Hello there Dragon Age world! Wow! I can't believe that I am starting this journey! I am really excited! First, I just want to say I own nothing of Bioware, or the characters in this chapter or the chapters following! Alright! Now that that is out of the way I hope you enjoy reading the adventures of Morwen and her companions. Comments and any helpful advice is appreciated!

ENJOY!

THE MARK

Morwen woke with a start as a jolt of intense pain shot up her left arm. Confused, the elf looked at her shackled hand. She saw an ominous green light emanating from her palm.

Creators! She thought. How did I get this?

Morwen attempted to cast a healing spell, but was met with resistance and another burst of pain. She grunted and withdrew her magic.

Looking around, the elf took in her surroundings for the first time. She was in a dimly lit passage with barred cells on either side of her. Four guards stood with their swords drawn and pointed at her. She was in some kind of dungeon.

Where am I? How did I get here?

Before Morwen could form an answer to her questions, the doors to the dungeon opened, and in walked a tall woman. She had short black hair and hard, determined eyes. As she entered the guards sheathed their swords and stood at attention. The woman glared at the small elf as she began to circle her.

"Tell me why we shouldn't kill you now." growled the woman in an accent Morwen did not recognize, "The Conclave is destroyed. Everyone who attended is dead. Except for...you."

At that last word, the dark haired woman stood directly in front of Morwen and gave her a pointed stare.

Morwen tried to take in what the woman was saying. The Conclave? Yes. Keeper Deshanna had sent me to spy on the Conclave. The Mage-Templar war had been affecting the clan in the Free Marches. Morwen remembered reaching the Conclave when...Nothing. She remembered nothing after that.

"Well?" the woman hissed.

Morwen realized what the woman was implying. Squaring her shoulders in defiance she glared back.

"You think I am responsible," she stated incredulously.

Reaching down, the woman brought Morwen's left hand to her eyes, "Explain this!"

The green light flared on Morwen's hand once more as she stared at it.

How did I get this? Why can't I remember?

"I-I can't," stammered the elf.

"What do you mean you can't?" demanded her interrogator as she began to circle her again like a vulture.

"I don't know what it is or how it got there!" Morwen defended,"I don't remember anything."

"Nothing?"

The prisoner thought hard. Images began to swirl in her mind. Images of a dark mountainside with green mist swirling amongst the boulders flashed before her eyes. Dark things were chasing her. Then a woman clothed in golden light appeared on a ledge above her. The woman was reaching down to her. Everything went blank after that.

"I remember running," struggled the elf, "There were things chasing me, and...a woman. She reached out to me, but then..."

Morwen could remember no more.

"You're lying!" shouted the woman as she grabbed Morwen by her collar.

"We need her, Cassandra," a voice spoke from the shadows.

A second woman appeared from a dark corner of the room. She was dressed in black robes that blended in with the shadowy room. A hood covered the stranger's face giving her a sense of mystery. Her entrance had gone unnoticed by both of the women.

"Solas believes that the mark is key to closing the rifts. He wants you to meet him with the prisoner at the nearest rift," the mysterious woman glanced once at Morwen before turning her gaze to Cassandra.

The Seeker sighed, "Go to the forward camp Leliana. I will take her to the rift."

Morwen glared at Cassandra as she removed the shackles from the small elf's wrists. She didn't like the idea of being this woman's prisoner, nor did she like this thing on her hand. Creators, why could I not remember?

As the two women moved out of the dungeon, Morwen couldn't help ask, "What did happen?"

"It...will be easier to show you," Cassandra answered as she opened the door to the outside.

Morwen gasped as an ominous green light reaching far into the sky met her eyes. It was a pillar of green swirling light the same color as the mark on her hand. The elfin mage stared at it in wonder.

"We call it the Breach," explained Cassandra. "It's a giant rift into the world of demons that grows every hour. It is not the only one, but it is the largest. It was caused by an explosion that destroyed The Temple of Sacred Ashes and everything within a mile of it."

Turning to the elf, Cassandra studied the slip of a girl. She wondered if she should tell her about the mark. The Seeker was still unsure if the elf was responsible, but she did deserve to know the truth.

"As the Breach grows so does the mark on your hand." Hesitating slightly she went on, "It...is killing you."

Morwen looked at the green light on her hand in fear, "Is there nothing to stop it?"

"Solas believes that the mark is the key to sealing the Breach. If the Breach is sealed your mark should stop growing. Whether that is possibly will be decided shortly. Come."

They walked purposefully through the streets of Haven heading towards the Breach. As they walked Morwen noticed the people glaring menacingly at her.

They think I did this, She thought. They think I destroyed the Conclave and killed all those people. How quick they are to judge. They haven't even gathered all the facts, yet they are ready to burn me at the stake for an act I did not commit. At least I don't think I committed it. Why can't I remember what happened?

As if reading the elf's thoughts Cassandra spoke, "The people have decided your guilt. They need it. The people of Haven mourn our Most Holy, Divine Justinia. Head of the Chantry. The Conclave was her idea. It was a chance for peace between mages and Templars. She brought their leaders together, and now they are dead."

Cassandra regarded the elf beside her, "There will be a trial. I can promise no more."

Morwen nodded to the Seeker. They moved silently through the gates of Haven.

"How did I survive?" queried the elf.

"They say that you...stepped out of a rift, then fell unconscious." Cassandra paused and then continued, "They say that a woman was in the rift behind you. No one knows who she was."

As they walked, a blast from the Breach exploded in front of the two women knocking them to the ground. A demon appeared from the rift and began to advance on them.

"Stay behind me," the Seeker shouted as she charged the foul creature.

Suddenly, a demon appeared before Morwen. Looking around, she found a staff lying not far from her the ground, dropped by some scared mage perhaps.

She somersaulted towards the staff as the demon charged her. Grasping the staff in her hands, she began to hurl ice spells at the demon. The beast wailed in pain but continued it's charge. Morwen had to leap out of its reach several times as it charged. Spinning and jumping, Morwen sent several attacks at the demon in quick secession. The death blow came when the mage sent a chain of lightning at the demon's chest. With a final screech the monster lay dead.

Turning to help the Seeker, Morwen watched as Cassandra dealt a killing blow to the demon she had been battling.

Cassandra approached Morwen with her sword pointed at the mage, "Drop your weapon. Now!"

Morwen looked at her in disbelief, "A demon attacked me! What was I supposed to do?"

"You don't need to fight," growled Cassandra.

"Are you saying it won't happen again?" demanded Morwen. Defiance gleamed in her eyes as she held fast to the staff.

Cassandra sighed and sheathed her sword, "You're right. You don't need a staff, but you should have one. I cannot protect you."

The Seeker turned and began to walk away when she hesitated and looked back at the mage, "I should remember that you did not try to run."

Once more they pressed on in silence. Morwen began to realize the situation that she was in. She was a Dalish elf caught at a place that she was not welcome. To top that off she was a mage. The suspicion that the Seeker and those in Haven showed her was not ungrounded. It infuriated her. She did not like being at the mercy of the shemlin.

They ran up some stairs that were once a part of the outer buildings leading to the Temple of Sacred Ashes. Now the walls lay in waste and ruin. Parts even stilled burned from the explosion the Breach caused. Morwen could hear fighting. Coming to the top of the stairs, she saw a dwarf with a crossbow and an elfin mage fighting the demons coming out of the rift.

"We must help them," Cassandra shouted as she charged the nearest demon.

Morwen stood in the back, sending wave after wave of fire, ice, and lightning spells at the demons. Her staff whirled in a blur of motion as she cast her spells.

As the last demon fell, the other elf ran over to her and grabbed her hand.

"Quickly," he yelled pointing her hand at the rift, "before more come through."

The mark on Morwen's hand jumped to life as it sent a stream of green light towards the rift. The stream of light and the rift connected for a brief moment before an explosion rang out, and the rift disappeared.