Aftermath

Isabela had indeed been able to get the Hawke family out of the Free Marches. They'd packed little, some clothes, supplies for the kids, and the two family portraits. Also, as much gold as they could carry, for obvious reasons. Isabella also brought along Merrill; as a Dalish apostate she was no safer in Kirkwall than any of the Hawkes. When she brought them to a village on the southern coast of Rivain, she'd given Carver a choice: he could stay with his sister and her two husbands and kids, or he could come with Isabela and Merrill, to sail the high seas and see what trouble they could find together.

Carver chose a life at sea. He loved his sister, but he didn't want to be the spare in their triad, and a life of adventure with two beautiful women did sound pretty exciting. Marian wished them all well and made them promise to come visit from time to time.

It had been easy enough to buy a family home and settle in. Rivain was not so uptight as it was further south, so a polyamorous triad of an elf and two mages really wasn't an issue. The only hiccup they came across was that in Rivain, the more extravagant ones body art, the more important they were. Fenris was assumed to be some sort of nobleman or general, and he was not prepared for those kinds of expectations from people. At least Rivain wasn't Andrastian, with only one token Circle in the entirety of the country just to appease the Chantry. Magic was appreciated, and those gifted with it were valued by their communities.

The first time someone asked about Anders and Marian's staffs, they were uncertain of what to say. The stranger noticed their reaction and then simply asked if they were Southerners. They told him that yes, they were, and he laughed.

"I don't suppose either of you know anything about healing then?"

"I do. Why do you ask?"

"My wife has been complaining about this pain in her back for a while. I tried going to the clinic, but the healer there doesn't make house-calls unless it's an emergency. Said she's got too much on her plate to come help my wife."

"So you want me to go and fix your wife's back?"

"Yeah. That's what magic is for, right?"

"Yes. Yes it is..." Anders had smiled, teary eyed at finally being appreciated for his gifts.

With Anders' healing, Marian's elemental magics, and Fenris' just looking as badass as he did, they were soon integrated into the community. The people here were much more focused on communal betterment than personal gain, so Marian was often offered assistance and parenting advice, with hand me downs and little gifts being provided for the children.

Anders had begun working in the clinic, finding a friend in the healer there, easing the load on her shoulders and making healing services much more accessible for the people of the village. Marian had made herself available to help as needed; she was able to help irrigate crops during the dryer summer months, leading to a far more bountiful harvest in the fall. Although she was no seer, she would occasionally be asked for magical advice, and did her best to give advice, though she always tempered it with the reminder that she's from the South, and has had no Rivaini teachings. If anything, that made people value her insights more, since she wouldn't have the same viewpoints.

Meanwhile, Fenris had taken up training young fighters, using his lifetime of experience, coupled with the assumed authority that came from his lyrium markings. He was hesitant to explain his background at first, but when he swore in Tevene after getting stung by a bee, it became immediately apparent where he was from. He explained his story, and the respect that was held for him only grew. Rivain had the only Qunari-settlement outside of Par Vollen and Seheron, so they held Tevinter in contempt on the best of days. They did not pity him the way Sebastian had, instead just listening with respect and buying him drinks afterwards.

Carver, Isabela, and Merrill came to visit every couple of months, and roughly a year after their initial arrival in the Rivain, they came to visit with news.

"So... Sister... I'm sure you've noticed that the three of us have gotten quite...comfortable with eachother."

"Of course, it's 'Bela and Merrill. Those two were already bedding eachother, and both of them have had it out for you since we met them."

"Gross! I mean, yes you're right, but still gross. Don't talk about me like that!" Carver objected, causing Marian to laugh.

"Let me guess, Merrill is the nasty one?"

"No!" Carver was blushing up to his ears.

"Well, technically yes." Isabella added, smirking wickedly.

"Merrill is pregnant! Okay? That's what I wanted to say. You're going to an aunt, you vile, vile woman."

"Aw, seriously!? That's amazing news!" She grinned and hugged her brother.

"Yeah, lover boy here would have us both knocked up if I let him. But our kitten likes getting messy, and now I'm getting dragged into Motherhood kicking and screaming." Isabela sighed as she recounted the gruesome details.

"'Bela can we please stop talking about this?" Carver sighed out, pleading.

"Aw, alright, that's enough teasing for one visit I suppose." She tutted and gave him a kiss on the cheek before going to join Merrill with Fenris and the kids.

"You know that your baby will probably have magic, right Templar?"

"Yeah. We've been talking about maybe settling down, what with a baby on the way. Isabela doesn't want to. Says she spent enough time docked in Kirkwall to last a lifetime. Merrill isn't against the idea, but she doesn't want to settle down if 'Bela won't be with us."

"Where were you thinking of settling?"

"Well, that's just it, if we do settle, and with 'Bela that's a big if, I was thinking maybe we could settle here? You lot seem happy, and they don't persecute their mages. I don't agree with what Anders did, and from what we've seen when we've docked other places, no one else does either. But... Thinking about losing Merrill to the Circle, losing our child and never getting to see them grow up? I can't stand it."

"And that's why Mother worked so hard to keep us free."

"Yeah. I never appreciated it as a kid. I resented you and Father, and even Bethany for making us live in secret. Now that I've seen both sides of the issue, I just can't condone the Circles."

"I'm glad to hear it. I'm sure Anders will be thrilled that you've decided to become a Mage-rights activist."

"Marian I swear on our mother's ashes that if you tell Anders that, I will tell him every dirty, embarrassing secret I know about you."

"Fine. Party pooper." She lightly punched his shoulder.

A year later, Carver, Merrill, and a somewhat reluctant Isabela were living in the village with their newborn babies. Carver had been 'blessed' with identical twin boys. Merrill was happy to have two sons, as it meant that her children would never be lonely, as she had often felt as a child. Carver, who had been a twin, attested that he had been a terror to Bethany when he was little, so friendship was not guaranteed. Marian was inclined to agree, remember him nailing her braid to the bedpost on more than one occasion. Anders' biggest concern was that as identical twins, if one had magic, the other would as well, and if that magic manifested early as it had with Liz, they were going to be in for a difficult time.

Liz and Leto were delighted by their baby cousins, now five and two years old themselves, they saw themselves as big kids and wanted to help take care of the babies. Nevermind that Leto himself was still being toilet trained. The siblings had a loving relationship, and seeing them grow up happy and free made Marian's heart swell. She had been thinking about maybe someday having another baby until her nephews were born, then she was reminded of how very lucky she got that she hadn't had twins, and decided it wasn't worth the risk to get pregnant again.

The next two years passed far faster than they had any right to, the gaggle of Hawke children growing up happy and healthy in the Rivaini sun. Isabela still went out sailing from time to time, checking in with their friends and the continuing consequences of Anders' actions. Far away in the distance they could see a strange green star that shone both day and night, and Isabela promised to ask about it while she was gone. Then one day, just as suddenly as it had appeared, the green star vanished.. Fenris insisted that something nefarious must be happening, while Anders pondered if it was some strange new phenomena.

When Isabella returned from her three months away, she was somber, handing a letter to Marian and going to hug her boys.

'Hawke,

It's all gone to shit. Blondie's mess paved the way for an even worse one. I'm part of an organization called The Inquisition now. I don't know if news made it out to you lot in the middle of nowhere, but there was a meeting of the Mages and Templars held by the Divine. It was exploded, and that big green hole in the sky was all that was left behind. It's been ripping holes in the veil, letting demons pour into our world. There was a single survivor, who everyone took to calling the Herald of Andraste. She has the same fade-ripping magic embedded in her hand, and physically stepped out of the fade after the explosion.

The Herald recruited the rebel mages into the Inquisition, and just in time too. There's been too much crazy shit for me to put in one letter, but the mages and templars were both being targeted by Corypheus. You remember him, right? That crazy Magister-darkspawn we killed? Turns out, he's not as dead as we'd hoped. We got the mages on our side, but the templars have been corrupted with red lyrium (yes, that red lyrium) and are now the enemy.

The Herald sealed the breach in the sky, and Corypheus didn't like that one bit. Our old set up got destroyed, so we're going to this old Fortress that one of our guys knows about. I'm not sure how long it'll be until we get there. I had one of the scouts take this letter to Rivaini. Hopefully he succeeded and you're actually reading this right now. If you are reading this, please come. You can stop in any major city and ask for directions to the Inquisition. We're a big deal, people keep track of us.

This is a shit situation, and we need all the help we can get. The Inquisitor is good people at least. She's proven to be a good leader, I really think you'll like her. She's got a good shot at fixing Blondie's mess.

Your favorite dwarf,

Varric'

Marian read and reread the letter. It was all so much to take in. They had killed Corypheus quite thoroughly, there was no possible way for him to have survived. But Varric wouldn't say that name unless he was sure he was correct. She groaned, putting the letter in her pocket. The world was going to shit, and it needed her to come intervene. She enjoyed her life here, she enjoyed the peace and security of just being a woman with a family, a job, and friendly neighbors. She didn't want to be the Champion again, but Varric was her favorite dwarf, she shouldn't just let him down.

She walked towards home and saw Liz and Leto walking towards her, Leto jumping around, wielding a stick like a sword, while Liz watched him and smiled, holding tightly to her newly gifted staff. She had just turned seven, after all, it was fair enough for her to start learning magic in earnest now. Marian felt torn in two different directions. On the one hand, she was very happy with her home life, and didn't want to abandon her children. On the other hand, her kids' safety was her number one priority, and if Corypheus had corrupted and taken control of the Templars, there was no telling what he would try to do. A world with Corypheus in it would never be safe.

In her heart she made her choice before ever discussing it with her men, but she still spoke to them about it so they would know what was happening, and say whatever they needed to say about the situation. For a week she spent all her time with her family, cherishing the time she had with them. She told the kids stories about Lothering and Kirkwall and played with them during the day, and spent her nights in passion with Anders and Fenris. She wanted to commit every moment with them all to memory, and hoped that she'd done enough to leave happy memories in her absence. She wouldn't admit it, but she had a strong suspicion she wouldn't be back anytime soon.

When she boarded Isabela's ship she kept a brave face on for those left behind, but once they were on the open sea she cried and confessed her fears to Isabela, who had been the only one to see what had become of the South first hand. 'Bela's blind, brazen optimism was gone, replaced by a very real, tangible fear for the future. When she delivered her to Ferelden's shore, she gave Marian the longest hug she'd ever received.

"I'm not usually the praying sort, but I'm praying for you, Hawke. We love you, so, so much. Promise you'll come back to us."

"You know I can't promise that, 'Bela."

"Then lie to me. I just need to hear you say it."

"Alright. I promise I'll come home."

"Atta girl..." Isabela wiped her eyes and boarded her ship, casting one last, lingering look at her best friend, hoping to every god that is or was or ever would be, that it wouldn't be the last time she did.