Prologue

Alexander's Journal

Entry one:

Am I a good Andrastian? Certainly not. I take the Maker's name in vain with every second breath and more than once I've fondled a statue of nude Andraste for a good laugh. But I'm praying to the Maker now that whatever that hole in the sky is the bloody Templars pull through and be useful for once. They're calling it the Breach and it opened about three months ago, and the Temple of Sacred ashes- you know it, it's pretty much the biggest temple of the Andrastian Chantry—was blown to bits and pieces by it. Demons have been pouring out of it ever since, but even worse, it's not the only one of its kind. The only thing we heard was a fairy tale about some tit they're calling the Herald of Andraste who's apparently able to close the damn thing.

My name is Alexander Lyon. It used to be Du Bois, but my sister and I are wanted apostates known by that name, so we changed it. Lyon almost sounds like Lion, and if I know my fellow Orlesians their fetish for all things lion will keep us in their good graces. We'll just have to make an effort to return to Orlais when all this blows over and mages are mostly forgotten. Or we can wait until the world falls apart and everyone dies. I'm working on a solid plan, no worries.

Here from Starkhaven, up in the good ol' Free Marches and next to infamous Kirkwall, the Breach seems small, it's all the way down south and far away from us. We get our occasional tear in the sky around here, but that new Prince keeps the walls secure and his guards trained well. He also thumps his scriptures, if you know what I mean… I mean that he's aggressive with his faith in the chantry for those that didn't get it (lookin' at you, Sabrina).

Entry two:

As safe as we feel here, we may have to leave soon. We talked too much and our Orlesian accents drew attention. There's some weird farm hand and his brother or something that's been following my sister and I around, like we're friends or something. The brother's alright, I suppose, he's loud and a little obnoxious, but he's funny at least. Got a good feeling about that one. The other one's been ogling my sister, however, and that has to stop. I'm not comfortable with going to Ferelden, closer to the breach and the Inquisition, but I think I'd step into the Fade itself to avoid him. Sabrina seems to like him, which makes it worse. She comes back to our room at the inn and climbs into her bunk. When I ask her what she'd been up to all day she tells me, "Oh, I've just been reading and talking about books with Hunter. I didn't think Farmhands read books."

I want to tell her, "Of course they don't read books, the bastard's playing with you," but I don't want to hurt her feelings. I also don't want to make Kane, his step-brother angry by suggesting that he and Hunter piss off. We'll just have to leave soon. We haven't been to Kirkwall yet. Not excited about going there, but maybe they dislike the Templars more than the mages by now. I heard the Knight Commander is still in the Gallows, in statue form, watching everyone. Maybe we should go there. Nobody wants to be there.

I don't know. I have no solid plans for the future. I don't know how I'm going to be able to take care of my sister and keep her safe from demons and Templars. I guess I should tell my sister in the morning we'll be leaving. Maybe we'll go to Ferelden instead, I heard they have a couple of Apostates there, maybe they'll let us in.

Entry three:

I will never admit it to Sabrina, but I have been thinking that maybe the Inquisition isn't as terrible as we first thought. I know they took up arms with the Templars, but that Herald, the Trevelyan is a Free Marcher. I haven't spent much time in this country, but the Marchers I have met are good people, except for Hunter, he's a tit. I just hope they don't plan to come along.

Entry four:

Sabrina threw a huge fit when I told her we were leaving and that she couldn't say goodbye to Hunter, and then she ran out on me. Maker's balls, when I find them, I'm gonna roast that good-for-nothing Marcher alive.

Entry five:

Well, shit. They're coming with us. Hunter insists. Kane insists. I hate them both, and I hope when we get to Ferelden they drown in dog shit. I sincerely hope the Breach isn't closed by then because I want it to rain demons down upon those two like an endless stream of diarrhea.

I . Hate. Hunter. Tann.

Entry six:

We're almost to Ferelden, heading towards Amaranthine, on the coast. We'll have to head west to reach the Inquisition's headquarters, but I heard rumors that we could possibly access them through Redcliffe, in the Ferelden Hinterlands. I don't know if we should, I heard a lot of bad news about mages from there. We shouldn't get caught up in it. Of all the places in Thedas, I think it's safe to say that wherever the Inquisition is holed up is the safest, and wherever the mages are hiding out and doing bad is the worst place an apostate could be.

Entry seven:

The Inquisition, destroyed. Haven, their base is gone—they closed the breach and then an army of mages destroyed it—mages! We have nowhere to go. I suppose we could just stay in Amaranthine, but the Grey Wardens are getting antsy. Everyone's probably lashing out of mages. I heard what happened in Kirkwall, but to imagine that happening to an entire country? We may as well dig our own graves.

We have absolutely nowhere to go. Where would anyone accept mages now? Where would anybody accept apostates? I look at my sister and I think that maybe I failed her. I wasn't fast enough. We'd be better off dead in Haven than here. We'd be better off buried in the snow than in a world where everyone is against us. I heard the Champion of Kirkwall was an apostate who fled with the Grey Warden, Anders, on the run forever now. I supposed it would be easier for her because she took down an entire city's worth of Templars, cut them off at the balls by finishing off their Knight-Commander. But us? We're nobody. Nobody would think twice about forcing us into the circles, or branding us with Tranquility. We have no mother or father to speak of, no family that would support us. All we have are these two Marchers to watch as the world closes in on us.

Nobody would give half a shit if Alexander and Sabrina Lyon died with the rest of the mages in the war that's coming. Nobody.

(I know the beginning here is a little confusing, but the story will fall into place soon)

Character and Informational Guide before the story officially kicks off

Partly for my friends who haven't been as interested in Dragon Age as I have but may still try to read the story, and possibly a refresher for those that have played the games and everything. I had to play around with the names and a little with the appearances (changing purple hair and red eyes to something more realistic, in this case) to make them better fit the universe. I also changed around a couple of my characters to give the story more variety, but they are essentially the same in personality.

Thedas- The name of the continent. Includes countries and kingdoms such as Ferelden, Orlais, Antiva, The Tevinter Imperium, The Free Marches, Nevarra, Rivain, the Anderfels, and Seheron, along with several underground, Dwarven kingdoms.

Apostate- A mage that has escaped or has never been in a Circle of Magi. They are often mistaken for no-gooders and blood mages.

Magister- A member of the Magisterium, the upper house of Imperial senate in the Tevinter Imperium, a kingdom that does not abide by Andrastian Chantry law. The seats of the Senate are split between the seven Circles of Magi in the Imperium (senior enchanters, not first enchanters), the Imperial Chantry, the children of other Magisters should they be of age and be fit for the job, and whomever the Archon (the mage-ruler) chooses.

The Circle of Magi- A school and place of living for Mages, those with magical abilities. It was established by the chantry (the church) to protect the Mages from the people, and the people from the Mages.

Templars-, knights with a holy duty to protect the world from the dangers of magic, they hunt apostates and blood mages, and carry out the Rite of Tranquility for those they have found unable to control their magical abilities.

Rite of Tranquility- The ceremony of severing a mage's connection to the Fade, the "dream world" from which they draw their magical ability, and their wants and desires (Basically they are a fleshy robot that eats and sleeps).

Blood Magic- Magic in which the user uses blood. It is a powerful school of magic, but leaves the mage more vulnerable to possessions by demons. Outlawed by the Chantry.

Characters:

Alexander Lyon- Aleksandr Lion, the title character and sometimes narrator. He likes long walks on the beach and singing in the rain. He also likes peeing in Hunter's breakfast food, especially if it's cereal.

Sabrina Lyon- Sabrina Legendbreaker, his younger sister. Almost the polar opposite of her brother's personality, she prefers to stay indoors and study.

Jasmine, Lady of the Soul's Blood- Jasmine Soulblood, the witch from Grizzleheim and the Vigilante /outlaw Lady Soulblood.

Quintus Sanguis- Quinn Darkblood the son of Malistaire, Alex's best friend, and a powerful young necromancer.

Hunter Tann – Hunter Firehaven , Sabrina's boyfriend, also Alex's Arch nemesis and classmate. Codenamed Big Momma.

Kane Artaith- Kane Stormbringer weather magic wizard, professional slacker, possible stoner, and Hunter's hilarious step Big Daddy. He likes piña coladas and getting caught in the rain.

Oran Gwaed- Jasmine's stalker, Lady Soulblood's hunter, general annoyance, and gross-smelling tag along.