Dragon Age: King in Exile

Part Eight

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King Cailan has written Alistair into the succession and is ready to recognize him publicly. Loghain will do almost anything to keep that from happening. The darkspawn give him the perfect opportunity. Alistair/Cousland, featuring F!Tabris.

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Disclaimer: Nothing you recognize from Dragon Age belongs to me.

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When they reached the Circle of Magi, nothing was as it should be. The mages found a darkspawn invasion to be the perfect time for a rebellion, and when the demons started appearing, the templars had locked them in.

"I'm just waiting for the Right of Annulment to arrive from Denerim," Knight Commander Greagoir had said.

"That's not going to happen," Kallian said, the tiny elven girl standing toe to toe with him. She held up the treaty. "This entitles me to a mage army, and I will have them." Her dark eyes blazed.

"Look," Greagoir said, exasperated. "We're not even sure how many mages are left."

After further argument, they came to an agreement. Kallian and her companions were permitted to go in, but they had to do one of two things—kill all the mages inside, or bring back First Enchanter Irving to verify that the tower was safe. "If you do annul the circle," said Greagoir, "You shall have a templar army instead. We will no longer be needed here."

But Kallian was no fool. She'd been at Ostagar and knew that the templars would never send the mages alone. To get the most soldiers for her trouble, she needed the mages.

And she was damn well going to have them.

After a quick weapon check and discussion with the quartermaster, they were permitted inside, the large doors shutting ominously behind them. Leliana visibly winced at the sound of the bar being replaced on the other side of the door.

"Well, we'd best get to it," Alistair said nervously. "Those doors won't open again until we have the first enchanter with us."

"And we need at least seven mages if we're going to save Connor," Elissa reminded them.

"Oh, we'll have more than that if I have anything to say about it," Kallian muttered, absently stroking her dagger. As far as she was concerned, the more people in her army, the better chance she had of surviving the war.

They had not made it far before they came across two mages, one grey-haired and one redheaded, with a large group of children.

"If you're here for the Right of Annulment, I will kill you where you stand," the older of the two mages stated, pointing her staff at them.

"You can try, old woman," said Kallian, her hackles up.

"Stop!" cried Leliana, before things could get too heated. "We're not here to annul the circle. We're here to defeat the demons," she explained.

"We want to save as many mages as possible," Alistair added. "We don't want to kill anyone."

The mage lowered her staff slowly, peering at the group with suspicion. Her eyes widened suddenly. "I remember you from Ostagar," she said to Kallian. "You were the new Grey Warden."

"And you were the old woman who thought I looked ripe for a lecture," Kallian snapped back. "Wynne, right? I'm still not interested, by the way."

Wynne shook her head. "I can see that," she said in disappointment. She looked at the rest of the group, pausing at Alistair. "Were you at Ostagar as well?" she asked. "Your face looks familiar."

"I daresay it does," Elissa muttered in amusement, and Alistair shot her a glare. He didn't need anyone pointing out the resemblance to his brother.

"Yes, I was at Ostagar," he said. "Maybe you saw me there."

Before long it was decided that Wynne would continue with Kallian's group since she was most familiar with the tower, while Leliana would take Wynne's place with the children to defend them if anything came this way.

"You can stay too," Elissa said to Kitty. "I can tell how uncomfortable you are in here." The dog licked her hand in response.

"Alright, let's go," Kallian said, glancing at Wynne in disgruntlement. She understood the benefits of bringing the mage along, but that didn't mean she liked it.

They fought their way through the tower, finding very few living mages or templars along the way. Some were hostile, some fearful. Some were enthralled by the demons.

"Uldred, the leader of this rebellion, was taking anyone he could to the top of the tower," Wynne explained. "As far as I can tell, they were going to be used in some sort of ritual."

"Then we had better get there as quickly as possible," Elissa said worriedly.

Kallian rolled her eyes. "Thanks for stating the obvious."

They continued through the tower, fighting all kinds of spirits and demons unleashed by Uldred and his followers. When they were nearing the top of the tower, they met with a demon they hadn't seen before.

It was tall and languid, turning away from a corpse on the floor as they entered. Its body was bubbling and grotesque, as if its skin had burned away.

"Oh, look. Visitors. I'd entertain you, but… too much effort involved."

Alistair blinked, feeling something strange stealing over him.

Kallian, seemingly unaffected, snapped back. "Killing demons is enough entertainment for me, thanks."

"But why?" the demon asked in a smooth voice. "Aren't you tired of all the violence in this world? I know I am." He swept an arm wide. The feeling became stronger. "Wouldn't you like to just lay down and forget about all this? Leave it all behind?"

Alistair couldn't pull his eyes away from the creature. The idea of lifting his sword and shield seemed impossible. His limbs were getting heavier. As were his eyelids…

"Resist," Wynne said from beside him, sounding exhausted. "You must… resist. Or all is lost."

Out of the corner of his eye, Alistair could see Elissa's head drooping. Kallian's arms hung loosely by her sides, as if she could no longer raise her daggers.

"Why do you fight?" the demon continued, his voice feeling like a lullaby. "You deserve more… You deserve a rest. The world will go on without you…"

And Alistair felt the world slip away. He didn't remember hitting the ground.

…

"Wake up, cousin," came a familiar voice. "Why are you still in bed? It's your big day!"

Kallian opened her eyes, blinking up at her cousin, who stood over her with her arms folded.

"Ugh," Kallian said, stomach roiling as she sat up. She couldn't remember going to sleep the night before.

Shianni grinned down at her. "I told you to pace yourself last night, but you just had to out-drink Soris!"

"Did I?" Kallian asked drowsily.

Shianni tugged her out of bed. "Come on, your wedding waits for no one, even you. Maybe this will teach you not to drink so much."

Still feeling a bit bewildered, Kallian let Shianni help her up and into the dress hanging on the wall. It was the nicest thing she had ever worn.

"Nelaros, is here early," Shianni told Kallian as she laced her in. "Looks like you'll actually get a chance to talk to your groom before the wedding. Lucky girl."

Kallian snorted, feeling a bit more like herself now. "If you think I'm so lucky, why don't you marry him?"

"Oh, everyone knows I'm too much trouble to marry off." Shianni grinned as she led Kallian to sit down at a table with a small mirror.

"He's handsome," her cousin teased as she pulled a brush through Kallian's hair. Kallian rolled her eyes and refused to dignify that with a response.

Shianni deftly tied and braided Kallian's hair into something pretty and unrecognizable as Kallian considered her feelings about this wedding. Everyone in the alienage was excited—a double wedding was a huge event, probably the biggest of the year. She and her cousin Soris would both be married today. But, despite being told over and over that it was tradition, she was nervous about meeting her new husband for the first time and leaving her home to live far away. Would have to hide her skills in combat? Or would he be kind and understanding, like her father?

"There," Shianni said. "All finished. Nelaros is going to love you." The redhead grinned. "Soris is waiting outside, said you two should go over to meet them together. Ready?"

Kallian stood, taking a deep breath as she smoothed down her dress. "Ready."

Kallian was comforted to see that Soris was just as nervous as she was, but time would wait for no one. With lead weights in their stomachs, they headed over to meet their betrotheds. At least they had a chance to meet before the ceremony.

Shianni hadn't lied. Nelaros was handsome… and kind. He admitted being nervous, called her pretty, and even made an attempt to comfort her about leaving her home. As far as husbands go, her father certainly could have chosen worse. She spent the rest of the morning getting well-wishes from her neighbors, many of whom she might never see again. And soon she stood before a chantry priest for the ceremony.

But she had this feeling, a growing sense of disquiet. She couldn't explain it. It wasn't her nerves about the marriage. There was something else. Something was wrong. She looked at Nelaros. There was nothing wrong with him—he was a good person who seemed to care for her as much as one could after just having met. She looked at the priest, performing the ceremony she'd seen dozens of times before. She looked out over the crowd, saw her neighbors and friends, her father looking proud. It was all she could have imagined her wedding to be. But… something wasn't right!

A memory was niggling at her. Somehow she knew she wasn't supposed to be married. She dug deeper into her mind. How could she know that? What did it mean? Why did she feel that this wasn't her destiny?

The priest cleared her throat, looking at Kallian pointedly. "Do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

Kallian opened her mouth, then paused. "This isn't right," she blurted out. "I'm not supposed to be here." She couldn't explain it… but she knew it to be true. Knew it down to her bones.

"Of course you are," the priest said. "It's just wedding nerves."

"No," said Kallian. "It's more than that."

The priest's face twisted and turned ugly. "I tried to give you happiness," she said, "But you'd rather have misery and death. So be it!" And she pulled out two daggers concealed in her skirt.

Kallian's eyes widened, and she barely managed to dodge the priest's attack as the memories flooded back. There never was a wedding, she realized. Vaughan Kendells had seen to that. She was in the fade.

With a quick grab and a twist, she had one of the priest's daggers. She slashed the priest's wrist and stabbed her in the side. As Kallian reached for the second dagger, she sensed something behind her.

She ducked and turned to see Shianni swinging the jug she had once used to bash in Vaughan's head. But now Shianni was trying to bash in hers. It wasn't real, Kallian knew it wasn't but…

"Shianni, please!" She ducked the jug again. "Don't make me do this!"

When the spectre in her cousin's form swung again, Kallian spun behind her and slit her throat.

As Shianni gurgled and fell to the floor, Kallian looked around wildly for any further attackers. But the crowd was gone. Only Shianni and the priest remained. Kallian refused to look at their bodies.

She bit back a sob, her heart racing wildly. She wasn't this girl anymore! She wouldn't cry. No one would ever hurt her again. She'd wrought an iron gate around her heart, anger shielding her from pain and sorrow. She would never let anyone make her feel weak again. Never.

Kallian straightened up and wiped her eyes, pulling herself back together. A shimmering doorway had formed, just behind the priest's body.

She stepped forward, bending down just a moment to take the second dagger off the priest. Then she stepped over the body and through the portal. Anywhere would be better than here.

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A/N: I've always hated the generic warden dream during the fade section of DAO, and I thought it was a prime opportunity to bring back a connection to the character's origin. I hope you enjoyed this departure from the game! You'll see more of it in the following chapter.