"You said all of you heard the Calling except Duncan," says Alistair, a bit too loudly. (Maker's breath, can they please talk about something besides his poor poor father.) "Why? Why him in particular?"

"He'd stolen an enchanted dagger from the First Enchanter before we left." At Alistair's raised eyebrow, she smiles, a little. "Oh, yes, he was quite the brash and brazen thief when he was younger. It's part of how he ended up a Warden."

"He mentioned something like that." Alistair bends his head on the pretense of rubbing the back of his neck. "Never went into very much detail about it."

"Yes, well," says Fiona with a quiet sigh. "Anyway. The dagger he stole offered protection against the taint. It turned out the First Enchanter was not on our side, but on the side of the darkspawn, and had grown very skilled in Blight magic."