Faelyn raced out of the hold of the ship. She revelled at the feeling of the fresh sea wind whipping about her body, setting her wild hair dancing. Her hands clutched and unclutched the railings at the side of the boat, she closed her eyes with a smile as the sun came out from hiding behind the clouds. They had been on the ship for almost two weeks and this had only been her second time above deck and during this little trip Aveline accompanied her.
"Hawke, I need to talk to you. About what you did back in Fereldan."
Faelyn sighed, knowing that this talk was coming but had been desperately trying to put it off.
"Aveline, for the last time, please call me Fae or Faelyn. Anything but Hawke, Hawke was my father. What do you want to know?"
She spoke as she turned around to face Aveline, leaning back against the wood. The sun had heated it slightly and she could feel the warmth course through her body. Aveline was pacing, one hand wrapped around her waist, the other holding her chin thoughtfully as if trying to figure out which question to ask first.
"Are you a mage?"
"Yes."
"Are you a blood mage? The... The hands that grabbed the ogre were those of demons."
She had stopped pacing then and chose to stare straight at Faelyn. The hope and fear were shining clearly in her eyes. Sighing, Faelyn pushed herself away from the side, she ran her hands through her hair, trying to find the words to put this woman at ease. Although they had never spoken of this, in the last few weeks the had grown close, she a good friend, maybe even like a sister.
"No, I am not a blood mage." Aveline visibly sagged with her sigh of relief, "but I am also not a normal mage." Her head shot up, awaiting further explanation.
"You know my father was a mage, right? Beth told you. Magic also runs in my mother's family, Beth is a normal mage, I... well, I'm not."
"What do you mean?"
"Most mages can cast small spells, but in order to focus larger amounts of mana, they need an object, something which they can channel the magic through. I don't need that. I can cast large amounts of advanced magical spells with no need for a focus weapon or object. I also have complete control over the Fade when I'm there."
Hearing her gasp, Faelyn turned to face her. The wind had blown some of her hair out of the ponytail she usually kept it in, brushing against her face it made her complexion seem even paler than usual. Her eyes bore into Faelyn's, the shock shining clearly in their depths.
Those who knew treated her differently. They always did. Even some of my family did, Carver had only come around to what she was recently. Beth... Well, Beth treated her the same as she always did. Mother expected Faelyn to protect them all, to make the decisions, to be the head of the household. All she could manage to do was give Aveline a sad smile and walk past her. Faelyn gasped as strong arms swung around her shoulder, looking to the owner, Aveline gave her a reassuring smile.
Once arriving at Kirkwall they soon found out that the Gallows was the prison for the mages of the Freemarshes, their "Circle". Fae tried to control her shudder of disgust while they talked to a guard to find out who was in charge of letting people in.
It seemed her subtle little hint that they knew he was letting people in, instigated a fight. As gratitude, the guard in charge said that he'd see about finding out uncle Gamlen, although apparently, he couldn't "rub two bits together".
Choosing a sunny place by the end gate, they sat and decided to wait.
"So I'm guessing you don't use magic much."
Faelyn turned as Aveline slid down to sit beside her.
"Not really, I use it when I have to. It can have... repercussions if I use it too much, too often. The main one is that Templars will notice my presence and that would mean I can't protect mother and Beth anymore."
"Good point. But where did you learn your skills? From those I've met, a lot of mages don't think to learn such skills, they always rely on their magic."
She smiled at the memory, "My cousin taught me, she and I were born on the same day, we seem to have a connection, my guess is from the magic in our bloodline. But we lived near them for some time and it was during this time that I learned how to fight. In the following years, I just honed my skills."
"Does she know that you've come here? To Kirkwall?"
Hearing Aveline's question, it gave rise to the bit of doubt that had been at her since Ostagar. She pulled her legs toward herself, wrapping her arms around them and resting her head on her knees.
"I... I don't know. I don't even know if she got out of Ostagar."
Faelyn closed her eyes as she felt the sting of tears. The childhood memories came flooding back. Both her and Athena in the training yard, sparing against each other. Nate teaching her how to use the bow and Athena teasing her about the blush on her face afterwards. Nothing more was said.
"Smugglers..." Carver grumbled as they were led back to Gamlen's... House. Faelyn's irritation reaching its peak as she took a quick intake of breath before trying to speak calmly.
"Well would you rather we join the mercenaries? Kill people just because we're told to? I chose Athenril because we didn't have to kill needlessly. I'd rather neither but we don't have much choice right now."
Once they reached Gamlen's house, she could feel that my temper hadn't yet dissipated, pulling Beth behind;
"I need to get out for a while…"
"But..."
"I'll be fine, I'll stick to the shadow's and rooftops so no one will see me. I'll be back within the hour."
Giving her a quick kiss on the cheek Faelyn walked back out through the alcove. Surveying her surroundings, she looked for a way on to the higher wall. Running straight to the wall she used it to kick herself higher to grab on a wooden ledge and pulled herself up before jumping on to the wall.
Ugh... I forgot how much of a pain it can be to climb in leathers... Next time I'll leave them behind I think.
Sticking to the shadows and only walking in the light when others could not see her, Faelyn viewed her new city. If she was to protect Beth from the Templar's she would need to know her way around. Fae watched as back passages were used, memorising where they started and ended. Mentally ticking off the checklist in her head.
As the sun started to set Faelyn perched on the stone wall by the large oak tree. A small sad smile appeared on her lips as she pulled the chain from her beneath her shirt. Wishing he was here, she looked down to the object held in her palm, a silver Dalish ring.
