Many fans of Dragon Age are hoping that BioWare’s upcoming Dragon Age 4 will resolve some of the biggest unanswered questions in the franchise’s history. Many want to know the definitive origins of the Darkspawn, with the Chantry and the Tevinter Imperium giving alternate accounts. Others want to know where the Qunari came from, and why they seem to have a strange connection to dragon blood.
One of the most fascinating mysteries in Dragon Age‘s lore, however, is the unresolved murder of Queen Madrigal of Antiva. There have been a few hints about who might of been responsible, but fans have been left with very few clues as to why the queen may have been assassinated. There are some big hints in Dragon Age: Inquisition and other recent media from the franchise, however, that Dragon Age 4 will finally provide some answers as part of a far larger reveal.
Queen Madrigal was the ruler of the northeastern nation of Antiva towards the end of the Exalted Age: Named for the Exalted Marches being carried out by the Andrastrian Chantry, against the splinter Chantry of the Tevinter Imperium.
The murder took place in 5:99 Exalted, more than three hundred years before the events of Dragon Age: Origins. Queen Madrigal’s favorite pastime was hunting, and when she left on one such hunt, a festival was planned for her return. The queen’s return never came, however. Eventually, she was found in the woods, impaled on four steel swords. To make matters even more mysterious, one such blade was an exact replica of the Blade of Mercy.
The Blade of Mercy is an important religious relic in Chantry lore. It belonged to Archon Hessarian, the ruler of the Tevinter Imperium during the time of the prophet Andraste. When Andraste was being burned alive by the Imperium, the Maker himself supposedly spoke to Hessarian. Filled with remorse he drew his blade and plunged it into the prophet’s heart — though some depictions also show him cutting her head off. In any case, the Archon would claim ten years later that it was the Maker who inspired his act of mercy, leading to the creation of the Imperial Chantry.
Contemporary attempts were made to solve the mystery of Madrigal’s murder. Antivan Captain Aristide managed to capture some assassins from the Antivan Crows, but their questioning, and even torture, got the Captain no closer to discovering who was behind his queen’s death.
Meanwhile, it’s said that a vision of the queen appeared to Divine Theodosia, the First of the Chantry. This dream inspired her to name the coming century the Steel Age, after the swords that took Madrigal’s life.
There are a few rumors about who might be behind Madrigal’s death. According to some stories, Queen Madrigal received a prophecy that she would be killed by a Witch of the Wilds. It’s possible that this was Flemeth‘s daughter Yavana, who lived in the Tellari swamps of Antiva. However, there is also an unnamed Witch of the Wilds who supposedly granted Xenon the Antiquarian eternal life — though in a classic twist of fate, not eternal youth.
Supposedly Madrigal’s son Eladio was also supposed to die with her. The prince grew very ill, and the story goes that Madrigal’s hunt was in fact a cover for her going out to meet the apostate. After Madrigal’s murder, Prince Eladio would survive for some time, though he mysteriously disappeared a year before he would have been of age to be officially coronated.
If Yavana was involved, fans are unlikely to gain much closure on the mystery. In the comic series Dragon Age: The Silent Grove, Yavana is killed by King Alistair of Ferelden. Alistair is accompanied in the story by Isabela and fan-favorite companion Varric Tethras. Varric, however, has a theory about Queen Madrigal’s murder that suggests that Yavana may not have been involved at all.
In his book “Hard in Hightown,” Varric Tethras claims that a letter eventually surfaced that took credit for the queen’s murder. This letter was supposedly marked with the seal of a mysterious group known as the Executors. There is a lot of evidence that the identity of the Executors will finally be revealed in Dragon Age 4.
The Executors are a mysterious group, and possibly even a new race in Dragon Age, who speak “on behalf of powers across the sea.” Very little is known about the other continents of Dragon Age‘s world, other than that the Qunari and humans of Thedas arrived from the north.
The Executors’ marking is a downward-pointing triangle with two wavy lines through it, which presumably represent the seas. In 9:41 Dragon, the Executors contacted the Inquisition, leaving their marking at Inquisition outposts across Thedas. Cullen suggests that pursuing the investigation further is pointless, while Leliana wants to find out who the Executors really are. If the Inquisitor sides with Cullen, three Inquisition outposts on the border with Nevarra are found mysteriously abandoned, with the following message left behind:
“We hold your Inquisition in high esteem. Thedas’ present troubles are great, but you have the strength to meet and conquer them. More will come. We prepare for the day and hold vigil. Do not look for your men; do not mourn them. They have given themselves of their own free will to a higher cause.
On behalf of powers across the sea,
The Executors”
If they side with Leliana, they receive a message suggesting that Leliana’s investigation has come to a dead end. In Dragon Age: Tevinter Nights, an Executor is at a meeting of spies discussing the Dread Wolf. They are described as hooded, with a voice that could have been young or old, male or female. Before they can share their story Solas petrifies them, and warns the others that the Executors are dangerous.
This makes it seem very likely that the true identity of the Executors, and by extension the real reason behind the murder of Queen Madrigal at the end of the Exalted Age, will finally be revealed in Dragon Age 4. For now, however, who the Executors are and their true motives have yet to be revealed.
Dragon Age 4 is in development.
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