Into the Dragonverse

Nearly 500.000 words.

That’s the number of words Anna and I have written during these last six months (half of which have been discarded again or wait to be rewritten, all because we had An Idea™ and thought it would be easy peasy to include this idea into our already nearly-done story, but that’s another story). Yes, we’ve been working on a story; or rather several stories — of our Dragon Age headcanons. Some of you might remember this article from January 2017 where I already linked several of our stories. I updated the links in the article, since our DA2 story, as well as my Solavellan story, have been completely overhauled.

|| General note: we have not only written Dragon Age stories. Anna’s pseudonym on AO3 is Kunstpause, and you can find DOS2 and Star Wars stories there as well. Julie’s pseudonym on AO3 is Elveny and there have been a few Star Wars stories as well. For teasers, prompts and memes, find us on Tumblr. ||

Those who have been following this blog and/or our Letters From Thedas know already that we have created a rather extensive universe in which our OCs co-exist. For these last six months, we have been working on writing their story down — most notably our Dragon Age 2 story.

Let me introduce you to our very personal universe. Or rather universes.

The Dragon Age Setting

There are of course the stories that are set within the world of Thedas that we know from the games. There are more in work, but two series are currently being published.

Precipice of Change

For the elder Hawke twins, it was not the first time they had to leave their home behind and start somewhere fresh, always hiding, always on the run. Adriene and Cassia Hawke thought that the worst was behind them after they escaped the Blight… but a city like Kirkwall was just as likely to bring them closer together than it was likely to tear them apart.

Precipice of Change is co-written by both of us and tells the story of Adriene and Cassia Hawke, our Champions of Kirkwall. Adriene and Cassia are twins, and the trilogy is still being written. The first part, The Hands of Fate Are Your Own, is finished and updated each Monday. Read about how they came to Kirkwall, how they fall in love and nearly lose each other, how they fail and succeed.

A spark lit up in Cassandra’s eyes as she realized he was finally willing to cooperate. She was already phrasing a question in her head when something gave her pause. “What do you mean by ‘which one’ ?” she asked carefully. “The Champion of Kirkwall, of course.”

Varric gave her an almost devious grin. “See, this is where everyone else might have lost you. Those stories you’ve heard? They seem a bit much for a single person, right?” Cassandra’s eyes went wide as he continued. “All those contradictions would make for one very weird person – or for two pretty regular ones, I suppose…”

Spark of Hope

Lyssa is a young city elf living in Denerim’s alienage and still a child when her magic surfaces. Her family decides to hide her from the templars. But when the Blight comes, and only Lyssa and her mother are left, they flee Denerim to find the Dalish. They find a home there, and love, and loss, and family. Years later, the mage-templar war rages across the lands, and Lyssa is sent by her Keeper to go to the Conclave to find out what happens…

Spark of Hope is written by Julie and set in her “single Inquisitor” universe. It tells the story of how Lyssa finds her way to the Dalish and then to the Inquisition where she falls in love with Solas. There are six parts, four are already published. The last chapter of Heat, the latest part, will be published next Saturday; the following part, Flying Sparks, will start in November.

Lyssa offered him the brush, but instead of taking it from her, Solas laid his hand over hers and guided it towards the wall and she stilled in flustered surprise. Her breath hitched slightly as she felt the warmth from his body directly next to her, nearly close enough to touch. His fingers were cool and firm on hers as he guided her, his voice close to her ear as he explained the technique, but Solas seemed oblivious to the nervous flutter that made her heart speed up as she felt his breath ghost over her skin.

“You see?” Solas asked, and she realized she had barely heard a word he had said.

“Uhm,” she made, blinking at the fresh lines on the wall, heat rising in her cheeks as he guided her hand through another brush stroke. “I…”

A slow smile curled in the corner of his mouth as he looked at her. “Trouble concentrating?” he asked with just a hint of teasing, and the cadence of his voice sent a warm shiver down her back.

The Modern Alternate Universe settings

Immersing yourself in a story and in a setting so much is rewarding, but also exhausting. And sometimes, there are ideas that come and that want to be written and then inspire other stories.

You Can Learn to Like Anything (by Adding Copious Amounts of Sugar)

Cassia Hawke, a successful lawyer, and the daughter of High Society woman Leandra Amell, stumbles into a coffee shop one morning after a long, very long night, and finds herself charmed by the barista, Cullen Rutherford — and keeps coming back.

You Can Learn to Like Anything (by Adding Copious Amounts of Sugar) (finished, 5 chapters) is a completely gratuitous Coffee Shop AU to our Dragon Age 2 story. Fluffy and drama-free, and absolutely adorable, it tells the story of how Cassia and Cullen fall in love. Because of course they do!

A bright smile lit up her entire face. “You made me like coffee somehow, so whatever you made yesterday, I need another one.”  She scrunched her eyes together, reading his nametag. “Cullen.”

With a laugh, he went to make her the same drink again. “Not a big coffee fan then, I take it?”

She almost shuddered when she answered. “God no, it tastes horrible! I don’t know how anyone can stand it to be honest?”

“Yet here you are, in a coffee shop. For the second day in a row, I might add.” He felt like should be almost insulted, but somehow, despite this being the second slightly strange conversation they had, he found her oddly charming.

Family is What You Make of it

Adriene Hawke, daughter of the successful lawyer Malcolm Hawke and High-Society lady Leandra Amell, is not quite what her parents hoped she would be. Unlike her twin Cassia and her younger sister Bethany, she has not the heart or mind for law school, nor is she a doctor, like her brother Carver. She has found her calling in social work, without ambitions to ever step up to either the Hawke or Amell traditions – something her mother cannot, for the life of her, understand.
Things escalate when a business dinner ends with Adriene punching someone and storming off – straight into the tattoo studio of Fenris who, as she knows, is searching for a roommate. Because one thing is clear, she cannot stay at home any longer, so what better way to shock her mother by moving in with her supposed boyfriend…?

Family is What You Make of it (finished, 8 chapters) is set in the same universe as the above You Can Learn to Like Anything. Fake Dating, Roommate AU… both combined into a fluffy love story between Adriene and Fenris. With just the right amount of pining, of course!

“He’s no stranger,” Adriene snapped back and looked at Fenris who seemed strangely unbothered by the whole exchange. A sudden thought came to her, and she acted before thinking twice about it. “In fact,” she said before her mother could add something else insulting and quickly jumped down the stairs again to wrap her arms around Fenris. “In fact, he’s my boyfriend.”

“He is what?!” Leandra stared at her daughter, too shocked to notice the utter surprise on Fenris’ face.

“I’m what now?” he muttered, blinking at Adriene. She gave him a smile that was a bit too bright, a look in her eyes that was both pleading and panicked.

There Are No Lights Left in The City

If she could tell anyone that she worked for a secret government agency they would probably think Cassia’s life would be very exciting. It could not be further from the truth. As a data analyst Cassia is not the type to go on adventures or to meet new people – she rather leaves the excitement for the field agents like her sister.
But sometimes you can’t choose just what you get mixed up with. Or what people suddenly turn your world upside down.

There Are No Lights Left in The City (WIP, 8/18 chapters) is the Crime Fighting / Crime Lord AU you never knew you needed. Have a shady crime boss Cullen Rutherford and a naive but brilliant agent Cassia Hawke, add a touch of undercover work gone wrong and the underlying notion that things are not quite how they seem…

“Go out with me!” There was a hint of urgency in his voice that had Cassia feel warm inside as she turned around to face him. “Tomorrow night,” he insisted. “I have to go on a small business trip two days from now and I don’t think I can wait another week before I see you again.”

“I’d love to,” she answered before she had even thought about it. Did she have something planned for tomorrow already? She really hoped she hadn’t, or whoever else wanted some of her time would have to live with being cancelled on. Tomorrow. That meant she had about a day to stop all that furious blushing she had been doing. “That might just give me enough time to find my composure again,” she muttered under her breath but Cullen had definitely heard her.

“Wonderful!” he said with a smile before leaning in close enough so she could see herself reflected in his eyes. “I am already thinking up more ways of making you lose it,” he murmured lowly. “You look absolutely breathtaking when you are flustered.”

Coming Soon:

Fictober is a project equivalent to Inktober, where you write a drabble to a prompt every day during October. We have taken an old idea of ours and will write an AU story for every prompt. One chapter for each day of October.

Mythal raised her hand to the Eluvian, sending ripples over its shimmering surface. But instead of opening to the Crossroads, faces began to flicker over it, events, whispers of words and screams flittering through the air. He recognized some of them, although they were altered from how he knew them, and he found himself fascinated. Every movement of her hand brought another picture.

“Even if they haven’t, I have noted the moments where a single decision changed the course of this world forever,” she murmured, her voice mesmerizing and multilayered in the twilight. “Come and see, old friend.”

Have fun!

Featured picture by Elvenbeard.

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