Blood from Stone [AU]

[Varric]

"Marian Bellflower Hawke. You're Beth and Carver's elder sibling and you raised them. You're my apprentice, my heir, and one of my kids. You're also Liz, a survivor that never gives up, even on the idea of giving up. You're Garrett, a happy bloke who just wants to have a good life with people that care about him. You're a student of magic, maths and more, a damn fine scribe and accountant and a budding magic user. You are yourself and you are loved."

[Marian Hawke]

I'm..yours. I'm... Marian Hawke. The words are slow, hesitant. Something bad happened, she adds, more rapidly. Something bad... I'm... I think I'm dead, but if I'm dead it's okay, because I'm protecting... someone important. And that's what I do. I protect people. I die to save them. That's what Marian is.

Firmer and firmer the voice seems to be getting. Oddly enough, the mist seems to be pulling back a bit, concentrating more toward one of the summoning circles. 

[Varric]

{Like h-eaps of slag it is!} Varric scowls, brow furrowing sharply. {That's part of you, yes, but not all of you. You are so much, much more than just a martyr. You remember that too, you hear me?}

[Marian Hawke]

I... am? wonders the voice. I am, it decides, more firmly.  I'm a fighter. I survive.

The mists thin further, giving Varric a good look at the body before him. And it's... not Marian Hawke, or at least, not the one he knew. This figure has a slim build, like a half-elf, but instead of dark brown, the long flowing hair stretched out on the floor is silver and gold, mottled. The eyes are open and empty, but they're not deep brown, they're a deep red. She's not breathing. The body appears to be a corpse. But it's a beautiful corpse, one crafted of just a little something extra mixed with mortal blood. 

[Varric]

Okay, that's progress. Of sorts, I think. Need more. Need to remind her of... more. {You are. You fight and struggle and yes, hurt, but you keep going. Always. Because you love too much to just die. You need to live, to keep living, you crave the joy and beauty of new things, new knowledge and of family and friends and lovers. That's you too."

[Carver Amell]

Carver wipes away tears, not for the first time, staring at the figure in the circle. Dad... please, I hope whatever you're doing is working. Please, Vangal, give me a sign, tell me if I need to help.

He fights the urge to call out, to say something. He doesn't want to disrupt what's going on.

[Marian Hawke]

I need to live, she repeats. The joy of knowledge, the beauty of beginnings. Yes. I want... I want to live. 

[Varric]

"Yes, that's right, daughter mine, you need to live," Varric repeats for the thrice time. "Find your flesh and come back to it. It's... a little different, but it's still yours. Come back to it. You know how, you've made the trek before. It's an old fight, a fight you won. Back you come now."

[Marian Hawke]

an old fight...

The gemstone, the ruby she'd been trapped in, fighting her way back into her body every night, clawing her way, desperate, unable to breathe, to see, to feel, everything red, ruby red, unable to scream, desperate for flesh, to live. 

And speaking of gemstones...

Thankfully he's got the astral diamonds in place; even as his mind is right there with her, fighting, desperate, his hands are warming up from the heat the diamonds are putting off. Meaning they're absorbing something. A lot of something. 

[Varric]

Didn't even notice Carver slipping the diamonds under my hand. Did I tell him to do that? Varric spares a thought to be deeply grateful that Carver has continued to do as he's asked. That the man didn't stop when Varric went silent, that Carver trusted him to be doing something and that Carver could be trusted to do his end just the same. Then he's focusing as hard as he can on Marian.

{An old fight that you won, yes. And one you can win again. This time you're not alone either. Your family is here. Come back to us. Not just for us, but for you. Come back to us and be loved. Be happy.}

[GamesMaster]

There's a crack, and a blinding light -- that'd be the arcana sync overloading, then, meaning things are now very much in motion. The force of it throws him backward, which has worse implications; it means the circle has been breached, the magic energy pummeling everyone in the room. One particular spot most of all...

Warm, firm arms catch him, wrapping around him before he hits the wall. There's no fear, just safety. But it's impossible to see at first, thanks to the light catching them all off-guard.

[Varric]

That was not the success I might have wanted. But we're not all dead (not  vague, thoughts and body too crips) so that's a win. The fuck happened? Shaking his head, he tire sto focus, tries to clear his vision so he can, well, figure out what the fuck happened?

[Carver Amell]

"Please," whispers Carver's voice, barely audible by Varric's ear -- a heartfelt whimper. "Please, Vangal, please."

[Marian Hawke]

Then there's a faint moan -- another living being somewhere in the room, despite the burst of magic and energy that must have pummeled the body.

Marian opens her eyes, her head pounding, mouth dry -- though the blood trickling from her nose into it might help with that, given time.

[Garret Tethras]

A cool hand, broad and strong, strokes down the side of Marian's cheek, then grips her shoulder. "You are... your shell has been made to be incorrect. I... I think I do not like that." The voice is deep, smooth and faintly accented with a lilting songlike quality. Masculine but very pretty despite that deep timbre. The hand is pale cream, with faint hints of gold as if lightly dusted with make-up. The leg and foot she can see as well match the hand, though there are claws on the toes instead of nails. Not ones suitable for attacking, at least not efficiently, but more for grip and maybe climbing.