The soldiers rushed up the mountain, shouting as they headed toward the chantry. They knew in their bones that something was wrong, that something terrible was about to happen. Part of them screamed to run the other way, but they were inexplicably drawn to where the Conclave was taking place. The air felt thick and warped like metal that had been cooled too quickly after being touched by a blacksmith's fire. Suddenly, a dense stream of green light burst from the chantry on the mountain, shooting straight into the sky. The soldiers yelled as a wave of the light began to expand from the base of it, obliterating everyone in its path. Some of them got out of the way quickly enough, but others were nothing but incinerated corpses, their mouths agape in an eternal scream.

The ones that lived waited a few moments until the beam of light was gone. They pointed and gasped as they looked at the sky, where a great, gaping chasm glared down at them. They warily wandered into the ruins of the chantry, hoping to find a survivor, or a clue as to who had done this. Who had murdered their Divine and so many other people? They crept along the halls until they saw a great, pulsing rift in the middle of the air, its bright green edges flickering in what seemed like anticipation. Suddenly, the rift twisted and lit up, and something stumbled out of it as a ghostly figure watched from within. The soldiers raised their weapons as the figure drew closer.

"It's a woman!" one shouted, rushing forward.

"Andraste! I just saw Andraste!" another yelled. They rushed forward as the woman fell to her knees and toppled over onto the ground. Her dark red hair was matted to her pale forehead. She was pretty, with high, wide cheekbones and a smattering of pale freckles. She had a series of violet dots tattooed along her right cheekbone just beneath her eye.

"Is she alive?" one asked. At that moment, the woman's eyes popped open, revealing a color that was so blue it was almost purple. She screamed, and the men noticed a pulsating green mark on her right hand.

"She did this! She killed the Divine! Look at her hand!" were the last words that Renna Trevelyan heard before slipping into unconsciousness once more.

King Alistair of Ferelden stood on a balcony with his five year old son, Bryce, and a weathered old warhound. The boy held onto the railings and peeked through the slats while Dane, the Mabari, sat vigilantly.

"Papa, when is Mama coming home?" he asked. Alistair ruffled his son's black hair. It was a question he asked himself every day. He heard from Zeriah from time to time, but it wasn't the same. He knew that what she was doing was very important, but he wished that she could come home, or that he could have gone with her.

"I don't know, Bryce. Hopefully soon." he said. The young child nodded with a small sigh before looking up at his father. Alistair couldn't help but smile at seeing his own eyes staring out of his son's small, round face.

"I hope so too, Papa." he agreed. The pair turned to look out over Denerim once more, when suddenly Alistair felt what seemed like a deep rumbling in the earth. His brow furrowed, wondering what was happening, when suddenly a beam of light exploded in the distance. His brown eyes widened as he watched the sky tear itself in two, taking on a greenish, sickly hue instead of its normal coloring.

"What is that, Papa?" Bryce asked. He had almost forgotten his son's presence.

"I'm not sure Bryce. I need you to go inside now." he said absently. The boy pouted and crossed his arms stubbornly.

"I don't wanna." he whined. Alistair tore his eyes from the hole in the sky. Dane whimpered and pushed on Bryce's hand with his cold, wet nose.

"Bryce. Now." he ordered. The boy sighed and stubbornly went back inside, Dane padding alongside him, ever the bodyguard, even in his old age.

"Alistair. My King." a voice said behind him. Alistair nodded.

"I've seen it, Eamon." he replied before the old man could finish his sentence.

"What will we do?" his adviser asked. Alistair stared at the tear.

"Start planning something, I suppose." he said, turning his back and following his son inside. He thought he sounded composed, but his heart felt like it would beat out of his chest. Based on her last letter, Zeriah was somewhere in the direction of the rift in the sky. "Maker keep her safe." he breathed, trying not to let tears show. He didn't want to scare his son, after all.

"This is useless." Zeriah cried, slamming the old scrolls on the table in front of her.

"Don't just slam those down! You'll tear them to pieces." the old man shouted, rushing over to pick up his precious notes. Zeriah glared at him.

"Avernus, we need to figure this out. I have been away for far too long. My son probably doesn't even remember me!" she growled. The ancient mage scoffed.

"Perhaps if you would allow me to continue my previous experiments-" he began.

"No!" she retorted. They had been having the same argument for what seemed like years.

"Fine. Then it will take more time." Avernus said irritably. Zeriah threw her hands in the air.

"I'm taking a break." she muttered, standing and walking outside into the snow. She folded her arms against the cold and stared out toward Denerim. She couldn't see the city, not from here, but it was comforting to know that it was still there, that Alistair and Bryce were still there. She shivered, and suddenly something felt very wrong. A loud explosion sounded and she covered her ears in surprise. She dropped to the ground as the earth rippled.

"Zeriah?" she heard behind her. Avernus wandered over to her side and stood in front of her. "What did you do now?" he asked sternly. She slowly uncovered her ears and gaped at the sky behind his head. She raised her hand to point at the gaping chasm.

"I definitely had nothing to do with that." she said softly as he turned around.

"Maker's breath." he breathed. They stood staring at it for a long time. "It looks like it's sitting over Haven." he said eventually. Zeriah nodded in agreement. She had not been to Haven since they had found Andraste's ashes there over a decade ago. Her eyes widened.

"The Conclave!" she exclaimed. Avernus nodded.

"Indeed. We need to get back to our research now. Although, we should probably move as far away from that thing as possible." he said, padding back into the tower. She stared after him.

"We have to do something!" she cried stubbornly. Avernus looked at her.

"It isn't our place, child. You have had your time to save the world many times over. It's not your turn any more." he said calmly. When she said nothing, he sighed. "You can go help once you take care of your own problem." She turned back to the rift in the sky. The old man was right. She had her mission, and she intended to finish it. With a twinge of regret, she followed him inside.

"I think that it is time that we start training Talyssa how to use a weapon, love." Kierrai said as she rocked her fussy son back and forth in her arms. She smiled down at him. He looked just like his father. "I know she is only four, but I started learning earlier than that. I am not saying that we should start her off with daggers or anything. You could start teaching her how to use a bow." she continued. Her son, Gavin, named for Sebastian's grandfather, gave a wide yawn and snuggled closer to her. She grinned and laid him down in the crib next to his sleeping sister, Eleanor. "Obviously we can't teach the twins anything, I mean, they're not quite a year old. But I think Taly is ready to learn. She already watches us when we train." she added. Eleanor, or Lea, as they liked to call her, looked like a Theirin down to the shape of her nose. She had soft, golden brown hair and her mother's brown eyes. Gavin looked more like Sebastian, but his eyes were his mother's. Kierrai glanced over at her husband, who was staring out the open window. "Sebastian are you even listening to a word I'm saying?" she asked wryly, standing and making her way over to him. "I swear, sometimes it's like talking to...a wall." she stammered as she saw what he was staring at.

Far off in the distance, a great, green chasm held a place in the sky. It didn't look like it was anywhere near Starkhaven, but even though it was far off, the sky in their home held a greenish tint. Kierrai placed a hand on her husband's arm while slowly grabbing his hand with the other. After a time, he squeezed her hand, as if he hadn't realized that she was there until then.

"What do we do?" he asked quietly. Kierrai closed her eyes.

"We wait to see what sort of organization springs from this to combat that thing in the sky. Then, we send a messenger offering our aid or our alliance, whichever seems the most prudent. Eventually, we'll get ourselves pulled into the mix like we always do. Hopefully whoever wants to fight that thing will be doing it for good reason." she said calmly. Sebastian nodded in agreement.

"Let's teach Talyssa how ta use a bow then, yeah?" he asked. Kierrai smiled fondly. She should have known he was listening to every word.