Aspectus Vita

Scandalous is what it was, the very idea that a child of house Trevelyan was a mage, the most loveable of them all to boot. But they had tried to cover it up very nicely, yes they did. The child had almost reached her tenth nameday when the potential manifested itself, and what else could the family do but call for the Templars?

They came at night, when the estate was at its quietest. Five Templars entered the courtyard and after one had disappeared into the main building for a while he emerged again with the child in tow. Whilst all the Templars were adorned in their standard-issue armour that made each one of them look exactly like the last, the child was wearing simple but well-made traveling clothes. What also set her apart from others - and not just the cookie-cutter Templars - was her deep red hair.

Hers was not the normal flaming colour found among red-heads; instead it was a deep red, as if tinted by wine. She wore it relatively short for a girl her age, simply brushing the shoulder-length strands behind her ears. Her eyes were a striking emerald green that stood in stark contrast to her pale skin and rich hair.

And without any further ceremony, the Templars gathered together again, with the child in the middle of the group, and they set off; leaving the estate behind and the young Trevelyan's life as she had known it, forever.

~o~

"Hey, Tina! You free?" Jowan shouted as he tried to catch up to his fellow apprentice as she walked through the circular halls of the tower.

The raven-haired girl turned to watch her friend as she stopped, waiting for him to catch up. "Mmm, I suppose. I was planning to get some reading done before my next lecture, but it can wait."

Jowan grinned at her, finally having caught up. "Great, I wanted to ask if you could help me practice some spells."

"And here I thought you wanted to regale me with more stories of this fabled courting."

"Ah, come on! I tell you she's real!"

"Yeah, yeah - you keep telling yourself that."

She continued to tease him in this manner until they reached the upper levels of the tower where they could practice magic. They were now among the older apprentices and no longer needed Templar supervision in everything they did. Celestine had been traveling to this area of the tower since her arrival at the Circle of Magi due to the nature of her arrival. Jowan on the other hand had only been given permission several months back; the relatively empty halls with only the occasional and very pre-occupied enchanter hurrying past them still intimidated him somewhat.

Celestine made a beeline to the room she always used to practice. She felt that it was more familiar to her than even the small area she had been designated in the dormitory. She pulled out a key and unlocked the heavy door that was one of the few of its kind – it emitted a strong spell-silencing aura that would render anything but the most mundane methods of unlocking or breaking it futile.

"Whoah!" Jowan exclaimed, "You have access to one of the high-level rooms?!"

"Yes," she said grinning at him. "When some of us sneak off at night it's not for some tryst in the chantry."

"I knew it! So the rumours about you are true. There's no way someone can be as good as you with just regular classes and… and I've never even seen you take those to begin with," he paused briefly, "hmmm, so this is how that Cullen guy is involved. He's the one escorting you?"

She levelled a look at him; the topic was heading in a direction she very much wanted to avoid. "Yes, but you're reading too much into that as well and since you said you wanted me to help you practice, let's get started, or I'll never get to my reading."

~o~

Elisa looked around her room to find the gown her mother had said she would be wearing lying on her bed. The young Cousland was loath to shed her armour; she preferred it far more than the gaudy attire she was expected to wear for these formal occasions. But, sacrifices had to be made.

That evening, after a bath to clean off the day's dust and sweat, she emerged from her room, ready to face what was sure to be a challenging evening. Her twin was already standing in the hall outside their rooms, seemingly waiting for her. She envied him and would much prefer wearing the hose and doublet that men wore than these frivolous things that women were expected to wear. He was wearing black, with golden embroidery. She was wearing a deep blue. Both outfits complimented their features, contrasting well with their golden hair and matching their blue eyes.

He grinned at her as he saw her emerge from her room. "Ready to face the music?"

"You're only waiting for me so you don't have to go too soon yourself."

"Ah, my master plan is foiled."

They wandered down through the corridors of the castle, making their way to the great hall. Servants were bustling everywhere, running from the guest lodgings to prepare the rooms of those that were staying the night and running between the kitchen, the great hall and the store rooms and larders to prepare the evening banquet.

They were met partway by their life-time companion and friend. Rory was dressed in a light blue that accented his flaming hair tastefully; it had been a gift for him for his long and loyal service to the family by the Teyrna.

"Hey Gil, is our mother tired enough of our stalling to finally send you?" Elisa asked.

"No, M'lady. I was merely tiring of Ser Perth's religious talk; fetching the Teyrn's children seemed to be the best reason to quickly escape his company."

"Ser Perth, Ser Perth…. Hmm, I don't believe I'm familiar with him." Erik said as they continued towards the hall together.

Gilmore nodded, "It's the first time he's been here, part of Arl Eamon's retinue. Might I be so bold as to say that you both look dashing and ravishing, respectively."

"My thanks, but you'll have to give most of the credit to our mother." Elisa said, eying the back of her dress as she swished it around by the skirts.

"Indeed, my sister would still be wearing her armour if she had any say in the matter." Erik said nudging her in the ribs with his elbow.

She responded by pushing him into a suit of armour that was lining the hallway, which then collapsed onto him, sending him to the floor. "Heeey! No fair!"

She grinned, looking back at him as he tried to untangle himself from the plate-mail. "Since when do I ever play fair?"

Rory, ever the squire, hurried to help the male twin get up and pack the collapsed suit of armour out of the way, while Elisa almost skipped to the main hall. Hopefully she would not need to sit with the other noble women, who only ever seemed to talk about prospective husbands and what the latest trends in Orlais were.

~o~

It had taken them a while, but they were now used to living in Lothering. The family had moved there after they got hints that the Templars might be looking for apostates. Malcolm had always taken precautions and he doubted that it was they who were being hunted, but on the off-chance that a poacher or woodsman might have seen them training, he had decided to move them anyway. Better to be safe than sorry, after all.

He had deemed that they no longer needed to practice the casting of spells. Bethany had mastered it a short while before they had moved. From then on, whatever arcane arts they practiced were purely theoretical, which afforded them far greater anonymity. Sorana and Carver still sparred on a daily basis to stay in shape with Bethany occasionally also taking part, but to outsiders they just seemed like an – if not ordinary – normal family.

Their father worked as a scholar and scribe. He also occasionally worked with the town's chantry to decipher some of the older texts that were brought in by the odd adventurer or merchant, but these moments were rare as the documents were often counterfeit. Sorana and Carver began to offer their services as guards for caravans and merchants; sometimes they would be asked to kill off wildlife or pests in the area. It was not very reputable work, but it allowed them to see more of the world and put the skills they had honed from a young age to good use.

Bethany spent most of her time at home, helping their mother take care of the household and the small garden they nurtured. This was precisely what she was doing when she stumbled upon her sister sitting among the firewood behind their house with a staff clutched in her hands, which she seemed to be inspecting closely.

"Rana!" Bethany exclaimed, running to her older sibling and embracing her tightly.

"Hello sister… gak! Okay, Okay! You can let go now!"

"Why didn't you say you were home?!" the youngest Hawke asked petulantly.

"It…didn't feel right; I needed some time to think."

"Why, what happened? Is Carver all right?" Bethany asked, suddenly concerned.

"Yes, yes…just being a prick as usual."

"Then what's the matter?"

"It's nothing…I was just thinking back to that day."

"Oh." The answer didn't seem to entirely satisfy Bethany, but she knew better than to pry further. But ever an optimist, she tried to change the topic to something brighter. "So, what are you doing with that staff? It doesn't look to be made of any wood I've seen before."

"Its heartwood; I think it's related to that ironbark the Dalish make most of their armour and weapons from."

Dalish elves were those that refused to let themselves be subjugated like most of their race had been and clung to their ancient culture and traditions. They were not quite rebels, but the nomadic tribes were rarely welcome in human lands. It was said that the Dalish welcomed magic and thus had to be careful around Templars as well, although after the Exalted March against the Dales, the Chantry rarely bothered with them.

"Whoa, isn't that stuff super rare?" Bethany exclaimed and touched the staff in wonder, which Sorana handed over to her fellow mage to inspect. It was heavy, heavier than it looked, but not so heavy as to make it unwieldy.

"Mhm, I was lucky. Got attacked by one of those tree-men while traveling with that last caravan; I even had to use magic to bring it down in the end. But I was careful enough and the others thought it was the tree's own magic."

The younger girl looked at the staff with even greater reverence. "It feels…alive."

Sorana grinned at her. "You should have seen the tree. That aura was pouring out of its every pore, or whatever it is that trees have. This bit seemed to make up the spine, and since I made the kill I claimed it. The others were quick to grab souvenirs of their own; one merchant even had me load the head onto his cart, paid quite the pretty sum for it."

Bethany handed the staff back. Sorana took it and propped it against the back wall of the house. "I think I'll use the money the head brought to have it looked at by a smith in Denerim next time I'm there; bound to be one who knows how to work the stuff."

"While you're at it, you might want to look up some tailors too," Bethany teased. "It's no wonder Carver can't stand listening to you when you look like a tattered curtain."

"As you wish, dearest sister; next time you see me I shall be adorned in the finest Orlesian silks." Sorana said with a mocking curtsey.

"Maker forbid, someone might mistake you for a mage then!"