A Mage's Heart & A Knight's Love
Chapter 1: A Beginning To A Tale
"I've gotten gentler invitations." He said shaking his head
A woman stalked toward him, "I am Cassandra Pentaghast, Seeker of the Chantry." The woman motioned toward the door and the two men left the room.
"And just... what are you seeking?" the dwarf questioned
"The Champion." Cassandra replied flatly
The man pulled up his hand and looked at it. "Which one?"
The woman charged toward him, threw the book in his face, and pulled a sword on him. "You know exactly why I am here! Time to start talking, dwarf. They tell me you're good at it."
"What do you want to know?" He asked nervously
"Everything," she replied, barely letting him finish. "Start at the beginning."
The man ran his hand over the two pages before him as if remembering better times.
A large group of darkspawn were closing in on Amelia and Carver. She zaps one with a Galvanism chant then another with a lightening ball. Carver takes them down with Tornado putting a stop to six darkspawn closing in on his sister. Amy shoots a fireball inflaming three. She walks up to the first on she zapped, damn thing was trying to knife her. She stepped on it's sword and engulfed it in flames.
Carver bends down over the dead darkspawn. "Scouts. We'll have to fight them sooner or later."
Amelia took up a defensive position a few feet back. "Then we'll make our stand here. Prepare yourself."
Another group comes over the hill. Carver does his thing, taking them down in close combat while Amelia stayed back to use her magic with deadly force. She uses Firestorm around her brother so that any that come up behind him, die before reaching him. As a group runs to get her, she Mind Blasts them and lays down a Cone of Cold. Carver runs over to her right. She follows him with a Tempest spell. Everything is happening fast, Amy has enough mana to heal her brother, so she heals him and whips out her bow laying down Storm of Arrows around her. She takes down the final three that are outside the circle of arrows with a Burst Shot.
"We can't keep this up forever." Carver said trying to catch his breath.
"We'll make it through this... together." She replied putting a gentle touch to his arm.
"Here they come. Shall I deal with them?" Carver sneered.
Amy smiled at his eagerness. "All yours brother."
Carver charged at them with Reaper then took two more down with Shattering Blow. It's then that Amy joins in the fray. She Galvanizes one to her left, Winter's Grasps one to her right, sets up a Tempest spell around her and Firestorm around her brother. She activates Archane Shield and proceeds to take a few down with a Left Hook and a Right Jab. Then shoots a few shots from her bow. After that there are no more, but just when they think it's over, the ground starts to shake. Carver and Amy look at each other when an ogre charges them.
"Carver, keep the darkspawn off me." She yelled.
Normally Carver would be upset at her for hogging the bigger kill but in this type of situation, magic would work best. He would have a greater chance at getting stomped and besides, his sister was faster and more nimble. "You got it!" He shouted back.
Carver whittled down the darkspawn group. Amelia busied herself with the ogre. She shot him with a Stone Fist, Galvanism, and Winter's Grasp. He charges getting annoyed, she rolls out of his way, jumps on him and shoots him in the back with arrows three times. He gets up swatting at his back in annoyance. Amy jumps off his back as he gets up. She Petrifies him and wraps him in a Crushing Prison. When his life doesn't drain fast enough, Amy motions hands of magic and grabs him, ripping him in half. Carver runs over to her. They both are out of breath. More darkspawn run up to them.
"There's no end to them." He said looking around.
Amy is looking at them when they hear a growl that shakes the earth. It happens again a little louder. They look behind them on a stone shelf where a High Dragon is. They look up at it in absolute horror. It swoops down breathing fire...
"Bull shit." Cassandra interrupted. "That's not what really happened!"
"Does that not match the story you've heard, Seeker?" He asked her.
"I'm not interested in stories. I came to hear the truth." She replied
He shot her with a look, "What makes you think I know the truth?"
"Don't lie to me!" She said charging toward him again. "You knew her even before she was the Champion!"
He puts his hands up to surrender. "Even if I did. I don't know where she is now."
Cassandra looked back toward him, "Do you have any idea what's at stake here?"
"Let me guess: your precious Chantry's fallen to pieces and put the entire world on the brink of war?" He replied. "And you need the one person who can put it back together."
"The Champion was at the heart of it when it all began. If you can't point me to her, tell me everything you know." She demanded.
The man set forward in the chair a little bit. "You aren't worried I'll just make it up as I go?"
"Not at all." She said plainly.
He sat back and got comfortable. "You'll need to hear the whole story."
Autumn was finally in the air. The leaves were red, yellow, orange, and brown hues that you would only see this time of year. The weather was a bit thick with humidity from the fall rain that would later ring in winter snow. The sky was overcast but the setting sun was trying to break through, it's last few minutes trying to make their mark on the ending day. It's dancing beams made the hues of the leaves on the giant oak tree almost florescent. The slight breeze brought the smell of the damp ground, pine, earth and distant rain, with it. Amelia sat here often, at least once a week if she could manage to break away from her chores and other duties. It made her feel close to her father. She came here to remember him, bundled up in his cloak that smelled just like him, helping the memories appear and fade just as the beams from the setting sun. It had been three years since his death and she still reacted to it like it was yesterday.
Amelia heard a horse trotting up toward her. She turned around and saw Bethany dismounting. Bethany walked over and sat down beside her and held her hand. They sat quietly in each others company for what seemed like hours. Finally, silence was interrupted when Moose came running up with a dead rat. They both made faces at him and looked at each other laughing. Amelia sighed and laid back against Mellon* and looked at the stars. Bethany sat talking to her sister about anything and everything. Amy knew that her sister was uncomfortable with the situation at hand between their mother and her and Bethany just needed her big sister to make things normal with idle conversation.
"We should get back to mother. She's probably worried by now." Bethany said sweetly.
Amy paused then smiled at her. "You're right."
Bethany and Amy mounted their horses and headed out. As they rode back and got closer to town They noticed a lot of people coming in. They looked at them all, there were mostly women and children, among them were also some elderly. Amy looked at Bethany and Bethany to her. Amy dismounted and tied her horse up outside the Chantry. When she went in, she saw a most unnerving sight. People with sleeping pads laid out on the floor, some sleeping on the Chantry benches, and others sitting, leaning against the wall passed out. Amy made her way the Mother. The Mother walked out of her room and Amy got her attention.
"Mother, what's going on here?"
"These people are fleeing the Blight. The battle at Ostagar took a turn for the worst. We should be expecting the soldiers and their families to start filtering in by tomorrow." The Mother replied wiping her brow.
Amy turned and left the Chantry as fast as she could when she got outside she didn't even look at Bethany. They needed to get home and fast. Amy took off leaving Bethany to try and catch her. It took a good amount of time to get back to their farm even at a full gallop, but they made it. Amy dismounted and ran inside, again leaving Bethany to rush after her. When they got inside, Leandra, Amelia's mother, was sowing up some clothes.
"Mother, I don't want to alarm you, but the battle at Ostagar was lost. There are people fleeing the darkspawn and the Blight. They are taking refuge here. We may not be able to stay much longer." Amy told her mother.
Leandra and Bethany looked to be in utter shock. Bethany steadied her mother's shaking figure. Leandra looked to Amy. "Your brother?"
"I'm going to pack and go find him." She replied .
"I should have made you go. You are capable, why didn't you go? You should have wanted to protect your brother?" Leandra cried.
"Mother, no one could have predicted this." Bethany spoke softly.
Amy shook her head and left the room. Her mother's behavior since the death of her father has been sporadic. Amy was really close to her mother but since her fathers death it had been bad. She never hugged Amy anymore, she never touched her, and talked to her like she was a servant or business partner, never told her how proud she was, never said I love you. Bethany was her child and Amy was her distant friend that she could no longer connect with. She threw a few things into her shoulder bag then ran down the stairs to their basement where she had a little work space set up. Hawke was a potions master. Her father told her that her intelligent mind left so many opportunities open to her. Amy smiled at his memory and his voice playing over in her head. She was slowly forgetting it. It was deep and soothing. When he held her, it would verberate through her body. His laugh was just as special...
"Are you okay, sister?" Bethany asked looking at her sister.
Amy had went from a frantic search in the shelves to a complete stop, looking out into the dark shadows of the room. Bethany startled her thinking. "How is mother?" Amy deflected.
"She's fine, I put her to bed. It will be a long night for her." Bethany looked back in the direction of their parents room.
"Good. Might be longer than that however. Ostagar is a three days journey if I don't stop." Amy pointed out.
"I know." Bethany fidgeted. "Carver can take care of himself, just let him come home. It's not safe for you to leave."
Amy stopped packing potions and threw the strap over her shoulder. She turned and looked at Bethany. "Mother wouldn't allow it."
"She's just upset, Amy. Tomorrow this will have blown over and-"
"No." Amy interrupted. "It won't blow over Bethany. Mother still to this day, three years later, blames me for father's death. If Carver dies because I don't go, she'll blame me for that too."
"Mother begged and pleaded for you to stay, that is on her and deep down she knows that. She's just feeling guilty." Bethany replied calmly.
Amy shook her head with a smile. "Bethany, father told me to look out for this family. I made a promise to him that I wouldn't let anything happen to any of you. Whether it's really mother's fault or not doesn't matter, Bethany. I must protect her, even from herself."
Amy kissed her sisters cheek and hugged her. She let her go, called for Moose and left the house. When she got outside she mounted Mellon and left on the trail to Ostagar. It was dark but she cast a light orb to light her path. She rode on all night. In the morning she stopped at a spring and took Mellon's saddle off letting his body breathe a little. She pulled out an apple to catch her strength. She looked over at Moose.
"Moose, faras*!" She nodded to the forest.
Moose went off and hunted while Amy finished her apple and filled up her canteen. She saddled Mellon back up when she saw Moose running over. She mounted and they continued on their way. About 5 miles further she nearly ran into a group of people. She apologized and continued up the hill. When she got to the top she saw numerous amounts of people. Most were soldiers but there were peppered with civilians. Many of these men were injured and in great need of a healer's attention.
"Remember that the Maker gave you these gifts. Lia, my dearest Lia, give unto Him what He's given to you. He will bless you."
In no way poetic, but her father was right. She abruptly dismounted and walked up to the nearest soldier, whom was being carried by two of his buddies. He had a rather bad head wound and the sun had been beating down on him for a few days. The only thing his fellow soldiers managed to do was bandage it. They were all out of potions that were keeping him partially sedated. Hawke took off her top layer and put his head on it. She pulled a healing potion out of shoulder bag and gave it to him. After it had done a little work she began healing him. It took a few minutes to get his head wound close but soon after that the gash was completely gone. She started to route around inside his head to see if there was any brain damage. There was some swelling but nothing that wouldn't go away. She cleaned him up and warned his friends that that swelling would cause some disorientation but he should be fine otherwise. She sent them away with an elfroot potion for his headache. She mounted Mellon and walked along the road stopping and healing only serious injuries.
As night neared she found a safe place to camp. She gathered some twigs and made a fire. As night came quickly, so did the chilly air. She wrapped up in her fathers cloak. After she cooked and ate a rabbit that Moose caught for her, she leaned back against Mellon and attempted to catch a few hours of sleep. She felt safe laying next to her two protectors. As she settled she heard twigs cracking and leaves rustling. She tightened her grip on her bow and eyed Moose. He signaled her stare with his own. As she heard it get closer. She jumped up and shot into the night when she heard a grunt. She ran over to the source of the noise, hand inflamed, Moose hot on her heels
"You always were a good shot." He grunted.
"Maker, Carver! Hold still."
She grabbed the arrow and broke it and pulled it out. A green light ghosted his shoulder. Carver was never pleased that he was the only child born without magic abilities. It got worse as he got older and the family figured out that Amelia was a Spirit Healer. They were coveted mages and it only made her a bigger deal. As much as he hated it and sometimes her, he was also closer to Amelia even more so than his twin sister Bethany. Carver and Amy definitely had a love, hate relationship. The cooling sensation of her healing spell yanked him out of thought and back to her and her steady hands. When she finished he stood up but before he could even get up all the way Amelia threw her arms around him. He chuckled and hugged her back.
"That bad huh?"
Hawke shook her head and sniffled. "Worse. Mother and I have been arguing non stop since you left. It's gotten to the point where I come home long enough to sleep then make myself busy around the farm or leave and repeat."
Carver sighed and rubbed her arms. "She'll get over-"
Some noises from over the hill startled them. They looked over in the direction the noises came from. Moose bolted for the hill, causing Carver and Amy to follow him up. Moose had stopped and was laying close to the ground. Amy and Carver knew what that meant, they got down on the ground and crawled to the edge of the hill on their stomachs. They saw a group of darkspawn feasting on a group of soldiers that had been ambushed.
"You've fought them, Carver. Should we help or do nothing?" She looked at him.
He could feel his eyes gleam. "Well, they would make worthy advisories for your quick draw and magic but there are too many."
"So, the more there are, the stronger they are?" She asked.
He nodded. "We should leave before their feast ends and they catch wind of us. We must make haste. The horde is moving on Lothering."
"You're sure?" she swallowed the lump in her throat.
"Yes, sister. We need to leave as soon as we get home. The towns defenses are not going to hold up everyone. I won't put mother through that." He looked down.
Amy could see that whatever happen at Ostagar was still fresh and slowly draining him, of what she couldn't be sure. She nodded and they slid back down the hill. It got increasingly harder to remain quiet, the camps around them were falling to darkspawn. Amy wasn't afraid to fight. If it was a worthy advisory, she enjoyed it, the adrenaline rush, the high. Right now, however, she felt afraid. That look in her brothers eyes and the screams of the men around them, it was making her blood run cold. She started to help Carver. She froze the fire instantly putting in out. She grabbed Mellon's saddle and started getting him ready while Carver picked up all her stuff. She mounted Mellon and grabbed her bag from him. While he mounted his horse, she fished for sustenance in her bag. When she found an apple she tossed it at Carver.
"Eat. We have a long way back and I can't have you passing out on me." She smiled.
He returned her smile, "You're right. Come on, we need to hurry."
They quickly fled and didn't stop running the horses till morning. Amy felt herself getting tired. She had slept maybe an hour in the last two days. She looked over to Carver who was looking weak, dehydrated and starved. She stopped. He was barely lucid. The apple had only done so much. She helped him off his horse and laid him down. He had shed his armor probably for speed and maneuverability, which was causing him to shiver, it wasn't helping his current state. She took the cloak she was wearing off and placed it over him.
"Moose, hir-nen*, but don't go to far. Take the canteen." Moose grabbed it out of her hand and ran off. Amy looked back at Carver. "Carver you idiot, why didn't you communicate this?" She sneered.
He shook as he talked. "I'm sorry, Amy."
"How long have you been running exactly?" She questioned
"About 3 days." He shivered.
Amy shook her head. "You idiot."
He chuckled. "I'm sorry."
"Well, I need to get you taken care of before your body starts shutting down on us." She pulled up his shirt a little and felt around to make sure he was still okay and that his kidney's or other organs didn't hurt with pressure. Moose came running back with a full canteen. She took it from the mabari and helped Carver drink.
"Being cold while dehydrated isn't all that exciting. We have to get out of here." He looked at her with annoyance. More at his body than at her.
She nodded. "I know but we can't go anywhere if you are weak. I have an orange here. I need you to try and eat."
Carver finished the orange even though it took him some time. Hawke kept giving him water. Soon enough he was back to normal with the help of a healing potion and the food and water. Moose led them to the stream and while they filled up, the horses recouped. Hawke fed them each a bushel of apples. It was times like these she was happy that her pack carried all that.
Malcolm had bought each of his kids, enchanted shoulder bags. Constantly being on the run was bad enough. He wanted his kids to have the things they wanted so he had these bags made. The Three Runes that were in it, weren't common but not unheard of. One was and Expansion Rune. It was placed on the bag so that it could hold hundreds of items, a Weight Enchantment that took the weight off of anything she put in it, so it feels like an empty sack. The other is a Binding Rune. It binds the bag to you so if it gets stolen, no one can get to what's inside. The sack will appear empty. However, another can be given a password, or chant and the bag would allow others to get into it. Hers was a black and grey dyed leather bag with blood red tassels and straps. She had a pouch and canteen to match. The money bag had the same runes as the shoulder bag, the canteen also had two runes. One to keep the water cold, and one to clean it provided she couldn't get to a fresh water stream and had to settle with muddy or dirty water
While Carver got his strength back Hawke prepared the quail that Moose brought her. She cleaned and cooked them. After they ate some protein, they packed up. They didn't stop this time till getting home the next night. Leandra and Bethany were on the porch when they rode up. Hawke and Carver sent the horses with the stable hand. When they got inside Carver finally spilled about Ostagar. Even the details of before Amelia found him.
"We need to leave before morning." Amy spoke.
Leandra sat shocked. "Carver, do you think we should leave?"
Carver looked at his big sister. Amy rolled her eyes and shook her head. He looked back at his mother who was laying in Bethany's arms. "I think that Amy is right. We need to leave soon. The bulk of the horde is headed this way and we cannot defend against them."
"Then we must make haste. Amy, give everyone their duties. I am going to pack." Leandra stood up and headed upstairs to her room.
"Wow, you weren't kidding, Amy." Carver shook his head. "What do you need from me?"
"I need you to go out and get the horses ready. We need every one saddled up. No wagon, it will only slow us down. I will get your bag packed, can you make it to where I can pack it please." Carver said a chant and the bag opened allowing Amy access to unpack and repack his shoulder bag. "You're stuff is still in the drawer in your night stand correct?"
"Yes." He confirmed as he walked out the door.
"Take Moose." Amy yelled as Moose ran out the door.
"What do you need from me, sister?" Bethany spoke sweetly.
Amy smiled. "I need you to go up and pack your bag as well. Don't bring anything but essentials, we don't know what opportunities may come up when we leave. We need to have room. When you are done, you and mother head out to Carver. I'll meet you there."
Bethany nodded and went upstairs. Amy followed a few steps after her. She stopped by Carver's room first. She pulled everything out of it and looked over it. Some stuff she put back in, others she threw out. She added more clean clothes and the stuff from his nightstand.
When Malcolm passed, each of the kids took a few mementos then got rid of the rest of his stuff. They each had a special place for their mementos. Carver put his in his nightstand. Said it was a way for him to feel safe, like father was watching over him.
"It's silly, I know." Carver shook his head
"No." Amy disagreed. "I sleep with his journal in my arms every night. The leather covers still smell like him and the pages hold all his memories. I hold tight to them. These things are never silly if they get us through this. We can't hold onto him forever, but I'm not ready to let go yet."
Amy, didn't cry then, she wanted too but that was Carver's time. Their father's death hit everyone in a different way and at a different time. Amy however, held back. She was too busy taking care of everyone like she promised him, there was no time for grieving. One day she would be able too, but not now. She finished putting everything into the bag and closed it. After that she went to her room. She took out all her clothes, and repeated the action she took with Carver's bag. She repacked some stuff to it then added clean clothes and two more pairs of boots. She went into her smalls drawer where she kept her mementos and put them in her bag. She grabbed his staff and put it in too. When she was done she fished her potions bag out of her closet. This bag also contained the runes her shoulder bag did. She dusted it's matching appearance off and took it to the basement. She began putting all the potions she could think of in her potions pack.
"Sister, where are you?" Carver called.
"Down here, Carver."
Carver went down and saw her packing up potions and helped her. "Everyone is ready. Mother told the servants to take what they wanted and leave tonight as well. She even offered them some silver so they wouldn't starve."
Amy chuckled. "Well, that is generally how she does it."
"Look, I am sorry I left you here. You still haven't properly grieved and I know mother doesn't help things." He spoke from the heart.
Amy put a hand on his face. "Thank you, brother."
He kissed her forehead. "Come on, we should go."
"Go ahead. Take these and I will be right behind you." She handed him his bag and the potions bag.
"Alright. I'll put your potions bag, where?" He asked holding it up.
She rolled her eyes sarcastically. "On Mellon's saddle where it hooks."
"There's a hook?" He joked.
She laughed as he smiled and walked away. It was always the silliest humor that he would joke about to ease her. She shook her head as she came back upstairs. She went through the house making sure nothing important was forgotten and that everyone was leaving or had already left. When she came out the door she saw her mother in tears. She walked over and put a hand on her leg. For the first time since Malcolm died, she smiled at her daughter and took her hand.
"Let's leave here, sweetheart." Leandra said taking a deep breath.
Amy nodded and mounted Mellon. "Alright, Carver you take the lead first, I will bring up the rear behind Bethany. Moose, stay up front with Carver and Mother."
Moose ran up to the front and Carver headed off. The galloped at a medium rate until the sun came up several hours later. They stopped to get some rest and eat something. About an hour later they were on the road again. This time Carver was taking up the rear with Bethany and Moose and Amy were taking the lead. They traveled all day until they stopped at night to rest. Leandra passed out after dinner and Bethany not too soon after her.
"Who do you want to take the first watch?" Carver asked rubbing his hands over the fire.
"I'll take it. You get some sleep. I'll wake you when it's time for your shift. We'll wake before dawn and head out." She said looking around.
Carver nodded and headed over to his sleep pad and stilled into the fade. Amy looked over to Moose and told him to follow. She gave Mellon watch over the sleeping bodies. Her father gave her that horse for a reason, and she used him for those reasons . He was very territorial over Amy and her family. He once took down six templars trying to take Amy. He walked away with a minor cut on his shoulder while the only man left to survive limped away with a shattered leg. Later she learned it was taken from him. She would see him around the pub every now and then drowning in his sorrows. He even saw her once and literally wet himself. It was mean to laugh to herself but she did.
Amy walked around the camp. Despite being a mage, she had the tracking and wilderness skills of a rogue. Many thanks to her training. She surveyed for a half mile out in every direction not seeing anything or anyone in sight. It worried her to be honest. People were fleeing the Blight and her and Carver made it no secret that the Blight was heading straight for them. Finally she settled down against Mellon and Moose laid down beside her. Soon both he and Carver were lightly snoring. Leandra was sleeping more peacefully than she had been since her husband's death. Bethany was also sleeping soundly. After a couple of hours, she went to wake Carver but it proved more difficult that it should have been. She gave up and went to her pad. Moose sat up into his triumphant stance. His way of saying that he could handle it. She laid down and motioned for him to lay in front of her. She soon fell asleep.