Hey, new story so why not try something new, ya? Anyway, this is the introduction, this is all written as if she's writing a story. I know it's short but it will get longer. The writing to Varric in the story will be explained later, have no fear. :)

Disclaimer: Bioware owns everything except Dana

I don't know how to begin stories but Varric suggested that I try writing an autobiography because my life so far has been pretty extraordinary. I think Varric also asked me to because the Inquisitor refused, he isn't much of a story teller never mind an author.

In this story I'll try not to exaggerate too much although that won't be easy because, well, I like sounding better then I really am. Anyway. Enough about that. I know this is a terrible beginning but, just so you know Varric, I will probably cut this out before I actually get this printed and stuff. Published. Whatever it's called.

I've been told by Varric that people need to know what a character looks like before they start reading so I am a human although I have been mistaken for an elf because I'm on the short side for a human and I'm quite skinny. I have dull blueish-grey eyes, really light, fine blond hair that goes all the way to my hips when unbound but goes only to my mid back normally because it's tightly woven into a braid and I am very pale, almost deathly pale and I do not tan.

Well. Here goes. The story of my life so far by Dana. No I do not have a last name, I never needed one. If I did at one point I have forgotten it.

Before my life got really interesting I was an ordinary girl. Nothing weird about me, that is until I burnt down that barn. It wasn't my fault though, my friends were purposely annoying me.

At least I didn't kill anyone.

So there I was, young child and my magicalness just appeared! The Templars came quickly and I was delivered to the circle of magi on a tiny island in the middle of lake Calenhad, center of Fereldan and, from that moment on, all that I knew.

I forgot about Lothering, my home town, and I almost forgot about my parents. (Sorry parents)

So there I was, little mage scamp in a huge tower that was mostly off limits to me guarded by Templars. I learned to read and write in the tower because mages got a higher education than most commoners yet we didn't get our freedom, unlike most commoners. I also learned that I was pretty good with magic, particularly the elemental, but I was rubbish at healing. In the tower I found it hard to make friends though as I started out painfully shy but once I was comfortable I was too involved in my studies to make an effort to make friends.

Once I learned to control my magic there weren't very many incidents, I only set my bed on fire once. I heard talk among the mages in the tower about rebelling but no one did anything. My mentor, who was like a father to me, was one of the separationists and so I learned to hate the Templars and hate being caged in a tower. I went through my Harrowing and had to fight a demon in the fade which was terrifying but also kind of cool, fighting something real for the first time and also fighting the mind game it played.

Then two weeks later this high up mage that I didn't know, who apparently went to Ostagar, went crazy and the tower got filled with demons. I was one of the lucky who managed to get out quickly enough but my mentor was left back inside. I never saw him again. The Templars wanted to purge the tower or whatever and I fought back against them saying that there might be more people alive inside.

Time passed and the Hero of Fereldan (at that time just the Warden) arrived, she wanted to evoke the treatise but the circle was in no state to comply. I was there when she talked with the Templars and told them not to purge the tower, seeing a woman act with such strength and determination was inspiring and I resolved to train harder and become a better mage so that I might have that same strength. The Hero cleared the tower of demons and evoked the treaty and left with one of the senior mages, a kind, wise woman named Wynne.

I learned that my mentor was gone and along with him the inspiration from the Warden was gone. I no longer wanted to do any magic, I wanted it all gone. My father figure was gone, my hometown destroyed in the Blight, my tower destroyed by demons. Life seemed pretty bleak.

The last of the mages in Fereldan were all escorted to Redcliffe where we waited for our next order. We were told eventually that we were going to be fighting the next day against darkspawn. Then plans changed and we were marched off to Denerim.

We arrived to a burning city and we all fought for our lives, holding off the hoard so the Hero, the Heir to the Fereldan throne, their two companions and the other Warden could get to the Archdemon. A few of my acquaintances who I called friends died and others were infected by the Blight before the Archdemon was killed and the darkspawn were routed. I became inspired again.

In the years following the Blight Alistair was crowned king and the Warden became queen, new mages were found and our numbers increased and sympathy for mages increased a little as well. Soon we had a big group and then we rebelled against the Templars. Rebellions were happening all over the place, starting in Kirkwall with the Champion of Kirkwall, the Orlais tower rebelled and then, in a vote among the mages, the seperationists won so we followed the rest of the circles and separated. We made Redcliffe our new home, staying there with rebel mages king Alistair allowed into Fereldan.

The talks between the Templars and mages were established so that we might have a peaceable agreement. The mages and templars got together but then the place was destroyed. The big rift opened and then smaller fade rifts popped up everywhere, the damned things even popped up in the Hinterlands.

Wandering became unsafe between demons and Templars so we were stuck in Redcliffe along with the refugee mages that king Alistair welcomed into Fereldan, I guess he didn't know what trouble they'd start.

Then the magister from Tevinter came and took over our mage group in Redcliffe, kicking out the Bann and generally angering the king against us.

Now this is where my story really gets interesting.

No Varric those are not tears, I was writing and it started raining. Yes it did rain while I was writing, you just missed it. Crying about my mentor after so long would be madness.

And yes, I will go into more detail now. Don't get your knickers in a knot Varric.

Alright hope you enjoyed it. Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Don't be afraid to review or PM me, I don't bite. Well, at least not over the internet :P

~Lindsay