#andy analyzed

In universe, the layman who is not a mage and does not interact with magic / mages much have simple views on spirits and demons.

These views are thus: Demons are evil and are drawn to mages (Which is why so many believe that containment of mages is just, because they are a natural danger).

Spirits? Rarely spoken of. At times, not even believed in.

Why is this?

It has to do with how few actually appear in the real world.

Spirits are considered 'good' and embody 'good' emotions / concepts: Compassion, justice, wisdom, etc. Demons embody 'bad' emotions / concepts: Lust, gluttony, rage, etc.

The world is filled to the brim with hunger, rage and lust and thus, demons are consistent and constantly banging at the Veil to wreck havoc in the real world. They are voracious and their hunger never satiated. They feed on their given emotion within people, driving people towards disaster.

Things like compassion are far harder to find and spirits encompassing the 'good' emotions don't tend to want to go into the real world. They typically only appear when they are pulled by an immense calling that relates to their given emotion.

However, a spirit / demon may be changed and transformed by influences in the real world.

The change from one emotion / concept into another is, as the rest of this, not as black and white as turning something 'good' into something 'bad' or vise versa.

An example is a spirit of Justice turning to Vengeance.

Or let us ponder the DA:V character, Spite. In a sliding scale between 'good' and 'bad' emotions, I would not necessarily seat spite directly into bad, yet he is decidedly considered a demon by NPCs.

This all to say that the arbitrary black and white in universe treatment of spirits and demons is over-simplified.

From left to right: Hornless, regular (one pair of horns), multiple horns

All sources below were already gathered by the editors of the DA wiki. I am only looking to organize and categorize.

General

(Below is something anyone could go through and count via the models and quoted from the wiki. I did not go through to count horns myself, so the count below may be wrong.)

"All of the Qunari seen in Dragon Age: Inquisition have one pair of horns, whereas all but one Qunari seen in the base Dragon Age II have two pairs of horns - one big and one small one; the Arishok is the only one to date to have eight horns in total; it is unknown what determines the number of horns or their size. It should be noted that Salit has six horns in total."

Qunari may have more than two horns.

DA: Awakening

Qunari horns do not have nerves and thus they feel no pain / are not bothered by horns being broken.

This quote from Mary Kirby comes from the Bioware DA forums (Archive). The date compared to the release dates of the games puts this quote as being after both Origins and Awakening but before DA2.

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“Not all qunari have horns,” says Dragon Age lead writer David Gaider. “Some are born without them, but it has never been considered a defect. Instead the mark is considered special, indicating one who is clearly meant for a special role in their society—as a Ben-Hassrath who enforces religious law or as an envoy to other races. It is also not uncommon for qunari who abandon their beliefs to remove their own horns, for reasons not yet clear.”

The above is a quote from David Gaider from an article with Game Informer in 2010, a year prior to DA2's release.

This particular quote feels as though it falls off at this point now that we are at Veilguard. However, the point of, "--but it has never been considered a defect." is echoed by Mary Kirby further down.

Sten, a hornless Qunari, was part of the Antaam and send with a squad to find out about the Blight in DA:O. Warriors turned scouts, basically. Given that, it doesn't feel as though Sten being hornless inherently granted him better opportunities.

Thus, the implication that simply being hornless would grant one a 'special role' does not feel accurate. Sten was put into the Antaam as all Qunari are; because he was best suited to the role.

2. Ben-Hassrath is not an especially special role. It is part of the priesthood but a Qunari enters into it the same as any other, if they are fit for the role.

3. Iron Bull is a horned member of the Ben-Hassrath.

DA2

junk item Horn Balm from Dragon Age 2, which was worthless and could indeed be found in many of the game's crates as a random spawn item.

We're given more detail on the balm in DA:I from Iron Bull,

Iron Bull: You know what I miss? Horn balm. It's impossible to get it out here. Varric: Really? Back in Kirkwall you couldn't kick open a crate without finding a jar of the stuff! Iron Bull: Really? You got any? Varric: Ah, no. We usually just threw it away. Iron Bull: (Grumbles.) ...horns itching... (Grumbles.)

This dialogue gives us the detail that Qunari horns itch and that they have developed a balm to alleviate it.

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hoorayforicecream wrote…

Why do Salit and his followers still have their horns? I thought they cut their horns off to show they weren't following the Qun anymore.

Mary Kirby: They don't all cut off their horns. Many of them do it because they think it makes them look scarier.

Bioware Dragon Age Forums (Archive), about 6-7 months after the release of DA2.

Tal-Vashoth may cut their horns to appear more intimidating.

Firky wrote...

So, if qunari just see horns as natural variation, like hair, why do saarebas -es have theirs cut off?

Well, Ketojan and the Redemption saarebas and the saarebas model in DA2. (Although not concept art. Maybe).

Mary Kirby: Many of the hornless Qunari wind up in the Ben Hassrath, so culturally, Qunari associate not having horns with being imposing or scary. Saarebas have their horns cut as a warning, "This guy is dangerous." It's also the reason Tal Vashoth often cut off their own horns -- they think it makes them look tougher.

Hornless Qunari have higher rates of ending up in the Ben-Hassrath

Saarebas (Qunari mages) have their horns cut to warn of their danger. Tal-Vashoth in turn cut their horns to appear more intimidating.

Speculation: Are there higher rates of hornless Qunari in the Ben-Hassrath because lacking horns would aid them in spy work....? Do hornless Qunari children engage in different forms of play than those with horns, leading them to develop skills more useful as a Ben-Hassrath?

This could support (somewhat) David Gaiders sentiment above that being hornless grants you 'special roles' (In which he specified Ben-Hassrath). Though again given Sten's position, it reads as though the more optimal phrasing would be more like Mary's that, "Many of the hornless Qunari wind up in the Ben Hassrath,".

Fraq Hound wrote...

The Qunari themselves not having a name for those born with this defect (If it is indeed a defect) is more puzzling to me. I mean they name everything else, why not this?

Mary Kirby: It's not a defect. It's a minor genetic variation. The equivalent would be closer to having naturally copper-red hair. The Qunari just say, "Oh, he's hornless," in the same way we'd say, "He's ginger." It's just an adjective, not a classification.

Elfman wrote...

I thought hornless Qunari were "special". Not in a Sandal way. Mary Kirby: Sure. Qunari think they have unusual traits in the same way that some people think gingers have special traits. Maybe they're more hot-tempered, or they have a higher pain threshold, or they have no soul, or whatever. It doesn't mean it's actually true.

Being hornless is noticeable but not necessarily of higher consequence or reward. As note worthy as having red hair. Random superstition is added to them that does not hold any actual water.

DA:V:

Taash: Hey. Neve. Benst also had a jewler add some stones to his lockpick-hand. Pretty gems and stuff. Taash: I can get you a name if you want. Neve: Why would I want gems on my leg? Taash: Cause it's like a boot you wear every day. Might as well look nice. Taash: That's what I did after I broke my horn. And my horn will grow back. Neve: I work Minrathous. Put gems on my legs in the morning and they'd be stolen by lunch. Neve: Besides, I like to keep a low profile when I'm hunting. Taash: Oh. Sneaky. Makes sense.

Two things can be taken from this -

The addition of jewels / jewelry to horns.

2. Qunari horns grow back.

This is opposing to real world horned animals, according to this source, "If an animal’s horn is broken or damaged, it will remain that way forever. It does not grow back. Horns are permanent; they are not shed, but grow with the animal throughout its lifespan."

Antlers grow and shed off regularly. Thus, this implies either that Qunari horns are more like antlers and are simply called horns, or they are a fantasy hybrid of the two concepts.

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Emmrich: You've chosen to perform the eb-ketarra, Taash? Taash: Yeah. You know about the Qunari horn-grafting thing? Emmrich: Watchers study other death practices. Taash: Huh. Taash: Eb-ketarra. Know what it means? Emmrich: Imperfectly. A horn growing twice? Taash: It's more like "growing memories." My mother's strength adds to mine. Emmrich: Thank you, for sharing that. Taash: Sure.

Qunari have a death practice where one will take a piece of the deceased's horn and graft it to their own.

Following, in addition to this, we have this conversation which takes place during the quest, Words of Fire and happens during a cutscene.

Karash: You have grafted your mother's horn to yours. Taash: Yeah. Alchemist with the Lords did it for me. It'll grow now like my own. Karash: And she will always be with you.

Through the use of alchemy, a horn can be grafted onto another so that it will grow along with the base.

I spent some time looking into what is considered alchemy and how it differs from apothecary (as both exist in DA). Needless to say its a lot of stuff that perhaps doesn't belong here. Do let me know if anyone would want to hear about that and I'll make a separate post.

DA alchemists create things such as explosives and the flasks of elemental concoctions that can be thrown. Apothecaries are more healing, making potions and cures.

Examples in universe include a de-aging serum and attempts to use alchemical methods to make an efficient coagulant. So, I think I can suspend my disbelief and see an alchemist being able to sort out how to not only graft a horn onto another but also make sure it isn't sitting there as dead material.

Aaanndd that's a wrap! If you got all the way down here, thanks, and I hope you got somethin' out of my silly need to catalogue and speculate fictional race details. ദ്ദി(｡•̀ ,<)~✩‧₊