Chapter 1 - Running

She wasn't sure how long she had been running now, but it seemed like months, years even, she felt like she had aged a lifetime, but in reality it had only been six months give or take. Running seemed like the only thing that would hold the fragile pieces of her sanity in place. How had it all gone so bad and crazy so fast. She found a quiet spot in the middle of the shadowy forest, amist the ancient pine trees and stopped for a while to collect her thoughts. The forest was beautiful here, so thick and green, lush with ferns of all kinds, very little light made it through to the forest floor and she noticed that what sky she could see was taking on the orange and reds of coming twilight. She was so tired, her body needed rest, she knew that, but, resting and thinking would bring on memories that she wasn't ready to deal with yet. She had no choice though so she found a quiet spot to eat the bit of bread and cheese that she had left from her stay with the Dalish not too far from here.

She had stumbled into them during her flight from Lothering, they too were fleeing the blight and even though she was a Shemlan they let her stay with them for a while. The keeper seemed to take pity on her, she probably looked a sight with her leather armour covered in blood and muck, her twin blades strapped to her back, and her wild unruly black hair flying everywhere. When she first found them they would have killed her, but they, like everyone else in Ferelden had more important things to worry about than a scared girl running from the darkspawn (not too mention the memories of them). The keeper had been kind, allowing her to rest, replenish her supplies, and some of the elvhen had even been kind to her. One in particular seemed to show an unusual amount of interest in her, Zevran was his name. He wasn't Dalish himself, but he too found himself traveling out of ferelden and seemed pleasant enough company, at least at first.

Zevran had to be the smoothest talking man she had ever met, not that she had much experience with men at her young age. He had the most pleasant accent she had ever heard and for some reason those big round eyes of his made her heart skip when he turned that full gaze on her and attempted to get her into his bed. She resisted though, she knew that she could not allow herself into a situation that would involve letting her guard down. She could not let anyone see that she was a mage. The keeper had known, she knew the first moment she laid eyes on her, but she didn't say anything.

Zevran had been traveling back to Antiva, his homeland. He had invited her to go with him and even suggested that she might be able to find work with the Crows, but she had refused his offer. Maybe she would eventually find herself in Antiva and look for him, but for now, running seemed more important.

To most people she gave the appearance of a rogue, what with the armour and her twin blades, she only showed her abilities as an arcane warrior when she had no other choice. She could not risk being noticed by Templars, even if they too were busy fighting darkspawn. She didn't want to temp fate and end up locked in the tower, or worse, being made tranquil or some such stupid thing that templars are known for.

Her father had taught her from a very young age to be wary of showing her abilities. It was how she managed to go unnoticed from the sight of templars, most of the time anyway. Her father had been a skilled arcane warrior, able to use both spells and a blade during battle and he had taught her everything he knew about it. Solona Hawke, sighed, this line of thinking would only make her heart hurt if she continued, but she found that she couldn't help but think of her father, her family.

She climbed into one of the larger oak trees that she could find and used the fabric from an old tent to form a sort of hammock that would allow her a few hours rest. She had learned from her time spent running that sleeping on the ground in the open could be a very dangerous thing indeed. There were other things roaming the forest besides darkspawn and for now, this was the safest place. She closed her eyes and images of her family filled her thoughts.

Her family had been living on the outskirts of Lothering for several years, they had stayed there longer than anywhere else she could remember. Her father had gotten tired of the constant moving, and here they had made a home in a small farming community. Not many people passed by so it was relatively safe for her apostate father, herself, and her siblings. Her mother had tended a small garden out in the back to provide fresh vegetabes and she was a skilled seamstress so she could usually find work making chantry robes or doing repairs to clothes for the more wealthy families in the area. It was not the easiest life, but they were all happy to be able to stay in one place for more than just a short time. Well, almost all of them were happy.

Her younger brother Carver complained almost constantly, no not complained, he whined. Maker help her she shouldn't think bad about him after everything that happened, she shook her head and tried to think of happier memories something that would soothe the constant ache in her heart.

Carver was the only of her siblings to be born with no magic and he reminded her of it almost daily. He was forever complaining about having to remain in the background for fear that a templar would come snooping around and they would have to move yet again. Her mother tried to soothe him telling him that he should be thankful for having such an accomplished mage for a sister and a father, but that usually made things worse. He hated the fact that he was the only warrior in a family of mages. He frequently went to the Lothering chantry to spar with the knights there. They indulged him because of his youth and he had even talked the Knight Commander into taking him on as a squire. His skills with a greatsword were impressive, even if he was a bit rash and tended to get wild with his swings when he was angry, which for Carver was most of the time. She remembered one time when he came back from one of his sparring matches. His brown eyes glinted, and he told her that he had been accepted with a tone of great pride.

"the knight commander says I have skill and that they can use my blade against the coming blight" Carver said, Solona had been happy for him, he had been trying to get them to accept him for a long time and now, with war approaching, they took any that could swing a blade. Though she dared not tell him that.

"Maker help us, no!" Yelled her mother when she found out. But Carver had been insistent and he was of age to make his own decisions after all. But, that was before everything had unraveled. Finally sleep over took her as she listened to an owl hooting in the background. It soothed her aching body and mind and she slept without dreaming for the first time in a long time.

She awoke to first light, feeling somewhat refreshed after a night without dreams, without screaming to wake the entire forest. She gathered her meager supplies and headed North again. She wasn't even sure why, but North was away from the darkspawn. She stuck mainly to the forest but found that it was beginning to thin and she knew she would have to get back on the roads soon enough.

The roads North were full of other refugees fleeing the darkspawn. Their sad faces revealed that they had seen death and destruction as well. Though she wondered if any of them had to witness the death of her entire family like she had. She was feeling very sorry for herself at the moment and wondering where in the world she would end up when she came upon a group of mercenaries looking to join the army at Ostagar. She was wary of them, but there was safety in numbers when traveling on the roads.

Days turned into nights and she found her thoughts wandering back to her family again, this time she thought of her younger sister, Bethany. She was Carver's twin, but she couldn't have been more different from him than night is from day. While Carver was sulking and usually angry, Bethany was bright and always cheerful. She always found a way to see the good in things and she always managed to brighten Solona's moods by her mere presence. Oh how she would miss Bethany, her sweet younger sister. Bethany was a mage, just like she was, but she didn't have the ability with knives the way Solona did and so could never train in the arcane arts with their father.

After a time Solona found herself just outside Denerim, trying to decide what to do. She could replenish her supplies and plan on which direction to go next. She really had no idea. Was there anywhere safe from the darkspawn or templars? She decided that she wanted to see the ocean first, and it wasn't far. She had never been this far North before. That was her first mistake.