Elves (Dragon Age)

The Elves are a species that feature in Dragon Age.

History

The Elves were an ancient race of long-eared humanoids that once ruled the lands of Thedas. They were once a beautiful race of ethereal immortals that were said o had come from the Fade. Upon manifesting into the material world and built their civilisation. It was said that their society was unchallenged and co-existed in peace with nature as well as spirits. During this time, an unknown conflict was noted to had affected the Elven race. In this time, a group of powerful Elven mages came into power at the end of an unknown war with these first being fearsome generals then respected elders and finally treated as revered gods. In time, these individuals came to become corrupt tyrants that sought to maintain their power leading to them declaring themselves as a pantheon who were known as the Evanuris. They instituted a system of slavery who were marked with facial tattoos known as the Vallaslin as a brand. Such was their corruption that two of their number came oppose their tyranny with these including Mythal who did so subtly and the other being Fen'Harel who did so more overtly. In the days of the Elvhenan empire, it was recorded in song that many of their cities were shaken by earthquakes leading to them looking to tame the lands. This saw them looking to hunt down the Titans wo were known as the pillars of the earth with Mythal striking down some of the creatures whereupon she gave the land to the elves. From the Titans bodies, the elves were made to mine Lyrium but the actions of the Evanuris came to awaken something leading to these locations being sealed with stone and magic out of fear.

It was the realisation that the Evanuris would destroy all in their greed that sparked rebellion against their rule. Events spiralled when the Evanuris murdered Mythal leading to an angry Fen'Harel creating the Veil thus separating the Fade from the world with this act banishing the Evanuris to the Beyond as punishment for their actions. A consequence of this was felt by the rest of Elf kind who now lost their immortality as a result of the lost connection to the Fade. This resulted in the doom of their civilization as the foundation of their society was tied to the Fade with their cities and society beginning to crumble as their kind came to be mortal. According to the elven calendar, they made first contact with the dwarves in -4600 Ancient.

Around this time, Humans first came to Thedas who were being taught the arts of magic with the Tevinter tribe being the ones to learn from the Elves. Recorded history came to attribute the loss of the Elves immortality to the arrival of Humans who were blamed for this development. In time, the Humans had plundered the knowledge of the Elves and used it to form the Tevinter Imperium. The fall of the great city of Arlathan and the empire of Elvhenan along with the subsequent plunder by the Tevinter Imperium led to generations of elves falling into slavery. Over the centuries, they came to lose most of their cultural heritage and identity.

For generations, the elves continued to be slaves under the time of the prophetess Andraste who led an uprising against the Tevinter Imperium. In that time, an elvish leader named Shartan came to be among Andraste's most fervent supporters and brought his people under her banner. In -170 Ancient, they came to aid her in her quest in deposing the Tevinter magisters that ruled over them. As a reward, the elves were granted land in the Dales in -165 Ancient by Maferath who was the husband of Andraste. The elves then made their journey to their new homeland with this event being referred to as the Long Walk where many perished on the way whilst some even returned to Tevinter though the great majority came to arrive in the Dales.

In the Dales, the elves created a second elven homeland and began to restore the lost lore and culture of Elvhenan, including the worship of their elven gods. They built their first city, Halamshiral ("end of the journey" in the elven language), and isolated themselves from the humans. Their borders were guarded by an order named the Emerald Knights. For some years, humans loyal to Andraste's memory respected their elven allies. But over the generations, as Emperor Drakon launched military campaigns to spread the worship of the Maker and established the Orlesian Empire and the Chantry, diplomatic relations between the Dales and humans soured. The elves, who refused to convert, became increasingly isolationist as the Chantry sent missionaries and templars to their lands. Relations further deteriorated when the Dalish refused to lend aid during the Second Blight. When elven forces attacked the human town of Red Crossing in 2:9 Glory, border skirmishes between Orlais and the Dales turned to open war. As the elves captured Montsimmard and marched on Val Royeaux, Divine Renata I called an Exalted March against the elves. In 2:20 Glory, the capture of Halamshiral and the death of Lindiranae marked the end of the Exalted March and of the elven kingdom.

As the Dales fell, the elves were forced to abandon their second homeland and have not had another since, and their culture was torn even further from them. Many elves accepted the terms of their human aggressors, going to live in alienages inside human cities and worshipping the Maker. Those elves who resisted became the nomadic Dalish, maintaining the worship of the elven gods and continuing their efforts to recover the lost culture of Elvhenan. As of 9:40 Dragon, any Chantry art in Orlais depicting elves has been destroyed save a single original mural of Shartan with his ears docked, and a faithful copy at the University of Orlais.[31] Some modern Orlesian scholars have been asked to author treatises on how elves are little more than prey animals based on their 'rabbit' ears and bestial intelligence, and that establishing a relationship with one is an insult to the Maker akin to laying with an animal

In the centuries following the fall of the Dales, some elves have been able to rise above their circumstances: most notably the Grey Warden Garahel, who slew the Archdemon Andoral and ended the Fourth Blight, as well as Briala.

Overview

In appearance, the Elves were humanoids who were resembled humans though possessed a thin frame and pointed ears.

Elves were deeply tied to the Fade and their ancient race was immortal in that time. This was until the creation of the Veil which separated the Fade from them.

Modern elves were divided into two distinct groups with one being the Dalish who chose to lead nomadic lives and strive to keep elven culture alive rather than submit, and the other being city elves who lived alongside humans and had adopted many human customs.

Among the modern Elves, a key figure held the position of Keeper within the clan who served as both literal leader and a spiritual leader.

Elvish beliefs included a pantheon known as the Evanuris consisting of gods and goddesses that included:

• Elgar'nan : the God of Vengeance
• Mythal : the Great Protector
• Falon'Din : Friend of the Dead, the Guide
• Dirthamen : Keeper of Secrets
• Andruil : Goddess of the Hunt
• Sylaise : the Hearthkeeper was the goddess of all the domestic arts.
• June : God of the Craft
• Ghilan'nain : Mother of the Halla
• Fen'Harel : The Dread Wolf

In addition, there was another group of deities said to be enemies of the Elven gods with these being the The Forgotten Ones.

A practice of the ancient elves was that of Uthenera (Translation: "immortal") that was a period of prolonged slumber. During ancient times, the Elves used the blood writing known as Vallaslin that was used to mark slaves. In time, this was forgotten and came to be a practice continued by the Dalish Elves.

Arcane warriors that remained at the mountain to defend their slumbering elders were known as the Enasalin'abelas ("sorrowful victory"). These elves knew they were going to die, but were bound by duty to protect their charges. The enchanted armor that belonged to these warriors was looted by the Imperial victors, so pieces that resurface today are considered relics of great importance.

At one point, the elves established the Emerald Knights that were an order of Dalish warriors responsible for protecting the Dales when they were still an independent elven nation.

Ancient elves were known to make use of a tool called a Arulin'Holm that was used for wood carving.

Mystical relics of the ancient elves included:

• Veilfire : a magical green flame that was developed and perfected by the ancient elves where it was used as a source of light.
• Lights of Arlathan :
• Varterral :
• Orb of Destruction : the Orb of Fen'Harel were ancient elven artifacts of immense power that allowed the user to breach the Veil in order to enter the Fade physically or to close breaches that were already open.
• Eluvian : these were magically enchanted mirrors that allowed users to communicate with another Eluvian and travel across great distances. Each Eluvian was said to be different and responded to a particular kind of key. A place where all the Eluvians connected to one another was a dimension known as the Crossroads.

A noted place created by the ancient elves was a library called Vir Dirthara (Shattered Library) that was suspended between the physical world and the Fade. It was overseen by an Archivist spirit that the Elves knew as Ghil-Dirthalen. Another location was a place that came to be known as the Crossroads that was a place connected by all Eluvians. It was believed to had been formed from a fabric of space and time with it being an unnatural construction with the Crossroads being a pocket within the Fade with its own rules of reality.

Members

• Zevran :
• Zathrian :
• Merrill :
• Fenris :
• Tallis :
• Sera :
• Shartan : a ale elf known as the Liberator who was the leader of the elven slaves that joined Andraste's Exalted March Against the Tevinter Imperium in -171 Ancient.
• Solas : an ancient male Elf who lived in the era of their empire where he became one of the Envanuris and was worshipped as a god-like figure. This was until the rest of his kin killed Mythal leading to him turning against them and he created the Veil in order to imprison them as punishment for their crimes. As a consequence, the Fade was separated from the world and caused the fall of the Elven empire with Solas being referred to as a trickster god called Fen'Harel.

Notes

• The Elves were created by BioWare where they featured in the setting of Dragon Age.

Appearances

• Dragon Age: Origins:
• Dragon Age II:
• Dragon Age: Inquisition:

External Links

• Dragon Age Wiki Entry

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