Blood From A Stone

by Adarian

Sequel to "Submission": Warden-Commander Tabris finds herself in the middle of an Elven revolution in Denerim. She tries to protect the diminishing rights of her people while coming to understand the horrifying nature of the taint. As of 04/04/14, significant changes made to make it less bad.

1. Prologue

Prologue

I stayed three weeks at the castle before I could leave. There were meetings and celebrations. All the people of Denerim wanted to see me, to say that they knew the Hero of Ferelden. Alistair did not want me to leave him there. I did not trust Arl Eamon, I never had, and I feared leaving him to the man's council.

But I was so tired. I could not deal with them anymore. I was tired of doing tricks for their politics; tired of everyone ignoring what was right before them.

I knew Sten was gone, left back to Seheron and then onwards to report to the Arishok. I thought of his hands upon me, his lips against mine. Each night I dreamt of him and each morning I woke alone. I didn't know if he loved me. Maybe he didn't know either. But did it matter? What were we against all we stood for?

Perhaps it was a good thing they distracted me so with their politics and meetings. It stopped me from chasing after him and making a fool of myself. What man would walk away from the Qun, from everything, for me? I could not ask it of him. I would let no man ask it of me.

At the beginning of the fourth week, I woke to the smell of the purple irises, left thoughtfully by a servant who remembered me trying to find them in the markets. I held one in my fingers, pulling off a petal. I pressed it between the pages of the journal I had kept for so long, the purple staining over the words of the Chant of Light.

I could not stay any longer. I needed to go home.