Dragon Age 4 will take players north to the Tevinter Imperium for the first time, as they confront the growing forces of the Dread Wolf, who plans to bring down the barrier between Thedas and the magical realm of the Fade. The Dragon Age, however, is the ninth “age” of the continent’s history, and the series’ lore is full of important backstory which helps explain the dynamics between the kingdoms and factions of Thedas.
Tevinter is unique among the human nations of Thedas by the timeline in Dragon Age 4. It was the only human nation to refuse to sign a peace treaty with the Qunari, it has its own version of the Chantry, and not only does it not keep mages confined to the Circle of Magi, it is actively ruled over by mages. To understand why Tevinter is so different, fans have to understand the events of Thedas’ fifth age, the Exalted Age.
There have been nine ages in Thedas’ history, each one lasting approximately a century. The first age began with the creation of the Andrastian Chantry. At the end of every century, the Divine of the Chantry gives the coming century a new name, which also acts as a prophecy. The Blessed Age, for example, was prophesized to be a time of prosperity. Thedas writes dates in the format “9:30 Dragon.” In this example, “9” is the age — the ninth age — 30 is the year in the century, and Dragon is the name of the year.
The Exalted Age was preceded by the Black Age: The Black Age was named when the ruling Divine of the Andrastian Chantry called for action to be taken to destroy the Imperial Chantry, which was ruled by an alternate “Black” Divine in the Tevinter Imperium. The Andrastian Chantry and the Imperial Chantry remain major religions in Thedas by the Dragon Age. While both worship the Prophet Andraste, the Imperial Chantry believes that her teaching that “magic exists to serve man and never to rule over him” should be interpreted as a call for responsible rule by mages, rather than a ban on mages in government as it is interpreted in the other human nations.
During the Black Age the two versions of the Chantry went to war, and the Exalted Age was named for the Exalted Marches, holy crusades, which were still being carried out against the Imperial Chantry by the end of the century. Ironically, the Andrastian Chantry’s Exalted March would not last another decade into the new era. In 5:10 Exalted, the last Exalted March against Tevinter saw Orlais forced to retreat.
The start of the century was not not all bad for the Andrastian Chantry, however. That same year, the man who would later be known as Calenhad the Great, was born. He would one day unite the tribes of Ferelden into one nation. Because of this, he would be known as one of the Chantry’s “Anointed” in the Storm Age for unifying his nation under the Chantry’s religion. 5:10 Exalted also saw the Grey Wardens build a fort in Denerim, as well as other outposts to look for signs of any impending Darkspawn Blights.
In 5:12 Exalted, their caution proved prescient. The Fourth Blight began, putting a final end to the Exalted Marches as the continent faced disaster. Darkspawn overran Antiva, and when the royal family refused to lead they were killed by their own guards, though their deaths were reportedly caused by the Darkspawn. The Blight continued moving south through the Free Marches and Rivain. Tevinter and Orlais successfully mounted defenses, but the Imperium refused to help the other nations.
In 5:16, the Andrastian Chantry’s Divine Hortensia the Second died. She was replaced by Divine Rosamund, the youngest Divine ever chosen. In 5:20 the Grey Wardens were able to defeat the Darkspawn at Hossberg, while in Kirkwall, fears that Nugs carried the Blight led to their mass extermination, in an event known as the Battle of the Squealing Plains.
In 5:21 Exalted, the Darkspawn almost completely overrun the Free Marches. Many took refuge in a series of man-made caverns in the Vimmark Mountains known as the Retreat. By 5:22, the Grey Wardens had united the leaders of the Free Marches under their banner with the aim of retaking their city states. In 5:24 Exalted, the Grey Warden Garahel sacrificed himself to defeat the Blight’s Archdemon in Antiva, and the Fourth Blight officially ended. An Orlesian Captain named Lambert Valmont was praised as a hero. While the date is unspecified, Lambert’s son would one day take over the throne of Orlais, starting a new dynasty.
By 5:25 Exalted, the Griffons who had been vital to airborne evacuations during the Blight were extinct. In 5:33 Calenhad, the Great won the Battle of the White Valley and became Teyrn of Denerim. Between 5:37 Exalted and the following year, the new king of Nevarra, Tylus Van Markham, won several battles against Orlais, and Neverra’s power grew. In 5:42 Exalted, King Calenhad was crowned in Denerim and Ferelden was founded. In 5:71 Exalted, Divine Rosamund died, and is remembered for her immense compassion. She is replaced by Divine Amara the Third, who is far more violent in her outlook and is said to enjoy burning Maleficar at the stake.
Not much is recorded regarding the eighth and ninth decades of the Exalted Age, though this gap in history might be when the civil war broke out in Orlais, and led to the rise of the Valmont emperors. It is also said that Divine Amara’s reign did not last long, and that she was replaced by Divine Theodosia the First at some point in this period. It is Divine Theodosia who, in 5:99 Exalted, is haunted by dreams of Queen Madrigal. This Antivan Queen was found with four steel swords in her chest, a murder fan-favorite companion Varric Tethras believes was performed by a mysterious group known as the Executors. As a result, the Divine names the coming era the Steel Age.
Dragon Age 4 is in development.
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