My breath sawed in and out of my lungs. My heart was jack hammering behind the reddened steel plate. Although the metal was always red, there was a new layer of crimson dappled on top. I stood up straight, still clutching the sword within my hand. The body of Corypheus had hit the ground with a sickening thud. Red pooled around his mutilated form. I looked about at my three companions, a smile of relief starting to spread across my face.

“And you had your doubts,” Dorian's Tevinter accent cut through the stilling chaos, and that sly smirk of his got my heart racing in a completely different way.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Solas slip off in another direction. I turned to him, only to find the wise elf dropping to his knees as he looked at the remains of the orb.

“Solas?” I questioned.

“The orb..” He replied with breathless distraught.

“I know you wanted the orb saved. I'm so sorry..” Sadness for my dear friend filled my heart. It was one of the only things he wanted out of the entire misadventure. To see him now, clutching at fragmented shards was gut wrenching. He wasn't an affectionate man, but I felt the urge to embrace him. I held myself back.

“It was not.. your fault.” He said, his voice louder, but no less filled with pain. He set back down the piece he was clutching onto and stood up. When he turned to face me, he offered me a small smile, but even that was plagued with grief.

“There's more, isn't there?”

“It was not supposed to happen this way.” For a brief moment, I thought his voice caught. “No matter what comes, I want you to know you shall always have my respect.” No, that sounded like a goodbye..

“Solas..”

“Inquisitor! Are you alive?” I heard Cassandra's voice. I turned toward her, but looked back at my friend. For a moment, I thought he had disappeared, but he hadn't. He was walking away, toward the body of our fallen foe.

“Hold on Cassandra,” I called, as I raced after the other elf.

Just then, a sick, wheezy laughter erupted from the supposed-to-be corpse.

“Fools!” He bellowed, just as a he slammed something toward the ground.

“NOO!” I heard Dorian scream.

The entire battleground lit up in a red lyrium haze. Smoke and ash filled my eyes and lungs, and suddenly I couldn't breathe. Gasping for breath, I clutched at my neck, desperately trying to pull the steel away from my throat, to no avail. I was sent spiralling, weightless, through some kind of void. The world around me was either blacker than a midnight forest on a moonless night, or that sickly red that radiated off the red lyrium Corypheus' army indulged in.

I started to lose consciousness. The red was fading away to match the black emptiness. I fought with all my remaining strength to stay awake, but slowly.. slowly.. I slipped into a sleepless dream. My body being thrown through space and time, enveloping me in a cool, icy sheet of loneliness. I had no idea if I would ever wake up..

..the blackness opened up around me and shot me through the air toward the snow covered ground. I have no idea how high I was when I came through the veil, but I hit from some height. Air rocketed out of my lungs, leaving me groggily gasping for life. My eyes tried to take in my surroundings, but they were still fuzzy from the weird tunnel. My body ached everywhere. I felt as though the entire thing had gone naked through a lashing machine for hours straight.

When my breathing finally regulated, I crashed backward into the snow. I pulled my left arm over my eyes to shield the light. The steel was cold, but I was soaked in sweat. The anchor! Desperately I sat up, looking at my left hand. The anchor was gone! How could that happen?! I didn't see the strange green glow, nor did I feel the pulses within my veins, the very pulses that were supposed to kill me eventually. I let out a sigh. That was a relief at least.

I took in my surroundings with a keener eye. I had been all over Thedas, and this place definitely did not look familiar. I drew in a breath. The air was sweet, and mostly untouched. Or untouched by humans at least. I was clearly on a mountain, surrounded by an forest. Down in the foothills it was clearly autumn, there being snow only around where I stood. Why did I feel weird. It was as though I wasn't an elf anymore.. but I was.. right? Confused, I pulled off my gauntlets and reached up to my ears. I let out a sigh.

“At least my ears are still pointy.”

With that, I put my gauntlets back on and stood up. My legs were weak and my body crashed back to the ground. Okay.. not a good sign. My head was in scrambles, my body in shambles, my lover likely dead, I'm probably in another world.. somehow! and I'll likely die of dehydration if I don't get this body working.. soon.. I attempted to stand up again.

“GAH!” I fell immediately back down again. I give up. For now. The ground is soft anyway. If I'm thirsty, I'll eat snow. This is utterly stupid!

I crossed my arms and legs as best as I could in head to toe armour, and sat in the snow like a child.

Oleander

I'm here to set things right. Also? To look dashing. That part's less difficult.