The Herald of Andraste:

Eight days had passed since Dorian had been reunited with his friend and now, he did not know how to proceed. He had not really planned what to do next once he had made contact with Felix and now, he realised that he was stuck. So far, he had been playing it by ear, and while it had worked out well for him so far, he also recognised that this was much bigger than he had initially thought. He had come into this believing that his old master had been taken advantages off by a group of maniacs, but now… Everything had changed now.

There was something bigger going on, something sinister and Dorian had no idea how to even begin handling this mess.

Felix had been a beacon in all of this, his company and his energy bringing hope to Dorian himself. Despite being in the middle of a mess of his own, Felix was more than willing to help in any way he could, which Dorian appreciated. He was not alone in this and knowing that helped ease his own worries and stress.

And it was thanks to Felix that Dorian was able to set in motion a new plan.

He and Felix usually met up once a day in the Chantry so Felix could get him up to date about the latest news and rumours that were happening. As Felix came through the Chantry's doors, Dorian could already tell that Felix had something on his mind. "Dorian, you are not going to believe this."

"Try me. I might believe you."

Felix shook his head some, not really falling for the joke, which in turn made Dorian worry. "The Herald of Andraste is coming to Redcliffe."

"That is good news, is it not?"

"Yes and no. He is coming because father has managed to trick him. I heard father speak about using the time-spell to lure the Herald here so he can either gain his support or to kill him!"

"Well, that is not good news at all," Dorian replied with a frown. "Is there any way to warn him?"

"How can we? I cannot leave this place, father wouldn't let me, and there is nobody here who can leave without the Venatori knowing. And we don't even know where in the Hinterlands he is."

That didn't help ease Dorian's worries, but it also kick-started his brain. All he knew was that he could not let Alexius trick or kill the Herald, the man was far too important. As far as he knew and understood, the man was the only one with the power to stop the rifts and possibly the large breach in the sky.

"If we cannot get to him now… We must get to him when he is here," he said slowly, bringing a hand to his chin as he thought. "You cannot warn him. But I can. If you can get him to me somehow…"

Felix thought about it before nodding firmly. "Yes. I think I can manage to do that somehow. I don't think we have room to plan much, but you're good at playing it by ear," he said, finally grinning a little. "I will get a message to him somehow. But how can I signal to you when he's here? You cannot stay here, the risk of someone stumbling across you is too big. And what if he cannot go out of Redcliffe once he is here?"

"You make a fair point. It will look bad if the Herald just turns and leaves once he has come here, which might set Alexius' alarms off and he might do something foolish," Dorian agreed. "So, I will have to meet him here."

"Then… the same plan as always?"

"It hasn't failed yet," Dorian said with a small smirk. "Thank you for keeping them occupied in the morning, by the way. Certainly makes it easier to get in and out."

"Hey, I couldn't let you get caught," Felix said with a small grin, reaching his hand out to grasp Dorian's lower arm, giving it a firm shake as Dorian did the same to his. "Let's do this, yes?"

"To our success," Dorian agreed with a firm nod.

As it turned out, Dorian didn't have to wait for much longer. The rumours started before the Herald was even spotted and as the people talked more, Dorian got more secure in staying in the village, from morning 'till evening just to make sure he didn't miss the Herald.

On the third day of his wait, he finally saw the Herald as he came riding into Redcliffe on a light brown horse, followed by a very well-armoured woman, a dwarven man as well as the largest qunari Dorian had ever seen in his life, which immediately made his defences rise. He would have to be extra careful, it seemed like.

He made sure to remain unseen until the party had passed him, knowing he would not have much time. He had to find Felix and quickly.

Thankfully Felix had had the same idea and he found Dorian before Dorian could find Felix. He quickly dragged Dorian to a private corner behind the inn where the Herald and his entourage were heading before speaking in a low voice. "My father is on his way, I have to meet him. Quickly, what should we do?"

Dorian bit his lip before quickly getting some parchment from his pouch along with some coal before he quickly wrote down a message. "Here, give this to him, if you can," he said while folding up the note, then thrust it into Felix's hand. "I'll be in the Chantry, it is safe enough since the venatori don't seem to be very taken with praying here in Ferelden, and for a man with the title of "Herald", it would make sense for him to go to the Chantry for guidance."

Felix nodded quickly and took the note, holding it firmly in his hand. "Okay. Fingers crossed that he will do it."

"So do I," Dorian said, placing a hand onto Felix's shoulder and squeezed, giving him a small smile. "… Good luck, my friend. To both of us." He wasn't sure why he felt a need to say that, but Dorian had a feeling that today would be a day that changed everything.

Felix merely nodded as well, giving Dorian's own shoulder a squeeze as he grasped it before quickly heading away to find his father.

Taking a deep breath, Dorian allowed himself a few moments to calm down before quickly, though discreetly heading towards the Chantry. Thankfully it seemed like most of the village was busy with the arrival of the Herald, making it easy for him to slip away unseen.

A quick look around told him that he was alone before slipping into the Chantry, blessedly empty, as it had been every day since Dorian had come to Redcliffe. He suspected that the Revered Mother had either been chased away or prevented from holding sermons by the Venatori, which did not surprise Dorian one bit. In all honesty, it made him a bit sad.

"And now we wait," Dorian murmured to himself as he looked up at the large, decorated window at the back of the Chantry, wondering what he could do to pass the time.

The answer would come soon and not in the way he wanted it.

Dorian had been busy looking through one of the many religious scrolls that he found in the back of the Chantry when he felt the familiar prickles of magic. He could feel the fade as it pulled, then weakened before he saw it appear. It was small at first, merely the size of a berry, but it quickly grew in size as it stretched, widened and finally opened up, revealing a green swirl of magic that made Dorian both horrified and fascinated.

He had seen the rifts at a distance as he made his way through the Hinterlands towards Redcliffe, but never up-close and he had certainly never seen one actually form.

"Kaffas," he cursed as he moved carefully around it, eyeing it carefully. Nothing was appearing as of yet, but he knew it was only a matter of time before the demons of the Fade would notice that something had happened. Something they could exploit. He quickly readied his staff, eyeing the rift while considering what to do. He could probably defeat whatever demon came out from it, but the second others learned that there was an opening and that there was a mage, more would come flocking. He knew he was strong and that he could defend himself for a long time, but with a direct opening to the fade, even he would get overwhelmed at some point.

Still, he hoped that the Herald would come soon, especially if the man had the ability to close rifts as the rumours said, sooner rather than later.

He would have no such luck.

As he paced in front of it, trying his best to plan just what to do if something came crawling out of it, the first sounds made themselves know.

"… Vishante kaffas," Dorian cursed as he readied himself for whatever would come out, feeling an almost sense of relief when he realised that it was a simple shade. "Ah, they are not bringing out the big boys yet," he said as he saw the demon slowly crawl out of the rift, making lazy movements as it tried to get out. "Well, glad to know I do not have to stress too much."

Gripping his staff, Dorian waited until the demon was out before he decided to surprise it with a face-full of flames, making sure to make the demon feel the heat as it reared backwards. He could hear the shrieks, but was taken aback when not one, but two more demons started making their way out of the rift. "Well then," he murmured inhaling deeply. "Seems like this just got interesting."

He knew better than to underestimate them; they might have been simpler demons due to their slow, sluggish movements, but their hit was painful and they preyed upon the energies and life-force around them.

It was sluggish though, probably still adjusting to having come from the fade and Dorian was able to use that to his advantage as it made it's first, clumsy attack towards the mage. "You will have to try harder than that," Dorian murmured as he gave the first demon he had been fighting a hard whack with his staff, easily sending the demon down onto the ground where the fade got a hold it if, dragging it back to where it came from. "Now… Who wants to be next?"

He didn't expect an answer, lower demons like these rarely spoke, but he wouldn't be surprised if their big brother would eventually find its way through the rift. Instead they merely shrieked in a low, guttural voice as they lunged for him, Dorian easily able to dodge away from their sluggish movements. Deciding he wanted to keep it that way, Dorian cast a simple ice-spell, freezing them in place for the time being; he did not want them to drain him for his mana and wielding too much magic would just make them hungrier.

"Time to get physical," he murmured, gripping his staff properly again before starting to hit the shade the closest to him. He remembered and now appreciated all the training that Alexius had put him through for occasions like this, and that he had honed those abilities over the years even at his lowest. He focused on the movements of his legs and on hard, precise swings with his staff, making sure to use the solid, white glass-orb at the end of his staff, glad it was enhanced to take punishments such as this.

One of the shades growled and managed to break free, which took Dorian's attention away from the other one. "Back now," he said, blasting it with a quick gust of icy wind to halt it before giving it the same, physical treatment as the other Shade.

He barely registered as the door to the chantry opened, completely focused on getting rid of the shades, which thankfully was quickly taken care of due to Dorian's earlier attacks. With one last whack to the last shade, the other already being tugged back to the Fade through the rift, Dorian let out a soft breath of air before straightening up, flashing the Herald and his entourage a bright grin.

"Good! You're finally here," he greeted them with a cheerful tone before gesturing towards the rift. "Now help me close this, would you?"