City of Kirkwall - 9:12 Dragon
Running a delicate hand across her swollen belly, Revka realized how precarious her situation was. How could Tiren not tell her what he really was? Why did he have to wait until she was pregnant with his child? A mage of all things! Not just any mage, but a full-blood Tevinter mage. Her baby's fate was sealed.
As if her uncle wasn't angry enough. Revka shuddered at the rage that would erupt from him if the child turned out to be a mage. She rolled over in the grand bed and winced in pain when a sudden pressure pushed against her relentlessly. When it finally died down, she pulled the heavy crimson blanket up under her chin and attempted to keep her mind from the inevitable labor that would soon come, from the child that she would give birth to, from the wrath of her uncle. Despite her desperate tries to sleep, images of what happened to her cousin, Leandra, kept playing through her head.
Leandra had found herself in a similar situation, with the exception of not knowing that the man she loved was an apostate. Her father gave her an ultimatum. Give up the mage child, who was then a loving four-year old boy, or give up her inheritance and be banished from the estate. Leandra would not give up Malcolm Hawke or little Garrett for anything. Off she ran to Ferelden with her new family, leaving her mother and father in a greivous state. Revka supposed she should have thanked her cousin. Since she left, her aunt and uncle's kindness rained down upon her, treating their neice better than the daughter they had just lost.
More pressure and another violent rock came from inside her. A long hiss escaped Revka's lips as she clutched her giant stomach. She was beginning to break out in a cold sweat causing her long dark hair to stick to her pale forehead. Pushing it out of the way, she felt herself becoming irriated. None of this was her fault! How was she to know?
Revka had tried again and again to justify her pregnancy. He had promised to marry her! What else was she to do but believe him? Tiren Thalsian seemed to be an honorable man by young Revka's standards, but she should have noticed something was amiss when her blonde lover had asked feverently to keep their relations secret. She had been so stupid, and now she was pregnant with his child. Another blonde Thalsian. Another Tevinter mage. Another problem for the Amell family.
She had argued with him after discovering herself to be with child. She stated that they needed the support of her uncle, but Tiren would not hear of it. He relunctantly told her of his curse and revealed who his family was. A long line of Thalsians, all in direct relation to the very first Archon. The very first family to cusult with demons to keep their power. The very first family to discover blood magic. It was all too much for her. Without a moment's hesitation she tearfully admitted everything to her Uncle Aristide; her pregnancy, Tiren Thalsian, everything. The expression on her uncle's face tore her to pieces. She had only seen that look one other time, and that was when Leandra chose to run away from home.
The handsome Tiren Thalsian had disappeared with the sunrise.
A searing pain down below ripped Revka from her thoughts. She sat upright in her bed, the pressure was constant now and more intense than before. Holding onto her belly, she felt a warm sensation escape from in between her legs in a sudden gush. It was time. She screamed out in a stangled voice for her handmaiden.
Everything began happening much too quickly.
As more and more servants streamed in and out of her chambers, faces started to blur and voices started to sound far away. She knew not if her aunt or uncle would check on her, and if they didn't, she would not blame them. She could not blame them. As the labor continued and the baby began sliding down, Revka prayed feverently.
Please no magic, tears of pain drenched her face, Oh, Maker, please no magic!
It was not long after that she heard the sweet, wet cries from the newborn Thalsian.
Tower of Magi, Ferelden - 9:30 Dragon eighteen years later
Chapter One: Bound in Blood
Twisted shapes danced through her head. Blood red and screaming, dark blue and crying. The young mage apprentice couldn't make sense of it. Her dream pulled her in and then threw her back, repeatedly. Just when she was about to figure out what something meant, a great darkness would try to engulf her. It was becoming exhausting. Willing herself to wake up, she closed her eyes. It had always worked in the past, but this time the floor opened up and she fell into blackness. She landed on her knees, and she heard them crack against an invisible surface. Her breath came out in laboured rasps, cold air wrapped tightly around her, suffocating her. Struggling to free herself, a sudden presence crashed down upon her, flattening her body to the ground. She managed to turn her head, eyes pointed up toward where she fell. The dragon loomed over her, fire in its eyes and throat. Or was it a demon? No, she was stronger than this. No demon was going to take her in her sleep.
Wake up, she whispered to herself, but the creature came closer still. The heat that radiated from its scales burnt her flesh and singed her hair.
Wake up! Her attempted scream sounded more like a pathetic groan. She opened her eyes once more, the hellish monster placed two of its rotting, clawed talons on either side of her. His teeth glistening from the fire in his mouth. The young apprentice tried to call her magic; ice, lightning, something? Anything! No matter how hard she tried, the familiar tingling sensation failed to come to the palms of her hands. She only had one other option.
WAKE UP! She screamed as loud as she could, summoning every ounce of her will.
. . .
The pressure released her, and everything started to melt away. She was finally free from the Fade.
She sat upright in her bed, narrowly missing the supporting wood of the bunk above her. She was still gasping for breath. Placing her head between her knees, the young mage tried to even her breathing as quietly as she could so she would not disturb those sleeping around her.
The dream felt more real than usual. It was like some demon was playing with her head, trying to get inside. But, why was it a tormenting dream? Usually, the demons of the Fade would lull the apprentices with sweet, desirable dreams. Why was this dream so different? It felt forboding. Like this was just the prelude.
Shaking her blonde head, the mage pushed back the covers and slid her feet to the floor, wincing at the cold. Carefully moving around the bunk, she knelt down in front of an old crimson and black trunk. Her slender fingers lightly traced the name Circe Eliz Amell that was sewn into the delicate velvet. With a small smile, the apprentice Circe Amell - known as Cie - pushed open the trunk and pulled out a pair of satin slippers, a woolen robe, and a small book. Quietly, she relatched the lid and tucked her feet inside the slippers, stowing noiselessly away out of the girl's dormitory. Shivering, she held her book underneath her chin and pulled on the warm wool.
The corridor was dark, only a couple candleabras were lit. Pulling her robe tighter around her small frame, Cie reached for one of the candles as she made her way down the hall. All was quiet within the Tower, even the boy's dormitory. There was not even a sound of a Templar's armour. She continued up toward the library, the darkness of the Tower strangely comforting despite the dream she just had. While sleep for most people was a time of peace, it was not so for those kissed with magic. Every night, Cie found herself praying to the Maker for a dreamless sleep. It was always a fight. It was as if it was impossible to ever truly be asleep. With the knowledge that demons danced in the shadows waiting for the next weak minded individual to come along, it made it extremely difficult to simply let go of the awareness that mages were blessed with inside the Fade. That's why no one in the Tower was ever able to boast about a good night's sleep.
She finally made it to the Senior Mage Quarters, the library being located just east of the Tranquil's precious storeroom on this level. Padding her way across the cold stone, she entered the dark library, her candle casting large, angular shadows on the walls.
A wave of relief washed over her. Cie was able to feel comfortable here amongst the books and ancient texts with the comforting smell of old parchment wafting through the air. She took her usual seat at a small table underneath an even smaller window. It was possible that this grime covered window hidden behind thick, woven tapestries was the only way the apprentices could see out into the world below. Cie wouldn't know for she had never been anywhere above the third level of the Tower.
Pulling back the heavy tapestry, she let the moonlight pour in, putting her clouded mind at ease. She was just about to turn to her book when something from outside caught her eye.
Flames.
Fire was visible on the horizon, just behind the mountians to the south. Cie took in a sharp breath and, dropping the tapestry, raced to the numerous towering bookshelves behind her. Without the glare of the moon or a candlestick to shed light, the back of the library was nothing but a thick, dark void. Calling forth mana, Cie sent a glowing wisp of light flying from her palm into the cold air. The blonde apprentice then hurried down a row of books, blue eyes searching, the wisp of bright white light trailing beside her. She finally found one that looked promising.
The Geographical Ferelden: A Guide to Navigation
Snatching the book from the shelf, Cie quickly doused her wisp with a wave of her slender hand and ran back to the window, pushing back the tapestry once more. The flames still glowed menacingly. Glancing away, she nimbly flipped through the book's pages, not stopping until she found a map of all of Ferelden. She was able to spot the giant Lake Calenhad easily enough, and there was even a small dot labeled in pointed handwriting, Ferelden's Tower of Magi. Tracing her finger down the page, she traveled south over a mountain range.
"The Hinterlands," she mumbled to herself. Immediatelym she caught a glimpse of the snowy mountains, the tall trees surrounded by marsh, the wild animals and... dragons hidden away in the rock. Cie blinked and the vision was gone. Returning to her original focus, she slid her finger a little further south, past the mountains and through a deep valley.
Cie's slender finger came to rest on an elevated region, her eyes shifted to the words written beside it, "Ostagar," she breathed.
This time, the vision was painful. She saw the lands ablaze, smoke in the air, dead bodies littering the ground. Humans were fighting and... what was that darkness? Straining to concentrate, the darkness took shape turning into creatures that radiated evil and smelled of rotten death; Cie knew of these monsters, only all too well.
She quickly shook her blonde head to rid her eyes of the carnage. Looking out of the window once more, she noticed the fire dying down. Was it over? Who had won? She decided to speak to the First Enchanter about it as soon as possible. Why was it that the tower mages were always kept in the dark about everything? If there was a war being fought, they had a right to know. Ferelden was their home too.
"Can't sleep?"
Startled, Cie dropped the tapestry and snapped the book shut at the sound of the voice. She spun around too see Cullen the Templar standing not far behind her. She breathed a quick sigh of relief, "Not really, no." She admitted with a smile.
Cullen returned her smile warmly, "You are quite fortunate that I am the one on duty this morning. Any other Templar would have been suspicious of you."
Story of my life, she thought to herself. With a small giggle, she casually hid the book behind her.
"What are you doing up so early?"
There was no way she was going to tell him that she was being tormented by a demon in her sleep. Cullen was a friend, but he was still a Templar. "I was just restless I suppose." She prayed he would not see through her cheap lie. Luckily, he didn't.
"I wish I could say the same." He jokingly suppressed a yawn, "Morning duty should not be... So early in the morning."
Cie pushed a wavy blonde lock from her face, "So, you are not going to be on watch this afternoon?"
The curly haired Templar raised and eyebrow, "No, why?"
Heat flushed Cie's cheeks, "Oh, um, well you are such pleasant company after morning lessons... It's just that I have grown fond of your stories and," she paused, trying not to make this more awkward than what it already was, "we always have such lovely conversations." Lovely? She tried not to groan at her cheesy word choice.
Cullen's blush was ten times more noticable, "Y-Yes, I suppose we do at that. I can always wake up and -"
"No!" Cie's protest was louder than intended, "Er, I mean, please do not trouble yourself Ser, um, Knight, uh, Templar, Sir."
He couldn't help it, Cullen burst out laughing, not caring about the old, grouchy Senior Mages that were still asleep. She was just so ridiculously charming! He knew he should not have let himself feel this way about her, but he was tired and having Cie Amell as a distraction was always welcome. "Why not have our usual discussion now?" He gestured to the seats in front of the window with a gauntlet clad hand. Cie smiled sweetly as she retook her usual seat causing Cullen's heart to swell
Before sitting beside her, he pulled back the heavy tapestry that covered the window. Cie gasped quietly, but when she looked toward the mountains, the fire was no longer noticable in the glow of the rising sun that bathed the lands in orange and pink.
A/N: I suppose I should clear up some things in case anyone is sitting at their computer having a conniption because of all the un-canon things that are happening at this point. Anyway, I've only made a couple of changes to the story line to make the Mage Origin a little more deep and emotional (as it should be). For example, I am adding Revka's story because she is just too damn mysterious for my taste, and I introduced the Thalsians (which are real, I kid you not), and the full-blood Tevinter thing will be cleared up more as the story progresses. So, everything else is pretty close to the original plot. All I'm doing is... explaining some things in a bit more detail, and completely changing the archdemon's story BUT that is for a later chapter:) Thank you for your time! Comments are love, and if you have suggestions, I am open to them!