My life had been an exciting one in itself.
I do not mean adventures as you may perceive them, travelling, hunting and the like.
No, the most exciting part about it were my children. They were the brightest beacon of my life, the peak of my story at the time.

When Edward and I received our first child, Eric, we knew it was time for us to settle down in the village my parents had raised me in: Lothering.
We watched him grow, watched him learn, and when he was ten, his sister Allison was born.

There was always a glint of happiness in Edward's eyes whenever he saw us together as a family, but at some point I noticed how it began to fade.
One day, he was simply gone, without a note or a hint as to why.
Allison was but a year old at that time, but Eric was well aware of his father missing.
The hope in his eyes broke my heart when I promised him that Edward would return, even though I knew he never would.
Our neighbours thought he would have left me for another woman, seeking to relive the times when we were travelling. But that wasn't like him. I knew he had missed the adventure, even I did sometimes, but he would not have left his family for that.

My children and I were alone ever since, and I had to raise them by myself, without a man protecting us.
But I was not afraid, for I could tell whenever there was trouble, and I knew how to avoid it.

I remember the day when Eric and Allison, fourteen and four years old by then, went off to visit the Hawke family. I didn't fear for them when they went alone. Eric was old enough to avoid any danger and our dog Barry would keep an eye on especially Allison.

I was doing the laundry when a knock sounded from the front door. It was Leliana.
"Hello, Leliana," I welcomed her and added jokingly, "you just missed the children."
At that she chuckled, shaking her head.
"As much as I love Eric and Allison, I came to see you," she responded, "how are you, Liona?"
A smile formed on my lips. No one would ask for my well-being, except for Leliana and the Hawkes.

She told me that I need to get some fresh air and talk to others more often, lest I turned mad.
I didn't mind staying at home, though, I was content with my children and the peaceful silence when they were out with Garrett.
But I still considered her advice.

Later that day, Eric came to me with our dog. "Mother," he said to me with tearful eyes, "I think Barry is sick. He vomited blood and collapsed when we were playing."
Barry was laying on the ground, unable to stand, huffing and whining.
"Do you know what happened?" I asked while I stroked him and Eric shook his head. "But a few days ago when we were playing, he suddenly took off and I couldn't find him. He behaved strange ever since he came back." I noticed him fidgeting while he told me so.
"Where did he go, Eric?" I asked sternly, knowing he was hiding something from me.
"The long bridge, we went to the long bridge!" Allison chimed in and Eric nudged her with his elbow, "we played in the woods and Barry ran away!"
"Didn't I tell you not to go to the long bridge, Eric?" I scolded and he shied away. "I'm sorry, Mother," he mumbled.
"Anything else I should know?" I inquired expectantly and he shook his head, rubbing the tears from his eyes. "I hope so."

Upon further examination I noticed bite wounds on Barry's left hind leg. Unsurprisingly, they looked too recent to be scars, but at the same time too old to be fresh. He had been either bitten by a dog or a wolf, though I assumed the latter to be the case.
"Barry has been injured," I stated and raised an eyebrow at Eric who stammered, "I- I'm sorry, Mother, I didn't want to tell you, you would have hated me."
I sighed and cupped his cheeks. "Eric, I am your mother. I might be angry at you and scold you, yes. But I could never hate you."
I sent Allison into her room to play so I could talk to Eric alone.
"Barry is dying, Eric," I whispered, "he might have got an infection through his wound."
"It was my fault, wasn't it?" He sobbed. "I should have listened, Mother, I'm so sorry."
Shaking my head I wrapped my arms around my crying son in an attempt to calm him. "It wasn't your fault, Eric," I reassured him, "you couldn't have known. Be strong, my boy."

After some time he calmed and was watching over Allison while I brought Barry outside to end his suffering.
Somehow I could tell Barry knew what I was going to do, so we lay there in the grass, relishing our last moment together. I sang to him while I was caressing him and feeding him herbs to put him to sleep. "You have always been a good boy," I whispered soothingly, "thank you for protecting us."
As his breathing became lighter I pulled out a dagger. "We will always love you," were my last words before I plunged the blade into his neck.

Before I went inside I glanced towards the highway in the distance where the children had been exploring and noticed a humanoid figure standing there. I squinted my eyes in order to focus and see it better and I saw what looked like horns protruding from its head. It simply stood there facing me, as if it had been watching me the entire time.
I took a deep breath, balling my hands into fists, and headed inside, locking the door.