OH MY GOD! I HAVE IT! I HAVE IT! *Does a happy little jig* IT'S MINE AT LAST, I'M LATE! BUT I HAVE IT! I HAVE DRAGON AGE INQUISITION! WOOP, WOOP! CULLEN BABY, HERE I COME! And in celebration, I'm rewriting my DA fanfiction b/c I was going through it and I'm not proud. However, I am keeping the characters though there will be changes. Now, onward!
Eyes glued to Cullen's broad shoulders; I tried not to lose what little I had sloshing around in my gut. God, I think I was going to have a heart attack. Or a stroke. Maybe both. Coming to a stop, I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to reassure myself. Get a hold of yourself Grace! Kit and Kias knew Jack shit of what they were going to go against, but they turned out alright. You, however, know the fate of each and every person in Thedas…minus your own. Okay that last bit didn't help.
"Cullen." I said; eyes still shut, "I think I'm gonna be sick!" With that I rushed to the nearest window, slammed it open, and damned near fell out of the thing as I started to vomit. Over the sound of my retching, I could hear Cullen come up behind me and felt him pull my hair back out of my face.
"You alright?" He asked; once I finished spewing a mixture of spittle and stomach acid on any poor bastard who happened to have been walking below.
"Peachy." I gasped; head between my knees, having sunken down onto the floor. "Just peachy." Closing my eyes, I just tried to focus on my breathing, nothing else. And of course, I was failing. Leaning back, I wondered briefly how in the hell I got into this mess.
Three years ago, something happened and I managed to be transported to the Circle of Magi in Ferelden, in Thedas, in Dragon Age. To say chaos ensued afterwords would be an understatement. Templars were trying to kill me, mages were trying to killing, everyone was trying to kill me. Finally when they realized I was, in fact, not an abomination the Templars were still trying to kill me! Until of course, I accidently set Gregor on fire, then my sorry ass was hauled up to First Enchanter Irving. Words were said, tempers flared, and finally I was given a set of apprentice robes and sent head first into the world of DA.
In daze, I stumbled through this new life for a few months until one day some higher power felt sorry for me and made sure I got paired up with none other than Katrina Surana. The two of us hit it off and through her I also became friends with Kias Amell and Jowan. The four of us became infamous in the Tower, as Kias was close buds with Anders. Almost always, you could catch one of us multi-tasking between studies and helping the trouble making blonde in his newest scheme. Needless to say, the three of us are rather adept rogues. Also, I came acquainted with Cullen, who is WAY hotter in real life (the game did him no justice). And here I am now, having a panic attack as I made my way to my Harrowing.
"Hey." Cullen said; squatting down to my level, which could not have been comfortable in that armor, and grabbed my shoulders. "You'll be fine, you're spirit and entropy magic is some of the best I've ever witnessed, so you'll be well prepared against whatever you face." I nodded and, just because I liked to make him flustered, leaned forward and buried my face in his shoulder, which is also not comfortable but hey.
"I hope you're right. I really do." Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a flush creep up his neck and color the tip of his ear.
"Um…well…uh…" I laughed,
"Well, better not keep Gregor waiting, he still hasn't forgiven me about that whole spiders in the Templars britches thing." Cullen hauled me up and gave me an incredulous look, embarrassment gone.
"That was you?" I gave him a cheeky grin,
"Anders is a terrible influence."
"Huh, so is that why I was left unscathed?" I reached up and patted his cheek,
"What can I say? I have a soft spot for my favorite Templar." And with that I began trudging up to the Harrowing Chamber, leaving a blushing Cullen to follow behind me.
Can I just say the Fade was trippy…also I cheated. Gregor gave me the whole speech and shit happened and then I met Mouse. I gave it to him point blank.
"Listen dude, I already know how this whole thing is gonna go down. You tell me some sob story about how you were one of the apprentices who didn't make it through his Harrowing because he took too long and the Templars thought he was a lost cause. Then I let you follow me and then I run into Valor who gives me a staff if I have enough willpower, and then I run into a Sloth demon who offers to teach you how to turn into a bear if I guess all of his riddles, and then I kill a rage demon, which by the way is pretty damned easy, and then in the end I learn that you are my real challenge, because you know, any warrior can kill things, it's being able to behind the scenes that make you a mage yada, yada, yada." I leaned back; resting on my heels and crossed my arms. "Did I miss anything?" Mouse blinked,
"Um…no. No, nothing." I gasped,
"By the way, I think you're a…Pride demon? Yeah, Pride. So can I go now?"
"Yes…yes, may I ask something?" I sighed.
"No I will not make a deal and promise you my first child nor will I do a whole, after an X number of years I'll let you come and fulfill my end of the bargain whatever that may be." Mouse snorted and crossed his arms,
"I like to think I'm more original than Desire demons, however, all I want to know is: how did you know what was going to occur. Most mages after they finish their Harrowing get their memory wiped, only remembering that they had to enter the Fade and that was it." I raised an eyebrow,
"Really? No wonder Kias and Kit were conked out when they came back." I shrugged my shoulders, "As for your question, I can't tell you because I don't know. It's not like I'm a Seer, so I usually just chalk it up to having a really good sixth sense." I said; lying easily. Another thing about being friends with Anders is that if you're a horrible liar, you get good fast. Mouse narrowed his eyes,
"Fine, I know you're lying but I will not force the answer out of you. You've completed your Harrowing mortal, you may return." And just like that, I was yanked back as if attached to a fishing rod and was flung into unconsciousness.
"How in the name of the Maker…?"
"She wasn't even under for an hour."
"How could she have completed…?"
"Did another mage tell her?"
"Impossible…mind wipe…I don't know."
"She's waking up."
"Cullen."
"Yes First Enchanter?"
"Take her back to the Apprentice Quarter."
"Of course." Noise, I was lifted up.
"…knew she was special…" I fell asleep.
"Grace, Grace wake up." I groaned.
"Five more minutes."
"You've been asleep for two hours. We need to talk to you!" I groaned again before propping myself up onto my elbows.
"What do you want Jowan?"
"Hey, we're here too."
"Shut up Kais."
"Good morning Grace."
"Morning Kit, nice to see you up." She smiled,
"I can say the same to you."
Kit was, to say the least, ADORABLE! She had large amethyst colored eyes with light blonde hair framing a pale heart shaped face. She was petite and stood at about 5ft and always had this dreamy look in her eye and spoke with a voice as soft and as light as a feather. In all the years I've known her, I don't think I've ever heard her raise her voice once.
Kias, on the other hand, was loud and arrogant. A total ass, but when it came down to it he would never stab you in the back. He had long brown hair that he kept swept back in a ponytail much like Anders with sharp hazel eyes that read: fuck with me and I'll beat your ass. In fact, those were the first words he said to me. He was all sharp edges and angles, and I've only seen him soften for one person and one person only: Kit. Poor dude was head over heels, but Kit was oblivious to anything that ever concerned her and feelings. Now if it was you who was being oblivious to someone's er…notions, it was an entirely different story.
"Now what do you guys want?" I asked; swinging my legs over the side of the bunk and slipping into my soft leather boots. Jowan and Kias shot each other looks while Kit merely swept over to my side, plucked the comb out of my hand, and proceeded to get through the mass of knots I called hair.
"We wanted to know how you got through your Harrowing so fast!" Jowan blurted; his hands doing some nervous dance in his lap. Kias nodded,
"Yeah, you were gone less than thirty minutes, and from what I hear that was only because it took Cullen half that time to carry both you and his armor down here." I shrugged; wincing at a particularly vicious knot that Kit was having trouble coaxing to untangle.
"It wasn't that difficult guys, it wasn't about brawn, it was about brain. If the Harrowing was only about how well our casting was, we would have been judged by the Senior Enchanters during lessons. They wouldn't send us into the Fade to test strength." Kias raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms,
"That still doesn't explain how you managed to complete your Harrowing under fifteen minutes. How'd you do it?"
"I…" My mind drew a blank, "I…I don't…I don't remember. I don't remember anything after being told to plunge into the Fade." Kit made a noise above me,
"Happened with Kias and I too, we couldn't remember anything after approaching the lyrium either. They must wipe our memories so we don't have the temptation of telling others." I winced again as she combed out the knots; one sucky thing about having thick hair is that it always tangles. Always. Jowan hummed,
"Wonder how they do it? I mean, to wipe someone's memories requires to tamper with one's mind and the only way to do that is…" He trailed off,
"Blood magic." Kit finished softly as she began to braid my hair with practice fingers. We sat there in silence, a sinister air surrounding us. We aren't innocent. We've dabbled. All of us. Nothing as awful as controlling people, but we've used it to power up are other spells making sure that we were the top in every class, but blood magic is safe. As long as you don't summon demons and you don't make deals you're good, and it isn't bad either, it just depends on how you use it. The four of us only use our own blood, no one else's, or each other's if we've consented. We're not monsters, we're just surviving.
"There," Kit said; flinging my braid over my shoulder, "you're good. Now let's go. The First Enchanter wants to see us." I sighed and stood up; fingering my braid and enjoying how smooth my hair was,
"Lovely, let's." Jowan frowned,
"He only wants to see you three. Not me. I'm starting to think that I'll never get called for my Harrowing." I bit my lip.
"How could you not. You're marks rival our own, there's no way your Harrowing isn't close. You just need to be patient." He shook his head,
"I guess you haven't heard." My heart sped up and my stomach knotted,
"Heard what?" My voice came out a hoarse whisper. 'Hearing' things when it came with us was bad. It meant someone knew about us, it meant we were in danger.
"Some people think I'm a maleficar." I shook my head,
"Impossible. Jowan you're careful. More careful than the three of us combined. It's just a rumor, it'll fly over. They always do." But even I could hear the doubt in my voice. Every one of us except for Kit has been accused of maleficarum and every time they've blown over, but this was the third time one of us in our group was accused. They won't be able to ignore this much longer. I exhaled, not even realizing I'd been holding my breath, "We stop. After tonight, we do just enough to hold our magic over for a few months, three at the most, and wait. Just like last time. We'll be okay." I hope…
"What are you four whispering about?" A voice asked from behind and I had to stifle a scream.
"Andraste's breath Anders! Make some bloody noise why don't you!" Kias said; reaching over and slapping the blonde upside the head. He yelped and jerked back,
"Maker Kias! I just asked what you guys were talking about, not where you keep your secret booze…though that would be a nice piece of information to have." I rolled my eyes but couldn't keep the smile of my face.
"Anders, there are many things I don't want you to know and that is rivalling number one on the list." He pouted.
"You're no fun anymore, not since you got that new Templar plaything." I froze; not having to see myself to know that I was turning a nice shade of pink.
"Excuse me!?" I squealed. He grinned; eyes sparkling,
"You mean you haven't noticed? The two of you are the spiciest gossip in the Tower at this time. A mage and Templar, never to be together despite how little distance there is between them. Why, it's a story that would make most girls weep!" I narrowed my eyes,
"You're bull shitting me, don't deny it Anders, I know your tells." He mocked gasped,
"Tells? What tells? I'll have you know, I am a master at controlling my facial features."
"Must come from the fact that you'll say anything to get a warm bed and a warm girl for a night." He waggled his eyebrows,
"Why, is that jealousy I hear my sweet, darling Grace? If so, I'll gladly put them to rest." I jutted out my hip and crossed my arms,
"Ah, my dear. Didn't you know?" He leaned forward till we were nearly nose to nose,
"Know what love?" I stood on my tippy toes and whispered in his ear,
"I like my men innocent and sweet." And with that I ducked away from him and grabbed hold of Kit's slender wrist, "Now excuse us, we have an appointment to meet." Dragging Kit behind me, I darted out of the Apprentice Quarters with a laughing Kias trailing us.
"Maker his face! It was priceless!" He howled. I giggled and we rushed onward, tripping over our robes in the process.
As we rushed past Enchanters and Templars, I saw how they looked at us. Or…the Enchanters, Templars I couldn't tell a damn thing, their eyes were filled with suspicion and my heart sank. I was right. They were going to investigate deep into this. I swallowed, God help us.
End! Now this is important! You must tell me, you readers, if you like this better than my first. B/c if you don't, I will not update this, I'll update the other. That is you question of the day peoples, which do you like? An Average Girl or Who Need's Google?