Veilguard introduces us to the concept of Qun theatre and morality parables:
Mask of the Hissba - Parable actors teach by theatrical example. The hissba, one who strays from the Qun, faces terrible pitfalls.
Here's some more I came up with!
Ash (to seek) - often the main character of a piece, whose purpose the audience is following as they move towards the main theme/morality of the story.
Qalaba - (a stupid animal) akin to the concept of a fool - derided in the narrative, not a figure of sympathy. Confused with Hissba by outsiders, but the difference lies in the intent - hissba is careless and strays and suffers consequences, qalaba is unthinking of of consequences and chooses to go against the tenants of the Qun.
Issala - (dust) not a ghost, but a theatrical figure that represents memory that is not deemed worth commiting to record or canon - vanquished people, past actions, the things not to be honoured.
Taarlok - (memory) companion role to Issala, representing those past actions or memories that deserve to be honoured, commited to rememberance.
Hissrad - (keeper of illussion, or liar) in theatre context, a storyteller. Often a narrator who helps to guide the narrative and make sure it's clear to an audience.
Kar-Katoh - (warrior-end) a final adversary that a character must overcome, outmaneouver or defeat (often through combat but not always).
Imekari-raas/Imekari-saam - (child-nothing/child-something, lifted from wot2) characters who approach purpose with dishonesty or desire outside of their path (raas) vs one who approaches their purpose honestly and with deference to their ability (saam). Imekari-raas can often become Imekari-saam as part of the narative, other times they are two seperate roles and imekari-raas is doomed to a poor fate.
Saarasaari (demon) - a villainous archetype that tempts other characters to stray from or betray their ideals, or the Qun more specifically.
Kost-saam (peace-something) - usually a scholar, sage or other guiding character, who often advises characters on their purpose without any level of force.
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I am of the mind that the Iron Bull's story about the origin of the necklace of the kadan started as one of these plays - probably one where the moral was "don't do this idolatrous thing, it's a misguided way to honour your kin", which has been lost to time or maybe little Ashkaari internalised a different message from it.
I gotta say, since I realized that the qunari are based on Plato's Republic, I am almost feeling annoyed by this. Like, all the other cultures in Thedas are a mixture of several influences from the real world. And the qunari are just... Plato's Republic. Not like "Plato's Republic and then some other influences". No, they are just: "Plato's Republic, but what if everyone had horns?"
Like, Plato had this organization of his ideal society, with the three "classes" of people being philosophers, guardians, and workers, and these three groups paralleling the three parts of the the human soul (body, mind, spirit). It is not subtle. And there are folks who have written about this in blogs and forums. And yet, somehow the fandom as a whole is not really aware of this? I am so confused.
I saw someone accuse BioWare of losing sight of Qunari lore on the grounds that the Antaam are forcing captives to work as slaves (Tevinter Nights). Even if we pretend that every adherent of the Qun is not a slave (forced to work an unpaid job on pain of reeducation or death), the Qunari have . . . always done this? Qamek has been used to chemically lobotomize victims of Qunari conquest the entire time. And, of course, the Antaam has gone rogue for unknown reasons in Tevinter Nights. I do not understand why some fans want to romanticize the Qunari (specifically) to the point of ignoring established almost everything about them.
Grey Wardens don’t generally have nice postings. In fact, most of being a Grey Warden is getting shipped to places where everything is fucked, rotten, blighted, horrible and/or trying to tear your face off. The Rivain outpost is… not that. You are getting shipped, yes, and it is the ass-end of nowhere… but the end of that ass has tropical beaches, white sand, good seafood, and ocean breezes all day long.
Captain Kyrian Martell has really enjoyed her posting here. She suspects, like the other wardens assigned to this spot, it will be one of her last postings. An easy send off, so to speak, for a life of service.
She is not complaining.
Kyrian is getting old (a miracle among Grey Wardens) and so are most of the old farts here under her command. The locals are friendly and seem to understand that while, yes, the set of warriors camping in a small ruin on the edge of their city are from the fearsome order of monster-slayers… these particular warriors are less the dogs of war and more the hounds of porch-sitting.
There’s a nice city-elf girl from the bakery who drops off day-olds. (And sometimes cakes.) The lad from the docks will drop off fish heads and extra tuna from time to time. If blight did somehow come to the city, Kyrian and her team would die for its populace regardless of bribery, but it’s nice to know they would be dying with fond memories of cake and fresh fish.
That’s a good reason to die, by warden standards.
“Captain, there’s someone swimming the river canal,” says James, less alarmed than puzzled. He’s a human man, somewhat doughy, still strong, but not so fast as he used to be. He points at the water beyond the parapet. “See that?
Kyrian sits forward to squint.
She’s nearly sixty now, and her senses have dulled just a tad in their thirty years as warden, but her sight is still sharper than most. In the light of sunset, there is indeed someone swimming from the far shore, across the big river at the foot of their fortress. A strong and steady breaststroke it looks like, aimed at the outpost’s delipidated little dock with its dingy dinghy barely still afloat beside it.
“What is that idiot thinking?” Kryian says, standing up. “Of all the fool fucking things. Currents out there are close to riptide going out to sea.” She and Warden James sit there and watch the swimmer slowly crawl an anxiety-inducing diagonal toward shore. “I can’t sit here. Let’s get down there in case we need to get in the boat.”
By the time Kyrian and James reach the dock, the other two wardens on site (Te’leth and Ollie) have gathered to likewise uncertainly aid the mysterious moron killing themselves in the river. They’re just ten meters off the end of the pier now. So, James and Ollie shout encouragement, waving and reaching out with open hands from the end of the dock.
Warden Te’leth (elven, and reasonably faster than other two) runs forward and throws a rope, shouting, “Mythal’naste! Grab it, kid! C’mon!”
Because, as they’ve all realized with some dawning dread, the swimmer appears to be a teenaged boy.
A qunari by the horns and the sheer physicality required to get this far, in this current, for as long as they have. This close, Kyrian can hear the ragged desperation in their breathing. Their head keeps bobbing under. They flail and catch the line though, and Te’leth reels them in, James and Ollie readily grabbing them by the arms and hauling them out.
The qunari kid is coughing, panting raggedly by the time they’re laid out on the dock, on their hands and knees, shaking with adrenaline and cold. Te’leth strips her jacket and throws it over them. They’re slender and all sinew. They stripped down to shorts to swim the channel (thank the gods). Smart. Their soaking clothes would have dragged them down otherwise.
“What were you thinking?” Kyrian demands, stern as she kneels in front of them. “I’m the Captain of this outpost. Do you know who we are? What this place is?”
The kid looks up at her. Gods. They can’t be more than fifteen. Skinny and skittish. Dark slate-grey horns that curve straight back from their brow, coil down, then hook back up behind their head.
Their eyes are passing strange even for their people – golden irises in black sclera and darting desperately among the gathered faces. Now that they’re close, Kyrian isn’t so sure they’re a young man anymore. They’ve a boy’s chest, but qunari are so muscular that sometimes isn’t the tell. They’re gold-complexioned, pretty, their dark hair braided back but long.
“Grey Wardens,” they say in heavily Q-accented trade-tongue. Their voice is deeper than their features might suggest. “You are… Grey Warden military… uh, group.”
“Yes. What’s your na—?”
“This one wants to join.”
Dead silence then.
Quietly, in dwarvish to keep it private amongst their group, Te’Leth says, “Qunari don’t have names, Captain.”
“Why do you want to join?” Kyrian says, in trade-tongue. “You are very young.”
And they look up at her with this naked desperation, hold out a hand, and in that hand, ice begins to form along their palm, crystals creaking as they build and steam cold in the hot air of Rivain. Everyone backs up a step be Kyrian who stays knelt, jaw tightening. Well then. They’re a hedge mage. Or whatever you call it when you’re so new in the magic all you have is raw power and no control.
Kyrian realizes it’s not river water on their face when they cry, “I have to join.”
Te’leth says, neutrally, “We could send them to a Circle. They don’t have to be a mage-warden. We could give them a chance—”
James says, in somewhat broken dwarvish, “No safe. Horn-killers in Circle.”
The kid is on their knees, ice melting in their palm as they beg, “Please let me join.”
Ollie, who is dwarvish, says with some appall, “It’s treason, in technical fact, to refuse any recruit. Any willing body is brought to Weisshaupt for evaluation. The second they said the words, they were a recruit. There is no bar for age.”
“Cept decency,” snaps Te’leth, in trade tongue, too mad to maintain the second language. “I won’t be party to slavery. That’s what it is if we take them this young.”
“Please,” the kid says, their hands in their lap now. They look desperately among the arguing faces, fear building in their dark eyes as the debate goes. “Please. I have to…”
“They don’t have Circles in the Qun?” Kyrian asks, keeping to trade-tongue.
The kid shakes their head, then holds up their wrists, together, indicating chains, then they cover the mouth with two stacked hands and dig their nails into the flesh of their cheeks. Indicating some great violence Kryian doesn’t know – violence terrible enough to swim a river, abandon your home, doom yourself as a Warden.
Their eyes stream with tears as they shake their head: No, there are no Circles in the Qun.
Then they begin to cry in earnest, bending over, their shoulders jerking. The child-mage sobs while a pack of old Grey Wardens stand there staring unhelpfully down at them.
Kyrian looks balefully up at Te’leth. “You think a qunari mage-born will won’t be tranquiled the second they’re brought to a Circle? C’mon, Tel.”
“We can’t do this,” Te’leth says softly. She shakes her head. “They’ll Join the child the moment they’re Harrowed. They won’t live to see fifty assuming they survive the rite at all. They will die in agony screaming for their mother—”
“Qunari don’t have mothers,” Ollie says flatly.
And that’s when the kid, fast as a viper, grabs the dagger on James’ belt. Everyone yells, but before anyone can move, they’ve pressed the blade to their own throat. They don’t pull it across their windpipe, but blood runs down their pale neck, pooling along their collarbones. They’re up on one knee now. Their face is dead calm in that way madness sometimes is.
They say, softly, carefully enunciating: “I cannot go back.”
Captain Kyrian raises a hand, palm out, like you calm a frightened colt.
“Don’t do that,” she whispers.
“I will kill myself,” the kid whispers. “I will try to kill you. I will do those things, but I will not go back. I will not be a demon.” They repeat, to themselves, “I will not.”
“Okay, kid. You win. Just… put that down. Okay?” When they hesitate, she blurts, “Fuck, kid. We’ll take you. We’ll train you. Gods damn us, you can join. Alright? Just calm down.”
Eventually, they lower the knife.
They seem almost dazed then. They say something in Qunlat, softly, near broken to themselves as James gently takes the knife and Ollie kneels to tuck a cloak around them again. They don’t resist when the big dwarf reaches up to hug them. They simply fold into the warden’s arms like the lanky child they are and bury their face in his shoulder. It occurs to Kyrian that Ollie had three kids before he was blighted.
Te’leth, leaning into Kyrian’s ear, translates, “They said ‘I was going to be a teacher.’ Just now, in Qunlat. They’re a fucking teacher in training, Kyri.”
Kyrian clenches her jaw.
“Not anymore.” Then, after a moment, “Fuck me.”
By the time their rotation in Rivain ends, the wardens are calling the kid ‘River’ for lack of anything kinder to call them. They refuse to name themselves. They swam a river to be a Warden. It’s good a name as any. Kyrian suspects if they all called their new ward ‘recruit’ or ‘orphan’ or ‘you’ forever, they wouldn’t have taken it hard.
But Te’leth would’ve.
And that’s not fair, because Te’leth’s nightmares are getting unbearable now.
The Calling is stalking the lot of them now and new regrets aren’t a weight you want to carry to the Deep Roads. The blight-song rises so loud inside them now that all the fish-heads and cake in the world won’t keep them from the dark.
The day before they leave for Weisshaupt, Kyrian catches River furtively reading one of the trashy adventure novels she brought with her and left stacked in the mess hall. Te’leth has put out a bit of cake for them. Ollie has dutifully burnt some toast and put it on a plate. James has gifted them an old jacket that no longer contains his dough-ish volume but hangs like drapes off River’s skinny frame.
Kyrian can’t save this kid.
She can’t even be around to watch them live out their protracted death by blight inoculation. (Provided they survive their Harrowing, then the Joining, the all the horrors of being a Grey Warden in general.) All she can do is get River to a fate that’s not a Circle and leave them a set of shitty novels written by some schmuck whose name she keeps forgetting.
“Varric,” she says.
River startles, staring at her over the table.
“Those books,” she says, leaning against the doorframe to the mess area. “They’re by some guy named Varric Tethras. Utter bullshit. The lot of it. It’s a crime that’s the literature I’m introducing you to.”
River squints at the destroyed cover of the book for evidence of authorship, but if they doubt her, they do not argue with her. The next day, they leave for Weisshaupt.
Today we’re carrying on with my new mini-series paving the road for the anticipated release of the next Dragon Age game. As, I’ve said before, and I’ll say it in every video. I’ll be delving into very particular honed-in lore and plot threads that are rather telling for the future narrative of Dragon Age.
Last episode I discussed Thedas’ most prideful nation, as an empire of power-hungry mages rule over their own magical utopia known as the Tevinter Imperium. Continuing from that, today I’m exploring Thedas’ most-misunderstood race, the Qunari. The grey-horned giants, who follow a strange set of rigid ideals, sought to convert all of Thedas to their way of life.
The Qun:
While humans, dwarves and elves rabble amongst themselves, there is another race, relatively new to Thedas, that most people call Qunari.
“This race is large and powerful; on average, they tower over humans by a foot or more. Most have horns growing from their heads.” (WoT V.1)
To many humans, the Qunari are an evil and tyrannical people who do not believe in individual rights. ln the lands occupied by Qunari, all other belief systems are expelled, families are split apart, marriages are forbidden, and any dissenter is sent for "reeducation" by a secret police that watches for any violation of the strict Qunari ethos.
While the majority of that fear is warranted, the Qunari believe their ancient texts known as the Qun are laws that everyone in Thedas should adhere to. These laws are based on two core philosophies: Mastery & Balance.
Mastery (issqun): 'To know something is to understand it, to understand why it is, what it is, as well as what it is not. To know something is to possess the power to master it, and only in the lack of knowing lies weakness."
Balance (aqun): "To exist without balance is to fall, to break, to yield. Only with balance can true stillness be achieved. When one is still, one is free to listen and know. In knowing, become strong. With strength, become steel. And as steel, endure."
Briefly put, the Qun texts are a code of honour that encompasses philosophy, laws and a social architecture to prepare and govern the Qunari people with discipline.
For those who believe in the Qun, the lack of individual freedoms does not matter. They find comfort and stability in the order of it all.
A few freedoms the Qun does not tolerate are: any worship of a god or gods, such as the Maker, this is forbidden and is stopped with violence if necessary. And, magic is feared and hated, The Qunari take its treatment of mages to extremes even the Chantry might consider cruel.
While some in Thedas may consider the Qun as a radical religion, it’s actually a social archetype that governs everything from society, culture, religion, economy, government, etc. The Qun dictates all aspects of Qunari life.
“Any discussion of the Qun as a philosophy must extend to Qunari society as a whole, for the two are intrinsically linked.” (WoT. V1)
Because of this, the Qunari view other nations of Thedas as inferior and as “Kabethari”, which means "those who need to be taught." As of which, the Qunari plan many incursions guided by the Qun’s text for the rest of Thedas, ensuring their way of life will thrive on, even if they have to re-educate every single person in the populace. The Qun is an implacable force that will not be denied.
Existence is a choice.
There is no chaos in the world, only complexity.
Knowledge of the complex is wisdom.
From wisdom of the world comes wisdom of the self.
Mastery of the self is mastery of the world.
Loss of the self is the source of suffering.
Suffering is a choice, and we can refuse it.
It is in our own power to create the world, or destroy it.
And the Ashkaari went forth to his people.
—An excerpt from The Qun, Canto 1
The label “Qunari" more accurately refers to a follower of the religious text known as the Qun, regardless of his or her race hence the capitalization of the name in many texts. The actual horned race's ancient name is “kossith.” This term is not widely used or even widely known outside scholarly circles.
Simply put, anyone of any race who embodies the Qun’s text are Qunari, while the horned races’ biological term stems to “kossith”, however, this term is not spoken by the people themselves. As of which, I’m just going to keep calling them Qunari.
Par Vollen was the first land the Qunari conquered and converted to the Qun. It’s a very peaceful land that the Qunari consider their new homeland. This island has many wonders like the great pyramids and abundant jungles. Even the native humans of Par Vollen willingly converted to the Qun.
“Par Vollen is peaceful, its native humans largely willing the Qun converts to the Qun. The Qunari consider Par Vollen their new homeland.” (WoT. V1)
As the Qunari come from uncharted territories, they have their own language called Qunlat which, in short, is a very blunt language with little use for communication beyond its necessities. Many Qunari can speak the common tongue, when doing so, they are very to the point, with no reason for wasting time.
“Qunari speak a harsh language called Qunlat. As a rule, Qunari have little use for communication beyond its necessities. When speaking to those who do not follow the Qun, their statements are often laconic, with a kind of underlying condescension.” (WoT. V1)
The Qunari arrived on the shores of Thedas several ages ago. The origin of the race itself is still a mystery today. Even among the Qunari, not much is known about where they came from or why they landed in Thedas.
They’ve been described to share physical similarities with dragons, while having ears that resemble elves. Many Qunari believe that their priests, known as Tamassrans mixed dragon blood into their biology some time ago. However, the truth still remains...
While living under the Qun, the Qunari do not have a concept of personal identity. While they possess names, they do not use them, primarily using titles rather than names to identify and present themselves.
Given that Qunari names are just their job title, the Qun has many roles fulfilling different purposes. Such roles are separated between males and females, as the Qun believe each gender perform better functions than the other in certain areas, like raising children.
“The Qunari believe that both men and women are capable of leadership. However, Qunari deem one gender or the other better at certain roles in their society. No matter how much aptitude a male shows for management, he will never be as good at it as a female. Therefore, they would consider it inefficient to put him in such a role when a woman would be better.” (WoT. V1)
The Body of the Qun
The Qun itself consists of single body, with each of its aspect responsible for governing certain movements and operations.
"The Qunari view their whole society as a single creature: a living entity whose health and well-being is the responsibility of all," she wrote. "Each individual is only a tiny part of the whole, a drop of blood in its veins. Important not for itself, but for what it is to the whole creature. Because of this, the Qunari most outsiders meet belong to the army, which the Qun regards as if it were the physical body: arms, legs, eyes and ears, the things a creature needs in order to interact with the world. One cannot get to know a person solely by studying his hand or his foot, and so one cannot truly 'meet' the Qunari until one has visited their cities. That is where their mind and soul dwell.” (WoT.V1)
The primary symbol used to represent the Qunari as a people is the House of Tides, symbolising the triumvirate of body, mind, and soul. The body is represented by the Arishok. The mind is represented by the Arigena. The soul is represented by the Ariqun.
Arishok, Arigena and Ariqun together are known as the Salasari:
The Arigena is the head of the Qunari matriarchy responsible for looking after the good of the community.
The Ariqun is the head of the Qunari priesthood, responsible for the maintenance of public spirituality and the progress of science through the Tamassrans & the Ben-Hassrath.
The Arishok is the head of the Qunari military, responsible for the protection and safety of Qunari society, as well as its expansion through the Antaam.
The operative groups within the Qun’s body are separated for their unique purposes and tasks ran by one of the Salasari.
The Tamassrans; which means "Those Who Speak" in Qunlat, are the priesthood branch of the Qun led by the Ariqun.
Tamassrans are strictly a female role within the Qun, they control the selective breeding process, deciding who mates with whom. They name and raise new-born babies; they educate and evaluate children when they reach 12 for more official tasks.
And most importantly, they use a substance called qamek to "free those beyond redemption," i.e. to turn dissenters who have persistently resisted re-education into all-but mindless creatures ("viddath-bas"), who can only perform hard labour and require looking after in the same manner as the disabled.
“Because they raise the society's children, the Tamassrans wield great influence.” (WoT.V1)
The Ben-Hassrath; which means "the Heart of the Many" in Qunlat, are the secret police branch of the Qun led also by the Ariqun.
The Ben-Hassrath enforce the law of the Qun. Their purpose is protecting the faith and the innocents. They are leaders who maintain unity, which Qunari believe to be a strength.
The Qunari divide all Ben-Hassrath activities into three distinct categories: "Dangerous Purpose," "Dangerous Action," and "Dangerous Questions.” Each category has a different Ben-Hassrath role, as you can imagine, following a very in-particular pursuit, they are:
Ariqun: supreme priest of the Ben-Hassrath
Hissrad: "one who creates illusions; liar" (a spy)
Tallis: "to solve" (an assassin)
Saarbrak: unknown function
Salit: unknown function
Viddasala: "one who converts purpose”
Ben-Hassrath will venture outside Qunari society to perform covert missions in foreign lands, hunting Tal-Vashoth and other enemies of the Qun, sometimes acting as spies. They’re responsible for “reeducation” and the assimilation of conquered people.
“While the Qunari accept the Ben-Hassrath as a fact of life, other races vilify the Qun's secret police. These notorious hammers of Qun justice do not usually kill their prisoners. To do so is seen as a waste, as all people have value. Instead of death, prisoners are put to work in labor camps and taught the way of the Qun.” (WoT. V1)
The Antaam; which means "body" in Qunlat, are the military branch of the Qun led by the Arishok.
Antaam are generally a male role within the Qun, however, females who’re capable of both the talent and dedication to fighting can join the Antaam as part of a military classification known as the Aqun-Athlok, which means “one who is born as one gender but lives like another.”
Aqun-Athlok: “One who is born as one gender but lives like another."
Other notable ranks among the Antaam military body are:
Arishok: supreme commander of the Antaam
Arvaarad: "One who holds back evil" (Watcher)
Katari: "One who brings death."
Ketojan: An infantry platoon
Sten: Infantry platoon commander
Antaam control every military aspect, they gather specific intelligence for the Qunari, seek and destroy anything that threatens Qunari society, and protect or recover revered artifacts, and technology.
While the Antaam are normally led by the Arishok. Currently, an invasion on Tevinter has already begun as an unsanctioned operation. The force took over two Tevinter cities, Ventus and Carastes without the Qun’s authorisation. The Arishok’s order has been ignored, instead, Rasaan, a prominent Qunari Tamassran revealed that quote “her” Antaam are in Tevinter unofficially.
Rasaan, taking actions into her own hands, is searching for Fen’Harel’s true name, so the Qunari can oppose him once they figure out his greatest weakness.
“Fen Harel,” she lectured, “is a name given by enemies. Its translation, ‘Dread Wolf,’ isn’t true.” She turned, considering one of the tomes now piled on the slab. “The name given when he lied to us—and to your Inquisition—was chosen by a self-styled martyr. ‘Solas’ is also not true.” (Tevinter Nights)
While the Ben-Hassrath watch over the Antaam’s movements, they’ve decided not to join in their conquest. Other Qunari outside of the Antaam feel the same, and have spoken out against the Antaam’s actions, some even killing their fellow brethren for disobeying orders.
“Antaam, to me!” Bas-taar choked out.
“I am not Antaam.” The Huntmaster smiled as the Qunari beside him looked at him in confusion. In one fluid motion, he swung the spear down from his back and hurled it across the clearing. Bas-taar shuddered as the spear struck, then went silent and still. (Tevinter Nights)
The Saarebas; which means “dangerous thing” in Qunlat, are the mages of the Qunari forces.
The Qunari fear and loathe magic. But it is of course still possible for a follower of the Qun to be born with the power to use it. The Qunari treat their Saarebas with brutality and caution. The seer of Kont-aar once wrote:
"Saarebas must be carefully controlled by someone else, an arvaarad, 'one who holds back evil,' because they cannot truly control themselves." (WoT. V1)
The Qun teaches that those who can control magic cannot control themselves. Because of this, it is common practice for saarebas to be chained, masked, and kept on a short leash. Their lips may, in extreme cases, be stitched together. An arvaarad may also use a rod, similar to one used to control a golem, to restrain a saarebas.
Finally, Tal-Vashoth; which means "the true gray ones” in Qunlat, a name they gave themselves.
Tal-Vashoth refers to Qunari who have lived under the Qun and rejected it. This rebellion against its principles makes Tal-Vashoth traitors in the eyes of the Qun. Tal-Vashoth frequently clash with Qunari, but they are not large enough in number to be a formidable threat to the Qun.
Tal-Vashoth usually stick together. Most are kossith. Since many in Thedas see kossith and think "Qunari,~ the Tal-Vashoth are often forced into a life of banditry and mercenary work, unaccepted and unable to find safer work.
And that makes up the majority of the Qun and its people. The Qunari are Thedas’ most immediate threat, as their invasion on Thedas has already started, while the Qun is greatly splintered, many nations in Thedas will face onslaught from these terrifying giants who will fulfil their Qun’s demand. Many plot points and future story beats lie for the Qunari.
Ben-Hassrath's Current Movements
The Ben-Hassrath's plan titled “Dragon’s Breath’ failed, the scheme would’ve wrought the destruction of the Winter Palace and an immediate conversion on the entirety of Southern Thedas’s people, with the Divine and many other key figures dead. As the Inquisition and Fen’Harel stopped this from happening, the Ben-Hassrath focus many of their efforts on hunting Fen’Harel, the Dread Wolf. He has made himself an enemy to the Qun.
Other aspects of the Ben-Hassrath attacked the estate of Magister Nenealeus, looking for a mysterious lyrium sarcophagus that can imbue any elf with lyrium tattoos.
The Ben-Hassrath moved their “Darvaarad” (their magical quarantine site) to a mobile dreadnought. However, the ship was destroyed by an agent of Fen'Harel who placed an Altus Tevinter thief on their land. Their intention was to force the Ben-Hassrath to join the war between Tevinter and the Antaam. Fortunately, Gatt, one of the Ben-Hassrath saw through this scheme, and the plan was thwarted.
“The Antaam will still agitate for us to move against you more openly. But we can blunt their strike. The Ben- Hassrath will remain officially neutral. More important, free to act against the true threat.” (Tevinter Nights).
While they predominantly hunt Fen’Harel, what are they going to do about their inner struggles within the Qun’s body? Will they step up and stand against it? Or continue to ignore it?
Antaam’s Invasion
A delicate peace existed between the Qunari and the rest of Thedas, however, the Qun is a text that must be adhered to by all. The Military body of the Qun, the Antaam, led by Tamassran Rasaan have decided for themselves, without the blessing of the other Qunari, to attack Northern Thedas.
“Rasaan stopped him with a raised index finger. “I know your work,” she said. She knelt again, her eyes dead-straight with his. “My Antaam are in Tevinter as officially as you are. Does that change your tone?” (Tevinter Nights)
While this is a prohibited invasion, the Qunari have declared war on the rest of Thedas, and will continue their efforts to re-educate the world, by any means possible. It’s estimated that the Antaam will crush Tevinter’s opposition in the east, and everything east of Vyrantium will be under their control within a year, and northern Antiva as well. Unless the newly appointed Airshok, who used to be Sten, personally stops this conquest. The Antaam may very well besiege the majority of Tevinter’s rural land.
"You all know that the Antaam invaded without permission of the other branches of Qunari government? We had assumed this would hobble them, but it appears the priests and workers were a moderating influence. Without them, the Antaam have crushed the Tevinter opposition in the east, and I fear everything east of Vyrantium will be under their control within a year, and northern Antiva as well." (Tevinter Nights)
While the majority of the Antaam’s army will find fulfilment in overthrowing cities and bestowing the Qun’s law. Rasaan has taken interest in Fen’Harel and his scheme, she seeks his demise, just like the Ben-Hassrath. It seems each force within the Qunari government can agree that Fen’Harel is a formidable threat, as many of their efforts are focussed on stopping his plans.
As a side note, Rasaan is a very attractive female Qunari Tamassran, we have not yet had the opportunity to romance such a striking, yet intimidating figure like herself in the Dragon Age games as of yet. I’d very much like her to “re-educate” my next protagonist, if you catch my drift.
Seheron’s Occupancy
Seheron is the largest island in Thedas, it was a paradise claimed by Tevinter long before the Qunari first landed on its shores. And even today, both groups fight for the island, while the Qunari dominate the majority of Seheron, Tevinter kinsman are constantly aiming to retake the land.
Seheron is still "kabethari" to the Qunari—a land to be conquered and converted, literally "those who need to be taught." The tide could change any moment for either party.
Rivain’s Qun Influence
Rivain is home to the only peaceful Qunari settlement on the main continent, in Kont-aar. The influence of the Qun, if not absolute adherence to its teachings, is present throughout Rivain, getting stronger as one heads north toward Kont-aar. During the conquest of the Tevinter city – Ventus, a captured elf and human discovered that the Qunari are moving some of their forces back to Rivain. A perfect location to continue their conversion of Thedas.
“The Qunari are moving into Rivain. You need to get word to the clans before they land.” Irelin looked at Myrion with her maybe-glare, then back to Strife.
“I can be there and back by midnight. Can you stay ahead of the Qunari until then?” (Tevinter Nights)
Antiva Invasion
The nation of Antiva do not have a personal guard or army, instead the Antivan Crows step-into the battlefield for the sake of their countrymen.
“Without an army, Antiva’s only line of defense was the Crows. Should the Qunari decide to attack, the assassins must present a united front.” (Tevinter Nights)
The eight leaders of the Crows are called Talons. Each talon from each house within the Crows had a political meeting to discuss the ongoing Qunari threat, in which, one of the eight talons decided to oppose the Crows and sign a contract with the Qunari for a peaceful invasion of Antiva’s land, all they needed to do was eliminate the remaining other talons.
“The Qunari are coming. I was approached and presented a contract—an opportunity—for a peaceful invasion. In exchange for seven deaths, we could keep our way of life. They wouldn’t make us submit to the Qun.”
“And you believed them,” Teia scoffed.
Emil squared his shoulders. “The Qunari are many things—brutal, rigid, merciless warriors—but they are also honorable.” (Tevinter Nights)
Fortunately, the Talons were able to uncover this conspiracy before they met their deaths, however, the Qunari are on their way to Antiva, and with this deal no longer in effect, there will be blood to pay on the streets of this costal nation. The Crows will not give up their home so easily.
Plenty of war lingers for the Qunari, as they declare this transfiguration for the people of Thedas. Since Trespasser’s events, the Qunari have all but continued their slaughter, while they’ve decided to take on the hunt for Fen’Harel. The lines are going to be so blurred when we experience this war for ourselves, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, right? Perhaps the Qunari could willingly help us, but at the cost of Thedas’s entire transmutation. So many seeds are in the planning for the Qunari and their conquest, we can safely say the future will be nothing but tragic. Let me know your thoughts down below.
Look I didn't follow BTS stuff for any of the DA games, i only engaged minimally with what writers etc said on places like twitter after the fact.
But it does seem uncharitable to label any and every lore drop that doesn't grok with previously established stuff as "bad writing" or "forgotting their own lore".
Taash's gender stuff is one of those things that got me thinking about it.
We have never had a game set in the Qun. DA writes codexes that have an inherant bias all the time, it's part of what makes it interesting. It's also a series that spans multiple games - it's actually fine if someone who only played 1 game and not the rest doesn't get the best insight into stuff. If you don't read codexes, you miss the worldbuilding they decided to put there. If you don't explore dialogue options with certain characters, you miss stuff. You have to engage with it to get it, that seems reasonable.
Iron Bull brings up aqun-athlok in conversation with Krem because it is a helpful framework for Krem who lacks terms when trying to explain it to the Inquisitor, who can be shit about it depending on dialogue. It's simplified both in meta (DA trying to provide better transgender representation) and in the narrative (Bull simplfies a system, and he finds comfort in systems).
Shathann brings up the aqun-athlok when Taash tries to discuss being nonbinary because it is her only cultural reference to gender variance in the same manner, but it doesn't land well because it is still presented as a binary option that doesn't serve Taash the way it served Krem.
Iron Bull: In Qunandar, Krem’d be an aqun-athlok. That’s what we call someone born one gender but living like another.
Bull understands it as an action, a thing that is done, not about how you actually feel about your gender, but the role you serve. He was a soldier and knew only war for a good chunk of his life (reminder: a tour of Seheron should be 2 years max, Iron Bull was there for a decade). We also see shades of this in how he references gender with Cassandra:
Cassandra: I am surprised you accept fighting at a woman's side, Bull. I understood Qunari women didn't fight.
Iron Bull: If a Qunari woman really wants to fight and has a gift for it, she becomes an Aqun-athlok. The Aqun-athlok joins the warriors and is treated like a male. He becomes a guy, for all intents and purposes.
Cassandra: But she wouldn't physically become male, surely.
Iron Bull: Doesn't matter. In the Qun, your role is everything.
Cassandra: And... do you think of me as male, then?
Iron Bull: Depends. In or out of your armor?
Incredibly interesting on it's own, how the Bull might parse gender while adapting to being away from the Qun and divesting from it or not depending on your choices, deserving of it's own post musing about it.
Shathann: [...] the term for one who's gender does not match the one given to them at birth was "aqun-athlok".
Shathann's understanding seems to be around what you are, not what you do, which fits into the "shokra to ebra" of Taash's entire personal plot. She left the Qun because of how she knew Taash would be assigned when their firebreathing manifested. She left because this level of her child being unable to choose their path was too much to bear. She assumes Taash will struggle to find themselves because Shathann never had to; her role and path was chosen for her. (Aside, I love thinking about how Shathann kept tabs on the child she bore when lore generally implies this would/should not have happened under the Qun).
Shathann was a scholar, which would have fallen under the Ariqun (soul) of the Qun, where gender based roles have more variance than the Arishok (body) and the Arigena (mind). Maybe her experience didn't lean so heavily on role-as-gender (with the exception of Tamarassans, who are female and would fall under the Ariqun). She is only speaking from her own experience, not a meta lore case truth.
A qunari Rook (who was not raised under the Qun and says as much) can state "the qun has certain ideas about what jobs men and women can do" - Rook only has second-hand information from the Qun, probably mostly from people that left it or were born away from it. That's even starker if they're Shadow Dragons/Tevinter background - the Imperium also has restrictions on gender roles in the military - it's why Krem had to leave Tevinter in the first place. The game loves to show Tevinter and the Qun specifically as two sides of a fucked up coin, and the characters within the narrative make those connections too. Tevinter is oppressive in one way, the Qun is opressive in another, and yet they employ different handling to the same tools to do it.
Presenting like this is not meant to be a lessening of the implications we got from Bull's experience, or a case of "not checking the lore bible" - it's a bias perspective, on purpose in most cases I'd argue. Its what makes the lore so interesting and realistic, that the truth is defined by what people believe, that even a system like the Qun presented so rigidly probably varies, probably bends and moves for individuals and their experiences.
The arguments about the anacronistic/modern language used in veilguard is of no interest to me. I understand why, I might have done it differently, I don't think it's harmful to the take aways in any significant manner.
I think it serves us in a lot of cases when we're presented with contradictory lore not to always go "why did the writers drop the ball" and instead as "what does this tell me about this character, setting, situation or perspective"?
so you wrote the bull losing part of his horn once (i think in "a whole lot of something"???) since we now have taash replacing parts of their horn with veil quartz, do you think the bull would do somethings similar? maybe with dawnstone?
Yeah it was a little tumblr fic! At the time I was working under the assumption that qunari horns don't grow back. In Veilguard when Taash talks about their horn, they mention having someone shave the veil quartz down as the "natural horn" grows back in, which doesn't make sense when qunari don't shed their horns like antlers.
Also fits in with the qunari horn alchemy tradition which I actually really like, and it fits in with the Qun as being about the whole and not the individual - making the dead part of you is almost a little magical, but I think if you think about it in terms of (and bear with me here) traditions like ritualised cannibalism, where eating the dead is a mark of respect and you gain their wisdom/strength etc, I fuck with it. I fuck with everything about qunari ritual and spirituality, and how the Qun responds to that.
Like them being into dragons. Qun's got to have eyes on that, letting it slide some, but not wanting false idol worship over the word of Koslun as the way and the light.
But the new "qunari horns regenerate" stuff is fuel on the fire of qunari being inherently magical in origin, which given the dragon connection and the firebreather lore being introduced makes sense!
I think if Bull had lost part of a horn in DAI era, he'd have had some kind of metal on it, so dawnstone fits. Despite being called a stone it's a metal? DA doesn't actually have many named crystals and a lot of them in terms of DAI tinting so in a metal slot (e.g serpentstone, dragonbone). It's canonically brittle for weapons, so maybe it would work as a metal that's easy to shave down as the horn comes back.
I do think of him post-trespasser as having a little bit of metal banding, maybe to support a crack in his horn as it heals. As well as temporary horn jewellery, because when you have a fancy husband sometimes it rubs off on you. Maybe it's also sentimental, maybe he wears a modified bangle from Dorian as a horn cuff (after joking about wearing it as a cock ring, obviously).
So, drinking dragon’s blood gives the person strength and a heightened temper to the point of madness, as well as changing their physical features. The Qunari revere dragons. The Qun is meant to keep one from falling into madness. Qunari have pointed ears, but are also giants. Qunari revere those born without horns. Sareebaas are more powerful than human or elven mages. Corypheus tells Adaar that their people ‘were a mistake.’ Kieran feels bad about 'what happened to [Adaar’s] people.’
Who gave so many elves enough dragon blood to change them like that? And why does no one remember?
