Now we get into Solona's back story a little bit. I hope you enjoy it, please R&R ^^

Chapter 2

Solona fell onto the bottom bunk she had been assigned in one of the crowded rooms for apprentices. She sighed deeply, placing a hand over her eyes.
What an interesting Templar. She thought.
She had never met a new initiate, but she imagined they'd be the same mage-hating type she had always known, but this…Cullen…hadn't seemed frightful or hateful towards her at all, even after plowing him over in the hall. She smiled to herself.

Soon her thoughts drifted back to the first time she ever met a Templar. It had to have been about nine years ago. She was eight, if she recalled correctly. She had been visiting Kirkwall with her mother; they had gone to see her cousin Gamlen's estate but were turned away when it had been made apparent that he had turned over the once great Amell estate to a group of slavers to settle a gambling debt. Her mother was furious! She stormed her way back to the docks determined to find the first boat back to Ferelden, dragging the young Solona behind her.

When they had finally secured passage back home, Revka lead Solona to a small cabin where they would stay till they reached the shores of Ferelden.
Later that night, Solona grew bored and wandered out onto the upmost deck of the ship, leaning over the bow to watch the water below. She wasn't up there long when her mother discovered her missing, and went to chase her down.
"Solona!" her mother yelled over the sound of the waves.
Solona whipped around and saw her fuming mother stomping towards her, frightened, she took a step back towards the bow, but the deck was slick from the splashing waves, causing Solona to lose her footing and slip right over the bow.

She thought she had heard her mother calling out for her again, but everything around her had become muffled. The sky and water turned black as night, and all she could see was a faint shimmer amidst the darkness. She moved closer to the small light and reached her hand out to touch it. It was warm, like a fire, but it didn't burn her, in fact it felt overwhelmingly comfortable, so she embraced it. When she did, the light grew and enveloped her in it. With a flash, the light suddenly dispersed from her and she found herself standing on the deck of the ship once again. Dumbfounded, she turned to face her mother again, but what she saw on her mother's face took her by surprise. What was once anger was now fear. To put it lightly, her mother was mortified! Her mother stomped across the wooden planks of the deck below, closing the gap between her and Solona. Solona whimpered when her mother yanked her by the arm.
"What did you just do?!" her mother demanded.
"I don't know!" she whined back.
"You are not my daughter." Her mother spat, thrusting Solona's arm away as if it disgusted her.

Her mother didn't say another word to her the rest of the way back to Ferelden. Solona still didn't know what exactly had happened to her, and her mother certainly wasn't giving her any answers, ignoring her anytime Solona tried to bring it up. Soon the boat docked, allowing them to set foot back on solid ground. After that first step, Revka was dragging her daughter to the nearest Chantry. As they approached the small building, that was the first time Solona laid eyes on an armor-clad Templar, and certainly not her last. Her mother came to a halt in front of the Templars standing aside the door, thrusting Solona towards them.
"This girl is a mage." Her mother said flatly.
The Templars turned their helmed faces towards the girl before looking at each other. The one nearest Solona shrugged and took Solona by the shoulder, leading her into the Chantry. She turned to face her mother, but she avoided the girls gaze and began explaining what she had witnessed to the other Templar outside. The doors shut behind them, sealing off the last memory the girl would ever have of her mother.
Solona was kept in that Chantry for a couple of days until three unfamiliar Templars came to escort her to the Circle of Magi. After several days of travel, she began to grow accustom to the silence. It was obvious these men held no sympathy towards her, and one seemed to even go out of his way to glower at her when she found him looking in his direction.
When they finally reached the tower looking over the lake, she was more than happy to lose her company. When the large iron doors opened, Solona was greeted with the hustle and bustle of the mage tower. She was amazed with all that was around her. Mages, men and women alike, were running around in elegant robes, carrying armfuls of parchment and shiny baubles. She was in awe.

Suddenly a noise above her shook Solona from her memories.
"Solona." A familiar voice called out to her.
She looked up at the bunk above her through the spaces between her fingers.
"Yes, Jowan?"
"I heard there was a new Templar in the tower, is it true?" Jowan asked sheepishly.
"Yes, it's true. I just saw him in fact." She replied, hoping her smile wouldn't seep into her words.
"What did you think?"
"Don't worry Jowan; I don't think we'll need to worry about him much. I didn't get the impression that he dislikes mages."
"Yet." Jowan added in a disgruntled tone.
"We'll see…" her words trialed off. She hoped he wouldn't come to hate mages. It would be nice to have at least one Templar in the whole tower that didn't give her a disgusted look when she walked by.
The kindness she saw in his eyes was unmistakable, and it gave her hope that not all Templars were cruel.
PLEASE let this one be different. She prayed. She didn't know exactly why she needed this so much, all she knew was that she did need it.