#scaled ones

Reavers are most commonly dragon cultists. We actually know a fair amount about dragon cults, having met one in DA:O.

“Members of a dragon cult live in the same lair as a high dragon, nurturing and protecting its defenceless young. In exchange, the high dragon seem to permit those cultists to kill a small number of those young in order to feast on draconic blood. That blood is said to have a number of strange long-term effects, including bestowing greater strength and endurance, as well as an increased desire to kill. It may breed insanity as well. Nevarran dragon-hunters have said these cultists are incredibly powerful opponents. The changes in the cultists are a form of blood magic, surely, but how did the symbiotic relationship between the cult and the high dragon form in the first place? How did the cultists know to drink the dragon's blood? How did the high dragon convince them to care for its young, or know that they would?” --Codex entry: Dragon Cults

The above codex in DA:O about the cultists you meet at Haven describe the ritual to become a Reaver, and the after-effects. The codex questions where the dragon cultists would have learned such thing. But like it also says: Becoming a Reaver is just a form of blood magic. While we don’t know the true origins of blood magic, it is credited, at least, to come from a man named Thalsian, who claimed he learned it from Dumat. Because Thalsian also brought the rise of Old God worship to Tevinter.

“The legendary Thalsian was the first Dreamer. It is said he communicated with and learned blood magic from the Old God Dumat after encountering him in visions of what is now assumed to be the Fade. The Neromenian tribes, who had worshipped fallen heroes reborn as dragons, adopted Dreamers as their leaders, and began to instead worship the Dreamers' gods, also as dragons. By the time the lmperium unified under the Dreamer Darinius, the first Archon, worship of the Old Gods was ubiquitous. Darinius established the magisterium from the priesthood of these seven gods. Thalsian was named an honorary Archon.” --World o Thedas: Vol 1, pg 121-122

And so Thalsian and his followers began tapping into the powers of blood magic, while also worshipping the Old Gods, who took the form of dragons. And dragon cultists are an off-shoot of Old God worshippers, who see all dragons as god-figures. Dragon cultists who have access to blood magic, and to dragons. Voila, you’ve got Reavers. To even further enforce this, DA:I’s description for the Way of the Reaver quest’s Dragon Blood Distillation requisition says, “it is unknown why dragon blood transforms as it does because the answer requires a knowledge of both forbidden magic and dragons that hasn't existed since the early days of the Tevinter Imperium - and even then was a closely guarded secret.”

While consuming dragon blood via this ritual gives you great strength and endurance, both the codex above and a conversation with Cassandra if the Inquisitor chooses to become a Reaver discusses the drawbacks of this specialization, as well: The three big ones being insanity, a terrible temper... and if one consumes too much, the rumour is scales.

Cassandra: “Be careful, Inquisitor. Dragon blood can change you in ways you will not expect.” Inquisitor: “How do you know that?” Cassandra: “Dragon hunters were once revered in Nevarra, and the Pentaghasts were the most famous. Many of my family became Reavers, harnessing the power of dragon’s blood against their quarry. But each one went terribly insane in the end. Eventually it was forbidden.” Inquisitor: “They all went mad?” Cassandra: “It was their own doing, I understand. Greed drove them to use more and more. The blood... deformed them. Caused growths, scales, things of that nature. They became enraged by little things. In time, that rage swallowed them. They committed murders, killed entire families, unspeakable things. Tales from hundreds of years ago, of course. Like exaggerated... but perhaps not entirely.”

What Cassandra says above matches the description given by the unknown dwarf writing the Chronicles of a Forgotten War codex in The Descent DLC.

“The Scaled Ones. I can't remember who came up with the name, but it stuck. Drohg had been lighting a torch when one attacked, and we finally caught a glimpse of something other than shadows. In the flame's light, we saw a man's body like those of the Imperium humans, but covered in scales. It wore armour and even had a dagger hanging from its hip. Its jaws wrapped around Drohg's face and twisted. The crunch of his neck breaking seemed to echo down the Deep Roads. The torch fell from his hands, and we lashed out.”

“The Scaled Ones had set up a camp at an intersection in the Deep Roads. In the centre there was a golden altar fashioned in the shape of fire. A chill swept through me. On the tip of each flame hung the corpses of those we'd lost—including Father and Drohg. They'd been drained of blood, leaving only bone wrapped in grey skin. A robed Scaled One stood before the altar. Its voice was different from the others: softer, almost feminine. It chanted and raised a basin of blood towards the altar. The other Scaled Ones bowed low. The robed Scaled One produced fire from its palm and mouth and ignited the blood.”

The dwarf specifically notes a resemblance to Tevinter humans, and the second encounter described sounds a lot like blood magic. The dwarf also describes a Scaled One breathing fire, but this could either be the dwarf misunderstanding basic magic, or maybe Scaled Ones do breathe fire. Who knows. 

What’s more, in Dragon Age: Redemption, Nyree, a Reaver from Nevarra, demonstrates the Frightening Appearance ability to transform herself as such:

Pretty dragon-y, if you ask me. If this is what Frightening Appearance looks like, well, maybe too much blood leads to not being able to turn it off? And then come the scales, like Cassandra mentions.

You may argue “What would Tevinter dragon cultists be doing in the Deep Roads, though?” Remember Darinius, the first Archon from the WoT:v1 passage up top? He gained that title in -1195 Ancient. But before declaring himself as such, he took the Tevinter throne in -1207, and two years later created a trade alliance with the dwarven empire in -1205. This would explain why the dwarf writing above recognizes what a human from Tevinter looks like.

If Reaver dragon cultists where among those who ventured into the Deep Roads for trade and what not, and the mental instability that grows with drinking too much dragon blood, (something an enthused cultist very well may do), then as Cassandra suggests, they may lose their sense of self and and attack those around them. I.e. the dwarves.

The dwarves wouldn’t be the only ones who took them on, though: Around this same period (-981 Ancient) is when Tevinter and Arlathan began outright war. It would make sense for this to only lead to more Reavers, in order to battle the elves. And the elves were the ones to record the only known (assumed) physical depiction of a Scaled One:

(Image extracted from DA:I files.)

The art matches both what Cassandra says and what the unknown dwarf says, even when accounting for style.

All in all, to summarize: The Scaled Ones existed in Ancient Tevinter. Ancient Tevinter was prime time for dragon cultists, and also when blood magic was created. Reavers drink dragon blood in a form of blood magic. Reavers who drink too much dragon blood go insane and become deformed dragon-like beings. If anyone is going to do that, it’d be a dragon cultist who worships said dragons. The only two accounts of the Scaled Ones are from dwarven and elven sources, both peoples who would have reason to encounter Tevinter humans. Both accounts describe and depict what Reavers are described to become. The Scaled Ones are Reaver dragon cultists.

SOURCES

Dragon Age: Inquisition

Dragon Age: Redemption

Codex entry: Dragon Cults (DA:O)

Codex entry: Archons of the Imperium (DA:O)

Codex entry: Chronicles of a Forgotten War (DA:I)

World of Thedas: Vol 1

In here we find the Sha-Brytol for the first time. Their armours are made of lyrium that has been fused with their bodies. They have hexagonal figures and pointy design that reminds us more about Tevinter style [would that mean that Tevinter also took part of its style from the dwarves?]. It also has a lot of geometrical patterns which resemble the modern dwarven style. 

They have more triangular swirls instead of the classic dwarven squared swirl.

Due to the fusion of their bodies with the lyrium of the armour, we can see their nose and mouth are melted. Their eyes are opaque, filled with lyrium [I guess it’s their eyes glowing with lyrium what we see in the darkness]. They developed firearms, probably based on the lyrium powder due to its explosive nature.

With the little information shared and shown about the Sha-Brytol skills, we can notice that they have similar abilities to Fenris’, who also has lyrium fused in his body. They are stealthy, almost ghostly. 

When Renn dies, Cole comments about the Stone, reinforcing the idea that the Stone also has a song.

As we continue, the song becomes wrong, filled with too many whispers. I have no idea what is that has too many whispers that interfere with the Stone’s song.

As we explore the caverns deeper, we find a bridge with a unique decoration: it’s not a standard dwarven bridge, each column has a triangular/pyramid-like structure with metallic claws at its point. These claws were seen previously in bigger size in ancient Tevinter structures.

I’m not so sure how much to read here, if the Sha-Brytol infrastructure inspired Tevinter, or this is a mere reuse of assets for a DLC. 

This bridge is destroyed, but we will see many of these in Wellspring.

Around this bridge we find the first of a series of upgrades of the codex Chronicles of a Forgotten War which I think it's related to the whole section of the Cadash Thaig in the DLC: Witch Hunt .

The source of this codex is unknown, but one can suspect it's an ancient dwarf soldier. The things that it informs us are quite juicy:

It says that the north of Cad'halash [name of the Cadash Thaig before it gave refuge to elves escaping Tevinter, see DLC: Witch Hunt  for a refreshment] is under attack. We don't know if this is happening before the elves settle down there, but we can be sure that this Thaig, with this name, predates the First Blight. So the events described in this codex predate the First Blight.

The King of the dwarves sent the reinforcement.

The Deep Roads changed around Cad'halash. The Deep Roads were almost abandoned. Torches would snuff out suddenly and attacks in the darkness would occur.

The father of the author who wrote this chronicle was the first victim of these attacks.

The attackers, named lately as Scaled Ones, breathe slow and heavily, and are larger than a dwarf.

When they finally could see one of them, they saw a human covered in scales. It wore an armour and had weapons [dagger]. However, they can attack with their jaws, teeth, and talons.

They speak a language that the dwarf could not understand [clearly not common]

When the dwarves could finally kill one of the Scaled Ones, they were in shock for a moment, hint that these creatures were not accustomed to see one of their own die.

I know this can be a lot, but this codex speaks of an amber light, which is also registered in the Razikale's Reach codex, in a cave that may have been connected to the Deep Roads.

The Scaled Ones worship a deity that can be seen in a golden altar fashioned in the shape of fire. On the tip of each flame hanged the corpse of those dwarves that had been killed in those sneak attacks.

These bodies have been drained of blood, leaving them bone and wrapped in grey skin.

A feminine Scaled One, a potential priest of this god, chanted and raised a bowl of blood towards the altar as she received the bow of the others.

This one seemed to be a mage. Produced fire on his palm and mouth  and ignited the blood.

When the dwarven company returned to this place to attack fully, they found nothing of the Scaled Ones’ camp, only a bow with burnt edges, suggesting a massive teleportation magic.

I would like to notice and remind myself that the first time I read this codex and the description of the golden altar, two images came to my mind immediately: Sylaise, who is extremely related to fire and rivalry according some of the codices that describe her in Ancient Elven codices, Temple of Mythal. And the other image is Andraste’s inquisitor seat

After all, the whole Chantry is a cult of Fire, of a sunburst, more precisely.

Hypothesis about Chronicles of a Forgotten War:

The Scaled Ones are a joke of Bioware. Since in Jaws of Hakkon we have also read a codex that speaks about reptilian races, moon men, and a lot of delirious conspiracy theories; one could assume that this is just Bioware making a long joke. I doubt it because if it were the case, the murals of the lizard men in Elven temples would not be seen so repeated and central to the plot [they even appear in Trespasser, in the ancient elven ruins]. In my opinion it’s more than a joke if they appear in different contexts and even a codex is created. However, it feels like they developed this making it look like a conspiracy theory, but with the intention to reveal some lore mystery later. 

The Scaled Ones could be creations of Ghilan’nain that were not destroyed by her.  Since they have devotion for a golden altar in the shape of Fire, I think that, in the case of being elves transformed into this using procedures similar to the ones we saw in The Horror of Hormak, their worship seems closer to Sylaise [check Ancient Elven codices, Temple of Mythal].  In any case, in this hypothesis, these could have been a bunch of altered elves under the experimentation of Ghilan’nain, that somehow survived. 

Another simple option that comes easily to mind is that they are the first darkspawn that the dwarves see. However, I think this is not the case for several reasons: Cad'halash was destroyed a long time before the First Blight. The description of these creatures, even though it looks similar to the first darkspawn from DAO and not to their redesign, have fine armour and weapons, and the way they attack [always sneak attacks and then run] do not resemble the modus operandi of the darkspawn who have trash weapons and scrapped armours, and their strategy to attack is always mindless and brute force. There is also this strange reaction they had when they saw one of them being killed, when darkspawn would not care at all.

The final option I can muster and that I trust a bit more than the others: Tevinter humans who are dragon blood drinkers. Even though the source of this codex is unknown, we infer it’s a young dwarven soldier from Cad'halash. We know these dwarves have seen humans of Tevinter before due to lyrium trade, so this comment in the codex makes me suspect that the Scaled Ones may have been humans who were under experiments of Tevinter mixing dragon blood [proto-qunaris?]. The devotion to a golden figure that represents fire may be a representation of the draconic fire of the Old Gods. We also know via Cassandra’s banter, that in her family it is said that those who drink dragon blood grew scales on their skin and became mad. On the other hand, the leader of this group of Scaled Ones seems to be a mage: it could cast fire from her palm as well as her mouth, like a dragon. They worshipped this entity of fire through blood, draining it from the dwarven victims they caught [sounds a very common Tevinter practice of blood magic]. They seem to have potent magic since they disappeared an encampment with a golden altar in an hour. These creatures seem to be related to three main things: fire, blood, and magic. Three elements related to Tevinter culture and dragons.  We also know that Qunari may have been a crafted race by, potentially, Tevinter [which makes us suspect that Tevinter has been experimenting with dragon blood in many ways to create a new race]. The Scaled Ones fit the idea of being “the discarded or non-successful” experiments of this purpose. The con of this theory is that why Elves would care about a failed experiment of Tevinter to fill the walls of their temple with lizardman drawings? 

So, Maybe the most substantial hypothesis is the one about the experiments of Ghilan’nain. In this case, the fact that they speak a language the Dwarven can’t understand also would fit since it would have been ancient elvhenan.

What annoys me of this codex is that North of Cad'halash is not marked in the maps of any game, while the southwest is where we find Heidrun Thaig, where these codex are and where we find, I assume, the skeleton of the dwarf who wrote all this. So north and south are mixed in the maps.

It’s also important to notice that maybe this codex may re-signify the history we know about Cad'halash. We found a codex in DAO [ Letters from the Past] which gave us the idea that Cad'halash was attacked by Kal-Sharok because the elven refugees who could put in danger the trade between the Tevinter Empire and the Dwarven Empire. If this forgotten war was happening back then, then the elements we found in the Thaig that belonged to Kal-Sharok may have been there not because they attacked Cad'halash but because they sent help to the thaig but they were annihilated by the Scaled Ones. another possibility is that Kal-Sharok truly destroyed Cad'halash to isolate the potential threat of the Slaced Ones spreading along the tunnels of the Deep Roads.

The Scaled Ones. I can't remember who came up with the name, but it stuck. Drohg had been lighting a torch when one attacked, and we finally caught a glimpse of something other than shadows. In the flame's light, we saw a man's body like those of the Imperium humans, but covered in scales. It wore armor and even had a dagger hanging from its hip. Its jaws wrapped around Drohg's face and twisted. The crunch of his neck breaking seemed to echo down the Deep Roads. The torch fell from his hands, and we lashed out.

I swung my axe will all my might, but it bounced off the Scaled One's armor, the impact ricocheting up my arms. It let out a roar. Then more attacked. From the light of the fallen torch, I guessed there was a score of them, all wearing armor and carrying weapons as sharp as their teeth and talons. The one that killed Drohg barked orders I didn't understand. I kept swinging.

Othon, the best of us, made the first kill by splitting a Scaled One's head open. There was a strange silence as if after an upset in the Proving Grounds, and it hit me that these beasts were not used to seeing one of their own die. Drohg's killer growled and stamped out the torch. The Scaled Ones retreated into darkness.

—From Chronicles of a Forgotten War, author unknown

I haven’t found the two other codices yet but I looked at the wiki. I just read this  in game and my mind almost literally flipped over upside down. 

This is probably old news to everyone else but now my brain is being all twisty trying to figure out how these Scaled Ones will fit into a post-Veil and/or post-Titan-awakening world.

Are they the kossith, I wonder? But why would they live underground? How does Helsgrim know about them? Yavana, Flemeth’s other daughter, describes dragons as “blood of the earth”, and Thane Svarah Sun-Hair says that when Hakkon was bound to a mortal form “he became blood of this world”, and Helsgrim describes the Scaled Ones as “Snake Kings of the Earth”.

And the last codex you find about these Scaled Ones in the Deep Roads?

The Scaled Ones had set up a camp at an intersection in the Deep Roads. In the center there was a golden altar fashioned in the shape of fire. A chill swept through me. On the tip of each flame hung the corpses of those we'd lost—including Father and Drohg. They'd been drained of blood, leaving only bone wrapped in grey skin. A robed Scaled One stood before the altar. Its voice was different from the others: softer, almost feminine. It chanted and raised a basin of blood towards the altar. The other Scaled Ones bowed low. The robed Scaled One produced fire from its palm and mouth and ignited the blood.

Othon grabbed my forearm and motioned for us to climb down. We returned to the rest of the company, where he relayed what we had witnessed. We would rest for an hour, regain our strength, and strike.

The memory of Father's sagging, emptied face kept me awake. The hour passed slowly, but it did pass. Othon led us down the path to the overlook. I readied my axe for blood and steeled myself for the sight of the altar. But it wasn't there. The camp, Father and Drohg, the Scaled Ones... all gone. Only the basin remained, charred around the edges.

—From Chronicles of a Forgotten War, author unknown

... A blood ritual. Led by a female (think Flemeth, Mythal, Yavanna). Could an altar in the shape of a fire also be interpreted as being a sunburst? We don’t have enough info on the shape of it to really determine. Just like how I couldn’t determine if the man in The Box of Screaming codex was an elf and Solas’ agent until he confirmed it himself. They’re being intentionally vague.

WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN?!?! I thought our biggest worry was going to be those Executors, or even the kossith, from the land across the sea. What little we know about the land way up north seems to indicate something bad happened up there (maybe that’s why the humans and Qunari moved south?). I used to have links to info about the Anderfels trading with people from across the sea but I can’t find it... Might be in The World of Thedas somewhere?

This all sounds as legit as Helsgrim’s conspiracy theories but, hey! The Scaled Ones are real! Maybe my fever-brain is actually on to something.