Blight Tales
A Collection of One shots
Dragon Age Fanfiction
By Bionca Femme
"A single blade in a country at war"
In Redcliffe:
"Strange," Sten murmured and his head turned to again glance at Asala strapped to his back, as if making sure the sword was really there. "Completion," he groaned in audible relief. "I had almost forgotten the feeling," his eyes fell back down upon Kallian Tabris and for a moment it seemed as though he was about to smile.
Kallian waited, she herself keeping her face straight and then it happened, Stens lips curved upwards marginally. And though he showed no teeth, for Kallian that smile was worth traipsing half-way all over Ferelden just for a single sword.
"Are you certain you are a Grey Warden?" Sten's voice held a very subtle teasing note. "I think you must be an Ashkaari, to find a single blade in a country at war. I would thank you, if I but had the words."
Kallian's own face split into a grin. "There's no need to thank me. You have done so much for me…I mean, us, already Sten."
Sten looked down at her in that intense way that often made Kallian's knees weak. His violet eyes burrowed into her blue ones and she felt utterly naked under his gaze. Never had anyone had such an effect on her, merely by looking at her.
"Then I will stay Warden, I think that I could deliver a more satisfying report to the Arishok, were the Archdemon dead, do you not agree?" he asked her with a lifted brow.
She reached out to him then, clasping his forearm in a warriors handshake, a wide grin on her face. "Absolutely!" she agreed, and when his large hand slid gently down her forearm he ghosted his fingertips over the palm of her hand, and she shivered.
He saw this and the smile returned, the subtle teasing in his voice that would have gone unnoticed by anyone but her. "Are you cold, Kadan?"
She restrained herself from telling him that yes, she was cold and she needed him, hot, hard and sweaty on top of her. But she would not break this tentative relationship they were building by being crude. She settled for shaking her head, "Not now, Sten."
Redcliffe; the night before the final battle:
"Sten?" the voice of Kallian called to him from the main doors and he stiffened momentarily before relaxing. They may die tomorrow, there was no need to continue on this charade. He cared for her, there was no denying it now.
"Kadan," he grunted an acknowledgment and waited for her to seat herself next to him on the front steps.
"What are you doing out here?" she questioned. Her small body involuntarily leaning into his side for heat. A habit she had developed when they were at camp. Though she did it with him more than anyone else, claiming that he generated a lot of heat. To which he had replied, 'You're talent for stating the obvious is astounding, Warden.' This had gotten him an appreciative laugh and he could not say that he was displeased with the sound.
The Sten of the Beresaad had so many answers to that question, finally he settled for the most harmless one. "I was told there would be cake," he growled. And then he looked down at her with an accusatory glare, "The cake is a lie!"
This had the desired effect as she bit her bottom lip in a valiant effort not to laugh and then finally her composure broke and she erupted with laughter that warmed his heart. "Sten! Oh Maker!" she giggled. "The cake is a lie!" she lowered her voice in what he assumed was an attempt at mimicking him. Inadequate as the attempt was, it seemed to amuse her further and she laughed harder, wrapping her arms around her middle in a futile effort to contain her laughter.
"I am happy that the lack of satisfactory confections amuses you," Sten replied tersely but a smile pulled at the corners of his lips none-the-less.
"It does, you are are a very funny man, my dear Sten," she replied and looped her arm with his and leaned her head on his bicep.
Sten's heart sped up but he made no move to push her away, after tonight, there would be no more chances to be close to her like this. After tonight, if they both lived, he would return to Seheron and she would likely stay in Ferelden.
"Sten," she said suddenly. "How do the Qunari…" she trailed off a note of embarassment in her voice.
"Ask your question, Kadan," he commanded.
"Well, I was wondering about Qunari marriages," she said quietly.
"The Qunari don't marry as you think of it, Kadan. The bond goes much deeper than a mere utterance of words. There is a…mating ritual. Every Qunari female is marked by her mate, in a show of dominance that every Qunari male recognizes. A Qunari female would be off-limits to any other male but her mate and she can only ever have one mate in her lifetime. Should her mate die, she cannot mate again," he replies.
"That sounds…terribly romantic for such a stoic race. Or is it just you?" she teased.
"Warden, under the right circumstances, I am very romantic," Sten retorted without missing a beat, eliciting another laugh from her.
"I meant stoic, Sten," her blue eyes glittered in the moonlight and Sten found himself unable to tear his eyes from hers.
"Not all men are the same, Kadan," he said in a quieter voice than he normally used.
She tilted her head to the side, remembering the way that the other Qunari Warriors had bantered back and forth while she attempted to rescue Sten from the dream he already knew he was in. "No," she said after a time. "I suppose that much is true. The same goes for women," she grinned up at him, enjoying the grunt of acknowledgement.
"I have yet to meet any other woman worthy of the title; warrior, Kadan. I think you are the exception to this rule," he replied.
"Sten, I think that might be the sweetest thing you've ever said to me," she cooed, chuckling at his lifted eyebrow.
They sat in silence for awhile and Sten could feel her leaning more heavily against him. "Kadan, are you falling asleep?"
She sat straight up, "No."
"You lie badly," he pointed out.
She laughed but made no reply.
Kadan, I have a question of my own," he said after a moment.
"Oh? Ask away."
"Why are you out here, instead of inside with the others?" he expected her to make excuses about not liking Castles or crowds or something of that nature. What he didn't expect was the way that she slid her hand into his and squeezed it.
"I just found out why Warden's are needed to end a Blight," she replied.
He said nothing but looked down at their joined hands, her tiny fingers interlocked with his giant ones. Her fingers were cool and rough from handling her sword and shield.
"When the Archdemon dies, its soul seeks out the taint in another. If the nearest body is a dark spawn, it inhabits the souless body and the cycle begins again. If the body belongs to a Warden, the two souls destroy each other and both the Archdemon and the Warden die," her voice trembled towards the end of her explanation.
Sten stiffened beside her and involuntarily he tightened his grip on her hand, though being careful not to hurt her. "You volunteered to take the final blow?"
"I did, though Riordan seems to think that he will be able to get to the beast before I do," she replied. "And there is something else."
"There is always something else," Sten replied.
Kallian laughed darkly. "Yes, Morrigan has approached me with a…deal. She wants me to talk Alistair into impregnating her. The child will bear the taint and the Archdemon's soul will be drawn to it instead of me or Alistair, when the time comes."
"And you refused her," Sten said as if he already knew the answer.
It was Kallian's hand that tightened on his then and he was glad for the comfort that it imparted. "Yes."
"As befitting a brave and noble warrior," Sten said in approval.
"I'm glad you think so, I don't feel so brave at the moment," she replied.
"Make no mistake, Kadan. You are the bravest Warrior I know," he assured her.
"Thank you, Sten. I feel the same way about you," she said softly.
"Sten?" she said after a time.
"You've another question," Sten answered.
She laughed. "Yes, I do in fact. Do the Qunari ever take mates from other races?"
"On occasion," Sten replied, his heart speeding up.
"Would you ever consider it? Taking a mate of another race, that is?" she tilted her face upwards, her eyes watching the clouds pass over the full moon.
"I have considered it often, more often as of late. Being in your lands has opened my mind to other possibilities," he replied. "Of course my mate would have to convert to the Qun."
She nodded, "Of course."
"And she would have to be willing to be marked by me," he pressed on.
She winced at that but nodded. "That, I think is only reasonable."
"She would have to return with me to Seheron and it would be likely that she would never see Ferelden again," he turned to her, looking down on her, gauging her reaction.
She turned her face to him, her large blue eyes looking up at him through mohagany lashes. "I foresee no problem with that."
"Then it is settled, Kadan. I will take you for my mate," he said in satisfaction.
Kallian chuckled. "My, you were right. You are very romantic," she snuggled into his side.
"Sten, there is one more thing I think you should know, you may not want me anymore after I tell you," she said.
"Kadan, if you think I do not know that you snore like an Archdemon and eat like one as well, then you greatly underestimate my powers of observation," he replied and grunted as she slapped at his arm.
"Thanks," she laughed. "What I was going to say is that if you wanted to have children then you should choose a different 'mate'. When I took my joining it… left me barren. I don't even have my moon cycle anymore," she said sadly.
Instead of moving away from her as she assumed he would, he pulled her closer to him. "As I said, Kadan. You are a soldier worthy of standing amongst the Beresaad, and we are not chosen to breed. I know not what the Tamassran's would give you as a place in our society, but you are well-suited to the Beresaad. Our Imekaari are taken and given to the Tamassran's to train, we do not keep them as your 'parents' keep you. If we were to have…Imekaari, they would only be taken from you anyway. From what I know of your culture, that would hurt you greatly. So it is just as well that you cannot procreate."
"I see," Kallian said with some relief.
Sten stood and held out his hand to her. "Come, Kadan. Tommorow we may die, but tonight we bond."
Denerim: The final Battle
Time seemed to stand still for Sten as he watched Alistair and Kallian take the final blow together, neither being able to bear to relinquish the burden to the other. Each leaving it up to fate to decide who lived and who died. Sten watched helplessly and even he could not help but hope that it would not be his warrior woman, his mate.
He had marked her the night before the final battle. Had watched as she gazed up at him in awe when the wound he'd left in the juncture between her neck and shoulder healed almost immediately, leaving only a large white circular bite-pattern scar on her tanned skin.
He struggled to keep from running to her as she and Alistair each struggled to take the head off the Archdemon. The dragon lie still, bleeding out from the onslaught of the ballista's and the might of their blades. At his side the Mage they picked up in the circle tower stood ready to help whichever one made it out alive and suddenly, both Wardens were flung back by a burst of light and energy, Kallian to one side, Alistair to the other. The flash was blinding and Sten struggled with the after images trying to see where his Warden had been thrown.
When he could see again, he found to his great relief and also to his great sadness, Kallian stood and Alistair did not. She swayed slightly and then stumbled her way to the still form of the only other Grey Warden in Ferelden. Alistair's twisted body lie still, never to rise again.
Sten joined her at her side and dropped to one knee beside the fallen Warden. He took out the small black book, given to him by Kallian not long before that day. The Qunari prayer for the dead fell from his lips, accompanied by the soft sobbing of the woman he loved.
A week later on a ship bound for Seheron:
Kallian stood on the deck of "The Sea Foam", a ship bound for the shores of Seheron. She smiled wide as a few droplets of sea water kissed her face on the ocean breeze. A looming solid body pressed itself against her back and large hands appeared next to her much smaller ones, gripping the railing. Silken lips pressed themselves against the tip of her ear, causing her to shiver in delight. She leaned back slightly, letting her head rest on his shoulder as he bent over to place his face next to hers.
"The sea agrees with you, Kadan," he commented.
"It does," she smiled contentedly. "And it smells much better than wet dog."
Sten grunted his agreement before his lips once again were at her ear, "You left our cabin, I had plans for you."
"Really?" she twisted around in his embrace and wound her small arms around his neck. "What would the great Sten of the Beresaad want with me?"
"Completion," Sten growled and swooped down to capture her lips with his. They battled with tongues, teeth and lips, each striving for dominance and in the end, she submitted to his will.
When he pulled away from her he swept her up into his arms and a sudden thought had her giggling.
"Kadan, why are you laughing?" he looked down upon her as he carried her to their cabin.
"I was just thinking about something Alistair said when we first met, and I think he was wrong," she replied.
"No doubt, he was often wrong," Sten said as he threw her onto their bed and slammed the door shut behind him, his violet eyes heated as he stalked towards her.
"He said swooping was bad," she grinned as Sten started to remove the clothing from her body. "I happen to like swooping, myself."
Sten gave her that half-smile and lifted a white brow at her. "Indeed," he answered and captured her lips for another kiss.
A/N: I know that this isn't exactly a largely written pairing. And I have to say that I understand the potential for a "OH MY GOD! SOMEONE PUT OUT MY EYES!" type of reaction.
All I know is that Sten is a very deep character and I thought that though unconventional, a relationship with Sten had real possibilities. Sure he might not be all that emotional on the outside, but the more I learned about Sten, the more I really liked him.
Lastly, I know this is not beta'd. But Melismo is awful busy during the week now. I will have more one shots to update to this with, not with Sten but with other pairings. I hope you enjoyed! =)