According to Evelina, the news of my Harrowing is already spreading. First Enchanter Irving is supposed to sign off on any apprentice's Harrowing, and he wasn't aware of the plans for mine until it was too late. Miss Filia had been sent back to the apprentice dorms fuming, but she sent a templar friend of hers to tell Irving to get to the Harrowing Chamber as fast as possible. Irving, who was with Evelina and a couple of other mages, headed for the chamber and they all heard my scream.
They'd burst in to find me already under and surrounded by templars, which sparked an unholy row between Irving and the knight-commander. At this point, however, it was too late to do anything but wait. During a very tense few hours, Evelina monitored my state, and everyone was shocked when my breathing became regular, signalling that I was out of the Fade. They weren't sure if I was still going to wake up, though; it's normal for newly Harrowed mages to sleep for at least a few hours after the ordeal, but no one near my age had ever attempted a Harrowing. Evelina never exactly said it, but I knew what she was trying not to say; they all expected that I would die.
Now that I've woken up, and therefore am alive, it seems no one is really certain of what to do with me. Under normal circumstances, new mages are already more or less adults, so moving to the mage quarters and being allowed more personal freedoms in terms of their day-to-day schedule, studies and everything else is generally considered a welcome change for the mage in question. It seems everyone agrees I'm too young to be left to my own devices, although of course, I beg to differ. So Evelina, one of Irving's favourites as well as a trained healer, has stepped in as my unofficial guardian.
To be honest, I don't mind. Evelina is nice, and I feel a bit safer having her around, even if she does spend most of the day fussing over me while I struggle to stay awake. I end up falling asleep several times, but my naps don't last long, and I wake up feeling even more tired than before. In the evening, Evelina brings me dinner on a tray, which I'm especially grateful for because I really don't like the idea of facing the dining hall and having everyone's eyes on me.
After I finish eating, Evelina has a question for me.
"Would you mind coming to a meeting with me, love? It won't take too long, I promise, but it's important that I go, and I don't want to leave you here by yourself," she explains. I agree, mostly because it's the first opportunity I've had all day to leave this room (on loan from one of the enchanters).
Evelina leads me by the hand into one of the rooms upstairs. It's lined with over-filled bookshelves, like some kind of make-shift library. There are books everywhere, stacked up in little piles between a number of couches and chairs, and a couple of low tables. Most of the seats are already occupied, but an oversized armchair has been reserved for Evelina, who pulls me onto her lap and gestures for the one mage who is standing in the centre of the room, to continue.
"Welcome, Evelina, and welcome Faellathi, our latest addition to the mage ranks," the man says, too casually. It has the desired effect; all the other mages begin chatting urgently amongst themselves, not even pretending to hide their surprised stares at me.
"That's right. You may have heard the rumour of a child being subjected to the Harrowing. You may have even heard that the child in question has died. Whatever version you've heard, this much is true; this child, only ten years of age, was put through the Harrowing." he announces, gesturing towards me. "And, by some miracle of Andraste, has emerged with her life," he adds, letting his words sink in. "Regardless of whether or not you agree with Uldred's plan, surely this is indication enough that some kind of action must be taken, if only to prevent the potential for tragedy sometime in the near future. After all, if the templars have the gall to subject one child to the Harrowing, who's to say they won't do it again?"
The group dissolves into murmuring amongst themselves again, while the man continues his speech, now moving on to listing the pros and cons of this plan he's mentioned.
"Who's Uldred?" I whisper to Evelina.
"Another mage," she whispers back. "He fought in the Battle of Ostagar, he just returned a few days ago. I'll explain more later." Concluding that this was as much information as I was going to get, I settle in, adjusting myself into a more comfortable position on Evelina's lap. The meeting lasted a while, or at least it seemed to; I nodded off a couple of times.
When the meeting is over, Evelina brings me back to the room I was staying in, and helps me get ready for bed. She tucks me in, and heads to the cot that's been set up for her on the other end of the room. Without thinking, I blurt out my question. "Could you sleep here instead tonight, Evelina?"
Evelina raises her eyebrows, surprised, and then she laughs lightly. "Of course, love." I scooch over to make room, and she climbs into the bed beside me. The part of me that says I'm too old for this is embarrassed, but the part of me which is scared and tired is louder and wants to be comforted. Evelina begins to stroke my hair, and I close my eyes. "Don't you worry, love, you're one of us now, we'll look after you," she says softly. She begins to hum some quiet melody, and sleep easily overcomes me once again.
