I am new to dragon age lore
Could you tell be the major regions in nutshell
if you convince Josephine Montilyet to take a long walk around Skyhold’s battlements with you, she will easily share that while Tevinter keeps the qunari forces from Par Vollen at bay, both have the most lovely spices that you’ll find on either side of the Waking Sea. Tevinter, while vilified for its rule by magister, is technologically advanced and full of cultural refinement that has surpassed its neighbors. the free elves of the southern nations will divulge, however, that Tevtinter’s advancement was not without cost, and That Cost is the widespread use of forced labor which the nation relies upon so much they engage in illicit international slave trade to this day.
at this point in the conversation, if you ply the Lady Ambassador with carastian candies, she will admit that Orlais, while also imperialistic, would like you to believe they are far more civilized about their class system. Empress Celene opened up universities to elven students, after all, and only razed the alienage in Halamshiral to the ground once. instead of rule by magister overlords, the southern chantry relies on circles to keep their mages trained and maintained (and contained), and its reach extends to other nations in the south, the influence felt must strongly in the Free Marches.
Ferelden threw off Orlesian occupation… oh… around the turn of the age? the people of Ferelden remain proud of their ungovernability, and the Ferelden bannorn is unique from the feudalism of Orlais and the Marches in that the ownership of the land lies not in the hands of the nobility but the farmers themselves.
the Marches revel in their rowdy spirit of freedom. each city from Kirkwall to Wycome is in fact its own city state, and where one might expect some consistency in the structures of each sovereign principality, instead the rulers are named anything from Viscount to Duke to the supposedly humble designation of Prince. even so, the region comes together every 1000 days in the tradition of the Grand Tourney where combatants entertain their lords with feats of martial skill.
piracy ravages the coasts, and your Antivan diplomat will cluck her tongue at the lawlessness of raiders and insurrectionists alike. but where there is danger, there is beauty, and when she thinks about setting sail to the horizon and exploring the lands beyond the edges of the map, she looks off into the sunset and sighs. “From Sea To Shores, We Tame The Waves,” she whispers breathily, then, self-conscious, blushes as she looks back to you and explains the words are her family’s motto. for, like any good Antivan family, the Montilyets rely on charm, trade, and the mastery of the seas.
she will insist the best wines come from Antiva, but she may be biased, after all.
