The Tevinter Imperium is the oldest human empire on the continent of Thedas, and has cast a long shadow over the Dragon Age games since the opening cutscene of Origins. That cutscene declared that the ambitions of the Imperium’s Magisters had once brought the Darkspawn into the world. Dragon Age 4 will finally become the first game in the series to take players to the Imperium.
Tevinter has had a huge place in the lore of the Dragon Age games, even though they have yet to show it directly. Here’s what fans can expect from Tevinter in Dragon Age 4, from its architecture to its fashion, its politics, and its unique perspective on the history of Thedas.
From what has been revealed so far, Tevinter will have a dark Gothic aesthetic. Rain pours down on cobbled streets, dark towers float above, and orange stained glass windows abound. Magical signs almost look like gas lamps, helping create a city scene which feels more Victorian in its visuals than the typical medieval influences found in locations like Ferelden or the Renaissance-style opulence of Orlais.
The city shown in the Dragon Age 4 trailer from the Game Awards 2020 is almost certainly Minrathous, the biggest city in both the Imperium and all of Thedas. Minrathous is isolated on an island that is connected to the mainland by a single bridge, guarded by two enormous golems that helped maintain the city’s independence during the Qunari Wars.
The Dragon Age 4 behind-the-scenes trailer from Gamescom included Dragon Age 4‘s lead writer, who said that the game’s new protagonist would explore “what happens when you don’t have power.” That quote and the focus on the city in the later cinematic trailer might imply that players will start off in the dark streets and back-alleys of Minrathous. After all, there may be no better way to make the new protagonist start out as a nobody than to have them grow up in one of Thedas’ most densely populated locations.
The Tevinter Imperium’s relationship with magic is its single greatest point of contrast with the other human nations of Thedas. The Imperial Chantry has a very different interpretation of Andraste’s commandment that magic must serve man and never rule over him.
Instead of keeping its mages out of government and locking them away within the confines of the Circle of Magi, Tevinter is presided over by a magical ruling class known as the Magisters. The Magisters see the prophet Andraste‘s commandment as a call for a form of magical paternalism, not a warning to separate magic from the state. Ironically Tevinter still practices slavery despite its mages’ freedom.
The abundance of magic in Tevinter can already be seen in the design of the city shown in Dragon Age 4‘s trailer from the Game Awards 2020. As a figure – presumably the player character — sits on a rooftop overlooking the city, latent magical energy can be seen rising from a distant palace. In the next shot it is revealed that entire buildings are floating, while the city is lit by magical lights, giving it a very different look from places like Denerim and Kirkwall.
Tevinter will likely be affected by the war between the Templars and the Circle that featured in Dragon Age: Inquistion. It’s likely that, regardless of who the player sided with, the Imperium saw an influx of magical refugees. Indeed, Minrathous’ refugee population is already well-established in the lore. Many fled to the island city in the past to escape the Qunari, who use a painful poison called Qamek to turn any mages they capture into mindless slaves. Fans can expect magic to be ubiquitous across the Imperium, presenting new opportunities and challenges across Tevinter’s society.
In the Dragon Age games so far Tevinter has been defined as a far more alien counterpart to places like Ferelden and Orlais, which more closely resemble traditional fantasy versions of places like England and France. Just as its architecture has a more gothic look, fashion in Tevinter tends to veer towards stark contrasts between blacks, whites, golds, and dark blues. The Tevinter-style clothing revealed in concept art shows some of the grandiose splendor of Orlais, but with a grim aesthetic overtone that isn’t shared by the Imperium’s southern neighbors.
Dragon Age fans can expect the armor and clothing they’ll be equipping in Dragon Age 4 to take them to the extremes of high fashion, potentially allowing for some of the most unique looks seen in the series so far. Based on the costume seen in a recently-released piece of Dragon Age 4 concept art, some of Tevinter’s fashion has an almost steampunk look that once again appears to take influence from far later periods and different genres than earlier games.
Tevinter provides an opportunity for BioWare to explore a very different perspective on the history of Thedas than the other Dragon Age games. For a start, while the followers of the Andrastian Chantry believe that Tevinter’s Magisters Sidereal caused the creation of the Darkspawn by entering and corrupting the Maker’s Golden City, the Imperial Chantry rebukes that account.
While the other nations of Thedas made peace with the Qunari towards the end of the Storm Age, Tevinter never did. As such, it has technically been at war with the Qunari for centuries, and still lays claim to Par Vollen, the main home of the Qunari in Thedas. While the intensity of the fighting has varied over the decades, the events of Dragon Age: Inquisition hint that the conflict may be revived with new vigor. In Dragon 9:44 – the year of Inquisition’s Trespasser DLC – the Qunari attempted to use the Eluvians to assassinate many of Thedas’ leaders.
Tevinter’s Chantry is also in the unique position of presiding over the very nation that had the prophet Andraste executed. The Imperium’s Archon ended Andraste’s suffering using what became known as “the Blade of Mercy.” A decade later he would claim that the Maker spoke to him directly in that moment, converting the Imperium to the very religion it had fought to destroy. Players can expect Tevinter to have a unique and likely revealing perspective on events in both Thedas’ distant past and recent history.
Dragon Age 4 is in development.
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