BioWare owns all but what I made up. : )
So, we have our meeting with Lelyth's three siblings, some piercings to do, and a little conflict between females. And will Fergus and Morrigan surface finally, who knows? SPOILER ALERT: The beginning of this a chapter will touch on subjects from Mr. Gaider's book The Calling for those who haven't read it. And because it does, it touches on things from the new expansion Awakenings, just FYI. And don't worry, more sibling revenge will be coming to a brother in this story, but this isn't it. This chapter wrote itself, I was going to put in the meeting with Lelyth's siblings, but sometimes chapters end where they need to, I hope you all don't mind.
Author shout out goes to MouseMage's "The Path of the Mage", and another shout out goes to Phoenix Fire Lady for bringing up the darkspawn issue and what kind of light Duncan and Maric might shine on what's going on from the Fade via Alistair. : )
And as always, my sincerest thanks to all of you, lurkers, reviewers, and supporters, my friends, you are all such a blessing. Sorry I don't get a chapter out every day, and please, really, don't feel bad if you don't review every chapter. I mean it, anybody want a peanut? LOL, seriously, I owe you an apology for not having it out like I want for you all every day, I owe you all, not the other way around, so, much love from me to you all! And thanks to eboncat who is just joining us and who has just finished Chapter 9 and won't see this shout out for a while, LOL. Ah, she has such a journey ahead. I hope she will enjoy it.
Blessings!
Kai found herself in Highever's Great Hall again, but it lay empty, empty except for him. Her heart beat faster, her breath caught in her throat. Her other half, her beloved, as always, she felt him before she even set eyes on him. Her lips met his, her arms slid around his neck, her body molded effortlessly to his like two pieces of a puzzle, "Alistair." She whispered it against his lips, oh, how she missed him.
"Hello, my love," he gave her his trademark lopsided grin and brushed her hair back from her face with his big hands.
He may have been smiling, but he looked worried, she could see that the lines around his eyes had deepened, one of the signs that something was bothering him, "Ali, what is it?" She brushed her fingers along his cheek.
"I was speaking to Maric and Duncan about the darkspawn you met on the North Road coming to Highever." He took her to the couch where she had sat with Zev in the material world. He linked his fingers with hers, "I was voicing my concerns about how they weren't retreating into the Deep Roads like at the end of all the other Blights. I was also telling Duncan about the high number of Alphas you met and the one Emissary, I questioned Duncan about that, as I was told that Alphas and Emissaries only show during a Blight. Granted, I had only been a Grey Warden for six months and hadn't the time to study all that I really needed to know. Still, I had read enough documents from the Warden archives to know that much." Alistair grimaced, "You should have seen their faces."
"Well, this can't be good." Kai could feel her heart beating faster, this time with a creeping sense of dread. Alistair went on to explain what happened when Duncan and Maric met for the first time, the order of the Grey from Orlais, consisting of the Grey Commander Genevieve, Duncan, Fiona, Maric and other wardens Kai did not know, had all gone into the Deep Roads. Maric went with them because he was mourning Rowan and had been told by Flemeth, no less, that there was a Blight coming to Ferelden and that Maric wouldn't be alive to see it, but his son would. Alistair told her how they had gone looking for a Warden taken hostage by the darkspawn instead of being killed when he answered his Calling in the Deep Roads.
"But darkspawn don't have that kind of reasoning ability, not even with an archdemon to lead them, even Alphas and Emissaries aren't that smart. And they weren't in a Blight back then." Kai just looked at Ali, and the lines around his eyes deepened, her breath caught in her throat.
He continued, telling her that the warden taken had been the retired commander of the Grey in Orlais and brother to Genevieve. The group traveled the Deep Roads looking for him, as this Warden, one Bregan, had knowledge of where the old Tevinter Dragon Gods were imprisoned, the ones that caused Blights, they were afraid that the darkspawn would use this knowledge to start Blights, maybe one huge one with all the dragon gods left. If they could plan and kidnap a warden when they hadn't before, who was to say they couldn't have been planning just that, or that was their thinking from what they'd known then. Duncan and Maric told Alistair of The Architect, the darkspawn mage with human intelligence and self-awareness that they had met in the Deep Roads. This darkspawn did have the ability to plan ahead.
"Funny how your mother left out the part about the smart darkspawn from her tale of your conception," Kai had a moment to wonder if Fiona was keeping anything else back about that time in the Deep Roads.
"Well, she was told by the wardens of Weisshaupt not to speak of it, apparently, she lost the Taint due to The Architect's magic or the Head Enchanter's or something they are still not sure of. Like you, she cannot sense them anymore, unlike you. She chose to stay a Grey Warden because it was that or go back to the Circle as a mage slave." Alistair went on about how The Architect planned on finding all the old Tevinter gods and killing them so the darkspawn would have no motivation, no leadership, and thus no Blights. Then by making everyone in Thedas go through the Joining to become a Grey Warden, they would all be part darkspawn and there would be a meeting halfway between the two species – those that survived, anyways, if they survived. They would do the mass Joining by magic with the help of the First Enchanter Remille.
"Maker's holy smoking blood, what kind of insanity is that, people die during the Joining! It was only luck that Daveth and I made it out of three! You are telling me that this warden they went to rescue and his sister, a warden commander no less, considered agreeing to this, this..." Kai jumped up to pace, running her fingers through her hair. She couldn't even begin to spit it out, so many words came to mind – travesty, insanity, sham, farce, lunacy, insanity, delusion, flapdoodle. "Did Duncan…, no, I can't believe he would, and he must not have, he was no talking darkspawn at Ostagar." Kai's thoughts were roiling, Andraste's knickers, the death toll of forcing a Joining on the population at large would have been incalculable.
"Wait, my love, it gets worse."
Worse, Kai already wanted to run in circles yelling. Alistair held out his hand to her, she took it and sat back down, her heart beating wildly as if it was trying to claw its way out of her throat. He told her that The Architect figured out how to accelerate the Taint in Grey Wardens with his own magic and could turn them into intelligent darkspawn in a matter of hours or minutes, depending on how far along they were. The closer they were to the Calling and provided the warden survived it, the more the process could be accelerated. He and the First Enchanter had made brooches which helped to accelerate the Taint's corruption while the Grey traveled the Deep Roads. It was a test of the magic that the Orlesian mages were to unleash via objects made from similar materials in every town and city Thedas. However, Remille decided that Orlais would not go through the change and would take over the rest of the world once and for all.
The Architect had not seen the Head Enchanter's deception, instead, he finished the Taint's progress in Bregan, Genevieve and a dwarf warden named Utha. When Remille revealed his treachery to The Architect and what the brooches were really for to Genevieve and Utha, Genevieve had second thoughts. Bregan, further along in his corruption, fought his sister, and The Architect killed her. Bregan saw the insanity of the plan as he had not been able to do before. He turned on The Architect and tried to kill it. Utha stopped Bregan from killing The Architect, although Bregan did manage to chop off one of its hands before Remille started trying to kill Bregan, The Head Enchanter now had a taste for darkspawn blood magic and its power, and he did not want to give it up.
"So, do Duncan and Maric think this may have something to do with this intelligent darkspawn, this 'Architect?'" Kai wanted to hit someone, "Duncan and Fiona and all the other Grey all over Thedas never thought that this was important, Maric never thought to write it down for Cailan or Eamon? Maric knew there was a Blight coming, and he wouldn't be around for it, how tidy!" Kai loaded her tone with so much sarcasm, she was surprised it wasn't visible as a puddle on the floor, "Oh yes, by the by, there is a Blight coming and there is a smart darkpawn with reasoning like a sentient human. Oh, but wait there's more, he can do magic, and bonus, he can lead darkspawn like an archdemon, HUZZAH, everybody! Oh, don't worry about it, we'll all be dead or far from Ferelden when all this comes back to bite you in the arse, no worries, right? You all will just clean up the mess we left you with and that we didn't give you any warning of, yes? Thanks, m'kay, bye!" Kai got up and paced in earnest now, "NUGHUMPERS, all of them! When you see Duncan and Maric again, you tell them I am going to kick their sodding arses all over the Fade!" Kai walked over and kicked the stone wall of the Great Hall...
And woke up when her foot connected with the wooden bedpost on her side of the bed, her big toe was throbbing, but that was nothing in comparison to the fear that had gripped her heart in an icy fist. She went and stood in the patch of moonlight pooling on the floor from one of the room's small high windows, Kai could see the moon framed in it. She found herself looking not so much at it, but through it as she hugged her arms around herself. She had to be honest; she was angry that Alistair sacrificed himself for nothing and that the Blight wasn't over after all.
"No, my love, don't think that," Alistair's voice tried to soothe her.
"Sod it, Alistair, they lied by omission. A lie that can cost us what, more lives, more destruction, and now the possibility of an endless war with darkspawn between Blights, bloody hell!" Endless war with the darkspawn has decimated the dwarves with them constantly fighting them in the Deep Roads. Now, it could annihilate them all, below the surface and above it, Kai started to shake. She was shaking so hard she just crumpled to the floor, sitting on her knees while hunching her body over them, her back curved as her arms wrapped around her body, she couldn't stop. She didn't know how long she sat that way, it was Zev's warm hand on her shoulder as he crouched down to see to her that brought her back to the here and now.
"Kai, what is it?" His warm voice was tinged with concern, but she just shook her head. She was afraid to speak. If she did, it would come out as a scream and she would just start running mad. He curved his own torso over hers, warming her cold skin. She turned towards him, picturing a lamppost in snow, she wanted comfort of the flesh, to be touched and taken. She wrapped her arms around him putting her cold lips urgently to his. She felt his surprise at first, and then his lips parted under hers.
They started off slowly, tenderly, he kissed her nose, her eyelids, her cheeks, she heard him whisper her name. She ran her hands through his hair, running them around his head to massage the nape of his neck, this elicited a groan, and his hands started to roam over her breasts through the shift she wore, causing her skin to tingle and her nipples to harden. Her whole body was alive as if lightning were crawling along her skin sending jolts of pleasure that bordered on pain with the longing they caused. He pulled her to him, deepening his kiss until she was making little humming sounds. She was foggy with pleasure and longing, so much so, she had to take a moment to get herself to focus when he pulled away. He pulled her up, sat her on the edge of the bed and left the room.
Before she could feel injured or hurt, he was back with a couple of servants who picked up the twins and took them from the room. Kai flushed. At least someone was thinking straight. She looked at her hands in guilt and embarrassment. He raised her chin to make her look at him before he bent down to place his lips against hers once again. His hands pulled her shift over her head as he gently laid her back in the bed. His lips were doing amazing things to hers, his long fingered hands cupped her face. Somewhere, he had stripped off his own night shirt, and his naked skin rubbed against hers, flooding warmth back into it, it was like lying in the sun.
She felt the heat and longing build once again. To be comforted, to be filled, to just be, she opened to him, and he filled her. His body warmed her cold one. They built to that aching crescendo so slowly and so sweetly. Pleasure bloomed softly, their bodies rising and falling in tandem as the need built to its inevitable peak, until they slid off the world together.