Prologue

Mage. It was a word Nadia Hawke learned to say at a very young age, right after the usual 'mama' and 'papa'. She learned this strange word from hearing her parents whisper it softly to one another in the dark corners of their small home. Nadia, however, would not know the word's meaning for some time, yet she often associated it with certain things her father did. For instance, Malcolm Hawke could light candles simply by waving his hand over the candlewick. An ordinary person, such as Nadia's mother, Leandra, could not do this 'trick', another word Nadia knew how to say and what Malcolm liked to call the strange things he could perform. Her father could do other miraculous things as well. Whenever Nadia was sick, for instance, all he had to do was run his hands over her stomach and she would feel better. Any cuts and scrapes she acquired from playing outdoors stopped bleeding and disappeared from her skin whenever her father's hands erupted in a beautiful blue glow. Malcolm also liked to read large books that had funny swirls emblazoned on their front. Nadia would often sit in his lap and look at the gibberish that was printed on the page, not making anything out of it, but liking the pictures that were in it that had little people making fire and ice with only their hands. Malcolm also carried a stick around with him at times…but this was no ordinary stick, it was really long and made of iron…a 'staff' he called it. Nadia was never allowed to hold it though, much to her disappointment.

"Tis too dangerous for you now, my love." he'd always whisper as he laid the intricate staff atop a high shelf where Nadia could not reach it.

"Will I ever be able to make things happen like you do, Papa?" Nadia wondered as she stared up at him.

Malcolm smiled at her…but this smile did not reach his eyes.

"Perhaps…but it would be better if you did not gain that ability, my love."

Oh but she did. It first happened when Nadia was around eight. She sat at the kitchen table eating some soup thing Leandra cooked up, not really listening to Bethany and Carver, her two younger, twin siblings, argue about something when Nadia decided she wanted something to spice up her soup. She asked several times for her sister to hand her the pepper, but Bethany was too enthralled defending the notion of why she still carried around her teddy bear, 'Frolley' to her brother to hear her. Nadia sighed and looked at the pepper holder that was all the way across the table, far out of her reach. She narrowed her eyes slightly, blowing some of her strawberry blonde hair out of her eyes and concentrated on the pepper holder, and that object alone. Soon enough, it slid across the table towards her, but tipped over before it reached her. Nadia and her siblings jumped in surprise as they heard a crash and turned to look at their mother who had dropped a bowl in surprise. Her eyes were wide and fearful as she slowly turned and set them on Nadia.

"Did you do that?" she asked softly.

Nadia nodded. Why did her mother look so scared? Malcolm always had things sliding across the table towards him. It was then when he entered the room from outside. His large grin faded from his face as he looked from wife to his children.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

Leandra turned to him.

"We need to talk." She whispered.

Malcolm raised his eyebrows and nodded.

"Kids, why not run off and play outside in the garden, it's lovely out today and I believe I just saw a baby turtle."
Bethany and Carver immediately ran from the table, glad for once they didn't have to eat the nasty green vegetables that their mother had set out for them. Nadia stood too and walked out of the room. Instead of following her siblings, however, she hid in the shadows and listened closely to her parent's voices. She peeked over the corner of the wall and watched them. Malcolm bent down and helped Leandra pick up the shards of the bowl she dropped earlier.

"What's happened, love? You're as pale as death." He whispered.

Leandra took a deep breath and sighed. She lifted her brown eyes to stare into his icy blue ones.

"Nadia made the pepper holder slide across the table." She replied.

Malcolm blinked and looked down. He was quiet for a few moments before saying,

"Leandra…we knew this was a possibility. I am a full blood mage, and your family held traces of magic…we knew exactly what could happen if we ever had children."

Leandra nodded.

"I know…but I didn't think she'd show it so soon…she's only eight, Malcolm!"

He smiled slightly. Nadia noticed that was the smile he had whenever he was proud of something.

"Two years younger than me when I first showed signs." He noted.

Leandra smiled and chuckled softly, but her brow furrowed again soon after.

"What will we do, Malcolm? It is so dangerous for us as it is…we have done well for as long as we have without the Templars catching onto us…I don't want to leave Lothering, Malcolm. This is a wonderful village…the children have friends here…"

Malcolm lifted her chin so that she would look at him. He placed a soft kiss to her forehead.

"We are safe here, Leandra. You know that. Yes there is the possibility that we are caught…but I find it very slim here. This village has the least amount of Templars in all of Fereldan…we cannot go anywhere else." He mumbled.

Leandra sighed and stood, placing the shards of the bowl on the nearby counter.

"At least Carver and Bethany haven't shown any signs."

Leandra left the room and Malcolm smiled, crossing his arms.

"You can come out now, my dear."

Nadia closed her eyes in defeat and slowly removed herself from her hiding place. She walked towards her father, hanging her head in shame. Malcolm knelt down in front of her and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Look at me sweetheart." He whispered.

Nadia looked up at him and stared into his icy blue eyes…a mirror's image of her own. In fact, their eye color was the only way you could tell that they were related. Nadia took more after her mother with the strawberry blonde hair and extremely freckled skin. Well the hair part she got from her, anyway. How she obtained all those freckles was a mystery to Nadia, but her mother told her that her grandmother used to have freckled skin so she probably inherited it from her. Malcolm tilted his head to the side and smiled.

"You already do everything like me and now you are in fact a mage. Oh my dear girl…what will I do with you?"

Nadia grinned, thankful that her father wasn't upset with her listening in, but was still worried about what all this meant.

"Does that mean I get to carry my own staff?" she asked.

Malcolm chuckled and pushed some of her shoulder length hair behind her ear.

"In time, my child. You are just showing the very early stages of magic…I can't even teach you anything yet. But have no fear...you will learn how to control your magic."

And she did. Eventually, Bethany showed signs of magic as well. Knowing that his daughters needed to master their gift, Malcolm snuck them out late every night and into the forest that was near their home. There, beneath the pale blue moon, the Hawke sisters learned how to master their magic. One day they would conjure fire, the next day it would be ice. Eventually, as the years went on, Nadia learned how to summon lightning, one of the hardest elements to control, but did it perfectly and on her first try. Malcolm also taught both of his girls healing, noting often that that was one of the best parts of magic. To heal any wound and cure almost any sickness would be a great asset (especially in the events that would come later). He also warned them of the demons and other dark things that lurked around in the Fade, the place all mages went to while asleep.

"Never, ever bargain with a demon…it will always come back to bite you in the end."

With that knowledge, Malcolm continued on about another certain kind of magic, even darker. 'Blood Magic' he called it…and constantly warned his daughters never to tamper with it, even the idea of it. Malcolm also taught his daughters how to blend in to the crowd and hide from the ever watching Templar's eyes.

"Never perform spells in public. Tell no one of your ability, not even your most trusted friends. If, however, you ever need to defend yourself do not hesitate to do so."

The years passed on and Nadia and Bethany soaked up everything their father taught them. Soon, Nadia came of age and on her eighteenth birthday, after her dear friend, Gregory Reaver went back home with his parents, Malcolm presented her with her gift: her very own staff. Although it was not as intricate as his, Nadia was grateful for it nonetheless. When she picked it up she felt her hands tingle, ready to conjure anything the moment she thought of it. She hugged Malcolm tightly.

"Thank you Father, I couldn't ask for anything better than this."

Malcolm, now nearly all grey and the lines of age more prominent in his face, smiled warmly and patted her on the back.

"You have grown into a fine mage, Nadia. Use your gift for good."

Nadia nodded, vowing to herself that she would never fall to the temptations of a demon…

But found that promise hard to keep within the next months.

Not long after her birthday, Malcolm developed a cough. It was nothing at first, just a simple discomfort here and there…but soon enough the cough grew deeper, raspier, like it was all he could do to breathe again after a fit was over. Nadia and Bethany tried frequently to heal him…but not even magic could cure it…and if magic couldn't cure it…what good would regular medicine do? Their mother bought some anyway though…but it did not help. Soon Malcolm developed excruciating headaches and blood came with his cough…as did a raging fever. Bethany tried healing him again as Nadia held his hand tightly and pressed a cool rag to his forehead. He looked at his daughter and Nadia drew her brows together. Her father had always had a slight tan color to his skin, which was one of the thing's Leandra had told them she admired about their father. His sun kissed skin complemented his black as night hair in his younger days. Looking at him now, however, Nadia noticed just how pale he was…it was as if he was turning into a ghost before he ever even died. Nadia looked up to see her mother sobbing into Carver's chest. He drew his brows together and stroked her back, swallowing hard to hold back his own tears. Nadia turned her attention back to her father and gripped his hand tighter.

"Na…dia…I…take care of…th…em."

With that final sentence, Malcolm closed his eyes and let out a final breath. Nadia looked down and shook with sobs as tears fell from her eyes. Bethany hugged her tightly, sobbing uncontrollably herself. Needless to say, Nadia was not the same after her father died. She tried to be there for her mother…but had difficulty trying to comfort her. Nadia had always been closer to Malcolm than anyone else…and not having him around anymore…it felt as if half of her died with him. While she was strong for her family, when she was alone she let her emotions overtake her. She'd cry, shout, kick, and scream even until she felt better. Really, her only source of comfort came from Gregory. He listened when she needed someone to talk to and he would only say something whenever he was prompted. As time went on, Nadia's heart began to heal from losing her father and she felt happiness once again. She had fallen in love with Gregory, though she dared not tell him her feelings…but had finally come to a happy place again. Her mother, though still saddened by the death of her husband, eventually healed as well as did Carver and Bethany. They were together and happy in their quaint little home in Lothering…and Nadia couldn't ask for more.

Sadly though…that happiness would end as well. It would be snatched right from under her and there wasn't a thing she could do about it, besides face it head on. In the coming years Nadia Hawke would face the unimaginable. She would suffer heavy losses and drastic changes…

It would start with the destruction of her home…but that, sadly, was only the tip of the iceberg.

A/N: I'm back! Well I hope you guys enjoyed this short little prologue as well as meeting the heroine of this story, Nadia Hawke! I'm not sure how frequently this will be updated since I'm working on an original story as well, but we'll see! This will be a long fan fiction you guys, so I hope you're ready to go on another adventure! I'll try and have the next chapter up as soon as I can! Thanks for reading! :)