Here, then, is where cultural differences fail the Qunari.
Well, primarily they fail Marlowe Dumar, who is murdered by the Arishok in a display of power and (as he sees it) moral superiority. There was no need for that, and the man deserved better.
But the Arishok did not act without purpose. He attacked the city in defence of his viddathari, who would otherwise have been taken by the Kirkwall guardsmen. He attacked to avenge – and defend – his remaining soldiers, whose patience and forbearance have repeatedly been rewarded with torture and murder. He attacked with the idea of demonstrating to the people a better (again, as he sees it), way. Yet here, in the Viscount’s Keep, he has missed his mark. He has not gone after the right people.
We are repeatedly told that the Qun values mastery. Sten cannot go home without his sword. The Arishok cannot go home without the Tome of Koslun. Many will not speak local languages, even if they are able, for fear of making a mistake.
When you first discuss the Qun with him, this is what he says:
The Qun is very big on putting people in boxes. Your ‘role’ is defined for you, and it is not supposed to be in your nature to vary from it. And like many strongly held ideologies it doesn’t allow much leeway for the Qun to be wrong. People aren’t put into the wrong role, they struggle against their supposed nature and the way of the world – and it’s then their fault if bad things happen to them.
The Arishok claims to have lost no Qunari to the Tal-Vashoth, because the ones who left embodied weakness – presumably they were never ‘truly’ Qunari, because they couldn’t hack it. That they may have been given the wrong role, that it may not have been in their nature to do one thing their whole lives, or that they may have needed something the Qun could never give them – those options aren’t really on the table.
The Tamassrans aren’t supposed to set people up to fail. Now, of course, it does happen. The Tallis from Mark of the Assassin has become ‘Athlok’ at the beginning of Dragon Age: Redemption. Two minutes in her company could tell you that this is not a role she will be able to sustain, which is the point of the whole exercise: either the experience would make her toe the line, allowing her to be Tallis again, or push her into the kind of rebellion that would justify killing her. She’s not supposed to be a good labourer. But that’s a very rare glimpse into the inner workings of Qunari society. Qunari aren’t really supposed to believe that things like that happen, because how could you live your whole life wondering if the Tamassrans are just screwing with you?
Mostly the Qunari, the Arishok included, remain firm in the belief that the Tamassrans have chosen wisely, both for themselves and for the world.
So when the Arishok attacks the city, he goes straight for his perceived counterpart: the viscount. Marlowe has failed at keeping the peace. He has failed at keeping the Qunari in check. He has failed at maintaining diplomatic relations. Since Seamus’s death, he has remained in seclusion and utterly failed to deal with anything at all. The Qun has nothing but contempt for failure, so Marlowe has to die. The Arishok then rails against the decadence and idleness of the nobility, condemning them for failing to rule Kirkwall properly.
It’s not that he’s wrong, per se, it’s just … he’s not getting to the heart of the problem.
I can’t say Marlowe was a stellar ruler. He just wasn’t. There have been much worse ones, of course: we haven’t reached Meghren levels of incompetence or anything. Marlowe cared about the fate of the city, and he tried to protect it. But he wasn’t strong enough to do what needed to be done. That’s true.
But he wasn’t supposed to be. He was deliberately selected to be terrible at his job by Meredith Stannard. There was a stronger rule of Kirkwall, once: Perrin Threnhold. And Grand Cleric Elthina had him tried, imprisoned and replaced. This isn’t some kind of mistake, or a short-term placement to teach Marlowe a lesson. The Chantry deliberately installed a weak ruler in Kirkwall so it could be the sole power. And they intend to maintain this state of affairs indefinitely.
It wasn’t Marlowe who attacked the Qunari. And while the aristocrats have done their share of offensive muttering, they’re not the source of the problem either. It’s always been the Chantry, the one true power in Kirkwall, pulling the strings and calling the shots.
The Arishok knows about (and by now has dealt with) Petrice, but he’s not getting the whole picture here. Why should he? In his world (as in many cultures) the idea of there being a distinction between the secular and the religious is incoherent. In southern Thedas the distinction can be hazy, of course, but it’s there.
And therein lies the tension he’s missing.
Why would the Tamassrans deliberately put an incompetent person in a position of power? It sounds bizarre. They are effectively the rulers of the Qunari (though I realise Qunari culture frames this differently). Everyone respects them, and relies on them to guide them on their true path. To pick a weak Arishok would be to give themselves a weak sword arm. To pick a weak Arigena would leave them with a failing body.
Grand Cleric Elthina is a Tamassran, of sorts, or at least that’s probably the best way to describe her to a Qunari – but she is not supposed to decide the fate of the city. Neither is Meredith. They are religious figures, with religious functions, and in theory their ‘roles’ should be kept separate from the governing of the city. They therefore have a motive for appointing a weak viscount that a Qunari Tamassran would not.
It is not Marlowe who is the Arishok’s counterpart. It is Meredith. She is the sword arm of the Chantry, the strong and brutal ruler of Kirkwall. And behind her is Elthina – the ‘great’ diplomat who manoeuvred her into position.
And yet both of these people are still free. No doubt the Qunari soldiers would pick them up if they came across them, but no special order seems to have gone out to kill them or bring them in. They are not mentioned or noticed. These are the people who have allowed their subordinates to attack the Qunari. These are the people who are allowing the various subjugated groups in Kirkwall to suffer; remember that it was Meredith who barred the gates to the refugees. These are the Arishok’s enemies.
I understand why the Arishok began his rebellion. But his great tragedy is that it was an utter failure. Not because he lost a duel, or never got to bring his relic home, but because he utterly failed to strike either at his worst enemies, or at the heart of the corruption in Kirkwall.
Three years later, Meredith and Elthina are more powerful than ever. The poor bastard accidentally made it worse.
