Alistair looks up, mustering a wan, unfelt smile. Immediately, his hand seeks out one of Cullen's beneath the table and holds fast.

"The means to create that dagger in the first place," Fiona's saying. "And the brooches that damaged us so. The Architect taught him all the Blight magic a human could possibly learn -- gave him a power no other possessed -- and all he had to do was help it spread the taint."