Quick note, this was written with the intention of introducing a new companion character. I envisioned the whole adventure as a new DLC, and I've tried to write it as such. Yes, I've gone with a male mage Hawke, but I've tried to keep him generic so that you can mentally insert your own version of the Champion of Kirkwall. I'm still fiddling with the end and might need to write two versions, one for each outcome. We'll see. Please enjoy, tell me what you think, so on and so forth.
PROLOGUE
After she thought about it long enough, and Natiana was the sort of person who thought about everything a very long time, she came to the conclusion that fat mages were an uncommon thing. In fact, First Enchanter Jamio was the only truly fat mage she could think of. Some were certainly doughy, of course. A life in pursuit of magical knowledge didn't lead to a well toned body or excellent eyesight. But the Antivan First Enchanter was simply fat.
His round stomach hung over his belt, and his girth strained against the threads of his pea green robes, the color of which currently matched his face. Jamio stood hunched over the edge of the ship, emptying his lunch of hard biscuits and brandy into the waters of Kirkwall Harbor. If he kept that up, he might be trim before the ship reached its final destination of Nevarra.
Natiana Culosiri grimaced and looked away to focus on the large statues on the rocks. She had to squint to make out the details in the dimming sunlight, but she could see that they were slaves. Kirkwall was surrounded with statues of slaves. One would think they'd tear these mementos to a terrible past down, melt the metal and put it to a more practical purpose. She sighed and shrugged her shoulders, tilting her head to one side to watch the gates to Kirkwall open.
A sailor had told her she'd need to catch another boat to get to the Circle. Of course, he didn't call it the Circle, he called it the Gallows. Named for a place people went to be executed. To think she'd been looking forward to visiting the Kirkwall Circle on their way to the College of Magi in Cumberland. This was looking bleaker by the second.
When the ship finally did dock, Templars were waiting. Four of them stood in shining armor, milling about, trying to look relevant. The two mages had brought only two Templars with them from Antiva.
"Ah!" Jamio said and clapped his hands together. "Our escort to the Circle!" Jamio liked anything that made him appear more important than he actually was.
Natiana sighed and got to her feet following Jamio off the ship. They weren't going to Chant at her, were they? Growing up in the Circle, surrounded by Templars meant she knew the Chant backwards and forwards. She read it, studied it, wrote papers on it, and was under the impression it was all a bunch of horsefeathers. But she was also smart enough to keep that opinion to herself.
Mostly to herself.
Her brother had a very different opinion. He was far more devout than any Templar or Chantry sister. He was utterly convinced that the Maker had given him magic as a test. A test that, in his eyes, he was passing. The Templars and Senior Enchanters, on the other hand, saw things very differently.
Natiana followed Jamio in silence, tucking her hands into her sleeves to keep them warm. If she got what she wanted out of this trip, they could think whatever they wanted. They would not be able to hurt him, and her own achievements in the field of magic would be the stuff of legend.