"Cam?" A small voice came from the darkness, causing Cameron to stir and look towards it. He sat up in his bed and pulled fire into his hands, lighting up the room.
"Matt? It's late. What are you doing up?" Cameron asked, getting up from his bed to kneel in front of the ten-year-old standing in his doorway.
"I, um, I had a nightmare, and one of the older mages once told me about how her parents would let her stay with them when she had a nightmare, before they found out about her magic, of course. So, I was wondering... could I do that with you?" Matt gripped his bear closer and looked at the ground.
"Huh. I think I remember Mother doing that with me and my siblings. Sure, why not?" Cameron smiled, moving over to make the bed ready. "So, do you want to talk about it?"
"I was back at the Circle again, and the templars were hurting me. I know that I shouldn't be upset about it because I deserved it, but it still hurt." Matthew curled up on one side of the bed.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up. There is no way that you deserved whatever those templars did to you, Mattie. Trust me, I've spent a decade learning that lesson." Cameron quickly said. He had spent enough time wondering whether he had deserved to be beaten nearly to death at 9 years old just because he was a mage who dared to want to go home. He would not let Matthew walk that road for long.
"The templars said that we deserved anything they did to us because we were cursed by the Maker and stuff." Matthew gave him a confused look.
"The templars, and the Chantry, for that matter, say a lot of things. That doesn't make it all true. For example, mages aren't the only people that demons can possess. Demons can possess just about anything, including cats or," he lowered his voice to a whisper. "Templars."
"No way!" Matthew exclaimed.
"Yes way. I saw it myself, last time I was at Kinloch Hold." He quickly pushed back the actual memories of what happened there. He needed to focus on Matthew right now. "So trust me when I tell you that the Chantry is wrong, okay?"
"I don't think it's that easy." Matthew admitted.
"It never is. Get some sleep, okay? Hailey will kill me if I let you stay up any longer." Cameron grinned down at Matt, who giggled and then settled under the covers.
The next day dawned bright and early. Matthew and Cameron had joined the other mages taking refuge in Denerim. Cameron was leaning on a wall next to Rinaya, both of them enjoying the sunshine. He paused when he noticed a small elven sitting by himself. If he remembered correctly, he was another mage who survived Kirkwall named Zathlan. Well, he should probably go check on him. He walked over to the boy, noticing as he did that Aedan and Hailey appeared to have the same idea.
"Hey, kid. Everything going okay for you?" Hailey questioned. Zathlan jumped, and his eyes widened in fear. Well, that wasn't a good start. Hailey could be pretty kind when she tried, though, so the queen shouldn't have too much trouble showing her good intentions.
"Well, I don't even want to be here in the first place, so no." Zathlan grumbled. "Mages are dangerous, right? We shouldn't be around people. We should be back in the Circles."
"Well, that's weird phrasing. Even in the Circle, you're around people." Aedan raised an eyebrow.
Zathlan gave him a strange look. "The templars can all fight. We can't hurt them."
"I didn't mean the templars. You're a person, kid. So are the other mages." Aedan said.
"Knight-Commander made sure to let me know that I haven't counted as a person since the day I first used magic. Why are you talking like that, anyway? It's not like any of you care about mages. All of you would prefer if we all died." Zathlan said, clutching his fists as he glared at Aedan.
"Not really. I'd really prefer for my wife to be alive." Aedan said.
This drew Zathlan up short. "Your wife? You married a mage?" Zathlan asked quietly.
"Yeah, we fought together during the Fifth Blight. I'd introduce you to her, but she stayed home with our son, Kieran. Now, why don't you go play with the others?" Aedan said, smiling. Zathlan stared at him for several seconds before he nodded and dashed off.
"Nice job with him, brother." Hailey said.
"I hate seeing how surprised you all are at the idea of a mage having a life with a partner and kids. That should be an option for anybody." Aedan said to Cameron and Rinaya.
"Even when we finally escape the templars, the effects still haunt us. Maker help any of those Templars if they ever come into contact with me. They're lucky I focus most of my anger into fueling my research." Cameron punched a wall in anger. He then hesitated as he remembered something important. "Matthew is having nightmares. Kirkwall was even worse than Kinloch Hold."
"He's going to need people to be there for him." Hailey agreed. "Honestly, I can't see you staying in one place for years, Cam."
Cameron looked away. "There's still more research to do. We need to know more about the Fade and magic in general beyond what the Chant and the Chantry says. Not many people are willing to risk their lives for that."
"I know Matthew's my son, but I don't think that I can take care of him as much as he needs. I never even wanted kids in the first place. Maker, I can't even remember what happened the night that man... the night that Matthew was conceived." Rinaya admitted.
"Well, Alistair and I discussed it last night, and we're willing to take him in. He can live at the castle, and you three will always know where to find him. We can divide our duties to make time for him. It's not like we're going to have kids naturally, anyway, what with both of us being Grey Wardens." Hailey cheerfully explained.
"That sounds pretty good. I can even bring Morrigan and Kieran down. Kieran's a good kid. He'd be a great cousin." Aedan added.
"Sounds like a plan, then. I'll be sure to visit often. I don't want him to think that I'm abandoning him for my research. I just want him to have a good future." Aedan said. "Thanks, guys."
"Anything for you and Rinaya." Hailey smiled. Cameron grinned back before he got up to go find Matthew. Making a better future for mages wouldn't be easy, but he had already gotten this. There was no way he'd be stopping now.
AN: I created this as a school project and decided to also share it here. Most of the characters here are my player characters from Origins. The elven mage, Rinaya Surana, the human mage, Cameron Amell, and the human nobles, Aedan and Hailey Cousland. There is also Matthew Amell, Rinaya's son that Cameron adopted so that Rin wouldn't get in trouble for having to admit to what the templar did. I'll probably actually come back and do a larger story on these characters someday and explain their stories. I can't just leave this universe without talking about Liaren Tabris, Daimar Aeducan, Daigan Brosca, and Cyrren Mahariel, after all. For now, though, I hope that this story suffices. Thanks for reading!