My true name is Faeryl Dyrr of House Kilsek of the city of Fanaedar. Here in this strange land I am known as Eilestraee Surana of the Circle of Magi. I am writing this journal in my native tongue. I have met no one who knows of my people or speaks our language. That should be precaution enough.
I adopted my name when I first came here. We had been fighting a small party of surfacers. I was on my first assignment as a full priestess of our Mistress. I cast a spell. One of the surfacers cast a spell, there was a flash and I was on this world. Instead of a full battle in a tunnel, I was on the surface and two fully armed and armoured human men were running towards me. I called upon our Goddess' power and saw a puny arc of light shoot into the ground in front of me. I could no longer feel her presence. All was silent.
One of the men saw the bolt of light, spread his arms, shouted something and I was unconscious.
When I awoke they gabbled at me in their barbarous tongue. I tried to teach them respect only to find I was bound with a sword to my throat. Adopting a more respectful mien, I began deceiving them. After an inordinately long time they figured out we did not speak any languages in common. One of them deliberately inquired by signs who I was. Not knowing the situation I claimed the identity of my silent Mistress's errant daughter, Eilestraee.
The men spoke amongst themselves and motioned me to come with them. I walked, bound and somewhat disheartened to a camp which had many other human men. None of them were really afraid of me. None showed anything other than the usual wariness one displays towards strangers. Then I saw the moons and knew I was very far indeed from home.
Luckily my family taught me well and I maintained a constant veil of deceit as I learned more about my new world. I was destined for a place where magic was taught. That suited me well. If my clerical powers were gone, then the arcane arts were the next best thing. If Lolth, and I did finally begin to dare name her in my thoughts, were absent then I literally had nothing and no one to bound me. The men's god, and they had only one, was apparently having a millenial long snit. I acted contrary to my nature and was very meek and compliant as we walked to this Circle.
The sun rose in the morning. I almost displayed my inward terror, but I suffered none of the ill effects I would have at home. I relaxed and began to make my plans. I would learn all I could of magic. I would learn even more about the power structure of this place and I would seize both for my own purposes.
The four long years in the Circle are best skipped over. I learned the native language. I learned their peculiar and barbaric customs. I learned far more about their absentee god than anyone ever should. The mages were watched and confined. I did not dare keep a journal, even in a language no one could read lest I be accused of practising forbidden blood magic. Needless to say I learned as much forbidden lore as was possible.
When a certain human I had cultivated, Jowan, came to me with an idiotic plot to escape, I agreed to help him. Betraying him to the head magician would only make me more secure in the narrow confines of mage society. Also, seeing the fool's plan unfold would give me some idea of what constituted security for when I made my own escape. Jowan and his wench were apprehended and all seemed according to plan when the minion surprised us all by showing some blood magic.
I was quite shaken by this. I hadn't really delved too much into it. Blood magic relies on the caster's own blood. I didn't see the need to weaken myself, so I didn't study it. But it also allows the caster to control others. That was a worthy kind of magic indeed. Later I learned that you need not use your own blood. But I did not know that at the time. I resolved to learn more about this school of magic.
After some simplistic political jockeying, I secured a position as a Grey Warden and so left the tower. Our destination was where the human king of this land was located, so I determined to remain with the older human fool who recruited me. Once at this Ostagar, I would subtly begin to entrap the king and so move into the inner power circles.