History Franchise / DragonAge

** Case in point, there's a reason '''Dragon Age Lore''' folder above comes with a disclaimer regarding this, because some events that are accepted as fact by ''all'' sides involved turn out to have not progressed the way the in-universe history portrays it. [[spoiler:For example, as noted below, the downfall of the Elvhenan and the end of Elvhen immortality had ''nothing to do'' with the arrival of the humans to Thedas, and in fact had already concluded by the time the first Human tribes had set foot on the continent. The only civilization that seems to have its history in somewhat of a straight line are the Dwarves, due to their habit of storing their memories in Lyrium in their Shaperates, and even then there's only so much they have recorded, not to mention it's pretty much admitted that it's common for their history to be "tweaked" here and there via the erasure or rewriting of certain memories in order to suit the whims of those in charge.]]

** Red Crossing is revealed to have all been fueled by this. [[spoiler:An Emerald Knight fell in love with a female human villager, leading to him DefectingForLove and ConvertingForLove. However, he didn't tell his fellow Emerald Knights what he was doing, so when they saw him convert they assumed he had turned spy or switched sides. They followed him to the village, saw his human lover running toward them with [[PoorCommunicationKills what they thought was a weapon in her hand, and shot her in a panic]]. When her fellow villagers saw her lying dead at their feet, [[KickTheDog they killed her elven lover in retaliation]] and [[ZergRush tried to kill the Emerald Knights]], [[NoSell who slaughtered them in self-defense]]. Then they saw that the "weapon" in her hand was actually a LoveLetter from their fallen comrade. [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone Filled with remorse for what they had done]], the Emerald Knights set up a tomb to honor the StarCrossedLovers and set the record straight... [[ShaggyDogStory and then the tomb lay forgotten for centuries after the Emerald Knights were wiped out in the Exalted March against the Dales, and the Dales annexed by Orlais]]. To think, the elven homeland was taken back by the humans all because an elf wanted to marry a human.]]

** Case in point, the Dragon Age Lore folder above comes with a disclaimer regarding this, even then things that are accepted as fact by ''all'' sides involved turn out to have not progressed the way the in-universe history portrays it. [[spoiler:For example, as noted below, the downfall of the Elvhenan and the end of Elvhen immortality had ''nothing to do'' with the arrival of the humans to Thedas, and in fact had already concluded by the time the first Human tribes had set foot on the continent. The only civilization that seems to have its history in somewhat of a straight line are the Dwarves, due to their habit of storing their memories in Lyrium in their Shaperates, and even then there's only so much they have recorded, not to mention it's pretty much admitted that it's common for their history to be "tweaked" here and there via the erasure or rewriting of certain memories in order to suit the whims of those in charge.]]

** Case in point, the Dragon Age Lore folder above comes with a disclaimer regarding this, even then things that are accepted as fact by ''all'' sides involved turn out to have not progressed the way the in-universe history portrays it. [[spoiler:For example, as noted below, the downfall of the Elvhenan and the end of Elvhen immortality had ''nothing to do'' with the arrival of the humans to Thedas, and in fact had already concluded by the time the first Human tribes had set foot on the continent. The only civilization that seems to have its history in somewhat of a straight line are the Dwarves, due to their habit of storing their memories in Lyrium in their Shaperates, and even then there's only so much they have recorded, not to mention it's pretty much admitted that it's common for their history to be "tweaked" here and there via the erasure of certain memories in order to suit the whims of those in charge.]]

With their knowledge of the Fade and an extensive use of BloodMagic, the [[TheMagocracy Tevinter Magisters]] strengthened their hold on Thedas, their power opposed by few and matched by none. But man grew proud and eventually set out to commit the ultimate sacrilege: to enter the Fade in the flesh and to set foot into the Golden City itself, thereby expanding the Tevinter Empire beyond the realm of mortals. By spending most of the Empire's lyrium (and [[HumanResources slave blood]]) supplies, a group of Magisters infiltrated the City, but, according to the Chantry, were met by the Maker, who apparently gave them [[TheReasonYouSuck quite the earful]] before casting them from the Golden City, cursed and irreversibly corrupted. They became the first Darkspawn, wretched, mindless creatures existing solely to exterminate all other life. The City itself was corrupted, as well, henceforth known as the Black City, and thus, for the second time, the Maker abandoned His children, just as He did with the spirits before.\\\

BeneathTheEarth, in the meantime, the [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame dwarves]] built a great empire of the underground cavern cities, or "thaigs", connected by a vast tunnel network known as the Deep Roads. For over six thousand years, their civilizations flourished alone--though eventually they made contact with the Elvhen, then later the humans following the Elvhen-human war. They fared better in their relationship with the humans than the Elvhen did, especially since they supplied the Tevinters with [[AppliedPhlebotinum lyrium]]--outcroppings of the Fade in mineral form that they used to power their magic. To a regular mortal, lyrium is a highly dangerous and volatile substance, even moreso for mages and those with a deep connection to the Fade such as the likes of those which make up the majority of the Tevinter elite, and is capable of causing severe mental and physical damage with a mere ''touch''. Dwarves, however, have no connection to the Fade, and therefore can handle and refine lyrium with significantly (but not completely) reduced risk, which they take advantage of to establish and hold a monopoly over the trade of anything to do with lyrium.\\\

The Darkspawn fled underground and it wasn't long before they grew in number, using the Deep Roads of the Dwarven Empire to quickly breed a horde. Soon, they found and corrupted one of the [[OurDragonsAreDifferent draconic Old Gods]] of Tevinter, Dumat, who was locked in an underground prison by the Maker millenia ago, turning him into the first Archedmon. The first to face the assault of the [[TheHorde Darkspawn Horde]] led by Dumat were the dwarves. Thanks to the invention of {{golem}}s, they managed to hold on for decades, but even then it was a losing battle. Eventually, the secret of golem-making was lost in the Deep Roads, and the dwarven civilization, no longer able to maintain their numbers, collapsed, losing all but a handful of thaigs. Meanwhile, on the surface, the Horde laid siege on all of Thedas, splintering the Tevinter Empire into many disjointed enclaves. After almost two centuries of continuous strife, TheOrder of the [[ImpartialPurposeDrivenFaction Grey Wardens]] was formed; by consuming a distilled version of the Darkspawn's corruption in a secretive ritual known as the Joining, the Grey Wardens gained the ability to "sense" the Darkspawn and, more importantly, kill the Archdemon leading the Darkspawn hordes, thought such an act [[HeroicSacrifice costs the life of the Warden which deals the killing blow]]. With their new powers, the new, but heroic Order of Grey Wardens emerged to lead the combined armies of Thedas to victory over Dumat and his Horde. The entire conflict became known as "the Blight"--and, unfortunately, it would not be the last.\\\

* HardTruthAesop: In keeping with the series GreyAndGrayMorality with lots of FantasticRacism, a common thread throughtout the franchise is: "[[FullCircleRevolution Yesterday's oppressed can become tomorrow's oppressors]]." Also, oppressed groups are not morally pure victims just because they're oppressed. Disadvantaged people can [[AssholeVictim do terrible things too]], or [[InternalizedCategorism side with their oppressors]], or [[BoomerangBigot sell out their fellow oppressed]], and even [[MoralMyopia become oppressors themselves]] when given power. (See FullCircleRevolution for more details.) It borders on UnfortunateImplications since it can seem to imply that some people ''deserve'' oppression since they'd just do the same if given the chance, but it is sadly TruthInTelevision, as many history book will attest.

* FantasyGunControl: Dragon Age's society has the engineering capacity to produce smokeless coal or build entire cities underground, but only the Qunari have invented gunpowder. Dwarves know a little about explosives, but Qunari assassins have been known to hunt down and kill anyone who looks like they might give the secret of controlled explosions to those not of the Qun.

* FantasticGhetto: Alienages for elves who live in Southern Andrastian human cities; walled off communities filled with disease and squalor due to the poverty and oppression most city elves suffer from. Interestingly, there is a protective element to them since elves aren't technically ''required'' to live there, but the few elves who try to leave are almost always driven back by their violently bigoted human neighbors. That being said, the quality-of-life across alienages isn't universal either; some Alienages are actually able to eke out something resembling a decent living despite the conditions, but what ''is'' almost universal is the overcrowding, to the point that ''tens of thousands'' of elves may be living in a space smaller than a football field.

* TheBard: The series uses bard as code for infiltrator/spy/assassin well versed in playing The Great Game, or DecadentCourt. You will encounter numerous participants to the point where a character may have to specify they are a mere singer or minstrel.

With their knowledge of the Fade and an extensive use of BloodMagic, the [[TheMagocracy Tevinter Magisters]] strengthened their hold on Thedas, their power opposed by few and matched by none. But man grew proud and eventually set out to commit the ultimate sacrilege: to enter the Fade in the flesh and to set foot into the Golden City itself, thereby expanding the Tevinter Empire beyond the realm of mortals. By spending most of the world's lyrium (and [[HumanResources slave blood]]) supplies, a group of Magisters infiltrated the City, but, according to the Chantry, were met by the Maker, who apparently gave them [[TheReasonYouSuck quite the earful]] before casting them from the Golden City, cursed and irreversibly corrupted. They became the first Darkspawn, wretched, mindless creatures existing solely to exterminate all other life. The City itself was corrupted, as well, henceforth known as the Black City, and thus, for the second time, the Maker abandoned His children, just as He did with the spirits before.\\\

BeneathTheEarth, in the meantime, the [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame dwarves]] built a great empire of the underground cavern cities, or "thaigs", connected by a vast tunnel network known as the Deep Roads. For over six thousand years, their civilizations flourished alone--until the first humans arrived from across the north-eastern sea. They fared better in their relationship with the humans, especially since they supplied the Tevinters with [[AppliedPhlebotinum lyrium]]--outcroppings of the Fade in mineral form that they used to power their magic. To a regular mortal, lyrium is a highly dangerous and volatile substance, even moreso for mages and those with a deep connection to the Fade such as the likes of those which make up the majority of the Tevinter elite, and is capable of causing severe mental and physical damage with a mere ''touch''. Dwarves, however, have no connection to the Fade, and therefore can handle and refine lyrium with significantly (but not completely) reduced risk, which they take advantage of to establish and hold a monopoly over the trade of anything to do with lyrium.\\\

Regardless, what both sides do agree on is that, once the Tevinters had learned and mastered the secrets of elven magic, they [[UngratefulBastard repaid the kindness of their teachers]] by turning on them and and crushing the Elvhenan culture, sinking Arlathan into the ground and routing Elvhen armies. The survivors were reduced to nomadic outcasts or slaves, a shadow of their former glory--these descendants are what most of the world know as "elves" today. With their mastery of magic, the victorious Tevinter tribe grew and eventually established themselves as the Tevinter Imperium, a human-led [[TheEmpire empire]] which quickly spread across the continent, until there was almost nowhere on Thedas where their influence could be denied.\\\

The Third Blight had come and gone, serving only to deepen the conflict between the two empires, Tevinter and Orlesian. Eventually, even the Chantry itself was split along these lines when the "Imperial Chantry" of Tevinter broke off (notably taking a much more liberal stance on magic and slavery) and the Orlesian Chantry called for not one but four Exalted Marches against it. All of them, however, failed to complete their objective of bringing the Tevinter congregation back into a unified Chantry before the Fourth Blight put an end to them.\\\

Almost as soon as the Fourth Blight was repelled, a new invasion swept from the north-east: the Qunari, horned, grey-skinned giants who follow the religion/philosophy of Qun, crossed the sea and brought with them a message: [[ScaryDogmaticAliens Convert to the Qun, or be destroyed underfoot]]. With their superior technology, unmatched discipline and seemingly unstoppable military might, the Qunari quickly captured a bulk of northern Thedas including most of Tevinter, holding true to their demands and converting the locals by force--and those too strong-willed to convert are executed or [[BrainwashedAndCrazy tortured/drugged into mindless slaves]]. Caught on the backfoot by this sudden and ferocious enemy, the Chantry called for more Exalted Marches, using Thedas' mastery of magic (which the Qunari feared and refused to associate with) and [[EnemyMine unity against a common enemy]] to match the Qunari's advantages and eventually beat them back from the mainland. A truce, limiting the Qunari presence to the northern islands, was signed by all human nations except the Tevinters, who continued to wage a ForeverWar for their old lands, mostly centered around the island-nation of Seheron, where the brutal fighting has devolved into a stalemate between the invading Qunari, the reclaiming Tevinters, and the local rebels, who would prefer to see both factions kindly sod off.\\\

The growing hostilities and religious friction between Orlais and the new elven homeland of the Dales ultimately escalated into an open war. Who precisely fired the first shot [[WrittenByTheWinners varies between sources]], with the Chantry claiming the Dalish attacked the town of Red Crossing, while the Dalish claim the Chantry sent Templars in response to the expulsion of missionaries from their borders because the elves refused to convert to their religion. What is known is that after Dalish forces sacked [[HolyCity Val Royeaux]], the Chantry called for an [[UsefulNotes/TheCrusades Exalted March]] and successfully rallied neighboring nations to their aid, crushing the Dalish resistance and forcing the elves to either relocate into the [[FantasticGhetto Alienages]] or return to the nomadic lifestyle. The rift between the "[[GoingNative City Elves]]" and the "[[RacialRemnant Dalish Elves]]" grew ever wider in the following centuries since the Chantry prohibited the elves of the Alienages from following their religion, forcing them to adopt the Andrastian faith.\\\

Before anyone in Thedas could catch their breath, another Darkspawn horde rose from the Deep Roads, led by another Old God corrupted into an Archdemon. Although only half as long as the First, the Second Blight had far-reaching consequences. One of them was the rise of the Orlesian Empire in the south and its propagation of the Andrastian faith, even into the Tevinter Empire remnant. Another was the [[FantasticRacism popular resentment against the elves]], who, despite having been granted rights and land for the first time in centuries for their support of Andraste, did little to help other nations defeat the new Blight. And perhaps the most significant event was the formation of the [[MagicalSociety Circles of Magi]] as a compromise between the public distrust of mages and the benefit of having them fight the Darkspawn. Ostensibly [[WizardingSchool places of learning]], all Circles were controlled by the Chantry and closely guarded by the Templar Order, a group of knights [[MageKiller specifically trained to combat mages]] and magic attacks. However, the cost of the Templars' powers is Lyrium, which grants them their abilities but causes them to become hopelessly addicted to the substance, which the Chantry uses to keep them on a short leash and ensure the order does their bidding.\\\

The Tevinter Empire survived the Blight, if only barely, but soon thereafter, a massive barbarian invasion from the south, led by the [[JeanneDArchetype lady warrior and prophetess Andraste]], dealt it the final blow. Andraste was eventually betrayed and executed by the Tevinters, but her followers compiled her teachings into the Chant of the Light and formed the [[TheChurch Chantry]] to spread it. The newly-founded southern kingdoms were quick to embrace the new religion and to cut ties to the Tevinters, whose reputation was forever soiled by their role in starting the Blight and by Andraste's execution. By association, magic itself became ostracized and viewed as pure evil by the Andrastian congregation.\\\

* ''[[ComicBook/DragonAgeTheMissing The Missing]]'' (MMA[[note]]writer: George Mann; illustrators: Kieran [=McKeown=], Michael Atiyeh[[/note]], TBR 2023) is a prequel to ''Dreadwolf'' and follows Varric Tethras and Lace Harding on a mission to locate a former friend lost in the Deep Roads.

* ''VideoGame/DragonAgeDreadwolf'' (TBA)

BeneathTheEarth, in the meantime, the [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame dwarves]] built a great empire of the underground cavern cities, or "thaigs", connected by a vast tunnel network known as the Deep Roads. For over six thousand years, their civilizations flourished alone--until the first humans arrived from across the north-eastern sea. They fared better in their relationship with the humans, especially since they supplied the Tevinters with [[AppliedPhlebotinum lyrium]]--outcroppings of the Fade in mineral form that they used to power their magic. To a regular mortal, lyrium is a highly dangerous and volatile substance, even moreso for mages such as the likes of those which make up the majority of the Tevinter elite, and is capable of causing severe mental and physical damage with a mere ''touch''. Dwarves, however, have no connection to the magical realm, and therefore can handle and refine lyrium with significantly (but not completely) reduced risk, which they take advantage of to establish and hold a monopoly over the trade of anything to do with lyrium.\\\

BeneathTheEarth, in the meantime, the [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame dwarves]] built a great empire of the underground cavern cities, or "thaigs", connected by a vast tunnel network known as the Deep Roads. For over six thousand years, their civilizations flourished alone--until the first humans arrived from across the north-eastern sea. They fared better in their relationship with the humans, especially since they supplied the Tevinters with [[AppliedPhlebotinum lyrium]]--outcroppings of the Fade in mineral form that they used to power their magic.\\\

Well, that's what the Chantry maintains, anyways. On the other hand, the elves claim that eight thousand years ago, the continent of Thedas[[note]]Actually an acronym of '''The D'''ragon '''A'''ge '''S'''etting.[[/note]] belonged to the Elvhenan, the civilization of [[OurElvesAreDifferent a beautiful immortal race calling themselves "elvhen"]]. Separately from the humans, they worshiped their own pantheon of gods, traversed into the Fade, and mastered the art of magic. According to the elves, the humans were interlopers, arriving from across the sea in primitive, unorganized tribes and setting up shop near the elves' capitol city of Arlathan.\\\

Although initially friendly, the relationship between elves and humans, particularly the Tevinter tribe, rapidly deteriorated when the elves realized that prolonged contact with the [[WeAreAsMayflies "quicklings"]] cost them their {{immortality}}. By then, however, the Tevinters already learned the secrets of elven magic and, turning on their teachers, crushed the Elvhenan culture, sinking Arlathan into the ground and routing them. The survivors were reduced to nomadic outcasts or slaves, a shadow of their former glory--these descendants are what most of the world know as "elves" today. With their mastery of magic, the victorious Tevinter tribe grew and eventually established themselves as the Tevinter Imperium, a human-led [[TheEmpire empire]] which quickly spread across the continent, until there was almost nowhere on Thedas where their influence could be denied.\\\

* BlackMagic: BloodMagic is considered this due to its ghastly power source, ability to take control of people (like, say, a king or a noble [[spoiler:which Avernus admits he did to help the Grey Wardens in their rebellion long ago]]), and just being creepy in general. Due to the Chantry's constant preaching against the very real dangers of magic, almost everyone in Ferelden who isn't a mage (and even one mage NPC) considers ''all'' magic BlackMagic. The Qunari have an even harsher stance against magic, and just ''cut out the tongues'' and ''chain to leashes'' any potential mages born to them to prevent them from ever casting spells.

** In ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'', Mages tend to stick to wearing robes or clothing adorned with the bare minimum amount of armour, such as gauntlets, bevots and spaulders; they sacrifice protection for more flexibility in spellcasting.

Meanwhile, trouble has stirred in the south again, where the Orlesian Empire conquered and installed a puppet on the throne of Ferelden, the birthplace of Andraste. The Fereldans, who are looked down upon as backwards savages with heathen practices by the Orlesians, found themselves heavily oppressed and harshly taxed, and generally treated like dirt. Naturally, the people of Ferelden were unhappy with this, and after a half-century of Orlesian occupation, the citizens, aided by sympathetic local nobles, fought a rebellion which saw the Orlesians ousted from Ferelden, coinciding with the ending of the 100-year "Blessed" Age. In light of the ending of the Blessed Age, Divine Justine II initially intends to name the next age the Sun Age, until she recieves disturbing news of High Dragons -- thought to be hunted to extinction around 200 years ago -- emerging from the mountains and attacking several settlements. Taking the emergence of the creatures as a [[{{Forshadowing}} grim portent of violence and upheaval in the decades to come]], she instead elects to name the coming age as the [[TitleDrop Dragon Age]].\\\