The war against Tevinter was the first full mobilization of dwarven forces in centuries. Orzammar, Kal Sharok, and every Thaig provided warriors for the battle. The war was stationed out of Kal Sharok. From there, I had influence over the world beyond Tevinter. While Faren and Wojech worked with their officers to plan out their strategies, I locked down all the magic in Tevinter. While we could have attacked after a few days, I waited for two weeks; enough time for the Magisters to panic, scramble, and vainly attempt to regain their magic. Every so often I would give their magic back to them, for a few precious moments at a time. I wanted to give them hope, something to let them believe that whatever phenomena was occurring might be temporary.
On the day of our attack, the magic was locked down completely. I opened several portals which our warriors marched through. Each portal opened up at a point just on the edge of Tevinter's border. Hundreds of thousands of dwarves, which included every member of the Legion of the Dead, the majority of warriors from every warrior family and noble House from Orzammar, Kal Sharok, and Thaig. They were battle hardened warriors who had been fighting darkspawn all their lives, and now they were ready to turn their experience and fury on Tevinter.
Unlike most other countries, the dwarves had standing armies. We were constantly engaged in combat, so we didn't have the luxury of raising troops in times of need. Only the dwarves and Qunari had standing armies, while allies like Orlais had a large retinue of guards and Chevaliers, they weren't an army. Tevinter, however, did have a small force that was dedicated to harassing Par Vollen and the Qunari. Those would be the soldiers to look out for, but we had the numbers and the experience. I wasn't overly concerned.
I joined Faren's battalion, stepping through the portal last after everyone else had gone through. Faren had insisted on this because it would keep me safe. As soon as Faren had ensured the area was secured, he gave me the signal that we were ready to begin. I reached out and connected to every magical item in Tevinter, sending reverberations through them so that my voice could be heard. With as many enchanted items that Tevinter had, my voice rang out through every home and street.
"People of Tevinter," I began. "My name is Empress Merida Orodum of the Dwarven Empire. Your country has declared war on me and my people. Every Magister you sent has been stripped of their magic. I am here to tell you that I am the one who did this. My power over the Fade is absolute. So long as you are within my influence, it is I who chooses whether or not you may cast even the simplest off cantrips."
"To the Magisters," I continued, my tone unwavering and authoritative, "your entire country is surrounded. Nearly every dwarven warrior is prepared to march into your country and kill everyone in their way. However, I am not without mercy. If, within the next thirty minutes, a representative of the Magisterium comes before me and surrenders, I will guarantee that some of you will live."
I moved on to the next part of my address, "To the citizens of Tevinter; I do not wish to harm anyone I do not have to. However, anyone caught with slaves, or having killed their slaves, will be executed on site. Release your slaves this instant, and you will be spared. Give them food and money, and send them on their way to Tevinter's borders. My warriors will soon meet them as we make our way into your country and they will be cared for."
Finally, I connected myself to every dwarf in Tevinter, "To my people who reside here; your families have a long history of trade in Tevinter. However, the Magisters have attempted to assassinate me, allied with the darkspawn, and attempted to slaughter our people all in the hope to gain access to the lyrium we mine in Orzammar. They knew precisely where to appear in the city. This tells me that one, or more, of you helped them in this attack in the hopes of profiting from my death, and the death of hundreds of thousands of your people. Know this; I will find every traitor among you. There will be no mercy shown to any who aided in that attack. If any of you know someone responsible, you will be rewarded for detaining them for me."
In the end, no one came to barter for peace. The dwarven forces marched into Tevinter. They were joined by Orleasian Chevaliers, elven archers and scouts, as well as Ferelden soldiers. The Qunari had asked to join the campaign but I had refused, citing that I didn't want this to appear as if we were taking a side in their conflict with Tevinter. They did, however, place a few Dreadnaughts along Tevinter's shoreline just as a show of force.
Every dwarven battalion met with thousands of freed slaves fleeing Tevinter. They were met with care and open arms. The elven forces took most of the slaves to camps where they were tended to. Any harm or illness was dealt with, with wounds or trauma treated carefully. Most of the slaves were brought back with us and introduced into their respective societies. Over time, they would begin to live happy and productive lives.
The Magisters and the Magisterium were quickly rounded up. They had tried to hide but my stone sense made them easy to find. They were carefully questioned, but since none of them had decided to surrender in the time I had given them, they were all put to death. In the end, we discovered that Seven had used Corypheus' knowledge and memories to hunt down ancient artifacts which proved to the Magisters that he was one of the ancients. He used that influence to gain power over the Magisterium and convince the whole of Tevinter to consider Orzammar an enemy. Once I had the lyrium legislation passed that forbade lyrium being sold to anyone who trafficked in slaves, it was easy for Seven to foment more and more aggression against us. It wasn't difficult for him to find others who were willing to support an attack on the city directly.
Thousands of Magisters were killed over the next few weeks. The small fighting force Tevinter had mostly surrendered in the face of overwhelming odds. Any mages in the fighting forces were immediately killed while the others were taken prisoner. There was a lesson to be taught in this confrontation, and that lesson was that magic would no longer be used to subjugate others. The mages in Tevinter that fought against us would learn that lesson.
The Magisters who had been questioned gave us the names of the Tevinter dwarves who had betrayed our people so that they could gain dominion over Orzammar and control over the lyrium supply. They gave this information in the hopes of having their lives spared. They weren't, but they received much more lenient executions.
As far as the dwarves who had betrayed our people were concerned, they were to be made examples of. I met with each of the named conspirators personally and sifted through their memories. Anyone who was aware of the conspiracy and did not protest or make some attempt at stopping things was brought before the linked minds of our people. I showed them the memories. I showed how they worked against their people, their King, and their Empress. And while I was content to put them to a swift death, I let the collective thoughts of the people decide what to do with them. The people were far less forgiving than I was. Their families were stripped of all wealth and privileges. Every person who actively participated in the coupe was executed. Those who knew, but weren't active participants, and did nothing to try and stop things were banished to the surface, with their names spread throughout the kingdoms of all of our allies so that even finding work would be difficult. Their families, however, were granted Servant Class or Merchant Class status depending on their level of knowledge.
Tevinter was reformed into the nation of Forialst. It changed from a magocracy to a satellite state, watched over by a revolving number of nations including Orlais, Ferelden, the Free Marches, and the Dwarven Empire. Each nation would watch the new nation for five years at a time for fifty years to ensure that no further issues would occur. However, each overseeing nation would also be responsible for assisting Forialst economically and militarily during their years of oversight should they need it. However, each request for aid was looked over by representatives from all presiding nations and considered for its legitimacy based on Forialst's current economics and resources.
At the end of fifty years, Forialst was its own independent nation with a wealth of allies its ancestors hadn't known in millenia. The nation had a stricter stance on magic than Ferelden did at the time, with mages needing to register and attend the newest location of the Amellian college. Mages were also required to enter government service or serve in the college as professors and researchers. One major difference was that mages were no longer allowed to hold any political office, regardless of how small the post's influence. It also became an elective democracy, similar to the old Dwarven system I was born into. I was honored to have been asked to attend the coronation of Forialst's first king.
Alistair was crowned only a year after the war with Tevinter. He had earned some recognition in the campaign by spearheading the relief efforts. He and Serena brought food, water, and mages well-versed in healing magic. His forces were held back to guard the slaves, and worked to ensure the Tevinter citizens were kept safe during the days we were still looking for their mages and Magisters. Not long after Alistair's coronation, his father, King Maric, died due to an illness. Faren and I attended the funeral, deeply saddened by his loss. Maric had done us both the favor of training us in our youth, and worked closely with me to teach me human politics and how to navigate the ins and outs of the human noble's intricate family ties. We owed him a great deal.
I would like to say that the war against Tevinter was the only conflict that we had to deal with. While the Qunari had appreciated our efforts with Tevinter and stopping the aggression, they insisted on trying to spread the Qun where it wasn't wanted. We tried to explain to them that their definition of order wasn't the same as ours. We also tried to explain to them that our mages were not falling to temptation and becoming possessed by demons at the rates they believed. In fact, those instances had fallen to almost zero with the implementation of the Amellian colleges, and the freedom given to them in places of minor authority with the protection of towns and villages under their charge.
Par Vollen would not hear us. Eventually, after all the diplomacy had failed, the Qunari attacked Rivain in an attempt to make it the first mainland nation brought into the Qun. This choice was made because Rivain had a small settlement there called Kont-aar, where emissaries would regularly work with the Rivaini. This attack was a surprise to them. While Rivain wasn't a part of the Dwarven Empire's allied nations, we answered their call for aid. Faren led the dwarven army to Rivain alongside forces from Ferelden, Orleasian, and the Free Marches. The joint forces were welcomed into Antiva and allowed to march through to Rivain. When the joint forces arrived, they immediately began pushing back the Qunari line. The fighting was fierce, with our people pit against the giant Qunari for the very first time. However, this was not simply a land battle. Over the years, the dwarven fleet had grown exponentially. Our navy, along with the navies of Ferelden and Orlais, engaged the Qunari dreadnaughts. While they had blackpowder cannons, we had mages who could use their magic.
Faren insisted that I not take part in the battles this time around, wanting our warriors to get the experience of actual combat in. I honored his request, but that doesn't mean I stayed out of the conflict all together. After so long, my influence over the Stone and the Fade had become worldwide. I didn't even have to leave Orzammar to use my influence over the Fade to deny the Saarebas, the Qunari mages, access to their magic. I also raised the seafloor up in large pillars to prevent the dreadnaughts from escaping, and stopping reinforcements from coming in.
The Qunari were soundly defeated after only a few weeks. Par Vollen was forced to keep to themselves for years afterwards. There were calls from the Andrastian Church for a new Exalted March on Par Vollen. Pressure was put on the Orleasian Emperor to sanction the March, but Serena and Alistair's eldest son, King Bertryn of Ferelden, and myself managed to talk the church down. It wouldn't do to attack them and provoke them even further.
The conflict did manage to bring Rivain and Antiva into the fold of the allied nations. While the dynamics of certain freelance organizations like the Antivan Crows, and the fact that Rivain did not support the Andrastean Church, were small issues, they were eventually figured out. I admit that it was nice to have another group of people who didn't worship Andraste within the allied nations. It allowed me to push back against the church who would regularly insist that a church be allowed in dwarven thaigs and cities.
While I was responsible to push my people forward in many ways, I was also responsible for upholding our traditions. This meant that our caste system, which remained firmly in place, became much more flexible. However, it also meant that we kept true to our origins and to our creators. We were connected more than any other people in the world. We were connected through the Titans. We were the Stone. And any threat to that connection was meant with refusal and scorn. Dwarves did not take well to threats to their tradition. While individuals were not banned from worshiping Andraste if they wished to, the church itself was not allowed a presence within the Empire.
The second war against the Qunari came nearly a century later. This time, they didn't have a foothold to start with and instead attacked Forialst. There was no way of talking the Andrastean Church out of an Exalted March this time. The whole of the faith was ready to burn Par Vollen to the ground but I offered to handle the situation myself. While Faren didn't want me to engage the Qunari personally, I was resigned to put this issue to bed permanently. However, to put his mind at ease, I agreed not to leave Orzammar. By that time I had managed to erase my blind spot as far as water was concerned.
I scryed the location of the ships and the ongoing battles. Every Qunari soldier was dragged beneath the earth. Every ship was sunk. And then I turn Par Vollen into a tomb. Every Qunari above a certain age, and every member of the Qun on that island, was crushed beneath the surface of their home. As an act of mercy, I had the dwarven fleet sail to Par Vollen and rescue the children who had been too young to be indoctrinated into the Qun. The children were brought to Rivain, where they were welcomed and cared for.
Not everything was worry and war, however. Faren and I had our first child two years after we were wed. A boy who we named Frandlin. A year after that we had our second; a girl we named Trianna. Three years later we had a set of twins, a boy and a girl that we named Endrin and Kalah. The children were everything a parent could hope for. They worked diligently to be shining examples of the Empress. They became ambassadors, smiths, warriors, and enchanters. Kalah and Endrin focused especially diligently on lyrium technology development under Bhelen's tutelage.
We stopped having children once it became noticeable that while everyone around us were aging… we were not. Serena was the first of the Fated to pass away; mourned by Alistair, her children, and grandchildren. Next was Allen who died a celebrated mage and father. Regretfully, his only child died in a magical experiment. Then went Aelfric, loved by his people and the rest of the world for having brought such amazing new food to Thedas. Trianna was the last to go, and her passing broke my heart. Her people, her children, her grandchildren, all of her people, Faren and I, our children and our grandchildren all mourned her passing. She was my best friend and it hurt to lose her.
With the realization that Faren and I weren't aging, we stopped having children. This was among the best decisions we made for ourselves. We loved our children deeply, and our grandchildren as well, but the pain of the loss of our friends, and the hurt we knew would come when we outlived our descendants convinced us to have no others. We watched as our children grew old, how our grandchildren had children, and their children had children. It was a mixture of joy and sorrow. However, our descendants continued to make us proud regardless.
The lyrium technology was something nearly all of our grandchildren gravitated towards and became the primary export of our people even over lyrium itself. As a matter of fact, the world experienced a radical change as lyrium technologies advanced. Communications, defenses, and weapons technologies made leaps and bounds thanks to them. By the time our great grandchildren, things were looking much more advanced than the world I'd been born into. The funny thing, however, is that magic still kept things relatively similar in most other ways. The mother of all necessity was mostly taken care of by magic, so lyrium technology handled things that magic couldn't easily replace since war and communication weren't able to be handled primarily by magic.
Apart from the few wars mentioned, Thedas enjoyed centuries of relative peace. I helped to reclaim every inch of the former Dwarven Empire, and expanded it nearly three times over. I would have expanded it more but dwarves couldn't populate it fast enough. I didn't want to spread our numbers too thin. Still, the Empire was thriving and boasted the largest economy in the world. It also made itself indispensable to every other nation in terms of trade and military power. Through my diplomacy and the hard work and diligent effort of my people, we became the foremost nation of Thedas.
I kept my tradition of walking the streets of Orzammar on my birthday, giving gifts to the people and celebrating our Empire's anniversary as well. I also honored the memory of the Battle of Ostagar by visiting the memorial mausoleum each year. These two traditions were two of the most important ones I wanted to keep up even if the rest of my people didn't.
"But, that's not something I had to worry about," Merida said with pride as she looked out on the dwarves gathered in the mausoleum, knowing full well that the city, the Deep Roads that led to it, and the mountain path the led to the city's gates we packed full of dwarves. Her image was being relayed through lyrium mirrors to everyone in attendance. "I went to sleep one evening in the four hundredth fifty-eighth year of my reign and did not wake. However, I did not die, either. I still sleep to this day. My descendants and my people honor me with their love, their hope, and their devotion every year by visiting me."
Merida turned and motioned to Faren who stood next to the glass encasement where his wife slept soundly, "I am guarded, each and every day, by my husband. He stands watch, devoted and without doubt that I will one day wake and take up my crown once more. This was the tale of my life, with all of its secrets and details laid bare. I was a stranger born into this world, born a dwarf, born a mage. I used my knowledge of the world to do right by my people. I spent every day working for the betterment of all dwarves. I am the very world itself. I am the Fade. I am a mage, a champion, a hero, a Paragon, a Titan. I am the Mother of Dwarves. I am Empress Merida Orodum."
Faren looked at Merida and smiled sadly. This was his and Merida's great grandchild thirty times over. This was the millenia anniversary of the Dwarven Empire, and the five hundredth second year that the Empress had been sleeping. It was surprising to see how much the speaker favored her ancestor.
Looking out over the crowd, Faren gathered himself and smiled proudly, "Hello my children. I call you my children not just because I am the husband to the Mother of Dwarves, but also because you are all descendants of us. By now our children's children's children and so forth have multiplied and married into every family of dwarves over the millennia. You are all our children. And it does my heart good to see those of you who visit our Empress throughout the year."
He took a deep breath and let his gaze wander over the eyes of those in the mausoleum, "But I am never more proud than when I see you all gather here each and every year to honor the telling of her life's tale. Knowing that you all make the journey from so far away each year without fail humbles me."
Faren turned and looked at the sleeping Empress, smiling her youthful, vibrant, infectious smile even in her sleep, "What's more, I know that wherever her mind is, she feels our love for her. I know it because we can all still feel her influence. With every decision we make, we feel her guiding us through our shared link which she reawakened in us. We know she is still with us, because even as she sleeps she still calls out to us. We've heard her call to her people, we've heard her call out names."
He turned and smiled at the crowd once more, "Each year we gather in the mausoleum where she rests with her fallen friends and comrades. Each year we hear about her life from birth to her great sleep. And each year we renew our hope that she will one day wake. Be it a thousand years, ten thousand years, or even a million years; we know she will wake one day. And on that day, we will rejoice. We will show her that we were not idle in her absence. And we will show her how much she still means to us. Thank you all for coming once again this year."
With that, Faren and Merida stepped to the side so that the crowd could, over the course of the next few days, walk by the sleeping Empress. Each dwarf would leave a coin, and the total would be spent on medical social programs.
As Faren stood by, he looked at his sleeping wife. He watched her chest slowly rise and fall. He looked at her beautiful smile. He relived their memories together and ached desperately to hear her voice again, to see her eyes gaze up at him once more. He watched her and prayed silently to himself, "Please, my love. I don't know why you're sleeping. I don't know where your mind is. I don't know what you're doing. But, please… come back to me. Come back to us. We need you…"
As if she had heard him, the Empress spoke in her sleep, "Aelfric? Is that really you?"
Faren let out a soft chuckle. What could possibly be going on in her dreams?