The world was in chaos. Mages and Templars fighting their war, bringing death and destruction to every corner of Thedas. A young woman of twenty three found it difficult to live the peaceful life of a hunter, following the game trails as they constantly changed as the animals tried to avoid the battles. Being a nomadic hunter was much easier than having her own cabin, made her less of a target than the other poor saps caught in the crossfire. But she wasn't always like that. There was once a time where she was apart of a family, a loving family that minded its own business and kept to itself until it was time to find a trade center. But the Blight took that from her and she had been on her own ever since.

As the game trails turned towards the south and west parts of Ferelden, the young huntress began to hear more and more of this Conclave the Divine herself had called together. Curious, and knowing that there was a village near where the Conclave would be taking place, the young huntress decided to take a chance. She followed the game trails towards the village of Haven and went into town to trade what she caught and didn't need for herself, knowing she'd get a fair price for the lot.

"We could use more skilled hunters like yourself." the vendor commented, handing her the bag of coin she was due.

"It's hard for hunters nowadays with all that's going on. This war between mages and Templars is forcing the game trails to change sporadically."

"Yet you had no troubles it would seem."

The young huntress shrugged, offering a small smile. "I've been following some of these trails from the Waking Sea. It just takes a little extra determination, that's all." She thanked the vendor before heading out of the village gates, her part of the catch slung over her shoulder.

Looking around, she could see pilgrims, mages, Templars, clergymen, and soldiers alike. Haven wasn't just a trading center for the Conclave, it seemed to be a safe haven as well for those attending the Conclave. She stopped near the training grounds, seeing some greenhorn archers having difficulties. Smirking, she tapped the arm of a man nearby and pointed to the archers.

"They need to widen their stances, shift their right foot back a bit more, then they need to lower their elbows so that they are level and they need to anchor their thumbs to the base of their ears. Their bows are a bit heavy for them right now, too; the draw weight is too much for them to handle without either the bowstring or bow itself snapping or their muscles snapping. They should be on bows with a lower draw weight."

The man looked down at her as she offered him advice, looking between her and the archers she spoke of. Looking back at her, he made to reply but was met only with a smile before she stepped away and made her way towards the road out of Haven. He wanted to call out to her, to thank her or say anything, but someone called out to him and he turned, smiling as his significant other came running towards him.

"Who was that, Cullen?" she asked.

The man, Commander Cullen Rutherford of the Inquisition, shrugged and looked at the young woman who had just spoken to him. "I don't know, but she offered some advice to help the new recruits with their archery."

A loud boom accompanied by a crackling in the air, like lighting but laced with vast amounts of magik, erupted all around them and all eyes were drawn to the mountain. The sky was torn, an eerie green aura swirling above where the Temple of Sacred Ashes once stood. Something, or someone, had destroyed the Temple and perhaps all those within.

Cullen looked down at his lover. "Katie, I need you to go back to the village. We'll have wounded coming in and I need you to help the healers."

Katie Durham, a young woman of twenty six from Kirkwall, nodded. "What of you?"

Cullen looked at the chaos on the mountain. "I have to help them." He looked back at her, leaning down to kiss her briefly for a moment. "I'll be back, I promise. Just stay here and stay safe."

Katie nodded and watched as Cullen gathered some men and ran off towards the mountain. "Come back safe."

Meanwhile, the young huntress was well on her way down the road out of Haven, looking for a quiet place she could make camp, when the Temple of Sacred Ashes exploded. The force of the blast knocked her to her knees, debris from the mountain narrowly missing her. She looked to the mountain, her eyes wide when she saw the broken and torn sky. She knew that there would be people injured and trapped, so she found a safe place to stash her things before running to the mountain to aid in whatever way she could.

For three days, the young huntress aided the Inquisition in searching for survivors, bringing the wounded back to Haven for treatment. She was astounded that so many had survived while even more had died within the Temple itself. Save one, a young man of twenty seven who was found in the Temple after falling out of what people were calling a "rift"- a tear in the Veil that allowed demons to spew forth from the Fade on the other side. He was unconscious when they found him and bore a strange glowing green scar like mark on his left palm. He was taken into custody for treatment and for questioning.

As the days went by, it didn't seem like anything was going to calm down. Tensions rose even more between the mages and Templars as each side blamed the other for the explosion that killed the members of the Conclave and the Divine herself. When they weren't blaming each other, they blamed the young man who had somehow survived the explosion. The young huntress just stayed out of it and did what she could to help.

When the time came to go back to the Temple and try to seal the Breach as people had come to call the giant hole in the sky, Cullen took some of his men on the direct approach to the Temple while one of the other key members of the Inquisition, an Orlseian woman named Leliana, sent her spies up through the mountain pass she had taken years before with the Hero of Ferelden. As he and his men passed through the wreckage and ruins of the Temple, they came across demon after demon. They made quick work of them and pressed onwards, but soon found themselves facing more than they could handle alone. Cullen knew his men were losing their strength, but they had to hold on as long as they could. He didn't know if reinforcements would arrive so they had to rely on themselves. As the demons' numbers were finally beginning to thin out, Cullen and his men thought they were finally safe. But the rift surged once more and another wave came pouring through. Their strength nearly spent, the Commander and his men continued their struggle. But luckily, they were no longer alone.

Over the hill of ruins came the young huntress with the group of soldiers she had accompanied, arriving just in time to provide some very much needed aid. They jumped into the fray, cutting down demon after demon. Cullen slashed through a demon but was unaware of another closing in behind him until an arrow whizzed passed his ear and struck its mark. He turned as a greater shade writhed in pain before taking its final breaths and when he turned to retrace the path of the arrow, he saw the same young woman from the village who had offered the friendly and helpful advice for the archers. But before he could thank her, a bright light and surge of magikal energy pulsed through the ruins and the rift closed just seconds after. The Commander and the soldiers cheered and sighed in relief. Finally they were safe, even if it were only for now.

Back down in the village, the young huntress waited just outside the door to the war room. She had been asked for and just hoped that she hadn't done anything wrong.

"Hello, are you waiting for someone?"

The young huntress looked up and saw the woman who had called out to the man she had given the advice to, whom she found out was the Commander of the Inquisition's forces. "Seeker Pentaghast asked for me, but they're still in their meeting."

The woman smiled, extending a hand to the huntress. "I'm Katie Durham, by the way."

The young huntress smiled and returned the gesture. "Athewen."

"You've been incredibly helpful around Haven." Katie said. "But you're not from around here, or apart of the Inquisition are you?"

Athewen shook her head. "No, just a hunter and tracker who wanted to help in anyway I could."

Katie looked at the young huntress, seeing a woman just a few years younger than her with freckled cheeks, tanned skin, long auburn hair, eyes as blue as lyrium- the right of which sported two scars partially hidden beneath her bangs- and a scarf tied around her head, covering her forehead and most of her ears. She was beautiful, but there was something different about her too- something she couldn't quite place. "With everything going on, we definitely could use the extra hands."

Athewen regarded the woman, noting she was just a few years older with fair skin, sunkist golden hair, and soft chestnut eyes. She seemed humble and kind, a good quality that was rare to find nowadays. "Are you apart of the Inquisition?"

Katie nodded. "Yes, I help the healers and apothecaries, as well as wherever else I am needed."

Athewen recalled how she had looked at the Commander. "You're here with Commander Cullen."

Katie blushed and nodded. "I came here with him from Kirkwall."

Athewen smiled, chuckling a bit. "You're quite taken with him it would seem. How long have you been together?"

Katie's blush deepened. "Eight months now."

"You are quite a cute couple." Athewen said, her smile growing. It was so rare to see someone so smitten as Katie was. She could only imagine how Cullen must be around her. She made to comment something further, but the door to the war room opened.

"Ah, we've been waiting for you."

Athewen looked at the Orlesian woman, the spymaster Leliana. "Forgive me, I did not want to intrude."

Leliana smiled. "It's quite alright, you may come in." She turned her attention to Katie, dipping her head down respectfully. "Katie, we should be finished in just a moment or two."

"No worries, Sister Leliana. I just wanted to give these reports to you for Quartermaster Threnn." Katie handed her the stack of papers. "I'll be down at the tavern, if you could let Cullen know?"

Leliana nodded. "Of course." She returned her attention to Athewen. "Please, come inside."

Athewen nodded, hurrying inside the war room. She stood silent, feeling uneasy with all eyes now upon her.

Leliana closed the door and returned to her position at the table, setting down the stack of reports. "Allow me to introduce everyone." She listed off those present from herself to Commander Cullen Rutherford to Seeker Cassandra Pentaghast to the newly named Herald of Andraste William Trevelyan and to Ambassador Josephine Montilyet.

"A pleasure to meet you all. My name is Athewen."

"You have been quite helpful these last few days." Leliana said, looking at her.

"I couldn't just leave after what happened at the Temple, it wouldn't have been right."

"We are most grateful for the assistance."

"Indeed. You saved my life back at the Temple." Cullen said, dipping his head in gratitude to her. "You have my thanks."

"And Katie's, too, I'm sure." Leliana replied, smirking at the Commander.

Athewen sensed that they all knew each other somehow on a more personal level. "If you don't mind, may I ask why I was asked here?"

Cassandra turned to her. "I asked you here to offer you a position within the Inquisition."

Athewen looked at her, stunned. "You want me to join the Inquisition? I'm not really sure what I can contribute."

"You are a skilled hunter and more than capable of handling yourself in battle." Cassandra said. "And you've already gained the trust and respect of those you've helped. And these days, that does not come easily."

"Could you give me some time to consider your offer?"

"Of course."

Athewen excused herself, hurrying out of the room. She made her way through the village, wanting to find a nice quiet spot to think. She exited the village and went towards the lake, finding a nice quiet spot on the docks above the ice. She sat down and contemplated everything that had happened over the last few days.

Between the explosion at the Conclave, the demons, and running back and forth helping the healers with the wounded or the soldiers with searching for survivors it had been chaotic to say the least. But Athewen was finding that she felt a sense of satisfaction, almost a sense of belonging, that she hadn't felt since the Blight.

"Hey, Mouse."

Athewen looked behind her to find the dwarf with the crossbow, Varric Tethras, coming down the dock towards her. She smiled, finding she didn't mind the nickname he had given her. "Hey, Varric."

"Thinking about something big?"

"You could say that." She sighed. "Cassandra asked me to join the Inquisition."

"You'd be a huge asset here, between your skills as a hunter and tracker and your skills in battle. I heard Curly practically gushing over you when he talked about your skills as an archer. Pretty sure he wants to ask you to help train the recruits."

"They do need a bit of extra help." Athewen noted, her smile growing. "Whoever was teaching them could use a few extra lessons too."

"See? So what's the problem then?"

Athewen sighed. "I've been on my own for a long time now. I honestly just don't think I could really be apart of something this big."

"Maybe it's just me, but you really seem to fit in here with everyone. Even if you hide the fact that you're an elf."

Athewen eyed him curiously. "What gave it away?"

"You're far too pretty to be a human, Mouse. Besides, why else would you keep your ears covered like that?"

Athewen reached up, touching the soft scarf she kept tied around her head to hide her ears- finding that it was much easier to hide her elven heritage than deal with the insane amount of discrimination. "Perhaps I just like wearing a scarf around my head."

"And I'm the Empress of Orlais." Varric chuckled. "No one here is going to judge you for being an elf. And if they do, they'll get a nice talking to from Bianca here."

Athewen smiled at that.

"I think you should stick around, Mouse. You'd do well here and we need all the help we can get fixing this mess."

Athewen looked up at the sky, finally reaching her decision. "You know, Varric? I think I might do just that."