After the fall of their great elven city of Arlathan and the empire of Elvhenan, they were plundered by the Tevinter Imperium which followed subsequent generations of slavery. They sought to recreate their culture in the Dales, but after three centuries, the Dales collapsed to one of the Chantry's Exalted Marches.
Andaran atish’an, da'len - Enter this place in peace, child.
The Elves of Dragon Age are one of the most detailed and lore-expanding races out there. No, truly, everything in Thedas eventually comes from elvhen culture. Even so, many fans may be unaware of the little secrets and mysteries kept by this race. So here are 5 Things They Never Told You About Elves.
Elves Created the Joining
Well, mainly the knowledge. After the Veil was established, Elves are claimed to have noticed a shortening of their lifetime, which ended their immortality and scared them away from human contact. As a result, the elves of ancient Arlathan either fled into hiding with the arrival of the Humans in -3100 Ancient or were slaves for generations in the Tevinter Imperium.
When the First Blight hit in -395 Ancient, it lasted more than one hundred years. Many thought it to be the end of days. Entire generations lived and died warring with the darkspawn, as it spread across most of the regions in Thedas. When the Blight was at its most bleak, the Grey Wardens were born. The Order was founded at Fortress Weisshaupt in the Anderfels.
And according to the Dragon Age TTRPG -
Elven slaves were among the few who flocked to the young order of Grey Wardens during the seemingly endless First Blight.
The nascent Grey Wardens experimented in secret. In addition to learning from Donark practices and Tevinter blood mages, they studied lore from ancient Arlathan. This knowledge was conveyed by elven slaves who provided it on the condition that the Grey Wardens would hold elves equal with the other races among their ranks, and turn their efforts to elven liberation once the Blight was defeated. (read aloud)
— Game Masters Guide, Set 2
And the Joining ritual could have been worse during this age since history fails to record that their victory was due, in part, to their enemies' confusion. The Darkspawn had a difficult time distinguishing the freshly joined Grey Wardens from their own kind.
It's amazing to observe how the elvhen race ultimately developed a means to battle the Blight, but their forefathers avoided it by sealing the Deep Roads. The Wardens have a favorable background, because their Order frees those who are enslaved, whether they be slaves from Tevinter or mages from the Circle; all are equal to a common goal, to defeat the Blight and the Archdemons.
Broken Cultures
Unfortunately, the Dragon Age elves are infamous for their fractured civilizations. Whether people follow traditions half-heartedly or cling to things that were viewed negatively in ancient times. Their civilizations have evolved dramatically throughout the ages.
Elvhen, sometimes known as ancient elves, were a race of elegant, ethereal immortals who lived in peace with nature. They lived in a world without the Veil and saw the Fade as natural, similar to the "sky." Magic, which was intrinsically linked to their civilization, was now fractured and lost when the Veil was established. This was also of their past becoming forgotten.
The main culture we know that tries to tie back to their roots is the Dalish. Dalish elves attempt to recover, inherit, and protect the two destroyed kingdoms' (which are the Dales & Arlathan's) wisdom and precious artifacts. As a means of survival, they lived nomadic existence, roaming across Thedas.
Unfortunately, the Dalish do their best but wind up bargaining with Spirits & Demons for lost knowledge and in turn, making their camps into curses and abominations. According to Solas and Felassan of the Masked Empire, both of whom are considered Ancient elves, Dalish legends and lore of their ancient culture are half-true.
According to what we know about the Alienages, the elvhen civilization was established amid the inner human cities. They admire the Dalish for being honorable in finding their old paths, and cling to the Vhenadahl, a tree that surrounds the Alienages as a way to adhere to their culture as an elf- although many elves forget this importance, and it is now worthless to many in their day.
So it is with the vhenadahl, the tree of the people. Every alienage has one, I'm told. Or they used to. When I was a little girl, my mother told me the tree was a symbol of Arlathan, but not even she knew more. Keeping the vhenadahl is just a habit, now. Many cities have let theirs wither and die, then chopped them up for firewood. No great loss.
Nonetheless, there are several elements to blame for the elves' Broken cultures, including the previously mentioned Veil and the continuous ages of domination and enslavement. The elves have also been recognized to be valuable in recent ages since the establishment of the Veil.
Evanuris Dilemma
'They sleep, masked behind a mirror, and to wake them'
—Cole, Dragon Age: Inquisition
With our involvement with Solas to Mythal, I have little doubt that the Evanuris are behind many things in Thedas, including the Veil and maybe the birth of the Blights. The elves are indeed responsible for many things, but the Evanuris are not who we believe they are.
According to the Trespasser DLC in Dragon Age: Inquisition, the Evanuris, the gods of the elvhen pantheon, are just as mortal as slaves and can therefore can be killed. Fen'Harel was one of the Gods that battled alongside the emancipated slaves against them.
Many fans are perplexed and intimidated by the lore because there are 9 gods in the Elvhen pantheon, needless to include the Forgotten Ones that thrive in the Abyss/Void.
To summarize easily, (according to Dalish legend), the two paternity gods are Elgar'nan and Mythal. The remainder are listed below them. Originally in the ancient times, there were seven gods, and two of them were admitted to the pantheon as praised gods; those two are known as Fen'Harel and Ghilan'nain.
(add professor Kenric scene)
Fen'Harel is the rebel god ('harel' or 'harellan' translates to'rebel'), who released the elvhen slaves from the Evanuris and deceived them and the Forgotten Ones into building a weapon that would end their ceaseless warfare against each other. He imprisoned them both into their respective realms, the Evanuris in the heavens and the Forgotten Ones in the depths of the abyss.
Ghilan'nain created monsters and beasts to be feared and even revered. With her involvement and perhaps a relationship with Andruil, her talent in making these animals made her an acclaimed and respected Evanuris.
But, despite their wisdom, the elvhen pantheon was infamous for its greed and brutality towards one another. And things became so terrible that the pantheon's elvhen mother, Mythal, was slaughtered by her own kind, the Evanuris. Falon'Din and Andruil were the two culprits that plotted her death, and with Flemeth's knowledge and the treachery of her lovers, Elgar'nan may have become engaged as well.
From what we know of the Evanuris, which is still little, we may deduce that they were not good gods, and Mythal and Fen'Harel are surely not morally faultless either. However, the next following section may clarify their overall nature:
Ancient Elves are Spirits
The first of them could be. As stated by Solas, the elves of ancient times inhabited where the Fade and the Waking World were once one. Magic was as basic as breathing, proven by the Vir Dirthara in Trespasser, spirits were intrinsically linked to their civilization.
According to the Chant of Light, spirits are the Maker's first children, they could create and primarily occupy the Golden City, the equivalent to the heavens/throne. However, the Maker was not satisfied and therefore casted them out of the City to create life.
Of course, that is one tale dragon age likes to tell. But Spirits as we know are created from living beings for a sole purpose, such as faith, wisdom, or even anger & pride. The best link to elvhen being considered as spirits is Elgar'nan's name translation.
Elgar'nan is the Father of the Elvhen Pantheon and the God of Vengeance.
Elgar translated from elvhen means "spirit"
nan translated from elvhen means "revenge, or vengeance"
So his name translated means Spirit of Revenge/Vengeance
Because Elgar'nan is renowned as the God of Vengeance, is it possible that all of the first elves are only spirits who will eventually take on a body? It raises the possibility that spirits are more closely linked with elves than we believe.
This might also explain the idea of elven immortality, perhaps elves were naturally linked to spirits and hence could live longer lives, as proven with Wynne, Zathrian, and even Flemeth. Despite the fact that this is a theory, the lore appears to explain itself through the secrets of the elvhen race.
Lyrium Infused Bodies
Merely a theory until the arrival of the Trespasser DLC from Dragon Age: Inquisition. When speaking with Cole, he says a number of things, but this phrase is where the possibility of lyrium bodies becomes a reality.
'They made bodies from the earth, and the earth was afraid. It fought back, but they made it forget.' —Cole, Trespasser DLC
Codex entries explained a big war between the elvhen warring with the Titans.
"Hail Mythal, adjudicator and savior! She has struck down the pillars of the earth and rendered their demesne unto the People! Praise her name forever!"
—Veilfire Runes in the Deep Roads
The notion is that the elves warred with the Titans for their power and created lyrium infused bodies for their slaves. The easiest indicator to see this being true is from the story of Fenris from Dragon Age 2, and the comic Blue Wraith.
Fenris, also known as Leto, was a Tevinter Imperium slave whose master was Magister Danarius. Danarius was inspired to create a sarcophagas that absorbed lyrium into the skin by old elvhen writings and knowledge.
'Danarius was an accomplished mahe who experimented heavily with magic & lyrium and constantly pushed the boundaries of what lyrium could do. In his research, he stumbled upon an ancient treatise that described a process of embedding lyrium beneath the skin.'
—World of Thedas Vol. 2
Fenris was the elf who had been placed into the sarcophagas. Fenris then was covered with lyrium-infused marks that give him the abnormal ability to phase through solid objects, and tethered to the Fade.
Since this knowledge was known in the past, the Evanuris would have used lyrium to infuse with the flesh of their elvhen slaves to wage war against their adversaries, maybe even the Forgotten Ones.
This is especially frightening to consider because red lyrium existed in Arlathan's ancient times, implying that red lyrium may have been weaponized as well.
Whatever the case, the elves of Thedas are by far the most mysterious race of Thedas, and I hope we get to learn more about them in Dragon Age: Dreadwolf.
But with that, we are going to wrap up, 5 Things They Never Told You About Elves. Which on this list was your favourite? Also, do you normally play as an elf in Dragon Age? Let me know in the comments down below, and if you don't comment, I will make the Dread Wolf enter into your dreams. 0_0
I wish he was in my dreams, anyways, thank you for watching and I will see you in the next video. Or as the elvhen say, Dareth shiral, da'len, safe journeys, child.
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