PROLOGUE
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The Chantry tells us of an age when the Tevinter Imperium wielded its magical powers to rule over every man. They enslaved the entire world of Thedas through cruelty and fear, using their gift to force all land, beast, and fellow men to bend a knee under their rule. It was during these dark times that powerful mages—the Magisters of the Imperium—grew weary of their mortality, seeking to become divine themselves, they turned their magic to the very heavens. And for the first time, man set foot upon the Golden City, the realm of the Maker. A place where no mortal creature was ever meant to enter, and where they sought to take the seat of their creator.
Their greed and pride corrupted that which was once been pure, turning the city black. Enraged, the Maker cursed them, turning them into terrible creatures. Reflections of their own tainted souls. Then He cast them down into the depths of the world, where they would live in eternal darkness. Far from the warmth of His light.
They were the first darkspawn. Soulless, twisted vessels who relish in the destruction of all the Maker's creation.
Possessed by their own taint, the creatures found and claimed an Old God as their leader. An ancient being once imprisoned by the Maker for luring man away from His love. Their taint corrupted the Old God, awakening it from its slumber, transforming it into a monster of unfathomable evil. An Archdemon.
It gathered the darkspawn forces under its command, pulling upon their taint and drawing more and more to its terrifying call. The Archdemon's armies swarmed the deepest, darkest trenches, building over centuries until it unleashed their wrath upon the world. And at that moment, the first Blight was born.
The darkspawn horde first invaded the dwarven kingdom. And in spite of its immense military strength, the underground empire nearly fell. The Blight then broke through the ground and towards the surface, spreading over Thedas like a plague. The darkspawn tainted all they touched. They massacred everything in their wake—men, women, and children—without mercy. Villages and towns were relentlessly destroyed. And the Blight continued to spread, driving humanity to the verge of annihilation. It all seemed lost.
Until from fields of blood and death, the mighty Grey Wardens emerged. They soared on majestic griffons, clad in shining armor, on a quest to save what remained of a ruined world. Dwarves, elves, mages, and man. Kings and farmers, knights, and clerics. Grey Wardens came from all walks of life, united as one, sacrificing all to fight back against the Archdemon's forces and bringing an end to the First Blight.
Over centuries, the darkspawn would taint another Old God slumbering in the deep, bringing forth a new Blight four times over. Each time, the Grey Wardens were there to defeat it, carrying with them both duty and curse in an endless battle against evil. They stood vigilant in the darkness. Quiet sentinels, protecting man from the darkspawn and keeping watch for the next Blight. But as the years passed and men changed, the Grey Wanden's sacrifice was eventually forgotten. Along with the looming threat of another Blight.
And as fate demanded, it was time for humanity to remember once more.