Crossing Fates

Chapter Three

I wake up slowly, my eyelids heavy as I blink against the harsh sunlight. I find myself lying on my back, surrounded by the remnants of the burning ship. Gasping in pain, I force myself to sit up and take in my surroundings. The beach stretches out before me, but it's entirely unfamiliar.

The beach ahead is like a paradise, with perfectly white sand adorned with spots of vibrant green plants leading toward a blue sea that sparkles like a million sapphires. Towering cliffsides covered in lush vegetation rise up beside me, their rocky edges shimmering in the clear azure-green hue of the water.

As I rise to my feet, I am painfully reminded of all my injuries - bruises and scrapes cover most of my body. The throbbing from two bumps on my head is enough to send wave after wave of agony through me. Despite how bad it could have been, I'm thankful that I hadn't escaped with more severe damages. How had I managed to survive such a fall?

Ten feet ahead of me lies an unrecognizable charred corpse, contorted and smeared across the ground - no longer whole. In vivid memory, I recall the people of Redcliffe, disfigured yet alive - writhing in pain and suffering. With determination, I force myself to shove those horrors deep into my subconscious mind.

My heart skips a beat when I see Shadowheart lying still on the ground ahead of me. Hurriedly, I rush to her side and check for a pulse, feeling overwhelmed with relief when I feel it. I lean back, gazing up at the clear blue sky. Smoke billows from the wreckage in thick, black plumes. Above me, a blackbird calls out with a low scream, and two red eyes gleam as it circles overhead.

Shadowheart groans in pain, snapping me out of my momentary reverie. I refocus on her and see the scratches on her face and the dark bruise under her eye. Her straight hair is knotted and matted against her skin, and she holds a strange object tightly in her hands. It calls to me, begging me to take it, but before I can reach out and grab it, Shadowheart stirs awake. Her gaze meets mine with surprise as she tightens her grip on the item.

"You're alive," she says, sitting up with a stunned expression. "I'm alive. How is this possible?" Her tone is one of confusion. She looks around some more as she checks herself for injuries.

"I was hoping you might have an answer to that," I respond, helping her to her feet. She stands with her weight on one foot, indicating a possible sprain.

"I remember the ship, I remember falling," she begins, pausing to collect her thoughts, "and then... nothing."

"Do you have any idea where we are?" I inquire, surveying the foreign landscape that bears no resemblance to Ferelden.

"No," she replies, dashing my hopes of finding immediate answers, "I don't recognize this place." She spins around, mirroring my own bewilderment.

"But anything is an improvement over where we just came from," she states matter-of-factly. I hum in agreement.

"First things first. We need supplies, shelter, and most of all a healer," Shadowheart starts to head for the water, "We might have escaped, but we still have these little monsters in our heads."

My ears perk up at the 'we' in her statement.

"We? You want to stick together?" I ask, hopeful that she could assist me in locating the others if they survived the crash.

"We need each other, and we both know what's at stake," Shadowheart says without hesitation. Her lips curl into a faint smile similar to Leliana's as she speaks. "I can't think of better company."

"Alright then, let's get moving," I say, clapping my hands together as we start down the path. Everywhere we look are charred and mangled bodies, a reminder of how lucky we had been to escape unscathed.