Grey Wardens
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==History== | ==History== | ||
| − | The Grey Wardens were a group of humans that formed to fight the threat of the [[Darkspawn (Dragon Age)|Darkspawn]] that emerged on [[Thedas]]. Around 90 years ago, the lands were afflicted with the rise of the first Blight. During these years, a group of soldiers from the [[Tevinter Imperium]] met at the Weisshaupt fortress in the desolate Anderfels. These seasoned veterans had known nothing but hopeless war and during the meeting had renounced their oaths to the Imperium. Thus, the Grey Wardens | + | The Grey Wardens were a group of humans that formed to fight the threat of the [[Darkspawn (Dragon Age)|Darkspawn]] that emerged on [[Thedas]]. Around 90 years ago, the lands were afflicted with the rise of the first Blight. During these years, a group of soldiers from the [[Tevinter Imperium]] met at the '''Weisshaupt fortress''' in the desolate Anderfels. These seasoned veterans had known nothing but hopeless war and during the meeting had renounced their oaths to the Imperium. Thus, they pledged to defeat the threat by any means necessary leading to the group of Humans, [[Elves (Dragon Age)|Elves]] and [[Dwarves (Dragon Age)|Dwarves]] gathering together to form the Grey Wardens that set upon their new task as they left the fortress. They began an aggressive campaign against the Blight where they struck back against the Darkspawn and reclaimed lands that were lost. Though far from defeated, their victories brought notice to the fledgling order who began to receive aid from every nation on Thedas. The Grey Wardens then rode into battle as they participated in the '''First Blight''' where they fought against the Archdemon '''Dumat''' with the conflict being held as a great victory that was spoken of by many afterwards. The band of warriors and their allies fought against their foe for the next century where they lost or gained ground but never backed away as they continued the battle whilst recruiting more to their cause. The fight ultimately culminated in the '''Battle of Silent Plains''' where they successfully managed to fell Dumat thus bringing the First Blight to an end. |
==Overview== | ==Overview== | ||
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*'''Warden-Recruit''' : | *'''Warden-Recruit''' : | ||
| − | Leadership of the order was held by the First Warden who was based in '''Weisshaupt''' with a system in place whereby national branches were semi-autonomous whereby each was led by a local commander. A hierarchy was present with this largely taking the form of seniority within the ranks of the Wardens. | + | Leadership of the order was held by the First Warden who was based in '''Weisshaupt''' with a system in place whereby national branches were semi-autonomous whereby each was led by a local commander. A hierarchy was present with this largely taking the form of seniority within the ranks of the Wardens. In times long ago, the Wardens made use of winged '''Griffons''' as their steads with them being adopted by their order as part of their emblem. Grey Wardens that were responsible for the beasts were known as '''Roostmasters''' but in time the creatures eventually became extinct. |
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| + | in times free of the Blight, the Grey Wardens often investigated rumours regarding the Darkspawn. | ||
The headquarters of the Order was located at '''Weisshaupt Fortress''' that was situated on the edge of the '''Broken Tooth''' in southern '''Anderfels'''. | The headquarters of the Order was located at '''Weisshaupt Fortress''' that was situated on the edge of the '''Broken Tooth''' in southern '''Anderfels'''. | ||
| − | Situated in the | + | Situated in the Free Marches, the Grey Wardens had constructed a special prison more than a thousand years ago in the '''Vimmark Mountains'''. It had been maintained through the centuries with the original method of construction being lost to history and was concealed in a great rift in the mountains. The prison was located far from easily-travelled mountain passes and the Wardens had spread rumours of the presence of bandits as well as beasts in order to dissuade travellers from this path. In appearance, the prison itself consisted of a central tower built into the rift with magically-maintained bridges allowing access to the various levels. Each level was sealed by a blood magic ritual whereby a mage of untainted blood utilised their own life essence to create a magical barrier that was permeable from the outside yet impenetrable from the inside. This created a one-way method of access had resulted in intruders being confined within the prison and unable to escape which meant trespassers that managed to enter never were able to escape. |
==Members== | ==Members== | ||
Revision as of 06:31, 24 September 2018
Grey Wardens are an organization that features in Dragon Age.
Contents |
History
The Grey Wardens were a group of humans that formed to fight the threat of the Darkspawn that emerged on Thedas. Around 90 years ago, the lands were afflicted with the rise of the first Blight. During these years, a group of soldiers from the Tevinter Imperium met at the Weisshaupt fortress in the desolate Anderfels. These seasoned veterans had known nothing but hopeless war and during the meeting had renounced their oaths to the Imperium. Thus, they pledged to defeat the threat by any means necessary leading to the group of Humans, Elves and Dwarves gathering together to form the Grey Wardens that set upon their new task as they left the fortress. They began an aggressive campaign against the Blight where they struck back against the Darkspawn and reclaimed lands that were lost. Though far from defeated, their victories brought notice to the fledgling order who began to receive aid from every nation on Thedas. The Grey Wardens then rode into battle as they participated in the First Blight where they fought against the Archdemon Dumat with the conflict being held as a great victory that was spoken of by many afterwards. The band of warriors and their allies fought against their foe for the next century where they lost or gained ground but never backed away as they continued the battle whilst recruiting more to their cause. The fight ultimately culminated in the Battle of Silent Plains where they successfully managed to fell Dumat thus bringing the First Blight to an end.
Overview
Though their ability to detect Darkspawn was a crucial talent, this could also be a hindrance as the tainted creatures were likewise able to sense the presence of a Grey Warden. Older Wardens were also able to understand the Archdemon as it communicated with their horde.
Recruitment was open to members of any race, gender, nation or background. Thus, the Wardens offered formal invitations for anyone to join their ranks as long as they were fit for joining the Order. It was seen by some as a great honor with many families claiming that one of their own had joined the Grey Wardens though few desired heir firstborns to follow this path. Criminals were even recruited with them given a chance to redeem themselves by pledging their lives for a good cause. In addition, volunteers were accepted with elves being particularly eager to join as their social standing did not affect their chances of joining and service in the Order was seen as an honour to many. To many, it was believed that joining the Wardens meant that the person had to truly hate the Darkspawn in order to become a Warden but the majority of recruits did so due to a strong sense of will. In fact, most Grey Wardens only encounter their first Darkspawn only after becoming initiates within the Order. To veteran Wardens, personal hatred of Darkspawn was seen as a detrimental quality that can lead to the recruit making rash and irrational decisions.
A critical element of becoming a member of the Wardens was a ritual known as the Joining. This was a secret kept within their order and not known to outsiders or even newly taken recruits. This was a brief ritual though one that required a small element of preparation before the initiation could begin for the prospective recruit. It involved the selected candidates journeying into Darkspawn ravaged territory in order to slay the creatures and bring a vial of their blood. A number of vials needed to be collected with these numbering the number of recruits selected by the Grey Wardens. Upon completion of their task, the prospective recruits returned to their base where they were required to drink the tainted blood that was mixed with other compounds such as Iyrium. Following ingestion, the recruit would either die quickly from the taint of the Darkspawn blood or be able to hear their hive mind and become partially immune to the taint. Death was a high possibility for the recruits as some of them could not survive the process. Refusal was not an option and those that resisted the Joining were slain by the Wardens. Those that survived were formally welcomed into the ranks of their organization. Initially, they did not experience the dreams normally associated with Grey Wardens nor were they detectable by Darkspawn.
The hierarchy of the Wardens included the:
- First Warden :
- Chamberlain of the Grey :
- Commander of the Grey :
- Field-Commander :
- Constable of the Grey :
- Senior Warden :
- Archivist :
- Warden-Ensign :
- Acolyte :
- Warden-Recruit :
Leadership of the order was held by the First Warden who was based in Weisshaupt with a system in place whereby national branches were semi-autonomous whereby each was led by a local commander. A hierarchy was present with this largely taking the form of seniority within the ranks of the Wardens. In times long ago, the Wardens made use of winged Griffons as their steads with them being adopted by their order as part of their emblem. Grey Wardens that were responsible for the beasts were known as Roostmasters but in time the creatures eventually became extinct.
in times free of the Blight, the Grey Wardens often investigated rumours regarding the Darkspawn.
The headquarters of the Order was located at Weisshaupt Fortress that was situated on the edge of the Broken Tooth in southern Anderfels.
Situated in the Free Marches, the Grey Wardens had constructed a special prison more than a thousand years ago in the Vimmark Mountains. It had been maintained through the centuries with the original method of construction being lost to history and was concealed in a great rift in the mountains. The prison was located far from easily-travelled mountain passes and the Wardens had spread rumours of the presence of bandits as well as beasts in order to dissuade travellers from this path. In appearance, the prison itself consisted of a central tower built into the rift with magically-maintained bridges allowing access to the various levels. Each level was sealed by a blood magic ritual whereby a mage of untainted blood utilised their own life essence to create a magical barrier that was permeable from the outside yet impenetrable from the inside. This created a one-way method of access had resulted in intruders being confined within the prison and unable to escape which meant trespassers that managed to enter never were able to escape.
Members
- Alistair :
- Anders :
- Duncan :
- Sophia Dryden :
- Stroud :
Notes
- The Grey Wardens were created by BioWare where they featured in the setting of Dragon Age.
Appearances
- Dragon Age:
- Dragon Age: Inquisition:
External Links
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