It was dark. She was in Uthenera and she was surrounded by the fade. She couldn't wake up, she was stuck, she was terrified. Spirits came and went, telling tales of the world that went on without her. They told her of the fall of their people, the beginnings of the Blights, and the chaos that the world was in. She was horrified to learn of everything that was happening as she slept, but she could do nothing. Her body was not yet healed or recovered, so she was forced to watch as the world crumbled around her. She was plagued with the thoughts of what she could've done and of the people she had lost. Their losses tore at her very soul and a part of her was glad that she didn't have to be in the world without them. However, this desire slowly died as she watched her people suffer over and over again. She needed to wake up. She needed to help. She needed to live.

When Lana woke up, it was in a panic. Her heart was racing and she couldn't seem to take a breath. Her mind was still there, still in the darkness. When a pair of arms wrapped around her shoulders, she barely noticed. Her only focus was centering herself in the present. She hadn't had that dream in a long time and she wasn't expecting it. She has mistakenly let her guard down, thinking that she had gotten over that time. The helplessness, the unending torture of watching her people suffer. It had been 9 years since she woke up, she should be over this. It was easy to determine the cause of the dream's reemergence. She had returned to Skyhold. A place she had once considered her home and that reeked of magic. The magic that was wielded by the person who once and still holds her heart, her vhenan. The person that, even in death, had an iron grip upon her very soul. Slowly, she pulled herself away from the memory and her thoughts while taking calming breaths. It was only then when she had completely pulled herself out of the dream, did she notice the hand that rubbing circles on her bare back. Her muscles tensed.

"Don't worry. Just a friend. Just Cole. Heard your mind screaming, your heart hurting. Came to help. Wanted to stop your pain. Knew this place would hurt you, but we had no choice. I want to make it better, make you forget. They told me not to. Still, wish I could." Ah, it was just Cole. It was a relief that someone told him he couldn't just erase her memories. She needed them, they were the only things grounding her. Her only reason to keep living despite the pain that they elicit. "We know. That's why I can't. It would make you, not you. And we need you to be you." Well, at least the spirits appreciated her as herself and not a memoryless husk. It's the little things that give a person comfort. Lana glanced out the window and saw that the sun was just over the cusp of the mountains. It was early, around 6 if she had to guess. She slowly extracted herself from Cole, not really caring that she was naked. Lana knew far too many spirits to be wary of nudity around them. They were only interested in matters of soul and mind, not body, with the exception of Desire.

Lana stretched her body a bit, ignoring the cracks and crunches. The travel to Skyhold had been brutal on her body after 9 years of city life. Not that Kirkwall wasn't hard on her, but it was more of a mental strain than physical. She saw that there were new clothes lying on top of the chest. Someone coming in the room while she was sleeping to put them there was a very uncomfortable thought. Especially since she had slept in the nude. She frowned.

"No. No one came in, I wouldn't let them. Put the clothes there, knew you wanted clean. Needed clean." She let out a sigh of relief and smiled in gratitude.

"Thanks, Cole."

She ignored the clean clothes for now and put on her dirty ones. Cole seemed puzzled by her actions. Then understanding dawned on his face. "Why put something on if you are dirty. A body needs to be clean first. Warm water, steam, soap lathered in hands. Hands on your back, large and calloused. Treating the knots, bruises, and soreness. So tender, so loving." Lana flinched and Cole stopped talking. She didn't want any more reminders of him, not when she was already surrounded by reminders. The fact that Cole was merely putting her thoughts to voice meant very little to her. Lana could ignore the thoughts when they occurred in the quiet of her own mind, but not when they are being voiced. Denial was a fragile thing and she wanted to keep it as intact as possible. She bundled the new clothes under her arms before she turned to the now silent Cole. There was an expression of guilt on his face and she felt the same emotion go through her.

"Cole," He looked up at her with puppy-dog eyes and she sighed. It really wasn't his fault. He was merely the messenger of her own mind and it wasn't very nice to 'kill the messenger'. "It's fine. You can't help where my mind goes," She wished that she could. "Are the bathes in the same place as before?" Lana asked. Cole needed something to help with and this was easy. A happy smile appeared on his face and wiped away the former one of guilt.

"Yes…" It seemed as if he was going to say something else, but he restrained himself. She patted his shoulder as she went past him to the door.

"You are very helpful," Lana told him with sincerity before going off to the baths. God, she was excited to be clean.

One very long bath and a copious amount of soap later and she was finally clean. There had been no one down in the baths since it was so early, and for that she was thankful. Lana didn't need any more people seeing her look like a filthy mess. Her dark red hair was now clean and hung in wet curtains to her shoulders. Her freckled skin was now back to its fair shade after being rid of the coating of dirt which had made her look tan. She even imagined that her vallaslin was more noticeable now that her face wasn't splotched with filth. Unfortunately, the clothes she had been given were an odd fit. She guessed that they were Dalish in design judging by the comfortable leggings and woodsy theme. They were definitely made for the size of the average elf judging by how short the leggings were on her. Not noticeable with her foot wrappings, but uncomfortable nonetheless. The Ambassador most likely didn't notice her height during their meeting. Most people didn't unless she stood tall, a behavior she tried to rid herself of since she learned of the differences between herself and the modern Elves. However, she couldn't complain very much. Her body was clean and so were her clothes. A true luxury considering her past months of travel.

After bringing her dirty clothes back to her room and grabbing her pack, she spent some time wandering around Skyhold. Cole hadn't shown up, so she figured she was free to walk around the structure and that she wasn't needed at the moment. However, the walking quickly became depressing once she began to notice everything that was wrong or that had changed with the old fortress, so she went to the tavern. When one is in doubt about what to do, the local tavern is always the best bet to find some entertainment and get your mind off your thoughts. The bard that was present the previous evening was absent, as were most of the customers. She made her way to the same dwarf that was manning the bar yesterday.

"Got anything other than gruel and bread today?" She asked in wry voice and the dwarf just stared at her blankly. "Figures. Can I get a bowl?" Shitty breakfast was better than no breakfast. The dwarf came back with a bowl and she traded some gold for it. Instead of eating at the bar, she decided to go sit at an actual table. After finding a seat, she was only two spoonfuls into her gruel when a gray mass sat in front of her. Lana looked upwards slowly and tried not to choke on said gruel. What the hell was a Qunari doing here? The man was massive and that was true even when comparing him to the previous Arishok. His face was scarred and there a black eyepatch covering one of his eyes. He wore no shirt and she could understand why. With the muscles and scars, his chest was impressive. If her chest was that impressive, she wouldn't cover it either. His expression was mildly inappropriate considering he was leering down at her with a smirk. She coughed a bit to get the gruel dislodged from where she definitely didn't choke on it.

"Um...hello?" Lana greeted nervously. When faced with a giant ass Qunari, the best option was to be polite. Lesson number 243 learned while in Kirkwall.

"Haven't seen you around here and I would've noticed a redhead as fine as you." He winked at her, which looked ridiculous considering he only had one eye uncovered. "Name's The Iron Bull." He held out a hand and she shook it. Trying not to think about how he could easily crush it.

"I'm Lana." She introduced herself and The Iron Bull grinned at her. "I got here yesterday." She elaborated.

"It's very nice to meet you, Lana." He said with a smirk and pointedly looked from her tits to her face. She couldn't help the blush that blossomed on her face at the blatant checking out of her person. "Now, what's a pretty thing like you doing in our neck of the woods?" He flirted.

She took a moment to adjust to the fact that she was being flirted with by a Qunari, in the middle of a tavern, at the headquarters of the Inquisition. It was quite bizarre, but definitely not the oddest thing that had happened to her. "I'm visiting an old friend," Lana told him.

"Really? Because rumor is that some redhead elf is going to be Solas's new assistant in all matters creepy and impossible." He said pointedly and she frowned. Rumors got around that fast? That was worrying. Lana shrugged.

"Well, I only came to visit. I didn't find out about the job until I had already arrived." Lana told him truthfully and his grin got wider. He folded his large hands underneath his chin and his eye held a harsh glint that she had seen many times before. It was the same glint that would appear in Fen's eye while he interrogated a spy. Suddenly, this wasn't a casual conversation or simple flirting. This was an interrogation. She mentally berated herself for not noticing before, but the appearance of a Qunari had really thrown her off.

"I admit to being a bit curious about the 'visiting' part. Considering your 'friend' is a spirit, couldn't it just save you the trip and use the Fade to visit you? Unless there was a reason you needed to come all the way to Skyhold? The one and only headquarters of the Inquisition." He questioned in a voice of false friendliness. Lana hadn't expected to be interrogated in the middle of breakfast nor by an unknown Qunari and it was throwing her off. She opened her mouth to respond to his unsaid accusations but was interrupted by the appearance of a dwarf next to Iron Bull.

"Leave the poor lass alone, Bull. You know that Nightingale has it handled." The dwarf chided the Qunari before pulling out a chair and plopping down next to him. She didn't like the thought that Nightingale was investigating her, but she had at least expected that. Iron Bull's questioning of her was not expected. The dwarf aimed a grin at her while setting down a strange weapon on the table. "Besides, any friend of Cole is a friend of mine." The dwarf told Lana and then stuck a hand out. "Varric Tethras."

She was so surprised by the name that it took a few seconds for her to respond to the gesture. After taking a second glance at him, she took greater notice of the dwarf's impressive chest hair and the contraption he had put on the table. Then her eyes widened as she realized what said contraption was.

"Fuck." She whispers in awe and absentmindedly shook an amused Varric's hand while still staring at the item. "That's Bianca. Isn't it?" She asked. Since she was still enraptured with the crossbow, she didn't notice the surprised look on Varric's face nor the suspicious one on the Iron Bull's face.

"Yes, that's her." He confirmed with a few chuckles before looking at her with puzzlement. "Though, I'm curious as to how you recognized her?"

Lana snapped out of her inner worship of the absolute pinnacle of dwarven craftsmanship in front of her and actually looked at Varric. Then she realized her plunder. Varric Tethras had been very careful to keep the existence of his crossbow out of the public's eye. It was a one of a kind weapon and it wouldn't be ideal for the invention to fall into anyone else's hands. Normally, the only people who knew about it were Varric's enemies and his allies. But, Lana just blatantly showed that she knew what it was and even used its name. She weighed the pros and cons of how she should answer his inquiry but decided to go with honesty.

"You don't remember me, do you?" She asked him and he shook his head negatively. "I'm Lana." She told him. Unlike with the rest of her introductions, this one was hard. Lana tried to keep the pain out of her voice and off her face, but she knew that a small pained smile still emerged.

Varric seemed confused for a few moments before she saw realization cross his expression. Then he looked at her, taking a moment to catalog her appearance before the same pained smile appeared on his face.

"I thought you would be older." He said with a smirk and a joking tone, but she could still hear the pain and betrayal behind it. However, she took it as the escape from darker times and more serious topics that it was meant to be. She could tell why he was so adored in Kirkwall.

"I thought you'd be taller," Lana joked with a smirk and Varric chuckled a bit.

"You two know each other?" The Iron Bull asked in surprise. Both Varric and Lana turned their attention to their table mate that they had forgotten about.

"Yeah, we used to run in some of the same circles back in Kirkwall," Varric answered before looking at Lana with a smirk. "Besides, I don't know many people back in Kirkwall who don't know 'The Savior of the Shackled'."

Lana let out a groan. "Why does everyone insist on remembering that silly name?" One of these days she was going to track down however coined the name and give them a piece of her mind.

Bull looked at her with curiosity. "'Savior of the Shackled'?"

"You save one chatty elf and then suddenly people start giving ya titles." She complained

"At least it isn't 'The Hero of Kirkwall'. I fear that Hawke will never live that down." Lana looked at Varric with a raised brow.

"You're the one that wrote the book about it." She pointed out and Varric put on an innocent expression.

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Varric lied with a smirk and she rolled her eyes.

"Uh-huh, just like you never wrote about Aveline's love life and she totally didn't ban you from the Hanged Man for a week when she found out," Lana said sarcastically and Iron Bull chuckled.

"Exactly." Varric agreed.

Lana, Iron Bull, and Varric spoke through breakfast. They shared stories as they ate their bland gruel before they went their separate ways. The Iron Bull seemed to abandon his interrogation after Varric's arrival and turned out to be good company. He wasn't anything like the Qunari she had met in Kirkwall. He actually seemed to have humor and was obsessed with converting anyone and everyone to the Qun. They ended parting ways after breakfast. Varric and Iron Bull had Inquisition business to handle while Lana needed a few minutes alone. Being around Varric had brought back memories of nights spent in a rundown clinic. Nights that brought happy emotions and nights that brought anger, bitterness, and sorrow. More memories that she was trying to run away from. She knew it was useless to avoid them, but she simply couldn't deal with them while being in a potentially hostile environment. Her mind needed to be in the present, not the past.

She wandered around Skyhold after leaving the tavern before she came upon an empty archery range. There were a few moments of deliberation before she decided that she should probably take advantage of the range. There didn't seem to be anyone around and even if there was, this would only cement her rogue background with the Inquisition. Lana also needed the practice. She had been relying too much on her daggers while in Kirkwall and her archery skills were suffering for it. Plus, nothing takes your mind off of unwanted thoughts better than good old-fashioned violence. So, she dropped down to the ground and started to rummage through her sack. She pulled out two daggers and set them next to her. There was a moment when she was tempting to reach farther into the bag, past the undetectable enchantments, and take out her true weapons. However, logic prevailed and she resisted. With templars and mages all around her, she couldn't risk using them any more than she could in Kirkwall. She let out a resigned sigh. Looks like it would be a while longer before she would be able to feel their comfortable weight. Instead of grabbing them out, she emerged with a wooden box about as long as her forearm.

Inside the box, laid the pieces of an ornate bow. She had been extremely lucky to meet the talented dwarf, Dagna, while Lana was in Kirkwall. It had been a chance meeting that was ridiculously beneficial. They had bumped into each other in the market and Dagna had been muttering about enchantments to herself. She ended up answering one of the questions that Dagna had asked herself and friendship bloomed. When Lana had pitched her idea of a bow that could be deconstructed and reconstructed in little time, a common weapon in Arlathan, and she was curious to see if the talented woman would be able to replicate it. She was incredibly impressed by the results of Dagna's craftsmanship. It was made out of dark shiny metal that was sturdy, but flexible. On the inside of the bow, there were runes carved into the metal. Runes for accuracy, power, protection, and many others. The bow itself was split into four separate parts with the bowstring laying separate. She laid the parts on her lap and then started putting the bow together. Once the corresponding parts touched, a spark of magic would occur and the bow would weld together as if it had never been separated in the first place. A trick accomplished by a combination of dwarven genius and enchantments. A minute later and the bow was fully assembled. Then she dug through her bag once again and picked out a box that was identical to the one that held the bow. Lana opened the box and did a cursory examination to make sure that the arrows within were in good condition. She assembled them in the same manner as her bow and then made her way to one of the targets.

The sound of the arrows hitting the target was like music to her ears. However, when she saw the results of her marksmanship she frowned. Her accuracy was off. She straightened her shoulders with a determined expression and started shooting again. An after an hour after the sound of thunking arrows began, she was hitting dead center again. Her fingers were sore and her hands were cramping, but she was glad for the practice. No one had told her off for practicing using the targets in the last hour, so she moved on to throwing her daggers. Not a move she liked to do since there is a chance of losing said daggers. However, if she got stuck with a long ranged attacker and had no time to draw her bow, she would rather lose a dagger than her life. Besides, she didn't have an attachment to most of her daggers. They could always be replaced with the exception of her hidden ones.

Lana had much better accuracy with her daggers than with the bow, so she started to move around a bit while throwing. Moving around a bit led to rolling as if to avoid attacks and rolling around led to her practicing as if she was in actual combat. Her imaginary opponents were faceless elves with staffs and hulking templars with broadswords. She spun, kicked, stabbed, and dodged while her mind was in the scene of war. There was no time for any thoughts about her past. Her muscles were pulling and her reaction times were slower than she was used to, but that was to be expected. She hadn't been in any 'real' combat since she woke up. However, with the giant hole in the fade, she figured she would need the practice. As she spent longer fighting, her speed began to improve. Not by much, but enough for her to be satisfied. She stopped when the sun was past the mid-day mark. Her breathing slowed, her muscles relaxed, and the eyes she didn't realize were closed, opened.

The sound of clapping from out of her view had her muscles tensing right back up. She tried to calm her heart from the exercise and the surprise she felt. She hadn't realized that she had let her guard down while fighting. She was becoming way too relaxed here. This was the second time she was taken off guard and it had only been day since she was here. Lana slowly turned around to face the audience she hadn't realize she had. Standing across the field was the Iron Bull. Her muscles relaxed a small bit and she smiled. She had enjoyed her conversation with the large man, at least after he had stopped interrogating her.

"Hey." She greeted and he began to make his way over to her. He stood a few feet from her with his hands on his hips. Her back straightened in response to his towering height. There was a smirk on his face when he looked down at her. If she hadn't seen his threatening expression before she would think that a smirk was the only expression he could make.

"Those were some good moves. Don't think I've ever seen an elf move so fast." He praised her and his smile grew wider. This was not even close to her usual speed, but she took the compliment. If she were to remain undetected, no one would be seeing how fast she could really go. The only person she knew that could match her speed was the slave-hunter Fenris and he was enhanced with Lyrium. Iron Bull looked her sweaty form up and down. "Don't think I've ever seen an elf so tall either, besides our Solas that is." Opps. She fought the response to immediately shrink herself back down.

"I drank a lot of milk as a child." She said lazily in explanation. It was a total lie considering she barely had any food as a child, let alone expensive milk. She couldn't really say that the reason for her unusual height was because the rest of the elves had shrunk. "Do you need something?" Lana asked.

"Yeah, the Inquisitor and her party were just sighted. They should be back in Skyhold within the hour. The Spymaster wants you waiting in the War Room for them." Iron Bull informed her. She was tempted to go change her clothes again, but the rest of her clothing was currently disgusting. Looks like she was meeting important people while sweaty and dirty. Again. She swore that the next moment she had free time, she was going to purchase more clothes.

"I'll make my way over there." She gave him a parting smile before turning to leave. She was stopped by a large gray hand on her shoulder before she got very far. Lana resisted the urge to pry off the hand and instead looked at Iron Bull. "Yes?"

The Iron Bull smirked at her. "If you are ever looking for a sparring partner…"

"I'll look for you." She finished for him, trying to hurry him up. It would be a good idea to get to the War Room as soon as possible. The idea of sparring with him was interesting, though. He was most likely very strong due to his size and durable judging by his scars. It would take quick thinking and even quicker feet to beat him in a fight without resorting to magic.

"Or ask around for the Chargers if you can't find me."

"The Chargers?" Iron Bull's smile got softer and his remaining eye was filled with fondness.

"My mercenary company. All good people who can kick ass in a fight. You should be able to find at least one of them in the tavern at all times." He explained. The Iron Bull being a leader of a mercenary group made sense with both his name and status as Qunari. She had heard that most Qunari that abandon the Qun end up in mercenary groups, but she had never seen evidence of that claim. Though, she supposed that the Hero of Ferelden's group could be considered mercenaries and they did have a Qunari. Something to ponder over later.

Lana gave Iron Bull a nod to show she understood. "I'll keep that in mind if I'm ever itching for a fight."

"Or a good fuck if you like." Lana choked on her tongue. A blush spread to her cheeks unbidden and she looked away from the man that was now leering at her. Mythal's sagging tits, he did not mince words. It was flattering, in a way, but she wasn't interested. The man could probably break her spine with his bare hands. Plus, she was planning on staying away from any relationships considering the last one blew up in her face. Literally.

"Uh...ok?" Was what she responded with.

"Just something to keep in mind." He tacked on and then swaggered away. She noted to herself that she should be careful around him. The man propositioned her for sex as easily as he did for a spar. That was not a man she wanted to mess with.

Lana decided to make her way to the War Room as sneakily as possible. She didn't want to be stopped or delayed, so she would make sure that no one saw her. As she snuck around, hiding in shadows and keeping her head down, she thought over the odd assortment of people in the Inquisition. There was a Qunari mercenary captain whose lack of shirt seemed to predict a lack of caring about social conventions. Especially considering recent events. Then there was Varric Tethras. He was a famous author, a close friend of the Hero of Kirkwall, the wielder of the only crossbow that's above ground, and he had connections with the Carta. Solas seemed to be some sort of Elven mage who had a high position in the organization, despite his race and mage status. She had also heard they had a Grey Warden, a Red Jenny, a Tevinter mage, and even the ever famous Madame De Fer. It made her excited to meet the woman, if rumors were correct, that had brought them all together. Lana couldn't even imagine having Madame De Fer in the same room as a Red Jenny, let alone working with one. If she believed in the Maker, she would be tempted to say it was Divine intervention that was keeping them all together.

She moved her thoughts of divinity to the back of her mind as she arrived at the War Room. The doors were shut, but since she was told to come here, she didn't hesitate to pry them open. There was no one in yet, so she took a seat in a chair that was tucked into the corner of the room. She elegantly crossed her legs, put her hands in her lap, and began to wait for the Inquisitor's arrival.