Chapter one- Starting again.

Soooo! Hi guys, basically with the new Dragon Age game coming out I've recently been going back to the two other games and making sure I get the perfect story and looking around at rumours etc. from the new game. What made me sad is there is no mention of a certain Tevinter elf? What. On. Earth!? But anyways, I'm going into my usual rants. Please, message me if you see a grammar mistake and I'll change it as soon as possible. I just thought I should tell everyone beforehand I am dyslexic. I thought I'd add some of my own things into the story just to give a lot more character depth and even more story to Hawke! Of course Fenris too! And I've started just after Hawke met Varric! :3

I would like to thank Enchantm3nt for being so amazing and helping me with all of this!

BIOWARE OWNS ALL.

Reviews are welcome!

The distorted colours of the fallen leaves beneath her feet told her she was dreaming; everything had an odd hue to it and there was only silence where there should be bird song and the rustle of leaves. She looked around, her eyes searching, she was alone and yet she felt like she was being watched. Her eyes travelled up the gnarled trunk of a tree to the twisting branches above, the sky was the odd greenish hue that the Fade always was, lit by an unnatural dim light.

A shiver ran down her spine and she froze; her eyes moved down and locked onto the dark green ones of a great wolf. Its coat was a dark grey, the colour of storm clouds but it was covered in the most beautiful sinuous white markings. She cocked her head to the side, discerning if it was a demon or not, she rather thought it wasn't. She took a cautious step toward it and the wolf bolted. Curiosity got the better of her and she gave chase, sprinting through the trees, ducking under branches and leaping over fallen logs. The wolf kicked up leaves and mud as it charged through the dense woodland, and then suddenly, the trees cleared and they were on a grassy bank, a cliff just beyond. The wolf's strange white markings were glowing fiercely; it looked over its shoulder, glancing at her with its dark green eyes before it jumped off of the cliff. A gasp escaped her mouth and she found herself following after it, not really knowing why.

Hawke woke up covered in sweat, lying on the very edge of her cot, with her hands grasping her tightly. She slowly sat up, breathing deeply. She often had dreams so that wasn't surprising. But she'd never had one about a mysterious wolf with strange markings, and she'd certainly never taken her own life in one before.

Light streamed in through the small window so she forced herself up and out of the cot. She headed over to her basin, tying back her long blonde strands as she looked at herself in the mirror. She checked the edges of her green eyes, making sure no wrinkles lined the edges. She ruffled her fringe, pulling out the red streak she was rather fond of and then got dressed.

She heard the muffled groans of her brother, Carver behind her as he stirred from sleep. He cursed quietly, obviously annoyed she had woken him as he rolled out of his cot and joined her at the basin to get ready for the day.

"We're no longer smugglers, sister, we don't have to be up at this hour anymore," Carver sighed as he licked his hand and flattened down an errant strand of his jet black hair.

"Well, we need to be something or we won't be able to live in Lowtown for much longer," she replied, grabbing her armour.

"We cannot draw too much attention to ourselves either," Carver grumbled. "The Templars here are stupid, but the people are not. They are starving and won't blink an eye at handing over a Fereldan apostate if it means their family is fed," he said, a stern look on his face as he peered at her through the slightly cracked mirror.

"Yes, but I'm not a mage, I'm a loveable rogue." She grinned. "In one hand I hold dexterity and in the other cunning!" Hawke laughed, winking at her brother.

Carver swirled round to face her, his eyebrow raised and a sceptical grin on his face. "And in your third a fireball? And in the fourth ice? Perhaps father forgot to cover human anatomy with you but you only have two hands, dear sister."

Hawke did not find the comment about father funny, nor did she enjoy the lecture from her little brother, who just the night before had tried to sneak into the Blooming Rose, a well-known brothel in Hightown with not a penny in his pocket. The money he did have he had spent on cheap ale with Varric; he had gotten so drunk that he had thought heading to the Rose was a marvellous idea. According to Varric, he had been kicked out within four minutes of arriving. "If we make a name for ourselves, the Templars won't bother me, and you could maybe afford to lose your virginity in the Blooming Rose like you wanted to so badly," she snapped back, revealing the knowledge she had gained from Varric about last night's events.

Her brother's face paled and then turned a bright red, his hands gripped the basin and in a small voice he pleaded, "Don't tell mama, please Aria."

She laughed. "Not this time, but maybe I could put it on my list of things to bribe Carver with if he tries getting high and mighty with me?" She smirked as he glared at her. "Hurry up, it's time for breakfast and then it'll be time to meet Varric!"

She walked out of the bedroom and into the small decrepit room of her uncle's house that served as a dining room and a living room and a kitchen all in one. There was literally no room to swing a cat, never mind having her mother, brother, uncle and her dog living in the same small space with her.

Mother's mug was on the table, steam still rising from it. It was actually father's mug, it was one of the few things mother had been able to grab in time when they fled their home. Just seeing it sat on the table as the fruity scent of tea filled her nose, was enough to remind her of him. Had it really been seven years since he died?

She could still remember him perfectly. His dark hair, thick and slightly curled at the edges around his face, his thick beard that scratched against her skin when he kissed her good night and his bright smile and booming laugh. She'd always been close with him due to the magic they shared.

He had taught her to embrace her magic, to love it and revel in the wonders of it. But he had also taught her to hide it from a world that did not understand it, a world that feared it. Her father had been running from those who feared it all his life. He had never been caught since his escape, until that night.

She knew little of what happened. It had been a normal day, she had been with him much of the afternoon as part of their usual lessons, studying the lore of magic. That night, her father had gone into the woods and had not come back. She had waited up until her eyes wouldn't stay open, waiting for him. She had drifted into the Fade for the first time in her life and her father had come to her, rushing to her side, panic in his eyes.

"Go outside, Aria. You must go outside!" he had almost shouted at her and before she could say more he had keeled over and vanished from the Fade.

She had jumped out of her bed in her nightgown and screamed for her mother to follow her as she ran outside.

She ran past the farms and over the bridge to the edge of the woods, her feet seemingly knowing where to go. Her mother had not followed her and had instead stayed behind with the two younger Hawke children. Hawke had found her father slumped against a tree, blood pouring from his side and his face scrunched up in agony. She had tried to help him up but she could not.

He had clutched her hand and stared into her eyes. "You will never be alone, my brave girl."

Her mother had caught up with her along with their neighbour, Old Barlin, who had known about the Hawke family and their secret for many years. He had looked at Malcolm Hawke's wound for not even a second before speaking. "He was shot with an arrow, one laced with Magebane."

Her mother had hoisted her father up with the aid of Old Barlin, and had dragged him home into their bed. She had cleaned his wound, and Hawke had helped her.

Old Barlin had looked at them sympathetically. "He has an hour at the most. It's poisoning his blood, making the lyrium kill him from the inside. It's illegal to have such a herb."

But her father had not died within an hour.. It had taken four days for the magebane to destroy her father completely. She had read tomes to him, pretending that they were studying magic lore and that he had just been overcome with a slight illness. The twins had not understood, they had thought their father was just sick. On the third day, he had started to become erratic, screaming terrible things: that he needed to run, that he wanted his mama and that she should not have been made tranquil just for loving another mage. He had screamed most of the day of how it was his fault and had only calmed down when their mother had come back from farming the land, to sing a lullaby to him. He had been instantly mesmerised and calmed by her soulful voice; he had smiled and said to her that she was beautiful.

On the fourth day, he had been still and quiet. His skin had been an off-grey, and he had slept for most of it. She had still pulled out her book and read to him. She had begun on a new book and was about to read about the lore of fire magic to him, when he grabbed her hand.

"I won't last much longer. They were coming for you, so I told them it was I that they sought. I love you very much, Aria. You have always made me so proud, and I bet you anything that you will make me prouder. Take care of them for me," he had whispered in a croaky voice.

She had kissed his hand and had tried to smile at her father, just to make sure his last days were not full of sadness and despair. She had gotten up to get her mother to come watch over him but her father's hand did not let her go. She had turned around and seen her father's green eyes staring at her. And yet they had not been his eyes anymore. They had become milky and were not truly looking at her. She had keeled over in shock and sobbed loudly, waking the entire house.

Hawke grabbed the pitcher of water, and poured it into a glass that was already set out for her. Her mother had always gotten up earlier than them so she could make them breakfast. But thinking about her father had brought on another flashback and it had made her almost choke on her water as she attempted to take a sip.

She remembered the pain, she let out one hollowed scream as her jet black hair lost every inch of its darkness as if her scream had turned it a dazzling white.

Hawke blinked and continued drinking, waiting for her sibling and her breakfast.

Leandra Hawke walked in to the small dingy room and lit the fire, Hawke looked at her mother; she was old now. Her hair was grey and the poverty they had to live in was making her look so much worse. And yet her mother carried on, she did not complain about her life and she cleaned up after them all with not a word or a complaint.

"Eggs for breakfast, Aria?" she chimed, already cracking the eggs into a pan over the pathetic excuse for an oven that Gamlen had.

"Sure thing, mama. Carver will be out soon too," she replied, noticing her mother eyeing their bedroom door.

"I thought your brother would be sleeping for the rest of the day after getting in so late last night," she said sternly but with a hint of amusement.

Her mother turned to look at her with a questioning look; she knew that her mother wanted all the details but she promised Carver she would not tell her.

"Oh yeah, he stayed behind and tried to outdrink Varric when me and Aveline left for home," she lied as her mother passed her a slice of bread and her scrambled eggs.

"Well, next time bring him home with you, I worry he's going to do something stupid," her mother pleaded light hearteningly, although Hawke detected that it had a note of seriousness to it.

"Most of the time I have to drag Aria home, mama, and you never complain to her!" Carver retorted as he stolled out of the bedroom and took the plate of food his mother offered him.

Hawke laughed as she watched her brother dig into the food with the same technique as her mabari, Spike did.

"So children, what are you going to be doing today? Actually, don't tell me, my hair will go more grey and I don't have the gold for hair dye these days." Her mother chuckled.

"Not much really Mother, just seeing a few contacts. We need to raise some money to get to the deep roads. Varric says that there is a dwarf looking for someone to find his lost cargo and it will be easy coin. Other than that, we can see where the day takes us!"

And with that, the two siblings grabbed their weapons and other supplies and headed out to the Hanged Man to meet their dwarven friend.