature laughed a deep and guttural laugh as the two soldiers fell back deeper into the cave. It created a large ball of electrical energy and fired it hitting the last of Clark's comrades, frying him. Clark turned and ran, knowing he couldn't match the massive creature, especially with more of the other ones being heard making their way to him. He hurried through the cave tunnels, trying to find another way out, but instead he found himself at a dead end with what looked like a hole in the air. He looked around for another way out but only heard more of the shrieks and the same deep, guttural laugh from before.

"Shit," he muttered as the realization of what that meant sunk in. He was trapped and the creatures were coming for him. He pulled out the detonator for the C4 and said to the darkness, "Go to hell," before clicking the trigger. Explosions went off deeper in the cave and he saw the ball of flame shoot towards him. Then, the world went black.

Wayne had no idea how long he was out but when he started to regain consciousness, he noticed that he was lying on a stone floor. Groaning, he sat up, crossing his legs, "What the hell?" he asked, shaking the fuzziness from his mind as he reached up to rub his head when he noticed something he hadn't before: his hands were shackled and most of his equipment was gone, leaving him with only his basic clothes. His vest, weapons, and even his helmet were gone. He looked around and found that he was in an old-style prison, complete with iron bars. He wasn't alone either as there were a number of men standing in a circle around him, all of them wearing armor and carrying swords, not to mention they seemed to be guarding him.

"Uh, any chance of a phone call?" Wayne asked the guards, but he received no answer. He sighed and then saw a weird green light shine in the palm of his hand. It felt like someone just stabbed him in the hand and he did the only thing he could: he cried out in pain and surprise, "Gaaah, what the fuck is wrong with my hand!?"

Instead of the guards answering, the door in front of him slammed open and two women came in. One was dressed in armor, had a sword and shield, and had a scowl on her face. The other was a red head with a hood covering her head. She had a neutral expression on her face. The scowling woman circled around him, while the red head observed his reactions.

The woman behind him leaned down to speak in his ear, "Tell me why we shouldn't kill you now."

Wayne reacted in the way he usually did when confronted with an unknown situation: he became a smartass.

"Because I'm so cute and cuddly?" he asked sarcastically.

The scowling woman drew her sword and pointed it at his throat, "This isn't a joke!"

"Woah, watch the sword there, Xena!" Wayne said, leaning back, "I already shaved today!"

She growled as she withdrew her sword from his throat, "The conclave is destroyed. Everyone who attended is dead. But you, you were found in the wreckage, almost without a scratch."

"Yeah, I have no clue what the hell you're talking about there, Xena," Wayne said, "I've got no idea what this 'Conclave' is, but I've got nothing to do with it."

"Then, explain this," the woman he called Xena said, grabbing his left arm to gesture to the green light on his hand, which was still giving him a stabbing pain.

"That's, uh, kinda new," Wayne said, "Can't really explain it. Hurts like hell though." He turned to the red head, "What about you, Spook? Nothing to say?"

Instead Xena answered, getting in his face, "You're lying! You know more than you're saying."

'Spook' pulled 'Xena' off of him, "We need him, Cassandra."

"Yeah, Xena, respect the personal space," Wayne said, getting her to scowl back at him.

"My name is Cassandra Pentaghast, Seeker of the Chantry, not 'Xena,'" 'Xena' said.

"Nah, I like Xena better. It suits you," Wayne said, smiling teasingly.

'Spook' stepped between Cassandra and Wayne, "Do you remember what happened? How this began?"

Wayne shrugged, "I was in a cave with my squad, investigating weird animal attacks, but we came under attack by these weird…creatures. They tore through us like we were nothing. There was no end to them, so we were forced to blow the cave while we were still in there. We couldn't risk them escaping. Next thing I know, I'm in here, looking at Xena's lovely face."

Cassandra scowled at his teasing, but Spook spoke up again, "That's it? Nothing else?"

Wayne shrugged and closed his eyes to concentrate, flashes of memories starting to come back, "Yeah…I remember…running and…giant spiders? And…a woman?"

That seemed to get Spook's attention, "A woman?"

"Yeah, she reached out to me, but then…nothing," Wayne said, shrugging, "Does any of that mean anything to you?"

"I'm afraid not," she said before a thought occurred to her, "Why do you call me Spook?"

"I've been a soldier long enough to recognize a spook when I see one," Wayne said simply.

Having enough of going in circles, Cassandra moved to her partner, "Go to the forward camp, Leliana. I will take him to the rift."

"Yeah, that's not happening," Wayne said, getting both of the women to turn to him.

"You do not have a choice," Cassandra said, her scowl still present.

"Oh, I beg to differ, Xena. See, Spook mentioned that you need me for something, so clearly you need me in one piece, but the problem is that you mentioned a forward operating base, which you only need if you're under attack by an enemy. So, if I had to guess, you just offered to take a restrained captive," he started, shaking his restraints, "through hostile territory by yourself. That's not only stupid, it's suicidal."

"He raises a good point, Cassandra," Leliana said, "Maybe you could take some of the soldiers with you."

Cassandra shook her head, "We can't spare the manpower. We need to leave them here to defend Haven in case the demons get too close."

"Uh…demons?" Wayne asked, receiving no answer.

"Still it is too dangerous to escort him and watch for demons," Leliana said.

"What other choice do we have?" Cassandra asked rhetorically.

"Well, you could arm me," Wayne said, getting the women's attention.

"Absolutely not," Cassandra said, firmly.

"Well, guess you're shit out of luck there, Xena. You can either trust me not to run or kill you when your back is turned, which would be stupid for me to do, since I have no clue where I am or how hostile these 'demons' are to me, or you can try to force me through obviously extremely hostile territory while also trying to singlehandedly deal with any enemies we encounter. Your choice, Xena."

Cassandra looked at Leliana, who shrugged. The seeker sighed and spoke to one of the guards, "Get his personal belongings."

"Yes, ma'am," the guard said hurrying out while Cassandra moved to Wayne and pulled out the key to his manacles.

"Don't make me regret this," Cassandra warned.

"You watch where you swing that sword of yours and I'll watch where I shoot," Wayne said smiling.

Just then, the guard came back with Wayne's equipment and he moved to collect them, checking the different pieces for anything that they might have damaged or sabotaged. Finding it all in order, he put on his vest and attached the different weapons to him before following Cassandra out of the prison.

"So, what do you think I did anyway?" Wayne asked.

"It is best if I show you," Cassandra said, leading him down a hall and up the stairs.

They came out and Wayne found that he was in an old-fashioned village surrounded by mountains…and the worst part? It was snowing and cold.

"Where the Hell am I?" Wayne asked himself as he looked around and saw something that was perhaps the weirdest thing he'd seen thus far: a shining green vortex in the sky with a beam coming down from it.

"We call it "The Breach," Cassandra said, noticing his staring at the vortex, "It's a massive rift into the world of demons that grows larger with each passing hour.

"Wait, so you weren't being metaphorical when you and Spook were talking about demons?" Wayne asked.

"Of course not," she said, "The Breach is not the only such rift. Just the largest. All were caused by the explosion at the Conclave."

"An explosion can do that?" Wayne asked.

She nodded, "Unless we act, the Breach may grow until it swallows the world."

"Great," he said, before the Breach flashed and the light on his hand flared, giving him the sensation of his hand being torn in two. He cried out in pain and fell to his knees, grasping his hand.

Cassandra quickly moved to him, "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."

"And here I thought, ugh, it was just a charming accessory," he joked through the pain, "Look, Xena, I'm going to, urgh, fuck that hurts, going to help you. I promise," he said, before laughing weakly, "Not like I got much of a choice anyway."

following close behind. As they walked, he noticed a lot of people were glaring at him. "Okay, why is everyone looking at me like I just pissed in the punchbowl?"

"They have decided your guilt. They need it," Cassandra explained.

"I don't understand. Why would I do this to myself?" he asked waving the hand where the weird light was present, "Besides I don't even know what this 'Conclave' is."

"The Conclave was a meeting between the mages and the templars hosted by Our Most Holy, Divine Justinia. It was the only hope for piece between the two forces," Cassandra explained.

"Divine Justinia? Who's that? Your country's leader or something?" Wayne asked.

"She was leader of the Chantry," Cassandra asked, looking at him in confusion, "How do you not know this? Do you not follow the teachings of Andraste where you come from?"

"Yeah, I've got no idea who that is," Wayne said, "But I guess this Justinia was important and well-liked?"

"Perhaps more than any other Divine. The explosion that created the Breach destroyed the Conclave also killed everyone present. Only you were found alive."

"And so without any other suspects people assume that I caused it, since I survived," Wayne said.

"Correct," she said.

"Terrific. Guess no one around here has heard of 'innocent until proven guilty,'" Wayne said.

Cassandra didn't answer the statement as she led him out of the village before taking him down a trail, "We lash out, like the sky. But we must think beyond ourselves. As she did, until the Breach is sealed."

"Nice thought. I wonder if they'll share your sentiment when they try to lynch me," Wayne said.

"There will be a trial. I can promise no more," Cassandra said, with sadness that surprised Wayne.

"Well, at least there'll be a trial," he muttered, "Somehow, I doubt it'll be a fair one."

"As I said, I can promise no more than the actual trial," she said, leading him down the path.

"Where are you taking me anyway?" Wayne asked, as they passed people praying and others fleeing into the temporary safety of the village. Corpses and burning wagons littered the road.

"Your mark must be tested on something smaller than the Breach," she explained.

They got about fifteen feet from the gates when the Breach pulsed again and the pain from the mark drove him to his knees again.

Cassandra helped him to his feet, "The pulses are coming faster now. The larger the Breach grows, the more rifts appear, the more demons we face."

They started hurrying down the path, knowing their time was growing shorter with each passing minute.

"So, how did I get here anyway?" Wayne asked.

"They said you…stepped out of a rift, then fell unconscious," Cassandra explained as they reached a stone bridge, "They say a woman was in the Rift behind you. No one knows who she was."

Before Wayne could ask any further questions, a ball of energy shot from the Breach and destroyed the bridge as they crossed it, sending the pair tumbling down onto the frozen river below. Another ball of energy hit the ground in front of them and resulted in a stream of energy from the impact site before a figure rose up out of it. The creature was humanoid in appearance and appeared to be wearing robes of some kind, but that was where the similarities ended. Its skin was pale and sickly. It seemed to lack legs and floated in the air.

Cassandra drew her sword and charged the creature, "I hope those items you carry are weapons!" she shouted.

"I just hope these weapons can hurt demons," Wayne muttered as he aimed his Carbine at the creature, but before he pulled the trigger, he noticed the ground in front of him bubbling and glowing with the same green energy. A second later, another of the creatures came out of the ground. "Shit!" he shouted before he pulled the trigger on the second creature, killing it with a short burst. Cassandra killed her opponent with a slash through its throat.

"It's done," she said, sighing.

"Okay, what the hell were those?" Wayne asked.

"Demons," Cassandra said, "Shades, I believe. One of the weakest types of demons."

"Oh, great," Wayne said, "There're are stronger ones?"

Cassandra just nodded and started to lead him down the frozen river, passing a corpse. "We should take any equipment he has that we can use. Never know what might come in handy."

Wayne nodded and started examining the dead man's equipment. "Looks like his helmet's the only thing not damaged."

"We should take it. I could use it," Cassandra said, gently taking the helmet off and placing it on her own head.

"Does this happen a lot?" Wayne asked, "Ya know, the whole robbing the dead thing?"

Cassandra shrugged, "It isn't ideal, but these are dire circumstances."

"Oookay," Wayne said, just accepting her explanation. As a soldier, he'd learned that some cultures were different than his and learned to accept it. The two continued down the frozen river, being attacked multiple more times along the way. Wayne was pleased to find even the more ghost-like demons, 'wraiths' as Cassandra called them, were susceptible to his shots. Eventually, they heard sounds that both of the pair knew well. "Xena, you hear that? Sounds like fighting!"

"We must help them, whoever they are," Cassandra insisted.

Wayne nodded in agreement and the pair hurried down the path to find people fighting more shades and a strange, shifting crystal floating in the air above the battle site. Wayne immediately opened fire on the shades, the loud cracks of his shots drawing the shades' attention to him.

Cassandra moved to intercept the shades that tried to flank him.

"Thanks, Xena!" Wayne shouted as he continued to fire. The other combatants fighting the demons helped to pick off the ones Wayne and Cassandra didn't kill. Once the last of the shades were defeated, the floating crystal flashed and became a hole in the air.

A man carrying a staff grabbed Wayne's left hand, saying, "Quickly, before more come through!"

"What?" Wayne asked.

The man thrust Wayne's had at the rift, causing a beam to come out of the 'mark', hitting the rift, before it flashed again and disappeared completely.

"What the hell was that?" Wayne asked the man, "What did you do?"

"I did nothing. The credit is yours," the man said, smiling kindly.

"Uh, what?" Wayne asked, looking at the Mark, "Guess this thing's useful after all."

"So, it would appear," the man said, "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."

"Meaning it could also close the Breach itself," Cassandra said, hopeful.

"Possibly," the man agreed, "It seems you hold the key to our salvation."

"Cool, so, uh, what's with the ears?" Wayne asked, pointing to the man.

"I'm sorry?" the man asked, confused.

"I mean, not to be rude or anything, but were you born with them like that or did you get them changed to look like that?" Wayne asked.

"My ears are quite normal for elves such as myself," the man assured the soldier.

"Elves?" Wayne asked, looking at Cassandra, "He's kidding right?"

"Of course not," Cassandra said, not understanding his disbelief.

"Is that so strange?" the 'elf' asked, "You act as though you have never seen one of my kind before."

"Uh, that's cause elves aren't real. They're just something from a Tolkien book," Wayne said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"And yet, one such being stands before you," the man said, simply.

"Heh, and next you're gonna tell me the shortstack is a real dwarf," Wayne said, gesturing to a short and stout man making his way to them.

"Uh, heh, actually, yeah, I am," the short man said, laughing nervously.

"Enough of this," Cassandra said, interrupting the conversation, "We can discuss this later perhaps."

"She's right," the short man said, fixing his gloves, "I'm just glad that Mark of yours works. I thought we were gonna be ass-deep in demons forever. Anyway, allow me to introduce myself. Varric Tethras: rogue, storyteller, and occasionally unwelcome tagalong," he said, smiling and winking at Cassandra, who scowled at him.

"So, are you with this, uh, Chantry? Is that what it was called, Xena?" Wayne asked, looking at Cassandra.

The 'elf' laughed at his question, "Was that a serious question?"

Wayne looked at him in confusion, "Why wouldn't it be?"

"Dwarves and elves are not permitted to be a part of the Chantry," Cassandra stated.

"Why?"

"It is…a very old rule," Cassandra sighed, offering no other explanation.

"I was brought to…tell a story to the Divine," Varric said vaguely, "Not that I had much choice. I'm a prisoner just like you."

"You are free to go, Varric, as I have said. Now that the Divine is dead, your aid is no longer required," Cassandra said.

"So, uh, that's…a nice crossbow ya got there," Wayne said, attempting to change the subject, pointing to the large weapon on Varric's back.

"Ah, isn't she? Bianca and I have been through a lot together," Varric said, smiling at the weapon.

"You named your crossbow Bianca?" Wayne asked, curious.

"Of course," Varric insisted, "And she'll be great company in the valley."

"Absolutely not. Your help is appreciated, Varric, but-" Cassandra started, but was interrupted by Varric.

"Have you been in the valley lately, Seeker? Your soldiers aren't in control anymore. You need me," Varric insisted.

"He's got a point there, Xena," Wayne said. Cassandra just scoffed and walked off.

The 'elf' spoke up then, "My name is Solas, if there are to be introductions. I am pleased to see you still live."

Wayne arched a confused eyebrow at him and Varric spoke up, "He means, 'I kept that Mark from killing you while you slept."

"Oh, thanks for that, Elrond," Wayne said, patting him on the shoulder.

"Um, it's Solas as you recall."

"Yeah, I know. I just like giving people little nicknames and Elrond was the name of an elf in one of my favorite book series," Wayne explained, "He was wise and helped to save the hero's life. Felt it kinda fit you."

"Ah, then, it is appreciated," Solas said before turning to the seeker, "Cassandra, you should know: the magic involved here is unlike any I have seen. Your prisoner is no mage, clearly. Indeed, I find it difficult to imagine any mage having such power."

"Understood," Cassandra said, nodding, "We must get to the forward camp quickly." With that, Cassandra and Solas made their way over some rubble to continue down the path to the forward camp with Wayne and Varric following behind.

"Well, Bianca's excited," Varric laughed.

"At least there's that. Let's get going, Pinocchio. Don't want to be left behind," Wayne said.

"Pinocchio?" Varric asked as he walked by Wayne's side.

"What? You've never heard of that story?" the soldier asked to which Varric shook his head, "Well, my first idea was Short Round, but you're not cute enough or Asian enough for that, so I figured one of the most famous liars in history would fit for you, Mr. Storyteller."

"You'll have to tell me that story sometime," Varric said.

"Sure, ya know, assuming I don't die sealing the Breach or get executed soon after," Wayne joked.

"Yeah, that would make things a bit difficult," Varric laughed.

The group followed the back down the hill, where they came under attack from more demons, this time a combination of shades and wraiths. They immediately began their attack.

"Glad you brought me now, Seeker?" Varric asked as he shot a bolt into one of the shades' eyes.

"Flirt later!" Wayne said as he fired on the wraiths.

Solas fired a series of fireballs on another of the shades, while Cassandra fought the last one, slashing it across its chest.

"Hey, Elrond, how'd you shoot those fireballs?" Wayne asked, once the last of the demons were defeated.

"Magic," Solas said, simply.

Wayne looked at Cassandra, who said, "He's quite serious."

"Wait, so magic is real?" Wayne asked, surprised.

"You have the Mark on your hand. Do you need more proof?" Solas asked.

"Touché," Wayne said before the group headed up the hill.

"What manner of weapons are those?" Cassandra asked.

"They're guns," Wayne said, "They fire small metal projectiles. Think of them as a more advanced version of Bianca."

"Well, they're not as pretty," Varric said, pouting.

"Not saying otherwise there, Pinocchio," Wayne said.

"So…are you innocent?" Varric asked after a few more minutes of walking.

"Dude, I don't even know where I am or how I got to where they found me," Wayne said.

"That'll get you every time. Should have told a story," Varric said.

"That's what you would have done," Cassandra said.

"It's more believable and less prone to result in premature execution," Varric said.

"Always a plus," Wayne muttered, before he spotted more demons on the path, "We've got incoming!"

The demon numbers this time were less than the last fight, numbering only three of the creatures, so they lasted for only short about of time. Once the group finished the demons, they continued once more down the path, more burning wagons and discarded items by the trail.

"I only hope Leliana made it through this," Cassandra said, worriedly.

"She's resourceful, Seeker," Varric said, reassuringly.

"Yeah, Xena, Spook won't go down that easy I'm sure," Wayne agreed.

"We will see for ourselves at the forward camp. We are almost there," Cassandra said.

Sure enough, less than a minute, they reached a large gate, but another rift blocked their path. The group immediately attacked the demons. The shades tried to get in close to tear them apart, but Cassandra kept them from getting close, while the remaining three took down the wraiths and the shades that made their way past the Seeker. Once the demons were defeated, Wayne, remembering what Solas did with the last one, thrust his left hand forward, sending the beam out at the rift, making it flash and seal closed.

One of the guards ordered the gate open now that the rift was gone, while Varric and Solas congratulated Wayne on his sealing of the rift. The group went through the gate once it was open, finding themselves in a small camp on a bridge, and immediately spotted Leliana arguing with a man in red and white robes, so they headed towards them.

Noticing them approaching the man said, "Ah, here they come."

Leliana stepped forward to introduce the group, "You made it," she said, relieved, "Chancellor Roderick, this is-"

"I know who he is," Roderick said, annoyed.

'Oh, great, I can already tell this guy's gonna be fun to deal with,' Wayne thought before the Chancellor spoke again and proved Wayne right.

"As Grand Chancellor of the Chantry, I hereby order you to take this criminal to Val Royeaux to face execution!" he ordered.

"So much for the trial, huh, Xena?" Wayne asked. The Seeker at least the heart to flinch and not meet his gaze. She did, however, refuse to be cowled by him.

"'Order me?' You are a glorified clerk. A bureaucrat!" Cassandra said, annoyed at the injustice towards someone that is at least trying to help.

"And you are a thug, but a thug who supposedly serves the Chantry!" the Chancellor said, looking down his nose at the Seeker, whose armor was stained with demon's blood.

Leliana stepped into the conversation then, "We serve the Most Holy, Chancellor, as you well know."

"Justinia is dead! We must elect a replacement and obey her orders on the matter!"

"So, until that time they're just supposed to obey you just cause you're important enough to have some fancy outfit?" Wayne asked rhetorically.

"I am the only one here in a position to represent the Chantry, criminal, therefore all followers should aid my efforts in restoring order. Not that it matters to you, since you will soon be taken to face justice for the lives you've taken," Roderick said arrogantly.

"And I suppose we should just ignore the big hole in the sky?" Wayne asked.

"You brought this on us in the first place!" Roderick said, pointing accusingly at Wayne.

"Prove it, Douchenozzle," Wayne said, crossing his arms.

Roderick breathed an angry breath before turning back to Cassandra, "Call a retreat, Seeker. Our position here is hopeless."

"There's a famous quote from where I come from that fits here," Wayne said, getting everyone to look at him, "'Retreat, Hell, we just got here."

His allies smiled at him, while Roderick just glowered at him.

"We can stop this before it's too late," Cassandra insisted.

"How? You won't survive long enough to reach the temple, even with all your soldiers," Roderick said, any hope gone from his voice.

"We must get to the Temple. It's the quickest route," Cassandra insisted.

"But not the safest. Our forces can charge as a distraction while we go through the mountains," Leliana said.

Cassandra shook her head, "We lost contact with an entire squad on that path. It is too risky."

Roderick tried to make one final plea just then, "Listen to me. Abandon this now before more lives are lost!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Breach flared again, causing the Mark to inflict more excruciating pain, but this time he was expecting it so he managed to actually stay on his feet this time.

Cassandra moved to him, her face and tone showed slight worry, which surprised Wayne, "How do you think we should proceed?"

"You're…asking me?" Wayne asked surprised.

"You have the Mark," Solas explained, "You're the one that we must ensure reaches our destination."

"We charge," Wayne said, "If we take the long way to the Temple, there's less chance I'll actually survive long enough to seal the Breach, let alone your trial if I even get one. Whatever happens, happens now."

The group, minus Leliana and Cassandra, headed towards the other end of the bridge to wait for the troops. Cassandra ordered Leliana to gather the remaining troops from the valley before making her way to the rest of the group, specifically Wayne.

"I…would just like you to know that I and everyone else appreciate the risk you are taking, despite you likely receiving no thanks for it," she said.

"Tell ya what, if I live through this, you owe me a kiss, Xena?" Wayne asked, jokingly with a teasing smile.

She scoffed in annoyance, "Can you take nothing seriously?"

"Sure, I can, but since I'm probably gonna be executed, I figure a kiss from beautiful woman wouldn't be too much to ask," Wayne said, still smiling. She scoffed and walked away, making Wayne's smile widen. "Yeah, she's gonna be fun to mess with," Wayne muttered to himself.

It was two hours before the vanguard led the charge with Wayne's group following behind them. By the time they caught up to them, the vanguard had already suffered numerous casualties. Wayne's group immediately joined the fray, one of the soldier's shots saved a man with lion-decorated armor from having his head taken off by a shade. Even with the soldiers, they had trouble due to there was a larger group of demons coming out of the nearby rift than the previous two that Wayne's group dealt with. As Wayne fired, he had to admit the lion-decorated knight had some skills as he slashed one shade's chest before spinning and stabbing another through the head. After the first wave of demons, more came out of the rift including a new type that Wayne remembered from the cave.

"Careful, guys, these ones like to ambush ya from below!" the soldier shouted. The fighters continued to take down the demons one by one until the last fell and Wayne sealed the rift.

Solas made his way to the soldier, "Sealed, as before. You are becoming quite proficient at this."

"What can I say? I've always been a quick study," Wayne joked.

Solas smiled, "So, it would appear."

Varric joined them, "Let's hope it works on the big one."

The lion-decorated knight made his way to Cassandra, "Lady Cassandra, you managed to close the rift? Well done."

"Do not congratulate me, Commander. This is the prisoner's doing," Cassandra said, gesturing to Wayne, who smiled and waved.

"Is it? I hope they're right about you. We've lost a lot of people getting you here."

"Don't worry, Commander. I won't let ya down," Wayne said, seriously.

"That's all we can ask," he said before speaking to Cassandra, "The way to the Temple should be clear. Leliana will try to meet you there."

"Then, we'd best move quickly. Give us time, Commander," Cassandra said.

"Maker watch over you—for all our sakes," the Commander said before he started helping the wounded escape the battlefield.

Wayne's group jumped off a small ledge to reach a large clearing. Wayne was horrified to find that there were corpses of people still frozen in the terrified positions they were in during the explosion, their skin and clothes burned completely off, making even their gender unrecognizable. It reminded Wayne of pictures of Pompeii with the frozen ash-covered corpses still in the positions they died in.

"The Temple of Sacred Ashes," Solas said.

"Damn, this is, fuck!" Wayne said as he looked around at the devastation.

"That is where you walked out of the Fade and our soldiers found you," Cassandra said, "They say a woman was in the rift with you, but no one knows who she was."

The group made their way through the ruins of the Temple, passing more of the frozen, flaming corpses, and Wayne noticed some of them were glowing red. Coming to a courtyard, the group found a larger rift than they had ever seen before.

"The Breach is a long way up," Varric said in awe.

Just then a voice was heard from behind them, "You're here. Thank the Maker!"

Wayne turned to see Leliana hurrying her way towards the group with soldiers following behind her.

Cassandra intercepted Leliana, "Leliana, have your men take up positions around the temple." The red head nodded her agreement before starting to give the soldiers orders. Once she left, Cassandra turned to Wayne, "This is your chance to end this. Are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be, Xena," Wayne said, nodding, "Though how exactly am I gonna get up there?"

"No. This rift was the first and it is the key," Solas explained, "Seal it and perhaps we seal the Breach."

"Then, let's find a way down," Cassandra said, "And be careful."

The group followed the balcony around and soon, they saw some bright red crystals coming out of the walls. Varric explained that it was something called 'red lyrium' and that they shouldn't touch it, since it was evil and they didn't what it to start 'talking' to them. Wayne had no idea what he meant by that, but felt it best to take the dwarf's advice. As they made their way around, they began to hear voices seemingly coming from the rift. One voice was female and identified by Cassandra as that of Divine Justinia and the other was clearly male, but was deep and unrecognized by the members of the group, though Solas guessed that it was the one who created the Breach. Once they reached the bottom after jumping from the balcony, the Mark started reacting to the rift and images started coming from the rift.

"Someone help me!" Justinia shouted.

"No one will come for you," the male voice said.

"You will not succeed! They will stop you!" Justinia insisted, struggling against whatever held her.

"Keep the sacrifice still," the male voice said before the images faded.

"W-was this vision true? What are we seeing?" Cassandra asked.

"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 that with the Mark, the rift can be opened and then sealed properly and safely."

"But…?" Wayne asked.

"Opening the rift will likely attract attention from the other side," Solas said.

"That means demons. Stand ready!" she ordered the soldiers, as they took up sniping positions above the courtyard and the short-range fighters joined Wayne's group.

"Here we go," Wayne muttered before he held his hand out to send a beam at the rift, opening it. When it opened, a single demon came through, a singe, large demon. "Not another one of these fuckers!" he shouted as he raised his rifle.

"Now!" Cassandra shouted, raising her sword, giving the signal to the archers to begin firing on the demon.

Wayne and Varric started firing at the demon as well, while Solas used different spells to hit the demon. The demon attacked with lightning whips and lightning balls, but the various fighters dodged the attacks and slowly, but surely chipped away at the demon's armor. The demon managed to grab Wayne in its massive hand, but Wayne pulled one of his grenades off his vest before pulling the pin and throwing it into the demon's mouth. It dropped the soldier in surprise before the grenade went off and blew up its head, making it fade back into the rift, which made the rift vulnerable. Wayne began to seal it like he had the others, but this time he felt like his energy was sapped from his body, but he kept going until with an explosion the rift was sealed and the Breach ceased its release of new rifts, something that could be seen for miles. That was the last thing Wayne saw before the world went black once more.

A/N: And there's chapter 1! Please, favorite, follow, and/or review!