We fade into a map of Thedas as a female narrator speaks. "What should have been a magnificent age, a Sun Age, is now bloodied by their return. While some see the Dragons as a glorious sign, others see them as an omen of evil." As she spoke, a silhouette of a dragon appeared over the kingdom of Ferelden.
Blake looked at Lex. "So this world has kingdoms like Remnant?"
Lex made a 'so-so' gesture. "Ehhh, something like that." She opened her book to show Blake the map of Thedas, she pointed out the key areas. "There's the Kingdom of Ferelden, where the first and most of the third games are set and is like most basic fantasy RPG settings where it's based on medieval England or Old Remnant for you guys. The Free Marches, where some of the second game is set and is more of a collection of wealthy city-states, the governments there vary depending on where you are. The Tevinter Imperium, a massive slaver empire and full of fucking assholes. The Kingdom of Orlais, which we visit in the third game and is very much influenced by France."
Yang raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"
Lex smirked and illusioned herself to have a French moustache before twirling it and speaking in a fake French accent. "Hon hon! Oui oui! Baguette!" She pouted when nobody laughed at her joke. "Tough crowd." She cancelled her illusion.
Emerald patted her mother's shoulder. "It's okay, mom. The moustache might have been a bit much, though."
She sighed. "I suppose you're right, little gem." She looked back at the map and continued her explanation of the locations of Thedas. "But besides those places, we then have smaller places like the Korcari Wilds, the Hinterlands, the Dales, the Bannorn, the city of Redcliffe, the village of Lothering, the Circle Tower, the Dwarven thaig aka city of Orzammar, and…" Her voice became a bit somber when she saw the final location, but thankfully no one noticed. "...Ostagar."
Blake held her chin in thought. "I'm impressed at how detailed they are."
"Well, some of it I can't fully remember as it's been a few years since I last played the games."
Yang nodded. "Sounds like someone wanted to do a game night but realised that they could make it into a video game instead."
"You're not that far off actually."
"Nevertheless, their mere presence marks this age with violence and upheaval. A period of death and rebirth." We now pan over Orlais and Nevarra as we see silhouettes of two people fighting before fading to several shots of soldiers preparing for battle and two people killing a monster. "No one knows what exactly is to come, but every age has its wars, its tragedies, and its victories."
Pyrrha's eyes widened at seeing the soldiers. "Why was it showing those soldiers when she mentioned 'tragedies', Lexious?"
Lex sighed and looked down. "That was the battle of Ostagar, a battle that revealed there were traitors and cowards amongst their supposed allies. Along with it being less of a battle and more of a massacre as there were only three survivors. Your character, an ally named Alistair, and a dog that was either originally yours or you adopted depending on your origin in the first game."
"What breed was it?"
"A Mabari war hound. A fictional dog breed that was magically created by the Tevinter Imperium." She flipped through the pages until she found the dog that looked like a mix between a Bulldog and a Rottweiler.
Ruby looked at the dog. "Huh, looks like a bigger and brown version of Zwei."
Lex chuckled. "I guess you can say that." She wasn't going to mention that you had to kill them sometimes in the games.
"This will be no different. Welcome...to the Dragon Age." The title slowly faded in over silhouettes of soldiers.
Dragon Age Lore Series
Prologue
Weiss smiled at hearing the music before smirking at Yang and Ruby. "And this is why I never play video games, they never have beautiful music like this."
Lex chuckled. "Actually, Weiss, this music is from the Dragon Age games." Weiss's jaw dropped in shock. "Much like with movies, video games have their own musical scores now. One of the most recognizable is the theme for the game series, Halo. More specifically, Halo 2, which I'll show you the theme for it later."
Penny giggled and closed Weiss's mouth. "Maybe you should start thinking before speaking, Ice Princess."
Cinder looked at her mother. "Why is this a 'lore series', mother?"
Lex stretched before answering her kit. "At the time that these videos were coming out, the third game in the series was about to be released, Dragon Age Inquisition. So, these videos were made for newcomers to the series and for others to recap the lore and events of the series."
"Hmm, if this series is as good as you say it is, I might be willing to play it later."
"Luckily for you, I have guides for the first two games."
We slowly zoom in on the map of Thedas before slowly soaring over a foggy forest. "This is Thedas. A land continuously ripped apart by the races and religions that have permeated throughout its history. At its beginning, its enlightened citizens were deeply rooted in magic. The ancient kingdom of the immortal Elves, Elvhenan, ran across the mass of Thedas, practicing arts and holding knowledge that modern-day scholars could barely fathom possible."
The narrator switches to a male one now as we see the silhouettes of soldiers over the map of Thedas before we see clips of Elves both Dalish and City. "But as the humans pushed from the north and moved into the continent, so came the Quickening: an event that removed the Elves' immortality. And as war and tyranny imposed upon the rule of the Elves,culture and knowledge was lost… In the modern age, their people are scattered and left dissolute. The Dalish elves roam the lands, grasping at what little knowledge was left from the old empire. The truly lost, forced to live in alienages, the slums of cities. Or worse, as slaves. Thedosians treat the Elves as second-class citizens; the once immortal beings, a proud people, are now subject to the whims of Humans, who have spread dominance in both culture and numbers."
We switch back to the female narrator as the screen fades to a grey humanoid with several horns on his head fighting a man. "Humans and Elves are not the only performers on the stage of Thedas. To outsiders, this fanatical race is nothing but monstrous warmongers."
Emerald leaned back in shock. "Gods above, what on Remnant is that?"
Lex narrowed her eyes and growled lowly. "A Qunari, little gem, think of them as the current White Fang. You fight them in Dragon Age II, but you can become an ally with one in both Origins and Inquisition." She was going to say that you can also bang the one in Inquisition along with choosing to be one in it but decided to let them find out on their own.
"To those within their lands? One word: Order. These people are called Qunari. The great horned civilization that lives in Par Vollen. After numerous bloody encounters, Thedosians are only intimately familiar with the Qunari as a military body. The common image of the Qunari borders on zealotry." As this is said, we see a Qunari burn himself to death after using fire magic on himself. "They seek to make life's purpose through order. That purpose is reason enough for the Qunari to campaign against the races that already call Thedas their home."
Blake was shaking horribly as she thought of the one person that fit that description. Thankfully, Emerald held her close and comforted her. "It'll be okay, Blake. He won't touch you." She let out a low growl at the thought of that bastard touching Blake. "Not if I have anything to say about it. You're not touching my mate…wait...m-m-mate?" She started blushing as she realized that Blake was her chosen mate.
Emerald didn't notice that her mom and big sister were looking at each other and smirking as they mentally communicated with each other. Lex shook her head. "She's crushing hard, little flame."
Cinder mentally giggled and nodded. She gently brought Ruby closer to her with her tails. "Oh, big time, mother."
The male narrator continued as we switched to a new race. "As Humans conquered the surface world, and the Qunari bloodied them in turn; a race of artisans, builders, and merchants toiled underground within the Deep Roads, shaping stone and steel into works of architecture."
Glynda's jaw dropped. "Those are dwarves! This series has dwarves?!"
Lex chuckled. "Well, it wouldn't be a fantasy RPG if it didn't, young mage."
Qrow shook his head with a smile. "Good to see you're still the same cute nerd from when we were students, Glynda." Glynda blushed badly and playfully hit his shoulder in embarrassment.
"The Dwarves stretched their home far and wide, adhering to a strict four-tiered hierarchy that pontificated life in the name of honor or coin. These nobles, warriors, smiths, and outcasts built a culture so fascinatingly self-sufficient, one cannot help but be fascinated by them." As he said this, we saw a Dwarf wielding a unique crossbow.
Velvet gasped when she saw the crossbow. "I saw this one in your armory, Lex!"
Lex chuckled at Velvet's excitement. "So you saw Bianca, huh?" She smiled as Velvet brought out a hard-light replica of Varric's crossbow. "She's a beauty, isn't she?"
Velvet nodded while Ruby looked at Bianca in awe. "That is so cool! You have weapons like that in your armory, Lex?"
Velvet grinned. "That and more, Ruby. I'll show you them after this, if you want." She giggled when Ruby nodded her head furiously.
Lex merely chuckled. "Well, Bianca is a one-of-a-kind crossbow. She belongs to that dwarf." She pointed to the dwarf on-screen.
"What's his name?"
Lex smirked. "That loveable smartass's name is Varric Tethras." She gave Blake and Velvet copies of his novel. "And this is his book, 'Hard in Hightown'. It's a legit copy as they managed to turn the fake book into a real book for fans to enjoy."
Velvet gasped when she saw that it was autographed specifically to her. "It's a real, honest to Oum, autograph!"
Blake's eyes widened when she saw that hers was autographed as well before looking at Emerald in shock. The young kitsune tilted her head in confusion. "What's up, Blake? Is there someth-" She didn't get to finish as Blake kissed her hard.
Blake held the book close to her chest after kissing Emerald. "I love it! Thank you, Emerald!" She had unfortunately left Emerald a stuttering and blushing mess. Blake giggled and booped Emerald's nose.
That did the trick and reset Emerald, but she was still blushing. "Y-You're umm, welcome B-Blake." She didn't notice her sister and mother give each other a low-five while Blake leaned into Emerald and relaxed with her while Emerald's tails gently held her chosen mate protectively.
"The dwarves are crafty in their resilience and influence, but many of their proud cities in the Deep Roads have fallen to matters dark; for deeper underground, darkness stirs. An enemy to all things living- regardless of race or origin." As this was said, dwarves prepared themselves for a battle that would determine the fate of Thedas and her people.
Lex's eyes narrowed and she growled loud enough for everyone to hear. "Meet this world's version of the Grimm, but much, much worse."
Glynda shook as she remembered some fantasy creatures that she was thankful for never having to encounter in both her game sessions and in her fights against Grimm. "Brothers protect them."
"That enemy, the aberrations of flesh, are called Darkspawn. And with the Darkspawn comes the Blight." We are shown horrific monsters that tear through the dwarves and even eat some of them.
The female narrator took over again. "The Chantry teaches us that the first Blight was caused by man, by mages who dared enter the Golden City, the house of the one god called the Maker."
Neo scoffed. "Typical, fearmongering."
Velvet shook her head. "They used to say the same things about Faunus, that we were abominations that tainted the Gods' plans for mankind." She smiled softly when her partner and team leader gently held her. "Thanks Coco."
Coco smiled softly at her partner. "Anytime Vel. Aunt Judy would kick my ass if anything happened to you. Not to mention what Uncle Nick would do if he heard his daughter got hurt by some punk." They both shuddered at the thought of the fox faunus going 'savage' as Velvet's parents called it. (1)
We are shown what happened to the mages that became the first Darkspawn. "In their greed, the magisters tried to capture the Golden City, but instead were cast out...changed and corrupted. Carrying the taint, a festering sickness of the blood that manipulates the body to decay, they became the first Darkspawn." We see the Darkspawn army at the Battle of Ostagar. "Twisted deformities mindlessly focused on reproducing their numbers, the Darkspawn taint the ground beneath their feet, turning the lush surface world to dust. By call of the Archdemon, they inflict an unfathomable amount of destruction, and death. Take heart though, because like any story worth telling, evil has those who would oppose it."
Lex smirked. "And here's where we come in for the first game, everyone."
Blake raised an eyebrow and looked at the demoness. "So we're the heroes of this tale?"
"Yup, Dwarf, Elf, or Human. The choice is yours but they all end up on this path."
Pyrrha leaned forward and looked at Lex. "So we're like the heroes of old?"
"Something like that."
We see people in armour charging into battle against the Darkspawn as the male narrator continued. "There exists self-sacrificing heroes who endeavor to stop the Darkspawn from infecting others. You see, if not for the Grey Wardens, the flame of life would have been extinguished on Thedas long ago." He explained as a Grey Warden fought the Darkspawn by himself.
Nora and Ruby gained stars in their eyes. "We wanna become Grey Wardens!"
Lex's eyes widened and she shut down that train of thought immediately. "NO! You fucking don't want to!"
Ruby whimpered and tried to use the Puppy Dog pout on her. "P-Please?"
Unfortunately for Ruby, the kitsune stood firm. "I said no, Ruby Rose and that's final! You don't want to become a Grey Warden because it would mean sacrificing everything…" Her ears flattened as she sighed and looked down in sorrow. "...Even the chance to have a family." It wasn't the only reason she didn't want them to become Grey Wardens, she had seen firsthand what was required to become one and didn't want any of them to go through that goddamn ritual.
Emerald and Cinder gently held their mother. Cinder looked at Ruby and Nora as they were worried about Lex's reaction. "Please, just drop it, okay? If mother is frightened at the thought of any of us wanting to become Grey Wardens, then it means that it's something that we'll likely learn about through this Lore Series."
Ruby nodded and hugged Lex. "I'm sorry for making you mad, Lex."
Lex smiled softly at the little Reaper and gently hugged back before she kissed her forehead. "It's okay, little one. I'm sorry for yelling at you and Nora. Grey Wardens are a touchy subject for me. Just be glad that Ozpin and Ironwood aren't here to hear about them."
Winter looked conflicted at hearing that but realized that if it worried their hostess that much then she shouldn't tell him about this. "I understand your concern, Lexious and I will make sure that neither the General nor Ozpin ever hear about this."
"Thank you, little blizzard." She chuckled a bit at Winter's confusion. "I'm calling you that because you are strong and furious like a winter storm yet the aftermath tends to lead to more protection for nature's creatures."
"To stay alive in this world, the sword and bow are close companions. Battle is a way of life; masters of it hold the most power. Even the tongue and quill are weapons. But magic? Not every nation shares the same view on the practice of the arcane arts. Some celebrate magic and hold it as the defining factor of those in power and politics. Other nations believe that magic must serve man, and suppress magic for the safety and security of non-magical users. And in extreme cases, societies bind and chain magic only for use as weapons of war."
Glynda looked at her riding crop in worry. "What would I have been categorized as in that world, Lexious?"
Lex looked at the Headmistress. "You would likely be labeled as an apostate because you would not give into the Chantry's demands." She noticed everyone's confusion. "Big religion that has its claws in just about everything, including politics. Think of it like a more religious version of your council."
Glynda nodded in agreement. "Never was a fan of religious fanatics and the Chantry sounds more like an organization than a religion."
"You hit the nail on the head with that description, Glynda."
We see various mages practicing the arcane arts before showing different demons. "For many, magic is taboo. It draws those who use it closer to the Fade, the metaphysical realm where spirits and demons dwell. Wars have been won and lost over its use, and the more Thedas is pulled into chaos, the closer the Fade gets to being pulled into reality." We see a green and yellow tear in the sky of Thedas. "These tears in the veil? Well, they are a story for another day."
Lex chuckled. "Oh you sly motherfuckers. Maybe I'll show you guys that series some other day." Everyone shrugged before looking back at the screen. (2)
The female narrator took over as we returned to the map of Thedas. "For now. Know this… The land lies rich in the stories and history. As Thedas has persevered ages through constant strife, its tales have also persevered."
"Join us as we travel the land and visit its inhabitants, nations, religions, and cultures."
"See the wondrous land of Thedas through its people's eyes and discover for yourself..."
Both narrators spoke as the franchise's logo faded in. "...the Dragon Age." As the video ends we see the eight chapters of the series and the epilogue.
Ren looked at the screen in curiosity. "Elves, Humans, Dwarves, Nations, Magic, Religion, Blight, Fade, and Road to Inquisition."
Penny nodded. "Looks like we have a long road ahead of us. But I'm also curious about Mass Effect. Can we learn about that series next, Lexious?"
Lex chuckled at the girl's question. "Sure, Penny. We'll take a look at Mass Effect next." She started up the next video for them.
(1) - Yeah, since we aren't given a name for her parents, or whether they're faunus or not, I decided to make her parents Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps from Zootopia. Will I change it if their names are revealed? Nope.
(2) - I'm leaving this up to you guys for if I should have them watch Shoddycast's The Storyteller: Fallout or even taking it up yourselves as a challenge. I remember reading one years ago where it was team RWBY, and maybe team JNPR, watching the series but it was sadly abandoned and never finished.
So, what do you all think? Is this something I should do to help avoid burnout or no? If anyone is willing to help transcribe some of the videos, I would welcome it greatly since Blade is taking so long thanks to my job.
Anyways, leave a review if you liked it, if you want to, but please no flames.
Stay safe out there, everyone.
This is church2550 signing off 'til the next time, I'll see you then.
