as we lie in the dark, mouth is of sapphires; heartfire

[leliana]

She should have come sooner, she thinks. Perhaps there was part of her that has avoided Heartfire and has avoided asking the questions that rest in the nooks of her heart. She is frightened to know the truth of how life is here. Is Dovev gone? Is he here? Is he safe or did he no longer care enough to check on her after the war? She is not sure what would hurt worse—she is not sure how she would handle the answer—and, if she was being honest, she did not want to have to process such things in front of Heartfire of all people.

But she knows that she cannot avoid it forever.

And so she doesn’t.

Eventually, she breathes in deep one morning and opens a portal on the outskirts of Tephra. It is so similar to the portals that she and Brennan had opened during the war that it almost takes her breath away. It strikes a nerve in her and she feels dizzy for a second—feeling that momentary inhale of breath when she thinks of magma falling from the sky and the ground opening beneath her and the screams around her.

She pauses as it sinks in and her vision blurs but she continues to breathe and it fades.

It fades and she takes a deep breath again and then steps forward.

On the other side, she is at the border of Nerine. The air is cooler, crisper, and the smell of sulphur fades almost immediately as the portal closes behind her. She closes her eyes as the breeze winds around her and she steadies herself for whatever she is to find during this visit—whatever is to come.

When she is certain that she is ready, she sends a winding ribbon of light forward.

It dances on the breeze and then makes its way slowly toward the Queen.

When it finds her, Leliana is certain that Heartfire will know and will come.

Until then, the magician waits.

it's only you and me there until the darkness calls
let's face the dawn together; we'll brave whatever comes

@[Heartfire] it's about time