Everything Starkhaven
(@poevella asked a while ago about this, thank you for being patient!)
THE CITY:
Starkhaven is literally on the Minanter River, within a valley.
It is the largest and wealthiest city in the Free Marches.
The wealth of the city is on full display, decorated with marble and gold (apparently they took a page out of Orlais’ book) with spacious streets and fine greenery.
In the centre of the city is the marble palace of the ruling family, the road to it paved with granite.
The Vaels also have a number of estates scattered all over.
After the Starkhaven Circle was burned to the ground in 9:31 Dragon, suspected to have been started by Decimus, a new one was never erected and the city has since been without a Circle presence. Mages are instead sent to other city-states with Circles.
Transportation in and out of the city is by barge that disembarks in the city’s central square, or across a long stone bridge.
The city has it’s own Starkhaven University, and the university has its own printing press.
“They were imposing: a curved mountain of earth crowned with concentric rings of tall gray stone, gilded by the setting sun. On the northern side, the Minanter River rushed through the city’s water gate, creating a constant low roar like the sound of the sea. The city itself, glimpsed only as a glory of marble palaces set on green hills and ringed by broad boulevards, receded behind the height of its walls as the caravan approached. Pennons snapped from the towers on those walls, depicting three black fishes encircling a snowy chalice on a field of red. At least, Isseya thought they were fishes. It wasn’t easy to tell, with all the spikes and curlicues.” –Last Flight, pg 57-58
(The quote from Last Flight above describes the Starkhaven heraldry on the pennons)
PEOPLE/CULTURE:
There is a large population of Orlesians in Starkhaven, mostly merchants coming through the Minanter River. Sebastian claims that they “will buy your sister, eat your house, and woo your chickens,” but is probably joking about that last part. Probably.
Starkhaveners (or at least royal ones) are buried in mausoleums, which is interesting as the only other Chantry dominated place in Thedas known not to routinely cremate their dead is Nevarra.
Starkhaven’s most famous dish is fish and egg pie. It is traditionally made using deboned fish (carp, trout, or others), wine, onion, carrot, thyme, bay, sea salt, dried currants, sliced almonds, boiled sliced eggs, butter, flour, fish broth, milk, salt, pepper, nutmeg, fried whitebait or other small fish, and cream under a light crust.
The Vael family rose to power sometime before 5:12 Exalted, but no specifics are given at this time beyond that. The unnamed first Prince Vael became so after leading a peaceful protest in the Chantry against the then King. When the King surrendered and left Starkhaven for good, the people demanded Vael take the throne. However, he refused the title of King, and Starkhaven has been ruled by a Prince ever since.
Like many nobles across Thedas, the Vael family have family history from Queen Asha Subira Bahadur Campana of Antiva.
Queen Asha is not their only connection to Antiva, however, as the Vael family send their daughters there to meet suitors.
The Vaels are extremely devout, and arrange that at least one child per generation is sent to the Chantry to become a cleric.
Apparently they have a reputation for being skeptical… or that’s just Varric’s interpretation.
HISTORY:
After 90 years the Second Blight came to an end when the Grey Warden Corin destroyed Zazikel in Starkhaven in 1:95 Divine. The battlefields remained poisoned for some time.
From 2:15-2:45 Glory, King Fyruss allied with Tevinter in an attempt to conquer the rest of the Free Marches and Antiva. Over the course of several decades, every attack failed, until Tevinter got fed up, betrayed Fyruss and took Starkhaven for themselves. Fyruss was exiled, and rumoured to have drowned himself in the Minanter River.
In 2:80 Glory, Starkhaven was freed from Tevinter control after an Exalted March ended in a short but bloody battle.
After regaining independence from Tevinter, Starkhaven was without a steady ruler for an unspecified time. The last King before the Vael family rose to power was King Ironfist.
In 7:56 Storm, the Qunari attempted to take Starkhaven to block the roads leading north. However, they are successful in defending their city.
Starkhaven fights with the other Free Marcher city states against the invading Qunari, and is successful in defending their city.
At some unspecified point, Starkhaven tried to claim Estwatch, but failed.
In 9:37 after the Kirkwall Chantry explosion, Starkhaven sent half its templar initiates and a third of their garrison to help the city.
Sometime after 9:41 Dragon, Venatori agents infiltrated the royal palace in search of Sebastian’s journal, studying red lyrium. It winds up with the Inquisition instead.
SOURCES:
Dragon Age: 2 + DLCs
Dragon Age: Inquisition + DLCs
Codex entry: The City of Starkhaven (DA:2)
Codex entry: The Vael Family (DA:2)
Codex entry: History of Kirkwall: Chapter 3 (DA:2)
Item Description: Gem of Keroshek (DA:2)
Codex entry: Inquisitor Ameridan (DA:I)
Note: A Letter Written in A Shaking Hand (DA:I)
Note: Tales of the Inquisition’s Agents: Book I (DA:I)
Last Flight
Knight Errant
World of Thedas vol 1
World of Thedas vol 2
Dragon Age Keep: World Lore
