Anders convinced Merrill to switch watch rotations with him after that... and he stopped talking to me except when he absolutely had to.

His abrupt turn-around, when we'd seemingly been getting along quite well, went unnoticed by exactly no one. Maybe if we'd been back in Kirkwall we could have kept it less obvious, but trapped underground as we were... yeah. I wouldn't have been surprised if every member of the hired help knew we'd had a falling out before our next rest stop the following 'day'.

Fortunately everyone seemed to think that it was a result of him coming on to me, and me slapping him down hard enough that his ego had been bruised. That led to plenty of teasing from everyone except for Fenris. And I do mean everyone; even Merrill got in on it, and I didn't have the heart to ruin their fun. Not when there was nothing else to distract ourselves with.

Mostly I just did my best to grin and bear it, with Anders clearly forcing himself to chuckle and play along as if unbothered as well.

My worries that he'd blurt out that I was making deals with spirits faded as we descended farther into the Deep Roads, following Bartrand's map ever farther to the east. It was impossible for me to tell, but a few of the Dwarves in the company were more recent exiles from Orazammar. They, apparently, could mentally keep track of time despite being underground. Well, they claimed to be able to at least. They couldn't have been making it up and I wouldn't have had any idea.

By their reckoning we'd been moving through the tunnels for about a week when we ran into the road block from the game.

"Useless blighters!" Bartrand's irate shouting at the scout's report made everyone groan, a sound not helped when the moron struck the other Dwarf across the head. "What am I paying you idiots for? Get over there and start finding a way through!"

Varric groaned, already walking forward. "I'll get him under control. Buzz?"

"Yeah, yeah." I crossed my arms tiredly, waiting for him to have drawn his brother off before I turned to the caravan trickling in behind us. "Make camp here! We've got a roadblock. Settle in for a long stay!"

The wave of noise that came out was more relieved than upset. Everyone was sick of the punishing pace Bartrand had been driving us on, even if that was the one intelligent thing the man was doing right now. People were already getting edgy about being down here for so long, and fear over catching the Blight was rising constantly. The faster we got to the Thaig, and the faster we got to the surface, the better.

So far no one had mutinied at least. Or caught the Blight, at least as far as we could tell. That was good. So was the fact that they listened to me. Tents and bedrolls were quickly thrown down, while the brontos carrying most of the supplies were quickly led into a secure little alcove of rubble. Our own little party did much the same. Fenris had found a space blocked off by fallen stone, with just a narrow little entrance in and out, but with plenty of space to lay down inside. Easy enough to defend if we got a chance to sleep.

"No amount of riches are worth this much walking." Isabella complained, sitting on the stone floor with a heavy groan. "We've got to be nearly there. Are we nearly there?"

I was pretty sure we were. "From how excited Bartrand was before we hit the roadblock, I think we are. Just have to find a way through, or a way around, then we'll be at the Thaig."

Fenris let out a quiet grunt, watching as Anders sat down next to our resident pirate, then flicking his attention to where Merrill and I were getting settled. "Good. We have been down here for too long as it is."

No one was about to argue with him, so no one did. We'd just started to get our packs loose when Varric arrived, his face set in an unpleasant scowl. "We're checking the side-tunnel to see if there's a way around. Bring the packs, I don't these people not to take our food while we're gone."

"What about the scouts?" Isabella demanded, making no move to get up. "Isn't that their job?"

Varric huffed, "Yeah, but they claim to have heard Darkspawn and won't go. We either sit here for another week trying to dig through, or we try and get this over with."

I sighed, "How about we eat first, then go do battle with all the world's evil?"

The smallest smile came and went, his boots striking the ground as he walked over to join us. "You talked me into it. How much of the meat do we have left?"

He'd directed the question to Fenris, who shook his head as he pulled bits of extremely hard jerky out of his bag. "Not much, and what's left won't be good for much longer."

When I held a hand out, he tossed me one strip, then a second which I handed to Merrill. True to his prediction it wasn't quite like chewing on a rock, and I didn't think it would take much longer for it to complete its transition into moldy leather. Everyone grimaced as we ate our 'meal', doing our best to get through what protein we had left.

After this it would be a lot of hard-tack and what few edible mushrooms we could find. Courtesy of Bartrand being too cheap to buy us better supplies, something that was increasingly leaving him hated by absolutely everyone in the expedition.

"Keep an eye out for nugs." Varric said once he'd finished eating. "Not much meat on them, but it'll be better than nothing."

Isabella chuckled, "So long as Anders isn't the one handling them."

"We didn't exactly get cooking lessons in the Circle." The mage countered, standing up with a groan. "I did warn you, so it wasn't my fault you made me make that stew anyway."

Merrill giggled, "It was a very lovely gray. Isn't that a sign of good cooking in Ferelden?"

Anders let out a quiet huff. "You know your country's stews are awful when even the Dalish have heard the jokes about it."

More snorts and laughs came as everyone else joined him in rising. The mirth faded a bit as weapons were drawn and inspected, as we checked our armor to make sure it was secure. Merrill tested each strap on mine, making sure the dark leather wasn't loose. I did the same for her after, lamenting the fact that we were both dressed up in poorer versions of what Isabella was wearing.

Of course Isabella made it a fashion statement, drawing small glances from Anders and more open ones from Fenris, while we looked more like little girls desperately trying to copy our much cooler big sister.

At least my new sword was sharp and lacking any notches, while Merrill's spear was as sturdy as her old staff. It wouldn't be ideal for her magic, there wasn't any lyrium in it to help her focus, but it would hopefully keep anyone outside of our party from knowing she was a mage. And if we ran into Templars on the way home, the only person we'd need to hide would be Anders. It would be much easier to conceal one person than two. Or three.

Her job was barrier duty, just as he was on healing duty. That left me as our only source of offensive magic unless things went to hell. Which they probably would.

I grimaced, shaking the thought off, checking on the others. Varric was still in his usual coat, though he'd added a full set of chain-mail under it, with Fenris clinking nearly as badly thanks to the protection covering his usually bare arms. Anders was probably the least protected, he only wore some kind of extremely thick shirt with gloves and braces, but his heavy robe covered nearly all of his skin.

That was one thing we all had in common; not one of us had any of our flesh bare below the neck.

"Helmets, next time." I muttered to Varric as we picked our way through the came. "And that armor you wear around your throat instead of bandannas."

"Never going to be a next time." He whispered back, words at odds with the confident nods and grins he was wearing as we strode past tired workers. "Formation?"

I bit down on my retort that I wasn't a leader. Or a warrior. The sum total of my tactical acumen was asking Thrask to come up with battle-plans, and too many hours spent playing video games I bought when Steam had their summer sales.

Varric knew I barely knew what I was doing... but he'd drawn his line in the sand. Dealing with Bartrand was taking up all of his mental reserves. The stress of giving his friends orders wasn't something he was going to deal with on top of that.

So I did my best to think about it until we got the side-tunnel, all six of us grouping up while a pair of scouts nervously watched on.

"...Fenris, Isabella?" I glanced at them first, "You two with me up front, I think. Fenris will be our lead, we ladies will cover his sides. That work for you two?"

Fenris grunted. "Barriers?"

"I can't manage more than one just yet." I admitted, "Merrill?"

"I can cover them both." She assured me. "Save your mana for your own."

"Thanks. You and Varric can be right behind us. Anders? Stick with the plan and conserve your mana for healing, so stay behind them. You still have the tinctures?"

Anders nodded, patting his robe's pockets. The strain between us absent in the face of what they all expected we'd run into. What I knew we were going to run into.

It was time to fight Darkspawn, and I was terrified. I could fight people. I didn't like it much, but I was used to it. I could fight the monsters we occasionally ran into outside of the city, though I really wasn't a fan of giant spiders. Or creepy little Deepstalkers. Both kind of freaked me out, to be honest.

But Darkspawn... were going to be a whole new thing, and I knew enough to be afraid.

"Secured." Anders replied. "Let's try not to use them if we can help it."

"Agreed." Fenris rested his enormous blade on his shoulder, looking far too comfortable with the weapon. "I've only fought Darkspawn once, and stragglers on the surface at that. Do you have any battle advice, mage?"

"Be fast." Anders provided, having apparently fought a few during his escape from Kinloch Hold and Ferelden in general. "The longer they're alive, the more time they have to call others of their kind. If you see them, don't hesitate to attack. If we cut them down quickly enough there's every chance that others nearby won't be able to find us in the aftermath."

I blew out a breath, nodding, "But if we take our time, they'll come straight for us thanks to the others."

His voice was grim. "Yes. I saw it happen more than once on my way to Denerim. I'd rather not see it happen to use down here."

Fingers pulled my dueling blade free, my heart beating too quickly. I forced myself to steady my grip and my breathing, nodding one more time. "Well. Let's get this over with. The sooner we find a way around, the sooner we find the Thaig."

"The sooner we find the Thaig," Varric took it up, "The sooner we turn around and go home."

"I'd drink to that if I had anything left to drink." Isabella pulled her own sword free, for once forgoing her daggers. "Ready?"

No, something still felt off to me. Like there was something missing about this situation... but I couldn't put my finger on it. Chewing on my lip for a minute didn't help, so I just chalked it up to Hawke not being here like she really should have been. To not having a leader who'd do a hell of a lot better job than I was managing. To really, really not wanting to see what a Darkspawn looked like up close and personal.

"Yeah." I did my best to sound confident, and knew that my voice was too quiet to sell it. "Cloths around faces and noses, then let's go."

The bandannas we all pulled on, the cloth covering our noses and mouths, weren't anything like proper medical masks. I honestly had no idea if they'd help at all, but I doubted they'd hurt. Apparently everyone else agreed because no one had objected to the idea. It made us look more like rejects from an old Western than medieval warriors, but I'd accept looking stupid if it meant we had a lower chance of ending up as ghouls.

And once everyone had theirs on... we were finally off.

Fenris took the lead, with me padding along on his left while Isabella stuck to his right. Our friends came up behind us as we advanced into the dark ruins, quickly leaving behind the ancient lighting of the Deep Roads proper. Isabella slipped a little closer to Fenris, relying on his eyes to help her pick through the rubble.

I minded my own steps, for once grateful to have come to Thedas as an elf with excellent night vision.

Not that the dark troubled us for very long.

We ended up doubling back for a short period, bits of light from the Road proper coming in through cracks in the walls to help us navigate. I didn't remember buildings like this from the game at all. The lack of foreknowledge left me more than a little nervous as we kept moving, ascending up an old stairwell, moving along a ledge overlooking the caravan below.

The lack of Darkspawn was explained when we got to the far end; there was a massive door there, sealed shut and covered in ancient runes. It was secured by two heavy bolts on our side, but otherwise looked perfectly functional.

"Magic?" Fenris demanded.

"I don't see anything." I replied, carefully looking it over. "It's all dark. Merrill? Anders?'

They both reached out with their more conventional magical senses, or so I assumed, quickly reporting that they couldn't sense anything either. Though Anders promptly made us even more wary of the thing.

"I think those are Runs of Negation and Sealing."

"You don't sound certain." I countered, "What would they do?"

"Stop us from sensing anything on the other side." He replied. "That's just my best guess, the runes are... off a bit, from what I'd expect. It wouldn't surprise me if they're meant to keep Darkspawn outside of this part of the Roads though. Not that such a thing lasts long, the Darkspawn are supposed to be very persistent about trying to find ways around such blockages."

I grimaced, "Meaning there might be a small army of Darkspawn just waiting on the other side, on the chance that someone opens the door?"

"I... think it likely. That or they may be working to tunnel around it." Anders admitted. "Either way, we should expect a fight."

"...great. Varric?"

"No choice, Buzz."

"...all right then. Ready?" I asked, stepping close enough to reach the heavy deadbolts.

Fenris and Isabella got their blades settled, pointing them right where the entrance soon would be. At their nod I pulled hard on the upper bolt, grimacing at the rusty squeal. I waited for a beat once it was in place, and only when I didn't hear anything besides my own nervous breathing did I pull the second one over.

It had hardly clanked against the stop before the door slammed open, driving me back with a startled yelp, a howling scream making my everything stand on end when the Darkspawn began forcing their way through just as Anders had predicted.

Fortunately for us, the ex-slave and the pirate were ready for them.

Fenris rammed his sword into the first Genlock, cleaving it nearly in half as he yanked the weapon up and over to behead a second in the same motion. Another creature rushed in toward his exposed side, only for its life to end when Isabella's sword drove into its mouth and out the back of its neck; its triumphant howl cutting off abruptly.

I shook my head, recovering my wits just in time for the door to finish swinging open, letting more of the beasts out.

One of them came right for me, sword raised.

Let it be said that Darkspawn are more than merely horrifying in person. They're disgusting, terrifying, nauseating... every negative adjective you could imagine, you could apply it to them. Their skin was the color of a corpse's, noses are just slits, and teeth from a horror movie seemed to occupy their entire face. The stench of them was enough to turn my stomach, something that only got worse when the nearest screamed at me, weapon thrusting for my belly.

I heard myself screaming right back at it, sword turning the thing's rusted old blade aside on reflex. My riposte drove into one of its pale eyes, its own momentum helping push the tip into its brain. A quick yank got the weapon free as the beast began convulsing, more of the creatures scrambling over its corpse.

My sword flashed as I frantically parried aside an ax, feet carrying me back to Fenris' side as his massive sword spun his hands, forcing them to keep at a distance as we put our backs to the ledge...

...clearing space for Merrill and Varric to cut loose.

Bianca let out her song of rhythmic clanks, bolts slamming into tainted flesh, sending Genlocks to their knees. Merrill held her ground beside him, keeping protective barriers over Fenris and Isabella, lashing out with her spear when one Genlock got too close to Varric.

Right. Barriers.

"Shields up, red alert!" I gasped, blocking another attack from ax-boy as he fixated on me. A desperate push of my magic got the barrier up just in time to catch a dagger that a wounded one tried to drive into my foot. "Fuck!"

Broken teeth flew when I kicked the thing as I hard as I could, sending it rolling onto its back with one of Varric's bolts sticking up from its chest.

Ax-boy came in at me while I flailed, only to be speared from the side by Fenris before he could try and bring the weapon's edge down on me. The man's sword was so damned long that it cut in through one side of the stocky Darkspawn, came out the other, and made an unholy mess when he twisted it free.

It fell, held together only by its spine, its thrashing fading quickly as it bled out. Isabella and Merrill quickly advanced in, weapons thrusting into throats and chests, ending the survivors before they could get up.

I didn't join them. I was too busy standing, panting and shaking, realizing that everyone else was doing much the same around me. Even Fenris didn't look at his best, his eyes narrowed to slits above his bandanna, and Anders had his eyes closed as if pained to once again be fighting these things.

"They're dead, sweet thing." Isabella said into the awkward silence that followed, her tone a gentle prod to remind me that I was pretending to lead us.

"Oh. Good." I wavered, then took a few steps forward to make sure I didn't fall to my death. Real Darwin Award material there. "Uh. Ok."

"You... did well." Fenris said, "For your first time fighting Darkspawn."

"...thanks." I swallowed. "Long way to go to catch up to you. Uh... right. Focusing. Is anyone hurt?"

We all checked ourselves over, confirming that we didn't have any cuts or wounds. Only once we were sure that none of us was more at risk than usual for catching the Blight did we get moving again, advancing through the now-open doors. I let my barrier drop, not knowing how long it would be until we fought again.

None of us looted the bodies. You don't loot Darkspawn corpses. Not if you want to stay a member of the living rather than the tainted.

The other side opened into more conventional looking tunnels. Something more like natural caves that had been expanded here and there rather than the enormity of the Deep Roads. We didn't have to go far to find the signs of the Darkspawn's camp; dead nugs and dog-sized spiders that had clearly been torn limb from limb for sport rather than food, and flickering torches had been set up to push back the darkness.

I was about a dozen paces past the door when I realized that I was humming quietly, and doing so in time with the sound of classical music that seemed to be getting louder with each step I took in the new space.

It was... dammit. I knew this song, this composer. I just couldn't put my finger on it...

...and I shouldn't have been hearing any music at all down here. That was, in fact, an incredibly bad thing to be hearing.

"Um..." I swallowed against the sudden terror in my chest. "...please tell me I'm not the only one that hears that song."

Anders replied at once. "It's raw lyrium. There must be a vein nearby, or several of them. Don't touch it, or get too close to it. It's lethal to mages."

Oh thank god. I wasn't already tainted. That was... good. That was very good.

Still, now that I'd noticed it, it was extremely distracting. "Is it always so loud? I've never heard anything from lyrium vials. That just glows annoyingly brightly."

"It's barely a whisper to me." He said, a bit of suspicion entering his voice. "Merrill?"

Merrill shook her head, "I can barely hear it. It's probably, um, how you sense the magic, Maeve."

I grimaced, feeling Anders stare on the back of my neck. Great. Now he probably thought my bizarre way of experiencing magic was something that I'd gotten from a demon, instead of being related to how I'd gotten here. Or something. Figuring out that mystery wasn't anywhere near my list of priorities, though that didn't stop it from being annoying.

"Yay. Giant magical ears to go with my droopy flesh ones." I muttered.

"They're anything but droopy, sweet thing." Isabella reassured me. "Can you fight through the sound?"

"Yeah, sorry. Let's keep moving."

We did, quickly moving through the first tunnel, down a narrower corridor, and emerging into one lit up with the bright glow of Titan's blood...

...and I was proven wrong almost immediately.

The blue-white glow permeated every inch of the room, swirling as if wind was brushing through dust, spiraling lazily around the gleaming pillar of crystal in the far corner. I felt the warmth of the soil between my fingers, could smell freshly turned earth. My ears rang with the sound of the music; drums and woods singing in harmony in time with a steady beat... a beat that picked up in speed as my own heart began to race. That damned glow brightened further, until i couldn't see anything but that blinding blue-white light.

Howls of nearby Darkspawn sounded like they were miles away, my world becoming nothing but color and music. Both persisted when I slammed my eyes shut, feeling tears streaming down my cheeks. My legs buckled as I staggered back, falling out of where I was supposed to be covering Fenris.

I couldn't even see Fenris! What the hell was this!?

Someone grabbed my elbow, hauling me backwards. Merrill's panicked shout was as distant as the Darkspawn even if I could feel her breath on my ear. "Anders!?"

"I have her! Keep your barriers on them!" A stronger grip took my shoulder, pulling me back, shoving me against a wall. "Maeve! Snap out of it!"

I shook my head frantically. My mouth wouldn't work. Wouldn't tell him that I couldn't see. "I... I..."

"Your barrier!" He shouted into my ear, "Bring it up again! As strong as you can!"

The music throbbed in my head, threatening to break out of my skull. Pain drove into both of my temples in time with my heartbeats. My entire body starting shaking, hand desperately holding onto the hilt of my sword. The light was getting worse, even throw my closed eyelids, as if something was steadily turning up a dial.

"I..." Barrier. My barrier. I... got it. Cocoon myself with my magic. Block it out. Block it all out. "R-red..."

The tether in my belly vibrated sharply, warning me a split second before I felt phantom lips against my ear, Longing speaking the words that I couldn't. "Red alert. Shields up!"

Magic swirled up and around me, that overwhelming pressure of the lyrium shoved back by the familiar sound and feel of my shield. I gasped, slumping in relief, and nearly managed to lose the stupid bubble in the process.

"We're even for my mistake." She growled into my mind.

Yeah. Sure. That was fine. Totally fine.

I panted for breath, forcing my eyes open to see everyone else engaged with more Darkspawn. The shimmering sparks of my own barrier swirled around me, seemingly blotting out the impossible brightness of the lyrium. I could still see the non-existent wind making light ripple, but it was far easier to cope with.

Could have done without the screams of Darkspawn replacing the music though.

The fight was taking place on a crude wooden bridge across a pit; Fenris, Isabella, and Merrill trying to hold the line while Varric sent volleys of bolts in from a spot off to the left. Anders had apparently taken over barrier duty; his staff spinning as he fed power into the blue-white sparks swirling around my friends.

His magic still sounded like music too, but it was a different tune. Power chords rather than orchestral. And I vastly preferred the feeling of a non-existent cat rubbing against my legs than whatever the hell the lyrium had been doing to me.

Pushing it aside, I shook my head one more time to clear it, took a deep breath, and forced myself to rush in.

"Merrill!" I shouted when my boots struck wood, "Back!"

She did, the pair of us darting past one another. I fell into a lunge, spearing the Genlock that tried to chase her down. It howled when my blade bit deeply into its chest, the screaming ending when I twisted thee weapon around, finding its black heart.

Pushing out of the lunge, I slid back into place next to Fenris, flinching when an arrow slammed into my barrier and ricocheted away. "Archer!"

"On it!" Varric's shout was barely audible.

"Hold!" Fenris bellowed, green energy replacing the blue as Merrill took over protecting him. "Cut them down!"

Fighting Darkspawn was awful. They came at you so long as there was a single breath left in them. Wounded ones bit and clawed at our feet. If you opened their throat they'd tip their heads back, trying to spray their diseased blood into your face. They screamed every time we tried to call to one another, making it impossible to coordinate.

The three of us held our ground, weapons lashing out whenever we could, but mostly staying close. Blocking, parrying, protecting ourselves while Varric did the lion's share of the killing from the side. Once the Darkspawn's sole archer went down, he took his time lining up each shot, putting each bolt into a head or throat to make sure of a lethal hit.

My barrier kept me alive in those awful minutes. We killed maybe a dozen of them in that time, I realized later, though during those terrifying moments it seemed more like an entire legion of them. Their spears and swords struck home more than once, the magic absorbing hits that my armor certainly couldn't have.

It absorbed everything until the Emissary arrived.

Our only warning that the Darkspawn had a mage of their own was the red-black lightning that slammed into my chest, shattering my barrier in a single blast of noise and light. The blinding light and sound of the lyrium vein rolled over me before I could even think to resist, and I felt myself falling, pain throbbing through my head and chest as my vision turned to white for the second time.

More magic filled the air, assaulting my senses. The Darkspawn cast something else, the power-chords of his guitar deafening, barbed wire cutting at my palms. My nose was filled by the sweet scent of spring flowers as another barrier encircled my body, followed by my sight clearing to let me see Merrill's physical form as she slid into a protective crouch above me, holding her spear very near its blade.

Fire slammed into the green sparks of protection, washing over us in an instant before fading.

"Na melana sahlin!" She screamed in reply, bringing the tip of spear up to her ear, cutting a thin line across her pale skin.

My entire body thrummed in response to her call to her blood; though that was nothing compared to the Emissary.

The robed Darkspawn let out a scream like a tea kettle boiling over, thrashing its head, hand clawing at its own body. Black liquid boiled out of its eyes and mouth, the shriek turning into disgusting gurgles as it finally collapsed. It kicked and flailed a few more times, coughed up a final spurt of toxic blood... then went still.

Bianca let out one more bolt, Isabella's sword flashed a last time, and the final pair of Genlocks fell dead.

Leaving everyone but me to turn to stare at Merrill, their eyes wide enough to tell me that they were looking at her as if she'd just turned into a demon before their eyes. Everyone except for Fenris, at least. He pulled down his bandanna, letting me see exactly how murderous he was felling in that moment.

Shit.

"...thanks, Merrill." I found my voice first, wincing when I heard the rasp in it. "Ow. Can you help me up?"

She did, scrambling quickly to her feet and pulling me up before any of the spreading Darkspawn blood could get too close. I let her take my weight, keeping her facing away from everyone ahead of us. That let me glare at them all, and stopped her from seeing their expressions.

Isabella had the grace to lower her eyes, and Varric awkwardly looked away. Fenris just glared right back at me.

"Are you all right?" Merrill asked, desperately touching my face as if making sure I was still real. "You don't sound all right. Anders? You should check her! Lightning isn't good, and that was a powerful spell!"

Anders let out a frustrated noise. "Are we not going to talk about what you just did?"

"No. We're not." I said before she could, or before anyone else could. I said it too loudly, tightness in my chest making me cough. "Ow. Little help here?"

Fenris' growl told me it wasn't going to be that easy. "You knew."

I let out a frustrated groan. "I live with her, of course I did. Anders? Please?"

"You knew?" Anders demanded, "Are you a blood mage as well? Is that the deal I saw you making with that Desire demon?"

"What." Fenris snarled. "You saw her what!?"

"I-"

"Enough!" Everyone jumped at Isabella's sudden shout, startled into silence at the fact that she'd been the one to snap first. "Fenris! Not now!"

"They are-"

She whirled on him, "Fenris! We are knee deep in bloody Darkspawn! Literally! This is not the time!"

"She's right, Broody." Varric began a slow walk around the pit, heading to join us. "We'll talk about the weird magic shit when we're not surrounded by the Blight. Blondie? Check on Buzz, would you? We've got to see if this is the way to the Thaig before more Darkspawn show up."

I heard Anders muttered something under his breath, stepping up behind me. His magic started to come together, the warmth of his cat mixing with a similar rock and roll tune as the Emissary had been playing when it had...

...no. Not similar. The exact same.

Anders magic sounded exactly the same as a Darkspawn's.

Even half-concussed, and only shielded from the lyrium by Merrill's barrier, I could put two and two together.

I whirled on him, Merrill letting out a started noise as she stopped my swaying form from falling over again.

Anders scowled at me over his mask. "What are-"

"You fucking lying bastard!" I spat, "You're a fucking Gray Warden!"

His face went pale, eyes widening considerably in the most obvious tell imaginable.

Silence fell again... and then we all hard Varric let out a groan of pure frustration at the revelation that every mage among us had been hiding something.