Table of Contents

MAIN GAME......................................................6 The Magister's Shield ..............................22

CREATURES..................................................6 Shadow of the Empire .............................22
Abomination...............................................6 The Summer Sword .................................23
Arcane Horror............................................ 6 Thorn of the Dead Gods ..........................23
Archdemon ................................................7 Thorval's Luck .........................................24
Ash Wraith .................................................7 Yusaris: The Dragonslayer ...................... 25
Bear ........................................................... 8 MAGIC AND RELIGION............................26
Bronto ........................................................8 Andruil: Goddess of the Hunt..................26
Broodmother ..............................................8 Dirthamen: Keeper of Secrets .................26
Corpse ........................................................9 Elgar'nan: God of Vengeance ..................27
Deepstalker.................................................9 Falon'Din: Friend of the Dead, the Guide
Desire Demon ............................................9 ..................................................................27
Dragon .....................................................10 Fen'Harel: The Dread Wolf .....................28
Genlock ....................................................11 Ghilan'nain: Mother of the Halla .............28
Ghoul ....................................................... 11 June: God of the Craft .............................29
Golem ......................................................11 Mythal: the Great Protector .....................29
Halla ........................................................ 12 Sylaise: the Hearthkeeper ........................30
Hurlock ....................................................12 The Aeonar ..............................................30
Mabari War Hound...................................12 Andraste: Bride of the Maker ..................31
Nug ..........................................................12 The Right of Annulment ..........................31
Ogre .........................................................13 Apostates .................................................32
Pride Demon.............................................13 The Black City ........................................ 32
Rage Demon ............................................14 The Chant of Light: The Blight ...............33
Rat ........................................................... 14 The Commandments of the Maker ..........34
Revenant ..................................................14 The Maker ............................................... 35
Shade ....................................................... 14 The Chant of Light: Redemption ............37
Shriek ...................................................... 15 The Imperial Chantry .............................. 37
Skeleton ...................................................15 Chantry Hierarchy ...................................38
Sloth Demon ............................................16 Templars ..................................................38
Giant Spider .............................................16 The Founding of the Chantry ..................39
Wild Sylvan .............................................17 The Fraternity of Enchanters ...................39
Werewolf ................................................. 17 Hierarchy of the Circle ............................40
Wisp .........................................................18 History of the Circle ................................40
Wolf .........................................................18 The Fade ..................................................41
Mabari Dominance ..................................19 The Harrowing ........................................ 41
ITEMS...........................................................19 Lyrium ..................................................... 41
The Litany of Adralla .............................. 19 Maleficarum ............................................ 42
Archons of the Imperium ........................ 19 Mana and the Use of Magic ....................42
Havard's Aegis .........................................19 Demonic Possession ................................43
Ancient Elven Armor .............................. 20 The Cardinal Rules of Magic ..................43
Aodh ........................................................20 Blood Magic: The Forbidden School ......44
Bard's Dancing Shoes ..............................20 The Four Schools of Magic: Creation .....44
Blood Ring .............................................. 21 The Four Schools of Magic: Entropy ......45
The Bow of the Golden Sun ....................21 The Four Schools of Magic: Primal ........45
Camenae's Barbute .................................. 21 The Four Schools of Magic: Spirit ..........46
Dark Moon .............................................. 21 Beyond the Veil: Spirits and Demons ......46
Katriel's Grasp .........................................22 The Tranquil ............................................ 47
The Life Drinker ......................................22 The Sacred Ashes of Andraste .................48

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 The Veil ................................................... 48 Stalata Negat ........................................... 74
CULTURE AND HISTORY......................... 48 Orzammar History: Chapter One ............75
Aravels..................................................... 48 Orzammar History: Chapter Two ............75
The Dales .................................................49 Ostagar .................................................... 75
The Long Walk ........................................50 Par Vollen: The Occupied North .............76
Uthenera .................................................. 51 The Qunari................................................77
Vallaslin: Blood Writing ..........................51 Redcliffe .................................................. 77
The Anderfels .......................................... 52 Rivain ...................................................... 77
Antiva ......................................................52 The Tevinter Imperium ............................77
The Avvars................................................53 Legend of the Juggernaut ........................78
The Bannorn.............................................53 Geography of Thedas .............................. 78
The Brecilian Forest.................................53 Vhenadahl: The Tree of the People .........79
Thedas Calendar ......................................54 The Grey Wardens ...................................79
The Chasind..............................................55 The Korcari Wilds ................................... 79
The City Elves .........................................55 Darkspawn ...............................................80
Alienage Culture ..................................... 57 The Blights............................................... 81
Arlathan: Part One ...................................57 CHARACTERS............................................81
Arlathan: Part Two .................................. 58 Alistair .....................................................81
The Dalish Elves ..................................... 58 Queen Anora ............................................82
Denerim....................................................59 Bhelen Aeducan .......................................83
Dragon Cults............................................ 59 King Cailan Theirin .................................84
History of Ferelden: Chapter 1 ................60 Ser Cauthrien ...........................................84
History of Ferelden: Chapter 2 ................61 Connor Guerrin ....................................... 84
Culture of Ferelden ..................................61 Dog ..........................................................85
Dogs in Ferelden ..................................... 61 Duncan .................................................... 85
Geography of Ferelden ............................62 Arl Eamon Guerrin ..................................85
The Free Marches ....................................62 King Endrin Aeducan ..............................85
Politics of Ferelden ..................................62 Flemeth ....................................................86
The Frostback Mountains ........................63 Brother Ferdinand Genitivi ..................... 86
Gwaren .................................................... 64 Knight-Commander Greagoir .................87
Highever ..................................................64 Lord Pyral Harrowmont .......................... 87
Lake Calenhad .........................................65 Arl Rendon Howe ....................................87
Lothering ................................................. 65 First Enchanter Irving ..............................88
King Maric Theirin ..................................65 Arlessa Isolde ..........................................88
Nevarra ....................................................66 Leliana .....................................................89
The Noble Families of Ferelden ..............66 Loghain Mac Tir ......................................89
The Old Gods........................................... 66 Morrigan ..................................................90
The Orlesian Empire ............................... 67 Oghren .....................................................91
The Casteless ...........................................68 Sten ..........................................................91
The Castes ............................................... 68 Bann Teagan Guerrin ...............................92
Life in Orzammar ....................................69 Valendrian ................................................92
Deep Roads ............................................. 69 Wynne ......................................................92
The City of Orzammar ............................ 70 Keeper Zathrian .......................................93
Cut to Kal-Sharok ....................................70 Zevran Arainai .........................................94
Legion of the Dead ..................................70 Witherfang ...............................................94
House Aeducan, Shield of Orzammar .....71 BOOKS AND SONGS..................................95
The Paragons ...........................................72 Aveline, Knight of Orlais ........................ 95
Orzammar Politics ...................................72 Ballad of Ayesleigh ..................................95
The Proving .............................................73 Meditations and Odes to Bees .................96
Dwarven Faith .........................................73 Adventures of the Black Fox ...................96

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 The Holy Brazier .....................................97 Entropic Death .......................................124
The Legend of Calenhad: Chapter 1 ........97 Paralysis Explosion ............................... 124
The Legend of Calenhad: Chapter 2.........98 Storm of the Century .............................124
The Legend of Calenhad: Chapter 3.........99 Flame-Quencher ....................................124
Caridin's Journal ....................................100 Shockwave ............................................ 124
The History of the Chantry: Chapter 1...100 Improved Drain ..................................... 124
The History of the Chantry: Chapter 2...101 Advanced Reanimation ......................... 124
The History of the Chantry: Chapter 3...102 Nightmare ..............................................125
The History of the Chantry: Chapter 4...102 Shattering .............................................. 125
The Tale of Iloren .................................. 103 QUEST-RELATED.....................................125
Dane and the Werewolf ......................... 104 A Rolled-Up Note ..................................125
Death of a Templar ................................ 104 Summoning Sciences ............................ 125
A Very Chewed and Moist Book ...........105 The Dead Caste ..................................... 127
The Noladar Anthology of Dwarven Poetry The Crosscut Drifters ............................ 128
................................................................105 The Gangue Shade ................................ 129
Feast Day Fish .......................................107 The Key to the City ...............................129
The First Blight: Chapter 1.....................107 The Shaper's Life ...................................130
The First Blight: Chapter 2.....................108 Topsider's Honor ................................... 131
The First Blight: Chapter 3.....................108 Jammer's Stash ...................................... 132
The First Blight: Chapter 4.....................109 Letter from the Blackstone Irregulars . . .132
The Maker's First Children ....................110 Blackstone Letter of Conscription .........132
The Legion of Steel ...............................110 Blackstone Letter of Condolences .........133
In Uthenera ............................................ 111 A Pinch of Ashes ................................... 133
The Legend of Luthias Dwarfson ..........111 Letter to Jogby .......................................133
In Praise of the Humble Nug .................112 Farewell Letter to Jogby ........................134
Traditional Dwarven Folk Songs ...........113 Rigby's Last Will and Testament ...........134
The Sermons of Divine Renata I ...........113 Signs of the Chasind ..............................134
Journal of the Tranquil ...........................113 The Mages' Collective ...........................135
Trian's Journal ........................................114 Asunder ................................................. 135
Cautionary Tales for the Adventurous ...115 Unbound ................................................136
NOTES........................................................115 Caged in Stone ...................................... 136
Berwick's Letter .....................................115 By Order of Emer Thorogood ...............137
A Letter to Someone in Highever ..........115 Scrolls of Banastor ................................ 137
A Letter from King Endrin ....................116 Friends of Red Jenny .............................138
A Note from Ser Henric .........................116 Five Pages, Four Mages ........................ 138
A Letter from Rica .................................117 Watchguard of the Reaching .................140
A Carved Elven Tablet ...........................117 Maleficarum Regrets .............................141
A Tattered Shopping List .......................117 Renold's Plea ......................................... 141
Graffiti in Redcliffe's Tavern .................117 The Spot ................................................ 142
Load Limit Reached - A confusing note 117 Letter of Termination .............................142
The Black Vials ..................................... 118 AWAKENING EXPANSION..........................143
Correspondence Interruptus ...................119 Armored Ogre........................................ 143
Circles Within Circles ........................... 121 Blighted Werewolf..................................143
Desire and Need .................................... 121 Charred Sylvan.......................................143
The Notes of Arl Foreshadow ...............122 The Children...........................................143
Irving's Mistake .....................................122 The Disciples..........................................144
Promises of Pride .................................. 122 Inferno Golem........................................ 144
Extracurricular Studies ..........................123 Baroness of the Blackmarsh...................144
SPELL COMBINATIONS..........................123 Tears in the Veil......................................144
Grease Fire ............................................ 123 Pilgrims and Amaranthine......................144

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The Crown and Lion.............................. 145 WARDEN'S KEEP.......................................... 160
The Port City of Amaranthine................145 The History of the Drydens....................160
The Howes of Amaranthine....................145 The History of Soldier's Peak: Chapter 1
The Blackmarsh......................................146 ................................................................160
Drake's Fall.............................................146 The History of Soldier's Peak: Chapter 2
The Fortress of Kal'Hirol........................146 ................................................................160
The Paragon Hirol.................................. 146 The History of Soldier's Peak: Chapter 3
Surfacer Dwarves................................... 147 ................................................................161
The Great Strife......................................147 The History of Soldier's Peak: Chapter 4
The First Warden.................................... 147 ................................................................161
Vassals and their Liege...........................147 Sophia Dryden........................................161
The Vigil.................................................148 Sophia Dryden's Journal ........................162
Anders.................................................... 148 A Letter From Bann Mathuin Wulff.......162
The Architect .........................................148 Avernus's Notes......................................163
Justice.....................................................149 A Plea from Commander Athlar ............163
Mhairi.....................................................149 THE STONE PRISONER............................... 164
Nathaniel ............................................... 150 Shale.......................................................164
Sigrun..................................................... 150 The Journal of Enchanter Wilhelm ........164
The Mother.............................................150 A Note from the Honnleath Village Council
Oghren....................................................151 ................................................................164
Seneschal Varel.......................................151 A Decades-Old Letter ............................165
Velanna...................................................152 RETURN TO OSTAGAR................................166
Dailan's Journal...................................... 152 Cailan's Documents - Page 1 of 3 ..........166
Records of the Blackmarsh....................153 Cailan's Documents - Page 2 of 3...........166
Kristoff's Journal.................................... 153 Cailan's Documents - Page 3 of 3 ..........166
The Baroness's Secret.............................153 DARKSPAWN CHRONICLES.......................167
Ancient Vows..........................................153 Oghren....................................................167
Kristoff's Note........................................ 154 People of Ferelden..................................167
The Canticle of Maferath....................... 154 LELIANA'S SONG.........................................169
A Letter from the Architect....................154 Raiding the Collective ...........................169
The Architect's Journal...........................154 The Orlesian Game of Intrigue ..............169
A Letter from Aura................................. 155 The Arl's Estate ......................................169
A Miner's Letter......................................155 The Hard Line ....................................... 169
The Architect's Notes............................. 155 War Journal, Revised .............................169
Orders to the Militia............................... 155 Harwen Raleigh's Personal Journal .......170
Letter to Rendon Howe.......................... 156 Marjolaine ............................................. 170
Response from Rendon Howe................156 Sketch ....................................................170
A Scout's Report.....................................156 Tug .........................................................170
A List of Instructions..............................156 An Introduction...................................... 171
A Letter from Leliana.............................156 Silas ....................................................... 171
A Letter from Zevran..............................157 THE GOLEMS OF AMGARRAK..................172
Karsten Wilde's Last Testament.............157 A Bronto Named Snug........................... 172
Darran Lyle's Missive.............................157 The Harvester.........................................172
Bonnie's Angry Letter.............................158 Protector Golem..................................... 172
Materials for Working with Dragonbone Jerrik Dace..............................................172
................................................................158 The Warden-Commander of Ferelden....172
Materials for Working with Golem Shells Darion's Journal......................................172
................................................................158 Ancient Writings.................................... 173
Materials for Working with Heartwood. 158 Seneschal Garevel's Missive..................173
A Scholar's Journal.................................158 WITCH HUNT................................................ 175

4
The Varterral...........................................175 Flemeth's Demise .................................. 176
Letters from the Past.............................. 175 The Grey Warden................................... 176
The Mabari Hound ................................ 175 Random Recipes ....................................176

5
 MAIN GAME

CREATURES

Abomination
"We arrived in the dead of night. We had been tracking the maleficar for days, and
finally had him cornered... or so we thought.
As we approached, a home on the edge of the town exploded, sending splinters of wood
and fist-sized chunks of rocks into our ranks. We had but moments to regroup before
fire rained from the sky, the sounds of destruction wrapped in a hideous laughter from
the center of the village.
There, perched atop the spire of the village chantry, stood the mage. But he was human
no longer.
We shouted prayers to the Maker and deflected what magic we could, but as we fought,
the creature fought harder. I saw my comrades fall, burned by the flaming sky or
crushed by debris. The monstrous creature, looking as if a demon were wearing a man
like a twisted suit of skin, spotted me and grinned. We had forced it to this, I realized;
the mage had made this pact, given himself over to the demon to survive our assault."
—Transcribed from a tale told by a former templar in Cumberland, 8:84 Blessed.

It is known that mages are able to walk the Fade while completely aware of their surroundings,
unlike most others who may only enter the realm as dreamers and leave it scarcely aware of their
experience. Demons are drawn to mages, though whether it is because of this awareness or simply
by virtue of their magical power in our world is unknown.
Regardless of the reason, a demon always attempts to possess a mage when it encounters one—by
force or by making some kind of deal depending on the strength of the mage. Should the demon get
the upper hand, the result is an unholy union known as an abomination. Abominations have been
responsible for some of the worst cataclysms in history, and the notion that some mage in a remote
tower could turn into such a creature unbeknownst to any was the driving force behind the creation
of the Circle of Magi.
Thankfully, abominations are rare. The Circle has methods for weeding out those who are too at risk
for demonic possession, and scant few mages would give up their free will to submit to such a bond
with a demon. But once an abomination is created, it will do its best to create more. Considering
that entire squads of templars have been known to fall at the hands of a single abomination, it is not
surprising that the Chantry takes the business of the Circle of Magi very seriously indeed.

Arcane Horror
"Upon ascending to the second floor of the tower, we were greeted by a gruesome sight:
a ragged collection of bones wearing the robes of one of the senior enchanters. I had
known her for years, watched her raise countless apprentices, and now she was a mere
puppet for some demon."

6
 —Transcribed from a tale told by a templar in Antiva City, 7:13 Storm
Demons, of course, have no form in our world. When they enter, either where the Veil is
particularly thin or through blood magic summoning, they must take possession of a body.
When a pride demon takes control of the corpse of a mage, an arcane horror is born. Although they
appear to be little more than bones, these are fierce creatures, possessing not only all the
spellcasting abilities of a living mage, but also the capacity to heal and even command other
animated corpses.

Archdemon
"In Darkness eternal they searched,
For those who had goaded them on,
Until at last they found their prize,
Their god, their betrayer:
The sleeping dragon Dumat. Their taint
Twisted even the false-god, and the whisperer
Awoke at last, in pain and horror, and led
Them to wreak havoc upon all the nations of the world:
The first Blight."
—Threnodies 8:7
The false dragon-gods of the Tevinter Imperium lie buried deep within the earth, where they have
been imprisoned since the Maker cast them down.
No one knows what it is that drives the darkspawn in their relentless search for the sleeping Old
Gods. Perhaps it is instinct, as moths will fly into torch flames. Perhaps there is some remnant of
desire for vengeance upon the ones who goaded the magisters to assault heaven. Whatever the
reason, when darkspawn find one of these ancient dragons, it is immediately afflicted by the taint. It
awakens twisted and corrupted, and leads the darkspawn in a full-scale invasion of the land: A
Blight.
Urthemiel was once the Tevinter god of beauty. In ancient times, he was worshiped by musicians,
artists, and poets. The Feast of Urthemiel was the grandest celebration of the year, an event that
lasted a full twelve days. Plays and entire symphonies were written in his honor. Now, he is a
maddened husk of his former self, filled with nothing but a desire to destroy all life.
When the first Blight began, many brave men and women threw themselves at Dumat, the first
archdemon, trying to strike him down. But no matter the numbers, no matter their strength, he
would always return. This was proof, some said, of his divine power.
But the Grey Wardens soon learned otherwise. Their tainted blood bound them to the archdemon,
and they could hear it, feel it, as it died and was born anew, its spirit drawn to possess the nearest
tainted creature. The darkspawn were mindless, soulless, empty shells of flesh that could be bent
and remade in the dragon's image. But a man... a man's soul was not so malleable. When a Warden's
hand struck a fatal blow against Dumat, the Old God's spirit was drawn not to a darkspawn but to
the man who had slain him. In that moment, the souls of both the Warden and the archdemon were
utterly destroyed. And the dragon rose no more. The Blight was over.

Ash Wraith
Legend has it that when Andraste's Ashes were taken into hiding, some of her closest disciples gave
themselves to the fire, that their restless souls might remain to guard her final resting place forever.

7
Whether they are the spirits of Andraste's disciples or merely Fade spirits, the temple that houses the
Sacred Urn is filled with wraiths. Created from a burnt corpse, an ash wraith is a powerful and
amorphous opponent able to lash and smother while being immune to most physical attacks. Even if
successfully dispersed, it can reform at a later time. Magic is the only real way to fight such a
creature, wind and ice attacks being the most useful.
They are capable of creating small whirlwinds that are devastating to anyone unfortunate enough to
get close, and their touch leaves a person drained.

Bear
"No beast is more beloved by Dirthamen than the bear. When the world was new,
Dirthamen gave one secret to each creature to keep. The foxes traded their secrets to
Andruil for wings. The hares shouted theirs to the treetops. The birds sold theirs for gold
and silver. Only the bears kept Dirthamen's gift, deep within their dens, they slept the
months away in the company of their secrets and nothing else.
When Dirthamen discovered what had been done with his gifts, he snatched the wings
from the foxes, silenced the voices of the hares, and turned the birds into paupers. but
the bears he honored for their steadfastness."
—Transcribed from a Dalish tale, 9:8 Dragon.
Normally, it is almost unheard of for bears to attack travelers. They are, in fact, so shy and so
inactive during the day that most people never encounter a bear at all. However, should a bear be
provoked, they are remarkably dangerous. The normally placid-seeming creatures become enraged,
and can strike massive blows with their paws, capable of knocking a man off his feet.

Bronto
"There's only two things a noble will step aside for: Paragons and angry brontos."
—Dwarven saying.
This hulking beast was originally bred by the dwarven Shaperate as a beast of burden and food
source, the rough equivalent to surface oxen and cows. Some versions of bronto have even been
developed as dwarven mounts, valued far more for their sure-footedness and stamina than for their
speed. While present within Orzammar in large numbers, some bronto still exist in packs within the
Deep Roads, having returned to a wild state after the fall of the dwarven kingdoms. They require
remarkably little sustenance, consuming organic material from water, fungus and even rocks (hence
the "rock-licker" appellation used by many dwarves to describe bronto), and exist in primarily
dormant states until provoked. An angry, charging bronto is considered to be a rather dangerous
opponent.

Broodmother
It is well-known that darkspawn carry off those captured in their raids to underground lairs. Most
assume that the prisoners are eaten, or somehow tainted and turned into darkspawn themselves,
though this could never account for the sheer numbers of the horde. Forays made by Grey Wardens
into the underground have uncovered the answer.

8
When exposed to the darkspawn taint, men are driven mad and eventually die. Women, however,
undergo great pain and gross mutations that cause most of them to perish. Those that survive,
however, become the grotesque broodmothers. These giant, twisted behemoths birth many
darkspawn at a time; a single broodmother can create thousands of darkspawn over the course of
her lifetime. Each type of darkspawn is born from a different broodmother: Humans produce
hurlocks, dwarves produce genlocks, elves give birth to shrieks, and from Qunari are born the
ogres.

Corpse
"To anyone who doubts the wickedness of blood magic, I say: With your own hands,
strike down the corpses of your own brothers who have fallen in battle to a maleficar,
then we may discuss morality."
—Knight-Commander Benedictus, in a letter to the Divine, 5:46 Exalted.
The walking dead are not, as superstition would lead you to believe, the living come back for
revenge. They are, rather, corpses possessed by demons.
The shambling corpse, controlled by a demon of sloth, causes its enemies to become weak and
fatigued. Corpses possessed by rage demons go berserk and simply wade into their opponents
mindlessly. Devouring corpses are held by hunger demons and feed upon the living. The more
powerful demons rarely deign to possess a dead host.

Deepstalker
"A fool trusts his eyes. A wise man fears every rock is a deepstalker"
—Dwarven saying.
Possibly the strangest of all the creatures found in the Deep Roads is the deepstalker. Tezpadam, as
the dwarves call them, hunt in packs, generally by burrowing underground and then striking when
their prey is in their midst.
Stalkers come in several types. Spitters have venom glands and can spit secretions that slow or
injure their prey. Jumpers hurl themselves at their targets, knocking them down and making the kill
easier. The most common variety scares its prey, leaving the unfortunate victim helpless against the
rest of the pack.

Desire Demon
"In all my studies, I must say that the most intriguing was my interview with the desire
demon. That the creature was willing to speak with me was a sign that this was no mere
monster, mindlessly driven by its nature, but rather a rational being as interested in me
as I was in it. It took a form that I would call female, though I had no doubt that it could
appear otherwise. I wondered if it appeared as it did because I wanted it to or because I
expected it to. She... and, indeed, I could only think of her as such now... smiled warmly
at me and laughed a musical sound that seemed to thrill my old heart.
So frightened was I of this creature's legendary abilities to twist the hearts of men, and
so relieved was I when I looked across the table into her dark eyes. This was a fearsome
creature of the Fade, but as I spoke with her I slowly came to realize that this demon
was merely as misunderstood as we mages are, ourselves."
—From the journal of former Senior Enchanter Maleus, once of the Circle of Rivain,
declared apostate in 9:20 Dragon.

9
Of all the threats from beyond the Veil, few are more insidious and deceptively deadly than the
desire demon. In folklore, such demons are characterized as peddlers of lust, luring their prey into a
sexual encounter only to be slain at the culmination. While a desire demon can indeed deal in
pleasure, in truth they deal with any manner of desire that humans can possess: wealth, power, and
beauty, to name a few.
Far more intelligent than the bestial hunger and rage demons, and more ambitious than the demons
of sloth, these dark spirits are among the most skilled at tempting mages into possession. Many who
serve the whims of a desire demon never realize it. They are manipulated by illusions and deceit if
not outright mind control, although these demons are reluctant to resort to such crude measures.
Instead, they seem to take great pleasure in corruption. The greater the deceit, the greater their
victory.
Only demons of pride prove more fearsome opponents when roused. Their abilities to affect the
mind allow them to assume disguises and even alter the environment to their purposes, not to
mention the great strength and speed they possess if they should have to resort to more physical
means. Most often a desire demon will attempt to bargain its way to freedom if overpowered—
many stories exist that depict mages defeating desire demons to the point where a wish can be
wrested from them. It should be noted that in such stories the demon almost always gets the upper
hand even when the mage thinks his wish has been granted.

Dragon
Dragonlings
Newly-hatched dragons are roughly the size of a deer and voraciously hungry. They live for a short
time in their mother's lair before venturing out on their own. The slender, wingless creatures are
born in vast numbers, as only a few ever make it to adulthood.
Drakes
Male dragons never develop into the winged monsters of myth. At most, their forelegs grow the
vestigial spurs where wing membrane might have been.
Once they have fully matured, males immediately seek out the lairs of adult females. When they
find one, they move into her lair and spend the rest of their lives there, hunting for her and
defending her young. They will aggressively defend her nest, and many would-be dragon hunters
have been lost to their fiery breath and crushing blows from their tails.
Dragons
Female dragons take much longer to mature than their male counterparts. They too undergo a
metamorphosis of sorts at adulthood; But while males lose the use of their forepaws, females
actually grow a third set of limbs specifically to serve as wings.
Young females travel great distances looking for a suitable nesting site. Because of their nomadic
habits, these are the dragons most frequently encountered by man.
High Dragon
A fully mature adult female dragon is the high dragon: the great monster of legend, the rarest of all
dragonkind. These dragons hollow out massive lairs for themselves, for they need the space to
house their harem of drakes as well as their eggs and the dragonlings.

10
High dragons are seldom seen. They spend most of their time sleeping and mating, living off the
prey their drakes bring back. But once every hundred years or so, the high dragon prepares for
clutching by emerging from her lair and taking wing. She will fly far and wide, eating hundreds of
animals, most often livestock, over the course of a few weeks and leaving smoldering devastation in
her wake. She then returns to her lair to lay her eggs and will not appear in the skies again for
another century.

Genlock
These are the most common darkspawn in the underground. Stocky and tough, genlocks are
notoriously difficult to kill, even by magic.
Alphas
In any group of genlocks, there is usually one who is dominant. As the tallest, strongest, and
smartest of their kind, alphas serve as a sort of commander, directing or bullying the others in
combat.
Emissaries
The most intelligent of the alphas become gifted sorcerers, with many abilities akin to blood magic.
These are the emissaries and they usually only appear during a Blight.

Ghoul
What the Blight does not destroy, it corrupts.
Any creature infected with the darkspawn taint that does not have the good fortune to die outright
becomes a ghoul: a twisted shadow of itself.
The name originally comes from men—whether human, dwarven, or elven—who became tainted,
usually while being held as a captive food source by the darkspawn. They would turn cannibal,
preying on other captives, slaves to the will of the archdemon, driven mad by pain.
During a Blight, the corruption of the darkspawn spreads through the wilder areas of Thedas and
infects the animals found there. This produces grotesque, enraged bears called bereskarn as well as
blight wolves.
Fortunately, ghouls rarely survive their corruption for long.

Golem
Once a crucial part of Orzammar's defenses, golems have all but vanished as the secret to their
manufacture was lost over a thousand years ago. What few golems remain are guarded closely by
the Shaperate, brought out when the battle with the darkspawn grows desperate enough to risk their
loss. No one now would sell a golem for any price, but in ancient times, dwarves sold many golems
to the magister lords of Tevinter.
They are devastating weapons in war, living siege engines, capable of hurling boulders like a
catapult or plowing through enemy lines like an earthquake.

11
Halla
No creature is more revered by the Dalish than the halla. No other animal has a god of its own.
These white stags are much larger than ordinary deer, and the Dalish halla keepers carve their
antlers as they grow, making them curve into intricate designs. In ancient times, these stags bore
elven knights into combat, but since the fall of the Dales, they are used less as mounts and more to
pull the aravels.

Hurlock
Taller than their genlock cousins, the hurlocks are roughly of human-size but are possessed of
considerable strength and constitution. The shock troop of the darkspawn, a single berserking
hurlock can often be a match for numerous opponents at once. They are known to adorn
themselves with roughly-carved tattoos to keep track of their kills and deeds, though it is
unknown whether or not there is a uniform standard to these markings.
Alphas
Alpha hurlocks are more intelligent and more skilled fighters, often serving as commanders or even
generals.
Emissaries
Hurlock emissaries have also been known to appear during a Blight. These darkspawn are the only
ones recorded as being capable of human speech and are often capable of employing magic.

Mabari War Hound

Dogs are an essential part of Fereldan culture, and no dog is more prized that the mabari. The breed
is as old as myth, said to have been bred from the wolves who served Dane. Prized for their
intelligence and loyalty, these dogs are more than mere weapons or status symbols: The hounds
choose their masters, and pair with them for life. To be the master of a mabari anywhere in Ferelden
is to be recognized instantly as a person of worth.
The mabari are an essential part of Fereldan military strategy. Trained hounds can easily pull
knights from horseback or break lines of pikemen, and the sight and sound of a wave of war dogs,
howling and snarling, has been known to cause panic among even the most hardened infantry
soldiers.
—From Ferelden: Folklore and History by Sister Petrine, Chantry scholar

Nug
"Hip deep in mad nugs.
Our screams deafen their keen ears.
We will be nug poop."
—From Songs That Only Nugs can Hear by Paragon Ebryan, 5:84 Exalted

12
The nug is an omnivore common to the Deep Roads, a hairless creature that is almost blind as well
as completely docile. It spends most of its time wading in shallow pools as well as mud pits, feeding
on small insects, worms, and (in a pinch) limestone and simple metals. Indeed, the digestive system
of the nug is legendary, able to make a meal out of almost anything a nug finds on the cavern floors.
Nugs reproduce rapidly, spreading into any niche within the Deep Roads they can find, and serve to
support a variety of predators such as giant spiders and deepstalkers. So, too, do dwarves make
meals out of them... nugs are, in the poorer slum portions of Orzammar, one of the most common
sources of meat available. Some dwarves even domesticate the creatures, claiming to find the
creature's high-pitched squeaks pleasing.

Ogre
Towering over their darkspawn kin, the massive ogres are a rare sight on the battlefield.
Traditionally, they only appear during a Blight, but some records claim that ogres have been spotted
in the Deep Roads hunting alone or in small groups. At least one report by the Grey Wardens claims
that an ogre was spotted alone in the Korcari Wilds in 9:19 Dragon, though it was weakened and
easily dispatched. Up to a hundred of these creatures can accompany a darkspawn horde at any one
time during a Blight, often using their great strength to burst through fortifications and demolish the
front lines of the opposing army.
They use brute force to charge their enemies like bulls, slam the ground with their fists to shake
enemies off their feet, and hurl great rocks into the face of oncoming foes. Melee can be difficult
against a giant that snatches a warrior up in one hand, crushing the life out of him or beating him
into oblivion with the other hand. The nimble can try to wiggle his way free, or an ally can attempt
an array of stunning blows on an ogre to free the comrade in danger.
Grey Warden lore urges caution when slaying an ogre. Unless it is ensured that they have received a
major wound to the head or the heart, it is possible that they are lying dormant and will regenerate
to full health within a matter of minutes. During a Blight, most Grey Wardens recommend burning
all darkspawn to ashes... "dead" ogres in particular.

Pride Demon
"Let me explain what it is to face a pride demon, my friends.
You may scoff and say that our talents exist only to face mages, but you will encounter demons
often. They will be summoned by a maleficar and bound to do his bidding, and while at times they
will be forced into the possession of a host, they will also face you in their true form... a powerful
opponent indeed. Do not underestimate it.
Pride is powerful, and intelligent. When we have encountered one in its true form, its most common
attacks are bolts of fire and ice. Fire they will use to burn an opponent, and the magical flame will
combust anything you wear regardless of make. Ice they will use to freeze an opponent in place—
be cautious, for they enjoy employing this against warriors in particular. More than one group of
templars has made the mistake of attempting to overwhelm a pride demon and suffered the
consequences, believe me. And if you think that having the aid of other mages will assist you, you
are wrong. Pride demons can render themselves immune to magic for short times, and are adept at
dispelling magic that is cast upon you... as much as we templars are able to disrupt spells.
Think on that for a moment, my friends. Be wary of how prideful you become, lest you find too
much in common with such a fiend."
—Transcript of a lecture given by Vheren, templar-commander of Tantervale, 6:86 Steel

13
Rage Demon
Encountered in the Fade, the true form of a rage demon is a frightening sight: a thing of pure fire, its
body seemingly made of amorphous lava and its eyes two pinpricks of baleful light radiating from
its core. The abilities of such a demon center on the fire it generates. It burns those who come near,
and the most powerful of its kind are able to lash out with bolts of fire and even firestorms that can
affect entire areas.
Fortunately, even powerful rage demons are less intelligent then most other varieties. Their tactics
are simple: attack an enemy on sight with as much force as possible until it perishes. Some rage
demons carry over their heat-based abilities into possessed hosts, but otherwise the true form is
mostly seen outside of the Fade when it's specifically summoned by a mage to do his bidding.
-Transcript of a lecture given by Vheren, Templar-Commander of Tantervale, 6:86 Steel

Rat
"What are you, mad? Even the most giant of rats isn't going to present that much of a problem to
anyone larger than a cat. Even the stories in the archives that tell of Blight-touched rats still only
attributed them with the ability to spread the plague. The rats themselves got no larger than perhaps
three feet in length, covered in sharp bony spikes and boils. Disturbing, certainly, but dangerous?
This is no fantasy conjured by madmen, young man! You have much more important creatures to
concern yourself with!"
—Transcript of a lecture given by Nalia, Senior Enchanter of Hossberg, 8:44 Blessed (Note: she
was later eaten by a Blight Rat in 8:46 Blessed)

Revenant
An entire unit of men, all slain by one creature. I didn't believe it at first, your
Perfection, but it appears that this is so. We have a survivor, and while at first I thought
his rantings pure exaggeration... it appears to be no simple skeleton. The descriptions of
the creature's abilities were eerily similar to those our brothers at Marnas Pell
encountered almost a century ago: men pulled through the air to skewer themselves on
the creature's blade, and attacks so quick that it was able to assault multiple opponents
at once. No, your Perfection, what we have here is indeed a revenant and nothing less.
—From a letter to Divine Amara III, 5:71 Exalted.
A revenant is a corpse possessed by a demon of pride or of desire... making it amongst the most
powerful possessed opponents that one can face. Many possess spells, but most are armed and
armored and prefer the use of their martial talents. They are weak against physical attacks but
regenerate quickly, and commonly use telekinesis to pull opponents into melee range should they
try to flee. Revenants also have the ability to strike multiple opponents surrounding them. Stay at
range if possible and strike quickly—that is the only way to take such a creature down.

Shade
"It has often been suggested that the only way for a demon to affect the world of the living is by
possessing a living (or once living) body, but this is not always true. Indeed, a shade is one such
creature: a demon in its true form that has adapted to affect the world around it.

14
My hypothesis is this: we already know that many demons become confused when they pass
through the Veil into our world. They are unable to tell the living from the dead, the very static
nature of our universe being confusing to a creature that is accustomed to a physicality defined
entirely by emotion and memory. Most demons seek to immediately seize upon anything they
perceive as life, jealously attempting to possess it—but what of those that do not? What of those
that encounter no life, or fail to possess a body? What of those that are more cautious by their
nature?
These demons watch. They lurk. They envy.
In time, such a demon will learn to drain energy from the psyche of those it encounters, just as it did
in the Fade. Once it has drained enough, it has the power to manifest and will forever after be
known as a shade. Such a creature spurns possession. It instead floats as a shadow across its piece
of land, preying upon the psyche of any who cross its path. Perhaps it believes itself still in the
Fade? There is evidence to believe that is so.
A shade will weaken the living by its very proximity. If it focuses its will, it can drain a single target
very quickly. Some have even been known to assault the minds of a living victim, causing
confusion or horror and making the target ripe for the kill. The tragedy of a shade is perhaps that,
once it has drained a target whole, its appetite is only heightened rather than slaked."
—From the journal of former Senior Enchanter Maleus, once of the Circle of Rivain, declared
apostate in 9:20 Dragon Age.

Shriek
Scholars call these tall, lean darkspawn the sharlock, though they are more popularly known as
shrieks because of the ear-splitting cries they emit in battle. Many tales exist of soldiers being
unnerved by the sounds of approaching shrieks, cloaked in darkness and never seen until the
moment they strike.
As horrors of the night, shrieks are renowned for their incredible speed and agility as well as their
stealth. They are the assassins of the darkspawn, penetrating the enemy lines and striking their
targets using long, jagged blades attached to their forearms to rip their opponent to shreds in
seconds. They have been known to employ poison, often drawn from their own blood, and have
demonstrated cunning group tactics when attacking in numbers.

Skeleton
The demons of the Fade are jealous of the world they sense from across the Veil. They constantly
push against the boundaries of the Fade, and when they finally cross over, they attempt to possess
the first living creature they see. They are unable, however, to distinguish that which was once
living from that which still is... in fact, a corpse provides an even more tempting target to a weaker
demon as it has no will with which to resist the possession. The demon cannot rationalize why this
is so; it only sees a target and grasps at the opportunity.
A skeleton is exactly that: a corpse animated by a possessing demon. Upon finding itself trapped
within a body that cannot sustain it, the demon is driven insane... it seeks to destroy any life that it
encounters, attacking without thought to its own welfare.

15
The exact names given to skeletons of this type vary according to the nature of the demons that
possesses it. A "fanged skeleton" is a skeleton possessed by a hunger demon. These skeletons
devour whatever life they encounter and often possess the ability to drain life energy and mana from
their victims. A "shambling skeleton" is a slower-moving skeleton possessed by a sloth demon, able
to bring entropic powers against its opponents, slowing them and even putting them to sleep. More
powerful demons have been known to command skeletons, but at that level they are known by other
names: revenants and arcane horrors, to name two.

Sloth Demon
"And I looked at the creature and it had become me. A veritable copy of my form, of my
very mind, stared back at me as if from within a mirror. I thought surely that this was a
trick, an illusion meant to put me off guard... but as I engaged the thing with my sword
it fought me with maneuvers that I recognized. It parried as I parried; it swung as I
swung. It spoke to me and said things that only I could know. I... I think this demon of
sloth has no form or identity of its own. It is envy as much as sloth, I believe, and mine
was not the first shape it stole that day."
—An excerpt from a transcribed deposition of Tyrenus, templar-commander of
Cumberland, 3:90 Towers.
The most difficult assumption for some who study demons to overcome is the notion that a sloth
demon is, in and of itself, slothful. If that were so, it seems highly unlikely that any such demons
would cross the Veil into our own world, or once here would fight to possess any creature with a
will of its own—and we know both these things to not be the case. Certainly, some demons are lazy
and complacent, but who knows? Perhaps these creatures even cultivate such a reputation.
The truth is that demons of sloth are named so because this is the portion of the human psyche that
they feed upon. Doubt. Apathy. Entropy. They seek to spread these things. The sloth demon hides in
its forms, a master of shapes and disguises, always in the last place you look... and from its hiding
place it spreads its influence. A community afflicted by a demon of sloth could soon become a
dilapidated pit where injustices are allowed to pass without comment, and none of the residents
could be aware that such a change has even taken place. The sloth demon weakens, tires, tears at the
edges of consciousness and would much rather render its victim helpless than engage in a true
conflict. Such creatures are best faced only with a great deal of will, and only with an eye to
piercing their many disguises.

Giant Spider
Giant spiders tend to appear in old ruins and other places where the Veil has become thin because of
magical disturbances or a great number of deaths. In such places, spirits and demons pass into the
world of the living and attempt to take control over living beings, spiders among them. Not all
scholars accept this explanation for the presence of these beasts, however. Some claim that the
thinning Veil allows magic to "leak" from the Fade, tainting such creatures as these spiders to
transform into larger and more potent creatures than they ever would become naturally. While such
spiders are known to possess powerful poisons and the ability to fling their webs at opponents in
combat, studies of them have been few and the full range of their abilities are unknown.

16
Corrupted spiders are giant arachnids that originally grew in the depths of the Deep Roads, feeding
on numerous species of large bats. When the Deep Roads were lost to the darkspawn, they began to
feed on the numerous genlocks and their numbers grew exponentially... as did their size. The
darkspawn taint has become a permanent part of their system, passed on to their progeny. This has
had the effect of increasing their size abnormally, as well as their aggressiveness. Some corrupted
spiders have made their lairs in surface forests, but most remain underground, close to their Blight-
tainted meals.

Wild Sylvan
For demons crossing over into our world, mankind is not always the preferred prey. Possessing
humans means risking encounters with powerful mages and templars, as well as other
complications. Some demons find it far easier to seek out animals or even plants, assuming that
these will make as suitable a host as a human. Those that possess trees are known as wild sylvans.
Generally, only demons of rage, the weakest of the demon hierarchy, will become a sylvan. Once
they do, they must spend a great deal of time twisting and molding the host in order to make it
mobile, and once they have the sylvan is a powerful and deadly opponent. Other, more intelligent,
spirits have also been known to become sylvans, and are generally much less violent, but these are
rare.
Slow but immensely powerful, wild sylvans prefer to lay in ambush, waiting for a victim to become
lost, tired, or trapped before closing in for the kill. They hide among regular trees, nearly
undetectable until they begin to move and to reach. When they do "come to life" as some travelers
say, they stand tall, roots forming into legs and feet and branches stretching out into lashing arms.
When not presented with a living target, however, it has been noted that sylvans often fall into a
form of dormancy, perhaps brought on by the nature of their tree host. While mobile, they normally
return to wherever they were rooted once their prey has been killed. For both these reasons, a forest
that has sylvans within can become incredibly dangerous to pass through for very long periods of
time.

Werewolf
"And Dane he stood his ground,
The fanged beast approached.
He saw the rage within its eyes,
The wolf that once was there.
The sword he raised,
Merciful death be praised,
To the maker went his prayer."
—From the popular telling of Dane and the Werewolf, a legend of Ferelden circa 4:50
Black.
Fereldan lore is full of instances where these creatures have plagued the countryside: wolves
possessed by rage demons and transformed into humanoid monsters with incredible speed and
strength, able to spread a curse to those they bit that would drive them mad with unthinking fury.
When in this enraged state, a human host can likewise become possessed and be transformed into a
feral, wolf-like beast. Tales differ on these werewolves of human origin, some claiming that their
transformation into a bestial form happens uncontrollably. Some claim the transformation is
irreversible. As is often the case with demonic tales, both versions were most likely true at some
point.

17
The ability of normal dogs to detect a werewolf even when it is in a human guise is what first led
Fereldans to adopt dogs as indispensable companions in every farmhold. The alliance between
humans and regular wolves is the subject of the popular Fereldan folk tale "Dane and the
Werewolf."
The actual hero Dane led a crusade to eliminate the werewolf threat during the early Black Age, and
while werewolves have never assumed the same prominence since, there have still been reports of
individual packs lurking in remote forests. In recent years, some have even been reported to have
developed an uncanny willpower and intelligence... though why this is so is still unknown.

Wisp
"A great deal is made of the most powerful demons, those that create abominations and those that
have changed the history of Thedas. It is often forgotten that not all demons are such awe-inspiring
beings. Some that break through the cracks in the Veil into our world are known as wisps, a sliver of
a thought that once was. A wisp is a demon that has lost its power; either it has existed in our world
for too long without finding a true host or it has been destroyed—often, so we've found, by other
demons. What remains of its mind clings tightly to the one concept that created it—a hatred of all
things living.
While its ability to target a living creature is limited, these wisps often mindlessly attack when
encountered in the Fade. In the living world, they often have been known to maliciously lure the
living into dangerous areas, being mistaken for lanterns or other civilized light sources. This does,
however, seem to be the very limit of their cunning."
—From the journal of former Senior Enchanter Maleus, once of the Circle of Rivain, declared
apostate in 9:20 Dragon Age.

Wolf
"It is rather unfair, the reputation that the wolf possesses in Ferelden. For a people that
so clearly adore their hounds, Fereldans simultaneously harbor a distrust of wolves that
borders on the unreasonable. Unreasonable, that is if one were not familiar with the
ancient legends regarding werewolves. There was a time in Ferelden's past when
demons inhabited the bodies of wolves in great numbers, causing the wars against
werewolves and spreading great fear and panic. The werewolves were slain, but even
today the noble wolf is still looked upon with distrust."
—From Legends of Ferelden, by Mother Ailis of Denerim, 9:10 Dragon.
An attack by wolves upon civilized folk happens rarely, often only in times of desperation and even
then only when the wolves have the advantage of numbers. This can change during a Blight. When
darkspawn rise onto the surface their presence dramatically alters the savage nature of normal
beasts.
In Blights past, as the corruption of the darkspawn spread through the wilder areas of Thedas, it
would infect the animals found there... and the more powerful of them would survive and be
transformed into a more vicious and dangerous beast. A blight wolf is one such example, mad with
the pain of its infection, and only through the overriding command of the darkspawn does it still
retain some semblance of its pack instincts. Blight wolves are always found in large groups and will
tend to overwhelm a single target if they can, using their numbers to their advantage. It is fortunate
that these creatures rarely survive their corruption for very long.

18
Mabari Dominance
Mabari hounds are descended from pack hunters, and like their ancestors, they are highly influenced
by a defined order of dominance. The primary method of determining that order is by claiming
territory through scent-marking major landmarks. Once established, the dominant mabari gains a
substantial increase in confidence and stature within his territory, a trait that indirectly benefits
master as well as hound.

ITEMS

The Litany of Adralla

Adralla of Vyrantium dedicated her life to the study of blood magic—the academic study, rather
than the practice. A deeply pious mage, she was renowned in her day for having found a counter to
every form of mind control, a defense against dream walkers, and even counter-spells to demonic
summons.
Her efforts went unappreciated in her native Tevinter, however. After three different magisters
attempted to have her killed, she fled the country, choosing to take refuge in the land of Blessed
Andraste's birth. She spent the remainder of her days with the Circle in Ferelden.
The Litany of Adralla disrupts the casting of mind-control spells. Use the Litany whenever a
creature tries to dominate another with magic, and it will interrupt the casting. Once the spell is in
effect and a character is under a blood mage's power, it is too late.

Archons of the Imperium

Archon Darinius of Tevinter journeyed deep into the lightless realm of dwarves and there forged a
covenant with Endrin Stonehammer, lord of the dwarven empire. As a symbol of their pact, Endrin
gave the archon a pair of rings-one that shone like the evening star, and one as luminous as the
dawn. So long as the rings were united, Darinius need fear nothing, for the friendship of the
dwarves is a mighty sword and shield.
The archon wore the rings of Dawn and Dusk for 20 years, never removing them, and when he died,
they were cut from his fingers by magisters squabbling over his vacant throne, then separated, and
finally lost.
—From a Book formerly in the possession of a hermit.

Havard's Aegis
Havard was Maferath's closest friend. They were children together in the same Avvar clan. They
fought side-by-side in so many battles that Maferath dubbed him, "Havard the Aegis", better to have
at his side than any shield.
Maferath brought Havard with him to meet with the Tevinters; it was unthinkable to stand before
his enemies without his Aegis.
When he understood that Maferath was giving Andraste over to be executed, Havard, unwilling to
draw swords against his friend and liege, placed himself between Andraste and the Tevinter
soldiers. The Tevinters struck him down, and Maferath left him for dead.

19
But Aegis was not so easily destroyed. Havard lived and made his way, gravely wounded, to the
gates of Minrathous to stop the execution. Too late. He found only the ashes of the prophet, left to
the wind and rain. When his fingers touched the ash, his ears filled with song, and he saw a vision
of Andraste dressed in cloth of starlight. She knelt at his side, saying, "Rise, Aegis of the Faith, the
Maker shall never forget you so long as I remember."
His wounds healed instantly. And with new strength, Havard gathered up Andraste's remains and
carried them safely back to the lands of the Alamarri.

Ancient Elven Armor

Before the fall of Arlathan, even before Arlathan itself, the civilization of the elves stretched across
all of Thedas like a great, indolent cat.
This armor was made for temple guards in a time when the Creators still spoke to the elves. The
techniques of its forging, even the name of the metal it is forged from, have long since faded from
memory.

Aodh
Long ago, a soldier from Gwaren was returning home after twenty years at war. He had sold his
sword for passage to Denerim and had to make his way through the Brecilian Forest with nothing to
his name but a single crust of bread.
On his way, he met an old blind woodcutter sitting on a tree stump. "Here is someone worse off
than myself," said the soldier, and he gave the old man his last scrap of bread. The old man blessed
him, and gave the soldier his axe in return.
The soldier went on his way, and soon night fell. He made his bed in a tree branch and held the
woodcutter's axe at his side to ward against beasts and bandits. When the moon was high, he was
awakened by the sound of weeping. "Show yourself!" he shouted, for try as he might, the soldier
could find no one nearby.
"Help me," spoke the tree in which he'd been sleeping, "A mage transformed me into this shape, and
I will never be set free. If you had any pity in you, you would cut me down so that my spirit could
go to the Maker."
So the soldier took up his axe and struck the tree. The cuts bled like wounds, and soon hot blood
covered the axe and burned the soldier's hands. But he held tightly to the axe and felled the tree.
The tree shattered when it hit the ground, and from the splinters rose a demon, who bowed to the
soldier and vanished into the Fade.
The soldier was chilled to the bone, and could not sleep. In the morning, he found that the axe still
burned like the blood of the sylvan, but despite its heat, he could not get warm again. They say he
ended his days in Gwaren, cutting wood for his seven fireplaces, shivering and cursing the spirits.

Bard's Dancing Shoes

The rules of the Grand Game are clear: Anything goes. If a noble cannot obtain the heights of
prestige in the court by purchase, alliance, or deed, he can always obtain it by removing his rivals.
In this, bards have always been invaluable. Orlesians cannot do without music and dancing. Even
when they know that half the musicians in their ballroom are spies in the employ of their enemies,
they welcome the scoundrels with open arms. In fact, that makes music and musicians so much
more popular, for it makes the Game more exciting.

20
Blood Ring
There are clear signs that this ring was made in the Tevinter Imperium—it's covered in dragon
motifs, for one thing. And it gives anyone who wears it a slightly uneasy feeling, for another. But
beyond that, very little is known about it.
Warriors of House Ivo took this ring in the Blessed Age from the hand of a madman, a surfacer
mage who had wandered into the underground and attacked lyrium miners near Orzammar. From
there, the ring changed hands many times, until its history had been lost and the dwarves no longer
remembered how it had ever come into their lands.

The Bow of the Golden Sun

There is no more famous ruler in history than Kordillus Drakon, first emperor of Orlais. Few,
however, know the story of his empress.
Empress Area was the third of Lord Montlaures of val Chevin's famously unmarriageable six
daughters. When she met young Prince Kordilius, she was the captain of her father's archers and led
the defense of Laures Castle. She was not the fairest of ladies, nor the most elegant or charming, but
Area could shoot the wings off a bumblebee at one hundred paces. By all accounts, when the prince
witnessed that particular feat, Drakon—who was not noted for his charm or elegance, and rather
better known for his sword and shield—was instantly smitten.
On their wedding day, Drakon presented his bride with a golden bow crafted by the mages of Val
Royeaux, so that they could ride into battle and spread the Light of the Maker side by side.

Camenae's Barbute
The Waking Sea Bannorn has been famous since time immemorial for its archers. Children there are
given bows before they can walk, and parents have been known, on occasion, to disown their
offspring for failure to hit bulls-eyes.
When Calenhad came to demand the Waking Sea's fealty, Bann Camenae greeted her would-be king
by shooting his horse out from under him half a league from Castle Eremon. Calenhad reached the
gates on foot and found them barred, with dozens of archers watching him from the castle walls.
He waited outside the walls with his men until sunset, when Camenae opened the gates and met
him, armored to the teeth with her bow in hand. "You have proven you have sense and humility,
Theirin. And no man can hope to lead the Bannorn without those gifts." She then knelt and swore
her oath.
To this day, the Eremon family of the Waking Sea presents every newly crowned king or queen of
Ferelden with two gifts: an arrow and a horse.

Dark Moon
At Shartan's word, the sky Grew black with arrows. At Our Lady's, ten thousand swords
Rang from their scabbards, A great hymn rose over Valarian Fields gladly proclaiming:
Those who had been slaves were now free.
—Shartan 10:1.
They say that Shartan's followers stole whatever they could find to make weapons. They fought
with knives of sharpened stone and glass, and with bows made from broken barrels or firewood.
This bow was ox horn, made in secret over the course of months by a slave who worked in the
slaughterhouses of Minrathous.

21
The slave's name has been lost to history, and the verses that spoke of his deeds, stricken from the
chant, but the weapon endures.

Katriel's Grasp
The Theirin family refused to die.
This was a problem for the Empire, for the stubborn Fereldans would not accept Orlesian rule so
long as some vagabond in the woods could call himself their king.
So the Orlesian court sent their agents in Ferelden a gift: A bard by the name of Katriel, to
assassinate the surviving Prince Maric.
She did not, of course, succeed, but that's another story.

The Life Drinker

No one knows for certain where this amulet came from. All we have is a legend:
Long before the Golden City turned black, there lived in the Tevinter Imperium a frail old magician
in the court of the archon. He was the least among the mages of the court, the lamp-lighter, whose
task it was to set all the thousands of candles alight and snuff them again when the archon retired
for the evening. He was counted as useless by all the most influential magisters.
But he was only biding his time.
One day, when all the magisters of the Imperium were assembled in the great hall of the archon, the
lamp-lighter struck. He conjured a massive fire storm in the hall, trying to assassinate all who were
assembled and seize power himself. The court was made up of the most powerful mages of the
Imperium, and they worked quickly to destroy the would-be usurper, but found, to their
astonishment, their magic was no match for the old mage. Every spell they cast was countered, and
the magisters began to fall, one by one, until only the archon himself and the lamp-lighter were left,
locked in a battle of magic and will.
The archon saw that with each spell he cast, the lamp-lighter seemed to wither and fade a little
more. So he bombarded the mage with spell after spell, until at last nothing was left of the palace
but rubble, nothing left of the court but corpses, and nothing left of the lamp-lighter but a golden
pendant—this, the archon kept to remind himself that treachery could come from even the most
innocuous sources.

The Magister's Shield

On the very day that the final stone was set into place in the Grand Cathedral of Orlais, Archon
Vespasian was assassinated. For three days, every magister lord of the Imperium lived behind a wall
of armored guards. When his successor, Hadarius, was finally named archon, the first enchanter of
the Circle of Minrathous presented him with a gift: a silvery unadorned chain made from pure
lyrium. Enchantments had been worked into the links of the chain so that donning this necklace was
like holding up a shield: Blows struck at the wearer glanced harmlessly away. Unfortunately,
Hadarius found that the shield did not protect him against poison nearly so well.

Shadow of the Empire

The Crows of Antiva may be the most famous and most expensive of Thedas's assassins, but they
are not the most active. That dubious honor belongs to the Shadows of the Emperor, the personal
cadre of killers employed by the throne of Orlais.

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Almost exclusively, the Shadows work against other noble families in Val Royeaux. No one knows
who they are, not even the sitting emperor, and some in the court dismiss them as only a myth. The
assassins have slipped into aristocratic life working as palace servants, ladies-in-waiting, and, on
one notorious occasion, the chamberlain himself.
This armor was made for use by the Shadows whenever the Grand Game should wander out of
hand.

The Summer Sword

In 8:84 Blessed, Lord Aurelien of Montsimmard, champion of the Grand Tourney of Ansburg,
commissioned a sword for his youngest son Luis, who aspired to the Chevaliers. Insisting that his
boy have nothing but the best, Lord Aurelien sought out the most renowned master smith in the
Orlesian Empire, Vercenne of Halamshiral, who was at that time nearly eighty, and begged the old
man to make the blade. Vercenne refused. His sight was failing him and he had no wish to come out
of retirement. But Aurelien offered and exorbitant sum of gold, and eventually overcame the
artisan's resistance.
The old master labored for several months, folding steel, honing the edge to perfection. The
resulting blade was as long as a man is tall, and sharp as the tongue of any noblewoman. Vercenne
proclaimed it, in a fit of irony, the "Summer Sword," since he had crafted it in the winter of his
lifetime.
Lord Aurelien brought Luis with him to receive the sword from the hand of the old master. When
the boy saw the Summer Sword, he turned up his nose at his father's gift: Such great two-handed
blades were no longer in fashion at court. He preferred an estoc. Aurelien was mortified; he insisted
that Luis carry the blade and apologized to Vercenne, but to no avail. The sword smith cursed the
boy, saying that for his pride, regardless of blade he carried, he would fail anyway.
Luis was eventually knighted, and joined the ranks of the Chevaliers. In 8:98 Blessed he was
appointed command of the Chevaliers in Denerim, and hoped to make a name for himself. And so
he did: he was the most detested chevalier in Ferelden, well-known for his acts of depravity. In 9:1
Dragon, he met Loghain Mac Tir in battle at Avinash. Luis lost his estoc early in the fighting,
became separated from his men, and ended up facing down Loghain himself armed only with the
Summer Sword—which he had never before drawn. Practice might have saved him where pride did
not. Loghain made short work of the pompous chevalier and took the greatsword as a trophy.

Thorn of the Dead Gods

In the moment that it struck, the blade of the Grey Warden who killed Toth, Archdemon of Fire,
shattered into three pieces. After the Battle of Hunter Fell, the Wardens carried their fallen brother
to Weisshaupt for a hero's burial, but the broken pieces of his sword were left behind.
For years, the shards lay forgotten on the battlefield. Steel became etched with the corrupted blood
of the dead god. They were eventually discovered by a Nevarran woman, searching among the
bones for a sign of her lost son. She sold them to a blacksmith, not knowing what they truly were,
for ten bits.
The smith, however, knew that he had purchased more than scrap metal, and fashioned the shards
into three identical daggers: the Thorns of the Dead Gods. They left his hands and were scattered to
the far corners of Thedas. But everywhere they went, the Thorns left misery and loss in their wake.
The woman who unearthed them died soon after of plague. The smith fell into his forge. Each
person who has held one of the Thorns, even briefly, has died an untimely death.

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Thorval's Luck
Ser Thorval of Rainesfere was the sixth son of a sixth son, a child of ill-fortune. It showed on his
13th birthday, when he narrowly avoided being run over by a cart, only to have a tree fall on him. It
showed on his wedding day, when his bride ran off with a roving dwarven tinker.
But nowhere was Thorval's misfortune more obvious than on the battlefield. Although peerless
among the knights of Rainesfere and undefeated in the tourneys of Redcliffe and West Hills, Ser
Thorval was plagued by loss, for every blade he took into battle broke. Every shield cracked. He
won himself honor and acclaim... and a tremendous blacksmithing bill as he sought out stronger
blades and sturdier shields to replace his losses.
One day as he rode to a tournament in Denerim, Thorval's horse threw a shoe, pitching the knight
head-first into a hollow tree stump. When he came to, he found his nose inches from the heavy steel
head of an enormous war hammer. Since his sword, naturally, had shattered in the fall, Thorval took
the hammer as a replacement.
It was highly unorthodox for a knight to use a hammer in a tournament, but Thorval won his
matches easily. And the hammer even survived. From that day forth, he used no other weapon.
When he died many years later, he left the hammer to his sixth son, Anselm, who promptly lost it.

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Yusaris: The Dragonslayer
"In the company of monsters he went,
Down the empty wolf-roads after the dragon
To the lands where the ice is like steel,

And the air grows thin as a beggar,

And every rocky path is strewn with the bones
Of the lonely dead. There Dane dwelled,
And fifty swords were worn to rusted ruin
Before at last they found the cave of Fenshal,
Ancient keeper of the mountains, bane of wolves.
Dane sought a way in which the dragon might be felled,

Fiend of fire and talon, its scales

Brighter than any warrior's mail, teeth greater than men,
And all around the slumbering wyrm were bones:
Wolves, men, beasts beyond counting.
The fume of death frightened even the wolf pack,
And Dane, desperate, crept into the cavern
To seek the monster's death alone.

There, shining among the dead like a star

His hand found a sword. Yusaris:
Forged by the dwarf smiths for an Alamarri lord long ago,
Waiting age after age to be taken to battle once more.
And this Dane freed from the earth and struck
At the eye of the dragon, still sleeping,
With a swift, terrible blow.

And Fenshal woke, wroth, only to die."

—From Dane and the Werewolf.

The legend of the blade Yusaris predates Andraste. The sword that Dane found in the dragon's
treasure hoard, which he used to slay both Fenshal and the werewolf, was passed on to his son
Hafter.
Dane may have been fiction, but Hafter was fact. In 1:40 Divine, he led the Alamarri tribes against
darkspawn that flooded into the Ferelden valley from the dwarven lands. He not only drove back
the horde, he also then defeated the combined forces of the Avvars and Chasind who hoped in take
advantage of the chaos. His victories earned him such respect from the tribes, he was named the
first teyrn.
After years of ruling the valley in peace, it is said that Hafter left Ferelden, sailing into the unknown
east of the Amaranthine Ocean with the blade still in hand, never to be seen again.

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 MAGIC AND RELIGION

Andruil: Goddess of the Hunt

Hear me, sons and daughters of the People—
I am Sister of the Moon, Mother of Hares,
Lady of the Hunt: Andruil.

Remember my teachings,
Remember the Vir Tanadhal:
The Way of Three Trees
That I have given you.

Vir Assan: the Way of the Arrow

Be swift and silent;
Strike true, do not waver
And let not your prey suffer.
That is my Way.

Vir Bor'assan: the Way of the Bow

As the sapling bends, so must you.
In yielding, find resilience;
In pliancy, find strength.
That is my Way.

Vir Adahlen: the Way of the Wood

Receive the gifts of the hunt with mindfulness.
Respect the sacrifice of my children
Know that your passing shall nourish them in turn.
That is my Way.

Remember the Ways of the Hunter

And I shall be with you.
—From The Charge of Andruil, Goddess of the Hunt.

Dirthamen: Keeper of Secrets

The twins Falon'Din and Dirthamen are the eldest children of Elgar'nan the All-Father and Mythal
the Protector. The brothers were inseparable from the moment of their conception, known for their
great love for each other. That is why we often speak of Falon'Din in one breath and Dirthamen the
next, for they cannot bear to be apart, not even in our tales.
When the world was young, the gods often walked the earth, and Falon'Din and Dirthamen were no
exception. Both were delighted by the many wonders of our earth. They played with the animals,
whispered to the trees, and bathed in the lakes and streams. Their days were filled with bliss, and
they did not know sorrow.
And then one day, while passing through the forest, Falon'Din and Dirthamen came across an old
and sickly deer resting beneath a tree. "Why do you sit so still, little sister?" asked Falon'Din.
"Play with us," said Dirthamen.

26
"Alas," spoke the deer, "I cannot. I am old, and although I wish to go to my rest, my legs can no
longer carry me."
Taking pity on the deer, Falon'Din gathered her up into his arms and carried her to her rest beyond
the Veil. Dirthamen tried to follow them, but the shifting grey paths beyond the Veil would not let
him. Separated for the first time from Falon'Din, Dirthamen wandered aimlessly till he came across
two ravens.
"You are lost, and soon you will fade," the raven named Fear said to Dirthamen.
"Your brother has abandoned you. He no longer loves you," said the other, named Deceit.
"I am not lost, and Falon'Din has not abandoned me," replied Dirthamen. He subdued the ravens
and bade them carry him to Falon'Din. This they did, for they had been defeated and were now
bound to Dirthamen's service.
When Dirthamen found Falon'Din, he found also the deer, who once again was light on her feet, for
her spirit was released from her weakened body. Both Falon'Din and Dirthamen rejoiced to see this.
Falon'Din vowed that he would remain to carry all the dead to their place Beyond, just as he did the
deer. And Dirthamen stayed with him, for the twins cannot bear to be apart.
—From The Story of Falon'Din and Dirthamen, as told by Gisharel, Keeper of the Ralaferin clan of
the Dalish elves

Elgar'nan: God of Vengeance

Long ago, when time itself was young, the only things in existence were the sun and the land. The
sun, curious about the land, bowed his head close to her body, and Elgar'nan was born in the place
where they touched. The sun and the land loved Elgar'nan greatly, for he was beautiful and clever.
As a gift to Elgar'nan, the land brought forth great birds and beasts of sky and forest, and all manner
of wonderful green things. Elgar'nan loved his mother's gifts and praised them highly and walked
amongst them often.
The sun, looking down upon the fruitful land, saw the joy that Elgar'nan took in her works and grew
jealous. Out of spite, he shone his face full upon all the creatures the earth had created, and burned
them all to ashes. The land cracked and split from bitterness and pain, and cried salt tears for the
loss of all she had wrought. The pool of tears cried for the land became the ocean, and the cracks in
her body the first rivers and streams.
Elgar'nan was furious at what his father had done and vowed vengeance. He lifted himself into the
sky and wrestled the sun, determined to defeat him. They fought for an eternity, and eventually the
sun grew weak, while Elgar'nan's rage was unabated. Eventually Elgar'nan threw the sun down from
the sky and buried him in a deep abyss created by the land's sorrow. With the sun gone, the world
was covered in shadow, and all that remained in the sky were the reminders of Elgar'nan's battle
with his father—drops of the sun's lifeblood, which twinkled and shimmered in the darkness.
—From The Tale of Elgar'nan and the Sun, as told by Gisharel, Keeper of the Ralaferin clan of the
Dalish elves

Falon'Din: Friend of the Dead, the Guide

"O Falon'Din
Lethanavir—Friend to the Dead
Guide my feet, calm my soul,
Lead me to my rest."

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In ancient times, the People were ageless and eternal, and instead of dying would enter uthenera—
the long sleep—and walk the shifting paths beyond the Veil with Falon'Din and his brother
Dirthamen. Those elders would learn the secrets of dreams, and some returned to the People with
newfound knowledge.
But we quickened and became mortal. Those of the People who passed walked with Falon'Din into
the Beyond and never returned. If they took counsel with Dirthamen on their passage, his wisdom
was lost, for it went with them into the Beyond also, and never came to the People.
Then Fen'Harel caused the gods to be shut away from us, and those who passed no longer had
Falon'Din to guide them. And so we learned to lay our loved ones to rest with an oaken staff, to
keep them from faltering along the paths, and a cedar branch, to scatter the ravens named Fear and
Deceit who were once servants of Dirthamen, now without a master.
—As told by Gisharel, Keeper of the Ralaferin clan of the Dalish elves.

Fen'Harel: The Dread Wolf

There is precious little we know about Fen'Harel, for they say he did not care for our people.
Elgar'nan and Mythal created the world as we know it, Andruil taught us the Ways of the Hunter,
Sylaise and June gave us fire and crafting, but Fen'Harel kept to himself and plotted the betrayal of
all the gods. And after the destruction of Arlathan, when the gods could no longer hear our prayers,
it is said that Fen'Harel spent centuries in a far corner of the earth, giggling madly and hugging
himself in glee.
The legend says that before the fall of Arlathan, the gods we know and revere fought an endless war
with others of their kind. There is not a hahren among us who remembers these others: Only in
dreams do we hear whispered the names of Geldauran and Daern'thal and Anaris, for they are the
Forgotten Ones, the gods of terror and malice, spite and pestilence. In ancient times, only Fen'Harel
could walk without fear among both our gods and the Forgotten Ones, for although he is kin to the
gods of the People, the Forgotten Ones knew of his cunning ways, and saw him as one of their own.
And that is how Fen'Harel tricked them. Our gods saw him as a brother, and they trusted him when
he said that they must keep to the heavens while he arranged a truce. And the Forgotten Ones
trusted him also when he said he would arrange for the defeat of our gods, if only the Forgotten
Ones would return to the abyss for a time. They trusted Fen'Harel, and they were all of them
betrayed. And Fen'Harel sealed them away so they could never again walk among the People.
—From The Tale of Fen'Harel's Triumph, as told by Gisharel, Keeper of the Ralaferin clan of the
Dalish elves

Ghilan'nain: Mother of the Halla

They say Ghilan'nain was one of the People, in the days before Arlathan, and the chosen of Andruil
the Huntress. She was very beautiful—with hair of snowy white—and as graceful as a gazelle. She
kept always to Andruil's Ways, and Andruil favored her above all others.
One day, while hunting in the forest, Ghilan'nain came across a hunter she did not know. At his feet
lay a hawk, shot through the heart by an arrow. Ghilan'nain was filled with rage, for the hawk—
along with the hare—is an animal much beloved of Andruil. Ghilan'nain demanded that the hunter
make an offering to Andruil, in exchange for taking the life of one of her creatures. The hunter
refused, and Ghilan'nain called upon the goddess to curse him, so that he could never again hunt
and kill a living creature.

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Ghilan'nain's curse took hold, and the hunter found that he was unable to hunt. His prey would dart
out of sight and his arrows would fly astray. His friends and family began to mock him for his
impotence, for what use is a hunter who cannot hunt? Ashamed, the hunter swore he would find
Ghilan'nain and repay her for what she had done to him.
He found Ghilan'nain while she was out on a hunt with her sisters, and lured her away from them
with lies and false words. He told Ghilan'nain that he had learned his lesson and begged her to come
with him, so she could teach him to make a proper offering to Andruil. Moved by his plea,
Ghilan'nain followed the hunter, and when they were away from all of her sisters, the hunter turned
on Ghilan'nain. He blinded her first, and then bound her as one would bind a kill fresh from the
hunt. But because he was cursed, the hunter could not kill her. Instead he left her for dead in the
forest.
And Ghilan'nain prayed to the gods for help. She prayed to Elgar'nan for vengeance, to Mother
Mythal to protect her, but above all she prayed to Andruil. Andruil sent her hares to Ghilan'nain and
they chewed through the ropes that bound her, but Ghilan'nain was still wounded and blind, and
could not find her way home. So Andruil turned her into a beautiful white deer—the first halla. And
Ghilan'nain found her way back to her sisters, and led them to the hunter, who was brought to
justice.
And since that day, the halla have guided the People, and have never led us astray, for they listen to
the voice of Ghilan'nain.
—From "The Tale of Ghilan'nain," as told by Gisharel, keeper of the Ralaferin clan of the Dalish
elves.

June: God of the Craft

We dedicate all our crafts to June, for it is he who taught the People to bend the branches of trees to
make our bows, and to fashion coverings of furs and ironbark. Without June, would we have the
aravel, or the harnesses for our halla?
When the People were young, we wandered the forests without purpose. We drank from streams
and ate the berries and nuts that we could find. We did not hunt, for we had no bows. We wore
nothing, for we had no knowledge of spinning or needlecraft. We shivered in the cold nights, and
went hungry though the winters, when all the world was covered in ice and snow.
Then Sylaise the Hearthkeeper came, and gave us fire and taught us how to feed it with wood. June
taught us to fashion bows and arrows and knives, so that we could hunt. We learned to cook the
flesh of the creatures we hunted over Sylaise's fire, and we learned to clothe ourselves in their furs
and skins. And the People were no longer cold and hungry.
—As told by Gisharel, Keeper of the Ralaferin clan of the Dalish elves

Mythal: the Great Protector

Elgar'nan had defeated his father, the sun, and all was covered in darkness. Pleased with himself,
Elgar'nan sought to console his mother, the earth, by replacing all that the sun had destroyed. But
the earth knew that without the sun, nothing could grow. She whispered to Elgar'nan this truth, and
pleaded with him to release his father, but Elgar'nan's pride was great, and his vengeance was
terrible, and he refused.

29
It was at this moment that Mythal walked out of the sea of the earth's tears and onto the land. She
placed her hand on Elgar'nan's brow, and at her touch he grew calm and knew that his anger had led
him astray. Humbled, Elgar'nan went to the place where the sun was buried and spoke to him.
Elgar'nan said he would release the sun if the sun promised to be gentle and to return to the earth
each night. The sun, feeling remorse at what he had done, agreed.
And so the sun rose again in the sky, and shone his golden light upon the earth. Elgar'nan and
Mythal, with the help of the earth and the sun, brought back to life all the wondrous things that the
sun had destroyed, and they grew and thrived. And that night, when the sun had gone to sleep,
Mythal gathered the glowing earth around his bed, and formed it into a sphere to be placed in the
sky, a pale reflection of the sun's true glory.
—From "The Tale of Mythal's Touch," as told by Gisharel, Keeper of the Ralaferin clan of the
Dalish elves

Sylaise: the Hearthkeeper

Sylaise the Hearthkeeper is seen as the sister of Andruil the Huntress. While Andruil loved to run
with the creatures of the wild, Sylaise preferred to stay by her home-tree, occupying herself with
gentle arts and song.
It is Sylaise who gave us fire and taught us how to use it. It is Sylaise who showed us how to heal
with herbs and with magic, and how to ease the passage of infants into this world. And again, it is
Sylaise who showed us how to spin the fibers of plants into thread and rope.
We owe much to Sylaise, and that is why we sing to her when we kindle the fires and when we put
them out. That is why we sprinkle our aravels with Sylaise's fragrant tree-moss, and ask that she
protect them and all within.
—As told by Gisharel, Keeper of the Ralaferin clan of the Dalish elves

The Aeonar
When the Imperium occupied the area that is present-day Ferelden, they had two sites dedicated to
magical experimentation at the extreme ends of the Imperial Highway. The southern one was the
fortress of Ostagar, which looked out over the Korcari Wilds. The northern one was Aeonar,
although the exact location is now a secret known only to a handful of Templars.
Whatever it was the Tevinter were trying to discover at Aeonar, their work was never completed.
The fortress was overrun by disciples of Andraste upon hearing the news of her death. According to
legend, it was a massacre—eerily silent, for the invaders caught the mages while all but one of them
were in the Fade.
The site was left structurally sound but spiritually damaged. Possibly because of this, the Chantry
chose to put it to use as a prison. Accused maleficarum and apostates are held in the confines of
Aeonar. Those who have a powerful connection to the Fade, and particularly to demons, will
inevitably attract something across the Veil, making the guilty somewhat easier to tell from the
innocent.
—From Of Fires, Circles, and Templars: A History of Magic in the Chantry, by Sister Petrine,
Chantry scholar.

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Andraste: Bride of the Maker
There was once a tiny fishing village on the Waking Sea that was set upon by the Tevinter
Imperium, which enslaved the villagers to be sold in the markets of Minrathous, leaving behind
only the old and the infirm. One of the captives was the child Andraste.
She was raised in slavery in a foreign land. She escaped, then made the long and treacherous
journey back to her homeland alone. She rose from nothing to be the wife of an Alamarri warlord.
Each day she sang to the gods, asking them to help her people who remained slaves in Tevinter. The
false gods of the mountains and the winds did not answer her, but the true god did.
The Maker spoke. He showed her all the works of His hands: the Fade, the world, and all the
creatures therein. He showed her how men had forgotten Him, lavishing devotion upon mute idols
and demons, and how He had left them to their fate. But her voice had reached Him, and so
captivated Him that He offered her a place at His side, that she might rule all of creation.
But Andraste would not forsake her people.
She begged the Maker to return, to save His children from the cruelty of the Imperium. Reluctantly,
the Maker agreed to give man another chance.
Andraste went back to her husband, Maferath, and told him all that the Maker had revealed to her.
Together, they rallied the Alamarri and marched forth against the mage-lords of the Imperium, and
the Maker was with them.
The Maker's sword was creation itself: fire and flood, famine and earthquake. Everywhere they
went, Andraste sang to the people of the Maker, and they heard her. The ranks of Andraste's
followers grew until they were a vast tide washing over the Imperium. And when Maferath saw that
the people loved Andraste and not him, a worm grew within his heart, gnawing upon it.
At last, the armies of Andraste and Maferath stood before the very gates of Minrathous, but
Andraste was not with them.
For Maferath had schemed in secret to hand Andraste over to the Tevinter. For this, the Archon
would give Maferath all the lands to the south of the Waking Sea.
And so, before all the armies of the Alamarri and of Tevinter, Andraste was tied to a stake and
burned while her earthly husband turned his armies aside and did nothing, for his heart had been
devoured. But as he watched the pyre, the Archon softened. He took pity on Andraste, and drew his
sword, and granted her the mercy of a quick death.
The Maker wept for His Beloved, cursed Maferath, cursed mankind for their betrayal, and turned
once again from creation, taking only Andraste with him. And Our Lady sits still at his side, where
she still urges Him to take pity on His children.
—From The Sermons of Justinia II

The Right of Annulment

In the 83rd year of the Glory Age, one of the mages of the Nevarran Circle was found practicing
forbidden magic. The templars executed him swiftly, but this brewed discontent among the Nevarra
Circle. The mages made several magical attacks against the templars, vengeance for the executed
mage, but the knight-commander was unable to track down which were responsible.

31
Three months later, the mages summoned a demon and turned it loose against their templar
watchers. Demons, however, are not easily controlled. After killing the first wave of templars who
tried to contain it, the demon took possession of one of its summoners. The resulting abomination
slaughtered templars and mages both before escaping into the countryside.
The grand cleric sent a legion of templars to hunt the fugitive. They killed the abomination a year
later, but by that time it had slain 70 people.
Divine Galatea, responding to the catastrophe in Nevarra and hoping to prevent further incidents,
granted all the grand clerics of the Chantry the power to purge a Circle entirely if they rule it
irredeemable. This Right of Annulment has been performed 17 times in the last 700 years.
—From Of Fires, Circles, and Templars: A History of Magic in the Chantry, by Sister Petrine,
Chantry scholar

Apostates
It is not uncommon for the neophyte to mistake apostates and maleficarum as one and the same.
Indeed, the Chantry has gone to great lengths over the centuries to establish that this is so. The
truth, however, is that while an apostate is often a maleficar, he need not be so. A maleficar is a
mage who employs forbidden knowledge such as blood magic and the summoning of demons,
whereas an apostate is merely any mage who does not fall under the auspices of the Circle of Magi
(and therefore the Chantry). They are hunted by the templars, and quite often they will turn to
forbidden knowledge in order to survive, but it would be a lie to say that all apostates begin that
way.
Historically, apostates become such in one of two ways: They are either mages who have escaped
from the Circle or mages who were never part of it to begin with. This latter category includes what
we tend to refer to as "hedge mages"—those with magical ability out in the hinterlands who follow
a different magical tradition than our own. Some of these hedge mages are not even aware of their
nature. Undeveloped, their abilities can express themselves in a variety of ways, which the hedge
mage might attribute to faith, or will, or to another being entirely (depending on his nature). Some
of these traditions are passed down from generation to generation, as with the so-called "witches" of
the Chasind wilders or the "shamans" of the Avvar barbarians.
No matter how a mage has become apostate, the Chantry treats them alike: Templars begin a
systematic hunt to bring the apostate to justice. In almost all cases, "justice" is execution. If there is
some overriding reason the mage should live, the Rite of Tranquility is employed instead. Whether
we of the Circle of Magi believe this system fair is irrelevant: It is what it is.
—From Patterns Within Form, by Halden, First Enchanter of Starkhaven, 8:80 Blessed.

The Black City

No traveler to the Fade can fail to spot the Black City. It is one of the few constants of that ever-
changing place. No matter where one might be, the city is visible. (Always far off, for it seems that
the only rule of geography in the Fade is that all points are equidistant from the Black City.)
The Chant teaches that the Black City was once the seat of the Maker, from whence He ruled the
Fade, left empty when men turned away from Him. Dreamers do not go there, nor do spirits. Even
the most powerful demons seem to avoid the place.
It was golden and beautiful once, so the story goes, until a group of powerful magister-lords from
the Tevinter Imperium devised a means of breaking in. When they did so, their presence defiled the
city, turning it black. (Which was, perhaps, the least of their worries.)

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—From Beyond the Veil: Spirits and Demons by Enchanter Mirdromel

The Chant of Light: The Blight

No matter their power, their triumphs,
The mage-lords of Tevinter were men
And doomed to die.
Then a voice whispered within their hearts,
Shall you surrender your power
To time like the beasts of the fields?
You are the Lords of the earth!
Go forth to claim the empty throne
Of Heaven and be gods.
In secret they worked
Magic upon magic
All their power and all their vanity
They turned against the Veil
Until at last, it gave way.
Above them, a river of Light,
Before them the throne of Heaven, waiting,
Beneath their feet
The footprints of the Maker,
And all around them echoed a vast
Silence.
But when they took a single step
Toward the empty throne
A great voice cried out
Shaking the very foundations
Of Heaven and earth:
And So is the Golden City blackened
With each step you take in my Hall.
Marvel at perfection, for it is fleeting.
You have brought Sin to Heaven
And doom upon all the world.
Violently were they cast down,
For no mortal may walk bodily
In the realm of dreams,
Bearing the mark of their Crime:
Bodies so maimed
And distorted that none should see them
And know them for men.

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Deep into the earth they fled,
Away from the Light.
In Darkness eternal they searched
For those who had goaded them on,
Until at last they found their prize,
Their god, their betrayer:
The sleeping dragon Dumat. Their taint
Twisted even the false-god, and the whisperer
Awoke at last, in pain and horror, and led
Them to wreak havoc upon all the nations of the world:
The first Blight.
—From Threnodies 8.

The Commandments of the Maker

These truths the Maker has revealed to me:
As there is but one world,
One life, one death, there is
But one god, and He is our Maker.
They are sinners, who have given their love
To false gods.

Magic exists to serve man, and never to rule over him.

Foul and corrupt are they
Who have taken His gift
And turned it against His children.
They shall be named Maleficar, accursed ones.
They shall find no rest in this world
Or beyond.

All men are the Work of our Maker's Hands,

From the lowest slaves
To the highest kings.
Those who bring harm
Without provocation to the least of His children
Are hated and accursed by the Maker.

Those who bear false witness

And work to deceive others, know this:
There is but one Truth.
All things are known to our Maker
And He shall judge their lies.

All things in this world are finite.

What one man gains, another has lost.
Those who steal from their brothers and sisters
Do harm to their livelihood and to their peace of mind.
Our Maker sees this with a heavy heart.
—Transfigurations 1:1-5

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The Maker
There was no word
For heaven or for earth, for sea or sky.
All that existed was silence.
Then the Voice of the Maker rang out,
The first Word,
And His Word became all that might be:
Dream and idea, hope and fear,
Endless possibilities.
And from it made his firstborn.
And he said to them:
In My image I forge you,
To you I give dominion
Over all that exists.
By your will
May all things be done.

Then in the center of heaven

He called forth
A city with towers of gold,
streets with music for cobblestones,
And banners which flew without wind.
There, He dwelled, waiting
To see the wonders
His children would create.

The children of the Maker gathered

Before his golden throne
And sang hymns of praise unending.
But their songs
Were the songs of the cobblestones.
They shone with the golden light
Reflected from the Maker's throne.
They held forth the banners
That flew on their own.

And the Voice of the Maker shook the Fade

Saying: In My image I have wrought
My firstborn. You have been given dominion
Over all that exists. By your will
All things are done.
Yet you do nothing.
The realm I have given you
Is formless, ever-changing.

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And He knew he had wrought amiss.
So the Maker turned from his firstborn
And took from the Fade
A measure of its living flesh
And placed it apart from the Spirits, and spoke to it, saying:
Here, I decree
Opposition in all things:
For earth, sky
For winter, summer
For darkness, Light.
By My Will alone is Balance sundered
And the world given new life.

And no longer was it formless, ever-changing,

But held fast, immutable,
With Words for heaven and for earth, sea and sky.
At last did the Maker
From the living world
Make men. Immutable, as the substance of the earth,
With souls made of dream and idea, hope and fear,
Endless possibilities.

Then the Maker said:

To you, my second-born, I grant this gift:
In your heart shall burn
An unquenchable flame
All-consuming, and never satisfied.
From the Fade I crafted you,
And to the Fade you shall return
Each night in dreams
That you may always remember me.

And then the Maker sealed the gates

Of the Golden City
And there, He dwelled, waiting
To see the wonders
His children would create.
—Threnodies 5:1-8

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The Chant of Light: Redemption
Many are those who wander in sin,
Despairing that they are lost forever,
But the one who repents, who has faith
Unshaken by the darkness of the world,
And boasts not, nor gloats
Over the misfortunes of the weak, but takes delight
In the Maker's law and creations, she shall know
The peace of the Maker's benediction.
The Light shall lead her safely
Through the paths of this world, and into the next.
For she who trusts in the Maker, fire is her water.
As the moth sees light and goes toward flame,
She should see fire and go towards Light.
The Veil holds no uncertainty for her,
And she will know no fear of death, for the Maker
Shall be her beacon and her shield, her foundation and her sword.
—From Transfigurations 10.

The Imperial Chantry

There are those who would tell you that the Chantry is the same everywhere as it is here, that the
Divine in Val Royeaux reigns supreme in the eyes of the Maker and that this fact is unquestioned
throughout Thedas.
Do not believe it.
The Maker's second commandment, "Magic must serve man, not rule over him," never held the
same meaning within the ancient Tevinter Imperium as it did elsewhere. The Chantry there
interpreted the rule as meaning that mages should never control the minds of other men, and that
otherwise their magic should benefit the rulers of men as much as possible. When the clerics of
Tevinter altered the Chant of Light to reflect this interpretation of the commandment, the Divine in
Val Royeaux ordered the clerics to revert to the original Chant. They refused, claiming corruption
within Val Royeaux, an argument that grew until, in 3:87 Towers, the Chantry in Tevinter elected its
own "legitimate and uncorrupted" Divine Valhail—who was not only male, but also happened to be
one of the most prominent members of the Tevinter Circle of the Magi. This "Black Divine" was
reviled outside Tevinter, his existence an offense to the Chantry in Val Royeaux.
After four Exalted Marches to dislodge these "rebels," all that the Chantry in Val Royeaux
accomplished was to cement the separation. While most aspects of the Imperial Chantry's teachings
are the same, prohibitions against magic have been weakened, and male priests have become more
prevalent. The Circle of the Magi today rules Tevinter directly, ever since the Archon Nomaran was
elected in 7:34 Storm directly from the ranks of the enchanters, to great applause from the public.
He dispensed with the old rules forbidding mages from taking part in politics, and within a century,
the true rulers within the various imperial houses—the mages—took their places openly within the
government. The Imperial Divine is now always drawn from the ranks of the first enchanters and
operates as Divine and Grand Enchanter both.
This is utter heresy to any member of the Chantry outside of Tevinter, a return to the days of the
magisters, which brought the Blights down upon us. But it exists, and even though we have left the
Tevinter Imperium to the mercies of the dread qunari, still they have endured. Further confrontation
between the Black Divine and our so-called "White Divine" is inevitable.

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—From Edicts of the Black Divine, by Father David of Qarinus, 8:11 Blessed

Chantry Hierarchy
The Divine is the titular head of the Chantry, although since the schism split the Imperial Chantry
into its own faction there are now in fact two Divines at any one time. One Divine, informally
called the White Divine, is a woman housed in the Grand Cathedral in Val Royeaux. The other,
known as the Black Divine, is a man housed in the Argent Spire in Minrathous.
Neither Divine recognizes the existence of the other, and the informal names are considered
sacrilegious. No matter the gender, a Divine is addressed as "Most Holy" or "Your Perfection."
Beneath the rank of Divine is the grand cleric. Each grand cleric presides over numerous chantries
and represents the highest religious authority for their region. They travel to Val Royeaux when the
College of Clerics convenes, but otherwise remain where they are assigned. All grand clerics are
addressed as "Your Grace."
Beneath the grand cleric is the mother (or, in the Imperial Chantry, the father). If a mother is in
charge of a particular chantry, "revered" is appended to her title. These are the priests responsible
for administering to the spiritual well-being of their flock. A mother or revered mother is addressed
as "Your Reverence."
Brothers and sisters form the rank and file of the Chantry and consist of three main groups:
affirmed, initiates, and clerics. Affirmed are the lay-brethren of the Chantry, those regular folk who
have turned to the Chantry for succor. Often they are people who have led a difficult or irreligious
life and have chosen to go into seclusion, or even orphans and similar unfortunates who were raised
into the Chantry life. The Affirmed take care of the Chantry and are in turn afforded a life of quiet
contemplation, no questions asked.
Only those folk who take vows become initiates. These are men and women in training, whether in
academic knowledge or the martial skills of a warrior. All initiates receive an academic education,
although only those who seek to become templars learn how to fight in addition.
Clerics are the true academics of the Chantry, those men and women who have dedicated
themselves to the pursuit of knowledge. They are often found in Chantry archives, sages presiding
over libraries of books and arcane knowledge. The most senior of these clerics, placed in charge of
such archives, are given the title "elder," although such a rank is still beneath that of mother. All
other brothers and sisters are addressed simply by noting their title before their name, such as
"Brother Genitivi."
—From a guide for ambassadors from Rivain.

Templars
Often portrayed as stoic and grim, the Order of Templars was created as the martial arm of the
Chantry. Armed with the ability to dispel and resist magic in addition to their formidable combat
talents, the templars are uniquely qualified to act as both a foil for apostates—mages who refuse to
submit to the authority of the Circle—and a first line of defense against the dark powers of blood
mages and abominations.

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While mages often resent the templars as symbols of the Chantry's control over magic, the people of
Thedas see them as saviors and holy warriors, champions of all that is good, armed with piety
enough to protect the world from the ravages of foul magic. In reality, the Chantry's militant arm
looks first for skilled warriors with unshakable faith in the Maker, with a flawless moral center as a
secondary concern. Templars must carry out their duty with an emotional distance, and the Order of
Templars prefers soldiers with religious fervor and absolute loyalty over paragons of virtue who
might question orders when it comes time to make difficult choices.
The templars' power derives from the substance lyrium, a mineral believed to be the raw element of
creation. While mages use lyrium in their arcane spells and rituals, templars ingest the primordial
mineral to enhance their abilities to resist and dispel magic. Lyrium use is regulated by the Chantry,
but some templars suffer from lyrium addiction, the effects of which include paranoia, obsession,
and dementia. Templars knowingly submit themselves to this "treatment" in the service of the Order
and the Maker.
It is this sense of ruthless piety that most frightens mages when they draw the templars' attention:
When the templars are sent to eliminate a possible blood mage, there is no reasoning with them, and
if the templars are prepared, the mage's magic is all but useless. Driven by their faith, the templars
are one of the most feared and respected forces in Thedas.
—From Patterns Within Form by Halden, First Enchanter of Starkhaven, 8:80 Blessed.

The Founding of the Chantry

Kordillus Drakon, king of the city-state of Orlais, was a man of uncommon ambition. In the year
-15 Ancient, the young king began construction of a great temple dedicated to the Maker, and
declared that by its completion he would not only have united the warring city-states of the south,
he would have brought Andrastian belief to the world.
In -3 Ancient, the temple was completed. There, in its heart, Drakon knelt before the eternal flame
of Andraste and was crowned ruler of the Empire of Orlais. His first act as Emperor: To declare the
Chantry as the established Andrastian religion of the Empire.
It took three years and several hundred votes before Olessa of Montsimmard was elected to lead the
new Chantry. Upon her coronation as Divine, she took the name Justinia, in honor of the disciple
who recorded Andraste's songs. In that moment, the ancient era ended and the Divine Age began.
—From Ferelden: Folklore and History, by Sister Petrine, Chantry scholar.

The Fraternity of Enchanters

Another aspect of Circle life is the fraternity. When a mage becomes an enchanter, he may ally
himself with a fraternity. These are cliques that cross Circle boundaries, mages of common interests
and goals who band together to ensure that their voice is heard within the College of Magi in
Cumberland. The largest fraternities currently are:
- the Loyalists, who advocate loyalty and obedience to the Chantry.
- the Aequitarians, who advocate temperance and follow a distinct code of conduct which they
believe all mages should hold themselves to.
- the Libertarians, a growing fraternity, publicly maintaining greater power for the Circles but
secretly advocating a complete split from the Chantry—a dangerous opinion, naturally.
- the Isolationists, a small group that advocates withdrawing to remote territories in order to avoid
conflicts with the general populace.

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- the Lucrosians, who maintain that the Circle must do what is profitable first and foremost. They
prioritize the accumulation of wealth, with the gaining of political influence a close second.
So far, an alliance between the Loyalists and Aequitarians has prevented the Libertarians from
gaining much headway, but there are signs that the Aequitarians may throw their support in with the
Libertarians. If that happens, many mages predict it will come to civil war among the Circles.
—From The Circle of the Magi: A History, by First Enchanter Josephus.

Hierarchy of the Circle

It is no simple matter, safeguarding ordinary men from mages, and mages from themselves. Each
Circle tower must have some measure of self-government, for it is ever the Maker's will that men be
given the power to take responsibility for our own actions: To sin and fail, as well as to achieve the
highest grace and glory on our own strength.
You, who will be tasked with the protection of the Circle, must be aware of its workings. The first
enchanter is the heart of any tower. He will determine the course his Circle will take, he will choose
which apprentices may be tested and made full mages, and you will work most closely with him.
Assisting the first enchanter will be the senior enchanters, a small council of the most trusted and
experienced magi in the tower. From this group, the next first enchanter is always chosen. Beneath
the council are the enchanters. These are the teachers and mentors of the tower, and you must get to
know them in order to keep your finger on the pulse of the Circle, for the enchanters will always
know what is happening among the children.
All those who have passed their Harrowing but have not taken apprentices are mages. This is where
most trouble in a Circle lies, in the idleness and inexperience of youth. The untested apprentices are
the most numerous denizens of any tower, but they more often pose threats to themselves, due to
their lack of training, than to anyone else.
—Knight-Commander Serain of the Chantry templars, in a letter to his successor.

History of the Circle

It is a truth universally acknowledged that nothing is more successful at inspiring a person to
mischief as being told not to do something. Unfortunately, the Chantry of the Divine Age had some
trouble with obvious truths. Although it did not outlaw magic—quite the contrary, as the Chantry
relied upon magic to kindle the eternal flame which burns in every brazier in every chantry—it
relegated mages to lighting candles and lamps. Perhaps occasional dusting of rafters and eaves.
I will give my readers a moment to contemplate how well such a role satisfied the mages of the
time.
It surprised absolutely no one when the mages of Val Royeaux, in protest, snuffed the sacred flames
of the cathedral and barricaded themselves inside the choir loft. No one, that is, but Divine
Ambrosia II, who was outraged and attempted to order an Exalted March upon her own cathedral.
Even her most devout Templars discouraged that idea. For 21 days, the fires remained unlit while
negotiations were conducted, legend tells us, by shouting back and forth from the loft.
The mages went cheerily into exile in a remote fortress outside of the capital, where they would be
kept under the watchful eye of the Templars and a council of their own elder magi. Outside of
normal society, and outside of the Chantry, the mages would form their own closed society, the
Circle, separated for the first time in human history.

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—From Of Fires, Circles, and Templars: A History of Magic in the Chantry, by Sister Petrine,
Chantry scholar.

The Fade
The study of the Fade is as old as humankind. For so long as men have dreamed, we have walked its
twisting paths, sometimes catching a glimpse of the city at its heart. Always as close as our own
thoughts, but impossibly separated from our world.
The Tevinter Imperium once spent vast fortunes of gold, lyrium, and human slaves in an effort to
map the terrain of the Fade, an ultimately futile endeavor. Although portions of it belong to
powerful spirits, all of the Fade is in constant flux. The Imperium succeeded in finding the disparate
and ever-shifting realms of a dozen demon lords, as well as cataloging a few hundred types of
spirits, before they were forced to abandon the project.
The relationship of dreamers to the Fade is complex. Even when entering the Fade through the use
of lyrium, mortals are not able to control or affect it. The spirits who dwell there, however, can, and
as the Chantry teaches us, the great flaw of the spirits is that they have neither imagination nor
ambition. They create what they see through their sleeping visitors, building elaborate copies of our
cities, people, and events, which, like the reflections in a mirror, ultimately lack context or life of
their own. Even the most powerful demons merely plagiarize the worst thoughts and fears of
mortals, and build their realms with no other ambition than to taste life.
—From Tranquility and the Role of the Fade in Human Culture, by First Enchanter Josephus.

The Harrowing
Among apprentices of the Circle, nothing is regarded with more fear than the Harrowing. Little is
known about this rite of passage, and that alone would be cause for dread. But it is well understood
that only those apprentices who pass this trial are ever seen again. They return as full members of
the Circle of Magi. Of those who fail, nothing is known. Perhaps they are sent away in disgrace.
Perhaps they are killed on the spot. I heard one patently ridiculous rumor among the Circle at
Rivain, which claimed that failed apprentices were transformed into pigs, fattened up, and served at
dinner to the senior enchanters. But I could find no evidence that the Rivaini Circle ate any
particular quantity of pork.
—From In Pursuit of Knowledge: The Travels of A Chantry Scholar, by Brother Genitivi.

Lyrium
More than half the wealth of Orzammar comes from a single, extremely rare substance: Lyrium.
The Chantry believes it to be the "Waters of the Fade" mentioned in the Canticle of Threnodies, the
very stuff of creation itself, from whence the Maker fashioned the world. Only a handful of Mining
caste families hazard extracting the ore, finding veins in the Stone quite literally by ear. For in its
raw form, lyrium sings, and the discerning can hear the sound even through solid rock.
Even though dwarves have a natural resistance, raw lyrium is dangerous for all but the most
experienced of the Mining Caste to handle. Even for dwarves, exposure to the unprocessed mineral
can cause deafness or memory loss. For humans and elves, direct contact with lyrium ore produces
nausea, blistering of the skin, and dementia. Mages cannot even approach unprocessed lyrium.
Doing so is invariably fatal.

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Despite its dangers, lyrium is the single most valuable mineral currently known. In the Tevinter
Imperium, it has been known to command a higher price than diamond. The dwarves sell very little
of the processed mineral to the surface, giving the greater portion of what they mine to their own
smiths, who use it in the forging of all truly superior dwarven weapons and armor. What processed
lyrium is sold on the surface goes only to the Chantry, who strictly control the supply. From the
Chantry, it is dispensed both to the templars, who make use of it in tracking and fighting
maleficarum, and to the Circle.
In the hands of the Circle, lyrium reaches its fullest potential. Their Formari craftsmen transform it
into an array of useful items from the practical, such as magically hardened stone for construction,
to the legendary silver armor of King Calenhad.
When mixed into liquid and ingested, lyrium allows mages to enter the Fade when fully aware,
unlike all others who reach it only when dreaming. Such potions can also be used to aid in the
casting of especially taxing spells, for a short time granting a mage far greater power than he
normally wields.
Lyrium has its costs, however. Prolonged use becomes addictive, the cravings unbearable. Over
time, templars grow disoriented, incapable of distinguishing memory from present, or dream from
waking. They frequently become paranoid, as their worst memories and nightmares haunt their
waking hours. Mages have additionally been known to suffer physical mutation: The magister lords
of the Tevinter Imperium were widely reputed to have been so affected by their years of lyrium use
that they could not be recognized by their own kin, nor even as creatures that had once been human.
—From In Pursuit of Knowledge: The Travels of a Chantry Scholar, by Brother Genitivi.

Maleficarum
It has been asked, "What are maleficarum? How shall we know them?" I have been as troubled by
this question as you. You have come to me for the wisdom of the Maker, but none have seen the
Maker's heart save Beloved Andraste. And so I have done as all mortals must, and looked to the
words of His prophet for answers. And there, I found respite from a troubled mind.
For she has said to us, "Magic exists to serve man, and never to rule over him." Therefore, I say to
you, they who work magic which dominates the minds and hearts of others, they have transgressed
the Makers law.
Also, Our Lady said to us, "Those who bring harm without provocation to the least of His children
are hated and accursed by the Maker." And so it is made clear to me, as it should be to us all: That
magic which fuels itself by harming others, by the letting of blood, is hated by the Maker.
Those mages who honor the Maker and keep His laws we welcome as our brothers and sisters.
Those who reject the laws of the Maker and the words of His prophet are apostate. They shall be
cast out, and given no place among us.
—From The Sermons of Justinia I.

Mana and the Use of Magic

Mana is that which defines a mage. It is potential that dwells within a person but does not always
manifest itself. All men are connected to the Fade; we go there to dream. But only those with this
potential may draw upon its power.
Mana is, then, a measurement of one's ability to draw power from the Fade, and it is this power that
is expended in magic.

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As in all other things, it has limits. Just as a man has the strength to lift only so much weight and no
more, a mage cannot work more magic at one time than his mana allows. If he wishes to work
magic that would be beyond his strength, a mage must bolster his mana with lyrium. Without
lyrium, it is possible for the reckless to expend their own life-force in the working of magic, and
occasionally, ambitious apprentices injure or even kill themselves by over-exertion.
—From The Lectures of First Enchanter Wenselus

Demonic Possession
Why do demons seek to possess the living?
History claims they are malevolent spirits, the first children of the Maker, angry at their creator for
turning from them and jealous of those creations he considered superior. They stare across the Veil
at the living and do not understand what they see, yet they know they crave it. They desire life, they
pull the living across the Veil when they sleep and prey on their psyche with nightmares. Whenever
they can, they cross the Veil into our world to possess it outright.
We know that any demon will seek to possess a mage, and upon doing so will create an
abomination. Most of the world does not know, however, that the strength of an abomination
depends entirely on the power of the demon that possesses the mage. This is true, in fact, of all
possessed creatures. One demon is not the same as any other.
Demons can, for instance, be classified. Enchanter Brahm's categorization of demons into that
portion of the psyche they primarily prey upon has held since the Tower Age.
According to Brahm, the weakest and most common of demons are those of rage. They are the least
intelligent and most prone to violent outbursts against the living. They expend their energies
quickly, the most powerful of them exhibiting great strength and occasionally the ability to generate
fire.
Next are the demons of hunger. In a living host they become cannibals and vampires, and within the
dead they feed upon the living. Theirs are the powers of draining, both of life force and of mana.
Next are the demons of sloth, the first on Brahm's scale that are capable of true intelligence. In its
true form, this demon is known as a Shade, a thing which is nearly indistinct and invisible, for such
is sloth's nature. It hides and stalks, unaware, and when confronted, it sows fatigue and apathy.
Demons of desire are amongst the most powerful, and are the ones most likely to seek out the living
and actively trick them into a deal. These demons will exploit anything that can be coveted—
wealth, power, lust—and they will always end up getting far more than they give. A desire demon's
province is that of illusions and mind control.
Strongest of all demons are those of pride. These are the most feared creatures to loose upon the
world: Masters of magic and in possession of vast intellect, they are the true schemers. It is they
who seek most strongly to possess mages, and will bring other demons across the Veil in numbers to
achieve their own ends—although what that might be has never been discovered. A greater pride
demon, brought across the Veil, would threaten the entire world.
—From The Maker's First Children, by Bader, Senior Enchanter of Ostwick, 8:12 Blessed.

The Cardinal Rules of Magic

You must not be under the misimpression that magic is all-powerful. There are limits, and not even
the greatest mages may overcome them.

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No one, for instance, has found any means of traveling—either over great distances or small ones—
beyond putting one foot in front of the other. The immutable nature of the physical world prevents
this. So no, you may not simply pop over to Minrathous to borrow a cup of sugar, nor may you
magic the essay you "forgot" in the apprentice dormitory to your desk. You will simply have to be
prepared.
Similarly, even when you send your mind into the Fade, your body remains behind. Only once has
this barrier been overcome, and reputedly the spell required two-thirds of the lyrium in the Tevinter
Imperium as well as the lifeblood of several hundred slaves. The results were utterly disastrous.
Finally, life is finite. A truly great healer may bring someone back from the very precipice of death,
when breath and heartbeat have ceased but the spirit still clings to life. But once the spirit has fled
the body, it cannot be recalled. That is no failing of your skills or power, it is simple reality.
—From The Lectures of First Enchanter Wenselus.

Blood Magic: The Forbidden School

Foul and corrupt are you
Who have taken My gift
And turned it against My children.
—Transfigurations 18:10.
The ancient Tevinters did not originally consider blood magic a school of its own. Rather, they saw
it as a means to achieve greater power in any school of magic. The name, of course, refers to the
fact that magic of this type uses life, specifically in the form of blood, instead of mana. It was
common practice, at one time, for a magister to keep a number of slaves on hand so that, should he
undertake the working of a spell that was physically beyond his abilities, he could use the blood of
his slaves to bolster the casting.
Over time, however, the Imperium discovered types of spells that could only be worked by blood.
Although lyrium will allow a mage to send his conscious mind into the Fade, blood would allow
him to find the sleeping minds of others, view their dreams, and even influence or dominate their
thoughts. Just as treacherous, blood magic allows the Veil to be opened completely so that demons
may physically pass through it into our world.
The rise of the Chant of Light and the subsequent fall of the old Imperium has led to blood magic
being all but stamped out—as it should be, for it poses nearly as great a danger to those who would
practice it as to the world at large.
—From The Four Schools: A Treatise, by First Enchanter Josephus.

The Four Schools of Magic: Creation

Opposition in all things:
For earth, sky
For winter, summer
For darkness, Light.
By My will alone is balance sundered
And the world given new life.
—Threnodies 5:5.
The School of Creation, sometimes called the School of Nature, is the second of the Schools of
Matter, the balancing force and complement of Entropy. Creation magic manipulates natural forces,
transforming what exists and bringing new things into being.

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Creation requires considerable finesse, more than any other school, and is therefore rarely mastered.
Those mages who have made a serious study of creation are the highest in demand, useful in times
of peace as well as war.
—From The Four Schools: A Treatise, by First Enchanter Josephus.

The Four Schools of Magic: Entropy

To you, my second-born, I grant this gift:
In your heart shall burn
An unquenchable flame
All-consuming, and never satisfied.
—Threnodies 5:7.
The first of the two Schools of Matter, Entropy is the opposing force of Creation; for this reason it
is often called the School of Negation. Nothing lives without death. Time inevitably brings an end
to all things in the material world, and yet in this ending is the seed of a beginning. A river may
flood its banks, causing havoc, but bring new life to its floodplain. The fire that burns a forest
ushers in new growth. And so it is with entropic magic that we manipulate the forces of erosion,
decay, and destruction to create anew.
—From The Four Schools: A Treatise, by First Enchanter Josephus.

The Four Schools of Magic: Primal

Those who oppose thee
Shall know the wrath of heaven.
Field and forest shall burn,
The seas shall rise and devour them,
The wind shall tear their nations
From the face of the earth,
Lightning shall rain down from the sky,
They shall cry out to their false gods,
And find silence.
—Andraste 7:19.
Sometimes called the School of Power, the Primal School is the second of the Schools of Energy,
balanced by Spirit, and concerns the most visible and tangible forces of nature itself.
This is the magic of war: Fire, ice, and lightning. Devastation. This is what the vast majority
imagines when they hear the word "magic."
—From The Four Schools: A Treatise, by First Enchanter Josephus.

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The Four Schools of Magic: Spirit
And the voice of the Maker shook the Fade
Saying: In My image I have wrought
My firstborn. You have been given dominion
Over all that exists. By your will
All things are done.
Yet you do nothing.
The realm I have given you
Is formless, ever-changing.
—Threnodies 5:4.
The first of the two Schools of Energy, Spirit is opposed by the Primal School. It is the school of
mystery, the ephemeral school. This is the study of the invisible energies which surround us at all
times, yet are outside of nature. It is from the Fade itself that this magic draws its power. Students of
this school cover everything from direct manipulation of mana and spell energies to the study and
summoning of spirits themselves.
By its nature an esoteric school, as most others know virtually nothing about the Fade, studies of
spirit magic are often misunderstood by the general populace, or even confused for blood magic—
an unfortunate fate for a most useful branch of study.
—From The Four Schools: A Treatise, by First Enchanter Josephus.

Beyond the Veil: Spirits and Demons

It is challenging enough for the casual observer to tell the difference between the Fade and the
creatures that live within it, let alone between one type of spirit and another. In truth, there is little
that distinguishes them, even for the most astute mages. Since spirits are not physical entities and
are therefore not restricted to recognizable forms (or even having a form at all), one can never tell
for certain what is alive and what is merely part of the scenery. (It is therefore advisable for the
inexperienced researcher to greet all objects he encounters.)
Typically, we misuse the term "spirit" to refer only to the benign, or at least less malevolent,
creatures of the Fade, but in truth, all the denizens of the realm beyond the Veil are spirits. As the
Chant of Light notes, everything within the Fade is a mimicry of our world. (A poor imitation, for
the spirits do not remotely understand what they are copying. It is no surprise that much of the Fade
appears like a manuscript translated from Tevinter into Orlesian and back again by drunken
initiates.)
In general, spirits are not complex. Or, rather, they are not complex as we understand such things.
Each one seizes upon a single facet of human experience: Rage, hunger, compassion, hope, etc. This
one idea becomes their identity. We classify as demons those spirits who identify themselves with
darker human emotions and ideas.

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The most common and weakest form of demon one encounters in the Fade is the rage demon. They
are much like perpetually boiling kettles, for they exist only to vent hatred, but rarely have an object
to hate. Somewhat above these are the hunger demons, who do little but eat or attempt to eat
everything they encounter, including other demons (this is rarely successful). Then there are the
sloth demons. These are the first intelligent creatures one typically finds in the Fade. They are
dangerous only on those rare occasions that they can be induced to get up and do harm. Desire
demons are more clever, and far more powerful, using all forms of bribery to induce mortals into
their realms: Wealth, love, vengeance, whatever lies closest to your heart. The most powerful
demons yet encountered are the pride demons, perhaps because they, among all their kind, most
resemble men.
—From Beyond the Veil: Spirits and Demons, by Enchanter Mirdromel.

The Tranquil
If the Warden is a mage...
Although apprentices do not know the nature of the Harrowing, all of them understand its
consequences: They either pass and become full mages, or they are never seen again. Those who
fear to undertake this rite of passage, or those who are deemed weak or unstable, are given the Rite
of Tranquility instead.
The actual procedure, like the Harrowing, is secret, but the results are just as well known. The rite
severs connection to the Fade. The Tranquil, therefore, do not dream. This removes the greatest
danger that threatens a weak or unprepared mage, the potential to attract demons across the Veil.
But this is the least of Tranquility's effects. For the absence of dreams brings with it the end of all
magical ability, as well as all emotion.
The Tranquil, ironically, resemble sleepwalkers, never entirely awake nor asleep. They are still part
of our Circle, however, and some might say they are the most critical part. They have incredible
powers of concentration, for it is simply impossible to distract a Tranquil mage, and this makes
them capable of becoming craftsmen of such skill that they rival even the adeptness of the dwarves.
The Formari, the branch of the Circle devoted to item enchantment, is made up exclusively of
Tranquil, and is the source of all the wealth that sustains our towers.
—From On Tranquility and the Role of the Fade in Human Society, by First Enchanter Josephus.

If the Warden is not a mage...

The Tranquil are the least understood but most visible members of the Circle. Every city of
respectable size boasts a Circle of Magi shop, and every one of these shops is run by a Tranquil
proprietor.
The name is a misnomer, for they are not tranquil at all; rather, they are like inanimate objects that
speak. If a table wished to sell you an enchanted penknife, it could pass as one of these people.
Their eyes are expressionless, their voices monotone. Incomparable craftsmen they might be, but
they are hardly the sort of mages to put ordinary folk at ease.
—From In Pursuit of Knowledge: The Travels of A Chantry Scholar, by Brother Genitivi.

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The Sacred Ashes of Andraste
Only one person witnessed Maferath's betrayal: Havard the Aegis. A childhood friend of Maferath,
he accompanied his chief to the meeting with the Tevinters, not realizing what was planned. When
he understood that Maferath was giving Andraste over to be executed, Havard, unwilling to draw
swords against his friend and liege, placed himself between Andraste and the Tevinter soldiers. The
Tevinters struck him down, and Maferath left him for dead.
Gravely wounded, Havard made his way to the gates of Minrathous to stop the execution. When he
reached it, the terrible deed was already done, the armies on the plains long since dispersed. Havard,
cursing his weakness, gathered the earthly remains of Andraste that had been left to the wind and
rain, and wept. When his fingers touched the pile of ash, his ears filled with song, and he saw before
him a vision of Andraste, dressed in cloth made of starlight. She knelt at his side, saying, "The
Maker shall never forget you so long as I remember."
The song faded, and the vision with it. And Havard was alone. But his wounds were healed. With
new strength, Havard took up the ashes of Our Lady, and bore them back to the lands of the
Alamarri.
—From Thedas: Myths and Legends, by Brother Genitivi.

The Veil
I detest this notion that the Veil is some manner of invisible "curtain" that separates the world of the
living from the world of the spirits (whether it be called the Fade or the Beyond is a matter of racial
politics I refuse to indulge in at the moment). There is no "this side" and "that side" when it comes
to the Veil. One cannot think of it as a physical thing or a barrier or even a "shimmering wall of holy
light" (thank you very much for that image, Your Perfection).
Think of the Veil, instead, as opening one's eyes.
Before you opened them, you saw our world as you see it now: static, solid, unchanging. Now that
they are open, you see our world as the spirits see it: chaotic, ever-changing, a realm where the
imagined and the remembered have as much substance as that which is real—more, in fact. A spirit
sees everything as defined by will and memory, and this is why they are so very lost when they
cross the Veil. In our world, imagination has no substance. Objects exist independently of how we
remember them or what emotions we associate with them. Mages alone possess the power to
change the world with their minds, and perhaps this forms the nature of a demon's attraction to them
—who can say?
Regardless, the act of passing through the Veil is much more about changing one's perceptions than
a physical transition. The Veil is an idea, it is the act of transition itself, and it is only the fact that
both living beings and spirits find the transition difficult that gives the Veil any credence as a
physical barrier at all.
—From A Dissertation on the Fade as a Physical Manifestation, by Mareno, Senior Enchanter of
the Minrathous Circle of Magi, 6:55 Steel

CULTURE AND HISTORY

Aravels
If The Warden is Dalish...

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 We are the Dalish: keepers of the lost lore, walkers of the lonely path. We are the last
elvhen. Never again shall we submit. —The Oath of the Dales
Someone once told me that humans flee when they see the sails of our aravels flying above the tops
of trees. I say, good, let them flee. The humans took everything from us—our homeland, our
freedom, our immortality. What's a little fear compared to all the horrors inflicted upon us? I recite
the Oath of the Dales to myself each day when I sleep and when I wake: "Never again shall we
submit." Never again.
The keeper says that one day the Dalish will find a home that we can call our own. But why? Why
should we tie ourselves to stone constructions like the humans and the dwarves? What is wrong
with the life we have now? We owe nothing to anyone, we have no master but ourselves, and we go
where the halla and the gods take us. There is nothing more wonderful than sitting on an aravel as it
flies through the forest, pulled by our halla. We are truly free, for the first time in our people's
history. Why should we change this?
—From the journal of Taniel, clan hunter.

If The Warden is not Dalish...

The Dalish, who band together in small groups of blood relatives, travel in ornately carved wagons
known as aravel, drawn by large white stags called halla. The aravel are a unique sight, beautiful in
their swooping curvature, and adorned with broad hoods and bright silken cloths that flap in the
wind, often displaying the noble banners that once flew over that family's house. Most humans refer
to the aravel as "landships," for in a strong wind it can often appear as if the elves travel in long
boats with sails high overhead to announce their arrival (or warn others away). The halla are unique
to the elves, and any but elven handlers consider them ornery and almost impossible to train. To the
Dalish, they are noble beasts, superior in breeding to the horse. Certainly most humans would agree
that the halla are as beautiful as the elves themselves; the fact that many imperial nobles maintain a
bounty on halla horns that find their way into Tevinter is an affront the Dalish consider
unforgivable.
Few among us can claim to have seen the Dalish landships up close. Any human who sees them on
the horizon does well to head the other way. Few Dalish clans take kindly to humans intruding on
their camps, and more than one tale tells of trouble-making humans who found themselves
mercilessly filled with Dalish arrows.
—From In Pursuit of Knowledge: The Travels of A Chantry Scholar, by Brother Genitivi.

The Dales
If the Warden is Dalish...
You will hear tales of the woman Andraste. The shemlen name her prophet, bride of their Maker.
But we knew her as a war leader, one who, like us, had been a slave and dreamed of liberation. We
joined her rebellion against the Imperium, and our heroes died beside her, unmourned, in Tevinter
bonfires.
But we stayed with our so-called allies until the war ended. Our reward: A land in southern Orlais
called the Dales. So we began the Long Walk to our new home.
Halamshiral, "the end of the journey," was our capital, built out of the reach of the humans. We
could once again forget the incessant passage of time. Our people began the slow process of
recovering the culture and traditions we had lost to slavery.

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But it was not to last. The Chantry first sent missionaries into the Dales, and then, when those were
thrown out, templars. We were driven from Halamshiral, scattered. Some took refuge in the cities of
the shemlen, living in squalor, tolerated only a little better than vermin.
We took a different path. We took to the wilderness, never stopping long enough to draw the notice
of our shemlen neighbors. In our self-imposed exile, we kept what remained of elven knowledge
and culture alive.
—"The End of the Long Walk," as told by Gisharel, keeper of the Ralaferin clan of the Dalish elves

If the Warden is not Dalish...

Many forget that when Holy Andraste called out to the oppressed peoples to rise up, it was the elves
who answered her first.
The humblest slaves of the Imperium became her vanguard, and when victory came, they were
rewarded accordingly: They were given a land in what is now the south of Orlais, called the Dales.
A great exodus of elves undertook the journey to their new home, crossing ocean, desert, and
mountain. Their city, the first elven city since the fabled Arlathan, was called Halamshiral. A new
era had begun for the elves.
But the old era wasn't through with them. In their forest city, the elves turned again to worship their
silent, ancient gods. They became increasingly isolationist, posting Emerald Knights who guarded
their borders with jealousy, rebuking all efforts at trade or civilized discourse. Dark rumors spread
in the lands that bordered the Dales, whispers of humans captured and sacrificed to elven gods.
And then came an attack by the elves on the defenseless village of Red Crossing. The Chantry
replied with the Exalted March of the Dales, and the era of the elven kingdom came to an end.
Halamshiral was utterly destroyed, the elves driven out, scattered, left to survive on goodwill alone.
—From Ferelden: Folklore and History, by Sister Petrine, Chantry scholar.

The Long Walk

When our people left Tevinter, we had nothing except the knowledge that for the first time in
countless centuries, we were free.
It was Shartan's dream that one day we we would have our own homeland, where we could live as
we chose. After the long struggle that claimed the lives of many, even Shartan himself, we were
granted the Dales. And though the Dales were to the south of the land of Orlais, and a long way off
from Tevinter, it mattered little. We were going home. And so we walked.
We called our journey the Long Walk, for that was what it was. We walked with what little we had
on our backs. Some walked without shoes, for they had none. Whole families, women with infants,
the old and young alike—all of them made their way across the land on foot. And if one of our
people could no longer walk, we carried him, or sometimes left him behind.
Many perished along the way. Some died of exhaustion, others simply gave up and fell by the
wayside. A great number were set upon by human bandits, even though we had few possessions.
Along the way, a growing number began to bemoan the decision to leave Tevinter. "At least in
Tevinter," they said, "we had food, and water, and shelter. What do we have here? Nothing but the
open sky and the prospect of the never-ending road ahead." Some turned back toward Tevinter. But
most of us continued walking.
And the gods rewarded those of us who did not waver by bringing us to the Dales. Our people
called the new city Halamshiral—"the end of the journey." And for a time, it was home.

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—As told by Gisharel, keeper of the Ralaferin clan of the Dalish elves

Uthenera
To the ancient elves who existed during the time of Arlathan, uthenera was an act of reverence.
Elves did not age. They were not immortal, but they did not suffer from deterioration of mind or
body. They suffered only from a deterioration of the spirit.
It did not happen often, but the oldest of the elves were said to reach a point where they became
weary of life. Memories became too much to bear, and rather than fade into complacency, they
voluntarily stood aside to let newer generations guide their people.
Uthenera means "the long sleep," in which the elder would retire to a chamber that was one part bed
and one part tomb. To great ceremony from all the extended family, the elder would succumb to a
slumber from which they would not wake for centuries, and often never. In time, the body would
deteriorate and the elder would die in truth. All the while, family would continue to visit the
chamber to pay respect to one who made such a great sacrifice.
With the arrival of humans and the quickening of elven blood that ensued, the practice of uthenera
began to fade. When Arlathan fell, it ceased forever.
—From What Has Passed, by Hassandriel, Lord of Halamshiral, 2:7 Glory

Vallaslin: Blood Writing

If the Warden is Dalish...
When the children of our people came of age, they earn the privilege of wearing the vallaslin, the
blood writing. It sets us apart from the shemlen, and from the elves who have thrown their lot in
with them. It reminds us that we will never again surrender our traditions and beliefs.
The ritual deserves great reverence. The one who is to gain the vallaslin must prepare by meditating
on the gods and the ways of our people, and by purifying the body and the skin. When the time
comes, the keeper of the clan applies the blood writing. This is done in complete silence. Cries of
pain are signs of weakness. If one cannot tolerate the pain of the blood writing, they are not ready to
undertake the responsibilities of an adult. The keeper may stop the ritual if they decide that the one
gaining the vallaslin is not ready. There is no shame in this, for all children are different, and our
ancestors once took centuries to come of age.
—As told by Gisharel, keeper of the Ralaferin clan of the Dalish elves.

If the Warden is not Dalish...

After my encounter with the Dalish elves on the road to Nevarra, I studied every book on the elves I
could find. I sought out legends and myths and history and tried to make sense of it all. But there is
only so much one can learn from books. I knew that in order to truly understand the Dalish, I would
have to seek them out—a dreadful idea, in hindsight. In my defense, I was young—and also
inebriated when the idea popped into my head. Unfortunately, even after I had regained some
measure of sobriety, the idea still held appeal. It proved remarkably resistant to my attempts to
ignore it.
I gave in after months of that nagging thought at the back of my head and set out to learn about the
Dalish first-hand. I tramped through the forests bordering Orlais for weeks before I finally found—
or was found by—a Dalish hunter. I stumbled into one of his traps and suddenly was hanging from
a tree with a rope about my ankles.

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So there I was, defenseless, upside down with my robe over my head, my underclothes on display.
Descriptions of my predicament might elicit laughter these days, but trust me when I say it was a
situation I would not wish on anyone. Thankfully, my ridiculous appearance may have caused my
captor to stay his hand—what threat is a silly human with his pants showing?
And so he sat, made a small fire, and began to skin the deer he had caught. I soon mustered the
courage to speak. I tried to assure him that I was not there to harm him—but he laughed at this and
replied that if I were there to harm him, I had failed terribly. Eventually we got to talking, and when
I say talking, I mean that I asked him questions, and occasionally he would deign to answer.
He told me that while some Dalish actively seek out human travelers to rob or frighten, most of his
people would rather be left alone. He seemed to believe that punishing the humans for past actions
only led to more violence. I asked him about the intricate tattoos on his face; he told me they were
called vallaslin—"blood writing." His were symbols of Andruil the Huntress, one of the most highly
revered elven goddesses. He said the Dalish mark themselves to stand out from humans and from
those of their kin who have chosen to live under human rule. He said the vallaslin remind his people
that they must never again surrender their beliefs.
When he finished skinning the deer, he cut me down. By the time I had righted myself and
conquered the dizziness of all the blood rushing out of my head, he was gone.
I do not recommend that my readers seek out the Dalish for themselves. I was very lucky to have
met the man that I did, and to have walked away from our meeting unscathed. Perhaps the Maker
watches over those who seek knowledge with an open heart; I certainly would like to think so.
—From In Pursuit of Knowledge: The Travels of A Chantry Scholar, by Brother Genitivi

The Anderfels
The Anderfels are a land of shocking extremes. It is the most desolate place in all the world, for two
Blights have left great expanses of the steppes so completely devoid of life that corpses cannot even
decay there—no insect or grub will ever reach them.
It is a land filled with wonders like the Merdaine, with its gigantic white statue of Our Lady carved
into its face, her hands outstretched and bearing an eternal flame, or Weisshaupt Fortress, with its
walls of living rock towering over the desolate plains below.
The Anders, too, are a people of extremes: The most devout priests and the most deadly soldiers, the
poorest nation in the world and the most feared.
—From In Pursuit of Knowledge: Travels of a Chantry Scholar, by Brother Genitivi

Antiva
In the rest of the civilized world, it is common belief that Antiva has no king. I assure you, gentle
readers, that this is untrue. The line of kings in Antiva has remained unbroken for two and a half
thousand years—it is simply that nobody pays any attention to them whatsoever.
The nation is ruled in truth by a collection of merchant princes. They are not princes in the literal
sense, but heads of banks, trading companies, and vineyards. Their power is conferred strictly by
wealth.

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But Antiva is not primarily renowned for its peculiar form of government, nor for its admittedly
unparalleled wines. Antiva is known for the House of Crows. Since Antivans are well-known for
being good at everything but fighting, it is more than a little ironic that Antiva possesses the most
deadly assassins in the world. Their fame is such that Antiva keeps no standing army: No king is
willing to order his troops to assault her borders, and no general is mad enough to lead such an
invasion. The attack would likely succeed, but its leaders would not see the day.
—From In Pursuit of Knowledge: The Travels of a Chantry Scholar by Brother Genitivi

The Avvars
Driven across the Frostbacks in ancient times, the Alamarri tribesmen split into three groups: one
settled the Ferelden Valley, one was pushed into the Korcari Wilds, and the last returned to the
mountains. Modern Fereldans bear little resemblance to their Alamarri ancestors, and the Chasind
remember few of their traditions, but the Avvars have changed little throughout the ages.
Like the Chasind, the Avvars are not a united people. Each tribe fends for itself and is beholden only
to its thane. They still follow their own gods: Korth the Mountain-Father, Hakkon Wintersbreath,
The Lady of the Skies, as well as dozens of animal gods never named to outsiders.
Nothing lasts in the mountains. Wind and rain eventually eat away the strongest holds. Valleys that
were arable one generation are locked in year-round ice the next. Game is constantly on the move.
Even among themselves, the Avvar make no absolute promises: they wed by a tradition in which the
groom struggles to untie a tightly knotted rope while the bride sings a hymn to one of the gods.
However many knots he has undone by the time her song ends is the number of years she will spend
with him. Lowlanders often forget that there is no such thing as a permanent alliance in the
Frostbacks.
—From Ferelden: Folklore and History, by Sister Petrine, Chantry scholar

The Bannorn
The central Ferelden Valley has always been a paradox: No single bann holds more than a few
dozen leagues of farmland, yet together they govern a greater territory than all the teyrns and arls
combined. This collection of independent banns is known as the Bannorn, and it is the heart of
Fereldan politics.
No person has ever sat upon the throne of Ferelden without first winning the approval of the
Bannorn. Queen Fionne, who had the misfortune to take the throne in the eighteenth year of the
Steel Age, wrote of the Bannorn, "There have been three wars this year fought over elopements.
Five fought over wool. And one started by an apple tree. It isn't even winter yet. Who would believe
that these same banns, now trying so hard to kill one another, just last year united to give me the
crown?"
—From Ferelden: Folklore and History, by Sister Petrine, Chantry scholar

The Brecilian Forest

There are places in the Brecilian Forest where the Veil is so thin the difference between awake and
dreaming is next to nothing. In one such place, a wood-shaper was born under such unfortunate
stars that his mother named him Abelas, which means "sorrow." And he lived up to his name. He
could keep no apprentices, and lost his stock of bows in mishap after mishap, until finally he had
nothing. The rest of the clan began to fear that his ill luck would harm them, too, and whispered
among themselves of casting him out.

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Abelas heard them and resolved to change his luck, and so went into the forest alone to seek a
suitable tree from which to make bows.
At last he spied a young rowan growing beside a stream. He drew his axe, and the tree cried out in
fear, begging to be spared. But Abelas said, "If I do not take your life, mine will surely end." With
two strokes he felled the tree. From the tree, he made the finest three bows he had ever crafted.
Pleased, Abelas returned to camp and gave his bows to the hunters at once.
By nightfall, however, the camp was in an uproar. The hunters had returned with braces of hares
which, when cut open, revealed only worms and sawdust. The elder said it was a sign that the
hunters had robbed some spirit of its host, for it is well known that spirits do not go about the
waking world on their own, but inhabit another creature's body. The elder worked a charm to banish
the spirit back to the Fade, and the clan went to sleep hungry.
The next day, the hunters brought back a doe, and again the beast bled sawdust. Now the clan began
to fear the spirit would starve them, and wondered what they had done to deserve it. Abelas came
forward then and told of the rowan tree. The Elder considered for a long time before declaring that
they must replace what Abelas had taken from the spirit. So he sent the hunters to dig up a rowan
sapling, and bring it, living, to the camp.
There the elder ordered the sapling planted, and appealed to the spirit for forgiveness.
There was a terrible sound then, as if the whole forest were crying out in protest. Darkness fell upon
the camp, though it was just past midday. And when the darkness passed, a rowan grove, every tree
bearing the frozen face of a terrified elf, stood where the camp had been. From then on, it was
forbidden in every clan to cut living trees in the Brecilian Forest. The spirits know nothing of
forgiveness.
—"The Rowan Grove: A Dalish Tale," from Ferelden: Folklore and History, by Sister Petrine,
Chantry scholar

Thedas Calendar
For most good folk, the details of our calendar have little purpose. It is useful only for telling them
when the Summerday festival will be held, when the snows are expected to begin, and when the
harvest must be complete. The naming of the years are a matter for historians and taxmen, and few
if pressed could even tell you the reason that our current Age is named after dragons.
It is 9:30 Dragon Age, the thirtieth year of the ninth Age since the crowning of the Chantry's first
Divine.
Each Age is exactly 100 years, with the next Age's name chosen in the 99th year. The scholars in
Val Royeaux advise the Chantry of portents seen in that 99th year, and Chantry authorities pore over
the research for months before the Divine announces the name of the imminent Age. The name is
said to be an omen of what is to come, of what the people of Thedas will face for the next hundred
years.
The current Age was not meant to be the Dragon Age. Throughout the last months of the Blessed
Age, the Chantry was preparing to declare the Sun Age, named for the symbol of the Orlesian
Empire, which at that time sprawled over much of the south of Thedas and controlled both Ferelden
and what is now Nevarra. It was to be a celebration of Orlesian imperial glory.

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But as the rebellion in Ferelden reached a head and the Battle of River Dane was about to begin, a
peculiar event occurred: a rampage, the rising of a dreaded high dragon. Dragons had been thought
practically extinct since the days of the Nevarran dragon hunts, and they say that to see this great
beast rise from the Frostbacks was both majestic and terrifying. As the rampage began and the high
dragon decimated the countryside in its search for food, the elderly Divine Faustine II abruptly
declared the Dragon Age.
Some say the Divine was declaring support for Orlais in the battle against Ferelden, since the
dragon is an element of the Dufayel family heraldry of King Meghren, the so-called Usurper King
of Ferelden. Be that as it may, the high dragon's rampage turned towards the Orlesian side of the
Frostback Mountains, killing hundreds and sending thousands more fleeing to the northern coast.
The Fereldan rebels won the Battle of River Dane, ultimately securing their independence.
Many thus think that the Dragon Age will come to represent a time of violent and dramatic change
for all of Thedas. It remains to be seen.
—From The Studious Theologian, by Brother Genitivi, Chantry scholar, 9:25 Dragon.

The Chasind
The Chasind "wilders" have lived in the Korcari Wilds since the first wars with the Alamarri drove
them southward a millennium ago. According to their own lore, they had always been a forest-
dwelling people that adapted quickly to their new home. Game and fish are plentiful in the
wetlands, and the Chasind thrived.
For a time, they and the hill-dwelling Avvars were true threats to the northern lowlands. The
Tevinter Imperium had arrived and was hard-pressed to keep back the waves of invasions from the
south and the west. The fortress of Ostagar was built specifically to watch for Chasind hordes
venturing north of the tree line. It was not until the legendary warrior Hafter soundly defeated the
Chasind in the first half of the Divine Age that the question of their ability to contest the lowlands
was settled permanently.
Today, the Chasind are considered largely peaceful, though their ways are still primitive compared
to our own. In the Korcari Wilds they live in strange-looking huts built on stilts or even built into
the great treetops. They paint their faces and are split into small tribes ruled by shamans like those
amongst the Avvars. There are many tales of these shamans having learned their magic from the
"Witches of the Wilds," witches that inspire as much terror as they do awe and gratitude even if
there is no definitive proof they exist. In particular, the tale of Flemeth, the greatest witch of the
wilds, is celebrated amongst all tribes.
While there is no way to know how many there are in the Wilds today, few travelers that pass
through the forests tell of Chasind eking out an existence even in the frozen wastelands of the far
south. One can assume that should the Chasind ever organize themselves once more, we might have
reason to fear them here in Ferelden. We ignore them at our peril.
—From Ferelden: Folklore and History, by Sister Petrine, Chantry scholar.

The City Elves

If the Warden is a City Elf...

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The humans tell tales of Andraste, and to them, she was a prophet. To our people, however, she was
an inspiration. Her rebellion against Tevinter gave our people a window through which to see the
sun, and we reached toward it with all our strength. The rebellion was brief but successful; even
after the death of the prophetess, we fought on for independence as the human Imperium began to
crumble. In the end, we won freedom and the southern land known as the Dales, and we began the
Long Walk to our new homeland.
There, in the Dales, our people revived the lost lore as best we could. We called the first city
Halamshiral, "end of the journey," and founded a new nation, isolated as elves were meant to be,
this time patrolled by an order of Emerald Knights charged with watching the borders for trouble
from humans.
But you already know that something went wrong. A small elven raiding party attacked the nearby
human village of Red Crossing, an act of anger that prompted the Chantry to retaliate and, with
their superior numbers, conquer the Dales.
We were not enslaved as we had been before, but our worship of the ancient gods was now
forbidden. We were allowed to live among the humans only as second-class citizens who
worshipped their Maker, forgetting once more the scraps of lore we had maintained through the
centuries.
—"The Rise and Fall of the Dales," as told by Sarethia, hahren of the Highever alienage

If the Warden is a Dalish Elf...

It is hard to tell our children about those of our people who have decided to live in the shemlen's
cities. They ask, "Why would anyone want to be treated like that?" And sometimes I do not know
what to say. I do not understand it myself. They were freed, but they have returned to live in the
service of their former masters. They are housed like animals in walled sections of the shemlen's
cities. They do the meanest of tasks and are rewarded with nothing. Why? I do not know..
We tell the children that the elvhen are strong, that we are a proud people, but they hear of these city
elves who choose to toil under the humans' heavy hand. How do we teach them pride when they
know there are others who would allow themselves to be trampled into the dust? So we tell them
that these city elves are to be pitied, that they have given up on their people, given up their heritage.
We tell them that some people are so used to being controlled that, when freed, they know not what
to do with themselves. They are weak and afraid—afraid of the unfamiliar, afraid of our life of
wandering. Above all, they are afraid even to hope that one day we may have a home of our own.
—Gisharel, keeper of the Ralaferin clan of the Dalish elves.

If the Warden is a not a City or Dalish elf...

When the holy Exalted March of the Dales resulted in the dissolution of the elven kingdom, leaving
a great many elves homeless once again, the Divine Renata I declared that all lands loyal to the
Chantry must give the elves refuge within their own walls. Considering the atrocities committed by
the elves at Red Crossing, this was a great testament to the Chantry's charity. There was one
condition, however—the elves were to lay aside their pagan gods and live under the rule of the
Chantry.
Some of the elves refused our goodwill. They banded together to form the wandering Dalish elves,
keeping their old elven ways—and their hatred of humans—alive. To this day, Dalish elves still
terrorize those of us who stray too close to their camps. Most of the elves, however, saw that it was
wisest to live under the protection of humans.

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And so we took the elves into our cities and tried to integrate them. We invited them into our own
homes and gave them jobs as servants and farmhands. Here, in Denerim, the elves even have their
own quarter, governed by an elven keeper. Most have proven to be productive members of society.
Still, a small segment of the elven community remains dissatisfied. These troublemakers and
malcontents roam the streets causing mayhem, rebelling against authority and making a general
nuisance of themselves.
—From Ferelden: Folklore and History, by Sister Petrine, Chantry scholar

Alienage Culture
There have always been alienages. They have been around for as long as elves and shems have
lived in the same lands. Ours isn't even the worst: They say that Val Royeaux has ten thousand elves
living in a space no bigger than Denerim's market. Their walls are supposedly so high that daylight
doesn't reach the vhenadahl until midday.
But don't be so anxious to start tearing down the walls and picking fights with the guards. They
keep out more than they keep in. We don't have to live here, you know. Sometimes a family gets a
good break, and they buy a house in the docks, or the outskirts of town. If they're lucky, they come
back to the alienage after the looters have burned their house down. The unlucky ones just go to the
paupers' field.
Here, we're among family. We look out for each other. Here, we do what we can to remember the
old ways. The flat-ears who have gone out there, they're stuck. They'll never be human, and they've
gone and thrown away being elven, too. So where does that leave them? Nowhere.
—Sarethia, hahren of the Highever alienage

Arlathan: Part One

Before the ages were named or numbered, our people were glorious and eternal and never-
changing. Like the great oak tree, they were constant in their traditions, strong in their roots, and
ever reaching for the sky.
They felt no need to rush when life was endless. They worshiped their gods for months at a time.
Decisions came after decades of debate, and an introduction could last for years. From time to time,
our ancestors would drift into centuries-long slumber, but this was not death, for we know they
wandered the Fade in dreams.
In those ages, our people called all the land Elvhenan, which in the old Elven language means
"place of our people." And at the center of the world stood the great city of Arlathan, a place of
knowledge and debate, where the best of the ancient elves would go to trade knowledge, greet old
friends, and settle disputes that had gone on for millennia.
But while our ancestors were caught up in the forever cycle of ages, drifting through life at what we
today would consider an intolerable pace, the world outside the lush forests and ancient trees was
changing.
The humans first arrived from Par Vollen to the north. Called shemlen, or "quicklings," by the
ancients, the humans were pitiful creatures whose lives blinked by in an instant. When they first met
the elves, the humans were brash and warlike, quick to anger and quicker to fight, with no patience
for the unhurried pace of elven diplomacy.

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But the humans brought worse things than war with them. Our ancestors proved susceptible to
human diseases, and for the first time in history, elves died of natural causes. What's more, those
elves who spent time bartering and negotiating with humans found themselves aging, tainted by the
humans' brash and impatient lives. Many believed that the ancient gods had judged them unworthy
of their long lives and cast them down among the quicklings. Our ancestors came to look upon the
humans as parasites, which I understand is similar to the way the humans see our people in the
cities. The ancient elves immediately moved to close Elvhenan off from the humans, for fear that
this quickening effect would crumble the civilization.
—The Fall of Arlathan, as told by Gisharel, keeper of the Ralaferin clan of the Dalish elves

Arlathan: Part Two

You ask what happened to Arlathan? Sadly, we do not know. Even those of us who keep the ancient
lore have no record of what truly happened. What we have are accounts of the days before the fall,
and a fable of the whims of the gods.
The human world was changing even as the elves slept. Clans and tribes gave way to a powerful
empire called Tevinter, which—and for what reason we do not know—moved to conquer Elvhenan.
When they breached the great city of Arlathan, our people, fearful of disease and loss of
immortality, chose to flee rather than fight. With magic, demons, and even dragons at their behest,
the Tevinter Imperium marched easily through Arlathan, destroying homes and galleries and
amphitheaters that had stood for ages. Our people were corralled as slaves, and human contact
quickened their veins until every captured elf turned mortal. The elves called to their ancient gods,
but there was no answer.
As to why the gods didn't answer, our people left only a legend. They say that Fen'Harel, the Dread
Wolf and Lord of Tricksters, approached the ancient gods of good and evil and proposed a truce.
The gods of good would remove themselves to heaven, and the lords of evil would exile themselves
to the abyss, neither group ever again to enter the other's lands. But the gods did not know that
Fen'Harel had planned to betray them, and by the time they realized the Dread Wolf's treachery,
they were sealed in their respective realms, never again to interact with the mortal world. It is a
fable, to be sure, but those elves who travel the Beyond claim that Fen'Harel still roams the world of
dreams, keeping watch over the gods lest they escape from their prisons.
Whatever the case, Arlathan had fallen to the very humans our people had once considered mere
pests. It is said that the Tevinter magisters used their great destructive power to force the very
ground to swallow Arlathan whole, destroying eons of collected knowledge, culture, and art. The
whole of elven lore left only to memory.
—The Fall of Arlathan, as told by Gisharel, Keeper of the Ralaferin clan of the Dalish elves

The Dalish Elves

If the Warden is a Dalish Elf...
In time, the human empires will crumble. We have seen it happen countless times. Until then, we
wait, we keep to the wild border lands, we raise halla and build aravels and present a moving target
to the humans around us. We try to keep hold of the old ways, to relearn what was forgotten.
We call to the ancient gods, although they do not answer and have not heard us since before the fall
of Arlathan, so that one day they might remember us: Elgar'nan the Eldest of the Sun and He Who
Overthrew His Father, Mythal the Protector, Fen'Harel the Dread Wolf, Andruil the Huntress,
Falon'Din the Friend of the Dead, Dirthamen the Keeper of Secrets, Ghilan'nain the Mother of
Halla, June the Master of Crafts, and Sylaise the Hearthkeeper.

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We gather every ten years for the Arlathvhen, to retell the ancient stories and keep them alive. For
when the human kingdoms are gone, we must be ready to teach the others what it means to be elves.
—Gisharel, keeper of the Ralaferin clan of the Dalish elves

If the Warden is not a Dalish Elf...

I took the road north from Val Royeaux toward Nevarra with a merchant caravan. A scant two days
past the Orlesian border, we were beset by bandits. They struck without warning from the cover of
the trees, hammering our wagons with arrows, killing most of the caravan guards instantly. The few
who survived the arrow storm drew their blades and charged into the trees after our attackers. We
heard screams muffled by the forest, and then nothing more of those men.
After a long silence, the bandits appeared. Elves covered in tattoos and dressed in hides, they looted
all the supplies and valuables they could carry from the merchants and disappeared back into the
trees.
These, I was informed later, were the Dalish, the wild elves who lurk in the wilderness on the
fringes of settled lands, preying upon travelers and isolated farmers. These wild elves have reverted
to the worship of their false gods and are rumored to practice their own form of magic, rejecting all
human society.
—From In Pursuit of Knowledge: The Travels of A Chantry Scholar, by Brother Genitivi

Denerim
When anyone in Ferelden speaks of "going to the city," they inevitably mean Denerim. There is no
other place in the kingdom which rivals it: Not in size, population, wealth, or importance. It is the
seat of the Theirin family, the capital of Ferelden, the largest seaport, and, by ancient tradition, the
meeting place of the Landsmeet.
As well, Denerim was the birthplace of Andraste. One of them, anyway, as several other sites claim
to have been the prophet's early home, including Jader, in Orlais. The Chantry takes no stance on
which site's claim is valid, but it is well known that Andraste was Fereldan by birth. When visiting
the pilgrimage site in Denerim, it is inadvisable to mention Jader at all.
The city rests at the foot of the Dragon's Peak, a solitary mountain scarred by ancient lava flows.
During Andraste's lifetime, it reputedly filled the sky with a great column of black ash and sent
burning rock raining down as far away as the Free Marches, but it is now considered extinct. Some
believe it merely sleeps, and will again darken the sky with ash and fire when the last Fereldan king
dies, but this is highly unlikely.
—From In Pursuit of Knowledge: The Travels of A Chantry Scholar, by Brother Genitivi

Dragon Cults
Let us suggest, for the moment, that a high dragon is simply an animal. A cunning animal, to be
sure, but in possession of no true self-awareness or sentience. There has not, after all, been a single
recorded case of a dragon attempting to communicate or performing any act that could not likewise
be attributed to a clever beast.
How, then, does one explain the existence of so-called "dragon cults" throughout history?

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One dragon cult might be explainable, especially in light of the reverence of the Old Gods in the
ancient Tevinter Imperium. In the wake of the first Blight, many desperate imperial citizens turned
to the worship of real dragons to replace the Old Gods who had failed them. A dragon, after all, was
a god-figure that they could see: It was there, as real as the archdemon itself, and, as evidence
makes clear, did offer a degree of protection to its cultists.
Other dragon cults could be explained in light of the first. Some cult members might have survived
and spread the word. The worship of the Old Gods was as widespread as the Imperium itself—
certainly such secrets could have made their way into many hands. But there have been reports of
dragon cults even in places where the Imperium never touched, among folks who had never heard
of the Old Gods or had any reason to. How does one explain them?
Members of a dragon cult live in the same lair as a high dragon, nurturing and protecting its
defenseless young. In exchange, the high dragon seem to permit those cultists to kill a small number
of those young in order to feast on draconic blood. That blood is said to have a number of strange
long-term effects, including bestowing greater strength and endurance, as well as an increased
desire to kill. It may breed insanity as well. Nevarran dragon-hunters have said these cultists are
incredibly powerful opponents. The changes in the cultists are a form of blood magic, surely, but
how did the symbiotic relationship between the cult and the high dragon form in the first place?
How did the cultists know to drink the dragon's blood? How did the high dragon convince them to
care for its young, or know that they would?
Is there more to draconic intelligence than we have heretofore guessed at? No member of a dragon
cult has ever been taken alive, and what accounts exist from the days of the Nevarran hunters record
only mad rants and impossible tales of godhood. With dragons only recently reappearing and still
incredibly rare, we may never know the truth, but the question remains.
—From Flame and Scale, by Brother Florian, Chantry scholar, 9:28 Dragon.

History of Ferelden: Chapter 1

Ferelden, as we think of it now, did not exist before the Exalted Age. Instead, the valley was divided
up into dozens of old Alamarri clans. They warred constantly with one another over land, honor, the
allegiance of the freeholders, and, on one notable occasion, the name given to a favorite mabari.
And then, in the 33rd year of the Exalted Age, Calenhad Theirin became teyrn of Denerim, and
everything changed.
Most of what we know about the founding of our nation comes from old songs that the bards passed
down through the Ages. The songs are filled with wild exaggerations and outright lies, but this
hardly differs from the scholarly papers of some of my contemporaries. There is no agreement
among poets or scholars on how he did it, but Calenhad gained the support of the Circle of Magi,
and they crafted for him a suit of silvery white armor that, by all accounts, repelled both arrow and
blade. Calenhad led his army across the valley and captured Redcliffe—one of only three men who
ever successfully laid siege to that fortress—and presented himself to the banns of the Landsmeet as
their king.
The poets tell us that every lord knelt before Calenhad without question. The fact that he attended
the Landsmeet surrounded by Ash Warriors and loyal mages of the Circle is generally omitted from
the ballads, however.
From Calenhad came the line of Theirin kings and queens who reigned, uninterrupted, until the 44th
year of the Blessed Age, when the Orlesian invasion came. The rightful king was forced to flee
Denerim, and for 70 years a puppet sat upon the throne.
—From Ferelden: Folklore and History, by Sister Petrine, Chantry scholar

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History of Ferelden: Chapter 2
The occupation was a dark blot on Ferelden's history. Our people, who from time immemorial
valued their freedom over all else, were forced to bow to Orlesian rule. The Empire declared our
elves property and sold them like cattle. Chevaliers routinely plundered freeholds of coin, food, and
even women and children, and excused it as "taxation." And for 70 years no Landsmeets were held,
for the Imperial throne had declared our ancient laws a form of treason.
King Brandel was one of those who escaped. He tried to organize the other fugitive lords to retake
their land, but Brandel was neither clever nor persuasive, and the nobles preferred to take their
chances alone. Ferelden might still be little more than a territory of the Empire were it not for the
fact that his daughter had all the charisma that her royal father lacked. The Rebel Queen's rule
began with a midnight attack on the imperial armory at Lothering. It was swift and successful, and
with their pilfered arms the rebels began a campaign against the Orlesians in earnest.
But the turning point of the war came when a young freeholder joined the queen's army. The lad,
Loghain Mac Tir, possessed a remarkable talent for strategy, and quickly became the favorite
advisor of young Prince Maric. The queen finally died at the hands of Orlesian sympathizers
anxious to curry favor with their painted masters, and Maric took her place as the leader of the
rebellion. Loghain became Maric's right hand. Maric and Loghain led the rebels in a new campaign
against their Orlesian oppressors, culminating in the battle of River Dane, where the last Chevaliers
in Denerim were crushed. With the capital once more in the hands of Fereldans, the battle to free
our people was finally over. But the battle to rebuild what had been lost had only just begun.
—From Ferelden: Folklore and History, by Sister Petrine, Chantry scholar

Culture of Ferelden
The Fereldans are a puzzle. As a people, they are one bad day away from reverting to barbarism.
They repelled invasions from Tevinter during the height of the Imperium with nothing but dogs and
their own obstinate disposition. They are the coarse, wilful, dirty, disorganized people who
somehow gave rise to our prophet, ushered in an era of enlightenment, and toppled the greatest
empire in history.
There are few things you can assume safely in dealing with these people: First, they value loyalty
above all things, beyond wealth, beyond power, beyond reason. Second, although they have nothing
in their entire country which you are likely to think at all remarkable, they are extremely proud of
their accomplishments. Third, if you insult their dogs, they are likely to declare war. And finally, the
surest sign that you have underestimated the Fereldans is that you think you have come to
understand them.
—Empress Celene I of Orlais, in a letter to her newly appointed ambassador to Denerim

Dogs in Ferelden
I am frequently asked, during my travels in other lands, to explain the dogs omnipresent in
Ferelden. Inevitably, I tell my foreign questioners that there are no more dogs in my homeland than
in their own. In every civilized corner of Thedas, an astute observer will notice dogs employed in
hunting game, keeping barns and storehouses free of vermin, herding livestock, guarding homes,
and even used as beasts of burden in the mountains. It is simply that Fereldans show appreciation
for the work that our dogs do. And perhaps the reason for that is tangled up in mythology.

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Hafter, the first man to be named teyrn, the hero who united our Alamarri ancestors to drive back
the darkspawn of the second Blight, was reputed to be the son of a werewolf. Now, perhaps this was
meant to be some comment on his temperament, or simply a way of making a great man even larger
than life. But more than half the noble families of Ferelden claim to be descendants of Hafter, and
consequently, many of our people believe they have some distant kinship with wolves. It is only
good manners to be polite to one's kin.
—From In Pursuit of Knowledge: The Travels of A Chantry Scholar, by Brother Genitivi

Geography of Ferelden
The kingdom of Ferelden is the southernmost civilized nation in Thedas—although some scholars
dispute that claim to civilization. It is perhaps the most physically isolated of all the kingdoms of
Thedas: To the east is the Amaranthine Ocean, to the north the Waking Sea, and to the south the
Korcari Wilds, which in the summer months are a vast peat bog, and in the winter become a
treacherous labyrinth of iced-over waterways. The Frostback Mountains guard the western border,
and only a narrow plain between the mountains and the sea allows travel between Ferelden and
Orlais.
Most of the land in the central portion of the kingdom, called the Bannorn, is open plains. These are
crossed by the remnants of an ancient Tevinter highway that once connected Val Royeaux with
Ostagar, on the edge of the Korcari Wilds. The western part of Ferelden is dominated by Lake
Calenhad, a huge caldera filled by the runoff of glaciers from nearby mountains. Lake Calenhad is
home to the famed fortress of Redcliffe, as well as the Circle Tower, which houses Ferelden's Circle
of Magi.
In the east is the vast Brecilian Forest, which the superstitious locals profess to be haunted, and
from which rises the Dragon's Peak, a solitary mountain that guards the capital city of Denerim.
—From In Pursuit of Knowledge: The Travels of A Chantry Scholar, by Brother Genitivi

The Free Marches

The Free Marches are not a kingdom, nor even a nation in the most basic sense. People from that
region dislike even being lumped together as "Marchers." Rather, they are a collection of
independent city-states united only when it suits them; in this respect, they resemble the Bannorn
before the arrival of King Calenhad. Because of this, the Free Marches have no capital, and what
passes for a central government exists only sporadically, a sort of Landsmeet that convenes only
during times of crisis.
I arrived in time for the Grand Tourney while it was on in Tantervale—a remarkable sight indeed. I
saw Avvar hillsmen test their mettle against Orlesian Chevaliers, riders from the Anderfels buying
Nevarran cavalry horses, Antivan craftsmen selling their wares to Tevinter mages. All of Thedas
was on display.
—From In Pursuit of Knowledge: The Travels of A Chantry Scholar, by Brother Genitivi

Politics of Ferelden
To our neighbors, Ferelden seems utterly chaotic. Unlike other monarchies, power does not descend
from our throne. Rather, it rises from the support of the freeholders.

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Each freehold chooses the bann or arl to whom it pays allegiance. Typically, this choice is based on
proximity of the freehold to the lord's castle, as it's worthless to pay for the upkeep of soldiers who
will arrive at your land too late to defend it. For the most part, each generation of freeholders casts
its lot with the same bann as their fathers did, but things can and do change. No formal oaths are
sworn, and it is not unheard of, especially in the prickly central Bannorn, for banns to court
freeholders away from their neighbors—a practice which inevitably begets feuds that last for ages.
Teyrns arose from amongst the banns, warleaders who, in antiquity, had grown powerful enough to
move other banns to swear fealty to them. There were many teyrns in the days before King
Calenhad, but he succeeded in whittling them down to only two: Gwaren in the south, Highever in
the north. These teyrns still hold the oaths of banns and arls who they may call upon in the event of
war or disaster, and similarly, the teyrns still hold responsibility for defending those sworn to them.
The arls were established by the teyrns, given command of strategic fortresses that could not be
overseen by the teyrns themselves. Unlike the teyrns, the arls have no banns sworn to them, and are
simply somewhat more prestigious banns.
The king is, in essence, the most powerful of the teyrns. Although Denerim was originally the
teyrnir of the king, it has since been reduced to an arling, as the king's domain is now all of
Ferelden. But even the king's power must come from the banns.
Nowhere is this more evident than during the Landsmeet, an annual council for which all the nobles
of Ferelden gather, held for almost three thousand years except odd interruptions during Blights and
invasions. The sight of a king asking for—and working to win—the support of "lesser" men is a
source of constant wonder to foreign ambassadors.
—From Ferelden: Folklore and History, by Sister Petrine, Chantry scholar

The Frostback Mountains

Even mountains had a heart, once. When the world was young, Korth the Mountain-Father kept his
throne at the peak of Belenas, the mountain that lies at the center of the world, from which he could
see all the corners of earth and sky. And he saw strong men become weak, brave men grow
cowardly, and wise men turn foolish for love.
Korth devised a plan that he might never be betrayed by his own heart, by taking it out and hiding it
where no soul would ever dare search for it. He sealed it inside a golden cask, buried it in the earth,
and raised around it the fiercest mountains the world had ever seen, the Frostbacks, to guard it.
But without his heart, the Mountain-Father grew cruel. His chest was filled with bitter mountain
winds that shrieked and howled like lost souls. Food lost its flavor, music had no sweetness, and he
lost all joy in deeds of valor. He sent avalanches and earthquakes to torment the tribes of men. Gods
and men rose against him, calling him a tyrant, but with no heart, Korth could not be slain. Soon
there were no heroes left, either among men or gods, who would dare challenge Korth.
The Lady of the Skies sent the best of her children—the swiftest, the cleverest, and strongest fliers
—to scour the mountains for the missing heart, and for a year and a day they searched. But sparrow
and raven, vulture and eagle, swift and albatross returned to her with nothing.
Then the ptarmigan spoke up, and offered to find the god-chief's heart. The other birds laughed, for
the ptarmigan is a tiny bird, too humble to soar, which spends half its time hopping along the
ground. The Lady would not give the little creature her blessing, for the mountains were too fierce
even for eagles, but the ptarmigan set out anyway.

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The little bird traveled deep into the Frostbacks. When she could not fly, she crawled. She hugged
the ground and weathered the worst mountain winds, and so made her lonely way to the valley
where the heart beat. With all the god's terrible deeds, the heart was far too heavy for the tiny bird to
carry, so she rolled it, little by little, out of the valley and down a cliff, and when the golden cask
struck the earth, it shattered. The heart was full almost to bursting, and the pain of it roused the
mountain god to come see what had happened.
When Korth neared his heart, it leapt back into his chest and he was whole again. Then Hakkon
Wintersbreath bound Korth's chest with three bands of iron and three bands of ice, so it could never
again escape. And all the remaining gods named the ptarmigan honored above even the loftiest
eagles.
—"The Ptarmigan: An Avvar Tale," from Ferelden: Folklore and History, by Sister Petrine, Chantry
scholar

Gwaren
The human settlement of Gwaren is built directly on top of a dwarven outpost by the same name.
Prior to the First Blight, in a time when Ferelden was not yet a nation and was still carved up into
barbarian tribes, the outpost served as a source of salt and a means by which the dwarves could
reach the sea-lanes of the Amaranthine Ocean. Unwilling to come to the surface, the dwarves made
an agreement with the local teyrn to build a port and relied on the humans to ferry goods between
the ships and the underground outpost. This made Gwaren a prosperous place and extraordinarily
wealthy for a time.
When, in the Divine Age, the dwarven kingdoms fell to the darkspawn and the Deep Roads were
closed off, so too did the dwarves disappear from Gwaren. The human settlement, the envy of
surrounding barbarian tribes, was assaulted and sacked, its wealth stolen.
The town remained, however, and despite its remote location continued to find value as a source of
fish and timber. As the first settlement liberated by King Maric and Loghain during the Fereldan
Rebellion, Gwaren was eventually granted to Loghain when he became teyrn in 9:11 Dragon.
—From Ferelden: Folklore and History, by Sister Petrine, Chantry scholar

Highever
Castle Highever has stood since the Divine Age, when it was not an independent bannorn, but
merely an outpost of the growing Bannorn of Amaranthine, in the days before Amaranthine became
an arling itself. The outpost of Highever was originally held by the Elstan family, cousins of the
Howes. In the Age of Towers, however, Bann Conobar Elstan was murdered by his wife, Flemeth,
thus ending the bloodline. Conobar's captain of the guard, Sarim Cousland, took the lands and title.
The Couslands declared their independence from Amaranthine, starting a war that lasted 30 years.
When the dust settled, Highever was on its own, and in possession of half the land that had once
been southwestern Amaranthine.
Highever became a teyrnir during the Black Age, when Haelia Cousland gathered the lords together
under her banner to drive the werewolves out of their lands, earning herself the title of teyrna almost
as an afterthought.
Today, Highever is one of only two remaining teyrnirs, making the Cousland family second in rank
only to the king.
If the Warden is Human Noble: The Cousland family, however, was all but wiped out in an
unexpected attack by Arl Howe of Amaranthine, and the fate of the teyrnir is now in question.

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If the Warden is not Human Noble: Arl Howe of Amaranthine was named the new Teyrn of
Highever under somewhat questionable circumstances, and the fate of the Cousland family is now
uncertain.
—From Ferelden: Folklore and History, by Sister Petrine, Chantry scholar

Lake Calenhad
The waters of Lake Calenhad are steeped in legends. The Avvar people say that it was once the site
of Belenas, the mountain which stood at the center of the world, from which Korth the Mountain
Father surveyed the earth and sky. But it was destroyed in the battle between Korth and the serpent
Nathramar, leaving only a vast crater behind. When the Lady of the Skies saw that Belenas was
gone, she wept, and her tears filled the crater, making the lake.
The Tevinters believed that the waters of Lake Calenhad were blessed by Razikale, god of
mysteries, and that those who drank from them were granted special insights. This was why they
built the great tower on an island in the middle of the lake, hoping the powers of the lake would aid
their magical research.
But most of us know the legend of King Calenhad, which gives the place its name. It is said that
Calenhad Theirin spent a year and a day in the Tower of the Magi. Each day, he drew a single cup
full of water from the lake and carried it to the Formari at the top of the tower. By magic, each cup
of water was forged into a single ring of the mail armor the Circle gave to Calenhad. In that armor,
made from the lifeblood of the land itself, no blade could strike him, no arrow pierce him, so long
as he stood on Fereldan soil.
—From Thedas: Myths and Legends, by Sister Petrine, Chantry scholar

Lothering
In ancient times, Lothering was little more than a trading post that served the fortress of Ostagar to
the south. Nowadays, it is larger, serving Redcliffe and the community of merchants and surface
dwarves near Orzammar. Its location on the North Road gives it strategic value, so control of
Lothering has historically been a matter of contention between the Southern Bannorn and the South
Reach Arling. King Calenhad himself stepped in and awarded the town to South Reach in the
Exalted Age, which has largely ended the feud, or at least the appearance of it.
—From In Pursuit of Knowledge: The Travels of A Chantry Scholar, by Brother Genitivi

King Maric Theirin

It is difficult to separate the man from the myth. The last survivor of the bloodline of King
Calenhad, the silver knight, Maric drove the Orlesian forces from Ferelden's borders, reclaimed the
throne, and freed our people from foreign tyranny. All true, and all larger than life.
He was born in hiding near Cathal's Crossing to the Rebel Queen Moira and grew up in the rebel
camps, an outlaw in his own country. When the rebel queen died, Maric inherited her homeless
nobles, malcontents, and displaced freeholders, and with the aid of his friend Loghain Mac Tir, built
them into an army.
After the pivotal battle of River Dane, Maric took the throne. He married Rowan, daughter of
Rendorn Guerrin, arl of Redcliffe, and began the long, slow process of rebuilding everything Orlais
had demolished during 70 years of occupation.
—From Ferelden: Folklore and History, by Sister Petrine, Chantry scholar

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Nevarra
The fourth time I attempted to cross the border into Nevarra from Orlais and was turned back by
Chevaliers, I decided to take the more roundabout path: a ship back to Ferelden, and then another to
Nevarra. The outcome was more than worth the trouble.
The whole country is filled with artistry, from the statues of heroes that litter the streets in even the
meanest villages to the glittering golden College of Magi in Cumberland. Perhaps nowhere is more
astonishing than the vast necropolis outside Nevarra City. Unlike most other followers of Andraste,
the Nevarrans do not burn their dead. Instead, they carefully preserve the bodies and seal them in
elaborate tombs. Some of the wealthiest Nevarrans begin construction of their own tombs while
quite young, and these become incredible palaces, complete with gardens, bathhouses, and
ballrooms, utterly silent, kept only for the dead.
—From In Pursuit of Knowledge: The Travels of A Chantry Scholar, by Brother Genitivi

The Noble Families of Ferelden

The occupation left empty castles in its wake. Whole families were butchered in the initial invasion,
and all those who couldn't or wouldn't bend knee to the Emperor's puppet king were declared
traitors and hunted. Many bloodlines ended on Chevaliers' blades at dusty crossroads, in forest
clearings, or in freeholds.
And then there were the turncoats.
To curry favor with their new masters, some nobles took up arms against their brothers. They
betrayed and murdered the Rebel Queen, an act that created even more vacant titles and lands, once
King Maric exacted justice.
That Ferelden did not fall apart after the Orlesians left is a testament to the strength of King Maric.
The old families still held grudges against those who had sided with the emperor, and those new
families that had been granted titles were viewed as interlopers. The Landsmeets that followed
Maric's coronation were tense, to say the least.
—From Ferelden: Folklore and History, by Sister Petrine, Chantry scholar

The Old Gods

Dumat, the Dragon of Silence.
Zazikel, the Dragon of Chaos.
Toth, the Dragon of Fire.
Andoral, the Dragon of Slaves.
Urthemiel, the Dragon of Beauty.
Razikale, the Dragon of Mystery.
Lusacan, the Dragon of Night.

There were seven Old Gods, great winged dragons that were said to rule over the ancient world.
The Chantry maintains that they are responsible for the original sin, that they turned humanity away
from its true creator through deceit. Humanity's faith faltered, and thus the Maker turned away from
the world—but not before trapping the Old Gods in eternal prisons beneath the earth as punishment.
Scholars assume that the Old Gods must indeed have been real at one point, but most agree that
they were likely actual dragons—ancient high dragons of a magnitude not known today, and
impressive enough to frighten ancient peoples into worshipping them. Some even claim that these
dragons slumber as a form of hibernation, not as a result of the Maker's wrath.

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Regardless of the truth, legend maintains that even from their underground prisons, the Old Gods
were able to whisper into the minds of men. The Archon Thalsian, first of the Magisters, who
claimed to have contacted the Old God Dumat, used the blood magic Dumat taught to him to attain
incredible power in Tevinter and declare himself the ruler of an Empire. In return, he established the
first temples worshipping the Old Gods, and the dragons became equated everywhere with imperial
power.
To date, four of the Old Gods are said to have risen as corrupted archdemons: Dumat, the first and
most powerful, was slain at the Battle of Silent Fields. Zazikel fell at the Battle of Starkhaven, Toth
died at the Battle of Hunter Fell, and Andoral was felled by Garahel, the legendary Grey Warden, at
the Battle of Ayesleigh. The archdemons have been identified only after years of argument among
scholars, and to this day it is unclear whether the archdemons were truly Old Gods and not simply
dragons. All that is known is that the darkspawn hunt for them deep underground. If they are truly
the Old Gods, as many scholars believe, then we have only three Blights remaining. When all the
Old Gods have risen and been slain, however, what will happen? Will the Blights end forever, and
humanity earn forgiveness from the Maker at last? We shall see.
—From The Old Gods Rise Again, by Sister Mary, Chantry scholar, 8:50 Blessed.

The Orlesian Empire

There are many lords and ladies in Val Royeaux.
And I mean this literally. Once, the system of noble titles in Orlais was labyrinthine: There were
barons and baronnes and baronets and sur-barons and a horde of others, each with its own origins
and its own nuances of comparison. The Orlesian aristocracy is ancient and much given to
competition. All the nobility play the Grand Game, as it is known, whether they wish to or not. It is
a game of reputation and patronage, where moves are made with rumors and scandal is the chief
weapon. No gentle game, this. More blood has been drawn as a result of the Grand Game than any
war the Orlesians have fought. Of this, I am assured by almost every gentleman here.
As far as titles went, everything changed with the coming of Emperor Drakon, who established the
Orlesian Empire as it exists now, and who created the Chantry. There is no more venerated figure in
Orlais; in Val Royeaux, the statue of Drakon stands as tall as the statue of Andraste. Drakon
determined that the Grand Game was tearing Orlais apart, so he abolished all titles besides his own,
and lord, and lady.
I am told, with some twittering amusement, that this action did not end the Grand Game as Drakon
had intended. Now the lords and ladies collected unofficial titles rather than official ones, such as
"the exalted patron of Tassus Klay" or "uncle to the champion of Tremmes." It is a headache to
remember such titles, and one winces to think of the poor doormen at the balls who must rattle them
off as each guest enters the room.
The aristocracy is different from Ferelden in other ways, as well. The Orlesians' right to rule stems
directly from the Maker. There exists neither the concept of rule by merit nor the slightest notion of
rebellion. If one is not noble, one aspires to be—or at the least aspires to be in the good graces of a
noble, and is ever watching for a way to enter the patronage of those better placed in the Grand
Game.
And then there are the masks. And the cosmetics: I have not seen so much paint since the kennels at
Highever. But that is another story.
—From Beyond the Frostbacks, by Bann Teoric of West Hill, 9:20 Dragon

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The Casteless
The caste system in Orzammar includes many groups of privilege—the nobility and the warriors
above all others, but to a lesser degree the merchants and the smiths and the miners. Tradition
establishes a clear hierarchy. But as in any culture with an upper class, there is also a clear
underclass. These unfortunates, the so-called "casteless," are believed to be descendants of
criminals and other undesirables. They have been looked down upon since Orzammar's foundation.
They have taken up residence in a place called "Dust Town," a crumbling ruin on the fringe of
Orzammar's common areas.
Orzammar society considers these casteless lower than even the Servant Caste (indeed, the casteless
are not allowed to become servants, as it is too honorable a position). They are seen as little better
than animals, their faces branded at birth to mark them as the bastard children of the kingdom. Their
home district, little more than a slum, is a haven for crime, organized and otherwise. Orzammar's
guards seemingly cannot be bothered to patrol its streets. The best that most casteless dwarves can
hope for is a life at the whim of a local crime lord, ended abruptly by violence or an overabundance
of toxic lichen ale.
Even so, there is some hope for the casteless, a dangling rope that offers a way up into greater
Orzammar society. Since a dwarf's caste is determined by the parent of the same sex, the male child
of a nobleman is part of that noble's house and caste. Strangely, it is acceptable for casteless women
to train in the arts of courtly romance to woo nobles and warriors; they are known as "noble
hunters." Any male born from such a union is considered a joyous event, considering the low rate of
dwarven fertility. The mother and entire family are then taken in by the father's house, although they
retain their caste.
The dwarves we know on the surface are also considered casteless once they leave Orzammar,
although this is only relevant to those who return—if they are allowed to return at all. Dwarves who
leave for the surface (the "sun-touched," as they're often called behind their backs) lose their
connection to the Stone and the favor of the ancestors, and thus are worthy of little more than pity,
for upon dying they are said to be lost to the Stone forever. Put that way, it seems a sad existence
indeed.
—From Stone Halls of the Dwarves by Brother Genitivi, Chantry scholar

The Castes
Visitors to Orzammar should keep in mind that the hierarchies of dwarven society are much more
complex than our own. It is easy to gravely insult a man simply by mistaking his position. Since
this can lead to unnecessary loss of life and limbs, I will attempt to mitigate the danger for my
fellow travelers.
The society of Orzammar is divided into nobles, warriors, smiths, artisans, miners, merchants, and
servants. Now, you are undoubtedly saying to yourself, "We have all those divisions among our own
people." This is a dangerous misconception. Certainly, we do have nobility, artisans, merchants, and
these positions are largely inherited from our parents. However, the younger children of noblemen
often choose to be artisans or soldiers. The sons of merchants may join the army, or become
servants, or apprentice themselves to a craftsman. This is all freely chosen. Limited, perhaps, by the
circumstances of birth, but still chosen.

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What is a matter of choice for most human folk is dictated entirely by birth for dwarves. No one
may become a smith who was not born to Smith Caste parents. A servant who marries a
noblewoman will never be a noble himself, and although his daughters would be nobles, his sons
would be servants, for daughters inherit the caste of their mother, while sons inherit the caste of
their father.
—From In Pursuit of Knowledge: The Travels of A Chantry Scholar, by Brother Genitivi

Life in Orzammar
The dwarves of Orzammar are quite unlike those found in most human cities. Although Orzammar
derives its vast wealth from trade with human kingdoms, all dwarves who come to the surface to
trade are stripped of their position in society. Dwarven merchants are so ubiquitous in human cities
that many people labor under the impression that all dwarves are merchants, or that their whole race
worships coin and trade. But these surface dwarves are atypical creatures, the ones willing to give
up all ties to their kin and sacrifice their rank in order to conduct business.
Below ground, the dwarves are a people obsessed with honor—their own, and that of their family.
Most nobles incorporate chainmail even into formal gowns, because slights and insults often turn
deadly.
They are a people who revere excellence and strive to achieve it in all things. Even members of the
Servant Caste have been elevated to Paragons, usually posthumously, in recognition of remarkable
service.
—From In Pursuit of Knowledge: The Travels of A Chantry Scholar, by Brother Genitivi

Deep Roads
There isn't a dwarf alive who remembers the Deep Roads as they once were. They were the network
of tunnels that joined the thaigs together. To be honest, it isn't even right to give them such a simple
term as "tunnels": They are works of art, with centuries of planning demonstrated in the geometry
of their walls, with the statues of the Paragons that watch over travelers, with the flow of lava that
keeps the Deep Roads lit and warm. The cloudgazers up on the surface talk of the Imperial
Highway built by the magisters of old, a raised walkway that crossed thousands of miles, something
that could only have been built by magic. Perhaps it is comparable to the Deep Roads, although we
dwarves didn't need magic.
I suppose it doesn't matter any more. The darkspawn rule the Deep Roads now