#maferath

[ohmarrow]

What man can compare with a God?

[dragonagegallery]

Chantry Statuary

By Nick Thornborrow

[the-northern-continent]

The compelling thing about Mythal and Elgar’nan is that, on paper, they’re actually a great match. I mean, it’s bad for everyone around them, but internally it works. A spirit of benevolence would want to team up with a spirit of tyranny.

Benevolence is kindness from someone with power over you. Obviously it’s better to be kind than cruel, but benevolence requires people to get their kindness from a specific source, which can be cut off at any moment.

You’re relying on the evanuris to keep elvhenan livable and not blighted. You’re relying on your mother to protect you, because she chose to raise you in a place where a mage child can’t go to other adults. There has to be an extreme power gradient somewhere in there, otherwise it’s just regular kindness, not benevolence. Likewise, if someone else can come in and compel the powerful to behave appropriately, that’s not benevolence either, that’s following the law. Benevolence needs mortals to believe in the divine right of kings, whether they be all powerful god-kings or the tiny kings of a city, town, or family, because without kings it ceases to exist.

When Mythal blows her stack at the idea of not having gods, that’s not Retribution talking, that’s Benevolence protecting its territory.

[exhausted-archivist]

Item Lore from Warrior Gameplay Trailer

Images below the cut, they are images of item/weapon/armor stats with their lore blurbs. I am only transcribing the name, item type, and relevant lore. I'm not including the stats or damage as those aren't the focus of this.

Golden Casque (Rare Heavy Helm) Tall and plumed, this fine helmet is the color of gold -- but much harder to dent. This equipment has the Lord of Fortune symbol at the top

The Iron Caste Rare Heavy Armor This armor's vividly sculpted musculature is a testament to Nevarra's unrivaled knowledge of anatomy. This equipment has the Mourn Watch symbol at the top.

Necropolis Defender Rare Targe The elite guards who stand watch at the gates of the Grand Necropolis use these shields to guard against both the living and the dead. This equipment has the Mourn Watch symbol at the top.

Spellbound Longsword Rare Longsword This enhanced longsword is bound with burning magic. This equipment has the Shadow Dragons symbol at the top.

Andraste's Will Unique Ring Andraste was tied to a stake and burned while her earthly husband turned his armies aside and did nothing, for his heart had been devoured. This equipment has the Shadow Dragons symbol at the top.

Amaranthine Loop Uncommon Ring Favored by Crows, the uniform rows of stones add balance and precision to every blow. Also some elegance. This weapon has the Antivan Crow symbol at the top.

Heart of Andraste Uncommon Amulet A charm given to newly anointed Fathers of the Imperial Chantry, the cracked stone serves as a reminder of Andraste's mortal heart.

Blight Killer +1 Rare Longsword (Davrin) An intimidating, one-of-a-kind sword cut from solid obsidian. It is perfectly balanced. This weapon has the Grey Warden symbol at the top.

Reforged Bulwark Uncommon Heater (Davrin) Reclaimed from the ruins of an old Warden stronghold, this shield honors the sacrifices of Wardens past while defending their future. This weapon has the Grey Warden symbol at the top.

[lairofdragonagelore]

Andrastian Statues

The purpose of this collection of statues is to show the Andrastian style depending on the region, the details in it, and how this may or may not influence other statues we saw in game. I also attempt to recollect some interpretations of them, although most of them are mostly based on speculations.

The current post contains the following set of statues:

Ferelden Style: Pre-Divine Andraste, Chasind Andraste, Ferelden warrior protector Andraste, The Maker, The Dwarf [?], Rider Maferath  [?], Masferath Repentant, Hanged Masferath, Other Statues.

Orlesian Style: Rustic Maferath, Hessarian, Andraste; The Orlesian Warrior Andraste, The Stylised Orlesian Andraste, The Orlesian Andraste, The Orlesian Maferath, The Orlesian Havard, and the Orlesian Hessarian; The Weight of War

Free Marches Style: The Free Marches Hessarian, The Free Marches Andrastian Warriors [?]

Unknown Style: The Skull with sword, The Guide, Guardians of the Path / The Watcher.

[This post belongs to the series “Analysis and speculation of Statues”]

Ferelden Style

Pre-Divine Andraste

One of the most iconic statues in DAI.  

It’s present all over Ferelden, specially in big, colossal statues along the paths of Hinterlands. They are so big that sometimes one can overlook them unless you look upwards [check Hinterlands: Statues, paintings, and structures found in the open]. 

In Skyhold, we can find this statue in a small version in the local chapel, which triggers the note Bride of the Maker.

Thanks to the DLC Jaws of Hakkon [Main Chamber of Razikale’s Reach], we know that this statue belongs to a pre-divine time. It is probably one of the oldest representations of Andraste we have in-game.

As usual, she has a one-spike helm that has strong resemblances to Flemeth’s tiara, and to Humanoid Mythal statue, Dragon Mythal statue, and the Ferelden Wyvern.

She has a sword in her hip. 

Her sleeves and skirt have long lines that emulate folding. It’s a style we saw in statues that were considered “elvhen” in-game [for example, the Elven Archers or The guide]. But we can see this became an Andrastian style since we also see it in the Blocky bearded humanoid.

Her gigantic hands have been used in several elvhen places, and I wonder how meaningful these are: these hands appear in Exalted Plains: the Dead Hand as well as in the  Shattered Library, holding eluvians. Is this a mere reuse of resources or hides some lore in it? We know DAI is less lazy about this than previous games.

This statue is curiously aligned with Humanoid Mythal statue in the Fade, as well as with the Imperial Highway Columns [check The Raw Fade:  Part 1]. A Design choice that keeps me wondering if it hides some meaning in it.

Chasind Andraste

It has the design of a totem.

Its relief is very intricate. 

She is represented as a protector warrior due to the strong presence of the shield on it. 

We can suspect this statue is also ancient, and you can see that it has similar style to the Alamarri Monolith with swirls we find all over Hinterlands.

If you pick the Chantry-related garden in Skyhold, this statue appears in it and the archivist Banon will mention details about it in The Women of All War. He claims it’s Chasind, not original from Skyhold, brought by Ferelden into the castle. He also suggest it’s a re-usage of an ancient totemic statue. 

This last comment streghtens the idea that ancient Andrastian art tends to be done over or using/co-opting statues from previous civilisations.

Ferelden warrior protector Andraste

Another classic representation of Andraste in game.

It’s Ferelden style.

She is represented as a warrior [holding shield and sword] but also as a divine entity [I suspect the ring behind her works as a rustic design of a halo].

There is a chance that the thick “halo” could be an adaptation from another icon we saw among the Elvhenan design: the Golden Ring. How is this possible? I think it’s not too strange considering how deeply related to the elves the Avvar are. If we think that part of this culture comes from the Alamarri, one could guess that through the elvhen lover that Thrydda had, some elvhen presence has been around this culture to incorporate elvhen iconography in their own art, translated later into something of this shape.

The Maker

This mysterious figure has no face, in fact, it looks like bandaged. In his right hand holds a crown, while in his left hand, a dagger. The outfit is a very simple robe. 

The dagger is quite curious for a representation of the Maker.

This statue took me a long whlie to identify. In early posts I kept calling it  Faceless figure holding a crown. I came to the conclusion it is the Maker.

This statue appears always within the context of the Andrastian statues, so it could not be asumed in any other way than related to the Andraste Myth. In the posts Andrastian Design: Stained Glasses and Andrastian Design: Tapestry and Tryptich, we can see that a figure with no face and wearing a crown of similar characteristics is represented as the Maker.  These are my main arguments to be confident about this identification.

In Hinterlands, he appears in the main hall of Haven very high upon the hall, hidden in the shadows, in a room filled with andrastian iconography, which reinforces the idea that it represents an entity that is above all of them, Andraste included. Another confirmation of being the Maker.

It also appears in the Tyrdda Bright-Axe Path, which has a mixture of statues, and in Forbidden Oasis, when the place was took by the Andrastian forces. It also appears in the mysterious Hinterlands: The Unknown Ruin. Other more natural and Andraste-related places where we find it: Redcliffe - Future,  Therinfal Redoubt, Western Approach: Adamant Fortress.

The Dwarf [?]

This figure was tag along the blog as Blocky bearded humanoid. It is found in the main hall of the Templar building of Therinfal Redoubt and in the corridors of Redcliffe - Future

The design of this statue feels closer to the pre-divine Andraste. Maybe it has some influence of the Alamarri style.

The long lines on sleeves and chest seem to suggest similarity in style with the pre-divine Andraste but also with the elvhenan statues such as the Elven Archers, or The guide.

Its face seems to show a big smile, but if you see it with more detail, it may also represent a long, long beard.  The broad constitution, the big ears, the lack of hair, and the prominent beard seem to suggest a golem-like or dwarven representation.

I can’t say I can identify this figure in the Andrastian Myth, but it’s related to the Andrastian Faith since it appears where there are other andrastian figures.

If this figure comes from the Alamarri and it was co-opted by the Andrastian faith, I could suspect that may be related to the dwarven culture that Alamarri had. If we remember Tyrdda Bright-Axe Path, she had a child with a dwarven prince. The Chasind also had mixed descendants of humans and dwarves. So, if it’s an alamarri statue co-opted by the Chantry, it could not be strange for it to be a dwarf. These details may indicate that the Alamarri had a deeper relationship with not only elvhen, but also dwarves, and this aspect appeared in the art until co-opted by the andrastian faith resulting in this figure.

Rider Maferath  [?]

This statue appears only in Fallow Mire. Although, the same statue appears riding a horse in Crestwood: surface. Maybe it’s a mere reuse of resources.

It has a similar design to the  Blocky bearded humanoid.

It represents a man with a beard, and its angular design may suggest similar time and style than the previous one.

More details in the section Other Statues from this post.

Masferath Repentant

Mostly seen in the region of Ferelden [although, you can find it too in Western Approach: Adamant Fortress] 

This is the typical Ferelden statue of Masferath, regretting his betrayal.

He is sitting on a stone which has a design of a snake surrounding it, representing the Tevinter influence or deal he made with the Archon before handing over his wife. 

The helm in this statue has a C-shape, which I find very similar in design to the Tevinter helms [check section “Outfits” in Patterns and Styles: Tevinter]. I’m not sure if this is mere coincidence, or it speaks of a common [dragon-inspired] origin source.

Hanged Masferath

This totemic sculpture can be found in Hinterlands: Statues, paintings, and structures found in the open.

This is a Ferelden representation of Masferath being hanged. Clearly Ferelden has a strong sentiment with his betrayal.

The totemic structure seems to show mabaris at its base, followed by two different kinds of birds or maybe it’s a dragon [hard to say].

The top of these totems keeps bringing my attention: I can’t stop thinking there may be some link with the Tevinter metallic statue that I called  “Tevinter bird”, found in Ferelden in the underground region of Crestwood: Flooded Caves.

Other Statues

The couple can be found in Hinterlands: Redcliffe - Present, as a symbol to remember those who died in DAO-Redcliffe. It can also be found in Crestwood: surface as a memory statue of the drown, and in Frostback Basin [DLC]: Nigel’s point, as a memory statue of Ameridan’s friends: The templar Haron and the dwarf Orinna. It feels more like a reuse in most cases since it’s a strange statue to represent "fallen/lost people”.  Certainly we can assume it’s Ferelden made.

The horse with the rider seems to have, as we see in its drawing from the book Art of Inquisition, a lot in common with the previous statue I called “Rider Masferath”. The horse has been removed in some other places to only let the human figure stay.  It can be seen in Fallow Mire without his horse, and in Crestwood: surface. Sometimes the rider is not well chiselled in the stone. 

The vessel with many faces is only seen once in the game, in the The Darvaarad - Part2. We know the Qunari took this castle and put a lot of statues that they gathered around the world. However, this statue of many faces looks like it belonged to the inner corridors of the castle, implying the castle per ser may have been Ferelden, or elvhen in origin, but repurposed by Ferelden later. In the game we only see the “back” part of it, while in the book Art of Inquisition, we can see the full statue, which implies a beheaded figure. Maybe it’s the representation of a jury. It could also be interpreted as an entity that puts “the right head” into the people, suiting the Qunari and their Qun philosophy, but this interpretation would make me question why it is so related to Ferelden art in the Art Book.

Orlesian Style

Rustic Maferath, Hessarian, Andraste

A bit distant to the style of the Blocky bearded humanoid, we have these series of statues representing typical characters from the Andrastian Myth.

They are mostly located in different areas all over Orlais [or inside the Skyhold if you pick an Andrastian garden].

We find Andraste, in blue and red [I’m assuming one is the bride of the Maker, while the other is the warrior protector of her people]

Masferath is carrying a crown (?) in his hands, and Hessarian is holding the Sword of Mercy.

These seem to belong to an Orlesian style but rustic or more “popular”. They give me the impression that were made by the working class people who could not afford realistic artists to sculpt them in stone. 

They seem to be made out of wood.

The Orlesian Warrior Andraste

Unlike the previous one, this Orlesian statue is made out of stone and is bigger, more detailed, and realistic. It seems to appear in rich/high class places.

It also appears in Emerald Graves: Din'an Hanin, which may represent the influence of the Andrastian faith among the Ancient Dalish when the Dales was their Kingdom land granted by Andraste herself.

This statue presents Andraste as a warrior: she is wearing a detailed armour, a big sword, and, curiously, a helm that has no iconic single-spike. However, I can see some similarities in the armour design to Flemeth’s armour or the armour used by Humanoid Mythal statue.

Due to the strong similarities in style, this statue belongs to the same group than the Orlesian Andraste, Orlesian Maferath, Orlesian Havard, and Orlesian Hessarian.

The Stylised Orlesian Andraste

Another over-detailed statue of Andraste made out of Stone which appears in wealthy places.

The whole design of Andraste has a strong similarity to Tyrdda Bright-Axe, which may suggest that this statue may have a strong alamarri influence, mixing Andraste tale with the representation of Tyrdda.

The icon that represents the sun, ironically, has a strong similarity with the statue I called Sun-head creature, deeply related to the Elvhenan and, potentially, to Tevinter and its old dragon gods. This may imply that this statue may have collected several icons and details from different cultures and faiths to gather them in the cult to Andraste. This process is well known in human History, where the forced religion tries to blend with the local ancient one to produce an assimilation of the new faith.

The Orlesian Andraste

This Orlesian statue is made out of stone and is bigger and a lot more detailed and realistic that the “wooden” sculptures. 

It tends to appear in wealthy places as well as inside the Chantries of the game.

It represents mostly the divine Andraste and the bride of the Maker, without any element of her warrior side.

She has a one-spike helm that has strong resemblances to Flemeth’s tiara, Humanoid Mythal statue, Dragon Mythal statue, and the Ferelden Wyvern.

Due to the strong similarities in style, this statue belongs to the same group than the Orlesian Warrior Andraste, Orlesian Maferath, Orlesian Havard, and Orlesian Hessarian.

The Orlesian Masferath

It is called “The Betrayer”. 

We see the man worried, grabbing his own head, showing the weight of his own betrayal. He keeps the crowd of his leadership of the Alamarri in his hand since the Chantry tale says that he betrayed Andraste out of jealousy because she was more important than him among their people. I always questioned this since he was the one commanding the armies and their people into Tevinter, and he may have chosen the “lesser bad” option [read the The Chantry and the Mythology of the Chant of Light for more details].

Due to the strong similarities in style, this statue belongs to the same group than the Orlesian Warrior Andraste, Orlesian Andraste, Orlesian Havard, and Orlesian Hessarian.

The Orlesian Havard

Havard is shown here with avvar clothings [fur-based]. 

He is  carrying the urn of Andraste’s ashes that will be placed in Haven and will become later the Temple of Andraste [DAO].

We know thanks to the notes triggered in it that this statue seems to represent Havard but its appearance was based on a noble’s lover [check it in Emprise du Lion: Pools of the Sun].

Due to the strong similarities in style, this statue belongs to the same group than the Orlesian Warrior Andraste, Orlesian Andraste, Orlesian Maferath, and Orlesian Hessarian.

The Orlesian Hessarian

He is holding the sword that will be called the Sword of Mercy, used to kill Andraste in the pyre so she could not suffer anymore.

His hat has a bent T-shape that we can see in many other helms of Tevinter warriors in the section of “outfits” in Patterns and Styles: Tevinter.

Due to the strong similarities in style, this statue belongs to the same group than the Orlesian Warrior Andraste, Orlesian Andraste, Orlesian Maferath, and Orlesian Havard.

The Weight of War

This statue was tagged in this blog as Man holding bigger head  for a long while.

It has appeared in Forbidden Oasis, Redcliffe - Future, and in Orlais: Winter Palace.

Thanks to the constant presence of Andrastian-themed art around it, I could finally assume that this statue belongs to Andrastian art in Orlesian style.

The main man has angular features, his ears are not visible since it looks like he is wearing a chain-mail. He uses scale-based pauldrons, and a robe. He is holding a sword with one hand while the other holds a bigger head. By comparison with the state of the overall figure, we can assume that the bigger head has a lot of wounds and scars [meaning that this is part of the sculpture design and not a consequence of erosion]. 

Despite looking similar, the head in his hand and this man’s profile are different. The bigger head has a smaller, shrank nose. 

The only significant shape in this statue that can give us a resemblance of a hint to whom it belongs is his belt, which has pointy ends. We had seen this pattern in two places: in Tevinter artefacts, such as the sacrificial burial, or in andrastian outfits.

It triggers a codex called The Weight of War which is a bit unreliable, since the person explaining this is an amateur historian, but it’s the only hint we have about this statue. The amateur historian implies that this statue may belong to a warrior with a philosophy similar to the Grey Wardens.

More details about this statue in the post Forbidden Oasis.

Free Marches Style

The Free Marches Hessarian

It appears mostly in the Templar fortress of Therinfal Redoubt

This statue has a strong resemblance to Tevinter art. It’s not only the dark metallic material used for the sculpture, which was strong similarities with Tevinter artefacts such as Thrummer,  Water dispenser, Tevinter urn,  Tevinter artefact with spikes, Tevinter golem or Claw of Dumat, but also the prominence of angles and pointy ends. 

There is no codex associated with this sculpture, but I can guess it may represent Hessarian [the main Tevinter figure in the Andrastian Myth] since this statue has a version carrying a sword. 

It has a long beard and hair.

This statue has also been present in DA2, specially in the Chantry district of Kirkwall [check it in Architecture of Kirkwall : The Chantry].

The Free Marches Andrastian Warriors [?]

It appears mostly in the Templar fortress of Therinfal Redoubt and in the Fade.

This statue has a strong resemblance to Tevinter art. It’s not only the dark metallic material used for the sculpture, which was strong similarities with Tevinter artefacts such as Thrummer,  Water dispenser, Tevinter urn,  Tevinter artefact with spikes, Tevinter golem or Claw of Dumat, but also the prominence of angles and pointy ends. 

It’s wearing a typical DA2 Andrastian robe, but the helm has always brought my attention:  it has a lot of more similarity to the Tevinter warriors than to the one-single spike helm of Andraste.

Its weapon also has a strong similarity to the weapon used by Tevinter golems, while its helm has strong similarities with the ones that belong to the Tevinter warriors. One may say that both of them, in fact, are representing the one-spike helm of Andraste.

The unmistakable identification with Andrastian faith is given by the robe: if we see the chest, we will see the pointy half sun on it, which was the main design of the outfit of Elthina and other chantry priests we saw in DA2.

Unknown Style

The Skull with sword

This is the statue that I called Skull bud with sword all over this blog.

The skull is quite long for a regular human. It holds a sword. The body seem to be inside a bud or a shell that may look like a flower bud but also as the shell of an insect/scarab. 

This statue has always appeared within Andrastian contexts such as in Frostback Mountains - Haven [the basement], Hinterlands:Dead Ram Grove, or Ferelden: Therinfal Redoubt,  but also in places where the Andrastian context is not that strong, but still yet reasonable to appear, for example in Hinterlands: The Unknown Ruin [overtaken by Andrastian faith lately, so far we see in the statues present in this room], or Emerald Graves: Din'an Hanin [which clearly shows how the Ancient Dalish allowed a certain level of assimilation of the Andrastian faith thanks to Andraste’s gift of the Dales]. However, we also find this statue in Western Approach: The Still Ruins, Viridis Walk and Inner Sanctum, which is a pre-blight Tevinter building, so one is inclined to think that this statue may have been Tevinter in origin, and somehow, adopted later by the Andrastian faith.  Or maybe it’s just Elvhenan, taken first by Tevinter, and later by the Chantry [as we see this pattern repeats over and over with everything related to Tevinter].

One of the potential interpretations is that this sculpture represents a coffin, or a dead who is put to sleep in this position. The fact that this skull is inside a bud or an insect shell [in addition to the speculation that, like all what comes from Tevinter, was originally elvhenan] brings the possibility of being related to Uthenera and the mysterious codex of Vir Dirthara: A Flowering Imago that I tried to multi-interpret in several ways in Ancient Elven codices; Vir Dirthara.

So far I know, there is no codex associated with it, and we have only speculations about it.

Its style is not strongly similar to all these Andrastian statues, but the fact that it appears mostly within andrastian themed rooms, it’s hard not to bring it into this post.

However, I’m not confident about how to understand this statue and to what culture associated it with.

The Guide

It can be seen in three places only: Emerald Graves: The open pointing more or less towards Elgar’nan’s Bastion, on top of Stone-Bear Hold Avvars - Part 2 pointing out to the sea, and in the Fade, exactly in Flemeth’s Fade:  Part 2, pointing the path towards Mythal/Flemeth.

It’s associated with the unreliable landmark called The guide [written by this orlesian scholar who lacks of deep knowledge of elven culture], which identifies it as an elvhen statue, but it has a lot of style similarities to the Blocky bearded humanoid and the pre-divine Andraste as well as to the Skull bud with sword. If we see the back of an Elven Archer statue, we can find line-based similarities too, so it’s hard to decide whether this is truly Elvhen in origin and co-opted by the Andrastian and repurposed later, or it truly belongs to the set of pre-divine statues we spoke above and this amateur scholar misunderstood it as Elvhenan.

The unreliable landmark links it to Falon’Din for the mere fact that it is pointing out a place, so it “guides”. If we overlook this pathetic logic, and we give it a remote chance for it to be elvhen, we should be careful to identify it with Falon’Din. First, Via Solas, we know that Falon’Din was far from guiding people [Check Evanuris], and second, even if we consider this statue to be Falon’Din, we should never forget how Falon’Din and Dirthamen are entangled one another [check Humanoid Dirthamen], so this could also be a statue representing Dirthamen. The shape of the sleeves has some resemblance to the Elven Owl statue [they have long lines along it], but once more, both gods are so indistinguishable one another that it’s hard to say who is who.

Guardians of the Path / The Watcher 

This hooded statue was called Humanoid Dirthamen/Falon'Din in this blog.

The hooded statue can be seen in four places: in Emerald Graves: The open, as a watcher of entrances, in the Hinterlands, along the Tyrdda Bright-Axe Path inside the Calenhad’s Foothold; in Exalted Plains: Northern Ramparts and Citadelle du Corbeau, as the main big statue when you step into the Citadelle [again, watching over an entrance] and in Flemeth’s Fade – Part 2, as a statue bleeding profusely with a sword in its back, as an unmistakable symbol of betrayal.

In all these cases, the hooded version of the statue seems to be related to “watch or protect entrances”. Due to its presence in the Fade of Flemeth, we also can associate it with deep betrayal.

Once we see how the pattern unfolds with the statue I called Humanoid Dirthamen/Falon'Din [hodded version] we can understand the Andrastian version “guardian of the path” in similar fashion [he always appears in entrances as well], suspecting it was a re-usage and co-opt of the elvhen hooded statue when the Andrastian forces conquered the Ancient Dalish's lands.

The Guardian of the Path appears twice in game: in Crestwood: surface, at the entrance of the region, similar position as the hooded versions in Emerald Graves, and in the entrance to the region of the Exalted Plains.

[thekingofwinterblog]

In fiction, especially in fantasy stories, there are several ways in the universe past is treated.

It can be completely explained in detail from a starting point to "present" day, it can be shrouded in myth and legend, with what actually happened being very hard to piece together, like a song of ice and fire, or everything people thought they know about history turns out to be wrong, like the Stormlight Archives.

Dragon Age has elements of all 3, depending entirely upon which part of history we are talking about, and what characters.

However, onebrather unique way it handles this kind of writing is the Story of Andraste.

While the games, books or other media of Dragon Age always keeps the question of whether or not she really was divinely blessed, whether her maker was real or invented by her to justify her message, and whether this maker if he be real was actually the creator god of this universe or just a stupidly powerful spirit, deliberately vague and without an answer, in most other regards Dragon age takes the unconventional approach that it gives us a lot of the answers from day one during the trip through the Temple of Sacred Ashes, and only then has characters in-universe hotly debate the topic of her life, while we, the reader, sit with all the answers and can judge it for ourselves.

Maferath, Andraste's Husband

Maferath is treated astonishingly well by in universe historians considering how badly he fucked everything up.

This is the man who turned his wife over to the Tevinter Imperium in exchange for a poorly planned peace deal, and then rather than at least try to keep the nation him and his wife built together, divided it up amongst his sons, shattering any semblance of unity Andrastianism had after Andraste's death, and setting the stage for the dozen lesser states of modern Southern Thedas, the tyranny of the chantry, and the Tevinters continued existence.

And yet in universe historians try to rehabilitate them, the same way real historians try to rehabilitate objectively terrible monarchs like King John of England, or ancient massmurderers who they claim didn't really commit their murders despite all evidence to the contrary.

Maferath reason for turning over Andraste must have been because he thought their strategic position was terrible as a result of Andraste's actions, and so in the aftermath of Andraste's greatest victory, he made a deal to consolidate their gains, at the cost of his wife's life.

Nope, he did it because he was couldn't handle the fact that for all his military genius, it was Her who rallied the people together, it was her who everyone loved, and if total victory was achieved, it was no doubt going to be her who would get all the credit, while he would be a footnote.

And so he betrayed her to get her out of the way in a manner that would still allow him to become famous and celebrated, all the while making an absolutely terrible peace deal.

The fact was there was no such thing. There was no great plan. No idea of making himself into a target everyone of his own people could hate and rally against.

He was simply a terrible politician with a fragile ego, and a big complex about being seen as the best, biggest, and most impressive man around, who couldn't handle the fact his wife was more important than him, and so he threw everything away on a terrible peace deal, when his wife was at the tipping point of destroying the Tevinter Imperium, and forging a new super state composed of all her followers... And then he stupidly broke the empire apart so each of his sons could be king in their own right.

All so he could attempt to become bigger an more loved than Andraste, when it's very clear that she was the political brian in this union, and he an utter fool in anything that wasn't battle.

Shartan, Thane of all Elves

Shartan is speculated to be many things, his history is forgotten, buried, rewritten and so on.

Some historians try to say he never existed. Others that one, single elf could never have achieved so much success on his own, there must have been more than one man who took the name, a bunch of rebel leaders who created a legacy for themselves.

Some claim he was won over by andraste's charm and converted to the maker. Other's that he must have been Andraste's lover for her to favor him so.

In his death some say he was slain defending Andraste, others that he fought his way to her pyre and died there, while one claim that he died besides her at a pyre of his own is dismissed as obvious fiction.

The reality is that Shartan was indeed a man, did indeed rally the elves to Andraste's cause, but was never a true friend of Andraste. His and the Prophet's alliance was one of convinience, in his own words "the enemy of my enemy is my friend", and they did indeed have a shared enemy.

His motivation had nothing to do with the maker, and everything to do with his dream, his dream that his people would one day have a home of their own... But he was betrayed, just Andraste was.

And through the witness of the spirit carrying the memories of Hessarion's wicked and evil wife, we learn what became of Shartan. He and all of Andraste's Warleaders(Except for Maferath) was publicly executed by fire.

Shartan did indeed die on a pyre, right besides Andraste, but there was not sword of mercy for him. He died slowly, and painfully, and ultimately forgotten, just like the other warleaders.

Another soul lost to Maferath's betrayal.

Hessarion, The Lying Archon

Hessarion claims to have heard the will of the maker in Andraste's final moments, and used that as justification for his converting the entirety of his Imperium to the chant.

But this is a lie.

Whether he truly believed in the maker later in life, or not, Hessarion did not hear a voice from above telling him to kill Andraste. He did it for no other reason than that he could not bear to see the woman in pain and suffering, and so, acting on that impulse, he ended her life quickly and decisively rather than leave her in pain.

Hessarion built his ultimately doomed reforms of the Twvinter Imperium on complete lies about a holy vision from God. Whatever his intentions, it was built on a big, fat lie, not true, genuine belief in a higher calling.

Cathaire, the Witness

Historians claim that Andraste's miracle might not even have happened, that the Barbarian Queen merely took advantage of good fortune, but those who were there knew the truth.

For as the original Cathaire tells, the Barbarian Horde witness the fire of the sun coming doen to the Earth, scorching the land, inflicting such a destruction through fire and drought that the Imperium's entire harvest was gone, and so their armies could not march to fight Andraste's army.

And only then did the heavens open up, and create such a flood, that all that yet remained in the lands they passed were washed away like filth.

Whether it was though the will of God, her own incredible magic, or some mighty spirit's work, Andraste's miracles were real enough, and they brought her and her armies through to victory, all the way to the gates of Minrathous, where the betrayal from inside did what no Tevinter armies or spells could defeat.

Brona, the Seer and Mother

Much and more has been said of Andraste's visions, wheter they were real or not.

But what we do know, is that there was one close to her, who saw her future through the gift of magical and/or divine foresight.

Brona her mother, as her child slumvered beneath her heart, had a vision that told her of her daughter's life, and how it would end... Something she tried, and failed to stop.

The ability to divine the future is not unheard of in the Dragon Age universe, as shown with Flemeth, but as proven by Players chaoice in their actions, the future is rarely set firmly in stone.

Hawke will make the world shake before them... Provided of course they aren't killed fighting a Demon in the Fade.

Flemeth foresees her own death at the hands of the Warden, and takes steps to avoid it, but the Warden can choose to spare her life instead.

Compare the fickle, and uncertain nature of those predictions, with Brona's stonehard vision of her daughter's entire life from childhood to death, and it becomes clear that whatever force it was that defined Andraste's life, it was something with immense power, unlike mayhaps anything else seen in the series.

[estuschan]

hey y'all here is my son be nice 🌴

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commissions: [email protected]

[volkoss]

Fic: into His light

They are coming home.

DRAGON AGE | ANDRASTE/MAFERATH/THE MAKER | WORDS: 535 | RATED: G (AO3 LINK.)

At first, there is pain behind comprehension: steel rending flesh, the body’s mortal coil severed. 

And then, for a fleeting moment in time and an eternity, there is nothing. Nothing more than Silence.

When he opens his eyes, he sees his Beloved before him. She is ethereal, glowing: as always, She is radiant as the day they had met; as radiant as the day She had burned.

He is overcome once more by the urge to apologise profusely, prostrate himself at Her feet, beg Her for Her mercy. But what use would it be? What good would come of it? Mere words could not possibly explain his decisions, and especially not his mistakes.

He has no explanations left to give but the excuses he has given Her already. Readying himself to try again anyway, She instead silences him by intertwining Her fingers with his own. A gentle squeeze of his hand.

“The suffering of our people has been abated,” She begins, “and your role has been performed to perfection.”

“They think me a coward, a fool, a traitor,” Maferath spits. He cannot forget how the steel of their sons’ blades had sliced through his chest and punctured his heart. “And they would be right.” 

His Beloved slowly shakes Her head. “They knew not the sacrifices that were asked of us. Of you. But one day, the day when my song reaches all corners of the world, they will understand as I do.”

“Do you?” Maferath answers numbly, still feeling undeserving of Her affection. "Understand?"

“I always have,” She promises, thumb rubbing reassuring circles against his skin. “Unaware of the details as I might have been, I always kept faith that you would do whatever was necessary to protect our people.”

Doubt floods his chest as it so often does these days, his heart forever heavy since the moment of his betrayal. “But how can you be so certain?”

As soon as the words escape his lips he realises that he has always known the answer.

That She has always known the answer.

“You know how,” Andraste answers, and in that moment, he feels it: Her presence, Her presence radiating the warmth of Her funeral pyre. 

He feels like he is burning with Her, but he still doesn’t let go of Her hand.  

“Now walk with me,” She commands, leading restlessly as always. “There is someone I want you to meet.” 

As always, Andraste leads and Maferath follows, but the pain and resentment he had once harboured in Her shadow has been absolved. 

Hand in hand, they begin their journey into the Maker’s light, to bask in the splendour of their divine Creator. 

Under his once-mortal skin, there is a humming. Growing, intensifying, like the vibrations of a well-contented cat. 

“I have been kept waiting,” booms a voice beyond comprehension; it rattles off the non-existent walls, reaches to them, through him, and beyond.

It is a tone, an admonishment. It should shake him to his very core and yet it fills him only with serenity and peace.

Devotion and love. 

Clarity and certainty combine in perfect chorus: this is the place they have always truly belonged. They are not leaving, but returning.

They are coming home.