Introduction

by Varric Tethras

The year was 2:45 Glory. King Fyruss's famous conquest had failed, the monarch betrayed by his Tevinter Allies. Caspard Pentaghast had started his famous conquest of Nevarra. By the same time the next year, he would become its king. Those within Orlais had begun to forget the Exalted march against the dales, which had ended only 25 years previous. The memory of humans is short. The truth of the war had been forgotten, and already tales were spreading of how the chantry had saved the Elves from eternal damnation. Some of the Elves that had agreed to be assimilated into human society were started to believe it too.

The famous split between the Tevinter and Orlesian Chantry had not occurred and the two nations had achieved a very tenuous peace, thanks in no small part to the growing faith. It would be another three hundred years before the kingdom of Ferelden would be brought together by Calenhad. It would take five hundred years before Kirkwall would become the free city it is today.

A small book shop on a small corner of a small street of the growing city of Val Royeaux advertised a newly printed book. That small street would eventually become part of the now historic market square. The shop owner advertised a "new fictional epic." Soon, the title and the content of the book began to spread via word-of-mouth. A few months later, and the store owner found himself arrested by the Templars, and his store became chantry property. The sign and all copies of the book were burned.

At least that's what I like to think happened. The truth is that we have no records of the glory age – at least nothing so mundane as book stores and what they were selling. But the book was published, and it certainly did sell. It was a small book at first (The publishing industry was very small in the Glory Age). But it gained traction. We do have records from the Steel Age, and those records are quite clear: The Book was quite famous. It was considered pulp fiction, something only fit for the poor people to consume. And one thing was very clear from those records: The Chantry did not like the book one bit.

The Book's title was Evanura: L'histoire Vraie de la Conquête des Dales. The author claimed to be the famous General Brandis, who had achieved fame in the exalted march upon the Dales, only to disappear after the final battle – never to be seen again. I can only imagine the frenzy the Chantry was kicked into when the book was revealed to them. By its existence today, we know very well that any measures they took to destroy its existence was met with failure.

There is, of course, an amusing fact to note about books before the steel age: Reading fiction was almost exclusively the past-time of the nobility. This of course means that a book was released that demonized the Orlesian nobility, and the Chantry, and the nobility ate it up. I suppose even the Orlesians of the glory age loved drama more than they loved their pride.

One thing is certain however: The book has achieved fame and infamy throughout Thedas. Scholars clamour for copies of the "true" versions (almost all available editions are in common, not the original Orlesian), and there is a heated debate about whether the book is fiction or non-fiction.

I frankly don't really care whether the book portrays true events or not. I don't even care if it's written by the famous Brandis. As an author of like-minded pulp fiction, I only care about one thing: it's a damn good book. Like most beginning authors, Evanura was on my 'must read' list for a while. When I finally read it, it defined a major part of my writing career. Much of my writing hasbeen trying to capture some of the magic I had witnessed in Evanura.

When I was offered the chance to work with Madame Coté, I took it. The translation has changed very little changed since the 17th edition (published at the beginning of the Storm Age), which made it unapproachable for younger readers. When Madame Coté approached me and told me she was doing a completely new translation, and wanted me to edit it to suit our "modern sensibilities," I couldn't say no. I hope I've done an adequate job of helping her stay true to the source material, while updating it so it's more digestible for the readers of the Dragon Age.

One thing I have tried to address in this edition is the lack of emphasis many phrases had in the previous editions. In his work, Brandis swears like a sailor (or a soldier as the case may be), but many of his more colorful phrases lost their impact over the decades. Most people won't appreciate the vulgarity of a phrase like "Stow thy effing tongue, thou wine-drunk shaft-ape!" However, "Shut the fuck up, you piss-guzzling cock-monkey!" gets the message across rather nicely.

Also I hope you like Elves that talk about sex a lot. Because this book has elves that talk about sex a lot. Also Elves that have sex a lot. For a work of 'historical fiction,' this book has a lot of talk about naughty bits and banging them together. I wish that was included in my 'History of Thedas' class when I was growing up. I might not have fell asleep during Sister Loretta's lecture about the Battle of Ayesleigh (And then they fucked!).

This volume comes complete with notes by Scholar Genitivi and yours truly. These notes will help you make sense from the various references that no longer have any relevance to today. You have to remember that when this book was written, the kingdom of the dales was still a fresh memory for many people. Nowadays it is nothing more than ruins. The Dalish clans have moved quite a ways away from what their culture is depicted like here, but that's to be expected. After all, a people's culture is going to change if you force them into a nomadic lifestyle.

Additionally, there are many creatures alive during this age that we have no memory of. Griffons weren't the only creatures that have disappeared from the world since the Glory Age. There are mentions of giant bears that roamed the mountains, various species of lesser dragons, and even many mentions of a species of sea serpent that stalked the waters of the waking sea. Many other creatures are mentioned, some familiar, and some strange.

I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did when I first read it. I hope that our updated translation makes it more enjoyable for younger readers, and I hope it inspires many authors, just as it did me those many years ago.

Varric Tethras

9th Bloomingtide, 9:26 Dragon