My Warden (COMPLETED)

Storms

Frozen rain splattered against her face and she raised up her barrier, but even that could only block a quarter of the force of nature raging against her. "When he said a storm, I thought he was being metaphorical!" Lana screamed in the wind to her compatriot. Hawke shrugged. She began the night with a shield but it didn't last long. Hawke seemed to be allergic to the things.

The final vestiges of a vengeful winter blasted across Skyhold. Normally, it would require everyone to hole up in their rooms beside the fire listening to the howl of the wind and setting up for a round of babies in nine months, but this wasn't any storm. Perhaps it was because of the tear in the sky, or the increasing movement of people flocking through the mountains that created winds roaring enough to tip towers back and forth. Ice sheets formed within an hour over doors and windows, trapping the faithful inside.

"He said we had to get the main gate closed. Or was it open?" Hawke screamed. All of the mages assembled in the great hall once the storm began. The orders came from the Inquisitor that they were to use whatever magic was at their disposal to combat the storm and keep Skyhold in one piece. Soldiers slipped in and out of the chattering robes to accompany the mages at the behest of their commander. The mages weren't happy about it, but Cullen explained they weren't there to control them, only to provide cover and protection. Even Lana thought he was speaking half truths until she got into the wind. Hawke had to pin her arms down and cling tight to keep Lana from whipping away over the wall.

"We are to close the gates without destroying them!" Lana screamed. She didn't bring proper winter gear with her to Skyhold, certainly nothing to survive this blizzard. If it weren't for her maintaining a constant internal burn across her skin, she'd be as frozen solid as the winch upon the battlements.

"Right!" Hawke wrapped her hands around the massive gear, "Tell me when to turn."

"Maker, help me," Lana moaned. She peered over the edge to spy the great chain leading down to the door. Right now the open door was creating a dangerous wind tunnel churning through the courtyard. If they didn't get it closed, who knew how much damage this storm could inflict. Swiping snow out of her eyes, Lana twisted up the fire inside of her and aimed it at the metal chain. Fire was never her friend, not the way it was for some mages. She could manipulate it, call it into being, but it fought back and using it so close to wood set her teeth on edge. Twisting her fingers as far from the landing as possible, her flames coated the chain. The icy buildup began to melt, dripping away from the gears.

"Try it now!" she cried at Hawke.

Putting those muscles to good use, her cousin leaned into the winch. The chain rose a few feet, taking the drawbridge with it. Lana kept a constant spray of fire aimed far from both of them, her fingers freeing the chain that Hawke hauled upward. It was working and so far she hadn't set anything else on fire. "Wait!" Lana shouted, and Hawke grabbed onto the wheel before it all spun back. "We have to get the other side!"

"How's that gonna work?" Hawke shouted back through the howling winds. "This ain't gonna hold."

"If we don't do it together, the chain will snap," Lana explained, waving her hand towards the other winch on the far battlements.

"Why don't those two handle it?" Hawke gestured to a pair of men inching their way towards the high wall. One was an elf, his bald head slick with ice and snow, the other...Lana blinked and shook her head. For a moment he looked like a bear growling into the winds, a hand thrown up against them as he leaned into it. "Hey you!" Hawke tried to lift her voice over the wind but there was no chance it would carry. Mercifully, the men appeared to have the same idea as them.

While the probably not a bear heaved onto the winch, the elven mage directed his own fire at the chain. Slowly, their side lifted to join with Lana's and Hawke's. "All right!" Hawke cried, "Let's get this door open!"