Hello All! So this is all sorts of firsts for me: 1) My first attempt at crossovers, 2) My first attempt at a Harvest Moon fic, 3) My first attempt at keeping the chapters roughly under 1500 words each, and 4) My first attempt at using various writing prompts to improve my work. As always, the makers of these games hold all the rights...I just play along with the characters. :D

For those of you who don't know, Harvest Moon is a farming simulation game that basically has the character live out his/her life on the farm while completing quests and dealing with townsfolk. In particular, this crossover will feature many characters from Harvest Moon 64/Back to Nature, Tree of Tranquility, and Tale of Two Towns. I imagine all the lands in the Harvest Moon games to be in the same world (so, characters have knowledge of other characters from other games, for example).

In terms of locations used from HM, in order to prevent confusion, I will use Flowerbud Village of the N64 game (with the name coming from several wiki sites around the internet), but the characters will have a mix of who they were in HM64 and BTN.

And for those of you who do not know Dragon Age...excellent...this will be a journey for you, too. :3

Needless to say, this fic is pure AU~

Prologue:

Day 1: I hate traveling by boat. Why must everything bobble and sway so? If I hadn't won that farm in a lottery, there would be no way on the Goddess' green earth that I would ever travel by sea. It makes writing difficult, not to mention- - -

Throwing the book aside, the woman ran to the nearest railing to relieve her queazy stomach in a fit of un-ladylike belches and moans. Wiping her mouth with her sleeve moments later, the woman sank down on a bench.

An elderly gentlemen with shocking white hair said something to her, but she couldn't focus on his questions due to the constant rocking that had left her holding her head between her knees to prevent another bout of vomiting.

"Err...thanks for taking me to the island," the woman mumbled with shut eyes, "Pascal, was'sit?"

The wrinkles around the man's mouth crinkled into a smile as he cleaned a wooden pipe with a handkerchief. "Ay, that's my name."

He opened his mouth as if to elaborate further when a flash of lightning filled the cloudy sky along with an accompanying rumble of thunder.

"This doesn't look good," Pascal said with a shake of his head. Faded blue eyes looked out into the distance. "The sea has never been this angry before," he added, mostly to himself, as he went back to manning his small boat. The woman was left alone once more.

I just hope we arrive on dry ground before I turn old and grey, too...

The first days on the island were spent with another farming family where the woman helped with daily chores until her own house was ready. She wasn't thrilled by the fact that she had been basically tricked into providing free labor for these people, but if she had to do this to earn a place to call her own, then she'd do it.

"I've spent summers at my granda's farm in Flowerbud Village, so I'd hate to burden you with teaching me something that I already know," the woman said to the owner of the farm, Craig, when he quizzed her for the umpteenth time about how to use basic farming tools.

"And I see you're a lazy type that likes to skip out on her duties," he said with flick of a hand as he left her abruptly. The woman looked down at the sickle in her hands, sighed, and got back to work.

Anissa, Craig's daughter, watched her whenever the woman entered the main living quarters. She didn't say much, but the woman couldn't help but feeling that Anissa's smiles were slightly forced when they interacted.

She found a book on her bedside table when she awoke one morning with a note from Anissa saying that it was hers to keep. Turning it over, she read "Farming for Dummies" in bold print.

"Thanks for the book, I'm sure it'll be useful," the woman said that morning at the breakfast table.

"Yes, I thought so," Anissa responded, "Hopefully you'll have room in the house the Mayor has built for you to put a bookcase to keep such things."

The woman bit into a biscuit as an excuse not to comment.

Anissa addressed her again when the woman was about to go outside. "I hope my dad isn't too hard on you."

The woman didn't know whether to take her comment as an insult or one stemming from genuine concern, so she merely smiled and continued on her way.

The sooner this week was over, the better.

By the time the sun set on the last day of her time there, the woman's body begged for a break. Walking away from the farm, she past several buildings before reaching a forest enclosed by a fence.

"If you can cut it or break it, you can take it!" A sign read at the entrance to the land. It was quiet there, by the trees and boulders, so the woman sat down with her back up against one of the fence posts, and closed her eyes.

...｡. o.｡. o.｡. o.｡. o...

"Sorry, Miss," an amused male voice said when as she opened her eyes upon hearing someone near her. Trying not to react like a startled deer, the woman straightened her back and looked up at the person speaking to her. The young man bowed, and the woman could see black smudges coloring his gloved hands and clothes. The distinct outline of muscle definition caught her eye as her gaze traveled upwards to see warm, brown eyes and a head of spiky, auburn hair.

"Nice to see some new faces around here," he said with a grin as he extended his hand. The woman grabbed it, and he pulled her up easily. "Owen's the name. I work at the blacksmith's just down the road."

"Pleasure to meet you," the woman said with a smile of her own. Owen spoke about his work and also inquired about her. He talked enthusiastically about the things she could work on to become excellent at farming; but soon, darkness fell and Owen and the woman parted ways.

Tonight would be the first night in her new home, and the woman couldn't be happier. Pulling up a quilt over her eyes, sleep came instantly.

The woman was a child again, playing in the Flowerbud mines near where her grandfather lived. It was safe there because she always knew where to find her friends.

"Hello, budum!" The child called, running over to a creature that was no bigger than a man's hand. Bending down, she rubbed her thumb and forefinger on the being's pointed ear. This, she had been taught, was the proper way to greet a Harvest Sprite- - -tiny, elf-like beings who possessed magical power.

"Terrible news, budum!" The sprite shouted, waving his arms frantically. "I fear it is too late, budum!"

The girl looked on in concern. "Too late for what?"

But, the girl was pulled away before the sprite could answer. Swallowed by the darkness that now surrounded her, the girl saw a shimmering light. Within that light, she saw an angelic woman with long, green hair. She struggled to speak.

"Some...help...Fade...evil..."

The woman bolted up in bed. What the heck was that about? She thought to herself as she got up to feed her dog, Bandit. Suddenly, the ground underneath her shook so violently, the woman fell to her knees. Frightened, she scrambled underneath a table and held onto it tightly. But, just as soon as it began, the tremors stopped. She sighed in relief.

Walking outside hesitantly, she noticed that the morning quake did nothing to disturb her land. So, she decided that the best thing for her to do would be to forget about the quake and her strange dreams. She worked for hours in her fields, trying to clear the land.

...｡. o.｡. o.｡. o.｡. o...

"Hello," someone said, calling to her from the path below the hill where her farm sat.

Sun spots swam in her field of vision as she looked towards the direction of the voice. She saw a tall man coming towards her.

Jet black hair was pulled back loosely in a horse's tail that went down past the man's shoulders, while wisps of errant strands framed large, almond-shaped eyes that were hidden behind glasses.

"The air here is exceptionally clean," he commented as he looked around the farm. "I'm Jin. I decided to take the liberty of introducing myself when I saw you had moved in."

His focus sharpened behind his spectacles as the woman wiped her sweaty brow on her sleeve. He walked over to her until he stood in front of her in the field she was de-weeding. "Don't overwork yourself. You're still getting used to the labor required of farming, so it would do you no good to collapse from exhaustion and wind up in my clinic."

The woman raised an eyebrow at her visitor, her lips thinning into a line upon her face. She pushed a lock of long hair behind her ear. "I think I know myself well enough, but thank you for your...concern."

Bandit growled at her side, his hackles raised. They turned to look at what had gotten the dog's attention and gasped. Some- - -thing- - -was glaring at them. Not even in the woman's worst nightmare could her mind have conjured up something so terrifying.

Skin the color of putrid flesh was stretched over the creature's stocky frame, and jagged teeth jutted out of a lipless mouth seemingly carved into its face. The thing- - -whatever it was- - -had a suit of badly made leather armor with spikes adorning the shoulders.

Jin was so close to the woman that she could hear his whispered prayer in her ears."Blessed Goddess, help us..."

The daylight caught the sheen of a crude ax in the beast's hands as it lunged, its mouth agape in a gut-wrenching roar. The woman's eyes widened, but her body froze.

PS. I have a poll up on my profile, but I still need suggestions for names. I was thinking either Ami or Colette, but if you have a name, please leave a review or send me a PM. I love collaborating with people from everything from names to plot ideas! :D

Also, the word "Budum" is a sentence ending found in some of the Harvest Moon games. It is used by a set of characters as a way to denote a kind of sing-song quality to their speech, according to one of the wiki sites I read.