AN: In this fanfiction, Dragon age was never a game on earth that my OC could have played and in turn have for knowledge about future events when she'd been reincarnated into dragon age. It's a sticky element that I wanted to skip over which is usually common in these types of fanfictions. Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Bioware, no money was maid here. This is not Beta-ed. If you wana beta my work PM me.

Chapter 1

The Antivian "merchant Prince" Prince Filip Medici arranged a political marriage between his youngest cousin, my mother, Alena Medici and Duke Lennon de Ghislain of Nevarra. Together they own a large rural fiefdom on the Nevarran side of the Nervarra/Orlais boarder in the region known as The Fields of Ghislain. There was no love lost between the pair. Their marriages' soul purpose was to strengthen the distant political ties of the neighbouring countries of Nervarra, Orlais and Antiva. While Alena and Duke Lennon had no great political power themselves since their fiefdom consisted of rural lands and small farming villages. They did have clout in the form of their distant relatives. For Lennon, it's his relation to Nevarra's ruling clan, The Pentaghasts from his maternal mother and the Orlisian de Ghislain family on his paternal side through his father. For Alena Medici, it's her distant relation to Prince Filip Medici of Antiva, one of the twelve merchant princes that rule Antiva. The House Medici of Antiva City are wealthy Bankers with affiliations to both the House of Crows and the Antivan Armada. Besides her political relations, Alena Medici brought with her into the marriage an obscene monetary wealth.

To this pair I was born out of duty but not love as they had need for the obligatory heir and thus, I came into the world in the summer of 9:21 of the dragon age and named Vivian Liliana de Ghislain. It was an extremely dramatic time for my parents because of my unusual colouring. My father had peachy pale skin, straight sandy blond hair and blue/grey eyes while my mother had the traditional thick curly dark brown hair, black/brown eyes and tan skin of the Antiivan's. I looked nothing like either of them with my thick curly while/silver hair, my striking teal green/blue eyes and porcelain white complexion. Until a mage from the city of Nervarra performed a ritual to verify my parentage my mother was under suspicion of adulty and under a lot of scrutiny from both their families. It turns out I had mild albinism, but I was the full-blooded child of both Alena and Duke Lennon de Ghislain without any doubt. This is what I think soured any love my mother might have had for me. That my birth had put her position in the aristocracy into question even ever so briefly, that it left a scar on our relationship from the get-go.

It didn't help that in comparison, my father adored me (once my 'appropriate' heritage was confirmed) and since she loathed the man she was forced to marry, she hated me in turn on that principle alone. I never let this truly get to me(much). I had loving parents in my first lifetime in another world, so I felt no need to replace them with the parents given to me in this world, my second lifetime.

You heard me correctly. This is my second lifetime. That's where my unexpected eye colour comes from actually. It's the eye colour I was born with the first time around. Back on earth they used to say that the eyes were the window to the soul. I didn't think much about it at the time but its hard not to put more stalk in such notions when I look in the mirror in now. Before I had died, I had been a recently graduated 24-year-old chemist working as a low-level gofer in a pharmaceutical laboratory. Really, I'd wanted to be artiest. I'd ben a fan of cartoons as a kid and I started to sketch my own. I even got really good at computer animation as well, but paintings rarely ever paid the bills, so I went to university or a bachelor's degree in chemistry instead. In the long run, the practical degree didn't serve me as well as my parents had hoped. It actually led to my death ironically. One of my ingenious superiors made a fatal mistake while I was in the nearby vicinity and let's just say my death was explosive and unquestionably fatal. I still take sick satisfaction that he went down with me when I think back on that fateful day, the idiot. Anyways, I mourned that life already in the first few months of my rebirth and while I will always remember it fondly, I have committed myself to make the best of this second opportunity I've been given. It helps that have the advantage of an adult mind and all the life experience I carried over with me from the beyond. From what I can tell I will certainly need it.

So, going back to my new parents. In full disclosure, regardless of how inexplicably fond I am of the man (like you would be of a simple minded pet animal), my father is a spineless halfwit with an ego the size of mars and an arrogant self-entitled ass with no self preservation skills to speak of, or any skills at all as far as I can observe. I can see why my mother would not have been thrilled about being married to him. My mother, in comparison is a masterful socialite with a spine of steel and plays what I've learned is called 'The Game' with the best of them. You can deduce who wears the pants in that relationship. While I resent her cold attitude towards me, I will always have a great respect for her ability to keep our estate in working order and saving our collective reputation among the ruling class whenever father makes a grievous social faux pas. So says the servant's insider gossip at any rate so it must be true.

I'm only a four-year-old sheltered, spoiled aristocratic princess but I have quickly learned that this new world, 'Thedas' is right fucked up. Outside of the lack of modern technological advances and liberties I was accustomed to Before, like plumbing, electricity, germ theory, basic education for all and freedom to information, there is also rampant racism that makes my earthling sensibilities rankle like never before. Being trapped in the small body of a child has clear draw backs. I can do nothing to alter this grievous and deeply ingrained systemic travesty that is the racial and social class system.

Almost all our servants are poorly paid second-class sub-humans of the elven race. When they are not ignored as though they don't exist by the "shems" A.K.A humans, of the estate, (even fellow human servants who are paid a hell of a lot more then the elves.) Then they are treated cruelly in the form of corporal punishment, physical and emotional abuse, and callous manipulations. It's fucking appalling.

While there isn't much, I can do right now to change the status quoi, I didn't turn a blind eye either, I can tell you right fucking now. Thus, in this new life, my only true emotional attachments have been to the elven servants. Especially those like Seriel my personal maid servant and caretaker and Alron, the elderly head elven butler (who is secretly a mage. Magic is real! Go figure). I do my best to act as an oasis for them and treat them with the same respect I would have anyone else back on earth. There responses to my unexpected kindness (and basic human decency) had made me cry myself to sleep on more then one evening when I found myself alone in my (massive) bed at night contemplating life.

It also helps that my parents are mostly absent, negligent. They leave the child rearing to the staff which is loosely supervised by the most influential servant on the estate, The Stewart Markus Pilus. He's a middle aged retired (probably due to an old leg would that makes him limp when he walks.) Chevalier and an old acquaintance of my mothers. He is also a marginally intelligent opportunistic scum bag and Alron's superior and head of security.

Technically speaking Alron should have been the estates Stewart since he's been serving my father's family since his birth, but when mother married father she brought Markus along with her and had him replace Alron as Stewart forcing the older elf into a demotion. Of course, Markus has never let Arlon forget it and whenever an opportunity arises, he remand's the older elf that the switch was only right since a "knife ear" has no right to be above the superior humans. So Yeah, as you can image, I hate the guy to no end. He is also my mother's eyes and ears on the estate, so I must be INCREDIBLY careful around the man. Ugh, if and when I inherit this place when my parents die, I'm getting ride of his creepy ass before they're bodies are cold. That being the first among other changes I have catalogued in the recesses of my mind.

Now, before this story really gets rolling, the last thing that needs to be addressed is my status as a child prodigy. This is a result of the one and only trips I took with my mother off the estate to be introduced to my Antivan relatives. I unfortunately spent most of the visit being sequestered in my mother's suite with Seriel in the estate we were staying at in Antiva so I can't say I really got to see much of my mother's homeland. The rare occasions I was let out of the suite was to be taken to a richly decorated parlour to meet some of my mother's siblings and relatives. I was turning two years old at the time and the only memorable moment of the trip was when I was introduced to Mariana Medici, Prince Filip Medici's wife. She was a strikingly beautiful women dripped in rich jewels and finery and held herself with an unforgeable imposing demeanor. It was she who had noticed my unusually large vocabulary and maturity for a toddler.

Keep in mind I had been self aware since the moment of my birth and the first task I set myself was to try and master the new language know as 'common' to try and orient myself in this strange new world. By the age of two years I had succeeded and spoke the language like a Navarran native and never considered the possible danger I might put myself in as a result.

Thankfully, rather then assuming I was possessed, (which I learned from Alron is a very real possibility in this world) she dubbed me to be mother's "Pequeño genio" which means 'little genius' in Antivan. You would think this would endear me to my mother a little since I left a positive impression on the head of the Medici family, but you would be wrong.

When I was announced as a child prodigy to all the Medici's present in the parlor at the time, Mariana decreed to my mother that I would begin my tutelage the very next day as befitting an heir and that, in order to 'supervise' my intellectual growth, Mariana and I would become pen pal of a kind and exchange monthly letters so I may practice my penmanship and reading.

This was a stroke of ingenious maneuvering on Mariana's part and my first true exposure to 'The Game'.

I could not tell you why Mariana felt the need. I'm sure there are political nuances in play that I am not privileged to know but essentially, she would be keeping a close eye on my family through my letters. I would be her oblivious informant. She was probably under the assumption that I wouldn't know to censor myself given my age and inexperience and even with my past life as it was that is probably still true to an extent since I never had to concern myself with subtle social and political maneuvering before in any capacity.

The moment I learned of the existence of "The Game" in this world I took an instant dislike and I knew I would never be very successful when I entered the field during my future debutant Ball at the age of 11. But, I wasn't a fool either and knew I had to gain connections enough to keep my head above water when the time came.

This is why I took the risk and choose to take advantage of the opportunity the letters presented. When mother and I returned to our family home, my strict tutelage began in earnest covering innumerable topics, such as history, etiquette, dancing, arithmetic, reading and writing, calligraphy, feminine arts etc. The lot of it was steeped in racial propaganda as well but I was smart enough to filter out the bull shit and absorb the truly practical information that might serve me well later. When I wrote to Mariana, rather then censor myself I took the risk to be as honest with the women as I could regarding the realities of my home life like my parents horrible marriage, my father's poor and excessive behavior socially, the abuse the servants face at the hands of the Stewart among others and my parents negligence regards to myself. Now, this could truly backfire on me later and Mariana could use the information I have given her to socially destroy my family and myself along with them so there in lies the risk. I'm four now, nearly five years old so we've been writing each other for a little over two years and she's done me no harm so far. As far as I can see it was a gamble well played. The tone of her responses has grown increasingly fond and her advice has been invaluable. I won't go so far as to say Mariana's maternal but she is definitely an ally in this lonely life, the only one I have in fact outside of the elven servants who by this point are staunchly loyal to me above all others on the estate.

I can see why the ruling class can become addicted to The Game though. It really is quite thrilling and the adrenaline rush you get from the possibility of getting caught by an opponent is sort of like the high risk rush you would get from Russian roulette mix in with the naive teenaged thrill of sneaking out of the house when your parents are sleeping. But the reality is you have a 50/50 chance of dying when playing Russian roulette and you can fall and die from the tall trellises your climbing down when you sneak out of the house. I am very aware of the dire consequences when playing The Game which sours any thrill, I might get from it. Also, it's a little disheartening when my own mother is the enemy in this so-called game.

When my letters to Mariana Medici began, mother made sure to be in the room when I wrote them, and she always screened the responses I received in turn. What she wasn't aware of was the letters I wrote with her present and the ones that arrived in the regular mail from Mariana were decoys.

In truth, I would always pen my true letter to Mariana in secret at night at my desk in my study which was located in my suite. This happened once a month at every new moon when the night was at it's darkest. Just past midnight, through a window of my third-floor study, a masked Antivan Crow would appear to collect my letter and hand over the response Mariana wrote from the one I'd written the month before.

I never had any true inkling about who the Antivan Crow's truly were or who acted as simple yet clandestine couriers for Mariana until a month after my third birthday when I covered Antivan history and politics with one of my many tutors. I was understandably shaken after I realized that Mariana had enough political clout to use world renowned assassins (who fend off the Qunari from ever attacking Antiva again by reputation alone) as monthly gophers. Yeah, not a person I would ever risk getting angering and once again I wondered what Mama had done where Mariana Medici felt all of this effort, she was going though to keep tabs on my family was necessary through me. I was never dumb enough to ask, that for sure.

Just as I found my sea legs in this second lifetime, everything changed. In the spring of 9:26 Dragon Age (only a couple months away from my fifth birthday that summer) I woke up to receive unexpected guests at breakfast time. A small contingent of four Orlesian Chevaliers who came barring bad news. I abandoned my half-eaten plate and left the dinning room with Seriel who dressed me in a royal blue velvet day dress with Black brocade detailing. I had never had to receive a guest before. If it was not mother, then it would have been The Stewart Markus. The only reason I would be receiving them is of they asked for me specifically.

The final and most important piece of my ensemble was my child sized Orlisan mask which Mariana gifted to me on my last birthday. It's a shiny black metal mask made of rare Silverite that covers the upper half of my face. On the forehead it had a decorative rose pressed into the metal representing the House de Ghislain's unique purple rose. The indented mental rose was filled with mauve Dawnstone which contrasted nicely with the Silverite. A black ribbon hidden in my elaborate updo held the mask to my face and thankfully obscured my expression.

When I met with the solders, they shared with me the fate of my parents. They had left last week for Orlais for the beginning of the social season, but they never made it to the city. One night as they camped on the side of the road they were attacked and robbed by bandits who left no one alive including both my mother and father. I asked what became of the bandits if they had been found and charged with murder for my parents' demise. Turns out, before Orlais's forces could catch up with them they had been killed by a hired mercenary group know as the Fisher's Bleeders who had no idea the real identity of the person who hired them. As such their investigative trail went cold and the deaths of Alena and Duke Lennon de Ghislain of Nevarra was considered an unfortunate turn of bad luck and nothing more.

Thus, I became the new Duchess de Ghislain of Nevarra at four years old. A title not to be confused with the duke de Ghislain of Orlais. Same title, different country (and coincidentally distantly related to each other.) Now, my inheriting the title was not so simple as only needing the passing of my parents. There was a lot of pomp and ceremony to see to before it can be finalized, and my title secured. This is all made much more difficult became of my lack of political connections in Navarra (or almost anywhere really) and the fact I haven't had my coming out yet into polite society with a debutants ball. Lastly, I must ensure my mother and father's entombment ceremony into the family tombs located in the Grand Nocropolis in Nevarra city followed by six weeks of public mourning. Once this is done, I must make a pledge of allegiance at a small yet important ceremony in the Nevarran royal chambers to Markus Pentaghast, the current ruler of Nevarra and he in turn must except my pledge.

This is mainly the usually ceremonial pomp and circumstance in Nevarra following any noble coming into there titled inheritance. The risk though is, if done correctly, and with enough political maneuvering, other nobles can have Markus Pentaghast refuse my pledge and give my title and lands to another. This almost never happens. It looks poorly upon Markus Pentaghast to strip his nobles of there titles without just cause since if he's willing to do so to one lord or lady then he could very well to it to others and nobility don't like to have there lands, titles and riches put at risk in such a manner. Also, most nobles who come to pledge to the ruler to finalize an inherited title usually have strong political ties to other lords and ladies who would strongly object and make the Kings life difficult if he dared to do that to them. The problem is I do not have such political ties at my disposal and clearly my parents were assassinated by persons unknown with dubious intentions, possibly making me there next target.

I was also unexpectedly upset emotionally regarding there passing. There was no love to be had between my parents and I but, my mother was a shield which stood between myself and the dubious political landscape of the aristocracy until I became older and more prepared. My father was an arrogant and foolish man but somehow, he was very fond of me and on the rare occasions I got to spend time with him he showered me in rich gifts. My favorite being the blue/grey spotted Mabari puppy he gifted to me for my fourth birthday I named Isis after an old Egyptian goddess from earth.

They were terrible parents, there is no doubt about that and yet they shielded me from the harsh truth of this new world and now I had to face it alone. Unsurprisingly, the world will not wait for anyone, not even me so I had not time to properly process their loss before I had to jump feet first into Thadus's unforgiving adult reality. It made me ache inside for my old life and the family, security, and comfort I once knew when I had lived as Audrey Grant. Best not to dwell though. I'm not simply Audrey anymore, I'm Vivian Liliana de Ghislain, Duchess of the Nevarran de Ghislain rural fiefdom and proud of it. Don't let them see me waver as anything less, or the wolves of this world won't hesitate to swallow me whole.

Following my parent's assassination, the first person I ran to for guidance outside of my head butler Arlon was Mariana Medici. The moment the Orlisan Chevaliers left the estate, I went to my study to pen an emergency missive to the women. Really, it's solely due to the efforts of that women that I survived the following year and successfully secured my lands and title while in Nevarra City. I'm forever indebted to the women and I hope she never asked for anything too dubious when she inevitably come one day to collect. Not only had Mariana sent her second son, Santiago Filip Medici as a chaperone and a Medici representative in support of my inheritance. (also, a visual reminder of the political alliance my parents marriage represented to begin with) She also sent a party of twelve solders from the Antivan Armada to act as escort over the following months in Nevarra.

Before leaving for the city, as I waited for Santiago medici to arrive at the estate, I fired Markus Pilus and reinstated Alron as Stewart of the estate. Markus's parting threats following this action lead me to believe he had some hand in my parents' demise and that I may very well see him again in the future. He didn't say anything too obviously incriminating, but it led credence to my belief that there was some yet unknown party in the shadows who had it out for my family whom I was now convinced Markus had ties too. I'm not sure how yet because until that point I though him loyal to my mother. Also, even if my title was taken from me, Markus would not be able to become the Duke in my place since he is the second son of a lesser noble Orlisan family while my title and lands were Nevarran. I also gathered the staff in the ball room and announced new policies I was putting in place immediately which would make the racism and abuse the servants faced unacceptable, especially the elven staff, and the pay's would become standardized regardless of race or gender. Those who objected to the new policies or supported Markus were let go. It had been a depressing percentage of the human servants whom I had to fire and even some of the elven staff as well which I had not foreseen.

I couldn't do much more until I returned in the fall from my stay in Nevarra city with Santiago Medici. Alron would spend much of the time I had been away implementing my policies and hiring new staff to replace the ones who were laid off. The rest would have to wait.