This is an amateur review written specifically for the WoP portal. This time I decided to talk about one of my favorite games (which did not affect the rating), Dragon Age: Origins. An intriguing plot, difficult decisions, rich dialogues, beautiful fights - it's worth reading about!
Spoiler
What associations arise when you hear the word “BioWare”? Someone will remember the Baldur’s Gate series, someone will shout that they urgently need to replay Neverwinter Nights, and someone will go to save the universe from the reapers. However, today we will turn our attention not to these outstanding creations, but to another masterpiece that will not disappoint fans of real RPGs and fans of BioWare’s creations in particular. So... Dragon Age: Origins.
Everyone chooses for themselves
What is the main charm of Dragon Age? Perhaps in the combat system, a huge number of weapons and armor, or busty elves on every corner? Not at all, although all this is present in the game and performed at the proper level (you can already buy it for the sake of the elves, right?). The main highlight of the game is choice. Here it is always possible and necessary choose, guided only by his beliefs, character and desire of the left heel. Dragon Age is a book that gamers will have to write themselves.
Woman, religion, road
Almost from the very beginning, your character will be accompanied by a variety of companions of all stripes and areas. They will help you in battle, give advice in the next difficult situation, and one or the other may become... your chosen one! Moreover, you can start an affair with almost any companion (among them there is a dog, but humanity has not yet reached such “tolerance”, so be content with elves/people). And don’t think that you will be allowed to jump from tent to tent with impunity (GG and his accompanying friends stop to rest at a camp, just like young scouts). No, each of the characters will want you to choose one, and let the player decide who is dearer to his heart. However, we got carried away with this topic. You can dress your companions as you please (and undress them too... no, something’s bothering me today, forget it), and also upgrade their skills according to your ideas about how a companion of a real Gray Guardian should fight. Did I say Gray Wardens? Well, a little later we will return to this phenomenon and the twists and turns of the plot as a whole. I'll just say a little more about the choice. The player has the right to decide whether he believes in a single Creator, in something of his own, or whether he, in principle, does not care about all this nonsense. And about the roads... Dragon Age has a huge number of locations, some of which must be visited, and some the gamer explores at will. The territories are often just ordinary corridors, but this is not striking at all. If we talk about roads as ways of development, then there are also plenty of alternatives. But first things first.
On a note
You can always banish one or another companion from the squad forever. You can, damn it, disperse all this whining and useless horde and slaughter the hordes of monsters in splendid isolation. True, you won’t be able to drive away Alistair’s first full-fledged companion and your cute little dog. Well, how can you drive the dog away? Mi-mi-mi.
To serve the devil or the prophet
Much will depend on any word or action of the player, from the fate of a small peasant to the fate of the whole world. Moreover, your protégé will earn a reputation for himself as the game progresses. It is up to you to instill fear and hatred of yourself in all miserable people, or to gain the glory of a true virtue, upon hearing about whose deeds the angels will commit mass suicide out of envy. People will slowly gossip about you, your affairs and other nonsense (characters who do not play a role in the development of events have a place in the game, but they do not look so real compared to the same Gothic 2). In the game, you will repeatedly have to decide what is more important: filling your wallet with hard coins or doing justice. Also on the way, the gamer will repeatedly encounter demons who will certainly try to seduce him with tempting offers. And don’t forget that your every decision is closely watched by your faithful companions, and if they don’t like these decisions, they can easily leave your small squad.
On a note
Tensions in a relationship can always be relieved by giving your companion a gift. But choose carefully, taking into account the desires and preferences of your companion! A beautiful bard girl is unlikely to be happy with tactical cards or a dog bone.
Sword for a duel, shield and armor
Now we get to the most interesting part: equipment. It's no secret that ammunition is one of the main components of any RPG. What does Dragon Age: Origins have in store for us? Firstly, the armor. There is something for every taste and color: from ordinary leather and iron to mysterious silverite and dragon bone. Don't forget about rings and amulets that have mysterious properties. Secondly, a huge selection of weapons. You can equip a warrior or thief with a huge amount of cold weapons (this includes maces, axes, swords, daggers, hammers) or small arms (bows and crossbows), and magicians will fight with the help of a magical piece of wood (I'm talking about the staff, not Pinocchio) and powerful spells. The magic in the game looks impressive, and you should choose your spells carefully. The lava demon will be absolutely violet at the futile attempts of the magician casting a fireball. It would also be a good idea to seize the moment and hit the frozen enemy so that he shatters into small pieces. Let's think with our heads, comrades!
On a note
When using spells that affect a specific area, you need to be careful not to inadvertently hit your partners. You don't want your opponents to roll on the floor laughing as they watch how an incompetent magician sent all his comrades to the next world with a thunderstorm (it looks like it's about to rain), right?
Everyone chooses for themselves
...Beginning, race and specialty. And also appearance. There are six options for the beginning: a noble person, a forest elf, a city elf, a gnome-aristocrat, a gnome-criminal, a magician. The attitude towards your character, possible paths of development, as well as the first quests and some events in the future will depend purely on the hero’s birth, sharp ears and actions until the time the player takes the reins of control into his own hands. Further, the plot develops depending on the actions of the GG, but the gamer will still have to go through some stages prepared in advance by the developers. However, there is no feeling that someone is directing you - on the contrary, all actions seem to be planned by you or prepared evil fate. The character designer allows you to create your own, unique hero; it has quite a lot of functions (what’s up, it won’t take long to get lost in all these depths of drawing the right little toe of the left foot). The plot is briefly this: everything was great except for minor troubles and political intrigues, but then the evil creatures of darkness (by the way, your main opponents) came running, robbed all the cows, and the offended king gathered his forces to repel the enemy. The order known as the Gray Guardians has long been engaged in the fight against the creatures of darkness. Specially trained and prepared, they are constantly looking for valiant recruits in order to replenish their ranks with cannon fodder. That is, future heroes, of course. It is you who, by the will of fate, will have to join the circle of these fighters against darkness and fight back the approaching Darkness. Everyone fell prostrate before the epicness.
The plot is really twisted, and your actions add fuel to the fire, so unraveling the tangle of events will be very difficult. But you are not made with your finger, you can handle it!
We also choose as best we can.
It would be a shame to remain silent about specialties and development branches, because BioWare did a great job here. The game has a ton (hello to the Joker from Mass Effect) of all sorts of professions that your hero can master, and each, in one way or another, will affect your skills. Speaking of skills. In Dragon Age, you can develop both passive and active skills, and it cannot be said that any abilities are more important than others. Just as a newly learned blow is useful in battle, so in a dialogue you cannot do without the skill of throwing noodles around the ears of persuasion. Many specialties can only be taught by certain characters, so don’t yawn and keep your eyes open. And you shouldn’t grab onto everything: it’s better to thoroughly study one branch of development than to know only one weak skill of all. And remember: your path depends only on your wishes. Create, think, combine - everything will work out!
On a note
You also upgrade your companions' skills. And if you increased the warrior’s magic, then don’t complain later that you can’t kill the next pack of enemies. And don’t try to put sparkling armor on the magician. It may look nice, but in reality this upgrade is absolutely useless.
We have no complaints against anyone
Yes, you won’t be able to criticize the developers’ combat system either. Any battle, be it a battle with a horde of creatures of darkness or a skirmish with spiders, looks beautiful and real. In any battle, it is worth using an “active pause”, that is, stopping time in the G-Man style in order to give instructions to your comrades and look at the situation from all angles, considering possible tactics (Oh, if only this worked in life when you are scurrying from gopniks). Also worthy of attention is the opportunity to customize each warrior’s behavior in battle, so that the slow-witted magess does not climb into the front ranks, and the warrior does not hide under the archer’s skirt. In general, during the battle, severed heads will fly everywhere, lifeless bodies will fall one after another and freeze beautiful ice statues. But in this barrel of honey there was also a fly in the ointment: the blood on the characters looks very awkward. It begins to seem that you did not blow off the stupid monster’s useless head with a deft movement of the hand, but carried out a bloody massacre in the style of the film “Texas Massacre” chainsaw.” Brrrrr.
Finally
Now readers already have some idea about Dragon game Age: Origins. To complete the story, I need to say a word about the graphics (But who cares about graphics in games of this kind? Plot. Plot! Plot!!!). Here, like other aspects, it is at its best; sometimes you will admire the next view of nature or the majestic halls of the gnomes. The grass is green, the sun is shining, and your protégé is hurting everyone. So it goes.
Bottom line
BioWare managed to create burning a world living by its own laws and rules. Interesting adventures, an exciting plot and tons of intriguing events will make anyone forget about the existence of the real world for a couple of days and immerse themselves in the unforgettable world of Dragon Age: Origins, where a balance is found between dialogues and combat, complexity and an understandable interface, and you can’t help but want to applaud the colossal work of the developers. You will return to this world again and again, and each time it will surprise you with something new, and the story will take a completely different turn than before.
P.S. The developers generously gifted Dragon fans Age DLC, in which the fates of certain characters are revealed, the adventures of your hero that remain outside the main story are told, and sometimes some pleasant surprises simply appear in the game in the form of a new amulet or sword. If you liked the game, you must complete the add-ons; for others, it’s optional. BioWare also took the time to create a full-fledged addon called “Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening.” There you can import your character and continue your adventures.
World of Players rating 10/10
[Extended and expanded version]
All of us, ardent fans of the Dragon Age series, having been fascinated by the history and culture of Thedas at one time, wandered through the forests of Ferelden, the Deep Roads of Orzammar and the palaces of Orlais in search of scraps of information. In fact, it turned out that it was not always possible to put together a complete picture from these scraps - sometimes the chapters of the book were out of order, sometimes entire pieces of time were missing, sometimes the Elven and Tevinter sources mercilessly contradicted each other. Therefore, for those who have always wanted to know the whole story (and in a free presentation), I present history of Thedas.
Thedas Map
When talking about history, it is always customary to start with dates. This is a boring task, I don’t argue, but necessary for creating a picture. In view of the complexity of the Thedas chronology, I propose to first understand it. So.
Officially, three chronology systems coexist in Thedas: Tevinterskaya, Church And Elvish. We will not touch the last one for now, since it is about elves, and we would like to deal with people. As for the other two, the analogue of the first of them in our history is the countdown from the Creation of the world, the second - from R.H. This comparison is somewhat strained, because... in our case, both systems are based on one source - the Bible, and in the case of Thedas, the sources are different (CL begins with the founding of the Church, and TL - with the founding of the empire); nevertheless, it helps to grasp the logic. What makes it especially difficult is that the Church calendar is calculated not by years, but by eras that fit into a hundred years. Every 100 years according to the Central Leningrad (i.e., according to the Church chronology) have their own name. So, the ninth century according to the Central Line, in which the events of DA take place, is called the “Age of the Dragon” because of the dragons that returned to Thedas (oh, and they will spoil our blood in the Inquisition), and the one preceding it is called the Blessed Age. Therefore, before converting the date from TL to TL, you need to find out the serial number of a given century (for example, Queen Fionna ascended the throne of Ferelden in the 18th year of the Age of Steel; the Age of Steel is the 6th century, we get 6:18).
The discrepancy between the two calendars is 1194 years, because... The Church of Thedas was founded in TL 1195, and for the TL this year was the first year of the first century. I advise you to read the Central Leningrad dates this way, because otherwise it is easy to forget that 6:18 is not the 618th year, but the 518th year, i.e. 18th year of the sixth century (everything is the same as ours). Therefore, to convert a date from TL to TL, we first write it down prime number, taking into account the century (5:21=421, 8:73=773, etc.), and then add 1194 to it. Voila! The beginning of the Fifth Blight, which dates back to 9:30 TL turns into 2024 TL (830+1194=2024). By and large, no one bothers to simply remove the colon and add 1094 (these hundred years must be taken away from somewhere), but this is a matter of taste.
For an unknown reason, everything that happened before the founding of the Church is simply counted by the years, in the opposite direction, as in our case with “before Christ.” Such years are preceded by a minus sign. Thus, the year 1194 according to TL turns into -1 according to the TL, 1000 TL - into -195 TL. It is considered very simple: subtract 1195 from the year according to the TL and immediately get the value according to the TL with a minus. In general, nothing complicated, but the Tevinter Empire, in my opinion, uses a simpler and more understandable calendar, which takes the year of its founding and the coronation of the first Archon as year 0, so in my presentation of events I will rely mainly on the TL, indicating when you need, in brackets the year according to the CL.
And when everything became clear, everything would have to be confused again. The fact is that in Thedas there is one ancient species that has little relation to its history with the history of mankind and maintains its own calendar - the elves. Their chronology can be neglected when we talk about history after 0 TL, but it will be useful for presenting earlier events, so it’s worth reading.
The elves date their chronology from the founding of Arlathan, the ancient city of the elves, and consider that year to be the 1st year according to EL (funny coincidence: according to TL, Arlathan was founded in -6405, and according to EL, the Tevinter Empire arose in 6405). Thus, in order for us to get the date according to EL, we need to add 6405 to the year according to TL or 7599 to the year according to CL. For example, we have already mentioned that the year of the beginning of the Fifth Blight according to the Tevinter calendar is considered to be 2024. According to CL: 2024-1194=830 or 9:30; by EL: 2024+6405=8429 or 830+7599 also 8429g.
What can be understood from all of the above is that the most ancient information about Thedas was preserved for us by the elves. Their history began 6405 years before the history of the Tevinter Empire and as much as 7599 years before the history that the Church dates back to. The 1st year of elven history is considered to be the year of foundation Arlatana, capital of the elven world Elvenan(literally “place of our people”).
Arlatan
We know nothing about the times before this, except for vague memories recorded by the guardian of the Dalish clan Ralaferin (that is the name of the clan) Gisharel (that is his name). According to him, in those days:
“Life had no end, there was no need to fuss. The rituals of worshiping the gods lasted for months. Decisions were made after ten years of discussions, and their implementation dragged on for years.”
The picture, for my taste, is dubious, but the elves liked it.
They lived like this for thousands of years, until in 4500 EL the first people appeared in the north of Elvenan, determined to shake up this swamp. According to elven legends, people sailed with Par Vollen- islands in the northeast of Thedas, behind which there is absolutely God knows what. Before arriving on the continent, people already had a developed, although inferior to the elven, civilization. We know that in the jungles of Par Vollen they left behind huge pyramids, built for an unclear purpose. Thus, Renatus of Eisley, who left us the “Collected History of the Occupied North,” points out that “the relationships of their lines are so precise” that they could have served as ancient observatories. The beauty of the pyramids also lay in their decorated facades:
“Under the leaves and vines covering the walls, you can still find the stylized carvings decorating them. The paint has long since peeled off, but the silhouettes are clear: intricate sea animals, shipmen, musicians, archers and kings. Here and there there are strange figures - tall, horned, always in positions of power and always revered. Who were these horned figures for Par Wollen of antiquity? Heroes? Maybe gods? We will probably never know the truth. But when the horned Qunari arrived from across the sea, bringing the word Kun, it is quite possible that the inhabitants of Par Vollen saw them not as conquerors, but as the return of their old legends."
Ruins of Par Vollen
There are obvious parallels between the ancient Parvollenians and the Indians South America, who, to their misfortune, mistook white people (in the case of Thedas, those who arrived on the Qunari island in 1724 TL) for their gods. The further sad story is well known to all of us.
Be that as it may, for reasons related to overpopulation of the island, exile or flight, in 4500 EL people arrived in Elvenan, where they were called "Shemlenami" (those. "fussy children") – apparently due to the lack of habit of making decisions for decades. The outcome of the acquaintance of the peoples was predictable - the gentle elves did not have immunity to human diseases, and they began to die out, belatedly ceasing contacts with the Shemlen. This didn’t help much, but they held out for another couple of thousand years (which is wow by human standards) until they fell under the onslaught of the newly formed Tevinter Empire in 6405 EL.
By 6000 EL, the lands north of Elvenan were inhabited by various tribes of people who either united or fought with each other. There were three major tribal unions: Tevinter, Neromenian And Carinus. The largest association of tribes that managed to capture vast territories in the north of the continent were the Tevinters, who built the capital of their kingdom - the city Minrathos- on the rocky coast of the strait separating the continent from the island of Seheron. The Tevinters were among the first to come into contact with the elves, and over a couple of thousand years they managed to master elven magic, learning to enter the Shadow. Having become acquainted with the wonderful properties of lyrium, the Tevinter people became hooked on it and immediately began to produce magicians. The management system for such a centralized education turned out to be atypical. Instead of one king, the kingdom was ruled by a Council of Magisters, headed by the Chief Master, who was first among equals, and then the Master Darinius nevertheless, he could not resist and called himself an archon, giving the title the features of a monarch who rules with an eye on the aristocratic council.
Minrathos
Darinius, being the heir to the high priestess of Tevinter, managed to become the king of another kingdom - Neromenian, even before ascending to the throne, but there is a long story about an egg tied in a knot, a magic bell and other incomprehensible things. Actually, Darinius, without being stingy, declared in 6405 EL Tevinter and Neromenian a single empire, from which the local chronology began, although some sources, clearly confusing, attribute this merit Talsian. Talsian learned blood magic and founded the cult of the Ancient Gods and, in particular, the dragon Dumat, but about the gods sometime later. For all this, Darinius (one must assume, especially for blood magic) declared him an honorary archon, but this was more for show.
After the elves were dealt with, the Tevinter Empire turned its attention to the dwarves, who had previously wisely avoided humans. It turned out to be difficult for the Tevinters to fight the dwarves, who were insensitive to magic, and Darinius arranged a trade alliance. As for the third kingdom, which everyone had already forgotten, Darinius married the local queen, and the matter was settled. Tevinter, Neromenian and Carinus became Tevinter Empire, headed by archon, whose power, albeit nominally, rested on decisions Magisterium.
And now about the most, in my opinion, interesting people of Thedas, whose kingdoms cannot be found on maps, because they are hidden deep underground - oh gnomes.
Unfortunately, the gnomes, being material and concrete creatures, did not leave for us lengthy epics about their early times, as the elves did, so it is difficult for us to judge their history. It is not even known how and when the dwarves came to Thedas. So-called Primordial thaig, in which deposits of red lyrium are stored, according to legend, was founded more than 10 thousand years before the events of the Age of the Dragon, i.e. somewhere at the same time as Arlathan. The gnomes who built the Primordial Teig possessed some kind of ancient magic, which they may have drawn from red lyrium and allowed them to build global structures and giant statues. This thaig was abandoned and sealed long before the First Blight (800 TL), for reasons that have been forgotten. Here is what is said about this in the report on the interrogation of the marauder (dubious source, I agree), made on the orders of King Annalar in 1942 TL (9:48 TL):
“... he claims to have descended into the Deep Paths, so ancient that our people forgot about them even before the first Blight occurred. He talked about huge statues and temples - temples! He talked about things that can only be created with the help of magic, and about incredible ruins that have not been touched by the creatures of darkness. He described creatures the likes of which we had never seen. All this, of course, is completely impossible. I had a conversation with the chronicler, and he claims that the Chronicles begin with the founding date of the first teig - and what could have happened before that? Yes, because of the creatures of darkness, we are not able to explore the depths that the marauder spoke about, however, if such places really existed, they would certainly be mentioned in the Chronicles.”
In this teig, as you remember, we managed to visit Bartrand’s expedition in DAII, but this did not particularly clarify the history of the gnomes, except that it confirmed the antiquity of their civilization.
By the time the Tevinter Empire was founded, they already had an extensive system of underground thaigs connected to each other By deep paths. Each teig existed separately and was ruled by its own king, but close trade ties were established between them. The largest thaig and the de facto capital of the Dwarven Empire was Cal Sharok. Its special position is indicated by the fact that it was with its ruler, King Endrin Stonehammer, that Archon Darinius negotiated. Cal Sharok was located in the Huntshorn Mountains, west of the Tevinter Empire. These are the most rugged mountains of Thedas with the highest peaks (Mount Ambrosia, the highest peak of Thedas, is located here). The Guardians' fortress was built in these same mountains, Adamant, but in the time of the dwarves its foundation was still far away. After the death of Archon Darinius, civil strife began in Tevinter, and the dwarves, who always tried to prudently stay away from people, moved the capital to the teig well known to us Orzammar, nevertheless, Kal Sharok continued his craft and trading life, just as a periphery of the empire. After the closure of the Deep Roads, he was cut off from Orzammar, allowing him to maintain his ancient culture, beliefs and language. The transfer of the capital also affected the structure of power in the taiga - it began to be governed not by the king, but by the Assembly, in which there were no caste prejudices and restrictions.
Primordial thaig
By the time of the First Blight (800 TL), the dwarven world consisted of many thaigs, but eight are reliably known: Kal Sharok, Orzammar, Kadash, Amgarrak, Ortan, Educan, Davroken and Heydrun. The Code also mentions the cities of Hormak and Gundaar, which may not be teigs, and the fortress of Kal Shirok, which is definitely not a teig. All of them were abandoned and destroyed during the First Blight; Only the teigs of Kal Sharok and Orzammar survived, but they were cut off from each other and separated by thousands of miles (find the Hunter's Horn and Frost Mountains on the map of Thedas). The final break between the thaigs occurred in 1155 TL, when the Supreme King Tristone ordered the closure of the Deep Paths, thus abandoning (according to Kal Sharok) another city to the mercy of fate. To be fair, Kal Sharok was in no hurry to help Orzammar either, so their ardent love was mutual. Then in Kal Sharok an inscription was discovered on the wall that read: “200 years! Kal Sharok is alive, you full lords forgotten by the Stone. There is no hatred worse than the hatred of a brother who has his hands on your throat!”(“full” is used here not in the sense of thick, but in the sense of “highest, main”, i.e. those who sat in the Assembly; in the original: deep lords). To Cal Sharok's credit, he did quite well himself, and when TL was rediscovered in 2006, he was alive and well. Formally, ties between the cities were restored, but, as you understand, both of them left a bad feeling.
Teig Kadash
Here it would be logical to leave Kal Sharok alone and now talk about Orzammar, fortunately there is a dime a dozen information, but we somehow skipped the First Plague, to which we would now like to return - it’s an extraordinary event.
We learn most of the stories about the world and religion of Thedas from his brother's manuscripts Genitivi. His works in Thedas itself are not considered one hundred percent reliable, since often there are no other sources and it is not possible to verify the facts he provides. The closest analogue of his manuscripts in our history can be considered Gilda’s “On the Conquest of Britain” (De excidio et conquestu Britanniae), after which everyone only repeated the stories about Hengist and Khorsa, the reality of which we still doubt (another example is “The Tale of the Temporary years" and Sineus and Truvor). In those cases where we succeed, we will compare sources and isolate the facts; in all other cases, we will rely on the words of Ferdinand Genitivi.
Genitivi's two most significant works are "The Story of the Fall of Thedas" And "The Story of Kirkwall". The first tells about the situation in Tevinter, the center of the Old Empire, during the First Blight, i.e. about events that were more than a thousand years distant from Genitivi’s life (the First Blight ended in 992 Tevinter, while the events of DA:O begin in TL 2024, when Genitivi’s brother is still alive and well). Of course, in order to create such a work, Brother Genitivi must have had some sources, but he never mentions them. However, by analogy with our history, we can assume that he had at his disposal church archives containing manuscripts that he studied during his many travels.
Due to the specific nature of the author’s activities, his works are deeply religious. We will not go to such extremes (or we will, but in a separate article dedicated to the religions of Thedas), but will try to isolate the facts from the “History of the Fall of Thedas.” According to Genitivi, the Tevinters are to blame for everything. It was they who were the first, with the help of blood magic, to open a portal in the Shadows to the Golden City, where the Creator Himself supposedly sat. They didn’t find the Creator there, but the creatures of darkness poured into the friendly open portal from the other side (Genitivi’s story is a little different, but you can read for yourself how he presents it - Codex: The First Pestilence in 4 parts).
From funeral songs:
“Though they were mighty and victorious,
The Mage Lords of Tevinter remained human,
Doomed to die.
And then their insinuating whisper sounded in their souls:
Will you, O mighty ones, submit?
Time, like creatures of the forest?
You are the Lords of the earth!
Sit on the empty throne
Heaven and become gods.
They worked in secret
By casting spells.
All my vain strength
They turned to the Veil,
And she finally gave in.
Above them was the River of Light,
Before them is the alluring throne of Heaven,
Under their feet -
Traces of the Creator,
And immense reigned around
Silence.
But they barely took a step
To the empty throne
A loud voice cried out
Shaking the very basics
Earth and Heaven:
The Golden City is turning black
With every step you take in my Palace.
Marvel at perfection, for it fades away.
You brought Sin to Heaven,
And the world is a curse.
They were mercilessly overthrown,
For a mortal dare not be in the flesh
In the kingdom of dreams,
Carrying away the mark of their Crime:
The ugliness of bodies
So distorted that not a single mortal
I would not recognize them as people.
They fled into the depths of the earth,
Avoiding the light.
In the eternal Darkness they searched
Those who previously guided them,
And they found their prey,
His God, who betrayed them:
The sleeping dragon Dumat.
Their filth
Impregnated even the false god with corruption, and whispered insinuatingly
He woke up, overcome with pain and horror, and led them
To sow death and discord among the nations of the world:
First Pestilence."
First pestilence
After this, everything in Thedas became very bad, although Genitivi modestly remarks: “I will not exaggerate, my friends, if I say that a large accumulation of creatures of darkness is a sign terrible cataclysm» . We saw with our own eyes a large accumulation of creatures of darkness, and this is another cataclysm. This entire horde was led by the dragon Dumat (the same one whose cult was created by the great lover of blood magic Talsian), known to you and me as the archdemon. In Genitivi's arrangement, Dumat is an analogue of the Christian devil, imprisoned by God underground for “took him, the Creator, a place in the hearts of people”. But people are people, and the gnomes suffered the most from the creatures of darkness. The Tevinter Empire, although fairly battered, continued to exist, as did the wild tribes of people in the distant lands of the future Ferelden and Orlais, but the Dwarven civilization, as we already know, was, without exaggeration, destroyed. How did the people win in the end? There's no way we would have won if it weren't for Gray Wardens.
The First Pestilence began in 800 TL and raged for 90 years (how the empire managed to exist for almost a century under the constant threat of the creatures of darkness is a big question). By 890 the situation had become desperate. The last warriors of the empire gathered in the fortress Weishaupt("White Top") in Anderfels. Anderfels was in the old days a northern province of the Tevinter Empire, but then broke away and became an independent kingdom that lasted from 500 to 780 TL, after which it was again annexed to the empire. It was chosen as the meeting place, apparently because of its strategically convenient location - Weishaupt, as is clear from its name, was located high in the mountains, on the cliff of the Broken Tooth, and was protected by rocks on all sides.
Weishaupt
Imperial warriors resorted to the blood magic that Tevinter knew well, and those who survived the initiation, which consisted of ingesting the blood of the creatures of darkness, became invulnerable to the corruption that spread like a zombie virus. Moreover, warriors immune to corruption themselves became sensitive to the call of the archdemon, which allowed them to easily find the creatures of darkness. The new warriors united into the Order and called themselves the Gray Guardians - as it is believed, based on the common suit of griffins, which the Guardians had the ability to tame.
Griffin Guards
The successes of the Gray Wardens in the fight against the creatures of darkness led to the active growth of the Order. Nevertheless, it took them another hundred years (they were in no hurry there) to gather all their forces and strike Dumat. In 992 Valley of Silence(and this, if you remember, is a location in the Whistling Wastes) the united army of Thedas, led by the Gray Guardians who flew in on griffins, defeated the archdemon, and the creatures of darkness who had lost their leader fled again to the Deep Paths.
From the legend of the Gray Wardens:
“This is not the first year that Pestilence has raged on the earth, and now the troops of the great kings have gathered for the last, decisive battle. When the sun broke through the clouds that swirled in the black skies, its rays illuminated an endless horde of creatures of darkness, led by an archdemon.
And it was then - when it seemed that courage had left the hearts and despair and death were triumphant - that the Gray Wardens appeared.
They appeared to the rhythmic flapping of wings, like the beating of mighty military drums. Stepping forward, the stern and fearless Gray Guardians stood in front of the army of people, shielding them from the huge horde of creatures of darkness. They themselves became a shield and did not retreat until the archdemon was killed and the last spawn of darkness was trampled into the ground. And then, demanding neither reward nor glory for their sacrifice, the Gray Wardens departed. When the clouds subsided and sunlight flooded the land desecrated by the Blight, the great kings realized that they had not lost a single fighter and had not shed a drop of their blood.
This tale is not about the battle the Gray Wardens fought, but about themselves. They always protected us from the creatures of darkness, giving their lives to save ours.”
All this, of course, meant a victory, but a temporary one - the creatures of darkness hid, and were not exterminated, and although Dumat fell, besides him, the other six dragon gods were still sleeping underground: Zazikel, Thoth, Andoral, Razikal, Lusakan and Urtemiel. This seems to hint to us that like it or not, there should be seven pestilences in the DA universe.
After the First Blight, the Guardians returned to Weishaupt and created a state within a state. The head of the Order is First Guardian, sitting in Weishaupt, as the capital of the Order. He is in charge of all the main policy issues of the Order, but due to his distance from the main states of Thedas, he has little real benefit. Another thing Guardian Commanders– one for each country. They head the local headquarters and, although they are formally subordinate to the First Guardian, they have full power in their domains. As for the rest of the Guardians, de jure they are equal, but in reality the more senior and experienced Guardians are highly respected within the Order, and are often given authority to command new recruits. The Guardian's service is lifelong in the sense that their life always ends before their service. Apart from the fact that fighting darkspawn is a dangerous activity, the poison in the blood of darkspawn slowly kills Guardians (most often they say about 30 years). After this time, each Guardian hears the Call - the monstrous song of the archdemon, which drowns out his thoughts. What happens next is the question. Some believe that the Call is a harbinger of imminent death, and the duty of the dying Guardian is to go alone to the Deep Roads and bravely die in an unequal battle, taking with him the maximum number of spawn. But there is a sadder version: Guardians are not actually immune to corruption, the infection process is simply slower; The summoning means that the Guardian himself turns into a creature of darkness - then he goes to the Deep Roads to join others who no longer attack him.
And when we dealt with the Gray Wardens, it was time to bring the fourth major player onto the stage - after the elves, dwarves and Tevinter: Church.
Andraste Church
As is my custom, let's come from afar. In -1220 TL (or 5185 EL) tribes of people called alamarri . According to Solas, “[They] crossed the Frost Mountains to escape the creature they called the shadow goddess in their legends. I met this “goddess”. She wanders in the Shadows in the southern tundra, tearful, lonely and abandoned. Great Ferelden arose from a lone spirit that scared away its prey.". This union of tribes settled on the land where the kingdom of Ferelden subsequently arose, and was divided into three branches: those who settled in the mountains were later called Avvars , inhabitants of the Korcari Wilds - Hasindami , and the settlers of the plains remained the Alamarri.
Tevinter, as befits a future empire, did not like it when someone settled nearby without permission. He made four attempts to conquer Alamarri lands. The first three were unsuccessful - the barbarian peoples showed an amazing ability to unite in the face of a common enemy. The fourth campaign was more successful - Tevinter captured Western Ferelden (obviously, the attack was carried out from the sea) and built the Imperial Highway to supply its troops. Also, the Tevinter, under the leadership of Archon Ishal, built a well-known fortress on the border with Korcari to protect them from the Chasinds Ostagar(and not very useful - it was destroyed by the Hasinds, and only one of the towers survived - the Ishala Tower).
Ishala Tower
One more thing is important to us from the history of the confrontation between Tevinter and the Alamarri: a city was built to hold these lands and transport barbarian slaves to Tevinter Emerius. It was not so much a city as a gigantic fortress, housing, according to rough estimates, about a million slaves who worked in the mines that dug the mountains under Kirkwall (namely, the “City of Chains” arose on the site of ancient Emerius). All this million slaves meant nothing to the empire, but exactly until the moment when a girl named Andraste was among the prisoners.
Emerius-Kirkwall
Andraste- the daughter of the Alamarri leader Eldarath, was born in a village on the shores of the Waking Sea, in a place that later became Denerim. During her childhood and adolescence, Andraste, like many other prophets, suffered from a pulmonary disease and seizures that caused hallucinations (ringing bells and bright lights). She herself considered this a sign of her higher destiny and began to record everything that happened to her, so to speak, for future generations. Her fellow tribesmen looked at her quirks calmly and, so as not to loiter idlely, they advantageously married her to the leader of another Avvar tribe. Maferata. Happiness, if there was any, did not last long. The victory over Dumat put an end to the worship of the Old Gods, which led to the emergence of many heresies that shook the already fragile foundation of the empire. Tevinter made the fight against them his first priority and, as a punitive expedition, destroyed Andraste's settlement, killed her father, and drove the prophetess into slavery. It is not clear why the empire left Maferat alive - after all, he soon bought his wife back, and she returned to Ferelden not just as a prophetess, but as a martyr, bearing the word of the Creator.
Repentant Maferath
Thus, with its harsh policies, Tevinter set itself in danger - enraged Alamarri, inspired by their spiritual leader, showed up at the borders of the empire.
From Sister Damson's "Riddles of the Blessed One":
“The lands of the Empire were abandoned and devastated, which is what it deserved. Famine ravaged the Empire and fires devastated it. The scarlet glow in the sky was the wrath of our Creator, preparing the enemies for her coming. And when Our Lady came, she found them weakened.”
The largest battle between the Empire and the Alamarri forces took place on Valarian fields: The Alamarri, led by Maferath and inspired by his wife, defeated the Tevinter army. However, the Alamarri found themselves in the same disadvantageous position on the territory of the empire as the Goths led by Fritigern after Adrianople - the military victory did not bring them strategic benefit. The Alamarri did not have enough strength to hold the conquered territories or enough experience to take a fortified capital. Maferat understood this without a doubt, but Andraste trusted in the mercy of the Creator and strove for Minrathos. We all remember the rest of the story from DA:I: Maferat, being confident of the defeat of the Alamarri if they continued the war, conspired with the archon Hessarian and led spies to Nevarra, who captured Andraste, took him to the capital of the empire and burned him there.
Betrayal of Andraste
And again, contrary to the expectations of the empire, this not only did not unite it, but also strengthened the split. Almost immediately, an underground circle of Andraste’s followers arose in Tevinter, who created the Song of Light, collecting together all its orders and prophecies. At the same time, independent kingdoms began to form on the lands captured by the Alamarri. One of these kingdoms was Orlais. Its leader Cordilius Drakkon I founded a huge temple in honor of the Creator, and when it was finished, he was crowned there as Emperor of Orlais and proclaimed the founding of the Church of Andraste. From this moment (1195 TL) the countdown of the Church history of Thedas begins.
Cathedral in Orlais
Of course, this doesn’t end there, it’s just the beginning. But it seems reasonable to me to stop here, and next time consider the history from the founding of the Church to the beginning of the Fifth Blight and the events of the series of games.
Dareth shiral, falon!
Andraste speaks of the Creator
Andraste preaches faith in a new god, whom he calls the Creator. The number of her followers is growing rapidly. Based on her teachings, Maferath unites the Alamarri clans.
There was once a tiny fishing village on the shores of the Waking Sea. Warriors from the Tevinter Empire arrived and enslaved the villagers to sell them in the markets of Minrathous. They took everyone except the sick and old people. Among the prisoners was the little girl Andraste.
She grew up in slavery in a foreign land. She fled and made the long and dangerous journey home alone. From a simple girl she became the wife of an Alamarri chief. Every day she sang to the gods, begging them to help her relatives who remained in Tevinter. The false gods of the mountains and winds did not answer her, but the true god did.
The Creator spoke to her. He showed her all the creations of His hands: the Shadow, the world and everything that lives in it. He showed her how people had forgotten Him, bestowing their worship on dumb idols and demons, and how He had left them to their fate. But Andraste’s voice reached Him and touched Him so much that He invited her to sit next to Him and rule over all creation.
But Andraste did not want to leave her people. She begged the Creator to return, to save His children from the cruel empire. Reluctantly, however, the Creator still agreed to give man a second chance. Andraste returned to her husband, Maferat, and told him everything that the Creator had revealed to her. Together they gathered all the Alamarri and marched against the mage lords of the Empire, and the Maker was with them.
The Creator's sword was his creation itself: fire and flood, famine and earthquake. Everywhere they went, Andraste sang to people about the Creator, and people listened to her. Andraste's followers grew in number until they became a giant wave rolling across the Empire.
-1:130 Ancient era
Song of Light Followers of Andraste create the Song of Light, expounding its teachings in the form of chants.
0:100 Ancient era
First Inquisition
Around this time, the Inquisition appears. A free community of radical Andrastians opens a hunt for heretics and magicians in the name of the Creator.
You need to have a good idea of pre-Church Thedas - a world where the only pillar of order, the Tevinter Empire, had just crumbled to dust. People blamed magic for Andraste's death, for Mora, for the horrors they saw every day - and with good reason. The countryside was overrun by demons and demons. Nowhere was safe. And then disparate groups of fighters formed the first Inquisition. They were determined to restore order, because no one else was ready to do what had to be done. The truth they discovered, the question they tried to answer, helped bring sanity back to a distraught world.
Was this the era of terror? Maybe. There is evidence that they vigilantly protected magicians and ordinary people alike. If they intervened, they held a trial on the spot and without delay. It was this impartiality that gave rise to their bad reputation; since representatives of all classes and peoples sooner or later fell under the judgment of the Seekers, their “Inquisition” began to be thought of as an organization that is always on its own and never takes anyone’s side. But they themselves considered themselves respectable and believed that they honored the true covenants of the Creator.
0:3 Ancient era
Founding of the Church
Drakkon formalizes the worship of the Creator and establishes the Church.
Cordilius Drakkon, king of the city-state of Orlais, was unusually ambitious. In the year - 15 Ancient Era, the young king began the construction of a huge temple dedicated to the Creator, and declared that by completing this construction he would not only unite the warring city-states of the south, but also bring the faith of Andraste to the whole world.
In the year -3 of the Ancient Era, the temple was completed. There, in the very heart of the temple, Drakkon knelt before the eternal flame of Andraste and was crowned ruler of the Orlais Empire. With his first decree, the emperor proclaimed the creation of the Church as an institution of the Andrastian religion in the Empire.
1:1 Age of the High Priestess
First High Priestess
The first High Priestess of the newly created Church, Giustinia I, was appointed.
Three years after the emperor's first decree and several hundred votes, Olessa of Montsimmar became the head of the new Church. When she accepted the rank of High Priestess, she took the name Giustinia in honor of the student who recorded Andraste's songs. Then the Ancient Era ended and the age of the High Priestess began.
1:20 Age of the High Priestess
Nevarran Agreement
The Church and the Inquisition sign the Treaty of Nevarra. Senior members of the Inquisition form the Order of the Seekers of Truth.
Seekers of Truth are not quite the same as templars. They were once called the Inquisition, but after the signing of the Nevarran Treaty they abandoned this name and became the Order that they remain to this day: observers and controllers of the Templars. It is unknown how many Seekers there are—maybe several dozen? Even if they have a place of permanent deployment, almost no one knows about its location. Templars and mages only encounter them when someone calls one of the Seekers in response to a complaint from one of the First Sorcerers. They deal with difficult situations, and if one of the templars is found to have done something they don't like, they are punished. Strictly. With no doubt. Even the knight commander submits to their will. When the Seeker of Truth arrives, every single templar breaks out in sweat and hopes that he will not stop his gaze on them.
1:20 Age of the High Priestess
Founding of the Circle of Magi
As part of the Nevarran Treaty, the Circle of Mages is created. Mages are officially allowed to practice magic under the close supervision of the Church.
The circle of magicians was created to protect both us and those deprived of magic from actions of which we are capable. No person in his right mind would doubt the nobleness of these goals. Separating magicians from non-magicians in fenced areas under the protection of templars was the best, if not the only possible solution.
1:20 Age of the High Priestess
Founding of the Order of the Templars
After the founding of the Church, an order of templars is created to oversee the use of magic.
Often portrayed as stern and courageous, the Order of the Templars was created as the armed arm of the Church. Armed with the ability to break spells and resist magic in addition to their remarkable combat talents, the Templars are better suited than anyone else to fight renegade magicians who do not want to recognize the power of the Circle. They are also the first line of defense against the dark power of blood mages and the possessed.
2:30 Age of Glory
Winter Palace equipped The Winter Palace, the most prominent building in Halamshiral, becomes the annual retreat for the Empress and a select circle of the Orlesian aristocracy.
2:46 Age of Glory
Pentagast takes over Nevarra Caspar Pentagast of the Hunter's Hill captures the city-state of Nevarra.
8:96 Blessed Age
Queen Moira killed The rebellious Queen Moira is killed. The Orlesian army, taking advantage of her death, strengthens itself even more firmly in Ferelden. Prince Marik manages to escape.
8:98 Blessed Age
House Tetras goes into exile House Tetras is expelled to the surface for neglecting the voice of their ancestors and rigging the sacred Trials.
8:99 Blessed Age
The dragons are returning Dragons that were thought exterminated reappear. First they are seen in Antiva, then they devastate villages in Orlais and Nevarra. Several hunting attempts result in heavy losses.
9:01 Age of the Dragon
Beginning of the Age of the Dragon The Age of the Dragon has begun. It was preceded by years of severe upheaval.
9:10 Age of the Dragon
The Gray Wardens return to Ferelden
King Marik allows Gray Wardens return to Ferelden after two centuries of exile, which resulted from their failed coup attempt.
“This is not the first year that Pestilence has raged on the earth, and now the troops of the great kings have gathered for the last, decisive battle. When the sun broke through the clouds that swirled in the black skies, its rays illuminated an endless horde of creatures of darkness, led by an archdemon.
And it was then - when it seemed that courage had left the hearts and despair and death triumphed in victory - that the Gray Wardens appeared. They appeared to the rhythmic flapping of wings, like the beating of mighty military drums. Stepping forward, the stern and fearless Gray Guardians stood in front of the army of people, shielding them from the huge horde of creatures of darkness. They themselves became a shield and did not retreat until the archdemon was killed and the last spawn of darkness was trampled into the ground. And then, demanding neither reward nor glory for their sacrifice, the Gray Wardens departed. When the clouds cleared and sunlight flooded the land desecrated by the Blight, the great kings realized that they had not lost a single fighter and had not shed a drop of their blood.
This tale is not about the battle the Gray Wardens fought, but about themselves. They always protected us from the creatures of darkness, giving their lives to save ours.”
9:20 Age of the Dragon
Selina becomes empress
Empress Selina I ascends to the throne of Orlais.
Don't underestimate Selina. Beware of misconceptions: her reputation as a diplomat and peacemaker does not mean she avoids conflict. Dozens of her enemies already lie at the bottom of the harbor Val Royeaux, and it was not negotiations that brought them there. She is as cunning and ambitious as her great-grandfather Judicael I, but, unlike him, she knows how to get along with the nobility.
9:20 Age of the Dragon
Ferelden and Orlais make peace Shortly after Selina I's accession to the throne of Orlais, Ferelden and Orlais formally negotiate peace.
9:22 Age of the Dragon
Cassandra Pentagast takes office as the High Priestess' right hand During the ten-year gathering of believers Great Cathedral is attacked by dragons. A young Seeker named Cassandra Pentaghast uncovers a plot against High Priestess Beatrix III and prevents an assassination attempt on her. Cassandra is appointed to the position of the High Priestess' right hand.
9:30 Age of the Dragon
Hawk and his family flee from Pestilence
Hawke and his family flee from the doomed Lothering to Kirkwall, where he gives himself into forced service in order to get to the city.
Imagine poor Fereldan refugees trying to escape the Blight in the Free Marches. Hawk grew up in a family of renegades, and therefore all his life he had to hide from the templars and hear how magicians were mocked in the Circle.
9:30 Age of the Dragon
Fifth Blight Much time has passed since the Fourth Blight, and the unexpected appearance of creatures of darkness in Ferelden in the Age of the Dragon was considered by most residents to be nothing more than an anomaly. The Fereldan Gray Wardens (of which there were few at that time) realized what was coming. Ferelden Warden-Commander Duncan immediately set about replenishing the order's personnel, while the creatures of darkness gathered around Ancient god Urthemiel. The enemy first discovered its numbers in the year 9:30 of the Dragon Age - in the tragic battle of Ostagar. In the midst of the battle, King Cailan's trusted advisor Loghain MacTir retreated from the battlefield, leaving the king and the Guardians with him surrounded by creatures of darkness without hope of reinforcement. The King and all the Guardians, with the exception of two new recruits, died. The darkspawn moved north, ravaging the village of Lothering along the way, and the two surviving Guardians went to seek support throughout Ferelden, earning the respect of the people and rallying them against the new threat. The combined army met Urthemiel in the Ferelden capital of Denerim. In a bloody battle, the Guardians managed to reach the archdemon and kill him. The pestilence ended, and the last Guardian recruited by Duncan received the title of Hero of Ferelden.
9:31 Age of the Dragon
A Qunari vessel is in distress near Kirkwall. A Qunari dreadnought crashes near Kirkwall. The Arishok and several hundred soldiers land in the city. They intend to stay there until they find the stolen Koslun Scripture.
9:31 Age of the Dragon
Hawk tries to destroy Corypheus
Hawke finds the Gray Wardens' prison in the Vimmark Mountains and attempts to kill Corypheus. The exact time of these events is unknown.
Let me tell you about the “seven” - the same Tevinter masters who invaded the Golden City many centuries ago. Each of them was the main priest of one of the Ancient Gods. Everyone came to the ritual under cover of secrecy, hiding their real names even from each other. The point is that they were rivals. The ancient gods ordered them to enter the Golden City and take the throne of the Creator, but there was only one throne, and there were seven of them. Each took a title according to their role in the ritual. Judging by some texts, they had a leader - the chief priest of Dumat, who called himself Corypheus. He did not manage the others, but he directed them - he united efforts so as to achieve unprecedented magical power, something that no one since those times has been able to repeat. By invading the Shadow, physically entering the realm of dreams, they irreversibly changed our world.
9:31 Age of the Dragon
Expedition to the Deep Roads Hawk, freed from forced service, helps the dwarf brothers Bartrand and Varric Tetras equip an expedition to the Deep Roads.
9:31 Age of the Dragon
End of the Fifth Blight The combined forces of Ferelden, led by several Gray Wardens, kill Urthemiel at the Battle of Denerim. The Fifth Blight is ending.
9:31 Age of the Dragon
Lyrium Idol Found A Kirkwall expedition to the Deep Roads discovers an ancient thaig that predates the First Blight. The lyrium inside the thaig glows red. An idol made from the same unusual lyrium was found.
9:34 Age of the Dragon
High Priestess Beatrix dies High Priestess Beatrix III dies of old age, Lately suffered from dementia.
9:34 Age of the Dragon
First Battle of Kirkwall
Hawk successfully drives out the Qunari during the First Battle of Kirkwall and receives the honorary title "Protector" from Knight Commander Meredith Stannard for defending the city.
Imagine how Hawke felt when he saved the city from the Qunari in the year 9:34 and achieved recognition. From refugee to Defenders of Kirkwall. Along with his social position, Hawk gained power and influence. Now he could breathe easy. But the magicians in the Casemates could not walk the streets freely either. Apparently, this thought never ceased to torment him.
9:34 Age of the Dragon
Mother Dorothea is named High Priestess
Reverend Mother Dorothea is named High Priestess Giustinia V.
Formerly Reverend Mother Dorothea of Orlesia, High Priestess Giustinia V rose to power after the death of High Priestess Beatrix III in the year 9:34 of the Draco. Little is known about Dorothea's past before joining the Church, but she has proven herself to be a brave, liberal-minded priestess. She chose Leliana, an acolyte and former bard, as her closest advisor. Her strong commitment to her own plans and (according to rumors) sympathy for the rebellious magicians earned her noticeable rejection from the influential priestesses, accustomed to controlling everything and everyone in the Church.
9:37 Age of the Dragon
The beginning of the war of magicians and templars
The renegade mage Anders blows up the Kirkwall church. The Lady of the Church dies. This begins a war between mages and templars that quickly spreads throughout Thedas.
Chaos reigned over whole year. Yes, the mages voted to disband the Circles of Mages, but this happened only after the events in Kirkwall increased the restrictions and pressure on mages. What choice did they have? Yes, the Order of the Templars refused to fulfill their duties, instead they decided to persecute the magicians in order to call them to order - but what else could you expect from those whose sole task for a thousand years was to protect the magicians? Their imagination painted short war: The only battle in which the mages' resolve will crumble and they will be forced to meekly submit. But that did not happen. Their conflict could go on forever, with neither side gaining the upper hand.
9:37 Age of the Dragon
Massacre in Kirkwall
A battle between magicians and templars breaks out in Kirkwall. Hawk tries to stop it. First Sorcerer Orsino and Knight Commander Meredith die.
After the explosion in the Church, Knight Commander Meredith proclaimed the Right of Destruction and ordered the execution of all magicians in Kirkwall. It was a dishonorable act in an already long series of injustices. Hawk eventually realizes this and rebels against her. He stood between the templars and the magicians, whom they wanted to kill, and from then on became a legend. Although he subsequently disappeared, fleeing Kirkwall and hiding from the court of the Church, the events of Kirkwall that day irrevocably changed Thedas.
Having fought back against Meredith and the Order of the Templars, Hawke became a guiding light for the rebel magicians. United and inspired, they began to fight.
9:38 Age of the Dragon
Disagreement in Orlais
A split is brewing in Orlais. Grand Duke Gaspard de Chalons disputes Empress Selina I's right to the throne.
Grand Duke Gaspard attacked Empress Selina of Orlesia in an attempt to seize the throne. To counter claims that she was too tolerant of elves, Empress Selene had to suppress an elven rebellion in Halamshiral. Gaspard, intervening, defeated the empress's troops and cut her off from Val Royeaux. She, however, managed to escape to the capital (how exactly - there are already a hundred crazy assumptions).
9:40 Age of the Dragon
Cassandra Pentagast arrives in Kirkwall Seeker Cassandra Pentagast, on behalf of the High Priestess, arrives in Kirkwall and interrogates Varric Tetras. The object of her interest is Hawk.
9:40 Age of the Dragon
The Circle of Magi is dissolved
Empress Celene leaves Val Royeaux after receiving news of the elf uprising in Halamshiral. Rumor has it that Gaspard is behind this. Selina's absence is fueled by rumors of her death or capture. An uprising breaks out in the White Spire, the tower of the Circle of Mages in Val Royeaux, during which many senior magicians die. The rebellion is supported by the High Priestess, who works through her agents, including the bard Leliana. Great Seeker Lambert decides to disband the Circle of Mages, putting the future of this caste in Thedas in question.
Following the conflict at White Spire, Lambert declares the Treaty of Nevarran no longer valid, thus severing the Order of the Seekers' ties to the Church. His statement also worsens the relationship between the Seekers of Truth and the Templar Order. Part of the order continues to support the Church. Lambert soon disappears and is presumed dead.
When I played the first part, I noticed that the plot of the game is much deeper than what we are given at the beginning and I decided to make some kind of holistic picture, because I myself was confused between nationalities and states (for example, I had difficulty understanding the difference between Tevinter and Thedos). It is simply impossible to briefly tell the story of Dragon Age, there are too many details, but I tried to present everything more or less clearly and understandably, so that those who are interested in what is going on in the game in general do not click on individual events, but perceive the history of the world holistically.
Church version of the Creation of the world
A certain God or Creator created everything that exists and gave life to all living things. It is he who the Church worships. He is depicted as a man, and the founder of the Church itself, the prophetess Andraste, is considered his wife. And despite the fact that the Church believes that it was the Creator who created life, he subsequently turned away from people, considering their mistakes. Once upon a time, the Creator built the Shadow as the first world, and the first creations were not people at all, but spirits, delightful creatures living in the Golden City and devoted to the Creator in everything.
But something went wrong, the Creator wanted to see the spirits like themselves, he gave them the ability to create, but the spirits did not use this at all, they lacked something to breathe life into their creations. Then the creator drove the spirits into the Shadow and began to create something new - life. The result was a world with living beings, separated from the Shadow by a Veil. New creatures could no longer change everything around so easily and spontaneously; they had to fight for survival. Seeing all this, the Creator decided to endow them with something that the spirits did not have, a divine spark - a soul. Envious of all this, the spirits came to the creatures in a dream and called them into their world - the Shadow. The spirits wanted to learn as much as possible about life, hoping to regain the attention of the Creator by gaining the experience of mortals: love, fear, pain and hope.
The spirits remade the Shadow so that it resembled the world of the living as closely as possible. However, the power of the spirits grew and many began to see the weakness of living beings and began to treat them arrogantly. The spirits saw the gloomy dark corners of the sleeping souls, where torment and nightmares reigned. The spirits began to understand that mortals are attracted to places that reflect their vices.
Having collected all the darkest things that they found in the souls of mortals, they turned into demons. Anger, lust, idleness, lust, pride - this is what gives demons their power. Demons inspired people to abandon the Creator and go over to false gods. The demons wanted to subjugate all living things, they built entire kingdoms of nightmare in the Shadow and dreamed of one day falling on the walls of heaven. And again the Creator decided that he had made a mistake, because he gave the living the ability to create, and they committed sin. The Creator built the Golden City so that all living beings could go there after their death. But this paradise was destroyed after the invasion of the Tevinter masters. The Golden City turned into the Black City, and the masters themselves became the first creatures of darkness.
Tevinter
The earliest mentions of the world of Thedas were found in ancient texts and legends, and they are not as reliable as we would like, although certain information is similar. Both among the Dalish Guardians and among the gnomes, Thedas exists absolutely without people; in those days, the entire earth was inhabited by elves, but the gnomes lived underground. The legends say that it was with the arrival of people that global changes came. The world, which had previously been in balance, began to change, endless wars engulfed the earth.
In the initial period, the distant ancestors of people lived quite peacefully next to the elves. Gradually, people began to unite into certain communities. The Tevinters, one of the communities, settled in the port city of Minrathous. People began to call themselves Tevinter and began to actively develop their magical abilities. From the elves, people learned how to enter the Shadow with the help of lyrium, and very soon magic became an integral attribute of everyday life. Various closed Circles of magicians began to organize, where they studied new techniques and improved their acquired skills.
The most powerful magicians united in the Council of Masters, which made the main decisions. In 1195 of the Ancient Era, a certain Magister Darinius became the first Archon in history, thereby creating the Tevinter Empire, and all Magisters were ranked among the aristocracy. The Empire gradually began to push back the Elves, first capturing Elvenan and then destroying Arlathan. The Empire quickly expanded its territories to the south and east, all the way to Ferelden and Rivain. In 620-540 according to Tevinter chronology began Civil War Between influential magisters vying for the position of Archon, this event marked the end of the golden age of Tevinter. But the Empire did not collapse and continued its conquests.
As a result, the ever-growing and strengthening human Empire of Tevinter practically wiped out the once-dominant elves from the face of the earth. By worshiping the ancient Gods, people spread their influence and religion throughout Thedas, and turned the elves into slaves. Those few elves who were lucky enough to survive fled from the wars into distant impenetrable forests and began to lead the lifestyle of hermits. The power of the Masters of Tevinter was undeniable for a very long time, until the first Blight came.
Ferelden, Alamari, Chasinda
The Alamarri are one of the most ancient human tribes. They initially settled in the southeastern part of Tedase. The Alamarri are essentially the ancestors of the Fereldans, but they are not a single people. Sometime around 1220, the Alamarri came to the Ferelden Valley, part of the tribe remaining in the mountains and the other in the swampy expanses, also known as the Korcari Wilds. The Alamarri, who lived in the mountains, began to call themselves Avvars, and the Hasind, accordingly, are the inhabitants of Korkari. The separation of the Avvars from the Alamarri did not happen overnight, it was a rather long process. An example is the fact that the leader of the Alamarri tribes who organized the Sacred March on Tevinter was Avvar Maferath.
The Fereldans are descendants of the Alamarri. The leaders of the Alamarri were powerful warlords who lived in constant wars for land and power. Ferelden has always had two irreconcilable enemies, also descended from Alamarri. At the time when their common ancestors appeared in Ferelden, a bloody civil war broke out and one of the factions seceded.
Ancient legends say that many years after the Chacinds broke away from the Alamarri, they invaded the north, accompanied by strange white shadows and ugly swamp monsters. For some time they even conquered the Alamarri, but their power quickly ended when the Alamarri killed all the Hasindian shamans who summoned the shadows. A thousand years later, the Chasinds had a certain Flemeth, a witch of terrible power. Her daughters, known as the Korcari Witches, gathered an army of barbarians and other creatures and led them north. No one could resist them until a hero named Cormac led a combined army of Alamarri and dwarves from Orzammar and went against Flemeth. The Chasindas were defeated, and the witch leaders were burned at the stake. However, even now, after so many centuries, the Fereldans look to the south with caution.
But the greatest achievement of the Alamarri is that they were able to withstand even the mighty Tevinter Empire when it was still main force all of Thedas. Tevinter almost won three times, but each time the Empire had to retreat to Frosty Mountains. The Alamarri united with the Avvars and Chacinds and drove the Imperials out of their land. The fourth time, Tevinter was still able to capture the western part for quite some time and build several fortresses there. But in the end, this success cost the Empire dearly. Fortified in the lands, they were subject to regular raids, and there were barely enough supplies. Tevinter managed to hold out in Ferelden for more than a century, but the barbarians had a new hero, he found a way to destroy the indestructible walls of Ostagar.
First Blight
The most common version is that it was the unlimited power of the masters and permissiveness that caused the disaster. In 800, the masters became so strong that they decided to touch the kingdom of the gods, as a result of which they entered the Shadow and returned as the first creatures of darkness. And the Ancient Gods whom they met in the Shadow were expelled and imprisoned underground. The first Ancient God who was desecrated and turned into high dragon, was Dumat. Dumat released the darkness and inflicted huge losses on the dwarves, after which he continued the war. He had almost destroyed all living beings when a certain order of the Gray Guardians managed to defeat him and stop the Pestilence.
The First Blight lasted about two hundred years, leaving the Tevinter Empire significantly weakened. Taking advantage of this, the prophetess Andraste attacked the Empire with an army of Alamarri barbarians from the north of Ferelden (according to one version, Andraste was an escaped slave, and her husband was Maferat). This conflict is better known as the Sacred March (180 - 165 ancient era). Tevinter no longer had enough forces to defend itself and the war was lost. Andraste proclaimed that magic should serve man, not man magic. This was a challenge to the Empire's traditional way of life. Andraste even goes against the masters, she calls the Ancient Gods false and blames them for the appearance of the Blight.
As a result of the won war, the teaching quickly spread and when Andraste was burned at the stake, this only strengthened faith in the Cult of the Creator and accelerated the spread. Elven slave uprisings and riots began. While the Empire continued the war with Rivain, the cult of Andraste grew stronger in the world. Even Archon Hessarian officially accepted this faith, as a result of which the masters surrendered to the church on their own terms, finally losing their former influence. Southern Tevinter split completely, but Northern Tevinter survived. As a result, the masters surrendered to the church, but on their own terms. The era known as the Divine Age begins.
Dragon Age - History of the World Part 1 was last modified: December 7, 2014 by admin
Dragon Age History Lessons
Dragon Age History LessonsWITH BioWare's screenwriters have never been lazy, but with Dragon Age: Origins they outdid themselves. They were given a difficult task - to come up with new world and revive it.
The team of authors led by David Gaider did an excellent job with the role of the demiurge. The Kingdom of Ferelden, located on the continent of Thedas, is not just another “cardboard” fantasy state inhabited by people, elves and dwarves. This is an integral world with a thousand-year history, living according to its own laws, in which everything is logical and justified. Nothing escaped the attention of the scriptwriters: neither the political structure, nor the social ladder, nor issues of everyday life and morals. The authors of BioWare tried to make their gaming universe seem familiar to gamers, but not banal. For example, if you think that elves are a noble, enlightened people who know all the secrets of magic, and it cannot be otherwise, then Dragon Age: Origins is not the game for you.
First lesson. The beginning of time
AND The history of Ferelden is rich in events, and if we begin a detailed retelling, this article will turn out to be a thick book. Therefore, we will limit ourselves to a summary of the chronicle. Let's bring things up to speed, so to speak.
The Age of Dragons was preceded by eight other eras, each of which lasted exactly one hundred years. The countdown begins from the creation of the Doctrine, the leading religion of Ferelden. This doesn't mean she's the only one. Elves do not believe in the Creator, but worship other gods; the golden-skinned giants Qunari have their own aggressive faith. The situation with the calendar is reminiscent of ours on earth - we calculate chronology from the birth of Jesus Christ.
The first age was called Divine, the second Glorious, the third was the Age of Towers, the fourth - Black, the fifth - Noble, the sixth - Steel, the seventh - Storm, the eighth - Blessed. The name of the new era is given in the 99th century. The name “Solar” was prophesied for the ninth era (the sun was considered a symbol of the Orlesian Empire, which conquered all of Thedas), but the unexpected happened - dragons returned to Ferelden. They have not been seen for many hundreds of years. It was believed that dragons had long been exterminated by hunters.
The ninth century was called the Dragon Age. There is nothing good about this name. People believed that the awakening of dragons foreshadows pain, violence and destruction. Unfortunately, this is what happened.
Dragon Age History Lessons
Dragon Age History LessonsLesson two. Pestilence
IN Pestilence is considered the greatest evil in the Dragon Age universe. No, we are not talking about an incurable disease. According to legend, in ancient times, magicians tried to capture Paradise. All the inhabitants of Thedas were punished for their insolence. The Creator sent Pestilence, countless hordes of various evil spirits led by the invulnerable Archdemon. Monsters crawling out into the world from underground know no pity: they kill everyone in their path. But that is not all. Along with Pestilence comes Corruption, a leprosy that spreads to people and turns them into monsters. Corruption infects all living things, even the earth and trees, changing the landscape. Where yesterday there was green pasture, today there is a wasteland with a river of lava in the middle.
To stop the Blight, you must find and defeat the Archdemon. And this needs to be done quickly, because the armies of evil spirits are becoming more numerous and stronger every day. It is unlikely that the inhabitants of Thedas would have survived if not for the Gray Wardens. An ancient order of elite warriors has been defending the world for many generations in a row. The Gray Guardians sense monsters and know how to fight them. They are well prepared, equipped and fearless. It was they who put an end to the Blight in the Glorious Age and killed the Archdemon in the Blessed Era.
The evil spirits have spread throughout the bolts and caves, but without a leader they do not pose a serious threat. People began to believe that Pestilence might never return. Naive...
Dragon Age History Lessons
Dragon Age History Lessons
Lesson three. New hero
H The four hundred years without Pestilence were glorious times. But no one is saying that the people of Thedas have stopped fighting. The confrontation with the religious fanatics of the Qunari continued for several centuries. They come from across the sea and spread their faith with guns. Magic helped defeat the Qunari. Golden-skinned giants hate magic, relying only on science. People took advantage of this. In the Storm Age they defeated the Qunari. The fanatics fired their cannons, but in response, lightning and fireballs flew at their ships.
N and for three generations Ferelden was part of the Orlesian Empire. Then an uprising broke out in the country. After a decisive battle at the Dane River, which mysteriously coincided with the awakening of the dragons, the kingdom gained independence. It would seem that, freed from occupation, Ferelden will flourish. But alas, these dreams were not destined to come true.
The New Blight found people, dwarves and elves unprepared. Moreover, they became entangled in disagreements and intrigues. The Archdemon can only be defeated if all nations unite. The Gray Wardens cannot cope alone. There are too few of them, and the warriors are no longer the same as before: they have forgotten a lot. The Order needs recruits. fresh blood. And it just so happened that the choice of the leader of the order, Duncan, fell on you. Yes, your time has come, hero. It's time to stop the Pestilence and deal with the Archdemon. Forward, for Ferelden!
Dragon Age History Lessons
Dragon Age History Lessons
Based on materials from the official website dragonageorigins.ru
