Authors notes: This story is being written so that someone who has never played DA or DA2 will understand the context. The first few chapters especially will mostly be dialogue from the game, just to set up the story line. Don't worry, it will pick up soon with lots of juicy details. It will focus on the love triangle between Hawke, Anders, and Fenris. I hope you enjoy it!
My name is Marian Hawke, and this is my story. A story of survival, death, friendship, love, betrayal, and war, just to name a few. I could start from the beginning; how I grew up, the never ending hiding with my father, my sister and I being born with the "gift" of magic, or even how my father eventually died. But no, I shall not begin there. Although those were very significant factors into how everything fell into place for my family and I, where my story really starts is when the fifth blight began.
A blight is a period when darkspawn find and corrupt one of the Old Gods, which is transformed into an arch demon and leads the group to attack the surface. Darkspawn are a race of human- like tainted monsters that reside in the Deep Roads. As the Chantry states, they were created when the magisters of the Tevinter Imperium opened a gate into the Golden City, tainting the realm of the Maker with their corruption and returning as darkspawn. A darkspawn corruption, or taint as some people call it, takes over all living creatures, which eventually go insane. Some just outright die. There are very few who live a corruption.
Three years after my father passed, the fifth blight began. My mother, my twin siblings Bethany and Carver, and myself were residing in Lothering. We had tried to escape through the Free Marches, with our trusty Mabari hound Rufus at our side. We barely made it. Mother was not as young as she once was, and despite all the spells Bethany and I were casting, or Carver's blows with his trusty sword, it was sometimes hard to keep her safe.
"Maker save us, we've lost it all, everything your father and I built." Mother said with an exasperated gasp. We had just outrun another lot of darkspawn, and we were all exhausted.
"I know how much Lothering meant to you, but we have to move." I say to her. We can't keep stopping like this, or the darkspawn will catch up to us, and it will be the end of everything.
"Yes, you're right," my mother agrees, acknowledging what I've said. My sister Bethany looks more worry some than our mother does.
"We should have run sooner! Why did we wait so long?" Bethany's eyes look glossy, like she might break down. No Bethany, not here. She was always the sensitive one.
"Why are you looking at me? I've been running since Ostagar!" Carver snaps. He and Bethany are twins. Carver always comes off as a brute, butting heads with Bethany and I. He always did hate it when I take the lead. Whether it's because I am eldest, or a mage, I don't know.
"Listen you two," I interject. "The darkspawn could be on us any minute."
"Please, listen to your sister," Mother pleads with the twins.
"Then let's go, lead on," Carver states in that smug way he always does. Even in the most dire times, he can be a total and complete ass.
After several more miles of trotting along, with faithful Rufus in tow, Bethany stops.
"Wait, where are we going?"
"Away from the darkspawn, where else?" spouts my brother.
"And then where? We can't wander aimlessly." Bethany has such doubt in her eyes. I try to comfort her.
"Wherever we go, what's important is that we don't separate." I touch her forearm, trying to reassure her, even though deep down I know the chances of us making this out alive are quite slim.
Our mother, who has been deep in thought, breaks her silence.
"We can go to Kirkwall."
"Kirkwall?" I am nothing less than shocked that she suggests the city she grew up in, the city she left years ago when she ran off with my father after her parents disowned her for marrying an apostate mage. "Are you sure that's wise?"
"There's a lot of Templars in Kirkwall Mother."
My sister is right. It would not be safe for Bethany and I. Templars are enforcers specifically designed to control and slay mages. We would be forever in hiding if we travelled to Kirkwall. You see, all magic comes from a place known as the Fade - a dimension where spirits live. Those who have the power of magic can visit it in their dreams. Using it can attract spirits, which can risk demonic possession of the host. A possessed mage changes; they become a monster called an abomination. There is also a thing called blood magic. The act of blood magic is incredibly dangerous, it makes the mage especially susceptible to possession of a demon, and is frowned upon by all. This is where the Templar Order comes in.
The Templar Order hunts mages and rule the Magi Circles. Mages who are not part of the Circle are known as apostates, which is what my sister and I are, what my father was. They are hunted, even sometimes murdered, by the Templars for possessing magic without being trained in the Circle. I had heard the stories from my father hundreds of times, it is a prison. The Templars think all mages need to be watched over and ruled, but we aren't all bad, and we don't all fall prey to blood magic. If you are deemed too strong a mage, or too rebellious, the Templars will make you a tranquil. They take away all free will and you become nothing but an empty shell for them to control. Some Templars think they are doing what's best, and some know better. There are a few who abuse their position of power and will beat and rape mages, and there is nothing you can do about it, not if you want to keep your free will. Escaping the circle is not easy, those who escape and are captured are often killed. My father taught my sister and I how to keep our magic hidden before he died, so we would not have to endure the circle as he once did. He was lucky to have escaped.
"I know that. But we still have family there, and an estate." My mother, is now slightly optimistic, brings up a valid point, and neither my sister nor I can argue with her. Bethany aggravatingly sighs.
"Then we need to get to Gwaren and take ship."
Carver cuts in "If we survive that long. I'll just be happy to get out of here." Oh Carver, always looking on the bright side. At this point, I just want to grab hold of him and scream.
Two hours later, we are still fighting darkspawn. Mother is hiding behind a rock, as my siblings and I are slaying as many as we can. Rufus is gnawing on the leg of a darkspawn he just knocked down, when I hear the clashing of swords nearby. I turn and see a couple. The woman is a stalky red head, and the man, a templar. They are swinging their swords, destroying all darkspawn in sight. A darkspawn charges at the Templar when his back is turned. It stabs him in the side, and the Templar drops his shield, wincing and moaning out in pain, blood gushing from his fresh wound. He falls onto a nearby rock as the darkspawn corners him. As the darkspawn is about to deliver one final, fatal blow, the feisty red haired woman pounces on him, like a mother bear protecting her cub. She pins it to the ground underneath her weight, and punches it in the face several times with all her might, blood flying everywhere. This woman was incredibly strong, and built like a man. I have never seen anyone like her before.
"You will not have him!" She growls at the monster, taking her sword, and pushing it down across the darkspawn's jugular. Blood splashes her face, as she decapitates the demon. The man, lying on the ground, looks at her with desperation in his eyes. She runs over to him, and takes him in her arms. She gazes into his eyes deeply, and now for the first time, it is clear that they are lovers. "They will not have you. Not while I breathe," she says, lifting him up against her with one arm, the other arm gripping a shield to protect them both from the dozens of darkspawn that now surround us all.
After we managed to slay the remaining creatures in the area, the woman lays the man on his back. "Stop squirming Wesley. You'll make it worse," she says strictly. The man bolts up when he sees my family and I approaching.
"Apostate! Keep your distance." he yells at me. Bethany is none too pleased.
"Well the Maker has a sense of humour. Darkspawn, and now a Templar. I thought they all abandoned Lothering."
The man glares at us both."The spawn are clear in their intent, but a mage is always unknown. The Order dictates..." his lover interrupts him softly "Wesley," she says in a breathy voice. He pushes her to the side and marches directly at my sister. "The Order dictates." I step in front of him, blocking him from Bethany. The templar and I are now eyeing each other down.
"Dear, they saved us. The Maker understands," the woman eases his mind. "Of course," he is now backing down, realising that without my family's help, both him and his woman would now be perished. The broad woman approaches us now.
"I am Aveline Vallen. This is my husband Ser Wesley. We can hate each other when we're safe from the horde."
"A strange time to be hunting apostates. His fellows left with the Chantry priests." I am still in disbelief that after all we did, this Templar was trying to start a fight with us.
"I was travelling to Denerim on business for the Order, but I had to turn South when I heard of Ostagar," Ser Wesley explains.
"Bad luck, and judgement brought us together here before the attack," his wife chimes in.
"The nice Templar has been convinced to postpone his hunt for the illegal mages. So let's not dwell upon it, shall we?" It is clear Bethany does not want to discuss this any longer.
"Wise girl," Aveline nods at us. I don't quite trust these two, not yet. "You're quick to offer your allegiance."
"Another blade between us and the darkspawn? Yes please." For once, it seems my brother has a logical point. Bethany turns to Carver, not wanting to trust them either. "So long as the horde is their first concern."
"My duty is clear, but that is for another day. If we are granted that opportunity."
"We will be fine, we all will," Mrs. Vallen says, matter of factly. I wish I had as much confidence as she does.
"For awhile it looked like we were the only ones to escape the darkspawn."
"We aren't free of them yet. You didn't see Ostagar. This is just the start." Well, thank you Carver for once again bringing down our optimism. I turn to Ser Wesley, and stare at him coldly. "I'm watching you Templar."
"And I you. Terms I'm sure we both expected."
Aveline cuts in, wanting to cut the tension and figure out a game plan "For now we move with you. North is cut off. We barely escaped the main body of the horde."
"Then we're trapped!" Carver shouts out, now in a panic. "The Wilds are to the South, that's no way out." His words hit my mother like a brick, she buries her head in her hands, and starts to weep with fear.
"We have no choice. The darkspawn have us fenced in. We go South." I've made up my mind. There is no other way I see that we can survive. We must venture forth and brave the Wilds.
Several more miles of walking and fighting, and things have not been looking any better. The deeper we travel, the more darkspawn there are. Wesley is looking worse by the minute, the colour is being drained from his face and his veins are beginning to show, not a good sign. We have been granted a few minutes of quiet, when suddenly the ground beneath us begins to shake violently. I hear the swift movements of a creature, something is coming at us quickly, and whatever it is, is big. A violent roar is let out, and an Ogre comes charging at us. Ser Wesley dives out of the way, and the Ogre just misses him. My heart is pounding in my chest. Maker, this thing is huge. It lets out another gigantic roar, saliva foaming at its mouth, as it bares its rotting fangs. We are all standing there, terrified. Bethany looks up at the beast in despair, and I hear her whisper the words "Maker, give me strength!" and before I can stop her, she hurdles herself towards the ogre. She raises her hands, summoning her power to form fire between them, and throws it at the monster in front of her. No Bethany, you're too close, I want to scream, but everything is happening so quickly, and I can't stop it. I watch in terror as it grabs a hold of my little sister by the neck, and then brings her down, head first into the hard ground. He slams her fragile body into the ground two times with all his might before tossing her to the side, her blood gushing everywhere. "Bethany!" my mother screams out as the ogre leaves Bethany's body, and she runs to her side to check up on my sister.
Aveline, Carver, and I run at the monster. I can feel the rage building up in me, and I want to explode. How dare you harm my sister?! I want to scream at it, but instead, I blast through it a bunch of times, and with the combination of the scorching heat I am using, and Aveline and Carvers blades, the Ogre is soon destroyed.
We walk over to Bethany, as my mother is cradling her still body. I already know the worst has happened, she is dead.
"Bethany, wake up! The battle 's over, we're fine," my mother sobs, rocking Bethany back and forth in her arms, as she did when Bethany was an infant.
"I'm sorry Mistress, your daughter is gone." Aveline softly speaks to my mother, as her and Wesley approach.
"No! These things will not take Bethany." I kneel down to comfort my mother. I want to break down and ball my eyes out with her, but we can't stay here. We will have to mourn later.
"Bethany risked her life to save us."
"I don't want a hero, I want my daughter! How could you let her charge off like that? Oh my poor little girl, my sweetheart." my mother snaps at me coldly.
"If we stand here weeping, the darkspawn will take the rest of us too," Carver says, striking a note within my mother. She finally lifts her head up, tears streaming down her dirt covered face. Ser Wesley steps in.
"Allow me to commend your daughter's soul to the Maker, Mistress." Wesley bows his head down, folds his arm across his chest, and closes his eyes, as I'm sure he has done for his comrades dozens of times before.
"Ashes we were, and Ashes we become. Maker, give this young woman a place at your side. Let us find comfort in the peace she has found, in eternity."
Mother takes Bethany's face between both her hands, and looks down at her one last time. "I will never ...forget you... Bethany." She can barely form the words. My heart feels like it is shattering in a thousand pieces and I suddenly wish it were me instead of her. I need to keep my mother safe though, so I somehow manage to hold myself together. "Our lives are more valuable to her than our prayers. Let's go." It kills me to leave my sister's body like this, but it is all we can do. We all turn to keep walking and my heart drops. There are what seems to be at least 50 darkspawn crowding around us now. There is no way we will be able to survive this.
"Flames! We're too late." yells out Aveline.
"There's no end to them!" My brother sounds like he is ready to give up, which is uncharacteristic of him. We're doomed, there is no way out of it this time. We all start to back up as the spawn corner us in when a loud grumbling is heard from above. The rocks beneath us begin to shake. The four of us look up, and there perched directly above us is a dragon. I am trembling with fear, even more now than I was just moments before. The dragon is looking down at all of us and lets out a screech that stings my ears. The darkspawn start fleeing the scene, as the dragon swoops down flying above them and blowing fire all over them. We all dive down so that we will not get hit by the humungous beast. It flies directly over our sprawled out bodies, ignoring us and heading towards the spawn. Within seconds, the whole herd is obliterated. The dragon scoops up one with its teeth and flies up above us. It's about a hundred feet in the air, and it drops the creature down below to its death.
Oh no, it is flying back down, and it's headed towards us. We all scramble to our feat, weapons drawn in hand. There are flames all over the ground surrounding us as it lands right in front of me, no further than fifteen feet away. It lets out another ferocious yell as it swipes a few remaining spawn to the ground with its spiked tail. I stand guard, about to fight, when something miraculous is happening right before our eyes. This beast is changing. It begins to shrink, and before we have time to react, a woman is standing before us. What the hell is going on?
Smoke surrounds the woman, who has horns shaped throughout her long, white hair. She looks to be in her mid fifties. Her yellow eyes are glowing, her hips swaying seductively as she approaches us. She is wearing some kind of dark leather, her dark lips are ever so slightly smiling. In her claw like hand, she is dragging a darkspawn that is lit on fire, a fire she had casted. Is she a blood mage? No...I have never seen a mage turn into a dragon before. This woman was something much different. She drops the spawn at her feet, as she speaks in a cackling voice.
"Well, well. What have we here?" she asks, hands on her hips. Carver and I approach her, as Mother lies beside my deceased sister and Aveline lies beside a still wounded Wesley.
"It used to be we never got visitors to the Wilds, but now it seems the arrive in hordes." she speaks, ever so smugly, eyebrows raised. This woman was amused by what had just happened.
"I don't know what we would have done if you hadn't arrived," I finally say to her.
"I do. You would have perished. You still may." She had almost no emotion as she spoke. "If you wish to flee the darkspawn, you should know you are heading in the wrong direction." She turns on her heel and starts to walk away from us. Carver follows her. "So you're just going to leave us here?!" Carver demands an answer.
"And why not?" She turns around and begins to walk towards me again. I tense up a little. "I spotted a most curious sight; a mighty ogre vanquished! Who could perform such a feat? But now my curiosity is sated, and you are safe...for the moment. Is that not enough?"
"We won't be able to get through the darkspawn on our own," I answer her.
"They are everywhere, or soon will be. Where is it you plan to run to, hmm?"
"We're going to Kirkwall, in the free Marches." Carver seems to be a little less on edge now. It is clear he wants this woman's help as badly as I do.
"Kirkwall? My, but that is quite the voyage you plan. So far, simply to flee the darkspawn." I can see what her game is now, she is trying to get information from us. But why?
"Our home is gone and we have nowhere else to go," I state, seeing if my answer was good enough for her.
"I see. Hurtled into the chaos you fight, and the world will shake before you. Is it fate or chance? I can never decide." She turns and shoots a coy smile at both my sibling and I. "It appears fortune smiles on us both today. I may be able to help you yet."
"Anything you could do for us would be appreciated."
"Should we even trust her? We don't even know what she is." Carver responds.
"I know what she is," Aveline stands and approaches us now. " The witch of the Wilds."
"Some call me that. Also Flemeth. Asha' Bellanar. An 'Old hag who talks too much.' " She let out an amused giggle. Even when she laughed, she sounded mischievous. "Does it matter? I offer you this: I will get your group past the horde in exchange for a simple delivery to a place not far out of your way. Would you do this for a "witch of the Wilds?' "
"Wesley is injured, we'll never escape the darkspawn." Wesley can barely sit up now, and Aveline is stroking his hair trying to comfort him.
"If you need to, leave me behind." He is wincing in a great amount of pain and almost all colour is gone from his flesh.
"No! I said I would drag you out if I had to, and I meant it."
I still have some questions for this Flemeth that I need answered before I can make an informed decision.
"What is a witch of the Wilds, exactly?"
"A chasind legend. Witches that steal children," Aveline tells me.
Flemeth raises her hands in the air. "Bah! As if I had nothing better to do," she exclaims in a sarcastic matter.
"Then you're an Apostate."
"Yes, we have so much in common!"
"You would go through all that trouble to have something delivered?"
"I have..." she pauses for a moment "an appointment to keep. It is far more convenient this way. Happily, you're not without your own needs."
"We don't have much choice." I have concluded, we must help this apostate, as we need her more than she needs us.
"We never do. There is a clan of Dalish elves near the city of Kirkwall. Deliver this amulet to their Keeper, Marethari. Do as she asks with it and any debt between us is paid in full. " She hands me over a strange looking piece of jewelry. It doesn't look to be of great value, but clearly it is significant. Flemeth turns away from me.
"Before I take you anywhere, however , there is another matter." She turns and faces Wesley and Aveline. Wesley has worsened so quickly. He is coughing and in an immense amount of pain, as Aveline is holding him. As we approach her, she jumps up quickly at us.
"No! Leave him alone!"
"What has been done to your man is within his blood already."
"You lie!"
Wesley finally speaks up. "She's right Aveline. I can feel the corruption inside me. From the darkspawn. All that blood...I knew when it happened." Aveline, with so much worry, looks down at her husband.
"Then how much time before you..." She is cut off by Flemeth.
"Not long now, if I am any judge."
"There must be something we can do." I don't particularly care for the man, but I can't imagine how scared he must be.
"The only cure I know of is to become a Grey Warden."
"And they all died at Ostagar," Aveline quietly admits.
"Not all, but the last are now beyond your reach." Aveline walks back over to her husband, and crouches beside him, with longing eyes. I can tell she has no idea what to do.
"Aveline, listen to me." Wesley says.
"You can't ask me this, I won't!" she is now holding Wesley's face in her hands.
"Please, the corruption is a slow death, I can't..." I lower myself down to Aveline and Wesley.
"He's your husband Aveline. I can't decide his fate." Aveline looks down, with the saddest eyes I have ever seen. She has been put in a position that most would not be able to endure.
"Be strong, my love." Wesley can barely manage to get the words out, he is so weak. He grabs his dagger, and Aveline puts her hands around his, as he is still holding on to it himself. The weapon is placed just above his heart. This would be the last time that their hands touched, an intimate moment in death itself. He gazes up at her with such love in his eyes, and they share a moment of staring each other deeply into their eyes, into their souls. He nods at her, and she quickly pushes the weapon down with all her strength. Wesley screams out, and then nothing. He has died instantly. Aveline lowers her head in shame. She reaches her hand forward, and with two fingers, she gently closes her husband's eye lids. Flemeth walks up behind her.
"Without an end, there can be no peace. It gets no easier. Your struggles have only just begun."
Flemeth lead us to Gwaren, where we were able to get on a ship. We had to pay the very last of our coin to get on board. We were on that wretched thing for two weeks. I can't recall how many storms there were, but I had never felt so ill in my life. There were many times where we didn't think we would make it, but somehow, we did.
While on that ship I had many moments where I could finally think about everything that happened. There were several nights that I wept for Bethany. It all began to sink in that we would never see her again. Sometimes my mother and I held on to each other and cried, while Carver sat still in his thoughts. He was not one for public displays of emotion, but I could see it in his eyes. Bethany was his twin after all, and it would not be easy on him either.
There it was... Kirkwall. I could hardly contain my excitement when I saw it coming into view. Finally, dry land! A warm, comfy bed, and food that wasn't mush. I thought of how happy we would be here, how this was our second chance. Mother could have her estate back, she would be rich again and everything would work out. If only I had known better.
Once we docked with the dozens of other ships that had arrived, we discovered they weren't letting anyone in. Thousands of Fereldan's like ourselves had taken ship to Kirkwall to escape the blight. For weeks they were letting people in, but now they were full. The only way you could get in was to pay your way in, and we had spent all our gold on getting on that damn ship to get here. All seemed hopeless. We sent word to my Mother's brother Gamlen who resided at our family estate.
While waiting to hear from my Uncle Gamlen, we had to wait at the Gallows where all the ships were. This was especially risky for me. It is where Kirkwall's Circle of Magi is, and is surrounded by Templars, I had to be extra careful to keep my magic hidden. Huge statues of tortured slaves were everywhere, not the most optimistic scenery for refugees entering Kirkwall, to say the least.
It took three whole days for Gamlen to meet us at the Gallows where we were staying. He was a scrawny man, a few years younger than my Mother. He smelled and looked as if he hadn't bathed in months. We found out from Gamlen that he had gambled the family estate away to pay off a debt. He informed my Mother that their parents, still angry at her for running off with my father, had left her out of their will. We were wrong. We had nothing here in Kirkwall. It seemed so helpless, but there was nowhere else for us to go. Gamlen did give us a ray of hope. He had two connections that could get us in the city. The only problem was that we would be in their debt, and would have to work for them for a whole year.
Our choices were either a mercenary or a smuggler. Carver and I decided to take chances with Athenril the smuggler, the work seemed somehow less dirty than killing people, although it was not a much better option.
Aveline was allowed in the city as well, due to her combat training. She was immediately offered a position with the city guard, a very appropriate title for her. I instantly knew she would have no trouble adjusting to it. The worst for her would be moving on from Ser Wesley.
When Carver, Mother, Rufus, and I got to Gamlen's..our...home, I think all of our hearts sank simultaneously. It was a dump. The smell of foul cheese and whisky hung in the air. It was incredibly cramped for four people and a dog to be residing, but what else could we do? We were all out of options. As I lay down in the filth covered bunk I shared with my mother, my mind began to race. I thought of my life back in Lothering. So many fond memories. I would just have to make new ones. A whole year in debt to a smuggler. I let out a loud sigh as I rolled over and closed my eyes. Really, things can't get much worse than this, can they?