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Her Destiny Lies Elsewhere	By : TheStarvingArtist Category: +A through F > Dragon Age (all) > Dragon Age (all) Views: 7181 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN DRAGON AGE. This is a work of fiction, and I make no money from it. This fic contains dialogue from the game.

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
- 3
Author's Note:
I am so bleeding tired... But my vacation is out, so it's back to work tomorrow. I will keep writing, though, and part three should be up by Saturday night if all goes well. I have a local keeping me on track, so here's hoping!
I know, I rearranged the dialogue a bit, and left some parts out, but they will come into play later. And yes, by the way, Rio is a mage, because I couldn't see her as a rogue or warrior.
Enjoy!

**This fic contains many quotes and much dialogue straight from the game. I will try to indicate all of these instances, but Maker's tears, be understanding, nearly ALL of the dialogue in these first few chapters from everyone but Rio is from the game. (* will be used to indicate when dialogue was used in a paragraph)**
Chapter 2
First Fight
“I see,” Rio said as Cassandra finished explaining, taking in all the details as they climbed the ridge. They followed the path through the valleys. Rio stopped once in a while as the occasional group of soldiers jogged past them. Everyone else seemed to be heading away from the tear in the sky... “So this... Justinia lady?" She barely acknowledged the disgusted noise that Cassandra made before she corrected herself, "I'm sorry, Divine Justinia. She was trying to get everyone to stop fighting, right?” At Cassandra’s nod, Rio continued. “And the explosion happened during this meeting and killed everyone?”
Cassandra nodded again, “Yes, except for you.”
Rio frowned at that, shaking her head, “Trust me, there’s no way I was at this Conclave...” Cassandra’s brown eyes darkened with disbelief at Rio before she added, “I’m not from here... No one would've invited someone like me to something like peace talks, even if I was.”
The warrior shook her head, pulling Rio aside as she stumbled again and nearly fell. With a disgusted noise, she tugged the rope free from about Rio's wrists to let her at least catch herself. They were far enough from Haven that no one would say anything. “Even so, you stepped out of the rift and fell unconscious, and our soldiers found you there among the rubble. However you came to be there, you are here now. With your mark, we have a chance of closing the Breach and stopping the rifts.” Rio frowned at that, rubbing at the "mark" with her right thumb as she felt the power thrum almost painfully.
It was a little slow-going, stopping here and there to avoid what appeared to be large, green fireballs as they fell from the sky. Each time they struck the ground, the path trembled beneath Rio’s feet. They came to a smaller bridge, starting to cross it before another blaze of green plummeted towards them. Rio barely noticed in time as Cassandra grabbed her by her coat. Yanking her back, Cassandra pulled her out of the way as it struck the center of the bridge. The stone collapsing and tossing them to the frozen river below. Tumbling ass over teakettle, Rio fell hard onto her back. Sprawling on the ice, she groaned as she felt the world slowly right itself again. She barely noticed when Cassandra scrambled to her feet beside her, eyes fluttering open. Her ears perked up a little at the sound of Cassandra drawing her weapon, and she watched the warrior jump over Rio’s prone form.
“Stay behind me!” she heard as she started to stir, rolling onto her side and shakily rising to her feet and almost slipping back onto the ice. She tried to take stock of what was going on, a shaking hand going to her forehead as she struggled to clear her head a little through the daze. Sweet zombie Jesus, but her head hurt. She caught sight of Cassandra fighting... something... She couldn’t make out what it was, Cassandra was slashing at it too quickly. She was only preoccupied with Cassandra’s predicament for a few moments, however, before the ground in front of her blackened and bubbled, and from it rose a dark and twisted figure, hunched over and growling low at her from a strange, inhuman face. Leather bindings were wrapped around its torso, it's arms too long for its frame. Long, clawed fingers reached for her, swiping as it gave a hissing, clicking sound. It didn't seem to walk, but more like slink forward like it was trying to swim through the air towards her. If she hadn't been so frightened, she might have laughed at its strange, jerky movements. As it was, the terrifying sight drove the last of the fog from Rio’s mind as she tried to think of a plan. *
She needed something to defend herself, if nothing else. Looking around in the rubble for a second, she spotted what looked like a carved walking stick and scrambled towards it. Grabbing it with both hands, she yanked hard and pulled it free from the rocks. Her bright blue eyes widened in surprise at the pale blue stone on the end, glittering in the light from the Breach. Her curiosity at her find was short-lived, though, when she realized the creature was still advancing. Turning towards it, she raised the stick, whirling back around to swing it at the hissing thing. Was this a demon? Her mind searched everything she knew and came up empty.
Things don’t just come out of the ground, she thought frantically as she struggled to keep it back. Again and again, it lunged for her as she swung at it, determined to hold her ground as she felt power thrum through her hands, eyes flashing.
Fireballs don’t just rain down from the sky, she wanted to scream as she tried to make sense of it all. She felt her lip curl back in a snarl, gritting her teeth as she felt her frustration rise. Grasping the wood of the staff with both hands, she swung hard at the creature's face when it lunged again. A rush of panic and relief washed over her when it connected. It was back again after only a moment, slinking more cautiously as it searched for an opening.
Winding up again, Rio struck the creature with all her strength, almost cringing at the awful crunching sound as the orb connected solidly with its face. This time, bright sparks flared from the stone, dancing over its face. Roaring in pain, it sank back and dissolving into the ice as Rio watched it. Trying to catch her breath, Rio stared in silence at the spot where the creature had been. Had she done that? She tried to remember how it had happened, only remembering a surge of adrenaline as she'd swung.
Pushing aside her thoughts, Rio turned to look for her companion, quickly realizing Cassandra was fighting a similar creature of her own, and yet the warrior appeared to have no problems dealing with her own opponent. With deft slashes, the creature fell to her blade as Rio was relieved she didn't have to intervene. Glad for the victory, Rio tried to make her way hesitantly across the ice, glad when nothing else leapt out at them.
Looking around one last time, Rio sighed in relief as she held her staff, clutching it tightly in shaking hands. Glancing back up at the Breach, she felt the severity of the situation weigh heavily on her.
The sky doesn't just tear itself open and pour out demons, she thought with a shake of her head. “I... I think it’s over,” she said hesitantly, jumping when Cassandra turned on her, brown eyes stony with determination.
“Drop your weapon!” she bellowed, sword pointed straight at Rio. “Now!”*
Instinctively, Rio let go of her staff, stepping back as it clattered to the ice. "Fine, geez!" she cried, pulling away from the other woman as she held up her hands again. "I just picked it up when one of those... things came after me. Holding up her hands again, she felt herself shrinking back from the other woman carefully. "I... I'm sorry. I found it, just over there..." She nodded back to the tumbled remains of the bridge, trying not to look at the bodies she saw lying there. Looking back at Cassandra, she watched her carefully, wondering why it was different for the warrior than for her, but said nothing until the warrior took a breath, sighing before she sheathed her sword.
"Wait," she said begrudgingly. "You don't need a staff, but you should still have one... I cannot protect you..." Leaning down, she reached for the staff, lifting it carefully and handing it back to Rio, who took it again, looking at Cassandra. "I should remember you agreed to come willingly, at least," she said with a slight nod. "It will be dangerous on the path ahead, and while I can't protect you, you should be able to at least defend yourself."*
Nodding in thanks, Rio waved Cassandra on, already eager for this trek to be over so they could be on their way.
***

With Cassandra's help, and a good deal more struggling, Rio learned a couple of new things. One was that Shades were very common, and they would probably keep fighting more of them until the Breach was closed. Another was that Cassandra expected her to use the staff for more than just hitting them. When another Shade fell, Rio turned to find Cassandra dispersing two Wraiths, their ghostly forms dissolving as Cassandra frowned. “Why didn't you just dispatch it with a lightning bolt?!” she asked, obviously frustrated. She sighed when Rio shrugged and started to answer that maybe she would if she knew how, but the warrior was already moving on. Sighing, Rio swallowed her groan as she followed the warrior up a flight of steps. They had followed the river a ways, and now the path seemed to go upwards. Cassandra seemed to pick up speed as they went, Rio tiring quickly from fighting and running they'd been doing.
“We're almost there!” Cassandra called back over her shoulder, trying to encourage her up the steps. “You can hear the fighting.”*
It was Rio's turn to frown as she huffed her way up the steps after her. “Who's fighting all the fucking way out here?!” she called back, nearly catching up to the warrior again.
“You'll see soon. We must help them,” was all she got in reply as they made their way up the snow-dusted steps before they emerged on a plateau. Rio's ears perked up as she first heard, then saw the battle unfolding. Without thinking, she ran forward, already drawing her staff back to swing. It connected with a Shade's face, a skill she seemed to be getting better at, falling as she caught a glimpse of those fighting around them. Her attention wasn't on them, though, but rather on the Shade that tried to sneak up on her from behind, making her whirl back around again. A blast of cold took her by surprise for a moment before she focused again on the enemy. She was close now, just a little bit further to go.*
The fight was brief, and as Rio was catching her breath, she found her arm grabbed, warm fingers encircling her wrist as she was pulled to the side. “Quickly,” she heard, “before more come through!” Before she could protest, her arm was shoved towards a rift, the sickly green light making her head hurt more for a few moments before she felt a strange sensation jolt up her arm, the light growing brighter as the air crackled with energy. Tensing, she tried to pull away for a moment, heart racing as she closed her eyes against the light. “Focus now! Imagine the rift closing!” She wanted to ask what the voice was talking about, but just as easily as that, imagining the rift closing and going away, she felt as if the world began to pull itself together, stitching its wound closed, winding tighter and tighter in on itself... With a jarring bang like a gunshot, the rift closed, fading away, normal light filling her vision as she hesitantly opened her eyes. The strong hand holding her wrist fell away as she looked at the man who had spoken to her, heart still racing a mile a minute. Her staff fell to the ground from her other hand as she looked down at the shining mark in the center of her hand, looking back up at the man who had grabbed her, more questions on the edge of her tongue, managing, after some silence, a soft, “H-how did you do that?”*
Sad, serious eyes gazed back, and though the man smiled, his face still looked grim and cautious. Bowing his bald head a little to her, he said, “I did nothing. The credit is yours.”*
Looking back down at her hand, Rio frowned deeply, almost disbelieving him. “I closed that thing? But... how?”*
“Whatever magic opened the Breach in the sky also placed that mark upon your hand,” he said, watching her still as he straightened just a little. Looking up again, she blinked as she noticed something else about the strange man standing before her.*
“Your ears,” she heard herself say as she stared at him, blue and gold eyes widening as she gawked at him. His ears were pointed, and not just a little, and from this angle, they looked almost real. “Man, those are like... the most real-looking prosthetics I've ever seen...” Stepping closer, still fascinated even as he frowned and stepped back, leaning just out of her reach as she instinctively tried to touch one. She could even see the veins in them! She had to give props to the design-team that made these... Blinking, she looked around as she frowned. “But... those things were real... those weren't people in costumes, and they weren't any cheesy special effects... But... this can't be real...”
A soft chuckle drew her out of her reverie, making her turn again before spotting him. He stood a very stout four-feet-tall and dressed in a mostly-open shirt, revealing quite a lot of chest hair, a heavy coat draped on his short form. Adjusting his gloves, he adjusted the large crossbow on his back as he turned towards them, a charming smile on his face as he made his way forward. “Awww, look, Chuckles. She likes your ears,” he said, making Rio blush as he winked at her. “Maybe she doesn't see many male elves where she's from.”
Blinking, she frowned down at him, shifting a little before she said, “That's because elves aren't real.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, she wanted to pull them back and bury them, feeling three pairs of eyes fall on her as she shifted uneasily. The dwarf was the first to break the awkward silence, laughing heartily for a moment before waving at Cassandra, “Please, Seeker, tell me you have a mirror for this poor girl...” Cassandra scowled down at him, shifting to look at Rio as she handed her shield over to her. In her confusion, Rio took it, looking down at its shining surface—and stared in silence for several long moments.
Her face was different now, but only a little. She was a little more pale, yes, but her nose and cheekbones were hers, the light freckles around her eyes and down her nose and cheeks had always been there. She had been wrong, her makeup was long-gone, and for that, she was a bit relieved. In its place, however, she found twin markings, thin lines of deep black following the lines under her eyes as she frowned at them. Stranger still than the tattoos she didn't have before were her own ears. No longer the gentle round shape she'd always known, they were somewhat large, and as she reached up to touch one, it flicked just slightly, making her jump back, letting the shield fall with a clatter. Reaching up with shaking hands, she tried not to panic as she grabbed the pointed tips, pulling just a little. Squeaking in distress when she found they certainly didn't come off when she pulled, Rio felt herself begin to shake as panic set in.
“Oh boy,” the dwarf said, grimacing a little. The other elf frowned at him before calmly placing his hands on her shoulders, trying to gain her focus as she started to hyperventilate.
“All right, now,” he said calmly, “just take a breath... That's it,” he said, smiling as comfortingly as he could when she took in a shaky, but deep breath, “now hold it for a moment, good, good... now, slowly let it back out again... Let's start with your name, all right?”
She managed a small nod, taking in another breath before she managed to say, “I-I'm Rio... Rio Maximilian...”
“Good, very good, he said, letting her breathe a few more times. “You've already been acquainted with the Lady Seeker, Cassandra Pentaghast.” He nodded to Cassandra, who looked concerned for a moment, but was pleased to see Rio starting to calm down.
“Varric Tethras,” the dwarf said with a comforting smile. “Rogue, storyteller, and occasionally unwelcome tag-along.” Rio's small smile seemed to help put them all at ease as her initial panic was quelled.*
“And my name is Solas, if there are to be introductions,” the taller elf said, hands slipping from her shoulders as she seemed to have regained her senses again. “I'm pleased to see you still live.”*
Before Rio could panic, Varric cut in gently, “He means, 'I kept that mark from killing you while you slept'.” Her eyes shot down to the glowing mark on her hand, a new worry jolting to the front. “He's kept it stable for now. You should be safe.”*
Looking to Solas, Rio managed a small nod, starting to wonder if this was just some terrible dream after all. “You seem to know a great deal about it all,” she said quietly, rubbing her hand idly as she averted her gaze again.*
“Like you,” Cassandra said, nodding just a little, “Solas is an apostate.”*
“Technically, all mages are now apostates, Cassandra,” Solas answered, quirking a brow as if that much should have been obvious. Before Rio could ask, Solas continued, and she found her question drifting to the side. “My travels have allowed me to learn much of the Fade, far beyond the experience of any Circle mage. I came to offer whatever help I can give with the Breach. If it is not closed soon, we are all doomed, regardless of origin. 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.” She looked from him down to the mark on her hand again, frowning a little more at the sense of almost pride in his voice, like some science major who had just proved his thesis or something.*
“Meaning it could also close the Breach itself,” Cassandra said, sounding hopeful as she smiled just a tiny bit. Finally there was an end in sight!*
“Possibly,” Solas replied, sounding a bit hopeful himself, if somewhat hesitant before looking to Rio with a small smile. “It seems you hold the key to our salvation.”*
Her face turned red, blushing at the compliment as she quickly looked at her feet, but a smile still crossed her lips as she nervously shifted under his gaze. “Good to know! Here I thought we'd be ass-deep in demons forever,” Varric said, chuckling when he found that Rio seemed to brighten even more at that before they turned to make their way over the barricade and down the hillside, slowly getting closer to the Breach. As they continued to walk, Rio looked down at Varric,*
“So, with your height, I take it you're a... Dwarf? Oh, but you don't have a beard,” she said thoughtfully, frowning.
“Yes, I'm a Dwarf,” Varric said with a smile.
Smiling in return, she added, “Are you with the church, then? Oh, I'm sorry, the, uh... the Chantry?”
Solas' soft laugh drew her attention as he held her steady as she stepped over the high barricade. “Was that a serious question?”*
Before she could ask, Varric rolled his eyes and said, “Technically, I'm a prisoner, just like you.”*
Cassandra was a little further down the path, frowning at the Dwarf as he hopped the barrier like it was nothing, Rio's own expression darkening just a little as she looked down at him. She hadn't given it much thought, being a prisoner... “I brought you here to tell your story to the Divine,” the Seeker said. “Clearly that is no longer necessary.”*
“Yet, here I am,” Varric said almost cheerfully. “Lucky for you, considering current events...”*
“It's nice to meet you, Varric,” Rio said with a slight nod.*
“You may reconsider that stance, in time,” Solas said softly.*
“Aww,” Varric said, smiling up at the elf. “I'm sure we'll become great friends in the valley, Chuckles.”*
Cassandra turned again, eyes glowering down at Varric as she practically seethed at the notion. “Absolutely not!” Taking a breath, she managed to compose herself a little before continuing. “Your help is appreciated, Varric, but-”*
Rio almost felt Varric turn on the charm as he smiled up at the grim warrior. “Have you been in the valley lately, Seeker? Your soldiers aren't in control anymore. You need me...” he said, head tilting a little at her knowingly before she scoffed and turned away with a roll of her eyes.*
As they made their way down the path, Rio felt herself at ease, slowly relaxing, even with the occasional fireball falling from the sky. The others were easy company, and she found herself able to enjoy their company as they bantered back and forth.
Further down the path, a small group of Shades crossed their paths, and even as weariness crept up on her, Rio felt determined to help fight. Pleased to see Solas pull out his own staff, she blinked as she found wisps of cold coming off the stone at its end, staring in wonder as she pulled her own staff out. Standing back a little ways, she observed him quietly, trying to stay out of his way as he effortlessly spun the staff and made gestures with his free hand. Each move he made pushed forth power—she could feel it—and it materialized as balls of ice and flame. Once, she watched him strike the end of his staff to the ground and lightning struck one Shade before bouncing to another, and then another. When she thought the battle over, she found herself stepping closer, holding her own staff tightly. “How... how did you do that?” she asked him, watching as he blinked in confusion, turning to look at her for a moment.
“I... don't understand, what do you mean-” he started to ask, his attention flitting over her shoulder as he frowned again. Grabbing her with only a moment to react, he turned them swiftly, changing their places just as the Greater Shade slashed down at them with sharp claws. Rio gasped when Solas took the hit and then grabbed her around her waist to carry her away like it was nothing. She watched as Varric turned and pushed it back with three arrows in its chest, Cassandra passing them to attack the creature. Once they were far enough away, he set her back down on her feet, looking her over. “Are you hurt?” he asked, still looking her over as she shook her head. “You're a mage, aren't you? Don't you know any spells?” he asked, surprise written on his face as she slowly shook her head a little.
“What kind of mage doesn't know any spells?” Cassandra asked as she joined them, frowning as well. Rio couldn't even begin to answer them, sighing softly as she refrained from embarrassing herself further before murmuring,
“I'm not from this world, okay?” Looking from Solas to Cassandra, she sighed. “We don't have magic where I'm from. No spells, no magic, no demons or elves...”
Solas frowned a little at that, but he seemed even more curious at this new information, Cassandra frowning deeper. “How do you defend yourself where you're from?” she asked, her patience quickly running out.
Rio shrugged a little at that, shuffling from foot to foot, “Just... other ways... I have a bat at home to protect myself if I need it.”
Nodding a little at this new information, Solas placed a hand on her shoulder. “Well, you will find magic easier to use here...”
“Do we really have time for a magic lesson?” Cassandra asked irritatedly, scowling darkly at Solas when he waved her off.
“We are safe for the moment!” he said, grabbing his staff and showing Rio how to hold it in front of herself before beginning the lesson.

Author's note: So now that I've marked all of the dialogue, everyone should be happy now. I didn't indicate every single individual sentence/quote, just the paragraphs that contained them, because of how I broke them up. Will this story pick up its pace soon? You betcha! I'm almost done with part three and may get part four done this weekend too. Slowly, I'll be able to break away from the game--the opening scene is just so cricital for setting Rio up with meeting the characters that I didn't feel right pulling her away from that. I wanted it to be as if Rio were dropped straight into Thedas herself. *nods*
Anyways, please enjoy, more chapters soon to follow!
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- 3
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Her Destiny Lies Elsewhere