Slight AU: This is just the prologue to give a little background of how the Templars were much more brutal and the mages are severely oppressed. The story will actually follow the two mages as they fight the blight. I basically follow the major events of the game but will take many creative freedoms. I will try to use very little if any of the in game dialog. Please read and review all constructive feedback is welcome. Enjoy


Prologue

The Circle of Magi, the home of mages under the Chantry's supervision, was nothing close to a home. Some have called it the 'gilded prison' for mages. The Chantry's supervision came in the form of the Templar. The order of the Templar to those outside of the Circle itself was looked at as the protectors of and against the mages. The Chantry would have the people believe the Templar was to protect the mages from hostility of the locals, while also protecting the people from apostate mages. Inside the Circle it is an entirely different story. Inside the Circle the templar's are ruthless, abusive, and corrupt. For apprentice mages life is far from easy. Female mages and elf mages have it the worst. For female elven mages life is nearly unbearable within the circle.

Neria Surana and Solona Amell became fast friends from the moment they were taken to the circle together. Solona, being two years older took on the role of trying to protect her elven friend as much as she could. Things were still not easy for Neria however, being a little elven girl the Templars and even other mages treated her poorly. She was beaten, underfed, ridiculed and basically trampled upon until she was she was thoroughly cowed into a submissive timid little mouse. Solona was the only human in the tower that was ever kind to her and is the reason Neria hasn't given up on life entirely. Solona was alienated from her fellow humans for her protective nature towards Neria and the other elves in the tower. Solona quickly became endeared to the elves of the tower and she grew to be passionate about the elven plight.

Solona and Neria were about as opposite as they could be. Solona was hot headed, passionate, outspoken and a handful for the Templars. Neria on the other hand was very timid, submissive, and reserved. Solona was fire and Neria was ice, it also happened to coincide with their particular elements of choice. Neria didn't always draw into herself. When they had their hour of free time before bed her hidden personality would come out. Neria was a Dalish elf and as such she was full of spirit and energy. She would often display her nimbleness for the other apprentice mages by performing flips and handstands and other acrobatics she learned in her 10 years with her clan. Solona would get a chance to drop her walls and show her true colors as well. She was a very affectionate and compassionate person. She spent many nights healing Neria's physical wounds she frequently received from the ruthless and abusive Templars. She spent even more nights trying to heal the emotional scars left by the Templars. At least two nights a week Neria would wake up from a nightmare and go crawl into Solona's bed and Solona would hold the little elf until she fell back asleep.

When it came to using magic Neria was a completely different person. She was a true prodigy. Her natural talents for the arcane were beyond anything the Circle has seen in centuries. She wields her magic gracefully and she picks up on new spells seamlessly. She is proficient enough that she studied with that class two years her senior. She also studies as much as possible, not to further her skills like many thought, but it provided her with some precious little time away from Templars who seemed to find her their favorite target for abuse. Solona isn't as skilled as Neria but she is better than the average mage and her time spent training with her cousins Marian and Bethany Hawke under their father, Malcolm Hawke, gave her some skill in magics not taught by the Circle. Her aggressiveness and tenacity have helped her overcome some of her misgivings in her arcane arts. Early on Neria and Solona learned they worked well together, they balanced each other. Solona's aggressiveness meshed well with Neria's grace and balance. Though Solona used primarily elemental and attack based magic she was proficient at healing. Solona's healing skills are from constantly healing Neria from the beatings the Templars would give her.

Four years after Neria and Solona arrived at the Circle the Templars started to take notice of Solona. She was 16 at this point and she was remarkably beautiful. She had raven black hair and fair skin. Her lips were full and somewhat pouty. Her eyes were a deep sapphire blue, a trait she actually shared with Neria. Solona was tall and curvy and because of her aggressive style she was more toned than most human mages. Her beauty became a curse for her as it brought Templar attention and it is well known among the mages that nearly all female mages were taken against their will and because of the Templar lyrium use mages never got pregnant.

One instance a few weeks after Solona's 16th birthday a group of three Templars cornered her in one of the small study rooms. They had her apprentice robe halfway ripped off when Neria burst in the room disrupted the Templars before they could get any farther. She sent a concussive blast that knocked all the Templars off their feet before they could do anything. Neria positioned herself between Solona and the Templars in a defensive manner and shouted at them to keep their hands off of Solona. The Templars quickly drained Neria of her magic and one of the Templars stormed forward and back handed her across the left cheek leaving a nasty jagged cut across her cheek from just below her eye down to her jaw line. Fortunately for both Neria and Solona, First Enchanter Irving and Knight-Commander Greagoir were in Irving's office two doors down when the commotion happened and they were able to catch most of what took place. The three Templars were removed from the Circle and Neria placed in the Mages holding cell for one week for using her powers against a Chantry member. She wasn't allowed to be healed and she still wears the scar of the one time she stood up to the Templars. No Templar attempted to assault Solona from that point on.

Two years passed since that night the Templars tried to rape Solona and that time only made Solona more bitter towards the Templars and the Chantry. Neria, was as cowed as ever and her fear of Templars and humans never wavered.

Solona and Neria were both ready to face their Harrowing. Solona now being 18 had reached the age when the mages took underwent rite of passage. For Neria, her advanced proficiency and First Enchanter Irving took pity on the girl hoping if passed life would be easier as a full fledged mage and if she didn't pass her suffering would come to an end.

Their Harrowing's was just the beginning...