"Welcome to the Harrowing Chamber, Eirin Amell. Today you undergo your Harrowing to become a true mage." First Enchanter Irving said. Eirin stood amidst a group of Templars in the center of the circular chamber. Knight-Commander Greagoir huffed unhappily.

"I stand by my opposition to making this... woman a mage."

"She has proven herself despite her ...digressions from her studies. Eirin has also been a strong advocate against blood magic. Let us proceed." Irving said, turning to a pedestal, "This is lyrium, it will help you reach into the Fade, where you must defeat a demon. Be careful, should you fail the Templars will be forced to kill you." Eirin smiled, casting a wink in Greagoir's direction.

"I understand." She approached the pedestal and reached out for the lyrium.


Opening her eyes, Eirin found herself in a strange alcove.

"Another poor apprentice, thrown to the wolves. It's wrong that they do this, pit unarmed apprentices against demons." a voice said. Eirin looked around for a moment then spotted the speaker. It was a mouse.

"You're ...a talking rat." she said, smirking. It scoffed at her.

"Oh and you're so smart aren't you? You think you're really here?" The tiny animal began to glow and change. It was now a man that stood before her, "I'm an apprentice, like you... Or I was, at least. I took too long and the Templars killed me. I don't have a body to return to... I am trapped here." Eirin tapped her foot, impatiently.

"Look, I just want to get this over with. Do you know where my demon is?"

"Impatient are we? Fine, no I don't know where it is, but I do know where it will be." he said.

"Great. Lead on, Mouse"

He led Eirin to another section of the Fade. There, to Mouse's surprise, the demon was waiting. It began to speak but Eirin cut it off with a quick frost spell. Then she blew it to pieces with a lightning spell.

"You...you did it! All the other apprentices... they never stood a chance, but you! You are a true mage, one of the few." Mouse said.

"Was that it? Humph, that was easy." Eirin mused, dusting her hands off.

"Maybe... maybe you could help me! I'm trapped here; you could help me get out. I just need a foothold in the real world... All you have to do is want to let me in..." he continued. Eirin smiled saucily.

"Oooooh, I'd want much more than that but, sorry. I don't do demons. Actually, I mostly do Templars."

"Wh-what? You're suggesting that I'm a demon?" Mouse stuttered, then suddenly his voice changed and he morphed into a demon, "Haha, smart little mage. Remember, there are more dangers than you may perceive." He glowed brightly and disappeared. Eirin stood for a minute then shrugged.


Eirin was still unconscious lying, again in the Harrowing Chamber. The Templar, Cullen, was standing beside her, sword in hand. Eirin's breathing changed and Irving sighed in relief and nodded to Cullen. Cullen's worried look instantly changed to joy and he knelt to pick her up. He carried her back down to the apprentice quarters.

Eirin awoke a few hours later. Jowan, another apprentice, was standing over her.

"Oh, you're awake, thank the Maker. That new Templar brought you back a few hours ago, are you alright?"

"Jowan. Why do I have to wake up to your voice? I'd much rather wake up with that gorgeous Cullen boy." Eirin said, sleepily.

"Oh, very funny. You realize that the things you do very nearly prevented you from being Harrowed? Speaking of which, what was it like?" he asked. Eirin yawned.

"You know I'm not supposed to tell you, Jowan. Is there something important that you want or are you just here to bug me about the Harrowing?"

"Irving wants to see you. Probably to move you into the nice mage quarters upstairs."

"Alright, I'll go find him." Eirin stretched like a cat and made her way to the First Enchanters office. On her way there, she saw Cullen.

"O-oh, um, h-hello..." he greeted nervously. Eirin smiled easily.

"Hello, Cullen."

"That um... that was quite the um... Harrowing..." he stammered.

"Thanks? You were there?" she laughed.

"Yes, I-I was. I was the one they picked to deal the, uh... the final blow, should it have come to that. I-I'm glad it didn't, though... really."

"Hunh. All the other Templars would say the complete opposite. Most of them love killing a mage."

"I-I do as I am commanded. The Maker decrees that mages should be watched and controlled."

"So it's right to kill someone as long as you have the Makers blessing? I fail to see the logic in that. Would He create us only to make us suffer? Your Maker sounds like a sadistic ass. Besides, there are more important things in life than useless faith in a god that has abandoned us." Eirin shot back, vehemently.

"Uh... no, I mean... No. I took my vows to become a Templar and I will devote myself to my duties."

"You believe all mages are evil, malicious, creatures that deserve no mercy? ...Maker, I had a completely different purpose when I came to talk to you..."

"No! I-I want to b-believe, you... you are …different..." he stuttered. Eirin paused, realizing what was being said. When she thought about it, she noticed that she hadn't been thinking about getting him to find her later the entire time they'd been talking. That threw her off.

"Um... thanks, Cullen... I, um, I have to go..."

"Uh, right... You can um, talk to me any time you like." he answered, smiling nervously.

Eirin walked away, lost in thought. She had always known what she wanted and everything she did, everything she said, was to get that. That feeling of domination over someone, using only her smile and herself. Something that she didn't need magic for. When she had been talking to Cullen she had forgot about it.

Suddenly she found herself outside of Irving's office. Voices floated out to her as she entered quietly.

"...Wynne, Uldred, and many other have already joined the forces at Ostagar. I will not see more of our own gone." Greagoir was saying.

"'Our' own? Flattering though it may be to hear that, you do not truly think it." Irving said.

"Gentlemen please, Irving, I believe someone is here to see you." another man said.

"Ah, yes. Our new sister. Greagoir, we will continue this conversation later." Irving said, turning to greet Eirin.

Greagoir humphed and left quickly, casting Eirin an icy glare as he went past. Which she returned with a wink and a smile.

"Child, the Harrowing is behind you, your phylactery has been sent to Denerim. You are now officially a mage of the Circle." Irving continued.

"Thank you." Eirin said, bitingly.

"I'm sorry, what is this 'phylactery'?" the other man asked.

"Oh, excuse me, Eirin; this is Duncan of the Grey Wardens. Duncan this is the mage I told you about." Irving introduced, "A phylactery is a vial of our blood-"

"So the Templars can find us if we 'get lost'" Eirin put in, sarcastically.

"I see..." Duncan said, "At any rate, I must take my leave. The King asked me to travel to Redcliff as well and I can delay no longer if I am to return in time. Thank you, Irving, and farewell, my friend." Duncan excused himself and Irving dismissed Eirin to resituate her belongings in her new quarters. As she set to work gathering her things, Jowan found her.

"Are you done with what Irving wanted?"

"Yes, Jowan. Now leave me alone, I have other... 'business' to attend to." Eirin sighed.

"If your 'business' is what I think it is then this is so much more important."

"Fine, what is it?"

"We can't talk here, come with me." Jowan led her to a small alcove off of the chantry. An initiate priestess was waiting there.

"Okay, we should be safe here... Remember a few weeks ago when I said I... 'met' someone? Well, this is Lily." Jowan introduced.

"Really!? No shit, I thought you were gay!" Eirin exclaimed, laughing, "Oh this is rich! Cute little Jowan finally became a man! And with an initiate too! Haha, so tell me, Lily, how is he? You know, in bed?"

"What!? I uh that's... personal! You...! That's vulgar!" she responded, blushing madly.

"Look, you know how much trouble we could get in if her... relations with me were discovered, but that's not the only problem. Remember when I said a few days ago that I didn't think they were going to give me my Harrowing? They aren't. Lily saw the papers on Greagoir's desk. They're going to make me Tranquil! Please, you have to help us!" Jowan said, quickly changing the subject.

"Promise you're on our side and we will tell you what we intend." Lily said.

"Eirin won't promise anything serious. We can trust her though; she's gotten me out of so many scrapes before." Jowan said, "Lily found out that my phylactery is in the Repository below the tower. She also knows how to get past the first door. The second one though is just a standard locked door. I've seen a rod of fire melt through a lock once, maybe we could use one."

"There should be rods of fire in the stockroom. Ugh, Maker, I hate the Tranquil! They're so... passionless." Eirin groaned.

"I think one mage would draw less attention than a mage, an apprentice and an initiate. We will wait here." Lily said.

"Fine."


Eirin went to the storerooms and convinced Owain to give her a rod of fire. She returned and she, Jowan and Lily made their way down to the Repository. Lily got them through the first door but when they tried the rod of fire on the second door they found that the room cancelled all magic. Eirin, however, noticed a side door which led them straight into the sanctum. Inside they found Jowan's phylactery, which he promptly smashed. They left quickly, not wanting to be discovered.

"So what you said was true Irving." Greagoir stopped them as they came out of the Repository, "An apprentice and an initiate. No signs of shock, she doesn't seem to be ensorcelled. I'm disappointed, Lily. You were right, Irving, the initiate has betrayed us. The chantry will not let this go unpunished. And this one, just newly a mage and already flouting the rules of the Circle."

"I'm disappointed in you, Eirin. I thought you had more sense than to go along with this..." Irving said. Eirin snorted derisively.

"Go along with what, Irving? Preventing a fellow mage from being made Tranquil? I'd do that any day. Jowan deserves a chance, at the very least!"

"Enough! As Knight-Commander I sentence this blood mage to death. And this initiate has scorned her vows, take her to the Aeonar." Greagoir commanded.

"No!" Jowan shouted. Before Eirin could react Jowan slit his hand open and cast an explosive spell.

"Andraste's ass, dammit, Jowan!" Eirin cursed, recovering from the blow. Jowan had disappeared.

"Blood magic, I knew it. If you had let me act sooner this would never had happened! Now we have a blood mage on the loose and no way to track him down!" Greagoir said to Irving, "And don't think I've forgotten your part in this, you conspired with a blood mage!" He turned to Eirin.

"If he had taken the blood from someone else to do that spell, I would have killed him myself!" she said, fuming.

"I don't think Eirin had anything to do with Jowan's blood magic. She was wrong to help him destroy his phylactery but she should not be punished for someone else's mistake." Irving said.

"Even so..."

"Knight-Commander, I found Jowan's journal. It says that he never told her about his 'studies'" Cullen said, approaching.

"Hmmm... very well. But remember, next time you are even remotely involved in something, you'll regret it." Greagoir said.

He left with the other Templars who were escorting Lily out and Cullen turned to Eirin.

"Thank you, Cullen. I'm not surprised Jowan kept a journal... he wasn't the brightest of the lot." she said.

"He didn't." Cullen said simply then turned and went to catch up with Greagoir.

Eirin stared after him for a moment, then smiled.