A.N.

This is a rewrite of my first story. Please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bioware, Dragon Age, Thief or EA. Please consider this disclaimer as applying to this entire story. I am not making any profit from this.


"…magical talent is like a flowing river. Properly channelled, it finds its way to the ocean – mages such as yourself, possessing the ability to cast spells. Left to its own devices, however, it might flow in a different and unexpected direction. But that talent will express itself somehow." – Pharamond, Dragon Age Asunder.


At birth Garrett de Launcet's eyes were a bright blue, and they stayed that way for the better part of fifteen years. Small wonder then, that at fourteen he was shocked to discover upon glancing into his washbasin that they had acquired a greenish hue, and that they seemed to glow slightly in the half-light of early morning.

When he made his way down to breakfast, neither his family nor the servants that bustled around the Comte's Hightown mansion made any comment or gave indication that they had noticed.

Is it just me then? He thought over a bowl of porridge, and for what purpose could they have changed? Have I been cursed by a maleficar? Why would anyone even do such a thing?

Garrett received the answer to one of his questions in the long interim between breakfast and the lunch being held by the Harimanns. Being forbidden to eat before then so as not to disgrace their hosts, Garrett made his way stealthily towards the larder, something he had perfected at age ten. Upon reaching the great locked door, he drew out a set of lockpicks he wasn't technically supposed to have, and set to work picking the lock.

Imagine his surprise when the lock became transparent and pins and tumblers happened to glow green. Numbly he set the pins and opened the door, stuffing his shirt with pastries, locking the door behind himself and hurrying away to eat his treasure before he was caught.

He had to tell his twin all about this.


Marian de Launcet wriggled in her tight-laced corset, attempting to find a position that would allow her to breathe. Hidden behind one of the large tapestries in the Harrimann estate she could hear all that transpired and remain unseen and unbothered. Between "suitors" trying their luck, the other girls' whispers and that blasted corset Marian was at her wit's end.

If she could just find Garrett. He'd no doubt have a dagger she could use to cut the laces of her stays and then she would be free of one nuisance. That would require venturing out from her sanctuary though, and she was not willing to be parted from the only peace she'd had since the start of this affair.

Marian closed her eyes and focused on not dying of asphyxiation and listening for any possible intruders. Within seconds voices wafted towards her.

"Where is that girl? I've been looking for her everywhere, Flora. My mother wishes to speak to her."

"Have you tried looking behind the tapestries Meghan? It wouldn't be the first time."

"No, but then again, I hadn't thought her capable of that level of thought."

The tittering of malicious chuckles followed this.

Don't find me, don't find me, don't find me… Marian desperately thought. Maybe if she repeated it enough Meghan Vael would forget to look behind the tapestry.

Cloth rustled and Meghan's face peeked at Marian. The youngest Vael made a quizzical face before moving away, muttering. It was as if Marian had become invisible, but that was impossible. Perhaps this was a prank, and Meghan would come back in a moment, expecting Marian to laugh at her little joke.

Feeling a sudden headache, Marian brought her hands up to her temple. See mother? This is what tight-lacing does. I don't care if it's the latest fad in Orlais, I refuse to put up with it any longer!

The tapestry was pulled aside again, and Marian supressed a groan.

It was not Meghan Vael. Marian smiled at the sight of her twin.

"Garrett, do you have a dagger I could- " she began, only to stop at the horrified look on her twin's face.

"You're bleeding, Marian! Your nose…"

Bringing her hand up to her face, Marian felt dull surprise at meeting the blood pouring down her chin. Mother will be so furious at me for getting blood on this dress.

Upon seeing the state of Marian, Leandra de Launcet ordered their carriage brought round and bustled her children inside, much to the displeasure of Bethany and Carver.

Marian was stuffed into a nightgown as soon as the carriage stopped, swathed in blankets and fussed over until she fell asleep.


Garrett shook Marian awake that night, eager to tell his tale. Once that was done a rather irate and groggy Marian was made to recount the events leading up to her sudden illness.

Garrett whooped, earning a hissed "Do you want to wake the whole street? The Divine can probably hear you!"

"Sister, this could be a golden opportunity for us, don't you see? We could leave all this behind, like we used to speak about, but instead of treasure hunters, we could be thieves. With my eyes and your… whatever it is, we could be unstoppable! We just need to practise, see what our limits are," he said.

"I'm tired, and did you not notice all the blood? For all we know this could kill me."

"Fine, fine," he said, "we'll wait till morning, and we'll be careful."

Garrett dodged a pillow before ducking out the window.

"One of these days you're going to fall, y'know," Marian grumbled.

The door opened and Leandra entered.

"Marian, I thought I told you to go to sleep. What was all that noise? And why is there a pillow on the ground?"

Marian sighed.


Carver had always been strong. At nine he could carry Bethany inside when she fell and twisted her ankle. At ten he could confidently swing an adult size longsword. At eleven his weapons trainer had marked him out as the only one of his siblings able for two-handed weapons training. Carver began to challenge any opponent he could reasonably stand a chance against, and quite a few he could not. Carver rarely lost, and never to an opponent weaker than himself.

As his strength grew, so did his pride.

At twelve, he learned the disadvantages of his bulky build.

A couple of weeks after the incident at the Harimanns, he was due to spar with Brett in front of their parents. Brett had a more compact build than Carver, swifter and more agile. Carver failed to think that this could cause problems.

The match started well for Carver. He'd struck out with his training sword, clipping Brett's torso and driving him back several feet. From there it had been a simple matter to press his advantage, but just as he was about to land the finishing blow, Brett leaped out of the way. Carver's blade continued in its arc, digging into the soft ground, overbalancing Carver.

As Carver struggled to right himself and retrieve his sword, Brett struck from behind. Carver made only a token effort to defend himself. Several agonising minutes later, Carver had fallen to the ground.

In the face of his defeat, Carver began a new training regimen. He trained from dawn until dusk, and not even his twin could entice him to rest for more than a few seconds between sparring sessions. This could not last. Carver collapsed, exhausted and beaten. The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was a cluster of blue sparks.

When he woke, he was surrounded by his concerned family. Carver was forbidden from pushing himself during training, and was forced to return to simple exercises and brief sparring sessions with his trainer.

It was during one of those sparring sessions that he first noticed it. When his trainer struck, a blow that Carver should've been forced to block, Carver watched in amazement as the wooden practise sword glanced against an invisible barrier. His trainer muttered something about slipping in the water-logged terrain, but Carver knew the truth.

Within months Carver could summon the barrier at will, and his opponents always blamed the missed hits on the wet ground or the sun, or any number of excuses.


Bethany was the sibling that was changed the most by her discovery of magic, however. While her siblings learned how to see valuables hidden inside a pocket, stretch their invisibility to cover other people and even objects or to control the tide of battle, Bethany learned how to manipulate.

At first it started out simple, innocent even. Make water move there, earth shift here, a breeze, flames dance. Then she discovered she could heal.

The road to the void is paved with good intentions, they say.

Her first healing was Carver, after his collapse. She summoned the blue sparks that came so readily to her, pushed them inside his body, and willed them to fix the damage. Heal.

After that she began to take in injured birds. Her parents smiled at her sweetness. But it was just for Carver. She had to know how to mend injuries properly. She kept the animals in a cage, observing what worked, what didn't… what made things worse. Some of her subjects inevitably died, and she played the part of the sad little girl who couldn't save the birdie.

Why should I care though? She thought after the death of the thirteenth bird unlucky enough to fall into her clutches. This is for Carver. They're just animals, lesser.

This form of thinking would have eventually drawn demons, even without what came next. Had Bethany been taught, had she been raised anything but a noble, she might have turned out different. Alas, in this world, such a thing was impossible.

Bethany had a crush on a certain Sebastian Vael, you see. She was not averse to playing the Game of the nobles, something she had learned to do quite well from her Orlesian aunts. Far from it, stepping on a rival's skirt here, delivering a love letter entrusted to her to the unwitting girl's parents there. Nothing but some harmless fun to her.

So, the day when she decided to confess her affections, and saw Sebastian kissing Flora Harimann, and in her shock cut her finger on the edge of the paper she had written all on, she thought nothing of raising her finger and reaching into the small bead of blood that was there.

Flora broke the kiss by slapping Sebastian.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me…"

Not good enough! Bethany squeezed her finger, forcing more blood to leak from the cut.

"… Allowing a toad like you to kiss me."

"Flora, what are you- "

"Starkhaven scum. Did you really think that you'd have a chance with me? No, I am worth the Viscount's son, nothing less. Not the heir to the spare."

Bethany watched as a blank-eyed Flora flounced away from a saddened Sebastian. All in good fun, all in good fun… She'd have done the same if she could. Besides, she would be happier marrying a Kirkwall noble… No need for her to go uprooting herself. Bethany's reassurances sounded false to her own ear.

So when she skipped forward to speak to Sebastian, she convinced herself that the feeling inside was triumph, not guilt. Not at all.

What did she have to be guilty over anyway?


A.N.

Thank you for reading!

Bethany may seem very OOC here, but as I said in the chapter, she only turned out like this because of her upbringing and lack of actual magical training.

Yes, Garrett's abilities here were inspired by Garrett from the Thief series. Marian's are similar to Cole, I read Asunder and loved it, so that is where the headache and nosebleed come from if anyone who has just played the games is confused here. he and Marian will both be somewhat rogue-like.

Carver will definitely be some kind of Arcane warrior.

I'd love to hear what everyone thinks, so please leave a review! :)