Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Age or any of its related characters. This is just for my own enjoyment and the potential enjoyment of other fans like me, and no monetary gain was expected or received.

Rating: T

Spoilers: May contain spoilers for Origins, Awakening, and Dragon Age II as well as the novels The Stolen Throne and The Calling.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Blood Magic

"I think Seanna's starting to come round."

She felt herself lifted by hands that seemed to her swimming mind the size of kite shields. She opened her eyes and gazed upon a world clouded and hazy and for a moment she believed she was actually under water. Perspective had taken a holiday, and the big man who helped her sit up appeared one minute to be miles away and the next to be right in her face. She squeezed her eyes shut with a heartfelt groan and felt rather than saw the tin mug of clear water that was pressed to her cracked lips. She drank it down and felt some of the fog inside her head lift.

She opened her eyes again. The world was not quite where it should be - Loghain's eyes seemed to burn like pockets of raw lyrium, and many other colors were too vibrant as well, including the strawberry blonde of Laz' hair - but at least her depth perception was back, more or less.

"Are you all right?" Loghain asked in his gruff way. His eyes met hers quite frankly and with open concern, and with a shock she realized - really realized, for the first time - exactly what it was about this man that Elilia found so attractive. He was overwhelming, intense, and when he turned his full attention upon her Seanna felt as if she must be the only other creature in the world at that moment. A shiver rippled down her spine, not at all unpleasant but certainly a guilty sort of feeling, and she tore her gaze away from his.

"I'm okay, I think. A little woozy. What happened?"

"We got bushwhacked, Birdie," Varric said. "Orlesians."

"They knocked us all out with sleep darts and took us prisoner," Loghain said. "They must have given you an extra dose before the rest of us waked. Probably afraid you'd unleash a demon on them if you came round. Would've given much to have seen that, actually."

"How long have I been asleep?"

"A few hours longer than the rest of us."

She looked around in confusion at the neatly laid fire and the tents. "We're…in camp? Are we free?"

"Thanks to the dogs," Elilia said. "They broke us out and we put paid to the Orlesians before they knew what was happening. Damnedest thing you ever saw."

"Here, salroka - settle your stomach with some food," Laz said, coming up with a bowl of something that steamed invitingly. "Been a long time since breakfast."

"There's wine, also, but I don't recommend it until the effects of the sleeping draught have thoroughly worn off," Loghain said.

Seanna took the bowl and dug in ravenously. The fuzzy caterpillar that seemed to have replaced her tongue could discern no flavor in the gloppy mixture of what appeared to be beef and beans and melted cheese in stock but she was far too hungry to care. Elilia laughed at her.

"Go easy, Little Bird," she cautioned. "You'll make yourself sick. There's plenty more when that's gone."

It was difficult, but she managed to moderate her pacing slightly.

"Are we going to have to worry about surprise attacks from now on?" she asked once the edge was off her hunger.

"We should have been more worried from the start," Loghain said ruefully. "We'll take extra precautions from now on, but I don't think we'll find another ambush awaiting us any time soon. It will take some time before the Empress realizes this first attempt has failed. I'm more worried about the King and Queen for the nonce - who knows what that bitch Celene had planned for Denerim? - but for now I'll trust to our preparations there. It's all I can do right now."

"I'm more worried about those phylacteries," Elilia said darkly, and Loghain glowered at her.

"What phylacteries?" Seanna asked.

"The ones the Orlesians claim are full of the Big Bull's blood, Birdie," Varric said. "Rumor has it there may be a few gallons of it floating around out there somewhere, just awaiting a talented blood mage to start pulling the strings long-distance."

Seanna's spoon dropped into her bowl with a wet plop. Her green eyes took up half her face. "Blood magic?"

"Not every blood mage is bad, Birdie," Varric said. "I knew the sweetest little Dalish girl back in Kirkwall, just as gentle as a lamb, but she could blow your brains out your ear-holes in a heartbeat if you managed to piss her off. Thankfully it wasn't easy to do."

Seanna looked at Loghain with wide, horror-stricken eyes. "But you - you're a Thrall?"

"Could be," Loghain said grimly. "To what extent is difficult to say."

Varric shook his head. "I'm not going to say there isn't something in this rumor, but it seems to me that if the Empress still had your blood sitting on a shelf somewhere, and it was viable for working magics on, then you wouldn't be standing here now, Big Bull. She could have had some blood mage force you to walk right up the steps of the Grand Cathedral and put your neck right on the headsman's block. I sure can't see what benefit its been to her to leave you alive."

"If you have a strong resistance to magic," Seanna ventured, "then distance from the source would somewhat lessen the effects even though they're working directly upon your own shed blood. But all they would have to do is bring the blood mage and your phylactery in closer to you, and resistance would be futile. And with a phylactery they could always find you, using the same rites that Templars use to find Circle escapees."

"The Taint," Elilia said suddenly, with a snap of her fingers. "When you became a Warden your blood became useless to them, because you were Tainted, changing the nature of your blood. Oh shit-weasels - if I'd thought of that years ago, Anders would never have had to worry about the Circle still holding his leash, and maybe he…"

"Anders?" Varric said in surprise. "You knew Anders?"

"Er…tall, skinny blond guy with sparkly fingers? Yes, I'm the one who conscripted him into the Grey Wardens, to save him from a rather nasty templar bitch who would have seen him executed for murders committed by Darkspawn. But he didn't stick around very long, thanks to the fact that I was obliged to loan him out to some Orlesian Wardens making a trek through the Deep Roads to investigate the source of the Blight. I heard later that they made him get rid of the cat I gave him, and he ran away from them. Daft bastards. If we'd realized that the templars couldn't track him he might have come back to Amaranthine but I heard…when the 'trouble' happened in Kirkwall…" She trailed off uncertainly. "Was it really Anders? Did he really blow up the Kirkwall Chantry? I heard it was so, but I didn't want to believe it."

Varric sighed. "It was Anders and it wasn't Anders. I'll tell you the whole story some other time if you really want to hear it, but I don't think it will make you feel any better."

Elilia shook her head sadly. "Poor Anders. I could have predicted Velanna might do something of the kind, but not him."

Seanna held up a hand. "Pardon me, but while I concede the concept that the Warden's Taint could render a phylactery obtained prior to the Joining ineffectual, you did tell me that Loghain is no longer Tainted, correct? So, assuming they did not pour out all their old vials of blood upon discovering they no longer worked, then he is still very much in danger - as, by extension, are we. Since the blood could still be used in other rituals, I see no reason to suppose there are no phylacteries left, particularly if they had many."

"Shit."

Elilia sat down upon the packed earth and thought deeply for a moment. "I see no recourse. We have to go to Kinloch Hold. The Circle still has the Litany of Adralla - the only thing known to protect against blood magic. It's all on the way, I can go in and grab it and we'll be back on track without losing schedule."

"You broke in and absconded with twelve mages, Elilia," Seanna pointed out gently. "The new Knight-Commander is not as reasonable as Griegor was. I don't think you'll be made welcome."

"Wait a minute," Laz said. "The Circle is in the middle of a sodding big lake. How in the name of Andraste's ass did you break in and steal away with a dozen mages?"

"Long story, but it involved a boat, a grappling hook, fifty feet of rope, and five high explosives made by a fellow named Dworkin Glavonak," Elilia said with a toothy grin. "I wonder if they've had time to repair the damage? In any event, we need that Litany. Otherwise we'll always be worried that Loghain is going to slaughter us in our sleep."

"Seanna shouldn't be taken anywhere too near Kinloch," Loghain said. "Too many templars."

"How about this: the three of you stay back and protect Birdie, and Laz and I will go to the Circle and I'll put my considerable powers of persuasion to use charming this Litany thing out of the Knight-Commander and the First Enchanter," Varric said. Paragon barked. "And we'll take Paragon with us, of course, since she'll have to do most of the talking I'm sure."

"Do you really think they'd give it up to a couple of dwarves?" Elilia asked incredulously.

"Madam, I assure you there is no one better at the fine art of bullshitting," Varric said grandly. "I'll have the Litany, a hundred kilos of lyrium, and three mages thrown in by the time I'm done bargaining."

"Well, you'd better. Otherwise I'm storming the hold and cleaning the place out entirely," Elilia said. "We'll be there in another couple of days - in the meanwhile, you remember those skills I taught you, don't you, Loghain?"

He nodded. "I'm not in particularly good practice but yes, I do."

"Brush up on them - somewhere they won't come into conflict with Seanna. They could only help."

"What skills are those?" Seanna asked.

"Templar skills, ones I learned from King Alistair and passed along to Loghain. A Holy Smite might not be of much use against long-distance blood magic but the occasional Cleansing might dispel any niggling effects."

Seanna shuddered. "Yes, 'Cleanse' might well be put to good use in this situation, but please, far away from me. Your best bet is still the Litany, though. Templars aren't immune to blood magic, as I know from personal experience."

Laz yawned, gaping widely. "Damn. Considering I slept pretty much all day, it's kind of funny I'm so flippin' tired."

"We should all get some sleep, while we may," Loghain said. "It's late, and we'll need to make an early start."

He pulled Elilia aside. "You should stay with Seanna," he began, but she cut him off with a kiss.

"I'm not afraid," she said boldly, ignoring the coughs, whistles, and snickers of their lookers-on. She took his hand and led him to their tent. In thralldom of a more common and occasionally more innocent blood magic, Loghain followed meekly. In short order the muted and not-so-muted sounds of their passion came from within.

"It's nice for them, of course," Varric said, with a philosophical shrug, "but the rest of us won't get any sleep for hours, listening to that racket."