#thedas lore

Andraste's champion is chosen.

The fall or Arlathan and Tevinter.

In previous games old stories used to say that Arlathan sunk into the ground due to Tevinter blood magic and elves lost their immortality because of the prologued contact with humas. But since Trespasser we know that’s not completely true. Arlathan dropped because it was powered by the magic that’s now part of the fade and we got a confirmation that elves lost their immortality when Solas created the Veil. Also we now know that humans arrived in Thedas only after the creation of the Veil (which can lead to stories that connect one with the other since both elves being mortal and humans being able to live in Thedas were caused, it seems, by the same event). Additionally Abelas even says in Inquisition that when Tevinter grew enough to be a problem they were just scavenging from the corps of a long gone empire.

But now, replaying Bellara’s quest to stop the ritual, both her and Neve commented how this used to be a busy city with monumental streets and tens of thousands elves living there until Tevinter destroyed it and…I am very confused.

Dragon Age: The History and Lore of Thedas

I'm only on the third video and I already LOVE how they're presenting the information. The videos are presented in a college lecture kind of format, the second video is presented as an in universe lecture which was really fun, and the information is so well stated. I think they're a perfect primer/refresher for when DATV drops in the fall!

Alright, so I was chatting with @celeritassagittae and we’ve been talking about how Orlais might look if it were based on actual Medieval France for a little while, and I finally decided to crack down and do some research.  I had to crack down on my old college textbook list to find some of my sources, but I’ve found them!

Celeritas confirmed for me that Ferelden is most likely based on 12th-ish century England, with emphasis on it being a post-Magna Carta society, with a less centralized focus of power (weakened monarchy), and I decided to look at France around the same time to keep things as consistent as possible.

And if we’re doing that, then Orlais, according to what I’ve read, would actually be heading in the opposite direction as Ferelden in terms of the centralization of power.

With the feudal system of the 11th century, we had nobles and serfs, and the aristocracy was actually incredibly democratic in the sense that greater lords relied on the support and loyalty of their vassals, who held power enough to actually resist their overlord if they didn’t approve of an order he gave.

And the barter economy seemed to ensure that most petty wars waged amongst the aristocracy were localized, and were really only fought so that one lord or vassal could increase his resources with that which he captured from a conquered neighbor.

But then the 12th century saw an introduction of money currency, collected from town fairs, and later taxes, that allowed for greater stratification among the aristocracy; great lords became greater, and lesser lords became ever more restricted, which created a centralization of power and influence.

Ultimately, the greater lords and princes, and the monarchy as well, grew stronger over time, which takes Orlais in a more centralized direction in terms of government development than Ferelden.

And might actually have an interesting impact on the Orlesian occupation of Ferelden. If Orlais is more centralized, and the resources of all the lesser lords become, as a result, more organized under a single close-knit aristocracy, then it might be easier for them to overtake a more scattered Ferelden, which - if they had a development like the Magna Carta - would have to adjust to the growing pains of dispersed power and a looser and more unorganized government structure.

And Orlais can still have an aspect of decadence to its culture 

As the stratification of the noble classes increased, we saw the rise of the courtier in French noble and royal society.

Something that also rose to prominence in French medieval society in the 12th and 13th century was the burgher/townsman class. More and more, this new “middle class” was the one from which paid officials were chosen by the greater princes and monarchs to handle official business of running fiefs/land/handling finances/etc. This left the lesser nobles with even less control and practical powers, but still the social circles of France valued the lesser nobles because of the value placed on history, heritage, and tradition. It’s the “old money” vs. “new money” angle; a townsman could be the steward for a great noble with vast tracts of land, but a lesser noble born to the class would most likely be a more valued companion to that great noble.

And so the lesser nobles over time slowly morph into the courtiers that are so popular in stories of courtly love and intrigue.

Consider this the first part of hopefully more random rambles about history and how I hope to nerdily incorporate it into Thedas! Religion will probably be next because I have THOUGHTS about Andrastianism’s portrayal, history, and development throughout the DA series.

I have reworked my ‘The World of Thedas audiobook series’, chunking them into smaller blocks and eliminating the fluff so that each video is just the straight facts, with the fluff set aside in bonus content audiobooks - as well as re-recorded the audio with a text-to-speech voice pronounces the words with better accuracy. (A Scottish english voice that in my personal head canon is 'Rylen’ 😶😁)

I’m a huge advocate for inclusive accessibility, but unfortunately, this amazing read was never made available as an audiobook because of the manner in which it was published - sections being broken up, and possibly even on multiple pages.

So it is because of this lapse in accessability, along with my undying love of the DA-verse, and need for everyone to love it as much as I do - that I began reformatting this massive book manually, and recording so that everyone could enjoy the Maker’s blessing that it is.