Dragon Age: Far and Beyond

[junebug]

Overarching Plot

The world of Thedas is a difficult one. Life is hard for most, with beasts roaming the land, foul magics and demons corrupting innocents, men preying upon their neighbors, and monsters running amok beneath the surface. Throughout history, these monsters have invaded the surface, led by old gods corrupted by the taint of the darkspawn. Thedas has encountered previously five of these blights, and signs are pointing towards another on the horizon. Fearing the impending blight, a small band of Grey Wardens, an order of warriors whom serve the sole purpose of defending the world from the darkspawn and ending the blights, have begun searching for allies in the coming conflict, while tensions mount between the various kingdoms of Thedas.

General Lore

Within Nevarra, smaller villages outside of the major cities, Perendale, Hunter Fell, and Nevarra, have begun to notice strange figures off in the distance while hunting and gathering out in the forests. The possible death of those who travel around these areas have steadily increased, only to never be heard from again, and the plants and animals have been begun to rot and wither, even within the spring and summer months.

Rumors are spread that the "poisoning of the ground" and disappearances are because of Tevinter Imperium, though no one has been able to prove this. Since the activity surrounding these strange events have not matched up with Blights in the past, Nevarra is caught long-winded in growing desperate for closure with King Markus Pentaghast growing closer to his death bed.

The Free Marches to the east of Nevarra are aloof, yet intrigued by the growing situation. Rivain, Ferelden, and Anderfels, however, want nothing to do with the rising international tension. On top of this, Orlais is itching for Nevarra's land and scheming quietly behind the scenes.

Lore Chapters

1. Nevarran Culture
2. Grey Wardens

 

[Verran]

Culture and Society of Nevarra

Nevarra is renowned for its art. The whole country is filled with artistry, from the statues of heroes that litter the streets in even the meanest villages to the glittering golden College of Magi in Cumberland.

Nevarra City in particular engages in numerous cultural events and contests throughout the year. In summer the nobility participate in the "Duchess's Games" at the Anaxas estate, in which scholars from Cumberland test their wit against denizens of the Free Marches in debates of philosophy and rhetoric, usually taking place over tea with the reigning Duke or Duchess.

In autumn in Nevarra City the residents hold ancestral pageants. Lanterns are lit on the streets to illuminate the statues of ancestors and families drape their statues in colorful cloth and hire actors to stand by them at night to enact momentous events from their lives. The actors are paid in copper coins. The best pageantry takes place on the boulevard leading to the Castrum Draconis, in which statues of kings and queens are prominent. Pentaghasts and Van Markhams compete to outdo one another in extravagant pageantry here. Rumor holds that Mortalitasi of the Grand Necropolis perform autumn rites at this time as well.

In winter skating takes place on the Minanter, fueled by roasted chestnuts and hot spiced tea. As winter was also historically the time of dragon hunting, due to the sluggishness of the dragons in the cold weather, hunt balls are still held in winter despite the scarcity of such dragon hunts in recent times. Some homes keep dragon's hearts or heads as gruesome centerpieces. The hunt balls have become more of a metaphor for the hunt itself, with couples dressing in armor and flowing red cloth as they dance together.

In spring Nevarra holds Wintersend tournaments to great acclaim. These days there is less jousting and more tests of arms in archery and sword fighting.

Beetles are considered prized in Nevarra, and many households keep them in small cages for good luck. They also use encrusted beetle wings for decorative purposes.



Death and magic

Mages of Nevarra have more political power than mages in other countries under the aegis of the Chantry, and wield nearly as much power within Nevarra as the magisters of the Tevinter Imperium.

Nevarrans have a unique relationship with magic and death. They believe that when a dead soul crosses the Fade it displaces a Fade spirit. In order to provide safe hosts for such spirits they mummify their corpses and place them in elaborate crypts in the Grand Necropolis. This task is entrusted to a secretive order of mages known as Mortalitasi, founded by a Tevinter mage named Vitus Fabria, who first preached the idea. Its gray-robed members enjoy wealth and political power as they often serve as advisers to Nevarran nobility, including the kings.

Because they rarely leave Nevarra, much of the Mortalitasi's practices are shrouded in mystery and fear, even to mages outside the nation's borders. They are rumored to be a death cult and experiment with necromancy, but whatever the truth, they are arguably the most well-schooled mages outside of the Tevinter Imperium.


Dragon-hunting

The Pentaghast clan is renowned for its past dragon hunter heroes, each of whom led a crusade to hunt dragons to extinction - and nearly succeeded. While the dragons were a scourge for a very long time, the Nevarrans' hunt for their dragonbone (from which they made the famed ebony armor worn by their kings) and glory almost wiped them out in the Steel Age and dragons were thought extinct until their reappearance in the Dragon Age.

 

[Verran]

Tevinter Imperium Cultural Lore:

Decadence upon decadence is core of the Tevinter Imperium, much as it is to their distant cousins in Orlais save that, instead of the traditional Chantry and the empress or emperor, the Imperial Chantry and its ambitious, ruling magisters stand at the center. These magisters hold a vice-tight grip over the people through infiltrating their dreams with blood magic. Checking their thoughts to purge disloyal elements from its upper echelons while playing in deadly political power struggles with each other. Technically, there is a ban upon blood magic in Teveinter as with much of Thedas, though the ban is only paid lip service to; even the most devout mages know the basics. The noble families only cease their political maneuvering in the event of major crisis, such as Blights, major wars, and acts of sedition among the lower classes. Though the foremost of these can be often delayed in being responded to.

There are roughly three different classes within Tevinter society. First are the mages, the land's nobility that mix with the clergy, who play the political games of supremacy. They often ignore outside threats to the country until they become too much of a nuisance to ignore. Within the mages, there exist noble-bred altus, who sneer at the laetans, who sneer at the praeteri. Next are soporati, sleepers, who make up the non-magical masses of the Imperium. Merchants, soldiers, land-owner, property owners, and low end chantry members. Without a mage being born into the family, one can only advance so far. Last are the slaves, who are also stratified between freed liberati, who cannot have a say in government or join the military unless magic is discovered in their blood but can own land, and the 'serbus publicus' who are slaves in full and hold no rights. These slaves can be elves, humans, and qunari. Still, they too try to scheme for freedom.

To delve more into the mages, Altus claim heritage to the ancient dreamers and leaders of the Tevinter Imperium who, it is said, were able to commune with the Old Gods. Incidentally, they were hunted in ages past for their involvement with creating the Blights, though the Imperial Chantry blames strictly the Old Gods, rather than those magisters. Laetans are mages are those born of soporati families. Lastly are the praeteri whose family comes from the lower classes, such as slavery, and usually die out, or are killed off, before the proper number of generations pass and they are able become laetans.

Now to sum up the political situation and hierarchy within the Imperium, to give structure to the scheming of the mages. At the top is the Archon who rules with the might of their magic and appoints their own successor, often family or an apprentice. Their rule is supplemented by the Imperial Senate that is divided into two houses: the Magisterium and the Publicanium. The former holds the true power while the latter exists to pacify the non-magic masses. The Magisterium, or magisters, choose the heir of the Archon, provided the Archon does not choose one and that the one they choose is not in the Magisterium or the Chantry, and also acts as the legislative body in the empire. The other entity of power within the Tevinter Imperium is Imperial Chantry, also called the Black Chantry. This has male and female mage priests and headed up by its own Divine. It does not recognize the authority of the classical Chantry and openly defies it.


A few notable snippets about the Tevinter Imperium:

• Both its great relationship with the dwarves, as they buy extensive amounts of lyrium from them, and that they have three gigantic, age-old war golems called Juggernauts they bought from them.
• Female involvement with the military is severely restricted.
• Its continued wars with the Qunari are what prevent it from turning on the rest of Thedas.
• There is an argument to be made that it has the largest and most diverse army in Thedas, helped by the fact that they have war elephants.
• Same-sex relationships are usually hidden, but not prohibited and even encouraged with favored slaves. Similarly, transgender individuals face no official persecution, but can be the cause of scandal if in the upper echelons of society; though, the military is far stricter in this matter. (How transgenders exist within a medieval, fantasy society is beyond me, but the wiki is the wiki and I have little knowledge to the process of changing one's gender beyond the use of being injected with the proper hormones.)
• Buildings use strong horizontals and verticals in their design and look. Magic is often used in their construction to create majestically sized structure.
• Tevinter is well known for its valuable gems and metals.

 

[Verran]

The Mage and Templar Conflict: The Chantry's Heavenly Strategy

The year is 9:34 Dragon, and newly appointed Divine Justinia V of the Chantry realizes that danger is on the horizon. The mages, long having been bound to their circles or face the wrath of the Templar order, the military arm of the Chantry, are stirring for freedom. In response, the extreme elements within the Templars are pulling tighter and tighter at the limits the Chantry attempts to set upon them as they seek to hem the Circles in. Foreseeing the coming conflict and wishing to have as little blood spilt as possible while reconsolidating the Chantry's authority over both groups, Divine Justinia V makes a move to shake all of Thedas. She sets the mages free.

Citing this decision based upon the ideals that all are equal within the Maker's sight and that "magic exists to serve man and never rule over him." Declaring that letting the fear of magic rule over them was equal to magic itself ruling over man, she was able to earn many friends within the now defunct circles. Naturally, many objected and extreme Templars and clerics began rallying against both the Divine and attacking mages. The Divine then enacted the second part of her heavenly strategy. Justinia V issued two decrees. The first declaring the extremists heretics, ostracizing these members from influencing the rest of the Chantry. The second was that every mage who professed their faith in the Maker would receive the Chanty's protection.

The potency of this move cannot be understated. First, as all the assaulting Templars were now heretics, the mages could defend themselves without fear of reprisal from the Chantry. Second, those who turned to the Chantry received active Templar protection. Certainly, a mage is devastating and they could possibly survive, but the elite soldiers of the Templar had eons learning how to fight them. Many of the defunct and divided Circles, when faced with the nigh on ensured security of the Chantry or the uncertainty of going it alone against dangerously trained heretics, chose the Chanty. While some may argue that the local and various kingdom forces could have protected the mages, most simply tried to stay out of the fighting as best they could and sometimes would even attack both groups when battles erupted within cities.

The loyal Templar and Mages fought together against the heretical extremists. The initial bought of conflict was bloody and chaotic and the conflict itself would be a long thirty years. But, eventually, the wars would die down, leaving a weakened, but united, Chantry. However, this was not the end of the Divine's plan. Throughout the conflict, Templar held long vigil in old Circle structures and often had to move the Mages to safer locations. During this, they would also collect numerous texts on magical lore and transport them to Val Royeaux and the Grand Cathedral, turning it into magical capital that sought to rival the knowledge of the Tevinter Magisters. Working closely with numerous First Enchanters who joined the Chantry, Divine Justinia V created a mage school that, while no one was required to attend, brought numerous mages under its banner and ensured that the Chantry's teachings would remain dominant in the hearts and minds of its students as they studies magic. It was named simply, Divine Magelight. The conflict wound down to a close and, as years past and turned into decades, many mages who graduated from Divine Magelight would join the military might of the purified Templars. Some mages would choose to remain distant from the Chantry and a few would even establish magic universities of their own upon the continent, but none of these can match the grandeur seen in Val Royeaux. In time, the Chantry arose again to its former martial glory and, in embracing both magic and faith, surpassed it and became perhaps the most powerful entity on the continent of Thedas with its greatest internal division healed.


Other effects from the Mage and Templar Conflict:

• Despite its efforts, Magisters from the Tevinter Imperium were never able to gain much foothold with the newly freed Circles due to the quick strokes of the Divine. Both their Imperial church and Magisters eye the growing might of the Chantry with concern and plot how to disrupt it.
• With it's changed outlook on magic, the Chantry has found new footholds within Rivain. Its spiritual seers find the new appreciation for their connection to the Fade and its spirits refreshing and offers of positions as clerics within the Chantry act as enticing offers to expand their influence beyond their settlement's borders.
• Blood magic is still illegal and is only studied in seeking to counter it. Still banned for how easy it is to summon demons with it, that it can be used to dominate the minds of others, and the simple fact that the act of harming oneself and others to simply use magic is abhorrent in the eyes of the Maker. It is taught that those who use blood magic are power hungry, evil, desperate, or too pathetic to take the hard road of learning. The dwarves quietly support this as it means the mages still rely upon lyrium they mine.
• The mage Circles, as they were, have been disbanded. Instead, the name has become that of special prisons to hold mages who have actively assaulted the citizens of the nation they reside in. Why do mages get special prisons? Cause they can melt bars with magic. A traditional cell just doesn't really cut it.